Only the second hand ticking away created any sound within the principal's office, where every figure in the room was as silent as the void. Diana sat (still in her Wonder Woman outfit) in the chair across from Celestia, a look of calm upon her face while Athena sat upon her shoulder.
Celestia and Luna did not share the same look of calmness that she did. The two of them had started to become accustomed to magical attacks on their school, but what they had just seen had shaken the both of them to their cores. Not just what Zod had done to the students, but what Diana had done to Zod.
Seven students were also in the room with the teachers, but only Sunset sat beside Diana. The other students stayed as far away from Diana as they could, while Dash avoided looking at the teacher at all. But each of the seven, save Sunset, wore the same expression upon their faces--ooks of fear absolute.
"So...Diana. The Goddess of War," Celestia finally said, breaking the near half hour of silence. "That's what you called yourself out there during that...battle, if we can even call it that."
"I'd say it was more like a clash of the gods," Luna whispered with a hand to her head, still trying to process what she had just seen.
"Well, we now know that one of the combatants was a god. It's entirely possible that the other was a god as well," Celestia said in a dark tone as she gave Diana an unkind gaze. Diana kept her face motionless while she awaited her turn to speak, knowing that if she tried to explain herself they would not listen. "So let me ask, Diana, if that is your real name. Was that...thing a god as well?"
"No, not any god that you would know of. But with his power, Zod might as well have been a god," Diana calmly replied. Celestia's eyes darkened at this and she retreated to silence for a few minutes more.
"All the time that you've been here, all that stuff you told us about being a teacher and wanting to help us...was it all a lie?" Diana turned her head toward Rainbow Dash, who was staring at Diana with a broken image.
"I have not lied to any of you since I have arrived here. Every word I have spoken is the truth," Diana said calmly, but her words did not quell any of the girls' fears.
"So, when you told my sister and me that a god sent you here...you were telling the truth?" Luna asked, getting a nod in response. "So, all that stuff about training with Spartans, fighting against terrorists...being a keeper of the peace...you didn't mean ambassador; you meant as a god."
"Yes and no. I am an ambassador. From my home of the Amazons," Diana explained, but when she spoke the word 'Amazons,' Celestia let out a sigh. "And I do fight against the evils of the world, but as a hero. Not as the God of War. In fact, I prefer not to use my...godly side unless I am forced to, as I was with Zod."
"So, you were that woman that killed that zombie thing that attacked us a while ago," Twilight deduced. "The one with the helmet that made a mess of some people's cars."
"Always able to come up with the answers. You truly have a talent for knowledge," Diana praised, but instead of smiling Twilight seemed to shrink under Diana's words.
"It's...strange hearing words of praise coming from the Goddess of War," Twilight whispered. "I'm not sure if I should be grateful...or afraid."
"That is actually how most of the students feel," Celestia said, turning the focus back to her. "After that event, I've canceled school for the time being. The students will need time to recuperate. But Sunset, now I see why you were so intent on having Diana train you. You knew that she was the Goddess of War, didn't you?"
"No, actually. I mean, I knew she had powers, I saw that up close, but I didn't know she was a goddess," Sunset explained.
"But I told you after I drove my fist through your nightmare," Diana reminded Sunset.
"Honestly, I thought you were just saying that to impress me."
"Wait a moment, nightmare?" Luna interrupted. "You mean that the nightmares that Sunset had been having...actually attacked her?"
"Yep. In fact, if Diana hadn't been there...it would have killed me," Sunset said in a whisper, getting horrified gasps from the principals and girls. "I suppose it's time I told all of you. In my nightmares, this creature would constantly use my fears against me, breaking me down day in and day out. It was getting close to the point...where I was having dark thoughts."
"But Diana helped me with that. She gave me her lasso, which compels any who are touching it to only see and speak the truth. With it, I was able to fight against the dark lies that the nightmare was feeding me. I thought that was the end of it. Then it showed up in real life, attacking me on the day of our field trip. It lured me away from the group and planned to kill me in the middle of the forest."
"And that's when Diana showed up, changed into the outfit that you see her in now and beat the unholy hell out the nightmare," Sunset said with a grateful smile to Diana, a smile that Diana returned. "And we haven't seen anything from it since. But you're right Celestia, I did start to hang around Diana more after that. In fact, she's been training me to be stronger and faster. And it's actually working."
"Wait a moment, you were going through all this pain and not once did you consult us?" Rarity asked, hurt by the lies. "We could have helped you, dear. Done something to fight that nightmare."
"I...wanted to tell all of you. But I also didn't want to give away Diana's cover," Sunset said with an apologetic look, but not all of her friends gave a kind look in reply. "The nightmare stopped me from thinking straight most of the time, so by the time I thought to tell you guys about being attacked...Diana had already dealt with it. And with her looking over me, I felt that I didn't need to worry the rest of you."
"Ah still wish that ya would have trusted us more, but ah guess when ya have a goddess looking out fer ya, ya don't feel too worried," Applejack said with a smirk before removing her hat and bowing slightly to Diana. "Seems ah was wrong about ya. Yer not the evil that ah thought ya were. Course, this isn't much better. But thank ya fer saving our friend."
"Yes, but what I want to know is where did...Zod, did you say, came from? And why did he attack the students? It was clear that he had a vendetta with you, Diana, and I can't imagine why. But why go after them?" Luna asked.
"Aside from Zod being one of the most evil beings that has ever lived, he was sent here by the very same god that sent me to your school," Diana revealed. The room went deathly silent again and all eyes were upon Diana. "What I am about to tell you should not leave these walls. Am I clear?" Diana waited until everyone had nodded before she began to speak.
"Hades, whom you should all know from my classes, killed a good friend of mine and used his death to lure me into the underworld. Once there, he told me that he would make a trade. He would restore my friend to life...if I went to a strange world and gathered the six magical forces he sought for himself." Diana glanced at the girls as she said this, and realization sprung up in their eyes. "Yes, the six elements that you possess. He wanted me to bring them or their hosts to him and in exchange he would free my friend."
"But you didn't," Twilight pieced together.
"No. After meeting all of you, getting to know you, I could not let Hades get his hands upon your magic or you. So I stayed here as a teacher, doing my best to protect you from the forces he has sent while also teaching you," Diana said with a fire within her, a fire that put nearly everyone else in the room on edge. "I had hoped that eventually he would simply give up, as he is apt to do, but he is determined this time. I have contacted my allies in the other world and asked for their help, but it seems that they have not had much luck in stopping him."
"What about the other gods?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "Like Zeus or Poseidon. Shouldn't they be able to stop him?"
'If Zeus and Poseidon had any brains within their skulls, many of the world's problems would have been solved years ago,' Athena said with spite, dropping every jaw in the room.
"Did your owl...?" Pinkie began.
'Talk? Yes. And please do try to be more respectful, as you are speaking to the true Athena,' Athena said.
"So that owl...is actually another goddess?" Twilight whispered in complete shock.
"Why didn't you tell me that?!" Sunset asked Diana, who gave a sly smile to her student.
"Because it was up to Athena whether she wanted to tell you or not."
'And to answer your question Twilight, this is actually my familiar for this world. As I am needed on Diana's world, and it would be unwise to leave Olympus without wisdom, I have been speaking through this owl the entire time we have been here,' Athena explained.
"Which explains why that owl showed up after the zombie attacked us," Rainbow said with a smirk. "You sent her to keep an eye on us in case another creature showed up, didn't you?"
"See what happens when you study and learn, Dash? You start to see the answers to problems that were previously unsolvable," Diana praised.
"While this whole...god thing is fascinating, that still leaves me with a question," Celestia spoke back up, bringing the talk back on track. "You said that Hades is responsible for sending the zombie and Zod here, presumably so that they would take the magic from the girls. What's stopping Hades from sending all of the billions of souls that are dead after them until he finally succeeds?"
"Well, at the moment, me. But we have another plan in place," Diana explained. "Sunset helped me with it. Using the Equestrian magic, we are forming a barrier around your world, a barrier that will be able to keep out all of Hades' forces."
"We found out that there was a magical barrier already around our world, one that was keeping Hades himself out. We figured that if we strengthened it, that none of his forces would be able to make it through," Sunset continued for Diana. "Considering how desperate he's seemed in the past couple of weeks, we think it's working."
"So, when this barrier is up, our world will be completely safe from Hades?" Luna asked.
"As far as I know, yes. But I won't leave until I know for certain that you all are safe," Diana promised them, but only Sunset seemed to be comforted by her teacher's words.
"I don't like this," Celestia said after a moment of silence. "I don't like leaving the fate of my students up...well, up to the gods. But if what you have said is true...and since you've always been honest with us, then you're the reason that even with such godly foes there have been almost no casualties. I thank you for keeping all of us safe, Diana. Or should we call you Wonder Woman? Or the Goddess of War?"
"Diana is fine. All three of those are the same person, after all," Diana said with a smile, before a look of concern covered her face. "It won't be long before the barrier is complete. That means that if Hades wants this magic, then he'll be making his most desperate play yet. If you seven wouldn't mind, I'd prefer that you all stay together or in large groups until the barrier is finished."
"Yes, I suppose that we can do that," Rarity agreed.
"Looks like we're having another sleepover!" Pinkie exclaimed as she pulled all of her friends into a large hug.
"That sounds like a plan. Now if you all will excuse me, my sister and I need to explain to the police what just the hell happened the other day," Luna said with a sigh of exhaustion. "Because it seems that none of them want to believe that a monster and a goddess duked it out with each other."
"If it is any help, I can fly by and show them that you are telling the truth," Diana offered. "But don't they already know that I was the goddess?"
"Actually...none of the students or the staff from either school have outed you. I think...it's their way of thanking you for saving them," Celestia theorized. "Perhaps those at Crystal Prep aren't as bad as we thought. Even Cinch has remained quiet, but who knows why she has."
"Perhaps you are right. Perhaps the only true evil one is Hades."
=wWw=
A flash of light went off in the underworld, the only light generated that was not under the command of its ruler. From the light emerged a being in a brown cloak with metallic limbs, a being that Hades loathed to see on a good day. After his most recent failure though, he considered killing the being on the spot before it could speak.
"And behold, the mighty god has failed yet again. How tiring it must be to fail again and again," the being in the cloak said to Hades, who was sitting upon his throne with a murderous look upon his face. "Your greatest soul, the most powerful being that you held, and even it failed you. Seems that you have no options left."
"You are...correct. I had hoped that Zod would be powerful enough to kill Diana, but he has failed," Hades growled before turning the growl into a sigh. "Perhaps it is time I ceased desiring this magic. There are plenty of other ways for me to increase my own power, and all this venture has done is embarrass me. Perhaps it's time I stopped." Hades' rage was reignited when the cloaked being laughed in the weakest laugh possible, turning Hades' full attention on the being.
"There are the words that I wished to hear. I wanted to hear the mighty god give in before I offered my assistance," the being said before it walked beside Hades, who could swear that he saw a smile beneath the hood that looked like a cosmos. "Because now I am too invested to not see how this ends. So I will aid you this once. And when I am done, either the girls will walk into your lair by themselves...or Diana's soul shall be yours."