I am War.

Deep in the bowels of the earth, a cave lay, undisturbed. A single light shone from above, sunlight filtered though a half dozen meters of rock. Against all reasonable expectation, a garden had grown here, oak growing up to the roof of the cavern, almost sixty feet high. Around the base of the trees, wild flowers grew, grasses sprung, and insects that had not been seen in a hundred years, unique only to this cave, crawled and buzzed. A small lake pooled in the corner, made from rainwater from the sky and moisture dripping from cave walls, forming stalagmites. A soft, warm haze settled above the water.

It was a place of beauty and serenity.

Until now.

"CUTIE MARK CUSADER SPELUNKERS! YAY!"

With a tumble and a thud, the self proclaimed "Cutie Mark Crusader Spelunkers" fell into the cave, landing neatly in a pile of limbs and a haze of dirt.

"Ouch," Complained Sweetie Belle as she disentangled herself from her friends, "Why did you push me, Applebloom?"

"I didn't push you!" insisted the yellow filly. "I slipped, and then you got in my way!"

"Guys, shut up!" snapped Scootaloo, "How are we going to get back up there?!"

"Uh..."

The three young ponies began to poke around, looking for a way out of the mess they had found themselves in. Eventually, it was Applebloom who found the statue. "Hey guys, look at this!"

Applebloom craned her neck upwards to look at the stone behemoth, as her friends scambled over to see what she had found. Easily larger than even Discord, the statue towered above them. The statue itself was of an armoured giant, balanced upon two legs, its fore-legs crossed in front of it, as if it was waiting for something. The armour itself was huge and bulky, a chest plate stretching around a think and powerful torso.

The shoulders were huge with broad, curving pauldrons covering them more than adequately, with stone bracers running down to the hooves. Or where hooves should have been. In their place where things that Sweetie Belle nervously supplied might be hands.

The helm was nigh impossible to see, because of the angle and a large gorget that stretched all around it. But of most interest were the carved robes that flowed down from the giants shoulders, the 'cloth' placed under the pauldrons.

And engraved on the base was a simple message, that Sweetie Belle nervously read out loud.

"I am War."

"With both Blade and Fury, I carved the kingdom of Equestria from the realms."

"I protected the Innocent from Gryphon and Wyrm"

"My reach was long, and my wrath terrible."

"Now I sleep until I am needed once more to protect the Innocent."

"To bring me forth, speak my name; Excolotis."

Sweetie belle squinted her eyes at the name engraved before her.

"Exco... Excou..." she stuttered, trying to voice the strange name.

"Uh, Belle..." started Applebloom.

"Oh wait," shouted Sweetie Belle excitedly, "its Aex-Coh-Lott-Iss!"

And as the name echoed around the cave, Scootaloo and Applebloom cursed their slow witted friend.

"You idiot!' Shouted Applebloom, "Don't you remember anything from when Discord was released!"

"Yeah," agreed Scootaloo, "Don't go messing about with..."

But before she could finish berating her friend, a dull crack echoed throughout the cave as the statue came to life in an explosion of dust.

The cutie mark crusades cowered before the giant before them, while Excolotis stepped down from the podium of the statue, brushing stone dust and chips from his body. His armour was as black as night, the plates smoothly sliding over each other as the behemoth rolled his shoulders. The stone robes had become cloth, black as sin with a deep and rich purple gliding the insides in complicated swirls and whorls. A black tabard hung from his neckline, covering the breastplate in dark cloth with two lengths of fabric fluttering in the breeze between his legs.

With a crack, the giant flexed its fingers, and looked down upon the three huddling fillies before him, tilting his  armoured head to examine them, then crouching down upon his knee when even that proved insufficient to gaze upon them, revealing his plain helmet with a simple slit for the eyes, which was impossible to see into. Six crosses were cut into both sides of the face plate, three on each side, which whistled gently in the wind.

Excolotis stared intently at the terrified Cutie Mark Crusaders for what seemed like an eternity to the terrified young ponies, before finally speaking. "Why have you freed me from my slumber? What foe must I defeat? Are the Gryphon warlords marching upon Equestria? Is the realm threatened by hordes of flying Wyrms, as in the days of old? Speak!"

It was Applebloom who finally spoke; as the most sensible, she had realized that as terrifying as Excolotis may be, he was a defender of the innocent and slayer of monsters, as it said as much on the statue plinth.

"Uh, y'see... There is no monsters, or griffins, or worms, mister." Scootaloo cringed in fear of what was to come next, as Applebloom continued; "We were just exploring, trying to get our cutie marks, when we found you, and we read the words, and well..."  Applebloom cringed in fear before whispering: "We're sorry."

"Do you not know of me?" glowered Excolotis, "Have you heard to tales of my victories, not cautions of my vengeance? No whispers of terror in the night to a disobedient child? No songs or trophies heralding my great works?"

"...no..."

"And there are no foes, or villains, or even heroes to slay some oncoming darkness before us?"

"... " Applebloom cowered and hid behind her fore-hooves, the ferocious giant too much for her young heart to bear.

"Then do not apologise young one, for all is well!" Excolotis leapt to his feet, and laughed; the deep peals of hearty mirth and roaring bars, of a dirty joke told well and joyful days to come. "I had hoped to be forgotten! Now, child, let us go forth, and see the true light of day, rather than this pale imitation."

Excolotis looked around the cavern. "Rather filthy, don't you think?" He said.

"You mean, you're not angry?" exclaimed Scootaloo, hardly able to believe her good luck at not being punished by a vengeful behemoth. "You're not going to punish us?"

"Oh, of course not!" Excolotis waved his gauntlet in a dismissive manner as he continued, settling back onto his feet, "Why would I be angry at you for coming here?  Such curiosity is to be rewarded, and encouraged." Excolotis paused, and looked at Sweetie Belle who fidgeted under the attention, "But tell me, did you know of the consequences of your actions?"

"Uh, no, we actually though that..." Scootaloo jumped in and shoved a hoof into her friends mouth before shouting out; "that you were wonderful and kind and nice and everything!"

"That, I suspect, is a lie." Nodded Excolotis, "I think that you thought of me as a monster of some kind, a vengeful creature who would reap flesh with every sweep of his terrible arm? Is that not right." It was a statement more than a question.

"Uh... nope!" exclaimed Scootaloo, "We didn't! We thought that you were big, and nice, and everything! Yup!"

"Uh, actually mister," said Applebloom, "We did think that you were some terrible monster."

"Ah," nodded Excolotis, "I thank you for your honesty, young one. Never the less, I think that the clever action to take would be to become certain of my nature before freeing me. Bah, of no matter, we live and learn."

"Oh okay." Smiled Sweetie Belle, "I'm Sweetie Belle, this is Applebloom, and she's Scootaloo!" Pointing to each in turn, Sweetie Belle made introductions, and Excolotis nodded in acknowledgement and true happiness.

"A fine meeting this is, Sweetie Belle; but where are your parents young ones? I would much like to see them."

"Uh, we would show you to them, but we don't know the way out?" Snarked Scootaloo.

"That tone will do you no favours, Scootaloo," Said Excolotis, "But I see your reasoning. Come, I will find the way out of these forsaken caves."

"Uh hey, Twilight?" asked Applejack back at Twilights library, "Did you see my sister around? She was supposed to be back at the farm for lunch half an hour ago?"

Twilight mulled the question over, and thought back over her day. "No, Applejack, I'm afraid not. Maybe Rarity knows where she is."

"I already asked her," Applejack shook her head, "But she doesn't know where they are either."

"Maybe we should try over at..." Twilight looked over her shoulder, but was shook out of her thoughts by the arrival of the Cutie Mark Crusaders themselves, "Well speak of the Windygo, there they are."

"Oh, I was getting worried, Twilight," nodded Applejack, 'I bet she lost track of... What in the hay is that?!"

Applejack broke into a gallop, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Twilight simply looked at the black armoured behemoth walking with the Crusaders, before she was stunned into action by Spike, calling from inside her library about shelving arrangements.

As Applejack ran closer, she could overhear the conversation between them, and slowed down to a trot, her heart calming as she listened.

" ...so me and my friends here just wanna find our cutie marks, and we figured that the best way to do that is to work together."

"Hah, an admirable friendship! But you cannot go hunting for your cutie mark. It is not some wild beast to be brought down and mounted upon your wall. The only way to get it is to wait for it. The harder that you seek it out, the more difficult it will become to find."

"More be true to yourself mumbo jumbo. How do we find them?!"

"Well, I've already told you, yet you will not listen. Ah, but who is this?" Applejack froze as the jet black behemoth pointed towards her. When she had fought Discord, she had long since believed that was how big an intelligent creature could be. But unlike Discord, who was all sinew and length, somewhat like a snake, the giant was made from solid bulk; comparable to Big Macintosh's size difference to the mares in town.  Applejack could all too easily realise when she was outclassed; the thing looked like it could easily rip a tree out of the ground.

"Oh, hey big sis!" cried Applebloom, "This is Excolotis! We found him in a cave!"

"A-Applebloom!" Shouted Applejack, "What were you doing in a cave?! You said you weren't going far! Haven't you learned from running into the Everfree!?"

"I'm sorry," cringed Applebloom, "I just wanted my cutie mark."

"That's okay, lil' sis," Applejack shot a glare at Excolotis, "And you! Just who are you anyway?!"

"Ah, I am but a nobleman of wealth and taste. Pleased to meet your acquaintance, but do you know my name?" Applejack opened her mouth to reply, but Excolotis continued; "Ah, but you are confused by the nature of my 'game'."

"Stones reference for the win!" shouted Pinkie Pie, splashing in the spa across town.

"Sorry, dear?" asked Rarity, shielding herself from the worst of the splashing water with a hoof.

"Nothing. Just being shoehorned in by the author, despite the fact that it completely breaks the flow of the story."

"...right. Pinkie, have you ever considered professional help?"

"You're darn right I want to know what you're up to!" snapped Applejack. "Some giant thing about the size of Discord shows up and..."

"WHAT?!" Applejack flopped back on her haunches, shocked by the sudden aggression in Excolotis's voice, "What did you say about Discord?! How do you know what he looks like?"

"He came to Ponyville a few weeks ago... but that's not what I'm on about!"

"Discord was freed from his stone prison?" Excolotis nodded sagely, "Then he has been reformed, as I had hoped for a while; yet I thought it was impossible."

"Uh, he weren't reformed..." said Applejack, cringing as Excolotis turned to gaze at her, "He made a real mess of things...?"

"That is impossible, why was I not awoken?" Excolotis began to fidget and pace, "I was supposed to be awoken in the case of an emergency. Discord is such an emergency. Why did Celestia not awaken me as we agreed? Was it that Discord struck too fast for her to do anything else but defend?"

Excolotis calmed himself, and shook his head. "Yes, that must be it; she had no time to free me from my slumber." Excolotis turned back to Applejack, couching upon his knee, "I do apologise for my outburst, Applejack, my frustrations can sometimes boil over, and Discord is a particularly hated foe of mine." Applejack just stared.

"Back to your original question," Excolotis continued, "I wish to live out my existence with good friends, to drink, feast, and be of good cheer." He offered a hand to balance applejack as she stood, which was promptly ignored.

"Oh, well there isn't no problem with that." Applejack smiled, relieved that the question had veered away from more painful things, "So I'll go grab Pinkie Pie, and we'll give you a traditional Ponyville welcome!"

"Ah, that sounds like a fine time to be," Excolotis straightened, and clicked his fingers, "Just remember that I have not been to a celebration for a long time. I may not be familiar with how you... entertain yourselves."

Scootaloo snickered.

"Big siiiiiis..." whined Applebloom, "Can I come to the party?"

"We'll see what Pinkie Pie thinks, okay?"

"Okay..."

Applejack wasn't too easy about Excolotis, but the whole mess with Zecora had long since taught her that appearance didn't mean anything. She was willing to give the armoured giant a chance.

"Spike! Spike!" Twilight ran through her library, panic screaming though every fibre of her being. "Spike, take a letter!"

"Uh, Twilight, there's no schedule or anything," Spike said gently, not wanting to upset Twilight's unstable mind. "Remember, the Princess said..."

"This isn't about that Spike!" shouted Twilight, "Some big thing has just walked into town, and I need to tell the Princess!"

"Okay okay, taking the letter." said spike, pulling a quill and vellum (The plant based stuff, sicko) out from behind his back. "Whenever you're ready, Twi." he said, quill poised.

"Dear Princess Celestia. A new creature has arrived in our town. I have not seen anything like him before, but it seems extremely dangerous. I am sending you this letter in hopes that you will assist us. The creature is a bipedal life-form about twelve foot tall, a good five feet across at the shoulder. It's..."

"Twilight! Slow down a bit!"

"Sorry."

Celestia sat in her courts, listening to some corpulent pony wither on about taxes. A more cynical mind might believe that she was just putting on a brave face while she considered other things. A more paranoid one might believe she was taking notes so that she could send over an assassin to silence whoever dared speak against her.

In actuality, she was paying very close attention, and she was taking notes in her efficient, orderly mind so that she could check the complaints and recommendations with what her experts and numbers told her. The opinions of her ponies mattered, she had to do her best to make sure that they were not unduly angered. Her teacher had taught her that.

Celestia knew the value of being feared, but she also knew that being feared and hated were two very different things.  She knew that the citizens loved her, and as a result, plots to destroy her were practically nonexistent. Any pony insane enough to try and assassinate her would want to be taken by her guards, because if the mad pony managed to get out onto the street... well let's just say that it took the cleaners two days to deal with that mess; the guard, sixteen.

The court itself was designed to be intimidating, to offer a position of power and might to the one who sat upon the throne, and to intimidate the poor sod beneath the throne. The high marble walls were polished to sheen, and the high ceiling had a fair number of chandeliers to illuminate the scene. Glass frescoes to either side showed the recent history of Equestria; the most recent addition being the defeat and resealing of Discord. This time, Celesta knew that it was for good.

Of course, most ponies don't look up. If they had, they would of have realised that the ceiling was rather dark. They would of have been unable to see the four sharp shooters hidden in special firing platforms. And they definitely would not of have seen the thirteen Pegasus guards hiding to swoop down on anyone stupid enough to try to hurt Celestia; though she knew that she could take care of herself, that sort of thing left a stain. The cleaners hadn't been able to scrub out the carpet last time.

Mild paranoia was another trait installed by her teacher.

"One who is paranoid is merely in possession of the truth." Celestia whispered. "A thousand enemies wait to destroy a weak Princess."

"I'm sorry Princess?" asked the bloated noble. "I didn't quite catch that. Did I offend?" The noble began to look around for exits.

"Oh, no, nothing like that!' assured Celestia, "I asked for this meeting, remember? Taxes are a delicate thing, and I could really use your help. I was just reminded of an old... acquaintance."

"Oh, of course!" the noble breathed out in relief. "Now as I was saying..."

A letter burst into existence, green smoke curling around it as it fell towards the ground as physics took hold; Celestia deftly catching it with her magic. Celestia gave the seal a cursory glance, and then straightened; all of her attention focused upon the scroll.

"I am so sorry, Haytholemew," said Celestia, getting up and walking to a side door behind her throne, "A problem has arisen that requires my direct attention. Please reschedule with my secretary."

Twilight had a code on her scrolls, more specifically, the wax seals themselves. A red seal was for friendship reports, letters that Celestia treasured dearly. Yellow, untreated wax was for personal letters, non-formal things relating to mild chat and requests for advice, though those were rare these days, as Twilight grew more independent of Celestia.

Black scrolls were rare; only two had been sent before. One was when Twilight warned her about Nightmare Moon returning; the other sent by Spike during Twilights 'episode'. Celestia still cursed herself for not ordering a full psychiatric work up on the girls; Twilight had clearly been traumatised by Discord. Coupled with fear of removal from her friends, she had become desperate to avoid her perceived danger. If only she had...

Celestia looked up from her thoughts to see that she had reached her study. She opened the door, slipped inside, and shut it. She hurriedly ripped open the scroll, and read it.

Celestia froze.

He was back. He was back. He was back. He was back. He was back. He was back. He was back. He was back. He was...

A knock on her study door shook Celestia out of her internal loop.

"Come in." She said, destroying the scroll utterly.

Luna stepped through the door, her raiment shining black. It had been a gift from their teacher; he had made it from fine ebony and had worked for days on it. "The beauties of the night sky, taken and frozen for the lesser creatures to see from now, till the end of all things." He had said. Celestia had replaced her own finery years ago, shortly after the... incident.

"Are you free sister?" asked Luna, "I need to check over a few things with you. Form 32/B is conflicting with form DX-117. The taxation forms are a mess. It really needs a complete overhaul. I think I can slide in the complete reforms to streamline..."

"One moment, sister," Celestia raised her hoof to silence her sister, "I just got an emergency dumped into my lap. I really need to head off for a bit to deal with the problem."

"Where is the emergency, Celestia?" asked Luna, excitement colouring her tone, "The new emergency procedures for disasters have been put in place, so I should be..."

"Luna! We shouldn't have to do that yet." Celestia stood and began to walk out, "It's nothing more than a wildlife problem. An Ursa Major has wandered too close to Ponyville, so I need to give it a bit of a nudge." Celestia hated lying to her sister, but he was just too dangerous. Luna could not know that he was back.

"Send me a scroll if things get too rough for you!" Called Luna, as Celestia began to walk down the hall. "Always!" Celestia shouted back. Celestia cringed again; unless Excolotis was looking for revenge and got the upper hand, a letter would never be sent.

Celestia stopped for a moment, before making a detour for the Elements of Harmony.

Twilight paced back and forth in the centre of her tree library, muttering to herself in panicked tones; "Okay, Twilight, don't worry, it's just some giant black thing that walked into town, it hasn't attacked, Pinkie's throwing a party, Celestia's on her way, and Spike is safe in the Library." Twilight giggled nervously to herself, her smile stretching a bit too wide, and began speaking in a singsong voice, "Nice and safe, nice and safe, nice and safe, it can't hurt me in here..." With a burst of light Celestia appeared in the centre room, causing Twilight to yelp and run for another room.

"Twilight?! Where are you?!" Celestia began to look around in a hurry, craning her neck to look up the stairs, as Twilight slunk back in from one of the side rooms.

"Uh, I'm here- oof!" Twilight was swept up by Celestia in a warm embrace, both of her ruler's forelegs crossed over Twilight's back as Celestia sat on her haunches.

"Twilight! I was so worried!" Sobbed Celestia, before clearing her throat, and setting Twilight back on the floor, "I apologise, Twilight, I let my feelings get the better of me."

"Uh... no... its fine." Stammered Twilight, still shocked by Celestia's reaction.

"Twilight, I need to know about the black giant that walked into Ponyville." said Celestia, "Everything it's said and done so far."

"Well," For the second time that day, Twilight mused over what she had seen and heard, "It walked into town with Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom. It seemed to be talking with them, and they were a bit dirty, but still fine apart from that. Applejack ran up and had a bit of an argument, but I didn't hear what was said as I had run inside the Library by then. After Spike sent the letter, Applejack came into my Library, and said; in her words 'His name is Excolotis, Twi. Mighty strange, and talks kind 'a funny, but he's kind enough. Pinkie Pie's throwing him a welcome party, and he just wants some friends.' Then Pinkie Pie appeared and gave us invitations, which she had made two hours ago, which was strange because Excolotis had only been here for half an hour, but it's Pinkie. The laws of physics as we understand them don't apply to her." Twilight's horn lit up, and a tasteful, yet happy party invitation floated over as Twilight continued, "The party is in four hours, and Excolotis seems cautious but optimistic about what awaits him."

"He is not irritable, aggressive, or inquisitive?"

"Not to my knowledge, princess."

"What sorcery is this!?"

"It's a light switch silly! It turns on the lights!"

Pinkie Pie had taken Excolotis into Sugar Cube Corner, where the armoured giant had to crawl in on his hands and knees. Luckily, the place could fit even Celestia with some room to spare, so Excolotis only had to watch his head on the rafters when he moved from one spot to another.

The twins had found it great fun to ride upon his back, gigging and urging on their mount with gurgles and squeals as he scooted around the store; not even bumping a thing with incredible skill. Just as Mrs or Mr Cake could cry out a warning, Excolotis would lift a leg a bit more, or shift his weight a bit, and he would move past with nary a scrape. Eventually though, the Cakes had taken Pound and Pumpkin to bed.

Excolotis reached out a finger, and pushed in the hoof sized button once or twice, flicking the lights on and off with a hollow clicking. "This is fascinating! Equestrian knowledge has come far in the last fifteen hundred years or so!" Excolotis tilted his head in contemplation as he continued, "I expected us to take about three thousand years to rebuild to our old level of science after Discord, but Celestia and Luna always manage to surprise me; only fifteen hundred or so years, amazing!"

"Oh, silly!" giggled Pinkie Pie, "It's been four thousand years since Discord was defeated the first time!" The Cakes started, and stared at Pinkie with wide eyes.

"What?" Excolotis froze, and Pinkie and the Cakes began to edge around the back of the shop counter, eager to have something between them and the giant crawling about in the shop front, "Four thousand... I never expected that..."

Excolotis looked down at the floor, and rubbed at it with his hand, leaving behind scratch marks.

Not even the Cakes scolded Excolotis for the damage to their floor, so dejected was he; though the fact that he could pick them both up with one hand might have had something to do with it, and they breathed a sigh of relief as a voice strong with authority rang out.

"Excolotis, I, Princess Celestia, the Beautiful Dawn and the Evening Star, request your presence!"