It was nearing nightfall over Equestria, the sun’s crimson descent cascading the land in a sea of vibrant oranges and reds. The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters glistened in the colors of autumn, as Princess Luna prepared to usher her job as the deity of the night.

The mentor to Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia was looking at her student. She had come in with a claim to prove that Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, would not harm anypony.

Celestia, at first, was hesitant to continue with the conversation. “Twilight, if you really do have proof, what is it?” She asked.

Twilight closed her eyes, and opened them again as she spoke, “Kratos and I talked through telepathy, as I already told you. I figured that since you put him to sleep, he would be conscious inside his mind. As if having a long, lucid dream. So I put my theory to the test, and fortunately, I could commune with him.”

‘Smart girl,’ Celestia’s lips curled into a small smile. “Very efficient use of telepathy. Carry on though, my faithful student.”

The unicorn looked reluctant to continue, but quickly shoved down any sense of hesitation. “Now, before this all happened, I looked through Kratos’s past by using a spell on his blades... after taking them without his permission,” She winced. “But, I figured that he is very ruthless. He will stop at nothing to get to his goal, even if it means killing the innocent. And, I understand that you needed to defend yourself, Princess, but Kratos was angered. And it was his rage that began his thirst for vengeance.”

“Why does he want vengeance?” The Princess asked.

“The God of War, Ares, tricked him into doing the unthinkable... and he... killed his wife and daughter.” She replied, ears folded down against her head. Even now, it was a slightly touchy subject.

Celestia looked a bit appalled at this set of news. Sympathy, perhaps? “And why do you bring this information to me? You’re not making things look better for Kratos...”

“That’s just it,” Twilight said. “I spoke with him recently. We came to an agreement, that in turn for his hands not being laid upon any pony violently without good motives, I would give him both his freedom, and work on a spell to return him to Olympus.” She was being careful with her words. Thank her mentor that she waited before confronting her. Twilight was practically a wreck after what happened- now, she regained herself. Got a sense of optimism going, a lot of confidence.

The Princess thought for a moment. “I’m not sure, Twilight. You’re talking about someone who could have greatly injured me, or even worse, ended my life. And what then? You’re planning on making a spell to teleport him back to his own world, which, is impossible. And I do not mean to underestimate your abilities, Twilight. You are an amazing student, but doing such a feat would require an astounding amount of information. And given how much magical power would be required, both you, I and Luna wouldn’t be enough.” The solar Princess closed her eyes a bit. The emotion displayed by Twilight was a bit worrying. “Not to mention- this is not proof. It is merely a promise.”

“And this is where the proof comes in. Kratos gave me his word.” The unicorn’s horn lit up. This was her trump card.

A projection of the white warrior standing in nothingness, along with Twilight sitting on her bed, came into view. “Kratos, you’re putting a lot at risk here. I hope you understand that.” Twilight’s projection said.

“I already know this. What is it you want from me?” The ashen Spartan’s ghostly figure asked. Kratos looked the same as ever to the Princess. Eyes narrowed, almost as if a permanent scowl was on his face. But, he did not seem angry. His voice certainly did not have an edge or angry tone to it.

“In return for your agreement to the terms, I will work as hard as I can to put together a spell that will be capable of returning you to Olympus.” Twilight’s figure said.

“What are these... terms...?” The figure of the Spartan wondered.

The figure which represented Twilight in the dream spoke, “Number one. You shall not bring harm to anypony, under any circumstances that have bad motives. Number two. If I manage to have Princess Celestia free you, you must NOT, and I repeat, NOT make an attempt on her life! Number three. Your blades will be given back to you if you are freed, but remember, using them in a negative manner will make you guilty of breaking the first term. And finally, number four. You must apologize to both Princess Celestia and Rainbow Dash for your actions.”

Kratos’s left eye twitched. “What!? You want me to apologize? Your friend was in my way. It was her fault for causing me to get her out of the way!” The apparition of Kratos raised his hands, the scowl now replaced with frustration. “And furthermore, your ruler is a worthless, patheti-”

“KRATOS!” The physical manifestation of Twilight interrupted the former God of War. “Do you want to be free or not? Princess Celestia is more than deserving of your apology. You tried to kill her, for pony’s sake! Not to mention the guards, who were just doing their job!”

The Spartan looked so angry, that Twilight thought he’d explode. But, he growled, gritting his teeth as he somehow managed to calm down. “... Fine! But don’t expect me to be happy about it...” He then thought, ‘I’d sooner be raped by a chimera than apologize to those undeserving-’

“Kratos, I know it’s a lot. But you know, this is a negotiation. Is there anything we can do to offer and maybe make things easier? A home? Maybe a chance to date a pony? I know it’s been-”

“WHAT?!”

“Well, I did study things,” Twilight’s manifestation retreated back a bit. “I found out that stallions do get cranky when they don’t release tension...”

“HAVE YOU GONE MAD?!”

“Well, you’re not married, and I know that there are other ways to release rage than just violence. Shouting into a pillow, pottery-”

“Are you offering yourself?”

“Of course not! Okay, maybe...”

“Why?! Is it that you have feelings for me?”

“Not romantic ones! I just said date!” Twilight opened her eyes wide, the look on Kratos’ face was one she thought she would never see. His eyes had opened wide, and his mouth was open in a cringe. “Well, from the stories from your world, satyrs, centaurs, and other half-human half-beast things exist. I figured...”

“Back to the negotiations!” Kratos insisted. The hurt look on Twilight’s face made him release a sigh. “I can see about the other... rage-releasing methods.” She was still pouting. “I still love my wife and daughter. Until my vengeance is obtained,” Kratos lowered his head to look at his arms. “This ash remains.”

“I understand... but, do you agree to the terms?” The unicorn asked, obviously hiding her emotions (as best as she could). The poor unicorn had formed an emotional attachment, one she had yet to acknowledge. Witness to his pain and plight, she had placed much of herself into his life.

“I do ask for a few things. I do require a-” Kratos stopped himself from saying home. ”- place to rest. I eat meat and drink wine. I am a soldier, a Spartan. I need to train, and be left in peace as well.” Kratos raised his head, relaxing his posture. “But keep me away from your so-called rulers."

Twilight’s apparition nodded. “I... I’ll see what I can do for you. You may have to follow our other laws as well. Though I think they will make Fluttershy your caretaker.”

“Who?” Kratos asked.

“Fluttershy... she’s a friend of mine. I say this because she lives close to a dangerous forest. You should be able to hunt there, if I’m not mistaken. But... one thing to keep in mind,” Twilight’s expression turned to one of slight reluctance.

“What?”

“Have you met her? Yellow pegasus? She is incredibly shy, hence her name.”

He shook his head. “Oh, great...” Kratos facepalmed. “Caretaker?”

“Yes, but I said think. I don’t know that. But, she would be your caretaker because she’s, well, in my opinion, great with animals.”

“Are you calling me an animal?”

“Oh, n-no! I just--”

Kratos stared Twilight down. “... Okay, that may have been what was implied, but I didn’t mean for it to come out that way, h-honest!” ‘I also think you could use a bit of kindness, more than any other...’ She thought to herself.

“... I’ll let it pass.” Kratos made a hand gesture. The realization that ‘ponies’ would want to date him almost broke his mind. Especially Twilight, given what they've been through 'together'. Though, an odd thought did occur to him. Why did she help? What was her sake in this? If he had to get down and dirty with a pony... screw it, he’s done worse things for blood orbs.

“Now, down to the conclusion... do you agree?” She asked finally.

“As long as I get what I need in return, or, a majority of it, then yes... I do.” What choice did he have?

The images faded, and Twilight’s cheeks were basically on fire.

Princess Celestia’s face was absolutely priceless- jaw slacked in shock and slight revulsion as to what she just heard.

“You... heard him?”

“Sister?” Luna, who came into the room recently, raised her eyebrows, waving a hoof in front of Celestia's face. Not a flinch. “Twilight?” Luna asked.

“Yes princess?” Twilight tried to figure out what was wrong.

“What kind of dreams do you two share?”

“Nothing strange! I swear! I just learned about his world!”

• - - - About 10 minutes later...

Princess Celestia finally snapped out of whatever trance-like state she succumbed to. “Huh? That was... very... strange,” She said. “I didn’t know you had feelings for... him.”

“So... what do you say? Y-you got enough proof, right?” Twilight asked with puppy-dog eyes.

Wait. Feelings? Of course she did! He was her friend, right?

Riiight?

The Princess of the Sun sighed. “I suppose I can let him free...” Dark thoughts plagued her mind momentarily, reminders of the Black Death. “... as long as he follows your conditions, and our laws.”

“When can we set him free?” Twilight asked eagerly.

“Whenever you are ready. Luna, did you have anything to say?” Celestia looked to her younger sister.

“Oh, no. We were merely intrigued by... I mean, I was merely intrigued by this illusion put forth. I wanted to... investigate, if you would.” She said with a nod.

The elder sister nodded. “I see... well then, let us go. Luna, would you like to come?”

The younger sister bobbed her head up and down excitedly. “Yes yes yes!” She then got some strange looks from both ponies. “I... mean, of course.”

So, the trio began their descent down to the depths of the castle. Where the prison was located. “This place,” Luna said. “You never told me about it... why?” She asked as the walls of reinforced stone lowered themselves, one by one, until the dark chamber at the long end of the hallway was visible. In it, hung Kratos. His motionless form was still covered in the bandages, which were slightly ‘soaked’ with dried-up blood.

Using her magic, Celestia peeled off the bandages. She winced as she saw Kratos’s insanely scarred skin - practically every inch of him was covered in scars, save for his hands and feet. Somehow, the bandages kept his body from dehydrating or losing too much muscle mass. The Princess looked to the two of them. “Are you sure about this, Twilight?”

“I am most certainly sure about this.” The unicorn replied. She sported a smile that went beyond squee.

“If you say so.” Celestia hesitantly lit-up her horn, and cast the awakening spell. Kratos’s form shot up, and relaxed, head hanging down.

Both Luna and Celestia released the restraints, and Kratos fell to his knees. Before he hit the ground, he was caught by a familiar golden glow, and softly rested on the ground.

The Spartan slowly opened his eyes, and looked up to see three faces. One was blue, and excited as a child on Nightmare Night. The second was purple, and happier than ever. And the third one was white, and full of concern, maybe even slight fear and uncertainty.

“Are you okay, Kratos?” Was the first thing he heard Twilight say.

“Twilight? Yes... I’m... fine.” He choked out, coughing a bit. While in the bandages, he could breath just fine. But shit, his throat was dry! “Though... I... could use a glass of water.” The Spartan demigod said as he stood up, stumbling around a bit. The smell of this musty place did not help. Still, it was better than Tartarus at the very least.

Twilight let him place a hand on her back for support. “Come on, let’s get you out of here...” She said, helping him walk. “Are you sure you’re okay, after all the damage you took?”

Celestia finally chimed in. “And, Kratos, I am sorry for what I had to do.”

The unicorn nudged Kratos, who rolled his eyes. “... And I... am sorry as well...” He mumbled lowly.

“Pardon?” Celestia cocked her head at him.

“He’ll tell you when he’s abl-” Twilight was interrupted by the white warrior.

“I’m not... repeating myself. I said it once, that’s all I promised.”

“I see. What did he say, Twilight?” The unicorn’s mentor asked.

“He apologized for making an attempt on your life, Princess Celestia.” Twilight explained.

• - - - Soon After...

Kratos, the God of War. Ghost of Sparta. Champion of the Titans. God Slayer. Lord of Vengeance, has returned to Equestria.

The first thing on his mind: “What is a date?”

He thought they were those dried fruits at first. Then he thought she was referring to the date as in, today, tomorrow, etc.

“You don’t know what a date is?” Twilight asked. Kratos was sent back to Ponyville with his blades, which had a special little adjustment put to them, for ‘extra precautions’ as said by Celestia.

Now, he was drinking a glass of wine, supplied in crates by a pony named ‘Berry Punch’. Bless that pony, bless her. He was sitting on a disproportional couch, in Twilight’s living room. The lower floor of the library to be exact, watching the unicorn read books. “No...” He picked up a book, looking at it momentarily, clearly showing he wasn’t really paying attention.

“Kratos, a date is where two ponies or more, go out together in a social event to find out if they are compatible in a romantic relationship. Typically they go to a restaurant, a theatre, maybe set up a picnic.” She explained.

The Ghost of Sparta raised a brow. “Oh? So now the word has three meanings...” He rolled his eyes.

Twilight giggled as she studied teleportation magic. Kratos was going to be staying at her home until everything got figured out, with where he was going to actually stay. “So... I was wondering. How does death work back in your world? You’ve clearly managed to escape it more than once.” She asked.

“The Hands of Death rise up to claim you as their prize, and pull you down to Tartarus. You can escape by fighting your way through the hundreds of arms... climbing to the top. It’s not that it isn’t a challenge. But, the Titans resurrected me. That is how I managed to escape.” Kratos answered.

“Ah...” Twilight wondered if she was not drunk enough for that answer to make sense.

“Is there anything else?” Kratos asked, before taking a sip of his wine again.

“No, not right now. It’s... getting late.” Twilight turned to look at the night sky. Luna’s moon was already overhead. “We should sleep.”

“I’m not tired. You can sleep if you wish... I need to walk.” Kratos said, taking a bottle of wine from a crate which was beside the couch, and standing up.

“Okay... just, be back before midnight, please?” She asked.

“I won’t promise anything...” The Ghost of Sparta walked out of the door.

Twilight sighed, and walked upstairs, to her bed. She laid down on it, and closed her eyes after snuggling up in the covers. A smile appeared on her lips. A good deed had been done this day.

Kratos began his small journey after shutting the door, taking a swig of wine. He looked at the moon. Luna had done an impressive job, decorating the sky with stars. He sighed, and continued on. His body was much better now- he recovered, for the most part. One would think that with broken spine bones, he would be paralyzed. But miraculously, he wasn’t.

Just dumb luck, I guess. Or how long had he’d been under that spell?

And so, he continued to walk. Through Ponyville he went, looking at the still-open shops. Some of the shop owners’ jaws dropped when they saw Kratos walking by. He ignored them, for the most part. They gave him weird looks, when they were still open in the middle of the night. Weirdos.

When Kratos left Ponyville, he walked to the top of a hill, where an apple tree was. The hill overlooked a massive orchard, a farmhouse just barely in sight. ‘They must harvest apples...’ Kratos thought rhetorically. The memory of him running across this land to reach Celestia still fresh, he could not recall seeing the sheer amount of tranquility this land had.

Boring.

His stomach suddenly growled. The Spartan sighed, leaning against the tree. He took another long swig of the wine. He was enjoying it- it wasn’t like what he was used to. It wasn't too strong, not too weak. Not too bitter, not too sweet either. It was balanced.

Deciding that taking one apple couldn’t hurt, he reached his hand up, and plucked one of the plump fruits from the tree. He took quite a generous bite of it, it was crisp, juicy. Juice from the apple ran down his face, onto his neck. He smirked.

“Now what in the name’a tarnation d’ya think you’re doin’ out here at this time’a night, pickin’ my family’s crops?” A female voice suddenly called out.

Kratos looked around, and finally spotted the mare in question. She wore a stetson hat, having an orange coat. A trio of apples were on her flank. “Wait ah second...” She almost went pale as she recognized him.

“Sweet Aphrodite...” Kratos moved to stand straight, looking down at the pony. “You’re wearing a hat!”

“Uh... yeah, Ah am.” Applejack said, rather confused. “Ah thought that you would’a been banished from Equestria or somethin’.” Her face twisted a bit, her eyes narrowing at him.

“What is your name? You know of me...” Kratos raised an eyebrow, trying to remember if he met her. He recognized the voice. The voice, the voice...

“Uh... i-it’s Applejack. And what’re ya’ doin’ on my family’s orchard?” She asked, trying to get down to business.

“Dear Applejack, your fruit is the food served to Gods of Olympus. They are succulent, and their color is astounding.” He looked down at the fruit. It was truly one of the best things he ever tasted. “Their juices are a match for any wine.” He turned to look at her, taking yet another bite out of the apple. “Almost as intoxicating as yourself.” Kratos had to stop, the wine was starting to get to him.

The look on Applejack’s face.

Bazinga! Way to play it with your words, Mr. Kratos!

“Well shucks, thank ‘ya... Car-Toes, was it? What’s your name?” She cocked her head at him.

“... It’s Kratos.” He pronounced his name slowly, so that she could understand.

“Ah see. Well’en, for takin’ my family’s product, y’all earned yourself ah bit’a work.” Well, there goes getting yourself out of it, Kratos! “You best be comin’ ‘round here tomorrow, ‘ya two-legged rascal...” She then walked off, towards the farmhouse in the distance.

“Why was she up at midnight in a-...” He then sniffed the air. Both eyes opened wide at the smell of... oranges? Pears? A lot of fruits that were not apples. “I’m too drunk, I’m smelling things...” He groaned. His nose was burning for some reason.

Kratos decided to go back 'home'. He was drunk, after all. At least, though, he could stand. And see fairly clear.

As Kratos walked back into Ponyville, he saw something bipedal standing beside him. His vision blurred, he looked over to it. Staring at the blurred, black and robed figure for quite a few seconds, he dismissed it with, “I’m seeing things...” Before walking off. He could feel eyes on him, but he ignored them.

A small echo of a deep, growly cackle made him look over his shoulder. The figure was gone. Kratos took his blades out, trying to stay as alert as possible, even though he was intoxicated. “Strange...” He continued on. No smells, no tracks, no sign that anything had been there.

Once he returned to Twilight’s home, he opened the door. Bracers removed, which held his blade’s chains, setting them on the end table to look around. This was his second time here, though Twilight had shown him her place many times in dream speak. He laid down awkwardly on the couch, and shut his eyes.

‘How long... will it be. How long... will it take, before my thirst for vengeance returns?’

Bonus:

“Bonbon!” Lyra pointed with a hoof. “It’s a human!”

“We know Lyra. Big deal.”

“But ponies...”

“Let it go Lyra, no one likes a ‘I told you so’.”

“But--”

“Look, if I help him bang you later, will you feel better?”

Squee.

Author's Note

"All of my stories run on my theories, and my ideas. If you have a problem with them, move on, and have a good day. If you don't like it, don't read it. It's as simple as that.

"If you spot any grammatical problems, tell me. If you spot any punctuation problems, tell me. If you have a problem with the plot, I'll give you this and this only: It's my story. Not yours. If you want to happen, write it yourself, or stop bugging authors to make a story that they enjoy writing, into something that you would enjoy. In other words, your ideas are your ideas, and my ideas are my ideas. Don't try to force anything down my throat, or another's. Write it yourself, or it isn't going to happen."

• ZTB