He felt the warm grass under his feet as he stepped. He felt the rays of the sun lightly kissing his skin. He smelled the fresh, clean air around him. He dared not open his eyes as to not die once more from sheer amazement and leave this place. However, his human sense of ambition got the better of him. Maximus opened his eyes to see that he stood upon a hill of high grass, and all around him the fields danced in the wind that carried with it a peaceful song. He saw the clear blue sky above and reveled in the sight of an eagle flying over his head. It ballooned down to him with the beating of mighty wings to help it land softly upon the shoulder of the Roman. Maximus looked upon the majestic raptor as if it was an old friend. The bird itself gave the soldier a nod and took off from his roost.

The Roman followed the path of the eagle's flight. It was gliding toward a large palace that looked both inviting and peaceful. Maximus, ever the adventurous one, followed the bird down the hill and onto the land that the palace was on. When the eagle had rested on a post outside the house, a figure stepped out from the large doorway. Maximus stood in complete awe. For before him was the first woman he had ever laid eyes on.

Maximus' mother made her way down the steps and, with outstretched arms, embraced her shocked son in a deep hug. No tear left her eyes, for she knew now that her beloved son, who she had only known for seven years of his life, was safe. Yes, he was dead, but it was only through death that he was free from suffering. Her baby was in paradise now.

Maximus could only return the embrace and smile. For he was so overcome by the joy of seeing his mother again that any formation of words that would have come forth were bunched up in his throat. He brought his mother in closer to substitute his lack of speech.

Maximus felt another pair of hands embrace him. But either hand did not belong to the same owner. On his right, the Guard saw his father look upon him with a happy and welcoming smile. And on his left, he saw another familiar face. One that he had only not seen in several months. Trajan wore the same smile that Maximus' father had. The whole congregation was without words. For what words were there left to say? Except . . .

"Welcome home."
______________________________________________________________________________

"BECAUSE FUCK YOU, THAT'S WHY!"

Oh, and those too.

All four souls looked into the palace. Trajan was the first to speak for the congregation. "Well, that escalated quickly."

The reunited family stepped into the palace with caution. For they did not wish to anger the shouting individual further. Maximus took the point and rounded a corner of the palace that lead into a very large chamber. In it stood two people. One was a man, obviously the one who was angry, and a female. The man stood about four inches taller than Maximus and had neatly cropped black hair. He had mid to high cheekbones, thin lips, and from under his toga, he showed nothing less than packed corded muscle. He was indeed a warrior, and stood with the confidence and command of a military leader.

The female on the other hand was a whole half foot shorter than Maximus. Her auburn hair flowed down her back and onto a white blouse. She wore a fashionable, black and white striped pencil skirt. Her legs were covered in a black nylon and upon her feet were small flats that seemed to be a size fit for a small monkey. Her body was a mirror opposite of her male counterpart. Instead of taught muscle, she was petit and had rich, creamy skin. Her eyes shown like emeralds, and her face was as beautiful as any goddess. With high cheekbones and a sharp chin, along with a smile that made Maximus wish he had stronger knees, this woman could definitely be one of the powerful female deities.

"Please, be reasonable." the auburn haired beauty's melodic voice made the dead soldier nearly run over and take her hand in marriage. "One of my own is in danger and I only ask that you spare one soldier."

"One soldier?!" the man said incredulously. "You ask for A soldier. A specific soldier. One that I will not let you take!" When he became clear of his surroundings, the angry man looked to the man in the red tunic at the entry way of the room. He immediately disregarded the female and walked over to greet him. Before he got within arm's length, Maximus dropped to the ground, for he knew that he was standing before his god, Sol Invictus. "Rise, son of Rome." the god of soldiers said with a fatherly tone. "Rise and take heart. For you are in the house of Sol Invictus." The Roman, along with his family, stood before the god with humble hearts.

"Is this Maximus?" the red headed woman cooed.

"You shut your whore mouth!" Sol Invictus shot while pointing an accusatory finger her way. "You shall not say his name with that tongue that has tasted a thousand cocks!"

The soldier saw as the lady's face, instead of being twisted with hurt and distaste, the woman's smile never faded. It was as if she was deaf to his harsh words.

"Do not speak to her." the god said sternly to Maximus. "She only wishes to send someone else to do a job she won't perform on her own." He took Maximus by the shoulders and brought him to a window. "See out there, Maximus?" Sol Invictus brought his arm up to display his courtyard. "Wine cascading down fountains, and to catch them in cups of gold, are the most beautiful of women. Each of them a practitioner of sexual intercourse. Their skin is soft and their breasts are perked and young. And when you are depleted and hungry, my table always has fine food. The meats I have are so tender that a toothless infant could chew it. All of this is yours to share with your brothers who have fallen before you. I insist that you partake. All I ask in return is that you ignore that woman."

"And all I ask is that you do what you born to do, Maximus." the auburn haired woman piped. She stepped towards the soldier without a sound. "One of my own, who's statesmanship is in its infancy, is under threat of assassination. She has already had to deal with eight attempts within three month's time. Will you not help her?"

"What you ask" Sol Invictus intruded. "is for Maximus to give up being in paradise for eternity, and go back to the world of the living and suffer. He was not two days from sixteen when he had gone into his first battle, and after that day, he served in Rome's legions and protected it's Emperor for eleven years. He is Rome's favorite son that was betrayed by a man who's head is shoved so far up his own ass that he resembles you. What you ask is for him to do your bidding. Maximus has already served so much, who could ask more of him?"

"I can." Those words brought everyone's heads snapping to Maximus. "I will help you."

"Maximus!" his mother cried. She ran over to him and held him by the hand. "You can't go with her. You owe nothing to this woman, or her people. You belong here with us." As she spoke, her words became softer and more drawn out. For as she looked into Maximus' eyes, she knew that if he was to ignore this cry for help, and to let someone die while he slept and drank, he would never be able to forgive himself. She knew, from the moment she laid eyes on him that Maximus would always be a defender. He would protect anyone who needed his aid, even if it meant his life. She could not deny Maximus his heart's desire to protect. His father and Trajan also saw this. They knew it even better than his mother for they had seen him at work. Sol Invictus knew this even better than all of them, and he hated it. He would try time and again to subdue his craving to defend, but Maximus' nature would soon take hold, and he would go off to defend whoever this person was.

"You're a damn witch, Faust!" Sol Invictus spat. "You and Equestria should burn for this."

"No one will burn on my watch!" Maximus proclaimed. "Lady Faust, I will go with you, and defend your people with every bit of strength and skill I have. But you must promise me something."

Faust's smile became the object of dreams at the words. Pearls in the shape of teeth shone with the sun's radiance. "I am thankful that you have accepted, and I shall accept your terms. Whatever they may be."

"I only ask that you restrict speaking to Sol Invictus to once per week." Maximus stated. "It is no secret that there is a sort of tension between you two, so it is for the sake of my god's sanity, that I ask that you don't bother him anymore than an hour every seven days."

Sol Invictus, as if he hadn't shown it enough already, expressed his anger in a roar so loud that a loin would look like a small kitten. "He could have asked for anything! For you to give him riches after his service was complete. For power and fame. He could have even asked for you to lay with him. But NNNOOOOOOO! He still only thinks of others. He still only serves and you, YOU, want to take him away and thrust him into the world of the living to suffer time and again." The angry god looked to Maximus, and stared into his eyes with a pure anger. Not for him, but because he knew the man. Faust did as well. She knew his heart and this red headed witch was playing him like a lyre. He knew he could not deny Maximus. For it would go against everything he believed in when he looked upon the soldier if he were to keep him away from the battlefield and let him soak into the couch of luxury. "Fine." he turned away and said. "Take him away." He shot back around to face Faust. "But when he dies again, he comes back to me, and you never ask me to give you another soldier for as long as you exist."

"I accept this, as well." Faust affirmed. "Come now, Maximus. Your new life awaits you."

Maximus turned to his father who was now next to him with Trajan and said. "I will return someday. I will make you all proud."

"You already have, my son." His father said with a reassuring smile.

"The Roman Empire was blessed with a good son." Trajan said. "Now a new land and Empire will have you. It don't have any faith that it will be, but may this place be worthy enough to have Maximus stand on their front."

Maximus' mother, once again, with not a tear in her eye, embraced her son in a loving hug. "Cum in eam clypeus." his mother said as she looked into her son's blue orbs.

'With your shield or on it.'

Maximus kissed his mother and started off towards the door. But he stopped before he went through the threshold, and looked to Sol Invictus. "I will still pray to you, even though I leave you now. I still only serve Sol Invictus."

The god said nothing as he turned away and stared out over the hills. He didn't move his gaze from the horizon to even acknowledge anyone who was leaving. For if he was to show his face, they would see the streaks that his tears left upon his cheeks.
______________________________________________________________________________

Maximus, led by the Lady Faust, traveled up the same hill he first felt under his feet. She stopped at the summit and told him to come close. He did as commanded. Before them both, Faust waved her hand through the air and with some untold magic, she produced a portal. Maximus at first recoiled and went for the sword on his hip that wasn't there, but soon found calm as the image in the portal took shape.

"Do not be afraid." the auburn haired woman assured. "For you will come to see magic like this where you're going."

Before the soldier, was what looked like a window into another world. Maximus saw people using wands to perform magical tasks, and others, flying through the air with wings that came from their backs. And those who did not have wands or wings, had bodies that put most soldiers to shame. Performing tasks that would be best suited for a beast of burden to do, these people do with ease. Maximus saw all of this unfold before his eyes, and was dumb struck. He thought he would just return to a place like Rome, but this . . . this place was something different all together.

"Beautiful, is it not?" Faust asked with a sweet smile alongside it. "I created this world. I made it with the intention of having a land that would be a guiding light for all other worlds to follow. It has stood as a beacon of hope for over a thousand years, but I fear that that light might burn out if the one named Twilight Sparkle meets her end. I cannot help them directly, but I can send those like you to help."

"How can I help when I know so little of this land?" Maximus questioned.

"That is where another side of you needs to come out. The side less traveled." The goddess waved her hand and the window changed from an open city to a library. "You are a great scholar, and it is your ability to learn things quickly that will help you understand this realm better."

"Where am I going to?" Maximus inquired.

"You will end up in the land known as Equestria. However, your journey will begin in the Gryphon Kingdom. Where you will learn about the Equestrian Alliance and its people."

"Will I find who I am protecting there?" the soldier asked.

"Not exactly." Faust explained. "You will find her in the same city, but not for at least two weeks afterwards."

"How will I know if she is the one I am to protect?" Maximus asked looking at all of the people in the city through the portal.

"You will know her, if not by seeing her five friends around her, then you will know her by name. Twilight Sparkle." Faust made the image of a young woman with purple hair with and pink highlight appear in the portal. "She also almost always seen traveling with her little companion, Spike."

Maximus looked hard into the portal and tried to study the image of the girl before the auburn haired woman took it away and replaced it with the library again. "You will begin your task here. Learn all that you can in two weeks."

"How will I survive for two weeks with no food or provisions?" Maximus questioned. "I don't have any money."

Faust smiled and produced a folded piece of leather. She handed it to the soldier who promptly inspected it. It had his portrait and a seal of some kind on a piece of paper. "Show this to anyone whom may ask you for payment and you will be set."

"Just show them this?" Maximus questioned. Faust gave a nod in affirmation. The soldier looked at the pass and the portal, then he looked back to Faust. His head started to droop low and then he looked back to Sol Invictus' palace. He saw his father and Trajan exchanging stories with old friends, and his mother being massaged by fair maidens. He wanted to be with his family and brothers in arms, but he knew he could not forsake his duty. As he stood there at the threshold of the portal, he began to question so many things. Why was he doing this? Was he just not ready to be dead and did he just want to live again? Was it all worth it if he went through with it? How was he to face people who could fly and use magic? All of these questions buzzed in his head, but then one question came to mind that he knew that he had to ask aloud.

"Lady Faust?" Maximus asked. "Why did you choose me above anyone else to take on this task?"

Faust's smile grew wide and she placed a soft hand on the man's chest. "Because if you can't do it, no one can. You have the heart of a hero. A heart like Twilight Sparkle's. You hold with you, your own element. An element that was brought out in every battle you've ever fought. I only ask you use it to protect others once more."

"That was all I needed to hear." Maximus said with a smile.

He stepped toward the portal, eager to be on his quest, but before he got there, he was stopped by Faust. She turned him towards her and held his shoulders then kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Maximus." she whispered before sending him through the door and into a new world.

Maximus' newest adventure had just begun.

Author's Note

Tell me what you all think. I'd like to think I did a decent job. Please leave your comment down below.