> The Ballad Of Ziggs The Yordle > by Silver Centurion > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A New World > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The gentle night breeze caused Twilight's purple and pink streaked mane and tail to flutter gently as she held the front door to the library open. As she did so, several ponies, all unicorns filed in neatly. Twilight knew all of them fairly well, but the last three guests were especially important to her. She continued holding the door just as the last pony filed in. After closing the door quietly Twilight strode over to her friend Rarity who was conversing with one of her old Canterlot buddies, Colgate. "Oh, excuse me dear." Rarity said quickly as she saw twilight making her way across the room. Colgate simply shrugged as rarity turned from her and walked over to Twilight. " Well Twilight, I'm waiting." Rarity said expectantly. " Waiting for what? " Twilight asked, tilting her head to the side slightly, quickly distracted from what she was originally going to say to her. "What? I stand here at 12:00 in the morning and you ask me what? I'm simply asking as to what we're doing so late at night." Rarity replied, impatience in her tone. "Oh... that. I was just about to tell everypony, just go have a seat and I'l tell you in a second ok?" Twilight murmured, trying to keep their conversation private as ponies hovered nearby. "Oh, okay Twilight, but this better be good. I'm missing precious beauty sleep." Rarity said as she flourished her luxurious curly purple mane back with one hoof. As Rarity found a cozy place to sit, Twilight stood on top of her coffee table as she readied herself to speak. "Attention everypony! Attention!" Twilight shouted over the buzz of conversations. As soon as they heard this, everypony quickly stopped chatting and perked their ears up to hear why they were here. Especially Shining Armor, who had to sneak out on his wife for the night. "Good. Ahem... I know you're probably wondering why you're all here tonight at such a late hour. And I just I thank you all for coming on such short notice, especially you Shining Armor." Twilight said as she craned her towards her B.B.B.F.F. Shining Armor blushed as he looked away from his sister, who had caused everypony in the room to catch a glimpse of the captain of the Royal Guard. "Anyways, the reason you're all here is to help me perform a spell that could change the course of history forever. We are going to try to perform a teleportation spell. but on a massive scale. Similar to the one Princess Celestia used to banish Luna to the moon. But on an even larger scale. We're not talking miles. We're talking light-years." Twilight said enthusiastically as a wide grin spread to each corner of her mouth. For those unicorns that were well educated in the room they visibly shivered after hearing the word light-year. To comprehend traveling at the speed of light for a year, or more in this case completely boggled the minds of all ponies, save for Celestia herself. What was even more awe inspiring was that to imagine there is even enough space in the universe to travel at the speed of light for a year. After shaking off the magnitude of the spell they'd be performing, they began to worry. A lot. "Any questions?" Twilight said in her usual peppy tone when dealing with science. A sea-foam green hoof rose from the small crowd of ponies as Twilight's eyes instantly darted to it. "Yes Lyra?" Twilight asked in a teacherly tone. "Yea, well, I was sorta wondering if you know... we'd be going with you..." Lyra inquired as Twilight began formulating a response. "Hmmm... I'd thought about it, but casting a spell that could teleport all of us the amount of distance required would need so much power that every unicorn in Ponyville and Canterlot would have to be present and that's not the case." Twilight replied matter-of-factly. As another hoof raised, this one blue, Lyra could be heard letting out a sigh of relief. "Yes, Colgate." Twilight said pointing to the blue and white unicorn with a front hoof. "Well, how do you know that you, and anypony else you plan to bring won't just be teleported into space and suffocate. Or end up on a hostile planet with dangerous creatures." Colgate finished as Twilight had already opened her mouth to begin speaking. "In regards to your first question, I've already got the coordinates for a planet I believe to be habitable. And as to your second question... honestly I don't know what awaits me on a new planet. Guess it's all part of the job thought right?" Twilight chuckled as she squeed at the very thought of exploring a new world. Another hoof raised, this one more muscular than the others. It belonged to Shining Armor, who waited patiently to be called. "Okay, last question, we've really gotta get started." Twilight said as Shining Armor began. "How many ponies do you plan on taking with you?" Shining Armor simply asked. "Only three. Myself and two others that would like to come along. " Came Twilight's quick reply. "So then, moving on to the matter of who'd like to go with me. Raise your hoof if you'd lie to tag along on this scientific endeavor." She asked, deploying fancy language as she did. There was a brief silence as nopony raised their hoofs for a good few seconds in which time one brave stalion mustered up the courage to raise his. A white hoof shot up from the crowd as a stoic voice simply said, " I'll do it. I'll go." Shining Armor said as the crowd parted to reveal the buff stallion with a look of determination in his eyes. " Are you sure? " Twilight said, honestly not expecting her Big Brother to be one for this sort of thing. " Yea, I'm sure. There's no way I'm letting my little sister go on adventure without me." Shining Armor said as he approached his sister who was perched atop the coffee table, his eyes getting slightly gentler as he approached. "Are you sure Cadence will be fine with this?" Twilight asked, still unsure of his accompaniment on this trip. "She'll be fine, she's dealing with some royal business for the next week or so in the Zebra lands, and I'm on vacation for another week, when she wakes up she'll just figure I went out. Besides, we'll be back by next week right?" Shining Armor said in somewhat curious tone. "Well... about that, it's true that we'll be able to get back... but the amount of time we spend on the planet I've been observing depends on what's there. We could be there a week, or a couple of years." Twilight replied in a solemn voice. The crowd went silent as they realized just how long their friend would be gone. "You can't be serious dear!" Rarity shouted over the crowd in shock at what one of her closest friends was saying. " Look, I know this is hard, for all of you, but this is my chance. I've already informed Princess Celestia that I would be gone for an undetermined amount of time to study a new planet. Don't you see? This is my chance to make a difference, to be like all those great scientists and mages." Twilight said before a silence swept over everyone in the room. "... If you think this is the right thing to do Twilight... I support you." Rarity choked out, fighting back the tears thatr she knew would come eventually. "As do I." Colgate said. "Me too." Lyra joined in. A chorus of acceptance and support of Twilight's journey filled the air as Twilight became overjoyed that they were all behind her. After the last pony had agreed to the trip Twilight finally spoke up, "Let's get to it..." She pulled out a pack from under the coffee table and set it beside her as she reached down for a second pack and set it on top of her strapping it on. "Here's yours." Twilight said before snatching the pack up in her mouth and tossing it to her brother. Shining Armor caught it and swung it onto his back with the momentum and promptly strapped it on. "We've got everything we need in here for a 6 month stay Water, Food, Clothes. The basic necessities. If we're still there after that, there's probably some kind of food and water source to be had. We shall return when our observation of the planet is complete." Twilight said as she retrieved a book from her pack hastily. "Alright, this is the spell I need all of you to perform. It's a simple channeling spell. You'll channel all of your magical power into me and then I myself will open a portal powerful enough to allow three ponies to pass through before it closes. The rest of the magical energy you'll give me will be used to make the return-trip when we've finished our stay." Twilight said as she flopped the large book open to page in front of everypony for them to quickly glance at the simple spell. In a small room, a short, furry creature sat in a shortened chair. He was arched over a table with which something very important laying in front of him. The revised design for the Mega-Inferno bomb. The small creature gripped a pencil in his furry hand as he continued scribbling across the paper. His movements were erratic and swift, as if he had had too much caffeine. The furry hand released the pencil as the furry creature looked back at it's work. As the figure stood back, it stepped into the light to reveal itself. It had short, stubby arms and legs, all covered in a thick coat of dark brown fur. It's small body led up to a short neck that was attached to a comically large head.It's face was well defined, with large, round eyes that were a beautiful jade green. A large, yet also somewhat disturbing, grin was plastered across it's face,where it's fur became a lighter shade of brown, as it cracked it furry knuckles. "Well... I think that's enough for tonight. I can get a head start on building some of these babies tomorrow. " The small creature said in a confident, high pitched, and somewhat insane voice. He reached over to the edge of the desk where a set of goggles, the lenses the same jade green as his eyes, rested and picked them up by the strap. He held them in his hands gingerly as his face stared back it him in the pristine green lenses. He yawned as he stretched his arms backwards, cracking his back before gently placing his goggles back on the table. As he did so, he picked up a newspaper from the institute of war. The headline read: ALL YORDLE AND HUMAN CHAMPIONS ATTENTION! We are holding a friendly match of war games this Sunday in the Fields Of Justice on Summoner's Rift at exactly 5:00 P.M. We invite all Yordle and Human champions to attend. But remember, a well balanced team is the key to Victory. Also on a side-note, I would like to welcome the League's newest champion Ziggs, The Hexplosives Expert. Watch out for him humans, as he will most undoubtedly be attending the match this Sunday, and believe me when I say, he's got a few tricks up his sleeve. We wish you all luck in the upcoming match. Below is a detailed description of Ziggs. He read over the description fairly quickly and found that all of the traits and characteristics described matched him perfectly. But that was no surprise. He looked over to the picture of himself included. It showed him all suited up in his battle regalia. His leather jacket and pants showed only in some places as tough metal armor covered his chest, stomach, knees, thighs and large red shoulder guards that jutted out to the side adorned his each of his shoulders. His specially designed arm guards rounded out near the hand so he still had full use of his hand and arm. Long, specially made metal rods that could bend and twist connected his hand guard to a circular arm guard just below his elbow. His same face, with a manic grin spread across it stared back at him through his goggles. A leather and iron cap adorned the top part of his head, and two small bots slightly jutted out from the otherwise smooth cap. And as always, his lucky gold loop earing was attached firmly to his ear, the same as it always was. Even now, the earring was still attached to his long pointy ears that curved backwards slightly. He sniffed a little as he saw the earring again. The truth was, it wasn't really an earring. It was a ring. He had planned on giving it to someone special but he hadn't gotten the chance before it happened. he shed a single tear and let it slide down his furry cheek, his coat slowly soaking it up and staining his fair as he set the paper down and took another bit of his half eaten bagel. He quickly spat the bagel bag out as he brushed his tongue clean. "Yuch... stale..." Ziggs said as he gathered up what remained of his bagel and tossed it into the garbage can which reside neatly beside his chaotic desk. "Time for bed..." Ziggs said as he closed the door to his office behind him and flipped the switch to turn the light off. He began to walk away from the door and head towards his quiet bedroom. He always enjoyed at the end of the day, just flipping on the television and watching some quality yordle T.V. Oh how the humans would envy him and all the other yordles if they only knew they possessed such an ingenious piece of machinery. As Ziggs approached his room in his small seven room house, he gently opened the door, and did the same as he closed it behind him. He made his way over to the light switch and promptly flicked it up, illuminating the dark room in a flash of bright light. Ziggs shielded his eyes as they adjusted to the sudden burst of light. As soon as he could see clearly again, he walked over to his bedside table and picked up the small black rectangle that controlled his television. The remote. Ziggs then proceeded to hit a small red button near the left corner of the remote, causing a good-sized monitor that was perched atop his dresser to turn on. The screen flashed with various images of yordles, real and cartoonized, going about their daily lives, having an intellectual discussion, or embarking on dangerous adventures, as the audio booms with all of the beautiful, and sometimes scary sounds that accompanied all of these scenarios. The small furry yordle flopped won on his bed as he continued to channel surf , lowering the volume a few bars every one or two channels. Finally Ziggs decided that there was nothing good on at the moment so he opted to browse through his dvd collection and see what he could find. He rolled out of his bed and stood up as he walked over to the bookshelf on the other side of his simple bed. He eyed the bottom shelf and bent down so that he could reach. He continued to browse his good-sized collection of classic and newer films. But his perusing was cut short as a bright magenta light seeped though the underside of his door. He stared at the light in confusion as it grew brighter and brighter until the bright light seemed to outline the wooden door. "Da fuq?" Several minutes earlier...... "That's it everypony! That's enough stop!" Twilight cried to the crowd of unicorns, all whose horns were lit up with their own respective color of magical aura. That is until Twilight ordered to stop. One by one, everypony let out a sigh of exhaustion and flopped to the ground. "Again, I'd just like to thank every one of you for making this possible..." Twilight said as she began to tear slightly as her her horn sparked with a magical magenta aura, causing a large gaping maw of a portal to appear behind her. "Time to go..." She said as Rarity strode over to her with tears in her eyes. "Promise me you'll come back darling." Rarity said, getting more and more hysterical by the second. "Don't worry, I'll be back." replied Twilight as the two embraced each other in a warm hug. They continued to hug each other for several moments until finally Twilight shied away from the hug and turned to face the portal. She breathed in, and let out a loud sigh as she braced herslef for what she was about to do. And then... She entered the portal. leaving Rarity literally bawling her eyes out as Shining Armor too entered the portal. Twilight felt a dizzy sensation sweep over her body as she seemed to be going somewhere, yet nowhere at the same time. She fought back the nauseous feeling like she was going to vomit back as she tried to stay calm. She seemed to drift aimlessly and slowly through a void that never ceased to stop swishing and swirling before her very eyes. This made her eyes want to vomit as she tried to focus on a single glob of something in the void and it'd be gone in a split second. She finally resolved to close her eyes after getting fed up with the immense speed of the void around her. Bu then, as if nothing had ever happened, she appeared in a hallway , furnished with a few pictures, a mirror and a coat-rack that held up a small trench coat. Where was she? She began to start questioning this, but before she could get far, seemingly out of nowhere her brother, Shining Armor, appeared by her side, his eyes both spinning in different directions. "Hey? Hey brother? Snap out of it!" Twilight said as she clicked her hooves together in front of Shining Armor's face. His eyes began to slow down and settle back into their usual positions as he shook his head. Looking around, the stallion asked a quite obvious question, "W-Where are we Twi'ley?" " I don't know... I sure hope it's on the planet I picked. Even if it's not on the planet I intentionally meant to transport us to, it appears to have sentient life, so that's a good sign." Twilight replied quietly. "But couldn't we just be in Zebra or Gryphon territory?" Shining Armor asked, curious as to there whereabouts. "Not likely, Zebra's live in huts like Zecora, and Gryphons live much higher up than this..." Twilight said as she looked out the window near the end of the hallway. Only two floors. "Still.... it puzzles me as to what made this..." Twilight murmured to herself as she looked around the hallway. All of a sudden, a small furry creature burst through the door near where Shining Armor was standing. "YAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" the creature yelled as he toppled the large stallion with great speed. "AHHHHH!!!!! GET THIS THING OFF ME!" Shining Armor yelled as he tried to punch the small creature off but, he kept dodging the powerful blows as it landed punches of it's own. "WAITWAIWAIT.... YOU CAN TALK?" The small creature said discontinuing its onslaught and jumping off of the large stallion. Dazed, confused, and slightly bruised, all Shining Armor could mumble out was "Yea? And so can you... By the way, what the heck are you anyways, and why'd you start attacking me like that?" "Well, I heard someone out here and thought it was an intruder, and I can't use my bombs in my house so that's why I pinned you and started waling on ya... and ugh, sorry... if I hurt you, I didn't mean to, I just thought you might've been Zaun raiders come back for revenge. And by the way I'm a yordle, how could you possibly not know that? And now it' your turn to answer some questions. Who are you? And what are you?" The creature replied in a high pitched, gruff, determined tone. "How could you not know who we are? I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard and she-" Shining Armor was cut off by Twilight as she spoke. "Don't forget this is an entirely new world, he's probably never seen one of us before." Twilight spoke to Shining armor informatively. "We're Equestrians. That's Twilight Sparkle, and I'm Shining Armor. And about you hurting me, it didn't hurt at all." Shining Armor spoke, revising his introduction and rubbing a bruise on his chest, wincing from the pain. The small yordle smirked at this as the lavender unicorn began to talk. "So, what are you again?" "I'm a yordle. I'm also an inventor And scientist. Just not the usual kind." replied the furry yordle. Twilight noticed the yordle's earing as she began her next sentence. " So you said something about bombs earlier. Is that what you invent?" Twilight asked, truly curious, yet somewhat frightened at the implications of making bombs. "Mostly. I dabble in other areas, but explosives is my specialty." the yordle answered as he leaned against a wall and crossed his stubby arms and legs. Twilight began to notice the large head he was sporting, and how all his other limbs were fairly small. However she decided not to bring it up, as now was not the time to do so. "What was your name again? Twilight Sparkle?" the yordle inquired as twilight nodded her head. "Strange name. Pretty, but strange." The small furry creature spoke. "And whats's yours?" Shining armor asked, sitting on his haunches, unstrapping his pack. "My what?" The creature replied. "Your name." Shining Armor said. "Oh that..." the yordle began. "The name's Ziggs." "That's it? No nickname? Middle? Surname? Just Ziggs?" Shining Armor asked, honestly expecting more than s ingle word. Ziggs flinched at surname, remembering the time when he was about to get a new one... but after it happened, he even gave up his own. Opting for the single word name Ziggs. In a way it was fitting. It signified that he was now alone in the world. As he would always be. Sure he had good friends, some he'd even known for a good while. But his family was gone and so was his special someone. Stolen away from him by an unfair play in the game of fate. "Hey? Dude?" Shining Armor said as he waved a hoof in front of his blank expressionless face. "Huh? What? Oh, uhm, sorry... I just got lost for a moment..." Ziggs said, still coming out of his thoughts and trying to adjust what is, and not what was. " Lost in what ?" Twilight inquired. " I-I don't know..." Ziggs said trailing off, desperately wanting to know the answer to that question himself. "Well anyways, back to what you said, yea, that's it. Just Ziggs." he replied solemnly, his usual hyperactive energy no longer present. the hallway was dark and gloomy as the moonlight shone silver streaks of brilliance through the windows, illuminating the somber yordle leaning a against the wall, his face harder to read than sanskrit. "So, I suppose you to need a place to stay for the night?" Ziggs said breaking the grave and uncertain mood that filled the air. "Yea, that'd be great." Twilight said, trying to sound as thankful and gracious as she could. "No problem. There's a guest bedroom right down this hall to the left, and there's a fold out couch at home, I'll go set it up for you." Ziggs said as he plodded own the stairs. "You think we can trust him?" Shining Armor asked Twilight in a whisper, still unsure of the yordle's honesty. "I'm not sure... but there's something about him... I can't quite tell exactly what yet... but there's something special about him..." replied Twilight in an unsure tone. "Well, whatever, we can figure everything out in the morning. Go ahead, get settled in, I'll take the couch. " Shining Armor said insisting Twilight take the room. "Okay, but just remember to be nice, I mean we just show up in his house all of sudden, ad now he's giving us a place to stay. Being nice is the least we can do." Twilight said thoughtfully as she began walking down the hall to the guest bedroom. "Don't worry, I'll be nice..." Shining Armor said as Twilight disappeared into the small bedroom. He picked up his pack with his as soon as she did so, and the stallion's usually gentle look faded into one of apathy as he walked downstairs, taking the steps two at a time, but trying to be as quiet as he could on the hard wood stairs. Every stair seemed to creak with every slight movement he made it seemed. Finally Shining Armor reached the bottom of the stairs, pack in mouth. He lay it gently beside the step way as he cantered over to Ziggs, who was setting the finishing touches on the bed. As the stallion approached the small yordle turned his head to see him. "Oh hey. Bed's all done. I know it ain't much but-" Ziggs was cut off. "But nothing. You don't have to apologize for anything. I mean we've been here what, like 10 minutes? And you've already given us a place to stay. Plus you've never even seen an Equestrian before. Go get some sleep.You've done enough for now." The stallion said in a gentle and gratuitous tone. " Well, if you say so. Good night." Ziggs spoke as he headed for the stairs, slightly blushing under all his fur from the wave of praise. "You too..." Shining Armor replied as he began snuggling under the covers of his bed. Ziggs reached the top of the stairs uncertain about what to do next. He definitely wasn't gonna be able to sleep right away after an incident like this, and T.V. didn't seem to appeal to him as much as it had earlier. So, finally the yordle resolved to just lie down and think. He crept into his room and turned the light off before sneaking into bed and getting cozy as he lay on his back, looking at the ceiling with that same glazed look in his eyes. He continued to just lay there, deep in thought. The strange thing was, he didn't know what he was thinking about. Images, memories of times past, the sights and sounds of the League Of Legends, all flashed through his head so quickly he hardly had time to discern one thing from another. But then it all stopped. It didn't just slow down. It stopped. At an image of him. Standing proudly atop a mountainside, decked out in his battle armor. As the scene continued to play out, Ziggs tried to open his tightly shut eyes but he couldn't. It was as if some part of him didn't want him to. Almost like it wanted him to see this. The scene quickly changed as h brought out an enormous bomb made of tough iron. The fuse was already alight as he cocked his arm back, and with one mighty heave, threw the over-sized bomb towards the walls of a small fortress-like complex. It soared through the air with a majestic energy about it. That is until it impacted. The Mega-Inferno Bomb crashed into a section of wall, setting the stone ablaze and incinerating any unlucky guards that were stationed there. With a manic grin spread across his face, Ziggs hopped off of his perch and rolled down the mountain, coming to a stop on his feet, nailing the landing. As the fire died down and a few Zaunite raiders began to inspect the large gap in the wall, he charged in, bombs flailing everywhere. The small yordle laying in bed continued to tried to fight back the memories and open his eyes, for he knew what was soon to come. Little by little the mental barrier began to weaken, but it wasn't quite breaking just yet. The scene progressed. He continued to fling bombs left and right, causing all sorts of chaos. Scaffolding fell to the ground in heaps of burning wood as the guards suffered similar fates when trying to confront him. He kept advancing, sending Zaunite raiders running left and right for their lives. Finally, he came upon a large,open air building, filled with cells. All were vacant except one near he front, filled with many of Piltovers most esteemed scientists. With one great throw he hurtled a bomb straight at the lock on the cell, not just blowing it off, but destroying the barred door entirely. As the remains of the demolished door fell forward and hit the ground with a thud, Ziggs approached the scientists. He stopped and looked down at them, many in a fetal position, and spoke a one liner that would make Arnold Shwarznegger proud. "Time to go..." was all he said as random objects and people behind him spontaneously combusted and exploded.The professors gazed upon their savior as if he was sent by god himself , causing them to regain their hope. "Oh no... Not again..." the yordle laying in bed mumbled to himself as he fought with all his might to break the mental barrier. he could feel it starting to give, his eyes loosening bit by bit. The scene progressed as the great minds stood, up, ready to make their hasty departure. However, before Ziggs could even turn around a spine chilling voice from behind him spoke loud and clearly, which caused the scientists faces to contort into expressions of terror and fear. " You aren't leaving here without a fight. And I'm pretty sure you won't leave without this one..." The voice said in a grim tone. Ziggs began to turn around, curious, and a little fearful of who it could be. Just then, the yordle's eyes burst open, panting heavily as he looked around his room nervously, as if expecting to see him waiting in the shadows. But he had no such luck. Ziggs settled back into his bed and slipped under the covers, slowly but surely drifting off to an uneasy sleep, for he feared that he might be forced to remember his past. Luckily as sleep took him, nothing happened, and a small smile spread across the sleeping yordle's face, letting the warm embrace of sleep envelope him. He was gonna need it, tomorrow was Saturday and he still had to build an ample supply of his new line of bombs. But it was also quite apparent that he had other things to deal with.... A/N: So what do you think so far? Should I continue with this? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, and remember to leave a like if you want to see more. Also, yes I know, I'm not the best at getting grammar correctly and I don't really want comments JUST on grammatical errors, although I do welcome suggestions, as long as you don't be a grammar nazi about it. I wish all of you a good day and hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter of The Ballad of Ziggs The Yordle. > A Brand New Day > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight's eyes groggily opened as she awoke to the one sound she enjoyed most. Silence. All was quiet throughout the house. She sat up lazily and rubbed her eyes to help her adjust to the sunlight flooding in through the single window by her bed. " Ugh... what a night..." Said Twilight as she plopped down on the floor. She began to readjust the covers and tuck them as best as she could. it was the least she could do. Once deciding she had done an acceptable job, she walked over to her pack, still slumped up against the wall. Twilight opened the small knapsack, grasping the top part which closed it shut, and yanked with her mouth, causing the three buttons that binded the top covering to the rest of the backpack, to snap and come undone. She rummaged around in her pack for a few seconds, obviously digging for something at the bottom before grasping a crumpled and smushed piece of paper. She slowly exited with the piece of parchment firmly grasped in her hoof, to avoid getting it caught on something and tearing it. Finally the large folded piece of paper exited along with Twilight's hoof, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. She had snatched the piece of paper last night when Ziggs wasn't looking. As she read over it she came to a section where it mentioned him. Beside the description of Ziggs was a photo of him, but he was covered almost entirely in some sort of strange armor. Twilight was puzzled as to what the 'League Of Legends' was, but decided that now was not the best time to ask questions. She would bring it up when the time was right. For now, it was about time she do some observing. Quickly stuffing the paper back inside her pack Twilight brought out a fresh quill and notepad, and flipped open the notepad's cover to reveal a new page, just ready to be scribbled on. The small unicorn gazed out the window for a few seconds, taking in the sights of the barren desert. To most ponies it was just dead land, to her it was a whole new landscape, just waiting to be explored and analyzed. The lavender pony turned back towards her door eager to get a jump start on the day A knock resonated out from the door just as Twilight was about to open it. She politely opened it to see a small furry yordle who was covered in various food items. Some flour covered his chest, and a strange reddish juice had stained the fur on his hands. "Breakfast's ready." was all Ziggs before turning around with a gentle smile adorning his face. Twilight was taken aback by the kindness of this creature, just the night before they had been intruders in his home, and now, he had made hem breakfast, giving them a place to stay, and also given Twilight a rare opportunity to observe this strange new world from his perspective. He was an awfully nice pony... or yordle, as it was. Still a little shocked, the unicorn followed Ziggs down the stairs to his living room. It was furnished with a bookshelf, a coffee table, a shag rug and a couch which was set up so that it mimicked a bed on stilts. On the couch-bed , Twilight's brother was sprawled out across the length of it, lightly snoring as his chest rose and set. "Should I uhh, wake him a up?" Ziggs asked, standing beside Twilight. "No, you go on ahead, I'll get him up." replied the lavender unicorn. "If you say so..." Ziggs said, disappearing through a doorway into what was presumably the kitchen. Twilight eyed the yordle as he departed, before turning her attention to her brother who was still fast asleep. She placed a hoof gingerly on his right shoulder, which was connected to his front right leg which was hanging off the bed, slightly moving each time he exhaled. With her hoof in place, Twilight began to gently shake her brother awake, while craning her neck so that her head was close to his ear. Continuing to shake him, she whispered "Hey, Shining Armor, it's time to wake up. Ziggs made us breakfast, c'mon lets not make him wait, that'd be rude of us." Slowly but surely, the stallion began to show signs of consciousness. " Uh, what? He made us breakfast?" Shining Armor said, just as bewildered as Twilight. "Yea, isn't he great? Anyways it was awfully nice of him to do so, so let's hurry up." Twilight said a little impatiently as the large unicorn rose out of bed, yawning and outstretching his hooves backwards, cracking his back in the process. "What he make?" Shining Armor asked, curious as to hat he'd be chowing down on. He'd never really been picky about what he'd eaten, it just made him curious if there were any foods unique to this world. "I dunno. How about we go find out." Twilight said as Shining Armor got out of bed and followed Twilight into the kitchen. Twilight turned the corner and as soon as she did, she beheld a plethora of food. 3 plates were spread evenly across the large circular table. On the two plates closest to her, food that she was rather familiar with. Each plate had a heap of rice covered in a light sprinkle of daises. Another layer on top of the daises was lightly sprinkled with pepper. Twilight recognized them as eggs, but they were cooked a certain way. Eggs over-easy Fluttershy had told her one day when they were having a sleep over. Instantly, memories of the viscous yellow liquid came flooding back. The way the gooey substance had soaked into the rice underneath, the way it tickled her taste-buds. It was almost like, in a way, she had never left home. Complimenting the rice and eggs were two pieces of lightly buttered toast, which lay neatly aligned beside the mounds of food. Finally in the center of the table there were two bowls and a large platter. In each bowl was an assortment of fruit, consisting mainly of grapes, watermelon, peeled oranges and surprisingly pineapple. A few other fruits such as a sliced pear and a few peeled banana's were also scattered in throughout the bowls. Switching her gaze from the fruit to the large platter, she spied one of her personal favorites. pancakes. There were at least a dozen of them, each with steam rising off of them, making them even more mouthwatering. With her mouth starting to salivate, Twilight walked over to her a chair and took a seat as Shining Armor entered th kitchen, just as amazed and excited at what Ziggs had made. "Y-You made all this?" Twilight asked, still a little starstruck as the yordle walked over to her and her brother, each placing a full cup of orange juice beside their overflowing plates. "Yea, it's nothing special, just some breakfast. Although I am a litle surprised at how fickle ponies are when it comes to food." Ziggs replied in his usual hyper voice. "What do you mean by that? " Shining Armor asked as he picked up his fork and popped both of his eggs open, letting the liquid gold seep into his rice. "Well, it's just that I did a little research this morning before you guys woke up, and it turns out you don't eat any meat products at all. So that was a little bit of a challenge, but from what you see before you, it turned out pretty well." replied the yordle as he pulled up his own char, ready to dig into his own plate of food. It consisted of the same food everyone else was eating aside from one thing. Two sausage links lay side by side, easily catching the attention of the obsrvant Twilight. "What are those?" Twilight inquired, gesturing towards the two small cylinders of meat. "I'm not sure you wanna know..." Ziggs said, a little unsure of how they would react to him eating meat. "Whatever it is, I can handle it. " replied Twilight, who was now eating her food as well. And she seemed to be enjoying it by the sheer amount of it she shoveled in her mouth with every spoonful. "Alright..." Ziggs said reluctantly, " This is sausage, its made from, well meat. Pigs in other words. Sausage in particular is made of the tails, eyes, snouts, the undesirable parts that are leftover when it's divided into different cuts." Twilight's mouth stop chewing as she and her brother fixed their eyes on the small cuts of meat. She swallowed slowly, then took a big gulp of orange juice to refresh herself before speaking. "You mean to tell me, that you killed an animal, cooked it, and are going to eat it?" Twilight said with a hint of disbelief in her voice. "It's not as bad as it seems. I didn't kill it personally, and they're very tasty." Ziggs replied, trying to keep the conversation from spiraling out of control. "Besides, i'm not gonna make you eat any, that is of course if you don't want any." " No I'm good... " Twilight said as she returned to her food, contemplating over the thought of killing an animal for food. She had heard about it before. Especially in books about the Gryphons. She continued to absentmindedly take large spoonfuls of food as she continued to search for an explanation to why a creature would such a thing. In the end she decided that maybe the animals were different in this world, dangerous even, and needed to be killed for the safety of others. And that it just so happened that over time, the yordles had noticed that they were letting a valuable food source go to waste. Yea that's it, she figured as she continued on with the conversation. "So, what's on the agenda for today?" Shining Armor asked, taking a bite of his toast. "Hmmm.... well after breakfast I'm going to be in my lab for a while, your welcome to come and observe if you like." the yordle replied, taking a bit of his sausage, which oozed out grease as he set it back on his plate. "That'd be great. I do need to start taking some notes on... on.... what did you say this place was again?" Twilight asked, a little embarrassed she still didn't know the name of the world she was now a resident of. "Runeterra is what this place is called. We're on the continent of Valoran." Ziggs replied, sticking a steaming flapjack on a fork and taking a large bite out of it. "Hmmm.... is that so." Twilight replied mysteriously as Shining Armor finished his food and moved on to his bowl of fruit. "Well, anyways, like I said, you're welcome to come and watch me today, but don't touch anything. you'll find that a lot of the stuff i produce isn't the safest to handle..." the yordle said, finishing off his plate with a final spoon of rice. Twilight nodded her head in agreement as she remembered what Ziggs had said earlier about making bombs. She shuddered at the thought of what he would do with the bombs, but if she was going to learn anything, she had to learn to forget all the norms of Equestria and adapt to this stange, yet exciting, new world. "That was delicious, you gotta teach me sometime." Shining Armor thanked the yordle as he licked his lips. " So, the way I see it is since you don't have any money, you'll have to earn your rent around here..." Ziggs said, a little mischievous smile creeping across his face once more. " Meaning that I'll have to gut you and sell your organs piece by piece on the black market. Or if perhaps I could use you as test dummies for my new bombs." Both Twilight's and Shining Armor's faces contorted into a mixed look of shock, confusion, and fear. "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!!!!!" Ziggs laughed uncontrollably as the two ponies looked on at him having a seizure-like fit of laughter at nothing as far as they could tell. :You shoulda seen the look on your faces when I said that. Nah, you guys just have to help out with the chores around the house, aww man, gimme a second." the yordle managed to choke through his continuous giggling while wiping a tear from his left eye. " So you're not gonna cut or blow us up?" Twilight asked a little hesitant of his response. "Course not, I ain't a Noxian. I would never do such a thing. Just wanted a good laugh is all. Now which one of ya are gonna dong the dishes?" Ziggs inquired. "I will, you go on ahead and take your notes sis'" Shining Armor volunteered. Twilight nodded, silently thanking him. "Right-O! Let's get to it then." the furry creature said as he slipped out of his seat and nudged Twilight to follow him. Ziggs led the pony down a long hallway on the first floor. He approached a large metal door with his trademark skull insignia inlayed in sterling silver. "Now remember, don't touch anything, I don't want anything blowing up, I've got something.... important coming up soon and I really need to do what I'm about to do. Alright, here we go!" Ziggs said as a loud beep echoed out from the door. But instead of opening in or out, it opened sideways. By itself. And what lay behind it wasn't a room at all. It was an elevator compartment. "Ladies first." the yordle said, ushering in Twilight, as he himself then followed in boarding the elevator. "Hang on!" the hyperactive creature said so quickly,not giving the unicorn enough time to even respond before the door quickly closed and the compartment rocketed down at a great speed, causing Twilight to smack against the roof of the elevator, remaining there until the elevator came to an abrupt stop. "Lab is just outside. Now don't be overwhelmed by what you see, and stay close to me, it's easy to get lost down here." the yordle said as Twilight slowly peeled off the ceiling of the apartment and smacked the ground with a thud. "Okay..." was all Twilight could mutter as she began to regain her composure after such a sudden turn of events. The large metal door opened slowly, disappearing into a small hole in the wall. Behind the thick metal door lay a small circular room with what appeared to be tunnels laced with wiring and technology never before seen by Equestrian eyes. Four tunnels, each roughly 10 feet away from each other, looked as if they each led off into their own branch of the labratory. "C'mon, let's go." Ziggs said as he motioned for the recovering unicorn to follow him down the hallway to the far left. Twilight did as she was told, and followed the yordle down the long well lit tunnel. She scribbled down brief notes as she passed by certain pieces of equipment or wiring, many of which seemed to be connected to one another in a way. Truly fascinating. Her hooves clicked softly on the metal floor as they seemed to walk off into nowhere. "Alright, we're about to enter my lab, here, put these on." Ziggs said, handing Twilight a pair of goggles. "Thanks." Twilight responded, looking into the reflective red lenses. She could see herself.... yet it wasn't truly her, in a way.Twilight dismissed her odd thougts, slipping the goggles over her head, and adjusting the strap as best as she could. "Hold on just a sec, lemme get my gear on." the yordle spoke as he put on a light green lab-coat, which he had found on a small table beside a e metal door that seemed to split into four sections. After which he slipped into a pair of black pants with metal shin guards, quickly slipping his black boots over part of the shin guards. Grabbing a belt with several pouches attached to it, he fastened the belt buckle around the waist of the lab-coat. He then reached underneath the small table where all his equipment was, and retrieved a large metal pauldron, fastening it to his right shoulder before slipping on a pair of light blue rubber gloves. Finally to top the whole mad scientist look off, Ziggs reached for a large helmet that had three long,thick tubes jutting out from the top. The tubes were evenly distributed around the top and were connected by a ring of metal the looped around top and sides of the hat, disappearing into a small metal cylinder on each side of the metal cap. "Ready?" the yordle asked before Twilight nodded her head in approval, an apathetic look now dominating her face. "Good." was the single word Ziggs uttered before pulling down an oddly proportioned pair of goggles. The left side had a larger rim than the left and had less room for the red lense that occupied the center of each goggle. However the right side had a much thinner rim, with more red lense showing. The right goggle was linked to the massive helmet by a small metal tube, and above the goggle there was another small red lense emanating a soft glow. As the yodle flipped a switch on the side of his helmet, his pair of goggles lit up, becoming just as bright as the seemingly pointless third lense above his right goggle. At the same time his goggles began glowing, the three tubes on his helmet first sparked, and then began glowing green. As the tubes did so, they also began to contain streaks of green lightning that blasted around inside them wildly, desperately trying to break free, but to no avail. They were well contained inside the hyperactive scientist's helmet. Ziggs mashed a button on the side of the tunnel leading up to the large door. Instantly the door began to split into four separate sections, each segment receding into their own respective corner. "How do you do that?" Twilight inquired, curious as to how the small creature was able to open such massive doors without the use of magic. She could tell as soon as she met Ziggs that he was not a creature that utilized magic. Naturally anyways. "How do I do that? Good question.... How about we find out?" the mad scientist replied, a wide manic grin spreadng across his face. "Finally... done." Shining Armor said, a bit exhausted from trying to grasp and scrape the grime off of everyone's plate. The tired stallion slumped down into a chair, happy that he was able to at least partially pay back his debt. As he began to regain his strength, a knock came from the front door. "Who could that be?" Shining Armor asked himself as he plopped out of his chair and walked over to the front door, a little hesitant of who it could be. "Who is this?" the white unicorn asked, ready to put up a fight if need be. No reply. "I asked who is this?" Shining Armor repeated, a little frightened at who it could be now. Just then the front door caved in, sliced evenly into 6 rectangular pieces. "Take cover!" Ziggs yelled as a metal door down the hallway to the left of the front door opened and the yordle, decked out in scientist regalia , burst through, a bomb in each hand. Shining Armor didn't even have time to react as a figure, cloaked in a purple hood let two blades slip down each of his sleeves, each coming to a rest neatly in his hands before rearing up his left arm, ready to strike. The unicorn stood rooted in place as a bomb rolled in front of him, coming to a stop right in front of the hooded figure's feet. Both opponents barely had time to eye the bomb before it detonated, sending each flying backwards. The hooded figure rocketed out the entrance, while at the same time Shining Armor was blown back onto the couch-bed. "Damn I'm a good shot..." Ziggs quietly murmured to himself as Twilight bolted out of the elevator and immediately galloped to her brother's side. "He's fine. The lethal blast was directed away from him when the bomb blew, he just caught the shock-wave. Also what's interesting is that for your brother's build, I certainly wouldn't have expected him to go flying like he did." The yordle said, as reassuringly as he could muster. Truth be told, he was scared too. He knew who he figure at the door was, he knew that he was back for revenge. But what scared him most was that he knew he was still here... Ziggs lifted up his goggles with his free hand, still clutching his spare bomb in the other. Twilight wrapped her foreleg around Shining Armor's neck and began shaking him vigorously, while shouting, "Brother! Wake up! Please wake up! Please!" as tears began to form in her eyes. Small droplets of water began to roll down her cheek, staining and wetting it as they did. She held her brother's head close to hers and sobbed into his shoulder. As she did so her expression of sadness twisted into one full of rage and anger. She lifted her head from her brother's soakd shoulder and turned to face the yordle, who's jade green eyes were now showing. "This is all your fault..." Twilight whispered so softly that Ziggs barely heard her. "Come again?" Ziggs asked, not believing what he had heard. "This is all your FAULT!" Twilight responded, her voice starting as a whisper but ending in a thunderous yell. "MY fault? I saved him! You don't know what that man was about to do to him!" the yordle replied, his features overtaken by anger as well. "Whatever he was going to do it's better than what you did to him!" Twilight boomed back at Ziggs. "No... it wasn't. Trust me. It wasn't better than the condition he's in now. That man.... That monster will slit your throat, without hesitation, and then laugh at his kill. As if it were some trophy. Believe me, once you've seen what he can do, anything is better than what he''l do to you." Ziggs said, passionate and serious in his tone, anger no longer apparent in hies facial expression or words. All Twilight could do was stutter as her face contorted back to normal, all signs of anger vanishing. "Then why'd you have to blow him up?" She asked, still starstruck by the passionate words Ziggs had spoken. "I did it to save his life. Had I not done what I did your brother would be bleeding out on the floor, with you watching helplessly. I respect you Twilight Sparkle, but you have to learn that it isn't all fun and games here in Runeterra. Look, what I'm saying is that regardless of where you come from, you're here now, and you're gonna have to learn to live with things dying all around you 24/7. Even if its..." the yordle gulped trying to keep his own personal life out of the conversation. "... even if its someone close to you." "But he's not dead, he's just unconscious for the time being. Don't let him out of your sight. I have some unfinished business to deal with." Ziggs said before locking his goggles back in place, leaving the shocked and frightened pony to tend to her brother. The scientist walked through his sliced entrance and stood in front of his two floor house, looking out across the barren desert that he resided in. He took in a large breath of air before shouting in a calm voice, despite the fear that nagged at him, " I know you're here. leave them alone, This is between us and us only, don't drag em' into this too." No reply for a few seconds before a disembodied voice replied from somewhere behind Ziggs. "Ziggs is it? Haven't heard that name in a while. Heh. Certainly didn't expect you to show your face at the Institute Of War. By the way if you don't mind me asking, any continuation of that name?" the voice mockingly asked. The yordle whirled around to face the voice's source. A tall man who was wearing purple cloth armor underneath small areas of armor plating. Large silver pauldrons adorned his shoulders, each coming to a point on the side of his arm near his elbow. Another metal plate, one on each forearm, gradually widened, starting as a point near his forearm and wrapping around the entirety of his lower forearm. Two brown leather straps crisscrossed his chest, both attached at the waist to a blue belt. The belt, instead of buckling into the middle created an arrow like shape as it widened and drooped from the rest of his belt. At the tip of the arrow, was a sharp piece of metal, which was most likely what was weighing it down. A section of purple cloth armor showed as it lead down to two heavily armored shin guards, which also covered his knees and encased feet in a layer of metal. Finally, a long cape that was split into six long lengths of vivid purple cloth had dangerous arrowhead-like pieces of sharp metal attached to the end of each length of cape. The menacing figure brandished a large broad blade that was attached to his arm via three leather straps, distributed evenly along the length of the deadly instrument. He looked up from his bright purple hood that had his rank emblazoned in silver near the front, where the hood came to a point because of the stiff metal. "Why are you here?" Ziggs snarled at the assassin. "Because, this ain't a business trip. This is personal. When you came in, blowing up that Zaunite camp, all high and mighty, you defeated me. The General was not pleased with that at all. Do you have any idea what I've gone through because of you?" The figure said, rising from his position and pointing at the yordle accusingly. Ziggs flinched slightly at those words. "Yeah, as a matter a fact I do." He said, reaching up to touch his earring with his free arm. Upon seeing this, the assassin gave a slight smirk, chuckling to himself. "I see you still have that ring. Pity it never reached it's intended destination." The purple man said once again in a mocking tone. "Don't you dare speak about her." Ziggs growled back. "Very well. I suppose its high time I depart. But I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other very soon. Until then." the assassin said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small grey orb. "Oh no you don't!" the scientist shouted as he cocked his arm back and flung the bomb directly at the man. But it was too late, he had already disappeared into a cloud of grey smoke. The bomb impacted the roof and exploded, leaving a blast mark which now scarred his roof. "Dammit..." Twilight lay beside her brother, all of her tears exhausted, eyeing him over with a gentle expression. Something was bothering her though. Besides the fact that Shining Armor was unconscious. Had she really meant what she had said earlier? And if so why did she fly off the defend and start verbally assaulting her caretaker. Was she really that heartless? No. No she wasn't. But then hat begs the question, what could've made her so angry that it made her feel true hatred. Ponies hardly ever got angry to begin with, and it was even rarer for anypony to feel true hatred. But she did. Just a few minutes ago, and she could tell that she really did resent Ziggs deep down. Even now the feeling lingered. She continued to ponder just what exactly was happening to her, and possibly her brother as a yordle entered the house. "What happened?" Twilight asked, pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind to deal with the situation at hoof, or hand, in Ziggs' case. "He escaped. Gone in a cloud of smoke. He said that we'd be seeing each other very soon, and I have a feeling I know when and where." The scientist replied a little mysteriously. "And, if you don't mind me asking, just who is he? " inquired the unicorn as Shining Armor began to regain consciousness. "He..." Ziggs gulped "He's Talon." "Why is he out to get you?" Twilight asked, pushing the envelope even further. She couldn't help it, she always got like this when it came to learning new things. Ziggs didn't respond immediately. Instead he thought to himself for a second. Was he ready to open up? Was he ready to reveal his secret? And to near strangers at that. But at this point, he could no longer bear the burden of the tragedy that transpired that fateful day. His urge to be relieved of the great weight of the secret overwhelmed him and he began to speak. "Do you really want to know?" "Yes." replied Twilight, with Shining Armor now sitting fully awake next to her, listening to the conversation intently. It was now or never. "Alright.... settle in... this is a long one." Ziggs said, taking a seat in a leather recliner. 25 minutes later.... " And so, I turned around, and he was standing there.... holding... holding someone close to me, with a blade near her throat. He eyed me up and down with that petrifying gaze of his and spoke, ' If you don't stop, lay down your weapons and tell them to get back inside the cage, she dies.' I just stood there, frozen.... My heart ripped in half as I knew what I had to do. I really wanted to save her, but I knew what would happen if I didn't rescue the scientists. I looked up from where I stared at the ground, and pulled out a match. I struck it against the bomb on my back, and then lit the fuse. I face her and said the only words I could think of.... ' I'm sorry....' was all I was able to whisper as I hurled the bomb up into the air, and it descended upon the two. Talon's look was one of utter disbelief the second before the bomb impacted. After then, I couldn't tell where he or.... or the person close to me had gone. Everything around me burned and crumbled as I escaped with the scientists, and escorted them back to Piltover. I was awarded the title of Dean Of Demolitions for my heroic feat. Still, despite all the good I've done, I'll never forgive myself for what I had to do.... no, what I did do." Ziggs said bringing his tale to a close. "Wow..." was all Twilight could possibly muster after listening to one of the most tragic storied she'd ever heard, real or fictitious. "Yeah...." Ziggs spoke, slipping off the last piece of his scientist outfit and stashing it under his recliner. "Well.... I think you should both get some rest, its already dark out. Look I'm sorry if this wasn't what you were expecting, and-" the yordle was cut off by Twilight intervening. "You don't have to be sorry for anything. If nothing else, its us who should be feeling sorry for you. I can see you've been through a lot, but now we're here, and you don't have to face it alone anymore." Twilight said reassuringly. "Thanks, and I appreciate your support Twi'." Ziggs spoke, reminding Twilight of her friends back home who would call her the same thing. She nodded as the yordle waved them goodbye, letting the two be alone as he started up the stairs. "Oh, and Twilight?" the furry creature said from halfway up the stairs. "Hmm?" "Your welcome to come and spectate me in tomorrow's match." "What match?" the lavender unicorn inquired, having a feeling she already knew the answer to. "Oh, yea that's right if forgot to tell you, there's big match tomorrow at the Institute of War, I'm joining the League of Legends." "And just where exactly is this match being staged?" "Summoner's Rift. 5 P.M. I'll fill you in on the details tomorrow. For now, we all need some rest." Ziggs said as he pulled a small black remote out o nowhere, pressed a button and proceeded upstairs as the broken front door was replaced by a fresh metal one that descended from the top frame of the door, eventually locking into place at the bottom. It would never cease to amaze Twilight Sparkle how any tricks this yordle had in store. Ziggs dragged himself to bed, slipping underneath the covers, and just lay there thinking for a little while before dozing off. It was fortunate that he fell asleep much earlier than he usually did. He was going to need all the rest he could get. It was going to be one hell of match. > Revelations > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ziggs fastened his helmet and pulled his goggles up above his eyes as he finished donning his battle gear. The sun just began to poke its head over the horizon, combining with the eery silence that filled the house. "Z-Ziggs?" a voice came from his bedroom door. The yordle nearly bounced up in surprise as he turned to face the lavender unicorn who was observing his battle armor. "Whatcha need Twi'? Ziggs replied, strapping on a backpack full of hexplosive bombs, satchel charges, and mines, before securing a large bomb, at least 3 times the size of the others, over his pack. That should do it. "What are you wearing?" Twilight inquired, continuing to analyze the strange metal armor. "Prepping for the match today, you and your brother ready to go?" the yordle spoke, standing up and walking over to the door, which he motioned for Twilight to exit through. She obliged and left, Ziggs close in tow. "Well, my brother's already up, and we saw the food you left out for us, and by the way it was wonderful, so yea, we're both fed, and we uh found your shower, and kinda used it... heh,-" the lavender unicorn was cut off by her armored caretaker. "No problem, whatever's mine is yours now. But ... " Ziggs trailed off, walking over to the window, and staring out across the vast open expanse of badlands. "What is it? Is it ..." Twilight swallowed hard, " Him? Is the assassin here again?" Ziggs took a deep breath and sighed heavily. He turned back to face Twi' with a look of angst in his eyes. "It's just ... It's been so long since I've had anyone around. Anyone that' not trying to kill me anyways." Ziggs muttered something about Rift Walking under his breath as he continued. " Twi, I'll be frank, everyone around me dies. I once ... I once rescued a group of scientists from Zaunite mercs. You know where all those scientists are now? Six feet under is where." Ziggs said emotionally, pointing at the ground sorrowfully. " Only one, Heimer, is still breathing. They all died, because of me and my foolish actions. It was all a trap! All of it! After the award ceremony they all turned up dead in thieir houses within a month." Ziggs had tears welling up in his eyes. Twilight shoo'd her brother when he came round a corner, and she looked on at Ziggs with empathy. "And the worst part is ..." Ziggs walked over to his coffee table. " ... I know exactly who did it. That assassin that came here." Ziggs sat down on the sofa, and hung his head between his arms, lifting his goggle's up. "That assassin's name is Talon. And HE made me kill my fiancee. She was only 28. She was only fucking twenty-eight!" Ziggs yelled at himself, flipping the table, shattering the glass. " Talon killed all the scientists after we escaped too. And Twilight ... That's why today is so important ... Today is my chance ... " Ziggs looked at Twilight, a maniacal grin spreading across his tear streaked face, a look of fiery vengance in his eyes.\ "Ziggs, I-I ...." Twilight choked, at a loss for words at the heart wrenching revelation. Ziggs started to giggle. And then it broke into laughter, and before you knew it, he was full on cackling like a true super villain. "No Twilight, this isn't about you or your brother, or anyone else. This is about me, and Talon." Ziggs spoke firmly, beating his chest. Cus' you know what twi?" Ziggs turned to the window, looking out, longingly. "Today's the day Talon dies." 7 hours later, at the entrance of the League Of Legends Prep Temple Ziggs stood behind a large column, the two Ponies ducking behind him. Ziggs peeked around the corner, looking up at the glistening marble columns that stood vigilantly beside the massive gateway to the temple. Walking up the steps was a group of oddly assorted people and ... things. Closest to where Ziggs was, strode another yordle, furry and cute. His eyes were hidden beneath his scout hat, his ears poking through the top of his helmet. His helmet bore worn red goggles, and and odd purple feather. he carried a blowgun, and a pack full of what appeared to be some odd variety of mushrooms and darts, along with assorted scrolls and parchments. He climbed the steps quickly, an aura of speed seeming to emanate from him. He wore little green boots. complimented by brown pants, and had a furry red scarf fastened around his neck. He also appeared to be wearing a pair of mittens. "That's Teemo, the Swift Scout." Ziggs said, sating Twilght's obvious curiosity. "He'll be on my team this match. He'll be our top lane. he may look cute and cuddly, but trust me, guy's a cold blooded killer when he needs to be. What's even scarier is he doesn't even seem to have to use his vision to fight." "He doesn't look that tough ..." Shining muttered. "Killers come in many shapes and sizes my friend ... Take that guy over there? Does HE look tough to you?" Ziggs spoke, slightly mockingly, and pointed to a sizeable man adorned in massive armour. He carried a gargantuan broadsword, along with donning huge pauldrons, and a gleaming gold chest plate. The giant shoulder guards had sparkling sapphires inset in the golden trim. beneath his armour, the man wore an elegant blue fabric, with simple brown boots and gloves. Around his neck, and down his back, hung a vibrant blue scarf. "That my pony companion is Garen, the Might of Demacia. He's literally the greatest non royal warrior to come out of Demacia. He's still a noble of course, but most of the other warriors, like J4, are Princes and Kings. Anyways, point is, the guy is a monster. He'll be on the opposing team as their top lane, Teemo's in for the fight of his life but I'm sure he'll pull through." "If I may ask, what exactly IS the League? I mean, you talk about it so fondly. You mentioned earlier that pon-er, creatures,die here. Are you like, the champion or something?" Twilight asked, slightly nervous at Zigg's response. Zigg's chuckled lightheartedly, smiling at twi. " It's no biggie, yeah you CAN die, that's true, but the Arch Mages of Valoran always bring you back within a few seconds of death. Anyways, Let's get goin." Ziggs knelt down, unstrapping his satchel pack, and opening it up, he stood back up, opening it wide enough for a man to fit inside. He looked at the ponies, and then back a the sack, then back to the ponies, and then at the sack. "No. There's no possible way we'll fit in there! Much less comfortably. When you said you'd sneak us in, this isnt what i had in mind."Twilight spoke, bemused. "Oh, you'll fit trust me. Me and Heimerdinger designed this lil' guy together. Holds 100 times more than it looks like it could. Trust me, just get in. This is the only way to get you into the viewing room, and by extension to the arch-magi. I refrained from telling you, but I made a deal with the mages last night when you were asleep. If we win, they agreed to send you back home. But if we lose ..." Ziggs gulped, " They get my life force. In other words, I die so that they can increase their power." Twilight began, but Ziggs cut her off. "It's done now. They're the only mages in all of Runeterra with magic powerful enough to accurately, and safely, send you two home. Plus, I figured it was a good deal, considering Talon is on the opposing team, I'm not losing, no matter what. Now c'mon, get in the sack, both of you." Ziggs gestured to the bag with his head once again. The two technicolor ponies aquiesced and threw themselves into the bag, one after another. Twilight and Shining hit the bottom of the void backpack within a few seconds, settling down near a pile of hundreds of bombs, all with the fuses out in the open, ready to be lit. All of a sudden Twilight began to feel sick at the thought of the destruction they would soon cause. "You all settled? Alright we're heading inside, keep quiet and when I say to get out, bail and run to the viewing room. You'll know where it is once we're inside. Let's go! " Said Ziggs excitedly, throwing the sack over his back, causing Twi and Shining to stumble over awkwardly. "And so it begins ..." Shining spoke over the sound of metal boots on marble steps. One Hour Later, Inside the Prep Temple "Let's gogogo! C'mon we gotta go fast, someone might see us." Ziggs said hastily, as he dumped Twilight and Shining onto the floor. The two ponies scrambled to their hooves, shaking their heads comically. "This way, this way!" Ziigs hurried the ponies through a set of metal double doors into a small theatre room. There were two rows of 5 seats, all of them empty, and Ziggs pushed Shining and Twilight into the back row, into the seats farthest from the door. "I'm going to lock the door with this." Ziggs spoke, showing them the small black pendant like device he held in his hands. "What is it?" Twilight asked, intrigued. "It's a morphic liquid I got from Heimer. It hardens into impenetrable rubber for 90 minutes after use. Alright guys, this is it. Just stay here and watch the screen, call me if you need help. Use these." Ziggs said, handing each pony a headset with a small battery pack. "Just hold the button on the little rectangle, and I'll be able to hear you, see?" he said, brushing away his fur, and revealing a smaller reciever device around his ear. "Okay Ziggs. But promise me something." Twilight said, with acompassionate tone in her voice. "Yeah ?" Zigss said, starting towards the door. "Come back in one piece. And one last thing." Twilight said hopping up from her seat, and cantering over to Ziggs. She rose up on two hooves, and gave Ziggs a big hug, embracing him. "Thank you for all you've done for us. We would have never made it this far had you not helped us out of our situation. So once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you." Ziggs blushed, and returned the hug warmly. "It's nothing Twi', I've been waiting for this match for a long time anyways. I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone." replied Zigg's graciously. "Be safe..." Twi cautioned Ziggs, trailing off, as he exited the room. Twilight redirected her attention the large screen that adorned the front wall. It seemed to give off a mystical aura as the glassy surface was clouded with orbs of white energy swirling around benevolently. She began to think to herself. About home. About the match. About life as she knew it. She always knew there were others out among the stars, but she never imagined them to be as ... well, violent as they seem to be. I mean, they kill each other as sport, only to come back and do it over again. It just seemed so wrong. So vile and repugnant to her. And even as the door was sealed, and as Shining dozed off as Twilight pondered her thoughts, no one noticed the tall man standing behind Twilight. Watching patiently, and curiously, before he simply phased out of existence, as if he had never even been there. Twilight instinctively turned around, sensing something, yet there was nobody there. Slightly startled she resumed her contemplations. But the man had been there. The man hadn't just been watching either, he had been reading Twilight's thoughts. And in her foolishness, Twilight thought about Equestria and her friends back home. A dangerous mistake. So as she sat there, thinking, she didn't realize the catastrophe she had just released upon Equestria. Even now, the man's ethereal essence streaked through the universe at an incomprehensibly fast speed, passing through stars and planets randomly, seeming to have no desired destination. But the man had a destination in mind. A little planet called Equestria. 10 Minutes later, Summoning Platform Zigg's closed his eyes in silent anticipation, waiting to be summoned. Slowly, he felt a buildup of energy inside his body, as arcane magic coursed through his body, while he was teleported to Summoner's Rift. He opened his eyes in excitement, staring at the pre prepared blue nexus and inhibitors. The Nexus began to charge up energy, brightening from a dark blue, to a sapphire colour that radiated with energy. As the base awakened, arcane magic coursing into the various Guardian Towers, scattered across the map neatly in rows leading to the nexus, the Yordle Bomber just smiled wryly. And so it began.