Armageddon: The War of the Gods

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Prologue

Twilight Sparkle loved being in Canterlot. She loved walking along its streets, and the atmosphere of the city. It wasn’t all the hustle and bustle of the other bigger cities in Equestria, primarily Fillydelphia, Stalliongrad and Manehattan. Canterlot was laid back, but not enough that nothing got done there. It was the perfect balance between work and leisure.

Twilight and her friends were here as merely showpieces for the opening days of the Grand Assembly of Equestrian Representatives. Princess Celestia only needed them for the opening ceremonies and Princess Celestia’s annual address to the assembly, and they were four days apart. The Princess had allowed them to do as they pleased in the city. Twilight, of course, was heading for the Canterlot Library, particularly the Starswirl the Bearded Wing, as Celestia had allowed her no
restrictions there.

As she opened the door to the library with her magic, she trotted over to the stairs leading up to the third floor, which contained the Starswirl the Bearded Wing and other restricted areas.

As she approached the Starswirl Wing, she was stopped by a strong-looking brown Earth Pony who asked for identification.

“Twilight Sparkle,” she announced, “Princess Celestia allowed me access to the third floor.”

“Of course, Miss Sparkle.” The Earth Pony bowed, saying, “Enjoy your browsing. Please do not take out any books. We have had a few thefts from these wings.”

“Alright.” Twilight smiled. She walked past the stallion, and entered the Starswirl the Bearded Wing.

The Wing itself was the largest restricted wing in the library. It encompassed most of the third floor, and held the most secret and most restricted works of literature found in Equestria, and probably the planet of Equus. Twilight had heard of recent archaeological finds somewhere near the border with Mexicolt, and that all written works had been transferred here.
She walked past the other books she had read during her various visits to this wing. She had found the book on the Elements of Harmony and books on other books about the reign of Discord. Those books were either deemed too graphic or sensitive for normal citizens to read. But after the Discord Incident, Celestia had allowed her to research to find out Discord’s true weakness if the Elements were ever compromised.

As she walked close to the archaeological books, she found a red book on a pedestal. She didn’t know why she stopped to look at it, but something drew her to it. Maybe it was the fact that it was already opened to one of the opening pages, or the fact that the sun was shining on it.

Twilight trotted to the book, and levitated it with her magic. She closed it, and read the title.

“The Holy Bible, King James Version.” She read. “That’s weird, what’s a bible?”

She set it on the pedestal, and opened to the first page, and read it.

“This isn’t one book,” she muttered to herself, “But a collection of almost a hundred books? Why have I never heard of this? Or seen it when I have went here in the past? This is weird.”

She opened to the first book, and read the first lines:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

She was drawn to it, because it immediately came into conflict with the religion she had grown up with. Celestia was the goddess of the day, and Luna the night. They were born from a divine mother, and were sent here to rule the planet of Equus to show the ponies there the magic of friendship, and the Elements of Harmony. She read on more, and learned of a species that the book followed: a species called man.

She had never heard of such an animal!

“Where did Princess Celestia get this?” She asked out loud. “And what is a man? Is it an extinct animal? Would Fluttershy know about it? And who is this God? I’ve learned that there was never a male deity, but only female ones.”

She was intrigued. She read through the first books, and put the book down. She had entered the library in mid-morning, and it was now past noon. She needed to get some lunch, but she was drawn to this bible. She didn’t know what to think about it. But she knew she had to tell the Princess about it.

But she couldn’t leave the library either. She was too drawn into it. She looked around to see if there were other books like this bible.

She looked on the shelves, and found two scrolls. She unrolled them, but found them to be in unfamiliar text. She cross-checked it with existing languages, but found no luck.

She then used magic to translate the texts from these languages to Equestrian. She soon found out that these scrolls were called the Torah and the Quran. When she read through the Torah, she found it to be very similar to the Bible, but she found the Quran to be very different from the other two.

“Where is Spike when I need him?” She sighed after saying the question out loud.

“Right here, Twilight!” She turned around to find her dragon assistant standing behind her. “What are those?”

“I don’t know, Spike.” She said, “But I need to get these to the Princess. Can you write a letter to her?”

“Sure!” Spike said, getting out a piece of parchment and a quill. “What do you want me to write?”

“Dear Princess Celestia,” she dictated to him, “While I was in the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the Canterlot Library, I found three very odd works of literature. One is a book, while the other two are scrolls. I feel the need to show these to you as soon as possible, as they are odd, and the scrolls were written in unfamiliar text. I wish I could speculate what these mean, but I would need to show you before even telling you what I think it is. Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Alright,” Spike said, “Done.”

He then sent it to the Princess. While Twilight was waiting for Celestia to reply, she sat down and read some more from the book, or Bible, as she felt the need to call it now.

“These men,” she muttered, reading about a man who would sacrifice his only son for this God. “Are very odd. Why would he do that? Is he that blind in his devotion to this invisible deity?”

“What was that, Twilight?” Spike asked. “Did you say something?”

“Oh,” Twilight looked up, “No.”

“Okay then.” Spike said, sitting down on a small pile of books. He sat there, while Twilight read, until the Princess had sent her response.

“Dearest Twilight,” he read out loud, “I am very interested about these works. I want you to head over to the castle now and show these to me. I would like to hear your input. Signed, Princess Celestia.”

Twilight was already almost out of the door.

“Twilight,” Spike called, “Wait for me!”

Twilight was already at the stairs, where the guard was holding up his hoof, and seemed to be explaining something to her.

“… but the Princess needs these!” Twilight cried, “I need to get these to her now!”

“But I can’t let you out with those!” The guard replied.

“Even if it meant disobeying the Princess?” Twilight pointed at him with her hoof saying that. The guard relented, and let her and Spike leave.

Princess Celestia was waiting for them on her throne when the doors opened and Twilight and Spike walked in. She smiled at the sight of her student, showing none of her curiosity with the smile.

“Twilight,” she said, “It is nice to see you again. Now, what of these books and scrolls?”

“Well,” Twilight levitated a table over in front of the throne, and put the Bible, Torah and Quran on top of it. “I found these in the Starswirl the Bearded Wing. From right to left, they are the Holy Bible, the Torah, and the Quran.”

“And have you read these at all?” Celestia asked, knowing the answer even when she asked it.

“Yes, I have.” Twilight said. “They tell of a race, a race of bipedal animals called men. They were apparently created by a male deity who only goes by the Lord, Allah, Yahweh and God. He created a planet called earth, along with the heavens and an entire universe in six days.”

“Twilight, please,” Celestia chuckled, “Let me register what you’re saying. You need to slow down.”

“Sorry,” Twilight blushed at this humbling moment. “With the first man he created, he named him Adam. He created a female from him, who he named Eve. This is where the Quran differs from the two. In all three, they were in a garden, and this deity told them not to eat a forbidden fruit. But they did. In the Quran, they did it of their free will, while in the Torah and the Bible, Eve was tempted by a serpent.

“And then, according to the Bible and Torah, this deity banished them from the garden for their disobeying his one direction. And so they created a tainted race, because of their one act. But in the Quran, Adam wept for forty days, and repented. This deity, or Allah in the texts, gave him a black stone and taught him something called the hajj. Adam and Eve reunite, and Allah forgives them.”

“Twilight,” Celestia interrupted, “Could you tell me what you think this is?”

“The thing is, Princess.” She stuttered getting the next few words out of her mouth. “I… I don’t… know. I don’t know, Princess. I am completely shocked by these works; they go against everything I was taught about religion. And they’re in perfect condition too! They seem like they were put there only a few days ago and were probably written in the last five years from its condition.”

“Alright,” Celestia held her hoof up to her chin in deep thought. “You may go, Twilight. Do not speak of this to anypony. I need to ponder on this.”

“Oh…” Twilight barely got out before realizing what the Princess meant, and bowed. “Of course, Your Highness.”

Twilight then left the throne room, leaving Celestia alone to her thoughts. As soon as Twilight shut the door with her magic, and Celestia could no longer feel her magical presence, Celestia stood up.

She walked over to a window, and looked out to Canterlot. The little ponies were trotting around the streets, and milling about. How oblivious they were.

Celestia turned back towards the table, and looked at the three works on it. She could only wonder how Twilight stumbled onto them. She also wondered how they even got into the library. Every entry into the restricted wings is brought to her. These never were. If they had, she would’ve burned them on the spot.

At that moment, four Earth Pony stallions entered the throne room unannounced. It was not unusual. Celestia allowed anypony to enter at any time, allowing everypony to voice their problems to her, however insignificant they are.

“Princess Celestia,” the middle one greeted. He was tan-coated, with a dark brown mane and beard. His beard connected with his mane, and went around his mouth. He had dark brown eyes as well. He seemed to be from the city or surrounding area of Jerhoofalem. “I trust you know who we are?”

“Yes.” Celestia said. “How did you get them into the library?”

“I think even you would know that.” The middle one replied.

The two on either side of him looked similar to him, but had different manes and beards. The one on his right had a white mane and a very long beard. He had many wrinkles on his face. He seemed to be very old and tired.
The one on his left looked much more like the middle one. Although he had a thick, curly black mane. His beard was thick as well, but did not connect with his mane. He had dark black eyes, and was slightly taller than the older one, but the middle was taller.

The one in the back seemed to be the youngest out of them all. He had a curly red mane, and blue eyes. He had a fair coat, and had no beard. He was the tallest out of them all, and seemed to be most physically fit as well. Although he didn’t speak much, Celestia knew why he was here.

“Yes,” she said, “I do.”

She looked at them all, and said, “I do not like what your God has done. He has directly intervened in my creation, which should not happen.”

“And like you have not?” The fit one asked. “I have had to fight many of your creations. My other companions have fought the other of your creations, Celestia. Be ready to pay for your breaking of the rules set by all gods at the very beginning!”

The four ponies then began to transform. They then turned into the bipeds Twilight had told them about. These were the men her predecessor had created.

“How cowardly it is of your God to not be here himself.” She looked to the middle one, “He sends his son, two prophets and a demigod. Is he not able enough to confront me himself?”

“Silence, you have no right to speak wrong against him!” The middle one said.

“Be quiet.’ She said. “I know who you all are, Jesus, Moses, Mohammed and Hercules. I know your weaknesses. I advise
you go back and tell your God that I do not wish to cooperate with Him.”

“You know what this means then?” Mohammed spoke for the first time.

“Yes.” Celestia said sternly. “We are ready for anything you send at us!”

“Then it has been said.” Moses declared, “Come, we must return and tell Yahweh of this.”

“I agree,” Jesus said, “Our dealing here is done.”

All four of them then disappeared. Celestia stood there for a second, and fell onto her flank.

“Luna!” She called, “Sister, come here!”

She heard galloping from behind the doors, and the Princess of the Night entered the throne room.

“What is it, sister?” Luna asked, “Are you ill?”

“No.” Celestia got back onto her legs. “Alert the soldiers. Tell them to prepare for invasion.”

Tell me what you think! As I said in the description, I am a Roman Catholic, and I will try my hardest not to insult anyone of any faith. For anyone who may ask, I have not included Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism or any other faith because I feel that having them would be too much to comprehend. Already, I have Christians, Jews, Muslims and Pagans, and if I included another faith, I feel that the quality of the story would not be as good. I apologize for this, but I needed to draw the line somewhere. Also, Jesus, Mohammed, Moses and Hercules are NOT evil! Next chapter: Celestia and Luna begin preparations for the invasion of men. But will they ever be ready for the upcoming War of the Gods? Find out in the next chapter!

Chapter 1

“Lord, here they come!”

God turned from his throne to see the four he sent walk through the golden doors. God stood up, and walked over to the four of them. He wanted to see how the wretched Princess had responded.

“Father,” Jesus bowed his head. “Celestia was, uncooperative.”

“I would expect as much.” God concurred. “She does know how to proclaim her innocence. She will pay for her crimes.
And if she won’t, than her little land of ponies will be crushed.”

He turned to his left, and nodded. A winged man with shining blonde hair flew over to his side.

“Michael,” God said, “Prepare the armies. And hand me the Scroll.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Michael bowed, and flew off. God turned to Moses and Mohammad, and said to them, “We will be marching on their cities in only a few hours. Choose whatever weapons you wish. Jesus, I want you to show them your personal armory.”

Jesus nodded, and led them away. God then turned to Hercules, who had remained silent since entering the throne room.

“If you would,” God said, “Would you send for your father? I plan to have words with him.”

“Yes, of course.” Hercules said. “Will we be marching into battle as well?”

“We are not just fighting Celestia and her country,” God declared, “We will be fighting the entire planet. We need to have enough numbers to ultimately crush them. And I believe the Pantheon has these numbers. I know I have not been kind to them, but now I hope we can turn over a new leaf.”

Hercules nodded his head, and walked out of the throne room. God turned, and sat back upon his throne. He stroked his long, snow white beard as he waited for Michael to return with the scroll.

God was preparing for war. And he would open it with a bang.
***

The day after Jesus, Moses, Mohammad and Hercules had appeared to her, Celestia called an emergency session of the Grand Assembly. She had called in the Harmony Bearers as well. She knew she would need them.

As everypony shuffled inside the Assembly Meeting Hall, Celestia was pacing back and forth in the room behind. She had no idea how she would combat the armies of God. She had never even fought a war in five hundred years!

Celestia heard a knock on the door behind her. She turned around, and invited the pony inside.

“Your Highness, is everything alright?” The Prime Minister of the Grand Assembly, Charming Tongue, asked.

“Yes, I am alright.” Celestia answered.

“Then why have you called for an emergency session? The Assembly is quite nervous.” The gray-coated Unicorn explained.

“It is a matter to be spoken to the entire Assembly, Mr. Prime Minister.” Celestia explained. “If you could, please leave me be.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” The Unicorn bowed, and walked away. Celestia could see him trying to fix his amber mane, and readjust his monocle.

Celestia never did like the Prime Minister, but it was not her choice. The Assembly representatives were the only shred of democracy Equestrian citizens enjoyed. Of course, they were free, but they only voted for Assembly members, obviously.

Fifteen minutes later, the entire Assembly silenced in anticipation for Celestia’s arrival. She would speak on an elevated podium so that everypony would see her. The Equestrian flag –an illustration of Celestia and Luna galloping around the sun and moon on a white field– stood behind her. Microphones crowded the podium; they would broadcast the speech by radio across the country.

The Mane 6 sat in the front row, waiting for the Princess to address the Assembly. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity had no idea what this could be about. But, Twilight had a nagging feeling in the back of her head that it might be about what she found in the library.

As Celestia opened the door to the Assembly Meeting Hall, all applauded their princess. She received a standing ovation, and was flanked by Shining Armor and Princesses Cadence and Luna. The Assembly had never seen such an entrance. They would soon know why.

As Celestia neared the microphones, she cleared her throat, and began her speech to the Equestrian people.

“Ponies of Equestria,” she began, “I wish I could address you and the Assembly in a better situation. Alas, I cannot. A matter of major national security has shown itself to me. This matter, if not dealt with properly, could and would result in the
destruction of our country and our way of life.

“Yesterday, it came to my attention that a faithful student of mine, who shall remain anonymous, found three works of
literature in the library.” Celestia continued, saying, “They were not Equestrian, and they were never seen by anypony else. Upon further investigation, I found these books to be the remnants of a past universe, one in which a species named man ruled, and not us ponies.”

Everypony in the Hall glanced at each other nervously at the direction Celestia was taking her speech. Celestia swallowed hard, and leaned further into the microphone. It was so silent a pin could be heard dropping three hundred feet away, and even Celestia would hear it.

“These men were created by a deity, much like all of you.” Celestia addressed. “You all know that I am the creator of you all. But you are not the first intelligent life. Where I come from, there are many of these deities. They all create their own universe in which they rule in, and we usually leave each other alone.

“But, I have broken rules set by them.” Celestia explained, “To be exact, I broke two major rules. One, a creator could not live inside its own creation. And two, a creator cannot create in another creator’s realm, or universe. And I have broken both rules.

“The creator of a once great realm, known as God, Lord, Yahweh and Allah, has been greatly angered by my actions. He sent to me four messengers, and they have told me that they will invade Equestria and our neighbors.”

She paused to let the statement sink in. Everypony was still; not one muscle moved inside the entire room. Twilight shifted uneasily in her seat. She couldn’t help but think that this was her fault. She was the one who found them. Although she tried to hide it, her friends picked up her uneasiness.

“Twilight, are you alright?” Fluttershy whispered, “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing,” Twilight replied. “I’m just thinking about what’s to come.”

They were both shushed by Celestia continuing her speech.

“Even though this war will wreak great devastation and death across Equestria,” Celestia declared, “We shall never falter. We shall fight in the fields, in the skies, in the oceans, in the streets, and in our minds. We shall not, will not, and cannot surrender!”

The Assembly gave Celestia resounding applause at that statement. Celestia levitated a glass of water, and took a sip from it before continuing. While she was giving the speech, in the back of her mind, she was thinking of different strategies of defeating God’s armies.

“From this moment on, I rightfully inquire General Shining Armor to transfer the position of Supreme Commander of the Royal Equestrian Army to myself and my sister Luna. And I ask the Assembly for the right to suspend the Assembly until this crisis has passed.”

“Your Royal Highness,” Prime Minister Charming Tongue stood from his seat, saying, “Princess Celestia, as Prime Minister of the Grand Assembly, I hereby suspend this Assembly until further notice by royal decree!”

He levitated a gavel, and smacked the podium he had stood behind. The Assembly stood, and applauded Celestia as she exited the Assembly Hall. Nopony would ever find out what was going through her head. In fact, Celestia didn’t comprehend half of the things flying around her mind.

“Your Highness,” Shining Armor said as Celestia exited the Assembly Hall. “We need to brief you on the status of our Armed Forces. If you would follow me, we’ll be off.”

Celestia nodded, and followed the white-coated Unicorn. As she entered the main corridor leading to the Assembly Hall,

Celestia was swarmed by reporters of every newspaper of every major city on the planet.

She sent a mental note to Twilight, instructing her to follow Celestia to the location. She felt that they would need that information.
***

“So that’s where Celestia decided to live?”

God turned to see that most of the Pantheon had arrived to speak with him. To be honest, God was quite surprised. He was only expecting Hermes to speak and relay back to Olympus. It was usually how he conversed with them.

“Yes,” God shifted in his throne. “It’s not unlike Earth, is it not?”

“Yes,” a man who looked remarkably like God said. He cleared his throat, and ran his fingers through his wispy white beard. The golden toga he was wearing glimmered in the light of the room, and the lightning bolt he held looked unstable and a messenger of his emotions.

“It is beautiful,” a woman said. She wore a simple white dress, but had an ornate golden crown with diamonds, sapphires and emeralds encrusted in it. Her long braided brown hair seemed to emanate its own light. “It brings back so many memories, Zeus.”

“That it does, Hera.” Zeus replied. “Now, tell me why you have called us here, God. Why have we shifted here?”

“I trusted Hermes would tell you this part.” God sighed. “Well, I trust you have met with Celestia, am I correct?”

“Yes, many a time.” Zeus answered. “She was kind-hearted in the beginning. Unlike us, my friend, she ruled with compassion.”

“Do not discredit us so, Zeus.” Another Olympian cut in. His curly gray hair was much shorter than either Zeus’ or God’s. His equally curly beard was much shorter and seemed to be in better order. He carried a bronze trident, and wore a sea-green toga. The embroidered toga moved without the Olympian himself moving, as if it was the ocean itself. “Remember we mated with mortals; we loved as she does.”

“Please, Poseidon.” Zeus held his hand up. “We needn’t talk about that. Now, what has Celestia done?”

“We have discovered that Celestia has broken two cardinal rules of the agreement we forged in the beginning.” God explained, “She has taken residence on this planet, and we believe she has created many hazardous creatures when Earth was still alive.”

“Well what could she have possibly made?” Poseidon queried, “You cannot make such accusations without saying what she exactly made.”

“Hear me out, god of the sea.” God said, “Remember, I am the King here.”

“Yes,” Poseidon nodded, and stepped back. “How could we forget your magnificent siege of Olympus, God of the Israelites?”

God let loose a small and unnoticeable smirk at that remark. After defeating Satan, he found his greatest achievement was the defeat of the Pantheon. He had believed that they could coexist ruling over the same planet. But when the pagans had begun killing and torturing his believers, he let loose his armies on Mount Olympus.

“If we all could get back to the subject at hand, thank you.” Zeus said, silencing his brother. “Now, what creatures has Celestia made?”

“My messengers have linked numerous creatures such as centaurs, manticores, and other more individual creatures.” God explained, “Such as the Minotaur, Kraken, and the Hydra.”

“If we had only knew sooner!” Hera exclaimed. “What are we to do?”

“Right now,” God looked down at the planet Equus, and continued, “I am preparing my forces for the invasion of the planet below and abdication and eventual execution of Celestia and Luna. I also intend on severely crippling the life there, preventing it from ever returning to the grace it possesses today.”

The gods fell silent. They had not expected such a harsh reprimand for Celestia’s actions. Zeus pondered on his decision, and saw that this really was an insult to his authority. He saw that God thought that Celestia put herself above God, and delighted in watching man contend with her more hostile creations. Apart from the centaurs, which generally aided man, all of her creations resulted in the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of men.

Zeus smiled on this revelation. This was a punishment for a breach of rules; it was a war of pride. God’s pride was severely hurt by Celestia’s actions, and he was hiding behind rules formulated millions of years before to justify his actions.
Though Zeus had come to this conclusion, he found it best to tag along with God’s little war of pride. He was already trying to see how he could benefit from helping God in the long run.

“What would you have us do, Lord?” Zeus asked politely. “I am at your command.”

“I would prefer if you let your disgusting half-man, half-god spawns take high-ranking positions in our forces.” God said, lacing his words with stinging remarks at the Olympians’’ promiscuity. “Particularly Theseus, Hercules, Achilles and Perseus, as their feats are well-known in the Kingdom.”

“Of course,” Zeus answered. “Is there anything else Olympus can do for you?”

“Well,” God looked down, and turned to Poseidon. “When you were named god of the sea, did you have power over any body of water?”

“Do you really think I would go through a lot of trouble to see if I could?” Poseidon replied harshly. He received a sour look from Zeus, and sighed. “I could try.”

“It’s a start.” God said. He was surprised that the Olympians would easily pledge their support, but though none the wiser about why.
***

It had been three weeks since Celestia had given her address to the Grand Assembly. She had been on a tour through Equestria, inspecting the military readiness of the Royal Equestrian Army. She had taken the Elements of Harmony along with her, as a showpiece of Equestrian unity. But secretly, she was having them trained in the ways of war by Shining Armor and other high ranking officers. Celestia would need every able-bodied mare and stallion in Equestria to fight back the armies of another god.

On that day, she was inspecting the Army of Baltimare, a major port city. She had been in the city for two days, and had been inspecting the army in watching them drill and engage in war games with other detachments in the area.

She had mostly been happy with the city’s army, but she worried over whether or not it was ready enough to combat the invading force. There was also another worrying thought on her mind. Already, she had been hearing whispers of discontent from the Equestrian populace. The invading armies were nowhere to be seen, and the citizens were growing restless.

She had received telegraphs from Prime Minister Charming Tongue that the Assembly was considering overturning the royal decree. He declared that although he was supportive of her, he could not keep the secret meetings of more restless Assembly representatives. He also informed Celestia that there were a few radical representatives were speaking of revolt against her.

She shook her head as she trotted up to shake hoofs with another military officer. She needed to keep the issues of Canterlot in the back of her head. She needed to talk and listen to as much military information as possible to even hope to keep those worries out of her head. She only needed to focus watching the war games in the fields surrounding Baltimare unfold from the city walls.

“Your Highness,” the officer greeted. Celestia was already revolted by this stallion’s appearance. His mane smelled rank and looked greasy, his teeth were yellowed, and his breath was repulsive. He wore an uneven moustache that hung off his chin, and had dirt stains on his what would be elegant horn. His dirtied white coat showed he had not bathed in days, possibly even weeks.

“Let me introduce myself.” The disgusting Unicorn said in a sneery, high-pitched voice. “I am General Fearless Sword, chief officer of the Army of Baltimare. What a pleasure it is to have you grace us with your presence.”

“Quite,” Celestia said dismissively. Three weeks of overly dramatic formalities had run her ragged. “Can your army fight?”

“Fight?” Fearless Sword scoffed. “Why fight when we can decimate enemy resistance?”

“Explain to me how you believe this army can decimate the armies of a god.” Celestia ordered as she watched the army
engage in war games.

“I have developed a strategy to completely make enemy chariots and archers useless.” He declared, “If we have an entire corps of unicorns dedicated to the arcane arts of war, they can turn arrows back at enemy archers, dismantle chariots, melt metal, and breathe fire and ice.”

“Really?” Celestia asked, interested. “I request that you hand over the spellbooks and runes you found to me.”

“Oh,” Fearless Sword sighed, and looked away. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Your Highness.”

“Why?” Celestia rose her voice in frustration. “I demand an explanation, General!”

“I cannot,” he said, “Because they have disappeared. Poof! Just like that, they’re gone! There is no rhyme, no reason!”

“Then I order you to send out an expedition to find these books, General!” Celestia shouted, “Do you not see that this invasion could end Equestria as we know it?”

“Yes, I do.” Fearless Sword ironically showed fear in the face of the angry monarch goddess. “I-I know what is at s-s-stake. J-J-Just let me acquire the r-r-right p-ponies for the j-j-job, and then…”

“No!” Celestia boomed. “I will not sit idly while you needlessly search the city for the books!”

She turned to Twilight Sparkle, who looked scared like a foal would after witnessing its parents argue. She turned, and
said, “Twilight, could you summon these books using your magic?”

“Well,” Twilight cringed at the labor involved of finding these books. “I believe I could, given I knew the titles and authors.”

Twilight and Celestia looked at Fearless Sword, who was startled, and said, “W-W-Well, there is the, um, oh, yes! The Sorcerer’s Guide to Warfare, by Albus the Stargazer, Arcane Warfare, by Wrathful Spirit, and then there is The Dark Realms of Arcaneum by Starswirl the Bearded.”

“Alright,” Twilight said. “Is that all, General?”

“All I could think of off the top of my head, yes.” Fearless Sword stepped backwards, as if wanting to leave this conversation badly.

Twilight closed her eyes, and strained as her horn began to glow. She reached out into the universe for these three books, but could not find them in the general vicinity. She reached throughout Equestria, and soon all of Equus, but could not find one copy.

She gasped as she opened her eyes and the glow dissipated. She felt faint, and immediately fell to the floor. Her friends immediately surrounded her, and tried to help.

“Oh good heavens!” Rarity exclaimed, “What should we do?”

“Ah’ll go get some water.” Applejack declared, “Ah’m a gonna see if that won’t wake ‘er up.”

“No,” Fluttershy said quietly, “We need to see if she’s breathing first.”

Rainbow Dash turned, and nodded at Fluttershy. She bent down on her knees, and placed her ear against Twilight’s chest. She heard the quiet lub-dub of her heart, and felt the rising and sinking of her lungs.

“She’s still alive.” Rainbow Dash said. “Applejack, go get that water. Pinkie Pie, see if you can’t wake her up.”

“Okie dokie loki!” Pinkie Pie yelled. She reached into her mane, and pulled out a leather bag. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at the obvious absurdity of her friend. Pinkie Pie ignored it, and reached inside with one of her hoofs. She groped around, and gasped as she grabbed hold of something.

She pulled it out of the bag, and saw that it was an air horn. She placed it next to Twilight’s ear, and pressed down on it. It let loose the compressed air, and it made an extremely loud noise. Twilight stirred, but didn’t wake.

“Oh,” Pinkie Pie sighed, “I thought I had her!”

She reached back into the bag, and pulled out a pair of large cymbals. She smashed them together without a different result. She tried furiously to wake her up with trumpets, noise makers, and an entire drum set. But when none of them worked, Pinkie pouted, and said this to her friends:

“Well it’s obvious that she just doesn’t want to wake up!”

Celestia rolled her eyes at Pinkie’s surrender. She trotted over, and touched Twilight’s forehead with her horn. Twilight gasped, and opened her eyes. Applejack had returned with the bucket of water, and sighed in defeat at the obvious power of Celestia.

“What happened?” She asked.

“You passed out after trying to summon the books General Fearless Sword lost.” Celestia explained. “You seemed to not be able to find them.”

“What?” Twilight shook her head, and turned to look Celestia in the eyes. “No. They weren’t anywhere on the planet at all.”

“Interesting.” Celestia mumbled to herself. She turned, and said, “General…”

She stopped herself because the General was not there at all. He had disappeared!

Celestia got up on her legs, and looked to see if he went anywhere. It had seemed that he had vanished into thin air.

“Where could he have gone?” Celestia asked.

“Have you checked behind you?”

Celestia turned, and gasped. She wasn’t looking at the fearful General at all, but a large male Changeling.

“Who are you?” Celestia demanded. “Name yourself, fiend!”

The Changeling smiled, and shapeshifted into the disgusting General Fearless Sword, saying, “Oh, p-p-please Princess Celestia, do not yell at me! I-I-I just need t-t-time to find those books!”

“You monster!” Celestia shouted, “State your business here!”

“Oh,” the Changeling said, smirking the entire time. “I am nothing but a distraction.”

Celestia turned to the sound of violent waves as Royal Guards tackled and shackled the Changeling. The ocean outside of Baltimare was black and looked extremely rough. She saw the immense waves smack against the docks, and turn them into splinters.

She gasped as she saw an enormous wave develop far off the coast. She watched as it bore down on the large port city, and grow larger the entire time. Celestia cursed under her breath. She needed to be more observant! How could she have not sensed this earlier?

She had no time to think that as she attempted to make a magical barrier around the city to protect it from the extremely large wave heading towards the city. She had made it too hastily and late though, and as the wave smashed into the barrier,
it easily dissipated it as if it was made of dust.

The wave smacked into the lower Docks District of the city, and completely engulfed it under water. As the wave kept rolling towards the walls, it took more and more citizens, carriages, stalls and small buildings with it. It was like nothing Celestia had seen before. This had to be the work of another sentient being, and not just nature at its worst.

As the wave hit the walls, and drenched Celestia in seawater, she used her immense magical powers to shove the ocean out of the city. She labored intensely, and sweat poured out from her face as she mustered enough strength to pick up the water and take it back into the ocean.

“Twilight,” she struggled to say, “Help… me… now.”

Twilight immediately got up, and galloped over to Celestia’s side. She closed her eyes, and soon, the combined magic of Twilight and Celestia began to push the sea back. Slowly, the sea receded from the city, but after they had finished their immense task, it was obvious the wave had done its damage.

The city was in complete ruin. What wasn’t flattened by the force of rushing water was either severely or partially damaged. There were few buildings in the entire city that escaped any damage. But the most heart-wrenching sight of all was the immense amount of dead ponies in the streets.

All had drowned underwater, and all of their coats and manes had dulled into a grayish shade of their original color. There were a few survivors that Celestia could see, but many citizens had died because of this unexpected show of force from nature.

Or from God himself, Celestia thought to herself. While he had not invaded Equestria, he had already destroyed a city.

Celestia knew that her time of touring was over. She needed to rally her forces, and prepare for the coming invasion.

Tell me what you think! I really want to thank everyone who commented and favorited this story so far. I am surprised that so many people had enjoyed this! In fact, I had expected to get a lot of harsh criticism for characterizing God as an angry and somewhat evil being. While he is not entirely evil, he is not entirely good either. I hope I cleared up all confusion about the Greek Pantheon, because I had gotten some questions as to why I included them. Next chapter: As Celestia and the Mane 6 rush to return to Canterlot, God and the Pantheon commence their final preparations for the invasion. What will come of the Changelings, who have showed themselves at this time, or of Equestria itself? Find out in the next chapter!

Chapter 2

“Look at the slaughter. It’s as if he doesn’t even care.”

The screams of the agonized and the laughter of demons almost drowned out that statement. A man with a short, wispy black beard turned to who said it. He looked incredibly old; his face was wrinkled and he little hair on his scalp.

“Yes, it does look like it.” The man said, “Though we would expect as much from them.”

“Tell me, Hades,” his companion said, “Do you really think that they will destroy that planet just to get to Celestia?”

“Lucifer,” Hades turned to him, and nodded, saying, “We have quarreled with them many a time. We know how they will act when they invade.”

Lucifer crossed his arms. He wiped away the view of the destroyed city of Baltimare, and walked away from the fountain showing it. He was eager to find a way to fight both God and Celestia, but he needed to find the perfect time to strike.

“When do you think that they will both be at their weakest?” Lucifer asked Hades. “You know Zeus and the others more than I.”

“I cannot tell.” Hades responded. “We will need to watch closely.”

Lucifer nodded.

Hades looked at the only true companion he had in the Underworld. Lucifer had many forms, but when he was alone with Hades, he chose his true form. His true form was quite frightening. He was half man, half ram. Although he did not deserve to be called half man, as his skin was blood red, the fur very dark red, and had large ram horns growing out both sides of his head. His eyes were dark yellow, and showed pure evil. Hades saw those eyes when they were angry, and they were not something one would want to see in a dark room.

Lucifer turned to Hades, and said, “We must attack. We must. If we ever want to escape the Underworld and live as kings would in Heaven, we must attack in the midst of this war.”

“And we have everything ready.” Hades replied. “We only need to find the right time to strike.”
***

“Sister, oh big sister, thank the heavens you are alright!”

Luna nearly flew off of the throne to embrace her sister. She had stayed behind in Canterlot while Celestia toured. After Luna received word of the Baltimare disaster, she immediately told her sister she needed to come home.

“Luna,” Celestia smiled. “It is so good to see you!”

“I wish it were under better circumstances that you returned.” Luna frowned.

“Well anything is better when I have my little sister with me,” Celestia smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

“I guess you want the bad news then.” Luna sighed.

“Of course,” Celestia nodded her head, “Out with it, dear sister.”

“The Grand Assembly has called into question your ability to protect us, especially after what happened in Baltimare.” Luna explained, “There is a new party of representatives forming now, sister. These ponies are the radicals of the Assembly. They call into question every flaw you have, and some have called for your abdication!”

“That is the most preposterous thing I have ever heard!” Celestia cried. “After all that I have done for my people, these fat-bellied ponies in Canterlot, the epitome of fine living, might I add, have decided to cry foul at my failure to protect my subjects! If I did not have more important things to worry about, I would have them banished!”

“Yes,” Luna said. “We must try to keep the Assembly looking towards us with favor. It is the utmost importance after the military. We would not find it optimal to fight a cosmic invader if we are fighting a civil war!”

“Exactly, Luna,” Celestia replied. “We shall stay in Canterlot to keep the Assembly pacified while Shining Armor and the Elements prep the military. I hate to have them do it, but what else can we do?”

Celestia trotted out onto a balcony looking over the city of Canterlot. The city was still bustling, and life seemed to be going on as usual. Celestia could only wonder how long it stay like that.
***

“Dearest Twilight,” Spike read aloud, “I hate to put you in this situation, but I cannot go with any other option. There are talks of severe dissent among the Assembly representatives, and I must stay in Canterlot to quell their dissent. I ask you, your friends, Shining Armor and Princess Cadence to continue the touring of Equestria to inspect our military readiness. I detest staying in Canterlot to appease a few angry politicians and having you go in my stead, but, alas, I have no choice. Deepest apologies, Princess Celestia.”

“You mean we still have to travel?” Rarity complained, hurling herself onto a fainting couch, holding her hoof over her eyes to show her frustration. “Traveling is for me at all!”

“Quit your whining, Rarity!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she hovered above. “The Princess asked us to do this! How can we say no?”

“Exactly,” Twilight said. “I know we are all exhausted from the past three weeks, but we need to press on!”

“But Twilight,” Rarity whined loudly, “I can’t go on!”

“Will ya shut up for a second Rarity?” Applejack snorted. “We need to do this, no matter how tired or hankerin’ we are for a good bed, am Ah clear?”

“Crystal.” Rarity said sullenly, getting off the chair. “Where are we off to next?”

“Well,” Twilight said, grabbing a map of Equestria out from a pouch she was carrying. “We stopped in Baltimare before we had to come back here. I would guess that we need to go to Fillydelphia. After that, we leave the northwestern parts of Equestria. I would think that heading to Trottingham or Flankfurt would make the most sense.”

“At least we’re going to Trottingham.” Rarity pouted, “I would hate to go to Coltenhagen. Those ponies do not even know how to wear a hat correctly!”

“Alrighty then,” Applejack said, ignoring Rarity’s input. “When are we leavin’ for Fillydelphia, Twi?”

“Is tomorrow alright?” Twilight asked. “I doubt there would be a train leaving for Fillydelphia at this late an hour.”
The sun had set long ago over Canterlot. The shining capital of Equestria brightened the dark night sky and the valley below. From here, the Mane 6 could see Ponyville, their hometown. It had been so long since they had been there. Since Celestia addressed the Grand Assembly, they had been touring cities like Manehattan, Baltimare, Tampa Neigh and Neigh Orleans.

The six friends then walked into a restaurant that wasn’t too classy or expensive for them, even though Rarity said she needed to go to Chef Hoof D'oeuvre’s new restaurant. As they trotted inside the door, they found the atmosphere surprisingly joyous and drunk, given that Baltimare was almost completely destroyed only days before.

They stayed together as they got a table close to a radio giving the news. The Royal Equestrian Press, or REP for short, was broadcasting an update on Baltimare.

“The entire city was washed under a gigantic wave.” A female reporter said as Twilight listened closely, “While there a number of Pegasi terrorists that could cause such a disaster, Princess Celestia insists that it was the act of the divine invader she is so afraid of.

“’I have warned you all of what will happen once this divine force invades,’ Celestia said in a press conference just moments ago, ‘And now he has shown his hand. The entire city of Baltimare is underwater, and thousands of ponies lay dead in the flooded streets. I have dispatched thousands of emergency weather Pegasi to Baltimare, and they, along with aid from Princess Luna and the moon, are working around the clock to recede the waters back into the Equine Ocean…’”

“Twilight, hello, you there?” Rainbow Dash snickered, “Is anypony home?”

“Oh,” Twilight blushed at the embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“Anyway,” Dash said, “Are you going to order anything? I’m getting pretty hungry.”

“Oh.” Twilight looked down towards her menu, and read through the options. “I’ll have the spaghetti with a side of garlic bread and a cup of Manehattan Iced Tea, please.”

As the rest of her friends ordered their meals, Twilight tried again to listen for the news update, only to hear that it was switched to play some music. Twilight sighed, and turned back to her friends, and tried to join the conversation.

“Are we ever going home?” Fluttershy asked quietly, “I’m worrying about Angel. I hope she’s alright.”

“Well Ah better get goin’ back to the ranch,” Applejack replied, “Before it’s harvest time. Ah can’t keep on travelin’ across Equestria just to watch some soldiers march.”

“I think some of the soldiers are cute.” Rarity said, supporting her head with her hoofs. “There was this one in Manehattan who had the dreamiest dark blue mane…”

As Rarity drooled over the cute soldiers she saw, Dash rolled her eyes, and shook her head.

“So,” Dash said, changing the subject, “Will we be staying in the Castle tonight?”

“I’m sure the Princess will allow us.” Twilight smiled. “Why wouldn’t she? She’s asking us to do something huge for her.”

“Hey,” Pinkie Pie interrupted, rubbing her stomach with her hoof, “When’s our food coming? I’m hungry!”

“We know, Pinkie.” Applejack said, “Just let ‘em get the darn food out. It takes awhile to cook food, ya know?”

“It does?” Pinkie tilted her head. “It doesn’t for me.”

“Well you’re Pinkie Pie!” Dash exclaimed, “Do you really expect the laws of physics or something to apply to you.”

“Oh yeah,” Pinkie beamed, “That doesn’t happen to me!”

Pinkie then started laughing uncontrollably. While she was, two waiters arrived and dropped off their food and drinks.

While Pinkie ignored her food, the others dug in. It was delicious, especially after eating train food for three weeks.
As they ate, the Mane 6 exchanged small talk, avoiding the big elephant in the room. They needed a night off from saving the world for once. And it seemed like they actually might.
***

Zeus sat on his throne on Mount Olympus outside of the Kingdom of Heaven. He watched the golden gates he so desired, and grew green with envy at the shining jewel-encrusted buildings towered into the infinity that was space.
Next to him Hera sat on his right and Poseidon on his left. They had left the Kingdom a few hours before, and the Olympians were preparing their forces for war.

“Look at it, Poseidon.” He said, “It is magnificent, is it not?”

“Very, brother,” Poseidon replied. “Tell us, when will God be ready for the invasion?”

“He told me through Hermes that he has to break open a scroll or something.” Zeus answered. “He always was one for show.”

“He was when he took Olympus.” Poseidon agreed. “If only had attacked us in our prime...”

“He didn’t,” Zeus said, “He chose to attack when we were weakened. After that heathen Constantine converted, we lost most of our power. But, he is weakening as well. We are growing old without living believers. If he hadn’t ended his universe, we would still be in our prime!”

“If you resent him so, why pledge allegiance to him?” Hera asked.

“Because,” Zeus answered, “Either side with my enemy, or be annihilated at the hands of God! He only spared us because he relented!”

“You do have a point, brother.” Poseidon agreed. “But what if we turned the tables on him, and sided with Celestia?”

“No,” Zeus said, “I believe we should play along with God. Then, we shall make our move. Mark my words; I will be sitting on the throne of Heaven!”
***

While three weeks had passed on the planet Equus, only three days had passed in Heaven. God looked down onto the planet again, and focused on where Celestia lay sleeping. She looked so weak, so vulnerable. If only it was that easy!

“Lord,” his heavenly messenger, Gabriel, cried, “Michael returns with the scroll!”

“Good.” God replied, “I had no idea we had moved so far away from it.”

He watched his Archangel flew across space, the large scroll in his left hand. In his right, he held a shining gold sword that lighted his way back towards the Kingdom. The sword illuminated everything in sight, including supernovas, stars and even some planets.

As Michael approached the open-roof throne room, he knelt down. He raised the scroll up with both hands, and bowed his head. God took it with his right hand, and looked to his right side, where Jesus stood.
In front of him, stood Moses, Mohammed, Heracles, Achilles, Theseus and Perseus, looking onto Jesus, who now held the scroll.

“This action will begin our acts of hostility towards the sentient beings of Equus and their Goddesses, Princesses Celestia and Luna.” God declared, “Let it be known that the end of this civilization is at hand, and that Celestia will pay for her crimes.”

Jesus raised a blood-red knife, and put it in front of the scroll, which he held in front of his face. He moved the knife slowly towards the scroll, and carefully broke the first seal.

“Come forward.” God bellowed. In the floor in front of him, a dark blue haze materialized.

“Go now,” God ordered, “And deceive the Equestrians. I give you the righteous bow and crown, and the power to conquer. Let evil reign over Equestria.”

The haze disappeared from the throne room. All of the spectators, who had been kneeling, looked up towards God.

He stood from his throne, and exclaimed throughout the Kingdom, “It has begun!”
***

“Luna, are you alright?”

Luna had fallen onto the floor of the throne room in Canterlot Castle. Celestia and Luna had been leaving for a walk through the Royal Gardens, when Luna suddenly collapsed. The Royal Guard had descended upon her, and were trying to get her up.

“I, I feel ill.” Luna stuttered, “I believe I require bed rest. Excuse me, sister.”

She got up, and began to walk away. But then, she went to her knees, and this time Celestia galloped to her side.

“Luna!” Celestia cried, “Can you hear me?”

“Be silent!” The voice startled Celestia and shook her to her core.

Luna got up, only she wasn’t Luna. Her mane was dark purple, and flowed in the wind much like her sister’s. She was as tall as Celestia now, and her horn and coat was black as night. She frowned, and smirked at the sight of Celestia.

“Oh, is it not good to be in control again!” Luna cried, laughing at the end of her statement.

“You are not my sister!” Celestia exclaimed, dragging one of her hoofs across the dirt. “You are not Luna!”

“Right you are, Celestia.” Luna said, “I am Nightmare Moon! I have returned to conquer all of Equestria and make the night last forever! Never again will your wretched sun rise over the horizon again!”

At that time, lightning struck on both sides of Nightmare Moon. Two black Pegasi appeared, armed with swords. Their wings resembled that of a dragon’s, and their armor was dark purple. The most terrifying part about them though was the fact that their eyes were slit, much like a cat’s. They complemented their equally terrifying fangs. Since they were features of a pony, it made it that much scarier.

With that, the three ponies disappeared. Celestia remained standing there, frozen in fear.

The invasion of God had begun.

Tell me what you think! For clarification, the Equestrian cities are the real-world equivalents of Birmingham (Trottingham), Frankfurt (Flankfurt), Copenhagen (Coltenhagen), Tampa Bay (Tampa Neigh) and New Orleans (Neigh Orleans). Thanks to all the comments and favorites everypony! Next chapter: As the First Horseman possesses Luna and turns her into Nightmare Moon, how will Equestria react to this sudden catastrophe? Find out in the next chapter!