• Published 31st Jan 2017
  • 2,065 Views, 212 Comments

One Thousand One Ways to Thwart a King - enigmaMystere



What would happen if ponies were not only prepared for the Caribou, but were able to ask across dimensions for help? Now, what if they were stuck in a time loop?

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I will tear the world asunder!

A pillar of light shines down beside Twilight, a curved blade poking out of each side before it dies down. When she can see the being clearly, the alicorn nearly takes a step back, shocked to see, not the anthropomorphic crocodile, but the sinewy arms flexed, clamping their claws to their head.

It takes a few seconds, but those arms slowly lower, red eyes slowly opening to look at the land around him. Him, as his armor covers only his lower half and the top of his head. Him, because the deep voice he spoke with could only belong to a man.

"I'm… free." His gaze turns to the mare beside him, then to the caribou facing opposite them. "More Ascended? This is surprising."

"I am not this Ascended you speak of," Dainn says, scowling as he raises his staff. "I am above that. I am a ruler, destined to make everyone else grovel beneath my hoof!"

The crocodile frowns, fists clenching. "Another pretender, who only cares for the throne and not the responsibility." He glares at Twilight, who flinches. "Who are you?"

"I'm Princess Twilight. I was sent here to stop him from enslaving my country, my… friends…"

He nods, pulling the blade off his back. "I am Renekton, Gatekeeper of Shurima, the Butcher of the Sands!" His gaze narrows at the king. "You'll find no victory here."

Schlick.

His body shakes, and his gaze falls to the blade embedded in his arm.

"It appears that you're all… eh?"

The croc's other arm grips the weapon and wrenches it free, flinging it off somewhere among the houses. "What pathetic attack was that?" He raises the injured arm, weapon glinting in the light. "Let me show you how it's done."

He slashes the crescent axe across Dainn's chest, then downwards again the opposite direction. As he raises the blade a third time, he pauses, noticing the wounds he inflicted sealing themselves. “...a regenerating enemy.” He scoffs and finishes the slash, sending the caribou stumbling back in a daze. "Good. More agony to deal!"

Twilight’s magic envelops Dainn, holding him in place as Renekton leaps forward head first, spinning his blade in a corkscrew before dashing back in much the same manner. The king grunts in pain as the second pass rips out a large chunk of his armor, leaving him bare-chested. He quickly grabs the crocodile’s jaws as they try to snap closed around him, magic flooding his arms as he struggles to keep the butcher from gaining another inch.

A swift kick to the gut sends him tumbling away, only for Twilight to rush in and smack him across the face with her staff. That blow, while not the strongest, is more than enough to stagger him, setting him up for the ice beam to the chest.

Before anything else can be done, on Twilight’s side or the side of the frozen conqueror, the ground shakes, a large shape landing between the two of them. Renekton stands, towering over the two of them but only glaring at the immobile tyrant. His sharpened teeth are revealed as he gives a malicious grin, turning slightly. This gives the alicorn just enough warning that she teleports out of the way.

The blade makes a complete circle as he swings it around, the latter half of it Crimson red. Renekton watches in satisfaction as Dainn’s hands fall to the ground, followed by his torso slowly sliding backwards along the cut.

The caribou can see Twilight put something on the general’s open palm before he tips over, landing right behind his own frozen legs.


“Zero.”

Dainn blinks, realizing that, while he’s looking up at the sky once more, he can no longer see his legs towering over him. He quickly scrambles to his hooves, slamming his staff into the crystal road and glaring at her. “You… what… what did you give him?”

“I could tell he was troubled, how relieved he was to be ‘free’,” she explains. “So I gave him something to ease his psychological burden.”

“...drugs?”

She bristles. “Wh- no! Where did you get that idea from?!”

He shrugs. “Hey, I understand, you don’t need to act innocent around me. It’s not like you’d stay that way, anyways.”

“He-” She gags, clutching at her throat as magic envelops it.

Dainn gives her a sinister sneer. “Hero.”

Author's Note:

Sorry it's been a while. Work and sleep have been taking up most of my time.

Anyways, this is supposed to be Renekton from before he went crazy.