I... was... pure... once...

Fought... for... righteousness...

I... was... called... Ashbringer...

Betrayed... by... my... order...

Destroyed... by... Kel'Thuzad...

Made... to... serve...

My... son... watched... me... die...

Crusades... fed his rage...

Truth... is... unknown... to him...

Scarlet... Crusade... is pure... no longer...

Balnazzar's... crusade... corrupted... my son...

Kill... them... all!...

Words that cried out of his waning and injured soul. Alexandros awoke unsteadily and sat up fast. He remembered in great detail his life leading up to his death, so much pain and blood. All of which he did not wish upon his sons, Renault and Darion. His eyes adjusted to the lifting haze of deep sleep. He knew not where he was taken or anything dealing with death. All he remembers is calling out to Darion one last time and then nothing but bone chilling darkness. He lifted his arm and clenched his eyes shut together, but there was no hand that rested on him. He sat there with his eyes shut realizing what was resting against his forehead. It was a hoof.

His mind lead him elsewhere for a moment. It kept him from everything, he did not remember a thing about death. All he remembers was loneliness and being cold. His spine shivered as fresh in his mind was the unholy memories of his life. His rise to power, his son's betrayal, his resurrection, and finally his death. He felt wounded that he was the cause for so many hero's deaths. So much blood. So much pain. So much death. His actions were not his own and his powers tainted by the dark magic that resurrected him. Nothing felt much worse than his own despair as he was slain by Darion his youngest son. A fate Darion did not want for him.

He opened his eyes slowly and saw a hoof covered in pale yellow fur, almost a white. He stood up and felt disjointed and weird. On all four legs, every movement was devastatingly hard for him to do. He steadily remembered the way his Charger moved his legs. He mimicked the movements and caught on quite quickly. He said to himself out loud, "By the Light, I think I have this down."

The paladin stopped dead in his tracks he realized something that was strange. His voice was odd. It had a slightly higher tone and was more brave sounding and commanding, same as his old voice but much more younger than the latter. Also, his muscles were not as tight and as sore as they used to be. He felt fresh, he felt younger by about twenty years younger than his age on Azeroth. Although he was not physically damaged he carried on his soul great unimaginable pain. He stood on his hind legs and he stood at his human height and looked down at his hooves. He closed his eyes and for the first time in almost thirty years, held back tears he said shakily, "Light forgive me for my sins... I'm sorry Renault... I'm sorry Darion... I'm...I'm sorry..."

His last words could not exit his lips. He choked back the sadness and uttered, "...Elena."

He breathed in a deep breath and felt sadness very lightly lift from his shoulders. Alexandros still carried an unfathomable amount of despair and regret but he needed to figure out where he was and a place to rest. Waking in a strange land brings disadvantages such as unknown dangers. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the cry of what seemed to be a woman. He galloped with great speed, with slightly awkward movments. Dodging and weaving through brush and flora, uncharacteristically overgrown even for a forest. He heard another cry, this one more urgent and he picked up his pace. Before he pushed past a wall of brush he heard in the back of his mind,
Our... destiny... has... changed...

He remembered the words and put them in the back of his mind. Alexandros pushed past the brush and saw a terrible sight. In a feedle position on the ground in fear was a young looking mare. Bright blue fear filled eyes, extravagent makeup, a greatly coiffed mane and tail, all accenting well with her whitish grey colored coat. She was cowering in fear to three creatures that looked to be wolves but were made of wood and were bigger than any wolf he has seen. They snarled and barred their fangs as they drew closer to the fearful mare, now holding a unconscious purple dragonling in her hooves. Alexandros prayed to the Light silently to give him the speed and the strength to protect these innocent creatures. It was a long shot for two reasons. One, he was in a different land. Two, he had done enough evil and killed enough innocents to be branded as a murderer. He did not expect the Light to answer his prayer, and it wasn't. So he had to rely on his youthful strength and speed to defeat these strange foes.

Alexandros charged towards the middle one and collided with the beast with his shoulder. Knocking the beast to the ground splintering under his weight. He forgot how strong he was when he was younger. His shoulder bruised under the oaken enemy, he looked down and to his sides. Their preditorial eyes were now on him, their new quarry. Alexandros put on a feirce face and readied himself for their attacks.

The one beneath him was still disoriented from the tackle and did not pose as a threat right now. The one on his right swiped down in a wide arc with its large claws. While they held superior numbers and superior strength he had the superior mind and superior stamina. He quickly dodged out of the way and the blow landed instead on the disoriented wolf on the ground. The wolf howled in pain and its large form fell limp. The other two continued their death stare on him, Alexandros was unfazed by their obvious glares at him to leave. He would not let innocent blood be spilled while he was around, no matter what his past was.

The left charged him and Alexandros used a counter charge of his own. He pushed forward and slammed into his foe. The wolf landed two swipes on its quarry. One across the base of his neck near his throat and the other on his side. Alexandros winced at the pain but responded with renews vigor and strength. He brought his hooves down on the wolf's snout and wood splintered and shattered under his hooves. Barbaric ferocity enclosed around Alexandros as he pooled his emotions into this fight. He kept bringing down his hooves on the oak wolf beneath him and ignored its cries and howls of pain. He was in a flurry of anger and despair. Forlorn of his past life and distraught by the exiting emotions on his family. He had almost lost Elena to wolves and that same protective ferocity he had that day channeled and fueled his attacks now.

Under one more strike to the face the wolf fell limp as it slipped into unconsciousness. He shot his focused gaze on the last wolf and shouted atop his lungs, "How dare you harm the innocent! Leave! NOW!"

The wolf reeled in fear but remained defiant. Alexandros growled under his breath and faster than before he slammed into the wolf but the wolf swatted him away with its paw. He felt the wooden arm bruise and shatter more than a few of his bones. His back slammed against a tree and felt his back tense and pull at his strength, but he put fresh in his mind the day he slew an entire horde of undead. Fatigue grew on his young, not war tightened muscles but stood back up in increased confidence. The wolf looked at him flatly and in awe under his persistence and refusal to let him feast on a small dragon and a... wait was she... she was a unicorn.

He refocused on the wolf with a fierce gaze. He shouted in a powerful voice, "You will not take the lives of these innocents! You fight a losing battle pup."

The wolf focused at the last word and fell aback in distraught and sadness. Alexandros focused and saw that wolf had white ashen wood for its frame and bright red eyes. He slammed his hoof on the ground and yelled, "Leave this place! And be spared!"

Almost like the wolf resonded to him. It regained normal composure and it no longer barred its teeth at him. Instead it dropped its ears and left defeated and fearful of him. Once the wolf was out of ear shot and out of sight he turned his gaze upon the fearful mare. Alexandros could not tell if she held a fearful gaze or a gaze of excitement as she was still alive. It didn't matter to him anyways, he did what he did to protect others. That's all he's ever done.

Rarity was dumbfounded and in awe at the sight she had just beheld. He was swift and tough as he made relatively quick work of the timber wolves. Her mind told her that he was too barbaric for acting so cruelly to those animals, but she couldn't. He carried with him a certain hopeful feeling. Her soul felt calmer around him and she felt warm inside. He was truly a sight to behold. His coat was one of those coats that had two colors, a light yellow like Fluttershy and a bleeding red. His eyes were a dark green like the treetops and flowing in the wind was his beautiful bright orange mane and tail, flowing like the steady and slow rhythm of flames. His frame was of average size and finely toned with strong muscles. With all of his injuries he shrugged them off like it were nothing. He stepped closer to her.

She held Spike tighter and watched as he approached her. In a calm and soothing voice he said with a sympathetic face, "Are you alright miss?"

Rarity was at a loss for words she said in a flustered tone, "I...I mean yes...yes I am...had you not come along I would have been those wolves dinner for sure. You have my deepest gratitude, mister..."

The earth pony stallion sat in silence for a moment. Deep in thought for a few seconds, he finally answered, "I am Alex."

"Well," Rarity said picking up Spike in her hooves and standing up, "A pleasure making your aquaitince Alex. I am Lady Rarity."

There was silence before they started walking in a direction. Rarity said carrying Spike, "I've never seen your face before. So your obviously not from Ponyville. Where are you from?"

Alexandros let the question sink in. He couldn't tell her the whole truth right away, he needed to know whether or not he could trust her. Alexandros met her gaze as they walked, "Let's just say I'm from a far away land."

There was silence again. Making them at the victim of listening to the sounds of the forest. Alexandros expected birds to be singing, animals rustling through the wild. But this forest was not like that. It was deathly quiet, like an undisturbed graveyard. It was eerie and dark, he suspected he arrived sometime in the morning. Inspecting the wild growth around them he said, "If I'm not too blunt I would like to ask, what exactly was your reason for being here?"

Rarity dropped her ears as she said, "I came here looking for gems. I thought the Everfree Forest would have some in the ground. Low and behold all that I exited with was my hooves, my friend Spike, and you."

This place proved to be indeed strange. Dragonlings befriending these ponies. Towns called Ponyville. Dark forests called the Everfree. Nothing appeared overly dangerous at the moment, sure the Everfree was dark and eerie but it was no comparison to Duskwood or Deadwind Pass. It only appeared dangerous, nothing seemed to compare with the dangers of Azeroth. Alexandros focused back on Rarity, of whome was a sight to behold. She carried herself with a certain grace, her voice sounded like she was from Gilneas only less thick of an accent and more calm. Her mane and tail a dark blue color accenting very well with her bright grey coat, up close one can definitely tell that it was a bright grey and not a white. Then he saw the small purple and green dragonling on her back and he noticed something odd. He didn't have any wings. Perhaps he was a dragonkin? Or some other creature.

Alexandros said not breaking his gaze off of the small purple dragonling, "So do all ponies around here befriend dragonlings?"

Rarity seemed lost in thought for a moment and then refocused as she answered, "You mean Spike? He's a baby dragon not...what ever you said."

Silence continued for a few minutes until Rarity said out loud, "Alex. A strange name."

Alexandros' face grew darker as he said, "It's a family name."

Rarity saw the look on his face and said looking at him, "I apologize, I didn't know that you..."

"No. It's fine, you were just curious." Alexandros explained with the ghost of a smile, "Besides, my family isn't as close as we used to be."

She looked over at him and asked with a curious look, "If you don't mind I'd like to ask exactly what that reason is?"

He was about to answer when his chest, hooves, and back flared in pain. He was not in the adrenaline rush of battle anymore, his physical limits have been pushed. He buckled and fell being caught by Rarity. She said exasperatedly, "Alex. Do be careful dear, you have to take it easy you just defeated three timber wolves on your own. We have to get you to a hospital."

Alexandros was about to respond when he felt his eyes grow heavy and slowly his vision was enclosed by shadows. In the back of his mind her heard the choir of voices he was all to familiar with,
Our... connection... can't be... broken...
We... are... one...
You... and... I