Applejack woke up early to do her chores. She usually woke up pretty early anyway. Today she rose about an hour before sunrise. She did this because she wanted to give herself extra time to get the odd jobs around the farm done by twelve.

She had a shower and dressed in some work clothes. They were less than fancy but if they got stained or damaged it wouldn't matter.

She went downstairs for breakfast and was surprised to see Kain already sitting there helping himself to a bowl of cereal. This was surprising given how drunk he had been last night. Applejack suspected his head must feel like it got ran over by a carriage.

'Mornin.' Applejack said cheerfully.

When she spoke Kain winced and put a hand to his head.

'Morning' he said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. 'Thanks for giving me a bed last night.'

'No problem' Applejack said in a voice that was a little louder than it needed to be.

Again he grimaced at the voice but he voiced no complaint. He finished his breakfast and put his bowl and spoon in the sink.

'I won't need your guest room again.' He said very quietly 'I'll get my own place' he promised.

With that said he walked upstairs and came back down a minute later better dressed and cleaner. He put on some shoes at the door and stepped outside. Applejack didn't see him for the rest of the morning.

She worked right up until a quarter to midday and waited outside for Kain. It was a couple of minutes before all the other girls showed up. Kain himself must've timed it because at exactly twelve he came walking down the path towards them.

'Come on Ladies. This way!' He called out.

He wasn't wearing a shirt or shoes and he had a different sword to the one he usually strapped to his hip. When Applejack got closer she noted his eyes were insanely blood shot but he gave no outward signs of discomfort.

He led them down a short path to a clearing he'd selected. The clearing was fairly large and there were three circles marked into the ground with smooth white pebbles. Applejack didn't know where the pebbles had come from. She knew that there weren't any stones like that on Apple acres. Next to the rings was a rack of wooden swords of varying sizes and shapes.

'Alright ladies, line up! I don't care what order you're in.' Kain ordered. The group lined up as they were told. 'Alright. These are the rules.'

'The first rule as you already know, is anyone who disobeys an order gets a full contact session in the ring with me.'

'The second rule is maintain you're equipment. I don't care how tired, drunk, or half dead you are, at the end of the day you clean it and you sharpen it. At this stage we are only using wooden swords weighted with lead but I still expect you to run through the exercise. Any questions about rule two?'

Nobody responded.

'Good. Rule three is the simplest of them all. This' he pointed at one of the circles on the ground 'is a ring. And this' he pointed at a line on the ground he'd marked in pebbles 'Is THE LINE.' He said with great emphasis. 'When I tell you to get on THE LINE I want you to stand on this line. I don't care where you are or what you're doing, when I say get on THE LINE you run to this line. When I say get in the ring, you can get in a ring. I'm not worried which one. Any questions about rule three?'

Nobody felt the need to ask any questions about rule three.

'And lastly we have rule four. Until I say you can, you will not use wings or magic. Any questions?…'

'No? Good. Other rules will be explained as they become relevant.' With that he looked at the lined up folk. 'Today I'm going to focus on testing your limits so we can see what areas you're already fine in and what areas you need work in. At the end of today I will assign you all a sword. You are going to wear this sword everywhere you go. The purpose of this is to adapt you to the weight of it sooner. The only time you're allowed to take it off is when you bathe or swim. Any questions?'

It was Rarity that spoke up 'So I understand we are to wear one of those Swords, everywhere?'

'Yes that's exactly what I said.' Kain said in a very deadpan voice.

'Even when I'm at work or at home?'

'Especially at work and home.' He said with a grin 'You'll soon get used to it. Eventually you'll feel naked without it. Though getting used to it will come first. I'll be checking up on you all during the day to see if you're wearing it. I also expect you to keep an eye on each other.'

After that the day became hell. First he showed them hand to hand combat drills and explained there uses. Then he expected them all to practice them on each other. He partnered the girls off. Applejack was partners with Rainbow, Fluttershy was partnered to Rarity and Twilight was with Pinkie. Applejack and Rainbow did well with the drills, enjoying the competition of it and had good fun throwing each other around.

Pinkie did fairly well at it but constantly burst into fits of giggling. This giggling made it impossible for her or Twilight to perform the drills on each other because they found themselves constantly bursting into uncontrolled gouts of laughter. This was stopped when Kain made each of them choose to either stop giggling or step with him in the ring for a full contact session.

Fluttershy and Rarity though…. They did it half-heartedly at best. He warned them to take it seriously or suffer a ring session. Rarity thought he was bluffing and prompted for a ring session. He proved that he wasn't bluffing. After that she started taking the combat drills with some enthusiasm and Fluttershy hoping to help her friend avoid such sessions in future also started to perform more enthusiastically. However Rarity had a slight limp for the rest of the day and this slowed her down.

After that Kain had them all individually perform the drills with him. By the end of this everyone was bruised but Kain himself. While in the ring with him anyone who made a mistake was mercilessly punished with a sharp blow and a new bruise. Applejack faired the best in this being harder to bruise than any of the other girls. Then things took a turn for the worst.

Fluttershy was the last to practice the drills with him. The first mistake she made she caught a sharp blow to the eye that made her shriek and tear up. At that all the individual members of the group except Rarity challenged Kain to the ring in objection. Applejack was the first to enter to ring with him. Despite her strength and the fact that she was the larger of the two people in the ring Applejack was beaten soundly. Perhaps because of the fact that Applejack had suffered some nasty blows to both Kidneys and had a numb arm, Rainbow Dash was eager to get in the ring with Kain. Fluttershy, wanting to protect her friends, stopped them and endured the rest of the drills with Kain. Though she was terribly bruised by the end of it.

After that he led them all on a run through the Running of the Leaves course. This was particularly hard on Pinkie Pie who usually was bursting with Energy but at the end of it was hardly able to stand.

Then he proceeded to put them through a new set of combat drills, both partnered and again individually with him. After that he had them swim laps in the Apple acres dam. This was the closest they got to a rest for the day. The swim served to sooth their aching muscles and ease the pain in their bruises. When they emerged shivering from the surprisingly chilly water he put them through some aerobics and muscle stretches before leading them through another combat drill.
After that time blurred and it seemed like the whole world shrunk to just the vey next action. Taking the next step was all that mattered. That step ceased to matter when all that mattered was the one that came after it. And then your life depended on the success with which you took the next one after that.

Eventually they came to a stop, once the sun was about to set, in the clearing they'd started in at Sweet Apple Acres.
Everyone was tired but some were worse affected then others. Twilight and Pinkie had trouble standing up once they finally sat down and Raritys' eyes had glazed over and taken on a very distant look. Fluttershy seemed okay enough, although she was lying on her back and breathing hard.

Applejack and Rainbow though were both dedicated athletes and while tired stood on their feet in an unspoken competition to see who between them would break down first. They'd been that way throughout the whole day measuring themselves against each other privately in their own heads. They'd competed against each other in the past and this was just another example.

Kain was breathing hard too but he spoke clearly in the same commanding voice he'd used earlier. 'Ladies nicely done. You almost did well enough to outlast my GRANDMOTHER! And it's worth noting that she DIED TWO THOUSAND YEAR AGO! Girls this is just pathetic! One hard day and most of you aren't even on your bloody feat! Let alone able to fight!' He looked at the ones on the ground contemptuously.

'You honestly think that this is hard?' he laughed 'No hard is when you're under siege and you've been awake for two days straight! You've spent all night running along fortress walls and dodging arrows. Hard is when you've hacked into so many people that you've lost all feeling in your arm. And you're still expected to hold that sword and you're still expected to do it a hundred times again!'

'Ladies… Some of you did well' he glanced at Applejack and Rainbow 'Others did slightly better than expected' he glanced at Fluttershy 'The rest performed as expected.' He gave a contemptuous glance at Rarity, Twilight and Pinkie.

He looked around the clearing 'Time to get you your swords. Girls stand up.' Rarity and Fluttershy got to their feet but Twilight and Pinkie stayed on the ground 'Applejack, Rainbow Dash help them up.' Rainbow and Applejack pulled Twilight and Pinkie up and gave them a shoulder.

Kain walked over to the rack of swords and pulled out two. He held one in each hand. He tossed one to Fluttershy and one to Rarity. They were both the same size and shape. They were both the same size, fairly small compared to the other ones on the rack and they were halfway between being a long sword and a short sword. He got three more swords off the rack. Two of them were the same and were smaller than a short sword, the third one was a short sword. He gave the two small ones to Pinkie and the short sword to Twilight. Lastly he retrieved a large two handed sword and a regular long sword from the rack. The largest one he handed to Applejack and the regular one he handed to Rainbow.

Applejack looked at the large wooden sword in her hands 'It this meant to be a club?' she joked moving it around in her hands and feeling the weight of it.

Kain smiled at her joke 'No that's a hand and a half. I'm not quite sure whether to go up a size or leave it as it is. We'll so how you do with it tomorrow.'

Kain turned to address the group 'I'm going to train you all in the basics of everything on that Rack, but these will probably be the swords that I'll have the castle smiths forge when you've gotten good enough.'

He walked over to the rack and pulled out a bunch of belts. He slung them over his shoulder and returned to the group. He passed them out. They were simple belts with a loop in them. Their purpose was obvious and all the assembled strapped them on and put their swords through the leather hoop. Except Applejack who was given a strap that went over her shoulders. The sword handle stuck over her shoulder once it was in its place in the loop.

'Go home now and rest up. Think today was bad? Tomorrow will be worse.'
---

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were still awake. They were still playing there unspoken game of "be less tired than the other person". Having no desire to drink, because of Kains' warning about the next day, the two girls had at first relegated to a club for a dance. They soon found the weird looks they got because of the swords they had strapped on combined with the aches and pains they already suffered from to be incompatible with a good nights dancing. Plus the two had never really been party animals in the first place.

So in the end they just sat at the bar eating peanuts and making casual and strained conversation. Both of them really wanted to go home for some sleep but neither was willing to let the other win this endurance game they'd made up.

'Sooooooo… What do ya think of Kain?' Rainbow asked.

Applejack snorted contemptuously 'He ain't nothing but ah bully. See the way he treated Fluttershy? Hitting her around like that was just wrong. The girls probably gonna have ah black eye come tomorrow.'

'He sure kicked your ass.' Rainbow said in a tone that was obviously hoping to dig up some kind of reaction.

'He sure knows his way about hurting folk…' Apple replied bitterly not taking the bait.

'Yeah Whatever! If Fluttershy hadn't stopped me I would have taken him apart.' Rainbow bragged leaning back and crossing her arms behind her head.

Applejack gave her a flat look 'Ah seriously doubt that. When he was running us through them combat drills he hit you as hard as anyfolk and don't tell me that it didn't hurt. Ah saw yah blink back ah few tears after that nasty way he twisted your arm around.'

'Whatever I could have taken him.' Rainbow replied sullenly 'If it wasn't for Celestias' orders I'd have beaten the snot out of him.' She shifted uncomfortably and repositioned the sword at her hip 'Damn these stupid things. Why do we have to wear these things anyway?' Rainbow complained.

'He said something about….' Just then Kain stepped through the club door. 'Speak of the devil' Applejack said not finishing her answer.

Rainbow turned and spotted him.

'Dammit. What's he doing here?' she said sounding annoyed

His sword was still on his hip. And he wore some normal clothes you'd expect to see at a club. He looked around and saw them. He made his way across the dance floor towards them.

'Why's he coming over here?' Rainbow Dash said sounding annoyed.

He was about ten metres away from them when he was intercepted by a girl in a pink beret. Applejack couldn't hear what was being said but could tell by the way the girl was standing that she was into him. She kept fiddling with her shoulder length blond hair and gave other similar small signs to give away her intent.

'Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll take him home' Rainbow said hopefully.

Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash that didn't happen. He said something which caused her to start pouting. She then smiled and danced back into the crowd

Kain then came over and sat at the bar next to them. He waved his hand to get the bartenders' attention but the bartender was distracted by other customers. They sat in awkward silence for a few very long seconds before Applejack spoke.

'Why'd yah turn that girl down back there?' she asked.

He said nothing. But Applejack saw him wrinkle his nose in faint disgust.

'Yeah she was hot. I wouldn't have turned her down if she were coming on to me.' Rainbow said joining in with the conversation.

Applejack gave her a flat look and a few seconds to realise what she'd just said.

At the end of those seconds Rainbow Dash blushed 'Oh! Well you know if I was…' she seemed distant for a second 'Anyway why'd you turn her down?' she asked changing back to the original topic.

Kain didn't say anything.

Rainbow continued her one sided conversation 'Also while I'm at it, I noticed today you weren't staring at any of us today. You know, the way that guys do. You were surrounded by some fairly cute girls. I mean Rarity had her shirt plastered to her body with sweat, and it was all but see through when it got wet! You didn't even glance her way once!'

Kain shook his head 'Not my type' he muttered. Kain tried again to attract the bartenders' attention but to no avail.

'What do you mean she's not your type?' Rainbow asked 'Rarity's the sexiest thing on legs. Hell I'd do her!' Applejack gave Rainbow another long flat look. Rainbow blushed 'You know if I was…' there was awkward silence before 'Whatever! What's your deal?' Rainbow asked.

Kain shrugged and finally managed to wave the bartender down 'Whiskey please. Leave the bottle' and he put some bits in the bartenders hand.

The bartender nodded and came back a moment later with a cheap looking bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. Kain ignored the shot glass and drunk straight from the bottle.

'Are you like… Gay or something?' Rainbow asked.

Kain coughed on the whiskey and put the bottle down. He took a second to clear his throat before answering 'What?' he said staring at her.

'I mean are you into guys?' Rainbow asked.

He stared at her blankly for a minute 'Didn't you hear the part where I was married?'

'Well you could've been closeted or something.'

He gave her a look that screamed are you stupid? 'I promise you I'm not gay, or in the closet, or even in the least bit bi. I've just got some…. More important Issues on my mind.'

'So are you homophobic? Because I heard somewhere that homophobes often harbor gay feelings and are usually overcompensating' Rainbow asked.

He shook his head slowly.

'Then I don't get it… What's your problem?'

He sighed 'It involves that whole thing I mentioned earlier, you know the one about the horrible deaths of innocent people and my brother Xath. The reason I've been training you in the first place? Ring any bells?' He asked sounding irritated.

Rainbow frowned 'Still doesn't explain why your-'

'LOOK!' He said with a snarl 'Who I do and don't sleep with in no business of yours! If I wanted to screw a cat it would be none of yours! Got it!'

Rainbow looked taken aback 'Sorry' she mumbled and an awkward silence descended.

He tipped the bottle back and took a long swig. He was about to tip it back for another when Applejack snatched the bottle from his hand.

'What the hell do you think you're doing?' He said turning to her and sounding angry.

'It may not be mah business who ya'll sleep with but it is mah business that mah supposed teacher is acting like ah raging alcoholic. Yah ain't gonna be of any use teh any folk if you can't stand up in the morning. Now get on your feet and we'll walk yah home.'

He looked at her for a second. Tension built for a moment. It broke when he cracked a grin 'OK ma'm' he said copying her accent 'Escort me to mah home'. He stood up.

Together they walked towards the exit when again he was stopped by the girl with the pink beret.

She looked quite annoyed. She stood with her arms crossed and her hips cocked. She glared at Applejack and Rainbow.

'So you don't want me? Is that it? If you didn't want me then why'd you come onto me last night? Huh? Did you just want to mess around with me? You just told me just you'd had a hard day and were going to have an early night. But I turn around and you've been drinking and pick up some dumb sluts? Neither of them are even as hot as me!' she looked furious.

'Listen sugar-cube' Applejack said sounding irritated. She did not appreciate being called a slut but still did her best not to let her anger get the best of her. 'He didn't pick us up. And we are certainly not sluts. No he's our teacher and were taking him home so he'll be right in the head for tomorrow. Believe me when ah tell you we have no interest in him. He'll be here tomorrow night and you can have your fun with him then. For now we got lesson in the mornin and he needs to be there for em.'

The girl in the beret suddenly smiled and said 'Oh! Okay then I guess I'll See you tomorrow!' Before she suddenly ran off into the crowd.

'Id totally do her…' Rainbow realized what she'd said again and blushed. She changed the topic 'That was a mood swing and a half though. This girl seems to me like she has a few screws loose. Either put her down now or start treating her seriously. What's her name anyway?'

'No idea' Kain grumbled.

The three of them walked out the door. They walked in silence for a while. It was Rainbow Dash who eventually spoke up to reduce the awkwardness. 'So you knew the old elements huh?'

'Yeah' Kain said slowly. 'Why?'

'I was just wondering what they were like.'

Kain thought for a second and shrugged 'Well I didn't know them all that well. My sister Thae'ah was the element of honesty and she was sort of like Applejack here, except she was more girly… She was way more naive too. I didn't really get along with any of the others at all. The element of magic hated my guts though.'

'Why'd she hate you?' Rainbow Dash asked getting curious.

'Well… I did kill her father… He was my blade master.' He seemed deep in memory 'But also even before that, we were just always opposite to each other. I mean for example when we were working together to kill Xath she always wanted to do it differently to the way I'd planned it. Maybe her way would've been better in the end; after all, Xath never got killed.' He sighed in a tired sounding way 'But other things like I always preferred to deal with people directly but she always tried to keep people distant with letters and messages. She always tried to avoid seeing people. I always was a source of strain on her and my sisters' friendship. The elements of Harmony only work if all the elements get along, so in the end I drove my sister away so she could get along with the element of magic easier.'

'What were their names?'

'My sister Thae'ah was the element of honesty, Riquel was magic, Ferna was kindness, Tiahan represented loyalty, she was a Pegasus like you, Murna was generosity and laughter was named Kinya.' He chuckled and said 'Kinya was funny. There was this one time that Kinya-' He cut himself short and suddenly stopped walking.

'I just realized that they're all dead. I mean I knew that they were dead but I didn't….' He started walking again only this time he looked like he was somewhere else entirely. 'I've just realized that the last thing I ever said to Thae'ah was that I didn't care whether she lived or died…' He rubbed at his eyes. 'I never went to her funeral, or saw her get married or-'

He then slapped himself suddenly. 'HERE NOW!' he said to himself violently. 'You're here! Deal with now!' he slapped himself again.

'You okay?' Applejack asked concerned by his strange behavior.

'I'm fine.' He said sharply. 'I'm fine!' He repeated to no one in particular and walked past the two girls rapidly. Applejack and Rainbow exchanged looks before they caught up.

They walked in tense silence for a while before Rainbow spoke again. 'How could you hit Fluttershy like that?' she asked him.

He blinked at her in confusion 'I don't understand your question.'

'Well Fluttershy is the nicest and kindest person I know and you gave her a black eye. I mean how could you bring yourself to do that?' Rainbow asked.

He thought for a second before he answered. 'Fluttershy had to learn that if she screwed up than it would get her hurt.' He looked at them as if it was the most obvious thing in the world 'Would you rather that I didn't do it and she didn't learn anything? When Xath arrives it's not going to matter how nice or generous she is. All that's going to matter is how well she'll be able to function as a swordsman.'

Rainbow nodded though she looked like she wasn't happy with the answer. They walked along for a while before they arrived at a small cottage.

'This is where I'm staying.' He smiled at the homely little cottage. It had a small path leading to the front door. It looked quite small from the outside. 'Good night girls.' He called over his shoulder as he walked up the path.

After he was gone Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other. They stood there awkwardly for a minute before Applejack spoke up 'What do yah wanna do now?'

Rainbow shrugged 'I don't know about you but I could go all night' she tried to sound boast full but her voice cracked when she said "all night".

Applejack heard the strain in Rainbows voice as she said that. They both realized very suddenly the ridiculousness of the game they'd been playing.

'Rainbow, have you been… Trying to see if you can stay awake longer than me?' Applejack asked.

'Umm yeah… Have you been too?' Rainbow coughed awkwardly as she said it.

'Yeah..' Applejack answered. They both looked at each other and started laughing at the stupid situation.

'Man we're such idiots' Rainbow giggled. 'I'm going to bed. This does not mean you won though.'

Applejack grinned at that 'whatever you say sugar. I'm going home. See yah tomorrow.'

She turned around and walked away. Rainbow Dash took off her jacket and unfurled her wings. The shirt she wore had holes cut in it for wings but Rarity had been scandalized when Rainbow had wanted to cut similar holes into the jacket, so Rainbow decided not to do it for her friends' sake. She launched herself into the air and let her wings take her weight. She breathed a sigh of relaxation as she flew up to her cloudy home. No matter what she'd said to Applejack Rainbow had had a hard day and the moment she lay in bed she fell asleep.

Kain watched impassively as Xath killed another victim. He tore the screaming ladies' head off with his hands and rolled the head like a bowling ball to join a pile of similar heads. Xath then turned to Kain and laughed.

Kain strode forward and drove a sword into Xaths' heart. Xath laughed at him all the more. Kain wrenched his sword free and Xath still laughing fell to his knees. Kain grabbed a handful of Xaths' hair and cut off the kneeling man's head. He laughed to himself as Xaths' laugh finally ended. Xaths' body fell backwards limply and before Kains' eyes the wings that were sprouting out of his back disappeared and the body shrunk in size until it was the body of a child.

Kain looked at the head in his hands and saw it to had changed from the grinning beast his brother had become into the face Kain remembered his little brother having as a young child. The mouth hung open and the eyes stared blankly.
Kain looked at the dead body and saw water, not blood, dripping from the wound. The water pooled around Kain. Kain looked at his reflection in the water and saw that he had a pair of horns growing out of his head and large leathery wings sprouting out of his back.

He looked about and saw the six elements he'd known, in ancient times, staring at him in horror. His sister, the element of honesty, Thae'ah looked at him with disgust and contempt rather than loathing. He saw that behind them was the burning home of his family. His son, named Kurt, walk out of the house on fire. He walked like he was drunk, in one hand he held a bottle of whiskey in the other a bloody sword.

Thae'ah looked over her shoulder and saw Kurt she turned to Kain and said 'Like father, like son'.

Kurt tipped the bottle back and flames came out of it and consumed him.

Kain felt a pain in his chest. He looked down and saw a blade sticking out of his heart. The sword was the one Kain had picked up from his defeated blade master. The sword was pulled out of his chest. He turned around and saw the six current elements of magic. They all had their hands on his blade and stared at him blank eyed. He fell to his knees dying.
From behind them a shape emerged through the smoke. It was Celestia. In one hand she held a large ceremonial sword. The Elements parted before her and she ignored them. She stared at Kain with contempt in her eyes. She handed her sword to his sister Thae'ah who had walked over from the other group of spectators.

'Put him down' Celestia ordered with a voice that dripped disgust.

Thae'ah smiled and raised the sword she now held. She raised the sword directly above her head. Thae'ah swung it down. He saw happiness, true unabated joy sparkling in her eyes as the sword moved down.

The sword hit him and he saw black.

Kain heard a voice he recognized as his own say 'I would do whatever it took, no matter how many people got hurt, to see that monster ended.'

Another voice responded 'And what if that makes you just as bad as him?'

He answered 'Then I would hope that someone would do the same for me.'

Kain sat bolt upright. It was the middle of the night mere hours after Applejack and Rainbow Dash had left. The dream returned to him and he sighed. He leaned back down into his bed. 'And that's why I drink' he muttered to himself.

And that was the truth. Kain drank hard and often as a way to deal with grief of losing his loved ones, the stress of near constant battle, the fear and the self-loathing that had characterized his existence for the past four years. Well it was actually two thousand years but he was unconscious for those.

Kain tried to get some sleep but for the rest of the night merely tossed and turned in his bed.

'I'm never spending another night sober' Kain muttered to himself.
Ooh dream sequence. And that's the end of chapter 4. Next chapter I'm going to try and make things seem a little more intense. I'm going to from now on start uploading one chapter every Monday. That's Australian Monday, because live in Australia.
Also I should mention that there will be no romance sup-plot or any shipping.