Against My Sins

It had not been an specially weird day for Cadence. Indeed, they were already used to surprises. One day the return of an old enemy, the other an invasion of a diabolical queen, they had seen it all... except what laid in front of her.

Cadence noticed the small grin and half salute the one with the cross on the chest was giving to her; the small cordial bow from the blue floating one, and finally the almost rude roll of his eyes the white one assaulted her with. It was an understatement to say she was at a complete loss for words. How much did she miss?

Silence endured for a few moments until the white one turned his gaze towards Celestia.

"I am not telling my story again!"

The princess rolled her eyes in response, then gave a few steps towards the princess of love. "Greetings Cadence, you remember about the guests we were going to bring to help with our problem, right?"

"Yeah?" Cadence replied, moving her eyes from Kratos to Virgil and Dante. Celestia gave a nervous chuckle.

"Well... let me introduce you to Dante, Virgil and Kratos."

Finally snapping out of her trance, Cadence gulped and gave a few steps towards the three. She was feeling quite nervous and by the looks of it, the introductions were long past, it was a little awkward. "Well, then let me greet you to the Crystal kingdom, my name is princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadence."

Upon hearing the name, Dante´s ears perked up and with a rather excited tone he spoke. "Oh! Cuanto mi piace ascoltare lo bello dell'italiano, donna mia! Per favore, necessito sapere si tu conosci una citta come la mia bella Firenze ed si la tua sangue è di origini Italiane!"

Cadence was rather happy to hear a language familiar to her, it helped calming her nerves and soon enough she felt more comfortable, this was shown by the fact her face bright up. After a chuckle she spoke. "Es cierto, vengo da una linea di sangue molto similare a la tua. Debo dire, ho perso la mia lingua ed la mia casa."

Dante smiled. "Siamo due, mia amica Cadenza." Finally, the Florentine´s hand shook the hoof of the princess.  "It is nice to know we are not alone in this world."

"The sentiment is mutual, Dante. Sadly, we do not have a place named Florence, I´m sorry." Dante´s smile faded just a bit, but then his usual joyful face came back. "Maybe we should go visit were I come from, I am sure you will love it, but please, call me just Cadence."

The Florentine could not help but to release a small chuckle. "I am sure I will delight myself in there, but please, do not ask me to call you by the name that does not remind me of my home, for I would love to have the memory of everything I grew up to love."

Cadence suddenly felt herself once more at home. She did love having somepony around that could speak her mother tongue and she understood how Dante felt, also, Cadence noticed something curious about him. "Very well, Durante and forgive me to ask, but the way you talk... are you a poet?"

Dante´s face brighten up upon hearing the remark. Ever since he entered the inferno, he had hoped to have contact with his roots, roots severed by the black guelphs. "I am not surprised that it took an Italian so little to notice the beautiful art of the word and the pen. Of course, I like to think as one myself, for there is nothing more I would rather spend my heart, mind and tears; other than my beloved of course."

Cadence was the princess of love and it was no weird the she and Dante would get along so well, at the end, the Florentine was know for being romantic, something Cadence found wonderful about him, plus, she loved poems, especially those written on her mother tongue. "Please, tell me one! Oh! How much I miss those."

Just as Dante opened her mouth, Luna decided to step in. "Dante did promise one, but we are with little time right now and you should really meet the other two."

"Indeed," Virgil stepped in, "your world doesn´t seem to have the gift of time right now, although I beg to differ. You have heard my name already, but I will repeat it so that it stays in your mind after I´m long gone. You may call me Virgil and I have to say that this Kingdom is as beautiful as the most precious structure that has basked my eyes in glory."

The princess let out a small grin. "My thanks, Virgil and it is a pleasure to meet you." The poet nodded. "I wasn´t really expecting so much kindness and Dante here sure took the cake. Oh! Am I glad that princess Celestia chose you, but please, Virgil, tell me more about you."

Out of the conversation, Kratos found himself staring at the scene. Both him and Celestia decided to stay outside until introductions with Virgil and Dante were made. Silence passed until a doubt crossed Celestia´s mind. "You really aren´t made to make friends, are you?"

Kratos grunted and once again, Celestia rolled her eyes. "Oh, please don´t start again, Kratos, you were doing so well. I really did not expect you to actually be kind to Fluttershy, or even introduce yourself to the Elements."

"I am not a brute, Celestia." With those words, Kratos returned his stare towards the group, until the princess muttered.

"I beg to differ on that." The Spartan instantly shot daggers at the princess, who did not take long to react in a rather exaggerated manner. "I mean, oh! How could I even take you for for a rude person! You, that are so wonderful, handsome and totally not rude... did I mention you are definitely not rude?"

Rather than the angry expression Celestia had been expecting, Kratos gave her an ´are you serious?´ look. The princess sighed. "Ugh! I know, that was a little too far stretched."

"It was."

An awkward silence endured between both of them, until something came to Celestia´s mind. The princess had been formulating her question ever since Kratos told her everything he had done. It was not easy for her to ask this, but she had to know. "Did... did you kill every single god back in your world?"

Thankfully and for the princess´ relief, Kratos shook his head. "I believe there were a couple of gods left, although what happened to them I do not know."

The expression of disgust that held Celestia´s futures had now diminished. Normally, she would not tolerate this kind of violence in Equestria, but she had no jurisdiction on Kratos, due to him being from another world. Thankfully, his answer calmed her a bit. "Mind telling me who are they?"

"One of them was Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation..."

Upon hearing the words, Celestia could not help but to roll her eyes, immediately thinking about the obvious reason of why Kratos didn´t kill her. "... Of course." Not that she had something against sexuality, but Kratos looked like the kind of being who simply couldn´t keep himself away from bed. "is he good?" Celestia thought, but soon enough realized what came to her mind and quickly shook off the thought, leaving a thin red coloration on her cheeks. After this, her attention returned to the Spartan. "Who else?"

"Chaos." The Spartan answered, making Celestia flinch.

"Of course..." She responded.

The Spartan did not notice the princess´ reaction, for he was focused collecting his thoughts. Since the moment he came to this world, he noticed it; the pureness, the peacefulness. It was hard for him to believe there could be a place like this, yet here he was. He could have been a very different man if he had grown up here, Calliope would still be alive...

"How do you manage to keep Equestria so peaceful?"

Celestia released a small grin. "Our world is different than yours, we have always preferred to resolve our problems with the power of the word, instead of the sword and it has proven to be effective to keep the peace amongst realms; in the end, it is one of the lessons we try to teach... friendship is magic." Kratos resisted the urge to roll his eyes; friendship has never helped him resolve his problems, but rather strength and courage, yet this world managed to get the peace he had long sought, he has always dreamed to have. "Sure, we´ve had our disputes and the regular overlord that tries to conquer our land, but in the end Harmony always triumphs over chaos."

It wasn´t for too long, but Kratos did notice the look Celestia was giving him as she said the word ´Harmony´, however, Kratos shrugged it off. "And so good your Harmony has been , that you had to ask our help."

Instead of rolling her eyes, Celestia gave a deep and tired sigh. She had noticed ever since they met, Kratos would always speak so poorly about everything that surrounded him, it was this thought that made her release a mocking grin. "You know? The way you always talk about everything makes me think somepony is just looking for attention and also wants a big, big hug."

A frowning Kratos turned to look at her. "Who do you think I am, woman?"

She noticed the anger in the Spartan and she knew he would not lighten up, making her release a grunt. "Ugh! You are not fun."

Kratos scoffed. "Do I look like a plaything to you?" Celestia rolled her eyes. "If you want entertainment, then go and play with yourself in your room!"

"And... rude Kratos comes back. Geez you should really try to smile sometimes." Trying to avoid her voice, Kratos looked the other way, but sadly for him, Celestia would just keep pushing. "Seriously, if your teeth are the problem, then I have some Coltgate in the bathroom, or maybe we could instruct Pinkie Pie to teach you the secret art of smiling, because at this rate you´re going to get old and ugly... " Suddenly, Celestia took notice of Kratos´ features, then placed a hoof under her chin. "On second thought, it seems we are already too late for you."

Kratos was inhaling and exhaling fast, his teeth were grinding in anger and his fist were closed. Ever since he had arrived, he felt like a mere object of mocks and he could no longer tolerate it, less from Celestia. With a kill look, Kratos turned to stare at the princess, mouth wide open and ready to yell until...

"Cough! Cough!" Both a calm Celestia and a very pissed off Kratos turned to meet the owner of the voice, who presented herself as Cadence, who gulped upon seeing the scene. "Umm... Am I interrupting something?"

Celestia took the opportunity to dramatize. "Indeed you did my dear Cadence, Kratos was about to declare his love with a romantic poem, which included beautiful words like: ´I will kill you´and ´I will tear apart your limbs one by one and then I´m going to feed them to you´. "

Kratos cocked his head to the side and placed with a weird look on his face, then turned his gaze towards Celestia. "I wasn´t going to say that." Kratos noticed how he felt more calmed. Thank goodness because what he was going to say was certainly not going to be pretty. Sadly for him, Celestia would not leave the matter forgotten and with a frown she stared at Kratos.

"Yes, you were going to say that!"

Kratos grunted and rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I wasn´t."

"Yes, you were!"

"I wasn´t!"

"Yes, you were!"

"NO, I WASN´T! AAAAAAAAAARG!"

The two of them kept staring daggers at each other, leaving the Elements, Dante, Virgil, Luna and Cadence staring at the scene, without even knowing what was happening. Soon enough, the princess of love turned around to look at her companions, then cleared he throat to speak. "Umm... are they okay?"

Everypony in the room simply shrugged their shoulders as a response, then Twilight spoke.

"Honestly, we have been wondering the same thing."

Cadence chuckled. "Well, they do look like they belong to each other." Upon hearing her words, Rainbow could not stop her laughter, which resounded in the entire castle of the kingdom. Her laughter would have continued if it wasn´t for Kratos, who gave her a kill look, instantly shutting Rainbow off, who in return pointed towards Applejack.

"It was her!"

The cowpony´s ears perked up, then wide opened her eyes. "What!? No! It wasn´t me! It was..."

Kratos grunted and rolled his eyes.

"Umm..."

He was tired and fed up of every insolence caused by the equines, especially Celestia; even Dante, whom he thought would at least behave like a warrior, proved to be nothing more than a goody two shoes. At least Virgil seemed mature enough to know what and when to speak.

"Um... excuse me."

Yet, for all the downs of this world, he did recognize this was the type of place he would have loved his daughter to be. Soon, his thoughts were again cut short by Celestia´s shoulder which had hit his side. Kratos returned to the real world and stared into the princess´ magenta eyes, who in return moved her gaze, motioning for him to attend the voice calling him.

Cadence was standing in front of him, her eyes locked into his features, almost analyzing everything about him, then with a sweet tone she spoke. "Greetings, I´m Cadence." The princess chuckled. "Well, I guess you already knew that." Kratos remained silent. "And you are..."

"... Kratos."

Cadence returned the smile. The princess of the love couldn´t help but to feel a bit nervous around the Spartan, but did her best to hide the fact from her expression. "Nice to meet you, Kratos. I would love it if you could tell me your..."

"I will not tell my story a third time! If you want to hear it, ask one of the Elements!" In a moment, he pointed with his thumb towards the princess of the sun. "Or this annoying woman."

"Hey!" Exclaimed Celestia, the anger noticeable on her frowning expression..

From the crowd, everypony had their mouths agape and dared not to make a single sound, until Luna broke the silence. "Wow! That was rude!"

"Indeed it was rude!" Replied the princess of the sun, who was now full on attack mode against Kratos. "How dare you speak of me like that!"

"I dare and I speak the truth!"

After a loud gasp of the princess of the sun, the two started another argument, making Cadence place a hoof on her forehead, followed by a deep sigh. Before the discussion could even continue, the princess of love intervened.

"ENOUGH!"

Once again, the two fighters found themselves staring into Cadence´s eyes, who in return gulped under the stress of both stares watching her. Finally she regained her confidence. "Can we just move on with this?"

"We shall." Kratos exclaimed, his answer made everypony release the breaths they were holding, even Celestia´s expression calmed, but the Spartan spoke again. "Until I get an apology!"

The whole group could not help but to give a collective facehoof, with the exception of Celestia who wide opened her eyes in surprise. "Excuse me?" Kratos returned the stare. "It is you who owe me an apology!"

"Me? To you?" Kratos responded, his words came with a mocking tone.

"Yes! You!" Celestia insisted, but only managed to get a grunt from the Spartan. Kratos was really getting on her nerves, she hated the way he behaved, it was so uncivilized and rude. Her breath was accelerated, same with the Spartan, as the two remained locked on their killer look.

"I wont!" The Spartan answered and crossed his arms as a response. Kratos thought he had nothing to apologize about, for it was Celestia the one who had insulted him, as such, he would not even bother; sadly for him, the princess´ thought differed greatly from his, forcing her to continue her attack.

"Yes, you will!"

"No, I wont!"

"yes, you..."

STOP! SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU! For the third time that day, the two contenders faced Cadence, but this time, she would not let the opportunity slip. The princess of love immediately proceeded to point with her hoof towards Kratos. "YOU WILL APOLOGIZE TO CELESTIA! As the Spartan grunted, the princess of the sun could not help but to release a victory smile, until Cadence stroke again, this time her hoof was pointing at Celestia. "AND YOU WILL DO THE SAME! NOW!". Both Kratos and Celestia shared a look, then returned their gazes towards Cadence, who grunted in response. "Look! This has been a very tiring day! Shining has been on duty the whole day and I had a lot of trouble with something, so, can we please get on with this so I can finally get some rest?"

The two fighters were breathing heavily, yet they did consider Cadence´s request. It was better to leave a small disagreement on the past and maybe they could put their differences aside, even though they just met the same day. Still, they were going to work together, so being friendly to each other would be the best course of action, as such, both Celestia and Kratos stared at each other and prepared to say the carefully thought answer.

"No!"

"No!"

"Arg!" Roared Cadence. "Fine! Do whatever you want!" Without turning her head, she greeted the Spartan once more. "It was a pleasure, Kratos!"

In the same manner, the Spartan answered. "Likewise!"

The princess of love made her way towards the group, until Virgil stepped in. "I believe we have wasted enough time, princesses, for it is essential that we know the reason of our presence in your kingdom. If what little information I have heard is true, then you are not in position to let time flow without care."

Celestia nodded. "And you are right, what has happened is no mere joke, but something that must be dealt with..." She turned to stare at Kratos. "As your mood."

Kratos scoffed and crossed his arms, then walked behind Celestia. Once the princess found herself just behind the group, she took a deep breath before speaking. "Very well Elements, Dante, Virgil and fellow princesses!" Everypony stopped their conversation and turned to look at Celestia. "I believe we are now well acquainted and it is time for us to reveal the nature of this meeting, so please gather to hear what we have to say."

As soon as the words left her mouth, everypony and everyone moved themselves around a small round table, where Celestia placed an open book. Once everyone was settled, she spoke. "The night after the duchesses came, I had a vision invading my dream, I saw an old enemy..."

As such, Celestia told them the story of Tirek. It wasn´t particularly interesting for Kratos, with the exception of Scorpan. A brother-related topic had always been one of the things that could strike hard against the Spartan.

He could feel identified with him. He had already been in the position of Tirek, he had betrayed and abandoned his brother, while he became a legend.

"But he has found a way to escape." Said Celestia.

Kratos lowered his gaze. "One should not betray his own brother, his own blood." After this, he lifted his head. "How did the centaur escape?"

The one to answer this was Luna. "We believe it happened when Cerberus left his post at the gates.

Suddenly, Twilight raised her hoof. "But that was a long time ago. Why is he just now starting to steal magic? "

"His time in Tartarus left him very weak. He has just now gained enough strength to use his dark powers." Celestia answered.

"But with each passing moment, he grows stronger still." Luna added.

In a moment, a smile appeared on Cadence´s features. "And I know just the princess who can stop him."

As soon as the words left the princess of love´s mouth, a look of determination appeared in Twilight´s face. "Yes. I'll find him and..."

"No!" Sadly for her, Celestia interrupted. "I'm afraid I have already called in another to stop Tirek."

From all, Twilight was the first to react upon hearing the words come out of the princess´ mouth and decided to ask who. Thankfully, Celestia already knew what she was going to ask and gave her a gentle punch to stop her from talking. Sadly, she was not going to be the only one to ask.

"Why don´t you send us to search for the centaur." Asked Kratos.

"You do not have the capabilities to search for any magic anomaly as the one we have sent." Celestia answered, then saw how Kratos opened his mouth and took the opportunity to speak before the Spartan. "I believe it would be a good idea if you go take a look at the Crystal kingdom." Kratos grunted in response, making Celestia think for an answer to convince him. "We do not know where he could appear and if you take the opportunity to see this place, then we can already cross the Crystal kingdom off the list of possible locations where Tirek could be."

Dante, who was paying attention to the sun goddess, noticed the expression she was giving him, her eyes quickly shifted from him to Kratos, telling Dante that she wanted the Spartan out of the castle; the Florentine, far from knowing the nature of this decision, complied at her request, for if she wanted him away, a reason would have to be good, especially when talking about a man like Kratos. He played along. "Not a bad idea, we could map out the zone and look for anything out of the ordinary."

Kratos averted his gaze from the table to look from Celestia to Dante, silently thinking about the oddity of the situation. It wasn´t long before he finally let go of the suspicion. "Very well." With those words, he proceeded to leave the room and walk towards the streets. Dante followed behind, but before he could turn around towards Kratos, Celestia gave him a silent ´thank you´, to which Dante responded with a thin smile and a nod.

Finally, the two warriors left the room, leaving Celestia to release the breath she was holding. The rest of the ponies watched the scene, trying to figure out what was happening, thankfully for them, Virgil, who had remained silent, was aware of the situation. His next words were directed to Celestia. "Keeping a secret under the mud will always come back to bite you, for it will be bad to keep the Ghost of Sparta from knowing our hidden friend." Celestia sighed. "I think it would have been best to let Kratos know, that the one you chose holds the same aura as the one he could not find back in his time."

"You know how he can react." Celestia replied.

Virgil shook his head. "Not if you explain, the words have always been the gate of understanding, if they are spoken correctly."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Twilight entered the conversation. "Who exactly are you talking about and what is happening?"

Celestia noticed the group staring at her, waiting for her to speak. She sighed. "As you are all aware, Kratos is a god killer, but he did not kill every single god, for some of them survived, one of them... was Chaos."

The rest gasped, then Applejack entered the conversation. "You mean Discord?"

Celestia shook her head. "That is the thing. Discord may be the god of chaos, but he is not the same Kratos had hopped to end; if they happen to meet, I´m afraid Kratos will mistake him for the one in his world."

"But he can´t be that careless, could he? He wouldn´t hurt Discord without listening." Fluttershy said, her expression full on hope.

Celestia thought about the question, she did not Kratos that well, but the few time she had to meet him was enough to tell her there was a high chance the Spartan would not listen to her, as such, Celestia shook her head. "To tell you the truth, I don´t think he´ll listen."

The next one to react was Rainbow, who flow alongside FLutterhy. "Come on! I don´t think he can be that bad... right?"

"Brutes will always be brutes!" Snarled Rarity. "I don´t know about you girls, but that guy screams evil in every turn."

There was a collective nod as a response, then Applejack said. "I agree with her. Anypony that is capable of doing what he did to his brothers and sisters, ain´t exactly a good folk! I don´t know why you chose him." Her words were directed to Celestia, but before the princess could answer, Twilight took the opportunity to speak.

"Actually, that is a good question. This whole Tirek situation doesn´t seem so bad that you had to bring a pair of interdenominational warriors, I mean, Dante is okay, but Kratos seems a bit excessive. Bringing somepony like him ,just doesn´t make sense, he can be more trouble than help."

Suddenly, Celestia felt the stares of everypony assaulting her. The princess had not told the group about the possible incoming danger of the entity known as Chaos, nor about Pandora, as she had decided to keep it a secret until it was revealed to be the truth. She did not want to worry the Elements, as the god´s presence was still uncertain, but now, they seemed to be looking through her words. In a moment, Celestia turned to look at her sister, who gave her a nod of confirmation, then turned to face the rest and sighed. "I am sorry, but for now you have to trust me. The day after cerberus returned to the gates, I visited the entrance of the underworld, looking for something I felt... that is all I will say for now, at least until I know for sure."

Noticing the unsatisfactory looks in the group, Vergil took the opportunity to try and calm the situation. "Things are coming into shape, big things that will need the power of what you call friendship and even if this doesn´t seem as much and our presence is more useless than useful, we all have big parts to play in what is about to unfold, but for now, let us trust in the one that has never led any of you astray, for I´m sure she would do the same."

Twilight shook her head,confused at the poet´s words. "How can you know what will happen?"

Virgil chuckled. "I do not, but fate is big and coincidence is non existent."

Twilight grunted as a response, then directed her sight towards Celestia. "And what about Tirek? Isn´t he enough of a warning for it to be an immediate problem?"

"We do not know what will happen." Celestia replied. "For now, Dante and Kratos being here is just precaution, besides, they could help us well in the search for Tirek." She smiled. "Guys who defeat gods should be enough to make quick work of this."

Her explanation had ended and although it did answer very few questions, it was not enough to ease the Elements. Twilight on her part was deep in thought, there was something she was going to ask Celestia before all of this, but she had forgotten until... ´gods, gods, Chaos... DISCORD!´The young alicorn thought, instantly opening wide her eyes, as the fact hit her with full force. "Wait! Is Discord the one you chose to follow Tirek?"

Celestia didn´t need to speak to give her the answer, for her face held a sheepish smile, which immediately caused a collective facehoof amongst the Elements ( with the exception of Fluttershy, of course).

Watching the scene, Virgil could not help but to smile, but something was still odd about this. He had the feeling this would not end up being as easy in the end.

There were ponies confused in the streets of the Crystal kingdom, confused because they did not know know whether to run away from the frowning Spartan or to wave at the saluting Florentine, who had a big smile on his face.

Indeed, they had been previously informed that two unusual guests would come, but nopony expected a huge armored beast with a scythe on his back and an albino ape with a kill look.

For the two warriors, it certainly was a new experience. Dante was admiring at all time everything the place had to offer, whereas Kratos was simply analyzing every single spot and memorizing the Kingdom as much as he could, while looking for anything strange. He was not surprised, even though it was all new to him; Kratos was there to complete a mission and that´s what he was going to do.

Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Dante talked. "What do you think of this place?"

Kratos turned to face him, then took a look at the various houses and structures across the street. "Nothing surprising to see here."

Dante sighed. "You should really start seeing the beauty of the things nature gives you, even the citizens here are something to be admired."

"How can a bunch of horses be something to be admired?" Asked Kratos, a scoff escaping his lips.

A frown appeared on the Florentine´s face. "These ´horses´ have been able to achieve something we have not."

"And what would that be?" Asked Kratos.

"Peace."

He was right. The exact same thing Kratos had asked to Celestia. All his mortal life was spent in wars, but deep inside he just wanted something else for those he loved and these equines had achieved it. Sadly, it was reality. "You speak truth, but peace do not always last enough for it to be enjoyed."

Dante grimaced. "As much as I hate to admit, you are right about that one, but that is why we are here, to help them cross a bridge they cannot pass." Kratos turned to look at him. "For so long we have pursued our own gains, maybe its time we do something for others."

"At least your journey achieved something." Muttered Kratos.

As the two kept walking, Kratos took notice on a group of guards walking down the street, it was pitiful for him; even an Athenian looked far more dangerous than these equines, something that concerned him. "We do something for others, but we do not want to hold everything on our shoulders," the Spartan turned to look at Dante, "it is better to teach someone how to fish, rather than give him the fish and by the looks of it, they do not even know what the fish is. This place has no safety at all." Following his lead, the Florentine took a look at the same guards. "If the kingdom´s defenses are as secure as the guard´s usefulness, then we should rather look out for them instead of the kingdom´s walls."

Dante sighed as a response. Kratos was right, but it was not weird at all the little precautions the equines had. "Maybe they are useful to defend themselves from what they have here." As soon as the words left his mouth, one of the guards tripped with his own lance, making Dante flinch. "At least they have weapons."

"Which reminds me." Kratos answered as soon as Dante´s words made him remember one important thing. Not even knowing what the Spartan was talking about, Dante simply opted to follow Kratos, who was now approaching the guards, silently. Soon enough the guards noticed an enormous shadow towering over them and turned almost immediately to spot Kratos and Dante approaching them, they began to sweat. "Take me to the training yard, now!"

The booming voice was enough to set them to the edge, still, one of them made an effort to answer. "Do... Do you have... have permission from the... the princess?"

"Are you mocking me, grunt?" Kratos replied, now more annoyed with the guard who was doing his best to look at him in the eyes, for he was the only one who took it upon himself to speak.

"No I´m... I´m not, I was just..." Rather than angering him further, Kratos simply grunted and dismissed the guard with a wave of his arm. Dante noticed how the guards were to the brink of running away, he had to approach before that happened.

"Calm down." He finally said, his voice peaceful enough to avoid them from panicking. "We have permission of your princess to inspect the entirety of the kingdom, for we only wish to help, but if there is any doubt inside of you, we could clarify this with the princess."

Noticing the peaceful nature of Dante, the guards calmed down, even though the presence of the Spartan was still unsettling, regardless of the fear, they complied. After a nod of confirmation from the other soldiers, the one in the front spoke. "We will take you to the armory, sir."

Dante smiled and nodded "Thank you, friend."

The guard signaled with his head for Dante and Kratos to follow them and once they turned around, the Florentine looked towards Kratos with a win look to which the Spartan replied with a grunt. Now, they were going towards the armory.

On their way, Kratos turned to Dante. "So much weakness, they should be thankful for what they lack in danger."

Dante sighed. "Sad thing is, that different from our world, they are thankful." Kratos did not answer.

Kratos, Dante and the small group of guards made it into the kingdom´s training yard, the whole walk was silent, aside from the sudden silent gossip between the guards; Dante did not care, he took comprehension of the fact that they were essentially new, Kratos however, held a frown that was making itself more and more prominent, finally, the Florentine decided to lighten up the mood.

"Why exactly are we going to the training yard?" Kratos turned his head slightly, as if he was deciding whether to tell him or not, finally, the Spartan took a breath.

"I need to see how trained are these guards." Dante nodded in understanding, but what Kratos would say next, would left him dumbfounded. "You are right, it is time we help the others and I guessed the training yard was a good place to start, they could benefit from our knowledge in combat."

Dante couldn´t help but to smile. "Just remember, Kratos, I am not a general."

"Yet you faced what no mortal could. Any kind of help we give these equines could help them greatly." Kratos answered, gaining a chuckle from the Florentine.

"Quite a noble action, Ghost of Sparta."

Kratos scowled. "Do not get used to it, Dante, this course of action is necessary, besides, I could use some training myself." Suddenly, the Spartan´s features grimaced. "I have spent far too long inside a cage."

Dante sighed. "We have all been trapped inside our own versions of a cage, at least now it seems we have gained a chance." As soon as the grim expression appeared, a slight smile made itself visible in Dante´s face. "Just keep in mind these soldiers are below our power, go easy on them."

Kratos grunted in response. Dante was right, ponies were fragile, but Dante was not. "Then you will face me."

The florentine smiled. "Eager for a friendly match?"

Kratos nodded. "And that way, I will also know if what I have heard about you is true."

Dante rolled his eyes. He understood Kratos need to know if he was reliable, yet his lack of trust from almost any living thing was an exaggeration, still, he would make sure to not disappoint the Spartan.

Soon enough, a loud shout was heard, someone or rather somepony was in training duty, fact acknowledged by the following screams of several male voices. It was perfect timing fro Kratos to see if their current trainer actually knew what he was doing.

"Sirs, we are here." The guard, who was clearly eager to get away from the white monster, informed the Florentine and as soon as he voiced a gentle thank you, the group of soldiers hurried their steps towards the streets of the kingdom.

Dante gave a chuckle at the guards reaction, while Kratos simply sighed in annoyance. He though that if these ones were living proof of their training, then he would have to mentally prepare himself to meet the teacher... then make an effort to not slaughter him and take his place, although that would undoubtedly be better for the kingdom´s forces, at least they would have a capable general to lead them. Shaking the thoughts away, Kratos finally got sight of the higher ranking stallion and although he was still white as most of them, even him, Kratos was glad they had something that could differentiate them amongst the crowd... their flank marks.

Kratos did not hesitate to take a look at his mark, this one being a shield with three stars atop and another big one inside it. Next he took hold of the guards, noticing the way they were practicing with the spears using magic, it kind of reminded him of Sparta, only less brutal.

He guessed that was what they lacked, brutality, because otherwise these equines weren´t doing such a bad job, considering their limitations.

Finally, Kratos motioned for Dante to follow him, as he got closer to the higher ranking one, who, upon taking notice of the duo, directed his voice towards the several soldiers practicing.

"At ease, soldiers!" The stallion shouted, instantly getting the attention of the rest.

Now it would get interesting, as it was time to see what kind of man... stallion this one was, and much to his surprise, he looked rather calmed upon facing them.

Slowly making his approach towards the duo, the stallion took of his helmet. "Greetings, I have received notice of your arrival and if you are here, then that must mean you have already met the princesses and my wife." Wife, Kratos thought. "I am Shining Armor, captain of the royal guard and prince of the Crystal Kingdom and although I regret not being there for the introductions, I think it was good enough that you two decided to come here."

Both Dante and Kratos noticed Shining handing them his hoof, to which the Florentine was the first to react. Dante let out a smile as he shook the prince´s hoof. "A pleasure to meet you Shining Armor, my name is Dante Alighieri and this is Kratos."

Kratos faced the captain, his expression as serious as always. Shining handed him the hoof, yet the Spartan remained the same and just before the moment turned awkward, Shining took the decision to speak. "Greetings Kratos and welcome to the Crystal Kingdom."

Kratos nodded.

"So... what brings you here?" Shining asked.

"We are here to see the quality training of your troops, captain, and lend a hand in their training should we see fit." Kratos answered, getting a teasing frown from Shinning.

"Having doubts about my stallions? I assure you, Kratos, these soldiers are highly trained to face even a hydra."

"Doubts I have, captain." Kratos answered. "So far I have seen the contrary of what your words claim them to be."

Dante seconded this. "I have to agree with him, even though you seem to train them with excellency, they do not seem capable to battle what lies beyond your world, but that is the reason of our presence today."

Shinning frowned. His soldiers have always been more than a match for what could attack them there, he found insulting how underestimated his forces were, yet he was grateful for the duo´s help. "Am I to assume you have any kind of military training?"

Kratos scowled in response. "Do not mock me, captain, I was general of the Spartan army, the most feared force in all of Greece."

On his part, Dante was waiting a mention, although he was not surprised when it never came. He sighed. "Although I do not have the same experience as him, I have some knowledge in the barbaric ways, my soul was not free from war either."

Shinning remained silent for a few seconds, staring right at Kratos´ eyes. "Would you like a demonstration of their abilities, general Kratos? Maybe if you had a spare match with my best soldier, it could give you a clear idea of what they are capable of."

Kratos scoffed. "A good captain does not wishes dead to his own soldiers." Shinning frowned. "This equines do not have what it takes to face either of us." The Spartan was expecting hostility, but what came next was quite a surprise.

"As you wish." With a start, Shining directed his steps towards the crowd of soldiers waiting for their captain to give the orders, then, with a deep breath, Shinning shouted.

"Flash Sentry!"

Suddenly, a bright orange guard stepped into view, his eyes locked at Shinning´s. "Yes, sir?"

The captain smiled. "Why don´t you give us the honors to demonstrate our guest what Crystal kingdom´s army is made of?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The young stallion shouted, as the rest of the guards moved aside to leave camp for Flash to fight.

On his part, Kratos turned to look at Shinning, a deadpan expression on his face. "Is this a joke?" He really wasn´t expecting this kind of action coming from Shinning, less to choose the scrawny one.

Contrary to Kratos´ and Dante´s  skeptical looks, Shinning´s was actually a confident one, still, he knew there was a possibility that the Spartan was right. "Lets make a bet, I will let you two shape my stallions into what you see fit, if you manage to defeat my best soldier."

A few seconds passed, as Kratos stared at Shinning, not exactly knowing how to respond. He knew the stallion was not match for him, and he simply hated to hold back just for the sake of weakness... that didn´t mean he didn´t get to crush a few bones, though. Finally, after a deep breath, Kratos nodded. "Very well."

Just before the Spartan made it to the training floor, a hand stopped his advance, a hand he immediately shook of from his shoulder. "Remember to hold back, Kratos, we are not here to kill these ponies."

Kratos grunted. "I will perform as I see fit!" With that, he jumped down into the training floor.

On his part, Flash looked directly at Kratos´ eyes, trying to apparent lack of fear and even he managed to let his pride get to his head to stop the bad feeling he felt, from being noticeable. He didn´t know what he was in...

"So..." He began. "Doesn´t it bother you to carry that skirt around? I mean, I´ve heard of male fashion parades, but this is just ridiculous." Contrary to Flash´s smile, Kratos remained serious, his eyes locked on the big mouthed stallion.

Dante got close to Shinning, as he prepared to watch the battle, but not before noticing the amusing look on Shinning´s face and even caught a glimpse of malice.

Back on the battle at hand, Flash placed himself in battle position, something Kratos did not even bother doing. The two stayed in complete silence, then...

BLAST!

Faster than the eye could see, a bolt of magic came out of Flash´s horn and made their way against Kratos, who remained still, even after the blast hit him. A thick smoke was generated from the impact, causing the stallion to release a smile. "Handsome stallion: 1, creepy skirt dude: 0." It wasn´t long before the smirk on Flash´s face dissipated, as he noticed a shadow appearing behind the curtain of dirt.

Soon enough, Kratos came into view, with not a single scratch on his body. Once more, Flash placed himself in combat position, as he prepared to physically strike against the Spartan. "You´re kind of tough for a... male? Female? Seriously, what are you? I see you´re ugly and all, but that´s all I can come up with." Same as before, Kratos remained still, however, his face did show a glimpse of annoyance.

"Attack, now." The Spartan growled, his patience wearing thin with Flash.

The stallion couldn´t help but to roll his eyes in response. "Geez, and you are just as demanding, ever thought about marriage counseling?" Same as before, an orange blur sped up against Kratos´ face, as he remained completely immobile, but just before a hoof contacted against him, the Spartan grabbed it with one hand, before kneeing Flash in the gut, whose body fell to the floor shortly after.

On his part, Dante was actually surprised on how much he was holding back and he was even more surprised to see how Shinning still had a smile plastered on his face, hell, it was more like a mocking smirk. It was this fact that made Dante realize something.

"You did know he was not a match for him, am I correct?"

Shinning couldn´t help but to chuckle at his words. "Yep." Was all he answered, making Dante feel more confused by the second, who turned from the already lost battle to the stallion alongside him.

"Then why?"

"Because the little bastard has been trying to hit on my sister and I can´t do anything to him without Twily getting angered or having my soldiers think I´m some kind of bully."

It was good enough reason, which made the Florentine chuckle, although, it was not an honorable action, In the end, even if Dante would still feel that kind of jealousy, he was not one to play with another one´s sentiments, still, he respected Shinning´s decisions.

Soon enough, Kratos walked from the hurt body on the floor and jumped back to the place where the captain and Dante were, leaving the rest of the guards to tend Flash´s wounds, which were not too much.

"Are you done wasting my time, captain?"

Shinning chuckled. "I´m sorry for that, Kratos, seems like we do need your help after all."

Kratos crossed his arms, a frown appearing on her face. "Do not take me for a fool, I heard your motives for pitting him against me, Captain." He got closer. "I will not be played like a toy, just so you can stop a stallion from going into bed with your sister."

Shinning frowned. "Regardless of what you think, and different from Flash, my guards are actually able to put up a fight." Kratos simply stared at him. It wasn´t long before Shinning released a sigh. "Although, I am thankful for the aid you are providing to us, Kratos. When shall we start?"

"As soon as Celestia´s problem is solved." Answered Kratos.

The stallion soon let out a thankful smile, as he nodded with his head. "Very, well, we shall be expecting you until then."

Dante let out a concerned look about Shinning´s decision. "Are you sure you want your soldiers to be trained by beings like us?" Shinning cocked his head to the side. "Our methods are barbaric, and certainly not something you or your soldiers have seen."

"I understand your concern, but I know we will make the cut." Shinning answered, before letting out a grin. "Say, are you hungry? Food in the barracks may be not as good as the one served in the castle, but at least you will find yourself comfortable in a more familiar area." The stallion chuckled. "Believe me when I say it is a great place to be when Cadence gets a little cranky."

Dante laughed at this. "I think it would be a good idea, however..."

"However," Kratos interrupted, "we still need to map the rest of the kingdom, captain."

Shinning nodded. "I understand." He let out a grin. "It was good to meet you, I hope we can have more time to know each other."

"It was a pleasure, captain." Answered Dante, getting a chuckle out of the stallion.

"Come on, just call me Shinning, it not always I get to speak with another uh... male that doesn´t refer to me by my rank." Dante nodded. He was glad the stallion was amicable, however, for Kratos, Shinning´s decision wasn´t something he could agree on.

"A rank earned is a rank respected, captain." Shinning turned to look at him. "I´m sure you will understand if I don´t treat you as a friend."

The stallion smiled. "If that´s your decision, then I respect it, Kratos." With that, he gave the duo a nod from his head, as he turned to leave them. "I´ll be seeing you around."

Outside of the Crystal castle, several figures made their way across the Kingdom´s numerous streets. Alongside them, an all too familiar draconequus accompanied them. After many tries from Vergil, Celestia finally gave in, she couldn´t help it, the old man was wise and he had a good point.

Kratos was not the kind of being that could listen to reason, but keeping a secret from him could be way more dangerous than to face the problem from the root, and Celestia was more than sure she would not simply wait for her silence to come back and bite her, still, she would have to be careful with her words.

"I was dying to get out," said Discord, who found himself flexing his muscles, as he turned to stare at Celestia, "I can´t believe you wanted to keep all this glory hidden, Celly!"

The sun princess sighed. "You know the reasons for that, Discord." She said. "Kratos doesn´t look like the kind of being you can simply annoy, and..."

"And he doesn´t look as tough as you are painting him, Celly." Exclaimed Discord. "The guy´s been kept under lock and key for many centuries, he must be rusty, and I didn´t feel that power he claimed to have." The draconequus got closer to Celestia, as he prepared to whisper loud enough for her to listen. "I should know how that feels, in the end, it was you that turned me into a garden decoration."

As soon as she heard Discord´s words, Celestia turned to look at him with a frown, but the confrontation was stopped by a certain pegasus that took the decision of grabbing the draconequus left paw. "Discord, its in the past, let it go."

"Geez, I hate that song." Answered Discord, getting a kill look from Fluttershy. Letting out a deep sigh, the draconequus turned to look at her. "Alright, I´ll forget it... for now."

Upon his answer Fluttershy couldn´t help but to give him a warm smile.

"Returning to the matter at hoof," suddenly, Twilight entered the conversation, turning her head around to stare at Discord, "Celestia is right, you should try to be less... Discordly."

The draconequus wide opened his eyes, as he placed both of his paws on his chest. "You want me, to stop being me!? Do I come into your house and ask you to be less annoying?" The alicorn frowned. "There is some things in the universe that can´t simply be changed."

"Well," said Applejack, "if you don´t want an angry ape ripping off your head, you better do as the princess says, and keep that good ol´ mouth of yours shut."

Discord proceeded to place his right paw on his neck, gulping hard at Applejack´s words. "I like my head where it is, thank you." In reality, he wasn´t as scared as the rest wanted him to be, he simply couldn´t feel like Kratos was way weaker than the group thought, plus, he couldn´t take seriously a guy using a skirt.

From the three guests, Discord found more interest in Kratos, there was something about him that kept calling the draconequus, some kind of chaos aura and who could honestly blame him?

Knowing the kind of being Discord was, Fluttershy couldn´t help but to feel worried about him, she had a good feeling Kratos would not listen to reason and she didn´t want anything happen to him, not him.

"I still think it was a good decision, the one you made, your majesty." Said Virgil, directing his words to Celestia, who turned to look at him with a worried expression.

"Do you really think he will listen?" She asked.

Virgil let out a sigh. "That depends on how you decide to approach him, keep in mind no being is equal to each other, only similar; what you use with one, may not work for the other."

"And how exactly do you know this, mister big words?" Asked Discord, annoyance clearly shown in his words.

For the spirit, this did not bother him, he knew the reason for the draconequus discomfort, and he wasn´t one to correct him. "The same way I know how you felt, my friend, by knowing, listening, feeling. Some things may be more obvious than others, if you have enough patience to admire what does not appeal to you."

Discord grunted. "I will pretend I understood what you said... no, actually I wont." With that, he sped up his pace, leaving a grinning Virgil behind.

For the draconequus, it was starting to get on his nerves, the fact that the spirit did not seemed annoyed by his words, and he surely knew how to annoy. It didn´t matter what he said, or what he claimed himself to be, he would not let him close to Fluttershy.

There was no denying it, all the group was nervous, with the exception of Discord. Unknown to the group, a certain duo was walking nearby them.

Kratos and Dante had just returned from checking a few stores in the kingdom, and were now heading back to the castle. On their way there, Dante couldn´t help but to admire the beautiful architecture of the place. The crystal buildings and the shinning castle, a fact noticed by Kratos, who turned to look at him.

"It is kind of impressive."

Dante chuckled. "It is! I find it surprising how these equines have so much riches, yet they can be so kind."

Kratos scoffed in response. "It is impossible for a being without ambition to exist."

"What about these ponies? They certainly look like ambition could be the least of their problems, or have you seen an ´all-knowing´priest, claiming the riches of this kingdom?" Asked Dante, gaining a look from the Spartan.

"Look around you, Dante." Finally said, Kratos, with the Florentine doing as his companion asked. "What do you see?"

After  few seconds, Dante´s sight returned to the Spartan. "A beautiful city, full of impressive architecture."

"Indeed." Kratos answered. "How do you think this kingdom came to be? It certainly didn´t start from the heart of a selfless equine." The Florentine released a puzzled expression. "No one can create a place like this without the necessity to see it exist. Ambition created each and every single one of this houses, ambition built the princess´ castle, and shaped it to be a sign of power." Suddenly stopping in his tracks, Kratos placed himself in front of Dante. "Do you really think you came to this point without the aid of that which you craved to see being made?" Kratos had a point, every action made by any living being, came from the necessity of satisfaction. Ambition is not only the lust for power, but a means to exist and prevail.

Dante couldn´t deny it, he had been robbed of this discussion´s victory. Maybe Kratos wasn´t as barbaric as he initially thought, and he could certainly be the start of several interesting discussions, as such, the Florentine released a chuckle. "You look like a warrior, but you speak like philosopher, I am sure that should another time had bred you, you would be known as a wise man across many generations."

Kratos turned around, continuing his march. "I was remembered..." He took a deep breath. "Just not for those reasons."

The Florentine followed behind, taking a look at the buildings surrounding him. Back in Florence, he was very known for being a fantastic poet, yet war had robbed him of a peaceful life, now he was unable to spread the word of beauty. Anger and hatred were sure the catalysts of violence, violence that stopped the advancement of the hear, and Kratos was no different. Dante noticed that the Spartan had knowledge and philosophy of his own. "Still," he began, "here you are, having a small debate on whether living beings can live without ambition or not. Maybe you did not have the means to explore that side of yourself, but your words will not be lost in history after this quest is over..." Suddenly, Dante noticed Kratos giving a small jump of surprise and saw his muscles tensing, as if danger was about to greet them. "Kratos, what is wrong."

The Spartan did not turn to look at him and instead muttered the word. "Chaos..." Without a second thought, Kratos sped up his pace, where he would soon see the princesses and the Elements alongside something else. He had never seen anything like it, yet its aura had attracted him, an aura he recognized all too well. "Chaos!"

The draconequus turned his gaze towards the incoming Spartan and raised an eyebrow, while the rest of the incoming group stopped on their tracks, taken by surprise by the Spartan´s sudden appearance. On her part, Celestia couldn´t help but to feel this was not going to end well. She had never expected Kratos to appear out of nowhere and this was going to be catastrophic.

"Hey there, godly cupcake!" Greeted Discord, thinking the Spartan would answer to his ´amicable´ personality, however, Kratos´ face revealed a more aggressive look, which went unnoticed by the draconequus. "We were just on our way to you to..."

"Do not take me for a fool, Chaos! How dare you show your presence in this world!" Kratos replied.

Both Celestia and the rest of the Elements turned to stare at Discord, waiting to see his reaction, which turned out to be a little worried. It was clear that the draconequus found himself spooked by Kratos´ reaction and felt like the rest of the group were about to blame him. "Don´t look at me, I haven´t done anything this time."

"You cannot hide behind your illusions anymore!" Kratos insisted, making Discord raise his claws in a ´whoa there! Just wait a minute´Manner, but the angry Spartan did not react. "I will make you suffer for coming here!"

"Wait a minute, this is getting out of hand!" But his words went through deft ears and as soon as the words left his mouth, Kratos launched himself for the kill.

"O dear..."