Magnus flew for some time now, heading north from Canterlot. His wings were growing weary, and he desperately needed to rest them, so he flew down from the clouds. He saw the landscape below was covered in ice and snow, and he cursed to himself as he now had to trek through the frozen tundra to get to Purgatory.
He slowed his descent downwards, and he finally landed on the cold, damp snow. He shivered violently, his body trembling heavily even with the fire burning from his mane. He drudged slowly through the snow, his energy slowly draining from him. He wasn't hungry, but his body was steadily growing weaker and weaker.
I need to find a way to keep myself from passing out, otherwise I'll freeze out here to death. He continued drudging onwards. The weather for now was clear with the afternoon sun hitting the white landscape, and he continued heading northbound.
The flame from his mane was slowly dying, and he knew that he was dying as well, but he wouldn't give in. He then saw a glowing light of some sort, dim but surely real. Still shivering and shaking violently, he headed towards the dim light. He drudged more through the snow, until he arrived at the source of the light. It was a campfire of some sort, with a metal rack holding some bowls, a saddlebag, and a ladle, and a small cauldron hanging just above the flame. Magnus looked around, but could find no pony around. He sat beside the fire, warming himself up and causing his mane to burn brightly again. He peered into the cauldron, and saw only clear water boiling inside.
He looked around again, before deciding that no pony would come, and he grabbed one of the bowls on the metal rack with one of his wings. He grasped the ladle with the other wing, and began to scoop some of the water in the cauldron and pour it into the bowl. He placed the ladle back on the rack, and proceeded to drink the warm water. He poured the contents of the bowl down his freezing throat, and he felt much more refreshed and warmed after drinking the water. He placed the bowl back on the rack, and relaxed by the fire for a few more moments, warming every part of his body. He finally had his fill of comfort and relaxation, something he had not felt in a long time.
He stood up with more energy and spirit now. "Whoever made this fire… thank you," Magnus said to himself. He turned to leave, but did not know which direction was north. He groaned, and looked around the campfire for anything that could help him. He decided to check the saddlebag, and looked through it for anything that could help him.
He searched through the bag, finding food, hatchets, winter clothing, and some kind of journal. He continued searching through the bag, until he found what he was looking for; a compass. He grinned in satisfaction, and used it to see which direction was north. It pointed to his left, and he nodded. He turned north, and marked on the snow the direction that was north. He then placed the compass back, and turned to his marker.
His curiosity got the best of him, and before he left, he pulled out the journal that he found. He opened it, and found that the first two pages were full of writing. He began to read the journal:
Day 1- I seem to have woken up in a strange place. I was trapped in a room of some sort, and before I knew it, I busted out of it. I hadn't had a meal in a while, and when I saw a meal, I proceeded to eat it peacefully. I was interrupted by a hoof that punched me, and before I knew it, I was attacked by a strange pony that had torn flesh and bone sticking clear out of his body. After quite a struggle, I had defeated the pony. Fortunately, I received no wounds. As for the other pony, well, he wasn't so lucky. I then left towards a nearby town called Ponyville, hoping to catch a sense of relief.
As soon as I had entered, though, I was imprisoned yet again, this time by a mare named Claire that was alone in the town. I explained to her my situation, and she released me. We both travelled together through the town, figuring out why it was empty. It turns out a riot of some sort had cleared the town, and all that remained were the bones of those who once lived there. We continued until we reached the town hall, where we stayed with another mare named Jill and a group of ponies. This lasted until we were attacked, and we were forced to flee. Two of the ponies in our group had unfortunately perished during the raid, and we trekked back to the mare's cottage.
Day 2- After arriving again at the cottage of the mare I met yesterday, I had to properly detain the bodies of the two deceased. After proper burials for each of them, I decided to head back into the empty town to fetch supplies. It turns out the town wasn't empty at all, and before I knew it, those ponies with the torn skin attacked me yet again, and after a narrow escape, I returned to the cottage with the supplies.
The mare that we found in town hall yesterday, Jill, attacked me when I arrived, and the mare who owned the cottage, Claire, stepped in front of her when she attacked. In my rage, I… attacked and murdered Jill. I went over to Claire, and… she died in my hooves. I… I had never felt pain like that, and so I wandered into the tundra… alone. I… I plan on escaping this madness… by taking the easy way out. For now, though, I write in this journal, hoping that whoever may find it may avoid all that has happened to me. I leave to you the campfire, the food, the water, and the tools I have brought with me. I will no longer need them… please… avoid what I have been through. My name is Chris, and… and… I'm sorry.
Magnus looked through the journal, and lowered it slowly. It seems that this plague has affected every pony… but it only seems to be around Ponyville… because of the Amulet. It only happened within a matter of two days... all of it... He took off the amulet slowly, and his mane and tail stopped breathing out flames. His yellow hide was turning back into the light silver-grey it was originally, and his mane and tail turned back to their original black and yellow color. Leon now stood in place of Magnus, and he took the saddlebag that hung on the metal rack.
He took out the winter clothing: a set of four socks, four wool boots, a scarf, and a winter cap, and placed them on. He strapped the saddlebag onto his back, and placed the journal and bowls back into the bag. He took one more drink of water from the cauldron, and readied to leave. He turned towards the marker he placed, and headed off in that direction. He was much warmer now, and he would maintain this warmth now due to his clothing. He trotted straight from where he placed his marker, and journeyed through the frozen tundra.
He noticed that the wind was now blowing hard, and a blizzard was beginning to pick up, making it difficult to see now. Leon traveled through the snow, but couldn't see anything in front of his nose. He pulled out the compass from the saddlebag, and saw he was still heading north. He continued gazing at the compass, until he bumped into something.
He looked up, and fell backwards into the snow quickly and panicked, gasping in shock. He saw in front of him a Runner, pale and a sickly bluish-grey, but something was wrong with it. It was moving, but only ever so slightly. It was facing away from Leon, and it couldn't turn around quickly. Leon wondered why it was so slow, and then it hit him. It has something to do with the Runners' corpses freezing from the inside, and their movements being only minimal. The Control Freak turned to him, his eyes a dull blue color, and rather than growl at Leon, he spoke with a stammer. "Who… whoever you are… end it… end it now… please."
Leon stood up again, pulled out a hatchet from the saddlebag, and raised it over the Control Freak's head. "Are you sure? There may be a way to help you."
The Runner looked down onto the ground. "Yes… please… I… I can't live… as one of them. Not… not after my loss… please. Use… my hatchet… and end it." Leon then realized this Control Freak must've been Chris. Leon nodded, and then brought the hatchet down quickly onto Chris's head, cleaving it in half. The head opened widely, revealing the brain, also cleaved in half, sporting a sickly, dark blue color. Since the body was frozen, no blood surged from the open gash, and Leon pushed the corpse down onto the ground, where it fell, finally at peace. Hopefully, you have a better afterlife, Chris. He left the journal on Chris's carcass, and turned north again.
Leon continued through the snow, following the compass as it pointed him north. He continued until he saw what he was looking for. He saw in front of him a large, dark, ominous, and looming castle. Purgatory… this must be it. He walked up to the base of the mountain that the castle rested on, and he opened his wings to fly upwards toward the entrance. He flew high, and when he saw the entrance, he lowered his descent and landed at a large, wooden doorway. He landed on the ravine that marked the entrance to the foreboding castle, and he wondered whether he should knock or if he should wait. He decided to wait, and he saw some movement in one of the windows above the doorway. He waited some more, and after a few seconds, the doors opened upwards slowly, making a large groaning noise as it did, allowing Leon entrance. Leon stepped inside, and the doors to the castle fell quickly and slammed shut, creating a large booming noise that caused Leon to jump out of fear.
Leon looked around the large hall for anything or any pony, but no pony was around. He then saw a door open at the end of the hall, and four equine figures emerged from within. Each of them were glowing brightly a different color; one was glowing a bright, sickly yellow, one was glowing a bright, fiery red, one was glowing a dark, pitch black and the final was glowing a bright, pale green color. They approached Leon slowly, and the red one stumbled a bit before it tripped and fell over, knocking over the yellow one as well. "Dammit, War, you always do this!" the yellow one complained.
"Well, you're the one who smells like some horseshit dried up on the road! You just happened to walk past me, and my eyes burned!" the red one retorted.
"You're both idiots! You're making fools of me and Death in front of our guest!" the black one scolded.
The green one merely shook his head, and they all continued advancing towards Leon. Leon turned to the Barrier with a smirk. "These horses are gods? I guess we were doomed from the start."
The four finally stood magnificently in front of Leon, and they stared him down. "You weren't who we were expecting, mortal," the black one said menacingly.
Leon at first stared at them confusedly, but then remembered he had taken off the Amulet. He removed his winter clothing, placed them in the saddlebag, took out the Amulet, and placed it on. He transformed once more into Magnus, and stood taller now.
"Whoa! That… was fucking amazing!" the red one said admiringly. "I love the flames… don't you think they're badass?"
The yellow one groaned, and turned to him. "War, stop it! We're not supposed to be impressed at what a mere mortal can do!" the yellow one said in a whiny voice.
The black one face hoofed himself, and groaned. "Pestilence, you fool! Can you not see that this is Magnus, the reborn Phoenix Bearer?" the black one scolded.
Magnus bowed in respect to the four horses. "What… what is he doing, offering me a quickie?" the red one asked sarcastically, snickering afterwards.
The green one shook his head, and thwacked the red one on the forehead. The black one motioned for Magnus to stand, and he did so. "Magnus, welcome back to the living. I believe you know who we are, but if not, allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Famine, the first of the Four Horses." Famine pointed to the fiery red one next. "This stupid and immature fool is War, the second of the Four Horses."
"I'm not stupid, I'm gifted! Not like this whiny bitch here!" War replied, pointing to the yellow one.
"Oh, you're fucking gifted all right, you stupid prick," the yellow one replied.
Famine turned to both of them, grasped their heads, and slammed them into each other. "Hey, quit it! You know that hurts!" the yellow one said, rubbing his head with his hoof.
"You're both gods… act like it!" Famine yelled.
"I am! I'm acting like I have unlimited power and don't give two shits about it!" War replied coolly. This earned him a punch from the green one, and War stopped speaking.
Famine turned back to Magnus, muttering in restrained anger as he did, and pointed to the yellow one. "This whiny she-devil is Pestilence, the third of the Four Horses." Pestilence's only response was to glare at Famine. Famine then pointed to the green one. "The only good sibling of mine, Death, is the last of the Four Horses." Death simply nodded, and Famine had finished making the introductions.
"He doesn't talk much, does he?" Magnus asked, referring to Death.
"No, he doesn't. If you are here because Caelum sent you, then you know why we brought you back," Famine stated.
Magnus nodded. "Is this Purgatory?" he asked.
Famine shook his head. "This is the gateway to Purgatory, otherwise known as… 'The Gateway!'" he announced proudly. Magnus looked at him questionably, and turned back to the Barrier, raising an eyebrow. "You will enter Purgatory, Magnus, as you have done so before as Caelum. You are to learn of this plague, learn of your exorcism spell, and manage the souls lost to this plague. Are you ready, Magnus, to enter Purgatory?" Famine asked gravely and seriously.
Magnus stood sternly, and nodded. The Four Horses then turned to a nearby wall, and each of them chanted some kind of phrase in Pony Latin. After finishing their chant, the wall opened slowly and widely, revealing a blue aura. The Four Horses entered the portal, and urged Magnus to follow, and he did so. He did not know what awaited him in Purgatory, and he was both nervous and excited as to what it held inside.