Knight of Equestria - On Distant Shores

by SupraMacPringles

Chapter 31: Matthew Nabal and the Psychic Circus

An old, abandoned castle sat within a dense forest. A hooded figure in purple robes stood waiting in front of its large doors. The figure had the same general body shape and proportions as an average pony. As he walked closer, the figure lifted it's head to smile at him.

"We're home." it said in a clear, female voice.

"We're home." he repeated, even though his voice was not his own.

A flash of light came from behind him and he turned to find a large violet vortex swirling just a few meters away.

…...

Matt awoke in his bed in the library. He sat up and rubbed his head. This was the third time he had experienced a dream like this, but this was the only time he could remember it clearly. This was also the only time he could hear the dream clearly. He didn't recognize either voice, but it was better than nothing. He had begun to think to ask someone about his dreams when there was a knocking at his door.

"Nabal! Are you awake?" called a male voice from the other side of the door. The door opened before Matt could reply. A familiar chestnut colored stallion entered. "Ah, there you are! Come with me, I've something to show you." said the Doctor.

He closed the door just as quickly as he opened it. Matt chuckled and stood to get dressed.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was pacing around in the library, much to the amusement of Twilight Sparkle. "He isn't much of an early riser." she giggled.

"Clearly..." The Doctor replied. "I'm glad the two of you patched things up, makes it much easier to find him."

"Oh, you heard about that?" Twilight responded.

Matt's door opened and out he came, adjusting the blue bow-tie the Doctor had given him previously. He was wearing the clothes he was given on their last adventure, minus the jacket. "That's not what suspenders are for, but we haven't the time for that. Alons-y!" said the Doctor, quickly walking out of the building.

Matt grabbed one of the dangling suspenders. "I thought it looked pretty good." Matt said.

"It does." Twilight reassured. "Try not to be gone for two weeks this time, we have to talk to the princess tomorrow." she added.

Matt nodded and bid her farewell. As he went outside, he didn't see the Doctor, but instead the Doctor's blue box. He opened the door and entered to find him within.

"Do you remember the island?" the Doctor asked.

"Of course." Matt replied. He seemed to recall it vanishing after they escaped it.

"I finally figured out the blasted thing. The island was named many thousands of years ago, the loose translation is 'Island of Fools'. It's described as a mirage." the Doctor said flipping through a book nearby the main console.

"Well clearly that isn't true, we saw it up close for ourselves." Matt responded, leaning in to see the book as well.

"it's both true and untrue. The island is in a state of temporal flux; it and everything on it travel through their lives in a random, timey-wimey fashion." the Doctor leaned off to type something in.

"Does that mean that Lyra and Vinyl were made younger?" Matt had recalled the two of them losing memories up to a certain point.

"That's what I thought at first, but it just seems that their minds were effected. Seeing something important to them was strong enough to bring them back up to speed."

Matt had wondered why they seemed to freeze up, even during such a dangerous situation.

The Doctor pulled down a screen from above. "Ah, here we are." On the screen was an image of a half faded island, judging from the temple in the center Matt could tell it was the same one they were on.

Just then, the TARDIS began to shake. The Doctor looked around confused. "I swear if that's Pinkie again..." he said, going towards the doors. He found them unable to open.

"Based on your reaction, this isn't good?" Matt asked.

"That depends on what we see when the doors open." almost as if on cue, the twin doors began to creak open. Matt and the Doctor stepped out and seemed to find themselves outside of some sort of circus tent. The sky was dark, the snow had disappeared and they certainly weren't in Ponyville anymore. "No, this is not good."

The tent before them had a large banner above it that read 'The Greatest Show in The Galaxy'.

"This cannot be here." The Doctor said, walking off into the tent.

Matt knew better than to let him go alone and followed quickly behind. The interior was also dark, but with a spotlight shining down on and orange pony stallion in the middle. He wore a large hat and strummed on an acoustic guitar quite passionately. The Doctor whipped out his screwdriver and scanned all around the tent, getting a particularly strong signal from across the entrance, to seats in the near empty crowd.

"That you Ragnarok? Stealing the name of the Psychic Circus, are we?" The Doctor shouted across the tent.

The orange guitar player disappeared in a puff of smoke and the spotlight that was on him now shone on Matt and the Doctor. Another light turned on and shined down on whomever the Doctor was talking to. Matt didn't believe his eyes. There were three humans that made up the audience. A mother, a father, and a small girl.

"What the hell...?" Matt said.

The three humans spoke in unison. "The Doctor? You were the last person we expected to come across..." The humans turned into identical stone statues. "And a human? This is unexpected... but not unwelcome. You will serve as prime entertainment."

The eyes of the statues began to glow and a dark smoke surrounded Matt and the Doctor. Within moments, they were rendered unconscious.

…...

Matt awoke with a fright, his head spinning. He looked around to find himself in some sort of cell. He noticed the Doctor was there with him, already awake and pacing.

"Doctor?" Matt called out, rubbing his temple. "What's going on here? Those things... looked human at first."

"A disguise. They go by 'The Gods of Ragnarok'." The Doctor responded.

"Gods? This universe has gods?" Matt replied, struggling to take in this information with his splitting headache.

"They can exist wherever and whenever they want. Probably the closest things to real gods that exist." The Doctor was still pacing. "Last I saw them, I was in my home universe; I was still a Timelord, not a pony."

"What do they want with us?"

"They said it themselves. They want entertainment. That's why they have all these cells."

Matt stood up and walked to the edge of the cell and looked out. There were at least six other cells, most of which had occupants. The one directly across from them held the orange pony they had seen earlier. Matt could see more clearly now that his large hat was a sombrero, and he had the rim casting a shadow on his face. He looked to be asleep.

"So what do we do?"

The Doctor stopped pacing and turned toward Matt. "Just give it some time, I'll think of something."

Across from them, the pony stirred. "In the meantime, can you keep it down? Some of us are trying to sleep." he said.

Matt chuckled. "Do you not realize the situation you're in?"

The pony flicked up his hat revealing his smirking expression and brown eyes. "Ah, perhaps it is you who does not understand." he picked up his guitar and strummed a tune. "For where there is music, there can be no evil." He had what Matt would swear was a Spanish accent, something he didn't know there was an equivalent to in Equestria.

"That's quite the devil-may-care attitude you have." Matt replied.

"You are not the first to think so; you will not be the last. Now let us discuss something far more interesting. What in the world are you? You resemble the fleshy forms of our employers, but not so much the stoney part." he asked, strumming casually.

Matt wanted to correct 'employers' to 'kidnappers' but decided to answer instead. "My name is Matthew Nabal, natively not from here but I make my home in Ponyville. And you are?"

"My name is Quixote!" the pony announced triumphantly. "The greatest performer in all of Las Pegasus. Remember the name, the world will know it one day."

Matt had let out a small laugh at 'Las Pegasus' before turning his attention back to The Doctor, whom had began scanning the lock on their cell with his screwdriver. "They let you keep that thing?"

"They don't see us as a threat." The Doctor replied as the door to their cell opened. "Come on Nabal, let's take a look around."

Quixote dropped his guitar and propped himself up on his cell door. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I hope you plan on releasing all of us!" he said.

"Thought you were catching up on some shut-eye?" Matt asked sarcastically.

"I... suddenly felt the urge to stretch my legs." Quixote replied with a grin.

The Doctor opened all of the cells, much to the joy of the inhabitants. Matt noticed that everyone there was of a different species. All in all, aside from him, The Doctor and Quixote, there were six others. A Griffin, a Changeling, a small Dragon, a Hippogriff, a Pegasus, and a Unicorn.

Quixote slung his guitar onto his back. "I owe you, my new friends. No one else here would even tell me their name."

"We already told you." the Griffin said, rolling her eyes. "We can't remember our names."

"The strange gas they used to drug us probably has something to do with that." The Doctor said. "Long exposure would probably erode memories, to condition you to only perform. How long have you been here?"

The group collectively looked downtrodden. "None of us remember that, either." the Dragon said.

"I do!" Quixote exclaimed. "I have been here for one month. Or... was it two...?"

"Any ideas on escape?" Matt asked.

"Nothing any of us has tried has worked. Out of our cells is the farthest we've been." the Unicorn replied.

"Come now, a group of so many different minds like this? We'll think of something." Quixote said.

Just then, smoke surrounded the Hippogriff and they had vanished. "I assume that's our 'employers' demanding some entertainment?" Matt asked, specifically looking toward Quixote.

"Yes, we are whisked away to perform our hearts out to them on center stage. When they tire, they send us back here." Quixote answered.

The Doctor was busy inspecting the confines of the room they were sealed in. It was a very uninteresting room, seemingly made to house the cells and nothing more. At the very least, they seemed to be given fresh air from somewhere.

"Have they been feeding you?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes, food appears in the cells at a regular time. We don't know what time it happens though, since we can't see outside in here." the Changeling said.

"I-I had a watch, but it doesn't work anymore." said the Unicorn, holding up a gold pocket watch.

"Well isn't this fantastic. We could be here for years and never notice." Matt said.

"Come now, it isn't so bad!" Quixote said. "At least we have purpose here, no?"

Everyone in the room collectively glared at the orange earth pony. "I wouldn't call being a slave 'having purpose'." Matt replied.

"Eh, whatever your stance it's better than being homeless." Quixote responded with a shrug.

The Hippogriff was transported back into the room, gasping for breath."T-they said I wasn't good enough..." she said, sitting down. "They said they want you." she added, pointing at Matt.

"Me?" he replied, being whisked away by smoke.

…...

After the smoke cleared, Matt covered his eyes from the blinding lights in the massive tent.

"Human!" three voices said in unison. As his eyes began to focus, he looked ahead to see the three stone statues he had seen before. "We have not seen a human in many years. You will be a welcome change from the average creatures of this planet."

"I'm nothing special." Matt said. "The most I could do to entertain you is juggle, but I'm sure..."

As he said that, a pile of multi-colored balls appeared at his feet. Matt sighed and picked them up, hoping he hadn't forgotten how juggling works.

…...

What seemed like hours later, Matt was returned to holding area.

"Welcome back!" Quixote greeted. "You were up there for four hours, what did they have you doing?"

"Four hours?" Matt asked in disbelief. "They made me juggle for four hours?" His arms were very sore, and he noticed the food they had discussed earlier had appeared in he and The Doctor's cell. He couldn't identify what it was. "I am not eating this."

The Doctor, who had been shoving his equally strange food in his mouth, protested. "You should, it'll keep your strength up."

"Not to mention..." Quixote chimed in. "It's delicious!"

Matt let out another sigh and ate a small piece of the mystery food. To his immediate surprise and delight, he found it to taste near identical to his mother's home cooking, something he hadn't tasted in months.

"What the hell is this?" he said, eating another piece.

"It seems to adapt to whomever eats it. It becomes whatever your taste-buds adore most." said The Doctor.

"Really?" Matt asked between chewing.

The Doctor's response was to shrug and eat more.

Quixote had his guitar in hoof again, and began to casually play as everyone else joined them, sitting in a circle and eating.

"You are quite good, Quixote." Matt said.

"Yeah, that's the only thing he's good for." said the Griffin.

Quixote laughed, but did not protest. Matt looked around at his fellow prisoners. Aside from in books, he had never seen a Griffin, Changeling or Hippogriff before. He couldn't help studying them, but the Griffin seemed to take notice.

"Dude, can you not?" she said.

Matt shook himself back to reality. "M-my apologies, I've just never seen a Griffin before."

"Yeah, well, I've never seen a whatever-you-are before either."

"What are you anyway?" asked the Hippogriff.

Matt took a breath before explaining. "I'm a human, originally from another dimension, brought here by magical portal mishaps."

"Another dimension? That's... pretty cool." the Griffin responded.

"Watch out, amigo." Quixote said. "I think she likes you." he said with a laugh.

"Oh as if. Just like I told you, Quixote. I'm not into guys." she replied.

"I know, I know, and I respect that. I'm just teasing." Quixote said.

Everyone continued to eat and Matt had an idea. "We really should come up with names for the six of you."

"That's not a bad idea." Quixote replied.

"Just so long as it isn't lame, I'm game." the Griffin said.

"Ditto." said the Dragon.

Matt cupped his chin and studied the group again. He walked over to the dragon first. She was small for a dragon though bigger than Spike, with deep red scales and small wings emerging from her back.

"Hmm... Scarlet?" Matt said, in obvious reference to her red scales.

She crossed her arms and smirked. "Yeah, I can work with that."

His next visit was to the Unicorn. He was a rather large, dark blue stallion with a nearly white colored mane. His cutie mark resembled a star. He looked almost regal in appearance, though Matt was sure he hadn't heard him talk since he got there.

"You, my good man, look like a member of high society. Like a duke, or a baron..." Matt snapped his fingers in realization. "How about Baron?"

"That sounds... nice." he responded. His voice was deep, but he spoke quite softly.

The Pegasus was next. She had a yellow coat and blue mane. Her cutie mark seemed to be droplets of water, like rain.

"You look like you have some input. Were you already thinking about this?" Matt asked her.

"Yup!" she answered cheerfully. "I can't remember much about what I did before they snatched me..." she said. "But I think I worked with weather? So I was thinking something like 'Aqua'."

"Works for me. Next would be..."

Matt turned to the Hippogriff. Matt had recalled Hippogriffs hadn't been sighted for a long time, and this particular one seemed older. She was cyan in fur and feathers and her hair was golden.

"You, madam, seem very dignified. I say you look like a 'Duchess'."

"Duchess? Oh, you're a charmer, young man." she said with a warm smile.

The Changeling, dark in color with blue transparent wings and glass-like blue eyes caught the human's gaze next.

"From what I recall reading, Changelings are insect-like in nature, right?"

The Changeling nodded. "I served a queen as part of a hive, but I can't remember anything besides that." he said.

"Unfortunately I don't know much about entomology to give you a fitting nickname but... how about Hyaline?"

'Hyaline' gave a swift nod in affirmation.

"Alright... so last but not least-" Matt said, getting cut off.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can pick my own name." the Griffin said. She was mostly brown with white feathers, though she has some pinkish-purple coloring on the ends of them. "How about... Bloodwing!" she said, striking a pose.

The Doctor, who had been eating the entire time, turned to face her. "Pretty sure that one's copyrighted."

"Oh..." she replied. "How about... Talon?" she asked, doing a less dramatic pose flaring her front talons.

"Yeah, that works." Matt said. "Now conversations should be slightly less awkward."

The group finished eating and everyone returned to their cells and the makeshift bedding they were provided. Quixote tapped on the bars of Matt and The Doctor's cell.

"Honestly, I've never seen the others happier than they were today." he said. "I'm sure getting to stretch their legs was part of it, but I think they really appreciated getting some identity back."

Matt sat up to speak with him. "I can't imagine how long they must've been here to forget themselves like that. Now all we have to do is make an escape plan and get the hell out of here."

Quixote smiled. "Well, if anypony can do it, it'd be you, Jefe. Just uh... don't try too hard, yeah? I want to enjoy having a roof over my head just a bit longer."

Matt wanted to ask what 'Jefe' meant but thought it best to ask the more important question first.

"You mentioned being homeless earlier. I take it you've fallen on some hard times?" Matt asked.

Quixote sighed and walked into Matt's cell and took a seat.

"Si. I love Las Pegasus, but the price of living is quite steep." he said.

"I thought you said you were the 'greatest performer in all of Las Pegasus'?" Matt inquired.

"And that I am!" Quixote responded triumphantly. "... that is, street performer." he added with a small laugh.

"Ah, I see. Why not just relocate?" Matt asked.

"I doubt I'd get any peace and quiet anywhere else." he said with another sigh. "My family probably has most of Equestria looking for me." Matt didn't respond, but he did raise an eyebrow, which Quixote noticed. "Yes, Jefe, I am on the run. But I swear I didn't break any laws! At least, no important ones."

"Sounds exciting. But why run away?"

"I come from a long line of service to the Equestrian crown. My ancestor was a Knight of Equestria, you see. When I was younger, it was what I was groomed for. To serve, like my father before me, and his father, and so on. But it was never truly what I wanted to do. Besides, there hasn't been any knights in hundreds of years, they were more or less replaced by the Royal Guard."

"I know what it's like, living for other people's expectations. I was brought up the same way." Matt responded.

"Truly, we were born to be examples of misfortune, and a target at which the arrows of adversary are aimed."

"You can say that again..."

They sat together in silence for a few minutes as the Doctor walked back into he and Matt's cell.

"Think of any escape routes yet, Nabal?" The Doctor asked.

"Nothing yet. What about you?" Matt responded.

"Oh, I haven't been looking. I figured I'd leave this to you. Besides, Twilight would get upset if we were gone for too long, right? That should motivate you." he replied.

Matt looked at him perplexed as the Doctor lay onto his makeshift bedding.

"Twilight? Who is Twilight?" Quixote asked.

"She's my-" Matt started before cutting himself off. "Uh, that is to say..."

A grin stretched across Quixote's face. "Ah, say no more. Love, as I have heard say, sometimes flies and sometimes walks; some it cools, others it burns, so-"

"We're still working on it." Matt said, interrupting him.

"Ah... so you are saying it is not love?"

"Quixote, you know that's a loaded question. Neither of us have much experience in relationships, so we're taking things very slowly."

"I see, I see. Just remember this; where there is great love there is often little display of it."

"I'll keep that in mind..." Matt said, desperately thinking to change the subject. "What about you? I imagine you've left a trail of broken hearts all throughout Las Pegasus."

"Ah, and right you are! I shall regal you the many loves of Quixote!"

…...

While they couldn't actually tell the time in their prison, Matt had guessed they were there for around three days. No escape attempt had even remotely succeeded, as everyone who tried was transported back to the cells. The Gods didn't take any chances and the initial entrance they used to access the big top was gone. It was feeding time and the mysterious, delicious food was distributed. The group sat around in a circle, which they'd done since being released from their cells.

Quixote wiped sweat from his brow. "Today was a bit exhausting. They had me dance around and sing in addition to playing my guitar."

"Don't get me started. Once they found out I can do more than juggle, they've been coming up more and more mundane things for me to do." Matt said.

"They've been like that to all of us." said Talon. "I'm starting to think trying to escape without a plan wasn't such a good idea, all we've done in make them mad."

Duchess looked more exhausted than the rest. "A lady my age needs rest, but they haven't been giving me very long."

"Doctor, what have they been having you do?" asked Baron.

"They've just been interrogating me, to be honest." The Doctor replied. "Aside from berating me, saying things like 'your simple band of mortals tried to escape again' and such."

"Why haven't you been trying?" Scarlet asked.

"Without the TARDIS, it's not like we'd escape wherever-we-are anyway."

"None of us know what that is." said Aqua.

Hyaline didn't speak, he just continued to eat.

"So... they just think of us as 'simple mortals'." Matt said.

"Well... I say we show them what mortals can do!" said Quixote.

"I envy your optimism." Matt replied. "Wait a minute... we might actually be able to push that angle."

…...

In the main tent, a swirl of smoke brought the human from his cell onto the main stage. The Gods of Ragnarok were ready to watch him dance for their pleasure.

"Just a moment!" Matt yelled.

"We didn't ask for your input, human."

"This isn't input, it's a challenge."

The God's eyes began to glow and they floated over to Matt, orbiting around him. "And what could you possibly challenge us with." they said. Based on the way they reacted Matt had succeeded in getting under their skin.

"Just a simple game."

"What kind of game?"

"I think any game would do, but... How about a game of chess?"

"We do not believe this to be as simple as you say." one of them said.

"And you're right. I would wager freedom that I could beat you."

The Gods laughed in unison and stopped floating, settling on the ground around him. "We already own you. What makes you think we would give that up over a game?"

"I just didn't think all-powerful Gods would be afraid of a 'simple mortal'."

After a few second of silence, the Gods floated back to their original seats. The room filled with the swirling smoke, and the rest of the prisoners were transported to the big top.

"We will accept your challenge. But on our terms."

Matt smirked. "And what terms would those be?"

"You, human, will play the game. But the others must act as your pieces. If one of their piece is taken, we will terminate them. If you lose, we will terminate all of you."

Matt turned back to face his comrades, all his his previous bravado gone. Everyone was horrified at the offer, except for two. Quixote and the Doctor both stepped forward to join him.

"I have the utmost faith in you." The Doctor said.

"Me too, Jefe. As long as we stick to the plan." Quixote added. "It is either dying on our hooves or living on on our knees, amigos." he said to the other six.

Hyaline stepped flew forward next. "I must return to the hive, at any cost."

"Our lives being on the line wasn't part of the plan, but if Mr. Nabal pulls it off we could all go home..." said Baron softly, joining them.

"Eh, what the heck. Better than living in those cells forever." said Scarlet, stepping forward.

Talon's shocked expression gave way to her usual tough facade. "You better not mess up." she said to Matt. "C'mon ladies, it's this or nothing." she said, as she, Aqua and Duchess walked flew forward.

"Am I the only one kinda excited?" Aqua asked.

"My heart is beating quite fast..." Duchess admitted.

Matt turned back to the Gods. "We accept."

The smoke once again filled the room as everyone was transported again. Matt found himself on a podium with a small chess board overlooking a massive chess board, his friends on the board behind white pawns.

"I seem to be the king." The Doctor said.

"I don't know how chess works." said Talon.

"You are the queen, Talon." said Quixote. "The most powerful piece on the board. Baron and I are knights, Scarlet and Aqua are rooks, and Duchess and Hyaline are bishops."

"... Yeah, I still don't get it." she replied.

One of the gods appeared behind a podium opposite Matt's.

"I will be your opponent. Rassilon named me 'Rok'." it said.

The other two Gods floated nearby and one manifested a timer. "Thirty seconds per move, the mortals move first. If you exceed the time limit, you lose. Are you ready?"

Matt looked down at his compatriots who all smiled up to him. "We are."

"Begin!"

…...

Things went south not very long into the game. The plan was simple; get the God distracted so they wouldn't move within the time limit so that they would win by default. Matt had tried his best and so far kept all his friends alive, but the plan they had worked on the previous day hadn't yet worked. All he had to do was get Rok talking.

"I hope you aren't nervous." he called out in a weak attempt to rattle Rok, who hadn't taken any bait yet. He sighed and looked back to the board. "Talon, I need you to move over here." he said, tapping the spot on the mini board on the podium. The corresponding spot on the large one began to glow and Talon knew where to go. "Your turn." Matt said.

Rok moved quickly and ruthlessly, taking one of Matt's pawns without so much as a word. Just like that, it was Matt's turn again.

"Keep your cool, Jefe. We haven't lost yet." Quixote called up.

Matt swallowed hard and moved another pawn, not realizing it wasn't exactly the best move. He was playing incredibly defensively in an attempt to make sure everyone came out alright, though as he looked at the board he realized that may be impossible.

Rok's turn came and went, taking another pawn. The weight of every move he made began effecting Matt's judgment. "I was a fool to think this would work." he muttered.

Quixote had noticed Matt's condition and cursed under his breath. None of them had anticipated the Gods taking this so seriously.

Matt saw an opening and took one of Rok's rooks with his queen.

After Rok's next move Matt felt his stomach drop. If he didn't react appropriately, his queen would be taken. Talon would be terminated. He could move a knight to take the piece that would claim the queen, but then the knight would be lost for certain. Quixote had noticed this as well, being the knight who could intercept. He looked horrified for a moment, then smiled softly.

"Jefe! … Matt?" he yelled up. Matt looked down to his orange friend. "I see the situation you're in. I know the only moves you have."

The Doctor had noticed, as well. "Don't even suggest it." he said.

"We don't have a choice!" Quixote yelled back. "It's her or me, and I volunteer."

After he said that, Talon seemed to also understand the situation. "N-no, wait, I can't let you do that."

"It's not our choice, amiga." he said, flashing his trademark smirk to her. "It's alright Matt, you can make the move."

"How can you ask that of me...?" Matt said. "How can you ask to choose between people's lives like this?!"

"Well, that's easy. The plan hasn't worked yet, but maybe we should just give him something to gloat about." Quixote replied. "Besides, I basically threw my life away, remember? I'm sure Talon has much more to live for."

"I'm sorry I dragged you all into this... I should've known it wouldn't work... this is my fault." Matt said, tears forming in his eyes. He knew the risk, but his overconfidence in their flimsy plan had only now just dawned on him. Now the only choice left to him would either kill one of his new friends or all of them if he did nothing.

"My name is Quixote. I come from a long line of warriors and knights, but I chose the song before service. Let this be my deed to honor my ancestors! I shall fulfill my duty as a knight, figuratively and in a sense, literally."

Matt's hand trembled as he selected the piece and square to move. The distinct 'L' shape path of the knight led to Quixote's destination, and he knew it to be his end. Everyone gasped as he walked the path, yelling at him to go back, at Matt to find another solution. Quixote removed his sombrero and tossed it to Talon along with his guitar.

"Tell my legend, friends. 'The Tale of Quixote the Great' sounds pretty good, right?"

As he approached the final tile, he turned back up to face Matt. "Give your Twilight my best, my friend."

When it was Rok's turn, a rook came thundering down to the spot Quixote once stood and the orange earth pony vanished. The tears Matt had been building had begun to flow. Most of his compatriots were crying, as well. Matt's fist slammed into his podium in frustration and he fell to his knees.

There was silence on their side, as the clock ticked on. When there were ten seconds left, The Doctor called up to Matt. "I understand you're distraught, but you need to move or all of us will join him."

The time kept ticking and when there were three seconds left, Matt decided his move without saying a word. It moved Talon out of danger, but probably not for long. As Rok picked up his piece immediately, he was frozen in place at the sound of laughter.

Across the God, the human had begun to laugh uproariously. "Why are you even bothering? We've already won." Matt said to the God between his laughter.

"Oh have you now?" said Rok, annoyed. "Please explain, because from my perspective you're losing terribly."

"It's simple you overblown God. You underestimated us. You thought just because we lost someone we would falter and fall? You accepted this challenge thinking you would win easily, and yet here we stand."

"Bite your tongue or have it removed, mortal." Rok responded.

"It's not my fault you're failing to see the situation you're in. All that power must be blinding. Or is it your arrogance? Whatever the case, Quixote's sacrifice was for us to win. Because of him, the rest of us will walk free."

"You are a fool. I can see every possible move on this board and you won't last five more turns. Perhaps the travel from your home dimension altered your mind, because you have lost. The pony's sacrifice is as meaningless as the rest of your lives."

"It doesn't matter what excuses you make." Matt said, still brimming with confidence. "You lost the moment you accepted the game, and Quixote sealed your fate." Matt said, snapping his fingers.

As he did, the chess timer went off. Thirty seconds of back-and-forth had gone by quickly. "You failed to make a move within the time limit. You lose." Matt declared.

Rok was instantly furious. "You think you can cheat a God like this and get away with it, fool? You and your friends will be atomi-" Rok had vanished.

The other two Gods of Ragnarok transported everyone back to the main chamber.

"As frustrating as it is." said one of them.

"Rok has failed us. You are free to go. We will return you all to the place and time we took you from." said the other.

"I'm gonna miss you guys!" said Aqua.

"If we see each other back on earth, don't be afraid to say 'hi'." said Baron.

"Hey, Matt." Talon said, putting Quixote's hat on her head. "I can't play, and he'd probably want you to have it." she said, handing Matt Quixote's guitar.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to tell his story, and I hope all of you will too."

Everyone agreed to tell his legend. As they were saying their goodbyes, portals emerged behind everyone minus Matt and the Doctor. "Until we meet again!" Matt called out as they all vanished through the portals. The blue police box arrived via smoke and The Doctor ran to hug it.

"Begone from our realm." said the two Gods in unison.

"You don't have to tell us twice." The Doctor said, unlocking the door. He and Matt stepped inside and the TARDIS began to rumble once again.

…...

"Matt, I'm sorry. The only reason you were dragged into this was because of me." The Doctor said.

"Well, the only reason someone got hurt was because of my stupid plan." Matt replied.

"The Gods should leave earth alone for awhile, lest we humiliate them again. Had I known they could exist here as well I would've been better prepared."

Matt was somewhat distracted, examining Quixote's guitar. "Doctor, is there an afterlife in Equestria?"

The Doctor sighed. "There is a place called Tartarus where evil souls are kept, so there must be somewhere opposite it."

The ride back to the library was a quiet one. Matt absentmindedly strummed Quixote's guitar. Though they didn't know each other long, the impression the pony made would last a lifetime. Once they arrived and Matt bid The Doctor farewell, he stepped outside to see the sun setting. He walked into the library to see Twilight in the same spot she was in when he left.

"Oh, you were only gone for five hours. That's a reli-" Twilight was cut off by a sudden embrace from the human. She didn't know what prompted this hug, but she was content to hold it as long as he wanted to.