> The Xenolith Artifice: The Fall of Fort Nexus > by The Hexagon > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 0 - Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I went in my room, and saw a letter lying on my desk. "Agent Silicon, you are one of the 10,000 agents chosen to test our new device that enables the user to jump through universes at will. Please report immediately to Senator Zephiroth for further instructions. -Signed, Officer David." I dropped the letter given to me and sighed. I sighed, and went back out again, to Zephiroth's office, not without meeting some of my friends. "Hey, Silicon! How's it feel like to get chosen for this?" My co-worker, Zircon, was standing next to the door. "Anxious... excited, go figure. Not everyone gets chosen for these sort of things, actually." I went inside, and I met a short, humanoid figure with green eyes sporting a black tux for some apparent reason. "Hello, Silicon." "Hello, sir Zephiroth." I took a seat. "I was told to go to yo-" "Yes." He stood up, went to a drawer and took a piece of paper, sat down and passed it to me. "I assume you already know why you're here?" I nodded. "You are chosen to test a new prototype watch, called the Quantum." He took a white watch-like device. "Go to the firing range at 1500." I saluted and got out. I went to the armory, took a P1-028 Spectre, a HCM Combat Knife, and wore my uniform and an Actinum Carbide Tactical Vest. I went to the firing range, and saw a group of agents standing in attention. "Agent Silicon, get in here!" I went to the troop and stood in attention. "Alright gentlemen! We are going to test the Quantum. Input coordinates to Sector Esper, Sierra Universe, Fourth Dimension, 7th Timeline. Date, August 18, 2102. 27.46784°N 42.13492°W. You will land in Castle Paris, where an officer will be there waiting for you." Everyone looked worried. "Don't worry, you're going to appear at a controlled planet, completely untouched by the Royal Guard." We looked at our watches. "Agents! Calibrate your Quantums!" I took a deep breath, looked at the watch, calibrated it and waited for the command. "Go-" A loud bang pierced the air, as smoke came from the west portion of the Castle. "Holy shit!" The West Watchtower exploded, and multiple Agents came to assess the situation. I looked at the entrance, and I saw Celestia standing there, squads of SpecOps Agents trying to get a shot at her. "Shit! Go, go, go!" Our officer shouted at us before looking back at Celestia. "Diarch One has been sighted infiltrating the West Wall, I repeat, Diarch One has been sighted on the West Wall. All available agents are to redirect there and support the defensive!" He shouted at his radio. She blasted an agent with her horn. "Resistance is futile! I will destroy every single one of yo-" She yelped as a massive 20x49mm .80 caliber AP round was shot at her. She looked at where the shell came from, it was our commanding officer, manning a MLWS-AP Turret. "Fool! You dare attack me?" Her horn lit up, charging up for a blast. "You shall pa-" She flinched again as another round struck her shield. "How much? Do you accept cash or credit?" The officer shouted back at her, before shooting her once more. We were holding off pretty nicely, Agents and Anti Air turrets were ripping pegasi apart, while Shock Troopers were murdering unicorns and earth ponies on the ground. "ENOUGH!" A massive shockwave was discharged by her horn, knocking all of us back. "I have designed a special concoction that would change you into ponies.. My perfect little ponies." She formed a twisted smile before disappearing into a bright light. "Did we win?" Another agent beside me asked, I just shrugged. "Everyone!" The speakers blared out. "We are now instigating HEXCON DEF2!" Everyone ran to the nearest armories, and some manned the available MLWS. "Proceed to the nearest armory to re-arm, and defend this motherfucking base with your life!" Seconds later, an army of pegasi flew over us, and dropped canisters of what seemed to be purple liquid. "Take cover!" An agent shouted, before going under a table. I dove to the nearest open room, and took shelter. I sat down, breathing heavily. I took a glance on what's happening outside, and I saw agents coated in the liquid, before painfully morphing into what seems to be a pony. My eyes widened. The newly-morphed ponies formed a wide smile, that Cheshire Cat would be proud, before turning their heads to me. "Why the hell does it always have to be me?" I breathed heavily. I ran towards the weapon rack, this was an armory, after all. I took a MH-A4 Omen out of the rack, cocked it, and aimed at the oncoming ponies. Shells fell down on my feet as I continually fired at them, 9x19 HE rounds did a great job, as they were silenced before I even emptied the 31 round mag. I was then tackled by another one behind me. "Hello!" she shouted. We struggled for a bit, she was too damn heavy for me to knock off. After a few seconds, she forcefully dragged me out of the towards a puddle of the stange liquid. I repeatedly jabbed her jaw, but she was unfazed. I looked around me, and I saw more coming close to us. "Castle Paris is overrun!" I heard a voice boom out from the speakers. "Everyone who's still alive, evacuate!" I heard clicking sounds from the speakers. "I am now activating emergency procedures! Everyone, get out now!" From the speakers, I heard a banging sound. "Come out, accept the Sun Goddess' gift!" He breathed loudly. "Long Live the Hexagon!" Sirens blared out from every part of the Castle. Chimera Defense Robots were now targeting everyone on sight. I felt a shockwave. I looked up to the control tower, only to see it blown off. All doors were locked down, all entrances and exits were blocked. The shield dome was re-activated, and a countdown started. "Ten seconds until self-destruction." I was now nearing the puddle, as a last resort, I activated my Quantum, and hoped for the best. ----------------------------------------------------- I opened my eyes, and I saw the pony still conscious, but barely standing. I was weak, but I used my remaining strength to get on top of the pony. My left hand grabbed her neck, choking her, while my right continually hit her. She was struggling, and I could've sworn her eye color turned brown for a second, before reverting to aqua-blue. She's still there. I took the Omen lying on the ground, aimed it at her head. "I'm sorry for this." I pulled the trigger, and bits of flesh, brain, and blood splattered across the ground. I holstered the Omen back, and rested on the ground. "Oh sweet Celestia!" I heard a voice. I closed my eyes for a bit. My heart is beating wild, struggling to push blood to my limbs. I slowly opened my eyes. I felt weak, I couldn't even lift my arm. My vision was hazy. Everything was bright, birds and critters were everywhere. The ground feels soft... Green grass... "...ver here! Look! What is tha..." I slowly drifted back to sleep. Once again, my eyes opened, my vision still blurry, I saw two.. five... ten figures wearing gold armor, one... white figure and one blue figure, their hair flowing down like a majestic river. I was lifted off the ground by two armor wearing figures. I was placed on a chariot, with two more figures on it. "Don't worry." I looked at the one on my left, I slowly formed a weak smile as my vision slowly cleared. "You're safe here with us." It was a pegasus, donning gold armor and a spear. My smile disappeared when I realized my situation. I was in Equestria. I let my consciousness drift me back to sleep. ------------------------------ I woke up in an interrogation room. I was only wearing my uniform, and nothing else. My hands were chained. The chain was long, allowing me to reach my pants with ease, but restricted me from going too far. I looked around, it was empty. The only things in the room was two chairs, and a table. I panicked, searching the room frantically for my equipment. I quickly looked at the door as someone entered the room. "Ah, you're finally awake!" He was a gray coated unicorn, wearing a lab coat and holding a clipboard. He went to the seat opposite to me, and placed his clipboard on the table. "You may call me as Greycoat." How nice. "I'm going to be the one asking questions here, so please, answer each question truthfully. If you attempt to lie to me, my horn will turn red." I remained quiet. "Now, first question, what's your name?" "Agent Silicon." His horn lit up. He glared at me. "I thought we had established this. No lying of any kind, I want you to answer my question truthfully-" I told him to stop. "Look at my uniform." I pointed at my tag, which also said 'Agent Silicon'. "Hm." He took a close look at it, before looking at his horn. "Must've misread the spell." He tapped his horn, which lit up for a sec. "Anyways, second question. Why, and how did you go here?" "Believe me, I have no intentions on going here." I told him. "Well then." He took some pictures on his clipboard, all showing all angles on me asleep in a small crater. "How can you explain this?" I looked at the pictures, and back to him. "I have no idea." I formed a small smile, feigning innocence. His horn lit up, and he looked at me. "Please, no need to lie to us." He took back the pictures. "We're all friends here." "Are we?" I asked, with one brow raised up. He stood there, and walked towards the door. "Be right back." He left the room and closed the door. I looked at the table. "Wood, 2 centimetres thick." I took a look at my chains. "Iron.." I smiled. I pulled on my chains, and with only one try, the chains were disconnected from the table. I swung the long chains around. "Hard enough to be a weapon.." I swung the chains to the table, breaking the table in half. "Heavy enough to kill." Not a moment later, the same stallion entered. "I heard a noise, is everything alrigh-" I swung the chain to him, hitting the head, and knocking him out. I went out the room, and I saw myself in a hallway, my room was only one of the tens of rooms infront of me. "How the hell do I get out of here?" I sprinted towards a random door. I took a glance at the sign, and it only showed me symbols. I went inside, and I saw two unicorns. One was holding the Spectre and the Omen, the Quantum inside a glass cage, my vest was being examined, and next to it, a pile of broken weapons were piled up. "Hey!" They looked at me as I swung the chains to them, knocking them both out. I took my knife and cut the shackles off my arms. I took my vest, my gun and the Quantum, and went outside. I went out, but as I stepped out the room, a guard noticed me. "You there! Hal-" I shot him, the report of the gun was silenced by the integrated suppressor, but the sound still echoed on the quiet halls. He screamed as he held his bleeding hoof. I ran towards the opposite direction and I went left. Doctors were shocked as I appeared, so I ran past them. I looked back, the doctors were still frozen in place, so I continued running. As I looked back, a squad of guards were dispatched, blocking the entrance, their spears pointed at me. "Halt in the name of the Princes-" He went down as I shot him at his head, his mouth ajar. The guards were startled by the whiz of the bullet, but they recovered, and charged at me. I continually open fired at them, until one got too close to me. He thrusted his spear to my chest, but was stopped by the vest. I took hold of the spear and snapped it in half. The guard looked at me and smiled anxiously. I took hold of him, and used him to shield myself of another spear, he was impaled at the neck. I dropped him and continued firing at the guards. Of the 20 guards that once stood infront of me, four remained. The four remaining guards were scared as fuck right now, one even pissed himself, so I stopped shooting. It was not long after that Princess Celestia appeared behind the guards. The four remaining guards noticed her and suddenly went behind her. "You!" She shouted. "Well, well. Princess Celestia." She was shocked as I said her name. "It's been a long while." She looked confused. "Please, stop hurting my little ponies." I looked at the guards behind her, clutching at her like a baby to a mother. "What have we ever done to you for us to deserve this?" I looked up. "Your kind has done so much to us." A tear flowed down on my cheek. "You have destroyed cities, killed thousands. You have caused destruction to our world, and you.." I exhaled deeply. "Now you come to us and use a newly developed potion to turn us all. Shame on you." She looked confused. "You will never take me, or my people." I held the gun to my head. Her look of confusion turned into shock. "It's better to die a free man than to live as a slave." I saw her horn glow, so I put my finger on the trigger. "We are not here to hurt you." She slowly spoke. "Drop your weapon and please, let us help you." "Goodbye, Celestia." I took a deep breath. "No!" She shouted. A flash of light blinded the guards, and I blacked out. > 1 - Where the heck am I? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Act One - Reminisce Antiquity I woke up in a dark room. "Ah... Fuck." I slowly pushed myself up, my right hand holding my head. My vision was blurry, and my head aching with great pain. "Am I... Am I in hell?" I rubbed my eyes a couple few times, and looked around. I saw myself in a stone cell, with iron bars keeping me in. A lone bed and a bucket were the only ones inside. I was stripped off of my weapons. My uniform, my boots and my pants were the only ones that I have. A white coated pegasus guard was stationed out my cell. He held a spear, and wore golden armor. I stood up, and went towards the guard. "Uh.. hey?" The guard ignored me. I poked his neck. "Hey." I repeated the same sequence until he finally cracked. "What!?" The guard turned around and glared at me coldly. "Where am I?" The guard rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious?" He sighed as I shrugged. He tapped the bars. "You're in Canterlot dungeon. Now, be a good boy and sit down, beast." He scoffed. I just looked at him. "...What?" "I said," The guard went closer. "Sit." He tapped his hoof on the bars. "Down." Tap. "Beast." Tap. He smirked, before turning around. I just stared at him. I blinked a few times before speaking again. "I think that's a bit racist. Wait, speciocist? I don't know what the word I'm looking for. Maybe it's spe-" "Enough!" The guard stomped his hoof on the ground, cracking the stone floor. "I have only been listening to your blabbering for a minute and I am already sick of it! I have been on guard duty for several years now, and I haven't met a single one who's more annoying than you!" The guard was now breathing heavily. "Uh.." I waited for a few moments. "Are you done yet?" The guard calmed down and fixed himself. "Yes." He said as he returned to his post. I was about to open my mouth when I heard the clops of hoofsteps headed towards us. What came from the dark was a pegasus mare, donning a blue coat and a green mane. She wore gold armor as well. "Stop harassing that creature, Swift." She looked and walked to me. "What is it, anyway?" She moved an eye closer to me, trying to get a better look. I cleared my throat. "I'm..." The mare gasped, and looked surprised, as if she never expected me to speak at all. "I'm Silicon." I held out a hand. She looked at it questionably before shaking it with her hoof. "Well." She wiped her hoof at her coat. "Silicon." She said while doing quotation marks at the air. "The Princess requests your attention at the court room. Any funny business and I will have to use force." She turned around and trotted away. "So, are you going to let me out?" I shouted. "Ask Swift Dagger!" She shouted back. I looked at Swift, and he sighed. "Alright, alright." He took some keys from nowhere and opened the lock. He pulled the door open and I stepped out. "But let me remind you, any funny business and we will have to use force." He grabbed his lance and held it tightly. I went towards the exit when.. "Wait!" I turned around. The pegasus held out a letter to me. "Somepony left this for you." I went to him and took the letter. It was a jumble of As and Bs. "I couldn't understand it, and the ponies in the forensics, language, magic and science sections couldn't make anything with it also. I read the letter, and my eyes widened. I threw the paper aside and ran towards the exit, leaving the guard puzzled. I ran past the cells, making even the locked prisoners look at me. "Wooh!" They cheered and clapped, thinking that I'm breaking out. I pushed the dungeon door open, only to make every pony in the court room look at me. "Hey?" I raised a hand. "Escapee!" The guards simultaneously jumped at me, blocking my vision and air, making me pass out. +---+ "What the hell?" I was floating in a black void. I looked around, just pure black. I tried to move around by 'swimming' through the void, but I was unable to tell if I was moving, due to the lack of landmarks. "Silicon?" I heard a faint voice. I looked around, trying to find out where the voice came from. "I knew we should've told the guards before letting him out. "Hey, you said to let him out, while I told you to remind the guards first." "Shut up, Tia." ... "Silicon." There it is again. Then, unexpectedly, out came the face of Luna. It appeared infront of me. "What the fuck!?" I was launched back. "Wake up." I moved closer to the head. "Come again, I didn't quite catch that." Luna chuckled. "I said, wake up Silicon." +---+ I jolted up from my slumber as I was forcefully taken from my rest. I gripped the edges of my bed in surprise. I was sweating wildly, and I was hyperventilating. "LUNA!" I screamed. I looked around the room, and saw nothing signs of her. It was then I realized where I am. I was in Celestia's bedroom. I got out of her bed and slowly walked to the door. I pressed my ear on the door to listen for noises. "Hey, Stalwart. Did you hear that?" "Yeah, I heard something shout the Princess' name all of a sudden." Just two guards conversing. I tried to listen further, when I felt something press on my shoulder. A white mouth appeared on my left side. "Boo." I screamed like a little girl a handsome young man and swung my fist without even thinking. A yelp could be heard afterwards. I turned around and saw Celestia stare coldly at me. Her nose bled from the impact. Luna was there also, snickering behind the chest placed across the room. "Eh..." I rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry?" Celestia took a few deep breaths, before calming down. She closed her eyes and smiled. "Silicon." I backed away from her. "Please, don't convert me." I continued to back down. "I have a family." I moved my left hand to my back, and took a small knife hidden in a compartment. "Don't come any closer!" I shouted, as Celestia took a step forward. She immediately recoiled and removed her hoof. "Silicon, we are not here to convert yo-" "Lies! All lies!" I tightened my grip on the knife. Celestia looked at Luna sadly, and back to me. "We are just here to teach you friendship, Silicon. You seemed so alone." "Friendship?!" I laughed. The looked at eachother in confusion. “Friendship is a cheap tactic you use to manipulate others!" I repeated a quote my teacher said during my training. "To make the victim believe their worthless lies, to put them in a false state of security, and lure them into their demise!" Celestia looked like she was in pain. "How could you say something like tha-" I interrupted Celestia. I took a few steps closer to Celestia. "It is weak!" I poked her. "Distasteful!" I shoved her. "Unworthy!" I revealed the knife to them. "Dishonorable!” Their eyes widened at the weapon. I jumped at her, and grabbed her by the neck. She flailed around, trying to get me off. I raised my hand, getting ready for the kill, but suddenly... "Stop!" Luna pulled me out. "Why are you doing this?!" She shouted and stomped her hoof in anger. "We watched you! Took care of you! We never let the guards abuse you!" She shouted, her eyes getting teary. "And you repay us like this?!" I stood up, and brushed off dust from my uniform. "What game are you playing, Diarch?" I asked. "Game?!" She went closer to me. "You think this is some sick game?!" I took as step backwards as she stormed to me. "You were stuck in that cell, unconscious for four weeks, and you say this is a game?!" She raised her head, her horn glowing brightly. "This is how we should have treated you, like a murderer!" She shouted in the loudest possible volume she could muster. Her eyes became a bright white as she charged the spell. She fired the spell at me, I raised my hands to the side, I looked like I was embracing the incoming bolt of magic. "I am ready." I dropped the knife. "For the Hexagon." I heard an explosion, and my vision went black. > 2 - Hospitalized > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Urgh..." I woke up with a searing headache. Beep. Beep. Beep. The beeps of the electrocardiograph filled the room. "Where am I?" I muttered. "Am I, in a hospital?" The room only had the electrocardiograph monitor, a bed, a small bedside table, and on top of the table was a flowervase and a 'Get well' note. "I must be rescued!" I grinned. "Silicon!" A pair of princesses burst in the room. "Silicon, are you alright?" Celestia grabbed my face and made me look at her. "What?" I was shocked. "I'm still here?" Celestia nodded, while Luna hid behind her mane. "I.. Ah.. What?" My mouth failed to create words as realization struck me. "What happened?" "Well..." Luna finally spoke. "I never knew what got into me." Luna looked away. "It's all blank." +---+ 13 hours earlier... "Luna, what has gotten into you?!" Celestia shouted. She struggled to maintain the shield she created to protect Silicon from the brutal attack Luna has given. "Stop this now!" Luna did a short cackle. "You think you can command me anytime you fancy, Tia?" She looked at Celestia. She gasped as she saw Luna's face. Parts of her coat has parts of dark blue, darker than Luna's original hue. Her eyes were pure white, and she had a darker aura on her horn. Luna then began shooting bolts of energy at Celestia. "Luna, what happened to you?!" Celestia said as she deflected Luna's blasts. She dodged a few, before a single bolt hit her chest. "Ah!" She yelped as she was thrown to the ground. She looked at the burn. Dark energy pulsed throughout the wound. "Join me, Celestia." She hovered midair, her body pulsing with magic. "We shall rule over the lowly mortals, as Gods!" Celestia stood up with shaky hooves. "This is taking too long, Luna!" She held Luna with her magic. "This ends now!" Her horn glowed with intense brightness as she removed the built-up dark energy inside Luna. The dark alicorn screamed in pain as dark goo were released from her body. After a minute, she went unconscious and was gently put to the floor. Celestia held the physical form of the dark energy with her magic. It was very unstable, and was putting a pressure on Celestia. She struggled to contain the dark energy. Using her full strength and intense concentration, she moved the dark slime away from the knocked out princess. "Princess! Is everything alright?!" Celestia flinched as her student charged inside the room with her friends. The darkness escaped, and disappeared into the floor. "Twilight!" Celestia shouted at her student, which looked down in shame. "You really did it this time, Twi." Rainbow said as she nudged Twilight in the shoulder. Celestia glared at the rainbow maned pony. "That means you too, Rainbow." Celestia sighed as she saw her student wipe a tear. She went to Twilight and sat next to her. "I am not mad at you, my faithful student." Twilight looked up to Celestia, hope filling her eyes. "I'm furious." Celestia stood up and charged up her magic. Twilight opened her mouth to ask if the princess could repeat her phrase, but was suddenly zapped by Celestia, sending her to the moon. Twilight started to shake in fear as she stood against the dusty lunar plains. "Twilight." She looked around the plains. The voice kept repeating her name. "I must be going crazy!" She covered her ears with her hooves. "Twilight." "Twilight." Twilight shook her head at the thought and sighed. "Just remember to knock next time, alright?" Celestia said. Twilight just nodded. +---+ I stared blankly at the story I just heard. "Either I'm deaf, or you're lying. There is no way it can be true." I said with disbelief. "Anyways, who's your student anyways? There are many Twilights in the world." Celestia looked at the door. "Here she comes right now." The doors burst open, revealing a lavender coated unicorn. "The human!" Twilight Sparkle looked at me with extreme joy. "Oh great, that Twilight." I crossed my arms. She went infront of me in lightning speed. "I have soooo much questions!" She levitated a notebook and a quill. "First question! What's your na-" The door opened again to reveal the rest of her group. "Geez, Twi. Stop disturbing that... thing." The orange mare said as she walked in the room. "Does it like to party?!" The pink hyperactive one bounced up and down while making a large grin. "Hee-lllooo, hew-maan! Doo yoouu liikee too parr-ty?" She spoke to me like I didn't understand her. Twilight gave a poker face and pushed her away from me. "Is it okay? Could I check on it... if that's okay with all of you." The yellow pegasus said while hiding behind her mane. "I heard that it fought the princesses, all by itself!" The cyan-colored pegasus said as she looked at me. "That clothing is simply... filthy!" The white unicorn commented on my uniform. I looked at my uniform, and wiped some dirt off. "That better?" I asked. They all gasped as I spoke. "He SPEAKS?!" The pink one jumped, and floated midair while gasping out loud. "YOU DID NOT TELL ME IT SPEAKS, TWILIGHT!" She went to Twilight and shook her violently. "Iii diiddii'nt knnooww Piiinnkiie!" Twilight spoke while she was thrown back and forth. 'That's the first new name I heard today.' I thought to myself. I chuckled from the scene forming infront of me. I put my hands on my stomach, and noticed something different. I missed the tight straps of the Infinity at my arm. "Hey, um.. Celestia?" She looked at me. "Where's my gear?" She looked up for a minute as she tried to remember. "Oh, they're back at the Canterlot Vault." She said. "Well alri- wait what?!" I grabbed my hair and panicked. "Why? What's the matter?" Celestia asked. "Is my Quantum and Infinity in there as well?" I asked. Everyone was now looking at me. Celestia tilted her head sideways. "Uh... didn't quite catch that." I sighed. "The Quantum and the Infinity." They looked at me with confused faces. "A watch and a large glass like thing that I wore on my arm!" "Oh..." They said simultaneously. "Why, yes. Your trinkets are in there, safe and sound." Celestia said while she tried to calm me down. "You should cool down." "Cool down?!" I flipped the table, throwing the vase into the air. Thankfully, Twilight caught it before it touched the ground. "COOL DOWN?! That 'trinket'" I air quoted. "Could destroy the fabric of space and time!" The others were confused, but Twilight and the princesses understood. "We should get it now before something horrible happens!" Celestia nodded and with a flash of light, we were now back at the court room. "Princess!" A fancy looking stallion ran galloped towards us, and bowed to the princesses. "Rise, Inkwell." The stallion obeyed. "What seems to be the problem?" "Oh, it's terrible! Something horrible has happened!" Inkwell said as he went into fetal position and gritted his teeth. I looked at Celestia and raised a brow. "I told you so." > 3 - I freaking told you so. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What is it Inkwell?" Luna asked the disturbed stallion, currently curled up beside our legs. "It's horrible! Ponies were randomly losing body parts, bits of the interior too! Sometimes even, someone just disappears!" He cried out loud. "I lost my filly!" He kept repeating the same phrase all over again. We looked at him for a moment, and back at the vault's location. "Let's go to the vault, shall we?" Celestia nodded, and trotted forward. We soon followed. The castle looked like a wedge of swiss cheese, there were holes everywhere. Soon, as we got nearer to the more populated areas, we saw bodies of dismembered ponies lying on the floor. Some lost their legs. Some their backside. Some half their body, and some their head. Trails of blood scattered across the floor, and intestinal organs were also found. As we passed through the kitchen, one mare succeeded to crawl her way towards us. She lost almost half her body, her liver, half her kidneys, her stomach and pancreas lied on the floor, still connected to her body. She raised a hoof to us. "Heelp mee, priinceeess." Her voice soon made a gurgling sound, indicating that blood rose up to her throat. She went limp as soon as she finished that sentence, and the blood was released through her mouth, creating a small puddle. I just looked at her, having all seen this before, sometimes worse. Celestia and Luna had a shocked look on their faces. The orange mare held her hat, a Stetson, to her chest, paying respect. The cyan one flew away, maybe to find something she can use to contain her breakfast. The white one cried, and the yellow one hid. Twilight was speechless, mindless words she kept saying in her mouth, and Pinkie (The only name I knew.) had her mouth agape. Celestia shook her head and continued her way. "Come on, let's go." I spoke to the traumatized mares. I followed Celestia, and the others soon followed as well. As I took a step, my foot made a squishing sound. I looked down to see a flattened heart, now flushing all it's blood everywhere. The mare's behind me got sprayed with blood, and screamed. They all ran back to the throne room. "Cowards." I said. Celestia nudged me and smiled. "Don't forget about the bedroom incident." She held a white crystal, which was the same one Luna held inside the room. It replayed the entire scene inside the crystal. "Hey, Lulu, watch this!" The sisters both snickered. Celestia proceeded to sneak up on me, and placed her mouth on my shoulder. For some reason, the feed got static and emitted white noise in this scene, but returned to normal as Celestia said... "Boo." I screamed in a very high pitch, and looked back at Celestia. Luna was snickering in the background. The video went black, and the crystal turned off. I looked up and saw the two sisters snickering silently. I sighed and continued my way. Fifteen minutes later, we passed by the servant's quarters. There were less bodies, but more holes. We went past by, no items of importance right there. "You know." The two sisters looked at me. "All this time we've been walking, we haven't encountered a single rift ourse-" I was about to open a door, but a rift beat me to it. It flashed a bright light before disappearing, leaving a large hole. "Well, speak of the devil." Suddenly, a large black ball of glowing goo was lifted up from the hole. It made a stallion shaped form before descending infront of us. "You called?" The goo formed itself into a real stallion, a purple coat and a black and red mane. It smiled at us, as we backed down. His voice sounded dark and distorted. "What are you?" Celestia asked, as she slowly charged up her magic, preparing for any sudden attacks. The stallion laughed. "Oh, you don't remember, Tia?" The last part sounded like Luna's voice. "Are you the Nightmare?" Luna asked. The stallion looked at her. "What? No!" The stallion laughed at us. "The Nightmare is a fraud, 'I will bring eternal night, to give you all eternal bight! None of you may ever slumber, all shall witness my immortal power!'" He made air quotation marks. "I mean, 'slumber' and 'power' doesn't even rhyme!" He laughed wildly. I looked at the sisters, and they looked at me, then back at the stallion. "Who, may I ask, are you?" I asked. He finally stopped laughing and wiped a tear on his eye. "I'm the manifestation of Luna's dark energy!" He threw purple and black confetti. "I'm finally free!" He formed back into a black ball and went back down the hole. We ran towards it and looked down, only to find out that he disappeared. "That was weird." I commented. Luna and Celestia said their agreements. After another 15 minutes of walking, we finally found the vault. "Finally." I said as I crawled towards the entrance. "Don't be such a baby, Silicon." Luna playfully kicked me. I stood up and brushed some dust from my uniform. I put my hands on my hips, only to notice something missing again. "Hey, where's my gun?" They looked at me. "You mean that L-shaped one?" Luna asked. "And that B shaped one too?" Celestia said. I nodded. "They're in the vault too." I sighed. "Why can't we just teleport inside the vault?" I crossed my arms while I tapped on the ground with my foot. "Because, this vault will kill anyone- even me and Luna -if they try to teleport inside or even nearby the vault." Celestia said as she opened the door to reveal a safe combination. She put in the number code... "8-5-12-12-15." Celestia said. "Why the hell are you saying the code out loud?" I asked. Celestia looked at me. "Because, even if the know the combination, they still need to get our horns." A small compartment opened in the safe, revealing two holes of different sizes. Celestia and Luna inserted their horns, and the door glowed. The vault opened, and revealed vast riches and precious items. Celestia's horn glowed, and five items levitated towards me. "I never noticed that I also lost my vest!" I took the black vest and wore it. "So that's what it's called." Luna looked at it. "What does it do?" She asked. "Well, for one. It protects me from projectiles, blades, knives, darts, traps, low to medium powered magic and energy bolts, and pointy things." I spoke. I took the Infinity and Quantum and wore them as well. I went to grab my guns but Celestia kept them away. "Promise to never hurt us with these." Celestia glared at me. I crossed my heart and raised my right hand. "I promise to never hurt any pony unless they totally deserve it-" Luna elbowed me. "Ow!" I looked at Celestia to see her slowly shake her head. "Alright, I promise to only hurt someone if they're evil or whatever." She smiled and lent my guns to me. I holstered the Spectre and slung my Omen. "Yes! Finally!" I checked myself and my weapons. "A complete set!" I fist pumped. "The holes can be filled up, but the ponies would have to be buried." I said. "The watch creates large groups of rifts until it finds its wearer. It is made that way so no one would dare to steal it." They opened the vault again. "I'm actually surprised that it didn't make the rifts inside." "Oh, it did." Celestia said. "How can you tell?" I asked. "The vault used to overflow with bits if the door opened, now it's just gone." Celestia said, sadly. We got out of the vault and closed it, only to bump into a pink unicorn with wings, much like Celestia and Luna. "Celestia, Sombra's back!" The pink mare panicked. "There, there. It's alright Cadence." Celestia said as she comforted the pink pony, who was now crying at her shoulder. "Who the hell's Sombra?" > 4 - Veni. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Come, Silicon. We must alert Twilight and her friends that the Crystal Empire has returned." Celestia said as she continued her way towards the throne room. As we got to the throne room, we saw Twilight huddled in the corner blabbering nonsense. "Twilight." Celestia said with a soothing voice. She covered her ears in response. "Twilight." She repeated again, albeit much louder. I got tired of this fairly quickly and shouted. "Twilight!" She jumped high in the air in shock. Celestia looked at me sternly. I just shrugged. "Gah! P-Princess Celestia!" She knelt down in fear. "I-I'm so so sorry for ignoring you!" She held her hooves infront of her glorious leader, while kneeling down. "Punish me!" She said loudly. "Punch me like the bad girl I am today!" I looked at Celestia questionably, she just smiled awkwardly. "Now, now Twilight." We were surprised as Twilight suddenly turned around and raised her rear to us. "Spank me!" She shouted. I bit on my finger to suppress the laughter, and Celestia's mouth went agape. Luna was holding her recording crystal again. "Sister, this is much better than Silicon!" She snickered. "Dearest Twilight, we are not going to punish you." Celestia said calmly. "We are merely asking for your assistance-" I pushed Celestia away. I snickered. "I would gladly punish you!" I took my knife and pulled out the blade, revealing a small nuclear battery underneath. I pressed a button on the handle and it became a makeshift taser. I pushed the teaser towards her and she shook wildly due to the electricity. I stopped the current, pulled out the knife, and she limped down on the ground, her eyes half-open and she was looking to the top. Her tongue stuck out, while she moaned loudly. "Your girl a masochist?" I asked, while pointing to the limp unicorn. I looked to see Celestia and Luna with disgusted faces. "What?" They showed me the video and I saw myself inserting the razor inside her... Ahem, you know what I mean. I looked at my knife and stared at it like it had the plague. It continued for three minutes then I just shrugged it off. I re-inserted the blade, locked it in place, and hid it back in my pants. "More.." She squeaked. Celestia's eyes widened and she lifted Sparkle off the ground. Twilight looked at her mentor for a second and realized her situation. "Ah! Princess!" She thought for a minute. "Wait, did you do that, Princess Celestia?" Celestia just glared at her. "Come. We have important news to relay." She dropped an unamused Twilight and left her there. She looked at a stained window and waited for Twilight. A minute later, and Twilight went to her instructor. "I'm very sorry for what happened, Princess." She said as she faced the ground. "ervertedpay onsay ofway away itchbay." I whispered loudly to Luna. They all looked at me. "What?" They all asked simultaneously. I snickered. "Nothing, thought all of you would know." They looked at me questionably before continuing their conversation. I then saw Celestia pull a large crystal and placed it on the ground. She blasted it with her voodoo magic and a hologram appeared. "Woah." That layout...looks...familiar. Then, the entire Empire crumbled, and black crystals formed all around it. "That looked awfully familiar." I muttered. A few tricks later, and I remembered the scene. My eyes widened, and I went closer to listen, but the conversation had already ended and Celestia already closed the door. She began singing some sad song about her test-taking, and we all heard it from inside. She sang until she got too far away for us to hear her. "What was that all about?" I asked, Celestia shrugged. "Also, who the hell is that pink fat lizard?" Luna elbowed me and whispered. "That's a dragon." "Oh." +---+ Ever wonder what it's like to ride a chariot? "AAGH! HELP!" That's why. "Oh, don't be such a foal, Silicon." Celestia lightly punched me in the arm. "Yes, we haven't even took off yet." Luna said with a blank face. "In fact, we're very early." She pointed at the front. "The guard who is going to pull yo- us aren't even here yet." I took my hands off the chariot. "Heh, I knew that." I looked at where I gripped on, to see it had a depression the shape and size of my hands. I stared at it for a couple of seconds before I shook it off. "So, when's he going to get here?" They shrugged. We waited for a bit when suddenly, Luna spoke. "Silicon, have you any marefriends?" She gasped. "Or a special somepony?" "A special somepony?" I thought for a second. "Oh, a special somebody!" She nodded. I raised a finger and opened my mouth. "No." I dropped it and looked at her. "Why ask?" She rubbed her... arm? The long elongated thing that connects the hoof to the body? I don't know. I don't have any knowledge about horses. "Well, you surely know how to pleasure a mare." She looked at me with bedroom eyes. I looked at Celestia, who looked at me with the same manner as well. I made a pokerface and looked around. I saw a large white stallion come closer. "Oh look, our driver is here!" I pointed at the stallion with a nervous smile. "My apologies, the flier's still unavailable. I recommend you eat lunch first, your highness." He bowed and left. I looked at the sisters, and they smiled widely at me. "Fuck." +---+ "Princess, your flier is here." The same stallion came with a companion. "Howdy." The stallion said. "Hey." I replied. Celestia and Luna got out of the chariot and whispered something to the flier. They then went to me and said. "Silicon, after that..." The sisters snickered. "'Tussling' we've had, we decided you go alone to the Crystal Empire and help Twilight and her friends. "Wait what?" The chariot flew off while the princesses stayed behind. I gripped as tight as I could to the chariot itself while I screamed as loud as I can. I could hear the princesses laugh wildly back at the castle. After twenty minutes into the air, I finally calmed down. "Hey this isn't that bad." The chariot shook and I screamed again, then looked at the driver. "Whoops, sorry. Turbulence." He smiled and looked forwards again. I glared at the stallion. "If you weren't the only thing keeping me alive, I'm going to pull your guts out of your mouth." I pointed furiously at the stallion. "Fucking dick." I muttered. The chariot shook again. "Why you little!" I stood up. "Come here!" I grabbed the stallion by the neck. "I don't care if you keep me alive at all! You're going down with me!" "Uh. Silicon?" I looked to my left and I saw the whole gang. "What in tarnation are ya tryin' ta do to that stallion?" Applejack said. "Uh.." I looked at the stallion, gasping for air. "It was a hug to prove my thanks?" I shrugged. She lifted an eyebrow. "Fine. He t-tried to kill me by sh-shaking the chariot." My teeth chattered at the cold. "I told you, it was turbulence!" The pegasus shouted. "T-Turbulence my ass!" I shouted back. I got out of the chariot and he flew off. "You know, how the hell could he fly in such s-strong weather?" The stallion then struggled to beat the impending winds, he then lost, his body being dragged away. "T-That's better, s-still too c-cold though." I shivered against the sub-zero temperatures. "Twily!" I looked to the source of the voice and I saw a white stallion come out of the blizzard, wearing a black scarf and protective goggles. Twilight immediately recognized the stallion and ran towards him. They hugged eachother. "You made it! We must hurry..." He looked at me. "'S-Sup?" I raised a hand. "Like I said, we'd better get moving." He turned around. "There are things out here we really don't want to run into after dark." "L-Like what?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh, I don't k-know. M-Monsters, ghouls, gh-ghosts, rats, guinea pigs... T-The boogeyman." She whimpered in fear after that. "Does he really need be here?" The stallion pointed at me. "I mean, what is he anyway?" I stepped closer and shook his hoof. "Name's S-Silicon. I'm a h-human, you can ask your wife later, Celestia s-sent me, blah blah, all t-that other stuff." I said, uninterested. "Wife?" The stallion asked. "Oh, no. Twilight's my sister. Name's Shining Armor." He looked at me. "Anyways, let's just say that the Crystal Empire isn't the only thing that has returned." Armor said. I stared at him. "Well g-good luck with that, I'm g-going to explore th-this p-place!" I walked towards the large obelisk castle like thing when suddenly, a howl sounded. I turned around and pulled out my Spectre. "Finally, a fight!" A dark cloud appeared and charged towards us. "Well, shit." > 5 - Vidi. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well shit." I was pulled out of my trance and was dragged away from the incoming cloud of darkness. I then saw a black stallion, clad in gray armor. His horn had a blood red tip and his eyes were enjoying a purple shadow. "Holy Sweet Mother of Ireland's Mackerel, you look like Judas and the Devil's baby!" I shouted. "I think we broke your pet!" Shining Armor shouted. "He is not a pet, Shining!" Twilight shouted back. As we got to the inner parts of the kingdom, I looked at Shining. "Your horn!" I pointed. He checked on it and shrugged. As the others admired the sights, I came to check on Twilight. Cadance and Twilight was performing some childhood greetings. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" They raised their flanks into the air and shook them. I snickered. "Hey, you're the creature Princess Celestia accompanied in the Canterlot Vault!" Cadance said. Twilight's jaw dropped as she said the last part. "She actually let you in?! I thought she just left you outside! Even I'm not allowed to go inside!" Twilight stomped her hoof to the ground. "It's not fair." I stared blankly. "I'm just going to... explore the kingdom or something." I stepped backwards. I looked at Shining as he slowly shook his head. I went to the inner reaches of the kingdom. Every pony was sad and depressed. I smiled at the sadness of the ponies and sighed. "I love the smell of sadness in the morning." "Sadness smells like pancakes!" I heard a voice. I looked around for the source. "Hey!" A pink head appeared on a nearby trash can. "Pinkie, what the hell are you doing inside there?" She shrugged and disappeared back again into the trashcan. I went to a nearby colt and knelt down. "Hey, little guy. What's your name?" "Get away from him!" A mare ran towards me and took her son. "Punish me instead, just leave my son alone!" She curled up in a ball, protecting her son. This is giving me bad memories. "Uh.." I scratched the back of my head then continued my way. "Everyone here is either too delirious, afraid, depressed or traumatized to even speak normally." I thought out loud. "The central building is also very familiar, like I've seen it before." I scratched my chin. I went to a nearby bench and sat there. "This is way too peaceful for me, don't you agree, mister squirrel?" I looked at the week-old corpse of a squirrel. "Mom, why is he talking to that dead chipmunk?" I overheard a voice. "Don't look at him, Rainy. He's a bad influence-" I heard the voice abruptly stop. I turned around and looked at the two ponies behind me. "Hello, mister squirrel! Can you talk to me too?" He asked a nearby squirrel. The mare's jaw dropped. "RAINNYY!" She shrieked and went to her colt. I smirked and looked at the skies. 'What if I had actually visited here before. I remember a memory playing, but I just keep forgetting it after I stop remembering.' 'The Crystal Empire is beautiful, well, except for the black shards here and there. Wait, why am I being so racist? I love black! Well, the color black. I'm not going to instantly fall for a black guy. Besides I'm not gay.' 'Then why am I here? Why am I in a world of talking horses? Why is the sky blue? Why is the author typing random gibberish in the story to make it longer? Why am I even at the He... Wait what?' I shook my head at the random thought. 'Woah, I think I'm going crazy.' I looked at the large castle. 'This place is awfully familiar, like I've been here before. But that's not possible...' 'Right?' +---+ After a while, I stood up and looked around. Still deserted. Might as well go meet the others. I headed to the direction of the castle while whistling a tune. I passed by multiple houses, each had a wonderful personality. I wonder what this place would look like if it wasn't like this. A sudden headache caught me by surprise. "Ow." I held my head, trying to process what just happened. I just shrugged it and continued my way to the castle. I then saw a commotion in the castle, it looked like they were starting to prepare for an attack. I looked at the distance to see Sombra and his minions get closer to the castle. "There is no help coming, we are all that the Crystal Empire has got!" Shining shouted as loud as he can. "Hold off the defensive until the Crystal Heart arrives!" "We cannot let the Crystal Empire fall!" +-+-+ Meanwhile... +-+-+ "You cannot do this! He is but a poor, lost soul!" A mare shouted at her accomplice. "He has not done any harm to us!" "But he will be!" Her accomplice snapped back. "I have seen this before, and I shall not let it happen again!" "You will have to go through me!" Her voice had amplified exceedingly. "Very well. I'm sorry, but I could not let this happen once more." The horn of her accomplice lit up. "I will not let this monster repeat what it had done centuries ago!" She shot the mare with a quick bolt of lightning, which hit directly on the mare's head, knocking her out. "Everything has gone according to plan." The accomplice said. "Once his rescue comes, I shall go in that portal and give them the punishment they deserved." The accomplice looked at a tied up mare in the corner. "Isn't that right, Celestia?" Celestia only struggled at her bindings, while muttering something made incomprehensible by the gag the accomplice applied. > 6 - Vici. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hold off the defensive until the Crystal Heart arrives!" Shining Armor shouted at us. Shining fought with a lance, the other elements with their respective weapons, Cadance with her horn, and I with my Omen. I knelt down and fired burst shots towards the shadows. "They're too many!" One got too close to me and swung his sword. I jumped and barely missed the dark blade. "Fuck!" I took my knife and lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. I tried pushing the knife to his face, but he grabbed my arm and tried to push it away. We struggled for a minute, before he got the upper hand and got on top of me. I was the one fighting for my life now. I pushed as hard as I can, trying to not let the knife cut me. He slowly succeeded and managed to make my knife cut through my shoulder. Before it could do any damage, I saw a spear fly across and impaled the shadow. I looked to the right and gave a thumbs up to Shining. He nodded and continued to battle. I pressed my hand to the wound and blood came out. I wiped the blood to my uniform and took the Spectre. I charged to an incoming group. I held my knife to my side and my Spectre. I took a few shots and it hit three shadows. 12 to go. I looked up and saw a shadow preparing to swing a greatsword at me. I rolled to the side, effectively dodging it. I aimed the Spectre at him and pulled the trigger, but he sucessfully parried it with the heavy sword. I shot at his legs, making him fall down. I stood up, but was grabbed by a shadow behind me. I elbowed the shadow repeatedly, but he remained unfazed. I jumped off the ground, and leaned on my back. He fell down, and let go of me. I shot him with the Spectre and continued to the downed shadow with the longsword. He swung at my feet, but I jumped in time. I aimed the Spectre at him and pulled the trigger. I turned around and I saw a shadow swing his sword at me. I jumped out of the way, but my left arm got caught. It went off cleanly. "Argh!" I grunted in pain. I took my Spectre from my left hand and fired at the shadow. I then heard thunder and saw lightning from a distance. "He's coming!" I ran towards the castle. I was then stopped by a dark red aura. I turned around, and I saw Sombra himself. "A human!" He said loudly. "How I missed your species, I thought I had seen you during your friends' escapades, but I shrugged it off. It is true!" He laughed. "I knew your father. His screams gave me joy, like I had tasted the sweetest thing I've ever had." Now, it is your turn to suffer." Sombra charged a spell and blasted me. I jumped to get out of the way, but it was too quick, and I was blasted forty meters away. As I touched the ground, a crater formed due to the impact. "Don't worry, you'll join him soon enough." My vision blurred, and my body weak. I tried to stand up, but my arm gave out. I lied on the ditch I had created, and closed my eyes. +---+ I floated in a dark void. I looked around and I saw nothing. Only a mass of white lights grouped together like galaxies. "Are those...stars?" "Felix!" I heard a familiar voice. "Dad?" I looked around for my father's voice. "Felix, come quick!" I heard my father shout again "I'm coming, Dad! I'm....coming..." I looked at one of the white lights. They were rectangular in shape. They all emitted white noise and played a single white background. "It almost looks like a screen." I floated around them and viewed them with wonder. "Hello?" I knocked on the nearest rectangle. A scene began to play out. These weren't stars... They were my memories. It showed me a memory of me talking to my father while he was stationed in Castle Winter. I looked at the scene behind the camera. My father looked behind him and grabbed his rifle. "Son, if I don't come back, promise me that you would never let anyone open the small box. Understood?" I just sobbed. "Dad..." I said after holding the laptop closer. "Do you understand, Felix?!" My father shouted, while he aimed his rifle at the door. "Yes." I sniffed. "I understand." "Okay." My father took a deep breath. "I love you son." As the door opened, a dark mass of smoke engulfed my father, and he disappeared into the shadow. A dark laugh could be heard in the background. "No!" I shouted. Tears fells from my eyes as I sat there, unable to help my father. The webcam fell, showing me a huge frontal look on the attack on Castle Winter. It was an exact replica of the Crystal Empire. No, it was the Crystal Empire. +---+ My eyes opened. "I'm going to kill you, Sombra!" I steadily got up, and grabbed my Spectre. Slowly, I went towards Sombra, limping as my cut-off arm bled and stung like hell. Three shadows formed infront of me, "Sombra!" I shouted at his black ass. "You killed my father!" He looked at me and laughed. "You dare challenge me, human? Your comrades here have succumbed to my dark wrath, you think you can do better?" Sombra smiled, and looked back to his dark cloud. "Minions! Attack!" He shouted. I took the Omen one-handed and placed my finger on the trigger. The dark shadow creatures emerged from the cloud, all charging at me. I pulled the trigger and an array of bullets were fired, slicing through the horde. One by one, two by twos, five by fives, ten by tens the monsters fell. I stood there, adrenaline pumping through my veins. As the submachine gun stopped firing, I released the magazine and replaced it. I chambered a round and pulled the trigger once more, cutting through the horde like a hot knife on butter. "Sombra!" I aimed the Omen at him. "I'm going to fucking kill you, then I'm going to cut your head, and hang it infront of my door as a decoration!" I fired three rounds, which he avoided easily. "Your hooves will be made as a glue, which will be the one I will use to stick your head!" I fired three more shots. One hit his hoof, and exploded. He fell down, clutching his blown off hoof. I took my knife out and went closer. "This is for my family!" I stabbed the knife at his chest, making him scream in pain. I dragged the blade downward, creating a huge gash at his torso. "This is for my arm!" I took my Spectre and fired at his four legs, rendering them broken. I holstered the pistol back and grabbed my knife again. "Hey, we have the Crystal Heart! We can finally beat Sombra- What in Tartarus?!" Rainbow looked at me torturing Sombra. "Help me..." He muttered weakly. "No help for you, you son of a bitch!" The ponies gasped at my last phrase. "This is for the Hexagon!" I put my blade to his horn. "A unicorn horn, or an alicorn, is a revered item in my place. An apothecary could use it to make a medicine that could cure anything." I lightly pushed the blade into the horn, making it release blood and black sparks of electricity. "Let's see if it's true!" With one swift push, the horn came off with a clean cut. Sombra screamed in excruciating pain as I held the horn in my hands. "This is too big. Hold this for me, please?" I impaled Sombra in the chest using his horn. It bled profusely. I looked at him when I noticed he wasn't screaming anymore. "Oh, don't die with me now! I'm not done with you yet!" I tapped some points in the Infinity and it released a needle filled with a green fluid. I took the needle and injected him. He gasped for air as he was brought back to life. "Let's... play." I skinned his face, revealing all his muscles and tendons underneath. "What should I do first?" "Please, no! No more!" It only drove my lust for violence further. I took my knife and cut the strings of muscle fibres one by one. He screamed louder everytime a new one was cut. After 10 or 20 pieces cut, I went to his hooves and sliced them off. I also cut his tail off and tied it to his torso. "What are you going to do to me?" He asked as I dragged him to the train station. I waited for a train to pass by, and after ten minutes or so, one finally came. "Oh, no! No!" I threw him to the tracks. "I DID NOT DESERVE THIS!" He said as he was crushed beneath the heavy wheels. I waited for the train to go away, then I took his skinned, mutilated, crushed, and wounded body out of the tracks. Maybe wounded was an understatement. I dragged his lifeless body to the front of the castle and asked for a large sign. A mare brought one to me and hastily left. Using his tail, I hanged his body to the sign and chopped off his head. I then wrote a note underneath him. "Here lies 'King' Sombra. To anyone who dares oppose me shall taste my wrath and will end like his fate." It was written with his own blood. I chopped his head off and took it as a trophy, while his deformed body is a reminder to anyone that may want to stand in my way. "Is... Is Sombra really dead?" A stallion asked. I looked at him and smiled. He was instantly filled with joy and faced the crowd. "The King is dead!" The crowd cheered as they celebrated their new-found freedom. "The King is dead!" I wiped a tear off my cheeks and headed for the train station. I heard them shout one last time. "Long live the Empire!" But as I started to walk towards the train station, every step I take, my vision gets slightly more distorted. "What the hell is happening to me?" I felt weak in my knees, and I coughed blood. I fell down, and used my arms to steady myself. I felt nauseous. I kept coughing, and by the next ten seconds, my blood became darker and darker. A blinding headache surged through my head as I screamed. It was then that I heard a soft voice from my head. "Hello, puppet." +---+ "Your highness! The beast, it has destroyed Sombra's body!" A guard reported to Luna. "Well, that's good news, Longsword!" Luna clapped with her hooves. "No, my princess. He literally mutilated and destroyed Sombra's living body-" Luna threw up her dinner on the floor. "What did you say?" Luna asked, her ears pointed up. "H-Heres the captured photo of Sombra after the beast's torture. Or what's left of Sombra." He showed a photo of Sombra, all bloodied. He hung by his tail on a large sign, on the bottom said written with blood, presumably Sombra's, "Here lies "King" Sombra." Luna noticed the two quotation marks. "To anyone who dares oppose me will end like his fate." Sombra was decapitated, his hooves were sliced off, his horn impaled on his chest, his body cut, sliced, and... what is that, train tracks?! Luna felt bile rise up to her mouth, but she instantly stopped it from coming out by covering her mouth with her hoof. "I think we shouldn't have let Silicon fight Sombra." Luna just nodded and darted for the bathroom. "Or any other enemy at all." "Where is Celestia, anyway?"