//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: Dimensional Battle Royale // by RazortheAwesome //------------------------------// *Razor* Razor and Seth just stared at each other for several moments. Neither one of them seemed to want to speak first. All they did was blink. Eventually, Razor broke the thin layer of tension that was there by coughing and bringing a hoof up to his mane. “Let me guess,” Razor said as he scratched the back of his head. “You had to fight someone you knew?” “Yeah,” Seth replied. There was a hint of sadness in his voice. “If you don’t mind me asking,” Razor said as he put dropped his hoof back to the ground. “Who was it?” Seth didn’t respond to that. Instead, he brought his attention down towards the ground. The crack in the stone floor at his hooves seemed a bit more interesting than Razor at the moment. “If you don’t wanna tell me its-” “No, no, its alright,” Seth replied before Razor could finish. Despite what he said, he pawed at the floor for a moment before continuing. “It was my wife. I had to fight my…. I had to kill my wife.” He paused for a moment after that. Razor just remained silent, he knew he didn’t need to. “But she wasn’t my wife. I mean, she was, but she wasn’t. She looked just like her, and she was exactly the way I knew her, but she-” Before he could go on, Razor cut him off with a laugh. “What’s so funny?” Seth asked kind of angrily. “Nothing,” Razor replied. “Its just that you sound like you have everything you want?” “What do you mean?” Seth replied, now honestly confused. “I mean what I said, you have everything you want,” Razor continued. “You know, most of us spend our entire lives searching for something we want. Money, love, friends, somepony to laugh at our jokes, whatever, my point is, most of us go through our entire lives looking for stuff like that, but you… You don’t need to. You don’t need to go looking for anything you want because you already have it.” Seth didn’t say anything to that. It was he seriously didn’t know what to say. While Razor didn’t know at all what was going on in that head of his, he knew one thing. What he said, that was what he told him, but it wasn’t the whole truth, that wasn’t why he was laughing. In truth, what he found funny was that somepony could be so much like him, and yet so completely different. So different in fact that he was a literal spawn of Discord, and yet so similar in that he may have been just as nuts as he was, and so different that despite being just like him, the experience he had was very different than his own. It was kind of funny to him. “Okay….” was all Seth said after a few moments. “Anyway,” Razor said as he turned away from Seth to look into the room they now found themselves in. “We’re not done here yet, so we better get moving?” With that, he started walking farther into the room. “Wait,” Seth quickly said before Razor went anywhere. “You brought it up, so now I gotta ask. What about you, who did you fight?” Razor couldn’t help but smirk at that. “Lets just say, somepony I hope never to see again,” Razor replied as he continued forward. Seth didn’t say anything in response. He thought about it at first, but in the end, he kept his mouth shut and followed Razor farther into the room they now found themselves in. The new room they were in was very large, and very round, that was the first thing that both Seth and Razor noticed about it. It was also made of stone, like an older castle. The walls were lined with stone that were arranged like bricks. The floor on the other hoof, was different. It was smooth, not at all like the coarse stone that made up the walls. It was as if they were made of two different materials. Neither of them could tell how large the room was. That wasn’t the interesting thing though. Directly in front of Razor and Seth, and indeed lining the whole room, were wires. Wires, like a pony would find on an electronic device. Wires of all sizes, shapes, and even a few that were as large around as their legs hung from the ceiling all around them and lined the walls, ceiling, and even most of the floor. It was like there was a jungle of wires in front of them. There were so many that they couldn’t see forward. It was a miracle that the spot they happened to be in after they got out of… whatever that was, was the only spot in the room that was untouched by the wires. Razor and Seth paused for a moment and looked at each other. After a moment they nodded and continued. Slowly, the two of them made their way through the jungle of wires as they stepped around, over, under, and even between them as they made their way forward. They even hopped over some and stepped in between some of the ones that hung from the ceiling, but they didn’t stop. Neither of them were really sure where they were going, but they kept moving straight. If anything, they knew that would get them somewhere, if only another wall. In front of them, the jungle of wires seemed to get thicker as they continued forward with little to no end of it in sight. Eventually, the two of them came across one giant wire that was as large as both of them that hung directly in their path. Slowly, Razor crept forward around the smaller wires towards it. He then grabbed it with his hooves, and with a bit of help from his telekinesis, he lifted it up, put it on his back and then pushed it back so that Seth could get through. Seth just nodded at him again as he quickly stepped through the wires past Razor. Once Seth was through, Razor let go of the giant wire and let it fall back to the floor. It swung a little and bumped into the other wires as it fell. Beyond the giant wire, the two of them reached another sort of small clearing, if only because all of the wires here seemed to be organized here. There were still many that permuted the ceiling and floor. The moment Seth stepped into the clearing, he froze. It was as if he was looking into the face of eternity, or more appropriately death, itself. He simply couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Confused, Razor walked up next to him and looked forward at what he was looking at. He found himself confused. In front of them was a large blue box of some kind. The front of it was opened up and all the wires that were in the room seemed to be coming from it, but that was it. It was a giant blue box with the words “Police “Public Call” Box” printed across the top. *Seth* I just stood there, jaw dropped at what was in front of Razor and I. There was the TARDIS, wires coming out from it like it was being cannibalized for parts. The first words to come out of my mouth at the sight of this was, “Holy shit.” Razor looked at me and said, “Why holy shit? What is this thing?” I looked back at him and replied, “The TARDIS.” “Isn’t that a type of sauce?” Razor replied, confused. “No. What?" I said to him. "No, it’s a time machine. Back in my universe it belongs to a friend of mine simply called, The Doctor, I even went to the past on two occasions with him and his assistant… but I can’t imagine why it’s here, and why it’s like this.” “Wait, seriously," Razor said, now even more confused. "Did you say a time machine? You must be joking.” “Is it that hard to believe?" I asked. "I mean, time travel is possible. Hell, Twilight knows a spell for it, unless that’s another difference from your universe.” Razor was about to say something, but he was interrupted by a voice coming from The TARDIS, “Donuts are the key to greatness!” “What?” I said in confusion. “Wait, this thing can talk?” Razor asked me. "We couldn't kill it," it said. “I guess it does," I said to him. "I never knew that.” “You know not of the-the-the psychic penguins!" The TARDIS shouted. Though to be more accurate it wasn't so much shouting as it was putting words in our heads. That was the only way I could really describe it. "That which is not dead can eternal lie! She lives in despair now! I am the spoon! Yellow skin, silver hair, black eyes. And with strange aeons even death may die! Rose are red, red is blue, aww my breadsticks! The abyss..... it speaks.... It came from there!” I took a few steps forward and said, “Umm… hello… TARDIS.” “Hello! I’m sexy,” The TARDIS said. “Ummm…… sure." I said. "What happened here? Who or what did this to you?” “There is more to life than what you see," it said. “What do you mean?” I asked. “She became like goddess! Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, GET IN THE VAN! It didn't matter how powerful.” “What?” I said. "Just tell me. What happened?" “... They all died.” “Wait who died? Do you mean the beings of this universe? How did they die?” The TARDIS was silent for a few seconds before it started shouting again, “Disco dance! Disco dance! 8 ducks are eating tiddlywinks! ! She couldn't save him, she couldn't save her, she couldn't save any of them. He laughs at pain! Bondage is what I know best! It destroyed us! I am a small potato, and I believe in you, you can do the thing!” I just stood there and tried to make sense of what The TARDIS was saying, trying to see if there was a method to the madness, when I heard Razor suddenly call me from across the room. *Razor* “Yo, Seth!” Razor shouted as the TARDIS kept spouting off more random gibberish. It took him a moment, but Seth tore his attention away from the TARDIS and walked over towards Razor. “It was very big. Bigger than a pinecone. Bigger than the color yellow. What is orange?” The TARDIS kept going on as Seth walked away from it. Behind the TARDIS, beyond more wires, was another wall, and built into that wall, was an exit, and exit that led to a staircase. “Come on,” Razor said to Seth as he started walking forward around the TARDIS towards the exit. Seth took a step forward, but no more than that. Instead, he looked back at the TARDIS, which continued to spout off nonsense. “Pretty lady. Silly lady, Dead lady,” it said. “Come on,” Razor said back to Seth. “Its not like we’re gonna do it any good standing here.” With that, Razor continued off towards the exit. Seth looked back at him, then back at the TARDIS, then back at Razor. He stayed there for a minute. In his head, a battle rage on regarding what to do, but it didn’t last long. He knew what needed to be done. Even though it pained him to now, he took in a deep breath, then exhaled as he ran around the TARDIS towards Razor. It took Razor and Seth a few moments, but eventually they did make it through the wires to the exit. The voice of the TARDIS got weaker and weaker the farther away they moved from it. “We. Could. Not. Win,” was the last thing they heard from it as they started climbing the staircase. Seth stopped for a moment and looked back at the TARDIS, but no more than that as he continued on up the staircase with Razor. By the time the two of them were no more than a few steps up the staircase, the voice of the TARDIS had died out completely. Unfortunately for both Seth and Razor, the staircase they had just walked into was a spiral staircase. It went up for quite a long ways with no end seemingly in sight, but still, neither of them faltered or slowed down. If there was an end to this, they knew it would be at the top of this staircase. They didn’t know how they knew that, they just did. “Hey, Razor, can I ask you something?” Seth asked as they climbed the staircase. “Sure,” Razor replied. “Well…” Seth began, unsure of what to say. “When we do this, if we do this… We’re going to go back to our home universes, right. Either that or die… I really hope its the former.” “Yeah, you and me both,” Razor replied. “Well, in either case, its not like we’re ever going to see each other again, and it never really hurts to ask, so…” Seth continued, but slowed for a moment at the end there. “So what?” Razor continued before Seth could say another word. “What do you wanna know?” “Well…” Seth continued. “After we defeated that dragon, you said that I wasn’t the only one that had to live with a monster inside them.” “Yeah,” Razor replied. “But you also said that I should be glad that its actions aren’t entirely my fault,” Seth said. “What did you mean by that?” Razor didn’t say anything for a few moments, but after a few moments, he started laughing again. “If you don’t wanna answer that you don’t-” “No, it’s fine,” Razor said before Seth could finish. “And you’re right, its not like we’re ever gonna see each other again if we get through this.” He paused for a moment after that and took a deep breath. “Its nothing like what you got. When I was a colt, I used to get into fights. A lot. All the time.” Razor paused for another moment at that. Seth just quietly listened. “And I was really good… and I liked it. I liked it a lot. More than I probably should have. I liked it so much that I took any excuse I could get to get into another fight. I liked causing ponies pain. I liked knowing that it was my hoof that was punching them, that it was me who was knocking them into the dirt, me who was making them feel worthless, making them loose.” He paused for another moment after that and took in a breath. “It got so bad that I probably would have been sent to juvie or something like that if I kept going on like that.” There was silence for a moment after that. “So what happened?” Seth asked, curious. “Did…. did you stop? Are you some kind of criminal or something?” Again, Razor laughed at that. “I had this friend,” Razor continued. “The only friend I ever made back then. I’m still friends with him now. I saved him from getting beat up by bullies and well…. he helped me reign in all those feelings. All those thoughts, all that joy it felt to hurt somepony, he taught me how to keep it all in, and only use it when I need to, and even then… when to hold back. Tartarus, I’ll say it, he’s probably the only reason I’m anything close to a civilized pony and not some nut case on the run from the guards.” “And…” Seth interrupted. “Do you still feel that? Do you still like fighting? Do you still enjoy it when you hurt somepony?” Razor didn’t respond for a few moments after that, but eventually he did. “Yeah…” he said. “All the damn time, but you know what.” “What?” Seth asked, curiously. At that, Razor, while still walking up the stairs, looked back at Seth. “That part of me, that's the monster, and I was it’s bitch for the longest time. So you know what I did?” Seth didn’t say anything, so Razor looked forward again and continued on his own. “I kicked its ass. I beat it’s pathetic, ungrateful ass into the dirt where it belonged, and I made it my bitch.” Suddenly, at that, Razor stopped and turned around to face Seth. “You want my advice on how to take control of that monster that's in you, here it is. Make it your bitch. Kick its ass any way you can, it doesn’t matter how, just make sure that it knows that you are its boss. It’s not the boss of you. Maybe it was at some point, but right now, it isn’t, and it never will be ever again, and don’t tell me its more powerful than you because thats bulls*** and you know it. So kick it’s ass, make it remember, you’re not its bitch, its your bitch.” At that, Razor stopped and smiled. He smiled the first genuine smile he had since he got here. Seth, he just stared back at Razor with an unreadable look on his face as he tried to process everything he just said. That part at the end there, not a lot of it made sense to him, but he felt it. He knew what he was getting at. “Well, come on,” Razor said as he turned back around and started heading back up the stairs. “We still got a stallion in a high tower to kill don’t we. Lets go.” Seth shook his head a bit at that as he mentally forced himself back on track before he followed Razor up the staircase. “Yeah… um…. yeah,” he said as he followed Razor. As he followed him, he really took in his words. Whether they meant anything was something he would have to figure out later, but still… they made him feel better. -One very long flight of stairs later- Eventually, after what seemed like forever to both of them, they finally reached the top of the spiral staircase. They reached the top to find themselves in a stone hallway. Directly across from them was another staircase that led back down, and to their right was a dead end, but to their left… to their left was a very large set of doors. As the two of them stepped out into the hallway, standing next to each other, in front of them, were a very large set of double doors. The doors themselves seemed kind of familiar to them, but they couldn’t place it. They both stared at it for a moment before looking at each other. “You ready for this?” Razor asked Seth. “Yeah,” Seth replied. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” “Well lets not keep him waiting then,” Razor then said. At that, the two of them walked forward and with their magic, tried to grab the door, but before they could, they suddenly opened on their own, as if beckoning them to come on. As confused as they were, neither of them really questioned it. They had come this far, anything beyond this was just another step closer to their goal. So, without any reason not to, the two of them stepped through the doors. The moment they were through, they closed behind them. Beyond the doors, Seth and Razor found themselves in another hallway, but this one was different. It wasn’t like the stone workings of the previous rooms, nor indeed did it look like any other part of the High Tower. It was very long, and very ornate. Below their hooves, instead of stone floor, was a carpet, and on both sides of the hallway stretching all the way to the end, were very ornate, very elaborately designed stained glass windows. Beyond them, the two could see the purple hue that was the outside sky, with flashes of lightning adding to them. Between the windows were rows of pillars that also reached towards the end, and the ceiling was so well made it could have almost been considered a piece of art unto itself. The more they both looked around as they walked through it, the more they felt their breath slip away in both disbelief, and fear. It wasn’t that what they were seeing was impossible or the fact that it was a much different room than the other ones they had been in. What scared them was that this room was even here at all, because they had both been here before. It was the throne room of the royal palace. “You are the first ponies in a long time to grace this palace with your presence,” the two of them suddenly heard the booming, baritone voice from before say to them. Instinctively, they both drew their attention forward and stood ready for anything. When both saw what sit on the throne though, every ounce of confidence and resolve they had began to fade away like ashes. Razor, when he saw it, his eyes went as wide as his skull could have possibly have let them, and his breathing slowly quickened until he was practically hyperventilating. His legs felt weak, barely able to support him, and he felt as if he could have been brushed over with a feather. Not because he was that weak, because he wanted to be. “No….” was the only thing that could escape his mouth. In front of both him and Seth, sitting on the throne, where Princess Celestia herself would sit, was an alicorn. An alicorn that was as large as Princess Celestia herself. An alicorn that had a lavender coat and purple eyes. Her eyes themselves were dark, as if they had stared into the abyss itself. Her mane and tail were almost dark purple in color, with a fiery streak of magenta running through it, and encased in both of them was a vast region of stars, almost like Luna’s mane, but somewhat different, as instead of just stars, they could also see galaxies and other cosmic phenomena in her mane. There were also streaks of rainbow running through both her main and tail, though these were only present at the ends and seemed to fade out as they went inwards. As the two of them stared in awe of her, she stood up, stepped out of her throne, and slowly walked down the steps of her throne toward them, and that was when they saw it, her cutie mark. Her cutie mark was a magenta colored six pointed star with five similar white stars surrounding it. “And I assure you,” she said as the baritone voice she spoke with died out and returned to her normal voice, a voice that both Razor and Seth knew all too well. “That you will most certainly be the last.” In front of them, was none other than Twilight Sparkle.