//------------------------------// // Single Gender // Story: Foreign Relationships // by smirker //------------------------------// Volvox was an ancient being who was born on a land surrounded by many other kingdoms, he had a twin sister born with him as well, the two began to set up their own kingdoms and everybody lived under the two in peace, his sister proposed an idea to him, they would rule a kingdom with only one gender in it and see how they develop, the other creatures agreed and Volvox decided to try it to see what would happen. Several years passed and the kingdoms were created, Volvox ruled an all-male kingdom while his sister ruled an all-female one, the two had several different types of creatures in them, Volvox's second-in-command was a demon named Dommiel, his bodyguard was a ghoul named Giovi, his adviser was a time traveler only known as the Count of Saint Germain, and his public speaker and commander of law and military was a human named Tom, the five looked out and saw how many different creatures lived in the kingdom, "Alright, so, how many different type of creatures are here now?" Volvox asked, "Let's see, human, mutant, angel, demon, vampire, werewolf, troll, ghoul, golem, incubus, elf, fairy, orc, dwarf, apostle, centaur, transylvanian, merman, cenobite, and tyrant, so yeah, quite a bit." Dommiel replied, "Wow, that's actually more than I thought." Volvox said, "I think your sister has just as many creatures in her kingdom." Tom said, Volvox looked from the top of his palace and saw his sister's kingdom, she had a diverse kingdom as well, "Well, we'll be having some more creatures here soon, I think, I'm just lucky we all live in a utopia right now." Volvox said, "How many more creatures you think are out there?" the Count of Saint Germain asked, "A lot, we've been getting apostles ever since our encounter with Ganishka." Volvox replied, "What do you think of your kingdom so far, Volvox?" Dommiel asked, "It's pretty average if you ask me, you've got gardeners there, entertainers there, we also have assassins, soldiers, mercenaries, and doctors, so yeah, a pretty normal kingdom if you ask me." Volvox replied, Giovi, the Count of Saint Germain, and Tom smiled. The door opened and a tall human with red hair came in, "Hey, Volvox." the human said as he walked forward, he and the other four looked and saw it was Gene, "What do you want, Gene?" Volvox asked, "When are you gonna start letting some women in?" Gene asked, "I already said, Gene, my sister decided on letting us be divided by gender, so if you really want women as company, you're just going to have to go out the country." Volvox replied, "Why did she come up with the dumb idea to begin with?" Gene asked, "She wanted to see how societies will develop with only one gender in them." Volvox replied, "That's stupid if you ask me, when they're gone, so is the entire place." Gene said, "Them, not me, I can start over." Volvox replied, "Yeah, easy for you to say." Gene said, "You're welcome to leave if you want to, Gene, no one's holding you back." Volvox said, "There's literally nowhere else with people, and besides, I'm always available if you're looking for help or need bodyguard work." Gene replied, "Why don't you serve under us as an assassin?" Dommiel asked, "Nah, my last trip had assassins after me, it left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth ever since." Gene replied, "Well, go on and leave, I have a kingdom to watch." Volvox said, and Gene left, "Really a shame, he would've made a good assassin." Tom said, "True, but maybe we can hire him for mercenary work or fight in the tournament." Volvox replied, "I agree, I think he'd be a good opponent." the Count of Saint Germain said, "Maybe, let's wait a bit and see if we can find a job for him." Volvox replied, and they got to running the country. Volvox watched the country along with Dommiel and Giovi while the Count of Saint Germain discussed with others on how to make the law enforcement on future events to prepare for while Tom walked around the kingdom and made sure everybody lived in peace, everything went well and he climbed into a watchtower to see if there was anyone coming to the kingdom, there was no one, so he climbed down. The kingdom ran smoothly and a big earthquake suddenly happened, "Which one of you cast earth magic?" Volvox asked, the citizens shook their heads, "Anyway, brace for impact." Volvox said, and the plate tectonics shifted. The world shook as the creatures screamed, "What's going on?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Ah don't know." Applejack replied, and the earthquake stopped while everycreature held onto whatever they could. Everycreature got up and looked around, "Is everyone alright?" Twilight Sparkle asked, everycreature nodded, "*gasp* Look!" Pinkie Pie said as she pointed, everycreature gasped at seeing a new kingdom in the water that was to the northwest of the Dragon Lands, "A new place." Rainbow Dash said, "Come on, we can at least welcome them." Twilight Sparkle said, and her friends got into the hot air balloon and headed to the island. Twilight Sparkle and her five other friends arrived at the island and parked the hot air balloon, the six walked to the entrance, a green light came out and scanned them and they heard the double doors lock, "Hey, what gives?" Applejack asked, Tom and the others heard them and they and several creatures climbed up into the watchtowers and saw them, "Um, hi, Princess of Friendship here to welcome you guys." Twilight Sparkle said, "Sorry, but we can't let you in." Tom replied, "What?" Pinkie Pie asked, "Why not?" Rarity asked, "This is a single gender society." Tom replied, "Huh?!" Pinkie Pie asked, "What?!" Rarity asked, "You heard me, this is an all-male society, you six want the all-female society over there." Tom said as he pointed to his left, but he saw the all-female society was not there, "What?" a human asked, the other creatures went to the walls and looked around while Dommiel grew shadow wings and flew while Volvox grew bigger and they all looked around, the other creatures noticed how many different creatures lived in the kingdom, "Where is the all-female society?" another human asked, "Anyway, we're here to welcome you guys, so can we come in?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Nope, it's illegal to let females in here." Tom replied, "Oh, come on, who came up with that?!" Rainbow Dash asked, "My sister." Volvox replied, "Your sister?" Fluttershy asked, "Yeah, she wanted to see how societies will develop if they only had one gender." Tom replied, "Can we at least throw you all a welcoming party?" Pinkie Pie asked, "Nope, we can't let any of you in for any reason." Tom replied, "So, we can't enter your country." Applejack said, "Yeah, only males can enter, so you're just going to have to leave." Tom said, the six mares looked down and walked back to the hot air balloon, "Sorry." Tom said, and the hot air balloon took off. The hot air balloon went back to Equestria and Rarity growled, "I can't believe they didn't let us in, that is no way to treat a lady." Rarity said, "Still, no females allowed, that's a weird law." Rainbow Dash said, "I know, Rainbow, I'm just as baffled as you are, and a society with only one gender is not going to live on for generations, they should change it." Twilight Sparkle replied, "What do we do now?" Applejack asked, "Well, since they won't let girls in, I might have to send Spike to act as our messenger." Twilight Sparkle replied, "And if that doesn't work?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Then we might have to send my brother or Sunburst instead." Twilight Sparkle replied, "Um... we can see their kingdom from here." Fluttershy said, they looked and saw the inside of their kingdom behind the walls, "It looks pretty normal to me." Applejack said, "Yeah, what a diverse amount of creatures, though." Twilight Sparkle replied, "Well, I guess we should just head on back and make arrangements to stay on their good side." Applejack said, and they went back to Ponyville. The creatures around the world murmured about the law and Volvox listened to them, "A single gender society? How did they live to be around?" Princess Skystar asked, "That's beyond me, Skystar, we're going to have to send Sky Beak and General Seaspray to handle the politics, maybe Terramar, too." Queen Novo replied, "You going, father?" Princess Ember asked, "No need, Ember, I can see everything just fine from here." Dragon Lord Torch replied, "You wanna go, Pharynx?" King Thorax asked, "I'll think about it, I think we can both go together." Pharynx replied, "You all stay here, I'll go and check it out later." Grampa Gruff said, "Yak will go to new place soon, other yaks wait here." Prince Rutherford said, "Who should we send, Rain Shine?" Autumn Blaze asked, "I don't know, Autumn Blaze, I'm going to have to choose when I have the time." Rain Shine replied, Volvox watched the world as they discussed what to do, he looked around and noticed a lot of creatures around his kingdom, "What do you think, sister?" Princess Luna asked, "I'm going to contact the Crystal Empire soon, I'm going to see if Shining Armor is available to handle trade and relations with them." Princess Celestia replied, Volvox shrugged and he shrunk himself to a smaller size and went back into his palace. The Mane Six met up with one another in Twilight Sparkle's castle and they went to Spike, "Spike, I have a favor to ask of you, that new kingdom there doesn't allow girls inside, can you act as our speaker and ambassador for us?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Sure, I won't let you down." Spike replied, "Thanks, Spike." Twilight Sparkle said, "Still, a single gender kingdom, I've never seen one of those before." Starlight Glimmer said, "None of us have, it's still very surprising such a place exists." Twilight Sparkle replied, "And that big three-headed guy said there's another one with only girls in it." Rainbow Dash said, "I am still very baffled by this, I don't even know how they came up with something like that." Rarity said, "We're all baffled, Rarity, Ah'm still havin' trouble gettin' it through mah head." Applejack replied, Spike burped and letter came out, "It's from Princess Celestia, she's saying Shining Armor and Sunburst are going to be going to the kingdom." Spike said, "Good, we can always use more than one." Twilight Sparkle said, "Can I have Cheese Sandwich throw them a welcoming party?" Pinkie Pie asked, "Maybe later, Pinkie, we need to see what they're like, first." Twilight Sparkle replied, "I sure hope their animals are alright." Fluttershy said, "We'll know when Spike sees the place, Fluttershy." Twilight Sparkle replied, and they looked at the kingdom and saw the other creatures going over, "Oh, they're going already, you should go, too, Spike." Twilight Sparkle said, "On it." Spike replied, and he flew to the kingdom. Spike flew to the new kingdom and met up with Shining Armor, Sunburst, Sandbar, Gallus, King Thorax, Grampa Gruff, Prince Rutherford, Sky Beak, and General Seaspray, "Sandbar? Gallus? What are you two doing here?" Spike asked, "The girls wanted to know what was in here, too, so we're here for them." Sandbar replied, "I hope it's fun inside." Gallus said, the green light scanned them and the doors opened, the natives of the kingdom looked at them, "Who are you guys?" Volvox asked, "We're ambassadors from the other countries." Sunburst replied, "Which ones?" Dommiel asked, "He and I are ambassadors for the ponies." Shining Armor said as he pointed to Sunburst, "I'm here as an ambassador for them, too." Spike said, "Aren't you here to represent them?" Volvox asked as he pointed to the Dragon Lands, "Huh? No dragon ambassador?" Spike asked, "Doesn't look like it." Gallus replied, "Me represent yak." Prince Rutherford said, "I'm here to represent the changelings." King Thorax said, "I represent the griffons." Grampa said, "And I represent the hippogriffs and seaponies." General Seaspray said, "Two creatures?" Tom asked, "Yes, I can change between the two at will." General Seaspray replied, "Hold on. Gene, I got a new job for you." Tom said, and Gene walked out, "Alright, guys, let's get this over with." Gene said, "And you are..." Sunburst said, "Gene Starwind, freelancer, I'll be acting as your tour guide." Gene replied, "You're a tour guide?" King Thorax asked, "You got a problem with it?" Gene asked, "It's just... you don't look like a tour guide." King Thorax replied, "You really don't, I mean, you have a knife, whatever that thing there on your right thigh is, a star on your shoulder, and you're covered in scars." Gallus said, "It's from my other jobs, I usually don't do jobs like this." Gene replied, "What jobs do you usually do?" General Seaspray asked, "Treasure hunting, bodyguard work, and sometimes make money at the tournament." Gene replied, "You guys have a magic tournament?" Shining Armor asked, "Fighting tournament." Gene replied, some of the ambassadors became uncomfortable, "Anyway, let's go, let's make this quick." Gene said, "Wait!" a voice said, everybody looked and saw a male kirin running on the water and to them, "I hope I'm not too late, I'm here to represent the kirins." the kirin said, "Is that everyone?" Gene asked, they nodded, "Let's go." Gene said, and they entered the kingdom. Gene led the creatures into the kingdom and there were humans in front of them already, they saw a yellow car driving people around, it finished and people came out, "What is that?" Grampa Gruff asked, "A taxi, driver's a bit messed up in the head, though." Gene replied, the driver came out and the creatures looked at him with bewilderment since he was wearing sunglasses and had a mohawk, "Hey, Gene, alright if I drive them around?" the taxi driver asked, "Another time, Travis." Gene replied, "You know him?" Spike asked, "Everybody does, he's Travis Bickle, he's been hailed as a hero recently for stopping some crime around the kingdom." Gene replied, "Still, that's not an ideal mane style to have for his job." Sunburst said, "You guys have taxis, too?" Gene asked, "Yeah." Shining Armor replied, "Anyway, let's keep going." Gene said, and they walked forward. Gene led the group and they looked around and saw many creatures singing, dancing, drawing, painting, sewing, arranging flowers, making movies, the group exclaimed and Gene looked, they were looking at a singer, "Oh, that's just Dr. Frank-N-Furter." Gene said, "What is he wearing?" General Seaspray asked, "He always dresses like that." Gene replied, "That looks like girl clothing." Spike said, "Anyway, let's go, I don't have all day." Gene said, and they followed him. Gene led the ambassadors around the country and they saw a bunch of people at a boxing ring, "That's the tournament area right there, you fight with everything you got, and you win money for each round you win." Gene said, "Hey, Sandbar, you wanna try, you against me?" Gallus asked, "No." Sandbar replied, screaming was heard and a human flew out of the ring and got buried into the ground while a tall humanoid creature wielding a big sword in one hand and a battleaxe in his other hand stood triumphantly, "And Nosferatu Zodd wins again." an announcer said, the creatures around the ring cheered, "Is he alright?" King Thorax asked, "Yeah, he'll be hospitalized soon." Gene replied, "So, what's next?" General Seaspray asked, "This way." Gene replied, and he led them. The group arrived at a training field and saw many different creatures training and fighting, "This is where recruits train to be soldiers, we're always looking for new people to join our army." Gene said, "Wow, so many different creatures." Spike said, "See that guy? That's Big Boss, he's the greatest soldier we've ever had in our kingdom." Gene said as he pointed to him, "He does look a bit rough around the edges." General Seaspray said, "He is, ever since he... lost his mentor, he's never been the same." Gene replied, "What happened?" Sunburst asked, "He doesn't want to talk about it." Gene replied, "Wait, Gene, quick question, where's the school?" Sandbar asked, Gene pointed and they looked and saw an all-boys school, there was a picture that had a blond haired man named Eikichi Onizuka that has been elected the teacher of the year, and the top student in the school was a person named Sakamoto, "Who is that guy there?" Spike asked as he pointed, Gene looked, "That's Black Jack, he's our kingdom's top surgeon." Gene replied, "Kingdom is pretty small." Prince Rutherford said, "It is, but Volvox has thought about expanding it a bit." Gene replied, "Speaking of rulers, we need to meet with them to establish relationships." Shining Armor said, "This way." Gene replied, and they followed him. Gene led the ambassadors into the palace and they saw suits of armor on the sides of the hall, "Volvox, we're here." Gene said as they walked, Volvox, Dommiel, Giovi, the Count of Saint Germain, and Tom faced them, "You all enjoyed your time here?" Volvox asked, "No, I was hoping it'd make me more bored." Gallus replied, "So, who are you guys?" Sandbar asked, "I am Emperor Volvox, supreme ruler of this kingdom." Volvox replied, "Dommiel, I'm Volvox's right-hand demon, I run things when he's not available." Dommiel said, "I am the Count of Saint Germain, time traveler, I am his adviser." the Count of Saint Germain said, "Name's Tom, I command the police and military, I'm also Volvox's public speaker." Tom said, "And this is Giovi, my bodyguard, he's not one for words." Volvox said, "What is he?" Sunburst asked, "A ghoul." Tom replied, "Are those knife blades on his hands?" Sandbar asked, "Yeah, he lost his claws many years ago." Dommiel replied, "Okay, so, um... Emperor Volvox, we're here to establish good relations, since this area you're in is ran by friendship." Shining Armor said, the five looked at the ambassadors with bafflement, "Seriously?" Dommiel asked, "Yes, our country's defenses will go down if we have a bad relationship with a country." Sunburst replied, "How about the rest of you?" Tom asked, "Nope, dragons usually don't do friends, but this one does." Spike replied, "I'm more powered by love than friendship." King Thorax said, "Do I look like I have friendship?" Grampa Gruff asked, "Well, we just opened borders recently, but it is nice to have an ally." General Seaspray said, "We're thinking about adapting friendship, we just reopened our homes to other creatures recently." the kirin said, "I think it's best if we do, Volvox, remember what happened when Ganishka attacked us." the Count of Saint Germain said, "Ganishka started a war with us to conquer the world, these guys aren't, but I do agree with you." Volvox replied, "Will you?" Spike asked, "Sure, we don't need another war." Volvox replied, "Great, we'll discuss trade and deals and we'll be going." Shining Armor said, "Here you go, Gene." Volvox said as he used telekinesis to give him money, "Thanks, aren't you going to introduce them to your assassins?" Gene asked, the ambassadors exclaimed with confusion, "Assassins?" Shining Armor asked, "Yeah, he has assassins to hunt down criminals who escape his kingdom." Gene replied, "We're required to meet them, too." King Thorax said, "Alright, come on here, guys." Volvox said, and the assassins came forward, they saw seven assassins, "Who are you guys?" King Thorax asked, "That one there is Plissken." Gene replied as he pointed to him, "Call me Snake." Plissken said, "Who is that tall guy with the hat there?" Spike asked, "Mr. X, he's not one for words, either." Dommiel replied, "That guy next to him?" Sunburst asked, "Birkin, he's also known as G, we call that form G3 because that's his third mutation." Tom replied, "Who is guy there with long silver stick there?" Prince Rutherford asked, they looked at the person, "Oh, that, what he's holding is a rocket launcher, that's Nemesis." Volvox replied, "His face is kind of scary looking." Spike said, "That next guy there is Pinhead, he's one of the more dangerous ones." Gene said, "I see you all desire friendship, you all can benefit from my assistance." Pinhead said, the ambassadors got an uneasy feeling from him, "Who's the next one there?" the kirin asked, "I am Candyman, I live as a legend among these people." the next assassin replied, "Why does he have a hook for his hand?" Spike asked, "He lost his real hand many years ago." Gene replied, "I bet he'll look much smaller when he takes off the coat." Grampa Gruff said, the natives of the kingdom groaned with uneasiness, "Trust us, you don't want to see what he looks like under the coat." Gene said, "Yeah, it's super gross." Tom said, "Anyway, that last assassin there is a guy I have history with." Gene said, "I have two names, my real name is Leilong, my name when I'm on the job is Shimi." the last assassin said, "Which name do you go by right now?" Spike asked, "My real name." Leilong replied, "Who's the top assassin among you seven?" Gallus asked, "I am." Leilong replied, "He's not the top assassin in the kingdom, though." Volvox said, "Who would that be?" Sandbar asked, "This way." Gene said, and they followed him, "See that tall guy there, short black hair and wearing the white suit?" Gene asked as he pointed to him, "Yeah, I see him." Sunburst said, "That's Duke Togo, also known as Golgo 13, he's the best assassin in the kingdom." Gene said, "Why isn't he here?" Sandbar asked, "Because he won't enter into long-term contracts, he'll usually only do one job per person." Volvox replied, "Well, I'll be taking my leave now." Gene said, "Alright, you did well, Gene, we'll be in touch if we have another job for you." Volvox said, "Say, Gene, do they hire you to do assassin work?" Gallus asked, "Nope, I am hired for bodyguard work sometimes, though." Gene replied, "Well, go on now, Gene, we need to discuss business and trade." Tom said, and he left while the ambassadors spoke, they left the kingdom and went back home hours later. Spike went back to the Castle of Friendship and met up with the Mane Six, "How'd it go, Spike?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Sorry to say this, but I'm going to have to act as an ambassador for the Dragon Lands instead since they didn't send any ambassadors." Spike replied, the six mares became speechless, "It's alright, Spike, I'm sure you'll do well." Twilight Sparkle said after a while, "So, what exactly were you able to come up with?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Well, I discussed giving them some gems as trade, and they give us some of their own gems." Spike replied, "That's it?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "For now." Spike replied, and he talked about what was in the kingdom. Sandbar and Gallus were at the School of Friendship and were meeting with Ocellus, Smolder, Yona, and Silverstream, "They have fighting tournaments?" Smolder asked, "Yup." Gallus replied, "What was this about the rulers having assassins?" Ocellus asked, "They said it's so they can hunt down criminals who run away from the country." Sandbar replied, "What did they look like?" Silverstream asked, "Most of them actually looked pretty scary." Sandbar replied, "Did Sandbar and Gallus get souvenir?" Yona asked, "Sorry, but we had a tour guide who just showed us around, we couldn't get anything." Gallus replied, "So, how is the place?" Ocellus asked, "Looks pretty normal to me." Sandbar replied, "Yeah, they have entertainers, police, military, ways to make money, nothing special, really." Gallus said, "Nothing caught your interests?" Ocellus asked, "No, not really." Sandbar replied, "Well, some of the people in there do look pretty weird." Gallus said, "How?" Silverstream asked, "Well, there was one guy in there wearing girl's clothing." Gallus replied, Ocellus', Smolder's, Yona's, and Silverstream's eyes' widened, "Really?" Smolder asked, Sandbar and Gallus nodded, "Can you all elaborate on everything you all saw?" Ocellus asked, and the two talked about the place. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were in a tree and looking at the kingdom, "What do y'all two think?" Apple Bloom asked, "Looks pretty normal to me." Scootaloo replied, "Yeah, I see nothing unique about the kingdom." Sweetie Belle said, "Ah think Ah see a farm." Apple Bloom said, they looked and saw several creatures plowing the field with animals, "I still wanna enter the place." Sweetie Belle said, "Me too, it looks fun." Scootaloo replied, "Ah'm sure they'll come around later, let's just watch for now." Apple Bloom said, and they continued observing the kingdom from the tree. Shining Armor and Sunburst were with Princess Cadence and discussed things with her, "You considered trading crystals with them?" Princess Cadence asked, "Yeah, the ruler said the carvers can use them to make new art." Shining Armor replied, "Really? That's wonderful, I do think their kingdom can use some decoration." Princess Cadence said, "Me too, we didn't see a library anywhere, though." Sunburst replied, "No historical documents?" Princess Cadence asked, "Well, if they have it, our tour guide didn't point it out to us." Shining Armor replied, "I see, well, you should go tell the Crystal Empire what the deal with them was." Princess Cadence said, and Shining Armor went to go tell the crystal ponies about their new relationship. Princess Ember was with Dragon Lord Torch and the other dragons, they complained to them about the deal, "Now, look, I know you all are upset we have to give them our gems, but they're not asking for much, just one gem from each deal is fine." Princess Ember said, the dragons still complained, "Ember, remember, the gems are our food." Dragon Lord Torch said, "I'm not the one who came up with this deal, it was Spike." Princess Ember replied, the dragons booed her, "Everydragon, relax, I'll have a talk with Spike later." Princess Ember said, and the dragons grumbled about it. The griffons in Griffonstone were complaining to Grampa Gruff about his deal in trade, "We have to give them our scones?!" Gilda asked, "It's all I can think of, unless you want to give them your money." Grampa Gruff replied, the griffons disagreed, "Anyway, that's the cheapest thing I can think of, there is no way I'm giving them our history books or sharing the customs of our culture, they are too sacred." Grampa Gruff said, "Okay, so what are they giving us in return?" Gilda asked, "Some of their own cuisine." Grampa Gruff replied, "I bet it'll be worthless compared to ours." Gilda said, the griffons nodded, "All we can do right now is wait, let's see what happens next." Grampa Gruff said, and the griffons nodded as they waited. Prince Rutherford met with the yaks in Yakyakistan and talked about the deal he made, "Yak must give new kingdom some of our fur?" a male yak asked, "Rutherford does not want share yak culture, so we give goods instead." Prince Rutherford replied, "Must yak trim fur?" another male yak asked, "No, we give fur from previous winter to kingdom." Prince Rutherford replied, "What kingdom give us?" the first yak asked, "Kingdom give us coats to keep us warmer in winter." Prince Rutherford replied, "Yak like deal." the second yak said, the other yaks smiled and Prince Rutherford went to go gather old fur. King Thorax discussed the deal with the changeling kingdom and the changelings murmured about it, "So, we're going to have to give them some of our carvings and potteries while they're going to give us their paintings." Pharynx said, "Yup, I think it sounds good." King Thorax replied, "Thorax, we need ways to defend ourselves." Pharynx said, "I know, but I think sharing culture would be better, we're not under Chrysalis' rule anymore." King Thorax replied, "So what? We can use some weapons and training." Pharynx said, "I don't know if they're willing to share those, Pharynx." King Thorax replied, "Why is there shaking in your voice? You scared?" Pharynx asked, "Well, um... there are some scary looking creatures in that place." King Thorax replied, "Anyway, I personally don't like the agreement, but I'm just going to have to go with it." Pharynx said, and they got on with their days. General Seaspray went to go see the hippogriffs and seaponies and talked about their deal, "So, let me get this straight, we will give them our pearls from under the water while they will give us their trumpets in exchange." Sky Beak said, "Yes, that was the deal we managed to work out." General Seaspray replied, "What was it like in there?" Terramar asked, "Nothing special, they have entertainers, tournaments, schools, doctors, and so on, but one thing that set it apart is the ruler has assassins." General Seaspray replied, "What? Why does he have those for?" Ocean Flow asked, "The ruler said it is so he can hunt down criminals who escape the kingdom." General Seaspray replied, "Do you think he was telling the truth?" Sky Beak asked, "He sounded honest when he said it." General Seaspray replied, "I'm still not comfortable with him having assassins." Ocean Flow said, "Neither am I, but it's the best we can do for now, I'll try to renegotiate if the deal ends up unsatisfactory." General Seaspray replied, and the hippogriffs and seaponies got on with their days. The male kirin was in Kirin Grove and talked to Rain Shine, "Alright, so let me get this straight, they will give us their books and plays for us to read while we give them some of our plants and flowers." Rain Shine said, "Yes." the male kirin replied, "That doesn't sound too bad to me." Autumn Blaze said, "I agree, I think it's a pretty fair trade off." Rain Shine replied, "The kingdom had some pretty scary looking people in it." the male kirin said, "I figured, I saw the tour guide." Rain Shine replied, "I know, right, he's all covered in scars, wearing black clothes, and has a knife, no tour guide around this world looks like that." Autumn Blaze said, "Well, he did say he does more jobs than just tour guide." the male kirin replied, "Like what?" Autumn Blaze asked, "He said he also does bodyguard work." the male kirin replied, "Well, you did good, I think we're going to have a good relationship." Rain Shine said, and the male kirin headed home. Two days passed and there were no problems so far, the countries did trade while the females watched them, Sunset Shimmer arrived yesterday after Twilight Sparkle gave her a message about the new place. Volvox was looking for his sister's kingdom around the world while the Count of Saint Germain went into the future to see when it would be found again, a portal opened and he returned, "Well?" Volvox asked, "Two weeks from now, we'll find her to the northeast with some help from two of the flying horses from that country there, and tomorrow, criminals will break out and escape the kingdom, we're going to have to send our assassins and they will succeed in stopping them, but ten criminals will escape to the other countries, so we will have to hire Duke, and starting right around now, the foreigners will contact you." the Count of Saint Germain said, "Excuse us, Emperor Volvox." Spike said from outside, he walked out of his palace and made himself bigger with his powers, he saw the ambassadors standing at his kingdom's doorway, "We need ambassadors from your kingdom in our countries as well." Shining Armor said, "Alright, give me a minute, I'll get the seven ambassadors ready." Volvox said, "Actually, the Crystal Empire is separate from Equestria, so you'll need two ambassadors for the ponies." Sunburst said, "I request two ambassadors as well, one for the hippogriffs and one for the seaponies." General Seaspray said, "Alright, hold on, I'll choose the ambassadors shortly." Volvox replied, and he looked at the countries to see what they were like, "Excuse me a minute." Volvox said, and he shrunk himself to be smaller, "Tom, can you get Nosferatu Zodd and Grunbeld here?" Volvox asked, Tom nodded and left, he came back with the two, "How would you two like to travel the world around here?" Volvox asked, "I have no interest in politics, I live only for battle." Nosferatu Zodd replied, "As do I, diplomacy is not for me." Grunbeld said, "Actually, I was wondering if you two would've liked to travel the countries to look for strong opponents." Volvox said, "No, these creatures look weak." Nosferatu Zodd replied, "Indeed, one hit from my hammer will likely smash them." Grunbeld said, "Well, it was worth a try, I thought you two would at least be interested in seeing the dragons." Volvox said, "Only that big dragon there looks like a worthy opponent." Grunbeld replied, "I agree, those dragon scales don't look like they'd stand a chance against my sword and axe." Nosferatu Zodd said, "Alright then, go on, I'll find other ambassadors." Volvox said, "We'll be fighting in the tournament if you need us." Grunbeld said, and the two left. Volvox discussed with others to act as ambassadors and went outside, "Okay, everyone, here are your ambassadors." Volvox said, and they walked out, "Alright, this way, guys." King Thorax said, and they led them to their countries, "Hey, Volvox, alright if I go, too?" Gene asked, "For what?" Volvox asked, "Look for a job." Gene replied, "Oh, sure, go on." Volvox said, and Gene left the kingdom and went to Griffonstone, "What's next?" Volvox asked, "That's all for now." Dommiel replied, and Volvox sighed while he looked for his sister's kingdom. The creatures looked at the ambassadors that Volvox sent for their countries, Equestria's ambassador was a vampire, the Crystal Empire's ambassador was a golem, the Dragon Land's ambassador was a mutant, Griffonstone's ambassador was a centaur, Yakyakistan's ambassador was a troll, the changeling kingdom's ambassador was an incubus, Mount Aris' ambassador was a fairy, Seaquestria's ambassador was a merman, and Kirin Grove's ambassador was an elf, Volvox watched them and saw they were all getting along overall, but the female changelings were a little uncomfortable around the incubus, "Alright, that should do for now." Volvox said, and he shrunk himself, "Assassins, get in here." Volvox said, and Plissken, Mr. X, Birkin, Nemesis, Pinhead, Candyman, and Leilong walked to him, "The Count of Saint Germain said some criminals are going to break out tomorrow and escape the kingdom, you all will need to hunt them down." Volvox said, "What criminals?" Plissken asked, "The ones locked in the dungeon, I saw them escaping in the future." the Count of Saint Germain replied, "They're still there now, aren't they? Why don't we kill them now?" Leilong asked, Volvox, Dommiel, and the Count of Saint Germain became speechless, "Alright, let's go ahead and round them up, and be careful, one of them is an apostle." the Count of Saint Germain replied, and they went with him. The prisoners in the dungeon were busy working to dig a hole and escape, they were being led by an apostle named Wyald, "Get digging, we'll be able to enjoy ourselves when we leave." Wyald said, and the men kept digging quickly and frantically, Wyald became bored and killed a few of the prisoners by smashing their heads with his hands, the remaining prisoners began digging faster out of fear for their lives. The dungeon's entrance opened and running was heard while Mr. X's footsteps echoed throughout the prison, the Count of Saint Germain ran to them, "There they are right there." the Count of Saint Germain said, and hooks and chains came up and cut the prisoners apart, a prisoner screamed as he got cut in his back and Candyman was behind him, Plissken ran to them and began shooting at them with a rifle while Birkin swung his arms around and slashed whoever was near him, "Hurry! Dig!" Wyald said, and they did. Rocket thrusters were heard and Leilong flew forward while holding a sword, he slashed the prisoners who tried to fight back, Wyald pulled a chunk of the wall out and threw it at Leilong, he activated a light shield with a device on his left wrist and blocked it. A tentacle went forward and stabbed several prisoners and they screamed, Wyald looked and saw Nemesis running around and he punched whichever prisoner was nearby, he also hit several prisoners with his rocket launcher, Wyald quickly dug out the wall and headed outside, several prisoners were heard screaming and the others looked back and saw Mr. X punching whoever tried to escape, the assassins killed whoever tried to escape and then headed outside. The kingdom was peaceful for today until the ground burst open and people ran back, Wyald broke out and so did several other prisoners, the people ran away from Wyald while he begun chasing after people he could kill, the angels and demons tried to fight him but he killed them easily, the centaurs also tried to fight him but Wyald threw them around. Dommiel made his own shadow bigger and tried to smash Wyald, he held him back and Volvox shot orange hellfire blasts out of his front feet at Wyald, he grunted from it and began running around, he attacked whoever was in his way and put holes in the walls around the kingdom. The other creatures looked on and saw the kingdom's walls get destroyed and the natives thrown out, they saw Wyald causing trouble, Pinhead makes chains and hooks come out of the ground and restrain Wyald, "You seek the deepest of experiences, submit to me, Wyald, and I shall give you what you desire, like your fellow prisoners here." Pinhead said and he showed the prisoners he has changed into cenobites, the other creatures in the other countries screamed in horror at how they looked, Wyald growled and punched the cenobites away. Bees appeared around Wyald and they begun to sting him, he saw Candyman to his left and he took off his coat and revealed his body and the bees inside of him, the creatures of the other countries gagged and turned away while Fluttershy looked at him with shock. Candyman cut Wyald's back with his hook but Wyald grabbed his head and began to squeeze it, "It's you, you're the reason why I got locked up in jail." Wyald said, and he tried to smash Candyman's head, but he disappeared and more bees appeared and stung Wyald. Plissken shot at him with his gun and Wyald shrugged off the bullets, Mr. X walked to him and tried to punch him, Wyald grabbed his fist and threw him over himself, Mr. X laid on the ground to recover, Birkin jumped to him and tried to slash him with his four arms, Wyald punched the eyeball in his right upper arm and Birkin screeched in pain, Leilong shot several bullets at him with his gun and Wyald lunged towards him, Leilong used his rocket thrusters to fly back, "You always were a big dumb monkey, Wyald." Leilong said, Wyald looked around and mines beeped, they exploded and Wyald screamed, he fell but soon got back up, he roared but a missile soon hit him and he screamed, everycreature looked and saw Nemesis holding a rocket launcher. The assassins looked on to make sure Wyald was dead, but he stood back up and tried one final lunge at Leilong, he held out a whip-like weapon and it detached itself from the handle while Leilong flew to the side and went behind him, Wyald got tied up with the weapon and it exploded, he screamed from the explosion, "That does it!" Wyald said, he stood up and transformed into an ape-like creature, the citizens screamed, "Apostle!" a human said as they ran away. Wyald pulled a tree out of its roots and swung it around, people who got hit by it were flung away. Plissken tried shooting him with his gun and Wyald blocked it with the tree, more chains and hooks came out of the ground and they stabbed into Wyald's arms, he grunted as he tried to move them and Mr. X punched the tree and broke it, "Hey, ugly!" Gene said from Griffonstone, Wyald looked back and Gene took off his coat and shot missiles at him, Wyald growled and picked up a house and threw it at him, Gene ran and dodged it, he then took out a rocket launcher and shot it at Wyald, the smoke cleared and Wyald was still unharmed, he laughed at him, "Oh, yeah, laugh at this." Gene said as he took out his caster gun and fired a shell at him, it hit him and exploded while Wyald screamed. Gene looked and saw Wyald on his knees, Volvox got ready to kill him but Wyald quickly recovered and hit people away with his large hands, his assassins were flung away and Wyald laughed as he began causing destruction around the kingdom, he stopped when he saw Nosferatu Zodd and Grunbeld in front of him, "Come on, my friends, let us enjoy and excite ourselves." Wyald said, the two raised their weapons, "Wha... What are you two doing?" Wyald asked, "Following the orders of our angels, do as thou wilt." Nosferatu Zodd replied, "Yes, we have both decided long ago that you shall die if you were to ever break out." Grunbeld said, "What? You two would attack a fellow apostle?" Wyald asked, the two attacked him and Wyald quickly flung his arms around to fight back, but he screamed as Nosferatu Zodd cut his legs with his sword and battleaxe while Grunbeld smashed his feet with his war hammer, he also shot fire out of his shield at him, he roared but stopped when Candyman stabbed him in the back of his neck with his hook, "Be my victim." Candyman said, and he let Wyald fall, he quivered with fear while Grunbeld walked forward and lifted his hammer, he screamed and Grunbeld smashed his head. Volvox used his hellfire powers to burn Wyald's body while he changed to a frail old man, he saw the other countries looking at him with horror, "Volvox!" Dommiel said as he ran to him, Volvox faced him, "Some of the criminals went to the other countries while we were busy dealing with Wyald." Dommiel said, Volvox looked at his seven assassins and there were on their knees', "You guys alright?" Volvox asked, "I'm out of breath." Leilong replied, "Me too." Plissken said, he saw Mr. X, Birkin, and Nemesis resting, "You want to hunt them down, Pinhead?" Volvox asked, "Even though I serve as an assassin, killing is not my specialty, it is making them have experiences." Pinhead replied, "What about you, Candyman?" Volvox asked, "I have blood to shed elsewhere." Candyman replied, "Very well, I need a list of the escaped criminals." Volvox said, and the police began working to find info on the escaped criminals, he got a list of ten criminals that escaped, "Thank you. Duke Togo, I have a job for you." Volvox said, and Golgo 13 walked to him, "These ten criminals have escaped, we have tried both, jail time and rehab, and neither one worked, I would like for you to track down these criminals and kill them before they cause any trouble in the other countries." Volvox said, "I'll take the job." Golgo 13 said, and he walked away while everybody got on with their days. Spike was at the Castle of Friendship and knocking was heard, "Spike, we need to talk." Princess Ember said, and Spike opened the door, "Hi, Princess Ember, what is it?" Spike asked, "That deal or trade you came up with has left the dragons in the Dragon Lands very unhappy." Princess Ember replied, "It was the best thing I could come up with, though." Spike said, "Give them our gems? We're giving them our food, Spike." Princess Ember replied, "Well, what else could I give them?" Spike asked, "Rocks created from our volcanoes, that could've been better." Princess Ember replied, "Alright, but what do you dragons think about them giving you guys armor?" Spike asked, "It's alright, we just need to stop giving them our food so the dragons don't go hungry." Princess Ember replied, "Alright, but what do I tell them?" Spike asked, "*sigh* Just tell them we'll have a famine eventually if we continue giving them gems." Princess Ember replied, "Okay, I don't know if they'll buy it, though." Spike said, "Well, there are several creatures at his kingdom right now, so now might be a good time to go." Princess Ember replied, and Spike flew to the kingdom. Volvox was looking outside his kingdom since Shining Armor, Sunburst, and King Thorax were there, "You send your people to kill criminals who escape your country?" Shining Armor asked, "What's wrong with that?" Volvox asked, "Everything! Don't you forgive and befriend your enemies?" Sunburst asked, "Guys, trust me, that primitive ape is the last guy you'd want to befriend." Volvox replied, "Have you ever thought about forgiving them at least?" King Thorax asked, "That depends on what they say to the counselors and their own behavior." Volvox replied, "Wait, you offer counseling?" Sunburst asked, "Yes, I have rehab, too." Volvox replied, "Then why don't you try to forgive those criminals who escaped from your country?" Shining Armor asked, "Already did, didn't work, they have no regrets, either." Volvox replied, "How do you know that?" Shining Armor asked, "Sometimes, you can tell by what they say and how they act." Volvox replied, "Well, you should at least change your ways a bit, Emperor Volvox, no country here does execution." King Thorax said, "Are you three here by your own accord or are the females using you to speak to me?" Volvox asked, "Well... it's kind of both." Shining Armor replied, "Yeah, all of us agreed that we needed to address your ways with dealing with criminals." Sunburst said, "Is that all?" Volvox asked, "Well, for now." King Thorax replied, "Alright, I'll see what I can do." Volvox said, and Shining Armor, Sunburst, and King Thorax headed home, "What do you have to say?" Volvox asked, "Um, the dragons want to change the trade a little." Spike replied, "With what?" Volvox asked, "They want to give the rocks formed by the volcanoes instead, since those gems are our food and we'll go hungry after a while." Spike replied, "Well, I did say one gem per deal." Volvox said, "Right, and we're going to starve eventually if it keeps up." Spike replied, Volvox looked at the Dragon Lands and saw hungry baby dragons, "Do those babies have any food?" Volvox asked, Spike flew up and saw the crying baby dragons, "No." Spike said, "Okay, change, it is." Volvox replied, Spike smiled and flew to the Dragon Lands and told the dragons, they cheered while Princess Ember smiled and Spike flew back to Ponyville. Gene walked around Griffonstone and looked for a job, "Hey, you guys hiring?" Gene asked, "What do you think?" a griffon asked, Gene looked and saw no one working, so he left, "Man, how can anyone get a job in this dump?" Gene asked, he saw another griffon and walked to him, "Hey, excuse me." Gene said, the griffon looked at him, "Can you show me a place that's hiring?" Gene asked, "You got the money?" the griffon asked, "Yeah, I got some money, now show me around." Gene replied, and the griffon led him to the exit, "Huh? Hey, what gives?" Gene asked, "There are no places here hiring, now take your stuff and get lost." the griffon said, "Alright, I'm going." Gene replied, "Wait, where is my money?" the griffon asked, "Relax, I'll pay you when I make it big." Gene replied, "Well, you better." the griffon said, and Gene headed to another country. Four days passed and the golems were working on rebuilding the walls around the kingdom while Volvox helped them, swords clanging were heard and everybody looked and saw Guts and Cloud fighting one another, Cloud's Buster Sword and Guts' Dragonslayer clanging against one another made really loud noises, the others looked and became shocked at seeing the Dragonslayer, "What an enormous sword." Rarity said, "I know, right, how does he swing that?" Rainbow Dash asked, the two entered a deadlock and Guts shot Cloud with his arm cannon and Cloud screamed as he got blown away, "And Guts wins again!" the announcer said while the people around the arena cheered, "His name is Guts?!" Rarity asked, "Who in tarnation names their child Guts?" Applejack asked, "Who knows, but that's sure one name I don't want." Twilight Sparkle replied, and Guts' next opponent entered the ring, it was a mutant, "Wait, are those blades coming out of its arms?" Rainbow Dash asked, "It looks like it, maybe it's hardened and sharpened bone." Sunset Shimmer said, and the mutant tried to slash Guts but Guts cut his head off with his sword, "Wow! Guts beheaded him in one move." the announcer said, the people around the ring cheered and Guts' next opponent entered the ring, it was Nosferatu Zodd, "Black Swordsman! I have waited for you." Nosferatu Zodd said, "Let's settle this once and for all, Zodd." Guts said, and Nosferatu Zodd lifted his sword and battleaxe. Guts swung the Dragonslayer around and Nosferatu Zodd blocked each attack, he swung his sword and battleaxe and each move pushed Guts back, "What is this?! Nosferatu Zodd is pushing Guts back!" the announcer said, and Guts was barely withstanding Nosferatu Zodd's attacks, "Whoa! That guy is probably even stronger than the yaks." Applejack said, "Still, I'm getting a strange sense from him, almost like... he's a monster like the guy who changed into the ape." Twilight Sparkle replied, "What was that guy called again? An apostle?" Rainbow Dash asked, "That sounds right." Fluttershy replied, "Hey, look, there's something on the back of Guts' neck." Silverstream said as she pointed at it, "Is that... a brand? What is that?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Ooh, I know, maybe he's food for somecreature and they want to eat him." Pinkie Pie said, Nosferatu Zodd continued swinging his weapons and Guts was on his knees, "For those of you unfamiliar, there is history between these two, they have engaged in combat several times." the announcer said, Guts watched Nosferatu Zodd and stepped forward while he lifted up his two weapons and slashed his abdomen, "*chuckle* Splendid, Black Swordsman." Nosferatu Zodd said, and he swung his sword and battleaxe at blinding speeds while Guts tried to repel them, but his attacks made Guts' sword fly to the side and push him back, Nosferatu Zodd got ready to swing his two weapons down, but Guts quickly slashed his sternum and he grunted from the pain, he swung his weapons from the side and Guts did a horizontal slash and broke Nosferatu Zodd's sword and battleaxe, "You're child's play now, Zodd." Guts said, Nosferatu Zodd laughed, "You know full well I've been holding back, Black Swordsman, time for me to use my full power!" Nosferatu Zodd said, and he transformed into a bipedal goat-like monster with two horns and wings, "Look at that, everybody, Nosferatu Zodd has changed into his apostle form." the announcer said, "Wow, he's kinda big." Apple Bloom said, "Yeah, it's scary." Sweetie Belle said, Nosferatu Zodd slamed his hands down and destroyed the ground, "Whoa! He smashed the entire ring!" Scootaloo said, "Yona scared." Yona said, "Yeah, me too." Smolder said, "Say, Ocellus, can you change into something like that?" Gallus asked, "I can try." Ocellus replied, Nosferatu Zodd swung his arms around and destroyed whatever he hit, Guts got ready to slash him but he stunned him with his roar, he flew to him with his wings and tried to stab Guts with his horns, he slashed Nosferatu Zodd with his sword and he screeched when Guts cut his face, he stopped flying and Guts got ready to attack him from behind, but Nosferatu Zodd hit him away with his tail, Guts grunted as he fell, he grabbed his sword as he got back up, he saw Nosferatu Zodd flying to him, he got ready to ram him but Guts cut his head with his sword and Nosferatu Zodd roared when he got hit, he stopped flying and fell to his knees while Guts panted, "Unbelievable! Guts has won!" the announcer said, the people cheered, "Splendid, Black Swordsman, I will be looking forward to our next battle." Nosferatu Zodd said, and he changed back to his human form and walked away, "Well, Guts, would you like to stop now and collect your money, or do you wish to keep fighting?" the announcer asked, "Bring out your next opponent." Guts said, "Fighting, it is." the announcer said, and a war hammer came down, Guts looked forward and became frozen in place when he saw his next opponent was Grunbeld, "We meet again, Black Swordsman, but rest first, I want to fight you at your full strength." Grunbeld said, and Guts rested, "Look at that, everybody, Grunbeld wants a fair and square fight, that's something you don't see in an apostle every day." the announcer said, "So, he's one, too." Sandbar said, "I wonder what he transforms into." Spike said, they watched and Guts recovered, "Are you ready, Guts?" the announcer asked, "Start the battle." Guts said, "Alright. Begin!" the announcer said, and Guts ran forward while Grunbeld swung his hammer down, Guts blocked it with his sword, but it knocked him back, almost made him fall, and left a big crater in the ground, the creatures watching looked on in shock, "He's even stronger?!" Scootaloo asked, "How is he supposed to win against that?!" Rainbow Dash asked, they looked and saw Guts panting while his arms were numb and he could not lift them, "You haven't improved, Black Swordsman." Grunbeld said, and he aimed his shield at him and shot fire out of it, Guts rolled and was on the ground while panting heavily, "What is this? Guts is exhausted from taking only one hit from Grunbeld, that's the strength of an apostle for you, boys." the announcer said, Grunbeld walked to him and Guts looked up, "I'm disappointed, Black Swordsman." Grunbeld said, and he got ready to hit him with his hammer. Guts activated his armor and transformed. Grunbeld was knocked back and Guts roared, "Look at that, gentlemen, Guts has activated his Berserker Armor." the announcer said, "Berserker Armor?" Applejack asked, "That doesn't sound good." Twilight Sparkle said, Guts began attacking Grunbeld relentlessly and he tried blocking with his shield, Guts destroyed it with his attacks, he made two sword blades come out of his partially intact shield but Guts hit his shield a few more times and destroyed it. Grunbeld blocked Guts' attacks with his hammer but each hit from Guts' Dragonslayer bent his hammer's handle, he destroyed it and Guts began attacking Grunbeld's armor, he grunted as Guts knocked him back, "Fine, you leave me no choice." Grunbeld said, and he transformed into his apostle form, the creatures from the other countries gasped, "He's a dragon?!" Spike asked, Grunbeld breathed fire out of his mouth, Guts was unharmed and he attacked Grunbeld's body and cracked his scales, "Wow, his scales must be tough to endure those." Starlight Glimmer said, "I must say, I do feel the urge to pick them off of him, they look very valuable." Rarity said, and Guts continued attacking Grunbeld until he changed back and fell to his knees. Guts changed back while Grunbeld panted, "And Guts wins again!" the announcer said, the crowd cheered, "Well? Who's next?" Guts asked, the other competitors ran away, "Well, look at that, Guts is the winner." the announcer said, the people clapped and cheered while Guts will given a sack full of money, he took it and walked elsewhere, "Well, it's over." Gallus said, "That was kind of scary." Ocellus said, "Come on, everycreature, let's get on with our days." Twilight Sparkle said, and they went back to Ponyville. Gene was in Ponyville and looking for work, others looked at him while he looked for places that were hiring, "What are you doing here, Gene?" Spike asked, "Just looking for work." Gene replied, "Wait, did Volvox send you away?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "No, I left on my own accord." Gene replied, "Oh." Twilight Sparkle said, "You can work for me, Ah can always use extra hands on mah farm." Applejack said, "Yeah, alright." Gene replied, "No, Gene, wait a minute, you can't go around looking like that, let's get you a more suitable outfit." Rarity said, and he followed her to her shop. Rarity measured Gene's measurements and began sewing an outfit for him, "Gene, darling, I must say, your red hair is quite an attractive color, but you should cut it a bit short." Rarity said, "I'll think about it." Gene replied, and Rarity made him a bright yellow suit and black shoes, "Here you go, darling, now you're ready to get a job." Rarity said and she put it in a bag and gave it to him, "Okay, thanks." Gene said, "Nuh-uh-uh, my payment." Rarity said, "Oh, um, can it wait?" Gene asked, "No, I demand payment now, Gene." Rarity replied, "Don't worry, I'll pay you when I make it big." Gene said, "No, you most definitely will not, you're paying now." Rarity replied, "Wait, what?" Gene asked, "I have heard that excuse a million times, you are not going to skip out on your payment." Rarity replied, "Fine, do you accept wongs?" Gene asked, "Wongs? I take bits." Rarity replied, "Well, I don't have bits." Gene said, and he showed her his money, "Hmm, I'll take it, maybe I can convert this into my currency." Rarity said, and she took it while Gene pumped his fist, "Well, that's all, good luck on getting a job now." Rarity said, and Gene headed out. Gene headed outside and saw Applejack at her farm, he sighed and went there, "Ya here to work?" Applejack asked, "Yeah." Gene replied, "Alright, Ah'll show ya around." Applejack said, and Gene started his new job. Golgo 13 was in Griffonstone and found three criminals that he was assigned to kill, they were a golem, a werewolf, and a demon, he watched their movements and analyzed them all day to see what they did for their days, the three met up in an abandoned house and Golgo 13 got into position, he aimed his customized M16, he fired the first shot and the bullet went through the wall of the house and he hit the golem in his head, the two looked at him and the werewolf got shot in his head, the demon looked and one last shot was fired and he was hit in the head. Golgo 13 stopped aiming while he watched his last target fall over, he walked to the train station while the griffons looked at him, the train came and he boarded it, he sat and waited for the train to head to its destination, the train arrived into Appleloosa and Golgo 13 got off and began tracking down his next target. Three days passed and nothing of interest happened, Volvox looked around to try to find his sister's kingdom but could not, "Um, excuse us, Volvox." a female voice said, he looked and saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, "Sorry we're here, but your usual ambassadors are unavailable right now, they're wondering why you've been looking around a bit for these past few days." Princess Celestia said, "I'm looking for my sister's kingdom." Volvox replied, "Is it okay if we help?" Princess Celestia asked, "Sure, I can use a helping hand." Volvox replied, "You're not going to deny us because of our gender?" Princess Luna asked, "Your gender is not of importance, you just can't enter the kingdom." Volvox replied, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna smiled, the two flew up and helped him look for his sister's kingdom. Volvox kept looking around while the two princesses flew up and helped him look for his sister's kingdom, he also watched and saw the griffons moving bodies, he noticed it was three of the criminals who escaped from his kingdom, they had bullet holes in their heads, he smiled at learning the fact that Golgo 13 was already hunting them down, he looked around more and did not see his sister's kingdom anywhere, "Angels, demons, I need you all to scout." Volvox said, and they flew up, Dommiel also flew up by making black shadow wings come out of his back, "You guys see my sister's kingdom?" Volvox asked, they shook their heads, "One more week, Volvox." the Count of Saint Germain said, "I just hope I can find it before that." Volvox replied, and he watched the kingdom to make sure everybody got along. Tom was with Plissken and having a conversation, "Why did you become an assassin for, Snake?" Tom asked, "Had nothing better to do." Plissken replied, "Even though you hate the government?" Tom asked, "Look, I don't care what your government says, I only care about getting paid." Plissken replied, "This isn't like you, Snake, you usually just act on your own accord regardless of pay or reason." Tom said, "I guess I just wanted a change in my life." Plissken replied, "You can always go back to the army." Tom said, "No way, I already lost my eye in the army, I've had enough of that life." Plissken replied, "Well, go on and do what you wish, Snake, I really don't have anything to discuss with you right now." Tom said, and Plissken left, he looked and saw Big Boss conducting a training routine while Black Jack stood by to do any surgery on those who got injured, every soldier got injured and only one finished the course, "*sigh* Only HUNK passed." Big Boss said, "Again? You might as well send him on all military operations." Black Jack said, "What is my next assignment?" HUNK asked, "Nothing, rest for now, HUNK." Big Boss replied, and he did while he spoke to the injured soldiers after Black Jack finished performing surgery on them. The day passed and it was night time, Dr. Frank-N-Furter did a show and sang, the creatures of the other countries screamed at seeing his outfit while Rarity fainted; Fluttershy heard Discord singing the same song behind her, she looked and exclaimed at seeing Discord wearing the same outfit as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, he also wore a wig that resembled his hair and the same makeup Dr. Frank-N-Furter wore on his face, "Discord!" Fluttershy said, "What's the matter? Don't you like my outfit?" Discord asked, "No! That outfit is ridiculous, even for you." Fluttershy replied, "Oh, come on now, why don't you try it on?" Discord asked, "No." Fluttershy replied, "Oh, alright, there's no changing your mind." Discord said, and he made the outfit, wig, and makeup disappear, "Thank you, Discord." Fluttershy said, and the night went on and everybody went to sleep. Golgo 13 remained in Appleloosa and was watching four criminals, they were a mutant, a vampire, a centaur, and an incubus, they were discussing on what crimes to commit for their own amusement, they were also sitting in the sand and drawing pictures. Golgo 13 went to his sniping position and aimed his M16, he shot his first bullet and hit in the incubus in the head, the other three looked and Golgo 13 shot the centaur in the head while they were distracted, they looked at him and the vampire got shot in the head next, the mutant looked at where the bullets were coming from and he got shot in his forehead. Golgo 13 stopped aiming his M16 while his last target fell over dead, he proceeded to walk out of the town and look for his next target. The next day came and everything was peaceful, Volvox's ambassadors had no trouble in the other countries, the single gender kingdom continued to remain peaceful, Volvox continued to look for his sister's kingdom with help from Dommiel, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna, Giovi and Tom visited the wounded soldiers from yesterday's training regime, and the Count of Saint Germain headed to the future to see what events they will have to prepare for next. Gene worked at Sweet Apple Acres and did manual work, he plowed the field and moved heavy objects, "Hey, Gene." Apple Bloom said as she trotted to him, he faced her, "Why don'tcha work with the animals for?" Apple Bloom asked, "Animals aren't really my specialty." Gene replied, "How long have been in that kingdom there?" Apple Bloom asked, "Six years." Gene replied, "How did ya get in?" Apple Bloom asked, "I traveled into outer space with my father, we got attacked by a ship, my dad put me in an escape pod, and it landed inside that kingdom." Gene replied, "Oh, what do you do when yer not on the job?" Apple Bloom asked, "I'm usually at the bar drinking or sleeping with a girl." Gene replied, "You have a girlfriend?" Apple Bloom asked with excitement, "No, it's a different girl each time." Gene replied, "Why don't you stay with one, then?" Apple Bloom asked, "Well, let's put it this way, there's this special attraction when you first see them, but overtime, that attraction goes away, and it's not as special anymore." Gene replied, "But why do you drink and sleep with them girls for?" Apple Bloom asked, "Um, it's kind of a coping mechanism over losing my father." Gene replied, "Oh, there are better ways to cope with loss, Gene." Apple Bloom said, "Hey, I'm not all that bad, at least I didn't choose to become an apostle." Gene replied, "You mean those guys who transformed into them giant creatures?" Apple Bloom asked, "Yeah." Gene replied, "You can actually change to one?" Apple Bloom asked, "Everybody has the potential to be turned into an apostle." Gene replied, "How?" Apple Bloom asked, "There is this necklace thing they use, I forgot what it was called, they use it to summon these five guys known as the God Hand, I've never met any of them, though, anyway, in a moment of despair, they are called upon the person feeling despair, and they sacrifice their loved ones to them in exchange to becoming an apostle." Gene replied, "That's horrible." Apple Bloom said, "It is, but when I look at them, I think I was lucky I didn't become an apostle, I felt great despair when my father died, I didn't have the necklace to summon them, though, and all of my other loved ones were already dead at that time, too." Gene replied, "Well, who knows, Gene, maybe our teachings of friendship can save 'em before they turn into apostles." Apple Bloom said, "Not just apostles, everybody has the potential to become a cenobite, too." Gene replied, "How does one become a cenobite?" Apple Bloom asked, "Be a hedonist, basically." Gene replied, "Oh, so have fun and party all the time." Apple Bloom said, "Yeah, that's one way to become a cenobite." Gene replied, "I saw what them cenobites looked like when y'all dealt with that monkey man, they don't look pretty." Apple Bloom said, "Almost all cenobites look like that." Gene replied, Apple Bloom's jaw dropped, "Well, I should work a bit more, I'm a little behind schedule right now." Gene said, and Apple Bloom walked away while Gene continued to work. Golgo 13 was in Ponyville and walked around while everybody looked at him, he heard screaming above him and saw a fairy flying around and stealing things from the Pegasi in Cloudsdale, he recognized it was one of his targets, he watched him and walked slowly to follow him, he flew into a house and began looking at his possessions. Golgo 13 went onto the roof of somepony's house and watched the fairy, he aimed his M16 at the cloud house he was in and the fairy heard the gun cock, he quickly flew out and went behind a building. Golgo 13 continued aiming his gun and waited a little, the fairy began to fly to his left as fast as he could, Golgo 13 quickly adjusted where he was aiming at and shot a bullet, it pierced through the clouds in the sky and left holes in them, the bullet traveled through the air and the others watched and saw the fairy continuing to fly in the direction he was going, the bullet pierced through the last cloud and hit the fairy in the head and he fell. The ponies in Ponyville gasped at seeing that Golgo 13 hit his target, he got off the roof and walked out of town to look for his next target, "What do you guys think of him?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Honestly, he kinda scares me." Applejack replied, "I get a bit scared seeing him, too." Twilight Sparkle said, "Hey, he's already leaving." Rainbow Dash said, and Golgo 13 boarded the train and left. Twilight Sparkle flew up and saw four dead bodies on Appleloosa, she became speechless that Golgo 13 was already killing them since there was no news about it, she looked at Canterlot and saw the ambassador from Volvox's kingdom was meeting with the royal guards, she flew back down and met with her friends, "It doesn't seem the ambassadors are hiding the assassinations." Twilight Sparkle said, "You think maybe they don't know yet?" Rarity asked, "That's possible, I mean, there are four deceased people there in Appleloosa, and they're not making a deal about it." Twilight Sparkle replied, "Well, it is foreign business, Twilight, that kingdom over there will have to handle it." Rarity said, "I know, but still." Twilight Sparkle replied, and she flew up and watched Volvox's kingdom. Two days passed and everything was still peaceful, Golgo 13 was in the Dragon Lands, he watched his target through the scope of his M16, it was an orc, and he was on the mountain Canterlot was built on, he watched closely and the orc took out a bow and arrow and aimed it at Princess Celestia while she walked around comfortably, the orc got ready to fire and Golgo 13 shot a bullet, it traveled through the air quickly and headed to the orc, it hit him in the back of his head and he grunted. Princess Celestia and the other ponies in Canterlot looked and saw the dead orc fall off of the mountain, they then heard cheering and looked, the ponies of Canterlot gasped while Princess Celestia exclaimed with shock at seeing Golgo 13 in the Dragon Lands, he stopped aiming his M16 while the dragons continued to cheer, he walked out of the country and to the train while Princess Celestia stood there speechless and mouth wide open at how far Golgo 13 was able to hit his targets, he waited for the train to come and he boarded it when it arrived. Volvox continued looking for his sister's kingdom and he stopped for a moment when he heard loud clashing at the tournament ring, he looked and saw the opponents were Nemesis and Grunbeld, Plissken, Mr. X, Birkin, Pinhead, Candyman, Leilong, Guts, Nosferatu Zodd, Big Boss, and HUNK were among the many people in the crowd. Nemesis fired his rocket launcher and Grunbeld blocked it with his shield, while Grunbeld did block the missile, it still cracked his shield a little. Grunbeld lifted his hammer and tried to hit Nemesis, he got hit but it did not knock him down, Nemesis tried to shoot a tentacle out of his right hand and into Grunbeld's face, he made the two sword blades come out of his shield to sever the tentacle, he then made the blades retract and shot fire out of his shield at Nemesis and set him on fire, it did nothing to him and Nemesis shot another rocket at him, it hit Grunbeld's armor and he grunted as he got pushed back a little, he loaded the next rocket into his rocket launcher while Grunbeld got back onto his feet, he got ready to hit Nemesis with his hammer and Nemesis quickly hit him with his rocket launcher, it only put a crack in his armor, the hammer came down and hit Nemesis, he grunted as he fell over, "Impressive, next opponent." Grunbeld said, and the tournament continued while Volvox went back to looking for his sister's kingdom, he looked around the world and saw a dead orc in Canterlot, he realized Golgo 13 was almost done with his job, he went back to looking for his sister's kingdom and still saw her nowhere, he sighed and decided to take a break and watch the tournament, he saw a taxi was now in the crowd and noticed Travis was now watching the tournament as well, he, along with Dommiel, Giovi, the Count of Saint Germain, and Tom went to go watch the tournament and enjoyed what they were seeing. The next day came and Golgo 13 saw his last target was in Yakyakistan, it was a troll, he looked for the troll ambassador and noticed the two looked completely different, he watched his target's move and aimed his M16, he could not get a good view due to all the mountains being in the way, so he boarded the train and got off at Mt. Aris, he walked to the top of the mountain and the hippogriffs watched him, he stood on the top of Mt. Aris and aimed his M16, he saw his target was already stealing things from the yaks, the troll counted the money he stolen and Golgo 13 shot a bullet at his last target while he was distracted. The bullet flew through the air and pierced through the clouds, the bullet travled through the countries and cities across Equestria as it made its way to its target, the bullet flew past Appleloosa, the Everfree Forest, Ponyville, Cloudsdale, Canterlot, and to the west of the Crystal Empire, the bullet made its way into Yakyakistan and hit the troll in his head. The troll fell from the mountain and the yaks gasped, Shining Armor and Princess Cadence saw the troll fall and Princess Cadence flew up to see where the bullet came from, so did the Pegasi in Cloudsdale, the ohters looked back and gasped while Pinkie Pie screamed with shock, they all saw Golgo 13 in Mt. Aris with his gun, he began to walk away while everycreature looked at him shocked and speechless at how far he was able to hit his targets from, he walked to his home kingdom and Dommiel flew over to pick him up. Dommiel flew to Volvox and he gave Golgo 13 three million dollars, "Good work, Duke, I think you managed to stop our relationships from souring." Volvox said, and Golgo 13 walked away, "You do know we can't call for his services ever again, right?" Dommiel asked, "I'll think of something." Volvox replied, and Golgo 13 walked to the taxi and Travis drove him home, "Destination." Travis said, "I'll tell you where to drop me off." Golgo 13 replied, "I can drive you to your house if you want to." Travis said, "No, it's fine, I'll walk the last parts on my own." Golgo 13 replied, and Travis drove the taxi while playing jazz music in the car, Golgo 13 gave him the directions and he stopped at where Golgo 13 told him to, Golgo 13 paid him and got off and walked home while Travis drove away. Three days passed and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna continued helping Volvox look for his sister, "Excuse us, Emperor Volvox." Sunburst said, Volvox looked down and saw him and Spike, "We'd like for the apostles to come with us." Spike said, "For what?" Volvox asked, "It's my best friend, she's a counselor, she wants to speak with the apostles." Sunburst replied, "Might as well, Grunbeld." Nosferatu Zodd said, "I agree, let's get this over with." Grunbeld replied, and the two walked to them, "You should go, too, Guts." Volvox said, and he went with them, the three arrived at the two and Sunburst teleported them to the School of Friendship and they entered. Gene was sitting in Starlight Glimmer's office while the Mane Six stood by, the door opened and Spike and Sunburst entered with Nosferatu Zodd, Grunbeld, and Guts, "You're an apostle, too?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "No, I used to hunt them, I was told to come along." Guts replied, "Alright, sit, all of you." Starlight Glimmer said, and they did, "Gene here told one of the foals about apostles, and she told others about it, so we know how one becomes one, I would like to know what brought you two to feel such despair to become apostles." Starlight Glimmer said, "I... was betrayed and spared my loved ones from a cruel fate." Grunbeld replied, "What about you, Zodd?" Starlight Glimmer asked, Nosferatu Zodd continued looking back, "It's been so long, I don't remember." Nosferatu Zodd said, "Are you really that old, Zodd?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "I may not look like it, but I've been an apostle for three hundred years." Nosferatu Zodd replied, "Wait, three hundred years?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Apostles are immortal once when someone becomes one." Guts said, "Also, Gene mentioned something about needing some kind of necklace to turn into one." Starlight Glimmer said, "A behelit." Guts said, "Oh, that's what they were called." Gene said, "Don't you have one?" Nosferatu Zodd asked, "It's in my satchel." Guts replied, "I would like to see it." Starlight Glimmer said, "Puck." Guts said, Puck peeked out of the satchel, "Yeah." Puck said, "Show her the behelit." Guts said, and Puck flew out while holding the behelit, Starlight Glimmer used her telekinesis to move it toward herself and she and her friends looked at it, "What in tarnation?" Applejack asked, "I'm with you, Applejack, I've never seen or heard of anything like this." Twilight Sparkle said, "Um... can you explain why the facial features are misaligned?" Fluttershy asked, "All behelits are like that, when activated, the facial features will align themselves." Guts replied, "How does one activate it?" Spike asked, "Someone's blood has to touch it." Grunbeld replied, the Mane Six, Spike, and Sunburst looked on with discomfort, "Where did you get this, Guts?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "When I was going on my quest of revenge to kill all apostles, one of them had this with him, so I took it." Guts replied, "I see, but tell me, haven't you guys ever thought about trying to befriend someone thinking about becoming an apostle?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "I tried to stop my best friend from becoming one, but he decided his dream was more important, so me and his other friends were sacrificed and he became an apostle, I managed to escape death with help from someone." Guts replied, "I still think I would've became an apostle if I had a behelit and somebody else I loved besides my father after his death." Gene said, "Well, if you guys would like to, Spike and Sunburst can spread our teachings of friendship to your kingdom." Starlight Glimmer replied, "Why?" Nosferatu Zodd asked, "So no one will become an apostle, so their despair won't consume them and they won't sacrifice the lives of their loved ones, nocreature deserves that." Twilight Sparkle replied, "Yeah, and I can throw parties and cheer them up with singing." Pinkie Pie said, "Sounds like you have a new companion, Guts." Puck said, "I'm fine on my own." Guts replied, "Who were they sacrificed to again?" Rainbow Dash asked, "The God Hand." Guts replied, "Who are they?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Our angels, they appear in person every two hundred sixteen years." Nosferatu Zodd replied, "Every two sixteen years? We won't be alive by that time." Rarity said, "Wait, hold on, Rarity. When was the last time they appeared?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Two years ago." Nosferatu Zodd replied, the ponies and Spike became speechless, "Yeah, we'll be gone by then." Sunburst said, "I won't." Spike replied, "Me neither, but we can at least write down notes about them. What are they like?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "There are five members, Void, Slan, Ubik, Conrad, and Femto, Femto was my former best friend, his real name is Griffith, he is the most recent member." Guts replied, "Do they have a leadership or anything?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Void is the leader." Grunbeld replied, "Alright, so, um... why are they your leaders?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "They are the strongest of apostles." Nosferatu Zodd replied, "What are they capable of?" Applejack asked, "Femto has complete control over gravity and space, he can also send this invisible force that destroys one's physical body that leaves no trace of them behind." Guts replied, the ponies and Spike became uncomfortable, "What about the others?" Fluttershy asked, "Conrad spreads the plague and sicknesses around, he can also transmutate items." Nosferatu Zodd replied, "That's not bad, I'm sure some spells of mine can fix those." Twilight Sparkle said, "Ubik is not much of a fighter, he prefers to give out speeches that breaks one mentally." Nosferatu Zodd replied, "That's fine, I'm sure a little talk to raise one's spirits will help them decide otherwise." Twilight Sparkle said, "That's the thing, the speeches Ubik gives to break one's spirit are always accurate so you can't deny that he's lying." Grunbeld replied, "So he's basically a twisted version of the Element of Honesty, Ah guess the only way to counter him is to remind one of their good deeds and how much everybody loves them." Applejack said, "What is Slan like?" Rarity asked, "Well... Slan is like a succubus, she's like someone who will interfere with your relationship with someone and ruin them, she can manifest herself in the world as well." Guts replied, "Oh, how rude, there will be no one standing between me and my special stallion." Rarity said, "There's more, she also enjoys inflicting and receiving pain." Guts replied, the ponies and Spike became uncomfortable again, "And Void?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "He can open rifts in space and send your attack back to you, he and Ubik can also manipulate one's consciousness." Grunbeld replied, the Mane Six's eyes' widened, "He's also the one who marks those who are to be sacrificed and eaten by the other apostles, he put the brand on my back of my neck." Guts said, "Oh, so that's what that is, I was wondering about that mark." Twilight Sparkle replied, "It bleeds when an apostle is near me, that's what alerts me of their presence." Guts said, "Well, if you guys do encounter someone with this behelit and about to use it, you all should try to remind that person that there's no reason to give up hope, and be their friend, no dream or goal is worth sacrificing the lives of your friends and loved ones for." Starlight Glimmer said, the four remained speechless, "Is that all?" Grunbeld asked, "Well, pretty much, I was hoping you two were going to open up about the despair that caused you guys to become apostles." Starlight Glimmer replied, "I already said mine." Grunbeld said, "Do you regret becoming an apostle?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "A little." Grunbeld replied, "And you, Zodd?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Somewhat." Nosferatu Zodd replied, "What is it you two regret?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Not finding strong and challenging opponents." Nosferatu Zodd replied, "What?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Zodd and I live only for battle, our strengths as apostles have left us unable to find worthy opponents, since we tend to kill our opponents in one hit." Grunbeld replied, "You guys don't regret the loved ones you sacrificed?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "I don't think about it." Grunbeld replied, "Me neither." Nosferatu Zodd said, Starlight Glimmer became speechless, "Well, I don't know what to say about that, so you two may leave." Starlight Glimmer said and the two left, "Now Guts, we need the behelit for a minute, so can you come with us? Spike already sent a letter to Princess Celestia about the apostles." Twilight Sparkle said, "Alright." Guts replied, "Okay, Gene, let's talk, let's start at when you arrived into the kingdom after you father put you in that escape pod." Starlight Glimmer said, and Guts went outside with the others and they headed to Canterlot while Sunburst went to the Crystal Empire. Guts arrived into Canterlot and he and the six mares and Spike went to go see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, "We're here, Princess Celestia." Twilight Sparkle said, "Oh, good, I'd like to see the behelit." Princess Celestia said, and Puck flew out of Guts' satchel and showed it to her, "My, I've never seen anything like it." Princess Celestia said, "Do you two know about the God Hand?" Guts asked, "No, in our lives of over a thousand years, we have never heard of them." Princess Celestia replied, "Well, maybe it's because me and a lot of those people in that kingdom are from different dimensions." Guts said, "Different dimensions? Wait, that would actually make sense." Twilight Sparkle said, "Even then, we have interdimensional travel as well, we should've been able to enter the God Hand's realm as well." Princess Luna said, "I assume you were already informed about the apostles." Guts said, "Yes, I was, I was already informed on how one becomes an apostle as well." Princess Celestia replied, "I saw the report, too, it brings back bad memories of when I became Nightmare Moon." Princess Luna said, "So, you gave in to despair, too?" Guts asked, "Well, it was mostly jealousy that changed me." Princess Luna replied, "Well, I am done, here is your behelit back." Princess Celestia said as she gave it back to Puck, "I ask you kindly to give any behelits you find to me, I have an area in my castle to seal away such artifacts." Princess Celestia said, "I may not be even close to this place when I find the next apostle." Guts replied, "That is why I wish to create a magical web of contacting others around the world for this." Princess Celestia said, "Why?" Guts asked, "So we can stop people from turning into apostles, we need to let them know that there is hope and help, and to be honest with you, if I had a behelit at the time I sealed away Luna into the moon, I probably would have became an apostle myself." Princess Celestia replied, "Am I done here?" Guts asked, "Well, yes, I just wanted to see the behelit." Princess Celestia replied, "Come on, Puck." Guts said, and Puck flew into his satchel and the two headed back to the kingdom, "Tell me, Princess Celestia, what do you think about that kingdom?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Well, they're not bad, but I am a bit frustrated over the fact that I have no say in politics or trade with them." Princess Celestia replied, "It's not just us, Cadence has been very frustrated as well." Princess Luna said, "Yeah, me too." Twilight Sparkle said, "And I was going to represent you guys, but i have to do the Dragon Lands instead since they didn't send anyone." Spike said, "Well, it ain't all that bad." Applejack said, "Yeah, I mean, the ruler is reasonable." Rainbow Dash said, "True, but you all should go, Luna and I have to get on with our days." Princess Celestia replied, and they left while Princess Celestia and Princess Luna continued with their days. A few hours passed and Volvox continued looking for his sister with help from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, "Excuse me, Emperor Volvox." Princess Celestia said as she flew to him, "I think I see a kingdom far away over there." Princess Celestia said as she pointed towards Griffonstone, Volvox shrunk himself and used his telekinesis to fly and went up higher, he saw a land behind Griffonstone, so he flew to it. Volvox flew to the land and he saw his sister, he kept flying forward and she noticed him, "Volvox?" Volvox's sister asked, Volvox flew forward and grew himself up to regular size, "I finally found you." Volvox said, "I was looking for you, too, I was worried." Volvox's sister replied, "You been alright?" Volvox asked, "Yeah, we actually had no problems here." Volvox's sister replied, "Good, I'm in an area surrounded by many other countries." Volvox said, "Really? Has there been any problems for you?" Volvox's sister asked, "I had criminals escape into them, but an assassin I hired managed to stop them before they did any serious damage." Volvox replied, "Good, well, why don't you move your kingdom here?" Volvox's sister asked, "Well, um... I already have ambassadors in the other countries." Volvox replied, "Oh, really? Well, gather your people around, and have them decide whether they want to come here with us, if not, I'll move there instead." Volvox's sister said, Volvox nodded and he shrunk himself and used telekinesis on himself to fly back to his kingdom. Volvox arrived back at his kingdom and he changed himself back to his regular size, "All of my citizens, I need you here." Volvox said, and everybody from his kingdom went to him, "I have found my sister's kingdom, but we have a choice, either you all can stay here and have her move kingdom here, or decide you don't like this place and move ourselves towards her kingdom instead." Volvox said, the other countries disagreed, "Well, truth be told, the changeling kingdom kind of grew on me." the changeling kingdom's ambassador said, "Me too, I'm kind of enjoying the country I'm in." Yakyakistan's ambassador said, "What about the rest of you ambassadors?" Volvox asked, "Kind of." Kirin Grove's ambassador said, "Me too." Seaquestria's ambassador said, "Yup." Mt. Aris' ambassador said, "I'm having fun, too." the Crystal Empire's ambassador said, "So am I." Equestria's ambassador said, "The country I'm in is alright." Griffonstone's ambassador said, "Yeah, I'm okay where I'm at, too." the Dragon Land's ambassador said, "How about you, Gene?" Volvox asked, "Well, I did find a job, and it's not too bad." Gene replied, "You actually found a job?" Leilong asked, "Yup, farm work." Gene replied, "Farm work? That isn't like you, you tend to take jobs that have big risks and big rewards." Leilong said, "Well, the job was given to me for free." Gene replied, "Well, Gene, do you want to keep your job or stop it?" Volvox asked, Gene thought about his decision, "Yeah, alright, I'll keep it." Gene said, "Excuse me a minute." Volvox said, and he shrunk himself and used telekinesis on himself to fly. Volvox's sister watched her kingdom and she saw her brother coming, "They decided, they want to stay there." Volvox said, "Alright, I'll move my kingdom to where you're at." Volvox's sister replied, and she shrunk herself and used telekinesis on herself to fly and saw Volvox's kingdom, she flew back down and used telekinesis on her own kingdom and moved it while Volvox flew back to his kingdom. Volvox arrived back while his sister's kingdom arrived, it landed to the east of Volvox's kingdom, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack headed there along with Ocellus, Smolder, Yona, and Silverstream, Autumn Blaze trotted over the water and joined them, "You too, Autumn Blaze?" Fluttershy asked, "Yup, Rain Shine wants me to report back what I find." Autumn Blaze replied, flying was heard and Gabby came, "Hi, am I late?" Gabby asked, "Nope, you're just in time." Pinkie Pie replied, "Great." Gabby said, and she landed, a green light scanned them and the double doors opened and they entered. The Mane Six, Ocellus, Yona, Smolder, Silverstream, Gabby, and Autumn Blaze walked around and looked at the place, "Wait a minute, this place looks almost just like the male kingdom." Rainbow Dash said, "Now that ya mention it, it does." Applejack replied, "Hey, sorry I'm late." a female demon said as she ran to them, "Who are you?" Gabby asked, "I'm your tour guide." the demon replied, "Oh, thanks, show us around." Twilight Sparkle said, "This way." the demon said, and they followed her. The demon showed the foreign creatures around the kingdom, "See that there, that's where the artists and entertainers work." the demon said, the girls looked and saw the kingdom had the exact same forms of art and entertainment as the male kingdom, "I must say, some of those dresses could use some extra work." Rarity said, "Well, we have different creatures, and each one has different tastes in culture and entertainment." the demon replied, and she showed them around some more, "That's the tournament right there." the demon said as she pointed to it, "Fireball!" a competitor said, an explosion happened and another female screamed, "Lina Inverse wins again." the announcer said, and the females around the ring cheered, "A fire spell? You guys have magic?" Twilight Sparkle asked, the demon nodded, "What are they doing?" Rainbow Dash asked as she pointed, the demon looked and saw girls doing a training regime, "They're doing a training regime, see that human there, she's the one who trains them." the demon said, they watched the training and they decided they seen enough, "Do you guys have a taxi?" Fluttershy asked, "Sorry, but no." the demon replied, "Well, the kingdom's not that big." Ocellus said, "Do you all have a school?" Silverstream asked, "It's right there." the demon replied as she pointed to it, they saw the person voted for best teacher was Kumiko Yamaguchi, and the school's top student was Makoto Niijima, "Um, does kingdom have doctor?" Yona asked, "Over there." the demon replied as she pointed, there were several doctors working, "Um, can we meet the ruler?" Autumn Blaze asked, "Sure, follow me." the demon replied, and they followed her. The Mane Six, Ocellus, Smolder, Yona, Silverstream, Gabby, and Autumn Blaze walked into the palace, "They're here." the demon said, "Hello, I am Empress Euglena, ruler of this single gender kingdom." Volvox's sister said, the visitors stood there and looked at her while speechless because she looked exactly like Volvox, "Who's the second-in-command?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "I am, my name is Lilith." the demon replied, "Okay, um, where's the bodyguard?" Rainbow Dash asked, a female golem walked forward, "This is Terra, she's acts as my bodyguard, and usually my last line of defense alongside Lilith." Euglena said, Terra waved at the visitors, "Who else is here?" Gabby asked, an angel and a human came forward, "The angel here is Amser, she can travel through time and is my advisor, and the human is Tiffany, my spokesperson." Euglena said, "Hello, we were expecting visitors today." Tiffany said, "Tiffany, darling, why are you wearing a business suit?" Rarity asked, "It's for my job." Tiffany replied, "Alright, um... do you have assassins?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Just one." Euglena replied, "We'd like to meet her." Twilight Sparkle said, and the person came forward, "This is Casca, she's usually a mercenary, but she decided to serve me to make money, assassin is a job most girls in my kingdom don't want." Euglena said, "What the? You look like a boy." Smolder said, "Long hair gets in the way of battle." Casca replied, "What the? You only have one assassin?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Is something the matter?" Euglena asked, "I got reports from the males of my home country that your brother has seven assassins." Twilight Sparkle replied, "Oh, that, that's because men are more willing to do that job than women." Euglena said, "There are also less female criminals to hunt down, too." Casca said, "Do you work divided by gender?" Fluttershy asked, "No, I work with the other male assassins sometimes." Casca replied, "I sure hope they don't look at you differently because of your gender." Rarity said, "Actually, no, they treat me like an equal." Casca replied, "One more thing, Empress Euglena, do you have apostles in your kingdom?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Yes." Euglena replied, "Well, we are trying to spread friendship all over the world, we would like for those feeling despair and thinking about changing into an apostle to be brought to us for counseling." Twilight Sparkle said, "I'm not sure if that's going to work." Lilith said, "Well, it's worth a try." Twilight Sparkle replied, "Well, that is all to our kingdom, I hope you liked it." Lilith said, "Well, we did watch your brother's kingdom, this place is basically no different." Rainbow Dash replied, "We know, we watch each other's kingdom." Amser said, "Well, thank you, we'll be going back now." Twilight Sparkle said, and they all left while the girls in the kingdom waved bye at them. Ocellus, Smolder, Yona, and Silverstream told their respective countries what they found in the all-female kingdom and went back to Sandbar and Gallus, "Wait, so there's no difference?" Sandbar asked, "Not really, she only has one assassin and there are many more doctors, but other than that, everything is pretty much the exact same." Smolder replied, "Yeah, there's really no difference between the two." Ocellus said, "I guess there's no reason for them to separated then." Gallus said, "Yona agree." Yona replied, "Well, maybe we can get the two kingdoms to come together and we can all enter as an entire group." Silverstream said, "I hope so, it'd make visiting more fun, too." Sandbar replied, "Well, let's go, let's see how the others handle this." Ocellus said, and they went back to the School of Friendship. Three days passed and Euglena was filled in on the other countries by Volvox, so she sent ambassadors to the places, her ambassador for Equestria was a fairy, the Crystal Empire's ambassador was a troll, the Dragon Land's ambassador was a golem, Griffonstone's ambassador was an elf, Yakyakistan's ambassador was an angel, the changeling kingdom's ambassador was a dwarf, Mt. Aris' ambassador was an orc, Seaquestria's ambassador was a mermaid, and Kirin Grove's ambassador was a mutant, Euglena was also informed by Volvox about the trade system and she decided to trade the same things. Volvox's and Euglena's kingdoms were peaceful at the moment until Volvox heard a gunshot and a grunt, he looked and saw a mutant fall over with a bullet in his head, he saw Golgo 13 aiming his M16, he stopped aiming and walked to the taxi and Travis drove to where he was told to go, clangs were heard and girls were fighting in Euglena's kingdom at the tournament, "Dragon Slave!" one competitor said, and a big explosion happened, the angels used their light magic to block the attack, the smoke cleared and everybody was glaring at Lina, "Look, Lina! You just destroyed part of the kingdom." Euglena said, Lina looked and saw the areas not protected by the angels' magic were destroyed, it was mostly the walls around the kingdom, "Sorry." Lina said as she scratched the back of her head, "Get building." Euglena said, and Lina began using her magic to rebuild the walls. Volvox heard swimming and Gene arrived back into the kingdom, "You get fired?" Volvox asked, "No, I'm on break right now." Gene replied, "Oh." Volvox said, and Gene went to an outside bar and had a drink, Leilong sat beside him, "Enjoying the place?" Leilong asked, "It's alright." Gene replied, "So, what is that country with the horses like?" Leilong asked, "A little too happy for my liking, and their talks about friendship makes me a little nauseous, but now the female kingdom is here, I can sleep like a baby again." Gene replied, "You never change, Gene." Leilong said, "What do you think is going to happen next?" Gene asked, "Well, I don't know, we'll have to see how our relations with the foreign countries go." Leilong replied, and the two drank more while Volvox and Euglena watched their kingdoms. Four days passed and everything was peaceful, "Excuse us." Twilight Sparkle said, the two kingdoms saw her with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer, Spike, Sunburst, Shining Armor, Sandbar, Gallus, Gabby, Gilda, King Thorax, Ocellus, Garble, Smolder, Prince Rutherford, Yona, Terramar, Silverstream, Autumn Blaze, and the male kirin, "We would like for y'all to put yer two kingdoms together." Applejack said, "Sorry, but we're doing a social experiment." Euglena replied, "Yeah, we got that, but your kingdoms kind of developed the same ways." Rainbow Dash said, "What reasons do you guys have for fusing our kingdoms together?" Volvox asked, "Well, some of us are brother and sister, and we'd like to travel your kingdoms together as a family." Terramar replied, Silverstream nodded in agreement, "Is that all?" Volvox asked, "No, I'd like to go with my wife and daughter." Shining Armor replied, "And my best friend can't come with me if I decide to see you guys." Sunburst said, "The social experiment is still going." Euglena said, "How long has it been going?" Sunset Shimmer asked, "Five, ten years." Volvox replied, "Ten years sounds right." Euglena said, "I think that's long enough for results, look at your kingdoms." Twilight Sparkle said, Volvox and Euglena looked at their kingdoms and saw their kingdoms were nearly identical, "See, aside from having opposite genders, you all basically developed the same way, same interests, same jobs, same forms of entertainment, and so on, we think you two should combine your kingdoms together." Twilight Sparkle said, "Your say, Euglena, you're the one who suggested the social experiment in the first place." Volvox said, "What do my citizens say?" Euglena asked, the females did not respond, "How many say we stay the way we are?" Euglena asked, half of the kingdom raised their hands, "How many say we combine with the boys?" Euglena asked, the other half raised their hands, "How about you guys, how many want to stay apart?" Volvox asked, half of his kingdom raised their hands, "How many want to combine?" Volvox asked, the other half raised their hands, "It's a tie in my kingdom." Euglena said, "Yeah, mine too." Volvox replied, "Let's look at it this way, everyone, do you all want to have future generations?" Twilight Sparkle asked, most of the citizens in the two kingdoms agreed, "See, there's a reason right there, being divided by gender means no future for your countries if you all die out." Twilight Sparkle said, "Well, you all know the rules, majority rules, the social experiment's over." Euglena said, and the creatures from the other countries cheered while Volvox and Euglena used their telekinesis to put their kingdoms together. The creatures from the other kingdoms entered together and they began exploring the newly formed land, Flurry Heart flew around the kingdom and looked at the newly formed kingdom, Princess Cadence flew to her and took her, "Careful, Flurry, you'll destroy something if you fly around like that." Princess Cadence said, and the two traveled together with Shining Armor. Rarity walked to Travis as he came out of the taxi, "Travis still has his mohawk." Sunburst said, "Travis." Rarity said as she trotted to him, he looked at her, "You can't be a taxi driver looking like that, that mohawk has got to go." Rarity said, "My hair will grow out again eventually." Travis said, "No, it'll make your hair look weird by having the center area longer than the sides, hold still now." Rarity said, and she got scissors and a shaver and cut and shaved off his mohawk, "There, now you look more professional." Rarity said, Travis looked at himself in the taxi's mirror, "It's not too bad." Travis said, and he drove away to get new customers while Rarity went to go explore elsewhere. A week passed and the natives of Volvox's and Euglena's kingdom began traveling outside, Candyman was at Fluttershy's cottage and she wanted to see his bees, "Now, Candyman, um... can I see your bees?" Fluttershy asked, Candyman opened his coat and revealed his bees, "Okay, um..., can you all make me some honey, please?" Fluttershy asked, "My bees are meant to kill, not make honey." Candyman said, "Well, let's try something new, so can I have some honey, please?" Fluttershy asked, and the bees produced some honey for her. Princess Celestia was hoof wrestling with other creatures and she won every match so far, "Next, please." Princess Celestia said, and she became a little speechless when she saw her next opponent was Grunbeld, he sat and put his arm on the table. Princess Celestia slowly lifted her leg and began to wrestle and Princess Celestia could not move Grunbeld's arm, Grunbeld then used his strength and moved Princess Celestia's leg to the end of the table and she yelped when he broke the table and her hoof got smashed into the floor, "I heard you were a goddess, I am disappointed." Grunbeld said, and he left. Princess Celestia got her hoof out of the floor and grunted as she moved it, she put a cast on and rested while she watched Princess Luna hoof wrestle in her place. Rarity was doing new fashion designs with the other creatures and was opening up to new designers, the door opened and Rarity screamed at seeing it was Dr. Frank-N-Furter, "How do you do? I am here to spread my spectacular taste in fashion to the other men here." Dr. Frank-N-Furter said, "Uh... in a minute, I think you can make some improvements." Rarity replied, and she ran around while giving him advice on how to improve his own taste in fashion. The two kingdoms began to mix together and babies were born years later, people from the other countries and native to the kingdom began going in and out of the kingdom and it thrived for years to come.