Kratos suddenly awoke standing in the middle of a city, still a pony. As he observed the crumbled architecture, he suddenly realized where he was. "Rhodes," he growled under his breath. "That means—"
There was a rumble beneath his hooves, and Kratos turned towards the ledge in time to see the Colossus of Rhodes rise up before him, it's eyes glowing blue with energy. This time, however, it wasn't a humanoid form; the gargantuan statue was now a gigantic horse, with massive stone wings and a monumental horn spiraling out of its forehead.
Kratos just barely had time to twirl about his tail when the Colossus' horn glowed blue, and he suddenly felt himself lifted above the ground. He was dragged up to the eyes of the stone monstrosity, struggling all the way. As he leveled in front of its face, the giant brows furrowed.
"It's been some time, Kratos," the Colossus remarked in a familiar voice.
"Gaia?" Shock mixed in with Kratos' anger. "You fell off the edge of Olympus!"
Gaia's voice replied, "You think a mortal like yourself can kill a Titan?"
"I have killed many unkillable things, Gaia. You're just another supposed immortal who refuses to leave me be!"
Gaia-Colossus glared at the earth pony. "Don't think that just because you're in another world that I cannot make you suffer, Spartan." She spat out the last word as if it left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Leave me, Gaia!"
"No, I won't leave. In fact, I'm going to ensure that your dreams will be nothing but misery." At those words, the world began to shift and ripple.
Kratos found himself still floating in the air, reliving the horrors of his life once again. He witnessed his swearing of allegiance to Ares, a foolish and costly action; he saw the dreaded chains wrap around his arms, felt their red-hot metal sear his flesh; then, as was what happened in every one of his nightmares, he watched himself kill his wife and daughter, over and over and over.
Every time the scenes played in his mind, the flames in the background grew higher, the heat grew stronger, the pain more unbearable, the grief weighing heavier and heavier on his conscience.
Just as the Spartan was nearing his breaking point, the fires extinguished. He heard Gaia's voice cry out, "What? What is this? Who dares to tamper with the work of the Titans?"
In response, a second voice rang out across the vast dreamscape. "You are intruding on the realm of dreams. That is my domain."
"This is not over, Spartan! I will be back…" Gaia's voice lost its power, and Kratos awoke.
Stirring, the earth pony looked towards the window. Outside, the moon shone brightly, illuminating everything in its soft, white glow. Somehow, he knew, the moon had saved him from his nightmares. "Thank you," he whispered quietly.
Kratos once again closed his eyes and slept, and thankfully did not dream.
~/~/~/~
Kratos opened his eyes to bright sunlight filtering through the window. He was now sure of two things: first, that he was still in a land of talking ponies; and second, that some sort of goddess granted him the calmest sleep he'd had in years. The relief brought by the second balanced out the annoyance of the first.
As he walked out of the bedroom, he turned towards the stairs, but hesitated at the top when he heard voices.
"—just starts tearing down trees and threatening Celestia and Luna. And you brought him to Ponyville?"
Fluttershy's voice replied, "He was just scared, Twilight! He acted just like how lots of animals do when they're hurt and confused. He needed help getting into bed just last night!" Kratos frowned at the comparison to a wild beast, however accurate it was.
"This isn't one of your small forest creatures, Fluttershy," the other voice shot back. "This stallion claimed to be a god, admitted to being a killer, and threatened to attack our rulers!"
Kratos, steeling his resolve, began walking down the stairs. The cottage grew quiet except for his large, powerful hooves thumping on the wooden steps. He stopped in front of the three ponies in the middle of the room. In addition to Fluttershy, there was a purple unicorn standing across from her.
"My name is Kratos," he announced. "Are you Twilight?"
The unicorn stepped forward. "Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia herself." She added that last part with an edge in her voice.
"You are angry that I threatened your mentor," Kratos observed.
"You could say that. And you," the unicorn glared, "have a lot of explaining to do."
"I want an audience with the princesses."
"Not until you answer some questions."
The Spartan was about to argue further, but he glanced at Fluttershy, her eyes silently pleading to not continue. He'd seen those eyes as cold and sharp as ice, but now his defenses melted. He sighed, "Fine."
Twilight blinked, not expecting the disagreement to end so quickly. She looked over at Fluttershy for a moment, then gestured towards the couch. "Please sit down."
The unicorn sat down across from Kratos. "Now," she said calmly, "let's start with the basics: where are you from?"
"Sparta."
The mare blinked. "Where?"
"Sparta." Kratos allowed a small grin on his face. "One of the greatest cities in the world. On the banks of the River Eurotas."
The other ponies looked at each other. The Spartan frowned again. "You say this is Equestria. Where does that lay near the Aegean?"
Silence greeted him.
It was when the silence continued that Kratos realized how far from home he was. He was in another world entirely, far from any human lands. He may have been the only being from his to ever even see this land.
He sighed. "I am from a world far beyond this one. It's vastly different from this place. Different buildings, different… beings," he decided.
Twilight looked at him skeptically. "Okay, then." She thought of her next question carefully. "How did you appear in this world, Kratos?" If that is your real name, she added silently.
"I was in a temple on a remote island, seeking a way back to Mount Olympus. I came across a statue of a hors—pony, when a voice spoke to me and told me to touch it."
"A voice?"
"A soothing one, not unlike the goddesses of my own realm. I questioned its motives, and it shone a warm light that made everything… feel right. I trusted it, and took the statue. Then, I was blinded again, and I woke up in this body, in the middle of a forest. I thought it was just another of Zeus's tricks. Until…" He looked over at Fluttershy.
"Her arrival told me what happened was no trick, at least not by Zeus's hand. She told me of your own gods, and I resolved to convince them to send me back to my world. Fluttershy… suggested otherwise."
"You used the Stare on him?" Twilight Sparkle looked over at Fluttershy, mildly shocked.
Fluttershy nodded, shying away from the two pairs of eyes suddenly on her. "You know I can't really control it. I told him that he had to come with me back to Ponyville so we could get this all cleared up, and, well, here we are."
"While that does clear some things up, I still have some questions." Twilight Sparkle looked towards the pegasus. "Fluttershy, why did you agree to convince me to let him see the princesses? He threatened to kill them; what's stopping him from trying the moment he's in the throne room?"
Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but Kratos interrupted. "You have my word as a Spartan that no harm will befall anybody, so long as I'm not attacked first."
"That's the best you have to offer?"
"Twilight?" Fluttershy walked over towards her friend. "I can go with Kratos. He wouldn't do anything while I'm there." She looked at the earth pony knowingly, and for a moment Kratos felt a familiar pang of guilt from years past.
Twilight looked at the other two ponies, then sighed. "I'll write Princess Celestia and see if she or Luna would be willing to grant an audience. I don't promise anything," she added as she walked out the front door.
Fluttershy and Kratos stood silently for a time, neither sure of what to say. "So," Fluttershy said at last, "what would you like to do until Celestia responds?"
The earth pony mulled it over. "I've yet to actually see Ponyville," he replied.
"Oh, that's a great idea! I could show you around town, and maybe afterwards you could help me take care of the animals."
With that, they walked out the door. Despite her cheerful demeanor, Fluttershy's mind was racing, predicting all sorts of worst-case scenarios from taking the Spartan into town. The only question was which one would happen first.
~/~/~/~
