//------------------------------//
// Mind Games 
// Story: Mortal Kombat: Equestria 
// by Green Akers 
//------------------------------//

	At approximately 1100 hours Zulu time, five United Nations helicopters under the command of Prince Shining Armor landed on the beaches of Shao Kahn's island, intent on apprehending the rogue changeling Queen Chrysalis and bringing her to justice. As a team of soldiers in blue helmets emerged from the choppers, a youthful, brown-haired woman hurried down the beach to meet them. "Excuse me!" she called out over the sound of the helicopter blades. "Is there a 'Shining Armor' here? I'm supposed to speak with him when he arrives!"

"I'm Shining Armor." A tall stallion with a white coat, a three-tone blue mane, and a blue shield on his flank stepped out of the crowd of soldiers. "Are you Fran?"

"That's right!" Fran confirmed. "I've been assigned as your liaison for you stay here on the island! Emperor Kahn would have met you here personally, but he had a conflict with another appointment. He did give me a statement to read for you, though." Fran fished around in her pocket for a moment before drawing out a folded-up piece of paper. "Let it be known," she read, "that I, Shao Kahn, sovereign ruler of Outworld and this island, declare that this mission is illegitimate and a disrespect to my rule, and feel that this search for Chrysalis is nothing but a witch hunt perpetuated by Equestria and its petty, pathetic pair of princesses. My associates and I intend do everything in our power to impede, obstruct, obturate, hinder, block, delay, stymie, stonewall, and generally make life miserable for those invading our territory under the guise of the United Nations."

Shining Armor shrugged. "We expected as much."

"Hold on, there's more." Fran looked down at the next paragraph. "I would also like to state unequivocally that Princess Celestia is getting rather plump in the posterior and should consider skipping the dessert line once in a while, and that Prince Shining Armor is a gold-digging sycophant who can go..." Fran scrunched up her face at what followed. "That's not very nice!"

"He wouldn't be a bad guy if it was." Shining Armor looked up at the sky for a moment, then back down at the troops under his command. "We'll set up camp in the abandoned fighter huts," he ordered, "and begin searching for Queen Chrysalis immediately."

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers saluted Shining Armor, then hurried back to the helicopters to unload the rest of their equipment.

Shining Armor turned back to Fran. "Tell our gracious host that he can expect to see us on his doorstep bright and early tomorrow morning."

"I'll add you to his calendar!" Fran confirmed cheerily. "Now, if you'll all follow me to the fighter huts..."



From her perch high inside Kahn's castle, Chrysalis peered down at Shining Armor as he and his company of soldiers followed Fran away from the beach. "Drat," she groused. "It figures that the one pony on this accursed island who could provide me with a good meal is also the one pony I can't get near without having my Miranda rights read to me."

Chrysalis's stomach gurgled loudly in agreement. This, in turn, drew a sigh from the changeling queen, and she abandoned her post at the window in favor of scavenging some more romantic comedies from the castle library.

As Chrysalis passed by Shao Kahn's office, however, her journey was abruptly ended by a computer monitor that flew out of Kahn's door, missed her nose by centimeters, and smashed against the stone wall of the hallway. "I see that somepony is taking the utter failure of their master plan well," she remarked.

Kahn had already torn his office to shreds by the time Chrysalis poked her head inside. The remnants of a desk, computer, and several file cabinets were strewn across the floor, and the emperor was currently in the process of snapping a chair over his knee. "Tsk, tsk," Chrysalis chided Kahn. "This is why we can't have nice things."

"What do you mean?" Kahn gave Chrysalis a confused look. "My desk was carved from the finest Outworld mahogany, and my chair was custom built to be perfectly ergonomic!" He pointed at the scraps of wood at his feet. "That was Fran's desk."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes as Kahn turned away and slammed his fist into the wall. "This is unacceptable!" Kahn roared. "Twilight Sparkle still lives, my island is occupied by armed peacekeepers, and Bob Vila wants to charge me five hundred thousand dollars to replace my towers!"

"My heart bleeds for you," Chrysalis muttered. "My stomach, on the other hoof, is wondering whether surrendering to the UN is the only way to get a decent meal around here."

"Hmmm...surrender to the UN..." Kahn paused for a moment to scratch his chin. "Interesting...what was it that Imus was saying on the radio this morning..."

Chrysalis glared at Shao Kahn, unsure she liked the sound the wheels were making as they turned in Kahn's mind. "A bit for your thoughts?" she asked, her voice even more pointed than usual.

"Oh, this one's worth much more than a bit, my dear." Kahn patted Chrysalis on the head, drawing another scowl from the changeling. "Once again, my superior mind has concocted a plan to solve all our problems!"

"Well, unless you're bringing in Princess Cadance for me to snack on—"

Kahn shook his head. "Honestly, Garfield, do you think about anything other than food?" He went back to his desk and pulled a disc out of one of the drawers. "Ten classic holiday specials, freshly DVRed off the Hallmark Channel," he said, as he tossed the disc towards Chrysalis. "Now don't spoil your supper!"

Chrysalis used her magic to catch Kahn's errant throw, and stuck the disc on the tip of her horn for safekeeping. "I'm down three pounds since this morning," she remarked as she turned to leave. "The only thing spoiling around here is the meatloaf surprise you're serving in the dining hall."

"Well, duh! Otherwise it wouldn't be much of a surprise, would it?" Kahn called after Chrysalis. He waited and listened as the sound of Chrysalis's hooves faded into the distance, then picked up his phone. "Besides, I've got a much bigger surprise in store for you," he whispered as he dialed. "Hello, Sareena? When Fran gets back, tell her to schedule a meeting between myself and those fools from the UN after tonight's battle. Oh, and reach out to Mr. Vila again about travel arrangements—I believe I'll be able to meet his price."



Back at the fighter huts, Fran was wrapping up her tour of the area for Shining Armor and his troops. "And that hut over there," Fran concluded, "is where—"

"Twilight and her friends are staying?" Shining Armor guessed.

"Why, yes!" Fran looked at Shining Armor in amazement. "How did you know?"

"Just a hunch," Shining Armor said with a smile. "Of course, the blue pony shadowboxing next to the hut kind of gave it away."

Fran smiled and nodded. "Well, I guess I should be getting back to the castle now. If you need anything, though, don't hesitate to ask!"

As Fran made her way back to the castle, Shining Armor hurried over to where Rainbow was bobbing and weaving around. "Hey, Rainbow!" Shining called out. "Are you guys okay? Where's Twilight?"

Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof back towards the ponies' hut. "Rarity threw me out an hour ago so she could 'prepare' Twilight for her battle tonight."

"Her battle?" Shining Armor arched his eyebrow. "But according to the schedule—"

"Long story short, we made Rarity stand in for Twilight while we laid a trap for Chrysalis, so now Twilight's fighting in Rarity's place. Speaking of Chrysalis..." Rainbow trotted over and banged her hoof on the wall of the hut. "Hey, Rarity! Could you stop messing with Twilight's mane long enough to bring Chrysalis out here?"

After a few seconds of silence, Rarity emerged from the hut, levitating a bound, gagged Kitana behind her. "Ah, Prince Shining!" she exclaimed. "We are happy to report that we have apprehended the ne'er-do-well that you are looking for!"

"Mmph! Mmph!" Kitana objected.

"You watch your language, young lady!" Rarity scolded Kitana. "I had to gag her so she didn't disrupt our preparations with her incessant griping. She claims she's really some sort of Outworld princess who wants to overthrow Shao Kahn."

"Pfft." Rainbow Dash dismissed the story with a roll of her eyes. "Her, a princess? I'd sooner believe that Twilight was a princess."

"Well, regardless, if she is Chrysalis, we'll find out pretty quickly." Shining Armor cast a stern glare at Kitana. "We have ways of making her talk."

A shiver ran up Rarity's spine at the implication. "You don't mean torture, do you?"

"Even worse." Shining Armor used his magic to remove a small disc from his saddle bag. "I mean Nickleback."

Kitana's eyes popped open at the name of the band. "Mmph! Mmph!" she said, shaking her head vigorously.

Shining Armor put the CD back in his bag, and drew out a walkie-talkie. "We've got a potential positive ID over here," he spoke into the device. "Send a team over to pick her up at the ponies' hut." He put the walkie-talkie back into his bag. "I'd like to see Twilight before the battle, if I could. Can I come in?"

"Heavens, no!" Rarity declared. "It will be at least another hour of work before she'll be ready! Besides, I don't think she'll even notice you right now."

"Why not?" Shining Armor asked.

"It's this book she's reading," Rarity explained. "She's been engrossed in ever since she got back from the library. She hasn't moved an muscle in the past hour! While I admit it's made styling her mane and putting her outfit together much easier, I'm still a little concerned."

"I'm sure it's nothing I can't fix," Shining Armor proclaimed confidently. He walked past Rarity and stuck his head through the hut doorway. "Hey, Twi—Twily? Is...is that you?"

Standing in the middle of the ponies' hut was a white-coated unicorn with violet eyes and an exquisitely-styled mane, wearing what appeared to be a light-blue evening gown (with matching earrings) and staring intently at a book lying on the ground in front of her. The sound of Shining's voice caused the pony's ears to perk up, and she looked over and smiled. "Shining!" the unicorn shouted. "Don't be fooled by the color change—I'll be standing in for Rarity in tonight's battle. Anyway, this is perfect timing—I need your help!"

"Great! I can finally bail you out for a change," Shining Armor said with a laugh. "What can I do?"

"I need you to find me a rock," Twilight directed. "Sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic, whatever you can find—it just needs to be six inches wide, six inches long, and preferably two inches thick, though one-and-a-half will do in a pinch."

"A rock?" Shining Armor tilted his head to the side and gave Twilight a confused look.

"It's really important."

"Oh, I believe you," Shining Armor insisted. "I just can't imagine what you're going to do with it."

"It's absolutely crucial for my battle tonight," Twilight explained. "I—er, Rarity—is scheduled to fight a mysterious fighter named Ermac, who attacks by breaking into a pony's mind and destroying them from within."

"Wait, this is the guy that wiped out Pinkie?" Shining Armor's eyes widened at the thought. "So you're going to...smash him in the head with a rock?"

"You'll see," Twilight assured her brother. "For now, though, I've got to finish this book before tonight's fight. It's the only way I'm going to have a chance of winning."

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Shining Armor turned back to the door. "But if you think you need a rock, then by Celestia, I'll find you one!"

"Thanks, Shining." Twilight hopped over for a quick hug with her brother, then returned to her book as Shining exited the hut. "Ten more chapters to go," she told herself. "Hopefully I can digest all this before the fight. Ermac's coming for my brain, and I'll be darned if I'm going to give it up without a fight."



The hours passed quickly, like plumbers through a warp pipe, and soon the hour of the night's primetime battle was at hand. Fox's coverage of the event opened with a shot of UN soldiers frisking spectators at a security checkpoint outside the ring. "Dark skies, foul moods, and an international changeling hunt form the backdrop for tonight's battle!" Joe Buck narrated from off camera. "It's round four of the Mortal Kombat tournament, and the stakes has never been higher!"

The camera cut to a ringside shot of Joe and Hulk Hogan. "Welcome back to Kahn's island, ladies and gentlemen," Buck continued, "where we've got a good one in store for you tonight, as the fashionable femme fatale Rarity makes her primetime debut against the man-of-many-souls, Ermac. Now Hulk, while a refined, image-conscious fashion designer with a severe dirt allergy is the last creature, be it human or pony, that we expected to see this deep in the tournament, if there's one thing we've learned in this game, it's to expect the unexpected."

"Right on, brother!" Hulk agreed. "This girl is more than just a pretty face! Ermac may have some pony-pummeling experience, but he'd better bring his A game tonight, because the Hulkster hasn't seen an animal like this in the ring since Jake the Snake retired!" 

"The momentum for this fight is just about even," Joe noted, "as both combatants are coming off impressive victories in the last round. Rarity beat three fighters for the price of one during her epic victory over Applejack, while Ermac's defeat of Pinkie Pie makes him the only non-pony to find success against the Equestrian contingent."

As Joe and Hulk continued droning on about the fight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Shining Armor took up a position near the edge of the battle arena. Rarity, however, had traded her usual dazzling ensemble for a black hooded cloak to try to avoid being recognized. "Are you sure it's okay with your superiors for you to be here with us?" Rarity asked Shining Armor. "We don't want to keep you from your sworn duties."

"Don't worry!" Shining assured Rarity. "Chrysalis most likely sees you gals as the biggest threat to her plan, so if she's going to do anything, it's going to be to one of you, and when she does, I'll be here to nab her in the act!"

"Speaking of which," Rainbow Dash interrupted, "I still can't believe that crazy girl we caught wasn't Chrysalis!"

"I know, right?" Shining replied. "It turns out she actually was a ten-thousand-year-old princess of some random dimension that Kahn conquered. Who woulda thunk it?"

"Ten thousand years old?" Rarity's jaw dropped at the number. "But she looks no older than we do! If this is true...I simply must find out what moisturizer she uses."

High above the action, Chrysalis scowled from the privacy of Shao Kahn's private box. "This is pointless," she grumbled. "The dressmaker's game has so many holes in it, she might as well be one of my subjects. This will be over quickly." Hearing the sound of footsteps behind her, Chrysalis turned to see Fran entering the booth from the back stairwell. "Where is Kahn?" Chrysalis demanded. "Have the ponies frightened him away from his own tournament?"

"Oh, no!" Fran replied. "He has an important meeting scheduled for right after the battle, and needed the time to prepare. He sent me here to monitor the battle and report the outcome to him."

"He could have just asked me to do it," Chrysalis muttered as Fran took Kahn's customary seat next to her.

Fran started to reply, but was cut off by the sound of the battle announcer's voice over the loudspeakers. "All right, everyone! It's time for the final battle of the evening, so...are you ready for some action?" The announcer paused for a moment to let the din of the crowd wash over him. "In this corner," he continued, "a man with more soul than Ray Charles who counts forty-seven kingships, nine presidencies, ten #1 albums and over five hundreds patents among his accolades...Ermac!"

The crowd booed mercilessly as Ermac stepped into the ring, as many in attendance were still sore over his defeat of Pinkie Pie and subsequent destruction of the island's party scene.

"And in this corner, a true 'clothes horse' who is rumored to be joining the cast of Project Runway next season...Rarity!" The announcer gestured to the other side of the ring as 'Rarity' came into view sporting a stunning crystal crown in addition to the evening gown she had been wearing earlier. The sheer fabulosity of the attire drew oohs and ahhs from the crowd, but nearly made Rainbow Dash throw up in her mouth. "What's with that getup?" Rainbow asked Rarity. "I haven't seen you wear anything like that when you fight."

"It's quite simple," Rarity explained. "Do you have any idea how many eyeballs will see my incredible design tonight? It's the perfect advertisement for my shop! I'll win this battle and generate loads of new business at the same time!" Rarity squealed with delight at the thought. "Best of all, if this ruffian locks Twilight in a staring contest like he did with Pinkie, then neither of them will be moving, and my dress won't even get dirty!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I'm glad to see you have your priorities straight."

The battle announcer raised his arms. "Combatants ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be!" Twilight proclaimed. "Although this tiara thing is kind of heavy..."

Ermac simply nodded at the announcer.

"Very good, then!" the announcer declared. "FIGHT!"

Twilight stared in Ermac's eyes and made the fiercest-looking face she could muster. "Alright, Ermac," she whispered, "make my day."

Ermac glanced up at the crowd raining vitriol down on him, then looked back down at Twilight. We do not make days, he told the unicorn. We break them.

Suddenly, the world around Twilight began to blur, its colors fading into a dark nothingness. Twilight took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Here goes nothing," she said to herself.

"It's looks like Ermac's opening this fight with a full court press on Rarity's mind," Joe observed as Twilight and Ermac stood motionless in the battle ring. "Looks like it's time to bring out the newest addition to our broadcast team..."

Hulk nodded, and pulled a miniature ray-gun-like device out from under the broadcasters' table. "The production crew really outdid themselves this time!" he gushed. "This baby is the CortexCatcher 5000™, a positively sick tool that we can use to read a person's mind!"

"Hold on," Joe cautioned as Hulk aimed the ray gun at Ermac's head. "The producer is telling me that we haven't tested this product on humans yet, and we don't know if there are any adverse health effects—"

"Then we'd better hope Ermac drank his milk, took his vitamins, and said his prayers, brother!" Hulk declared as he squeezed the trigger.

Instantly, a monitor next to the broadcast table flickered to life. "We've got contact!" Joe exclaimed. "Let's take you live to the action..."



"Who are you?"

Twilight opened her eyes. Ermac, the battle ring, and the raucous crowd had disappeared, and she now found herself standing alone on a large stage with tattered curtains and a few broken scenery props scattered around. She also noticed that her head no longer felt weighed down by her crystal crown, and a quick look down at her legs revealed that not only had her gown vanished, but her coat had returned to its original purple color.

"Yer not the fancy-pants scudder we's s'posed to reckon with!" the voice called out again, calling Twilight's attention to the front of the stage. A crowd of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, sat before her in rows of theater seats that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Each member of the gallery wore the same confused expression, save for a dust-covered cowboy standing in the front row. "Yer that magical varmint that done laid that Liu Kang feller low!" the cowboy remarked.

"That's right," Twilight confirmed with a nod of her head. "Where are we? And where's Ermac?"

"Oh, we's all Ermac." The cowboy waved his hand behind him to indicate the entire audience. "And yer in our house now, missy."

"Interesting..." Twilight began walking slowly towards the back of the stage, looking around at the various props and lighting fixtures. "So we're physically still on the island, but you've trapped my mind in some sort of warped dream world that you've created?"

"That's right," another man with a business suit and a bulldog-like face declared, "and it's too late to ask for détente now. Around here, you're the crook who's about to be impeached."

"Don't even think about trying to get away!" a man dressed from head to toe in green and gold attire spoke up, spreading his hands apart as Twilight continued her slow trek away from the audience. "We've got a seal here, and a seal here, and you're sittin' right in our alley!"

Twilight ignored the grousing of the crowd. Upon reaching the back of the stage, she stopped and began shaking her left hind leg, causing the horseshoe on her hoof to loosen and fall to the ground. 

As the crowd began rising from their seats and moving towards the stage, Twilight used her magic to lift the horseshoe into the air. She examined it for a few seconds, then raised it higher for the crowd to see. "Do you know what this is?" she asked the audience.

"Your lucky charm?" someone snickered from the crowd.

"Exactly." Twilight dropped the horseshoe and cast her gaze skyward. "HELP!" she cried out. "Somepony save me!"

The audience, which had started to climb onto the stage, stopped and laughed at Twilight in unison. "Ain't that purty?" the dusty cowboy remarked. "I hate to break it to ya, missy, but—"

"Hold it right there!" a loud voice called from offstage. As everyone turned to look, a large, white-coated unicorn stallion came bounding in from stage left. "There!" the unicorn yelled, pointing a hoof at the crowd. "Twilight is in trouble!"

The crowd watched in disbelief as the unicorn rushed over to Twilight. "Wait," one person asked, "is that her...brother?"

Twilight shrugged and smiled. "Maybe."

The stallion stepped in between Twilight and the angry mob. "You shall not harm Twilight Sparkle!" 

"Dude, what is he doing here?" a man in the crowd asked a woman standing next to him.

"It does not matter!" the woman spat, in a voice that sounded a lot like Ermac's. "A pair of mere unicorns cannot stand against us."

"You're right, you know," the stallion acknowledged. "That's why I'd like you to meet my friends!" He reared up on his hind legs and spread his front legs wide. "Get 'em, boys!"

On cue, a loud rumble began echoing through the area, and the stage began to quiver underneath the mob's feet. "You might want to step back and cover your head," the stallion advised Twilight. "It's gonna get a little crowded."

Suddenly, a large group of men came pouring in from both sides of the stage, all dressed in combat fatigues and armed to the teeth. Another group of soldiers rappelled down from the ceiling, led by a mustached man wearing a black tank top, brown campaign hat, and mirrored sunglasses. "All right, Joes!" the mustached man roared. "You heard the horse—take them down!"

"Yo Joe!" the soldiers cheered.

As Twilight's team charged forward and began laying a massive smackdown on Ermac's motley crew, the purple unicorn popped up and wrapped her white-coated counterpart in a hug. "Thanks, Shining Armor. I just knew you'd come for me."

"Shining Armor?" The stallion smiled. "You must be mistaken, ma'am. My name is Mr. Charles. You remember your training, right?"

Twilight returned the stallion's smile. "Yes, I guess I do."

The pony pair sat back and watched as their army went through Ermac's warriors like a knife through butter. After a few minutes of brawling, however, the floor began shaking violently, causing parts of the ceiling to fall. "Get ready!" the stallion warned Twilight. "Ermac's becoming too weak to maintain his dream world! It's starting to collapse!"

Twilight nodded, closed her eyes, and waited for the end.



Back on Shao Kahn's island, the CortexCatcher 5000™ worked to perfection, and the audience cheered as Ermac's alternate reality crumbled and the picture faded into static. "What an amazing turn of events!" Joe remarked. "Just as Rarity made an appearance in Twilight's battle earlier, Twilight steps in for the dressmaker tonight and brings the house down on Ermac!"

"Talk about a battle royal, brother!" Hulk added. "I kind of wish I was in there—that looked like fun!"

"Actually, you might have been," Joe offered. "I saw a blond guy with a Fu Manchu putting Charlemagne in a headlock in one of the overhead shots."

Back on the battlefield, Twilight opened her eyes just in time to see Ermac fall to his knees and bring his hands to his chest. His voice echoed weakly in her mind: How...how did you...

Twilight stared down Ermac, and her eyes and horn began to glow. "I've kicked you out of my head," she declared. "Now stay out!"

A bright pink laser shot from Twilight's horn across the ring, striking Ermac in the chest and blasting him back into the crowd. "That's the game!" the announcer proclaimed as Ermac crumpled lifelessly to the ground. "RariTwi wins!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and rushed the battle ring, but before they could get to Twilight to carry her victoriously off the field, a blue magical aura surrounded the unicorn and floated her up and away from the crowd. "Stay back, all of you!" Rarity shouted. "I will not have your grubby hands sullying my masterpiece for the sake of some victory moshpit!"

"That was awesome!" Rainbow Dash gushed as Twilight landed next to her. "You really showed that mental moron what for!"

"A most impressive performance," Rarity agreed.

"Come on now, was there ever any doubt?" Shining Armor spread his front legs wide in preparation for a hug, but thought better of it after noticing Rarity's death stare.

"Twilight!" A man with a microphone headset rushed over to the group. "We'd like to have you do an on-set interview with Joe and Hulk, if you would."

"Of course she would, darling!" Rarity exclaimed, as visions of dresses and bits danced through her head. She fired up her magic once more, and practically hurled Twilight into a seat between the two broadcasters.

"And we're glad to have Twilight Sparkle joining us here on set," Joe segwayed. "Tell us, Twilight..."

"That was beautiful, brother!" Hulk interrupted. "How on earth do you fit an fighting force like that in your head?" 

"It's standard subconscious training!" Twilight replied, using her magic to levitate a large book out from under her gown. "I read all about it in this."

Joe squinted at the book's cover. "Mind Games: How to Dream in Peace and Keep your Secrets to Yourself, by Dom Cobb," he read.

"It's a fascinating book," Twilight. "For example, their use of totems to differentiate dreams from reality is ingenious!" She held up her left hind leg to show her horseshoe to the camera. "I carved this one out of a stone," she explained. "Once I saw it was a normal horseshoe, I knew I could call in reinforcements!"

As Twilight droned on about dreams and mazes and limbo, one of Kahn's generic ninjas sneaked over to the other ponies and tapped Shining Armor on the shoulder. "Mr. Armor? Emperor Kahn would like a word with you down by the beach."

"He wants to talk now?" Shining Armor eyed the ninja suspiciously. "What's this all about?"

The ninja shrugged. "All he said was that it was of utmost importance that he meet with you."

Shining Armor sighed. "Well, he is number one on our interview list. I'll grab one of our interrogation teams and meet you on the beach in ten minutes."

"Don't forget us!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "If anything happens, I wanna be there for the action!"

Shining Armor shook his head. "You three are the only ponies standing Shao Kahn and world domination. If we're walking into a trap, I'd prefer that you all be far, far away when it all goes down."

"He raises a valid point," Rarity agreed. She looked back over at the broadcasters' table, where Joe and Hulk's eyes had glazed over in the face of Twilight's literary onslaught. "Besides, I don't think we'll be getting Twilight off of that stage anytime soon."

"Aw..." Rainbow pouted as Shining Armor left to collect his team.



Up in Kahn's private box, Chrysalis was swearing up a storm and overturning all the furniture she could get her hooves on. "That miserable little witch!" she roared. "Of course she switched places with her friend! Of course she has an entire army hidden in her brain! Of course she played us all like a rented harmonica!"

"Gosh, you seem tense," Fran observed. "Have you thought about trying breathing exercises to relax?"

"ARGH!" Chrysalis grabbed Fran's chair, dumped the secretary out of it, flung the empty chair out onto the crowd below, and stormed out of the box in a huff.

"Um...okay! See you tomorrow!" Fran called after the irate changeling.

Chrysalis stomped her way back to the castle, grumbling about Twilight's dumb luck the whole trip. Upon reaching the castle, however, she cast a glance towards the beach and spied several figures standing around a large bonfire near the water's edge. Realizing that she had no other plans for the evening, Chrysalis decided to give in to curiosity, and made her way through the moonlit forest, eventually reaching the beach's edge.

Standing by the bonfire was Shao Kahn, who stared silently down the beach as several of his staff ninjas hovered nearby. What really got Chrysalis's attention, however, was the changeling that lie bound and gagged on the ground between two of Kahn's ninjas, and looked exactly like her.

"What is this?" Chrysalis spat from the treeline. "Is that idiot burning me in effigy?"

Suddenly, another ninja came rushing across the sand. "They're coming!" he called out, drawing a nod of acknowledgement from Shao Kahn.

Within moments, the silhouette of Shining Armor appeared on the beach, followed closely by a group of his fellow soldiers. "Good evening, your Highness!" Kahn offered as he bowed to the group. "Looking dapper as always, I see! Tell me, how is life in the Crystal Empire treating you these days?"

Shining Armor did not return Kahn's smile. "You're awfully cordial for a man who called me a gold-digging sycophant a few hours ago," he noted dryly. "What did you drag us out here for, Kahn? What do you want?"

"Why, only to cooperate with the good folks over in Turtle Bay!" Kahn gestured to the prone form of 'Chrysalis' behind him. "You're looking for a certain changeling queen, are you not?"

"Yes..." Shining Armor stared at the changeling for a moment, than looked back at Kahn. "So after all that bluster about not even giving us the time of day when we got here, you're just going to give Chrysalis to us?"

Kahn shrugged. "What can I say? Times change, people change. I must admit, though, that having a business arrangement go south within forty-eight hours is a new personal best."

"I do not trust him, monsieur," a soldier with a French accent declared. "'Ow do we know zat zis is ze reel Chrysalis?"

"Oh, she's real," Kahn claimed. "She's just not that spectacular." He turned and bent over to look 'Chrysalis' in the eye. "Show these nice gentlemen what you can do," he ordered.

The restrained changeling sighed from behind her gag and began a morphing medley, first transforming into Kahn himself, then Shining Armor, and then finally into a scarecrow dressed in green, raggedy clothes.

"Appropriate given her non-existent brain, no?" Kahn said with a laugh, causing smoke to start spewing from the ears of the real Chrysalis. "Now, you're going to go with these nice fellows like a good changeling, and not cause any more trouble for the world?"

'Chrysalis' sighed again and nodded.

"Well, there you have it!" Kahn cackled. "Now, are you going to take her or not?"

Shining Armor glared at Kahn for a moment, then nodded towards two of his men, who stepped forward to claim the changeling. "Selling out somepony right after agreeing to work together? You're even more despicable than I thought."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Kahn remarked. "Still, if you must know the truth...the tournament's running a teensy-weensy bit over budget this year, what with the unexpected castle renovations and all. Therefore, not only do I need to reduce my head count, but I believe someone mentioned something about a reward associated with Miss Chrysalis's capture."

"There was a reward, yes." Shining Armor looked back at another soldier, who produced a sack of gold coins from his backpack and brought them forward. "It sickens me a little to give you this," Shining admitted, "but you have given us Chrysalis, and rules are rules."

"I'm glad we could come to an agreement!" Kahn accepted the money, bowed once again to Shining Armor, and motioned for his ninjas to douse the bonfire. "You can let yourselves out," he said as he turned to leave. "I'm sure a magical equine such as yourself is smart enough to find your way home, but I've been wrong before."

Shining Armor scowled at Kahn as the Outworld emperor marched up the beach. "All right, let's move out!" the unicorn commanded, levitating 'Chrysalis' with his magic. "We'll pack up our things and fly out at dawn."

As both parties took their leave, one of Kahn's ninjas casually walked over to his employer. "I have a bad feeling about this," the ninja admitted. "Shang Tsung has already betrayed us once during this engagement. How can we be sure he will live up to his end of the bargain?"

"Have no fear," Kahn reassured his subordinate. "He owes me for sparing his pathetic life...and he knows what I shall do to him if he fails this time."

Kahn attempted to continue speaking, but he was cut off by a hard slap across his face courtesy of the real Queen Chrysalis. "I do not take kindly to having my intelligence questioned!" Chrysalis roared. "We will see whose brain is smaller at the end of this accursed game, for your arrogance has allowed Twilight Sparkle to survive, and she will be the death of us all!"

Kahn scowled down at Chrysalis. "One more outburst like that," he threatened, "and you shall join the sorcerer on his business trip tomorrow morning!" He paused for a moment and counted backwards from ten to regain his composure. "Fortunately for you, Chrysalis, I am no one-trick pony. I have a mathematical solution to our lavender unicorn problem, and as we all know...numbers never lie."