50. The City of Athena
SPARTA, OLYMPIC GREECE
The tall, muscle-bound man with skin of pale white and a telltale red mark snaking over his body prepared to approach the army to which his loyalty had been bound by Olympus. He stood between two statues in the city: one of a woman dressed in armor, with a sweep of fabric over one shoulder, and one of a man dressed in a battle tunic that stopped above the knees, with jewelry made of forged chains on his limbs and around his neck.
The female statue spoke: "Do not do this, Kratos."
Kratos was surprised – not that the statue was speaking, for this was how the gods communicated with him, but merely in her timing, which had startled him. "Athena!"
"The apple tree is not for Spartans or Athenians," Athena said. "No mortal should ever taste the flesh of those apples. You have seen what their very presence has done to Sparta! If either Spartan or Athenian tastes of that fruit, the chaos will only increase tenfold!"
"SILENCE, Athena!" the male statue snapped. "Do not listen to HER, Kratos. Your oath is to me, and your service is to Sparta! Athena lies so that she can keep the apples to herself and feed them to the Athenians! The SPARTANS deserve them more than she ever will! Lead the soldiers and bring back dominion of that tree!"
"He is right, Athena," Kratos growled. "My loyalty is to Ares foremost. I WILL lead Sparta to victory!"
"But do you really believe that winning the apple tree will bring anything but ruin?" Athena challenged.
"What I believe does not matter. Only that Ares has ordered it." Kratos said no more before leaving the two statues behind.
"Ares!" Athena scolded. "You would rather lead your own people to destruction than risk admitting that I know the truth?"
"You don't know anything!" Ares retorted. "I stand by what I said: you want that tree for yourself and Athens!"
"You are a fool!"
"And you are a jealous witch!"
"Then it remains to fate to tell us whether Athens or Sparta will win this battle," Athena resolved angrily.
"Fate will work in my favor," Ares concluded, and the two statues were silent after that.
ATHENS, OLYMPIC GREECE
The wagon from Delphi rolled into the midst of the great city-state of Athens, finding a path between its tall, square, white marble buildings. Athens was the center of wisdom, the city watched over by patron Athena, and renowned home of scholars, mathematicians, and mentors known all over the land.
Currently, everyone there was acting like a complete and total idiot.
One woman ran down the streets, beating another with a broom, yelling, "I SHOULD GET THE FIRST ONE BECAUSE I'M PRETTIER!" The other screamed back, "YOU'RE UGLIER THAN A CHIMERA THAT GOT ITS HEAD SQUASHED BY A BOULDER!" One man was seen throwing pottery out of the windows of his fairly tall house, hoping to hit the citizens below. "Idiots!" he chuckled. A customer ran away from a pita restaurant without paying, laughing all the way: "Look how smart I am! I deserve EVERYTHING!" The pita shop owner drew a crossbow and loaded it down with cutlery to fire at the thief; every shot missed.
"What is going ON?" Twilight asked.
The wagon pulled into the Athenian square, where several soldiers were lined up, armored in bronze. "Maybe we should ask them," Applejack suggested.
"Let's pull over," Hercules agreed.
The wagon halted, and the passengers disembarked. "Howdy!" Applejack said, walking up to the soldiers. "We were just wonderin' – "
The soldiers immediately turned their spears in Applejack's direction. "Get out of here, Kentauride!" one of them yelled.
"HEY!" Phil barked, hopping down from the wagon. "You wanna talk to my trainee like that? I'LL show you a thing or two!"
"You most certainly will not!" Rarity cried, and she and Megara leapt out of the wagon to drag Phil back as the satyr swung his fists in the air uselessly.
Cassandra made her way to the soldiers. "Okay, so basically, we just want to know why everyone's being stupid today."
"A divine tree bearing golden apples has appeared at the midpoint between Athens and Sparta!" a soldier answered. "The Athenian military intends to claim the fruit and bring it back to Athens! However, every citizen seems oddly convinced that they will be granted an apple after I bring them back on my own and take one as my cut."
"Why YOU?" another soldier questioned.
"Because I'm the best!" the first said.
"No, you're not!" the second argued. "I'm FAR superior to you in battle!"
"Then prove it!"
They drew bronze swords, ran a few paces away, and then began to duel.
"Oh, no," Phil broke in. "These apples. Not the GOLDEN ones, are they?"
"Yes!" a third soldier said. "They shine so brilliantly…I can't wait to eat one after I abandon the squadron and bring them back for a hero's welcome! Oh…did I say that out loud?"
The rest of the soldiers began yelling at this soldier.
"I figured out our problem," Phil said, a look of terror on his face. "The golden apples of discord somehow found their way to the mortal world. Oh, this is not good. This is REALLY not good."
"I think I remember reading something about that somewhere," Twilight recalled. "Don't they grant divine knowledge to those who eat them?"
"Yeah, but it's one of those 'go mad from the revelation' type things," Phil said. "Plus the apples have this kinda effect that wherever they turn up, people go nuts thinkin' they should deserve them and fight over them, when really, getting those apples would be the worst possible thing. You remember what I said about Atalanta back in training? She never lost a race until her opponent brought along those apples and threw 'em around. She had a mind sharper than a celestial bronze blade until she saw those apples, and then she just wanted to go get the shiny thing. There's one more side effect they have, and that's where Cassandra's vision comes in…this is not gonna be pretty."
"You better tell us before we find out the hard way," Applejack suggested.
"Those apples come from a tree that's…I don't know how to put it," Phil explained. "It's old. Older than ZEUS. When that gets mixed up with mortals, then things randomly start to go bad for wherever the apples turn up. It's like the odds of everything just get worse and worse. And you never know WHAT you're gonna get. If it's monsters or an invading army…"
"Or a giant cupcake?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"No," Phil replied. "Not. A giant cupcake."
"But we DO know what we're going to get," Hercules realized.
"I JUST saw it back in Delphi," Cassandra groaned.
"The Spartan troops!" Twilight realized.
"What are the odds that those Spartans are just as…mixed up as the Athenian soldiers right now?" Applejack asked, motioning to the arguing military men.
"If the Spartans have their act together, they'll be a devastating force against Athens," Phil said. "That's a basic guarantee that they're a well-oiled machine."
"And the Athenian military isn't exactly in any shape to take them on," Meg observed.
"STOP HITTING YOURSELF!" a soldier cried while grasping the wrist of another and using the second soldier's hand to slap him in the face. "STOP HITTING YOURSELF!"
"They can barely take themselves on," Meg groaned.
"Well, we'll just have to fight Sparta for them!" Rainbow Dash resolved. "And we'll get them to surrender!"
"But this makes no sense," Twilight said. "If both polises are affected by the tree, then they should both be mixed up in the exact same way. And there's no way that something can just cause random disaster by EXISTING. There has to be a cause and effect! A sort of chain of events!"
"They're golden apples of discord!" Phil repeated. "They don't have to make sense!"
That shut Twilight up immediately. She, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack exchanged worried glances.
"You don't suppose…" Rarity brought up.
"This would be Discord's exact idea of a party!" Pinkie argued. "If I were him, I'd want to plant those apples all around!"
"If you were who?" Meg asked.
"Someone who loves to annoy us," Twilight said, "by messing things up for everyone."
"Well, 'annoy' might be rather an understatement," Rarity observed. "As he was directly responsible for Voldemort."
"But he'd've shown up to gloat by now if this was his work," Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"Not necessarily," Twilight retorted. "He stayed out of sight for the last few adventures we were on, and he had some hand in each of them."
"I still think this is Hades' work," Hercules argued. "People are seriously getting hurt! There are probably deaths because of all this! And the Spartans might kill people in order to get that tree! And whenever people are dying, Hades' kingdom is getting bigger."
"THAT DOES IT!" one of the soldiers cried. "I don't need you! I don't need this troop! I can get to the tree on my own! I'll just FLY!" He ran into a nearby shop where a wooden sign was carved in the shape of a pair of wings. The other soldiers followed.
"Oh oh oh!" Pinkie theorized. "What if Hades and Discord are working together?"
"We just won't know until we get more information," Twilight said. "For now, we need to prepare for what we know is coming. Which direction will the Spartans be coming from?"
"Sparta's that way," Hercules answered, pointing.
"Right," Twilight said. "So we should make a plan of how to line up equidistantly along that border. I'm thinking we should start with – "
"Oh, no," Cassandra said suddenly. Her eyes had gone green.
"Did you use that green mist again?" Pinkie asked.
Cassandra shook her head, her eyes returning to normal. "No. This vision just came naturally on its own. And it was the worst disaster I could possibly think of! The Spartan invasion doesn't even compare to…THIS!"
"What did you see?" Hercules asked.
The soldiers rushed out of the shop, lugging several sets of what looked like angel wings carved from wax. "HEY!" the shop owner yelled, running after them. "THOSE WINGS ARE THIRTY DRACHMAS APIECE PLUS TAX! AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN CONSIDER LEAVING A TIP!" When he saw the group gathered around the Delphi wagon, however, his attention was diverted from the thieves. He began charging toward them, or, to be more specific, one member in particular. As he ran, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "CASSAAAAAAANDRAAAAAAAA!"
Pegasus whinnied in shock as Hercules and Phil muttered, "It can't be…"
"I saw…HIM!" Cassandra cried in terror.
The shop owner, a short and slim man with light brown skin and dark, frizzy hair, wearing a long and flowing chiton of pale green, clamped his arms around Cassandra in a tight embrace. "YEARS OF WAITING!" he moaned dramatically. "SLAVING AWAY, MAKING WAX WINGS FOR MASS CONSUMPTION, WONDERING IF THE WOMAN WHO GAVE MY LIFE MEANING WOULD EVER RETURN TO ME, OR IF SHE WAS LOST FOREVER! BUT NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU, I DON'T EVER INTEND TO LET YOU GO AGAIN!"
"GET…OFF!" Cassandra growled, trying to pry the vice-grip of the short man off her.
"Icarus?" Hercules said in disbelief. It couldn't be anyone else than his other childhood friend. Though Icarus had gained some height and muscle, he was still tiny by most standards, and his hair had grown longer and wilder.
Icarus was distracted from Cassandra by this; he let go of her and she began brushing off her clothing as though he was some sort of contaminant. "HERC!" Icarus cried. "PHIL! PEGASUS! IT'S SO WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU AGAIN AFTER SO MANY YEARS OF LONELINESS!"
"Were…you really that lonely?" Hercules asked, feeling guilty.
"Nah," Icarus said. "Athens is full of cool people. And the store is swamped with clients daily!"
"But you just said – "
"You're questioning his logic?" Cassandra huffed.
"Another friend of yours?" Rarity inquired.
"Yeah!" Hercules said with a nod. "Everyone, this is Icarus! He and Cassandra and I were all best friends growing up!"
"Oh, right, I remember," Meg replied. "You were the one who flew too close to the sun and got his brain fried."
"THE ONE AND ONLY!" Icarus confirmed.
"You flew into the SUN?" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped.
"Didn't it hurt?" Pinkie asked.
"You made it. All the way. To the sun," Rainbow Dash recapitulated.
"Well, not to brag, but it was only the BEST THING EVER!" Icarus boasted. "Picture it! Teen wonder Icarus, outfitted only with a pair of wax wings, breaks the records and shatters the boundaries of the atmosphere, only to go down in a BLAZE OF GLORY!"
"You know," Meg mused, "I thought I remembered hearing somewhere that you died in that fall…"
"Oh, that's just a silly old rumor!" Icarus said with a wave of his hand.
"So what HAVE you been doing all these years?" Hercules asked.
"Well, Dad-alus and I went into business together selling the wings," Icarus answered.
"Have any of your customers flown into the sun?" Pinkie asked in awe.
"No," Icarus said, "but that just goes to show that I'm the only one brave enough."
"Or stupid enough," Cassandra huffed.
"So what happened to old Daedalus anyway?" Phil asked.
"Oh, he went back to the old Labyrinth project to 'gather his thoughts' and go through 'intense emotional meditation,'" Icarus said. "Whatever that means. Well, what I KNOW it means is that I AM NOW SOLE OWNER OF THE WAX WING BUSINESS! AND BUSINESS IS BOOMIN', BABY!"
"He doesn't seem to be affected by the apple tree," Twilight whispered to Phil.
"Some people are immune," Phil answered. "Back to that Atalanta story. Melanion, the guy who beat her, picked 'em up and threw 'em around without any trouble."
"It probably has something to do with his disconnect to reality," Cassandra added, having overheard.
"So…are we going to be corrupted?" Twilight asked.
"I…don't know," Phil admitted.
"Icarus," Hercules said, "we're here because Cassandra had a vision that a Spartan army is going to attack Athens for control of the apple tree that everyone's fighting over."
"SAY NO MORE!" Icarus cried. "You want me to be your lieutenant! It will be a grueling task, but one I am prepared to take on!"
"Actually, I was going to say you should probably get out of the city so you don't get hurt…" Hercules muttered.
"Awwww, let him fight with us!" Pinkie begged. "He's really really awesome!"
"Ya see?" Icarus said, putting an arm around Pinkie's shoulder. "Everyone agrees!"
Pinkie nodded. Pegasus rolled his eyes.
"All right," Hercules sighed. "But only if you promise to be careful."
"Careful is my middle name!" Icarus swore.
"Does he seriously not see the irony in that?" Meg asked.
"Um…if I can say something…" Fluttershy broke in. "Well…we kind of have this recurring lesson. Whenever friends are together, things just go better for us."
"Okay, fine," Phil sighed. "Icarus. You can help us fight off the brutal Spartan invasion. I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST SAID THOSE WORDS IN THAT ORDER!"
"Okay," Twilight said. "We need to figure out how to arrange ourselves to best fight the Spartans. And I have a few ideas…"
The Spartan army marched directly toward Athens, watching the great square buildings rise on the horizon. Despite having to pass the tree on the way, the soldiers found themselves feeling as though the apples would mean nothing unless Athens was conquered in order to get them. Such was the effect of their chaos.
When the soldiers were within view of Athens, they stopped and lined up, awaiting orders.
Kratos drew his twin blades, large and jagged swords he kept strapped to his back at all times. "Rush the city," he commanded, knowing it was exactly what Ares wanted. "SHOW NO MERCY!"
The Spartans raised their weapons, gave a roar, and ran as one, determined to cut down whatever and whoever they could find.
Then a lone Kentauride was visible, galloping toward them at full speed. Rainbow Dash had transformed, her clothing reflecting her witch state, and she raised her sword high. "TAKE THIS!" she yelled.
Lightning struck around her, several bolts forming a circle. A few Spartans halted, frightened by her power. Others kept charging.
Rainbow Dash called upon the wind; it whipped around her, faster and faster. Those who attempted to attack her were swept off their feet, brought to the ground, pushed away by the circling and howling winds.
"There's more where that came from!" Rainbow Dash boasted, calling off the wind. As clouds gathered over her head, shrouding her in shadow, she swung her sword; it clashed against the blade of an aggressive Spartan. They dueled until the soldier was knocked backward; Rainbow Dash swung the sword and dealt a shockwave that pushed three others back.
"IGNORE THE WITCH!" Kratos commanded. The army followed him on a path around Rainbow Dash, though a few couldn't pass up the temptation of conquering this first obstacle; Rainbow Dash was kept busy parrying the group that thronged around her, utilizing the winds to keep them at bay.
"NOW!" Hercules cried, and he, Applejack, and Fluttershy emerged, running at the frontlines. Applejack cracked her rope whip, sending it curling around the sword of an oncoming Spartan soldier, and when she brought it back, it had collected the weapon. She repeated the process, disarming many.
"STAY BACK!" Fluttershy growled. "You are NOT going to invade this city!" She drew her katana, engaging in a duel with two soldiers at once; blades flew, whirred, and clanged.
Hercules joined in the fray, punching out oncoming soldiers and eventually drawing his sword to match them.
"Don't you see?" Applejack yelled. "This is all a trick! You're bein' played by that apple tree!" However, her words fell upon deaf ears. She was forced to admit that the only thing to do was keep disarming.
The lines of soldiers began to fall back. Seeing this, Kratos crossed his twin swords before his own body, and they glowed an unsettling orange color. When he thrust the blades into the air, a hail of fire rained on the three warriors. Gasping in terror, Fluttershy, Hercules, and Applejack backed up hurriedly so as not to be engulfed in flame.
Those who still had weapons and were not dazed kept moving into the city. The others turned around and retreated.
"C'mon!" Hercules commanded. "We gotta follow them!"
He, Fluttershy, and Applejack ran into the city streets.
A man lay bruised and battered in the alley. Blood poured out of several wounds on his limbs. It was upon this scene that Meg and Cassandra came.
"Easy there," Meg said. "We're here to help."
"What was it all for?" the man groaned. "My brothers and I, we came to blows over who would be the first to taste of the golden apples…we had been such a close family before. Now look at what they have done to me…I tried to do this to them. Why did it come to this?"
"Because those apples are bad news?" Cassandra suggested. Meg knelt over the man, taking several cloth bandages out of a bag she had carried into the city as per Twilight's plan and Phil's designation of herself as a medic. She began wrapping the bandages over his wounds.
"You'll be all right," Meg reassured him. "You won't die. And your family will probably go back to normal after we take care of those apples."
"Of what apples dost thou speakest?"
Meg and Cassandra were startled by the voice. They turned to see another woman in the alley, lit by the sunlight that filtered in from behind and above. The light glinted off a bronze clip in her hair.
"It's those apples of discord," Cassandra said. "You know. The ones that make everyone act like pigs."
"I know of them," the woman said. "They are here? In Athens?"
"Close enough to make a scene," Meg answered. "Why?"
"I seek them," the woman replied. "To avoid great disaster."
"Listen, there already IS a disaster," Meg emphasized. "People who loved each other are getting hurt in these riots, and the Spartan army is lined up at the border. They'll be inside at any minute, and then no one is safe!"
"So basically, it's just another day in Greece," Cassandra summed up.
The woman thought this over. "Who is the leader of Athens? No doubt the Spartans will wish to kill him, if this is the doing of the apples."
"Pericles," Meg and Cassandra answered as one.
"Where does he reside?" the woman asked.
"Hang on," Cassandra said. "How do I know this isn't some kind of trick? Maybe YOU are trying to kill him for Sparta."
"His hall is that way," Meg said, pointing.
"I thank thee," the woman said with a nod. Then she set off at a run.
"What did you do that for?" Cassandra barked.
"Chill," Meg demanded. "She wasn't out to kill Pericles."
"And how do YOU know that?"
"Because I've learned to give people the benefit of the doubt…because the Spartans aren't smart enough to set up that kind of gambit…and because I've seen that look of desperation before."
Meg was in the right. Zoë, for it had been she who had asked, had no intent of killing Pericles. Quite the opposite.
A small company of ten Spartan soldiers barreled down the main street; all others, Kratos included, had taken side routes. They charged forth, spears pointed outward, thirsty for the blood of any Athenian they could kill.
Their path was blocked when the scrawny man dropped out of the sky, gliding down on wax wings he'd attached to his arms. "HA!" he yelled. "You thought you could thwart the great Icarus, did you? Well, you thought WRONG, losers!"
The Spartans took a moment to absorb the sight – Icarus having dropped in out of the sky, challenging them. Then they laughed.
"LAUGH AT ME, WILL YOU?" Icarus yelled. "WELL, LAUGH AT THIS!" He kicked one of the warriors in the kneecaps, which were uncovered.
"Ow!" The soldier staggered back.
"YA LIKE THAT?" Icarus flexed his nonexistent arm muscles, discarding the wings. "WELL, THERE'S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM!" He elbowed another soldier in the stomach, causing him to lose balance and fall over.
"KILL HIM!" a third Spartan cried, and the eight who hadn't fallen to the ground pointed their weapons directly at Icarus, who was unfazed. He was convinced he could take them all on, no matter how they were armed. However, he didn't even have to try.
Pinkie Pie slid out from an alley, behind the Spartans. "SURPRISE!" she yelled, her front hoof on the party cannon and a pistol in each hand. The Spartans were all blown down by a massive explosion of confetti, glitter, and plasma.
When the ten men lay on the street groaning, Icarus remarked, "Well, it looks like these guys sure learned their lesson about tangling with Icarus."
"Awesome!" Pinkie Pie, not even concerned about getting credit for what she'd done, bounded toward Icarus, and the two of them bumped fists. "We should probably keep moving, though! There are a whole BUNCH of other soldiers who are gonna hurt people if we don't hurry! Quick! Stand on the party cannon!"
Icarus, being thin and light enough to do so, stood on the barrel of the cannon as Pinkie galloped forward, wheeling it along. They entered the main square of Athens, where a throng of Spartans were locked in combat with Hercules, Applejack, and Fluttershy. Pinkie and Icarus jumped right into the fray.
"Where's Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie asked Applejack as she shot a round of glitter into the face of a Spartan, making him lose his balance and decorating his helmet in the process.
"Holdin' off a bunch of troops out front!" Applejack answered, roping in a round shield and passing it to Fluttershy.
"DIE, KENTAURIDE!" a Spartan cried, leaping into the air as if to skewer Fluttershy; with a yelp, Fluttershy raised the shield just in time to deflect the oncoming sword, then retaliated with her katana, giving an energy-draining swipe.
"This is insane!" Hercules yelled as he socked three more in the face.
"Insane is that five of you can hold this many off!" one of the Spartans yelled in anxiety. "I'm retreating now! I'll see the rest of you back in Sparta!" He took off running.
"COWARD!" another yelled before Icarus punched his helmet, producing an absolutely distracting bell-like noise within the metal.
More soldiers rushed into the square, only for most of them to find their feet frozen to the ground and one of them to be hit with a bolt of something he couldn't see, but that caused him to feel far too weak to fight. Upon the rooftops, Twilight and Rarity sent projectiles from above. Twilight cast freezing charms, hoping to slow the invaders down, while Rarity delicately fired her crystal arrows.
"I'll focus on the East!" Twilight told Rarity. "You get the West!"
"Right!" Rarity loaded up another arrow, firing it. Then, as a spur-of-the-moment decision, she loaded and loosed another one. It hit its mark. She did have a good eye. Perhaps she could speed it up after all, she thought, without sacrificing accuracy.
The two of them managed to slow down the majority of the soldiers entering the square. They concentrated fully on their work until the laugh interrupted them.
A low chuckle, it was obviously female. Twilight and Rarity, startled, both turned to look across the rooftops. For a moment, they beheld a strange sight. A woman stood upon the rooftops. Her skin emitted a bright blue-violet glow, and she wore a dress of mauve, long and plain with no sleeves. Her ebony hair seemed to flow like wind around her body. She laughed again, grinning maliciously, before she leaned backward and dissolved, her image fading slowly into lines of color that were swept away by the wind.
"You…saw that too, right?" Twilight asked Rarity.
"Yes, I did," Rarity confirmed.
"OH NO!" Twilight turned her attention back to the square. It had filled with soldiers during that moment she and Rarity had been distracted. She began casting Flipendo jinxes hurriedly, and Rarity resumed firing crystal arrows.
On a side street, a woman was lying on the ground, shaking in the shadow of the soldier that stood over her. "Please!" she moaned. "Spare me!"
Kratos snorted. "I did not spare my own family," he told her, though those had been odd circumstances, and he knew it. "What makes you think I would spare you?" He raised his swords – the Blades of Chaos – high, intending to plunge them down into the unarmed Athenian, turn her into an example for all to see.
When he brought them down, they hit another pair of blades with a CLANG. The blades that held off the Blades of Chaos were thin and glowing gold; the hands that held them were young but strong. "Hey!" Pit snapped. "Not cool, man! What did she ever do to you?"
"She is an Athenian!" Kratos growled. "None of whom are to be spared, by order of Ares!"
"Well, Ares is a jerk!" Pit replied.
"What brings you here, servant of Palutena?" Kratos spat.
"I was just flying over when I saw that you and your guys were tearing the city to pieces!" Pit answered. "And I couldn't have that!"
The four blades unlocked; then Kratos began slashing outward at Pit, who expertly parried all his strikes. "Ha! Haha! Is that all you've got?" The winged boy danced away from the Athenian woman, into open space; the woman got up and ran to sanctuary.
With a roar, Kratos summoned the fire of Ares, letting loose a blast of flame. Pit soared above it, sheathing his blades and drawing his bow, letting loose an arrow of light. Kratos chopped the arrow out of the air; Pit drew his blades again, attaching the hilts and spinning them round and round. He descended upon Kratos this way, and Kratos responded by calling upon the powers he'd learned from Hades, plunging the Blades of Chaos toward the ground to summon a portal from which several wayward, angry souls were unleashed, grasping at Pit and dragging him to the ground. Pit fired a few more light arrows, and the souls were scared away, rushing back to their portal. Kratos summoned the lightning of Zeus, sending a multi-forked bolt at Pit, but Pit deflected it, spinning the new staff he'd made of his conjoined blades. He attempted to rush Kratos at the same time that the Spartan called upon the ice of Poseidon; Pit was forced to change course and dodge several bolts of winter. Then the four blades clashed again, sparks flying as metal met metal again and again.
Then both warriors stood facing each other, forced to fight to catch breath. "You are lucky, servant of Palutena," Kratos spat. "You will not be so lucky next time."
"And you're an ugly brute," Pit countered. "Do me a favor and keep picking on guys your own size, will ya?"
Kratos turned his back on Pit, walking away, in the direction of the Athenian gates. Pit, realizing the invasion must have included more soldiers, ran deeper into Athens, eventually coming out into the square. He drew his golden blades, jumping into the fray, noticing that two humans and three Kentaurides seemed to also be fighting the Spartans off there.
Pericles dipped a quill in ink, setting down the rules he was making about the golden apples and how they should be divided according to the rules of his democracy. He kept feeling the odd temptation just to write a provision that he would be able to keep them all, but so far, he was winning against it.
Five Spartans burst into the room, pointing spears at Pericles; the famed democratic leader dropped his quill and put up his hands.
"You will die in the name of Sparta!" one of the soldiers threatened.
Then the spear was knocked out of his hand.
The Spartan soldiers weren't sure what was happening, at first. Zoë burst into the room like a gust of wind, using a large bronze sword to knock down that first spear. The other four soldiers turned their weapons toward her, but she parried them, disarming two more. The three unarmed soldiers ran at her with fists drawn back; Zoë ducked, and all three ended up punching each other in the head. Zoë then turned her attention to the remaining armed soldiers. One rushed at her; her blade clashed with his spear shaft several times until she kicked him in the stomach and grabbed the spear from his hand. She glared at the last armed soldier, and he yelled, "RETREAT!"
All five Spartans ran for the door. Pericles put his hands down gingerly. "Thank you," he said. "I owe you my – "
"No time." Zoë dropped the spear and exited the hall, leaving Pericles in a state of bewilderment.
Rainbow Dash soared over the rooftops of Athens until she dropped onto the roof next to Twilight and Rarity. "Okay, I got a bunch of guys to retreat out front," she announced. "How are we doing here?"
"Not good," Twilight said. "We're gonna have to try something drastic."
"What do you mean?" Rarity asked.
"Just follow my lead," Twilight commanded. "Rainbow Dash, you get down there and get all our friends out of that square…wait! And him, with the wings. And her!" She just then noticed Zoë joining the fray. "With the bronze sword! Get them all out of the way. Rarity, you just hold fire."
"Got it!" Rainbow Dash saluted.
"Twilight," Rarity warned, "please don't do something that will harm yourself…"
"It won't hurt me too much," Twilight said.
"Oh, good – WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'TOO MUCH'?"
Rainbow Dash zipped down into the crowd, weaving her way between attacking Spartans and flying around Applejack, Hercules, Icarus, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, encircling them in a rainbow ring. "This way!" she said, buzzing toward an exit, drawing a rainbow path; the five followed it, and the rainbow confused the Spartans too much to allow them to give chase. Rainbow Dash then found Pit and Zoë, who had coincidentally ended up fighting near each other, and circled them as well. "Come on!"
"Who're you?" Pit asked.
"The hero who's saving your life!" Rainbow Dash insisted. "We've got a plan! Come on!"
Pit and Zoë agreed and followed her, though Zoë muttered, "This had better be good…"
Twilight watched Rainbow Dash, Pit, and Zoë leave the square. "Okay," she said under her breath. "Here goes…"
She initiated her Mahou Shoujo transformation, lifting her staff into the air. "ELEMENTAL FINALE!"
The comets of glimmering plasma began to fall upon the entire square. At first, the soldiers panicked, screaming; "WITCHCRAFT! WITCHCRAFT!" Then the meteors hit, taking effect; they felt lethargy strike them. Weapons fell from hands.
"The witchcraft is taking our energy!" one yelled.
"RETREAT!" another cried. "RETREAT!"
The entire square chorused the message: "RETREAT! RETREAT!" The Spartan soldiers scrambled to escape the falling magic. Then, all too suddenly, the square was empty, and Twilight's attack rained on inanimate cobblestones.
Twilight lowered the staff, reverting from her transformation.
"Twilight!" Rarity cried. "How could you do that? Your amulet!"
Twilight could guess that the gem looked a little cloudier. "I had to," she said. "We were losing, and if that army had won out against us…" She didn't have to finish the sentence.
"Well," Rarity said, "I won't disagree that it was certainly effective. We should probably discuss this on lower ground."
They jumped down onto the streets, hooves striking the cobblestones with a distinct thud. At that moment, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Icarus, and Hercules entered the square from one street, Meg and Cassandra entered from another, and Pericles appeared by a third route still.
"So what just happened?" Cassandra asked. "I just saw a whole battalion of Spartan elites run out of here crying like babies."
"Twilight unleashed her full power on them," Rarity explained. "They won't be hurt, but they won't be in any condition to fight for a while, either."
"GO TWILIGHT!" Pinkie Pie cried.
"You did that?" Hercules said in disbelief. "That…that's amazing!"
"Tell me you didn't use them Mahou Shoujo powers," Applejack said in concern.
"I didn't see another way," Twilight told her.
"She just saved Athens!" Hercules gushed. "What's wrong with – "
"Usin' up that power is bad for her," Applejack said sternly.
"It'll be okay if I balance it out," Twilight told Applejack. "Besides, it's only going to really overflow if I end up in a state of despair. I just have to think positive."
"I just hope you're right," Applejack sighed.
"So you were responsible for the Spartan retreat?" Pericles asked.
"Yeah!" Pinkie chirped, pointing to Cassandra and Meg. "And those two were responsible for healing the people in the streets!"
"Now that the battle is over," Fluttershy asked the two women, "can I help tend to the injured?"
"C'mon," Cassandra said, beckoning with a hand. "Still plenty of beat-up people to put bandages on."
"We could use the help," Meg added.
"I'll catch up with you later," Fluttershy said before she, Meg, and Cassandra set off into the tangle of city streets, looking for more of the wounded.
"But where is the woman who saved my life?" Pericles asked. "She had dark hair, and she wielded a bronze sword."
"We saw her!" Twilight announced.
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said, turning to look behind her. "She's right…hey, where'd she go? And where's the winged kid?"
The others all realized that Pit and Zoë were conspicuously absent.
"Huh," Twilight remarked. "That's weird. Anyway, we should probably find Phil at the safe house we marked for him."
"Phil…" Pericles remembered the name. He looked at Hercules. "I thought I recognized you." He gave the demigod a smile. "So the famous Hercules and Philoctetes save the day again."
"Yeah," Hercules replied, "but it really wasn't – "
"That's right, baby!" Icarus chimed in. "But don't forget that they had a little help from the awesome Icarus."
"And Rainbow Dash," Rainbow Dash added.
"Okay, that's enough," Twilight interrupted. "Let's just go find Phil."
The entire group left the square, and Pericles was alone to contemplate events. "Certainly the heroes of Athens must be celebrated," he said to himself. "I'd never thought I'd see the day when a Kentauride fended off an invasion instead of leading one. I suppose that is the nature of things, to change…"
Pit and Zoë had seen the retreat. However, instead of staying to see the results, they had continued to make their way down the street Rainbow Dash had pointed out to them, looking to see if any soldiers were still attacking the city.
"So what's your name, anyway?" Pit asked.
"None of thy business," Zoë answered.
A door before them opened, and Phil stepped out of the designated safe house: a pottery shop. "Eh, it's been quiet enough," he said to himself.
"WHOA!" Pit halted before he walked right into the satyr. Zoë halted her steps gracefully and without remark.
Before anyone could say anything more, a fourth turned the corner: a tall, majestic centaur with dark skin, flowing dark hair, and a chiseled, muscular figure. "Strange things have just happened," he said. "It looks like someone just ran the Spartan invasion out of Athens. I even saw Kratos himself leaving in frustration to follow his troops. I don't suppose you're going to claim to have anything to do with this, Philoctetes?"
"Chiron," Phil spat. "As a matter of fact, my trainees were on the case. What you saw was more than likely a victory they won."
"And these are your trainees?" Chiron asked, eyeing Zoë and Pit. "They don't seem like much."
"Hey!" Pit retorted. "I'm one of Palutena's court from Olympus!"
"And I a Hesperide," Zoë added.
"Those are only labels," Chiron said dismissively. "Are you claiming that they fended off the Spartan soldiers? Had you given me more time, my trainees and I would have been able to eradicate the threat more efficiently and far more permanently."
"First of all, that's why I'm glad it WASN'T you," Phil growled. "The LAST thing this city needed was more dead bodies all over!" Though he'd chastised his students for their unwillingness to kill earlier, when it came to Chiron, he would always argue the opposite point. "Second, these ain't my trainees. I ain't claimin' they fended off the Spartans." He looked over his shoulder, and as expected, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Hercules, and Icarus were arriving. "I'm claimin' THEY fended off the Spartans."
Chiron's expression changed when he saw the five Kentaurides. "I see."
"Well?" Phil folded his arms. "What's your complaint this time? What sarcastic remark do you have planned?"
Chiron looked in the direction of the Equestrians instead of replying to Phil. "You have done well," he said. "You understand it is a hard road."
"We figured," Twilight replied.
"Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash countered. "This is gonna be a breeze!"
"I have faith in what you will become," Chiron said solemnly. "Today, you've proven your greatness."
Phil's jaw dropped. "WHAT? After years of insults, you decide to get nice NOW?"
"I have walked in those horseshoes," Chiron explained. "I know what it means when they cry 'raid' because you've entered a city. I've made a living out of being better than others, but in this case, I have to say that if I could make it from being reviled to becoming a hero, you can too."
"Thanks," Applejack said with a nod.
"I look forward to seeing what you will do in the future," Chiron said with a smile, turning and exiting.
"That…that…" Phil stammered. "WHAT WAS THAT?"
"He seems nice," Pinkie Pie observed.
"He usually isn't," Hercules explained. "Chiron is kind of used to pointing out how great he is and that no one else will ever be as great. That's why he and Phil don't get along…because they both have huge egos."
"Hey!" Phil interrupted.
Hercules ignored him. "I guess he knows better than anyone else what it's like to be a centaur trying to become a hero among humans."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Phil muttered. "So where's Flutters?"
"She went along with Meg and Cassandra to heal more of the wounded," Twilight explained.
"But who are you?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking to Pit and Zoë. "You two just came rushing in and started fighting next to us. That was pretty cool. You heroes or something?"
"Yeah!" Pit cried. "I'm actually one of Palutena's court, from Olympus! I helped save Palutena from Medusa and Orcos back in the day!"
"Wait," Hercules said, putting out his hands. "Medusa…attacked Palutena? That doesn't make sense. She was my friend too."
"Well, she was a Gorgon," Icarus pointed out.
"And we're Kentaurides," Rainbow Dash snapped. "What's the point?"
"She locked Palutena inside her own palace, took over her part of Olympus, and caused that three-day night when all the crops turned to stone," Pit explained.
"Are we talking about the same Medusa?" Hercules asked. "Green, wore purple, had snakes for hair? Did you even see her?"
"I fought her personally," Pit said, "and that's the one."
"That's…weird," Hercules muttered. "I mean…we did fall out of touch. I guess it's not that hard to believe she could have gone bad…she just didn't seem like the type."
"Trust me," Pit said, "she's bad. REAL bad. Anyway, just so you know, I was the one who fought off Kratos. That guy's a piece of work!"
"Understatement of the year," Phil muttered.
"Who's Kratos?" Twilight asked.
"The Spartan army general," Hercules answered. "They call him the Ghost of Sparta. He's apparently got both Athena and Ares as patrons. I'm not sure exactly what happened to connect him to Olympus, but it can't have been anything good, because he's kind of…well…"
"A psychopath," Phil suggested.
"Scarier than if the Hydra had babies with Charybdis," Icarus added.
"…Mean?" Hercules settled. "Anyway, if you fought him off, that's amazing!"
"Hey, I couldn't let innocent people get hurt!" Pit defended. "I'm on a little vacation from Olympus, and I noticed everything going nuts down here! So I decided to step in."
"Thank you," Rarity said. "That was quite chivalrous of you."
"So what're your stories?" Pit asked. "You all seem to be good friends."
"The Kentaurides are my trainees," Phil explained, "and the other two are friends. We've got three more out in the field acting as medics. Right now, we got Sparkle, AJ, Dash, Pie, Rarity, Herc – "
"THE Hercules?" Icarus said, stunned. Zoë raised an eyebrow in interest. "You were the one who stopped the Titan invasion!"
"Well…yeah!" Hercules confirmed.
"And Icarus," Phil finished.
"The one and only!" Icarus added.
"WHAT?" Pit was taken aback. "You…they said you died! When you flew too close to the sun!"
"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated," Icarus said dramatically.
"No, no, no…" Pit's eyes widened. "You don't get it. After I saved Palutena, they gave me a nickname. The 'Kid Icarus.' You're THE one who flew all the way to the sun on wax wings. You're a legend! Actually, you're kind of my hero!"
"Excuse me?" Applejack interrupted. "Hercules was the one who saved Olympus. All Icarus did was fly to the sun. You're sure you – "
"Shh," Pinkie hissed. "Don't ruin it for him!"
"Mortals were all told they weren't supposed to fly," Pit continued to rave. "But you just threw away the rules! That must have been really brave!"
"It sure was!" Icarus agreed. "Oh, yes, I was terrified, but I overcame it!"
"He wasn't terrified," Hercules whispered to Rainbow Dash. "It was kind of an accident…"
"This is so cool!" Pit nearly squealed. "So are you on a real quest?"
"More or less," Hercules answered.
"Actually, we're absolutely on a quest," Twilight said. "The golden apples of discord have turned up, and from the sound of it, they're affecting more than just Sparta and Athens. We're trying to make sure that whatever big disasters come are mostly contained before too many people get hurt."
"So you're like vigilantes going all over Greece?" Pit asked. "Hey…mind if I tag along with you guys? After all, I did vanquish Kratos. I could lend you a helping hand."
"AWESOME!" Pinkie cried before Phil could voice his displeasure. "The more the merrier! It'll be like a big party!"
"Hey, if you and I could each save Olympus alone," Hercules added, "we can probably save Greece in record time if we work together."
"It's always lovely to meet another fan!" Icarus chimed in.
"You ever had a fan before?" Applejack asked skeptically.
"Well, no vocal ones," Icarus admitted, "but I'm sure there are throngs of people worshiping me somewhere. I just try to keep it on the down-low so Olympus doesn't mistake me for impersonating a god and send their watchdog goddess of vengeance down on me."
"Welcome to the team!" Rarity said warmly.
"COOL!" Pit cried.
"Oy," Phil sighed. "All right, I guess there's room in the cart for…" He then was struck with realization, turning to Icarus. "WHO EVEN SAID YOU COULD COME ALONG?"
"But Phil!" Pinkie argued. "He was Hercules' best friend for soooooo long and they're still friends today so why should we break them up, especially when he's so cool and really fun and he helped out a lot with the Spartans and I just know he can help us save all of Greece!"
"What she said!" Icarus whined. "PLEASE! PLEASE LET ME GO WITH YOU! IT'S THE LEAST YOU COULD DO!"
"All right," Phil groaned. "Icarus. Kid Icarus. You're in."
"Pardon me," Zoë spoke up. "Thou mentioned the golden apples of discord."
"Yeah," Phil said, turning to look at her clearly for the first time. "What's it to ya – WHOA."
"Oh, not THIS again," Rarity sighed.
"What is a beautiful girl like you doin' in a war-torn polis like this?" Phil asked with a wink.
"I do not care for thy romantic advances," Zoë said in disgust. "I am Zoë, youngest of the Hesperides. I live in the garden from which the golden apples come. I was alerted to the fact that several had been stolen, and I made it my mission to discover who had done such a horrible deed. Now that the apples have already taken root, I suppose it is only my duty to find and contain them before innocents are harmed."
"Then you should come with us," Twilight said. "I mean, we're going to be passing pretty much all the places that chaos starts. And that means all the trees. Maybe we can find out who the thief is on the way!"
"I LOVE solving mysteries!" Pinkie chimed in.
"Perhaps I shall take thee up on thy offer," Zoë said.
"Do it," Pit cajoled. "You cleaned UP out there!"
"I am still considering," Zoë said, "though…I am pleased thou art all so welcoming already." She smiled slightly.
"Y'know," Phil said, "they say the Hesperides are unbelievably beautiful. But lookin' at you? I just KNOW you're the pretty one."
Zoë slapped Phil across the face. No one else could find the will to contain laughter.
"I'd been rather hoping someone would do that," Rarity confessed. "I'm far too much of a lady to do it myself, of course."
The laughter was interrupted when a young messenger dressed in the robes of the advisors of Pericles rushed toward the group. "There you are!" he panted. "You're the ones who fought off the invasion! Pericles is about to publicly declare your heroism in the amphitheater!"
"Ya hear that?" Phil said excitedly. "They're noticin' ya! This is our big chance!"
"Let's go!" Pinkie Pie squealed before bounding ahead; the others followed her with excitement.
BARDO, THE UNDERWORLD
Pillars of crystal shot upward from the floor, creating a tall construct. Around it, rings of fire were drawn; they burned until they were replaced entirely by water, which froze and shattered, giving way to wind. The wind died down, and a fork of lightning was sent from the top of the crystal construct, where the bender of all these elements stood, to the ground. Finished with his display, Mozenrath leapt down from the crystal pillars and landed gracefully on the main floor.
"Well done," Hecate said, applauding. "You're a fast learner. That's going to be good for both of us."
"I just wanted to make sure you knew you weren't wrong in your choice," Mozenrath said with a bow. "Now, if you'll show me where I'm staying – "
"Hold on," Hecate retorted. "Who said we were done?"
"I mastered your elements, right down to freezing and lightning."
Hecate nodded. She was impressed that he'd managed all that. Not many could. The Morrigan and Ahriman hadn't been exaggerating about him. Still, she wasn't about to let him get off easy. "You're done when I say you're done. And you're not done."
"Fine," Mozenrath huffed. He was exhausted, but felt it best not to let on to Hecate about that. "What do you want me to do next?"
"I want you to move on to another of the elements of the cosmos," Hecate said. "Time. At the very least, I want you to master entering hypertime."
"And that is…?"
Hecate strode toward Mozenrath gracefully. Then, in the span of a second, she had crossed the entire hall and was staring him down from a foot away. She hadn't Apparated. "Moving through time more quickly than anything else around you."
"I'd like to raise a complaint," Mozenrath pointed out. "Wouldn't that accelerate the aging rate of whoever did it? Since they're going through so much more time than anything else."
"If you do it wrong," Hecate replied. "If you do it right, that won't matter. It can't be explained any further than that it's magic. That's how magic works."
"Point taken."
"Now do what I say," Hecate commanded. "Walk around me. Keep your pace normal, but be faster than everything else."
"Well, that's specific."
"If you will it, and if you've got the power," Hecate insisted, "you'll do it."
Feeling foolish, Mozenrath walked in a circle around Hecate.
"You're not even trying," she criticized.
"And you didn't give me anywhere to begin with it," he retorted.
"There's a method that can be used to kickstart sorcerers into figuring out hypertime," Hecate said. "I've heard that it's cruel. Luckily, I don't care. You have two assignments: will yourself into another level of time and don't get hit."
"I don't see wh – "
She socked him in the jaw. "I SAID don't get hit!" Hecate snapped.
Mozenrath touched his jaw in surprise. Hecate hadn't been lying about the cruelty of the method. "All right. Next time, I won't."
He was ready for her to swing the moment he finished that sentence, and he ducked it, at the same time grasping at empty air with his right hand, looking for that elusive way between levels of time. For just a moment, everything seemed to slow down; Hecate returned to her original position sluggishly, and her outline blurred. Then everything was as normal.
She grinned. "You had it."
"Barely," Mozenrath admitted. "It's as difficult as – "
He knew she would swing midsentence. This time, when he dodged the blow, everything slowed down again and stayed that way. In the time it took Hecate to draw her fist back and stand up straight, Mozenrath walked behind her, tapping her on the shoulder. Then everything reverted.
"NOW I have it," he boasted.
"You had it for three seconds," Hecate countered. She spun around.
This time, he barely had time to move before he had to put up his hand and catch her wrist. She hadn't slowed down. Mozenrath looked around. The crystals all seemed blurrier. In a corner, Xerxes floated in slow motion.
"Attacking me in hypertime?" Mozenrath asked Hecate. "That's a dirty trick."
"Do you really care about playing fair?"
"No."
Time caught up to him first; she was able to snap her wrist out of his grip and step backward two paces within a blink. "That was a slight improvement," she remarked offhandedly.
"What are you looking for, ideally?" Mozenrath asked.
"For a beginner?" Hecate replied. "Hold it for two solid minutes – "
In hypertime, they clashed; she moved right past him, and he stepped forward so they were back-to-back. "And maybe in a couple years, you can hold it for two hours," Hecate finished.
ATHENS, OLYMPIC GREECE
The amphitheater audience was filled with civilians, and most of them looked slightly worse for wear, sporting bruises and bandages. Pericles stood upon the stage; his counsel had escorted Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Hercules, Icarus, Pit, Zoë, and Phil to the stage. On the way, Pinkie had noticed Fluttershy, Meg, and Cassandra, and she waved them up to the stage.
"Heroes are not born," Pericles began. "They are made."
This was met with applause and the scramble of tablets to take down this wisdom in writing.
"These are the heroes who have saved us from certain doom at the hands of Sparta," Pericles went on. "Each of them played a part."
The Athenians whispered amongst themselves. Twilight could guess the subject of discussion all too well: how had Kentaurides been the ones to save them?
"I wish to publicly recognize them," Pericles said. "Please – "
He was interrupted by a brilliant light. In front of him, a figure materialized on the stage. It was the female figure depicted in the statue that had spoken to Kratos back in Sparta, though in living color – the cloth of her ensemble bright white, her breastplate bronze as the form-fitting wires that framed her face, her skin and hair bright blue.
The Athenians gasped, for they recognized her immediately. Twilight could tell she was a goddess, and Hercules knew that she was the very one for which this city was named.
"Hail these heroes with your highest praise," Athena commanded, "for they have defended Athens! They selflessly joined the fight to prevent our destruction!"
The Athenians went wild with applause.
"The golden apples of discord have found their way into the mortal world," Athena went on, "and because of that, the Spartans attacked, hoping to gain possession of the apples, which no mortal should have." She turned to face the heroes on the stage. "Thank you for saving my city from them."
Most were struck speechless by the appearance of the goddess. It was up to Hercules to say, "Heh…no problem…"
Athena turned back to the audience. "As I have said, no mortal should ever taste the golden apples. It will bring you only ruin. They are only fit for the gods to handle. That is why we are going to retaliate! We shall invade Sparta, using our wits rather than raw power, and claim the tree so that it may safely be returned to me!"
"WAIT!" Twilight cried. "That isn't right!"
The audience was thrown into fervent whispers. How dare, they asked, someone interrupt the patron goddess of Athens?
Athena turned to eye Twilight with suspicion. "You have a problem with my methods?"
"Yes!" Twilight insisted. "We want the fighting to STOP, not turn in the other direction!"
"HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ATHENA, KENTAURIDE!" someone yelled from the audience.
"HUSH," Athena commanded the offender. She then turned back to Twilight. "It is the only way! Sparta has committed a grave offense, and if we do not put them in their place, they will not learn, and the apples will not be returned to their rightful owner!"
"Thou art not the rightful owner," Zoë pointed out. "Were I to guess, Lady Athena, I would say that thou hast been corrupted by the apples' allure as well!"
"That is daft!" Athena bellowed; her voice echoed against the sky. "As an Olympian, I am not thwarted by such simple deception!"
"Even the Hesperides are not inherently immune," Zoë countered. "Immunity comes either with luck or with the recognition that the apples are the root of temptation."
"That's why we don't want 'em!" Applejack whispered in revelation. "'Cause we know!"
"I would not normally stand for such accusations," Athena said, "but because of the service you all have done for Athens, I will not see you punished."
Rarity let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding.
"However," Athena said, "I will see you escorted out of the city walls. If you stand against us, I will not have you carrying knowledge of our plan to Sparta!"
Then it seemed everyone in the audience suddenly had a weapon: concealed daggers were brought out in droves.
"But – " Twilight tried to argue.
"Kid," Phil advised, "don't. Not now. Let's just focus on getting out alive!"
"Don't worry!" Pinkie cried nervously. "We were just leaving anyway! Let's go, everypony! We don't wanna keep our quest waiting! Thanks for declaring us heroes, Athena! See you later! Ooh, maybe we can – "
"That'll be enough outta you," Applejack muttered, dragging Pinkie along, and the group moved off the stage, out of the amphitheater, and out of the city walls, pointed all the way by blades of all sorts.
BARDO, THE UNDERWORLD
The room Hecate had provided for Mozenrath was, like the rest of the palace, made of blue crystal. It was of medium size, containing a soft bed, a desk, and an empty shelf.
The sorcerer practically stumbled over the threshold, exhausted from the day's training. Xerxes hovered over him in concern.
"I'm fine," Mozenrath snapped to his familiar. "It's worth it."
"You always say worth it for bad things," Xerxes pointed out.
"And I haven't been wrong yet, have I?"
Mozenrath moved to the desk, where his sketchbook had been placed. He opened it to the next blank page, taking one of the quills provided him at the desk; being made of divine magic, it didn't require ink. He began to put down notes on everything he'd been taught. There was a lot to record.
ATHENS, OLYMPIC GREECE
During the Spartan invasion, Pegasus had been given the honor of guarding the wagon. He'd had his chance to kick a couple invading soldiers away, but for the most part, none had been that interested in destroying a simple wagon from Delphi, so Pegasus instead spent his time nonverbally communicating his boredom to the other two horses.
He perked up at the sight of the party coming back to the wagon to greet him, albeit with some additions. However, noticing the looks on their faces, it didn't take Pegasus long to deduce that things had gone wrong.
"That was messed up," Pit complained.
"You're telling me!" Rainbow Dash whined. "We put so much work into saving their flanks, and they do THIS?"
"I keep telling thee, it is the work of the apples upon Athena!" Zoë insisted. "She believeth they are safe with her; she knoweth not that she dost merely want them for herself!"
"So what do we do now?" Meg asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Rainbow Dash replied. "We go to Sparta and stop the Athenian invasion."
"Oh, like they'll welcome us with open arms after the pounding we gave their army," Phil grunted.
"We have to try something!" Twilight insisted. "If we knew the Athenians' plan! Then we might be able to come up with a…counter-plan! But we have no way of knowing how they're going to attack."
"Oh, right," Cassandra huffed. "Let's just forget about the seer on the team."
"Cassandra!" Twilight replied in realization. "Can you look and see what's going to happen to Sparta? Please?"
"I guess…" Cassandra took the bottled mists from the wagon, taking out the stopper and inhaling only the smallest breath of mist so that more remained for later. Her eyes flushed bright green.
"I love it when she does that," Icarus told Pinkie Pie. "You won't find a prettier shade of green in anything Demeter makes!"
"I see Athenians in Spartan armor," Cassandra said in the monotone of her trance. "They're let in because of their disguise. They enter the palace and capture Helen." Then the trance ended.
"We know their plan now!" Twilight cried happily.
"Now we can help Sparta fight 'em off!" Pit added.
"We have to be smart about it, though," Twilight insisted. "If they're not fighting on muscle power alone, we can't either. If I just had an idea for a plan…"
"We'll have the entire road to Sparta to think up a plan," Applejack reminded her. "And we'd best get goin' sooner rather than later, or…who knows what could happen?"
"You're right." Twilight nodded. "Everypony ready?"
Hercules nodded, climbing into the wagon. "Let's go."
The others all followed suit, with the exception of Zoë, who stared at the wagon, slightly confused. She wasn't sure, still, how she'd managed to get herself on an actual team.
"You coming…Pretty One?" Pit teased.
Zoë cracked a smile. "I am with thee." She hoisted herself into the wagon. Then it began to roll.
"So," Icarus asked Cassandra, seated next to her, "still single, are we? I knew you would still carry a torch for old Icarus."
"This is going to be the worst road trip ever," Cassandra moaned.
"This is going to be the BEST road trip EVER!" Pinkie squealed, sitting on the other side of Icarus. "So…how long until we get there? Ooh, are we there yet?"
Chapter 50
· 50TH CHAPTER ANNIVERSARY WOOOOOOOO
· You'll notice the physical designs I used for Ares and Athena are GoW, though Athena is blue, which is HTAS. As for their personalities? Honestly, the HTAS ones are basically Flanderized versions of the GoW ones. I can see either incarnation saying the other's lines, albeit with less talk about pranking by owlnapping among the GoW versions. I guess there's a collective unconscious about how Ares and Athena should be. So you can give them whatever voice you want.
· I BS'd a LOT about how the golden apples work. I couldn't decide whether they cause chaos in general or by temptation, so I tried to go with a mix of both. And never mind that a lot of the chaos is going to be sent by Hades anyway. So were the apples even necessary? Can we pretend "yes" for the sake of the story? Because I need those apples to be a plot device. Also, the "immunity" is something else I had to BS in order for the heroes to remain sensible enough to solve problems without getting tangled up in the apples' allure. Don't get me wrong – I may want to play with some characters and the idea of temptation (I know who in particular), but not ALL of them.
· ICARUS RETURNS! Athens was pretty much the chapter where the hero team came together. The HTAS ep "Yearbook" designates that Icarus did go into business selling wax wings, so I ran with it. I didn't make that many changes to his general design, though his chiton is a little less skimpy. (Trust me. We'll get into skimpy chitons later.)
· This is my way of getting Daedalus out of the way to start building the labyrinth for the Percy Jackson era. The Perdix thing…we'll get to when we absolutely have to. I didn't feel like it needed extra explanation here.
· Who is the woman in mauve? If you have a solid guess, you're probably right. All I'll say is that she's a Greek mythical figure, but from a piece of media that I didn't mention in-story yet. (And which I considered making part of this world, but that just made it a confusing clusterfuck even more than it was, so it's going to be its own thing.)
· Kratos could actually probably WASTE Pit in a fight, but the heroes need an edge and I needed to intro Pit. Also, watch me stuff all of Kratos' magical abilities from Ascension into one paragraph.
· I debated whether Athens should be ruled by Theseus or Pericles. If Pericles, I would have to deal with the fact that Athens is a democracy while Sparta, Mycenae, and Thrace are all monarchies, and not really get a chance to mention Theseus at all. If Theseus, though, I would not only have to retcon "Assassin" (one of my favorite eps), but also deal with the fact that Theseus ALSO knew Hercules growing up as of "Grim Avenger" and therefore have to spend extra time detailing their relationship when I'm just going to leave the Athenian leader behind anyway and the real development needs to be saved for Helen of Sparta and…so I just defaulted to Pericles. I realize I didn't make him JUST spout clichés like in HTAS, but I needed him to be able to say plot relevant stuff. I ended up actually being able to run with the democracy "inconsistency" for a greater plot point later.
· You'll notice Zoë fighting with Anaklusmos and again, your stomach has probably dropped a mile because you know where that's going.
· I wanted to not only reinforce the whole "centaurs vs. the world" thing with Chiron, but also show him as having a soft side…starting a transition from his egomaniac HTAS personality to the more caring Mr. Brunner a couple millennia later. Also, he was…fighting more Spartans in another part of town. I guess.
· Enter the significance of calling Pit the "Kid Icarus." Having him hero-worship crazy Icarus without knowing what he was really like was just an idea I HAD to run with.
· Nicknaming Zoë "Pretty One" is more Percy Jackson setup, as the one flashback we see is of Hercules calling her "Pretty One."
· So there's a point at which I start stealing the definition of dark magic directly from Bayonetta. Right down to "witch time" (hypertime) being activated by dodging something at the last possible second. This gets even more obvious in the next training session I have planned. Basically, Moz is gonna learn everything but the Wicked Weave (because giving him prehensile hair would just be RIDICULOUS, no? Well…maybe not that ridiculous. You can judge).
· Of course gods and goddesses are affected by the apples. Judgment of Paris, y'know.
· Friendship is magic, but you know that feeling when you're so moral that you end up having to go save the ass of the city-state you just humiliated from the horrors of the poor city-state you just defended from them? Yeah. That feeling. This was the plan from the beginning.
· One last note: deaths. You decide for yourself if any happened in the riots or the Spartan invasion. Because Hades' intent was to have people killed in the tumult, but our heroes wanted to prevent that as much as possible. You decide how much death happened offscreen or how much was prevented.
