Havoc

Chapters

Chapter 2: Facing the Bug Queen
Chapter 3: Lunar Encounter
Chapter 4: Unexpected Setback
Chapter 5: Origins
Chapter 6: The Gatekeepers
Chapter 7: Waiting for the City
Chapter 8: Lacedaemon
Chapter 10: Facing the Shadow King
Quick Write: Day of Fools
Chapter 11: Taking Control
Chapter 12: Inside the Mind
Chapter 13: Expeditions and Conspiracies
Chapter 14: Civil War
Chapter 15: Restoring Order
Chapter 16: Veni, Vidi, Vici
Chapter 17: One Tartarus of a Night
Chapter 18: Chaotic Dream
Chapter 19: Facing the Creator
Chapter 20: Special Cases
Chapter 21: The Gift
Chapter 22: Emotional Interrogation
Chapter 23: Reassignment
Chapter 24: Stolen Lives
Chapter 1: Patience Has Rewards
Chapter 9: A Book and a Bargain
Aurora's Diary I: Doubts

Chapter 2: Facing the Bug Queen

I surveyed the damage these bug things had caused over the city, and I was quite impressed.

I considered it an accomplishment for mortals to be able cause great strife and suffering without interference from me, Discord, or any other immortal being. Kudos to them.

My focus shifted to the smoking castle that easily overshadowed every building in the city. It's gardens were the place of my imprisonment for many years, until recently, of course.

"Hmm... I'll pay a visit to Celestia and Luna," I said, a small smile on my face, "If they're still alive, of course. If they're not, then oh well."

I began to hover to the castle.

In all of her life, Chrysalis had never been so joyous.

She replaced Cadence and was never suspected of being a fake. She devoured Shining Armour's love for her, and brainwashed him. And with that love, she was able to defeat Celestia, the most powerful being in existence. Besides Discord, of course, but he couldn't do anything in that stone prison of his. She couldn't be happier.

The changeling queen looked over to Cadence. The pink princess was bound to the ground by green goop from her soldiers. They were going to put it on her horn too, but Chrysalis knew she couldn't even summon a small amount of magic, so what was the point?

Although she wished that they would've put it on her muzzle, as her constant yapping annoyed her to no end.

"You won't get away with this!" Cadence shouted, "Twilight and her friends will-"

Thankfully, before she could finish, the doors to the room slammed open, and marched in were her soldiers with Twilight and her friends as prisoners.

Chrysalis smugly looked back at Cadence, "You were saying?" She asked rhetorically.

She then addressed Twilight and her friends, "Haven't you heard? The reception's been cancelled!"

After that, she looked to her soldiers, "Go! Feed!" She ordered. A gift of feeding off love freely was enough of a reward for them.

They shot off to the doors, eager to get their stomachs filled with the ponies' love.

Before they could get out of the room, however, they stopped. Then blinked. Then hissed, before being blasted away from the door on to the other side of the room, some hitting the wall, while some unlucky ones were smashed through the windows.

Chrysalis looked at her downed soldiers, not in shock, but much rather in disappointment. After all, their chitin was supposed to protect them from impacts such as that, but here they are, writhing in agony. She should train them on how to deal with pain.

But her attention was drifted somewhere else when another voice, one which she hasn't heard today, rang out across the room.

"I come back after an eon and the first thing that happens is that foolish mortals challenge me. Typical."

Chrysalis looked to the entrance, and...

What was that thing?

Granted, she's seen many weird species before back at the hive, but she's never seen this being.

It was wearing a dark black dress, with the only way to see the outlines of it were by the Orange highlights coming off of it. Its head was adorned with what looked like a beret, but Chrysalis wasn't too convinced. There was also an fiery orange halo above it, and she didn't know why that was even there.

It was carrying a large staff in its hands. On the tip of it, the staff made a cross, a bright orange light in the center of it.

Chrysalis then focused on its facial features. The details looked mostly feminine, with sickly orange eyes (orange seemed to be the most noticeable color), accompanied by short white hair.

Only after she finished analysing it did it decide to speak up again.

"So," it spoke, casually swirling the staff it held, "are we gonna have a civil conversation, or are you going to be a fool and challenge me?"

As I waited for a response from the bug queen thing, I took note of several things in the room we were in.

First, there was Twilight, along with five other ponies, were standing just in front of me. Two of them, a cyan one with a rainbow mane and the other, an orange one with a blonde mane and wearing a hat that I'm not familiar with, held distrustful looks to me. One, a yellow one with a pink mane, looked noticeably scared. Two others, a pink one and a white one, had expressions I couldn't catch on when I shifted my focus somewhere else.

I spotted Celestia on the other side of the room. She was in some cocoon, and looked at me in a way that said 'don't kill me', or something like that.

I know, I'm a bit biased towards myself.

Under Celestia, there was a pink alicorn with a stallion next to her that I could only assume was brainwashed.

By the way he was dressed, and the overall decor of the room, I had to assume that a wedding was in session before it was rudely interrupted. Probably by the bug things and their queen.

Speaking of which, the bug queen had finally decided on what to say.

"And who are you?" She asked, the hostility in her voice clearly heard.

"Keeping the questions simple, I see," I responded, "I have been given many names; the Monster, Ruinator, War Mistress, and Death. But I prefer to call myself Zerstörung, the Goddess of Havoc. I bring extinction, the apocalypse, and war," I smiled. I hadn't announced my title in that since before I was encased in stone, and it felt good doing so again.

The bug queen stared at me blankly, before chuckling, before bursting out into laughter.

I kept my smile though, giving no implication that I was offended by her blatant disregard of my power. If she wanted to be an idiot, then let her be an idiot.

She recovered from her laughing fit pretty quickly, and looked at me with an amused expression, "You, the Goddess of Havoc? You must be joking! The real Goddess of Havoc perished eons ago!"

The bugs I blasted away from the door before began to mass behind her, having long since recovered from slamming into the wall.

"Show her what happens when you become a fool in front of the queen!" She ordered.

They needed no more encouragement, as they began to race towards me, their fangs on full display. Sinister smiles were also etched onto their snouts, clearly eager to end my life.

They failed.

Before they could reach me, I tapped my staff on the hard floor once, the sound echoing throughout the room.

In a split second, all the bug things in the room, except for their queen, were turned into ash.

Unfortunately, I hadn't thought that through, as all of the ash made a head-on collision with me, my face taking the brunt of it.

Besides my coughing fit, and the sound of me attempting to take off whatever ash I could from my clothing, the entire place was silent.

Once I was finished, I looked around the room to realise that everything was the same, except the bug queen was now gone. I guess she took the time she had with me distracted and escaped.

I frowned, "Cowards," I thought disdainfully, "Always acting brave until they know their life is about to reach its end."

I looked at the rest of those still with me in the room, all bearing expressions of fear and worry.

Another smile crept onto my face, "Hmm... the queen may be gone, but who said I couldn't use you for my needs?" After all, who wouldn't pass an opportunity to toy with their enemies?

Chapter 3: Lunar Encounter

"I'll keep the rules simple," I declared as I sat on the throne, "present me trinkets of the new world I have not seen, and if I'm interested in at least one of them, then I'll consider letting Equestria live."

"And if you're not?" Celestia asked.

"Equestria dies, simple as that."

Silenced reigned in the throne room. I took personal enjoyment on how the ponies looked at one another in worried glances, and how some (most noticeably the yellow one) squirmed from where they were standing.

Then, Twilight stepped forward, "what exactly will you do to Equestria?"

I hummed as I thought of the ways I could destroy this place.

"It could go one of three ways," I announced, "first; a violent war, preferably a civil war, breaks out in your country, and many souls suffer. In the end, I doubt Equestria would be the same after that. Second; a deadly disease spreads to Equestria, and cannot be cured by magic, as it will turn out it only makes the disease worsen. And third; a massive asteroid impacts Equestria, and this asteroid cannot be destroyed by magic." Of course, there were many other ideas, but these three were the biggest.

Silence once again reigned, as the ponies awkwardly stayed in place.

I frowned, "well? I'm not giving you an eternity! Get out there and find me some trinkets!"

The ponies quickly scrambled to find some. The unicorns (or alicorn, if you count Celestia and the other pink princess) teleported out, often with another who didn't have a horn. The only one who didn't bother teleporting was the cyan pegasus, who instead flew out with speeds I've never seen a pegasus reach before. Quite impressive.

As she faded into the distance, I leaned back on the throne and sighed. Being free was nice, but with it, all the stresses of being out and about come back to you, and it kind of sucks.

"Perhaps I shouldn't destroy this place. I mean, where would be the fun in that? Could I possibly plan something else that just doesn't go on killing everybody in the end? Doing that will most certainly make my future plans anything but boring."

I shook my head, "Nonsense, I need to destroy this place. These mortals must know who I am again and tremble in fear when they hear my name, for their own good, of course. But, I want to be entertained for more than just a day..."

I shook my head again, this time violently. "No! I shouldn't think of sparing most of them! I'm the Goddess of Havoc! I can't simply just spare mortal society! It's fucking ridiculous!"

I froze.

Was I being indecisive? It seemed so. I was conflicted in whether to kill everything first thing, and start anew, or simply cause so much fear that I forcefully instill loyalty unto the mortals.

But I was thinking about giving up my plans and spare the world created by those who imprisoned me in the first place! Why?

I put my hands in front of me, looking at them as if they weren't mine. Was I starting to grow soft, possibly? Maybe, and if I was, then did my centuries of imprisonment have something to do with it?

Before I could ask more questions, the lighting in the room changed. Curiously, I looked out the throne room to find the sun softly setting, and replaced with an ever shining moon rising elegantly.

It seemed that, even under immense pressure, Celestia was still able to lower her sun on time. Which usually meant that Luna's workday had begun. A benefit of her speaking to me everyday a millennia ago.

The chance of meeting Luna had gotten my mind back on to task, and I waited for my expected guest to arrive. When the doors to the throne room had opened, and the familiar alicorn stepped through it, I couldn't wait any longer to make my presence known.

"Hello, Luna~" I said with a predatory voice.

I almost burst out laughing at how she practically jumped.

She snapped her attention towards me, most definitely not expecting me to be there.

After a few seconds of her looking at me as if she had found her crush, she seemed to have finally find her voice.

"Y-you... you are-"

"Free?" I interrupted, "yes, and it's quite refreshing, moving again after a very long time doing nothing."

An uncomfortable silence (at least for Luna) reigned the throne room for about the third time in the past hour.

Luna managed to break the silence before I could, "Did you?"

Not knowing what she meant, I raised one of my eyebrows, "What?"

She clarified, "Did you create Nightmare Moon?"

Oh... this again.

I sat there on the throne, looking down at Luna as she looked up at me. She certainly looked hopeful of a full answer, so I decided to give her one.

I chuckled, "Oh, Lulu, I'm the Goddess of Havoc, I specialize in destroying things, not creating them. Besides, if I did create Moon-Mare-Night-"

"Nightmare Moon."

"-I would've been freed in your little temper tantrum."

Once again, it was silent in the throne room. In this silent moment, I was able to take in how comfortable the throne actually was.

"...Definitely much more comfortable than Faust's throne. Hers was quite uncomfortable."

The silence was then disrupted by the throne room doors opening again.

"Princess, the petitioners are growing impatient of waiting, and request you to start the night court," a voice said, clearly sounding like it didn't want to be there right now.

Though something interested me in that sentence, "Night court?" I thought, looking back to Luna, who was casting me a worried glance. I smiled "Those ponies are still looking for trinkets, so I guess I could take over for her."

Luna didn't know what was more worrying. The fact that the very personification of Havoc was running her night court, or the piles of ash on the throne room's floor.

"You dare propose something as ridiculous as marriage!? I would never marry a wealthy snob like you!" Zerstörung, who's voice sounded much more demonic than usual, and eyes looking completely engulfed in bright orange, was clearly not having the best of times.

The pony she was addressing, a well-dressed stallion with light green mane and light blue coat, squirmed under harbouring gaze.

"For this great offense to my being, I sentence you to death!" she then lifts the staff she held. The stallion stuttered and attempted to reason with her, but his pleas fell upon deaf ears.

Zerstörung's great staff slammed onto the hard floor, the sound echoing throughout the throne room. No later than a second, the stallion turned into a pile ash, joining the many others now littered across the floor.

Luna sighed. That was the fourth one tonight.

Luna looked over to Zerstörung, "Zerst-"

"What?" she interrupted, clearly not in the mood for a conversation.

Luna took a deep breath. She would have to choose her words carefully, lest she wants to be added to the ash piles on the floor.

"Maybe you should take a break? Perhaps a short rest would help calm your nerves?"

"Hmm... rest does sound nice..." Zerstörung said, her voice returning to normal, "but the last time I slept, I regretted doing so for many years afterwards. So no, I will not."

Luna sighed again. Despite her efforts, she could not stop Zerstörung from killing more ponies. And by the end of court, there will be triple the more piles of ash on the floor than there are currently.

Chapter 4: Unexpected Setback

The night court was over. Thank the heavens.

I leaned back on the throne and uttered a loud sigh. I knew that trying to do a job I wasn't made for would only end badly. But hey, at least I got to kill some snobbish people in the process. Twenty-seven of them to be precise.

I looked over their ashes, a deep scowl on my face.

"Imbeciles," I growled, "asking such ridiculous things of me."

Luna sighed as she teleported the ash to... somewhere.

"I always deal with these kinds of ponies, but I always refrain from turning them to ash," she said, only growing my irritation even more.

"Why?" I snarled, "they present themselves as fools in front of you constantly, it was only a matter of time before they would pay for the consequences."

Luna shook her head, "You do not understand," she replied, "because of my position as Princess of Equestria, I cannot simply kill because I want to. There's an entire legal system for that."

I looked to Luna in slight surprise, "You mean that the rulers can no longer decide who lives and dies?"

"Yes, although we retain the power to arrest whomever we want."

"Huh. How interesting," I thought, "just what other things have changed since I was gone? After all, it's been, well, I actually don't know how long, but it's been a long time, that's for sure."

Before I could ask Luna more questions, a bright flash in front of us, temporarily blinding me.

Once I was able to see again, I saw Celestia, with what looked like some multi-layered frosted desert in her magic.

Before I could inquire what it was, she threw the thing in my face.

Oh, I can assure you, I was enraged by this act of disrespect. But before I could unleash my outburst, some of it entered my mouth.

It tasted... delicious. I won't deny it.

Soon enough, I was licking around my mouth to get more of it, using my fingers to get the areas my tongue couldn't reach.

I was clearly enjoying it. Kudos to Celestia for distracting me.

(Note: I learned many years later that she apparently slipped somehow, and the whole desert in my face thing was entirely an accident. I'm not sure whether I should believe that or not, however.)

Once I was finished, I returned my attention to Celestia, who I noticed was now accompanied by Luna. Both of them seemed to be in a heated argument.

"I wonder what they're talking about," I thought, though I really wasn't that interested in finding out. Luna was probably telling her sister she shouldn't have done that, anyway.

"While I do take offence to your actions, I will choose to ignore them due to how delightful your pastry tastes," I suddenly declared, wiping wherever it was on my clothing, "I do wish I could have more, but that will come later."

"So, you're interested in cake?" Celestia hopefully asked.

"So that's what it's called?" I asked. The closest thing that came to my mind was the word placenta, though I don't know why, "I wouldn't say I'm interested, it is food after all."

I don't know if that made sense.

"But, is that truly all you have to show me? I'm quite disappointed, and here I thought there was a significant change in the world since my imprisonment," I stated, a winning smirk forming on my face.

"That's all I had to show, but it's not all we have," Celestia replied, a smile forming on her own muzzle.

Just then, Twilight and the five other ponies she seems to be very attached to, entered. They wore some jewel necklaces (except for Twilight, who wore a crown).

I don't know why, but these jewels had an aura that I found... oddly familiar.

They had a... I don't know how to say it, but they just had this energy on them that made me clench the arms of the throne tightly, and made me clench my teeth (although that was less noticeable with my mouth shut). Thankfully, no one seemed to notice my discomfort.

All six of them stopped in the center of the throne room, everything going eerily silent.

I frowned again, "Well, if these are anything interesting, they better be more than just simple jewelry."

Celestia kept her smile though, "Oh, these are more than jewels," she stated, "but it's not in a way you would like."

Not in the way I like? The fuck does that even mean?

Suddenly, the jewels began to light, as if they were told to. Then, the bearers' eyes became completely white as a beam of rainbow formed above them.

It was only then I realized what was happening.

Thinking quickly, I teleported away as the disgusting rainbow beam made impact to the throne.

Reappearing beside the group of ponies, my anger increased tenfold.

"These ponies dare have the gall to try and put me back in stone!? Let's see how they like it when I turn them into ash!"

Once they were finished in their poorly planned attempt to reimplement my stone prison, they stared at the now empty thrown with unsure looks on their features.

"Uhh... did we get her?" The cyan one asked, clearly confused with my disappearance.

"No, you did not," I stated matter-of-factly, my voice becoming demonic as they snapped their attention towards me, "now, if you're done trying to be heroes, I think it's time for you to die."

I raised my staff.

The ponies' eyes widened.

My staff slammed into the floor, visibly cracking and shattering from the impact, and in no less than a second...

...Nothing happened.

The six of them were still there, standing.

"What?" I snarled in confusion. I did the same process, slamming my staff onto the floor.

...Still nothing.

"What is the meaning of this? Why are you not turning them to ash!?" I demanded, still futility tapping my staff onto the floor.

"Because they are the Elements of Harmony," Celestia retorted, stepping in front of the group of six, looking back at me with a fire I hadn't seen since her parents, "and because of that, your powers have no effect on them."

Impossible! Those gemstones cancel out my powers? How!?

I began to retreat back as they began to push forward, "No... I won't be taken advantage of by mere mortals like you!"

But here I was, my back against the wall, cowering in front of mortals that shouldn't be worth my time.

"This is the end for you, Zerstörung," Twilight declared.

"Think what you will, but this is far from over," I stated, using my power I had to teleport myself to an unknown location.

The throne room became silent after Zerstörung's escape, everyone left in it visually relaxing, most uttering sighs of relief.

Once that was over, Rainbow Dash groaned, "Come on! We almost had her!"

"Oh don't worry, Dashie, I'm sure we'll get that meanie in no time, and I'll throw a party when we do!" Pinkie Pie replied in her never-ending cheerful voice.

"That sure sound nice, Pinkie," Applejack interjected, "but ah think we should get focused on gettin' Shinin' Armor and Cadenza's wedding done an' over with."

"I agree with Applejack," Rarity acknowledged, "we should get this wedding finished, before it gets rudely interrupted again!"

"I-I like that idea," Fluttershy approved. It was no secret to anyone that all she wanted was for the day to end, and be back in her cottage with all her animal friends.

"Then go on, my little ponies," Celestia declared, "we can finally resume everything according to schedule."

With that, all of the element bearers filed out of the throne room.

...All except for Twilight.

"Princesses?" She asked hesitantly, turning to face them.

"What is on your mind, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna replied.

Twilight looked at the floor as if it was an interesting book, "Can you tell me about her? Zerstörung, I mean?"

The princesses looked at one another, unsure who should answer.

Celestia was the first to answer Twilight's question, "Although we've never dealt with a force with powers such as herself in our lifetimes, our parents have."

"And they had quite the story to tell," Luna interjected, "they themselves told us that Mother Faust herself told them how Zerstörung came into existence, and their experiences with her as well."

"But this story is quite long-" Celestia began, only to be interrupted Twilight.

"Tell me everything!" Twilight exclaimed, teleporting in a notebook and quill from thin air.

"Well... alright," Celestia slowly said, "then I believe we should start from the beginning, sister?" She looked to Luna, who nodded in confirmation.

"Alright, it all started when Mother Faust created the universe..."

Chapter 5: Origins

Mother Faust was truly an ancient being. A completely white alicorn with a simple red mane and tail, she was everything that one would see in a god; powerful, judgemental, but yet watchful and caring.

But now wasn't the time where she was caring.

"Any time now, I'll find you..." she muttered in a harsh voice. She had been searching for the perfect candidate for a Havoc God. Or Goddess, if you had gender preferences.

Least to say, finding a "perfect" candidate was very hard to do.

She had looked across many realities, all having good candidates. They suffered greatly in life, but the problem was that they were never brought to the point of killing others because of it. She needed proof that they could do their job, after all.

There was also the fact that their life experiences also decide whether or not they're fit for the position. And for a Havoc God, they would have to have gone through a lot of suffering throughout their lives.

She soon stumbled upon the "Homo Sapien" reality, where she found another candidate.

"Let's see who you are," she declared, glossing over the information she received.

"Your name is Excidia," she continued, "you are a twenty-three year old female human, born somewhere in Scythia. You were kidnapped at a young age and brought to Capua in the Roman Republic, where you were enslaved."

"Judging by how she's a candidate, I'm sure that didn't last forever," as she continued looking over the information, Faust was proven correct.

"But one day, during the chaos that had erupted from Sulla's Second Civil War, a legionary appeared and attempted to loot your master's home for himself. Surprisingly, with striking amount of speed, you killed him. After this occurrence, your master saw an opportunity to gain more recognition and wealth, and recruited you to the gladiator school near Capua to be trained."

Interesting. A slave turned warrior? You don't see that everyday. She just might be the one I'm looking for." she thought excitedly as she continued to look through Excidia's history.

"You stayed there for some time, until a fellow gladiator named Spartacus convinced you to join his escape, which eventually turned into a rebellion. During said rebellion, you made a name for yourself, going behind enemy lines and killing enemy commanders, often fighting against five soldiers at one time, earning you the name Sicaria."

"Well, a slave turned warrior and known rebel? She is the one."

She now focused on Excidia's features. She had wild and unkempt brown hair, and had green eyes that obviously seen terrible things. She wore a white unkempt and torn cloth, but it succeeded in covering her more private areas. Probably so she was more agile in her movements.

She seemed to be running somewhere through a forest, and was constantly looking around, probably to make sure she wasn't being followed by anyone.

It seemed like she was on a mission, but with her oversight, Faust was able to see that she was being followed. Chased, to be more accurate.

"Well, well, well. What a predicament you're in." Faust decided to watch what unfolded.

Outskirts of Surrentum, Roman Republic, 71 B.C.

I never thought I could run for so long and not get tired. Nor did I ever thought that things could deteriorate so quickly.

Spartacus, that damned fool. Sacrificing his entire army in a battle that ultimately ended in nothing gained but corpses. He arrogantly marched into battle believing that the armies' desire for freedom would win the day. How far from the truth that was.

Our enemies were in such a great position that they easily surrounded and destroyed us, and in the end, few of us, me included, escaped. Of course, they weren't contempt with the thought of us surviving, and immediately began chasing us.

I was currently being chased, as I was for the past few days. I don't know how much longer I could go, but I kept pushing myself that maybe I could escape these people, no matter how impossible that would be.

"Stop!" I heard one of my pursuers yell.

"Fuck you!" I shouted back. It was the only sentence I could think up few days, and probably would end up being my last words.

The chase continued as it normally did. Running, constant shouts, getting cut by trees and bushes, and close calls where I was almost captured.

That was, until I reached the edge of a cliff.

I skidded to a halt, looking over the edge of the cliff, all hope of an escape dying as I did. Soon enough, I heard the sounds of clanging armor and the shouting of soldiers as they neared my position. I swiftly turned to face them as they arrived, pulling out my blade as I did so.

I saw that there was about fifteen, twenty-no, thirty of them. Just for me alone.

On of the soldiers stepped forward, "By the orders of Proconsul Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, you are-"

"I don't give a shit about who ordered what! You're not taking me alive!" I interrupted, trying to sound as confident as possible. But even if I was, I knew I wouldn't be able to handle all of these soldiers, it was far too much for me to achieve.

"Really? Are you sure about that?" The soldier asked as he, and all the others, begin to close in, "I've gotten a lot of others like you. They always say we won't take them alive, but in the end, they surrender and go back to their former lives."

Lies. A slave had no purpose to live. If one rebelled even just a little bit, they'd be killed with no remorse. Unlike most, I saw through this dirty trick. I know that those who surrendered would just be crucified in the end.

I was not going to suffer such a humiliating death. I'd rather kill myself than to let that happen. In swift motion, I jumped off the cliff so quickly that I didn't even realize that I was even off of it for a moment.

I had came to know that a warrior preferred to kill themselves rather than suffer a humiliating death at the hands of their enemies. And it didn't matter whether I died by committing suicide or being executed by the enemy.

I still would have died in the end. I just chose the most preferable death.

Mother Faust watched as Excidia killed herself, falling of the cliff and unto the rocky shores below.

"Huh. I didn't expect her to do that," She thought.

It was a good thing for Excidia to be dead, though. It was a common rule that all gods of a dimension, with the only exception of the Creator, had to be dead mortals belonging to another.

"Guess that means it's time to get started then," with that, she lit up her horn.

All I see is... black.

I don't get it. Was this the afterlife? Was I damned for eternal isolation because of the acts I committed while I lived?

Suddenly, I heard a clopping sound, like a horse.

"Who's there!?" I shouted, reaching for my blade, only to find that I had nothing to defend myself with.

"You have no reason to be hostile to me, child," a deep, feminine voice spoke. From the way it sounded, one would guess it carried the wisdom of a being who's lived since the beginning of time. Although it did sound as if it was very relieved, too.

I soon saw whatever it was that responded as the darkness disappeared, replacing it with a completely white light that extended in every direction.

It was a... horse. A horse with wings, and a horn!

Before I could think more, however, it continued speaking, "You are Excidia Sicaria, correct?"

I stumbled to get my words out, "Y-yes, that's my name."

"Good, because I have summoned you to hold a very important position in this reality."

Reality? Is she saying that I was dragged off from my world's reality completely!?

"I know it's a lot to take in. Especially if you've lived in an primitive society such as yours. Anyway," the horse continued, "the position you shall hold shall be that of Goddess of Havoc and Suffering."

"Havoc and Suffering?" I asked suspiciously, "Why have I been chosen for this?"

"Because you have suffered the life of a slave and a warrior, and we're willing to kill to gain freedom and recognition, even if it was just a wild fantasy." She stated matter-of-factly, "Now, I have to ask you a question."

"...And What would that be?" I returned hesitantly.

"If you could reform that society as you so pleased, even if you had to kill, would you do it?"

"Of course I would. I'd kill all those who would oppose me," was the answer I quickly gave, the malice behind it not hidden.

"Good," was all the horse said in return, her horn starting to cast a strange aura.

Suddenly, I felt a force cover me, which was strange, since I could still see everything in front of me.

"With my powers as creator of this universe, I proclaim you, Excidia Sicaria, as the Goddess of Havoc and Suffering!" The horse declared, her horn being as bright as it could be.

Then, everything felt different. I felt more... powerful, as if I could lift a thousand suns.

"How do you feel?" The horse asked.

"Different."

"Well, you look different, too," she continued, "here, take a look for yourself."

A bright flash appeared in front of me. Covering my eyes for a second, I looked back.

And I was staring at... another me. Or at least, I think it was me.

I had completely white hair now, along with sickly orange eyes. My features appeared more... younger, though I don't know why.

The reflective object abruptly disappeared, "Your physical features have changed," the horse stated. She then looked me over, a frown on her muzzle, "although, we do have to find better clothing for you."

I looked myself over to find me still wearing the torn cloth.

"And a new name-"

"I like My name as it is, thank you very much," I snapped at the horse, a hard glare fixed.

She merely narrowed her eyes, "Oh? So I guess you don't want to be a Goddess, then?"

What? "That's not what I meant!"

"Then accept a new name for yourself." Dammit, that bitch.

"Fine, then, what would you want me to be called, then?" I liked my name the way it was, but I had to change it if I wanted a new life. I couldn't take any chances.

"How about... Zerstörung?"

"Zerstörung? What does that mean?" I asked questionably.

"It means destruction in one of the languages that still have yet to appear in your reality," she disclosed.

I didn't know how she knew a supposed future language from my world, but I wisely decided not to question it.

"Zerstörung... it's unique, I like it," I admitted. I liked my old name, yes, but I had to change it in order to secure a new life, like I stated before.

"Now, if you've accepted the change of your name, I can finally continued with my job, as you start yours," she resumed, beginning to walk away.

"Wait!" I called out.

She stopped and turned back to me, "What now?" She impatiently asked.

"I never got your name."

A pause.

"...My name is Faust, the Creator of the Universe, or in the multiverses case, Reality."

Faust started walking off again.

"And you are the first God I recruited, Zerstörung, so live up to my expectations, because if you don't," she stopped again and turned to me, "I can replace you as easily as I recruited you."

Over the next few years, Faust went back to work recruiting Gods and Goddesses for her Reality, all the while leaving me to do nothing.

Now, it wasn't all that bad. I was given new clothing, given some staff which I can channel most of my powers through, and even helped Faust search for Gods, although I was, of course, less suited for that job than her.

Nonetheless, we eventually found her Gods.

The first two were Deragomir and Qara, who were a couple from a Reality which was ruled by snakes and scorpions.

The two, bearing love to both the sun and moon, and with one of each sustaining life under constant heat or being awake all night, were named Gods of the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, with Deragomir being renamed Sol and Qara to Selene.

Their forms were changed to one that looked one much like Faust herself, with the exceptions that Sol had a Fiery mane and beard, while Selene had a dark blue coat, and a mane that glows as the night.

The next one was a chimera called Xyren, who lived in a world which had came to an end when we found him.

Due to his love for confusing and tricking his enemies, he was named the God of Chaos and Trickery, and was renamed Apophis. His form was changed to a more serpent look, with more species body parts becoming visible. He joked about his new form, calling it a "draconequus".

The last one was a wolf named Zara. She was from a world where wolves became more intelligent, and ultimately dominated.

Due to her love of life and doing her best to keep other species alive, she was named the Goddess of Life and Order, and renamed Terra. Her appearance changed from that of a normal wolf to one which looked like it was made of wood, and eyes now glowing bright green.

After we were done with recruiting all the Gods for the Reality, Faust began the main job; creating the world.

Apophis and I didn't take much part in this process, as our powers would only slow it down rather than speed it up. It was also during this time that we mingled with each other, telling stories of our past lives (Apophis did most of that), testing our new powers against each other, and messing around with those who were creating before Faust could intervene and kick our ass.

It was quite a fun period, in comparison to the torturous years I suffered back in my mortal life.

I sat at a large table in the grand marble structure that was the Pantheon, along with the other Gods of this Dimension. After creating this Reality, Faust made the structure to serve as our residence as we watch over the life of the world.

Faust seemed absent from the table, her large ornate throne remaining empty. A good sign.

But what wasn't good with her absent was that the room was anything but quiet.

"Stop changing the trees to chocolate bars! It's harming the life around them!" Terra shouted at Apophis, the latter looking as if he could care less.

"So what?" He said absent mindedly, "it'll change back in no time, there's no harm in making them into chocolate."

Terra growled as she looked at me, "Zerstörung! He only listens to you! Tell him to stop turning my trees into chocolate!"

"I will not be telling him anything," I replied instantly. I then smiled, "besides, you gave me a fit when I erupted a volcano that one time. And also that one time when I gave that, what did you call him? Ah yes, Pharaoh, what he rightfully deserved."

She snarled this time. Ahh, Terra, how fun you were to mess with.

Before we could make her more angry, however, a Khwarezmian, an elite guard made up of demi-god ponies recruited by Faust, entered.

Sol, who seemed eager to do something else than watch us bicker, was the first to address him, "What is it, guard?"

The Khwarezmian seemed... nervous, and was constantly looking in my direction.

Not good.

"Lady Faust... we found her dead in her quarters. She's was... bound in chains, and her body mutilated."

The room went silent.

I had to think quickly. My plan would go to tatters if he told them what I feared he would.

My left hand clenched.

The Khwarezmian began to choke.

"Do not lie to us, guard," I growled in a demonic voice.

"Cease this action, Zerstörung! Let him go!" Sol ordered, glaring at me with fierce eyes as I returned with my glowing orange ones.

We were still for a few seconds, a staring contest one could not imagine the intensity of, with the room being silent with the exception of the choking Khwarezmian.

"...As you wish," I relented, releasing my grip. Hopefully I had caused enough fear in the Khwarezmian to convince him to not say what happened.

The Khwarezmian gasped for air, putting a hoof to his now released neck.

"Thank you," Sol said gratefully, before turning his attention back to the Khwarezmian, "Is there any proof of this event? Or is Zerstörung correct in her suspicions in that you are lying to us?"

"N-no, this is all true," the Khwarezmian responded, looking at me with a fearful expression, before elaborating, "Lady Faust was in her quarters for a period of time that we considered abnormal, so we decided to check on her. There, we found what was left of her."

"Do you know who did it?" Selene asked hopefully.

"Let's think about this, Selly" Apophis interjected, "if whoever did this was powerful enough to take out Faust, then they must be quite powerful, correct?"

"True," I concurred, trying to play along, "if the culprit was able to take on the Creator, then it's possible they could be among us."

"Actually..." that voice didn't come from any of us.

It came from the Khwarezmian.

Sol returned his attention to him, "What is it?"

"We found magical signatures in the room. They were very faint, but we could determine that they did come from someone here."

"Did you determine who's signature it was?"

"It was..." the Khwarezmian gulped, "it was Lady Zerstörung's."

Immediately, everyone's eyes settled upon me. Sol and Terra held obvious looks of hostility, whilst Apophis and Selene had looks of surprise. I simply just sat there, taking in the silence of the room as the queue I was long awaiting for.

"My, my, it seems I have been caught. I'm embarrassed," I stated sarcastically.

In quick motion, I used my staff to turn the Khwarezmian to ash. I then teleported unto Faust's throne, sitting on it.

Then we were all still, a silent staring contest as calm as a light breeze.

Then, Sol fixed a hard glare on me, his anger still clearly visible, "Zerstörung, why are you sitting on Faust's throne?"

"I'm taking over, clearly," I answered simply.

Before Sol could retort back, Selene intervened, "Zerstörung, stop this! Don't let selfish desires overcome you! The only way we can understand each other is if we can talk things out.

I looked to her, a sinister smirk on my face, "Ahh, Selene. Always preferring talk before action."

I tapped my finger on one of the armrests of the throne.

On queue, a large spike tore through the floor, and pierced through Selene's abdomen.

The effect was instant. Sol screamed at this action, and immediately checked on her condition, whole Terra charged at me at her full speed.

Once she was close, however, I swung at her with my staff, sending her flying to my right.

Terra hit the wall with a loud slam, and unceremoniously fell to the floor.

Focusing my full attention on her, I stood up from the throne, "Your constant complaints on how I do my job have always been a pain in the ass, Terra," I declared, "But now, I can finally shut you up!"

I was going to set her on fire with my staff. That is, until a sudden light came from the left of me.

I looked over, and saw that Sol, and a (somehow) healed Selene, with their horns glowing a bright light aura. They were gently floating off the ground, eyes closed, an unknown wind blowing around them gracefully. Anyone, including me, would call this beautiful.

Suddenly, their eyes snapped open. They were engulfed in bright white.

Then, a rainbow beam swiftly shot out at their horns, at me. Not expecting this sudden attack, I jumbled to counteract it.

I failed.

The beam fully encompassed me, but I didn't feel anything for a few moments.

That was, until I couldn't feel my legs anymore.

Looking down, I saw that they were... stone, as if it were a statue.

"What?" I confusingly asked, only for my eyes to widen as I realized that the stone was advancing and encasing my body.

"No!" I shouted, attempting to break the stone with my staff, but to no avail.

My last act before being completely encased in it was looking at Sol and Selene with an expression one would describe was full of hate.

I was then fully trapped in stone.

The room became silent. Selene and Sol hovered down to the floor, while Terra recovered and went to them.

After a short moment making sure they were all fine, they turned their attention to me.

"What happened to her?" Selene asked questionably.

"She has been imprisoned in stone," Sol answered firmly.

"Serves her right," Terra growled quietly.

A brief silence.

"So... what now?" Selene inquired.

"First, we must put her in a place where she can not harm no one," Sol stated, his horn glowing bright.

"No."

All eyes came to focus on Apophis. He was still there, on his throne, with a look of sadness and disappointment on his features.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Terra asked rather harshly.

"I'll take her." He simply answered, before snapping his clawed hand.

Then, I was teleported to a field of grass, flowers, and small ponds. Over in the distance, you could see mountains with ice on their slopes.

By the looks of it, I was put here to serve my sentence of imprisonment, and no longer hold any significance in the mortal world as punishment.

But I had no idea just how long my sentence was going to be.

"Why?" I suddenly heard Apophis ask, his form coming to view, "why did you do it?"

Well, I wish I could answer, but as I was I'm stone, I couldn't really say anything.

"We had everything we could have ever wanted, Zerstörung. But you had to let your desire for more power overcome you. I feared this would happen."

I never saw this side of Apophis. The often rude, humorous trickster becoming very serious individual was something I never thought could ever happen.

"Now, because of what you did, you're going to be just another rock in this world. To no longer interfere in mortal affairs."

"I enjoyed the life we had together, as long as it lasted. I enjoyed the conversations we shared, the Times we fought each other, the days where we teased Terra, everything. But I guess all that ends today. Goodbye, Zerstörung." And just as he said that he was gone.

And just like that, he had abandoned me. Left me to rot in this field.

I knew he would turn against me. The only person who I dared to call a friend had left me in favor of those who were against me.

I didn't need him. After all, if I killed Faust singlehandedly, I could take on any other God in the Pantheon, including him. I can do everything by my will, it was me who would rise to be the supreme being in the end.

And yet... there was a light pain. A pain I ignored at the time, seeing it as a nuisance. That pain wasn't just any normal pain, either. It wasn't on my chest, back, or stomach.

It was in my heart.

What is this feeling?

Author's Note

A new character begins. Before, Zerstörung's personality seemed to not make much sense. So I decided to rewrite this story in an attempt to have things make more sense! Hope ya like it!

Chapter 6: The Gatekeepers

I teleported to what looked like a forest. Well, it was a forest. Just like any other: trees, bugs, animals, and anything else that was mortal in nature.

Of course, that was the least of my concerns when I got there.

The first things I did was let out a loud, howling scream. My staff brightened as it cooperated with my rage, killing of the trees and any other wildlife around me. But that wasn't enough for me.

I then used my staff to decimate the entire area around me. I used explosions, lasers, earthquakes, and anything else that could destroy this place. When I was finally finished, my breath heaving, there was nothing left but a large crater.

It was completely silent now with all of the wildlife gone. The silence finally made me think back to what had happened.

"Damn them..." I breathed, my rage returning once more, "DAMN THEM ALL!"

They had something that could not only protect them, but can be used against me as well. If I wasn't as fast as I was to react, I would've been back in stone, and my freedom would have been all for nought.

The most logical thing to do would go out and eliminate those things, but how? They knew I was out and about, so they'd probably be wearing those things all the time now. And I also couldn't damage them if I wanted to, meaning that if they're wearing it, I'm quite fucked, but only if I encounter them ever again.

Suddenly, an idea hit me.

I could go to some city, take it over, establish my own state, and use my new power to build an army that would go on and conquer everything around it! And kill those ponies while I'm at it!

...No, too ambitious.

I could go around and destroy villages and then retreat if they are sent to stop me, like Fabius Maximus did with Hannibal.

...No, that's a coward's tactic.

Guess I'm going to be ambitious, then.

Just then, I felt something coming. I could also hear it coming, whizzing as it was getting closer. Soon enough, I realized what it was.

Offensive magic.

Swiftly, I turned to deal with the threat, swiping the magic away harmlessly with my staff. Although I concluded that it was shot not too far away, I could see no one in the distance who could have done it. Just the wasteland of my making.

"Show yourself, and I might be merciful in giving you a quick death!" I barked.

A brief silence.

"Told ya that wasn't gonna to work," I heard someone say from that direction. The voice seemed... oddly familiar. After that, three figures appeared from thin air, and I immediately recognized two of them.

The Gatekeepers of the Underworld.

I frequently met with them before my imprisonment, as it was one of my duties as Goddess of Havoc to watch over the Underworld. There were four Gatekeepers, all with the responsibility to check incoming mortal souls for impurities and sins, and most of the time they had them. Most. Key word.

At the time I had killed Faust, they were planning an incursion to the mortal realm to support my takeover, but since I failed in my attempt, I simply thought that their deaths were certain.

The first Gatekeeper present was Baron, the Dark Knight. He was, for the most part, the strongest out of all the Gatekeepers. He was also perhaps the most aggravating, as he consistently called himself "Lord" Baron, before I reminded him of his place as nothing but a lowly subordinate.

The next who was present was Stiermann the Minotaur. He was perhaps the most loyal out of all of them. Anything I ordered, he would follow without question.

But the next one was odd. I didn't know them, nor have I ever seen them. It looked like my species, although it had cat ears and a tail. It looked female as well, boasting long hair and wearing clothes fit for one.

"She's way beyond yer league, Baron." Stiermann said to Baron, "Did ya really think she'd fall for that?"

Baron growled, "Hold your tongue, heathen, or I will-"

"You will do nothing," I interrupted, "and as long as I'm here, you will not command anybody, Baron. Remember your place."

I turned to Stiermann, "What led you here?"

He answered not a second later, "We sensed ya gettin' free yesterday, and decided to look for ya, Mah Lady. But while we were travellin', ya just appeared right next t' us destroyin' everythin'!"

I hummed, then asked, "What happened to the other two Gatekeepers?"

"Ah. They went their ways after ya was imprisoned. Sendak went on somewhere, sayin' that he was goin' lookin' for some apprentice. Haven't heard from 'im since. Trajan went on somewhere else too, but he came back with his... kid."

I instinctively looked to the figure I didn't recognize. She flinched as we made eye contact. "Is that his child?" I asked simply. Stiermann merely nodded.

I walked over to the child in a quick manner. When I was directly in front of her, I noticed how she seemed to visibly cower in my gaze. Which was good, as she needed to know her place.

I narrowed my eyes, "What is your name, child?"

Not in any other time in her life had she felt so pressured and weak.

Baron and Stiermann had told her that Zerstörung was powerful, but as she glossed over her magical signature, she realised that the Goddess was far more powerful than all three of them combined. Compared to her, she felt like a mere ant.

She squirmed under the Goddess' merciless gaze, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"Look at me," damn it.

As she forced herself to make eye contact, she wanted to look away again, even if that wasn't an option anymore.

But then she felt that she couldn't, even if she tried her hardest. She felt as though something had locked her in place, forcing her to keep looking into the Goddess' eyes. Those dark, judging eyes that stared deep within her own soul.

"Now tell me," Zerstörung began, her eyes narrowing even more, "What is your name?"

Baron attempted to get things over quickly, "Her name is-"

"Silence," the Goddess interrupted, "I want her to say it."

"I-it's N-Nova A-Aurora," she managed to stutter out.

However, the Goddess didn't seem to hear it, "Pardon?"

"It's N-Nova Aurora," she said again, more confidently this time.

"I see," Zerstörung replied simply.

"Now tell me something else, Nova Aurora."

"...Yes?"

A small, but predatory smile formed on the Goddess' face, "Do you fear me?" It was a simple question, and had a simple answer.

"Y-yes."

"Good," Zerstörung said, satisfied, "it's good to know that I can keep you in line easily. Now onto my next question."

"...Where is your father?"

A brief silence.

"H-he died not long after he met up again with B-Baron and Stiermann. I was still an infant. I... I never knew him."

Zerstörung hummed, "You never knew your mother either, I presume?"

"Yes."

The Goddess scoffed, "Of course."

She stepped away from Aurora, who let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"It seems as though mortals are staining our immortality," she began, starting to pace in front of the group, "We immortals are seemingly dying as we come of age, infected by mortal incursions. It's like a disease. A plague. First I learn that Sol and Selene died of age, and I'm presuming the rest of the Pantheon Gods with them, and now I learn that Trajan has fallen to it as well? The big question, however, is how?"

"It is like you say yourself, My Lady. It is a disease that the mortals have created to undermine the immortals and take everything for themselves." Baron interjected.

"True," Zerstörung concurred, "but I'm certain mortals have forgotten about the Gods since then, and practically regard all of them as myths, and if it were a disease, then the remaining Gods at the Pantheon would have surely figured out about it and eliminate the threat."

"Um... if I may speak, My Lady?"

Zerstörung snapped her attention to Aurora, making her flinch again, "Speak."

"Y-you remember Faust, right?"

"Of course I do. I killed her, after all." The Goddess replied, giving a look of annoyance, "Now stop your stuttering. It's annoying me to no end."

"Y-yes, My Lady!"

Aurora soon went back to the conversation, "What I'm saying is... what if it was Faust who gave us all immortality. Stiermann and Baron told me that she never fully trusted any God, so who's to say she didn't trust them with all their immortality, too? Without Faust, the Gods would no longer have the supply that made them immortal, and their days would become numbered like mortals?"

Zerstörung's face turned into one of surprise, if only for a brief second. Aurora felt somewhat prideful that she was able to break the Goddess' dark and cold demeanor.

Baron scoffed at her idea, though, "If your idea is correct, Aurora, then you must tell me how I have been able to live so long!"

"It's simple, Baron," Stiermann interjected, "Th' more powerful somethin' is with magic, th' longer it'll live. Centaurs 're definin' proof of that."

Baron just grumpled in response.

Zerstörung, meanwhile, was ignoring the conversation, and was in deep thought. She paced madly as she spoke to herself in a low voice.

"Damn...bitch...shouldn't ha...what...do...maybe..." She suddenly perked up, an idea forming in her head.

Yes, that plan would do nicely.

She looked over at the three Gatekeepers, only to find that they were arguing like children do for toys. It greatly disappointed her.

She tried calling them out in a normal voice, but they ignored her. The Goddess hated when she was ignored.

She breathed in deeply, and then, with full ferocity, barked.

"SILENCE!!!" everyone became visibly frightened, cowering in front of the Goddess.

"Now, if you're done ignoring my presence, then I can say that I've found a solution to this problem."

Her face seemed to grow darker, a menacing smirk on her features, "A very satisfying solution."

Stiermann smirked as well, "'Dunno what it is, but I gotta feelin' that I'ma like it."

Author's Note

Added those links cuz I suck at getting descriptions done. Better like it, people, cuz I'm probably gonna do a lot of them.

Introducing some new characters, too. Don't know if they're gonna be a hit or miss.

Chapter 7: Waiting for the City

There we were, all four of us, in freezing cold snowstorm weather. For a mortal, such weather would kill them within minutes. But as it seemed, even without Faust to give us immortality, we still retain much of our godlike abilities, such as being able to resist extreme temperatures, hot or cold.

Why were we there, exactly? Well, it was part of my plan.

You see, during my time as a Goddess at the Pantheon, I had rare visits to its grand libraries once a while. I remembered from one of my visits a book which contained all the mythos of the world, from beginning to end. The reason I wanted this book, of course, was that it also mentioned how Faust became the Creator. At the time, unfortunately, I never got to that part.

So the plan was simple: go to the Pantheon, take the book, find out how Faust became a Creator, then if it was doable, reenact the process, which will then establish me as the Creator. Which meant that if everything goes according to this plan, I will be able to now literally do whatever I so please.

Of course, no plan survives its execution.

When I first presented it, Baron immediately pointed out that all of the books in the Pantheon had been moved somewhere else to secure an alliance with Equestria and some other nation. Baron called it the Crystal Empire, a northern power that now guarded the sacred book we were after.

So we travelled north, heading towards the city with intent to steal the book, destroy the city, and kill its populace with it. Then enact the process of making me creator, and give our immortality back to all of us.

But when we arrived at the city's supposed location and found that there was nothing but snow for miles, Baron decided to relay information that he should have in the first place.

Apparently, the city had been cursed into disappearance by some power hungry mortal, who did said curse when he knew that his failure was imminent.

I, of course, was quite angry at this revelation. And by quite angry, I meant that I was enraged.

Baron, taking notice of my rising rage, attempted to calm me down by saying that it would reappear soon. Which didn't work, as I blasted him far away, so far that it took him two whole days to get back to us.

After that, we spent our time waiting for the damned city to reappear. We usually waisted this time on certain things, such as non-magic dueling, among other things. But I elected to instead decide to do something that I haven't done in quite a long time: meditation.

The reason for me doing this was quite simple. Whenever a God meditates, their spiritual being leaves their body, and is able to see anywhere around the world. With this ability, I would be able to spy on what my enemies were up to, and if they knew where I was.

I was interested to see what they were up to.

Behind me, I heard Stiermann and Baron having a non-magic duel, both of them throwing jeers and insults to one another. I didn't know where Aurora was, but I could care less about her.

I stood on my staff that was planted vertically in the ground with perfect balance. My eyes were closed in deep concentration, reaching the stage of being physically out of the body.

...Then I heard the shuffling of snow to my left, along with frustrated grunts as well. With my concentration interrupted, I opened my left eye to see who it was that did it.

It was Aurora. Of course it was. She was standing on her staff much like I was with my own, although she was often tipping over to one direction.

I decided to ask, "What are you doing?"

She yelped as she suddenly fell into the snow below her. She was back up soon after, looking at me with a frustrated expression, "You ruined my concentration!"

"As you did mine," I shot back, "and don't speak to me that way again. Unless you want your tongue cut from your head?"

Aurora quickly realised her error, bowing multiple times, "I'm sorry, My Lady! All that I wished to do was replicate what you were doing!"

Opening both of my eyes, I raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yes, My Lady!"

She immediately began trying to replicate what I was doing. She fell again and again, making me believe she was only embarrassing herself.

"Will you cease attempting to stand on your stick? You're just embarrassing yourself at this point."

"No! I can do this! You'll see, My Lady!"

I groaned. Aurora seemed more of a miss now I come to think of it. I know she wanted to replicate what I did, but at this rate it would be wise for her to just give up already.

Sighing, I jumped off of my staff, bringing it over to where Aurora was, and used it to swipe her staff away. Aurora fell face first into the snow. Once again, she gave me a frustrated look, but decided not to say anything.

"You're embarrassing yourself," I repeated, "and a Gatekeeper will do anything but embarrass themselves in my presence. Go back to Stiermann and Baron. I have more important things to do than watch over you."

She quickly nodded, before grabbing her staff and leaving, not without a saddened look, I might add.

Again, I sighed, going back to what I was doing.

"Stultus puella," I grumbled silently.

Finally, I reached this point. Being outside of my physical body was something I haven't done in forever.

I quickly set off to my target. It was easy to travel, especially when all It takes is for you to think of the place you want to go to.

Immediately, I found myself in the throne room where those damn jewel wearers made me cower in front of them. I saw that court was in session, except Celestia was running it instead of Luna.

It seemed like they were in a daily routine, so I'll skip what was said during that time so I don't bore your mind with things you've probably read multiple times before.

And so I waited for something interesting to happen, and I don't know how long that wait actually was, but I did eventually get something.

It was now turning into night, Celestia's court long being over, but she stayed in the throne room to do other small tasks of governing, which I groaned at.

What was the purpose of such menial tasks? One only bores themselves out with those things. In the perfect world, such things wouldn't need to be done. Fear alone would keep everything in place.

Just as I expected would happen, Luna soon walked through the throne room doors, a little frantic, I noticed. Celestia immediately focused on her sister, and galloped to her. Someone, who I guessed was some personal servant of Celestia, left the room with many papers.

When the pony was completely out of the throne room, Luna asked, "Is it true? She's heading north?"

"Yes, she is," Celestia replied, "but we don't know why."

"And she's with the Gatekeepers as well?"

"Yes. This is bad, Luna."

Seems that they were spying on me. Better start looking for those scouts when I come back.

"Does she know of the Crystal Empire?" Luna asked.

"So far, we haven't heard anything that would say that she does. It may still be safe for Cadence and Shining Armour to be sent there when it returns."

"Why else would she go north?"

"Like I said, we don't know. Perhaps she knows she's being watched, and is trying to shake us off."

"Zerstörung isn't like that, sister. She would rather kill them than run away." Damn right I would.

They went on talking about other matters after that, reasoning that I probably didn't know anything about the Crystal Empire, thus wouldn't be a threat to "Shining Armour" and "Cadence" whenever they come to rule it when it returns.

How ignorant they are. They just gave me new toys to play with. Now armed with this information, I ended my meditation.

Returning to my body, I opened my eyes, and immediately saw a peculiar sight.

In front of me, there were three mortals, all clad with armor and swords. The one in front of the group, a unicorn, held a dagger with his magic. They had all immediately jumped and cowered when I opened my eyes, the one in the front, however, remained stationary, although he still held an expression of fear.

"You're trying to kill me, aren't you?" I stated flatly, my eyes narrowing.

A long, deaf silence answered me. None of the mortals dared to move an inch, as if they thought that I could only sense movement.

Finally, after a long wait, the mortal in the front attacked. But he didn't straight up just charged at me. He didn't even scream as he did it.

All he did was throw his dagger to my face. My- that was one of the most intelligent things I've ever seen a mortal do!

...Too bad the blade was caught between two of my fingers, though.

"Nice try," I said sarcastically.

I twirled his dagger in my hands for a few moments, analyzing its design. I then looked back to the group, who were in the same positions as they were before.

"But I'm afraid it would take far more than that to kill me," preparing the dagger, I then said, "but you, however, can be killed quite easily. Allow me to demonstrate."

Suddenly, like a lightning bolt, I threw the dagger, which penetrated into the skull of the unicorn. Not even a few seconds later, he dropped to the snow, dead.

After that had occurred, the remaining mortals attempted to run away from the scene, which made me laugh. I always found it funny how cowards thought they could escape.

Before I could give chase, however, a white blur decapitated both of them, quickly ending what I had planned for them.

When the blur became clearer, I saw who it was.

Aurora. Of course it was.

She looked towards me with an excited look, "How did I do, My Lady? Is my work satisfactory? Please do tell!"

I groaned loudly. She was willing to do anything for me, that's for sure, but as this day pointed out, she also often embarrassed herself. All just to gain my attention and approval.

I decided to humor her, "Your work is satisfactory," I then jumped off of my staff, taking it in my hands again.

Walking off to the distance, I continued, "But next time, do not interfere in my affairs. Got it?"

"Y-yes, My Lady! Anything for you!"

"Good."

My patience was drying thin with Aurora's constant attempts to gain my approval. She was an annoyance that still had yet to prove her worth, and all she's shown so far is that she knew how to humiliate herself.

If she continues like this, I might have to eliminate her for being useless to my plans. But as of now, I focused on what I will do to that "Empire" once it decided to reappear.

I had thought of some satisfying punishments to inflict on its populace for interrupting my plans. And none of them were going to be pleasant for them.

Chapter 8: Lacedaemon

I won't bore you with all those days that went by in much the same way as the previous chapter: non-magic duels, meditation, and me being bothered by Aurora. Instead, I'm going to start when that "Crystal Empire" finally reappeared.

It didn't appear in some sort of bright light or an epic event, it just popped up into existence. We didn't even notice it until Stiermann came back from scouting the areas around and told us. We immediately scrambled to get to the city.

I don't know how long it's been since it reappeared (I'm using that word quite a lot), but I hoped that those two ponies haven't beaten us there.

Wait, hoped? It really didn't even matter if they did get there before us or not, because we're still going to kick their ass in the end! Why I was hoping the exact opposite was beyond me.

We stop in the streets, looking over at the towering Crystal structure that lay in the city's center.

"So..." Stiermann said, "Guess that's where they're hidin', huh?"

"If they managed to get here before us, then yes, I suppose it would be logical for them to be in there," I replied.

Aurora decided to speak up, "What shall we do to them if they are, My Lady? I am eager to bring misery the likes they've never seen to them!"

"Nothing."

Aurora suddenly became dejected, "What?"

I turned to address them, "Well, you three aren't doing anything, at least to them. I can handle those mortals myself. What you can do, however, is destroy as much of the city as you want. Stiermann."

"Yes, Mah Lady?"

"Make sure these two leave something for me to destroy. I'd like to partake in some destruction later."

"As ya wish, Mah Lady." Stiermann bowed.

As they went off to destroy things, I looked back at the towering structure. To me, it represented power and authority to the city's populace, and if I know how mortals work (and I do), they tend to believe that they're the center of the universe.

"Mortals are so predictable." I went inside.

I started to notice something here, something that I clearly should have noticed before.

This city is like a ghost town.

Ever since we arrived, we (or at least, I) have yet to encounter a single mortal soul. Seriously, the entire streets were deserted. Even in a royal residence, where a guard presence is supposed to be everywhere, there is completely no life to be found.

I found it boring. I at least wanted to kill some guards, but it seems that they were smart enough to get out of my way. Such a pity.

Despite all of this, I trudged forward, wandering the halls for anything remotely notable. Just looking for anything I could waste my time with, as there was nothing that-

Wait, is that magic?

...Yes, it definitely is.

I'm sensing it. It feels like as if it had been in use for an extended period of time, that being many hours. This was no mortal magic. Whoever was emitting it was more powerful. Not as powerful as me, of course, but still powerful nonetheless. It then finally hit me.

Those ponies. They made it here before we did. But instead of getting angered or even slightly upset at this revelation, I smiled.

"Looks like I have something to occupy my time with." I thought delightfully.

Cadence was starting to become exhausted. She had stayed up most of the previous night, and powering a massive shield over the Crystal Empire by herself also contributed to that.

"Just a little longer," she thought. Twilight and her friends would be here soon, Shining was waiting for them. Then they would figure out how to repel King Sombra's attempt to retake control of the city, however long that may take.

So she continued powering the shield, as she had all night and day, waiting for the inevitable arrival of Twilight. She couldn't wait, but she had to.

Then, Cadence heard something on the other side of the throne room doors. She first thought that it was Twilight finally arriving, but upon closer inspection, she didn't hear multiple hooves clipping on the ground. In fact, she didn't hear any hooves at all. They were far quieter, and sounded as if they had two legs instead of four.

Before Cadence could think about who could make such a noise, the throne room doors slammed open, and through them, came a figure she prayed she'd never encounter again.

"Why, hello there," Zerstörung greeted, a sinister smile forming on her lips.

She then had a questioning look, and inquired, "You're Cadence, correct?"

Cadence stuttered to answer, "Y-yes."

"And why are you projecting magic?"

"A-a shield, that was suppose to keep things like you out!" Cadence starting stuttering, but had gotten more confident as she continued her sentence.

"My, how insulting," Zerstörung replied sarcastically, "that shield of yours was uninteresting. I simply teleported passed it like it was nothing. Oh, and you do know that I can kill you anytime with this, right?" She said, pointing to her staff. Cadence didn't respond.

Zerstörung continued nonetheless, "But, where is the fun in doing that? I may thrive upon death, but I also thrive on misery, and agony, so I'll keep you alive for the time being."

"...T-tell me something," Cadence was stuttering again.

"Like what?" The Goddess replied, before adding, "make it quick, I'm thinking of the ways I can torture you right now."

The Princess had been holding on to this question ever since her aunt told her the Goddess' story. She had ever gotten more curious what the immortal being's plan was beside Equestria's destruction.

"What is the "perfect world"?"

Zerstörung was surprised by the question. She's never been asked about the topic at all, but yet she still knew exactly what the answer was. And it was, of course, based off of a particular place in her mortal life.

The silence between the question and the answer was deafening, until the Goddess of Havoc finally explained her plans in the long run.

"My perfect world is based on a place of my mortal one, which I assume you know about already. It was a particular city, known for its warriors and leaders. Its name was Sparta."

"Sparta?" Cadence questioned. It sounded like a weird name to her, but she didn't budge th at far.

"I'm not surprised you don't know what it is, but I won't bore you with its history, but I'll tell you how they made their warriors."

The Goddess began pacing, "Whenever a child is born, they are inspected. If they are small and weak, they are eliminated. But if they are strong, they live with their families until age five, where they are then sent to the wilderness to fend for themselves for another five years. If they returned home alive, then they are fully honored as a true Spartan, if they did not, well that's too bad then."

Zerstörung stopped pacing, staring deep into Cadence, "My perfect world can only be for the strong. The weak can only do so much as perish. And under my world of the strong, I will see to it that this world knows what true order is like. And for order to be achieved, mortals must perish and suffer."

It sounded horrible. Cadence could imagine mothers crying as they watched their newborn child be murdered in front of them. Or weep when they didn't come back after the five years in the wilderness had ended. For the Princess of Love, she knew that such a practice would cause mourning parents to blow up everywhere.

But what could she do about it? She was barely holding the shield at this point, her magic nearly completely drained, and very tired. No matter how hard she tried, there was nothing she could do to the powerful Goddess.

"Now that my little story is done," Zerstörung began. Another sinister smile formed on her face again, except it seemed far menacing than the last one.

"Whatever will I do to you, Princess?"

Whatever Zerstörung chose, Cadence knew that she wasn't going to enjoy it.

Author's Note

Cliffhanger (I think)! Dun dun dun!

Chapter 10: Facing the Shadow King

All was silent in the throne room, with the only sound being the light flipping of the pages of a certain book by a certain someone sitting on the room's throne.

We had been here for quite some time now. Shining Armour had berated me for not telling him of Cadence's bruised and unconscious state, but I merely reminded him of the most important fact; she was still alive. Now he just spent the time staying by her side. The dragon, who I learned was Twilight's assistant Spike, tried to occupy his time with anything he could find, but to little avail.

I used this time to read that book and figure out how a Creator becomes a Creator. So far, it's been very vague about the topic, only giving a few hints here and there. But that didn't mean I hadn't learned anything.

I learned that I needed a crystal heart in order to access the powers the Creators had. I knew what a crystal heart was. They were usually reserved for the recruitment of the demi-god Khwarezmians. I found it interesting that the Creator needed them as well. Guess those things were used overall to open the way for using more powers than we were limited to. Then, I found an interesting amount of information I did happen to come across here.

There was one crystal heart, one which Faust herself had claimed. It was the strongest out of all the crystal hearts, and was solely to be used by Faust, hidden away from all of the other Gods of the Pantheon. Hidden away from all of the Gods, which also likely meant that it was hidden from mortals as well. That meant there was a possibility it was still there, and not taken off to some foreign land as a ridiculous peace offering, or whatever other reason why things like this book were traded over here.

That irritated me a bit. We came here for this book, and now said book is telling us to go to the Pantheon, the place which we were originally going to in the first place. Fantastic.

What also irritated me was that Baron and Stiermann had yet to return to me. Sure, destroying a city takes time, but it still shouldn't take as long as they were taking right now. Were they torturing mortals? That's the only reason they could be taking so long.

Abruptly, the large doors to the throne room opened, startling everyone (except me). I looked up from the book and saw-

Aurora? What in Jupiter's name was she doing back here?

She looked frantic and was panting greatly, making me guess she ran quite the distance to get here.

"You better have a good reason to be disobeying my orders, Aurora," I said dangerously, narrowing my eyes.

"T-the mortal ponies!"

"What of them?"

"They... they encountered Baron and Stiermann, and their magic had no effect on them! They were... they were..."

"Spit it out," I growled.

"...They were defeated."

Should I even be surprised? Well, given the circumstances, they were immune to any type of magic that was threatening to them, even without those jewels on them (yes, I noticed). Those damn things are making them Gods in their own right. My suspicions about Twilight's commitment to the ones she cares about is something I was correct about, too, meaning that I had another problem to deal with. Delightful.

But hey, now that Aurora was here, I could now focus on other things. I got up from the throne I was sitting on, slamming the book shut.

As I walked out of the throne room and passed Aurora, I tossed the book to her, which she scrambled to catch.

"Where are you going!?" Aurora shouted, distress in her voice.

"To deal with a certain King ," I simply answered.

"But what about the group of mortals!? Last I saw of them, they were on their way here!"

"Just take our captives and hide them somewhere. I don't care where, but make sure to keep an eye on them at all times."

Without another word, I left the scene.

I stared across the vast city, eyeing everything under me.

A section of it, about one-fifth the size of it was on fire, probably caused by the destruction Baron and Stiermann caused before they were abruptly interrupted. Speaking of which, I needed to think of an appropriate punishment for the both of them once they come back to me.

There were little dots approaching the crystal structure, who I assumed to be Twilight and her group of friends, and another pair of them going away from it, who I assumed to be Aurora and my captives. Turning away from that, I looked over to the city's main gates. I smiled, welcoming the coming battle.

The shield I held around the city began to dissipate, holes appearing on it, starting small and getting larger as time passed. After about half a minute, the shield was completely gone.

I felt the temperature around me drop, as the arctic winds around the city began to flow in, snow beginning to cover the city.

I then saw it. In the distance, I could see a black sea. Complete blackness. It was as if I was staring into an abyss. There was no doubt. This was my enemy.

I readied myself for battle.

"Come forth, heathen!"

The dark King felt amusement begin to come over him.

This... thing... has challenged him to a duel. This should be good. At least he can have some fun before he restores himself to his throne.

It started with a simple attack. One to incapacitate, but not kill her. After that, he was going to torture her until she begged for death.

A dark crystal surged out of the ground, moving for the thing's abdomen. As he expected, the attack caught her by surprise, as she probably thought the attack was going to come from him, and not under her.

Unfortunately, she dodged the attack before it was too late, teleporting a short distance away. This didn't deter the dark King's efforts, however, as he began to shoot more crystals out of the ground, the amount of them being used increasing as time went on.

Soon enough, she was dodging a hail of crystals, teleporting at first, then flying around to dodge them, blasting through any of them that got in her way.

He finally began seeing satisfying results as he saw the crystals inflicted damage on her, mostly slashing her exposed back and legs. He saw a strange, golden liquid ooze out of her wounds. This wasn't normal blood, but he chose to ignored it.

Things were getting good. She was starting to slow down, causing more wounds to be inflicted on her. Finally, he scored the hit he wanted as a crystal pierced through her abdomen. It wasn't anywhere near an important organ, but he caused too much damage for her to be kept alive for torture. She was bleeding all over the place, and it was doubtful she'd survive long enough. A pity.

Withdrawing the crystal from her abdomen, he watched as the fool fell into the streets below.

Now, without nothing holding him back, he went back to the task of reclaiming what was his.

Damn Faust. Damn her to everything worse than the Underworld. Jupiter damn the bitch.

I never realised how weak I was without my immortality. I never realised how arrogant it had made me. Now because of it I lay in the streets in the pool of my own ichor. A shameful display. I hadn't even gotten a hit on him.

I realised now that my revenge, my vengeance, my comeback, was now beyond sight. I was to die at the hands of a power hungry mortal who never knew who I was. It would be better that way. I would be nothing in the end anyways.

"You hear me, kid? You are nothing. You are only to serve the people of Rome until the end of your miserable life. No one will remember your name, your family. No one will care for you. Why? Because you are nothing."

"No. I can be something."

A laugh, "Your words don't mean anything. Just like you. Just like any other slave. They serve their masters to the end, because they all are nothing. Do you understand?"

"No."

Another laugh, "Resisting isn't going to get you anywhere, little girl. Only submission will."

"I'll never submit to you."

"Really? Well, then, looks like I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."

I thought back to that conversation. It was so long ago, yet so ingrained in my head. Ever since, I tried to disprove that bastard. To show him I'm something, that I can be more.

But he was right. I'm nothing. My only true purpose was to serve Rome. To be nothing.

"Really? You're just going to give up like that?"

I could see a form develop in my vision, a black shape accumulating in front of me. It was... me, except everything but the eyes were black, with the eyes themselves being a blood red.

I was stunned, but this only occured for a brief second as the new me spoke up again.

"You're a God. You are already something more. Stop with your self deprecations, and destroy that damn mortal."

But how could I do that? I was drowning in a pool of my ichor, and I can barely move.

The dark me merely groaned, "Are you that dull? You can use your staff to transfer magic to yourself, and while it only lasts for a short time, it can bring you back to your feet, and helps you live longer."

It hit me hard. How could I have been so stupid!? To forget something as trivial as that?

"Now with that information that you idiotically ignored, get back into that damn fight, and don't be so stupid as to underestimate your opponent, even if he's a mortal. That gets you killed," she then dissipated without another word.

Quickly, I set out to do what she had pointed out.

There it was, his goal. The crystal heart.

The dark King became more solid as he neared it, his shadow form that had cursed him the passed thousand years finally withering away.

He finally stepped down on the hard floor of the open room that lay at the top of the crystal spire. The heart was there. Just where he'd left it.

He was soon next to the heart, ready to corrupt it again with his power and reshape the city back to where it was under his reign.

Then, he heard something whizzing, getting closer. That wasn't right. There wasn't anything to oppose him. That fool he had face was already dead in a pool of her own blood, he was sure of it.

Imagine his surprise when he was sliced in half by that said fool.

She landed not too far from him. Despite her new found strength, her wounds were undoubtedly going to drag her down. She was holding the wound that had been made by the crystal in a vain attempt to keep her blood from flowing out of it.

The dark King didn't suffer much from being sliced in half. His shadow physique made it easy to recover from any injury, thus he was able to easily reattach himself together. The fool growled when he did so.

"Tell me, fool," the King laughed darkly, "what makes you think you can challenge me?"

I've never felt such pain in all of my existence. I don't know how I was able to ignore all of it.

Regardless of that, I knew now that conventional ways wouldn't be able to kill him. I couldn't turn him to ash, because a shadow wasn't something that was exactly solid. Or even liquid for that matter, so I couldn't evaporate him. I had to admit, he played his cards right with me.

But then I realized something. There was a crystal heart here. Beside us. At our sides.

I could use it to my advantage. Corrupt it to my will and use it against him. As long as it wasn't mine, I had no chance of defeating this damn mortal.

"I don't like to repeat myself, fool," the mortal growled dangerously, "so tell me why you resist the inevitable."

After a quick thought on how I would execute my plan, I smirked at the mortal, "Talking gets you killed."

His confusion at my response, no matter how short, was the signal for my plan to begin.

I picked off a large piece of the floor, turning it to ash, and sending it flying to the mortals face. The result was what I expected, and I temporarily blinded him. Now with this chance, I dashed for the heart as fast as my wounds could allow me to.

The floor pattern around the hearts' position glowed for a brief second. I believed that it was something that would trigger a trap, but as the mortal focused more on curing his sight problem, he seemed to have forgot that it even existed.

Right next to the heart, I yanked it into my grasp, moving quickly to corrupt it with my magic. It began to change its hue from blue to orange.

It was a painfully slow process. I constantly looked over to the mortal, worrying at the prospect of failure. Each second that went by I felt his anger rising to dangerous levels.

"Come on, damn you," I rasped. The heart was now almost completely orange, with its original blue color still remaining in a few parts. It still wasn't complete. Not yet.

"You'll pay for that, fool," I froze. I looked over to the mortal, and confirmed my suspicions. He recovered.

He was blinking more often than he was previously, but that didn't seem to hinder him in any way. There was black masses gathering around him, clearly representing his rage.

He then growled loudly, "And has your mother ever told you not to steal from others? No matter, I'll be taking back what is mine."

The blackness shot out at a speed a mortal could never possibly imagine, towards me.

This was it. I'm going to die.

But before the black masses could reach me, they were blocked off by a mysterious source.

"What?" We both said in surprise.

I looked down, and found that the heart was now completely orange, and was now glowing brightly.

A triumphant smile came to my face.

"Impossible! You're just an ape! You have no magic!" There was no doubt the mortal was in complete surprise and disbelief.

I continued to smile at him. My moment has come.

"You may not regard me as such, but I am a being far superior to yourself. I am the one who once ruled over the emotions you thrive upon. I am the Goddess of Havoc. Oh, and I bring your demise."

He couldn't respond as the heart reached its full capacity, bursting its new power in every direction. The mortal could not escape. There was no possible way for him, anyway.

The power pierced through him, orange cracks beginning to appear all over him. Possibly knowing his inevitable doom was coming, he howled in rage as much as his lungs could allow him to, before he exploded into inexistence, his shadow going everywhere.

After its display of power, I carelessly dropped the crystal heart, it thundering and clanging as it made contact with the ground.

Now it was over.

The pain from my wounds suddenly skyrocketed, my entire body soon becoming numb. Unable to deal with such massive pain, I fell to the floor with a hard thud. I tried to get up again, but I found myself staying in place. I lost to much ichor, making me too weak to even stand.

It appeared death was coming for me again.

But I could also see someone else coming.

It was Aurora, with my captives. They were all being held by Cadence's magic, while the princess herself flew with her wings. I guess she recovered all of her magic after her rest from my torture.

I didn't see what they all did afterwards, as I succumbed to my injuries and lost consciousness. As I did, I thought back to that dark being. That new... me.

Why was she there? What was her purpose? And why did she help me defeat that King?

"You will know soon, my host. Soon..."

Author's Note

Juicy long chapter done! Enjoy it!

Quick Write: Day of Fools

I've been learning several new things since I came back from being stone. One of these things was the new holidays.

There were few holidays in my days before my imprisonment, and I remember few. Almost all "holidays" had something to do with all of the Gods' birthdays, with Faust's (of course) becoming the most special of these occasions.

The only holiday that I remember from my mortal life was something called Saturnalia, a festival dedicated to the days in which the God Saturn still ruled the world. It was characterized as a reversal of Roman norms: gambling became legal, sigillaria were given, slaves and masters had their roles reversed, banquets (which were only reserved for the elite) were held for the slaves, sometimes with their masters serving them, and a "King of Saturnalia" was elected to preside over the merrymaking.

As one such as you could notice, I enjoyed this holiday quite a lot.

In my years as a slave before becoming a gladiator, I always waited for this time of year, in the middle of the winter. When it finally came, I was perhaps the happiest slave in all of the territories Rome had under its control. I eagerly took to ordering my master things he usually ordered me to do: clean his (or during this holiday, my) residence, massage my back, and do... other pleasures, which I will not name.

Well, I'm getting quite off track, aren't I? It's rare I show such nostalgia of my mortal life.

Now, what was I actually talking about again? Ah, yes, the new holidays here. Least to say, I found them very basic. No role reversals, no banquets for the lowest classes, and certainly no King chosen to preside over them.

The first holiday was a simple celebration of the new year, the second one was about mates showing their affection to each other, the third honoring some figure of ancient times, the fourth was about cranking and fooling people, the fifth celebrating the heritage of foreigners, the sixth celebrating the coming of summer, the seventh celebrating the birth of a benevolent conqueror who once reigned over Equestria before its split into three nations after his death, the eighth celebrating the coming of autumn, the ninth celebrating the labor force, the tenth has people dressing up as "monsters" for fun, the eleventh celebrating the coming of winter, and the twelfth celebrating the birth of Equestria.

The celebration for these holidays was small, usually just a simple celebration, never to the scale my beloved Saturnalia took my admiration for.

Today was the fourth holiday, the so-called "April Fools" Day.

I scoffed at the name at first. A day for fools and idiots? Who thought such a thing was a good idea? Putting idiots up on a pedestal was an idiotic thing in its own right.

The mortal world has changed since my imprisonment, and I hate it. So very much. A thought hit me about making this day being dedicated to the mortals' stupidity to that compared to the Gods, admitting that they know nothing. That sounded rather satisfying

But I'll let them enjoy their ridiculous celebrations. For now, at least.

Author's Note

Little small thing for you guys to enjoy on the Day of Fools. Happy April Fools Day.

Chapter 11: Taking Control

Author's Note

If I'm going to be honest, I don't like this chapter very much. But I hope you all enjoy it regardless.

Chapter 11: Taking Control

"Ow... my fucking head," I thought, even though it was quite hard to do so.

I had woken up not too long ago, in a bed that lay in a room fit for a ruling monarch, decorated with all kinds of luxuries, such as lavished furniture, paintings, and the massive bed which I layed upon.

I sat up on the bed, ignoring the immense pain that shot through my body as I did so. I noticed that I was no longer wearing my dress, it replaced by bandages that covered my whole body, all of them stained with golden ichor. Then, as I looked around the room again did I also noticed that something was very wrong.

My staff wasn't there.

I need to find it.

Quickly, I jumped off the bed, only to collapse onto the floor as immense pain shot through my legs.

"Dammit!" I growled, quickly getting back to my feet, ignoring the pain that went through them with each step. Now limping, I went to the door with determination. Swinging it open, I entered into a hallway which, as I suspected, was devoid of any life.

The pain was excruciating at this point, but I pushed on through, looking for whoever I could question on my staff's whereabouts. The most trustworthy was Stiermann, but I don't know if he's somewhere close, as with my aching head it was hard to sense magical signatures.

I passed on by multiple other hallways, peering into all the rooms in the vague hope that my staff would be in one of them. I soon passed by the kitchen, where I found the first mortal being I've encountered in this city. He was in the middle of baking something, but stopped as I came in. I expected him to at least become somewhat frightened by me, but instead he fawned over me, calling me "savior" and "hero" multiple times. I didn't listen to much of his praises, however, as I then withdrew from the kitchen, continuing the search for my staff. As I continued looking, I thought back on the mortal's words.

Why had he called me savior? I didn't come here to save him, or his city, I came here because there was something that was useful to my plans located here. This city had no value other than that.

"Whatever," I thought, "let the fool have hope. I always love to see their faces when it's shattered in front of their eyes."

But yet, he called me a savior, a hero. I never related myself as some sort of hero, especially given my position as a Goddess of death and destruction. Even when I was Spartacus' most skilled and valuable assassin, I was never called one. Popular, yes, but not a hero.

I continued to venture down the hallway, soon coming across more mortals, who gave me the same praise as the one in the kitchen had given me. Praises I shouldn't be getting. Praises that were full of naive optimism and hope.

After some time, I arrived to the familiar throne room doors. It sounded as if there was quite a lot of activity going on in there, which meant that everyone could be in here. Along with many others, as there were far more voices than just four or five.

Mortals. It had to be.

Taking a deep breath, I entered.

Least to say, Aurora's had her hands full for quite some time.

After the Goddess had defeated the mortal King, she had arrived on the scene to see Zerstörung in a pool of blood. Unexpectedly, Cadence helped with patching her up and getting her to safety, as the Princess said that she'd help anyone in need, no matter if they're an enemy or not.

Afterwards, they soon encountered the mortal group of ponies who defeated Baron and Stiermann. Once again, Aurora became surprised when the captives convinced them to leave again, promising to contact them daily with letters. Aurora didn't know how they could do that, given that there was most likely not going to bw any communication with the outside world, but if what they said caused the mortal group to leave, then she was fine with it. There was no way she'd ever be brave enough to face all of them on her own, especially since they were able to take down Stiermann and Baron.

Regardless, as they went back to the throne room, Aurora felt guidless. Her Goddess was in no position to command, and Baron and Stiermann still had yet to return. She was alone, left to do everything herself, and it was terrifying.

Even more terrifying when an army of mortals came through the throne room doors.

Aurora first thought that they were attacking, but was once again surprised once they demanded where the "hero and savior ape" was. They said they wanted to award her for her protecting the city. Aurora, knowing that who they were talking about was the Goddess, began to stall them as much as she could, with the captives helping as well.

And that was where they were as of now.

"We've been waiting long enough!" A mortal shouted.

"Yeah! Where is our hero?" Another hollered.

"Please, be more patient! She's just... uh... getting ready!" Cadence said, trying to calm the croud.

"It doesn't take that long to get ready! She may be a mare, but even they don't take this long!"

Aurora wondered why they were even lying in the first place. It didn't make sense why they were. Maybe they were to keep the Goddess' reputation intact, but that was only a guess.

"We want to see her! Right now!"

Just then, as if on precise queue, the throne room doors opened sloorly, and Aurora was once more surprised when the person who walked in was Zerstörung herself.

The mortals immediately turned to her, and upon seeing the Goddess, showered her in praise. But she didn't seem to care about them. She began to walk through the mortals in a limp, said mortals opening a path for her. The Goddess was staring at her intently, with a look of pure anger.

Aurora then realised that she had the Goddess' staff in her possession. It only was because she wanted to make sure that no one would take it. Of course, Zerstörung didn't know that. Even without her staff, the Goddess still held an aura of authority that could easily cause fear to build up within anyone.

Quickly, Aurora tossed the staff, which the Goddess catched without trouble. Whether it was out of fear or loyalty, she wasn't sure.

"Thank you..." Zerstörung drawled. She then turned to the mortals gathered within the throne room, eyeing them all with hostility, "Leave us. I would like to have a private discussion."

If it was Aurora or any of the captives suggesting this, then the mortals would have argued against it, but since it was their so-called savior, they did nothing but obeyed, filing out of the throne room.

When it was clear of all mortals, the Goddess snapped her attention back to Aurora, with eyes that were dangerously narrow.

"I've heard some mortals call me a savior and hero," she stated, "so I want an explanation as to why, from the beginning."

Aurora gulped. This was going to be long.

How very convenient. I'm seen as a hero because I defeated the mortal King on my own. And because of that I was granted to all of the luxuries of this city as a reward. They were also willing to follow any command I gave without question, which meant now that the population was now firmly under my control.

Twilight and her friends were also convinced to leave for good. How that happened, I don't know, but at least I had one less thing to worry about.

My dress was now being sowed back together by the city's fashion designer. Cadence attempted to convince me to stay in the bed I was in until that was was finished, but I remained stubborn about it.

But if there was anything I was very curious about, it would be the whereabouts of Baron and Stiermann, as they still have yet to come back from their defeat at the hands of Twilight. The longer they take to come back, I decided, was going to make my planned punishment for them more severe. If they were even alive, of course.

But now, my bandaged form sat on the throne. And now that I wasn't wearing my dress, I realised how cold it actually was.

A mortal named Ink Writer, a light purple unicorn with an azul mane, was giving me a briefing of everything around the city. I had named him my personal servant, one to serve me without question and one who was not to speak to me in any manner other than loyalty.

Of course, he spoke of nations that were most likely dead by now, since his own had been gone for a thousand years.

To the city's west was the nation of Yakyakistan, for which he characterized them as "idiotic brutes who love to be violent".

To the east there was Griffons, which he characterized as "honor-driven to the point of idiocy".

Then to the south was Equestria itself, for which he summerized as "the cause for all of our problems relating to the tyrant King who once ruled over us".

To the north, there was nothing but snow and mountains, places inhospitable to mortal life.

With me now armed with this little amount of information, and an entire city behind my back (at least for now), I planned for said city's expansion to other places. In my name, of course.

And soon enough, my perfect world would take shape, its policies already moving about the city. Eons old Spartan doctrines were now being revived here. Soon, an army of warriors will be born, and they will expand my power across the mortal world. Their loyalty will be unmatched, as if they were machines rather than biological beings.

But that was years from now, and I already had plans for going to the Pantheon in search of Faust's crystal heart. The one I had used was only a normal one, and while it was used to protect the city from its surrounding environment, there was no good it could do other than place an orange barrier around the city, making it have an ominous fiery orange sky.

After that trip and me becoming Creator, I'll wait until the opportunity to cause a conflict in which will break the hearts and minds of every mortal involved in it.

So if you haven't figured out yet, I'm going with my first plan. And it was going to be good.

Chapter 12: Inside the Mind

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 13: Expeditions and Conspiracies

Aurora sat in the war tent, waiting for scouts to return with the news on the Yaks' proximity to the army she commanded.

Her Goddess deemed it appropriate to send a phalanx to conquer the Yaks, with Aurora to command them. Aurora was surprised when the Goddess soon became very straight-forward with the fact that the whole purpose of the conquest was to prove her worth to Zerstörung's plans. With her position of Legata, Aurora had thought that she had already gained the Goddess' favor, but she had guessed wrong, it seems.

So she left with all that in mind. She knew that everything concerning her was at stake in this conquest. Even one little thing that the Goddess disapproved of could end her. To say that she wasn't fearful of her future would most definitely be a lie. And she kept thinking back to how she could please Zerstörung with her work. Perhaps being brutal was the best option, but also the most predictable. She could spare most of the Yaks, giving the excuse that they could be useful as warriors. To Aurora, either idea was enticing, but she wasn't sure if it was the same for the Goddess.

Either way, everything was at stake here, at least for the daughter of Trajan. She sat alone in the war tent, fiddling around with the toy-sized models of allies and enemies that occupied the table baring maps and other essentials for planning battles. In her mind, she was constantly contemplating one question time and time again.

What would her father do? It's not the first time she's asked that question, and probably won't be the last. The cat-like humanoid always felt she had no sense of direction. After her father had passed, Stiermann was often the one who took care of her and gave her life advice, while Baron, in the minotaur's words, "Remained a selfish, arrogant piece of shit". That didn't mean that the dark knight never helped her. He still gave her advice, and trained the cat-like humanoid how to use her father's (now her) staff appropriately, no matter how harsh he was in doing so.

But Baron wasn't here. Stiermann wasn't here. Her father wasn't here. And the Goddess definitely wasn't going to waste any precious time helping her. It seemed independence was certainly something one can look forward to, but fear all the same. And Aurora feared it. She feared it a lot. How was she supposed to do all of this on her own?

Aurora shook her head. No. Now wasn't the time to for this. She's going to conquer the Yaks, and show her Goddess that she can do something! That she can conquer regions in her name! That she could fight like a warrior! Her whole life has been waiting for this moment!

"Legata."

Aurora yelped, startled by the sudden entry. She threw the models in all kinds of directions, looking at the individual who entered with a panicked look on her features.

"Spartiate! I wasn't playing with those, I swear! Don't tell the Imperatrix about this!"

The Spartiate, a blue unicorn, had a look of indifference, as Aurora always recognized he had ever since the expedition had started. She herself had to admit that, along with the facial scars, thick eyebrows and piercing yellow eyes, he was quite an intimidating figure.

He ignored the Legata's pleas, instead opting to a conversation with more importance, "Scouts have found the Yaks. According to them, they are at least 21 kilometers from us."

Aurora stayed silent for a moment. She soon found her words, "And... what do you suggest we do, then?"

"If it were up to me? I'd say we launch a frontal assault. They don't expect us to, and with them far more weaker than they were before, I have full confidence that this will work."

"... So, in other words, you want me to send this entire army straight into battle, against an enemy I heard had far more strength than a pony to the point where even numbers cannot stop them?"

"Those were the stories before, but as I said, they're much less numerous and do not expect a war, as they wouldn't make themselves so vulnerable if they were."

Ah. So that's why he said frontal assault. The Yaks have been at peace ever since the Crystal Empire had disappeared, making them lower their guard enough to where a frontal assault could actually work, if Aurora maintained the element of surprise. So the question was...

"At what time could the attack be launched and cause complete surprise?"

The Spartiate hummed for a moment, thinking. He then answered, "I believe a night attack would suffice. The Yaks would all be asleep, and would never expect a whole army to reign death upon them."

The Legata knew he was correct. Everyone slept at night, and certainly no one ever expected death to befall them during sleep, even those who were heavily ill.

"We attack at midnight," she finally declared.

The Spartiate saluted, "I shall bring the news to all of the Praefectors," he began to take his leave, but stopped short of exiting the tent. He turned back to the Legata, the cat-like humanoid now noticing a smirk on his muzzle, "oh, and don't worry. You're secret is safe with me."

Aurora sputtured, trying to respond, but the Spartiate left before she could. The Legata then cursed to herself, throwing her head into her hands, and emitting a loud groan.

She can't do this.

"May I ask you something, My Lady?"

My bored expression turned to one of curiosity as I shifted on my throne, turning my attention to Ink Writer, "A question? That's something you never have."

"I know that, My Lady."

"Whatever. Ask away."

"Well, I was wondering if-"

"But before you ask your question," I interrupted, "know that you'll be held accountable for what you speak. So tread carefully, otherwise you will not be of any more use to me."

Ink bowed briefly, before continuing, "I have been wondering, My Lady. Have you ever considered finding a mate?"

I did a double-take. A mate? Why would I ever need one? The so-called "love" and "passion" that came with them would get in the way, and hinder my plans. The only time I ever considered it was with Apophis, but turned out he didn't seem to care much about me as I did about him. Asshole.

"No, nor will I ever," I answered.

Ink stayed silent for a moment, before bowing his head, "That's a shame, then."

Just then, a magic bolt crashed into the throne, next to my head I might add. So sudden was this event, that it actually startled me for a moment.

My startled stupor ended quickly, however, as eons old instincts took over. If they shoot one, then they'll shoot more of them. My thoughts rang true as I jumped off the throne to the floor, dodging three more magic bolts, staff in hand. With my valuable weapon in my grasp, this little attempt to kill me would be ended with a simple tap.

I unfortunately didn't expect Ink to tackle me with such brute force that it made me drop my staff.

We rolled for a moment before Ink secured dominance on top of me. His eyes had the look of one who had just taken in a prize. He was conjuring magic in his horn, smiling. Even I would say that the smile he had was disturbing. It was the look of someone who had gotten what they always wanted, except with more malice than joy.

"You know, I never realised how pretty you are," he breathed, a voice of want overcoming him, "and with you magicless without that little staff of yours, I can do whatever I want with you," his tone and words made me realize what he wanted to do.

Pretty. I hated that word. And not for the reasons you would think a Goddess of Havoc would. I had very good reasons for it.

"Let me go!" I shouted as I struggled.

The man's grip only tightened. He smiled, "Now now, what's a pretty little girl like you doing wandering around alone? Don't you have a master?"

Before I could respond, he interrupted, "Not that it matters if you do. I'm sure he wouldn't mind me giving you a try."

I gulped. There was nothing I can do, nothing I could do. No one was going to help me, a little slave girl who was worth nothing. There was no profit in that. Who would sacrifice whatever reputation they had to help a lowly slave? I knew none.

I was so helpless, so small, so...

Weak.

The word echoed in my head. I was weak. I was a lowly slave, only there to serve when my master desired me to.

Was.

That's not who I am now. I am a Goddess. I am the master now. I decide what is right and wrong. My word is law. And I'll be damned if I let some mortal treat me like a weak-willed slave ever again.

Ink continued whispering about what he was going to to me. He was so preoccupied with doing that, I realized, that he left my hands free. Meaning that I could grab his horn and block its magical flow.

I sprung to action. My left hand latched onto the horn in less than a second. Ink's reaction was one of surprise, him fully not expecting that I still had resistance in me.

But despite his magic flow being blocked, he kept trying to funnel magic through it. Heat began to build up in his horn, my hand feeling the increased temperature. He was trying to burn my hand off his horn, I realised. I also realised Ink seemed to put so much focus on getting his horn free that he virtually left himself defenseless. I was proven correct when my attempt to get him off me succeeded easily.

Now with the way open, I dashed for my staff. My speed carried me to my destination before I even realised it.

Just like old times.

I was able to pick my staff in time to deflect the retaliatory magic bolt Ink had released, it harmlessly flying through one of the throne room's windows. In an instant, Ink's expression changed from want and anger, to something I very well recognized.

Fear.

He began to look around, as if trying to find a way to escape. He won't. I'll make sure of it.

Now, with my new advantage, I teleported I'm front of him. My intention to frighten him further succeeded, as he yelped and fell to the cold floor with a thud. He tried his best to scoot away from me, but I stepped forward every time, making the distance between us remain the same.

"You're fear delights me, mortal," I declared, addressing him for what he was, "so I might cherish it if you tell me one thing."

"I will not tell you anything, you bitch!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. He flinched when his back contacted with the wall.

"Now, now," I mocked, "I was a dog once, but I'm afraid I am no longer a part of their group," Ink's look changed to confusion after that statement, but only for a few seconds, as fear once again took priority.

I knelt in front of him, levelling his eye-level with mine.

"Now, you will tell me," I growled, "if there is anyone else involved in your little plan."

Now realising his inevitable fate, his face hardened, "Never."

"You don't seem to realise," I said, my staff's brightness intensifying, "that never is today."

Ink's eyes narrowed, bravery or stupidity taking him over, "Never means never," he then spitted on my face, "bitch."

I wiped his spit off my face, rage beginning to come over me. This... mortal, is starting to get on my nerves. And mortals who do that don't stay alive for long.

The atmosphere in the throne room took a noticeable change, I felt my eyes begin to glow a deathly orange, my fury beginning to show itself.

"You dare, mortal?" I growled in a demonic tone, "You dare desecrate my name, insult me, and spit your disgusting saliva on me?"

Once again, fear overcame Ink's features, "U-uh... yes?"

In a swift motion, I buried the bottom end of my staff through his abdomen. Ink shrieked in pain. I then yanked my staff out, letting his blood surge through the wound, causing him to release a blood-curdling scream. It must feel absolutely painful. Poor thing.

"Doing such an act is unforgivable, mortal," I stated, But I might let it pass if you tell me who was involved in your little plan."

"General Golden Arrow! It's him! He's been wanting you dead since you came! Please don't kill me!" he was begging quite a lot. How embarrassing.

"Good boy~" I purred, "You have served well, however since you told me all I wanted, I'm afraid you no longer have any use to me."

"W-what?" Ink stuttered.

I raised my staff, a sinister smile becoming visible on my face.

"Goodbye, Ink Writer."

"Wait!" he attempted, but his plea fell upon deaf ears.

In a move of finality, my staff slammed on the throne room floor. Almost instantly, Ink Writer's head viciously twisted and bended, instantly killing him. It then fell to the floor with an audible thud.

Now with Ink finished off, I set out to find this "General" Arrow person. I want to have a little "chat" with him and his accomplices, even if I have to force my way through his own men to do so.

I smirked. Time for some purging.

Author's Note

Hoped y'all liked the longer-than-normal chapter. Here are some unit and rank stuff. Should be simple to understand it. Probably will get into more detail later.

Manipulus

Soldiers: ~15
Commander: Manus

Sodalitas

Soldiers: ~90
Commander: Praefector

Phalanx

Soldiers: ~500
Commander: Spartiate, Legatus

Legio

Soldiers: ~5,000
Commander: Legatus, Imperatrix

Exercitus

Soldiers: above 10,000
Commander: Imperatrix

Chapter 14: Civil War

The day was going by like any other for the children. Their daily training they received from the Praefector assigned to them continued unhindered. They continued to gain knowledge on discipline, how to fight, and trusting their comrades.

As of now, they were on lunch break, all of them fed army rations. "It might not be good, but once you get to the battlefield, you'll have far more pressing concerns than food," their Magister would say.

Lunch break was exceedingly boring compared to their training. It did not have the adrenaline rush that dueling others had. But they had to eat. An army marches on its stomach, after all.

That was all too familiar to a colt. He wasn't as socializing as the others, often sitting alone, contemplating how the battlefield would be like, as the Magister always talked about it.

As he continued to eat his ration, as bad as it tasted to his young mouth, he looked around the lunch lounge. It was a roofless area, like the rest of the training camp, the sun reigning heat upon them he thought impossible in the northern regions. It was peculiarly hot today.

The wooden walls that separated the camp into sections and, by extension, the camp itself, had been made in haste, just in a few days. The camp was divided into five sections: tents for manipuli and Magisters in the southern part, the camp's entrance and armory on the western part, the training area on the eastern part, the lunch lounge area on the northern part, and the center was a place rarely used; the arena. The only time it will ever been used, the colt thought, would be if someone was willing to fight to the death with another. And no one wanted to do that. At least not yet.

Nonetheless, the colt continued to eat. He watched groups of his comrades bicker amongst another, conversing on the same things as they always had: arguments on who was stronger, fictitious stories from the arena, even some betting that they could make the Imperatrix fall for them. The latter made the colt scoff.

He knew all this was just friends being friends. If no one ever butted heads with each other, than friends wouldn't exist.

Saying the word friends made the colt wish he had some. His bat wings often pushed off anyone willing to talk to him. Bat ponies were a massive rarity in the north, and whenever one sees something strange, they often stay away.

The colt sighed. Just like when he first came here. Maybe he should just-

"Everyone, listen up!"

The voice that rose above the others was strange. It wasn't their Magister's.

Looking over, the colt noticed all the trainees gathering at one table, with another trainee, an earth pony, standing on top of it.

Whatever news he had was apparently making everyone interested, including the colt. So he joined in, taking a place at the edge of the crowd.

The earth pony began to speak, "I've heard the Magister talking with a Praefector!" just him saying that garnered some whispers amongst the audience. After all, Praefectors very rarely come to the camp, unless it was a matter of grave importance.

"What did they say?" one trainee, a filly, eagerly asked.

"I didn't hear the whole conversation, but I heard the Praefector say that the Imperatrix is dead!"

The crowd emitted a gasp.

"But she's our savior! How can she be dead?"

"The Praefector said it might be a plot to get rid of her, and make a government that only fits their needs, and not of the people!"

At this news, the crowd began to get angry.

"That's heartless!"

"The tyrant Equestrians are coming back!"

We can't let this happen!"

"And we won't."

All eyes turned to the lounge's entrance, there they saw their Magister, along with the Praefector.

Immediately, everyone stood at attention, the first thing they ever learned.

The Magister ignored their actions, and continued to speak, "The Praefector and I have decided that the Imperatrix' murder shall not go unavenged, and thus we are sending you to your first battle."

The colt was surprised. They've only been training for a few weeks, and they're already marching into battle? It seems a little rushing.

"Get your weapons from the armory, and organize yourselves into battle lines at the gate, we will be waiting for you there," without another word, the Magister and Praefector walked off.

Immediately, everyone went to the manipuli they were assigned to on day one. The colt did the same, hurrying off to his manipuli. Unlike everyone else, however, he didn't travel to the armory, instead going towards the tent his manipuli was stationed at.

Once he was within his manipulus' tent, he immediately began gathering some things valuable to him. It wasn't much, but at least he'll have some good luck charms.

"Discipulus."

The colt jumped at the arrival of his Manus. Or Mana, since she was female.

He looked over to his Mana, "Y-yes?"

"The Magister gave us specific instructions to take weapons from the armory. He did not say anything about taking personal belongings in our tents."

"But, it helps me fi-"

"The only thing that helps you fight is courage and a sword" the Mana interrupted, "and you're clearly not showing you know that."

The colt didn't argue- mainly because he couldn't.

He dipped his head in defeat, "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Saying sorry won't save you from death on the battlefield," the Mana stated harshly. She then sighed, "I'll let you take some things here, but only necessary equipment. Move!"

The colt jolted into action, picking up a small sword from his bunk in the tent, another few things that had been assigned to trainees on day one, mostly so they could practice battle techniques and dueling styles.

The bunk assigned to him was like any other, the only difference being the name that had been inscribed so that he could remember where he slept.

Sword Cure. His name.

He didn't know why he was called that. As far as he knew, Sword Cure was definitely going to do something that wasn't curing by any means.

He now took notice on how much he's changed since he started training here. His gray fur had became more rough, his yellow eyes now far past the childish color and brightness, gone were his naive beliefs, he was a hardened warrior. Or at least he believed so. He was only twelve, after all.

"Will you stop standing there and move!?"

Sword came crashing back into reality. He scrambled to follow his Mana's orders, and quickly sprinting out of the tent with his Mana following not to far behind, both of them heading to join up with all the other manipuli at the camp's entrance.

Together with them, they'll deliver the much-needed justice against their savior's killers.

"How disappointing..." I muttered to myself.

In front of me, on the palace's infirmary bed, lay the corpse of Baron, lifeless, a strange black blood oozing out from the opening between his body armor and helmet, creating a pool of blood under him. His throat must have been slit.

There was another bed beside Baron's, most likely for Stiermann. There was blood on it, too, but a body was absent, giving off a possibility that he may still be alive. With that in mind, I decided to continue searching through the infirmary.

I walked passed empty rooms, all with many kinds of medical equipment without any operators. Mainly because they appeared to have all been slain. Whether it was from Stiermann or the conspirators is a mystery to me.

Then I began to find corpses of dead soldiers. These weren't mine, as they didn't wear the black and orange armor I had assigned all of them to have.

The armor was more of a mix between dark blue and purple. The soldiers wearing them all had bat-like wings. Bat ponies, I soon realised. An exceptionally rare species.

The floor abruptly shook, causing me to go on alert immediately. I detected the source of the vibrations to be coming from a wall not too far from me.

It was too loud for it to be a pony. With that alone, I called out, "Stiermann! Show yourself! Or do you want me to regard you as an enemy?"

The stomping stopped for a moment, before continuing. Now they were starting to come closer. And faster.

Before I knew it, Stiermann crashed through the wall in front of me. I barely dodged in time for his gigantic axe to miss its mark.

I skidded on my feet a few meters away. Just as with Ink Writer, my anger began to rise along with my disbelief.

"Stiermann," I growled, "Why do you dare attack your Goddess?"

"You are not my Goddess," Stiermann's retort deeply surprised me. Now looking at him, he was shrouded in a dark purple mass, it rising like steam out of his body. His eyes were now a deep, dark red. It was clear to me now that this was most certainly not Stiermann. Someone had brainwashed him.

Luckily for me, I had no qualms with killing him.

I got into a battle stance, a taunting smile adorning my features, "Then tell me, Stiermann," I said slowly, "Who is your God?"

"A truly ancient being has enlightened me on the truths of this world."

"If by enlightened, you mean brainwashed, right?"

"Grogar is the true God of this world. He brainwashes none," my eyes widened when he said that blasphemous name, my stance faltering.

"Grogar... he can't be speaking about... him, right?"

I emitted a nervous chuckle, unsettled, "G-Grogar? Surely you must jest. He is undeniably dead."

"Grogar does not die," Pseudo-Stiermann replied, as if scripted. He then got into his own battle pose, readying his axe, "Now ready your weapon, "Goddess", and let us have an honorable duel," he stated, a smirk on his snout.

Dammit. I hated honor sometimes, as in I always had an "honorable" duel (as in no magic was permitted), as long as my opponent requested for it. Like I said before, defence of honor is very important to me. This time is no exception.

Nonetheless, I fixed my stance, readying myself for the battle to come.

"If I defeat you, I'm certain to give you a thumbs down."

"We'll see about that, then, right?"

Without anything stalling us, the duel commenced.

Despite all of the children being moved to camps on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire, life in the city itself continued unhindered. The ponies went on with their daily lives as if nothing had ever happened, running shops, cafes, and other small businesses.

Much of the grand library (along with its contents), had unfortunately been destroyed by the "Bull and Knight", leaving much of the Empire's history destroyed. This was perfect for Zerstörung, as the Goddess had no qualms with changing history to her image. She assigned several Catellus' to do the job of restructuring history to tell the population of how glorious she truly was, and how she had divine right to rule the city into greatness.

It didn't take long for the captives to learn about this, and they sent a letter to Celestia regarding it, as she was the only one who could send a letter back to them. The sun princess still had yet to respond.

"Everypony! Gather! There is urgent news!" a stallion, adorned in extravagant clothing, announced on the steps of the grand library.

The three captives, Cadence, Shining, and Spike, all looked up from the cafe table they sat on. They were on a simple outing, discussing things, soon finding themselves ordering food from a cafe directly across the street from the grand library, now mostly rebuilt.

"What's going on?" Cadence asked put loud.

"I don't know," Shining answered, "If anything, it's just a gathering they have every day."

"He said everypony," Spike interjected, "think about it, nopony says that around here!"

True. Zerstörung had forbidden the use of the words "everypony" and "nopony", and everyone had to abide to that rule. Everyone except the captives.

Curiosity getting the better of them, they all joined the crowd, anxious on the news the stallion had in store for them. Shining and Cadence remained closely together, while Spike rode on Cadence's back, in order to prevent being separated.

"The Imperatrix is dead!" he declared suddenly. The crowd emitted a loud gasp. Some looked ready to cheer, some looking unhappy, and the rest with looks of uncertainty.

"With her death, the government shall go through a steady reformation, and we will once again be free from the shackles that hold us!"

After he said that, the crowd with unhappy expressions all spoke up in disagreement.

"Shackles? She freed us all!"

"Are you reforming for the people, or is it for your own personal gain?"

The stallion's muzzle scrunched in frustration. He let out a loud whistle, and not a second later did soldiers in golden-clad armor step out from the shadows.

"Get these degenerate scum out of my sight. They do not understand true freedom," he commanded.

The side that still supported the Imperatrix shouted again, now engaging in a shouting contest with those who opposed them. The group of captives, worried about the situation they were currently in, quickly withdrew from the crowd with haste.

"This thing is getting out of hoof," Shining Armor observed.

"No doubt about that," Cadence replied, "but those guards- their auntie's."

"Yeah," Shining acknowledged, "the big question is why they're here."

Cadence nodded, turning to Spike, "Can you write a letter to auntie?"

Spike shrugged, "Well, I would, but I don't have any paper. Or a quill."

Cadence, realizing what he was implying, sighed, "Guess we have to go back to our quarters," she said, "but we will get an answer for this. That I'm certain," with that, her horn brightened, and in one bright flash, the captives were gone.

Meanwhile, the situation back in front pf the library was one of chaos. The new soldiers were shoving and pushing the Imperatrix' supporters out of the picture, the stallion on the steps looking pleased as they were.

"Yes! Take them away! Show them they're no longer in control!"

"That is what you say, traitor."

All eyes shifted to the road down from the library. There, they saw a Praefector, beside with him a Magister. Behind them, lay an army of children about the size of a sodalitas.

"Your display of power is disappointing. Instead of pushing, maybe you should try something that actually works."

The Praefector unsheathed his sword, followed thereafter by the Magister and all of the children. The chorus of swords was terrifying.

"...Killing, I believe, is far more effective."

Author's Note

Here's the full ranking list. (Bold and italicized denote command of an entire unit formation.)

Discipulus (Trainee)
Disciplinatus (Disciplined)
Manus (Arm)
Magister (Master, Teacher)
Conditor (Builder)
Praefector (Commander)
Atticus (Athenian)
Spartiate (Spartan)
Legatus (Deputy, Envoy)
Imperatrix (Empress)

Honorific Titles: Titles that are given to individuals who have done specific things. These titles can only be personally appointed by the Imperatrix.

Catellus (Lapdog): Awarded to one who shows unwavering loyalty. Commonly rewarded.

Alexandrus (Alexander): Awarded to a commander who has conquered five or more cities on the name of the Imperatrix.

Immortal: Awarded to one who has fought and lived through twenty or more battles.

Orator (Politician): Awarded to one with exceptional skills in diplomacy (whenever it's rarely used) and other political practices.

Eximius (Extraordinary): Awarded to one who has achieved the titles Catellus, Alexandrus, and Immortal simultaneously.

Humility Titles: Titles intended to shame an individual for specific things.

Proditor (Traitor): Given to one who has committed heinous acts against the Imperatrix. Always awarded before execution.

Codomannus (Darius): Given to a commander who loses more battles than they win them.

Obnoxius (Dependent): Given to an individual who is said to be incapable of making their own decisions.

Victory Titles: Titles denoting the territories one has, or helped, conquered.

Equestricus (Greatest Equestrian): Denoting one who has conquered Equestrians.

Griffonicus (Greatest Griffin): denoting one who has conquered griffons.

More coming soon...

Chapter 15: Restoring Order

I have dueled many opponents. They were all the same: arrogant, selfish, and most certainly do more talking than action.

Pseudo-Stiermann was not among these people. He fought with silence, never speaking a word. He never bragged about any of the hits he made on me, nor did he brag that I still had yet to even scratch him. His face remained straight, emotionless. Lifeless.

And with him supposedly under the control of Grogar, it even made me a little frightened.

Putting my fears aside, I continued to battle him. Everything continued as before. I was making no progress whatsoever, while he continued to kick and throw me around, making me crash through walls at times. It's as if he were enjoying it.

Once again, I was kicked through a wall, my body contacting the ground like a rag doll.

In a steady motion, I rose to my feet once more, readying myself for battle again.

"I don't understand," Pseudo-Stiermann declared as he appeared at the hole I made, "You claim yourself to be a Goddess, yet you are bleeding, and outmatched. If you disappoint me further, I might spare you out of pity."

"Miseratio? Vos graviter minoris mihi, taurus."

Pseudo-Stiermann emitted a low chuckle, "Are you that frustrated? Switching to your old tongue can only say so much. I just wish I knew what you're saying."

"Pedicabo ego vos," I readied my staff once more for combat.

Immediately, Pseudo-Stiermann's expression turned serious, cold. Once again, he charged at me.

Instead of confronting him head-on, as I've been doing since the duel started, I dodged out of the way, his giant axe shaking the floor as it made impact.

Pseudo-Stiermann didn't stop there. He lifted his axe once more in swift motion, and attacked me again. Once again, I evaded the maneuver, the axe crashing into the floor.

We continued this dance. I avoided directly fighting him constantly, evading his every attack.

Pseudo-Stiermann never looked like he was becoming exhausted, never seemed short of breath. But his face was contorted into frustration. Just as planned.

"Cease your running, coward!" he shouted.

"Cesso tuus saevitia," was all I said in response.

"What is that supposed to mean!?" he was starting to get sloppy. A good sign.

As I continued to dodge his attacks in the infirmary halls, Pseudo-Stiermann was anything but pleased with my constant evasions, and was now blindly attacking me in hopes that he would finally land another hit on me.

All according to plan.

With all the pieces in place, I set my plan in motion.

Turning around, I ran away from Pseudo-Stiermann, him following closely behind.

He let out a war cry as he chased me as fast as he could. He was entirely focused on spilling my ichor, killing me, so much so that he didn't realize what trap I had laid for him.

We began nearing the end of the hallway, a dead-end that would ensure me no way of escape.

But instead of trying to move away or think of somewhere else to go, I picked up speed.

Pseudo-Stiermann laughed as we neared the wall, his face filled with undeniable sadism, "Got nowhere to run now, you little coward! I got you now!" He raised his axe, ready to finally strike me down.

But I continued to run.

The wall was closing in fast. This was my moment.

Using the wall as leverage, I jumped into the air, just high enough where Pseudo-Stiermann's axe barely grazed my skin.

I landed behind Pseudo-Stiermann perfectly balanced, and prepared my staff for the strike.

Pseudo-Stiermann tried to react to my sudden move, but it was already too late.

In lightning motion, I drove my staff through the back of his back, mortally wounding him.

Pseudo-Stiermann let out a scream of pain, before it turned into gurgles as he began to drown in his own blood.

After a few seconds of relishing in his soon-to-be demise, I pulled my staff out of him. Blood began to ooze through and out of the wound, sealing his inevitable fate.

After futilely attempting to stay alive, Pseudo-Stiermann dropped to the hard floor, dead. The purple mass which had emanated from him disappeared as his life faded into inexistence, his blood-red eyes returning to normal.

I stared into his lifeless body, disappointed.

Grogar was an excellent duelist, if my one known battle against him said anything. He seemed to have transfered all his dueling styles into Stiermann once he brainwashed him, but it looked like he didn't transfer his infinite patience in fighting an unengaging foe. This made his puppet into an impatient, brash dueler.

"Ita imprudens," I muttered.

Just then, I heard the clanging of armor, the shouting of orders.

Perceiving this as another threat, I readied myself for combat once more.

But instead of enemies, I saw my soldiers, all clad in black and orange colored armor which shined in the light.

They stopped for a moment when all of their eyes set upon me. They all held the same look of surprise and bafflement on their features.

After a long silence, their commander, a Praefector, came forward and spoke excitedly, a stupid smile on his muzzle, "Imperatrix! You are alive!"

"Of course I'm alive, you idiot," I responded harshly, "Now tell me why an army of recruits are in my presence."

The Praefector bowed, along with all of his recruits, "We are from Agoge Camp IX. We heard rumors of your demise at the hands of assassins, and decided to take action against those who who would dare kill our savior."

"And what of the other camps?"

"All other camps have also taken arms against your would-be killers. We also heard that Agoge Camp XVIII is engaged with enemy forces."

"Engaged? You mean they're fighting?" my tone became dangerously low, "They are recruits, Praefector, not soldiers. They do not have the right to be on the battlefield, yet you still choose to send them into battle?"

The Praefector raised his head, a worried expression on his muzzle, "Yes...?"

Without a moment's notice, I walked passed the Praefector. He was stunned for a moment, before turning and calling out worriedly.

"Where are you going?"

"To deal with this problem myself."

"But you could be killed!"

I stopped in my tracks, the silence afterward deafening.

I slowly turned around, looking at the Praefector with an unpleased look, my eyes narrowed dangerously as my staff's light brightened.

Thinking he convinced me not to leave, the Praefector emitted a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, My Lady! We couldn't bare to-"

He suddenly lost his voice. At first he looked confused, lifting his hoof up to his throat.

Then, his expression changed to desperation, he began to choke.

Some of the recruits went to help them. They soon found themselves slamming into walls.

"If anyone attempts to bring aid, they will meet the same fate as him," I threatened. The recruits, now frightened at what was happening, did nothing else and complied.

The Praefector kept gasping for air, futilely clawing his throat with his hooves. The recruits were terrified with what they were witnessing.

Good. Let's give them something they'll never unsee.

"Look at you..." I said disappointingly, flailing as you attempt to draw breath. Do you know that being so careless could end your life just like..."

I snapped a finger.

The Praefector's neck bended into a ninety degree angle, ending his pathetic struggle against death. Quite a vicious sight, if I do say so myself.

"...That," I finished as his corpse collapsed onto the ground.

The recruits looked genuinely terrified at their Praefector's death. A stunned silence reigned until I spoke up again.

"Recruits," they all stood in attention. Whether it was out of fear or loyalty, I didn't know. Nor did I care.

"Where is your Magister?"

Silence was all that answered me.

"T-That would be me, M-My Lady."

I snapped my attention to the voice. A stallion flinched as I did, making me assume he was the Magister. His head was bowed, awaiting the fate I had for him. Waiting for me to do exactly what I did to the Praefector.

Instead, I smirked.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Praefector."

The Magister-Now-Praefector, of course, was surprised, but I payed that no heed as I left the infirmary soon after.

Now my objective was to find Camp XVIII's recruits, kill their Praefector, install a new one, and finally end this whole ordeal. After that, I'll spend my time preparing for the possible arrival of Grogar. Whatever happens, I absolutely cannot allow him to ruin my plans.

But the thought of doing that made me chuckle on the inside.

That's easier said than done, especially when you're talking about someone like Grogar.

"Hannibal ante portas," I muttered silently to myself.

The silence in front of the Grand Library was deafening. No one dared to move against the other, all fearing the outcome of the battle.

The sun was starting to set, enriching the lands in shined with an orange hue that only seemed to intensify the situation.

Contrary to what many have said, Camp XVIII wasn't engaging the enemy in combat, and Sword Cure hoped that it won't ever come to that. These ponies they were up against looked far more experienced and battle-ready than him and his peers. A fight against them wouldn't be that great of an idea, and their Praefector knew it. While the stallion and his trained soldiers probably didn't attack for the reason that they don't want to kill children.

All of the civilians had already left from the scene, fearing for their lives, most likely. Other than that, they served no purpose in the battle that could come.

In the time of anxious waiting and standstill, the commanders of the two opposing groups of soldiers spent it with arguing one another.

"So you have decided to bring an army of children against me and my soldiers?" the stallion on the Library's steps scoffed, "You are bringing shame upon them, both on my soldiers and your... recruits."

"The only shame is on you for betraying our people," the Praefector confidently responded.

The stallion on the steps scoffed once more, ""People"? Just listen to your words! You are letting her manipulate them! She's making you all her slaves!"

"She brings order to our mortal realm. We are merely helping her achieve her goal."

"Mortals?" the stallion was now in complete disbelief, "Now you're speaking of her as if she's a living goddess!"

"She is the Imperatrix. She is a living goddess."

The stallion laughed at that statement, "You're joking, right?" he gave the Praefector a mocking smirk, "If that were true, then she wouldn't be dead, now, would she?"

"A valid point, mortal."

All eyes immediately shot straight up, looking at whoever was speaking.

Seeing who it was made Sword Cure's eyes dilate and make him gasp on awe.

It was... her. The Imperatrix. She is here! She is alive!

...Although, with the look on her face, anyone would say that she was pissed.

She landed in front of his sodalitas, facing the stallion and his soldiers.

She then announced, in a booming, inpony voice, "I am a Goddess. I cannot be killed, I cannot be beaten."

The Imperatrix twirled her great staff, as if it was an undeclared threat, "It would be most wise for you to respect me for who I am."

Before the stallion could speak in response, the Praefector butted in.

"Imperatrix! Forgive me for my words, but the situation is already under control."

The Imperatrix' eyes widen for a moment, as though she had just remembered something important.

She looked at the stallion, "If You would excuse me for a moment."

Then, like a lightning bolt, her great staff perfectly sliced the Praefector vertically in half.

Sword Cure, along with many around him, were visibly shocked with what happened, many, including him, vomiting as the Praefector's halves fell with a thud, their bloody insides facing upward. Time slowed, but within that short time frame many questions entered his mind.

Was the stallion right? Were they in fact still slaves? Was the Praefector secretly in on the plot so that he could take control? Or was it simply the Imperatrix going on a wild rage after she discovered that the people she had helped save were now turning against her? All of them could be true. But he wanted to know the real story, not just rumors and fictitious tales.

Sword suddenly came crashing back to reality once the Imperatrix addressed the stallion again. She had a cruel smile on her face, like she has completed her greatest desire.

"Sorry about that. I just needed to set an example."

The stallion looked flabbergasted and horrified, and his own soldiers told the same story. Fear. Everyone was in full fear of the Imperatrix now. And it seemed she enjoyed all of it.

But the stallion rebuilt his courage, shouting at the Imperatrix, "You monster! You kill your ally all just to set an example!?" he then sighed in resignation, head dipping, "Truly, nothing has changed from the Tyrant King."

The stallion's head then rose, his eyes starring deep into the Imperatrix', "But that doesn't mean I won't give up like that. Like him, you will be brought to justice, and your tyranny over this city will end!"

Behind him, his soldiers cheered him on.

The Imperatrix looked most displeased, not out of irritation, oddly.

"Your spirits seem to be rising," she commented. Then again, her mouth twisted into a merciless smile, "but have you ever considered raising your physical beings?" the great staff began to brighten in color as she released a diabolical giggle, "I can help with that."

The stallion's soldiers shot up into the sky at lightning, all letting out terrified screams as they disappeared out of the sight of the eye, and into the cloud-filled orange skies.

The stallion was now alone, with no one to protect him. Now realising his visible vulnerability, he attempted to make a run for it, but was immediately halted when one of his hind legs viciously bended and cracked. So brutal was this injury that his bones pierced out from his skin, revealing the disgusting sight to everyone in the area.

Once more, many vomited. They were clearly not stomach-ready for war.

As the stallion screamed in unthinkable agony, the Imperatrix turned to his sodalitas.

"Recruits," she announced, her voice now firm, on-point, and normal, "is their any one of you willing to volunteer to put an end to this Proditor's wretched life?"

Silence was all that greeted her.

"...No takers? Fine, then, I'll choose one of you myself."

She began to look around the sodalitas, scouring, judging everyone she looked at. She didn't offer any look other than a blank expression. Nothing more.

Then her eyes settled on Sword Cure.

They held eye-contact for a brief second before Sword looked away and pretended to be none-the-wiser.

"Don't pick me don't pick me don't pick me..." he ranted in his head over and over again.

"Bat pony, come here," dammit.

Hesitantly, Sword stepped out in front of the sodalitas, and stopped.

A few seconds ticked by. And it irritated the Imperatrix.

"I didn't tell you to stop, I told you to get over here," if it were his Mana, she would be yelling at him. But the Imperatrix gave orders far more calmly, yet said calmness seemed far more fear-inducing.

Sword slowly walked towards the Imperatrix and the still screaming stallion. The Imperatrix showed nothing that said she acknowledged the stallion's presence. It was a situation that of one screaming to the heavens in hopes of the Gods answering his prayers, but no God listens.

Why did he make that comparison?

Sword Cure now stood in front of the Imperatrix. Now this close to her, her eyes seemed to hammer his own flesh with scrutinizing glares that burned him like he was on fire.

"Draw your sword," the calm order made him realize that, during the whole wait, he had drawn back his sword.

Quickly, he obeyed his Imperatrix, the sound of the sword leaving its sheath echoing around the area.

"Good," the Imperatrix commented, "now, kill him."

Sword set his eyes upon the screaming stallion, who's eyes were now begging for the opposite of the order he had been given.

Unfortunately for him, Sword didn't have a say whether he lived or not.

Deciding to just get it over with, Sword plunged the sword into the stallion's neck. Immediately, his screams turned into gurgles as he began to choke on his own blood.

The sight was immobolizing. Blood flowed endlessly from his neck wound and mouth, some coming out from his nostrils.

Sword Cure felt tempted to vomit again, but held it as it wouldn't be the best thing to do in front of the Imperatrix.

After a few minutes of struggle, the stallion finally let out his final breath, leaving the world of the living at last.

Sword Cure sighed as he put his sword back in his sheath. His time of recollection of what had just happened didn't last long, however.

"Letting him drown in his own blood," the Imperatrix observed, "not something I would have done, I'll admit, but I digress."

She turned towards Sword's sodalitas, who all bared expressions of uncertainty.

"Return to your camp. A new Praefector will be assigned to you shortly. In the meantime, your Magister shall take up that role."

Without another word uttered, the Imperatrix went off to the Palace.

Immediately, the manipuli began to reorganize themselves to head back to camp. Sword rejoined his manipulus, his fellow manipuli giving him encouragements and justifications for all that had occurred.

But even so, Sword began to question a lot of things. Why was the Praefector killed? It was all so... sudden.

Sword shook his head. No. He was getting ahead of himself. He shouldn't question the Imperatrix' judgement. She always knew what was right and wrong. She knew who was good and evil. She wasn't the Dark King, nor will she ever will be.

But Sword couldn't help but keep the thought in his mind. That maybe there actually was some resemblance to the two rulers.

The march back to the camp was silent and cold, in contrast with march out of its walls being noisy and warm.

Author's Note

The coup is over and the regime is back in business! Although something... or someone else has made its presence known...

Chapter 16: Veni, Vidi, Vici

Yakyakistan, the home of the Yaks. For many years in the history of the Crystal Empire, they represented themselves as an impassable obstacle, preventing any attempt by the Empire to expand westwards at every turn.

But for the first time, the Crystal Ponies have an opportunity to rid themselves of these enemies. And they don't intend it to go to waste.

It all began approximately at midnight, with the phalanx silently approaching the wooden walls that protected the Yaks' settlement. There were a few Yak warriors who patrolled outside, but they were all quickly taken care of before any of them could sound an alarm.

Next, they began an all-out assault.

The outcome was just as they had planned. The Yaks were completely caught off-guard. The walls, which weren't well defended in the first place, fell without any significant resistance. Those who brought up any kind of resistance were immediately killed.

The Spartiate ordered all the huts in the settlement burned. His soldiers wasted no time in following the command. Now the place was ablaze, it was now easier to see, and thus making it far easier for those fighting the ensuing battle, including Aurora.

The Legata continued to cut down Yak after Yak that had been foolish enough to attack her. Brutes, these fellows. They held no cohesiveness, lacked proper commanders, an absolute mess.

This cohesive mess may have helped them be a threat a long time ago, but clearly it wasn't helping now.

As the settlement continued to burn, its resident Yaks were being slaughtered, although Aurora took care in ordering that all of the children should be spared.

Inch by bloody inch, her phalanx pushed deeper into the settlement, slash by bloody slash, they kill all of their foes.

And it was almost too easy.

Aurora stabbed another Yak through the abdomen with her staff, making him cough up his own blood.

As she yanked her weapon out, she heard a soldier call for her.

"Legata!"

Aurora briefly looked around to see how the battle was going. It was as she suspected. The Yaks were being slaughtered, except for their children, who were taken out of the settlement as soon as they were discovered. It was all the same, just simply with the Spartiate leading the charge instead of her.

She then turned rapidly, staring down the one who called for her, a small, unimpressive unicorn stallion. She noticed the saddlebags strapped on his abdomen.

That's strange. Those things restricted movement, and he knew it. Why did he have it on?

Regardless of this, Aurora addressed him, "What is it, Manus?"

The Manus shifted through his saddlebags for a second, before pulling out a rolled-up paper with his magic.

"It is a message from the Imperatrix herself," he clarified.

Immediately, Aurora's expression changed from cold and calculating to surprise, and possibly even fear.

She didn't understand. Why was her Goddess sending a message? It could be anything. She could have decided that she was going to kill Aurora despite whether she succeeds or not, or that she was going to torture her for fun.

Aurora could run if it was either of the two, but where would she go? Who can she trust afterwards? She didn't want to make these decisions, nor does she ever want to. She can never bear the thought of doing something on her own. Granted, conquering the Yaks could be counted for that, but the Spartiate did almost all of the planning. She's just participating.

Despite all of her fears, Aurora took the message from the Manus' magic with a quick, but shaky hand.

"L-Leave. G-Go back to your post," she stuttered, but the order was firm enough. The Manus left without another word uttered.

Aurora stared at the rolled paper, anticipation and anxiety taking over. This was a defining moment waiting to happen, and there's nothing she can do to stop it from occurring.

Slowly, she opened the message, reading through its contents.

Aurora,

I'll be very frank with you, as I don't want this message far too long for you to read.

There was a little plan to kill and replace me today, which obviously failed. I have killed all of the plot's main leaders, but there is an individual who continues to elude me. His name is Golden Arrow, although you might know him as your Spartiate.

Apparently, he wants to use my death and his help to conquer the Yaks as the ultimate justification for his worthiness of the position of Imperator.

Of course, now that his pathetic attempt failed, his position is now in great jeopardy.

If I know anything about ensuring there to be no rivals, and I do, he's probably going to order you killed to prevent anyone from challenging his "ascendancy" to the throne.

So, long story short, kill him before he kills you.

Oh yeah, and if you're wondering how this message was delivered so fast, you can thank that dragon Spike for that. He can actually be quite useful at times.

Also, my official enthronement is in two weeks. Don't miss it. You'll regret it if you do.

Anyways, don't be an idiot,

Imperatrix Excidia Ducis Suprema Scythica Invicta (by Jupiter's beard do I love that new name)

That last part was weird.

But besides all the excess information, Aurora was surprised. Mortals trying to kill a Goddess? It sounded foolish. Then again, with Faust dead, Zerstörung could die like any other mortal.

But the fact that the one who was principle in its planning was far away from where it was taking place? That sounded even more ridiculous. But who was she to doubt her Goddess' word?

Aurora looked on back to the raging battle. It was beyond far away now, perhaps even done and over with. In spite of that, she ran back into the fray. She ran past all of the burning huts, past corpses already long dead.

She won't let the Spartiate have all the glory in the and, even if he was going to end up dead.

The morning sun rose over the Yaks' settlement, now just a shadow of its old self.

All of the children that had been captured were brought to the center of the phalanx' camp. They were, unsurprisingly, frightened and afraid, their eyes darting in many directions.

Aurora watched them silently, pitying them. For some reason, she saw herself in them; they were alone, had nothing or no one to give them direction.

Alone. Just like her.

"Alright! Listen up you beasts!" the Spartiate shouted, alarming all of the Yaks in the area. Once he was sure that the all of them were listening, he spoke up once again.

"The Legata has granted you all mercy, so that you can use your skill and great strength to serve our Imperatrix."

He went silent for a moment. His mere silence seemingly made the moment become more tense. And with her knowing where his true loyalties lie, Aurora stiffened, her grip on her staff tightening.

The Spartiate spoke, "However, your service is not needed."

Aurora looked over to the Spartiate, and asked questionably, "Spartiate?"

"Yes, Legata?" he replied in a somewhat... defiant tone.

"Why is their service not needed?"

"Are you brain dead, Legata? These people are beasts, and I'm not going to let them participate in the affairs of those who are civilised."

Aurora frowned, "Even so, my command is superior to yours."

The Spartiate's expression darkened. "Yes," he conceded, "unless you're dead."

In striking motion, the Spartiate pulled a blade with his magic, quickly moving to stab Aurora.

Now, if she had not been warned by her Goddess about his plight, the Legata would have been surprised, and possibly would have been successfully stabbed. But seeing as she knew what was to happen, she was able to snatch the blade within her grasp.

However, the Spartiate seemed to have expected for this outcome, as offensive magic began to generate from his horn.

But, seeing as his reflexes were far slower compared to that of Aurora, the Legata was able to swiftly kick him away, sending the Spartiate crashing into a tent, flattening the flimsy structure.

Even with this, the Spartiate staggered quickly back to his hooves, and prepared to attack once more.

...That is, if there wasn't a circle of spears surrounding him.

He spun around, looking at each soldier individually, "Why do you serve her? Don't you see she's making us slaves again? You're allowing her to-"

"And what's the chance that you're going to do exactly what you say she is?" a random soldier interrupted, "I heard you calling us to constantly protect you, and you kept treating us as if we were just mindless tools, expecting us to admire you with glories you never won."

Many of his comrades let out a chorus of agreements.

The Spartiate jolted back in surprise, and even slight disgust, "Never in my life had I seen ponies who were willing to let themselves be slaves."

"And never have I seen a pompous shithead like you get what they deserve," another soldier rebuked, earning cheers amongst his colleagues. The soldiers surrounding the Spartiate began throwing jeers and insults, with the Spartiate unable to defend himself at all.

During this debacle, a soldier suddenly shouted, "I'd say we kill him!" A chorus of cheers agreed with him.

"...Not so fast."

All eyes went to the Legata, who, not expecting all of the sudden attention, looked noticeably startled.

She continued nonetheless, "You see... this stallion has done quite a lot of heinous acts against our Imperatrix-"

"Does it really matter? She's dead!"

"If she was, then she wouldn't have given me this now, would she?" Aurora swiftly revealed the Goddess' message. The Legata continued, "In this message, she told me about your sins, and that you wanted to seize power all for yourself."

This statement confirmed what all the soldiers thought about the Spartiate, renewing calls to kill him in haste.

"However," Aurora stated, getting everyone's attention once more. She continued, "while I, as well as everyone else, want to kill you," she briefly looked at all of the soldiers, then looked back at the Spartiate, "I believe it would be most satisfying if we bring you to the Imperatrix... alive."

Now, with the prospect of the Imperatrix herself dealing with one who betrayed her, the soldier's calls for death were now replaced with calls for taking him alive for the purpose of pleasing the one they regarded as their savior.

That was all Aurora needed to hear. In finality, she ordered, "Strip him of his weapons; treat him like a prisoner."

The soldiers swiftly obeyed her command, moving to disarm their now-former Spartiate. He offered no resistance, as if he were surrendering in order to stay alive, perhaps mainly because he was.

When the soldiers finally carried off their new prisoner, Aurora turned back to the Yak children. They were all still, in the places they were before. After all, they couldn't escape when there was still quite a lot of soldiers watching them, also with the fact that there was nowhere they could escape to.

"As you see," Aurora spoke to them, "everyone is held accountable for what they do. If one commits a heinous act, they will be punished regardless of rank."

The Yaks all looked at one another, worry on their faces.

"Don't worry," the Legata assured them, "You all will be sent to train, and will not enter full service for five or more years, give it or take."

After ordering a Praefector to watch the children, Aurora simply turned and walked off to her tent, where she intended to have a nice rest after all that has happened.

On the way, Aurora wondered.

She just ordered a Spartiate to be taken, and even ordered him treated a prisoner. It surprised her. She had it done on her orders. She had made her own judgment. Perhaps she did have a sense of direction, after all.

Well, only if she had more knowledge of the places she treads, then she'll be certain.

Author's Note

Here you all are! A chapter dedicated entirely to Aurora!

I've been planning for a chapter like this for sometime now, and I'm happy that I've finally finished it.

So yeah, hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 17: One Tartarus of a Night

There's something I've been neglecting to mention recently. Something I believe is most important to know what's going on as of now.

Due to Faust being dead, I'm essentially a mortal. You probably already knew that, but I just want to make sure you remembered it. Got it? Good.

Now, despite me being mortal (for now), I still held some of my God-like traits. Please note that I said some, not all. This meant that I needed to adopt some of the mortal habits in order to survive.

Eating was part of these habits.

The first incident occured when me, Aurora, Stiermann, and Baron began our trek to the Crystal Empire. Before that time, it's been an eternity since I ever heard my stomach growl in hunger. So long story short, I then went hunting for food, and because of my staff, it was relatively easy to catch, and cook said food.

This habit of going hunting for food continued well until we first entered the Crystal Empire (Now I'm seriously considering renaming it). There, after I took control, I began to eat foods cooked by the chefs of the city. And I'll admit, never in my life did I have so many options on what to eat.

To me, it was like heaven, especially for one who once lived the life of a slave.

Since then, I often found myself going back to the chefs every night and ordering them to cook me the best dishes they have to offer, along with some dessert as well.

Who knew I could be so gluttonous?

It's been four days since the failed coup d'etat, and since then I've been laying some groundwork for by official enthronement in a week and a half. I also launched a purge within some ranks (mostly Spartiates) of the army to ensure that they never dared to rise up against me ever again.

Some of those Spartiates that were killed personally sent letters to me, desperately trying to convince me that they were innocent. How cute.

There was also the situation regarding preparation for the eventual coming of Grogar. The way I trained for this was by going as far away from the city as possible, find a massive mountain range, and completely flatten the area with my staff. Seeing as there was no one really close to matching the power I held, this was the only way for me to prepare.

Now, to you this may not sound hard on paper, but I should tell you that destroying an entire mountain range is incredibly harder than it looks. By comparison, manipulating water, and by extension the ocean, is far easier, as it's far less compressed than their mountain counterparts. Long story short, it took me hours alone to destroy these places, and by the end of it I was left a heaving, exhausted figure.

And with me being exhausted, it also made me feel quite famished.

So I went with the routine for the past four days: go back to the city, go into the Palace, go into the Palace's kitchen, demand the chefs make me a meal (preferably meat), then wait patiently or impatiently, depending on what mood I'm in.

And since I was in a rather fowl mood today, I was also rather impatient.

I sat on the end of the elongated table that occupied the center of the Palace dining room, twirling my staff with a bored expression on my features.

Sitting near me were all the captives, all here for the same reason I am. Cadence and Spike sat to my left, while Shining Armour occupied my right.

They all tried do use this opportunity of having conversation with me, asking questions of my previous mortal life, my early Godhood, and what compelled me to kill Faust in the first place. How they knew my life story was confusing, but I guess it was something that was recorded in ancient books after my imprisonment, probably used to scare children into obedience.

I never gave them any descriptive answers, always keeping them simple, but on-point. For instance, if they asked how my life was as a former slave, I'd simply answer, "Like any other slave", never going into any detail. And if they asked for any more details, I gave them a rather harsh rebuke.

And today they were doing the same things.

"How would you describe Spartacus?" Cadence asked.

"A stupid, incompetent prick," I answered simply.

Realizing that they couldn't get any more out of that, they went to another question, this time with Shining Armour asking, "Did you interact with mortals in your early Godhood?"

"Yes, but I killed them all."

"Why?"

I snapped a harsh glare at him, making him flinch.

"Because it was my job, you dunce."

Thankfully before the captives could ask any more questions, a servant came through the doors that connected the dining room and the kitchen. His hooves carried none of the foods that I ordered, which, considering my already irritated mood, made me scowl.

Once he was next to my seat, the servant bowed before he spoke.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, My Lady, but our cooks have encountered problems with the ovens."

"Such as?"

"The biggest problem they are encountering is that the fire needed to cook the food is not growing large enough to do so, no matter how much wood or coal they put into it."

Of course. Today is just one irritating thing after another.

"So you're telling me," I began slowly, "that I waited all this time for nothing?"

The servant hesitated for a moment, before answering quietly, "Yes, My Lady."

"And you do know that I am quite aggravated by this news, yes?"

"...Yes, My Lady."

Suddenly the room darkened as I finally let my rage flicker through and show itself.

"Then I suggest you find something for me to eat in your kitchen, or so Jupiter help me I will have your head separated from your body!"

"Y-Yes, My Lady!" the servant practically scrambled and ran back to the kitchen in fear.

After letting myself calm down for a moment, I turned back to the captives, who all held expressions of worry, but no fear was noticeable, with the exception of Spike.

"Any more questions?" I asked them with a sigh.

They remained silent as they wondered in their heads about what could be asked, which should be nothing, considering all of the relevant information has already been provided, thus-

"Actually, I have one." Dammit.

I turned to Spike, who had (surprisingly) been the one to address me. "What would that be?"

"Who's that "Jupiter" guy you keep talking about?"

I leaned back on my seat and hummed, before answering, "Someone a mortal mind like yours cannot comprehend."

Spike's gave me a sour-faced expression in response. "Well that's very descriptive," he said sarcastically.

"I try my best," I responded, also sarcastically.

Spike looked as though he was going to challenge my answer, but was interrupted as the servant came back into the dining room, a bottle of a dark liquid resting upon his hooves.

He confidently strode to the table, setting the bottle in front of me.

I grabbed the bottle with my free hand, reading its label.

Griffonian Wine.

"A delicate wine for you, My Lady, from the rich lands of the Griffon Kingdoms," he clarified. "I hope it is to your liking."

"We'll see about that," I said matter-of-factly.

Using my staff, I opened the bottle. Although, it seemed as though I overdid it, as the cork shot up to the ceiling at speeds a mortal could never trace, and it probably got lodged into the ceiling too, considering it never came back down.

Now with the bottle opened, I wasted no time in chugging its contents without stop.

What? I was quite thirsty.

The servant stumbled on his words, "Imperatrix! That's not how you're supposed to drink it!"

But I ignored him, continuing my drinking.

When I finished on my own accord, I set the bottle back onto the table, about a third of its contents now gone.

My, this diluted wine tasted better than all the ones I stole from my former master! Those tasted like shit compared to this.

But besides that, I noticed some weird things were going on. For instance, my vision was blurred, but not to the point it completely diminished my sight. And I also felt a little... light-headed.

I blinked a few times, trying to rid myself of the blue. This worked, although I still felt light-headed. Shrugging the feeling off, I looked upon the captives and servant, who were all giving me worried glances.

"What?" I asked.

"My Lady... do you feel sober?" the servant questioned.

I snapped at him, "Of course I feel sober, what do you think this wine is, pure?" I scoffed, "Fuck off."

"B-But Impera-"

"I said fuck off!"

"Y-Yes, Imperatrix!" the servant ran back into the kitchen with his tail (literally) between his hind legs.

I scowled at where he had gone to, a dark growl emanating from me.

"Asshole." I continued drinking the wine.

If there was anything Cadence thought she would never had a chance of witnessing, it would be a Goddess getting wasted right in front of her.

But now she has seen it, thanks to Zerstörung. Or Excidia, as the Goddess wanted to be known by her original alias once more. After all, the one who had made her current name was now long dead.

At this point and time, the Goddess really wasn't acting like herself. Her cheeks were flushed in a golden blush as she became far more jovial, to the point where Cadence thought she was dreaming. Alas, this was proven wrong when Zerstörung/Excidia gave her a hard pinch.

After that, the Goddess joyously danced around the dining room, stumbling many times in both her speech and stride, even singing some tunes in her old tongue.

And she was still doing it.

"Romae erit captum, direptum~" the Goddess sang, her slurred voice making her singing ever more terrible, "Et eius Senatus adolebit!~"

Once finished, Zerstörung/Excidia proceeded to look upon the captives, a goofy smile on her face. She slurred, "Well, how'd I do?"

The captives looked at one another, unsure how to answer the question, especially since the Goddess still held her dangerous staff within her grasp.

"Well... it was something..." Cadence answered finally.

Zerstörung/Excidia squealed excitedly, exclaiming happily, "Wonderful!"

She then went for another chug of the wine bottle, which was still held by her free hand.

...Only to realize that it was empty.

She fidgeted with the bottle for a moment, looking inside of it, shaking it, and turning it upside down to confirm that it was completely empty.

"Oh... it appears that I'm out of wine..." Zerstörung/Excidia said sadly, an unhappy frown forming on her lips.

Abruptly, she giggled and smiled, her drunk happiness returning once more.

"Who cares?" she slurred, tossing the bottle behind her, it shattering as it made contact to the floor, "I don't need that damn thing anyway!"

She then stumbled her way to Shining Armour, who had, unfortunately, been the closest to her.

The drunk Goddess hooked her free arm around his neck, which only served to make the stallion feel even more uncomfortable.

"Can I ask ya something?" she slurred to him, her alcoholic breath almost making Shining hurl.

Even though Shining hadn't answered her question, the drunk Goddess continued. "Are we frien..." she stopped herself for a moment, before speaking again, "...acquaintances?"

Shining obviously didn't want to say no, as she could still kill him if she wanted to. She may be happy now, but her mood could very well change to anger quickly.

An angry and drunken Goddess? Yeah, no one wanted that.

"Uh... yes?" Shining lied.

Zerstörung/Excidia gave him a happy smile, "Marvelous!" she practically shouted, "Come, dance with me in celebration!"

Before he could respond, Shining was dragged by the drunk Goddess, who promptly began to try dancing with him.

Cadence looked upon the spectacle with disbelief. She wonders why the Goddess had called the wine "diluted", when that kind hadn't been produced for over a thousand years!

But it was too late to tell her that now, as she was far beyond the point of drunk.

She doesn't know why she hadn't noticed it before, but Cadence saw that Spike was laughing, clearly enjoying what he was witnessing.

She looked back upon what was happening: Zerstörung/Excidia getting drunk, Cadence being pinched, wild slurrish singing, and Shining Armour being dragged on to dance.

The more she thought of what happened, the more Cadence herself began to laugh.

Tonight was one tartarus of a night.

"That was your plan!?" Vastatrix exclaimed in disbelief.

Harmonic frowned at her darker counterpart. "Yes, it is. You said that any plan to get her unconscious would work for you."

"But I didn't tell you to get her drunk!"

"Nor did you say not to."

Vastatrix groaned in frustration. "I should have known better than have you do this job on your own."

"Well, just look on the bright side-"

"I don't tend to do that a lot."

"-With her wasted, there's a higher chance for her to become unconscious. Thus we will be able to finally put our plan into action."

Vastatrix sighed in defeat, "Fine," she declared, lifting her arms in surrender. "We'll go with your idea, but only because it's already happened."

Harmonic smiled at her darker counterpart, "Glad we could agree on something."

A brief lapse of silence occured between the two, before Harmonic spoke again.

"You know, I never thought it would take all these years for us to finally reveal ourselves to our host."

"Indeed," Vastatrix concurred. "But now that wait is over, and hopefully we'll be able to interact with people besides the two of us. And if we do..."

Below Vastatrix' piercing red eyes, a vicious, devilish smile appeared, its set of sharp and pointed teeth clearly visible despite her jet black physique.

"...It's going to be fun..."

...

""Fun"? How's that going to be fun?"

"Fuck off, Harmonic!"

Author's Note

Yeah... don't know if I did drunkenness right... :ajbemused:

Whatever, enjoy the chapter as I debate on whether to add the narcotics tag or not...

Chapter 18: Chaotic Dream

I stood at the edge of a small lake, without anything to defend myself with my staff missing somewhere else. I didn't take this news too seriously, as I knew that I was dreaming, so "looking" for it would be pointless in the end, anyway.

The lake was surrounded by many kinds of plants and trees. Off to one side, there was a waterfall, which spilled its contents into the lake in roaring splashes of water that somehow soothed and calmed me.

Within the lake itself, medium sized fish roamed, swimming in all kinds of directions.

Overhead, birds chirped and squashed, flying wherever they so pleased, unbothered by the limits their wings had set.

I didn't understand. Why was I here? Why do these things calm me?

"Quite the sight for your mind to make, isn't it?" said a very... familiar voice.

Turning rapidly to the sound of it, my eyes settled upon something, or someone, that I have not seen in ages.

He sat on an ornate chair, holding what appeared to be a chalice in his claw. He was smiling at me smugly, clearly delighted at seeing me again.

Instead of being as happy as he was, I scowled deeply at him.

"Apophis..." I growled at the draconequs. "Why are you here?"

Apophis was unbothered by my hostility, instead chuckling. "For the simple reason that spirits long dead can still enter one's mind and dreams," he answered. "But for some reason, there were two others trying to come in, too, but I blocked them so that our little reunion can continue without interruption."

Two others? What was he talking about?

"But that's not the point why I'm here. So tell me, is that how you greet a long time friend after not seeing them for ages?" he asked as he drank from his chalice.

"If you consider a traitor a friend, then yes."

Apophis choked on his drink, before spitting it out in a comical way. He then looked at me with a more serious expression than he had before.

"A traitor? You're the one who betrayed me!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how so?"

Now he was completely flabbergasted

"How so? How so!?" he exclaimed. "You're making it sound like you did nothing wrong!"

"That's because I'm doing what is necessary."

Apophis scoffed, "Necessary? You're saying it's necessary to kill Faust, make us lose our immortality, let all the God's die, and thus make the world ripe for Grogar to take?"

"Grogar won't succeed. I'm making sure of that."

Apophis looked at me in a suspicious way, before his trademark mask returned, and he burst into laughter.

"That's rich," he said between laughs.

When he stopped laughing, he then stared at me seriously.

"If you're really making sure of stopping him, than I want to know how you plan on taking him on." He hovered off of his ornate chair, floating his way towards me. He stopped at an uncomfortable distance, too close for my comfort. He smirked mockingly.

"I want to know every last detail."

Sounded simple enough.

"Well-"

I stopped myself as I thought for one thing, anything that could be a plan of action. But I found none. I had no plan. I had nothing truly set for when Grogar arrives.

Taking my silence as a sign of victory, Apophis once again laughed to his heart's content as he circled around me. He Soon stopped, looking me dead in the eyes.

"Ne mikros fu tren krop xuttengun kros mert fu."

I responded to Apophis reverting back to his old tongue in kind. "Quae semper tu opinor, sed saltem ego non iam mortuus."

Apophis abruptly became (literally) deflated, his form falling flatly onto the ground below. "Low blow, Zer, low blow," he managed to wheeze out.

Suddenly, he teleported back onto the chair, good as new.

"But in all seriousness, Zer, you doomed us all, what with your desire for more power." His chalice reappeared in his hands with a snap of his fingers. "But I have to ask, how exactly did you kill Faust? And while I already know, why?"

Ah, yes, the question that everyone is so curious about. Why did I kill Faust? How did I do it? It's not very surprising that this was the question that was the most frequently asked.

I sighed as I prepared to answer the question.

"Faust can be quite arrogant at times. She often boasted about her powers as a creator and how she could easily replace all of us on a whim."

"So it was about power, then?" Apophis interjected.

I glared at him, irritated. "Let me speak first, asshole."

I continued, "She also saw any relationship between demigods to be impure and immediately did them away once she caught wind of one, most often by simply erasing the involved demigod from existence before replacing him."

"I don't see how that has to do with anything." Apophis interjected again. "For all I care, Faust is correct, any relationship with a demigod is stupid-"

I snapped at him angrily, "Faust is wrong. She could have just made those demigods into Gods themselves. She did have the power to do that, after all."

Apophis now looked at me with confusion and slight curiosity.

"Make them into Gods? The demigods? That is something I never expected to leave your mouth, Zer."

My eyes widened as I realized my mistake. "Shit," I muttered.

"Is there something you never told me about?" Apophis asked eagerly. "Something that is important for the reason you killed Faust?"

"No. Let's just-" I tried.

"Oh no!" Apophis interrupted, teleporting near me, his face inches away from mine, a stupid smile written on it. "You're not getting away that easily! I want to know what your hiding from me!"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "No."

"C'mon, Zer, pretty please?"

"No."

"Not even for good ol' Apophis?"

"Minime vero."

"Maybe just a little?"

"The answer is no, Apophis," I said finally. "And that's final."

Apophis' smile dropped as he now stared stared at me with an irritated expression.

Just when I thought I had gotten out of my mistake, a lightbulb appeared above Apophis' head as his expression contorted to one of realization, as though he had connected all the dots in a mystery.

"...It's him, isn't it?"

Shit. "Who?" I asked, attempting to play dumb.

Apophis grabbed my shoulders. "Don't play dumb with me, Zer!" he shouted as he shook me back and forth. "You know who I'm talking about!"

After he ceased his shaking, his eyes looked deep into my own, begging, pleading for me to give some kind of answer.

If this was anyone other than Apophis (or the one who he was speaking about), I would have still remained in denial. But this was Apophis, one who, no matter how much I told myself otherwise due to his betrayal, regarded as a friend. There was still that... connection that we had. I still felt rather comfortable talking to him despite how much he irritated me at times.

"...Ut Iuppiter miserere animae meae... fine," I finally conceded. "I know who you speak of, and yes, he is part of the reason I killed Faust."

"Wow," Apophis breathed out with a look of disbelief. "And here I thought you only had interest in me. But yet I just knew that something was going between you two!" He accusingly pointed a talon at me to emphasize what he was saying.

"Yes," I groaned in annoyance. "Who knew me and Trajan were so compatible?"

Remember when I said I never considered finding a mate? I lied about that. And while I knew that love would have gotten in the way I of my plans, I didn't have any of those plans when I began my relationship with Trajan, other than go out and kill mortals and get on Terra's bad side. They only developed after Faust became involved.

Apophis had ignored my statement, instead exclaiming, "But it makes so much more sense now! You saying he was your favorite Gatekeeper, spending more time with him after I turned you down, and even letting him influence your decisions!"

"Congratulations, Apophis," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "You figured out something that it took Faust five seconds to."

Apophis teleported back into his ornate chair once again, his chalice again reappearing in his lion paw. He had his trademark smirk on his features.

"While you may be correct, Zer, I must say that I'm now very interested in your tale. So if you please..." He gestured his free claw to me, signalling me to finally continue.

"Finally..." I groaned in my head as I once again continued my story.

"Trajan and I were able to keep our relationship behind closed doors for quite some time, but that didn't last forever. Faust was able to connect the dots to how we acted with each other, and took action accordingly. She threatened us, stating that if our actions continued any further, she would erase and replace both of us."

Apophis butted in, "And you couldn't allow her to do that, now, would you?"

"No. I couldn't," I concurred. "And the only way to prevent that from happening was to kill her."

"Ahh, now the interesting part," Apophis smiled devilishly. "So how'd you do it?"

I hummed thoughtfully, looking back upon memories of centuries passed, bringing myself back to the fateful event.

"It all occured much like this..."

Author's Note

Did I do the twist right? No? I guessed as much...

This chapter was a long time coming, and I'm happy I finally finished it. So enjoy.

Chapter 19: Facing the Creator

Palace of the Gods (Pantheon), Location & Date Unknown

I stood in front of the large doorway that led into Faust’s chambers, both conflicted and nervous of what I was there for.

The giant hallway that surrounded me was ever silent, any sound made echoing through them. This uncomfortable environment only served to make me even more nervous.

I slowly began to build up my confidence, telling myself that this was completely necessary if I wanted to continue what I already have going with Trajan, and that Faust was just another obstacle that I needed to get rid of.

My free hand reached to the door knocker on the door, ready to reveal my presence and deal with the consequences.

...Until I stopped myself again.

“Fuck me,” I sighed as my free hand settled back to my sides.

Did I really want to do this? Even with all the repercussions of such an action? What if I fail, and I’m the one killed instead? It was these thoughts that kept me from making that final move, that kept me from moving in.

I gave my head a firm shake as something began to sweep over me.

No. I can do this. I came all the way to Faust’s chambers to kill her! Not to grovel about the consequences of such a thing! She recruited me for that purpose. To do action before talk! All that was needed is for me to just do it!

Now with my surge of confidence, my free hand once again moved to knock, but unlike last time, it successfully made contact with the door knocker, and with that, I pounded three knocks that echoed across both directions of the massive Pantheon hallway.

A brief, unrelenting moment of silence followed shortly after, which was broken by the voice that I often dreaded of hearing.

“You may enter.”

Without any further hesitation, I entered Faust’s chambers. Inside, I found myself inside a room I had been inside of countless times before.

It was as large as any throne room was, with an elongated hallway in which led to a staircase that elevated to an extravagant throne.

But that wasn’t all the chambers had. To the walls left and right there were numerous other rooms that were built based upon things that the Gods had enjoyed in their previous mortal lives. For instance, I had taken a liking to the public bath facilities that the Romans constructed in nearly every city which they controlled, and Capua was no exception. I liked these baths so much that whenever Spartacus captured a village or city, I would often scour the streets in an attempt to find one of them.

So, when my own chambers were being constructed, I decided to incorporate my love of these places into it, creating my own extravagant bathing room just for my use alone, despite the fact that there was no need for a God to have a bath.

Like so, all other Gods created these kinds of rooms that focused on a specific thing they liked in their life as a mortal.

Except for Faust, of course.

She, unlike the rest of us, was never born as a mortal and thus didn’t live like one. Due to this, she felt no need to create these kinds of rooms, leaving her chambers to look much like a simple throne room.

Speaking of Faust (and getting back to the subject at hand), she sat on her throne, a bored look on her face, as her magic skimmed through a piles of papers which rested beside her. Each time she looked at a paper, her expression would often harden as her magic disintegrated the object to dust.

During her process of disintegrating another paper, she looked up at whoever had entered her chambers. Upon noticing me, her expression changed from one of irritation to slight surprise. She probably expected me to be in attendance in the council room, where the rest of the Gods currently were.

Her surprise disappeared as quickly as it came however, and she reverted back to her formal demeanor. “Zerstörung,” she declared, “I am surprised you’re here this early.”

“Rest assured, My Lady, there is a reason for that,” I responded, bowing to her respectfully, as all Gods in the Pantheon did to show that they were subservient to her.

Faust raised an eyebrow at me questionably. “Oh? And what would those reasons be?”

Standing up to full height once more, I answered, “That there is something… important… that I believe we should discuss alone with one another.”

Just by saying that sentence, Faust had already gotten wind of what I was here for, and her stare hardened. “So you’re here to discuss your relationship with Trajan, then?”

“That would be correct, My Lady.”

“And have you come to a decision on whether or not it should be terminated?”

“Yes, I have.”

“And that would be…?”

My heart began to pound in my chest. This was it, the point of no return. It was either screw up and die, or pass with flashing colors and take over the mortal realm, as well as be able to interact with Trajan as I so pleased.

The silence in the room increased my nervousness, which wasn’t helped by the fact that Faust was looking down at me with that glare of hers, scrutinizing every inch of my body, watching, waiting for me to do something stupid that would justify her reason to eradicate and replace me.

Building up my courage slowly, I finally answered, “…I have decided to terminate it.”

By my hesitation, and how long it took for me to answer, I assumed Faust would have easily caught my lie, and give me some lecture on how she can never be fooled. But fortunately, as well as to my surprise, the thought of it being a lie seemingly passed right over her head as a content smile formed on her muzzle.

“Excellent,” she complimented, sounding very satisfied. “And here I thought I was going to spend another two thousand years searching for a replacement.” The piles of papers that lay beside Faust all suddenly disappeared from existence as she stepped off of her the one and began to approach me in a calm stride.

Immediately, my body tensed, my hold on my staff becoming tighter. While her approach most likely had no malicious intent, my paranoia made it seem otherwise. This was a trick. A trap to get my guard down so that she could get me first. She knew that I lied, she’s Faust, dammit! The Creator of the Universe! She knew every trick that came with lying, she was no fool!

But I won’t let her trick me. I’m smarter than she gives me credit for. I will not die by her hands! If there was anyone here who mastered deceit, it would be me! Excidia Sicaria Scythica!

“Zerstörung?”

I snapped back to reality to find Faust standing in front of me, a look of… was that concern?

“Are you alright? You’re panting as though you were a mortal who’s ran for five days.”

“I… it’s nothing,” I dismissed, turning away. “I’m just feeling… anxious, is all.”

“Is it about Trajan?” she asked curiously.

I was hesitant. For what reason, I did not know. Was it for Trajan’s safety? Nonsense, Faust already knew about his full involvement in all of this, so what would be the point in lying about that involvement at this point?

“…Yes, it is,” I answered hesitantly.

Faust stared upon me with a concerned look. She then sighed as her head briefly dipped, before it rose, her expression now changed to a caring smile.

“I’ll make it up to you, then,” she declared, stepping much more closer, causing me to hold my staff even tighter.

Now face-to-face with the Creator, she spoke again, “You can continue interacting with Trajan, but under no circumstance will you two be doing anything that one would consider part of a relationship. That way, you two will still be in each-other’s presence, but I won’t have the chance of getting a headache due to an impure offspring. It’s a win-win. So what do you say about that?” She looked at me when she finished, clearly hopeful of an approval.

But I was suspicious, and a little confused. Why was she proposing this? Terra’s been in all kinds of relationships with demigods, all of them ending with the involved demigod being eradicated, and with Terra being hounded for her involvement. How was I somehow unique? Was it because I came to Faust personally, that I was in only one relationship, among other reasons?

It was then that my paranoid side kicked in. What if this was all a trick? What if this plan was some sort of ploy to get my guard down? Faust is the Creator of the Universe, dammit! She knows everything. She’s no fool! If anything, she clearly knows that I’m here to end her existence, and is just toying with me in order to make me look like a complete imbecile! Make me look like a mockery. Make me look like a weak-willed individual. Make me look like a stupid girl.

A deep sense of anger took over me as I repeated those words. Imbecile. Mockery. Weak-willed. stupid.

I despise being insulted in such a way. To be underestimated. All those who had done such a thing paid for it dearly in the end.

Faust will be no exception.

The Creator had been patiently waiting for my answer to her proposal. As I swam through my thoughts, she continued to hold that expression of false optimism, as well as a false smile.

When I exited my thoughts and looked ready to answer, Faust interjected me before I could speak. “So what is it? I am actually quite eager for your answer.”

I took a deep breath, filled to the brim with tension.

“…Lies.”

Faust became confused. “What?” she asked innocently. “What are you-”

She was interrupted as my staff pierced through her heart, and exiting through the back side of her bottom neck.

Faust’s eyes became wide with disbelief in an instant, as she looked down upon the weapon which would end her existence, blood spilling out, eager to get out of the wound. Her eyes then settled back into to me. The look in those eyes would be something I’d never forget, as they told me something that made me berate myself for many years to come.

She clearly didn’t expect me to do that. She wasn’t planning anything heinous. Entirely innocent.

And I killed her in spite of that.

“W…Wh…y…?” Faust asked weakly, before suddenly coughing out large quantities of ichor from her snout, some of which landed on my dress.

I remained silent, instead electing to yank my staff out of her, causing the floor to flood with her golden ichor. Faust fell to the floor with a thud. She moaned in pain as much as her wound would allow her to, desperately clinging onto life.

I watched as her hooves twitched to try and cover the large wound, to delay death as much as possible. But all of that was in vain.

Soon, like any other mortal, Faust faded from life as her body finally became completely limp, her eyes losing their shine and becoming dull and glazed.

As I looked over the corpse, I realized that I couldn’t just leave everything like this. The guards would take easy notice of the wound, and will have an easy time of figuring out who did it.

I couldn’t let that happen.

So I moved on to mutilate her corpse. Slashing, stabbing, amputating body parts. I also added some chains from the dungeons for good effect, so that her death looked like it was caused by torture rather than a sudden strike.

Doing all of these messy things had covered me in Faust’s ichor. To solve this problem, I simply used my staff’s magic to turn the ichor into ash. It might still be stuck into my dress, but having ash on it was far more easier to explain than the presence of ichor.

Now with everything done and over with, I briskly sprinted out of the room, eager to leave this incident behind me.

Once back into the hallway, I slammed the door behind me. Leaning my back onto it, I sighed loudly in disbelief.

I did it. I killed Faust, the Creator of the Universe. I did something which would have untold consequences for the universe she has created, most likely terrible ones.

I gathered myself soon enough, and my face shifted into the hardened look everyone in the Pantheon associated me with.

“Alea iacta est,” I whispered as I began to slowly walk down the hallway, acting as if nothing had ever transpired.

“So that’s how it all happened?” Apophis asked curiously.

“Yes, that is all,” I confirmed. “If you wanted more, then I’m afraid to tell you that expectation is often different from reality.”

“I know that,” Apophis admitted. “But you can’t blame me for expecting more, can you? I mean, when two powerful beings standoff against each other and you know one of them is going to die, you’d expect at least there to be some sort of fight.”

“I don’t blame you for that mentality,” I assured him. “People always see an individual death as some sort of grandiose occurrence, yet deaths of many to be unimportant. One death is a tragedy, many is a statistic.”

“Like ours,” Apophis continued, referring to the other Gods. “Instead of dying a glorious death, we perished and became forgotten in history as nothing but legends and myths.” He gazed through the contents of his chalice, perhaps reminiscing his passing. “So disappointing…” he muttered.

Abruptly, the earth around us began to shake violently. Specks of bright white began to appear everywhere as the birds and the environment started to disappear.

Apophis looked on at what was happening, and smiled at me. “I guess this is where we shall depart, Zer. It was good seeing you again after all these years. So until we meet again…” He waved his free claw slowly as the white began to engulf him. “Tata.”

Before everything was completely gone, and I had awoken from my slumber, my lips twitched upward, creating a small, but rather genuine, smile.

“Valete, vetus amicus.”

The blinding white engulfed me as I finally awakened from my slumber.

Chapter 20: Special Cases

Deep underground the city of the Crystal Empire, beneath the towering Palace which watched its inhabitants, lay the large and dormant dungeons. These dungeons had been once used by the Dark King who had once ruled the city, using them as his personal pleasure grounds for… numerous things.

Even after the end of his tyrannical reign, the Crystal Empire, now under the leadership of the brutal, but effective, Imperatrix, still saw a use for the dungeons. Those sentenced to re-education, charged with treasonous/heinous activities, and caught intruding onto the Palace grounds, were often brought to these dungeons. These prisoners were often tortured, insulted, and on some occasions even killed.

But there are a few… special cases found within these dark, torturous walls.

One such case was “Ferox”, a gray minotaur native to the Empire who was brought in after having a bar fight with a few local ponies. His case was special mainly for the reason that the Imperatrix herself ordered for him to be interred within the dungeons, the reason as for why is still unknown.

Another case was a rather odd changeling. The bug had been sighted travelling the Frozen North for some time before a Manipuli on patrol to the east encountered him. According to the Manus in command, the changeling had attempted to blend in with the Manipuli, but the Manus noticed how undisciplined and unprofessional the shapeshifter was, and was able to root him out, after which he immediately surrendered. The changeling was then brought to the dungeons, where, after a short interrogation, revealed why he was on his own at the time of his capture.

Apparently, he had defected from his hive, and was looking for somewhere to live on peacefully with ponies. Whether this is true or not is a topic of debate.

The last notable case was that of a violet-colored Equestrian unicorn named Esmeralda. She was captured along with a so-called “film crew” by a Manipuli on a patrol to the south of the city. If what she revealed in her interrogation is to be believed, then she was travelling along with her film crew to a village named Rainbow Falls to “film” what they called a “motion picture”, until their locomotive - “train” they called it - derailed from the tracks. Fortunately, they all survived, and also fortunately (for the director travelling with them), all of the “filming” equipment survived.

After a day and a few hours of gathering supplies and the filming equipment, they continued to go to the direction they believed was the way to Rainbow Falls for two days before finally encountering the Manipuli, and taken to the dungeons for interrogation. After hearing of this, the Imperatrix ordered thorough scouting missions to the east and south in search of this so-called Rainbow Falls.

These individuals’ skills and former professional fields have made the Imperatrix see that they may have some uses in regards to furthering her plans of ruling over the mortal realm as the new almighty Creator, and she wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste.

The loud clanging of a baton hitting the jail bars made Esmeralda, along with the film crew, awake with a jolt.

“Rise and shine! Today's a special day!” the guard who woke them stated eagerly.

“Special day? What's he talking about?” Esmeralda wondered as she stood from the very uncomfortable bed the cell had offered to her.

The cell was small, and hastily arranged. There wasn't even any kind of distance between all of the beds in there, except for a bucket of cold water that was used for bathing and other cleaning services. Besides the uncomfortableness of the beds, it was hard to sleep with all of the screaming from the other cells. As well as rats. Lots of rats.

“What's so “special” about today?” said one of the film crew, voicing Esmeralda’s thoughts. He then asked excitedly, “Are we being freed?” He also looked very excited as well.

Esmeralda’s velvet eyes couldn't see the guard's expression because of the helmet he wore covered his entire head (with the exception of the eyes), but she could tell that he was frowning in irritation. “Don't get carried away with your naive beliefs, heretic.” The guard then addressed everyone else in the cell, “You have five minutes to prepare. It would be best to not keep her waiting.”

Her? What was he talking about?

They prepared (that is, doing mostly nothing) for the five minutes given to them, with Esmeralda futily attempting to organize her pink mane, before the guard returned to take them out of the cell they occupied. Peculiar to note that the guard forced them to take their confiscated film equipment along with them, citing that “she” had interest in them.

What in tartarus was he talking about? Who's “she”?

Esmeralda and the film crew were then escorted out of the dungeons, past other cells with inmates screaming in agony, sleeping, or having long since been deceased (those were indicated by rats actively feasting on an unmoving body). Esmeralda felt bad for all of the ponies within these dungeons, but there was nothing she could do with their suffering. That didn't mean she never tried, but she never succeeded, mainly due to the paranoia they developed while isolated here.

Esmeralda and the film crew were soon joined with the two other so-called “special cases” within the dungeons, a large, gray Minotaur with auburn eyes that screamed determination, as well as a harmless looking changeling.

Together, they were escorted by the guards through rocky walls, which soon became stone walls, before becoming shiny, crystal walls.

Esmeralda, the film crew, and the changeling looked at the walls in awe. Never have they seen walls such as these. Not even in Canterlot could you find anything such as pure crystal hallways!

Then again… neither have they ever seen a guard wearing armor that was pure crystal. Black and orange crystals at that, making it all the more clear that crystal was not in short supply in this place. This was further proven when they passed several other guards who wore plain white crystal armor.

But the minotaur didn't look at any of these things in awe. His expression remained the same. Cold.

They all eventually halted at a large, double doorway that anyone within the group would know lead to a throne room. That's when it hit Esmeralda. That “she” the guards were talking about, was someone important, even though that was easy to point out. What wasn't expected was that important pony was the ruler of this mysterious place they were all in.

The guards stationed at the doors, ones who's armor had a unique difference in that they wore black and red crystal armor. They also had a large crest on their helmets, but instead of the EUP Guard, where they had a blue crest that extended vertically to their necks, these guard's crests were a menacing red, and extended horizontally over where their ears should be. Last, but certainly not least, their eyes were covered with what resembled visor goggles, which glowed a menacing red.

Clearly, these individuals were meant for intimidation, if anything else.

Before anyone had time to prepare for the very important meeting that was about to transpire inside the throne room, they opened the throne room doors without a moment's notice, revealing what was inside.

It wasn't what anyone had expected.

There, sitting on the throne, was a bipedal creature, wearing a stylish black dress outfitted with orange highlights here and there. It also wore what looked like a beret, with the same colors as the dress. Above the beret was a menacing orange halo, although the stare and expression the creature bore suggested that it was something other than angelic. It's face had pale, white skin that was whiter than the whitest fur, along with a matching white mane. Her eyes glowed a sickly orange, and glared at the group with such intensity that Esmeralda felt like she was turning to ash.

Resting on both of the armrests of the throne lay a large, black staff. It looked as though it been through quite a lot, judging by the many white scratches on its surface. It also had a large cross at one of its ends, in which glowed a dull orange, although it seemed it could get much brighter at anytime.

“Stop standing there. Move!” the sudden shout of the escort behind them brought them back to reality, and they walked slowly to the center of the throne room, under the piercing gaze of the creature. She did not say anything, nor did it give any hint that it would. She just… stared at all of them, judging them silently.

When they were all in the center of the room, the escorts bowed respectfully to the creature, before leaving, the slamming throne room doors behind them echoing throughout the space.

Seconds ticked by in the throne room as an uncomfortable silence reigned. The creature sitting on the throne cast looks over all of them, looking at all of them with eyes that screamed she wanted to see more.

“She's analysing us,” Esmeralda realised.

Indeed, the creature was analysing them, yes, but what for? Usefulness? How they were to be executed? Esmeralda hoped it wasn't the latter, but if she were honest, what did she have left to live for anyway?

One of the film crew grew tired of the wait, and broke the silence. “Excuse me miss, but wha-”

“Do not speak so casual to me, mortal,” the creature responded harshly, speaking for the first time. “And you shall address me as “Imperatrix”, as should everyone else in your group.”

It was at this moment that the minotaur looked as though he lost his cool.

Without a moment's notice, he began to march up to the throne, his eyes burning with hatred, fully intent on destroying the individual that was in front of him.

The Imperatrix looked over at the minotaur, and instead of panicking at the sight of the massive species charging for her, she smirked rather devilishly. “Ferox. I've heard a lot about you.”

Ferox growled at the Imperatrix, stopping directly in front of the throne which she sat on. He glared at the insulting smirk the ruler was giving him, daring him to do something stupid.

“Bar fights, resisting arrest, killing a Conditor, breaking out of your cell more than once, and almost inspired a riot in the dungeons,” the Imperatrix said, listing all of Ferox’ offenses. She frowned, “You've proven yourself to be quite a pain in the ass.”

Ferox narrowed his eyes, “So, you sent me here so that you can kill me yourself?”

The Imperatrix chuckled at this notion, her smirk returning. “Ferox, if my intention was to kill you, then would you be standing where you are right now?”

The minotaur remained silent for a moment. “…No, I suppose not,” he conceded.

“Good,” she said, satisfied. “Now for why I brought you here.”

The Imperatrix shuffled in her throne, perhaps preparing for the monologue ahead. “Based on the many reports on you, I have surmised that you are a rather strong individual. Not that I didn't expect a minotaur to be strong, just not as strong as you are, which definitely makes you a special case.”

“…In what way?” Ferox asked questionably.

The Imperatrix narrowed her eyes dangerously at the minotaur. “Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you held yourself against ten normal ponies along with two manipuli, killed a Conditor, wrecked an armory, and had a Praefector begging me to allow you be killed!?” At the end of her rant, the ruler was glaring so harshly at Ferox that even he felt himself shrinking. “If that doesn't say you're a rather special minotaur, then I guess killing you is the best option. These are actions I'd expect from the likes a of a centaur!” Now done with all she had to say, the Imperatrix then began to massage her temples. Esmeralda swore the ruler muttered something about a hangover, as well as swear words in an unknown language, but she was just assuming things.

The Imperatrix soon ceased her actions, and returned to the subject at hoof. “Anyways, you are a formidable person, and one that has caused fear within the ranks of my Exercitus for obvious reasons.” Once more, she smiled, “…That's why I deemed it necessary to let you live.”

Just where was she going with this?

“Henceforth, I grant you with the rank of Atticus. You are to be the strength which most of my commanders lack, the shadow that will make my army fear more of what is behind them rather than in front of them. A true warrior to be reckoned with by my enemies.”

Ferox looked at the Imperatrix suspiciously, but that didn't mean that he wasn't interested. “…So you're just going to give me command of entire armies just like that?”

At that notion, the ruler glared at Ferox, and snarled, “Do not count me as some sort of imbecile who promotes everyone who disobeys them openly. Those kinds of fools who base their entire army upon only strength or the wit of a single individual fail miserably in the end.”

“Aren't you technically the single witty individual you speak of, though?” the minotaur countered, a smirk appearing on his muzzle.

The Imperatrix’ glare on him hardened. “I am a different matter. Unlike those ridiculous mortals, a cannot die, thus my Empire can rely on me for an infinite amount of time. My reign will be eternal.”

Ferox looked as though he was about to challenge that statement, but he wisely held his tongue.

The Imperatrix shifted her eyes elsewhere, eventually settling upon the changeling. The ruler hummed curiously as the bug squirmed in her gaze.

“I've seen your kind before, bug, but at the time I didn't know of what you were capable of. But now, I do” Her trademark devilish smile appeared once more. “And I have to say, I am quite… intrigued with your capabilities.”

She then announced what he will be used for. “Therefore, you shall be assigned to my Inquisitores. Mostly for infiltration missions, which I was told you rathered excelled at due to your shapeshifting abilities. Your job will be to rat out any dissenting groups you find by infiltrating their ranks. I trust you will pass these missions with flying colors. After all, your reward for doing so will be to live peacefully among us.” She then shot a cheeky smirk at the bugpony, and asked rhetorically, “That is what you want, is it not?”

Finally, the Imperatrix set her cold eyes on Esmeralda and the film crew, her crude smirk remaining implanted on her face.

One of the film crew, the same which had spoken “casually” to her earlier, dared to speak again. “What shall we do-”

…Before his body was slammed into a wall by an unknown force, his muzzle taking the brunt of the collision.

The pony staggered back upon his hooves, and reached for the stinging pain on his snout with a hoof, only to recoil slightly when it was covered with his own blood from his severed nose.

“Sorry about that,” the Imperatrix said rather sarcastically. “I just needed to properly punish you for addressing me so casually like you did.”

Esmeralda and the others looked on the event in surprise. This being had magic? But she has no horns! She has nothing to project magic through!

Then Esmeralda noticed. The staff. It was brighter than it was when she entered the room, and now the Imperatrix had a firm grip on it, as though she was about to use it as a weapon. Well, it is a weapon, but what for? How powerful is it!?

The crewmember stared at the ruler in disbelief for a moment, before turning and walking back to the film, although not without a few grumbles of discontent. But the Imperatrix payed that no heed.

“Now then,” the ruler continued. “I have heard of that so-called “film equipment” of yours. I have also heard of its ability to, in your words, “create moving images”.” She remained silent for a moment, but suddenly lost it and laughed for a long, joyous moment before exclaiming amusingly, “That's the dumbest shit I've heard in a thousand years! Moving images!? Ha!” The Imperatrix continued laughing at the film crew's expense, making them become uncomfortable and made them slightly worried of their fates.

She eventually stopped herself again, but only for the purpose of further humoring herself.

“And you also spoke about carts that can move on their own if you put some rock in a fire! How in Jupiter's name does that make any sense!?” At this point, Ferox joined in on the laughing, as him being a native to this land made such things sound ridiculous to him as well.

For a last time, the laughing continued for some time before quieting down to silence.

The Imperatrix looked down upon Esmeralda and the film crew, her smile from the laughing remaining etched in her face.

“Anyway, tomorrow, you are to show me the workings of your “film equipment”,” she chuckled for a moment, “and at that time I will decide what use all of you will be to me - or I'll just kill you all. And judging by how ridiculous you sound, the latter is rather more enticing for me.”

The ruler’s cold stare made a return as she motioned her right hand to shoo the special cases away. “Leave. You all have things to do, especially with your new positions. Bellatores! Show them out.”

The guards outside the throne room opened the doors again, indicating that they were these “bellatores” the Imperatrix called to. They did their job, letting the special cases take their leave, and let their ruler have some alone time with herself.

Once the doors slammed shut, Zerstörung attempted to look back upon what had transpired, but only one thing kept running through her mind.

“…Carts that move on their own by putting rocks into a fire,” she repeated, her voice cracking into a chuckle as an amused smile returned. “How idiotic can these mortals get?”

Author's Note

Finally! Chapter 20! Woo!

Anyway, there's been two new unit formations introduced, so let's get into them.

Inquisitores: An organization of soldiers who are well adept to infiltration, spying, and other types of espionage. They're essentially the secret police.

Bellatores Martianae: Translated from latin as "Martian Warriors" (not from the planet). These individuals are ones who excel in combat, and are undyingly loyal, as well as only take orders from, to the Imperatrix herself. These individuals are to show the wrath of the God of War Mars himself, no matter the cost.

Oh, yeah, and Esmeralda's back, too. Yay.

Chapter 21: The Gift

How long has it been since she's seen this city? Aurora wasn't sure. But even so, the humanoid acknowledged that a lot had changed during the time she was subjugating the Yaks.

Back when the Phalanx had began its expedition, there had been only one to three Agoge Camps, but now that number had swelled to well over twenty. As expected, no one in the Phalanx had prepared to see so much of them dotting around the city. Just how many ponies inhabit this place? Regardless, Aurora ordered them to disperse and bring the Yak children into the camps in order to begin their service to the Imperatrix. She left two soldiers to carry Golden Arrow, also known as the “gift” for her Goddess.

Along the way to the Palace, Aurora noticed another thing that was different from when she had departed. The streets were far more quiet. When the expedition had begun, the streets had been bustling with civilian life, having finally recovered from their former lives as slaves to the Dark King. Now she was returning to a dead city, the only residents on the streets being individuals who converse in only quick conversations, nothing louder than a whisper. To Aurora, it only made sense, since the events of the recent coup were still fresh on their minds.

Regardless of the silent streets, the humanoid, soldiers, and gift moved onwards, approaching the Palace of the Imperatrix. Speaking of which, it was also different, at least in terms of who was guarding it, that is.

Once the group had arrived on the Palace grounds, it would have been impossible for Aurora to not notice the soldiers guarding it. Their armor was black and red crystals, a dark red visor blocked their eyes, and a large red crest rested on their head. It was rather clear that these soldiers were here primarily for intimidation reasons, but Aurora wasn't sure if that indeed was their purpose.

As they neared the entrance to the Palace, a guard noticed them, and moved to intercept. “Halt! State your business!”

That was unexpected. Aurora had thought that, by now, everyone would know of the high position that she now held. Alas, that doesn't seem to be the case. She looked over to the guard. “We are here to bring a gift to the Imperatrix. We think she will be very grateful.”

“The Imperatrix is grateful to no one,” the guard rebuked rather harshly. “Now state your business!”

Aurora released a quiet groan, before rephrasing her words. “We have brought a prisoner. One who orchestrated the attempted overthrow on our beloved Imperatrix.”

The guard's attention changing to the captive Golden Arrow suggested that he understood that sentence.

The guard stared down Arrow for a brief period, before looking back to Aurora. “ All prisoners, no matter how important, are to be kept in the dungeons, as per instructions of the Imperatrix. We'll handle him from here on out.”

Aurora was taken aback by this. Seeing her plan of finally pleasing Zerstörung starting to crumble, she began to get desperate. “B-But can't we get an audience with the Imperatrix and show him to her?”

“I believe she said all prisoners, no matter their importance, are to be kept in the dungeons. Are you possibly rejecting her will?”

Shit. Now he's accusing her of disobedience. She needed to think fast.

“N-N-No! Not at all! I-It's just that he… he tried to overthrow her! Tried to bring you back to slavery!” Aurora took a breath, calming herself. She then asked, “So, what would be the better punishment? Rotting in the dungeons like any other prisoner? Or to suffer a fate given by the Imperatrix herself?”

The question hung in the air for a time, silence following it as the guard went deep into thought.

Finally, he answered. “Very well, then. You shall wait here while we give you an audience with the Imperatrix.” After saying that, he walked off into the Palace with purpose, leaving Aurora, her soldiers, and Arrow to wait on the Palace grounds.

As time passed, Aurora ordered her soldiers to knock the treasonous Arrow unconscious, seeing as they were starting to have trouble carrying him any longer. The General hadn't spoken at all since his arrest, and whether it was for the fact he knew he was doomed, or a pitiful act of “resistance”, Aurora did not know.

After the soldiers had knocked him unconscious, they dropped him hard onto the pavement, before sitting down and starting to chat amongst themselves. Aurora, meanwhile, waited nearby one of the Palace's massive legs which kept it above the ground and waited. And waited. And waited…

“This is going to be a long wait,” she finally sighed. Lucky for her, she had something which could pass the time.

Leaning her staff on the Palace leg, she reached behind her back, pulling out what looked to be some sort of instrument. It was mostly a long vertical stick-like neck, at the top of which two large tuning pegs were located, and at the bottom is a small sound box which is covered with what looked like snake skin on the front end. Two strings are attached from the pegs to the base, and a small loop of string placed around the neck and strings acting as a nut pulls the strings towards the skin, holding a small wooden bridge in place.

Obviously, it wasn't like any other instrument found in this world. It is from another, after all.

After staring at the instrument for a brief period of time, Aurora moved to play it. She grabbed the bow which was attached to the strings, and sounded the first note. The instrument was played like that of a violin, but the sound in which it made clearly gave the idea it was quite different.

Aurora started the piece slow, gliding her left hand on the strings as her right moved the bow, creating a variety of sounds which relaxed Aurora's mind and body. She lost focus to the world around her, becoming fully entranced into the rhythm of the instrument.

Aurora closed her eyes as she focused all her attention on the sound the instrument reverberated in her ears. They twitched and turned as the notes changed, as if it were some kind of signal. Her tail swayed back and forth slowly, absentmindedly.

As the piece continued, it began to become dramatic, the low notes turned high as the bow quickened, the speed fast-paced. Aurora moved along with the change in rhythm, her ears twitching more often, her tail swaying faster, her eyes hardened in focus.

The high notes and movements continued for a time, Aurora playing the instrument as she had many times before. But soon enough, like all things, it had to end.

The high notes eventually went to low notes as Aurora's movements slowed. And after a low note which trailed in finality, the piece ended.

Opening her eyes once more, Aurora found that her two soldiers, as well as some of the Palace guards, were looking at her intently. It seems she's gathered a crowd. The thought of this made her blush a little in embarrassment. But then she became confused when they all began to stare at something behind her.

“Vere magnifica,” a voice breathed behind her.

Aurora turned rapidly, and upon seeing who it was, struggled to speak.

“M-M-My Lady! I'm s-so sorry! I-I did not a-acknowledge your presence!” As if for emphasis, she bowed multiple times.

Zerstörung, who had been wide-eyed in disbelief, shook herself out of her stupor, and back to her infamously cold demeanor. She had many questions, most importantly of which…

“Who gave you that instrument?” She asked, with a particular venom in her voice.

Aurora stopped her shameful bowing and looked upon her Goddess, confused. “What?”

“I do not like to repeat myself, Aurora,” Zerstörung responded with a growl. “So it would be in your best interests to answer my question.”

Knowing what that statement implied, the humanoid answered the Goddess’ question. “I-It was my father's, b-but Baron and Stiermann gave it to me after he…” she trailed off with a look of sadness.

Zerstörung merely narrowed her eyes, ignoring Aurora. “How did you learn to play it?” she asked, if possible with much more hostility.

Ignoring her Goddess’ clear anger, Aurora looked upon her instrument, a small smile forming on her face. “I-I was self-fought, since Baron and Stiermann didn't know how to play it. I memorized the notes and movements, then began to make songs.” Looking back up, she finally saw the evident anger upon Zerstörung's features, and her fear was rekindled.

Even more so when the Goddess harshly ordered, “Get that damn thing out of my sight.”

“Y-Yes, M-My Lady!” Aurora acknowledged, quickly hiding the instrument behind her back.

Now she was confused. Why did Zerstörung show so much hostility to the instrument? Hadn't she been amazed after Aurora's show? It made no sense to her, but then again, the Goddess always looks for some way to downplay her accomplishments…

Aurora quickly perished that thought.

She finally came back to reality as Zerstörung passed her, and walked towards the soldiers guarding the unconscious Arrow. The soldiers quickly stood in attention, honored to be in the presence of the Imperatrix.

She ignored them, however, and looked over the unconscious Proditor in front of her for a time. During that time, the soldiers guarding Arrow looked to become nervous, and looked at one another worriedly. Aurora wondered briefly why they looked like such, but ceased to after her Goddess called out to her again.

“Aurora?” Zerstörung asked, her voice in the tone of happy glee.

Aurora, slightly disturbed by the tone of the voice, answered cautiously, “Y-Yes, My Lady?” She hoped desperately that she hadn't done something wrong.

The Goddess turned towards the humanoid, revealing a large smile which encompassed almost her entire face. A smile of wicked glee which showed more cruelty than care, more savagery than kindness. Now Aurora understood why her soldiers looked so nervous beforehand.

After a long, uncomfortable silence, the Imperatrix spoke again, her smile not disappearing as her voice exclaimed in the greatest joy.

“This is the greatest gift I could ask for!”

Chapter 22: Emotional Interrogation

The throne room of the Palace was one of my favorite rooms. It was the place where I gave my holy decrees, and showed my dominance to the pathetic mortals of this city.

But now, it was going to be my favorite for another reason.

“Hmm… whatever am I going to do to you?” I hummed excitedly, smiling happily as I circled Golden Arrow, who was now conscious and aware of my presence. Aurora was watching things from afar, wisely choosing not to get in the way of my pleasure. Golden Arrow, in the meantime, was calm for the most part, which intrigued me. Mortals weren't calm when faced with the reality of death. They always panic, beg for mercy, or both.

His calmness was enough to stop my stride around him, and I narrowed my eyes at him, but my smile remained on my face. He narrowed his eyes back at me, a angry frown on his traitorous muzzle. “You are rather calm, mortal. Why don't we change that?”

“Putting fear unto me will not force me to reveal valuable information, slaver.”

My expression did not change visibly, but inside my head I was rather surprised at his statement. This mortal was more calm than I had thought previously, and it was going to be quite a challenge to get information out of his treacherous mouth.

“So he wants to play the brave card, doesn't he? Then I shall play some of my own cards, then.” I thought. Soon enough, an idea came in my head.

I kept my smile so as to entice some of that fear out of him. I then chuckled before I struck.

“Do you have a family, Proditor?”

I could see him fall back for a moment, surprised at the sudden change in topic. A long silence had followed my question, and I waited patiently for his answer.

“…No.” He said it as bluntly as possible. But there was this shakiness in his voice. And it had taken him a rather long period of time to answer. It was these two things that made me conclude that he was lying.

So I ignored his denial, and instead continued my push. “You wouldn't want them to suffer for your sins, do you?” I asked rhetorically, a feigned concern in my voice.

“I told y-” Arrow tried.

“Especially your child. Wouldn't it be rather sad that he never lived life to the fullest because of you?”

Arrow began to falter, but his gaze remained unwavering.

“A shame, really. I can hear your child's screams now, as his hooves are amputated, his eyes gouged out, his body crushed like an ant. There are so many things I could do to him, so many ways to kill him. And it would all be because of his father.”

Arrow now wasn't looking at me, his eyes staring down at the floor in sadness. I thought I even saw some tears fall.

Now I had him.

Walking to him with a stride, I dipped my hand under his head, forcing him into eye-contact with me once more. My stared deep into his, piercing his very soul.

My smile finally disappeared, showing him a seemingly worried frown, “You don't want that, don't you? You don't want your child to become a victim of your mistakes?”

“…N-No…” Arrow said.

Now then, time to get what I want.

“Then all you have to do is tell me what I want to know.”

A tense silence filled the throne room after that statement. Along that time, Arrow laid in deep thought, contemplating his choices.

As you should know, I had no intention of actually killing his child, mainly due to the fact that I didn't know their name. Nor did I really care to know, honestly. They'll probably die during the conquest of the world in my name, so this whole thing really wouldn't matter anyway.

I had trapped Arrow in a corner, his expression in deep thought for a long period of time. He was most likely thinking about his family, specifically his child, and how they might suffer from his refusal to give me what I want.

After awhile, he closed his eyes shut, and consumed a deep breath, readying himself for his confession. But when his eyes opened, I saw something other than defeat in them. It was a hard, cold glare, one which actually caught me off-guard for a moment.

“I'm sorry…” Arrow whispered. I realized it was not to me, but towards his family.

I chuckled. “That's a good boy. Now, tell me-”

I was rather rudely interrupted when Arrow suddenly set his head free from my hand, and proceeded to stab his horn deep through my abdomen.

I yelped at the sudden pain that was bursting through my body. I was stunned, to be sure. I hadn't expected this action, especially from the likes of a mortal.

I staggered back from the assault, Arrow stubbornly keeping his horn inside my wound.

Nearby, Aurora panicked. “My Lady!” she shouted desperately, quickly dashing over to us with great speed. When she was close enough, she swung her staff, knocking Arrow far away, his figure rolling across the floor painfully. Now free from his horn, I fell unceremoniously to the ground, groaning in agony as I desperately attempted to stand once more.

Aurora then positioned herself between me and Arrow, her posture one of defence, and her expression towards the traitorous Praefector one of clear hostility. Meanwhile, Arrow himself quickly staggered back to his hooves, his eyes glued onto me as he glared with deep intensity and hatred.

“I will never kneel to a despotic ruler such as you,” he declared as he readied himself for battle. But, before he was set to attack, he seemed to remember something, as his posture relaxed - though not considerably - and he smirked.

“I've learned a lot about you when I plotted to overthrow you, despot,” he proclaimed, much to my and Aurora's confusion. What the hell did he know about me.

Arrow quickly gave details. “You are an ancient Goddess of old, from which was cursed to mortality by Lady Faust herself. But that's not what I'm intrigued about. I'm intrigued about your relationship with a certain someone - Trajan, was it?”

I narrowed my eyes at Arrow at this revelation. Aurora stiffened.

“If I remember, you had been very close to him, so close, in fact, that you let him influence your decisions.” Arrow then sighed in feigned sadness, shaking his head in exaggerated disappointment. “A shame, then, how he perished after you were imprisoned. How you are to never see his face again. How-”

“Shut up…” Contrary to what you may be thinking, it wasn't me who said that.

It was Aurora.

Her voice was firm, commanding, yet holding back on anger. That didn't mean that her body was shaking with it, though.

Arrow, rather than taking her warning seriously, was rather amused by it instead. “Oh? Is this a sensitive topic to you? Maybe your Imperatrix shouldn't have threatened my own family, then I wouldn't spit upon yours. It is a fair deal, isn't it?”

Aurora ignored him, however, her gaze hardening as her voice now became laced with hatred. “Shut. Up.”

“Why would I? Do you not like me insulting your father's name? Or maybe you don't want me to learn the truth that he was a coward? Judging by how you're reacting, I guess he was after-”

Now it was Arrow's turn to be interrupted, this time by Aurora's staff flying through the air, and cutting off all four of his legs. So stunned was Arrow by this action, that he couldn't properly scream in pain. Well, he tried to, but Aurora giving him a swift kick in the face prevented that.

And then, with fury I never expected to come from her, Aurora stomped on his muzzle. And she did It again. And again. And again…

I watched as she essentially beat Arrow to death, each stomp she gave being harder than the last. This continued for quite some time, even after his body completely stopped moving.

Soon enough, Aurora stopped her rage. Or so I thought, as she then proceeded to grab her staff which laid on the floor. It was during this process which I saw that Arrow was still indeed alive, as his battered and bloodied head rose a few inches off the ground. His doing this was not long, obviously, as Aurora returned to his side and began stabbing him with her staff. And again. And again…

Noticing a pattern here?

Anyway, soon enough Aurora was able to control herself. Stopping her merciless stabbing, she panted vigorously. She was a mess, especially her feet and staff, which were drenched in blood. Droplets of blood were on her face and clothing. If a mortal were to look at her now, they would most likely call her a maniac.

As Aurora recovered from her brutal kill, I was finally able do stand up. Checking my wound, I concluded that it wasn't dangerous enough to kill me. I had suffered worse and lived, after all.

In looked back at Aurora and her kill. After a time, I decided to speak, “A fair kill, Aurora. Even I would have to admit that mine weren't as brutal as yours.”

The humanoid was silent at the praise. She was on her knees, back facing me. Her ears were dropped down, as if she were sad.

“…I'm sorry.”

Somewhat confused as to why she said this, I looked at her bluntly. “What for? You showed absolutely no mercy. Showed a traitor why he shouldn't harm his Imperatrix So openly. That's not something you should apologize for.”

Once more, Aurora was silent before she spoke. “…He had information. Information that we desperately needed. And yet I killed him because he insulted my father.” Ah, so she's apologizing for letting pitiful emotions take control of her actions.

“True, but I've seen Baron and Stiermann kill with their anger many times before, so I will not look down upon you for doing the same thing.”

Aurora's ears spiked up as she remembered something. Turning to finally, she asked eagerly, “Baron and Stiermann? If I may ask, My Lady, what is their condition?”

I looked upon the humanoid. Her tail was now swinging back and forth across the floor, telling me she was looking forward on the news of the people she's spent her whole life with. Good news, I might add.

Too bad I didn't have any.

“They're dead.” I stated bluntly.

Immediately, Aurora's posture went to saddened again, as her ears drooped and her tail stopped its movements. She was stuck in a stunned silence, looking at me with surprise clear on her features. “…What?”

“You know what you heard, Aurora. They're dead,” I repeated as if I didn't care.

Once again, silence.

“N-No… t-they can't be d…de…” Tears were starting to form in the humanoid's eye as she tried to deny the truth. She soon placed both hands on her head, as if trying to block out noise. “No…No…No…”

Getting tired of Aurora displaying her emotions, I decided do interject. “Stop sulking, Aurora. You're annoying me.”

It was an unwise move, I would later admit.

The humanoid did indeed stop her sulking, as she then looked at me, her eye positively pouring tears as she… glared.

“Why don't you care?” she whispered silently, although it was loud enough for me to hear her.

I was about to answer, but Aurora cut me off. “I lost everyone I was close to. Everyone I connected with. Everyone, everyone, everyone…” Her glared hardened as her eye narrowed. “And that's all you say? Just to shut up and accept it?”

I responded firmly and harshly, narrowing my eyes into a scolding glare. “I am the Goddess of Havoc, Aurora. I cannot care for anyone-”

“Bullshit!” I was taken aback by her interruption. This was the first time I heard Aurora curse, and it was directed at me.

“They were a part of your life, too! You knew them! You spoke with them! They were by your side!” she stopped, her head drooping low, not unlike what Arrow had been doing earlier. I remained silent, watching as Aurora stooped into sadness.

Everything she said was true. I had grown attachments to my underlings that actually made me worry for them somewhat. The one I worried for the most had been Trajan, obviously. I constantly wanted to know how he was, what he was doing, and even if he needed help on those things. When I first heard that he was deceased, I did not express it outwardly, but I was saddened by it. And now that I think about it, I had faltered only slightly at Aurora's speech, but still faltered nonetheless.

Speaking of Aurora, she looked back at me, her glare the same as before, her eye pouring tears. “Why don't you care about them?” she asked sternly. When I only answered with a slightly shaky sigh, she yelled, “Why don't you care about them!”

“Because I'm used to it!”

Silence.

“There's something you should know, Aurora,” I growled deeply at the humanoid. Aurora stared back at me, fear beginning to come over her. I could feel it welling up inside her.

“Of all the things I have experienced, loss was the most common of them,” I continued. “Through all of my mortal life, I have lost those who I care about. I can even remember their names; Cursor, Leo, Lupus, Trajan,” only the last one had been known by Aurora, but I made it clear that I had suffered some loss of my own.

I continued speaking. “I lost all of them, the former three died in front of my own eyes. My mortal life was riddled with these kinds of events, and soon enough, I got used to them.” My glare dropped, and replaced by a downcast look. “I got used to the occurrence of making acquaintances only to have them die in front of me soon afterwards. It happened over and over again, to the point I no longer cared if it happened.”

I refocused my attention on the humanoid with a stare that, to her relief, wasn't at all harsh. “So yes, I don't care, Aurora, because doing so would only drag myself back, because it would destroy me as almost did to you.”

Upon finishing that sentence I released a tense breath that I didn't know I was holding. I saw that Aurora was now in deep thought, most likely about what I just said.

“Now, get that corpse out of my sight, it's staining the floor.” I turned to go back to the throne, but a piercing pain in my abdomen stopped me. I winced in pain, and turned back to the humanoid, who was already setting out on my previous order. “And bring a doctor while you're at it,” I added.

Aurora only nodded silently as she dragged Arrow's corpse out of the throne room, his blood staining the floor wherever it was dragged.

When the doors shut behind her, many thoughts came to my mind. What happened? Why did I admit what I did? Why did Aurora seemed to be more braver than ever? I was so confused at these turn of events. After all, this was supposed to be a simple interrogation, and instead turned into a storm of emotion.

And while I was giving my reason as to why I seemingly didn't care about loss, I felt it. That pain in my heart again, the same pain I felt when Apophis left me when I had been turned to stone. The pain which I didn't know the origins of. The pain which, to some extent, terrified me.

I gripped my heart tightly. Just what is this feeling?

Chapter 23: Reassignment

The inhabitants of Agoge Camp XVIII stood in uniformed attention as the sun's heat bombarded them ceaselessly. They all stood in straight rows, all with ceremonial spears pointing upwards. Sword Cure did not know why they had been called to the outside of the camp. His Mana had simply shouted at his Manipuli to do so, lest they face the consequences of disobeying orders.

The bat pony's mind began to swarm with ideas as to what could be happening. Were they going to officially be soldiers now? Were they being sent to deal with inner threats again? If not those two, then what else could it possibly be?

The Camp's inhabitants stiffened when their Praefector stepped in front of them. He carried a professional look to him, even more so than his predecessor had, marching each step with untainted purpose. There was no doubt, Sword thought, that this person was very much one of those “traditional” army soldiers he's read about before the Dark King's reign.

The Praefector stopped his march, and proceeded to stare into the organized formation of recruits in front of them, reviewing their weapons, their expressions, and probably even how straight they were standing.

After some time had passed, he spoke in a thundering, commanding voice. “You all have been gathered here upon the news that the scores for the test you have taken two days ago have arrived.”

Sword realised what the Praefector was talking about. Two days ago, when he had been first assigned to the position, the Praefector's first task, given to him and other Praefectors by the Imperatrix herself, was to give all Camp recruits a test. A paper test, to be exact. These tests were designed in a way which questioned everyone's loyalty to the Imperatrix, such as asking one's morals, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and philosophical questions. After that, it became like the tests from the old days. To be honest, Sword thought he did poorly in that section, as he hadn't done any math for… how long? He couldn't remember. And it was probably the same for everyone else.

The Praefector continued his speech. “Out of all of you, five have shown excellent intelligence and loyalty to our Imperatrix, and as a reward, they shall be moved to the Palace in order to receive exclusive training into the newly formed Bellaterays Marshanay.” For some reason, Sword felt as though the Imperatrix herself would come down and reprimand the Praefector for butchering the pronunciation, though he didn't know why he did.

Upon the Praefector's announcement, whispers of excitement began to fill the ranks. Clearly, everyone seemed liked they wanted to leave this place, and the bat pony couldn't blame them. After all, this winter they were set to train on how to survive winter weather, mostly by making camp outside the Crystal Empire's protective barrier and dealing with the unforgiving climate of the Frozen North.

“Silence!” The Praefector's voice thundered, hushing the whispers of the Camp. After that, he waved over the Magister with his hoof, the pony in question trotting to him immediately afterwards. Once close enough, the Magister gave his superior a small scroll, which was promptly rolled open for him to read it.

“Now then, I shall name these five individuals.” He declared. After a few seconds of making sure everyone was indeed silent. He began to call out names. “Onyx Moon!”

A grey-furred pony with a purple mane and eyes stepped forward. He looked surprised at the announcement, but proud at the same time.

“Flawless Moon!”

A mare stepped forward beside Onyx, albeit with hesitant steps. By how she looked almost exactly like the pony beside her, with the only exception being the cutie mark, Sword presumed they were siblings.

“Scarlet Mystery!”

A red-furred pegasus stepped forward. She carried herself with noble air, her auburn eyes practically gleaming of pride at being chosen. Judging by this, Sword presumed she came from an upper-class family.

“Mythic Arrow!”

A blue unicorn stepped forward, his golden eyes piercing and unfeeling, the classic manner which a soldier is said to carry themselves.

“And finally, Sword Cure!” Now it was Sword's turn to be surprised. Slowly stepping forward, he joined the other four standing in front of the formation of recruits. In all respect, he never expected to be there. He had thought that, with his (assumed) poor performance in the final part of the test, he never stood a chance of being where he was right now.

Their Praefector spoke again after Sword stopped. “You five individuals have shown excellence in your tests, and as a reward, shall take positions within the Marshanay. Pack your supplies, you all leave to the Palace in five hours.” he then turned to the rest of the camp. “You all will stay. I have much to train you on winter conditions.”

The five individuals left to pack their things (or at least, what little they have), leaving the now frightened-looking recruits behind to deal with the Frozen North.

All five of them stood there, at the entrance to Camp XVIII, waiting. The Praefector told them to leave in five hours. So far, it's only been three and a half.

Scarlet was fidgeting. She had been for quite some time now, brushing the dirt beneath her hooves, her wings flapping intently, waiting for the defining moment to come. Despite her anticipation, she never grew frustrated enough to put it into words.

She released another groan. Sword Cure lost count on how many times she's done that so far.

“I grow tired of this waiting,” she finally declared, gaining the attention of the rest of them. Except for Mythic, who remained entranced with sharpening his blade, as he had been for the last few hours.

Scarlet sighed in defeat. “We should all do something to pass the time. Waiting for another hour to pass by will surely be the end of me.”

The Pegasus snapped her attention towards the Moon siblings, startling them. She then pointed her hoof at them, as if accusingly. “You two! What did you do before you came here?”

Flawless stuttered to answer, “W-Well, we we're slaves…”

“No, before that, too.” Scarlet clarified.

“Oh.” Flawless scratched her head. “We were just, I don't know, normal? I mean, we went to school everyday, played with each other, the other usual stuff.”

“Yeah,” Onyx commented, before asking, “What about you? What did you do?”

“Why, I'm glad you asked!” Scarlet exclaimed, puffing out her chest in a prideful manner. “I was the daughter of the head of the old Pegasus Wing of the Guard!”

“And what happened afterwards?” Onyx asked, irritated by the pegasus’ pride.

Suddenly, Scarlet looked saddened, and her eyes lost their brightness. She looked at the ground, before muttering quietly, “The Dark King took him away…”

“Oh.” Onyx said bluntly. “Sor-”

“The only person I loved.” Scarlet was now angry as her eyes were replaced with a fire of vengeance. “He took him away from me, destroyed my life, and forced me into slavery.” The fire went away, now replaced with a solemn expression. “The Imperatrix avenged him. She set us free. She set me free…” she then looked upon her blade and said with determination in her voice, “that's why I must fight for her name, why I must protect her, why I must thank her myself for all she has done for us.” Once finished with her monologue, the pegasus drew a heavy sigh, sitting on the dirt below her.

After Scarlet's display of loyalty, Onyx turned towards Sword Cure, who had already been preparing for such a move, and the questions he'll ask. “What about you? Don't see bat ponies around here often.”

Sword gathered himself to answer. “My parents and I were living in a community which didn't like bat ponies that much, and discriminated against them. So in order to get away from that, we moved here.”

“What happened next?” Flawless asked eagerly.

“Geeze, they're very pushy, aren't they?”

“The Dark King was already ruling, so you can guess what happened to us after we arrived.”

A silence followed his answer. Scarlet recovered from her stupor of remembrance, and looked towards Mythic Arrow, pointing her hoof at him as she had to the Moon siblings. “Last but not least, you! What's your story?”

Instead of answering the pegasus’ question, Mythic instead gave her a piercing glare, a glare which burned through her soul and sending chills down her spine, unsettling her to the core.

“Why don't you buck off and leave me be?” he asked, his voice stern and commanding.

“U-Uh… right! Um… c-carry on…” Scarlet stuttered. Mythic meanwhile continued on sharpening his blade.

Once again the entire area was engulfed in silence. No one was thinking of starting conversation that wouldn't be awkward for anyone. Everyone settled for the silence the rest of the time they had to wait. To Sword, it seemed that Mythic had such a forceful voice that it seemed to have the ability to virtually silence everyone for a very extended period of time.

He envied the pony for that ability.

Chapter 24: Stolen Lives

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 1: Patience Has Rewards

I watched the royal gardens, as I have for the past eon. And as a mortal like you would guess, it was boring.

But in these many passing years, the place I watched over changed significantly.

I used to watch over a simple field in the middle of nowhere, then I was moved to a castle in the middle of an untamed forest, then again to the current area I'm watching over.

Even with my eternally unmoving form, there were some things I took to being my hobbies during this period. I counted things, watch the occasional animal (with the bonus of seeing evolution in effect), but I grew tired of these things very quickly. That was until I was moved to that castle in the middle of the forest.

At first, I didn't know why I was moved, or why the ones who imprisoned me would ever want to see me right next to their residence, let alone in their own garden.

I fortunately got my answer quickly, when two alicorn mares, disregarding my petrified state, introduced themselves to me, explaining that they were their daughters, and that they had passed away some time ago. It was ultimately both of them that decided I should be moved here.

The white one, who called herself Celestia, was one most would refer to as a brat. She carried the aura that said she owned the place. She also teased her sister often, if I had to guess from when they introduced themselves to me.

The blue one, Luna, was different. She seemed less outgoing, and was nothing but lower than her sister on everything. She visited me more often than her sister, usually to speak about the problems in her daily life. I considered it ironic, the daughter of the exalted ponies who imprisoned me, falling for the simple emotions of jealousy and loneliness.

As time went on, Luna began to become more aggressive, and her complaints and demands became more extreme. She spouted about how her sister's "precious days steal the glory of my night" and so forth.

Then, on one day, things got (in my opinion) exciting.

Celestia and Luna (who now looked larger and black coated for some reason) fought each other, magic spells and everything. The fighting was so intense and destructive that it was almost enough to break me out of my stone prison. But, unfortunately, fate decided it was not enough for me to break out. How convenient.

Celestia won the fight, seemingly annihilating Luna with that rainbow laser that imprisoned me stone in the first place. I considered it cheating, mind you.

After the event, Celestia came to me. She wasn't a brat like she used to be, she seemed broken and confused. She told me about the whole thing. Apparently Luna got so jealous to the point she became a being of darkness. She was very emotional about the whole thing, crying and even screaming. It almost made me sympathize for her. Almost.

Everything then proceeded as normal, except that the occasional visits from Luna had stopped, and that I was moved once again, this time to a castle on the side of a mountain. I then stayed there, watching the life unfold in the same pattern it has held since its beginning. Celestia didn't visit much, she usually only did on the most important subjects, like the time her student had decided to disobey her and go travel to another dimension, and then when she acquired a new student for herself afterwards. Somewhere inside me asked how long that was going to last.

I was able to see this new student. She was a purple unicorn called Twilight, as far as I could learn. Apparently she was doing some study on "beings with massive amounts of magic".

I was flattered. Was.

She and her assistant, Spike, I learned, tried to get as much information about me as much as possible, because I, of course, was in stone.

Despite not being able to tell a very long life story, they were able gain quite a bit of information about me. They were able to pry out my name, my position as Goddess of Havoc, and even compared me to the "ancient" usurper Discord.

Just a note: I'm quite certain that I am far more ancient than that fool, thank you very much.

Oh wait... I forgot to mention that he came and caused chaos all over the place a few million years after I was imprisoned.

Dammit. Too late now, it's already well printed within the ink. But I could always reverse it...

~~Ugh! I'm getting off-topic!~~

Anyway, Twilight stopped seeing me completely after she was done with that thing. Rude.

After another few years of isolation, on a normal night, I saw someone who I genuinely thought was dead.

Luna was here again for some reason. She wasn't black anymore, back to that boring blue color. She was angry again, but at me. She blamed me for her temper tantrum and that I was the cause for her turning Night-Moon-Mare, or something like that.

Now, I was flattered that she considered me powerful enough to project myself outside my stone prison. But I was also offended that I was blamed for a something I most definitely did not do.

Then, Discord actually managed to break out. How? Because of school children who disagreed on what he was. Fucking ridiculous.

Anyway, he caused a little shitstorm that he was expected to do, and he even had some fun with the decorations in the garden, myself included, when he was "sure that he'd won".

In the end, he lost. Go figure.

After order was restored, everything went back to the normal, boring routine. I went back to watching life unfold in front of me. It was at this point where I was starting to become impatient, and for an ever patient being such as myself, that's saying something.

Today, there's this massive pink shield over in the skies. I don't know what it's for, but I know for certain its purpose isn't to stay there and look pretty.

Now I can see little black dots over the shield, most likely outside of it.

...Now they're hitting it, which I found laughable. Seriously, if a shield is that big, it's gotta be insanely tough. But if you want to break your bones trying to do something impossible, be my guest.

...And the shield just broke. Either the person watching the shield got super lazy, I went completely insane, or all the ponies just aren't at their top game these days and let someone infiltrate them and they ignored it, because there was some big celebration going on and they decided to deal with the problem later.

Now there were these bug things running around and destroying things. Explosions were felt, the sounds of battle echoing throughout.

Just like 1000 years ago, I felt the time was right to finally break free from the stone prison I was set in. But, unlike that time, there was many duels, souls suffer, lives being brought to an end, buildings being destroyed, families torn apart.

I relished in these things. The sounds of war, the apocalypse, havoc.

*CRACK*

There it was, the sound I waited to hear since I was imprisoned.

My hands were the first to become free, then my legs, and then...

I promptly fell to the ground, the impact shattering the rest of the stone that encased my body.

I stood up after the humiliating display, and conducted a much needed stretch. And when you've been in the same pose for an eon, you could bet that a lot of bones were going to crack.

"Oh yeah, that feels good," I liked being able to hear my own voice again. I've been in stone for so long that I've almost forgot how it sounded like.

I soon moved on to other things, like cleaning my hair and my clothing of the dust left over, checking my staff for anything wrong, and looking back to where I'd been in stone for the past eon.

I turned the entire pedestal into dust.

Once I did that, I focused on getting out of this place. I felt a light force under my feet, lifting me off the ground. I almost lost my balance, but my many years of experience were able to come back to me, and preventing another humiliating moment from happening.

"It's been so long since I've seen this world," I thought as I hovered over to the sounds of battle, "Let's see what's going on today."

Author's Note

A new story in which I myself think I shouldn't be doing. Regardless, enjoy.

Chapter 9: A Book and a Bargain

They were about to destroy the city, as their Goddess commanded, but it seemed as though fortune was on its side, as the first place they found themselves was a colossal library that undoubtedly had what they were here for in the first place.

Moving inside, they first encountered its librarian, the first mortal being that they've seen here. She was, clearly, fearful of them, and shook in their presence. When they demanded the location of the book they were looking for, she struggled to get her answer out, and told them that she didn't remember where it was. She even said that she didn't remember if she worked at the library or not. Upon hearing such a ridiculous excuse, Baron immediately beheaded the pony.

Now, they scoured the library in search of the book, ravaging through its contents, throwing books away carelessly if it wasn't the one they were looking for. Clearly, doing such a process repeatedly proved to be quite boring.

"Have any of you seen anything close to what we need to find?" Baron groaned, tossing away another book as he did so.

"I've got nothin'," Stiermann called out.

"Same here," Aurora sighed.

Baron ceased looking through the books, sighing, "We are never going to find this damned book, even if it is here!"

"An' what do ya want us to do, then?" Stiermann interjected, "Disobey th' Goddess?" He released a chuckle, "Like that's ever worked before, Baron."

"Well, unlike the time we found her, Your precious Goddess won't interfere with me putting my sword up your arse."

"Yea, well why don't ya see if ya can do it then, ya God-wannabe."

As the two began to argue, Aurora paid them no heed. She, unlike them, was focused on the task at hand. She continued looking through the books. She herself had started getting tired of looking through these things, but in the end she knew that it was absolutely necessary to do it.

"Anatomy... Encyclopedia... Art... World Mythos... Hist-"

Aurora did an immediate double-take. Luckily for her, she didn't toss books that wasn't the one she was looking for, she instead just put them back where she found them. After all, most of her early life was spent reading books, so she respected them far more than the other two with her.

Aurora once again took the book, analyzing it.

"The Mythos Chronology," yes, this had to be what they are looking for.

"I think I found it!" Stiermann and Baron, who now practically had their weapons out for battle, snapped their attention to her direction, so fast it made her flinch.

Baron began to stomp over to her, "You think?" He demanded.

"Give me that," and once he was in front of her, he snatched the book from her hands. He began to gloss over it, barely reading little. Nevertheless, it seemed to convince him that it was the one.

"It looks like we're done here," he announced, "Now we can destroy the city, starting with this library."

"That sounds like a plan t' me, Baron," Stiermann concurred, "But who's gonna get th' book t' th' Goddess? I'm sure she won't like us keepin' it from her."

"Oh, Aurora can do that," Baron said as he shoved the book back into Aurora's grasp, "she is the one who found it after all. And I know she's dying to gain some respect from the Goddess, so why not?" He turned to Aurora, addressing her, "All you have to do is not screw it up."

"That's easier said than done," Aurora commented.

"Yeah, and I don't care."

The two went off without another word, then started slicing through the library, destroying everything within their sight.

Aurora simply sighed, before running out of the library.

Aurora encountered notable things once she was out of the library.

First was that mortals were now occupying the streets, although in very small numbers. They all looked downtrodden, depressed. Aurora could see that they've seen horrible things done to them before their "Empire" disappeared.

Second was that the sky no longer seemed blue, more like a orange-ish color. Aurora didn't know what it meant, but with the mortals continuously gawking at it and running back into their buildings once they saw it, she assumed that it was bad, at least for them.

Despite this, she continued running passed all of them, paying nothing a mind. She had a more important task than to look at unimportant details.

In the distance, she saw the towering Crystal structure in the center of the city. She sped up, eager to get the book to her Goddess.

Then, just near the entrance, right when she was just about to enter, she felt something coming, fast. A speed she could only attribute to someone who was attacking.

She attempted to dodge out of the way, but was too slow for the rainbow blur that slammed into her side. She tumbled onto the ground, dropping the book as she did. After regaining her sense, she quickly tried to bring it back to her grasp, but she was beaten to it again, this time by a purple magic glow. She jumped up to her feet, enraged at who would dare to attack her.

A group of seven ponies, and a lizard thing that she assumed was a dragon of some sort.

The one who now carried the book in their magic, a purple unicorn, skimmed through it, possibly looking for a reason why Aurora had the thing in the first place.

The other six ponies looked at her with hostility (except for a pink one, who was doing her own thing, and a yellow one who hid behind the others). They took offensive stances around the unicorn.

"I don't understand," the unicorn said, confused, "why would you have this?"

"Because it belongs to me."

The book was suddenly snatched from the pony's magic, and into the magic of Zerstörung, who silently floated in the air behind them. The Goddess also took the dragon with her magic, grabbing it roughly by the tail, making it yelp in pain.

All of the ponies immediately turned their attention to the Goddess, all surprised by her sudden appearance. A rainbow one prepared to charge against her, but the Goddess spoke again.

"If you value the life of your dragon friend, then I suggest you all stay where you are. For if you don't..." she raised the dragon, as if for emphasis, "I'll make sure he suffers."

The ponies were frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Aurora decided to watch what would happen what was to unfold.

Cadence, that fool. Telling me that Twilight Sparkle and the other ponies who were immune to my magic were coming to destroy me. How cute.

Of course, I knew that I simply couldn't just charge in. I needed a bargaining tool to get to them. I luckily found one in a form of a dragon.

Now, with him in my grasp, the ponies below me were now in an uncomfortable position, unable to attack me and risking the life of their precious friend. They all looked at one another, unsure what to do.

"I'll make you a deal," I declared, my voice returning to normal, "leave this city, and never come back, and your friend lives, although he's going to have to stay with me."

"WHAT!?" They all screamed in unison.

"We're not saying yes to that!" The rainbow one shouted.

"Yeah, you big meanie!" The pink one agreed.

"I need my bargaining tool," I responded, "and if it makes you feel better, I promise that I won't inflict any harm to him."

I hate making promises. As a warrior (like I used to be), one likes to have honor. And breaking a promise was anything but honorable. So while I liked to inflict pain, I couldn't do it if honor was on the line.

After saying that, the Orange one was giving me a suspicious look. Twilight, meanwhile, looked as if she was thinking about it. Good. At least one of them seemed sensible.

"...Where's Cadence?" a male voice suddenly announced.

I looked over to a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane, who I assumed to be Shining Armour. There seemed to be some weird rocks covering his horn, but that was the least of my concerns.

"Oh, don't worry about her, she still lives and breathes. I even took her mantel in keeping a shield around this city."

Now why did I do that? Because Cadence also told me that the power hungry mortal was also making his return, and that he was quite powerful. I don't know about you, but I'm not one who likes to multitask. I'd rather focus on one thing and moving on to the next.

After my answer, the Shining sighed in relief. Gullible idiot. Cadence was alive, yes, but I never said anything about her atrocious physical condition.

"Now," I began to apply pressure, "come to a decision; leave, or your little friend, and Cadence, will perish. In fact, I'll give you five seconds. Five."

The ponies suddenly began to look at one another again.

"Four."

Now they began a heated conversation with Twilight, who I assumed probably cared about the Dragon more than anyone else in the group.

"Three."

Shining began espousing about Cadence and how he can't lose her.

"Two."

Now everyone began to interject the other, with no conversation being done. Mortals. Always when they're put into stressful situation they argue and fight, and get no work done.

"One."

"Alright."

...I stand corrected.

Twilight stepped forward, and begged, "We'll do anything, just... please, don't hurt Spike." Her eyes were filled with sadness, something which I thrived upon.

There was a stunned silence, at least for Twilight's friends. Shining Armour, on the other hand, still looked relieved.

"And I'm going to stay too," he then declared with confidence, stepping forward.

"WHAT!?" By the Gods, their shouting is about to destroy my ears.

"Shiny! You can't be serious!" Twilight shouted. This whole thing, by the looks of it, was breaking her. After all, not only was she losing one person who was close to her, but two others as well. I was delightful at that.

"I'll be fine, Twily. I promise," Shining assured her, "Cadence is still alive, and she promised not to hurt Spike, too. There's nothing to worry about."

"But-" Twilight attempted to argue more, but found nothing to go upon. No, I'm serious, absolutely nothing. She didn't bring up to question that I could torture him as I did Cadence, but then again, I said nothing about that.

"Alright..." Twilight finally yielded, turning to me with a depressed look, "is that acceptable?"

"I suppose," I accepted, "now move along, as you promised, and I'll do as I have."

Slowly, they began to walk along, with Twilight's friends doing their best to comfort the now seemingly broken pony.

Once they were far enough, I called, "Aurora."

She quickly ran over, "Yes, My Lady?"

I continued to stare over to where Twilight and her group of friends were, "The purple unicorn. She seems dangerously attached and committed to those I forced her to leave behind. I have my suspicions that she won't leave the city. Follow her."

"Yes, My Lady!" She said, before running off after them.

I turned over to Shining Armour, who had a worried look on his muzzle, but wisely didn't say anything.

"By all means," I smiled, "follow me."

As we began walking back to the tower's, I heard the dragon (which I had somehow forgotten about) speak.

"Uhh... can you put me down now?"

"...No," he groaned at that.

I may not be able to harm him, but that didn't meant I couldn't make him as uncomfortable as possible.

Author's Note

Next chapter: Zerstörung faces King Sombrero! (That was intentional)

Aurora's Diary I: Doubts

~~We've been marching for days~~ ~~I've travelled for~~ It's been four days. Four days. And yet I'm still uncertain of what my future holds.

Even after all I've done, with the Yaks, recruiting more warriors, capturing Golden Arrow, I don't know what the Goddess will think of my work. Would she be impressed? Or would she get rid of me for not following her order to kill Golden Arrow? I'm convinced it's the latter, seeing that she likes her instructions completed word by word.

But yet... I also feel she would accept the detour I made. This individual was the leader that attempted to overthrow her, after all. What couldn't be great about giving such a gift to her?

Well, she's been finding ways to be displeased with anything I do at this point, so I shouldn't be surprised if she finds the most minor error I've made and grow it to monster proportions.

I know she's a Goddess, my Goddess in fact, but she seems like a mortal who's in over their head. The way she handles things I find rather... unprofessional, what with ruling through fear, and while it is effective, just how long will that fear last before the people become brave? She would kill them all, of course, but then she wouldn't have anyone to rule over, and we'll all be back at step one.

Wait, what am I thinking!? Have I dared to criticize the Goddess? To speak against her? The immortal one, who cannot be beaten, am I challenging those titles?

Imbecile! Stupid, stupid!

~~She's going to kill me~~ That's enough writing for today. I'll just take a stroll around the camp to clear my heinous thoughts. Maybe then I can finally relax afterwards.

Author's Note

Just some sort of intermission between Chapters 20 and 21. It's very short, but what did you expect from an intermission?