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// 06 - The (near) Extinction of Ponykind 
// Story: The Story of Everfree - a Narrative Chronicle 
// by Recon777 
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Over the next three years, relations between Hyperion and his family steadily broke down. Periapsis refused to abandon the mortals despite Hyperion's insistence. As a powerful fully-matured alicorn herself, she was not helpless in this conflict. She came to the aid of the mortals when she could, but ultimately, the advantage was his.

For an alicorn, destruction is the easier option. Hyperion tried to get her to give in by targeting those whom she enjoyed the most. He got quite creative in the various ways that he would end their lives. Sometimes, it was quick when he simply wanted them erased. Other times, he would make a spectacle of it, and the streets of whole cities would run red with pony blood.

Meanwhile, Celestia and Luna were relatively powerless to resist their father. The best they could do was come up with places for the mortals to try and hide, and to try and keep them alive in whatever way that they could. Peri was distraught over the conflict, not understanding how the stallion she loved had grown so cruel. It was no longer a matter of eliminating pests. It was a vendetta.

Hyperion eventually vowed that he would make the mortal ponies extinct if she did not completely forsake them. For her part, she feared that he would eventually turn his wrath on their daughters as well, once the mortals were no more.

Hyperion then began a systematic annihilation of ponykind. They had numbered in the tens of millions with several large cities across the world. As powerful as he was, Hyperion could not kill them all at once. The task would take over a year, fueled by his rage.

He also kept his distance from his mate, feeling the need to complete his agenda. The mortals took away the mare he loved, and he would make them pay for it. Their very existence was now anathema. There was no way this could end until they were wiped clean off the face of the world.

Periapsis met in the Aether with her daughters to discuss a plan to preserve ponykind from extinction. She blasted several tunnels and cave networks into various mountains, careful to hide the entrances. Celestia and Luna would direct ponies into these shelters and hope their father never found out, for he would simply bring the mountains down on them if he knew.

Thankfully, the other species on Equus seemed to go unnoticed by Hyperion. The various sapient races that Periapsis did not take a personal interest in were spared most of Hyperion's wrath, but the whole world suffered anyway due to the destruction.

All records and technology were eliminated. Any form of pony government or civilization ceased to exist. The mortals would undergo an absolute reset and have to rebuild from scratch, if they even survived at all.

In the end, there were fewer than three hundred mortal ponies who remained alive.