Rainbow Dash awoke to the sound of a girlish shriek.

The weathermare's head emerged from her cloud pillow. She looked around from her small perch over the outskirts of Ponyville, searching for the jerk who had the guts to interrupt her nap. She found the offending pony soon enough, as he flew over the rolling green hills below as if his tail was on fire.

Dash swooped down from the cloud to investigate. She flew up alongside the other pegasus, noticing his glowing mane and larger size. "What's got you in a hurry, buddy?"

The other flier turned, and Rainbow Dash noticed both the small horn obscured by his mane and the panicked look in his eyes. "Leave me, mortal! This does not concern you!" With that, he sped up, leaving a somewhat stunned pegasus behind.

"Hey!" The Junior Speedster took off again, steadily catching up with the revealed alicorn. "Who are you to go around dissing people and flying off like—"

"I said leaveme!" With that, the alicorn delivered a rear hoof at his pursuer. It was a weak kick, but still knocked Dash square in the jaw, sending her reeling. By the time she recovered, there was only a fading orange streak to show where he had traveled.

Rainbow Dash was about to resume the chase, but the sound of thudding hoofsteps from behind made her turn. She was greeted by the sight of a galloping Kratos, his eyes locked on the blazing trail in the sky and his mouth grit in a toothy snarl.

Rainbow Dash pulled up alongside the Spartan as he ran. "Hey, what's got you all saddle-sore?" she asked.

Kratos glanced over. "You're Loyalty's bearer?"

The pegasus grinned. "Yep! The fastest flier in all Equestria!"

"Well," Kratos rumbled, eyes returning to the orange streak, "thatwas Hermes, fastest flier from my world. He's been spying on me, and tried to kill me and a young child."

"Woah, what?"

"Exactly," the Spartan replied. "Now, if you're so fast, then help me stophim."

"Got it!" With that, Rainbow Dash took off, her namesake trailing behind her. Kratos ran along the path for another thirty seconds or so before noticing that she had returned. "How, uh, do we stop him?"

The Spartan attempted to ignore his lack of foresight, scanning the landscape for ideas. "See that ridge up there?" he asked, pointing towards a cliff cropping up above the thick forest.

"Yeah," Dash nodded. "That's a little far into the Everfree, though."

"Just get him near there."

With that, the two split up. Dash continued chasing after Hermes' trail, while the Spartan turned left onto a path that led deep into the somewhat familiar Everfree Forest.

~/~/~/~

Long after exiting the outskirts of Ponyville, finding himself hovering over a forest, Hermes dared to slow and turn his head to look back. Upon seeing no sign of a hulking, bloodthirsty earth pony behind him, the messenger god relaxed. "I give myself too little credit," he chuckled. "I could outrun him easily!"

"Oh yeah?" Well, how about me?"

Hermes glanced over just in time to see a rainbow streak rocketing towards him. "What in Olym—oomph!"

The alicorn shook his head, flexing his jaw as he turned towards the attacker.

Rainbow Dash flitted about, forelegs raised and ready to strike again. "Yeah, you want some more? Go on, try to hurt any more kids! I dare ya!"

Hermes looked at the pegasus before him with disdain. "You foal! Wait, no." He shook his head again, vigorously. "Confound this world and its vernacular... You fool! You dare to attack a god?"

Dash laughed. "I didn't know gods ran like cowards from an angry bald pony with a goatee. I know he's unstable, but c'mon!"

The alicorn stared, slack-jawed. "You... really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" Dash glared accusingly.

"How dangerous Kratos is! Do you know why I ran?" Hermes demanded, eyes wide. "Why I was sent to spy on him? Why Lord Zeus will do everything in his power to keep him trapped in this world?"

"...Because you owe him money? Maybe you got a crush on him? How should I know?"

Hermes' expression shifted. It changed from panic to a low, snarling mask of anger. His mane and tail, once only faintly glowing, burst into blazing orange energy, and trails of magic wisped from his hooves. "Insolent mortal," he hissed.

Rainbow Dash gulped.

~/~/~/~

Kratos barreled through the underbrush of the forest, the cliff slowly growing closer in the small clearing ahead of him. The thick foliage was almost a tunnel, forcing the Spartan to continue towards the small patch of light leading to his destination.

He had thankfully retraced his voyage from his first day in Equestria to the clearing that he had arrived in. Upon searching the nearby area, he had been greeted by a welcome sight: the Blade of Olympus. The sword was still in prime condition, its blue aura radiating along the center of its blade. Kratos attempted to pry it out of the ground, finding that the grip was now more fitting for being held by a mouth than a hand. Kratos shrugged it off as more of Equestria's bizarre effects on things from other worlds.

After surveying the rest of the area, Kratos had found another item he'd been hoping for. It was currently affixed to his back, the harness jostling as he ran. As the clearing grew closer, he could hear blasts of magical energy in the distance. He could only hope he would be on time.

~/~/~/~

Rainbow Dash had used almost every single trick she'd ever learned to try and lose the alicorn trailing close behind, barring a Sonic Rainboom. Cloud Drills, Sprite Tornadoes, Filly Flashes... Dash would have used a Super-Speed Strut if she thought it would help.

Hermes, however, was matching her move for move. He wasn't gaining on her, but he definitely wasn't falling behind. On top of that, he was shooting bolts of energy everywhere Dash flew. The last few had just barely missed her, and the pegasus knew she was fighting a hugely uphill battle.

Dash kept arcing towards the stone ridge, hoping every time that Kratos' plan would miraculously show up there. She had passed it for the fifth time a while ago, and dreaded fatigue was starting to weigh down her wings. The big chump would need to get there soon.

~/~/~/~

Not long after, Kratos finally broke free of the entangling grip of the Everfree Forest, emerging onto a steady uphill ridge. He galloped up its length, his eyes picking off a rainbow streak and burning orange trail shooting all across the sky. He was in time.

With a shift of his body, the contraption strapped to his back unfurled. Two massive wooden appendages stretched out to either side, adorned with an assortment of grimy black feathers. Their construction was an amalgamation of sloppy and precise; considering its previous owner, this was no surprise.

Kratos gave the Icarus Wings an experimental flap, feeling them push the air beneath him. The mechanism was almost guided by thought, given how well it was controlled, doubtless some lingering influence of the madman's father. Assured that the wings were ready, Kratos paced back to the far edge of the cliff, mentally marking the outcropping ridge that would act as his launching point.

He was ready.

~/~/~/~

Dash nearly cried out in relief when her griffin-like eyesight picked off a familiar hulking earth pony on the ridge. She dove down suddenly, building up speed as she lowered herself to just below the cliff's altitude. Hermes followed close behind.

As Rainbow Dash blew past the edge of the cliff, she found herself wondering about Kratos' supposed plan. For one thing, what were those things on his sides she had seen? For another, why in the hay would he be running off the cliff? It didn't make any sen—

Dash's mind exploded in a white-hot flash of pain as one of Hermes' neon bolts finally struck home. She could feel her entire body go numb, as if somepony had flicked the "off" switch. She could barely register what the noise was behind her when she blacked out

~/~/~/~

Hermes sneered as the pegasus careened from the sky. He had managed to knock her out, but she wasn't falling; it seemed her wings were still working, and she haphazardly coasted to the forest below. She would be hurt, but he had wanted so much more than to knock her senseless and scuff her up. She mocked him. For that, she deserved far worse.

The Olympian's thoughts were interrupted when he realized that the sun had been blotted out. It was odd: he hadn't been flying close enough to the cliffs for them to block out the afternoon sun. It was when he looked up towards the shadow that he understood, his stomach dropping much faster than the fallen pegasus was.

Kratos dove down towards Hermes, the Icarus Wings shedding feathers even as he rocketed towards his target. It almost looked as if he was going to hit Hermes full on.

The air was forced violently out of Hermes' lungs as two immense hooves planted themselves in his chest and stomach. Kratos easily swung himself around, wrapping his forelegs around the alicorn in a stranglehold.

The two began to fall towards the ground headfirst, spinning wildly as the forest rushed up to meet them. "Wh-what are you doing?" Hermes stammered.

Kratos' face was set in determination. "Leveling the playing field."

Hermes could only watch in silent, stunned horror as they fell, wondering how mad Kratos would be to try a suicide maneuver like this. The Olympian would survive, but the mortal Spartan would be crushed. Just before impact, Kratos twisted, placing a screaming alicorn underneath himself to cushion the blow.

~/~/~/~

The two landed on a hill, leaving a solid crater the size of a large wagon, and began rolling down the incline while being torn at from all sides by thickets and branches. When they finally came to a stop, Hermes found himself lying on his back, head spinning.

The alicorn stood, looking around. He turned around just in time to see a pale earth pony charging towards him at full speed, his artificial wings folded up. Kratos wheeled about, bringing his back legs in and shooting them out, driving his hooves into Hermes' chest.

"Why?" Kratos bellowed, pawing at the mossy ground. "Why must you gods always sabotage me?" The god could only cough in response.

Kratos grit his teeth as he prepared another attack. "All I wanted was to forget the pain! Forget the strife! But you all kept leading me on, denying me mylife!"

Hermes attempted to fire off another bolt of energy. It deflected harmlessly off the Golden Fleece, even as the Spartan continued slowly approaching. Kratos' bridle, which had been flashing almost constantly since he had first given chase, was now steadily glowing. Hermes knew that wasn't right, but didn't have time to ask about it as he dodged a swing from the Blade of Exile.

"Now," Kratos fumed, "I am trying to return to my own home from an entirely different world, and you won't let me accomplish a simple task!" The chain blade finally hit home, carving a gash in Hermes' flank.

"Gaah! Wh-why isn't the numbing spell working?" the alicorn demanded, as ichor, the golden blood of the gods, dripped from his flank. "You shouldn't be able to see straight, Spartan!"

Kratos allowed himself a small, dark grin, recalling his experience with Rarity that morning. "I've... developed an immunity," he replied. The smile disappeared. "Now let's see if we can numb you a little."

A swift series of blows slammed into Hermes' side, Kratos' forelegs jabbing at any perceived weak point. The alicorn staggered, and upon recovery made his counterattack. His strikes were weak, but fast, and seemingly coming from all sides. A lucky blow struck the Spartan's right eye, aggravating his old scar.

Kratos bellowed in response, and Hermes felt his old confidence returning, even as he continued raining down blows on the stallion. "My my, Kratos. Hurt already? Perhaps you ought to quit now, before you go inflicting any more pain on yourself."

"Pain?" Kratos knocked the last hoof aimed at his face out of the way. He chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that threatened to shatter Hermes' newfound bravado. "That wasn't pain, that was an old ache. Do you want to feel pain?"

Before Hermes could respond, the Spartan charged, catching the alicorn in his ribs with one shoulder and slamming him into a nearby tree as hard as he could. The alicorn rolled over, attempting to stand on shaky hooves, but his legs were knocked out from under him by a length of chain. Before he could understand what was happening, Hermes found himself lashed to a tree. Before he could cry out, a wickedly curved blade was planted into the trunk just inches from his head, silencing the noise.

Hermes looked up and down the length of the chain. It began at the base of the short sword, wrapped around both himself and the tree, and ended several feet away, wrapped around the tail of...

The messenger god couldn't observe any more as another hoof struck his face, harder this time. "Now... what are you doing here?" Kratos bellowed.

"I-I was simply admiring the countryside! Equestria's a great place, y'know. I've visited here before, and lemme tell you—"

Kratos turned his rump to his captive, and for a moment Hermes thought he was being insulted. The Spartan then turned his head, and with a glint in his eye drove his back legs into Hermes' ribs.

"Hrrk!" The alicorn's eyes bulged. He knew he had heard a few ribs fracture.

Kratos turned back. "What. Are. You. Doinghere?" he growled.

Hermes coughed. He could taste ichor in his mouth. "I was sent to spy on you... with instructions t-to sabotage your learning of the Elements."

"Why?"

"Lord Zeus doesn't want you to return!" Hermes flinched at the Spartan's reaction to Zeus' name, but he continued. "He wants you as far removed from Olympus as possible!"

"And for that you would resort to killing children?" Kratos glowered.

"That attack was intended to slow you down! The child wasn't my idea!"

Kratos glared for a moment, then turned away. Hermes shut his eyes, waiting for another blow to strike. None came. He opened his eyes to find the earth pony only staring outwards.

"What exactly would Zeus do if I were to learn all the Elements?"

Hermes wracked his brain for answers. He recalled one snippet of his father's tirade from that morning, but he knew it would be suicide to reveal it. "I'm... I'm not sure!"

"You lie!" Kratos bucked the god again, this time delivering his hooves into his stomach. Hermes instinctively doubled over in pain, but only strained his throat against the chains. "You're his son, and one of the favored ones at that! You would know his plans!"

Hermes turned his head, spitting out blood, and looked back fearfully at the Spartan. "Zeus... said that if you succeeded, and the princesses allowed you to use the Key, he'd... he'd invade Equestria."

Kratos stared. "What?"

Hermes continued. "If the royal sisters don't cooperate, then he plans to... remove them, and send every monster he can to kill you, and anything that stands between you and them."

"...Everything?"

"Everything. Even... especially ponies." Hermes choked out the last part.

Kratos processed the information he had received. Zeus was willing to crush him, at all costs, and would gladly dispose of Luna and Celestia if he had to. The Spartan held no love for Princess Celestia, but Princess Luna was one of the only deities that he was on good terms with. Athena was dead, or at least some ethereal spirit, so that really made her the only one, and Kratos was not about to let Luna suffer her fate.

"Well then, Hermes," Kratos spat. "If Zeus is scheming what you say he is, then I suppose we'll have to make an example out of you."

For the first time, Hermes noticed the glowing weapon strapped to the Spartan's back. "No!" he cried. "Please, whatever you do, don't kill me!"

"I'm not going to kill you, coward. I've learned the beauty of mercy." Kratos smiled. The alicorn had seen him smile before, whilst spying at the pink one's party, but this was far different. The Spartan now wore a dark, thin grin, shaped as if it were carved with a knife. "I won't harm you with a single blade, Hermes. Not. A single. Weapon."

He leaned in close to the chained Olympian, the grin evaporating. "Let's begin."

~/~/~/~

Rainbow Dash stirred, squinting at her blurred surroundings. She attempted to stand, but found herself on wobbly legs. She eased herself back down onto the soft ground, waiting for her vision to clear. It felt like ages, and Dash could hear her mind screaming for movement, but eventually the forest stopped spinning.

"Good. You're awake."

As Dash stood, she turned to see Kratos standing beside her, motionless as usual. "How'd we end up here?" she asked, rubbing a hoof against her head.

The earth pony raised his eyebrows. "You don't remember, then?"

"I was napping, and there was some dude flying like a madstallion, but..." The thoughts clicked in Rainbow's mind. "Woah, wait! Was that really an alicorn? Like, some other god?"

Kratos nodded. "Hermes, messenger of the gods. He was sent from my world to spy on me and keep me from learning the elements. I took care of him after he rendered you unconscious: he won't be showing up any time soon."

The pegasus couldn't help but feel some apprehension. You didn't, y'know, kill him, right? He was a jerk, yeah, but that's no reason to—"

Kratos cut in. "Hermes is still alive. Please, Rainbow Dash; I've learned better since I arrived here. Besides, you need a certain tool to kill gods."

"Oh." Dash's suspicions were still raised. "Then what did happen to him?"

Kratos shrugged, his expression almost bored. "He is a messenger. I simply had him deliver a message to Zeus."

"...Right." Rainbow Dash looked around, surveying the thick foliage surrounding them. "So, where are we, exactly?" she asked.

"Somewhere in the Everfree Forest. Are you familiar with it?"

Dash nodded. "Yeah. I've been in here a few times."

"Familiar enough to get us out?" Kratos continued.

The pegasus winced slightly. "Uh, not really." A thought crossed her mind. "Duh! I'll just fly up and see where we are!"

With that, Rainbow Dash launched herself up into the air with a powerful flap of her wings. Much to her surprise, the pegasus found herself falling back to the forest below. Her legs screamed in pain as she touched down, almost bringing her to her knees. "Ohhh...kay, what was that?"

"My guess?" Kratos glanced upwards, where Dash's back had been facing when she woke up. Sure enough, there was a tunnel cut straight as a bullet through the canopy, a number of branches missing. A particularly thick arm, however, had stood strong, leading her to where she had fallen. "You were hit by a magic bolt that sent you crash-landing in a thick forest. Doubtless the impact has left you injured. You've probably hurt your wings, too."

"I'm always the first one, aren't I?" the pegasus muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Just felt a little Pinkie Pie-ish." Rainbow Dash looked around. "So, what now?"

The Spartan glanced up at the sky through the rather convenient hole in the canopy. "The sun is growing close to setting. If the Everfree is to the west of Ponyville, then we need to head east." Kratos turned, his back to the sun. "That way."

With that, the two set forth into the thick forest, with the earth pony keeping a close eye on the weary pegasus.

~/~/~/~

"How many more times are you going to attempt this, Zeus?" Princess Celestia's expression held no more aggravation, only unbearable boredom. "We are not going to 'eradicate this petulant mortal,' nor are we going to 'keep him locked away in this saccharine prison world.' Also, your vocabulary isn't impressing anypony."

The male alicorn's nostrils flared. "I am willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that monster never threatens Olympus again, one way or another."

Celestia's eyes flicked to the ceiling. "You've mentioned that," she replied dryly. "And have you considered the possibility that if you treated him well enough, he wouldn't hold the animosity required to threaten Olympus?"

"All he knows is anger and suffering! That is all he is capable of!"

"We could not help but notice he's expanded his repertoire." Princess Luna couldn't help but cut in. "He can also farm, admit his weaknesses, take a joke, enjoy the lighter side of life, feed small animals, learn compassion, learn manners—"

There was a bright flash, and before the three alicorns hovered an initially unfamiliar figure. His wings flapped haphazardly, legs dangling uselessly from his sides. His face was a bruised, bloody mess, the mane flattened to reveal a broken horn. The figure's sides were dented and misshapen, a far cry from the usual grace of an alicorn.

"...Hermes?" Luna couldn't help but stare.

Hermes fluttered weakly towards Zeus. "Father..." he croaked.

"Hermes! What happened?" Zeus showed genuine concern in his eyes.

"Kratos... found me spying," the young Olympian coughed. "Tried t-to throw him off my trail, nearly killed some stupid kid. Got real... real mad at me. Caught me, and interrogated me..."

Zeus' face hardened. "Interrogated about what?"

"He... knows about the plan, should we fail."

Princess Celestia's eyebrows lowered. "What plan?"

Hermes was about to respond, but Zeus cut him off. "Then what?"

"Promised... he wouldn't kill me. Had the Blade but... promised he wouldn't use a weapon. Then... he made me give you a message." Hermes looked up mournfully at his father. "This hurts a lot."

But Zeus wasn't looking at his son. He stood tall, glaring at Celestia and Luna. "'Learned compassion?' You call this travesty compassion?" he bellowed.

Celestia's eyes grew cold again. "I thought he wasn't here."

Zeus roared. "Not this again!"

"Your son here is the runt in a rather large litter of yours, even limited to the ones on Olympus," the Sun Regent continued. "Surely he went and annoyed Apollo, or even Hercules? You certainly haven't stopped these squabbles bef—"

"ENOUGH!"

Thunder boomed inside the chambers. Zeus was seething, the electricity jumping all across his body. "You continue to make a fool out of me, assuming my son is nothing but a chew toy for your little Spartan! If this continues, you'll see soon enough what happens when you incur the wrath of Olympus!"

"F-father?"

"Quiet, boy!" Zeus reared up, stomping both hooves down. He disappeared in an immense flash of lightning, the area where he stood singed. Hermes remained in the throne room.

The Olympian alicorn looked over, smiling weakly. "Hello, Luna. Good to... good to see you again. I would love to catch up, but it would appear as though my father left me here, so if you wouldn't mind—"

"Actually," Princess Celestia began, "First I think we should talk about this 'plan' you mentioned..."

Hermes gulped.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Whaaaassuuuup, mah bronies? ToonNinja here, with another entry in everypony's favorite God of War/My Little Pony crossover! Granted, that's because it's the only one, but who cares? It was briefly mentioned in a Russian gaming magazine, and there's apparently a blurb about it on TV Tropes, so that's good enough!

This has been my first action scene in a while, so you'll have to forgive me if I'm a little rusty. Speaking of ill-boding red substances, you'll notice that Hermes' blood apparently isn't red. I'ma go ahead and give you folks a quick crash course in Greek mythology. Apparently, the Greek gods have ichor instead of blood, which is this gooey golden stuff. I figured that the GOW series has already made the factual details of mythology its b*tch, so I decided to throw the dog a bone (see what i did there?).

Yes, Dash is injured. Yeah, she'll have trouble flying for a while. I'm aware of the cliche, but I pointed it out, so now it's okay! At least Kratos didn't arrive in Equestria due to Twilight botching a mass teleport spell! ORDIDHE? (Answer: Eeeenope.)

So, a junior speedster and a god slayer walk into a forest... wanna see how that joke turns out? It's not the funniest joke in the world, but it'll be revealed, as well as why there (should've been, dammit Seth) a grimlight tag now, next time on BridledFury! ToonNinja out!