I am War.

It was already getting dark as Twilight and her friends, save Applejack who was still in hospital, decided to pay a visit to Excolotis in the sweet Apple Acres barn. They found him sitting on the hay bales, eating the party foods that Pinkie had set out on the groaning tables.  In particular, a plate of half eaten cake was in his hand.

“Hey, girls,” He said, “Would you like to know how my first day in Equestria after four thousand years went? Well, let me tell you. I met a wonderful bunch of little fillies; Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Then I saw this wonderful village full of charming, caring, compassionate ponies that didn’t really care that I was twelve foot tall and eight hundred odd pounds. They were great fun, and they made me smile.”

“And then? Well that was when things went downhill. It turns out that a whole bunch of griffins didn’t really like me very much. They hurt these new friends I was making, and held one hostage. I had to completely and utterly embarrass myself just to get one out of trouble. One pony in particular was forced to take a life, and now two ponies are in the hospital, all because of some griffins out to get me.”

“That was my first day of my new world. And I’m willing to bet you want to know what all of that stuff that happened to you today was about.”

“You got that right!’ said Rainbow Dash, “AJ’s in the Hospital, so’s Big Mac’, and I wanna know what’s going on!”

“Well, you know something?” said Excolotis, “I don’t know what’s going on. This is my first day here, and I haven’t the foggiest as to what’s happening! Oh, I can guess, but so can anyone else. In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve spent nearly four thousand years at the bottom of a cave, trapped in stone!”

“I was just as surprised as you were when that lot came here and started all that,” Excolotis shouted, getting to his feet, “And if you think I know anything, well I don’t. I came here after the cave and I thought: ‘Oh, it’ll be alright! My enemies are dust now; their bones turned to dirt and buried far beneath the sun! I don’t have to worry about a thing!’ But NO!”

Excolotis turned and hurled the half eaten slice of cake at the wall, the fine china shattering on the wood and leaving a pink and brown sodden lump to slide down, “I have to put up with all of it all over again, I have to deal with griffins who want me dead, I have to put up with ponies like YOU who think that I knew everything, and that I’m somehow to blame!”

“Well guess what!?” shouted Excolotis, stepping forwards with his arms open, “I don’t know everything, I don’t know who they were, and I’m certainly not to blame! And that’s not the worst thing, oh no. The worst thing is that for five minutes I dared, dared to think that I was free of it all! Free of the past!”

“Do you know how long I spent as a statue exactly? Three thousand, eight hundred and fifty three years, three months, and seventeen days! I counted! And I hoped, hoped that I was wrong, that it was only a few hundred, that I was wrong, but no... No it wasn’t. I wasn’t.”

“Every second, every god’s forsaken second, I knew exactly what was happening, and I knew it perfectly! I saw a garden, immaculate with gravel and small trees, flowers and a pond, slowly become a giant forest! That is how long I was there, and I remember every god’s forsaken moment.”

“So don’t you come to me and say I’m at fault! I paid my price for my mistakes, and I was supposed to get a clean slate, where I could make friends, and be happy, and not have to put up with this shit! So you can shut the fuck up, and go bother the ones who fucking deserve it! Because I don’t...”

Excolotis sat heavily on a table, his head in his hands, “Just don’t. Don’t blame me.”

The girls were stunned by Excolotis’ outburst. It was Fluttershy that moved first; flying up to Excolotis.

“Hey, don’t cry.” She said, raising Excolotis’ chin with one hoof, “We don’t blame you.”

“Yeah!” said Pinkie Pie, “You can’t control the actions of others.”

“Those jerks are what hurt us,” said Rainbow, “Not you! They’re the bad guys.”

“We didn’t want to blame you.” said Rarity, “We just want to understand what’s going on.”

Twilight sighed, “I still don’t get this, but you’re right. How could you possibly know what’s going on?”

Excolotis smiled, “Thank you, but I think that I need to clean up this mess. What should we do with the food?”

“Well we were going to have a welcome party,” said Pinkie Pie, ‘But that got all muddled up huh? So let’s just have one right now!”

With a laugh and a smile, Pinkie Pie leapt up behind Excolotis, and pushed him off the table. Twilight took the broken plate with her magic, and gently put it in a bin. Plates were picked up, food piled on, and drinks poured.

First they played the games. Pinkie Pie pulled on a rope, and a large picture of a tail-less pony was hoisted up to chest height on Excolotis. Pin the Tail on the Pony came first.

“So how do you play this game?” Excolotis asked.

“Oh, it’s real easy!” said Rainbow, “First we put on a blind fold,” a length of cloth slipped over Excolotis’ eyes and was tied behind his head, “Then we spin you round,” Rainbow and Fluttershy prodded Excolotis with their hooves and he smiled; spinning around on the spot, “then you take the pin,” a purple haze directed a pin into his waiting hand, “And then you walk forwards and put the pin on the Pony’s flank, where the tail would be.”

Excolotis shrugged, and took two steps forwards. He bent down, and jabbed forwards with the pin. The girls groaned, and Excolotis pulled off the blind. He had put it dead on centre.

“How did you do that?” asked Rarity, “By now I would of have been quite dizzy.”

“I can’t get dizzy.” said Excolotis, “Spin me all you want, I’ll never lose my sense of direction. Or be disorientated.”

“Really?” said Twilight. She pawed at the ground, deep in thought, before she blinked, “Aha!”

She concentrated, and a large circle of cork popped into existence, wire nailed into the front, and felt squares denoting different areas. Numbers were written all around the edges in white chalk. Another burst and metal tipped poles with plastic fins popped in as well, six in total, and some red while others were blue.

“This game is called darts,” she explained, “Have you played it before?”

Excolotis shook his head.

“Good!” Twilight lifted the dart board, and hung it from a nail in the wood. She took the red darts and gave them to Excolotis.

“To win this game, you start from zero, and must get up to three hundred without going over. It’s one of my favourite games.”

“Really?” said Rainbow, “I’d have thought that you’d like chess or something.”

“I do,” Twilight said, “But I like this game too. It has maths in it, along with precision control with magic.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes.

Excolotis pointed at the board, “What do these coloured squares mean?”

“Well,” Twilight said, “The white and black ones are singles, and the outer red and green ones are doubles. The inner ring is triple score, and the bull’s eye is worth fifty points.”

Excolotis nodded. Twilight went first. She took a dart in her magic, and sent it flying to land slightly off the twenty point mark. The second dart hit the triple score, and the third sunk into the cork right next to it. All in all, she scored one hundred and forty.

Rarity smiled, “Well done.”

Excolotis nodded again, and took his darts as Twilight pulled out hers. He stepped next to her, and threw the first, the second, and then the third. Twilight blinked as she took note of the score:  one hundred and eighty.

Twilight took her next turn, scoring only eighty points.

Excolotis took up the red darts again, and sent them straight and true. The first dart landed with a hollow thud on the twenty triple score, same with the second but his mistake was soon apparent; Excolotis had thrown the darts in such a way that a third could not fit between them.

“Hmf.” Excolotis took his third dart, and sent it flying.

Twilight stared, Pinkie Pie giggled, Rainbow smiled, Rarity sat, and Fluttershy blinked.

“Have you played this before?” asked Fluttershy.

“No,” said Excolotis, “but these are a bit like throwing weapons, so they fall under my expertise.”

“Okay, what?” demanded Rainbow.

“Oh silly Dashie,” giggled Pinkie, “He’s the God of War, right? So weapons and warfare are his special talents! And darts are a bit like throwing knives and stuff, so he knows how to use them, like how I know how to throw a party on an instinctual sort of level.”

“Pretty much.” shrugged Excolotis.

Twilight groaned, “That’s one dart ruined, anyway.” she said.

The third dart had been lodged straight into the second, splitting it nearly halfway.

Twilight pulled them down, and looked at the darts closely. She pulled them apart in a purple burst, and put the darts and board in the corner. “What else can we play?” she asked, “Preferably one that doesn’t result in Excolotis winning outright because of his special talent.”

“Oh! Oh!” Pinkie Pie waved her hoof in the air, “I know one! Blind Mare’s Bluff!”

“How does that work?” asked Excolotis.

“Oh... Well... You get someone to put on a blind fold,” said Fluttershy, “And then the one who’s ‘it’ has to get you by sound alone.”

“I’ll give it a try,” said Rainbow, “Otherwise you’ll all take forever to find me.”

“Okay then,” said Twilight, “Just make sure to remember; no wings, no magic, and no stepping over her, Excolotis.”

“I’m a little insulted that you had to address me by name.”

Applejack groaned. Her head felt like that one time she’d eaten six salt cubes on a dare, and her body ached. She lay back as her body presented its bills; Legs, fine. Body, sore. Ribs probably broken. Head splitting open from a migraine. Mouth... numb and unresponsive. Back giving reports of a soft surface, probably a bed. Lower legs and hips reporting a soft fluffy covering, most likely a blanket.

She was in the hospital. Just great.

She opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar white ceiling. Turning her eyes left and right, she saw that the walls were also painted the same septic white. To her right and left were white sheets hanging from the ceiling, and she couldn’t see in front of her. Looking at the ground was out of the question. She moved her hoof up to her head, and imminently regretted it. Her chest heaved as pain rocketed through it, and her head gave another stab of pain as her hoof bumped against it.

A Nurse moved into her field of vision as she slowly put her hoof back on the bed.

“Please try not to move,” she said, “You’ve got some bad injuries.”

She moved out of Applejack’s vision and the noise of something being unclipped reached Applejack’s ears.

“You have a shattered jaw,” said the Nurse, somewhere behind her hind legs, “so they’ve banded it together with steel wires so it can fuse back together. Your skull has been cracked, which caused some mild fluid build up, and the surgeons have had to drill a hole into the skull so that the excess fluid could drain out; hence the tube.”

Applejack groaned.

“You’ve also got...” a flutter of a page being turned, “Three broken ribs, and you’ve also lost three teeth. It says here on the chart that you’ve been bumped up the waiting list as a high priority, so you should be out of the hospital in about three days.”

The Nurse moved back into Applejack’s vision, “Makes sense; you’re Applejack, right? You saved the world from Discord, so I can see why they’d put you up for magical treatment. I’d want your autograph, but I don’t think that’d be a good idea. The broken jaw and all?”

Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Fantastic. Consciousness to implied sarcasm in less than five minutes, that’s a new record. Well done. Now, it’s about seven at night, and visiting hours here are at ten in the morning. You’re probably in pain, so I tell you what. Here’s a little something something to help you sleep.”

The Nurse moved out of Applejack’s vision again, and Applejack noted the beeping of a machine’s buttons being pushed. A whirring began to sound from her right, and her eyelids soon grew heavy.

“Goodnight, Miss Apple.”

She was already asleep when the door clicked shut.

Celestia rubbed at her eyes. The problem in front of her was one that she couldn’t conceive. How had this happened? Looking at the board in front of her, she paused.

“Are you going to come to a decision, sister, or do I have time to find something to eat?”

Celestia waved a hoof impatiently, and picked up the dice, before putting them down again. If she did that, Luna would have no option but to do this... but if she did this, Luna would do that... Celestia thought back on what she’d been taught. Eventually, she decided to move. She picked up the dice.

“Hah!” Celestia threw the dice at the board, sending them rattling across. “Forwards, stallions and mares!” she shouted, “For the glory of the Solar Empire!”

“Charge, for the Luna Republic!” cheered Luna as she picked up her die and rolled as well.

In the end, it was Celestia’s four against Luna’s two. Prance had been conquered for the Solar Empire.

Every Thursday was games night for the royal sisters. Come rain or shine, they’d always set apart three hours for a board game, and maybe a film and local take out. The chefs had complained bitterly about that, but as Celestia had put it, sometimes all you really wanted was cheap, greasy food.

The two sisters had tried chess, but they had grown bored after a while. Battleship was annoying after Luna figured out the algorithm needed to win, and Celestia had banned calculators of any sort at the games table shortly afterwards. Monopoly was Celestia’s favourite but Luna went into a huff nearly every time, declaring that those “little red shacks” as she called them were hardly worth one hundred and twenty bits a night.

Checkers was right out.

So the sisters, after much bickering, had finally settled on Risk. Arguments, however, were still common, especially over who got to have Australia. Both of them wanted it for some reason, but they just couldn’t figure out why. Celestia blamed the classic super villains in film: they always wanted a shiny new Australia.

One night in particular, Luna had recommended a new game called Diplomacy. After one match, followed by an argument and the angry firing and then panicky rehiring of the three hapless guards who had been roped in to fill out the game, they had agreed never to speak of it again.

The board in question was still supposedly drifting somewhere at sea after a particularly irate Luna had hurled it out the window as hard as she could, declaring her sister to be a scoundrel and a cur, completely untrustworthy, and with the moral fortitude of a damp cloth.

So yes, it was Risk. Also, Diplomacy was here forth to be known as The Board Game Which Shall Not Be Named between the two royal sisters.

“There’s trouble brewing.” said Celestia, “Those hot heads today were only the tip of the ice berg.”

“How so?” asked Luna, “The Gryphons export most of their goods to us, and they are one of our major customers. They cannot seem to get enough of our luxury items.”

“That’s true,” Celestia nodded, “However, some of them still remember Excolotis as a psychopath and monster. They might cause trouble.”

“Tonight is supposed to be games night.” said Luna, “Can we not just forget about all this?”

“I’m sorry, Lulu,” said Celestia, “I’m just worried about what’s going to happen. The High King might be able to keep his people from coming over here with sword and axe, but I really don’t know what to do if it does happen. We haven’t had a serious fight since the Changeling Queen, and you saw how badly we handled it.”

“That was embarrassing.”

“Quite,” said Celestia, “But for now, I’m thinking that tomorrow we should let Excolotis get settled in, then have him brought up here to overview the guards. It’s time for the shake up only he can bring.”

“That should be fun,” said Luna, “I’ll take Deutschland, by the way.” The die clattered onto the board, showing a seven. Celestia picked up the die, and counted the sides.

“I know you’re losing, but do play fair.”

The night at Applejack’s barn had stretched on, the party forgotten. Now the girls were trying to find a game that Excolotis was genuinely bad at. Blind Mares Bluff had been disastrous, Excolotis had moved so quietly that they couldn’t hear him, and when they had tied the blindfold around his eyes he had moved at the slightest sound.

Next was the Piñata.

Pinkie Pie pulled on the rope, the colourful paper pig slowly lifting into the air until it was slightly above Excolotis’ head, who was still wearing the blindfold.

“Pinkie,” said Twilight, “Don’t you remember Pin the Tail on the Pony? You know that this will end with him winning.”

“Oh, I know that!” said Pinkie Pie, “But that way I’ll get the candy quickly.”

“Pinkie Pie,” said Rarity, “Aren’t you a little old for that?”

“I am never too old for candy.” said Pinkie Pie, “I don’t care what you say.”

The ponies watched as he gently shifted his weight, his arm raised to strike. The girls waited with baited breath as he shifted his weight again, then lashed out with his arm, shattering the paper pig in half and spilling the candy across the room.

Pinkie Pie moved fast, little more than a pink blur, as she scooped up the lion’s share of the confectionary, and began to greedily stuff it into her mouth. The others glared at her, except for Fluttershy who simply gave a cocked look. Under the four stares, Pinkie Pie pushed the large pile of sweets back towards the piñata, and sat upright, clearing her throat as the stares subsided.

“Can I take off the blindfold now?” asked Excolotis, causing Fluttershy to give a small smile and lift up the blindfold from his eyes, wings pumping as she held herself at his height. Excolotis blinked in the light. He bent down and picked up a caramel from the paper innards of the false pig.

“Race’s Pieces Tee Em Old Fashioned Chocolate Caramels.” he said, “What are these like?”

“Sort of chewy and sticky,” said Pinkie Pie, “They’re all yummy and crunchy at first, but then they’re even more yummy and gooey, and the caramel gets stuck in your teeth, and you have to work really hard to eat it, but then it get’s...”

Rarity and Rainbow took on a glassed look, and Twilight sighed, “They’re actually really good,” said Twilight, “Don’t worry about her, she gets like this sometimes.”

“...But then it kind ‘a gets stuck in my ear, so then I need peanut butter and those ear cotton stick things, but only if I can find one, Gummy loves to eat them...”

“Wait, what?” Fluttershy stared at her pink friend in horror.

“...oh, but he hates the taste of Iodine, so that works out in the end. He found that out after he got into my first aid kit. I really should stop leaving it in easy reach. Of course, nowhere is out of reach to a Pegasus and I do mean nowhere, why, Pound once...”

“So, Excolotis,” said Twilight, “Do you want to go and play pool at the local bar? The place is sized for Pegasus so you should fit, if you duck...”

“Sure,” said Excolotis, “Why not?”

“Heh. And I should totally show you my pool game!” said Rainbow, “No pony’s better with the pool cue than me!”

“I could use with a drink,” said Rarity, “I’ll come with you.”

Fluttershy said nothing, staring agape at Pinkie Pie.

“...and that’s how Twist ended up with her cutie mark, but if there’s one thing she learned, it’s that Taffy Machines shouldn’t be fooled around with, why, she nearly fell in, but I think that it all worked out in the end, but that wasn’t the end, oh no, because then the manager got angry because we broke into his factory...”

“Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow nudged the hyperactive pony, “We’re going out to the bar, you coming?”

“Okay.” Pinkie Pie jumped up and trotted out the door after her friends, leaving a stunned Fluttershy staring into space.

“You broke into a factory?”

The Royal Magika Forty Inch Widescreen High Definition Television was one of Luna’s most beloved pieces of arcane technomancy in the castle. Few other entertainment pieces saw as much use, not even the equally beloved Omega Seven Hundred and Twenty Degree Home Game System. And that even had the new Connection Movement System installed.

To either side of the screen were large black towers, almost as tall as Celestia herself. The bass output of these speakers was the envy of the realms, and the surround sound left Luna in a giddy joy whenever she spoke of it. Celestia herself thought it was a noisy, pointless idiot box and had thought that the fifty hertz colour TV with three channels was more than enough. Who needed nine hundred channels and over two hundred magical personal entertainment games?

Right now, they were watching another of Luna’s pointless action movies. This one had some sort of ex palace guard captain who had clearly gone insane gun down thousands of criminal ponies and griffins. Celestia had pointed out that Equestria had less than a zero point zero two crime rate and that they would be lucky to get three hundred criminals. Luna had pointed out that she didn’t care.

Apparently, and this was something they threw in halfway into the movie because it got in the way of the killing, the guard captain had been taking his family on a Canterlot picnic when the local crime gangs had decided to perform an assassination and shoot at a crime boss with magical bolts. The criminals working for said crime boss had shot back at the would-be assassins and the family was caught in the cross fire. Celestia had again pointed out how incorrect that was, most unicorns couldn’t even do much more than a basic concussive spell as a basic cantrip that all of them were taught in magical school as a way to defend themselves. The idea of a criminal assassination in Canterlot was also ridiculous, as the guards would of have seen it and been upon them faster than you could blink. Luna had also displayed her disinterest to that fact, and added that her sister could shut up.

So Celestia had settled down after a while and was still not enjoying herself. That was until she realised that each scene had no more than three colours in it, and had decided to check what they were.

Eventually, the film came to an end, with almost nothing resolved and everything still going along as usual, leaving the whole thing open for a sequel. Celestia levitated a cardboard box over to herself as Luna removed the movie disc from its player. Lifting it open, she took in the smell of peppers and cheese, lifting up a slice of hot pizza and biting into it. Of course, being nearly twice as tall as most stallions mean that she ate half of it in one bite, but she didn’t mind.

That’s why she had four pizzas.

“I think that was a rather fine film,” said Luna, “the characters were solid, and the cinematography was quite good.”

“It was a stupid, mindless action flick,” said Celestia, “But I can see why you’d like it. Short on brain; big on muscle.”

“Oh, but that Castle stallion was quite handsome, sister. His voice ran over my soul, leaving white hot trails as it passed.” Luna took on a dreamy look, “His muscles shining in the light, his skill and strength, I would much like to...”

“Luna!” squealed Celestia, “I don’t need to know that!”

“Oh, my sister dearest is so modest!” said Luna, “but if you must know, that new cleaner we have, why, he’s quite handsome, hmm?”

“What? White Shine?” asked Celestia, “He’s new, yes, but don’t you think he’s a little... off?”

“Oh, I’m not looking for a husband.” said Luna, flopping down onto the couch, “I am just looking for a companion, and the day can seem so lonely without a stallion between my sheets.”

“What?” Celestia choked, “Change subject, now!”

“Oh, as you wish,” said Luna, “but I must know how long it has been since you had such companionship.”

Celestia stared at her sister, they were thousands of years older than any other, and why would she want to, oh yes that’s right. Celestia groaned. Luna was not just the goddess of the moon and night; she was also a poet, scholar, and romantic. Not to mention the fact that she had a very healthy... appetite for companionship.

“Not since...” Celestia thought back, “Well...”

“Oh, has my dearest sister not known the touch of a stallion?” Luna leaned in close, “Or a mare?”

“Oh, goodness no!” Celestia leaned back from her leering sister and picking up a cushion to hold in front of her like a shield.

“Really?” teased Luna, “Not once have you felt the touch of another?”

“Luna!” said Celestia, “Have you plans for what to do when we call for Excolotis?!”

“Hm, you are no fun. When he arrives here,” said Luna, “I think that we should introduce him to the ruling class, and then perhaps he should give his opinions upon the possibility of war.”

“You do know that he will want to check all the records?” asked Celestia, lowering her cushion shield, “He won’t want to start a war we have no chance of winning, or one that will cripple us if we do win.”

“Yes,” said Luna, leaning back into the furry couch, “And that will give us time to think, and see what happens.”

“And the nobles that push for war?” asked Celestia, “What if he agrees with them?”

“I don’t think that he wants another fight.”

“What do you think he’s up to?”

There was a clack as the billiard ball bounced off its partner, the smooth orbs spinning around the table.

The girls had taken Excolotis to the local bar, and one of the few in town. The town of Ponyville only had about three thousand, making it more of a large town, bordering on a small city. Nevertheless, it did see some business. The inside was fairly open, windows set to the front, and again favouring the Celestia sized architecture. Though chairs were not set to her height, basic building commissions required that every building be large enough for the beloved monarch to walk around in comfort.

The pool table itself was set to the height of the standard pony, so Excolotis was forced to crouch if he was to use it.  Twilight had been gracious enough to take a pool cue and resize it so that Excolotis could use the wooden pole.

So far, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were the only ones to play, and they were both going strong. Rarity was watching, a half eaten salt lick held in her magic. She was already half blitzed and had become rather loud as a result, much to Fluttershy’s chagrin. Twilight herself was trying to lean back from her overly friendly and dehydrated friend.

“I have to say,” said Rarity, “You are much more talented than I thought you’d be.”

“Thanks’.” said Rainbow, “What’d you think of that last shot.”

“Hum? Oh no, no,” Rarity laughed, waving her hoof dismissively, “I meant the whole... Flying thing you do. I think that you are easily the best flyer in all of Equestria.”

“Uh, okay Rarity,” Rainbow chuckled, “Not really relevant.”

“No, I mean it, I mean it!” said Rarity, “And I know that I try to get you to wear all those fancy things, but I think that you’re quite beautiful without them. Uh. Not that I’m interested in a relationship or anything, just that, it’s a rough beauty, you know?”

“Okay, Rarity,” said Fluttershy, “Do you want to come with me, I think that we should have a bit of a chat.”

“Oh, what about? Are you upset?” Rarity, rather unsteadily, was taken by Fluttershy to sit in a booth some distance away. Excolotis watched as Rarity was put in a booth by Fluttershy, and the two began to chat. Or more accurately, Fluttershy let Rarity ramble on while giving the occasional nod or hum.

Turning back to the game, Excolotis scratched his head as Pinkie Pie lined up a shot and sent a red striped ball into a pocket.

“So let me understand this,” he said, “If I’m right, Pinkie Pie can only hit the striped balls, while Rainbow Dash must use the solid balls.”

Rainbow dash nodded.

“And you have to use the cues,” Excolotis continued, “To knock the white orb, which must in turn hit an appropriate sphere, else wise you miss a turn. And if the white ball goes into a pocket, the other player is allowed to put the ball where ever she wants, and then takes a shot. If, on the other hand, you manage to get the appropriate orb into the pocket instead, you get to take another turn.”

“Yep.” Nodded Pinkie, “But you forgot the bit where after all that, you’ve got to pocket the black ball, but you’re not, ever, never, ever, allowed to hit it before you’ve pocketed all the other balls.”

Rainbow took her cue, and placed it flat on the back of her fore leg. Keeping the cue end gently hooked in her hoof, she drew it back, and sent it forwards with a sharp clack. The balls did their dance, or whatever it is that white marble orbs do, and in the end, the black ball fell into the corner pocket with a clack.

“Aw yeah,” said Rainbow, “Didn’t I tell you I’ve got the best game? No one can beat me at pool!”

“Yeah, except maybe Excolotis,” snorted Twilight, “after all, the Cues are a bit like lances when you think about it.”

Pinkie Pie mulled it over for a second before saying; “Nope. Doesn’t work like that Twilight.”

“What?” said Twilight, “Do you know something I don’t?”

“A lot of things, actually.” said Pinkie Pie, turning her head, “Isn’t that right, dear readers?”

Twilight shared a glance with Rainbow. “Who are you talking to?”

“Oh,” Pinkie smiled, “No one of importance.”

“Right...” said Rainbow, “Excolotis, do you want a turn?”

Excolotis nodded and took his cue as Twilight levitated the balls from the pockets and put them in the proper order. With a gentle thud, the white ball landed on the green felt. Excolotis lined up the cue with his chin, and placed the tip of it between his fingers for support. He gently drew back the cue and sent it forwards, staking the white ball with a soft clack. The white orb speeded forwards and struck the tight cluster of balls, sending them spinning towards the far corners.

“I’ll go easy on you, since you’re new,” said Rainbow, taking her cue and lining it up.

Her shot sent a yellow striped ball rolling into the pocket. Her next one sent a red ball and the green ball, and she waved at Excolotis to take his shot, forfeiting hers.

Excolotis lined up his cue again, and sent the white ball clacking off his yellow ball. The ball rocketed towards a corner pocket, only to bounce of the edges and roll back onto the table. This set the score for the night with Excolotis pocketing in the rare ball, bouncing balls off the walls, missing pockets, and occasionally pocketing the white ball.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, sent her balls clacking into pockets with ease, sending them in ones and twos.

Quite obviously, it was Rainbow Dash that won.

“Hah!” cheered Rainbow, “Don’t feel bad, I’m the best pool player here; of course you lost!”

Excolotis smiled; “I’m bad at pool.” He stood up to his full height, “My name is Excolotis and THIS is now my favourite spot in Equestria!”  He declared, pointing to the table.

“Really?” said rainbow, “But you lost.”

“Oh, I know.” Excolotis said, “I think that a brass plate here, right here, on the table saying ‘on this very table Excolotis discovered a game he was bad at.’ and then? Well then I’ll have this cue bronzed, and I’ll show it to ponies when they want to know the story of when I lost at a game!”

“Maybe a monument right out front!” he laughed, sweeping his hand over the outside view, “a statue of me, despondent and defeated, a broken cue on the ground as Rainbow Dash herself takes flight over me, holding her cue up to the sky!”

“That’s something I’d pay to see,” laughed Twilight, “But why are you so happy?”

“All the other games I’ve played,” said Excolotis, “Chess, Jousting, Sparring, Duelling, I won them all because of what I am, not what I can do. This is a game where winning is entirely dependent upon what I learn.” Excolotis breathed deeply, holding the breath for a moment before letting it out through his nose, “It’s a challenge.”

Rainbow smiled. “I know what you mean.”

Eventually the party had wound down, with Rarity sleeping in the booth, curled up and snoring gently. Twilight picked up the slumbering pony with her magic, before trotting out the front door.

The girls had all headed off to their homes after giving their goodbyes, leaving Twilight to get Rarity home.

“Let me come with you,” said Excolotis, “There’s something I need to get.”

“Oh?” asked Twilight, “What are you getting?”

“My armour.”

After Rarity was left on her bed, and Excolotis picked up his armour in a sack, Twilight said goodnight and walked off home, leaving the giant to find his own way back to the farm. He smiled, hefting the sack over his shoulder and whistling a tune as he strode through the dark.

The path itself was a dirt one, packed hard and trodden underneath the passing of countless hooves. To either side the path was covered in shrubbery, an ankle high grass covering the sides. The stars were out, constellations twinkling in the sky along with the moon; this gave a dim light to the scene.

Excolotis stopped, and put the sack by his feet. “I though more would show up.” he said, “Thank you for waiting until the others were gone.”

To his front, gryphons stepped out, brandishing swords and maces. Behind him, two more came out holding a variety of weapons. Over head, one or two wheeled about, moonlight glinting off belted swords.

One of them stepped forwards, head held high and weapon at his side. The gryphon looked up at his foe, “Today you shall receive judgement for the crimes against our people.” he said.

“I paid for my crimes.” said Excolotis, “As have so many others. As my dept has been paid, you have no claim. Go away.”

“It is not enough!” shouted the gryphon, “You slaughtered thousands, and you must pay the full price!”

“What is your name?” Excolotis asked.

“My name is Finn, of Höhe-Berg...”

Excolotis moved fast, taking Finn’s beak in his hand and moving past him. Finn’s neck twisted under the pressure until his neck finally gave with a crack, giving him a final view of his friends behind him before he ended up face down in the dirt, his belly pointing to the sky. The gryphons took up weapons before Excolotis was amongst them, punching and kicking, sending feathered bodies crashing to the ground and snapping limbs. When a gryphon finally got his act together and swung with his mace, he felt a curious tug on his arm. He lifted his arm back and swung again, but all that went past his vision was an arc of red. Looking down, he screamed as he saw that his arm was gone from below the elbow.

Excolotis leapt between them, hands and feet; elbows and knees striking out and crushing bone. Half of them were down already, broken bodies pumping out blood. They would not get up again. The few lucky enough to twist away from him took up stances only to end up dead as he swept feet from under them and struck with stolen weapons or simply swung hammers and cudgels at head height, sending brain, blood and bone splattering across the ground. One flew up and above, but was pulled down when an iron hand grasped around his ankle. Wings flapping, the gryphon was pulled down to earth. He swung with his axe but an iron grip took it by the haft and tore it from his fingers. Wings struggling, the gryphon tried to break free, but he knew it was useless when another hand went around his throat.

“Listen to me, LISTEN to me!” hissed Excolotis as wings battered his face, “Look at your friends, they’re dead. Do you want to be the same?”

The gryphon halted. “What do you want?” he croaked.

“You’ve heard so much about what I did,” said Excolotis, “but do you know why I did it?”

“You’re a monster,” the gryphon gurgled, “You didn’t... need an excuse...”

Excolotis stared at him. With a twist of his fingers, he snapped the feathered neck in his hand like a twig.

Bending down, Excolotis picked up the bodies and dumped them in the forest a ways from the dirt path. Following the noise of water, he washed himself in a nearby stream. He took off his fine clothes, now damp from the water, and left them where they lay on the ground; thus naked, he stared at the night sky, moonlight shining from his pale flesh.

Eventually, he opened the sack, pulling out his armour and robes and replacing them with the dirty clothes. It was only the work of a few minutes to fit the armour back on, and for the robes and tabard to fit over the black steel again. He took a hand full of river water, and cleaned his face of the redness from his tears. Shaking his hands free of the water still clinging to them, he set back onto the road, staring at the red stains on the dirt.

He held out his hand, and a wide, flat half moon staff drifted together in his hand. He hefted it between his arms and planted it in the dirt at a shallow angle. He them put his considerable strength behind it, and flipped the dirt path, covering the blood with loose dirt. Lifting the blade up again, he thrust it back into the packed earth and flipped it over once more. It took him a little over fifteen minutes to cover the blood completely.

His work done, he threw aside the weapon, watching as it dissipated before it hit the ground.

The farmhouse still had lights on, a single window open to the slightly warm night. Excolotis walked up to the porch, and gently rapped on the door. He waited patiently until Granny smith opened the door.

“Eh?” she said, “Ah, yer tha’ Excolotis fella, ain’t ‘cha? Well, I’ve set up somethin’ in th’ barn for yez, sos’s you can sleep there. But I’ll need your help t’morro’, I’m old an’ I can’t keep up wi’ th’ work no more, so you gonna’ help me till Applejack and Big Macintosh gets back on their hooves.”

“Of course,” said Excolotis as he turned to leave, “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“Hey, Excolotis?” said Granny Smith, “How’d ya do it? Ho d’ya ignore the hurt o’ y’own kin?”

Excolotis looked back at the old pony. “You don’t. You do what you can to make it better, but sometimes all you can do is leave it up to others and give them something to come back to. But if it’s too late even for that... You dig two graves. One of them is for you, the other for the ones responsible.”

Granny Smith hummed and trotted back inside, shutting the door behind her. Excolotis stared at the door for a moment, and then walked around to the barn. The inside was clean of food, the tables put away. In the middle lay hay bales with old sheep’s wool blankets thrown over them. On top lay a large, stitched together multicoloured quilt. Excolotis poked at it and guessed that several had been cannibalised to make the giant doona. With a sigh, he flopped backwards onto the improvised bed with a clank of metal, and closed his eyes.

In Ponyville not a mouse was stirring, though a purple unicorn mare was. Fussing to and fro, she picked books up from shelves, glanced at them, then put them back. Sitting atop the stairs, spike watched as his care giver and adoptive sister walked back and forth between the shelves, glancing at book spines as she did so. As Twilight began to throw books aside he groaned and rubbed his hands over his face.

“Twilight...” he yawned, “What are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for the history books, preferably ones dating back to early S.E.” she said.

“Why, in the name of all that is good and holy,” said Spike, “Are you looking for stuff from, like, four thousand years ago?”

“Excolotis did something,” said Twilight, “Something so bad that four thousand years later, Gryphons still want to beat him up over it. I want to know what he did that was so bad, because anything to make someone keep a grudge for that long has got to be a doozy.”

“So why don’t you ask him?” said Spike, “Save us all a lot of trouble.”

“Because it’s a bit of a sore subject.” answered Twilight.

“Twilight,” said Spike, “You’re usually right about this sort of thing, but why now? Why not tomorrow? He seems harmless enough, and I’ll bet that the griffins did something to tick him off first.”

“What makes you think that?” asked Twilight.

“I’m a guy,” said Spike, “Unlike you; I understand the concept of vengeance. And to get vengeance, you have to do something either really stupid, or really evil. Like Nightmare Moon evil. Believe me, when guys like him get ticked, they make others get ticked, until it all snowballs and becomes one big mess.”

“It has to be more than that.” said Twilight, “Excolotis isn’t that simple.”

“Actually,” said Spike, “Most guys are. Doesn’t mean he’s stupid, I mean, stupid and simple are completely different things.”

“Well,” sighed Twilight, “I won’t get any answers here. I’ll have to head to Canterlot to look at the larger library there. We’ll head there in a few days.”

“Great, I’ve been looking forwards to train sickness.”