Planet Earth. Once home to near countless species of creatures and animals, once governed by and given dominion unto humanity.

It was now nothing but a scorched land of ruin, destruction, and barely any remaining proof that such a world had existed.

The Apocalypse that the Lord destined for Earth never was supposed to be pretty or subtle in the least.

Only one being remained standing and breathing upon the carnage, surveying the empty world with the permanent presence of Death. Upon a hill overlooking a half-destroyed mountain was that said being, an armored bipedal wreathed in Living Flame, its many wings gently swaying in an unknown breeze.

The being slowly turned their head, surveying the lands that they had once walked upon and the oceans they had sailed. But as the being leaned on its sword, embedding it further into the crusted and burnt soil, the events that led this planet to its current state changed drastically. All by the whim of those who refused, fought, and decided that rebellion was a better fate.

With a deep sigh of lament, they turned their helmeted eyes at the destruction and waste of all that had been, all because of simple disobedience. Thus brought a never answered question, "Was it worth it at all? To bring ruin upon all that is and had been to correct such a simple disobedience?" Such questions had been debated within the being's mind, but it never came to a conclusion.

The unearthly being shook its head, now was no longer the time to lament. No, now was the time to await final departure, its curiosity and solace sated. They started to descend the hill, to go closer to the mountain. For what reason that could be made, they didn't know which it was. They got as far as to reach a deep, blood-red river that recently came away from a turn not a few miles out before it would become a "blood"fall into a gorge that was made by a former living daemon that cleaved the land before it was killed.

The many wings of Fire shifted, giving them pause as they recognized and felt a presence descending upon them. With another deep sigh, whether this was out of exhausted expectation or some other emotion, they turned around to confront the arrival.

A bright and harsh light streaked from the skies above to come to a complete stop in front of the armored being, one of their hands moving to rest upon the hilt of his longsword as they gave a bow in obedient reverence. The holy yet eldritch being with twenty four wings beating the fetid air, slowing to a stop before extending completely out and revealing a far more human-like form. Its armor glowed brilliantly with the physical symbolism of greater splendor and of incredible supernatural, letting the armor the bipedal wore seem little more but cheapened knight armor. Normally in the presence of humanity, as it had several times within the past when men would batter each other away with brass and iron, the Angel of the Lord would appear to them in the guise of a human with a drawn sword in one hand. When his presence was revealed and his status as the commander of the Lord's army was let known, it would cause many to leave behind what there would have been of resistance, as they knew such efforts would be snuffed in an instant.

They kept their head bowed in the Angel's presence as they respectfully called out, as a low ranked soldier would to meet their military superior, "Angel of the Lord." Their voice a gravelly rasp, as if they hadn't talked for the longest time. Though the sudden arrival of the commander left the armored being confused and cautious, as they didn't know the intentions of their superior, and tensed as if to prepare for a fight.

The Angel paused and extended his arms in a peaceful manner, his voice in forgotten Hebrew, "Be not afraid or cautious. I am not here to fight you, but to deliver unto you a message and task. Arise, Human General."

The man relaxed slightly, raising his head and body to stand as the many wings of Living Fire upon his back flitted in nervousness, despite the reassurance from the commander. So answered the armored man again in a rasp, "We listen and obey." He replied before giving a small glimpse to one direction, as if searching for something, "What task does our Lord command? Does he call us back to the Kingdom?"

Before the final series of sieges and battles began, the human had asked the Son whether they would enter through to the Heavenly Kingdom, to which they had long since been unable to enter, ever since the world began that one long, terrible and final road of darkness, death and blood, that even Death itself did not approach him during the long line of violent inheritance.

They did not get a direct answer.

"No. You are still not called." The human nearly clenched his hand upon the handle of his sword in anger. Before he could retort and, respectfully, demand why the angel continued, "He knows of your anger and knows what you would yell, but calm yourself and listen, for there remain several tasks. Though you are denied, you are given rest and shelter upon the earth as it recovers. A deep slumber that had been denied from you." The Angel of the Lord levitated closer, placing a gentle hand upon the being’s shoulder, "Is that not among much of what you wanted?"

Rest ... A blissful, but empty word to the long lived being. It was something he had longed for. But within the confines of the human's mindscape, the confines of the collective minds that had collected together and became legion, sleeping and dreaming were long, forgotten memories. But to be barred from the Gates, and to be kept as a sole and only exception from the dooming fate from the Lake of Fire, and to be simply granted actual rest?

The human didn't accept this and in frustration, he gently brushed the Angel's hand, "Rest, Commander? For what? Thousand upon thousand we slain the despotic demons and fallen mankind, the idiotic men and women who followed The Enemy like sheep considering hungry wolves their mother, by our Lord's order alone we have followed and laid siege and death across the earth, and we are rewarded with sleep? What is there upon this barren land to sleep for! The Lord has condemned Earth to be doomed and destroyed! Had He not done so, we would have gladly taken it. But in what end, are we to sleep outside his Gates? Unless we are being spared from watching such destruction personally? What point is there to sleep when there's nothing to wait and wake up to see?"

The Angel gave a small smile at the human, not offended by the questioning and patient at their frustrations, "Did He say such things? Or had He said that such destruction and doom would come upon the wicked and evil? Did not such destruction and doom come and passed? Were you not a part of such condemnation as you and the army lay siege? Come with me. Though another task would have been given unto you, this shall be accomplished by others." The Angel extended a hand to the human, who looked at the hand before shifting to look at the Archangel. He stood and waited for a long time, before the human decided to reach out to the hand.

The skies above began to light with multitudes of meteors of light and fire, though they flitted far too fast to be asteroids, let alone how these meteors shifted and changed directions far too quickly and unnaturally to indicate a bombardment that would decimate the ruined soil.

Light formed and covered both Angel and human before fading, causing the human to stumble as such method of travel was neither a common occurrence nor a comfortable one as he looked around where they had traveled.

Surrounding the Angel of the Lord and the human were those of the low ranked angels, finishing their own tasks in a room of crafted and heavily detailed stone, the walls were as tall as a single story house, lined and written in Abrahamic writing and in depictive bas reliefs. But the human paid little thought to the walls and their workers who finished placing hands over them and chiseling out the life and stories of the Human General as finished looking around before turning back to the Commander.

"We are given a tomb to rest in." The human rasped, his wings of Living Fire flickering with irritation.

"Take caution, lest you find rebellion. Such bleakness is unbecoming." The Angel warned with a light sigh before pointing towards the center of the room.

There, not far from the two beings laid a throne, flushed into the ground and with the back of the seat forming as part of the many pillars within the cavern. The chair was up a flight of stairs, leaving the chair to be in the complete center of the place. However, as the human inspected the pillar, it was crafted with ten large wings, each wing carved and gilded in similarity to the armored human’s set of Living Flame. The human continued to look at their “bedchamber” while the Angel stood near what seemed to be the doorway, waiting patiently for them. The etched wings were extended completely while they were joined at the center of the chair. The chair itself was detailed in an almost forgotten design...

Gothic, as they found the memory... How cliché.

The chair itself was, more or less, boxy. While made in stone, it was colored black, with rich detail of lions faces and manes carved into the armrests to the ground, ending with the front legs showing. The sides themselves held no detail, other than meshing in with the pillar that supplied as the backing of the throne, as well as the ground.

The human turned to look at the Angel, the angelic workers backing away from the walls and throne with an indication that their tasks were complete before vanishing almost akin to a flame being blown out, "When was this made?"

"Shortly after The Enemy perished in the Lake. The Lord worked endlessly over what was to be put in." The human gave a soft "hmph" as they continued to look around at their "bedroom."

"This seems more like our tomb to die in rather than someplace to sleep, Commander ... What is He attempting with this?" The Angel didn't answer immediately, though such implication was not lost to the human, "He's sealing and imprisoning us, isn't He?" He whispered, turning to face the Angel, one foot near the throne chair while the other was one step down from it, "That is our fate then ... Is it?"

The Angel was quick to speak before the armored human would begin to fume in betrayed anger, "No! You are not abandoned, and neither are you being sealed for the sake of removing you from the world. Must you hold such disrespect that you find yourself low on worth?"

"Then what?" The man demanded, "Has our curse, which had been forced upon us by The First, made us deserving of being sealed away? Are The First's actions what dooms us to be removed?!"

The Angel immediately retorted in exasperated anger, his wings blazing in fire that caused the Human General flinch away from the being, "Did I not tell you that He has not thrown you aside? Have you all lost the capacity to listen and instead divulged upon yourselves with anger and resentment? Harken to me with your ears and know you are not lied to! You are not left behind like a broken and unsalvageable tool."

Both Fire and Light dimmed from the holy Commander as silence began to take precedence between the two to an uncomfortable length before the human spoke.

"How long?" The human asked.

"I do not know." The Angel responded.

"What should we expect? What shall we do when we awaken?"

"I do not know."

"Whom should we seek when we awaken? Surely there will be someone who will aid us."

"I do not know."

"Then what do you know?" He yelled at the angel. The silence lengthened again before he scoffed, "Father is everything but explainable, Him and His cryptic antics ..." He turned to face the throne once again, deep in thought. The Archangel shifted, almost being prepared for any reaction from the armored being, which drew his attention again.

The armored human drew a second deep sigh before un-belting his sword and placing it to the right of the chair, which caused the Angel to shift in surprise, "You will not argue further?"

"What point is there? We're not as blind as the rest of humanity was, you being the messenger is all the proof there is. If we didn't, your next orders were to subdue or kill us ... . And that silence is evident enough, Commander."

The human moved where his legs were just touching the chair itself, while the Angel slightly looked away, "For once, I'd wish your perception wasn't as sharp as your skill." The human merely laughed in response, the sound akin to clunking gears. He leaned backwards and sat unto the throne with a huff, placing his arms and hands on the armrests, the hands barely reaching the lions.

As The Angel approached slowly, the General leaned their head back against the high back of their throne and quipped, "Might we have an alarm clock? We would hate to oversleep when the time comes to awaken once again."

They shared a light laugh before the Angel was in front of the armored being, "Sleep well, good General." He raised a hand and through an unknown power, the armored being was encased in stone. As the stone crept from the legs up, the human sighed for the third time that day, before closing his eyes as he waited. The feeling of being petrified was ... disturbingly numbing. It was like breathing in sleeping gas, except the effect was incredibly slow and proceeded to go from foot to head instead of everything at once. It wasn't until his physical body fell completely asleep whilst his mental landscape remained active when the stone slid over the human's head.

He knew no more. And sleep finally came upon him and the Legion.

Author's Note

EDIT: Alright, I've finally elected to spend time and rework over this prologue. Curiously enough, the inspiration to do so came out of nowhere in the middle of the night and I figured I may as well get it written down, check it over and see how well it fares through the proofread/editoring.
Those of you asking "wait, why'd you change the Angels around" thats cuz I also stumbled on one curious article that cited pretty accurately and said "no, Michael is not the Archangel military commander and he never was stated as such, he's the Prince of Public Relations or rather a Guardian. You can blame Book o' Enoch for messing with everyone's heads for that." … Go figure. This does mean I'ma go through the chapters and give a quick fix to keep continuity, but ey.

Being self-taught is not a good thing, but it gives you a start, in the least.

I might end up taking a little long on some chapters... Fair warning, so don't start believing I'm dead so quickly.

Would you believe me if I said this is not only my first MLP fanfic but I'm also doing a MLP fanfic with barely any knowledge of the MLP plot entirely? (Plot means story line, get ya dirty minds outta the gutter.)