• Published 25th Feb 2013
  • 5,231 Views, 171 Comments

Jokers Wild - blowngasket



A vacation for a loyal member of the Equestrian Royal Court leaves the Mane 6 pondering about the odd yet enthusiastic man. Why does he always wear that mask, and what are his true intentions that it hides? (Humanized Ponies Warning)

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Broken

Chapter 21: Broken

He couldn't move. He wanted to move, but his legs and arms would not react. He couldn't hear the shouting. Inside and outside, the words of his comrades fell on deaf ears. He wanted to scream, to let out the loudest bellow that he could. At the same time, he felt so alone that anything that he could say would have simply echoed into nothing. Eventually, the only thing he could say was the only thing he could really think about.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Perry yelled out at the top of his lungs. Everyone's gaze suddenly shifted from Fluttershy to Perry. He stood slowly, stumbling as he made his way slowly over to the group of girls doing their best to care for their friend. "FLUTTERSHY!" he yelled again, completely gone mentally. Twilight was trying her hardest to stop the bleeding, but the crystal didn't want to be removed, and if she couldn't get it out soon, Fluttershy's chances of survival would drop dramatically. Looking up, Twilight watched Sombra approach Perry from behind.

"Perry, behind you!" she instinctively screamed out. Everyone else still down from that last attack, Sombra swung at Perry. He quickly turned around and decked Sombra with a hard punch. His fist collided with Sombra's face and sent him flying with tremendous force. Even Sombra, who could not react, was stunned at the power in the attack. He went almost one hundred yards, skiding and bouncing across the ground. Everyone stared at the scene unfurling before them.

"Fluttershy...Fluttershy...Fluttershy," Perry just kept saying her name over and over again. Cracks began forming in Perry's mask. "Give...me...back...Fluttershy," Perry said, walking slowly towards Sombra. The mask finally gave way and shattered, shocking everyone with the reveal of his true face. His right eye, usually red and black, was now red with green where the white would show. A faint dark aura radiated from it. From his eyes an almost never-ending flow of tears leaked down, paired with the look of pure rage on his face. Sombra got up slowly and chuckled, wiping the blood away from his mouth and nose.

"Wow. What a pathetic display there. Crying over some simple-" he never got to finish that sentence. Perry didn't hesitate, and within moments, he was planting his heel into Sombra's chest. The speed and impact dented in his armor plating he wore and toppled him over onto the ground.

"Fluttershy...give...her...back," Perry spoke to Sombra.

Shining Armor and Catacomb, knowing better than to interfere now, got up and ran to try and help the girls. "Twilight," Shining Armor said to his sister as she still tried to heal her friend.

"I just can't get it out...I am trying everything...it won't come out," Twilight cried as she still tried to help her friend.

"I feel ya, babe, but we have to leave, like now!" Catacomb said, constantly looking over his shoulder. "We can get her to a hospital while we are at it, but we have to leave."

"We can't leave Perry behind to fight that monster! Why are we just going to run?" Rainbow said angrily, tears still in her eyes as she held her dying friend.

"We have to run because of Perry," Catacomb said looked back towards his team member. "He is dangerous when he is enjoying a fight...but when he is no longer having fun...ladies, I am all for helping him, but I am not suicidal," Shining went to lift Fluttershy up, but was quickly hissed at by Rainbow.

"Don't touch her!" she yelled at the soldier. He stood there, surprised at the display of aggression. "Fluttershy is my best friend. I will carry her," she got up slowly, cradling Fluttershy in her arms gently, using more caution than she has ever used in her entire life. She looked towards Perry, still stunned at his face, but remaining calm, for all of her friends. "Perry! Kill him!" she yelled loudly, forcing herself to remain strong. It was unknown if he heard her or not, but that would still most likely be without a doubt his goal.

"Alright, let's go, and quickly!" Shining said. He started to run, contacting Reader in his mind. 'Reader, have you been able to get back in sync with Perry?'

'Alas, no. Perry's mind has turned into an unstable battlefield, and has all but locked me out. I am still making attempts, but I doubt he would listen even if we were able to contact him. You must save the lass, because a dark power has just awoken in that man. I fear he might lose himself to it soon.' Shining Armor was a stoic man, but the thought of Perry going on a berserk killing spree would be the worst of nightmares.

He thought back to that eye, exactly like Sombra's. Did the two have some sort of connection, or was it just the darkness everyone was capable of.

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"Your allies have all left you..." Sombra spoke to Perry as he continued to move towards him. "You're all alone now, so alone," Perry snapped at Sombra, throwing a straight fist. Sombra raised his shield to block Perry's punch, but it did little to no good against him. Perry easily shattered the shield and plowed through into Sombra. Crystal shards stuck out of Perry's now bloody hand, but he did not flinch. Sombra, who was knocked back several more feet, was starting to get furious. "What, no more laughing? I thought this was fun!" he yelled with anger in his voice. "You're not going to defeat me! That woman will die and you will regret not being able to kill me for the rest of your short and pathetic life," Perry wasn't even capable of listening to Sombra in the state he was in. He started to yell with an animalistic cry, charging him.

'...rry....Perry... A voice started to ring in his head, though mixed in with every other voice it was practically lost to the turbulent sea of thoughts. 'Perry, listen. I know you can hear me, Perry. You have to fight the madness.' Perry groaned and shrugged it off, continuing to throw wild punches at Sombra, most of them missing. Sombra was starting to get his bearings together. Perry was powerful and fast, but his rage made him predictable and sloppy. Sombra easily moved away from each punch thrown now, and struck Perry in the chest with a kick.

"You're losing it, aren't you," Sombra said in a mocking tone. "There is nothing you will be able to do. You are an insect compared to-" Sombra was instantly silenced by a flux of gravity around him. He quickly moved out of the way, avoiding being turned into a crater by a sudden increase. Perry continued to launch his gravity crushes at Sombra, who easily avoided them. Perry blindly litter the battlefield with craters in his efforts to destroy the tyrant.

"DIE DIE DIE DIE!!!" Perry couldn't restrain himself. Firing off his gravity crush spell repeatedly, all he managed to do was destroy the land they were fighting on. Sombra watched and laughed at Perry's futile struggle to hit him.

'Perry, listen to me! It's Twilight! A voice rang through Perry's head once again. 'Fluttershy is alive, but she is in bad shape. The crystal in her is made from Sombra's dark will. You need to...' There was a pause in her words. Perry calmed down slightly at the mention of Fluttershy, taking the time to listen, and waiting for Twilight to tell him what he needs to do. ' Perry, you will have to finish off Sombra once and for all...It is the only way.' Even in his thoughts he could still hear her crying. She was so scared. King Sombra took advantage in his lack of action and started to throw more crystals his way. Perry easily moved out of the way, fighting with pure instincts while his mind fought for control.

'Perry, it is Rarity,' another voice started in his head. 'Your nice friend here is letting us use him to talk to you. Please don't lose yourself in this mess. You're a good person, and we would hate for you to lose that quality about yourself. I will say this. Defeat Sombra, for all of us, and for dear Fluttershy...' Sombra watched as Perry started to regain himself. He backed off for a second to make sure it wasn't a trap.

'Sorry we keep on invadin yer head, Perry. I just want to tell ya to kick his sorry ass for me.' This voice belongs to Applejack. Perry began taking deep breaths between his not so subtle sobbing. He was still crying, instinctively fearing the outcome of failure. 'Be strong Perry, we're all countin on ya.'

'Rainbow here...wow this brain thing is cool...what, dude? I am saying...ah never mind. Perry, what I said when I left still stands. But I don't want you to come back all evil and stuff...so yeah, that's about it. ' Perry and Sombra stared down each other now. Sombra was still confused as to what caused Perry to stop so suddenly.

'Perry! Oh my gosh I am in your head! It's Pinkie now! You better come back, I got a huge saving the world party planned, and it wouldn't be the same without you! ' Sombra's patience was at an end, as he charged at Perry, preparing to run him through with his sword.

'P...Perry...' His eyes widened at the sound of that voice. 'P..Plea..se...don't die...I just...want to...see...you...ag...ain. Even if...I can't...promise me...you...will live...' Fluttershy was talking into Perry's mind now. All of his friends, they all wanted to see him again. He turned his gaze towards Sombra and moved to the side quickly, throwing a quick kick towards him, sending him back several feet.


"I...Promise!" Perry said out loud, finally back and recomposed. Sombra got himself back into position quickly, as Perry's eyes were filled with all of his malice and rage. "You...just don't get it..." Perry spoke, tears still moving down his face. "You have no idea... WHAT KIND OF HELL YOU UNLEASHED!" Before, the shear bloodlust from Perry could practically be tasted. Now it was suddenly all gone. It was as if it vanished completely with that last outburst."...Let me ask you a question, Sombra."

"I guess I could humor you this once. Go ahead," Sombra said, almost in a mocking tone. His rage gone, Sombra felt assured that Perry was ready to give up.

"What does a man do when he has nothing to gain and everything to lose?" Perry asked with a strange calm in his voice. His tears finally coming to a stop, his gaze replaced with something even Sombra couldn't identify.

Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy. They were all waiting for him, waiting for Perry to return. He had gained such valuable friends, and he would never want to do anything that would make them upset. The answer was simple, simpler than it ever could have been. He would win. Sombra looked at him, feeling this calm where the overwhelming bloodlust should be. This was something that Sombra was not familiar with. Before it made him feel as if he had finally secured his victory. Now he felt even closer to defeat than ever. "I will kill you, and there is nothing you will do to stop me."

"What the hell are you going on about? I still outclass you. Don't think you're better because of a few lucky punches," Sombra said to Perry. His face was a stone, almost like a mask in of itself. He showed no fear, no anger, just nothing. Sombra has dealt with a wide variety of foes, but he was nervous. There was no more fear in Perry to feed on. The stare that Perry gave Sombra was eerie. "What are you looking at? QUIT LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" Sombra fired another barrage of crystal shards at Perry. Without even speaking, he formed a gravity well, redirecting the projectiles into the ground.

"You still don't get it, Sombra. You are going to die. Simple as that," Perry stated, moving towards Sombra. He stood there, stunned at the spell that Perry was controlling. Sombra rushed at Perry and tried to stab him with his sword. Perry caught the blade in the well, and managed to break it apart in the core of the dark mass. Letting the well vanish, Perry again began to throw punches at him, not wanting to relent even the slightest. He completely disregarded the amount of pain in both his hand and arm, and just continued to strike at him. "You have no chance to beat me, Sombra!" Perry yelled between each strike. "You have no more future, nothing!" Sombra took a quick step backwards to try and get some distance between him and Perry, but when he stepped back Perry was no where in sight. The next thing Sombra felt was the weight of the world pressing down on him.

"Gravity crush!" Sombra was brought to the ground almost instantly as is body forcibly hugged the earth with tremendous force. Sombra could feel the world around him starting to collapse. He truly was nothing to this man, and there was nothing he could do about it. Sombra has fed of the fear of others for the longest time, but for the first time, he is experiencing it firsthand. This isn't Celestia and Luna sealing him away, this was the brink of death from a foe who would not even think to show mercy.

"I...I can't...I CAN'T DIE!" Sombra yelled. His body started to crystalize, turning into a statue of himself. He slowly got up, withstanding the incredible amount of pressure and turned to Perry, his face still as solid as before. He made his way at Perry, shooting off spikes of crystal from his body. The crystal's simply hitting the ground almost immediately. Sombra was desperate. He tried to move out of the field but he couldn't, as Perry just moved it with him.

"Darkness everlasting. Void where no light is allowed to tread. Lost in time and space, the origin of all and the end of existence," Sombra watched as Perry began to chant, a tiny sphere of dark energy forming within the palm of his hand. Perry was going to finish this once and for all. "Howls and echoes silenced and faces lost to eternal nothingness. Missing amongst the stars, and searching for the creator, I invoke thee, come to my aid and rid thy foe from this plane."

"I WILL NOT DIE!!!" Sombra made one last charge. Turning his arm into a spear, he ran Perry through. Perry coughed up blood from the impact. Instead of stopping, he grabbed the spear with his free hand and held the hand charging the attack in front of Sombra. He gave the tyrant king a subtle bloody smile.

"Black Hole's Desolation," as much as Sombra struggled to free himself, Perry had him locked in place from his own attack. The tiny sphere made it's way slowly towards Sombra as he tried to back away. Between the gravity and his insane foes grip, he couldn't even begin to budge. The tiny sphere, manipulated by Perry's will, entered into Sombra's head through his mouth. "Goodbye," Perry quickly snapped his fingers together twice, causing the dark orb to activate and deactivate within a second. No more, no less. That is how long it was needed to be active for though. The spell did exactly what it was supposed to do.

Sombra's crystalline body started to crumble to the ground and fall apart. Perry winced as he pulled the spear arm out of himself, looking down at the end results of his endeavors. Sombra turned back to normal, but his head was an empty flab of skin and nothing more. He had removed everything up there in that instant the black hole was active, having sucked it into nothingness. Perry knew in his mind a quick and painless death was far to good for him.

Perry looked down at his ancestor and frowned. "I bet even you had the potential for good at one point," he started to cough violently, the impact from earlier taking effect now that the adrenaline wore off. He walked, moving slowly towards the hospital where everyone was. He smiled meekly as he trekked slowly through the battlefield, covering the gushing hole in him the best that he could.

This might be a promise he wouldn't be able to keep, but he continued to struggle as much as he could. He could see his life flashing before his eyes with each step he took.

His aunt and uncle, both of them fairly plain folks, were babysitting the young Perry, about seven. He was always energetic, running around and climbing everything that he could. Wearing a cape, he climbed on top of the stair railing on the second story floor and claimed that he was the prince of the universe. He jumped, thinking the cape would give him the magic power to fly. He was barely caught by a quick reacting uncle, who scolded him for being reckless, but how nervous he was means that it was all because he cared.

Step by step, Perry continued to march forward for the sake of wanting see them again. Memories still flooding his mind.

Perry has just been excepted into a school for gifted magic users due to his affinity with a rare kind of magic. Everyone was there that he knew, though his father was causing trouble yet again. Unable to go out to social events without creating some kind of disaster, he insisted on spiking the drinks at the ceremony with several pills of the unknown variety. Two parents and a child died that day, and Perry was forever marked an outcast, sent to live with his aunt and uncle while his father served hard time.

His father. That blasted man who's actions and violent tendencies still lived with Perry today. Would he have snapped if his father was removed from his life as quickly as his mother? Silly thoughts to think, as the past can not be changed. No matter how much one wished.

The entirety of the playground had been covered in blood. It was everywhere. On the grass, on the equipment, and all over Perry's hands. He had tried to stop that mad man from killing all of them. Just because he was bullied doesn't mean he wanted this. Seeing his fathers lifeless body under him, his knuckles all bloodied up and red along with everything else in the area unleashed something inside him. It made Perry feel good. It was a sweet and satisfactory feeling of accomplishment. At twelve years old, how much time would he get in jail for killing his own father? Were they going to blame him for all of this. Perry didn't want to stay and find out, so he ran. He ran far and he ran fast. He ran through his youth, into the eyes of private parties who had witnessed his potential. They had trained him, hid him, and taught him everything they could, to have the perfect assassin.

Funny how little dying hurts. Perry's legs couldn't drag on anymore, so he decided it was a good time to rest. He sat up against a tree just outside of the town. Was he close to the hospital? It was hard to say, really. Taking a nap seemed really nice to him about now. Perry was definitely tired. He started to close his eyes, taking short notice of a figure moving towards him quickly. It was hard to say who it was. Perry just wanted to rest now.