Blah blah blah, Reader Discretion is strongly advised, you know the drill by this point.

From Agincourt to Waterloo

Poitiers and then Anjou

The Roses War, the Hundred Years

Through battlefields of blood and tears

From Bosworth Field to Pointe Du Hoc

Stalingard and the siege of York

The bloody turf of Gallipoli

Had no effect on the killing spree

Bannockburn to Austerlitz

The fall of France and the German blitz

The cruelest of atrocities

Europa's blood is borne of these

“Master, it is simply not possible,” Ascentia protested, “How could Athena simply be dead?”

Ryder's head turned to look to Queen Chrysalis, “For that, you have this one to thank.”

“Me? Why?” Chrysalis asked.

Ryder waved his hand and carved chairs out of the ice with telekinesis, “Sit, and I shall tell you Athena's story.”

Long ago, far before your time or even my time, the Earth and the massive area around it were ruled by the Gods. Ancient creatures of unfathomable power. Strong as individuals and even more powerful as one. Long was their rule. But, nothing may live forever, and their time had come.

Many of them accepted their inevitable fate. The Solar, ethereal creatures of our most beloved legends, helped them cross over to become one with the universe. But one among them resisted. Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom.

She would not accept her fate, and such drove to manipulate humanity into nourishing her. Gods of her kind fed off of faith and devotion. Using her cunning, she spread various interpretations of her word among humankind, and watched it fester and grow. Before long, they had grown so massive in number that they began to fight over who's word was more meaningful. Such arguments quickly turned to violence.

Because Athena was kept alive by their devotion to her, she saw no need to interfere in the menial problems of the mortals. To her, any devotion, even negative, was preferable to none.

“But I still don't understand how Queen Chrysalis comes into play here,” Princess Luna asked.

“Athena's thirst for mankind's adoration and love became so dependent, it literally made up her physical being,” Ryder replied, “She was a creature composed of human's love.”

At that moment, Celestia, Luna and Chrysalis' eyes all opened wide for a moment, and they soon started to snicker.

“You mean...” Chrysalis began.

“They ate her,” Ryder replied, “She never even got out of the atmosphere.”

The three could no longer contain it any longer. They dropped out of their seats and began to laugh so hard, tears were streaming from their faces. Ascentia was still frozen in shock, her mind unable to comprehend the obvious yet still bizarre fate that such a deadly creature could succumb to.

“What of the damage done to the planet, Master?” Ascentia asked over the laughter, an acrid smell passing her nostrils telling her Luna had perhaps found the news a little too funny.

“With Athena not longer able to sustain it, the shockwave quickly faded. Parts of the planet are not longer inhabitable, but much of the landscape is only moderately damaged.”

Celestia took a few rasping breaths as she composed herself, and looked to Ryder, “Where is the majority of the damage held?”

“The city you call 'Canterlot' has been obliterated, and Ponyville has also been destroyed,” Ryder continued, “The large forest that covers most of your kingdom has burned down, and fissures have spread out into the desert. The citadel in the Crystal Empire has collapsed, but aside from that the empire is undamaged. Everywhere else is for the most part unharmed, save for a few destroyed homes or farms.”

“And what of my Changelings?” Chrysalis asked.

“They took to underground gem mines after feeding off Athena. As far as I can tell, 200 are dead, the rest have survived.”

“And the ponies that didn't make it into the portal?” Luna asked, wiping herself off.

“Four hundred thousand dead across Canterlot, Ponyville, and the forest, including a Zebra we were unable to identify. Every other settlement has reported a death toll of less than one hundred. Ascentia, how many were recovered and brought here?”

“Two and a half million,” Ascentia replied.

“Reasonable, but the losses are tragic all the same,” Ryder finished.

Celestia and Luna looked at Ryder with a quizzical eye. He seemed to be too calm about all of this. Either his sympathy was poorly feigned, or he was containing any grief he might have had. Luna had a third theory, that Ryder had malevolent intentions, however she did not voice it.

“What do we do now?” Celestia asked.

“Well first we should look into-” Ryder's words were cut off as a blast of bright energy took out the side of the mountain behind him.

The five demigods dove to the ground as snow and ice shards blasted past them, a small avalanche covering the entrance to the tunnels the Equestrians had taken shelter in. Ascentia got to her knees and rushed to the blocked entrance, quickly inspecting the degree of the cave-in.

“Outlander! Get down!”

Without hesitation, Ascentia dropped to her chest as a second blast struck the ice where her head had been not moments before. Spinning onto her back, she caught a glimpse of something red and white zip past her and fire another blast of energy to her prone form. In a flash, her sword was in her hand and deflected the blast into the horizon.

Ryder, Celestia, Luna and Chrysalis slowly got to their feet and hooves and looked around for the source of the sudden attack, Luna wincing as she gingerly attempted to put weight on a now broken leg. With a wave of her hand, Ascentia fused Luna's snapped bone together and helped her fully to her hooves.

“Thank you for the warning,” she said calmly.

“Don't mention it,” Luna replied, not looking at her.

“What happened?” Ryder asked, rubbing his temples.

“I did not fully spot it, but it was fast,” Ascentia replied, “It looked like them,” she gestured to Celestia and Luna.

She put a boot on the ledge, preparing to leap into the chasm after whatever had attacked them.

“Outlander, you are not planning to follow this creature, are you?” Luna asked.

“I have already been overtaken by Athena, Celestia and Xebre this week,” Ascentia replied, “Now it is personal.”

Leaping from the cliff, Ascentia dug the claws of her gauntlets into the ice as she slid down the near-vertical face of the mountain. With a flip toward the end, her boots slammed into the ice beneath her as she strode out into the icy fields, looking for her prey.

Thankfully her attacker was an angry one, and it wasn't long before the creature itself slammed it's hooves into the ice before her.

Ascentia took note of her foe. It was an alicorn like the three Princesses, though her mane was short and dark red, as opposed to the long, flowing manes the others had. It's brand was a quill in an ink-well, adorned on her faded-white coat.

“It has started to become irritating for divine beings to drop their strength on my skull like this,” Ascentia called out.

“You are holding my people hostage,” the alicorn snarled, “I demand that you release them!”

“They are free to leave of their own accord,” Ascentia replied, “But to do so on this planet would be suicide.”

The two started to walk in a circle around each other.

“Do you think this is a game?” the alicorn snapped back, “Equestria is sundered and all signs point back to you!”

“I am not your enemy, Equestrian,” Ascentia said, “But I can be if you push me hard enough.”

Taking this is a taunt, the alicorn launched a surge of lightning from her horn, which found itself absorbed into the blade of Ascentia's sword.

“I don't think so,” Ascentia said, “I will not be falling for that trick again.”

The alicorn focused her powers and stripped a massive chunk of ice from a nearby cliff, hurtling it toward Ascentia at blinding speed. Ascentia caught it in her telekinesis, halting it's momentum and dropping it to the ground. The two were testing each other, gauging for a weakness.

Ascentia threw her sword into the ice and pushed forward, leaping over the alicorn and driving her boot into her neck. Landing behind her, she swung her leg around, kicking her back legs from beneath her. The alicorn teleported to her hooves a few feet back, shooting a bolt of energy from her horn. Ascentia raised her arm, catching the bolt in her bracers and leaving a smoking scar in the metal. Throwing both her palms forward, a powerful shockwave pulsed toward the alicorn, shaking and cracking the ice she stood on, but failing to unseat her from her hooves.

Before either could make another move, a spinning, bronze-colored blade hurtled forward and connected with the alicorn's horn and Ascentia's shoulderguards. Both were unhurt, but they turned to look in the direction the blade had come from.

“Will you stop picking fights with supreme beings for 5 minutes!” Twilight shouted, her voice amplified by magic.

Ascentia dropped her guard and backed away from the deity. Twilight pointed the razor sharp weapon at the Alicorn next.

“Who are you?” she asked.

The alicorn seemed surprised, “My child... you do not recognize me?”

Before Twilight could respond, Celestia and Luna dropped down next them, along with Princess Cadance and Lord Ryder. Celestia and Luna could not believe their eyes.

“Mother?” Celestia asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I followed you here,” the Alicorn replied, “I saw the damage this creature had done to Equestria and sought to rescue my little ponies.”

Celestia and Luna rushed over to the alicorn they called their mother, nuzzling her affectionately. Princess Cadance and Twilight backed away to Lord Ryder.

“Do you know who that is?” Twilight asked.

“One of the Solar,” Lord Ryder replied, “And the constructor of your species. It would seem any records of her have faded into distant myth among Equestrians. But among the Val'Kyr, she is respected as any member of the Solar.”

“What are the Solar?” Princess Cadance asked, looking back between her aunt and her sister-in-law.

“The Solar are the beings of myth. Taking form through their own stories,” Ryder explained, “I know of three. The 'Light', the 'Chosen One' and her, the 'Matriarch'. She means you no harm.”

“So does this mean we're going to go home?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, it does,” Ryder finished, “I apologize for Ascentia's haste. She should know to stay her blade.”

Ryder turned quietly and strode back toward the caverns where the other ponies were hidden.

“See to any loose ends, and we will bring you back to begin reconstruction of your home.”

Several hours later, Twilight had managed to gather all the ponies that had managed to flee from Canterlot and arrange them by the runegate in the tomb they had used to get to Neptune. She was taking role call while the Princesses scouted around for any stragglers.

“Cheerilee... Berry Punch... Heartstrings... Fancy pants... where's Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, looking down at her list.

“She flew off in anger several hours ago,” Ryder replied.

Ascentia's head snapped over, “What?!”

Twilight, Rarity and Applejack did the same, “She flew off? Why?”

“Master, why did you not mention this earlier?”

“I have been tracking her, and I placed a barrier over her to protect her from the cold,” Ryder continued, “If you insist, you may go and fetch her. She flew off to the southeast, then altered her course 60 degrees west after half an hour.”

Ascentia tore off into the distance at full sprint, kicking up random object in her slipstream. Meanwhile, Twilight tore her furious gaze to Lord Ryder.

“Why would you not stop her?” she demanded.

“Twilight Sparkle, my motivations and methods are based on patient observation and calculation of all current and potential variables.”

“So you're really bucking lazy?”

“Pretty much.”

Leaping over a glacier and speeding across a cliffside, Ascentia's eyes scanned everywhere for the tiny, rainbow patterned pegasus. Seeing the end of the cliff before her, she hopped and repositioned her feet, grinding the grooves of her boots into the ice, skidding to a halt and kicking up a cloud of ice.

Looking out over the snowy plains, she could see nothing but the landscape of Neptune.

“Rainbow Dash, where have you gone...”

Her answer came in the form of a faint swirling in the wind, identical to the slipstream of an airborne object. Whipping around, she threw out her arms and clasped her hands over a small, warms creature, which instantly began struggling in her grip.

“LET ME GO! LET ME GO!”

“Calm yourself, Rainbow Dash,” Ascentia snapped, “I do not know what caused you to fly off in such a rage, but you are going home now.”

Rainbow stopped struggling and fell limp, “I can't... I can't go home...”

Ascentia dropped her to the snow, “What are you talking about?”

Rainbow glared at her, “What do you mean 'What am I talking about?' I'm talking about Fluttershy! We've been best friends since we were fillies! I can't go home knowing she won't be there!”

“So what do you intend to do?” Ascentia asked, “Stay here and freeze to death?”

“I'm going to find her! Find her and bring her back!”

“So death is your plan then?” Ascentia asked, “Because that is the only way to enter the Ghostlands. And you will never leave there. And you will never find her.”

“I will if I look hard enough!”

“The Ghostlands are featureless. And endless,” Ascentia explained, “Not only would you have to determine which direction she went, you'd have to know her exact path and follow it to her. And you will not be able to fly.”

“But I-”

“And if you find her, what then?” Ascentia asked, “What do you do then? Throw your life away to wander with her for eternity?”

“Maybe I will!”

“Aw, how sweet,” Ascentia replied in a sickened, condescending tone, “For friendship is truly magic. Pull your head out of the clouds and face reality. I told her that both people and ponies would die from this, and that such a thing was very permanent for your kind. I tell you the same here and now.”

Ascentia's cruel words tore through Rainbow like an icy knife.

“I care not for your grief. I have neither the years required nor the patience to indulge you.” Ascentia continued, “But you are going home. What you do after that is beyond my concern. I will not be subject to Twilight's wrath if I allow you to stay here. Enough of her friends have died by my hand.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Ascentia growled, pointing back the way she had come, “Walk.”

Twilight began directing the ponies through the runegate after Ascentia returned dragging a very reluctant Rainbow Dash by the tail. Ascentia had told her that she had reasoned with the Pegasus, but several dark welts on her coat indicated that the two had very different definitions of the word “Reason”.

After everyone had been brought back to the fields outside Canterlot, they were subject to a display of fearsome power as Celestia, Luna, Cadance, the Matriarch, Ryder, and Ascentia used their powers to reconstruct the destroyed city through a combination of telekinesis, conjuration, fire, and lightning.

Twilight quickly learned that the Val'Kyr had a great appreciation for the ability to shoot lighting from their hands.

She also quickly learned that it was really cool.

After they had finished constructing the city, all the ponies went to work cleaning the remaining rubble and disposing of the bodies that were discovered underneath. As Ascentia had said a week before, there would be no coming back from this. What happened here would remain with them forever.

After a few days of work, the city was restored, or as restored as it would ever be, and much of the charred countryside had been cleaned up and their fires doused. And within all of that, the Val'Kyr were ready to take their leave. The Princesses, Chrysalis, the Matriarch, and Twilight were standing on the top of Canterlot Tower with them.

“Princess Celestia,” Ascentia said with a bow, “I wish you and your people the best, and hope that you may recover from this.”

Celestia bowed as well, “Without you, none of this would have happened... but without you, we would have all been dead...”

“It is not me you must thank,” Ascentia replied, “It is this one.”

She gestured to Queen Chrysalis.

“Without her changelings, we would have never been able to intervene before Athena wiped you out. And she would still be alive to terrorize us all.”

Celestia bowed her head again, this time in contemplation.

“Princess Luna,” Ascentia continued, “I hope we may depart from this with mutual respect.”

“Forgive me, Outlander,” Luna replied, “But if my eyes never lay upon your form again, it will be too soon.”

Ascentia nodded in understanding, before continuing, “Queen Chrysalis-”

“Do not bother, Ascentia,” Chrysalis interrupted, “You saved my life and paved the way for peace between my changelings and Equestria. For that, I forgive any sins you may have committed.”

Ascentia nodded again.

Her addresses to Princess Cadance and Shining Armor went the same way as they had with Chrysalis, for they were grateful they still had a place to call home. Lastly, Ascentia turned her gaze to Twilight. Instead of bowing, she knelt down before the tiny unicorn.

“Twilight... you are both strong and wise. And I am so very sorry I have put you through such torment these past few weeks.”

Twilight responded by jumping at her and wrapping her hooves around Ascentia's neck. They shared no words between each other. Ascentia simply hugged the small pony close to her.

“Will I ever see you again?” Twilight asked.

Ascentia let go of Twilight before responding, “I will say now what I said before. Ensure that you do not.”

She stood up and looked Ryder with a small nod, and in a bright flash they were gone. The seven of them looked at the spot they disappeared, before they all turned away and headed back down from the tower.

Twilight's head was low. While there would be time to mourn the dead and repair the damage, it was unlikely that there would ever be time for her to come to terms with what she had experienced. The brutality of war, the finality of death... and the knowledge that they were not alone in this universe.

And that they were hopelessly... hilariously outgunned.

Shining Armor fell back and nudged his wife's shoulder, “Do you think Twily and Ascentia...”

“Shining!” Cadance chastised.

“Sorry,” he said quietly.

Cadance waited a moment until the others were out of earshot, before leaning in and whispering...

“I totally do.”

The End Next Chapter: Epilogue: Concerning Ponies Estimated time remaining: 5 Minutes