Running. That was the last thing I could clearly remember. I was running through the forest, away from the burning town. My brothers were not with me. The last I saw of them was in the wear house. I kept running until I tripped and began to tumble down a hill. I finally hit a rock and stopped. I sat up. Even though I was down hill, I could still see the flames rising up over the trees. The forest would soon be ablaze as well. I tried to get up and run, but my right knee gave a sickening crack when I tried to stand. Fell back to the ground and grabbed my knee, releasing a loud groan of pain. I looked up to find a tree beginning to burn. It cracked and began to fall over towards me. I tried to stand again, but my knee would not have it. I fell over again, howling in pain. I looked up to see that the tree was going to fall right on top of me. I closed my eyes and awaited death.

5 hours earlier...

"Hurry up, Erex, we have to go!" I heard my oldest brother call from ahead of me.

"Just go on, I will catch up later." I said.

"You know that mother is going to be angry if she finds out that you are late for supper." my youngest brother said as he ran past me.

"Oh shut up you little prick. Just get going, don't worry. I will be there." I said.

I stopped to catch my breath. My brothers ran off running past people in the streets. I looked left and then looked right. I began to walk forward, my lungs cramping with the lack of air they were getting. I kept moving forward. I walked past merchants selling goods ranging from food to clothes. I saw colorful patterns all around me. The sun was going down and there were not a lot of people in the market. Some merchants had either gone home or left to go to the next town. I brushed the sweat from my brow, today was one of the hottest days I had ever seen. I looked at myself in a mirror as I passed by a merchant who was selling them. I saw my long gray hair which was strange because of my age. I was only 15 yet my hair was as gray as a ghost. My eyes matched my hair and I had a long vertical scar on the right side of my mouth. I had forgotten how I got it, but all I knew was that I had it as long as I could remember. My skin was tan and had been sun burnt many times since I spent most of my time outside. I ran off when the merchant started yelling at me to go away unless I was going to buy something. I walked off and began to jog back to my house.

I walked in just a supper was being put on the table.

"Where have you been? I was starting to get worried!" my mother said.

"Sorry, I strayed from the path of life for a moment and lost track of time." I said.

"Your nose is growing, Erex." my little brother said from the end of the table.

"If that's true, then yours should be about as long as this table." I said.

"Stop fighting boys, just sit down and eat." my mother said, ending the argument before it got physical, which most of the time it did.

Me and my brothers lived with my mother in a town in the country. My oldest brothers name is Marcus. My youngest brothers name is Nick. I was the middle child. My mother worked hard in the governors house every day to put food on the table. Ends always met, and my family lived a good life. Tonight we would be having chicken, potatoes, peas and a salad with leaves grown from my mother's personal garden which me and my brothers were forbidden from being in without supervision. My mother handed us plates and told us to make sure we ate our vegetables. Marcus said something about that being "the only thing to eat in this damn place" under his breath so our mother would not hear. We all ate and were just about to head out when my mother stopped us.

"We are going to be having company tonight. A friend of mine is coming over and she is bringing her daughters with her, so get washed up and make sure to behave yourself. Act like you have some common sense." she said.

"Do we have to, Mom? Girls are like a disease, and should be dealt with accordingly." Nick said.

"Right now is not the time to be acting like this. Just go and get ready." she said.

Me and my brothers ran up stairs to get ready and to take showers. Our skin was covered with dirt from the long day we had in the forest, so a shower was a requirement. We also had a stench to us that smelled like we had been out in the sun to long. We all looked at each other and then looked at our bathroom. I was the first one to grasp the situation, and launched myself at the bathroom door, getting in and shutting the door and locking it before my brothers could drag me out. With four people in the house, hot water went quick, even if you lived good like we did. I stripped down and turned to shower on. I stepped in when the water was warm and washed myself off. I began to plan what I was going to do. My mother was inviting her friend and her daughters over, so I had to figure out what my plan of action was. Would I face them, or pretend to be ill so I could stay in my room for the entire night.

As soon as I got out, I pulled a towel around me and exited, and had to leap to the side to avoid being trampled. I walked to my room and closed the door. I got some clothes to wear, nothing special, just a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I looked over at the clock and realized that they were not going to be here for another hour, so I jumped on my bed and took a nap.

I awoke to hear my name being called. It was my mother. I pulled myself out of bed and walked towards the stairs. I stepped a little to far on my way down and stumbled and tumbled down the stairs. I fell on the floor at the base of the stairs. I got on my hands and knees and looked up to see my mother, brothers, my mothers friend and her daughters looking at me.

"Smooth move, idiot." I heard Marcus say.
"Do you really want to go? Cause' we can take this outside if you want." I told him, standing up.

I looked at the group and automatically felt out of place. The rest of my family looked good and so did my mothers friend and her daughters. Then there was me, in a white t-shirt and jeans.

"Well, this is my friend, Anita Baker, and these are her daughters, Shelby, Maria, and Elizabeth." she said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." they said.

"Yeah, pleasures all mine." I said, stuttering a little.

I looked at the girls. Shelby seemed the oldest, Maria seemed to be the middle, and Elizabeth seemed to be the youngest. Not wanting to stand around like a idiot, I found a chair to sit in and listened to the conversation. A few times I caught Shelby staring at me, like I was an interesting thing to behold. Maria was busy talking to Marcus and Elizabeth was talking to Nick. I just sat there and said nothing.
"Hey, is it okay if I step outside and get some air for a minute?" I asked my mother.

"Sure, just stay around the house. Don't go wandering off." she said.

I got up and put on some shoes. I was just about to step out when I heard a voice say "I think I will too". I looked behind me to see Shelby walking up behind me. We both exited the house and stood out on the front porch. I leaned up against the wall while Shelby took a spot on the bench we had on the porch.

"So, Erex, is it?" she asked.

"Yeah, that would be me." I said.

"Your mother says your the middle child of the family." she said.

"Oh yeah, that's me." I said.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" she asked.

"Me and my brothers go into the woods a lot, we build forts, have wars, get hurt quite a lot, and just sort of hang out." I told her.

"Me and my sisters just sit around most of the time and talk about girly stuff mostly. My mother tells us to stay out of the woods, that there are wild animals that can kill you out there." she said.

"Well, unless you count mosquitoes that will eat the hell out of you, there are not a lot of wild animals that can hurt you. Mostly deer and rabbits." I replied.

"Well, do you want to go for a walk in the woods?" she asked.

I looked at her, a bit surprised I guess. By the way she was dressed, I was surprised that she wanted to go even close to the woods. With her blonde hair, blue eyes, and olive skin, and a dress that looked very expensive and heels, it was just a little odd I guess.

"Well, I guess so. The woods are not very far from here, it would only take five minutes to get there." I said.

She stood up and told me to lead the way. I stepped down from the porch and she followed. I walked around to the back of the house and led her through a field to the edge of the forest. I looked up at the trees and could just barely see the moon through the leaves. The sun had already gone down and I was still a little sleepy from my nap.

I led Shelby into the wood, having to help her over some stuff, but making sure she did not get hurt. I did not want to get an earful from my mother about letting Shelby get hurt while she was with me. I was probably already going to get a speech about wandering off already, but I guess it would not be so bad as long as it was quick.

I led her deep into the woods and stopped at a tree. It was the tree that had an arrow carved into it, a method me and my brothers came up with to help us back into town if we got lost. Shelby stood behind me, her hands in front of her. Her face low and her eyes looking left and right.

"Well, this is the woods. What do you think?" I asked.

"It's beautiful." she replied.

"To tell you the truth, I have never been in the woods at night, let alone with a girl." I said, probably making things awkward.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" she asked, looking up.

"Not really, never really thought about it. I guess I was just to busy." I said.

"Well, I have never had a boyfriend, but I know a boy that I like." she said.

"Really, who is he?" I asked.

"Well, you see, its you, Erex." she said.

I turned to her and her face had turned red. I was fighting to keep my mouth closed, which did not matter very much, because she had soon pushed me up against a tree. She put her hands on my shoulders, and closed her eyes, parting her lips slightly like she was going to say something, but I knew different. Then I remembered. When I had been at school, I remembered a girl looking at me, staring, but never saying anything. This must be her. Our lips met, and she kissed me gently, not exactly sure what to do. She took a step back, I looked into her blue eyes and saw innocence. I brushed some hair out of her eyes, and kissed her again. I had just realized that she existed, and yet I knew that I liked her. She on the other hand had probably known who I was for a long time, and wanted me.

I pulled away from her.

"I think we should be heading back." I said.

"Please, just stay for a little bit longer." she said.

She was just about to kiss me again when I heard an explosion from town. I looked and saw that there was an enormous fire in town. I turned and ran as fast as I could towards the source of the explosion, leaving Shelby behind, awestruck.

I came up on the source of the explosion. The warehouse in the center of town was ablaze. I heard voices screaming for help from inside. I found a hole and squeezed through it. I looked around to find my brothers surrounded by flames.
"Marcus! Nick!" I yelled at them.

They both turned and looked at me. I saw a strange shape written on the wall they were close to, in fire. It was the shape of a pentagram.

"What the fuck did you two do?!" I yelled at them.

"We saw it in a movie once, we wanted to see if it would work." Nick said.

I was just about to jump over the flames and give those two an ass kicking they would never forget when the roof began to collapse. It fell and separated me and them.

"Hold on, I will find a way through!" I yelled.

"No, run!" they both yelled.

I looked up and realized why the building was on fire. A dragon made of fire sat perched on a beam. It looked down at me and roared.

"RUN, NUMBNUTS, RUN!" Marcus screamed at the top of his lungs.

My mind went into self preservation mode. I turned and ran and exited the same way I came in. I looked around and saw the dragon emerge and explode into a million flames, spraying all over the town. I turned and ran for the only place I knew would be safe. The woods.

I sprinted through town, left and right. Dodging falling buildings and rushing out of town. I ran for the woods and soon the trees and darkness swallowed me. I kept running. I kept running until I tripped and fell down a hill. I rolled over and over and was eventually stopped by a rock. I felt the air rush out of me, and felt is suddenly suck back in. I looked around and saw that the fire had already spread into the woods. I tried to get up to keep running but heard a sickening crack come from my knee when I tried to stand. I fell over on the ground and screamed in pain. I looked up and saw that a burning tree was cracking and beginning to fall. I tried to crawl away but I knew I would not make it in time. I closed my eyes and awaited death.

Then I saw a large flash of light. I looked up and the tree was laying on its side, still burning. I looked over in front of me and saw a woman standing there. Her hair was a beautiful mix of colors I cannot explain. She wore a white dress with gold trim and gold bracelets on her wrists. She turned to me and she had a gold necklace around her neck. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of purple. Then she spoke, and her voice was as beautiful as a dawn over a river valley.
"Are you okay? Can you stand?" she asked.

"I-Uh, well, I-" I started to say but stopped.

"Oh my, is your knee hurt?" she asked.

The only thing I could do was nod. She lifted me off the ground and told me to hold my breath. I had no idea what was going on, but one flash of light later and I was in a small cabin in the middle of the woods. There was a fire burning near me in a fire place. The woman was standing before me, her hand was on my knee. Her hands began to glow and I began to feel my knee get fixed and put back into place. I sat up and looked around.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Oh, deeply sorry, I am Princess Celestia, princess of Equestria."

Sleep. That was the only thing on my mind. I was exhausted by school and wanted nothing more than a nice nap. So in my final period of the day, I made sure to sit in the back of the class so I could get away with catching some Z's. I was just beginning to drift off when I turned to the side a little and fell right out of the desk. I hit the deck and snapped awake. I head the entire class start to laugh and the teacher walked up to me.

"Luke Barrett, were you asleep?" she asked.

"No, I was writing the next great American novel. I dropped my pen, reached to grab it, then fell on the floor." I said with a sarcastic attitude.

"Well mister, I suggest you pay attention to this class. If you don't pass this class, you will not have enough credits to pass high school." the teacher said.

"Like I could possibly care. I don't plan to go to college or anything, I'm going into the Navy." I said.

It was true, I was in the NJROTC(Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.) program at my school. It helped us with some of the stuff we would have to know and face in the Navy, like attention to detail.

"Well, you still need a high school education to go into the military. So stay awake in the foreseeable future, okay?" she asked.

"Sure, I will." I said.

As soon as she turned around, I laid my head back on the desk and went back to sleep. I had a very strange dream while I was asleep. I dreamed of a war, in a land not like the one I lived in. I wish I would have found out what had happened, but the bell to end the day woke me up, just before I could truly tell what was going on in the dream.

I walked out of the school and found my friend, James. We both lived in the same neighbourhood, so we walked home together a lot. We were some of the best friends you could have ever met.

"So, Luke, heard you fell asleep in one of your classes." James said.

"What are you, my mother?" I asked.

"No man, I just heard of what happened. That thing you said about the next 'great American novel' was hilarious." he said.

"How did you learn about that?" I asked.

"Some of my boys were in the same class as you. I got connections, remember?" he asked.

"I still don't believe that." I said.

We both laughed and started our trek home. It was a long walk, but we made it to and from school during the week. We both kept walking up the main road, but went off into the woods as a short cut to our houses. The path was dirt, but had been stomped down to form a path. The path lead through the forest into the back of our neighbourhood. We both were walking along when I saw a glint from a bush.

"Hey, what's that?" I asked.

"How should I know, why should I care?" James asked.

"No dude, check this out." I said.

I walked over to the bushes and picked up what I saw. It looked like a coin of some sort, or maybe a medallion. It looked like solid gold, and was heavy enough to be. It had a picture of the sun on it. I quickly stuffed it in the pocket of my pants and rejoined James on the path.

"So what was it?" he asked.

"Nothing much, just a rock." I replied.

"I have found that there are a lot of those laying around now a days." he said sarcastically.

I told him to go kill himself and we entered my neighbourhood. We parted ways and walked to our houses. I unlocked the door to mine and opened the door. I walked in, put my keys in a bowl next to the door, and ran upstairs to relax. I had no homework to do, and it was a Friday, so I had not a care in the world. I remembered the medallion in my pocket and pulled it out. It seemed to get heavier every time I touched it. I laid it down on my desk and jumped on my bed, closing my eyes and drifting into sleep. My dream was strange. It started out with me sitting in a chair. I looked around and saw that I was in a room. It was just sitting, and the room had just blank grey walls. I just sat there, then I heard a voice behind me.

"Who are you?"

I stood up and looked behind the chair quickly. I saw a girl my age standing behind me, but she did not look like a girl I had ever seen. Her hair was mostly purple, but seemed to have a different colour in it as well. For some reason I could not tell.

"Who are you?" she asked again.

Well, me being the ladies man I am, I said:

"The better question is, who are you?"

"You found something today, it was gold, do you still have it?" she asked.

"Yeah, its on my desk in my room. Why?" I asked.

She disappeared before she could answer. I tried to get her to to reappear, but it did not work. I woke up to someone shaking me.

"Wake up, come on, wake up!" the voice said.

I was too tired, but the voice seemed to be in a hurry, because it pulled me off of the bed and I landed hard on the floor of my room. I groaned and said something along the lines of "what the hell was that for, you motor city mother fucker". I looked up and could not believe my eyes. It was the girl from the dream I just had. I sat up and apologized for what I said.

"Where is the medallion?" she asked.

"Over there, on the desk." I said, pointing over at my desk in the corner.

She ran over to it, picked it up and held it close to her chest, like she was happy to see it again. She put in a purse she had and ran over to me, bending down and hugging me like I was a long lost friend. I was confused at the moment, so I asked her to explain herself.

"Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I come from the magical world of Equestria. I came here to look for this medallion. It is part of a prophecy that must be fulfilled, and I think that you may be apart of it. What do they call you, human?" she asked.

"My name is Luke, Luke Barrett. What are you talking about?" I asked.

"There is not time, you have to come with me!" she said.

She grabbed me by the hand and began to drag me off down the stairs of my house and out the front door. I knew that for some reason, I would wish I had just left the medallion in the bushes.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock screaming. I roll over and my hand floats over to the familiar button that turns off the horrible beeping sound that makes my ears ring. I sit up and blink some of the sleep from my eyes. There is a little bit of sun coming through the shades over the windows, and my first instinct is to flop back down and go back to sleep, but that was something I could not afford. I slowly pulled myself over and fell out of the bed. I cursed at the floor for a minute and got up. I walked over to a drawer which I bumped into and pulled out a black long sleeve shirt and a dark pair of jeans. I stripped down and put them on. I walked out of my room and into the light coming from my kitchen from an open window. Wait, open window?
"How the hell did this thing get open?" I asked.

I walked over to the window and closed it. I looked around to try to find out what had made it opened. After looking for about five minutes I finally concluded, that it must have been the wind. I looked for a glass and found a mug that would work well. I placed it under a coffee machine and poured in the coffee grains and water. I pressed the buttons to make the kind of coffee I liked and pressed the button. I walked over to the T.V and found the remote. I turned it on and turned it to the morning news. Nothing but murders and theft.
"This place has gone from bad, to worse, to fucking worse." I mumbled to myself as I walked back over to check on my coffee.

I walked and was just about to sit down when I noticed something. On the coffee table, was a half drank glass of water. It was strange because I almost never drank water and the ice was almost melted, so it must have been put in the glass either early this morning or late last night. I walked over to the glass, picked it up, and nearly dropped it. There was a small amount of pink lipstick on the rim of the glass. I quickly put the glass back down and ran back to the kitchen. I grabbed a carving knife from the knife drawer and held it in the stabbing position. There was a woman, or one very sick twisted man, in my home, and I was going to find them.

I crept around the house for a while and searched. I found nothing. After an hour of searching, I gave up and went back to the kitchen to see that my coffee was done. I picked up the mug and poured some cream and sugar into it. I sipped at it and the warmth filled my entire body. Then I heard a voice:
"Are you Darragh Hussey?" I hear a woman's voice ask.

My body reacted before my mind could stop and figure out what was going on. I grabbed the knife and flung it like a throwing knife. I saw it fly by a woman's head and stick into the wall next to the T.V. Her eyes were wide but other wise she did not flinch. She was wearing a pink dress that was a little high on the thigh for some people's standards. Her hair was very strange. It had streaks of multiple colors in it. One streak was a blonde color, the next was a a darkish pink, and the last was purple. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of purple, strangely enough.

"I-I'm sorry, miss. Are you okay?" I asked, wanting to apologize for almost killing her.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. Are you Darragh Hussey?" she asked again.
"Yeah, I am. Can I help you?" I asked.

"Yes, yes you can. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Princess Cadence if you like. I am the princess of the crystal kingdom in the land of Equestria." she said.

I cocked my head to one side. I was not sure to believe this person, or call the nearest asylum for the insane.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are. Are you on any medication?" I asked.

"No, not to my knowledge." she said.

Now I was sure this girl was either insane or completely telling the truth. I asked her to sit and we both sat down at a table. At first I asked her a few questions, to see if she was really telling the truth. I tried to turn the conversation around on her once or twice, but she always kept to her story. After a while, I concluded that this girl was telling the truth. I was still a little on the edge with her, because if she was insane, this could get me in a whole shit load of trouble.

"Well, now that you know who I am, I think you deserve to know why I am here. I have come here to take you back to Equestria with me." she said.

"Whoa, hold up. What do you mean? I cant just uproot my life and run off with you!" I said.

"I understand. All of this must seem strange to you, but I will give you some time to decide. Meet me at the tilted kilt pub this evening. I will wait till 8:00 pm. If I don't see you, then I will know your answer." she said.

She stood up and walked towards the window, ready to crawl back out. I told her she could just use the front door, and I showed her out. After I closed the door, I knew that I would not go with her. All of this seemed too strange for me, and I just couldn't. I flopped down in my chair and flipped through the channels on the television. There was nothing to watch, so I ran back upstairs, grabbed my IPod and Beats head phones and plugged them in. The first thing to play was When I'm Gone by Eminem, which was good because listening to him really calmed me down. It gave me some time to think and I still could not come to a decision. I paused the song, took the beats off and set them and my IPod to the side. I walked up the stairs to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My golden brown hair was a mess, so I took a comb and put it back the way it normally was. Some to the left, with a almost wave in the front, just like Mackelmore.

I went back to the kitchen and just started pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. For some reason, I could not get that girl out of my mind. Then I remembered a piece of advice someone gave me. "When life gives you a chance for a new adventure, don't question it" I believe is what they said. Then I made my decision, I was going with that girl.

The pub she told me to meet her at was not far from where I lived. I packed some clothes into a bag and walked out. I took one last look at where I lived, one last goodbye. I turned and walked down the street, the old life was over, the new one had begun.

I walked around and finally found the bar. The Tilted Kilt. It looked like a real hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but the parking lot was filled with cars and motor bikes. I walked up to the door and walked in. The first thing I noticed was the stench. It smelled like stale beer and cigar smoke with a mixture of puke and a feeling of discontent. At first it made me want to gag, but I held it in and pretended to be used to it so I would not be questioned about my age. I looked around and found the lady in the back at a table, a sad look on her face and a beer clutched with both hands. I walked up and sat with her. She looked up and then looked back down.

"At first I thought you were not going to show up." she said.

"Well, when life offers you a chance at an adventure, you don't question it." I replied.

"Well, I think its time we got out of here. The stench is going to make me throw up before the beer will." she replied, pushing the glass over to the side.

We both got up and waked out together. She wrapped both of her arms around mine, and then I knew that I was never going to regret this decision.

The three of them were standing around and seemed to be out of place. Sure they were almost nothing alike, but they were three of a kind compared to their surroundings. They were in the throne room of a castle, lazing around, waiting for something to happen. What that was, none of them knew. Erex was at the foot of the throne laying on his back with his eyes closed. Lucas was leaning up against a near by pillar staring out a window. Darragh was standing, taking in all of the things that he saw. Soon they were joined by the people, or ponies, that brought them there. Cadence, Celestia, and Twilight were trying to make conversation with the boys, but were not getting very far. Soon they were joined by another pony, this one with a dark blue body, a blue mane, and a black crown on her head. Her name was Queen Luna.

"Sorry if you guys have been waiting for a long time, my husband was never much of an on time person." The queen told them.

About a minute later, they were joined by a young human with long black hair that was tied into a ponytail but some bangs still hung in his face and around his ears. He wore a white hoodie and black pants that seemed like they had been torn apart and sewed back together a few times. He had a long scar across the right side of his mouth and his eyes were dark gray.

"Ah, here he is now." Luna said as the boy entered.

The young man stood before them, looking over each one of the other humans.

"My name is Alex McGrath, you guys must be wondering why your here." he said after a long moment.

"Actually, we were wondering when we were going to eat something." Erex said with a tone of sarcasm.

"Well, back to why you are here. Um, Luna? Would you inform them, I have forgotten a few details." Alex said, turning to his wife.

"Of course, you were always good at forgetting things. The three of you have been selected by a very important prophecy that will decide the fate of our world, and yours." Luna said.

"Well, any other details?" Lucas asked.

"You three are three of the four horsemen. My husband is one as well. We brought you here to defeat this evil that plans to destroy our world so that you can save both pony and human lives." she continued.

"Well, this is all well and fine, but it just does not seem very believable." Darragh said.

"Trust me, when I first came here, I did not believe it either. All of it seemed to unbelievable." Alex said.

"I still need some convincing. How do we know we aren't just stoned or high or something?" Erex asked.

"Do you remember doing any drugs recently?" Celestia asked.

"Not really." Erex replied.

"My point exactly. This is all real, no matter how strange it may seem." Celestia said.

"Well, we are all here, and I think we are all mostly convinced of this, but there is one last thing, we are just a few normal guys. How are we going to defeat this great evil you speak of?" Lucas asked.

"Well, it is said that each of the four horsemen will have a specific weapon. The Scythe of Death, The Sword of the Gods, The Spear of Humanity and The Bow of Virtue." Alex replied.
"How will we know which weapon we will have?" Darragh asked.

"I already poses The Scythe of Death, so that somewhat narrows it down. When we show you the weapons, they will chose you." Alex said.

"So they are like living things." Lucas said.

"Not exactly. They are not living things but they have a sort of power that gives them the ability to chose who wields them. Its complicated, besides the whole fact its supposed to work." Alex said, scratching his head as if it would give him a better understanding of the subject.

"So, when do we get started? When do we get to see the weapons?" Erex asked.

"Whoa, so excited to traumatically change your life are we? Well, let me say this before we take you to the weapons. Once you start this, you cant stop, you have to see it through. Once you take the weapon in your hand, you can never go back to the life you once lived." Alex said, warning the boys of what could happen to them.

"My family is probably dead, so I'm in." Erex said.

"My life was horribly boring and it seemed like I was chained down, so this will give me freedom. I'm in too." Lucas said.

Alex looked at Darragh, waiting for his reason to stay or go.
"The world was a rotten mess, but this place seems better." Darragh said simply.

"Well then, if you would all follow me, we are going to change your lives." Alex said.

Alex led them out of the throne room and down a long hallway that ended with a staircase. They all went down, Erex stumbling a few times. The girls were instructed to stay behind, and seemed perfectly fine with that. Alex led them through a door that opened up into an weapons room. On the walls were mounted swords and knives of every kind, as well as cross bows, throwing knives, shields and body armor that fit the ponies and stallions that existed there. Alex led them up to a door that was padlocked and bolted shut.

"Wow, got some major security down here." Darragh said, examining the locks.

"I thought a simple pad lock would have worked, but Luna insisted I bolt it too." Alex replied.

"Women, am I right?" Darragh added.

"Oh yeah." Alex said.

"Well, lets get this open and see these weapons." Lucas said, antsy about finding his weapon.

Alex unlocked the door and brought them in. Three weapons were hung up on the walls, all seeming to glow with a sort of power that made the room hum.

"Okay, walk up to them and get close to them, you'll know which weapon is yours when you get close. You should feel a pulling to it, a sort of attraction, if that makes any sense." Alex explained.

"Lets do this." Erex said, excited to get the ball rolling.

The three of them walked up and did the first thing that came to mind, they examined each of the weapons. Darragh was pulled to the Bow of Virtue. He picked it up and held it in his hands. It seemed well balanced and most definitely seemed like the weapon for him. Lucas picked up the Spear of Humanity. He spun it around like on of the rifles he had spun in R.O.T.C and it seemed to come easy to him. Erex was a bit hesitant to take the Sword of the Gods. The name itself seemed to intimidate him, that and the fact the sword was almost as long as he was tall. Finally, he held his breath, threw all caution into the wind, and grabbed the hilt of the sword. He held it in his hand, and even though it looked like it was made of solid gold, it seemed like it was only made of wood. He slashed the air a few times and got used to it in his hands. Darragh aimed with the bow and pulled back the magic string of it and an arrow formed, ready to fire. He let the string go and sent the arrow flying into the wall, smashing into it and leaving an enormous crack in it. Lucas swung the spear around, its gold tip shining in the low light. He thrust it forward a few times and got used to holding it. The three of them then turned to Alex, who was holding the Scythe of Death, the weapon he already new how to use.

"Now that the weapons have chosen you, time for the real fun to start. Lets kick this pig!"

Queen Luna was milling around, looking for something to do. She paced around her room for about an hour, bored out of her mind. Usually her husband would be with her, and they would be reading together or doing something to keep them both entertained. She peered out of the window, looking down at the courtyard where four figures trained.
"I wish there was some way I could help them." She said, laying her head on the window sill.
Down in the courtyard, Alex had set up stations designed for each of the new horsemen. He was walking around, surveying how each of them worked. He had placed dummies made a straw at each station for each of the men to stab, shoot, or just destroy, but most of them remained unharmed.
Erex was wildly swinging his sword but would get off balanced and trip each time he was about to take the dummies head or arm off. Darragh was aiming the best he could, but the arrows either sailed over the dummy or just barely missed it. Lucas was making some progress, slashing or skewering the dummy with his spear, but then he would try something cool like a wild spinning attack and end up cracking himself in the face and falling over cursing like a true navy man.

"Okay, hold up, just stop for a minute." Alex said, ceasing the self abuse. "I wish I could say you guys are a natural, but then I would be lying." he continued after they had walked over to him.

"We're trying the best we can, Alex. But its just not working." Erex said.
"I think I know the reason. You guys are being distracted by something, I'm not really sure what it is, but its preventing you from giving this your all." Alex said, looking each of them over. "Now tell me, what is distracting you?" he asked.

"Well, I guess I miss my mother a little." Erex said, looking down at the ground.
"I miss my buddy James." Lucas said.
"Well, I'm not really missing anyone, but my aim has gotten rusty I guess." Darragh said.

"Hm, well, I have an idea. You guys have been thrown into training without even getting used to your surroundings. So this is how we're going to do this. We are going to take a trip into Ponyville to interact a bit with the ponies that live there. You can relax, unwind, and try to get rid of any mental baggage your carrying around with you." Alex explained to all of them.
All the boys nodded their heads, excited for a break. They all made a quick trip to the armory to drop off the weapons. It would keep them safe, and it would not scare the innocent ponies that lived in Ponyville. They all boarded a carriage and left for Ponyville.
"So, we don't know that much about you, Alex, tell us a little about yourself. What's your story?" Darragh asked.
"Well, I have been living here for around four years. I came into Equestria one day after falling off of a cliff and into a river after having a break up with my girlfriend. I woke up here and decided to stay, to get a fresh start on life. Then everything sort of tanked from there. I ended up getting thrown into a love triangle with Celestia and Luna which later turned into a square after Chrysalis, the changeling queen, got thrown into the mix. Plus there was this whole fiasco with an ancient demon, Discord, an ancient Equestrian army, and now some unknown force that's ransacking towns and leaving no survivors."
"Dude, you talk about this like its nothing. Trust me, you seem like the sort of guy who has seen some shit." Darragh said.
"Hell yeah, but you ended up being king after everything went down. Was it worth it?" Lucas asked.
"I guess so, I really am powerful, but that's the problem. Everybody loves me and just about everybody could rely on me and expect me to save them if shit decided to hit the fan. But what would happen if one day they needed me and I wasn't there? Would they still love and appreciate me as they do now, or would they turn there backs on me." Alex said, eyes concentrating on the floor of the carriage.
"Damn Alex, that's deep." Erex said.
"You know, this has been a thought that has been passing through my head for a while, but, how old are you Alex?" Darragh asked.
"Well, the time in the human world and the time in Equestria are different, and days go by fairly quickly, so I'm going to say around 17." Alex replied.
"Christ on a bicycle dude, your still young." Erex said.

"How old are you guys?" Alex asked his fellow horsemen.
"I'm 16." Erex said.
"I'm 17." Darragh said.
"I'm 17 as well." Lucas replied.

The four of them carried on for the rest of the trip there, talking about past experiences and telling tales of the past. They all were getting used to each other and were really bonding. But back in Canterlot, the girls were not having as much fun.

"Why are they going to Ponyville?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know. I was watching them train, Alex called them over, they had a small talk, then they all dropped their weapons off in the armory and flew off in a carriage." Luna said, saying what she had seen.
"I don't see why you are all so concerned, Alex and the rest are grown enough to take care of themselves and they are just going to Ponyville, its not like they are going to the Everfree forest or something." Cadence chimed in.
"Its not the forest that I'm concerned about, its what lives in the forest that concerns me." Luna said.
"Oh, are you talking about Alex's accidental ex-wife, Chrysalis, who happens to live in the Everfree forest and probably still harbors feelings for him?" Celestia asked mockingly.
"You are never going to let me live that down, are you sister?" Luna asked, obviously not amused.
"You girls are getting worked up over nothing. Luna, Alex loves you with all his heart, I'm sure if they run into Chrysalis, he will know how to handle the situation." Twilight said in a fruitless attempt to calm the queen.
"Still, its better to be safe then sorry. Girls, lets go. Were going on a little scouting mission." Luna said, standing up.
"Sounds more like a stalking mission." Celestia added.
The girls all got up and headed out to get in a carriage themselves. They were on a mission.

"Wow, this place is bigger than I thought." Erex said looking around.
"Yeah, its gotten bigger over the years, but still has its quaint little charm." Alex said.

It was true. Ponyville had almost doubled in size since the start of Alex's rule. Things worked better, but the people still walked the streets and acted the same as they had before.

"So, what are we going to do first?" Lucas asked.
"Well, I'm not sure. What are you guys in the mood for?" Alex asked.
"I'm starting to get a little hungry." Erex said.
"Then I have the perfect place. You guys will love it." Alex said.

The boys followed Alex off past Ponyville to a large open apple orchard called "Sweet Apple Acres". There were hundreds of trees growing and bearing the beautiful fruit that was grown there. There was a barn and not far from there a house. The boys followed Alex up and stood back as Alex knocked on the door. They heard clops from behind the door and it opened to show Apple Jack, one of the many ponies that lived on the farm.
"Well I'll be, look what we have here. The great king of Equestria has come to pay me a visit." Apple Jack said, bowing.
"Man, A.J, why do you do that? I don't like being treated like royalty that much." Alex told her, blushing a little.
"I know, sugar cube. I just like messin with ya." She said, giving Alex a wink.
She looked behind Alex and asked who the three handsome young men behind him were. Alex explained that these were the three of the other four horsemen, that it was a long story and that he would rather not explain it all.

"Alright, so what can I help you boys with?" A.J asked.
"Well, we were thinking you could supply us with something to eat." Erex said.
"Sure! I can help y'all out. But, you guys have to help me first." A.J said.
"Yeah. What do you need help with?" Alex asked.
"Well, you see, it seems half the family has ditched me to go into town when there are apples to be picked. I'm happy you guys came along, would you mind helping me out?" She asked.
"Sure, where do we need to start?" Lucas asked.
"There are some barrels in the barn, When you have filled each one, I'll make ya something to eat." She said.

The boys nodded their heads, thinking this to be a pretty fair deal. Fill up some barrels and get paid in food. Apple Jack went back into the house. The boys started to walk towards the barn, but something caught Alex's eye. Four figures were standing up on a hill. He only saw them for a second, before they darted away.

"Crap! Did they see us?" Luna asked.
"I don't think so, I think we're good." Twilight answered.
"Let it be known right now that I still think this is the stupidest idea ever thought up." Celestia said, rolling her eyes.

The four girls had been following Alex and the others for a while now. They were almost found a few times, so its safe to say stealth was not their strong suit. Now, the four of them sat behind a particularly large apple tree, watching their men disappear into the barn and come back, each carrying an empty barrel.
"Wow, look how strong they are." Twilight said.
"Yeah, even for not having a lot of power, Erex really knows how to get things done." Celestia said.
"Darragh's not that bad either." Cadence said.
"Awww, looks like you three have developed feelings for the boys." Luna said, mockingly.

"We have not!" Twilight, Cadence, and Celestia all said at once.
"Oh come on, I can see the way you look at Erex, Celestia. And don't think I don't see you licking your lips when you see Lucas lifting those barrels, Twilight. Even you, Cadence, it looks like your in total ecstasy when you see Darragh sweating." Luna said.

The girls argued with Luna for a while, but they all knew they had feelings for the boys. Luna also knew it was all because of Alex too. Each of these girls had had some feelings for Alex, and now they feel they will get a piece of him by loving another human. The idea was strange, but if you thought it out, it made sense.

"God damn! Did it get hotter out here, or is that just me?" Darragh said, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Nah, its just because your working. It always seems to get hotter when you're doing manual labor." Erex replied.
"Yeah, whats up with that, Alex? I thought we were getting something to eat, not harvesting crops because the ponies that worked here were to damn lazy to do it." Lucas said, falling out of a tree and bringing some apples with him.
"Don't blame me for this. The more you complain, the harder the work will get. Celestia told me that on the days she would wake me up 0-dark-thirty to train me." Alex said.
The boys worked hard for what seemed like hours. Each of them shed their shirts. Erex, Lucas, and Darragh were all amazed at how scared Alex was.
"Christ on a bicycle, dude. What the hell happened?" Darragh asked Alex.
"A war, being killed once or twice, the normal stuff." Alex said.
"Dude, based on all the stuff you've told us. You should be dead by now." Darragh said.

"Are you like a god or something?" Erex asked.
"Me? A god? No, though I'm sure some of my subjects would like to think I am. But truth be told, I'm just another guy, trying to protect them all." Alex said.

The boys worked hard, filling up barrel after barrel in silence, until Lucas broke the ice:
"So, Alex, hows Luna in the sack?" Lucas asked.
Alex looked at Lucas with a look of surprise and anger.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, a better question would be, have you guys done it?" Darragh asked.
"No." Alex said simply.

"Oh come on, bro. You can tell us!" Darragh said.
"No, seriously. We've never done it." Alex said.
"Some how I find that really hard to believe. Come on, you guys are married. You must have done something." Erex said.
"Well. There was this one time while we were in the human world-" Alex said, but trailed off.
Alex really didn't want to talk about it since it was a private matter, but yes, he and Luna did have sex once. It was the night after Alex's brother, Dalton, had been murdered. Luna had known Alex was in shock, and had gone on a murderous rampage. She thought that if she did not comfort him and try to bring him back to the "land of the living" then she would lose him forever. One thing had led to another, and the rest is history.

"So you guys did do it. That's good to hear." Erex said.

"Why is that?" Alex asked.

"Think about it, dude. A marriage without any sexual activity does not exactly seem like much. After a while, the relationship would get stale, wouldn't it?" Erex explained.

"You don't really know what much of that means, do you?" Darragh said.

"Not really, I just used to hear about this sort of thing from my mother a lot." Erex said.

All the boys laughed and finished filling the barrels with apples. They took all the apples back into the barn, then headed back to the farm house.

"Thanks, boys. This means a lot to me. Ah couldn't have done it without your help," A.J said when the boys got back. "But by golly, you smell like the north end of a south bound goat!" she continued.

She was right. Working in the hot sun had made the boys sweat and stink more than a pile of crap. A.J had already made some pies for them, so she gave them to them and sent them on their way, and told them to take a bath.

The boys were walking along, eager to get started on their pies, but they found a interesting surprise behind a particularly large apple tree.

"Oh, hi boys! What a surprise seeing you here." Luna said, sounding a little nervous.

"Hey, what are you girls doing here?"Alex asked.

"Your jealous wife forcefully recruited us for a st-" Celestia started but was stopped by Luna's hoof getting shoved in her mouth.

"We just wanted to get some fresh air, that's all." Luna said.

Celestia spat Luna's hoof out with a distasteful gag. Alex already knew why the girls were here, he just wanted to make them admit it first.

"So, you guys wanted some fresh air. Your a little far away from the castle just for some fresh air." Darragh said, catching on to what was happening.

"Yep, nothing more than that!" Cadence said, looking around, looking guilty as ever.

All the girls were acting guilty, but Alex still wanted to see one of them give.

"Alright fine! We all wanted to follow you guys to make sure you stayed out of trouble!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Twilight!" The other girls said, bearing down on her.

"I'm sorry, girls! I just was never good at lying!" Twilight said, defending herself.

"Well, at least now I know why I had that strange feeling of being watched." Erex said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Okay girls, fun time's over. Head on back to the castle. We'll be back in a couple of hours." Alex said.

"Okay, but first, give me a kiss." Luna said, standing eye level with Alex.

"What?" he asked, his cheeks beginning to turn red.

"You heard me, give me a kiss and I'll go." Luna said.

"Why?"

"Because I said so, and I'm your wife. That's why." Luna said. "I'm not taking a step until I get one." She added.

Alex's face was now a bright shade of red, but he knew there was not getting around it. Alex put his hands on Luna's shoulders and kissed her. The three other horsemen all went "awwwwww" and Alex gave them all the middle finger.

When Alex pulled away from Luna, she gave him a wink, stood up, and told the girls to come with her. The boys watched them walk off into the distance.

"Well, it has now been confirmed my friend, you are thoroughly whipped." Erex said, putting a hand on Alex's shoulder.
"Oh shut up." Alex replied.

All the boys laughed and began walking back to the town, the fun was not over yet, but training would have to resume soon.

"So, what's next on the list of things for us to do?" Erex asked as the boys walked along.
"We are about to have some fun, but it will require perfect planning and excellent execution." Alex said, a grin spreading across his face.

"What are we going to do? Don't leave us in the dark." Lucas said.

"We are going to pull a few pranks on the girls." Alex said simply.

"What are you, five?" Erex asked mockingly.

"Yeah, five inches deep in your mom." Alex said.

"Ooohh! Shots fired!" Darragh said.

All the boys laughed at once. Darragh asked Alex what sort of pranks they would be performing. Alex explained the workings of the first plot on the way back to the castle.

"Okay, boys. Go inside, get a shower, get ready. Tonight, we have fun." Alex said when they reached the castle.

All the boys parted ways to prepare. Things were going to be sweet, but there was secret workings within these secret workings that Erex, Lucas and Darragh would not notice.

While the boys were getting ready, Luna and the rest of her posse were lazing in her room.

"So, do you think Alex is going to get mad at us for not trusting him?" Twilight asked nervously, knowing what Alex was capable of.

"Nah, he may seem tough, but on the inside he is nothing but a big softy." Luna said.

"Yeah, tell that to Queen Crystal." Celestia said, remembering the beating Alex had given Equestria's first ruler.

"Yes, I remember. But I don't think he would hurt any of us." Luna said.

The girls were right, Alex would never bring harm to any of them. What they did not remember, is that Alex had a horrible knack for pranks. He had pranked all of them in the past, yet it was slipping from their minds now.

The girls were lazing around, relaxing as the day drew to a close when there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Luna called.

"A letter for you, my Queen. It is from your husband." one of the guards said, opening the door.

The guard handed over the letter and Luna unfolded it, reading it over. It said:

To my dearest Luna,

I am inviting you, Celestia, Twilight, and Cadence to a special dinner me and the boys have planned. I have had special dresses made for each of you, they should be up soon after you get this. We will be expecting you in the dining hall at 8 o'clock sharp.

Yours, now and forever,

Alex

"What does it say, Luna?" Celestia asked.

"Alex is inviting us to dinner, it's at 8." Luna replied.

"Oh my god, this will be amazing! But what will we wear?" Cadence said, getting excited.

"The letter says that Alex had dresses made for us. Weird." Luna replied.

"Why is this weird. It's not every day Alex does this sort of stuff for us. Maybe this is payment for all the times we saved his human ass." Cadence said.

The girls began arguing over Alex's intentions when their dresses arrived. They were each in a box. On each box was one of the girls cutie-marks. They each opened their boxes and squealed. The dresses were beautiful. Luna's was purple with gold trim with a moon on the chest. Celestia's was white with gold trim and resemble what ancient greek's would wear. Cadence's dress was pink with red frills. Twilight's was white and purple. Each of them came with matching shoes. The girls became excited and ran off to get ready.

It was 7:59 and the boys were patiently waiting for the last few seconds to pass by. Each of them wore the same black tux with matching ties.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Erex asked.

"Of course it will. The plans have been made and I made it so that everything would be timed perfectly. Don't worry, this will work. Just remember what I told you." Alex said reassuringly.

Finally the time had come. The clock struck 8, and two seconds later, the doors opened to show each of the boy's dates for the evening. Each of them looked stunning and surprised each of the boys.

"Hello, ladies. I'm glad you could make it." Alex said in a voice that made Luna's heart beat harder and faster.

"Hi, Darragh!" Cadence said from across the room, winking at him.

"Greetings, princess. I'm glad you could make it." Darragh said, bowing and making Cadence sigh in ecstasy.

Each of the boys approached their dates. Each of them held out a hand, bowing. The girls blushed. Then the plan went into action. The boys walked up to their dates and placed their hands on their shoulders. The girls looked up at the boys with surprise. Each of the boys placed a hand on their dates cheek and said they had something very important to tell them. The boys bent down to each of the girls ears, and with that, the lights cut off, filling the room with black. As soon as that happened, they felt something grab their butts and say this:

"It's raping time!"

Each of the girls screamed and fell over, shaking with surprise. The lights came on and the boys were all on the floor as well, holding their ribs, unable to breathe because they were laughing so hard. Each of the girls got up and stormed out, pissed that their boys would pull such a low-brow trick.

"Dude, that was good!" Erex said, sitting up.

"I must admit, I didn't think it would work. But man was it good to see the looks on their faces." Lucas said.

"So what's next, Alex? You said we were going to do a few pranks." Darragh said.

"I have an idea, but it will have to be finalized. Meet me in the library tomorrow morning, 10 o'clock sharp." Alex said.

Each of the boys got up and walked to their rooms. As they did, they heard the slamming of doors echoing throughout the halls. This told them they would not be in good graces with the girls.

The next morning, the boys met Alex down in the library just as instructed. they each gathered around an open book Alex was looking over.

"Morning, Alex. What's the plan for today?" Lucas asked once all the boys were accounted for.

"Today, we are going to make our own little booby trap." Alex said.

Each of the boys looked at the book. The book was turned to a page describing a type of magic where the user could place down a piece of paper and when a word was said, a weapon would pop out and attack on its own. Erex asked what they were going to do with this particular spell and Alex motioned to four whips laying in a chair.

The girls were walking around the castle, still a little mad from the prank that was pulled on them the night before. Luna was in the kitchen, Celestia and Cadence were still in their rooms, and Twilight was reading in the courtyard. Each of them were surprised when a letter popped up in front of them. Each of the letters said this.

Girls,

We would like to apologize for our actions last night, it was not very good of us to do something like that. We hope that you forgive us.

Love

Alex, Erex, Lucas, and Darragh

P.S- Wapish

Each of the girls looked at the letters, they were happy the boys were apologizing to them, but they were also a little confused.

"Wapish?" Each of the girls asked at the same time.

Then, without warning, a whip came out of the letter and whipped each one of the girls in the butt, then disappeared.

The boys were all lazing around, waiting for something to happen. They had each heard the muffled crack of whips from the library and were waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, the doors to the library violently swung open and a blast of energy sent the boys flying backward into one of the many bookcases, making most of the books fall on top of them. Alex was the first to pop his head out from under the now large pile of books.

"I see you got out letters." Alex said, falling back into the books, laughing.

Laughter from the other horsemen could be heard from under the books as well. Each of them popped their heads out just in time to see the girls leave, which made them laugh even harder. Each of the girls had a giant red mark on their flank.

"Can you believe this?!" Luna exclaimed when the girls left the library.

"I thought Alex was supposed to be training those three, not using them as help for his cruel jokes." Cadence added.

"I must admit, this first time was a little bit funny, but this it taking it too far." Celestia said, turning to gaze at the large red mark on her butt.

"Here's a million bit idea. Why don't we prank them back?" Twilight said.

Each of the girls thought it over for a second, then they all gave each other a large grin and the girls ran up to their room to make plans and get ready.

"Dude, that was awesome and all, but why are we cleaning up the books?" Lucas asked.

"We made the mess, it is our responsibility to clean it up." Alex replied.

"Well, we technically didn't make this mess. The girls did. Their magic blasted us into the bookshelf." Erex said.

"And technically it is our fault because our prank caused this." Alex replied.

"He does have a point. Either way, I think we should start training again." Darragh said.

"Here's a million dollar question, what are we up against?" Lucas asked, placing a copy of "The History of Equestria" back in its place.

"Well, we don't know for sure, or, at least I don't know for sure. Luna is the one that keeps up with stuff like that. She is the brains and I am the brawn." Alex replied

"So, based off what you know, tell us what we are up against." Erex said.

"Well, from what I know, there are strange occurrences going on in neighboring towns and cities. The entire places end up getting ransacked or completely destroyed. Many ponies have had to move to another town, some were not so lucky." Alex explained.

"I see, so where do you think it is going to happen next?" Darragh asked.

"We have had some people on that for a while, and they suspect Ponyville will be next." Alex said grimly.

"How will we know when it happens?" Erex asked.

"When we hear screaming and see smoke. But we do have a constant watch just in case." Alex replied.

"Okay, good. So, do you think the girls hate us now?" Darragh asked, sounding a little bit concerned.

"Nah, this will all blow over soon enough, trust me." Alex said.

Alex and the boys finished putting the books up and were just exiting the library when they heard a crash and a loud cry for help. They all ran to the sound of the commotion and found Luna trapped under a fallen chandelier.

"Alex, baby! You have to help me!" Luna cried out.

Alex sprinted to her side, but stopped just before he got there and leapt backward. Some strange green slime had hit just where Alex was moments before.

"What the hell is that?" Daragh asked.

"It's some sort of acid." Alex said, holding his shoulder.

Alex moved his hand to show that part of his white hoodie was disintegrated. His skin was unharmed though.

"Scatter!" Alex yelled as more blobs of the green slime came flying at them.

All the boys leaped and dodged, jumping or leaping from place to place to avoid the slime. Some of it splattered on them and burnt some of their clothes away. One shot hit Darragh in the shoulder and burnt away some of his shirt revealing his chest. Finally the firing of the slime stopped and the boys could breathe a sigh of relief. Then they heard laughing. They looked around to find Cadence, Celestia, and Twilight on a balcony with large cannons next to them. Green slime was oozing out of the barrels.

"You should have seen the looks on your faces." Celestia said between laughs.

"You all looked so scared!" Cadence added.

Luna crawled out from under the fallen chandelier and joined the girls, also chuckling.

"They could have gotten us hurt." Darragh said.

"Don't worry bro, it only burns clothes." Alex said, holding some of the slime in his hand.

"Now you four know how it feels to be the blunt of someones cruel joke!" Cadence declared.

Erex was just about to interject when Alex held a hand in front of him.

"Let them have this one." Alex mumbled.

Erex nodded. And took a small step back.

"Alright, your basic training is now done. I think it's time we get into the more interesting parts." Alex said, turning to the boys.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked, confused.

"Well, you remember the jokes we did? That was your training." Alex said.

"You may have to elaborate a little, Alex." Darragh said.

"Okay, let me explain. The first joke was to teach you deception. It was to teach you how to put on a mask and deceive and confuse your enemy, giving you a chance to strike while their defenses are down. The joke with the whips was to teach you minor trap magic and to teach you trap strategies. The little joke the girls pulled was to sharpen your evasion skills. It's hard to dodge that stuff you know." Alex explained.

"So, while we were having fun, you were actually training us?" Erex asked, making sure he understood.

"Exactly."

"Alex! How dare you! Why would you use us to train them!? Why did you not just teach them the normal way!?" Luna yelled, jumping down from the balcony and landing next to her husband.
"Why? Let's put it this way. I just like to mess with you." Alex said, wrapping his arms around Luna's neck and giving her a bear hug.

"Alright, horsemen. Training is done for the day. Tomorrow, we start the real fun! You are dismissed." Alex said, looking over at the boys.

All of them high-fived each other and were just about to leave when Alex stopped them.

"Oh, and you won't be sleeping alone. You're going to be bunking with the girls. Erex, you will be with Celestia, Darragh will be with Cadence, Lucas will be with Twilight, and I will be with Luna." Alex said.

The boys froze, looks of fear appearing on their faces. They turned slowly to see the girls barreling into them. Alex laughed, knowing that this would be a very interesting night for them.

Each of the boys did have an interesting night. Erex was kept up by Celestia giving him her life story, Twilight insisted on reading Lucas a personal story she had written, and Darragh kept being awoken again and again after he kept feeling something touch his butt. Alex, on the other hand, was awake for a different reason entirely.

Alex had been awoken in the middle of the night by terrifying dreams. His nightmares consisted of Chrystal, and what could have happened. The most terrifying was the wall. The half destroyed wall with the words "abandoned by our hero" written on it in blood.

Alex shot up. Looking around frantically. When he realized that he was still in his room, he calmed down a little. He looked over to his right to see his beloved, quietly snoozing next to him. He quietly got up out of bed, got dressed in a white shirt and khaki shorts and left the room. He walked down the stairs from the tower and made his way through the empty castle. He nodded to a few of the guards who were standing at the ready and they nodded back.

Alex left the castle and headed down the mountain to Ponyville. He walked through the silent town and headed to the large group of trees behind it. The Everfree forest. That would be his destination tonight.

Alex krept through the forest silently, climbing over fallen and decomposing trees that gave the place a more ominous look then before it was ripped apart in the battle between him and Chrystal. He made his way into the deep bowels of the forest until he came to a well trodden path that led deeper in. He followed it until the path opened up to a large clearing that was occupied by the changelings. All of them noticed him and regarded him silently. They knew that he was allowing them to live their, and could eliminate them if he wanted. One of the changelings flew up to him and began flying around him like a dog with wings. Alex noticed this one to be the changeling he had saved a few years ago. It was small then, but it had grown to a larger size over the years.

"Hey, Dalton. It's good to see you again. Do you know where your mother is?" Alex asked the changeling he had named after his fallen older brother.

The changeling nodded his head yes and flew off to fetch her. He came back with Chrysalis in tow.

"Ah, it's good to see you again, dear. What are you doing here so late at night?" Chrysalis said, walking up to Alex and giving him a quick hug.

"The dreams, Chrysalis. They're getting worse." Alex said to her.

"Alex, I already told you, the potion I'm making to treat your PTSD is going to take time to synthesize. It takes a long time to do this sort of thing you know." Chrysalis said, walking along into a wooden hut with Alex along with her.

"So, how much longer till it's ready?" Alex asked.

"I'm going to say about a week longer. It should be done by then. I will keep you updated though. I'll send Dalton with an update if anything of interest happens." Chrysalis replied.

Chrysalis was looking over some papers when she felt someone place a hand on her back. She turned around and Alex was suddenly standing beside her. He put his hands on her shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her and held her.

"Chrysalis, I know I haven't said it, but I just want to thank you for all that you have done." Alex said.

"Alex, I love you like a wife would love her husband, I love you like a mother would love her son. You have done so much for me and my children. Most men would have us all killed after the things we have done. It should be me who should be thanking you." Chrysalis said, hugging him back.

"Okay, keep me updated. I have to be heading back. Stay safe, the forest is a dangerous place." Alex said.

Alex ran off out of the clearing and back into the forest. He ran as fast as he could for as long as he could. He knew Luna would be waking up soon, and he wanted to be next to her when she did.

When Alex did finally get back, the moon was slowly setting. He laid back into bed and closed his eyes. He was only able to sleep for about five minutes when he felt a hoof on his shoulder, waking him up.

"Alex, honey, it's time to wake up." Luna said softly.

"Hm? Oh, okay." Alex said, getting up and trying to act tired.

"Are you okay?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to make some coffee, you want any?" Alex asked.

"I'll get some later." Luna said, laying back down.

Alex walked out of his room and made his way to the kitchen. He made his coffee and tried to get the horrible visions from his dreams out of his head. The other horsemen walked in and grabbed coffee too.

"Hey Alex, how did you sleep?" Erex asked.

"Great man, how about you?" Alex asked

"Good I guess, Celestia made me listen to her whole life story. She really had something for you, how come you never tapped that?" Erex asked.

"Luna got to me first." Alex said.

"Yeah, if you think that's bad, Twilight made me listen to a book she had written. All 935 pages of it." Lucas said.

"That's bad bro, but I actually got some sleep, minus the fact I felt something touch my butt over and over again during the night." Darragh said.

All of the boys were sitting around enjoying their coffee when Luna walked in with a blue bathrobe on and her hair up in a bun. Alex gave her some coffee and she did not speak until she had downed half the cup.

"Geez, that girl can really put it away." Erex said, taking another sip from his mug.

"You're telling me. She eats like a hippo and his a thin as a supermodel. To tell you the truth I have no idea how she does it." Alex said, refilling his mug.

"I exercise regularly, dear. Oh, and by the way. Today is 'bring your parent to school day'. Alexeius asked if you would go." Luna said.

"Wait, who is Alexeius?" Darragh asked.

"Alexeius is my son." Alex said.

Alex set down his coffee and walked out of the kitchen to get ready. He went back upstairs and pulled on a black t-shirt and jeans. Luna walked in as he was pulling on his shoes.

"Don't you think you should dress a little more, I don't know, formal?" Luna asked.

"Well I don't want to show up in ceremonial robes or something. I just want to look like a normal dad." Alex replied.

"Whatever you want, darling. Just try not to embarrass our son." she said.

"Now what makes you think I would do something like that?" Alex asked.

Alex assured his wife that this entire thing would go off without a hitch. Luna wanted to believe him, but her husband was still young, and normally made mistakes. She sighed, gave her husband a quick kiss before he left, and watched him fly off in a carriage. Alexieus had been spending the night with a friend, and Alex's job was to pick him up and take him to school as well as be there for parent day.

Alexieus was waiting for his father in front of his friends house.

"He, sport! You ready for this?" Alex asked.

"Yep! Let's go, Daddy! I can't wait for you to meet all my friends. I think you'll like my teacher, Ms. Cheerilee. She's very nice." Alexieus said as he stuck his thing's into the carriage and joined his father inside.

"Okay, son. Now, what do you want me to say? Anything in particular?" Alex asked.

"Nope, you don't have to worry about a thing. Just let me do the talking." Alexieus said.

"Whatever you say." Alex said.

The carriage pulled along until it stopped in front of the school. Alex and Alexieus stepped out and walked his son up the steps of the school. All of the other parents and student were there. Alexieus sat in the back of the class with his father. Then Ms. Cheerilee walked in.

"Hello, parents and students. Today we will be learning about the parents of our students. Who would like to go first?" She asked the class.

All the kids raised their hands at the same time. Cheerilee chose one of the kids in the front of the class and he introduced her father. Each of the kids went and until finally, it was Alexieus and Alex's turn. They each took their places in front of the class. Alex stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants. Alexieus cleared his little throat and started the speech.

"Hi, my name is Alexieus. This is my daddy Alex. My daddy is smarter than Einstein, stronger than Hercules, and sparks black fire and lightning with a snap of his finger-" Alexieus said.

"Whoa, whoa, what? I don't know about some of that stuff." Alex interrupted.

"But Dad, Aunty Celestia told me lots of stories about you and your magic, and how you saved us all!" Alexieus explained.

"Well, she may have been exaggerating a little." Alex said.

"Was she, Alexander?"

Everyone in the room looked at the now open door to see a blue pony with a white and grey mane and a purple magic hat on with gold stars and a cape to match. Alex had to hold his breath to keep from laughing because she did look a little ridiculous.

"Who might you be?" Alex asked.

"I am the Great and Powerful Trixie. The strongest magic user in Ponyville." the pony said.

"The greatest magic user you say? Are you trying to imply something?" Alex asked.

"Yes, yes I am. I challenge you to a magic duel." Trixie said plainly and confidently.

"My daddy will accept your challenge!" Alexieus said triumphantly.

"Whoa, hold on, lets think this through for a second-" Alex said but was stopped by Trixie.

"Fine then, we will have it right now, outside." she said turning and walking out.

Alex quickly stepped out of school house, quickly followed by the rest of the students and parents as well as Ms. Cheerilee. They all made a huge circle in an open area near the school and even more citizens joined, wondering what was going on. They were all surprised to see their king.

"I'm assuming this will be a fair fight?" Trixie asked.

"Of course, no hand- to- hand combat, no spitting, no blood spatter, no nothing. Just magic." Alex said.

"Then let us begin. The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks that this will be an easy win."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, and stop speaking in third person."

Trixie went first, her horn glowing with magic as it sparked and shot a blue bolt of lightning at Alex. Everybody expected him to move out of the way of the shot, but he stood still. When the shot reached him, he swatted it aside like a bug. Trixie had a short look of surprise shoot across her face before regaining composure and firing another shot, which Alex once again swatted aside. Over and over again, the shots came one after another, Alex either moving out of the way or swatted them away. Some missed altogether without Alex having to do a thing.

"I think that's enough of that." Alex said, raising his hand as it began sparking with his trademark black lightning.

Alex blasted a bolt at Trixie, which she was just barely able to dodge. The crowd looked in awe as Alex made the blue pony dance around the circle, dodging each blast by millimeters. Finally Trixie was able to shoot back. She blasted a shot and it hit Alex in the shoulder. Alex stumbled back and the crowd gasped and held their breath. The breathed a sigh of relief when Alex quickly stood back up.

"Nice shot, but no more screwing around. It's time we end this." Alex said.

Trixie took a step back and charged her horn, but was taken by surprise when Alex suddenly appeared in front of her. He touched the tip of her horn with his index finger and the glowing stopped all together. Trixie tried to use magic again but nothing happened.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that you tell her what you have done!" She yelled angrily as Alex walked away with his hands in his pockets.

"I blocked your magic, you won't be able to use it until the spell wears off. Don't worry, that should only be in a few hours. Either way, I won this fight." Alex said.

"Daddy! That was awesome! You were amazing! You have to teach me some time!" Alexieus said hyperly and ran around Alex like an excited dog.

"Whoa, calm down son, let go on and head home." Alex said, scooping his son up in his arms and carrying him off.

"Wait!"

Alex turned to see the "Great and Powerful Trixie" trot up behind him.

"Yes, what can I help you with?" Alex asked.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie wishes for you to teach her what you know as well." Trixie said sheepishly and blushing red.

"Um, sure. Just send me a letter when you want to set up some classes and I'll teach you what I know." Alex said.

"Really? You will?" Trixie said excitedly.

"Yeah, sure. Just drop me a letter when you get a chance. I'll see you later." Alex said, walking off.

Alex carried Alexieus to the carriage and it flew off.

"So Dad, are you really going to teach me and her?" Alexieus asked.

"Of course I will. I can't deny anybody who is willing to learn." Alex said.

"Okay, will Mommy be mad at you that you got in a fight?"

"Oh yeah son, definitely."

Alex returned home to find his wife waiting for him. she was tapping her hoof and giving him a look that said "oh yeah, I know what you did".

"Hey hon, is everything okay?" Alex asked.

"Alexieus, run along and play, I have to talk to your father in private." Luna said.

"Okay Mommy." Alexieus said and ran off, glancing back sympathetically at his father.

"So, how was it?" Luna asked.

"Um, it was fine I guess."

"Anything interesting happen?"

"No, not really. Alexieus introduced me, gave them a speech about me, and we sat down."

"So, no fights occurred?"

"Well, not exactly."

"Spare me the details, Alexander. I already know what happened. How could you do something like that?" Luna asked.

"Well, I didn't want to back down and seem like a wimp. I am the king and I have to show that I am brave." Alex said trying to defend himself.

"Either way, you got a letter in the mail." Luna said.

"Okay, I'll read it later. Where are the other-" Alex said but was stopped by an enormous explosion coming from Ponyville.

Alex darted over to a window and looked out and saw a huge crater in the center of Ponyville. He looked up to see three balls of fire falling from the sky. They hit the ground and also left craters in the earth.

"Oh shit on a stick. Luna, find the other boys, we have to go no-" Alex said but was stopped again by the window blowing up.

Alex was thrown backwards with a huge pain in his head. He crashed into a wall and felt the light fade, then he blacked out…..

Alex awoke to find himself in a bed, but the room was not a familiar a it should have been. He glanced around at the grey walls and the dirty clothes and other things that littered the floor. He looked over at a bedside table at a picture, and everything became clear. The picture had a mother with blonde hair, a father with brown hair, three girls with dirty blonde hair, and three boys with brown hair, and one boy, with solid black hair. Alex was at home.

"What the. Why the hell am I here?" Alex asked the room.

"Well, it's about time you got up you lazy bum. And what the hell is with that ponytail?" Alex heard a voice say from his door.

Alex looked over and saw his brother, Jeff, standing in the doorway.

"Wait, what?" Alex asked.

"Hurry up, dude. We have to go and get new clothes and school supplies today." Jeff said.

"What?" Alex asked.

"Dude, school starts next week. Now get the lead out, we have to go. Get dressed and get ready." Jeff said, leaving the room.

Alex shook his head and looked around. He instinctively looked over to his right, expecting to see Luna quietly snoozing next to him, but saw nothing. He shot up out of bed and looked out the window. He saw the rest of his neighborhood. Finally, everything became clear.

"It was a dream?"

Alex looked down at the floor and felt a tear fall from his eye. Everything he knew, or thought he knew, was fake. Equestria was never real, Luna was never real, his son was never real, none of that was. It was all just a dream.

Alex walked away from the window. He lumbered slowly out of the door to his bedroom and stepped into the bathroom. He took of his white shirt he was wearing and quickly gasped. His chest, stomach, and back were littered with scars. He shot out of the bathroom to find his mother walking down the hall.

"Hey, Mom, where did I get all these scars?" He asked quickly.

"Oh, good morning, you don't remember? You were in a car crash a few years ago. Thats why." She replied.

Alex said okay, and slowly walked off to the bathroom again. He got in the shower and took a shower, walked back to his room and got dressed. He walked down stairs and sat down at the table with the rest of his family. His mother placed a plate of food in front of him.

"Well, would you look at Alex's new hair style." Shelby said.

"Oh go blow it out your ass." Alex said.

"Alex! What is your problem?" His father asked.

"Sorry, I'm just a little angry." Alex said.

"You still look stupid" Brooke said.

"Okay, why don't you go shove a shotgun up your uterus, and pull the trigger with your toes." Alex said standing up and walking off.

The rest of Alex's family just stood there in surprise as Alex walked off. He walked out the front door and ran off to the river. There was something he had to check. He ran up to where the cave connecting their worlds would be, but found nothing. He searched around the entire area and found nothing. Alex was shattered by this. Everything he loved, and probably one of his last chances at happiness, never existed.

Alex walked back up to his house, walked in, ignored his family, slammed the door to his room and locked it. He tried to fall on his bed, but missed and fell on the floor. He looked around and saw a dagger under his bed. It was present from one of his friends. One thought shot through Alex's head, and this time, it made sense. He reached under the bed, gripped the knife and pulled it out from under his bed. He looked at it for a second and then held it to his left wrist. He was just about to end it, with one movement, then he noticed something. Under his bed side table, was a letter. He set the knife down, picked up the letter and looked at the back. On the back was "Alex" written in gold ink. He opened it up and found a letter. It said "When you're ready, put it on". He looked in the envelope and found one other thing. A ring. It looked pretty simple. Just a silver ring with a strange symbol on it that looked like flames.

It was just a ring, to anyone else who saw it, it wouldn't have been that special. Only Alex really knew what it was, and his life, once again, had meaning. He shoved the ring in the pocket of his pants and ran out of his room sprinting down the stairs taking them two at a time. His mother and father tried to stop him, but a quick shove in opposite directions left the sprawled on the floor.

Alex ran from the house, barreling down to the river and up against a stone wall where the river stopped. He pulled the ring from his pocket and slowly put it on the middle finger of his right hand. Suddenly everything change. His vision became foggy and his eyes burned. He fell to his knees and rubbed his eyes. When the burning was gone, Alex looked up to see a comforting sight. A large dark cave had that had once not been there, was now there. Alex stood up and walked through the cave. At first it was nothing but black, then something happened. He saw a light rush towards him. The next thing he knew, he was falling through the air. Far to his right was Castle Canterlot. Right below him was Ponyville. He was surrounded by a mixture of black flames and lightning, yet it did not shock or burn him. He fell to the ground at rapid speeds. The only thing the ponies below could see was an enormous fireball. They all screamed as it hit the ground.

Alex had landed in a crouch in a now large crater. The ground was smoldering around him. He stood up and ran to the wall of the crater and quickly climbed out. He stepped out of the crater and looked around at the small group of ponies that were brave enough to get closer. There eyes filled with glee and happiness at the sight of their king. They all rushed forward to greet him, talking all at once.

"Whoa, calm down everyone. Someone tell me what is going on!" Alex yelled over the mass of voices.

"Something terrible has happened, my king. Creatures of unknown origin have come and rampaged across our land. They killed anypony who resisted and captured the queen and the other three humans." one pony said, coming forward.

"Okay, tell me where these creatures are, I think it's about time I teach them not to mess with my subjects." Alex said, making the group smile collectively.

The pony told Alex that they were in Castle Canterlot. Alex thanked them for the information and told them to stand fast and hold on to hope, that their hero had arrived.

"Hmm, it seems the horseman has come. He will be here soon."

"We should send our legions after him, snuff out this fire of rebellion before it has a chance to spread."

"Fine, send a message to the men. They march to protect us. Send them now"

Alex ran up the mountain to Canterlot. He was just about there when his instincts made him hit the deck. He looked over at a nearby tree to see a glowing green arrow jutting from it. He looked around to try to find the source of the projectile, but only saw trees. Then, forms began to come out from the foliage. They were humans, or at least that's what they could have been. Each of them had a green aura around them. They all were wearing broken armor which also gave off an eerie green glow. Some had bows and arrows, while other's carried swords and battle axes, all of them glowing pale green as well.

"I'm assuming you all don't want to be friends." Alex said.

One of the monstrous soldiers roared.

"Didn't think so."

All of them rushed Alex at once. Alex grabbed one of them and smashed his fist into him, disarming him and ramming his sword through his chest. Alex could not get a head count of how many soldiers there were, but if he was to guess, he would have said about 100 or more.

One by one the soldiers fell, they were either decapitated or had a sword or knife jutting from their skulls. The last saw what was happening and tried to run. Alex gave chase by climbing one of the near by trees and chasing after him. Alex lept down and landed on the demon soldiers back, stealing his sword and ramming it through his armor and into his stomach.

"You know, I like this sword, this is a nice fucking sword." Alex said, ripping the sword from the monsters stomach. "Now tell me, where are your masters?" he asked.

"In the castle, up the hill there." the soldier said, pointing at Castle Canterlot.

"Ah, thats good. A friend of mine told me the same thing. I just wanted to make sure he was telling the truth. You can't trust a lot of people nowadays. You know, I'm a cautious guy, I just wanted to make sure." Alex said, standing up.

Alex took off the demon soldiers head and began to walk up to the front of the castle, still carrying the sword. Alex thought it was a nicely made weapon, not as good as his scythe of course, but his weapon was still locked up, and he could not access it. The first thing he would have to do, is find his wife.

Alex wandered through the halls of the castle, checking the other rooms for anything of interest. There were no Equestrian guards, but there were plenty of green soldiers. Alex tried to avoid them, using the rafters to climb about and find his way along the halls. Finally, he made his way to the throne room. He walked up to the guards, who held their weapons at him, ready to take his life.

"Look, I just want to talk to your masters, just have a friendly, one on one conversation. Is that okay?" Alex asked one of them.

One of the guards snarled at him, and Alex dispatched them quickly. He walked into the throne room to see it had changed.

Now, instead of one throne, there were four. On each one, sat a man. The first, had short brown hair and had piercing blue eyes. The other had short blonde hair and demonic red eyes. The third had had no hair and his eyes were solid black. The last one, the one in the center, had long black hair, and dull grey eyes. All of them were wearing black suits and ties.

"Ah, so the horseman has arrived." Said the one at the far left in a raspy voice. "Servant, find this man a seat. We must be respectful to our guest." he continued.

Alex heard the quiet scraping of a chair and clopping of hooves. He turned to see Celestia in a black maid outfit pushing a royal looking chair forward with her head. She pushed it forward right behind Alex, stopped, bowed to him and the four men and backed away. Alex took his seat, laying the bloody sword on the floor next to him.

"Would you like something to drink? You must be thirsty." Said the one on the center right, the one with short blonde hair.

"Um, yes. Thank you." Alex replied.

The man clapped his hands together twice and Twilight came walking up to the chair with a silver tray in her mouth which had a bottle of wine and a silver cup on it. She set the tray down carefully and used her magic to pour the wine into the bottle. Alex took the cup from her and took a sip. Alex had no idea what wine really tasted like. Alex thought it was good, but not the best thing he had ever had. Twilight bowed to him and the four men and backed away.

"Well, I have to ask, how long did it take you to take this castle. Last time I checked, it was pretty fortified." Alex said.

"It was simple, with our massive army, it was simple to take it." the one with the raspy voice and no hair said.

"Okay then, what are your names?" Alex asked.

The one with no hair and solid black eyes was Vulgrim. The one with the short blonde hair was Felix. The one with short brown hair was Ulthane. The last, the one in the center, and their leader, was Samael.

"Okay then, how many people here have you captured?"Alex asked.

"We have captured three of the four horsemen, the entire Equestrian guard, one unicorn, four alicorns, and a changeling." Samael said.

"I see, you said three of four, right?"

"That is correct."

"Well, let me put it like this," Alex said standing up and picking up the blade he had stolen that was now caked with dried blood. "I wont be easy to capture." He continued.

Alex lept forward, attempting to catch the men off guard. He swung the sword with all his might. He felt it connect with something. He expected to see the blade cutting through Samael's throat, but only saw him blocking the blade with his hand, a cold expression on his face. Alex lept back and tried to attack again. He was going to throw a punch and then slash with the sword while Samael was distracted. The next thing he knew, he was sprawled on his back. He looked up to see the four men standing. This was not going the way he expected.

"Come on, you're a horseman, I know you can do better." Vulgrim said. "You will, if you ever wish to see your queen alive again." he continued.

Vulgrim waved his hand and a cage appeared. Inside was Luna. Her legs were tied together and her wings were tied tightly to her body. She had a muzzle around her mouth that muted her cries for help. Alex, now on his hands and knees, could not help her. He bent his head down, anger rising in his soul. Black flame tattoos began spreading across his skin uncontrollably. His nails grew sharp and dug into the stone floor. His skin turned dark grey and he felt demonic wings grow from his black. His mind began to run rampant. His eyes and lips began to quiver and twitch. He saw visions of Chrystal in her dragon form. Then, he lost control altogether.

Alex appeared in front of Vulgrims face as quick as lightning. He grabbed his face and smashed his head into the ground. Felix pinned one of Alex's arms behind his back, and Alex whirled on him, slamming his fist into his gut. Alex lept off of Vulgrim and grabbed Ulthane, hedbutting him with all his might, sending him flying. Finally, only Samael was left standing, still wearing the same straight, almost dead expression. Alex rammed into him, pinning him to the ground and repeatedly punching him in the face. The skin on Alex's knuckles began to bleed and tried to heal but were only torn again. Finally he felt someone grab and pull him off of Samael. He tried to struggle free, trying to spread his wings and fly away, but soon he felt someone grab them. He felt immense pain and heard bones snapping. He was thrown through the air and smashed into a wall. He felt a huge clawed hand pick him up. He saw a demon in front of him with red skin and large black horns and enormous demon wings that seemed too big for his body. He looked around and each of the men looked similar.

"So, this is what you really look like." Alex said, struggling to keep his voice steady even though he was in terrible pain.

"We must say, you really put up a good fight, but this is where it ends horseman. Don't fret though, we will put you in a cell right next to your wife's, so you can stare into her pained eyes knowing you failed her." Ulthane said.

"Damn you." Alex muttered.

"Too late for that, human." Vulgrim said.

"I swear on my own life, I will rip you limb from limb, I will tear out your insides and force feed them to you!" Alex yelled through Samael's hand.

"Deeply sorry, but there will be no time for that." Samael said, smashing Alex's head against the wall until he his body went limp and turned human again.

"Oh dear god, what did they do to him?"

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god they killed him and they have thrown his corpse in here to send a message! Oh god were gonna die!"

"Darragh! Shut the hell up! Everything is goig to be fine. Look, he's still breathing."

"Luna, you saw it, what happened?"

"He tried to fight them, it looked like he was going to win for a while, then they transformed and knocked him out."

"Geez, well, at least he went down fighting."

"Mommy? Is Daddy going to be okay?"

"Don't worry, dear. Daddy will be just fine."

Alex could hear it all, and he was awake, but he could not bring himself to open his eyes. He had tried to save them, but failed. Now he was going to rot in this cell, watching his loved ones die. All of this hit Alex hard. He curled up into a ball and let tears fall from his eyes but not making a sound. Finally, the tears refused to fall. He shat up shakily and looked around.

"Oh good, he's awake." Erex said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"You okay, dude? From what we heard they beat you down pretty hard." Darragh asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alex said, turning away.

Alex was alone in his cell. To his left was his fellow horseman. To his right was his wife. Behind him, his son sat by the bars, looking over at him hopefully. In front of him was the changeling Dalton, who also gazed at Alex hopefully.

From what Alex could tell, he was in the dungeon. He could hear the quiet chatter of the Equestrian guard far off in all directions, but they were too far away and it was too dark to see them.

"So, what's the plan now that you're back? How are we going to get out of here?" Lucas asked Alex.

No response.

"Are we going to bust out and make a run for the Everfree forest? You would think that would be the safest place." Erex told Alex.

Still no response.

"Alex, come on buddy, it's okay. We can get out of this, we can escape!" Darragh said.

"Alex?" they all asked at once.

Still, no response.

"Ale-"

"Shut up, you fools! I'm trying to think!" Alex yelled.

Alex was looking intently at the floor of his cell, drawing out a map of the castle in the dust. He drew markers to show the possible exits and the location of the weapons, which he hoped Samael, Vulgrim, Felix and Ulthane had not found yet.

When he had the rough draft of a plan, he turned and looked at his wife, which he found staring at him.

"Luna, can I ask you something?" He said.

"Yes, of course. What is it?" she replied.

"I got knocked out when they first came, and I woke up back in the human world at my old house. My family just acted like nothing had happened, like I hadn't vanished or anything. Why is that?" He asked.

"Well, we needed time for you to recuperate from the concussion you got, so, under the cover of night, I took you back home and put a spell over your family that erased their memory of you vanishing and making many returns." Luna explained.

Alex stood up and immediately felt dizzy. He fell back to the ground, cursing his own body.

"Whoa, calm down there. You're still a little hazy from the fight. Just lay back and relax a little." Luna said.

Alex laid on his back. He tried to close his eyes but they refused to move. It seemed exhausting just to blink. Alex sat up and look around, trying to find out where exactly in the dungeon he was. He heard the sound of struggling and then a loud "umph". He turned to see Alexieus had squeezed through the bars and trotted over to him. Alex let him crawl up in his arms and curl up. He stroked his mane, wishing his son did not have to go through this. A child should not be exposed to such things. Alexieus stirred a little as Alex heard hoof-steps approaching his cell. He looked up to see Twilight, Celestia, and Cadence walk up, using magic to carry plates of food. They slid them through food slots in the cell bars on the floor. Once all the food was delivered, the three of them walked over and sat in front of Erex, Darragh, and Lucas. They were talking when two guards walked up and said the masters wanted them. One of them slapped Cadence on the flank as she walked by which made her yelp and Darragh look up in surprise. All he did was snigger.

"Wish that blue one was in one of them dresses, that would be a sight to see." one said.

"Say that again." Alex said, lifting Alexieus up and laying him down on the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I offend you, your majesty?" He said, walking up to the bars. "Can you repeat yourself, I didn't quite hear you." he continued.

The guards look of smugness quickly turned to surprise when Alex grabbed him by the collar of his armor through the bars.

"I said say that again, mother fucker!" Alex yelled.

The guard tried to pull away but the sudden burst of anger gave him an iron grip. His fellow ran up and tried to swing a punch at Alex, who dodged and grabbed the guard by the wrist. Alex violently yanked both arms back, slamming one of the guards into the bars face first and snapping the others arm at the elbow. They both yelled in pain and leaped away from the bars.

"You son of a-" One of them said but was stopped by a small roar.

They each looked down and saw Alexieus jump at them, his tiny wings fluttering to keep him airborne. He bit down hard on one of the guard's fingers. The guard yelled in pain and kicked the small alicorn off, sending him flying with such force that he popped back through the bars into his father outstretched arms. Alex bent down and looked at his son. Alexieus had a welp the size of a golfball on his head.

"You son of a bitch! You, and your bastard child will pay for this!" The guard with the broken arm yelled through clenched teeth.

Alex stood up, shaking with anger. His eyes were wide with anger and hate. He lept forward at the bars and crashed into them. The guards flinched as Alex slammed against the bars. Alex roared and pulled at the bars with all his might. The guards laughed at his attempt at first but stopped at the sound of metal snapping and hitting the ground. They each looked at each other and then at Alex, who calmly stepped through the bars. The two guards bent down in submission, holding up their arms in defense. Alex grabbed on of their heads and snapped it with such power and force that it turned 360 degrees. Alex grabbed the other guard by the head and began shocking him with as much black lightning as he could put out. When he had let out all he could, he shoved his thumbs into the guards eyes for good measure. Both the guards fell over, dead.

Alex bent down and grabbed the cell keys off one of them. He walked over to the horsemen and unlocked the door to their cell. He did the same for his cell, Dalton's cell, and his wife's cell.

"Take these, release the rest of the guard. When your done, meet me back here. We are going to get our weapons." Alex told them.

"Fuckin' A, man. I knew you could get us out." Lucas said.

Darragh took the keys and the three of them ran off. Alex turned to Luna.

"Sorry if I scared you, but I will not allow anything like that to happen to you, them hurting Alexieus just pushed me over the edge" Alex said.

Luna ran up to him and buried her face in his stomach.

"Alex, I love you with my entire heart. I don't care what you do, I will always love you." She said, tearing up.

Alex ran back to his cell and grabbed Alexieus, he was stirring a little and opened his eyes.

"Daddy?" He asked weakly.

"Shhh, don't say a word. Just rest, you've been through a lot." Alex said.

Alexieus closed his eyes again and began quietly snoring. Alex ran over to one of the guards and grabbed a backpack off one of them. He stuffed an old blanket in it and laid Alexieus inside. He put the flap over him and snapped it shut, but did not tighten it all the way. He carefully put the pack on and had adjusted it so Alexieus would not be awoken if he ran. Just about then, Darragh and the others came back with the entire Equestrian guard. One of them pushed forward. He had a scar across his eye.

"Hello, Wild Heart. Good to see you again." Alex said.

"It's good to see you as well." Wild Heart replied.

"Okay, you take the guard and go out the back way and run for the Everfree forest. There you will find the Changelings. Dalton will show you the way. Luna, you go with them too. Darragh, Erex, Lucas, you're with me." Alex said.

"Now way! I'm staying with you!" She said in protest.

"Honey, now is not the time to argue, just do as I say." Alex said.

Alex pushed her forward into the crowed and told them to keep her safe. They all ran off in one direction.

"Where are we going?" Erex asked.

"We are going to get our weapons. I would hate to see what would happen if they fell into the hands of Samael and his goons." Alex said.

The four of them ran off, running for the staircase that led down to where the weapons were held.

"Okay, what exactly happened while I was gone." Alex asked as they ran down the steps.

"Well, Samael and his friends landed and started causing chaos. They attacked everything in sight. Suddenly, their glowing green soldiers started coming out of the ground and doing the same. We rushed to help, fighting them with just basic weapons. We held them off but had to retreat. We fought them at the castle but finally had to give in." Darragh explained.

"I see, so you guys have some battlefield experience. That's good. We are one step closer to unlocking your full potential." Alex said.

"Full potential?" Erex asked.

"Yes. You have been horsemen ever since you were born. Because of that, you have latent power that is sealed inside you. You probably have seen proof of this and random points in your life. Like when you're being chased and you suddenly have the ability to run faster or fight harder. That is your latent power seeping up and showing itself. Normally, if we tried to unlock it through force, than your body would be ripped apart and you would die, normally causing a large explosion. Your full potential has to be unlocked by your own way. Trust me, when you need it most, it will happen." Alex explained.

"So, Alex, what does your full potential look like?" Lucas asked.

"Truth be told, I don't know. I have my demon form, but that won't be enough to fight them." Alex said.

The boys finally came up on the to the door that led to the armory. They ran through to find it untouched. They ran to the back to find the door holding their weapons. Alex unlocked the door and they opened it to find their weapons sitting there, just like they had left them. They each grabbed them and were just about to leave when Alex walked over to a chest off to the side of the room. He opened it and pulled out pieces of armor.

"Put these on, this is armor that has been specifically built for you. We found them with the weapons. Put it on quick, we have to get out of here." Alex said.

Each of the boys began to suit up. Alex's armor consisted of a solid black chest plate and shoulder plates, the one on the left larger than the other, a set of black and red bracers, and armored plates on his legs. The armor was protective but lightweight for quick movements and running. Erex's armor consisted of a red chest plate with a hood attached made of super strong cloth, bracers with skulls and spikes on them, and spiked greaves. Erex's armor was heavy, yet light. Darragh's armor consisted of only chest plates and leg plates that were red and silver. His armor had to be quick and flexible to be able to use his bow the best. Lucas's armor was similar to Darraghs, but had shoulder plates and was green and black. Each of the boys looked over themselves when they were done.

"Wow, this armor seems heavy but is fairly light." Erex said.

"I know, it's almost like I'm not wearing it at all." Darragh added.

"That's the point. This armor was built to be strong and light, though the two don't normally go together. I wish I could explain in further detail, but we really have to go." Alex said.

"Where to next, boss?" Erex asked.

"Where do you think?" Alex asked.

"Um, the Everfree forest?" Lucas asked.

Alex looked down at the floor and shook his head at the stupidity of his fellow horsemen.

"Who exactly have we not saved yet?" Alex asked.

"Dude! Quit with the fucking riddles and just tell us!" Erex yelled, getting impatient.

"We have to get Celestia, Cadence, and Twilight you insolent monkeys." Alex said, equally annoyed.

The boys looked at each other and each wanted to slap themselves for forgetting the other girls. Alex led them out of the dungeon and let them take the lead when it came to slashing open, shooting, and whacking the guards they met. They boys suddenly seemed stronger and more experienced. It's like the weapon's and armor's wisdom was seeping into them. Alex smiled at the thought of the three boys he once knew growing into men.

Finally they made it to the throne room. That was where the supposed "maids" were cleaning according to one of the guards what was not immediately stabbed, impaled, shot or sliced to pieces. They each listened as hard as they could and only heard three voices. They each sounded feminine and were saying things like "make sure to get over there" and "you missed a spot" and "I can't believe we have to do this crap". Alex kicked the door open and Celestia, Cadence, and Twilight each flinched, then came barreling at them at mach 1. Alex hit the deck as the girl launched over him and rammed into the boys saying things like "I knew you would save us" and "I'm so happy to see you again" and "What are you wearing".

When the girls calmed down, they all made a mad dash for the exit. They leaped in a carriage and shoved it down the mountain and rode is down occasionally flinching when they ran over a rock or when the carriage lurched. They finally stopped when the carriage flipped and crashed into a boulder.

"Woohoo! Let's do that again!" Erex said popping up from under a plank of wood.

"Let's not." Cadence said, stumbling a little and turning red when Darragh helped her get her balance back.

Alex led them into Ponyville and found it mostly empty. There were no guards, ponies, or anything. Not even any of the infamous green soldiers were to be seen. The little detail made it's way into the Everfree forest and finally came up to the Changeling horde and the population of Ponville. Soon the group was surrounded by both pony and changeling alike, welcoming them back. Alex pushed through the crowd and walked to one of the shacks that he knew belonged to Chrysalis. He entered to find her and Luna talking. Luna ran up to him and nuzzled him. Alex gave her a quick hug and pushed her back, taking his armor off and setting his scythe aside, setting down the backpack. He pulled Alexieus's little sleeping body out of it and explained to Chrysalis what had happened. She went over and pulled out a bottle of red fluid and fed it to Alexieus, who woke up with a cough.

"He has suffered a major concussion. The medicine I gave him should ease the pain and swelling. The only thing I suggest now it plenty of rest and sleep. He should feel better in a few days." Chrysalis explained.

Alex held his son in his arms and carried him over to a couch where he laid him down and told him to rest. He thanked Chrysalis for the help. He then walked out and found the boys in a swarm of bodies.

"Hey, boys, take your armor off and relax a little. We won't be staying for long. Rest a little, because tonight we strike back."

Each of the boys found their way to a place where they could relax after the excitement died down. Erex found himself on a large rock not far from the clearing. Lucas was in a hut in the clearing by himself taking a nap. Darragh was in a tree looking around, taking in the beauty of the forest in the evening. Alex was a good ways away from the clearing, looking over the side of a cliff over a large area with a river cutting through it. High places always seemed to calm his nerves. The reason he was so scared was that he would be leading an army of four against demons and their legion of green glowing soldiers. Alex had already lost to them once, and he would make sure it would not happen again. He turned when he heard hoofsteps to find his wife and Chrysalis joining him.

"Alex, we have to talk." Luna said.

"Okay, I'm open." Alex replied.

"Me and Chrysalis have been catching up, and she has told me some things, some things that I am offended by. It's about your PTSD." Luna said.

"Wow, Chrysalis. Nark much?" Alex asked.

"This is not her fault. She cares about you too. The reason why I am offended is that you didn't come to me first about this." Luna said, walking up to him and making him take a step back.

"Look, Luna, you may not notice it, but I see the way you sleep. I can tell that you're always waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, I know how much sleep you're missing. I just didn't want my little issues concerning you." Alex said, taking one step away from the edge of the cliff.

"Alex, I'm your wife, I'm supposed to be concerned about your problems, just like your supposed to be concerned about mine." Luna said.

"I know. Well, now that we are being a little open about things, there is something I have to tell you." Alex said.

"What is it?" Luna asked.

Alex glanced past Luna at Chrysalis. She understood and left them.

"Tomorrow is a big day, I know you're ready for it, but I just wanted you to know that there could be a chance that I won't come back. There is one thing I must ask of you. No matter how long me and the boys are there, no matter how many days pass, you and the girls must not come after us." Alex said.

"What!? That's madness! I am the queen and have the right to go looking for my king if I please!" Luna yelled angrily.

Alex looked down at the ground and put his hands on Luna's shoulders.

"L-Luna. P-P-Please-" He said but trailed off.

"Alex, is everything alright?" Luna asked, trying to look at his face.

Luna could see the faint shimmer of tears rolling down her husband's face.

"Luna, please. If I die, and you come looking for me, you could fall too. I will not have Alexieus living without his parents." Alex said, regaining his composure.

Luna bent down and licked the tears away from Alex's eyes.

"Please don't cry, my love. I have the faith in you that you will win this." Luna said.

"Okay, look after our son while I am gone. But first, I think we have to start casting some magic." Alex said, straightening up.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"What is a horseman without his horse?" Alex asked.

Alex lead his wife back to the clearing where he called for the boys. Darragh was the first to show up, stumbling out of the trees like he had fallen out of one. Erex walked in a little after Darragh did, and Lucas came out after a little while of stretching and yawning.

"Okay, now where are the girls?" Alex asked, looking around.

"I'll go get them." Luna said, walking off.

"Okay, so what's going on? Are we leaving now?" Lucas asked, yawning again.

"No, today the four us will be making the bond with our partner." Alex said.

Alex bent down and grabbed a long stick and began to draw a large symbol in the ground. First he drew and triangle and a square inside of it. He scribbled some symbols in a circle around the shape and the girls arrived when he was done.

"What's all this?" Celestia asked examining the symbol in the dirt.

"This is the symbol to connect the horseman to his horse." Alex said.

"Wait, what?" Celestia asked.

"I don't mean actually connected. I mean connected as in their minds will be connected and such." Alex explained. "So, who's first?" Alex continued.

Darragh volunteered to go first. Cadence and him walked into the circle and looked around, expecting something to happen.

"What now?" Cadence asked.

"Okay, I'm gonna need Erex and Lucas to find a point in that triangle and stand on it." Alex said.

Erex and Lucas stood at the two bottom points while Alex stood at the top. They were ready to begin.

"Now what do we do?" Darragh asked.

"I need you to kiss her." Alex said simply.

Darragh and Cadence looked at Alex in surprise. Cadence blushed and Darragh just stood there.

"Um, come on you two, we don't have all night." Alex said.

"Well, um, I'm not sure if I can-" Darragh said but was interrupted by Erex.

"Hurry up already, lets get this done and dusted." Erex said.

Darragh looked at Cadence who was already sitting on the ground looking up at him. Darragh glanced around one last time and bent in and kissed her. Alex said something in some strange forgotten language and the circle began to glow gold. One enormous flash of light later, and Darragh was staring up at a larger version of Cadence. She was in full pink and red body armor and was at least double her normal size, if not triple.

"They grow up so fast." Celestia said mockingly. "Oh my, your flank got bigger too." Celestia said even more mockingly than before.

Cadence glanced behind her and then at the ground. It was true, it was bigger.

"Don't say anything yet, Celestia. You're up next." Alex said.

Cadence had never really liked Alex, but this one little assist had made her at least look at him as someone that did not make her want to throw up the minute she saw him.

Erex walked in the circle and Darragh took his position where Erex was standing.

"Okay, lets get this started-" Erex said but was jumped by Celestia who knocked him to the ground and jumped onto him, kissing him passionately. Alex repeated the ancient words again and this time the circle glew white.

When the flash of light was gone, Erex felt like he had about 1000 pounds sitting on his stomach. A larger version of Celestia was looking down at him talking about something but Erex could not focus because his guts felt like they were being squeezed out of his ass.

"Hey, Celestia. You want your new found horseman to die?" Alex asked.

"No! Of course not!" Celestia said.

"Then would you kindly stand up and get off of him?" Alex asked.

Celestia looked down at her partners face which was now turning red and blue. She quickly stood up and back off of him. Erex gasped in air and laid there, panting for a minute or so. When he got his strength back and his organs back in place he stood up and walked over to Luke's spot as Lucas walked in the circle with Twilight.

Twilight was looking around bashfully when Luke bent down and kissed her. The whole process repeated with a flash of purple light. This time Twilight was on the ground, blushing up a storm and stuttering something none of the other could hear. Twilight looked smaller than the other so far, but that was not much of a surprise.

Finally it was Alex's turn. Luna and him walked into the circle. Luna sat down and looked right at her husband. Alex kissed her like he had so many times before. Lucas mumbled something that sounded like what Alex said and the two of them were surrounded by jet black light. When the darkness vanished, Alex was sitting atop Luna, looking like he was ready to ride into battle.

"Okay everyone, armor up. We have some demons to kill." Alex said.

The boys ran off and put their armor on quickly, grabbing their weapons as well. Alex did the same. When they came back the girls were ready to go. Each of them had their own armor. The girls wanted nothing more than for the boys to stay with them and stay out of danger, and the boys wanted nothing but demon blood to spill. They were ready.

"Okay, the spell connected you to your partner, which means your ability to use magic should have been activated too. Try it out." Alex said.

Erex concentrated as hard as he could and white hot fire burst from his hands, lighting up the now dark forest with light. Erex looked at his hands in wonder, amazed at what he saw. Darragh did the same and he felt his eyes change. He was able to see in the dark and he seemed to be able to focus on things better. He aimed his bow at a tree and pulled the magic string. He let a magic arrow fly and it hit the tree dead center. He also leaped to the side and ran around a little bit at incredible speeds. Lucas focused and his hands glowed with gold and purple light. He held his hand up and a blast of energy shot from his hands and shattered a nearby boulder. They each looked at each other, they were definitely ready.

Each oth the horsemen mounted their horse and quickly took off into the forest. They rode through the forest at full gallop, even the girls were surprised by their own speed. They bursted out of the forest and into Ponyville. Some green guards attacked them and they were knocked aside with ease. Nothing could stop a horseman while him and his ride were together. They galloped through town and began their climb up the mountain. They looked at Canterlot and it had changed. Instead of there being one castle, it looked like one big castle with three extra parts built on to it. At the front of it was a sign that pointed in different directions. The entire place looked dark and morbid.

"Okay boys, end of the line. This is where this ends." Alex said, jumping down from his mount.

"Wow, this place has changed." Erex said.

"What have they done to my precious palace?" Celestia asked, almost angry.

"I don't know, but they won't be alive much longer. After the fight we can work on fixing it." Alex said.

"Boys, we wish you all the luck in the world. Come back to us alive, please?" Cadence said.

"Don't worry, we won't die. I believe in us. We're ready." Alex said.

Each of the boys said their final goodbyes and began the trek to the castle. The girls turned back, though they wanted to stay more than anything.

"Well would you look at this." Darragh said, pointing at the sign in front of the castle. "They went and told us where to find them." He continued.

It was true, the sign did point to where each demon was residing. It seemed Ulthane was on the far left, while Felix was on the far right. Vulgrim was on the inner left and Samael was in the center, the original castle.

"We will have to split up. Darragh, you take Ulthane. Lucas, you take Felix. Erex, you take Vulgrim. Samael is mine." Alex said.

The boys agreed and went their separate ways. Each of them entered, walking to meet the dark and evil that awaited them.

Lucas crept through the corridors of Felix's wing of the castle. The entire place seemed morbid, spiderwebs were everywhere. Some of them still had spiders in them.

"Damn, I fucking hate spiders." He said holding the Spear of Humanity up and parting some webs out of his way.

"Awww, that's too bad." A voice said right behind him.

Lucas spun around and was just in time to dodge a swipe at his face from an abnormally large leg. A rather, arachnid looking one.

"Holy shit snacks." Lucas whispered to himself at the sight before him.

In front of him, was the largest looking spider he could have ever seen. Its body was large and black with a white skull on it. It had six solid black eyes and hugs fangs in its mouth.

"I mean, it's hard for you to be at ease when you're in the house of spiders." The giant spider spoke. "But allow me to introduce myself. I am Warrak." The spider continued.

"Uh, I'm Lucas. Pleasure to meet you." Lucas said, backing up a few steps and holding his weapon up.

"Ah, the Spear of Humanity. You must be the one master Felix was speaking of. It is a pleasure to meet one of the Four." The spider said, bowing.

"So, are you here to dispose of me, arachnid? Here to stop me before I can get to your master?" Lucas asked, tensing up.

"I actually wished that it would not come to this, but you don't seem like the one to die easily, so I guess I will take care of you myself. It really is a shame that your friends will have nothing to remember you by. I mean, how could I deny my children fresh meat when it just comes up on a silver platter?" Warrak said, his six eyes looking up.

Lucas looked up to see smaller spiders crawling down from the roof. He shuddered at the sight of them.

"Goodbye, horseman. It was a pleasure knowing you." Warrak said as each of the other spider leaped on Lucas.

All that could be seen was a large pile a squirming arachnids, the snapping of fangs echoing over the sound of scraping spider legs on the stone floor. But the sound was soon ceased. Lucas did the only thing he could think of. He spun around as fast as possible, throwing the spiders in every direction. Some smashed into the walls, landing on the ground on their backs, dead. Some landed in webs and crawled back down to resume the murder. Sadly, Lucas was waiting for them.

Lucas leaped around them, ramming the tip of his spear into both heads and abdomens. Spider guts were spewing everywhere. Finally the only one left had seven of its legs torn off and was trying to crawl away, but was stopped when it was impaled on Lucas's spear.

"I am impressed, Horseman. Not many could survive a spider horde. I guess I will be able to eat you myself." Warrak said, beginning to crawl towards Lucas. "And I will not be so easily killed."

Warrak leaped at Lucas, mouth and fangs at the ready to eat some tasty flesh, but something else came to meet him. Lucas was able to figure out the situation before hand, and rammed the spear into Warrak's open mouth, impaling him.

"What is this madness?" Warrak asked, confused.

"You got cocky and let your guard down. Now die." Lucas said as he channeled a blast of energy through the tip of his spear, ripping the spider's body to shreds. Blood and guts were thrown everywhere.

"Ew ew ew ew ew! God damnit, I hate spiders!" Lucas yelled, shuddering.

Lucas slowly walked away from the horde of now dead spiders trying to wipe off some of the sticky blood and spider-gore from his face and body with some bundled up spider webs. He got most of it off, enough for him to stop shuddering. He walked among the halls, having no real idea where he should go. Minutes turned into hours as Lucas searched for Felix.

"Damn, I hope the guy's haven't left without me. God where is this moron hiding?" Lucas asked angrily, his eyes darting around the identical looking hallways. "I swear, if this damn throne room is not around this corner, then I'm gonna fucking- Oh, it is here." He continued, turning a corner and finding the entrance to where Felix would be.

The doors were large and made of wood. The entire thing was covered in spiderwebs and had engravings of both spiders and tarantulas. In front of the door was a sleeping tarantula. A huge one. A chain was attached to it, Lucas guessed it was to keep it from wandering off. Lucas was just about to ram the tip of his spear through its head and had already picked the next bit of cobwebs to wipe the blood off him when the beast opened one of it's eyes.

Lucas leaped back, holding his spear up in defense. The arachnid yawned and stretched its legs, looking around lazily until all of its eyes focused on Lucas.

"Huh, so it was your presence that awoke me." The spider spoke in a very deep, old tone.

"Um, yeah. That would be me." Lucas replied.

"Hmm, by the looks of you, I would say that you are a warrior. A very powerful one at that. I have heard chatter among the others that there was a horseman moving about. You must be him." The tarantula said, giving another yawn.

"Yeah, and let me guess, you're going to try and stop me from getting to Felix." Lucas said, tensing up.

The spider let out an old and almost dusty laugh.

"I do not wish to stop you, child. I will actually let you through." He said.

Lucas froze, confused.

"You seem confused, let me explain. I have been Lord Felix's servant for a very long time. I have grown old and tired and wish to leave my post, but Felix will not let me. I was wondering if you could challenge him, and if you defeat him, you could set me free, and I could live the rest of my life in peace." The old spider said.

The spider reached under him and pulled out a vial of green liquid.

"Take this with you. Felix's weapons are dipped in a very toxic poison. This is potion used to counteract the effect of the poison." The spider said.

"So, I drink this and I'll be immune to whatever poison this guy will be using?" Lucas asked, taking the potion with a shaky hand.

"Not exactly. It is mainly to delay the effect. It could completely erase the effects if you get a small bit of it in your blood, but it will only delay the effect if it is large dose of the poison." The spider continued.

"What is the effect of the poison?" Lucas asked.

"Nagging pain in small doses, immense in larger doses. If you get too much of it in you, the pain will fade, then you will begin to hallucinate. You will then go comatose, then the poison will stop your heart." The arachnid explained.

"I see. Should I take this before the fight?" Lucas asked.

"That is what I would suggest." The tarantula replied.

Lucas looked down at the vile and popped the cork out. He sniffed the liquid and could not smell anything. He downed the potion and tasted nothing.

"Dude, what was in this? I at least expected it to have a taste." Lucas said.

"I added some extra ingredients to dull the taste. The potion is actually quite appalling." The spider said.

"Okay, well, thanks for the help. I promise the second I finish this fight I will come back out here and snap that chain of yours." Lucas said.

The tarantula nodded and moved out of the way. Lucas cleared some of the web out of the way and pushed the doors open.

"Well well well. Look at what we have here. One of the Four has graced me in my humble abode. Welcome, Horseman, welcome! Sit back, make yourself at home. You will be staying here for a while." Felix said on his throne made of stone and spider webs. The doors closed behind Lucas.

"Sorry, but I will be leaving here soon. You, on the other hand, will not. This is your grave Felix. This is where you die!" Lucas said, holding up his spear for effect.

"Ha, such confidence. It will get you nowhere." Felix spoke.

Felix stood up. His human form began to change. His bones began to pop out of place and reform. Demonic wings spread from his back. His skin turned blue and yellow. Large blue horns came out of his forehead.

"Gaze in fear, as my true form comes lose to tear you limb from limb!" Felix said, leaping forward.

Lucas acted quick, faster than he thought he could. He leaped out of the way just before Felix rammed his fist into the ground, leaving a small crater in it. Lucas tried to jab at Felix's ribs with his spear, but Felix was already prepared.

Two gauntlets appeared on his fists, bearing gems that looked like spider eyes and blades that looked like fangs. Felix lashed out at Lucas, who lept out of the way as fast as he could, nearly getting ripped open by the blades. From time to time, Lucas could see a drop of purple liquid drop from the blades. That must be the poison.

"So, it seems you are using poison. Not very fair in my opinion." Lucas said, stopping the fight with talk to give him a chance to rest.

"I would not say it is that unfair. It took me a very long time to come up with this poison. I even had help from Lord Samael. This poison is so deadly it could kill you before you could get anywhere." Felix said, examining the bladed gauntletts.

"You know, I gotta ask. Why spiders? You seem to have a mindset based on them." Lucas said to extend the conversation.

"I have always found arachnids to be fascinating creatures. It makes me sad to see such perfect beings being mistreated in such ways as being squashed and poisoned by both humans and ponies alike. I joined Lord Samael so that I could create a place for them to live the way they were intended to." Felix explained.

"Wow, you really like them. I suggest you don't go looking through the halls though, cause I sort of redecorated some of the walls with spider gore. Sorry." Lucas said, taking a step back.

"You would dare harm my children? You shall pay! I will have your head as a trophy, Horseman!" Felix said, leaping forward as quick as a spider leaping from one branch to another.

Felix lashed out at Lucas, but this time Lucas was not fast enough. One of the blades caught him on the arm and left a small gash in an uncovered part of his skin.

At first Lucas almost freaked out, but then he remember the potion the tarantula had given him. Though, just to be safe, he scratched at the wound to open it up a little to let the blood flow.

"Hmm, smart move. Letting the blood flow lets some of the poison out. I am impressed." Felix said with a smirk.

"Yeah, you pick up some stuff in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps." Lucas said, remembering his days in NJROTC.

"Well, I will make sure to send them my regards, and maybe your finger as well." Felix said in a menacing tone.

The fight started again. Lucas could feel a little bit of pain in his wounded arm, but the pain came and went, so he didn't think the poison was taking effect. But soon he began to become overwhelmed. Felix left no room to make an attack and was able to move so fast that Lucas could barely keep up.

Felix was making progress. He started making small wounds in separations in Lucas's armor and not giving him the time to scratch them open. Lucas began to feel the effect of the poison. Nagging pain was in his legs and arms from the cuts. His movements began to get slower, which led to more cuts. Finally, Lucas sent a blast of energy under him which sent him rocketing away from Felix. He landed on a wooden beam above them.

"Damn, you really are light on your feet." Lucas said, trying to catch his breath which eluded him.

"Thank you, I have always been fast. But being up there won't save you." Felix said.

Before Lucas could react, Felix had spread his leathery wings and shot up at him. Before Lucas could react, Felix rammed one of the gauntlet blades in an opening in Lucas's armor, driving the blade into his ribs.

Lucas coughed up blood and grabbed Felix by the wrist. Felix only smiled and flung Lucas from the beam. Lucas hit the ground and skidded to a stop, small bits of his armor falling off in the process. He tried to get up but could barely move. He could feel the horrible pain and it almost seemed too much. He tried to keep the blood down but his right lung was filling up with blood, and running on one good lung would not work forever.

"Poor, poor, Lucas. I really wish this fight could have lasted longer, but it does not seem like you will be living for much longer. I think the blood loss will kill you before the poison does, so be happy that your death may be less harsh." Felix said, landing not far from him.

"I'm gonna kill you for this." Lucas said. The words were barely able to come out without Lucas gasping for breath.

"Oh dear, I really wish you could have, but I seem to be the better opponent. Goodbye, Lucas. My children will be feasting tonight." Felix said, turning away.

Lucas could feel the pain start to flow out of him. Next his vision got all blurry. He looked around and he could see that he was in the ROTC room again. He could see everyone laughing at him. This was the time he had tried to spin a rifle and it had come crashing down on his head. He could see some of the cadets smirking and some laughing, others taking pity and some not caring at all. Then he looked over to see the girl of his dreams looking at him, smirking and trying to hide the fact she was laughing. These memories began to bring up bad blood. Old feelings of hate and rage began to boil in whatever blood Lucas had left, but there was something different. A new feeling had found it's way into Lucas's soul. Bloodlust. Bloodlust was the only thing missing that kept him from bashing each of the laughing cadet's heads in. Now it was here, and he had the chance. He picked up the rifle and rushed the kid in front of him. Suddenly the vision faded and instead of holding the rifle, he was holding his spear. The kid he was rushing had turned into Felix. With one movement, Lucas stopped on a dime and thrust the Spear of Humanity forward as hard as he could, the tip ramming through Felix's back and out the front of his chest.

"What the hell?" Felix asked, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Surprise mothafucka." Lucas said, having to suck in more air just to speak.

"No, this cannot be. I can't die here!" Felix yelled in rebellion.

"Too late. Now be a good demon and die!" Lucas said, channeling a huge amount of magical energy and blasting it through Felix.

Felix hit the ground hard, a huge hole through his chest. Lucas looked down at him, barely able to stand. His vision was getting blurry. The room flashed from being the throne room to being a classroom with thirty or so dead cadets on the ground with bloody heads.

"And with that, goodnight." Lucas said. Then he collapsed.

Darragh crept along the path. The path was running down the center of Ulthane's wing of the castle. The entire place looked like a power plant. Large electric generators were placed all over the place. Electricity sparked from time to time, making the hairs on his arms stand on edge. His eyes flicked from side to side, looking and waiting for something to happen.

"Okay, where are you." Darragh mumbled as his hair began to stand on edge.

"Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."

Darragh was just able to jump out of the way before a flash of electricity struck the ground near him. His eyes darted around the area, his ears ringing from the blast. His eyes finally settled on his target, Ulthane.

"Not wanting to hide much, are you?" Darragh said.

"I consider myself above hiding. My brothers would rather hide and set up traps to stop the people that wish to kill them. I, on the other hand, prefer a more upfront approach." He said.

"I agree. Why hide when you're strong enough to take your enemy out head on?" Darragh replied.

"I like the way you think, boy. If I wasn't trying to kill you, I would have taken you on as my apprentice." Ulthane said.

Before Darragh had a chance to respond, Ulthane leapt at him wielding a giant hammer. One side was blunt and hard, while the other was an axe blade, sharp and destructive. The blade looked like it had not been cleaned in a while, blood was caked on both ends. Skulls were tied to the handle.

It was not much effort for Darragh to leap away from Ulthane's heavy attacks. Ulthane was slow, even is his demon form, which was large and red. His entire body looked like it would barely move because of how muscular Ulthane was. It actually seemed like his body kept trying to tear itself apart.

Ulthane's attacks did not seem very coordinated. He wildly swung left and right, smashing his hammer against anything and almost everything. The only thing Darragh had to really watch out for was the flying shards of metal from all of the devices Ulthane was obliterating.

Darragh was able to land a few good arrow strikes on him. Soon arrows were sticking out of Ulthane's shoulders and back. A few were in his chest as well. For some strange reason though, Ulthane did not seem to notice them.

"God damn, how many times am I going to have to shoot you before you notice the now 36 magic arrows you now have in your body?" Darragh asked, getting annoyed.

"Oh you mean these little pinpricks? Come on, I've felt bug bites that hurt more than this." Ulthane boasted.

Darragh was mad now. Ulthane did not seem like he was even trying to make an effort. Then he had an idea.

Darragh pulled the string of his weapon as far back as it would go. He started pumping as much energy into as he possibly could. Soon he began to feel weak. His knees began to buckle, but he just kept on going.

Darragh could feel his weapon begin to hum. It began to vibrate with all the power. Darragh focused in on Ulthane. Then he released the arrow.

A huge magic arrow that was blue and black shot forth from the bow that it almost knocked Darragh back. It shot with such speed that Ulthane could not believe his eyes. The arrow looked like it hit its target, exploding in a sea of red, blue and black.

"Ha, try not feeling that, bitch." Darragh said, letting out a sigh of relief. The fight was over.

Or was it?

"Nice shot, lad. I didn't think you had it in you." Darragh heard from the dust.

With one large burst of wind, Ulthane cleared away the dust and fire, revealing himself. His body was scratched and burned, but the most frightening wound was a large chunk of his right shoulder and his entire right wing were gone.

"I haven't felt pain like this in forever. It looks like you took off my right wing. Maybe it's time for a little payback." Ulthane added.

He ran forward. Darragh tried to turn and run but his body was too weak. Ulthan grabbed him by his left arm. He smashed him to the ground. With one foot holding him in place and one hand grabbing his left arm, Ulthane pulled with all his might.

Darragh screamed in pain as he felt his entire left arm rip off at the shoulder as if it was made of paper. Darragh looked down and groaned at the sight of the now bloody stump.

"Haha, arm for a wing I always say." Ulthane said, tossing the limp limb aside.

"Damn you, you worthless pig." Darragh was just barely able to say.

"Too late for that, lad. But it seems its your turn to be damned." Ulthane said, laughing with glee. "I mean look at you, without your left arm you can't pull another one of those super arrows. It also seems you'll be missing your left ring finger. Aww, poor Darragh, never will be married. This will be bad news for that little pink pony of yours. She used to speak so fondly of you." Ulthan continued.

"You say that now, but I don't need an arm to kill you." Darragh said.

"And how do you think you will still be able to do this?"

"Because I have hope. And I can feel my friends cheering me on, even if they aren't here! Today you and I may die, but tonight, WE BOTH BURN IN HELL!" Darragh yelled.

Darragh charged forward, slamming into Ulthane with all his strength. Ulthan stumbled backward. Darragh held the bow in his right arm, grabbed the string with his teeth, and pulled back with all his might. He felt the bow hum and vibrate again. He felt things begin to grow dark. He let go of the string as he fell to the ground.

The arrow flew forward, ramming straight into Ulthane's chest, ripping him into pieces in the explosion. Blood began to rain down.

Darragh looked around, just barely able to stand. He finally fell forward.

"Cadence, I love you. Please forgive me." He said, as his eyes closed.

Erex walked along the halls casually. He let his arms hang at his side and was casually poking his head in the occasional door that came along.

"Hello? Anybody home?" He said as he popped his head into another door.

When nobody responded, he closed the door and kept on walking. His sword was attached to his back. Erex could barely feel it there, his armor was very strong. There was just one small problem. Under all the metal and cloth, it was hotter than hell.

"Come on, where is this dickless wonder. I need to find him so I can kill him and get all this crap off." Erex mumbled, readjusting his arms to try and get some air flow.

Erex kept walking along the halls, bored out of his mind. He swung his sword from side to side, making large marks on the walls. On a few occasions, he carved his name into the walls.

"That'll teach him to hide from me."

After about the third time of defacing the walls, Erex heard the click of high heels on the stone floors. He turned to see a woman walk out of the darkness. Her hair was white, the whites of her eyes were black and her pupils were red. She wore a skimpy grey dress. Her skin was dark grey and her breasts were huge. She wore a devilishly seductive look on her face.

"Well hello there, it looks like I finally found a living creature here." Erex said.

"Good for me too, I was lonely and looking for a playmate when I came across you." She said. Her voice was a sweet as honey.

"Well, um, I might be right for the job." Erex said awkwardly as she walked right up to him.

"You seem like it. Strong, big sword, not bad looking. I think you would be the perfect husband." She said.

"Um, what?" Erex said, concern creeping up inside him.

"There is just one small problem. My daddy won't let me marry anyone, especially the horseman." She added.

Erex eyes shot open wide and he looked straight down at her.

"Who is your father?"

"He is the man that built this place, Vulgrim." She answered.

Erex quickly took one step back and took a look around. He had seen this in movies before. Guy hits on daughter, guy ends up dead when the father finds out.

"But, I guess if you were able to beat him, things might be different." The girl said, keeping just as close to him.

"What is your name?" Erex asked, still trying to step back.

"Ariel, and yours, horseman?" Ariel replied.

"Um, Erex."

"Good, I'm going to take you to my father. Maybe this can all be surpassed and we can have a good life together." Ariel said, grabbing Erex by the hand and dragging him after her.

Ariel dragged Erex along an endless hallway, which ended at a dead end. She promptly turned around and began to lead him back, but this time taking a left at the intersection of four different halls instead of a left.

"You know where you're going, right?" Erex asked after an hour.

"Of course I do! I live here!" She said, annoyed.

"Really, cause we passed what looked like the throne room like six times already." Erex said, beginning to think this bubbly ditz was just wasting his time.

"I know! I just wanted to have some more time with you just incase my dad turned you into a bloody grease stain on the floor." She said, probably even more annoyed.

"Um, okay then. I'm just going to head along then." Erex said, pulling away from the girl and walking along back towards the throne room.

Erex could hear her behind him, hyperly keeping up with him in her high heels. After another twenty minutes of walking they finally made it.

Instead of doing the nice thing to his now possible girlfriends father and politely knocking on the door, Erex did the thing that seemed more sensible to him, and kicked the door down with all his might.

"Ah, there you are, Horseman. I knew you would be along soon." Vulgrim said in his snake like tone.

"Yes, I would have come earlier, but your daughter decided to give me the grand tour of this place. Did you know there is over 600 doors in this place?" Erex asked, ready to get the violent murder started.

"My daughter? What have you done with her!" Vulgrim replied, rage rising in his tone.

"Whoa, calm down buddy, she's fine." Erex assured him.

"Hi, Daddy." Erex heard Ariel say behind him.

"She, she is perfectly fine." Erex said

"Yes father, and I plan to marry him!" Ariel spoke excitedly.

"WHAT!?" Vulgrim almost screamed.

"Here we go." Erex said, pulling out his sword.

"That is it, Horseman. You have angered me to know end. Today you shall die-" Vulgrim said but was cut off.

Erex had taken the time to rush forward and thrust his blade with all his might. Vulgrim just had enough time to evade the attack. Vulgrim leapt to the side, his demon form like all the others except thinner and quicker.

"You move well." Erex said, his sword embedded in Vulgrim's throne.

"My speed has brought me great fortune. It has kept me alive in the worst of times." Vulgrim replied.

"It may not be good enough, because I plan on hacking your head off and keeping it as a trophy." Erex said, pulling his sword free.

"Yes, my love! Fight and beat him!" Ariel said with her same hyper tone.

Erex groaned, knowing that she was going to be an obstinate distraction. Vulgrim was now barreling at him, rage still in his heart. Erex ducked as Vulgrim swiped his demon claws at him and brought his sword in an upward swing. Vulgrim got clipped on the side by the attack.

For some odd reason, Erex thought this fight was going a little too easy. Vulgrim was taking damage left and right. Then he realised why. His daughter was distracting him. Erex began to see this all and formed a plan. Vulgrim was using mostly magic, firing balls of fire and beams of energy as attacks. All he had to do was redirect one in Ariel's direction and that would allow him to execute a killing blow.

Finally the time had come. Vulgrim fired a blast of energy at him, which Erex deflected with ease. The blast went sailing straight at Ariel.

A scream could barely be heard over the explosion. Vulgrim's eyes quickly darted to the right, looking at the smoldering hole his daughter was in.

"ARIEL!" He screamed, rushing to her side.

Erex quickly took a break and began walking over to him. Vulgrim was holding his daughter's limp body in his arms.

"Ariel, Ariel baby please stay with me, please don't die, don't die." Vulgrim said, tears forming in his eyes.

Ariel took one small glance up at her father, then stopped breathing. She was dead. Vulgrim began to sob with sorrow. Erex had raised his sword, ready to end this, when Vulgrim spoke.

"Horseman, I know that I was too weak to win this battle, but I fought to win only because of my daughter. Now that she is gone, I no longer have a reason for living. Please kill me. I want to be with her." Vulgrim said.

Erex looked down, pity and pain seeping into his soul. He closed his eyes and brought the sword down on Vulgrim's neck. Erex could not make himself look. All he heard was metal cutting skin and a large thud. Erex quickly put his sword back on his back and did not open his eyes till he walked out of the throne room. He had to find Alex.

Alex stayed behind as Erex, Darragh, and Lucas vanished towards their target buildings. Each of them were so excited to get the killing started. Alex, on the other hand, was not so enthusiastic. He had never really liked killing very much, the thought of robbing another living, thinking being of its life always weighed heavy on him. Even killing Chrystal, the first leader of Equestria, was a hard thing to do.

"Well, Alex. This is the end. I think it's time to kill again." Alex said with a small shudder.

Alex was just about to take a step forward when he heard his name.

"Alex! Wait!" Luna yelled as she ran up behind him.

"Luna, I thought I told you to go back with the others. This is no place for you." Alex told her.

"Alex, it's about what you said. You don't have to do this. We can go back to the human world, live with the others, we could be one big happy family!" Luna said.

"Luna, you know I can't do that. I can't just abandon this place." Alex said trying to keep his voice level.

"Please, please don't do this! The first time you were killed I wanted to die with you! I was so happy when you came back to me that night! I don't want you leaving me again!" Luna yelled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I know this is hard for you to swallow, but it has to be done. All of this is unavoidable. If we run, they will just come after us." Alex told her, turning from her.

"I can't believe you're doing this. You would throw your life away without thinking about those who love you!" Luna yelled, sadness replaced with anger and frustration.

"Don't worry, I promise I will come out of this alive, even if I have to drag myself out using my own spine." Alex said, running forward as fast as he could, bursting through the front doors and allowing them to close behind him.

Luna looked down at the ground. Tears were coming out of her eyes like rivers.

"Alex…. I HATE YOU!" She screamed at the top of her lungs and sprinted off away from the castle.

Alex was back. The original castle was not changed very much. The only real difference was that everything looked darker and more solom.

As he began to walk through to the castle, his brain began to burn. At first he thought he thought this was Aroc coming back to say some words of wisdom but then he remembered. Alex had released Aroc's soul but had kept his power.

The head ache grew worse. Alex grabbed his head in agony, then he looked up. He began to hallucinate things, past memories. The first one was the first time he ever walked into the castle. He saw guards standing at their posts. Then they were gone, replaced by panicked looking ponies running carrying sacks of paper on their backs. One of the papers came out and landed on Alex's foot. He looked down and saw that it was one of the missing posters Luna had made when he vanished that one night.

Finally the strangest vision came out. This was something Alex had not exactly seen. The vision was of Luna, her head under her hoofs. She was crying her eyes out. Alex quickly ran forward to be by her side but she was gone before he got there.

"Damn, it's getting worse. Instead of just nightmares, it's visions now. I have to get this done and get out as fast as I can." Alex said.

Alex did not have to look far. He knew the castle like the back of his hand, and he quickly found the throne room. He kicked the door in and saw Samael sitting on his and Luna's throne. He was sitting as if he was in deep thought. Deep, frustrating thought.

"Hello again." Alex said when Samael did not notice him.

Alex's voice seemed to snap him out of thought. He looked at Alex and stood up. He began to walk down the throne, his demon form giving way to his human form. He was wearing the same suit and tie as last time.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked, taking a step back.

"I'm not going to let this battle be dictated by who has better magic powers. This fight will be dictated by who has the better weapon skills. No armor, no different forms, just us and our weapons." Samael said.

Without saying a word, Alex began to pull of his armor. It fell to the ground with a clatter. It began to smolder and vanish. Since the armor was magic, it would reform if the user needed it. Alex no longer needed it. The only part of the armor that did not vanish was a small backpack. Alex opened it and pulled out something white. It was his white hoodie. He slipped it over his head and adjusted it. He cracked his neck and grabbed his scythe.

"Are you ready, Alex? Because once this begins there will be no going back. Only one of us will leave this place alive." Samael said.

"Yes, I know. And that's going to be me." Alex said.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because I have something worth fighting and winning for." Alex replied.

"Excelent. Let us begin."

Before Alex's very eyes, Samael summoned his weapon. He raised his hand into the air and a dark portal formed above him. A scythe fell from the portal and he caught it with ease. It looked the same as Alex's scythe, but darker, more corrupted.

Samael leaped forward, slashing at Alex with his scythe. Alex hit the deck, swinging his scythe in return. Samael jumped up and out of the way. They both recovered quickly and swung at the same time. Their scythe blades hit and clanged together.

Alex let go of his scythe and used it as a springboard for his next attack. He leapt over his weapon and kicked Samael straight in the teeth. Samael went flying backwards, not as tough in his human form.

Samael quickly shot up and threw his scythe like a boomerang. Alex leaped over it.

"Ha! Missed me-" Alex said but was stopped as the scythe came back around and nearly lopped his head off. A medium sized gash did land on his shoulder though. "Wow, you were really trying to kill me there." He continued.

"What? Did you think I was going to beat you senseless and then let you go? Sorry kid, but we're playing for keeps." Samael told him, catching his scythe.

"That's good. Because after I kill you, I think I'll slip off to the human world and get a bottle of Coke. It's been a while since I've had that." Alex replied.

"Hm, I think it will be pretty hard to drink anything if I slit your throat!" Samael added.

Samael leaped forward, slicing his scythe. Alex deflected each strike and was able to disarm Samael. He was just about to bring his scythe blade across his opponent's stomach when his vision blurred. He found himself holding his scythe over his head, about to bring it crashing down on his son's head. Alexieus was screaming for him to stop.

"What the fu-" He said but was soon kicked across the room.

Finally his mind was back in the fight. His PTSD had been acting up and was making him hallucinate.

"Damn, wake up, Alex. Wake up." Alex told himself.

"Stay focused, Horseman. You're still in a fight!"

Alex looked up to see Samael above him. He rolled to the right just as Samael's blade came crashing into the floor. Alex gripped his scythe and slashed at Samael's leg. The attack hit, opening a huge gash in Samael's leg.

"Augh! Damn you!" Samael yelled in pain as he lept back.

"Don't let your guard down!" Alex yelled, leaping at him and slashing a huge gash in Samael's chest.

Samael feel to his knees. He had a hand over his chest and had dropped his scythe. He tried to reach for it but Alex quickly kicked it out of the way.

"It's over, Samael. I win." Alex said, holding his scythe over his head.

Alex rammed the blade down, it went straight into Samael's back, making him scream in pain and splattering blood on the floor. Alex pulled his scythe out of Samael's back. Samael fell to the ground, presumably dead. Alex turned and began to walk away, then he heard something, something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Luna, I love you. I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

Alex whipped around to see who was there and only saw a glimpse of Samael's battered and bloody form leaping at him. He felt his fingers grab his face. Alex's vision went blank…

Alex blinked and tried to look around. The only thing he could see was inky blackness. The dark seemed to go off in every direction forever. Then he saw a light below him. He felt himself drop towards it. He yelled in terror as he fell from the sky and hit the ground with a thud.

"Aw, hell." Alex groaned, turning over, trying to pull himself up.

"It is good to see that you have arrived."

Alex leaped to his feet and whirled around to see Samael standing next to him. His black suit was now white and his wounds were gone.

"What the hell? What's going on?!" Alex demanded.

"Calm down. I just want to show you a few things." Samael said.

Without warning, the entire landscape changed. Alex fell to the ground again, his face hitting the dirt. He stood up and looked around. He was standing in the center of Ponyville.

"Look familiar?" Samael said, suddenly standing next to him.

"Yeah, it's Ponyville town square. What's your point?" Alex asked.

"This is our first stop. This is a memory that I lived long ago." Samael said.

Ponies were walking amongst themselves doing what they normally did. Suddenly some of them looked at a single person. He was a young man with messy black hair. He was wearing all black and was being lead around by a purple pony.

"Wait, I remember this. This was the first day I was in Equestria. That's Twilight leading me to Sweet Apple Acres to do a job. You said this is a memory you lived, why am I here? Back then I was the only human-" Alex said but stopped.

He looked at Samael. Samael had the same eyes as him, and his hair was the exact shade of black. He had a short scar across his lip, just like he did. Suddenly his jaw dropped.

"No. No that can't be true." Alex mumbled.

"It is. I am you, Alex. And you are me." Samael told him.

"Can you prove this?" Alex asked.

"I think I will. Lets skip ahead a few years." Samael said, holding out his hand.

The landscape went into motion again. Alex felt himself being lifted off the ground but was able to land on his feet this time instead of falling. He took a quick look around and saw himself again. He was walking with Alexieus to his school house.

"This is us when Alexieus took you to school. You were challenged by Trixie after that, and won with little trouble." Samael explained.

Alex swallowed. He did not want to believe that him and Samael were the same person, but some part of him thought it was true.

"So what? A lot of people know this. Got anything else?" Alex asked.

"Yes I do." Samael replied.

The two of them leaped through time again. This time they were in a hospital. Alex could hear a woman screaming with labour pains. He looked through a nearby door and saw a younger version of his mother. She was giving birth. He quickly backed up and tried to forget what he had seen.

"You were born on this day, September 3, 17 years ago. Seven pounds, eight ounces. Grey eyes, black hair. Seventh child in your family." Samael described as the screams carried on.

"Something like that is easily researchable. I still don't believe you." Alex said, but he was starting to believe him more and more.

"Fine. Let me show you something that will prove it to you." Samael said.

The two of them jumped through time again. This time they landed outside a house. The house belonged to his late brother, Dalton.

"This is the house where you were at after our brothers murder. You were violently depressed and was about to completely snap. Then Luna came to you. She comforted you. That was the first night you two consummated your marriage. Would you like me to go into detail about what you did?" Samael asked, looking over at Alex.

"Uh, no. I'm good." Alex said.

"Well, do you believe me now?" Samael asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. No matter how much I don't want to. I just need to know the why and how. Why you are here and how you got here." Alex told him.

"I can do that." Samael said.

Time flipped again. This time the two of them landed in a cemetery. The sun was high in the sky and was burning hot that day.

"This does not look very familiar." Alex said, turning to Samael.

"It shouldn't. This is one of my memories, not one we both share. Look over there." Samael said, pointing off in another direction.

Alex looked to see four figures standing in front of five graves. Alex recognized them immediately.

"Hey, that's us. What are we doing here?" Alex asked.

"In my time, Equestria was attacked by an evil creature. It's mind knew only destruction. It killed anything that got in its way. The four horsemen stood to fight it, but lost." Samael said.

"Wait, if we lost, then why are we standing here?" Alex said.

"Because we did not die, though some people very close to us did. Go and look at the graves, the people here cannot see us." Samael explained.

Alex walked away from Samael and walked up behind the others. He stepped around them and looked at the names on the graves. His heart dropped to his feet when he discovered the names. The names that were written on the graves were "Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadence, Princess Celestia, Queen Luna, and Alexieus".

"No, this can't be right." Alex said.

"I wish it wasn't, but it is. In our darkest hour, the girls sacrificed themselves to save us. Their death led to our victory." Samael said, appearing next to him.

"Then why is my son dead? Did he sacrifice himself?" Alex asked, pain in his chest growing and tears beginning to flow from his eyes.

"His death, was not as noble. Pained and depressed with the death of his mother, Alexieus took his own life." Samael explained.

"No." Alex said, falling on his hands and knees. He began quietly sobbing.

"Let us move on." Samael said, placing a hand on Alex's shoulder.

"Lets." Alex said, happy to know they were moving from this tragedy.

The landscape changed again. This time they were in the throne room of Castle Canterlot. Alex saw himself sitting on his throne alone. He had a pained expression on his face, like he had come to a realization of something.

"Where are the other three?" Alex asked, looking for his brothers in arms.

"Sadly, they are not here. They too were pained by the death's of the ones they loved. Erex, knowing that his family was dead and there was nothing left for him, hung himself. Darragh retreated back to the human world and took massive amounts of memory suppressants to forget that this had all happened. Lucas also went home, and violently bashed his head into a wall, causing brain damage and making him forget Equestria too." Samael told him. "This left only you."

"This still does not explain why you are here." Alex said.

"I came here to warn you. The beast will soon be upon you. You will only have two weeks before it arrives." Samael told him.

"Okay, so I know why you are here, but how did you get here?" Alex asked.

"Okay. Since you were the only ruler left alive, you took control of the kingdom, though your subjects were not loyal to you." Samael explained.

"Why?"

"They blamed you and the others for the deaths of Twilight, Cadence, Luna, and Celestia. They believed it was the four horsemen's cowardice that killed them. They did not understand the girls sacrifice. So one night, when the moon hung low in the sky, a massive army of ponies stormed the castle. They were coming to get you." Samael explained.

"What happened next?"

"With your heart broken, your soul shattered, and depression slowly taking over your mind, you put all your effort into one last thing. A spell that would take you back in time, so you could fix all of this." Samael explained.

Samael went on to explain that he had come back in time and watched himself grow again. He had even breathed life into rock and stone to create Ulthane, Vulgrim, and Felix, even going so far as to raise a dead army, just to stop himself from going through that again.

"So I warn you, Alexander. You must prepare yourself for the fight. Discover the Grand Horseman. He is the only one who can defeat the beast." Samael said as the light began to fade again.

The next thing Alex knew, he was laying face down on the floor. He picked himself up and looked around. Samael was laying on the floor not far from him in a puddle of blood. Alex's scythe was an arms length away from him. He picked it up and began to walk towards the exit. He knew what was going to happen, and he knew how to stop it.

Alex ran out of the castle and looked around for his friends. None of them were around. He waited for a few minutes and started calling out for them. He was finally joined by Erex.

"Yo, Alex, where are the others?" Erex asked, looking left and right for the other two horsemen.

"I don't know. I was hoping that you would know." Alex replied. "Okay, you go look for Lucas, I'll go for Darragh." He continued.

Erex ran off towards Felix's wing of the castle. Alex ran off towards Ulthane's. Alex mumbled a silent prayer, praying that the two missing horsemen were alright.

"Do you think they are okay?" Twilight asked, worry rising in her eyes.

"Don't worry, they will be fine. They're our boys we are talking about here." Cadence replied, though she was beginning to have doubts. The boys had been gone for a long time.

"Do you think we should go look for them?" Celestia asked.

"No. Alex gave us strict instructions to go back and stay there till they returned." Luna said, no worry visible in her expression.

"What's up with you, sis? I thought you would be the one concerned the most." Celestia asked her sister.

"I am not concerned at all." Luna said, looking away from the others.

Erex was sprinting through the halls, looking left and right for the throne room. He slid along through a turn in the hallway and ran as fast as he could. He looked left and saw two double doors as he ran around with large spiders on it. He tried to stop but slid on a green liquid. He hit the ground with a clatter.

"Aw, son of a bitch." Erex said, sitting up.

Erex stood up, looking at the green slime on his arms. He took a step forward and heard a crunch of something hard. He looked down and saw that he had stepped on a large spider leg. He took a few steps back and stepped on another one. He found himself standing in a large pile of dead spider parts.

"Holy hell. What happened here?!" Erex yelled out.

Erex finally got his composition and busted through the door. He saw a pile of dust off to one side and his fallen brother not far away from it. He ran over to him.

"Hey, Luke! Wake up buddy, you still with me?" Erex said, shaking Lucas. There was no response.

Erex felt Lucas's neck for a pulse and found a faint heartbeat. He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled him up, carrying him army style. He ran from the room, hurrying as fast as he could.

Alex kicked the door to the throne room in. He was horrified with what he saw. Darragh's left arm had been separated from his body and was thrown aside. There was more blood than he had seen in a long time, and a lot of blood was no surprise to him. Alex could only describe the scene as something from a Rob Zombie movie.

"Darragh! Oh god please don't be dead!" Alex said, sliding next to his friend.

Alex felt Darragh's remaining wrist and felt a slow beat. He pulled Darragh on his back and ran from the room. Darragh needed extreme medical attention, and he needed it now.

Erex and Alex met outside the castle. Each of them did not have to say a word. They both made a mad dash down the mountain, not stopping for anything.

"Alex, we're not going to make it in time! Darragh and Lucas are going to die by the time we reach Ponyville." Erex said.

"Okay, I have an idea." Alex replied. He focused his mind and centered in on Luna's position.

Alex called out to her with his mind.

"Luna! Luna are you there!"

"Alex? Is that you?"

"Yeah, no time to explain, I need your help. Darragh and Lucas are severely injured. I need you to grab the girls and pick us up."

"Okay, on our way."

Luna suddenly stood up.

"Come on girls, our men need us." She said.

"What are you talking about?" Cadence asked.

"No time to explain, but if you want to see Darragh and Lucas alive again, then lets get moving." She told them.

Twilight and Cadence shot up and darted out of the clearing. Celestia and Luna were close behind.

Alex and Erex were halfway through Ponyville when they were intercepted by the girls. Alex and Erex put the boys on Cadence and Celestia's backs. The girls took off, flying back to the clearing.

"Are you two okay?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, we're fine." Erex said.

"Yeah…..Fine…" Alex said, suddenly dizzy.

Alex fell forward, holding his shoulder. The wound Samael had given him was deep and was still bleeding.

"Alex?! Darling are you okay?" Luna said, catching him as he fell forward.

Alex held his shoulder. He winced in pain.

"Okay, come on, stand up, we have to get you to a doctor. Come on, you have taken a lot worse than this." Luna said, helping her husband to his feet and helping him keep his balance with her wing.

"Yeah, thanks babe." Alex said, walked weakly forward.

"Don't you 'thanks babe' me. I'm still very mad at you." Luna said, looking away.

"What did I do?" Alex asked, dazed and confused.

"You know what you did." Luna replied.

Alex had seen this before. His father would come home from work and his mother would be angry for no apparent reason. She would claim that he "knew what he did" when he really didn't.

"Fine, we will discuss this when we get back. But first, I want to make sure my brothers are okay." Alex said, walking faster, not needing his wife's assistance.

"Whoa, okay, wait up." She said, trotting after him.

The four of them took off, wanting to get to the clearing as fast as possible.

"Do you think they will be okay?" Erex asked.

"I am certain that they will live. I trust that Chrysalis will know what to do." Alex replied.

The four of them picked up the pace, they knew that time was not on Darragh and Lucas's side.

The procedure had to be done fast, but it also had to be done right. Lucas needed just the right amount of antidote which had to be synthesized and given to him at just the right amount, or it could kill him. His wounds would also have to be stitched up. Most of them were small and shallow, and had already stopped bleeding. But some were deep, and still bleeding profusely.

Darragh had to have his stump cauterized. He was knocked out, but the extreme pain that would be inflicted would wake him up, sending him into screaming pain. Just the right amount of sedative had to be given to keep him knocked out, but not send him into a chemically induced coma. When the two patients arrived, Chrysalis started with Lucas first because he was already close to death, Darragh could last until the antidote was synthesized. Some doctors and nurses from Ponyville were going to help her.

"Okay people, you need to follow my orders to the wire. You, check the fire on that bottle, make sure it stays at the right temperature." Chrysalis said, pointing to a pony then a bottle of bubbling purple liquid. "You, start heating up a pan, go out and find one from one of the citizens. Put it over an open flame and tell me when it gets red hot." She continued, pointing at another nurse.

Both of the two ponies lept into action, one running to find a pan, another going to check the fire. Two others helped put Lucas on a large tree stump to be used for a table. They stripped his armor off to expose the wounds.

"How much longer do we have left on that antidote?" Chrysalis asked.

"It has been 15 minutes, so I am going to say another 10." The pony replied.

"Okay, somepony help me stich some of the bleeding wounds. Where are we on that pan?" Chrysalis asked.

"Just got it." The other nurse said, running in with it in her teeth. She made a fire quickly and stuck it in the center.

Chrysalis and the other pony used magic to begin stitching some of Lucas's wounds. When the antidote for the poison was completed, Chrysalis injected it into Lucas's arm. Lucas, once pale, was now starting to get his color back and his heart rate began to climb back to normal. Chrysalis finished sewing Lucas up and moved on to Darragh.

Darragh was laying on ground on a mat. Chrysalis removed the blood-soaked bandages from his arm. She inspected the stump. It was bad. Really bad. She had to get it closed as soon as possible. She checked the pan and it was almost ready. Chrysalis had one of the nurses hold a bit of rag on the stump to keep it from continuing to bleed. When the pan was ready, she used her magic to place it on the stump. Blood and skin began to sizzle like bacon.

Darragh's eyes flew open and he let out a loud scream of pain. The two ponies jumped on him to keep him from moving, holding his remaining arm and legs down. It took all their weight to hold the horseman down. Darragh's screams had awoken the sleeping Lucas, who began to moan and groan with pain.

Chrysalis lightly kicked Lucas in the side of the head to knock him out again. She had to concentrate to keep the hot metal on Darragh's stump. When it was done, Chrysalis pulled the pan away. The cauterization was not clean, and Darragh would have horrible scarring and, of course, he would be missing his left arm.

Alex, Erex and the girls arrived to find almost all the ponies in Ponyville crowded around the hut. They pushed through them to get inside. The entire hut stunk of chemicals, blood, and burned flesh. Chrysalis had just finished her work.

"What's the verdict, Chrysalis?" Erex asked as she finished wrapping up Darragh's shoulder area.

"Lucas's body will be riddled with scars for the rest of his life, and the poison has affected his nervous system. It will be difficult to move for a while, but I expect him to make a full recovery. Darragh's arm has been cauterized and is thankfully not infected, but there will be permanent scarring there. He is also expected to recover." Chrysalis explained.

Alex and Erex breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the good news. Their fellow horsemen would survive.

"How long will it take them to fully recover?" Alex asked.

"Darragh will take about a week. It is hard to tell with Lucas. We will have to play it by ear to find it out." Chrysalis added.

A concerned expression crawled onto Alex's face. Samael had mentioned a great beast coming and it would show up within two weeks. They did not have time for this.

Alex turned and walked towards the exit when he felt something grab the back of his hoodie. He looked over his shoulder to see Chrysalis biting his hoodie and pulling back like a dog fighting for a toy.

"Chrysalis, what are you doing?" Alex asked.

"Don't think I don't see that" She replied

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Oh, so your white hoodie is supposed to be red like that?" Chrysalis asked.

Alex looked down and saw that his hoodie was turning brown, black and red. He sighed and began taking it off, letting Chrysalis examine the wound. He sat down on the ground, now noticing that the rest of Ponyville was watching him. Chrysalis looked over the large gash.

"I'm surprised you can still move this arm." She said, pulling out a needle and surgical thread.

She began stitching the wound. Alex flinched with every prick. When Chrysalis was done and has wrapped the wound up and was satisfied with her work, Alex walked out of the hut. The ponies moved out of his way. In his hand he held a knife from one of the nurses medical bags. He had stolen it on his way out.

Alex walked out of the clearing towards a nearby stream. Nobody followed him, everybody, even Erex, was caught up in the two severely injured housemen. Alex kneeled next to the stream. His reflection showed a boy he once knew, but as he focused on it, the reflection changed to what he was now, a beaten and scarred man who was stripped of his innocence in a harsh new world. His hair was no longer pulled back in a ponytail, but was hanging freely like a heavy metal band member. Alex gripped the knife in one hand, and began giving himself a much needed haircut with the other. Long tufts of hair fell onto the ground and into the stream.

The haircut was messy, but he looked almost the same as he did. He dunked his head down into the water to wash away any loose strands. When he sat up, he felt the cool water rush down his head and onto his shoulders. The cool water felt good.

He stood back up and made his way back to the clearing. Most of the ponies had returned to doing what they were doing. Many tents had been set up for ponies to sleep in, and a few makeshift huts had been made as well.

"Hey, everyone. Can I have your attention?" Alex called over the entire area.

The crowd fell silent. They were not expecting something from their king. Some of them looked at him funny, not recognizing his new hair style.

"I must now say that you can return to your homes. The threat has been eliminated. I suggest that you return to your homes and try to pick up the pieces." Alex said.

All the ponies waited for a second and began cheering. They were happy the threat was gone. Most of them ran off to collect their things and start the trek back, others ran off to spread the word. Alex was happy to see that things might go back to normal.

"Do you really think it is safe? We didn't see any green soldiers, but they might still be there." Erex said.

"Yeah, I know. But I'm sure that they have vanished, returned to the place they were from." Alex replied, walking away.

"Hey, Alex!" Erex called after him. Alex turned to look at him. "We did good. It looks like we saved the day." He continued.

Alex smiled and nodded. He wished he could be as optimistic as he was. He would think about optimism later though. He had to find Luna and tell her what was going on. He found her near a ledge looking out over a large part of the forest. He sat down next to her.

"Alexander." She said, not even looking at him.

"Luna." he replied.

They sat in silence. Alex was not sure how to start things. The news would probably shatter whatever kind of good mood she may have been in.

"Look, there is something I have to tell you," He said, but was cut off.

"Sush. I don't want to hear anything from you." Luna said.

Alex looked over at her like she had just smacked him. "What's up with you?"

"Your actions have caused me a great deal of pain, Alexander." She replied, still not looking at him.

"What did I do?" Alex asked.

"You almost threw your life away. Sure you got out relitivly unscaved," she said, her eyes moving to his bandaged shoulder then back forward. "but you gambled with your life without thinking of how it would affect the ones who love you." She continued.

"What are you talking about? I risked my life because of the ones I love." Alex replied, hurt a little by her words.

"Sometimes I wonder, Alexander." She said, but trailed off.

"Wonder what?"

"Sometimes I wonder if you even love me anymore. It has been a thought that has been in my mind for a very long time. The way you almost carelessly throw yourself into a fight hurts me. If you believe I will think of you as a coward for not fighting, then your wrong. It takes a strong man to fight, but it takes a stronger man to walk away." Luna explained.

Alex could not believe what he was hearing. He clenched his hands in anger. Then he stood to walk away.

"Do you remember what you are?" Luna asked, finally turning to look at him.

Alex did not reply.

"You're not a god Alex. You can die. And you will if you keep doing this. And as long as you are throwing away your life so easily then I won't-" She said but was cut off.

"Stop. Stop right now. I don't want to hear any more. I have already heard too much." Alex said, his head bent.

"What have you heard?" Luna asked, suddenly interested.

"He was me, Luna. Samael was me from the future. He came back because he had failed, that in his future, he had lost you and Alexieus. He came back to warn me about what was going to happen. That is why I must fight. I could not stand to lose you and Alexieus. I could not live with myself knowing that you died because of me." Alex said, turning to look at her.

Luna had a look of saddened surprise, like she had just gotten news that Alex had died in battle. Tears flowed out of her right eye.

"Alex, I didn't know." She said, struggling to get the words out.

"I know, my love. Samael said that something would be coming, something that is hell bent on destroying us. He mentioned something about a Grand Horseman. I must find out what he meant and find who this Grand Horseman is within two weeks, or the beast will destroy us all." Alex told her.

"Where will you go? How will you start your search?" She asked.

"The only time that I know the four horsemen to be mentioned anywhere else would be the Bible. The names of them are War, Death, Conquest, and Famine. I guess the only way to figure out if there was a fifth was find out from the big man himself."

Luna looked perplexed, she knew nothing about christianity.

"Nevermind. Just stay here. Me and Erex have a plan. We are going back to the human world."

"What?!" Luna asked in sudden surprise, standing up to face her husband.

"Don't worry, I have a plan." Alex said, but was not going to go anywhere fast.

"No! I forbid it. You are not going, and that is FINAL!" Luna yelled, scaring off some birds in a near by tree.

"Why? Why do you want me to not go back?" Alex asked, really wondering why his wife was acting like this.

"Because I said so and I do not need a reason!"

"Luna, I have to do this. If I don't figure this out, then when this thing comes, I don't think we will be strong enough to beat it."

"I don't care!" Luna yelled, getting down into a crouching position, like she would jump Alex if he tried to leave.

"Look, I'm going to do this weather you like it or not." Alex replied.

"Fine, then I will be going with you." She said, regaining her composure and sitting back down, giving Alex a commanding and almost snooty look.

Alex stared at her for a second, turned around, and walked off.

"Good, I'm glad that you- HEY!" Luna began, but stopped when Alex took off running.

Alex sprinted through the woods as fast as he could. Luna was flying overhead, trying to find a way to land on top of him to bring his sprint to a halt. She tried to keep up, but fell behind a little. Alex had far better stamina and speed.

Erex was lazing around in the clearing when he heard a commotion to his left. He heard yelling from above and saw Alex burst through a bush at top speed. He ran into a hut and sprinted out with his now fixed white hoodie on. He grabbed his scythe from the place he put it and was yelling something, but Erex was in a daze.

"What?" Erex asked.

"I said grab your shit and lets go, we gotta move!" Alex said.

Thinking this was a real emergency, Erex ran to get his sword and the holder that attached it to his back. Once they were ready, the both took off running. Erex could hear yelling behind them. He glanced up and saw both Celestia and Luna flying after them.

"What the actual hell?" Erex asked over the sounds of footsteps and yells from the girls above.

"Long story, just run!" Alex replied.

Both the boys crashed through the front of the forest, ripping apart trees on their way through. They rushed through Ponyville, which was already being rebuilt. Erex heard Celestia yell for someone to stop them. Ponies tried to intercept them, but were no match for his and Alex's evading skills.

When they finally got out of Ponyville, Erex's lungs were complaining about all the running. He told Alex he had to stop, so they ducked into a small bush. They heard the girls yells as they flew over them.

"Jesus christ on a bicycle, why the hell are we running and why the hell are the girls chasing us?" Erex asked between pants and gasps.

Alex explained that they had to go back to the human world and Luna(And apparently Celestia now) did not want them to go. Erex asked why, and Alex only replied with one word.

"Reasons."

When Erex had finally caught his breath, they took off full speed again. Someone yelled "there they are" and they both picked up the pace.

They ran along the river next to the castle and saw the cave leading back to the human world. They rushed through and as they exited, Alex jumped and spun around mid flight. He reached out towards the cave mouth and clenched his right hand into a fist. Suddenly the cave mouth closed up. The portal was blocked.

"What the hell did you do?" Erex asked, falling over, gasping for air.

"I closed the portal, but we still have to move. They will probably get through it soon." Alex replied, and as soon he was done, they both heard a boom as if something on the other side of the cave was trying to get through. They both stood up and slowly walked away. They were back.

"So what's the deal? What are we going to do first?" Erex asked, beginning to catch his breath.

"We are going to see the pope. He really seems to be the only person that can help us." Alex replied.

"Ah, I see. Oh, and another thing." Erex said.

"What?"

"If you make me run like that again, I swear I will shove this sword right up your ass."

Author Note: Christ, this story is just dragging on and on and on, and I'm sure you guys are thinking the same thing. So this is what I plan to do. I am going to try to make the next few chapters as long as possible to try to make this story end sometime in the foreseeable future. Just keep with it and expect the wait for the new chapters to be longer...or longer than it already is. If you have anything you want to be done to the story of even future ones of mine, either private message me or friend me on Facebook at Alexander Kralie. And with that, good night.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

"Keep calm, everything will be fine."

"No I will not keep calm, Sister, I will go fucking nuts if I want to!"

"You really are married to him, he's starting to rub off on you."

The argument between Luna and Celestia kept on like this for around ten minutes. Celestia kept trying to get what was bothering her sister so much, but only got the same answer.

"Because he is going without me!" Luna repeated for the fifthteenth time.

"Yes, we know this, we have established this, and I am sure the ponies in the next town over know it too, but why is him leaving without you busting your flank so much?" Celestia asked, trying to reword her question again.

"He was gone for so long when he went to fight, he is back for about a day, and literally dumps Darragh and Lucas on us and leaves, who does he think we are!?" Luna screamed at the top of her lungs.

Luna's horn lit up, launching another blast of energy at the place where the cave used to be, trying in vain to break it open. Her eyes were wide and her breath was short, she was having a true conniption.

"Okay, listen to me right now!" Celestia said, biting Luna's tail and dragging her backwards. "It does not matter that Alex left without you, and the fact that he dumped his dying brethren on us is not that bad, it means he trusts us- HEY! QUIT IT!" Celestia was yelling now as her sister tried to claw her way back at the blocked portal to the human world.

"Let me go, let me go, LET ME GO!" Luna yelled defiantly.

"Okay, listen to me right now! Sit down, and take a breath, before you give yourself and aneurysm!" Celestia yelled out as loud as she could.

Luna suddenly stopped and began panting like she had ran after Alex, not flown. Angry tears were flooding out of her eyes.

"Listen, they won't be gone for long. If it is any consolation, I'm not happy Erex left me." Celestia said, though that did nothing to lighten the mood.

Celestia went on to explain why she needed to calm down, but Luna's mind was reeling, wondering what Alex ment by "going to see the big man himself".

"So, now that we're here and the wrath of the girls is behind us. Why don't we stop for a moment and you can explain why we're here and what the plan is." Erex said, standing after catching his breath.

"Okay, I'm assuming you are christian, right?" Alex asked.

"Well, sort of. I believe in all that, but I never really paid attention in church, I got the basics of it you could say." Erex explained.

"Okay, so I'm going to make this quick. In the last book of the Bible, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are mentioned. Right now, the one who seems to be most educated in this religion is the Pope. We are going to go to him and see if we can get some info out of him." Alex explained.

"Okay, there are just some things I have to clarify." Erex said. "The Pope lives in Vatican city, right?" Erex continued.

"Yeah."

"Then how the hell are we going to get there? We have no money, no means of other transportation, or anything!" Erex said.

Alex just stood there for a second, obviously thinking that he did not think this through all the way.

"And here's another one for you, what are we going to do about our weapons?"

Alex was silent for about a minute or so. Erex could see the cogs and gears working in his head. Finally her saw a light bulb go off in his head.

"Okay, this is what we are going to do. We are going to stash our weapons at my house. There is a basement that will do us good. We can also see if we can get some cash, just enough for a one way ticket if it cracks down do it. We will plan it from there." Alex said.

"You know Alex, I really don't think this is going to work, but right now, this plan is better than nothing, and something is better than nothing, and nothing is better than a fish skeleton down the cock hole." Erex said.

Alex turned and looked at Erex in surprise, not exactly expecting such an analogy. He shook it off and told Erex to follow him. They had shit to do, and they had to do it fast.

Luna and Celestia were laying in the garden, discussing their next actions. Alex and Erex had left them to go on some mission into the human world, but left the reason why vague. Celestia just wanted things to go back to normal, Luna just wanted her husband back.

"My queen, might I have a word with you?"

Luna turned to see Wild Heart, an old friend of Alex. He had kept them updated while Luna, Alex, and Chrysalis were in the human world. He had also helped greatly in the fight against Chrystal's army. He was made Captain of the Equestrian Guard after the war was over.

"Yes, what is it?" Luna asked.

"Me and my men have recruited a few stone masons and architects to begin the repairs on the castle. We just need the kings approval to begin." He told her.

"The king is unavailable, but you may begin on reconstruction." She replied.

"Yes mam, and one last thing. The...uh...previous occupants somehow added three extra wings to the castle. Do you want us to demolish them?" Wild Heart asked, suddenly finding interest in his hoofs.

Luna thought about this for a second, then had an idea.

"Fix any damage to the extra wings and fix them to match the original castle designs." She ordered.

Wild Heart said he would inform the workers and they would begin construction immediately. He trotted off to tell the men.

"I wonder how the others are doing. Lucas and Darragh looked like they took a real beating." Celestia said, trying to get Luna's mind on something besides the castle and the king.

"I have a feeling that they will pull through. I really don't trust Chrysalis as far as I can throw her when it comes to my husband, but she is the only one I would trust to take care of someone if they were hurt." Luna said, using her magic to pick out the bluest blue orchid.

"Do you think we should go check on them?" Celestia asked.

"You go, I'll be around in a second." Luan replied.

Celestia walked away from her sister. She turned back and for a second, saw a glimpse of the little filly she had once known. The one she used to play with in this exact same garden. The one she would read with, and the one that she had banished to the moon. She turned back, flying off to check on the other two.

"Well shit."

"Don't start complaining. This is our only option."

"Dude, the place is abandoned. There is nobody here. How do you plan on getting in?"

"I will figure out something, now shut up!"

Alex and Erex had found their way back to Alex's old house, though nobody was home. Alex's family had left town, and a for sale sign was in the yard. The house looked like it was almost about to sink into the ground. The years had not exactly been kind to it.

"So, what's the plan? How will we get in?" Erex asked.

Alex walked up, and with the butt of his scythe, knocked the door down.

"Well then, that's one way, but don't you think that picking the lock would have been, you know, quieter?" Erex said.

"If something is worth doing, it's worth overdoing." Alex replied, stepping past the threshold and into the house.

The entire house had been gutted. All of the appliances, doors(save for the front door.), and anything of particular value had been taken out. All the rooms had been gutted in a similar fashion, save for one. His.

"Well, this is just weird." Erex said.

"Yeah. Why would they leave all my stuff here?" Alex said, looking around his room. Everything was left untouched.

Suddenly Alex's brain started to hurt. At first he thought it was a migraine, but it was much worse. Years of pain taught him to keep a straight face, so Alex barely even flinched. The pain went away when they left his old room.

Alex led Erex down a set of wooden steps towards a gray wooden door. Mold had begun to grow on it, and the lock and doorknob was rusted. Alex kicked the door and it gave. They stepped down again. Alex's headache came back, stronger this time. He winced.

"Dude, you alright?" Erex asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Just a headache. Lets just stash the weapons and get a move on." Alex said, wanting nothing more than his head to stop splitting open.

Alex and Erex hid their weapons under an old cloth and were just about to leave when suddenly Alex's vision got blurry. Erex disappeared and the room changed. Most of the signs of age vanished and the basement looked new again.

It was dark, darker than it should have been. Alex could hear crying coming from the center of the room. He moved towards it and saw a young boy, about eight years old. He was curled up in the floor, shaking. Tears streaked his face. His hair was long and straight and hung down to his shoulders. Alex was confused, why was he seeing this.

He could see that the boys arms and legs were cut up and bruised. Now he knew what this was, and what was going on. Many times during his young years, his his sisters would lock him down in the basement for amusement.

He heard someone calling his name, and suddenly everything went back to reality. His headache was gone, and Erex was back.

"Yo, Alex, you alright?" Erex said, shaking him a little to wake him up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got distracted by something." Alex explained. It was not a lie, just a long stretch of the truth. Maybe his condition was not what he thought it was.

"How are you guys doing?" Celestia asked the now awake horsemen.

"I'm feeling better, the cuts hurt when I move, but I can deal with it." Lucas said, sitting up and wincing.

"You have no idea how much this hurts." Darragh said, not even bothering to move.

"Where is Alex and Erex? Are they still around somewhere?" Lucas asked.

"Actually no. They both left for a mission that they had to do." Celestia told them.

"When do you think they will be back?" Lucas asked.

"I can't say." Celestia replied.

"Where's Cadence?" Darragh asked.

"I'm not sure, why do you want to know?" Celestia said.

Darragh did not say a word.

"Well, as they would say it in ROTC, I believe that information is above your pay grade, mam." Lucas said mockingly.

"What about my arm? I'm pretty useless when it comes to using the bow without it." Darragh said, exposing the question that had been on his mind for a very long time.

"I'm not sure. Normally we could reattach it, but we have no idea where it is, and the procedure is normally very tricky. It takes a skilled magic user to reconnect the nerves and such." Celestia explained.

"Really? A race of ponies that celebrate friendship as being something that makes the world go round has the ability to reattach limbs and even reconnect the nerves as well, but a advanced race of humans that can kill a man in more than 1000 ways can't come up with that? I'm calling bullshite." Lucas replied.

"Hey! We have science here too! It's just our use of magic has made it a lot easier and less complicated." Celestia said, annoyed by Lucas words.

Lucas gave her one last look of disbelief and walked out, limping and cringing with every step.

Celestia looked off in his direction when Darragh stopped her.

"Hey, do me a favor. Go find Cadence and tell her to come here. There is something really personal I need to talk to her about." He said.

Celestia stood in silence for a second, then agreed to go find her.

Celestia left the horseman to further contemplate his life. She found Cadence, in a tree weirdly enough, using her magic to pick the petals off of a growing number of flowers. A small pile of petal less flowers were beginning to form on the ground under her.

"Hey, Cadence. Darragh want's you." Celestia called up at her.

Cadence dropped the flower she was currently brutalizing and looked at Celestia. When she asked why, Celestia only replied with "personal reasons that he would not tell me". This made Cadence almost fall out of the tree and run off to assist her horseman in anything he needed.

"Hey, Darragh. What do you need?" Cadence said, running up beside her horseman.

"I need you to do me a favor." Darragh said.

Cadence blushed a little. "Of course, what do you need?"

"You have the power of love right? And could you say that that magic is fairly strong?" Darragh said, sitting up with some difficulty.

"What are you getting at, Darragh?" Cadence asked, her face turning red.

Darragh reached out and grabbed her by the chin. Cadence's first reaction was to slap him, but her lust for him overruled that instinct. Both of the lovers were oblivious to the pink light that was filling up the room. There was a huge burst of energy and suddenly Cadence found herself on her side, panting like a large weight had been taken off her chest, like she had just had a great release. She tried to bring herself to her feet, but soon found out that she was too weak. She looked around and saw a figure standing there. He wore a large purple cloak that flowed down to his feet. He had a quiver of arrows on his back, and in a flash, his bow was in his right hand, and an arrow was already in his left…..wait…..left?

"Darragh...Your arm." Cadence said, finding it hard to even speak.

The figure silently looked down at his now fully regrown arm. He smiled at his new grown arm, and quickly fired an arrow at the side of the hut and completely obliterated the wall. Another arrow quickly formed in the quiver. Darragh looked himself over, his smile only getting bigger. He walked out of the newly created door that took up the whole side of the hut, and said words that would soon become his catchphrase.

"I'M BACK BITCHES!"

"Alex, I swear I'm going to kill you for this."

"Just calm down Erex, we will be out of this soon."

Alex and Erex had found themselves stuck in a very awkward position, to say the least. The only way they were going to learn about the myth of the Grand Horseman was to visit the place where the first thought of a Horseman was created….or the only person who would know something about any of this. The Pope.

3 hours earlier…..

"Okay, you dragged me out here, now tell me why we're here." Erex asked.

"Follow my lead. Every year, around this time if I'm not mistaken, a group a nuns go and visit the Vatican, where they get to see the Pope himself. We are going to be tagging along." Alex said, walking a good 20 paces behind the group of similarly dressed women.

"You are completely out of your damn mind. I think we have a better chance of killing this beast with our bare hands then this plan actually working." Erex said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I hope you have a tight hold on your balls now my friend, cause here is our chance." Alex said, motioning to two nuns who had left the group to visit the facilities.

"Oh hell no. I'm not doing this Alex. I would rather hide in the wheel…..oh fuck you." Erex was going to defy Alex's plan, but realized he walked right along with it.

No screams of pain or help were made. Soon, two nuns walked out of the bathroom, and no boys were seen. Well, they were if you knew what had happened.

Alex and Erex had their heads down, and were catching up to the group of nuns.

"Alex, I swear I'm going to kill you for this."

"Just calm down Erex, we will be out of this soon."

Erex and Alex followed the nuns into the plane and sat down in the back, only speaking in whispers so they would not bring about suspicion.

"Wow." Was the only thing Alex was able to say.

"What? Why wow?" Erex asked.

"I can't believe this plan worked." Alex said almost absentmindedly.

Erex shot Alex a quick glance of disbelief, but shook it off and stared out the window for the rest of the flight.

Back in Equestria…..

"Wow. This is more like it." Darragh said, taking a look over himself.

"Whoa...that's kinda hot." Cadence mumbled, weak for some reason.

"I guess this is what Alex was talking about when he meant my full potential...and I fucking LOVE IT!" Darragh said, starting to lose his cool.

He pulled out his weapon and fired an arrow off into the distance. It hit the ground in a nearly unpopulated part of the forest and the explosion could be seen for miles.

"Um, Darragh? Don't you think you should maybe calm down a little bit? Maybe get under control?" She tries to say but her voice is drowned out by the now numerous explosions and screams of almost sadistic glee.

Darragh had lost it. The rush of power was getting to him. Cadence got up, knowing she would have to stop him and help him keep his head, or force him. Whichever one came first.

Cadence ran out of the hut to find her Horseman rolling on the floor like a boy who just got a new toy for Christmas. She ran up and tugged at his clothes a little.

"Um. I think you should calm down a little."

"Are you kidding me? I haven't felt like this in, well, EVER!" He rolls over and keeps laughing almost psychotically.

Cadence frowns a little agitated and jumps on top of him, sitting on his back to keep him from rolling around. She puts a hoof on the back of his head to keep his face in the dirt.

"Now listen to me. You are going to calm down or I am going to beat the meaning of the word into you. Understand?"

Darragh pauses for a second and starts glowing. When the light fades Cadence is sitting on the old him. He looks up at her, a little confused.

"What happened?" He pauses. "And what's burning?"

Cadence smiles, knowing that the Darragh she lives for is back. "You reached your true potential and freaked out. And your magic arrows apparently explode too." She says, smiling a little at him.

He nods. "So I'm the first one to get it. Nice. I guess that makes me better than the others."

Cadence chuckles a little. "Of course it does." She smiles and gets off of him.

Darragh stands up and dusts himself off. He smiles at her and stares into her eyes a little, making Cadence blush.

"So, I was wondering, can you take me some place to eat?"

Cadence blushes and grins from ear to ear. This is what she has been wanting to hear for the longest time, or the closest thing to it. "Of course, follow me."

The two of them walk off, oblivious to Lucas, who is moaning in the almost destroyed hut, wanting somebody to explain what the fuck just happened.

Back in the human world…

"To be honest, I can't believe this has worked thus far." Erex said, sitting down with Alex in the back of the bus heading to the Vatican.

"You really are an optimist, aren't you." Alex says sarcastically.

"I try to be." Erex replies, taking a look around at the back of the bus. "So what's the plan once we get there?"

"We walk in, bid the leader of a massive religion a 'how-do-you-do', then ask him some good natured questions. Sound right?" Alex says.

Erex gets a bad feeling then nods. The bus begins to move and they head into the city.

A half hour passes and Alex and Erex finally make it to the Vatican. The Pope is there now, and so is his security.

"Didn't really plan on this did you." Erex says. He waits for a response but there is none. "Alex?" He looks around. His comrade had vanished.

Erex looks around, a little distressed. Suddenly a hand is on his shoulder and he whirls around. Alex is behind him, his normal clothes back on.

"Take the garb off." He says.

Erex gets rid of the nun clothes. "Now what's the plan? How are we gonna get to the big guy without the guards noticing us?"

"They just recently installed air ducts in the building. We'll get into them and make our way there that way."

"How will we reach the air ducts?"

Alex points over at a small vent near the floor.

"Ah, that way."

Both the boys make their way through the ducts, Erex complaining all the way.

"God I hate tight places."

"Stop complaining."

"I have claustrophobia, you know that right?"

"Stop complaining."

"We really should not be doing this, it's like, nine kinds of illegal."

"Stop complaining."

"Maybe we should just turn around."

" Maybe I should have left your little complaining ass back in Equestria."

"What?"

"Nothing, keep crawling."

They crawled for what seemed like ten minute to Alex, but for Erex felt like to hours. They were in silence, their hot breath making it hard to move comfortably. One time through this escapade, Alex had stopped to look down below a vent to see where they were. Erex was looking behind him and walked face first into Alex's behind. Erex thought this would turn into something else, but a swift kick in the shoulder stopped that.

"Watch where you're going, idiot." Alex said, figuring out where they were and continuing on.

For the rest of their time moving through the ducts, they remained in silence.

Back in Equestria…...again.

Lucas kept staring up a hole on the roof. His body was still stitched up and he had began to stink. The last time he had been able to smell himself was in Paris Island, the Marine Corps training base in Florida. Lucas thought he would never have to smell something like that again. The scent of the mixture of blood and sweat was almost maddening.

Finally he decided to get his smelly ass up. He moved and didn't feel pain, but soreness. His skin ached, and that was not something he liked. He looked around, not wanting to trip over anything. Most of the place was splintered and there was lots of glass shards everywhere.

Lucas stepped out of the hut, happy no new cuts were in him. With every movement he cringed as scabs not fully healed cracked at he walked. He slowly made his way through the path that he thought was correct through the forest. From what he had heard from the chatter of ponies that had passed him while he was out of commission, this place was to be feared. There were supposed to be hundreds of dangerous things in this forest, but the only thing he saw that had even seemed remotely dangerous was the mosquitoes and the occasional spider sitting in it's web.

Lucas was just about to give up and sit on a nearby log to take a nap when he heard the rushing of water. He moved towards it and found a large stream. The water was crystal clear and and was cool to the touch. He pulled all of his clothes off and gently stepped in, laying out and letting the water wash over him. He didn't have any soap or anything but he just laid there letting the water cool him off and remove the smell of blood and sweat and what he wanted to say was piss.

When Lucas was done he shook himself off, making sure he didn't shake any stitches loose and put his clothes back on. The water had given him a new sort of regained energy. He started moving on a trodden path out of the forest and into Ponyville. He asked a pony how he could get back to the castle and was instructed on how to get there. He thanked the pony and was on his way again.

Back in the human world….again…..

"Dude seriously I'm done with this shit I'm not crawling any more."

"You don't have to…"

"The fuck do you mean?"

Before Alex and Erex could say anything else the vent suddenly creaked loudly and made a noise none of them wanted to hear. The vent collapsed and the two boys feel down for about five seconds before their bodies hit the floor with pronounced thuds. They looked around the see the main room of the Vatican. There was a terrified group of nuns to their left, and a confused group of guards to the right. Before anyone in the room could react, Erex raised his head and said one of the worst things to be said at the time.

"HAIL SATAN!"

Alex smacked his head into the floor. Maybe bringing Erex the Smartest of the Smart Asses might have not been the best idea.

Hello everyone and guess what, I got a new thing for you that you might enjoy.

I have posted a video to youtube that explains it all. Sadly, for some reason, you cant post a url in a chapter so I am going to have to show you guys EXACTLY what to do. Step by step. Lucky you.

1.) Go to youtube.

2.) Type into the search box: Message to all my fans Alex McGrath. Type it in exactly like that and it should be the first thing that comes up. The thumbnail is some asshat (me) sitting in my room in the middle of explaining something.

3.) This is the most important step, WATCH THE VIDEO. It's not that hard and it's like 2.5 minutes long.

Watch the video and leave a review for this chapter saying if you agree with what I'm proposing in the video.

See you real soon.

-Alex