//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 - Konfronting Kronos 
// Story: The End of Time 
// by Leondude 
//------------------------------//

On board the control room of his ship, Kronos looked through the massive window in front of him. Amidst all of the space he could see was a little steampunk ship that, similar to the Entropy, also had a timey-wimey feel to it. The only difference between that ship and the Entropy, apart from size, was that the little ship looked almost like someone turned over a telephone box and stuck gears and clocks onto it. While one would have expected a ship like that to be painted blue, it instead was painted bronze and it had all sorts of gears and clockwork sticking out of it. The engines were also visible and powered by Flameless Fireworks. Kronos smiled at the ship, knowing it was the handiwork of Doctor Whooves. Unfortunately, the time he spent admiring the ship was cut short by Cowardly Donkey walking into the control room.

"There is an unknown ship, master! It may belong to the ponies that want to stop us!"

"Really? I wonder what gave you that idea," Kronos deadpanned before barking out an order "Have the Plungerzaps at the ready."

"But they have a princess on their side, master! The princess would annihilate our forces!"

"Look at you using big words. Well, the good news is that I am counting on whatever princess they have on their side to take out our forces. After all, if our defences were lowered, they'd know right off the bat that this is a trap."

"Such wisdom, master. I'll tell our forces to attack immediately!"

With that, Cowardly Donkey left the control room to inform Kronos' men to get into the Plungerzaps to attack the enemy ship. Meanwhile, Kronos conjured up a bucket of popcorn so he could have a snack while enjoying the carnage, even though it would be his men that would be dying.

Meanwhile, on the ship Doctor Whooves had built, Pinkie's energy seemed to have run out since she was desperately fighting the urge to fall asleep. Unfortunately, no matter how many times she slapped herself in the face or how many cups of coffee she drank, she eventually gave up and fell asleep on the controls. But that was enough to startle everyone awake, except Luna, who appeared to be in a deep slumber.

"Centaurs!" Whooves shouted, clearly a little disoriented from the sudden blare of noises the ship made when Pinkie fell on the controls "Perverting the course of Equestrian history!"

"Hey, Doc," Pinkie said in a very weary voice, "Is it me or do those asteroids look like pepper po-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she instantly fell asleep, snoring loudly. Whooves quickly moved Pinkie out of the way and observed through the front window what Pinkie was describing.

"Great wickering stallions! Everypony! Get to your battle stations!"

And with that, Luna slowly got up and cracked her neck. The Cutie Mark Crusaders got out Pinkie's party cannon, hoping Pinkie didn't mind them borrowing it while she was asleep. Everyone immediately climbed onto the top of the ship, with Twilight providing a great big magical field to provide everyone with air, and started attacking what appeared to be ponies encased in pepper pots that also had plungers and some sort of laser gun attached to them. While everyone was putting up a good fight, it was Luna that happened to be doing the most work, flying through the air and viciously attacking most if not all the enemies with all sorts of magical blasts and flying maneuvers. Such brutality on Luna's half was enough to surprise even Kronos, until Kronos looked more closely at Luna and noticed a small green tint in her eyes.

"Interesting," Kronos said while observing Luna, "It appears I will have to call back the remaining forces".

Kronos then immediately pressed a button that activated a holocommunicator to the surviving Plungerzaps.

"Attention all Plungerzaps, fall back immediately."

The Plungerzaps, having the good sense to run, complied and shot off back into the Entropy. Luna, or rather whatever entity was in control of her, smiled as the Plungerzaps retreated.

"Pity, I was enjoying myself."

The entity then looked at Luna's reflection and noticed that a green glow was showing in her eyes, so Luna's eyes blinked to get rid of that glow. After that, everyone got back inside the ship, which was suddenly teleported inside of the Entropy. While it was unusual that their ship just got teleported, they immediately walked out of the ship.

"Now then," Doctor Whooves said while looking at Laeyoon Oude, who was still trapped in a cage with his apprentice, "I trust you know where Kronos might be on this ship".

"Of course. He's in the control room, which is just up that lift over there, then forward, then a left, then another left, then a right, then another left, then forward, then another right, then forward again."

And so everyone immediately followed Oude's instructions, along with carrying the cage he was in, unaware that he was leading them into a trap. When they were about to enter the control room, they were suddenly entrapped in some sort of shield.

"Oh yeah," Laeyoon said slyly, "I forgot to mention the ray shields. Oops."

"Wait a minute," Whooves said in surprise, "How did this happen? We're smarter than this."

"Apparently not, my old friend," a nasally voice with a slight British accent said. Whooves could recognize that voice anywhere.

"You!"

"Yes, me. Kronos. Former leader of the Time Turners until they exiled me after starting a war between us and the Realm Ravagers. Well, technically, the Ravagers started it but I had no interest in a peace treaty so...you know, even stevens. Oh, but before we can continue our little chat, can I please have my pets back?"

And with that, Kronos used a time spell to pause time so he could temporarily turn off the ray shield, unlock the cage Laeyoon and Jaesa was in, knock Jaesa out, and turn the ray shield back on but not before moving Laeyoon out of the cage. Everyone, including Laeyoon, just stared at Kronos as if wondering what just happened.

"Well now," Kronos said, "What were you expecting from somepony who calls himself a 'Time Turner'?"

"Uhh...Thanks?" Laeyoon said, just as befuddled as everyone else.

"No problem. While we are here, I'd like to have a chat with you."

And with that, Kronos' horn glowed as he telekinetically held Laeyoon up and angrily threw him about like a ragdoll, slamming him into the floor several times. After that, he looked at everyone who was trapped in the ray shield and immediately let Laeyoon go.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kronos said without losing his courteous tone "I'm usually far more composed. I'm just a little bit absolutely livid!"

"I ghink ghyou ghoke eye ghaw," Laeyoon said, with his jaw stuck at an unnatural angle, which he tried to set back in place with painful results.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes, the part where you and your little friends surrender to me, Doctor."

"Right, like we're going to-" Rainbow Dash said before getting spontaneously knocked out.

"Was I talking to you?" Kronos said to Rainbow's unconscious form, "No, I was talking to Doctor. But of course, since time tends to be 'wibbly-wobbly' for lack of better words, I figured I might throw a card onto the table in order to make your surrender less of a possibility and more of a certainty."

Kronos' horn lit up and everyone turned around to notice the sound of footsteps behind them. They looked at what they assumed was the source of the footsteps and noticed a mind-controlled Sunset Shimmer walking towards them. Kronos turned towards Twilight and smiled.

"I take it you two have met before. Here's the deal, princess. You and your friends will follow me into your prison cell and if any one of you even think about attacking me, I will snap her pretty little neck. If you comply, I will release her from my control and make the last couple of months she spent here be nothing more but a bad headache. Understand?"

Twilight, after seeing the merciless brutality Kronos inflicted on one of his own allies as well as him rendering Rainbow Dash unconscious without breaking a sweat, weighed her options and reluctantly complied. After all, if this was a pony that could casually manipulate time in a way most unicorns and even alicorns could only dream of and thinks nothing of all the atrocities he is responsible for, then he is clearly every bit as dangerous as Whooves described him as.

"We will do as you ask, as long as you release Sunset," Twilight said.

"Good thing I asked you then instead of Doctor. Mainly because I sense that stopping me would be his top priority instead of saving lives like he is supposed to."

"Now that is not true!" Whooves exclaimed, "You know for a fact that, along with learning whatever scientific knowledge I can get my hands on, I also use that knowledge to revolutionize and even save as many lives as I can!"

"Really? Well, if that's the case..."

Kronos gave Whooves a deathly glare filled with murderous intent, his smile widening as he did so. And then he asked, in a much more sinister tone, a question that shook Whooves to the bone:

"...then why did you flee?"