Mawthrough shook his head.
"Chastity, the Horsemen are risen demons. Kinda like fallen angels, only the opposite - there's only four of them in existence, and there's a reason they're called the Horsemen of the Apocalypse!"
"They guard her prissssson, and only they can free her..." the snake added.

Mawthrough sighed.
"I'll sum up what I know - they're demons that made a deal with God. They're powerful beyond imagining and are the heralds of the end times. When they ride, the end of all things is at hand, which makes the prospect of talking to them a little unsettling."
Padderasp took up the story.
"Kunhulf created four keysssssss to Balance's prisssssson, which he gave to each of the Horssssemen. Only the Four, Death, Conquessssst, Famine and Pestilence, may free Balance from her prissssssson."
The snake raised it's tail in warning.
"But, beware. Once Balance is free, there is no way of returning her to her cell, and the resssssults may be dissasssstroussss...."

Mawthrough looked back at her, shrugging.
"Well, short of killing me instead, I don't think we've got a shot at killing her other than this. We can't ask the angels, they'll just kill me and we can't ask the demons because none of them are strong enough to take on someone of Lucifer's power. This is our only hope."
Padderasp nodded.
"You will find the first Horssssseman on the Ssssstarving Plains."
Mawthrough closed his eyes in horror. "Why there...? Why...?"

Mawthrough sighed too.
"The Starving Plains are in another dimension, so I'm afraid it's not that simple..."

Mawthrough shook his head.
"The problem isn't getting there. The problem is the hunger - there's a reason it's called the Starving Plains. You could go there with a lifetime's worth of food and eat it all in one sitting and you'd be ravenous by the end of the day. People have been known to eat their own limbs just to get a respite from the hunger. Some were even known to eat each other."
He grimaced. "As you can imagine, it's not a nice place."

Mawthrough's grimace only worsened.
"That's the worst part - you can't die from it. You just starve forever and ever, never ending, until you go absolutely mad and/or eat yourself."
He sagged.
"That's exactly why I don't want you there."

Mawthrough sighed.
"Oh shut up you stupid girl and kiss me."
He pulled her close for a deep and passionate kiss that took her off her feet.
"Thank you," he whispered in her ear.

Then he sighed.
"I'm guessing you can send us there?"
The snake had already conjured up a portal.
"Good luck."
"Thank you."
Mawthrough turned to Chastity. "You ready for this?"

Mawthrough suddenly had a realization.
"Aha! You can't feel hungry if you're unconscious!"
And before Chastity could argue he had pulled her into another furious kiss, and pressed her back against the tree before leading her around it, kissing her neck as he did.

Two and a half hours later, Mawthrough emerged carrying Chastity over his shoulder, who was now unconscious from exhaustion.
Mawthrough chuckled, then stepped in the portal, waving farewell to Padderasp.

The sky was purple. The sun was not hot, or cold, but even though it was day it was dark, the sky almost black.
Sand scattered underfoot, and immediately Mawthrough started feeling the pangs.
Ignoring it, he started trudging along a long winding footpath, carrying Chastity as he did.
A few hours later, Chastity started to reawaken...

Mawthrough chuckled.
"Darling, if you weren't in the Starving Plains you wouldn't be complaining of an empty stomach, if you catch my drift - I swear I'm tempted to film you one day and send your parents a copy..."
The path was starting to go uphill, leading out onto what looked like a rolling desolate forest with sparse trees dotting the landscape.
Mawthrough adjusted his grip and managed to pull out a chocolate bar, passing it to her.
"Here you go. Try and make it last."

Mawthrough's stomach rumbled, and he was feeling absolutely famished, but as the gentleman he was he simply huffed and kept on going, wanting her to not suffer as much as he was for at least a while.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

They reached the forest, and Mawthrough was starting to flag. Every step through the bare trees was an effort, but he thought about why they were here and puzzling over the logistics of it distracted him from the pain. It was a good thing he absorbed energy from other sources, otherwise he really would be in trouble.
"Not much longer now," he said, hoping it would be true.

She tasted of chocolate, and Mawthrough was unable to resist returning the kiss as much as he could, the hunger forgotten.
The energy he drew from the intimate contact also helped keep the hunger at bay.
"Thanks. I'm sure that -"
A neighing resounded through the desolate forest and Mawthrough pulled up short. "Hear that?"

Mawthrough gulped, and it had nothing to do with hunger.
"I-I think that -"

The horse came into sight, cantering through the trees. It was thin, so thin it looked like it couldn't be alive, almost dead from starvation. But it acted like the fact the skin it had was stretched so far over it's bones it looked like a grotesque monstrosity didn't bother it at all. Its hooves were weathered and worn, it's mouth constantly drooling.
The most disconcerting feature of it, however, were its eyes. Rather than pupils or even eyes at all, it was merely sand, falling eternally from the beast's eye sockets.

Mawthrough suddenly felt hunger pangs so strong that, combined with the disgust he was feeling from looking at the horror, that he actually vomited onto the dirt. The horse neighed, a sound that set the teeth on edge.
"This... seems like the real deal," Mawthrough managed. "Wouldn't'... you say...?"