> Karma
>  by Chemtest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Karma Strikes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

He picks up the large, black bag, throwing it over his shoulder. With little effort, yet visible strain, he puts the bag completely on, and begins to walk to the door.

His brother walks down the stairs, flicking on the lights in the morning’s darkness. He nods at his brother, and his brother nods back, “Hey, could you not be on the computer later today? I saw a video on a new game and I wanna try it out.”

He shrugs, “Depends on how I feel. After all, you could just use the TV.”

His brother sighs, “Or you could just try not being a cunt and actually be nice for once. You know, I don’t have a tablet, you do, just do your shit on there!”

He shakes his head, “Sorry, gonna have to say no to that. I only get on that computer because I arrive home early. You got on it when you were on Elementary, you didn’t listen when I asked.”

His brother shoves past him, and into the kitchen, “Whatever, that’s in the past.”

He looks back to the door, “I have to get going.”

His brother scoffs from within the kitchen, “Ah yes, it’s always that with you, isn’t it? You never can stick around when you get uncomfortable, you never have time to speak. Speak a lot of shit, never listen when I try and speak back. You never have time for me, you never do anything around the house, you never do shit that isn’t school!”

He steps into the kitchen, “Come on-“

His brother looks at him, “Always have to aim for gold, don’t you? Never aimed below, never tried to be like the rest of us. You always have to be above us.” His brother moves up to him, and shoves him out of the kitchen, “Go on and leave. Perhaps you can put that brain power to your brother. Perhaps you’ll learn what it is to be a silver next to a gold. Perhaps you won’t change at all, just like every time.”

He steps closer to his brother, “Please-“

His brother shoves him back out, “What, you want that door opened for your majesty? Go ahead and leave. I hope you never come back.”

He tires to speak, only to be completely ignored by his brother. He sighs, clenches his fist in anger, and throws open the door.

———

He leans against a pillar, AP World History book in his hands, and other students brushing past him. He highlights important details and dates, ready for the test later that day.

Somebody walks up to him, smiling and getting near, “Hey, what’s poppin, g?”

He looks up at his friend, and shakes his head, “I feel like that introduction has a negative correlation with brain cells. What is it you wish to blather about before school begins today?”

He laughs a bit, and leans on the wall right next to him, “Ah, cutting straight to the chase? Where’s your sense of fun, Kenny?”

He glares at his friend a bit, “It is not ‘Kenny’ and I have requested many times you say it properly. Kendrick, that ‘drick’ is very important. I do the same courtesy for you, Benjamin, so perhaps you could do it for me.”

Benjamin shakes his head, “I have told you time and time again to just say ‘Ben’. It saves so much time, and sounds so much better.”

Kendrick looks back at his book, “Yes, yes, whatever. You look like you have something to ask me.”

Ben nods, “Yeah, that’s what I was trying to do. So, me and a few other friends set up a DND campaign, all new players, slightly new DM. You want to join in? I think you could probably create a pretty min-maxed character.”

Kendrick absorbs the question for a second, “Dungeons and Dragons? Can’t say I’ve played before... how lore focused is this Dungeon Master?”

Ben opens his mouth to speak again, only to interrupted. He rubs the side of his head as something collides with it. He looks down, and sees a shiny piece of metal. He leans down to pick it up, “What is this? Some type of silver?”

Kendrick observes the metal, and nods, “Some sort of crest, it would appear. An odd symbol, one I can’t remember ever seeing before. Look, it’s scratched as well... looks like swords, or claws. Where did this come from?”

But neither of them are able to continue, as a sound interrupts them.

A loud bang comes from down the school’s courtyard, and people instantly begin screaming and running. Ben grabs hold of Kendrick’s arm, slipping the piece of silver into his pocket, “Come on, we gotta get to Bach’s room!”

Kendrick looks, and can see the source of the noise. He pushes towards it, “I’m going in!”

Ben drags Kendrick back, “No, Kendrick, you’ll die! Just let the police take care of it!”

Kendrick pushes Ben to the ground, and throws his backpack beside him. He loosens his muscles, “Then make sure that backpack gets to my brother. He’ll carry the torch without me!”

Ben doesn’t get a chance to respond, as Kendrick is rushing towards the shooter.

Kendrick shoves through the crowd of running students, shoving down any who don’t get out of his way. He stomps over those unfortunate enough to have fallen, intent on his target only.

He shoves through the final group of people, and emerges a few feet from the shooter.

The shooter wears a long hoodie, with dark jeans, and carries a pistol in one hand. He instantly spots Kendrick, “You, Kendrick!”

Kendrick narrows his eyes, “I recognize you. You never returned my pencil!”

The shooter cocks an eyebrow, “That’s how you remember me? Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised, who’d remember me anyway? Not like you, Kendrick, the absolute top of the top! The popular kid, the valedictorian, loved by everyone! I will enjoy kill-“

The shooter is so wrapped up in his monologue that he doesn’t notice Kendrick charging.

His monologue is stopped as a fist impacts his face, sending him straight to the ground. Kendrick tries to jump onto him, only to find himself hitting nothing but concrete.

The shooter scrambles back up, keeping his gun on Kendrick as he gets back up. Then, another loud bang sounds out.

The shooter barely even notices as he begins to leak blood, he only notices when Kendrick looks directly at it, “You’ve been shot. I won.”

The school deputy stands behind the shooter, nerves making his hands shake the gun all around.

The shooter shrugs, “Okay then.”

The shooter then spins around, beginning to pull the trigger. However, Kendrick just barely manages to jump in the way, stopping the deputy from getting shot. 

Kendrick instantly feels a pain in his stomach, but pushes through it. Likewise, he pushes the shooter away, and prepares to continue.

The shooter stops stumbling back, and sees Kendrick charging forward again. He smirks, and flips the pistol around his finger.

With quick succession, he unleashes five shots into Kendrick, his aim accurate. 

Kendrick knocks the shooter to the ground before he can even feel the pain. But then, he does, and he struggles to breathe. Both of his lungs have been shot, his heart has been shot, his dick had been shot, and his stomach has ruptured after it got shot.

He groans in pain, and barely takes notice of the pistol now laying beside him. However, after a second, his mind is filled with rage and thoughts of vengeance.

He grabs the pistol, and crawls over to where the shooter lays. The shooter’s breath had been knocked out of him, and he still struggles to get a breath.

Kendrick puts the pistol right to the shooter’s chest, and pulls the trigger wildly. He puts three new holes into the shooter, and moves the gun up to his head. He pulls the trigger.

The shooter laughs as nothing but a click comes from the gun, “Ten shots, asshole... used them all.”

Kendrick coughs up some blood, and summons the rest of his strength as he flips the pistol around. With that last bit of strength, he whips the pistol onto the shooter’s throat, crushing it instantly.

Kendrick then drops the pistol, and lays down next to the shooter. He coughs some more, fading away, and slightly smiles, “I hope this... gets... gold...”

———

Yet he begins to fade back in, a nearly blinding purple light filling his vision as he gains awareness.

He blinks against the harsh light, and it slowly dims to barely light up the room he is in. He looks down, and sees that he seems to be in a chair of some sort.

He looks back up as he hears a quill scribbling. He sees a tall figure sitting across from him, wearing purple robes that blow in a nonexistent wind. He writes in a purple book, and seems to transcribe something from it to another sheet of paper. He writes on that other paper without once looking away from his book, yet still writes perfectly.

Kendrick looks at the man, until the man takes notice of him. The man doesn’t look up from his book, but merely continues to write as he talks, “You are lucky right now, did you know that?”

Kendrick looks at the man, “Who are you? Where am I?”

The man pauses for a second, and looks up, “Ah yes, there’s the curiosity of Kendrick. You are currently dead, although your spirit is here in the Aether. I am Edis, God of Endings. Your savior.” Edis looks back to the book, “Word of warning to you, Kendrick. You have already messed up badly by dying, and by being rude to Survivor. So let me stress it to you that I am at the end of the line with forgiveness. If you do something I do not wish for you to do, then I will send you back into that dying husk of a body.”

Kendrick smiles, “And what do you wish for me to do? As long as it doesn’t clash with my goals, it should be fine.”

Edis taps the book, “You are going to choose the right path in here. There are two paths, one you shouldn’t take, and one you should. If you choose the wrong path, say goodbye to your status. You aren’t necessary, not unique either, but I am doing you this kindness because of who your brother is. He would be devastated to learn you fully died, so take my advice, and don’t make him devastated again. Because someone else can always take your place.”

Kendrick watches as Edis hands him the contract he wrote up. It says upon it that Kendrick shall become the Champion of Karma, or he will be returned to his dying body. Kendrick tries to see if there is any fine print, until he finally gives up and signs after five minutes.

Edis nods, “Very well then. Karma shall be seeing you.”

Within an instant, the dark purple changes to a bright blue. He adapts to the light quicker, and looks up.

Standing there is a female figure, one that glows that same bright blue, one made out of crystal, and one absolutely beautiful. She also seems to wear a long dress, one that reflects the light back to it’s source. Kendrick’s jaw drops a little bit, but he recovers quickly.

She smiles at him, a smile full of kindness, “Hello, Kendrick. I am Karma. I was impressed by your bravery against that shooter, such that you would throw yourself in front of his weapon to protect another. You, among all, seem worthy of being the Second Champion of Karma.”

Kendrick bows a tiny bit, “I’m honored, but if I might make a query, who was the first?”

Karma picks him up from his bowing position, “Please, none of that here. Do not bow to me, please.” She then takes a step back, “The First Champion was a man by the name of Siddhartha Gautama. You may know him by his popular title of Buddha, the Enlightened One. He meditated for so long that he ended up dying of starvation, and I knew I had to give mercy to him. So he came back in a different form, Jesus of Nazareth. Then a peace advocate known as Ghandi, and then a painter known as Ross. I think his current incarnation has the name Reeves.”

Kendrick nods, “So you plan to have two Champions on Earth?”

Karma shakes her head, “No, Earth is well covered by Siddhartha, they need peace more than violence. You will be sent to a world called Equestria, a fantasy landscape populated by monsters and equines. I’ll leave fixing it up to you, and you’ll have enough power to get started.”

Kendrick raises an eyebrow, “Power?”

Karma nods, “Yes. As you preform good acts, I am able to grant you more power. For now, your one act of good that I’ve seen has helped you. I chose a power that is familiar as well. You play a game quite often, by the name of Dark Souls, and it’s sequel. For your first power, I have merged the powers and equipment of your characters and put them into you. A katana welding, dexterous fighter. A greatsword carrying, very strong tank. A sorcerer who learned few miracles. And a thief who stabs quick, and can sneak. I assume you are fine with this?”

Kendrick nods, “Yes, very, thank you.”

Karma smiles, and opens a portal. She points to the middle of a forest, “This is the Everfree Forest. You will wake up somewhere around here. Just remember, Champion Kendrick, more good means more power.”
> Power Grows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kendrick wakes up suddenly, and calmly raises himself from the ground. He looks at his hand, only to see a thick gauntlet leading into a thick glove.

He looks down to observe his new armor.

It’s pitch black, almost absorbing the nearby light with it’s darkness. It seems to be the... Looking Glass Knight’s armor, recolored black. He opens his glove, and sees an odd blue crystal inside. It pulses with light, and he hesitantly presses the crystal.

He moves his head back in slight surprise as a miniature version of Karma appears in his hand. She smiles up at him, “I hope you don’t mind, Kendrick, but I made a few modifications to the armor. This is a communicator, allowing us to talk at any time. Or, I will be able to talk. Your ability to talk has been removed for now, one of Edis’s terms. Don’t worry, you should get it back sometime soon. Anyway, you can also probably see the paint job for the armor. Your armor has been modified to change colors depending on your Karmatic state. The more good actions, the closer it will get to my color. The more bad actions, the darker it will get. Take out your katana.”

Kendrick reaches to his waist with his other hand, grasping the handle of his Uchigatana. He draws it from it’s sheath, and sees the blade glowing a bright blue.

Karma looks over at the blade, “Yes, you can see that enchantment, right? Depending on the Karmatic state of the person being hit by the katana, it can deal more or less damage. If you hit someone with good Karma, then it will not be as strong. If you hit someone with bad Karma, it will be even more strong.” Karma nods, “Make sure to use it wisely, Kendrick. Good luck, I shall be here if you need me.” With that final sentence, Karma disappears back into the crystal.

Kendrick closes his fist, and turns his eyes to the trees surrounding him.

He flips the katana around, and returns it to it’s sheath, sliding it in with ease. 

His mind fills with thoughts of what he can do. Yet, every time he thinks, it comes up with a singular answer.

Gain power. 

———

A filly jumps into the air, hitting a ball with all the force in her little body. She sends the ball flying away, and another filly follows it up with a massive kick to the ball.

It flies away from the five fillies, going straight into the Everfree. The other four fillies all groan and look at the filly who kicked it. One of the fillies turns and sighs at the kicker, “Come on Coco, now we gotta go get it before anyone finds out!”

One of the other fillies jump up. Her purple fur catches the light, and her bright yellow eyes exude one of their own. She smiles, “Oh, I got it! I got it!”

The pony who kicked the ball, Coco, smiles, “Thanks, Dinky!”

Dinky nods, and rushes into the Everfree, in the general direction of where the ball was.

———

Kendrick shoves aside any plant in his way, forcing his way through the forest. His ears listen attentively to the songs of birds, the wind through the trees, and the rustles of small creatures below. But, as he listens, he picks up on a new sound.

A scream of fear, from what sounds to be a little girl. He turns in the direction of the scream, and continues to wade through the forest.

The screams grow more infrequent, but louder, as he continues. Eventually, they are so loud that he knows the screams are coming from right in front of him.

He bashes one more bush out of the way, and walks into a forest clearing. His eyes instantly lock onto the cause of the screams.

A little filly sits huddled around a tree, surrounded by at least five wooden wolves. They all growl and approach the filly.

Monsters and equines, exactly as was said,

Kendrick stomps his foot down, drawing the attention of the wolves. Green glowing eyes glare at him, only to have their glow be absorbed into the dark armor he wears. Within their eyes, Kendrick can see himself.

Standing five feet and ten inches, he was seen as slightly above average for Earth’s humans. Standing at one hundred and sixty pounds, he is seen as skinny and possibly weak. However, with the magic of Karma, he now has the strength of a bodybuilder in a not very powerful body. Yet, with the darkness of his armor, he seems to almost blend in with the forest. 

All the wolves can see is a weak human in fancy clothes, one they can kill easily.

Kendrick draws his katana, feeling it’s sharp edge almost cut the air it goes through. The wolves all charge as he draws the blade.

The first wolf receives a cut on it’s chin, sending it back down, and teaching it the powers of drawing a sword.

The second is impaled through the head with the katana, a swift movement sending it all the way through it’s head.

The third wolf bowls into him, almost making him lose his grip on the sword. Yet, just barely, with his new strength, he manages to drag it out and keep it in his hands. 

He tries to slash at the wolf, only to have his blade be caught in the wolf’s jaws. The wolf pulls with all it’s strength, and Kendrick pulls back. The blade stays stuck between the two of them, neither stronger than the other.

The stalemate ends as Kendrick is knocked beside by another wolf. He lets go of the sword, allowing the wolf to drop it far away.

The wolf jumps on his chest, clawing at the crest on his chest. Kendrick keeps it away with one arm, and uses the other to grasp wildly at his backside. His hand finally hits a hilt, and he draws the dagger from it’s sheath. He quickly moves it up, and stabs the wolf through it’s mouth.

The final two wolves look at him, growling and pawing at the ground. Kendrick wipes his dagger on his arm, cleaning it of the sap. He stares at them whist he does it, summoning all the malice possible into the gesture.

The wolves growl one final time, then they run into the forest. Kendrick nods, and picks his sword up from the ground. He flips it around, and returns it to it’s sheath.

The filly looks at Kendrick, a form of wonder on his face, “Woah. Are you one of the Guard Humans?!”

Kendrick raises an eyebrow within his armor, looking down at the filly. He tries to speak, only to feel a slight burning when he does, which quickly stops him.

The filly rushes up to him, “Oh wow, I’ve never seen one of you before! Do they teach you to do that in the Guard? Oh, you must be lost! Ponyville’s this way, you probably want to go over there!”

She rushes off, and points in a random direction.

Kendrick looks at himself as his armor fades to a slightly less pitch black, and now a lighter form. He looks up at the filly, and she smiles back at him.

Kendrick decides that it’s better to find civilization than to stay out here. He walks forward to the filly, and she nods.

She walks into the forest, “Oh, my friends are going to love seeing you! Especially when they see your cool sword, or your cool armor, or your cool fighting skills!” She stops for a second, “Oh, uh, I’m Dinky, by the way. Dinky Hooves! Uh, do you have a name?”

Kendrick simply looks at her, unaware of how to answer. He simply nods in response.

Dinky rushes over to him, “Oh, oh, I’ll name you Grey! No, no, Wolf! Eh, no, Wolf isn’t that good. Oh, Shiny! You must know Shining Armor in some way, right? Which one do you think is best?”

Kendrick looks ahead, and holds up a hand. He puts up only one finger, indicating his answer.

Dinky smiles, “Grey, alright! Come on, Grey, we gotta get to Ponyville!” She takes a few steps forward, until she suddenly stops, and begins heavily panting, “Oh, right, I ran from those wolves.” She looks up at Kendrick, “Hey, Grey, you wouldn’t mind carrying me, right?”

Kendrick looks down at her, narrowing his eyes so she can see.

She widens her own eyes, and begins to pout, “Please?”

Kendrick looks at her widened eyes, and slowly crumbles. He sighs, and holds out a hand.

Dinky latches onto it, and crawls up his body like a spider. She climbs all the way to his helmet, and curls up on top of it. She smiles, and points forward, “Onward, loyal steed, Grey!”

Kendrick slightly smiles, and begins walking forward. As he moves his hand up to walk, however, he sees a slight glow from his hand.

He presses the crystal, and sees a messages appear on it.

’Good Deed Completed! Here’s your reward!

You made a friend! Yay!’

Kendrick smiles even more upon sight of the over exited message in his hand. Dinky looks down, and takes notice of the message, “Oh, are you a spy?!”

She then reads the message with Kendrick.

She then smiles as well, “I made a friend! Yay!”

Kendrick laughs a tiny bit at the filly on his head. His mind sarcastically repeats the message internally, but his conscious mind instantly berates the sarcasm for being rude.

Kendrick smiles, and moves on through the forest. The filly on his head continues her talking.
> Hello
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kendrick finally breaks through the forest, emerging into the outskirts of Ponyville. He reaches up, and awakens the pony on his head. 

Dinky slowly wakes up, “What? Oh, we’re here!”

She jumps off Kendrick’s head, down to the ground below. She jumps around to face him.

She smiles, “Come on, my friends are this way!”

She hops away, literally almost bouncing off the ground. Kendrick rushes to follow after her, not wanting to lose his only inside equine.

She rushes along, until she reaches a certain spot. She looks at it, and her smile turns to a frown, “Aww... they left again.”

Kendrick catches up, his breathing only lightly increases in pace, due to his now improved stamina.

Dinky speaks, sadness prevalent in her voice, “They always do this.”

Kendrick looks down at her, seeing her on the verge of tears. He hesitates for a second, but then reaches down and pats her head. The motion itself provides no comfort, but it reminds Dinky of who is with her.

She looks up at Kendrick, and smiles through her sadness, “Whatever, I don’t need them. I got you, Grey, and we’ll be friends forever!”

Kendrick simply gives her a thumbs-up, and smiles from behind his helmet.

Dinky nods, all hints of sadness gone, “Well, let’s get you home, Grey. I’m sure mom will come up with some way for you to stick around.”

Kendrick nods, and she sets off towards town. They both enter.

Ponies all around gawk at the human as he passes, awed in sight of his dark armor. But most of all, they stare at the filly who has climbed back to her perch on top his head.

Kendrick stares as well. However, it is not at the ponies. No, it is at the other creatures that inhabit the streets.

Humans. Gigantic humans... all easily a foot tall over Kendrick. They all wear variations of clothing, some barely at all, most have a shirt on and a few have pants. They are all held by leashes, either by ponies or to buildings. 

The humans all sneer at Kendrick as he passes, growling and trying to charge towards him. Yet, they are mostly pulled back by their leashes.

One of them manages to break free of it’s handler. It rushes towards Kendrick, trying to fight him.

Kendrick takes a few steps back, and holds out a hand. The gesture has no effect on the man, and Kendrick prepares himself.

The man goes for a swing at Kendrick’s head. Being three feet taller than Kendrick, it is a downward punch. Kendrick steps to the side, and lashes out with his own attack.

He grasps the man’s throat, and brings him closer, examining him.

He quickly notices that something is lacking. His eyes, or, rather, his pupils and irises. All that is within the eye is a black circle. Not one that’s filled in, no, the same white color of the eyeball fills it as well. But that circle is there, glaring at Kendrick.

The second thing about the eye is what truly surprises Kendrick. That circle of black is one of a savage animal. It is clear that this human has no higher thoughts beyond those of a savage dog. 

Kendrick throws the man back, sending him stumbling away. He points towards the man’s owner, summoning all his authority into it.

The man stumbles back to his feet, and charges Kendrick. He yells, and places a punch into Kendrick’s chest.

Kendrick feels the impact of the fist on his armor, and can feel a bit of pain on his body. Without the armor, such a blow would have surely shattered him. However, with the protection, Kendrick is able to stand perfectly and return a blow.

Using his height to his advantage, Kendrick goes for an uppercut to the man’s groin. When the blow lands, all he can hear is a scream, and all he sees is the man falling backwards. 

Kendrick places his boot on the fallen man, and the other humans begin to crawl away from him. He looks around in triumph, until he spots the pissed look on the owner’s face.

Dinky leans down to his ear, and whispers, “We gotta go, quick.”

Kendrick nods, and rushes past the owner. Dinky shouts directions to him, and he follows them perfectly.

He eventually makes it, stopping right in front of two buildings.

One, is a clock shop. Rising from the shop is a giant tower, with a giant clock on it. The other, is a lot smaller. At least half as big as the other houses in Ponyville.

Dinky opens the door to the smaller one, “Come on!”

They both enter the house, Kendrick having to squat down to get in. He hears someone humming, and looks up. The pony humming also looks up.

A grey mare, winged, with similarly yellow eyes to Dinky, yet ones that go in different directions. She gasps upon sight of him, “Dinky, what is this?!”

Dinky smiles, “He’s Grey! He saved me from some wolves! He’s going to be my best friend!”

The mare shakes her head, “Dinky... we talked about this.”

Dinky pouts, “Please? Look, he’s smaller than everyone else!”

The mare looks at him, “Perhaps so, but we don’t know if he belongs to somepony.”

Dinky smiles, “He’s a Guard Human!”

Derpy looks back at her, “Or he could belong to some noble and got lost! We have to make sure he doesn’t belong to anyone, and even then we couldn’t fit him!”

Someone peeks their head inside. A stallion speaks, “Excuse me, Miss Hooves, but is everything alright?”

Kendrick turns around to face this newcomer. A tan stallion, brown hair slightly spiked, a green bow tie around his neck. The mare responds, “This human saved Dinky and now she wants to keep him.”

The stallion looks at Kendrick, “Hmm, you are awfully small for these humans. Did you truly save her?”

Kendrick gives him a thumbs-up.

The stallion takes a step back, his eyes widening, “Wait... impossible.” He steps forward, looking Kendrick in the eyes, he then looks even more shocked as he meets them. The stallion speaks, “Adolf Hitler assumed control in 1829.”

Kendrick shakes his head in response. He holds up his fingers. One finger, nine finger, two sets of three.

The stallion looks towards the mare, “I do hope you don’t mind, but I might be able to keep him in my place. Would you be alright with that, Dinky?”

Dinky smiles, “Oh, thank you Mister Turner!”

Turner nods, and begins pushing Kendrick out the door. Kendrick tries to resist, but Turner whispers to him, “Earth, don’t fight with me.”

Kendrick hears his words, and follows willingly.
> Turner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kendrick walks into Turner’s home, the roof tall enough to easily fit him. He walks in after him, slamming the door behind him. Turner looks at Kendrick, and smiles, “Oh, yes! You! You are from Earth!”

Kendrick nods in response.

Turner jumps up in joy, “Yes! Ha-ha, I’ve been waiting so long! Oh you would not believe how relieved I am to see you!” He rushes up to Kendrick, “What’s your name?”

Kendrick looks down at him, and simply puts an ‘x’ near his throat. 

Turner nods in understanding, “Ah, you’re mute.”

Kendrick quickly shakes his head, drawing Turner back to him.

Turner raises an eyebrow, “You aren’t a mute? Ah, is this a recent discovery?” 

Kendrick nods.

Turner smiles, “Ah, well, don’t worry. I’m prepared for this. You just have to learn a way to communicate without speaking.” Turner walks deeper into the house, and rustles around, “Let’s see, what can I use?”

Kendrick follows after him, finding him going down into the basement. Yet, before he can go down, Turner walks back up.

He carries a big machine in his hand, and walks up to Kendrick, “Here, put this on.”

Kendrick looks at the machine with worry, and looks at Turner.

Turner sighs, “It’s a machine to instantly teach you sign language.”

He slips it on over his helmet, and two little plugs come off the machine. They both go into his helmet, and plug into his nose.

Kendrick then feels excruciating pain, but it passes within just a second. Then, the machine stops, and Turner takes it off. 

Kendrick groans in pain, and makes a single cutting motion towards Turner.

Turner takes a step back, “Oh, that wasn’t set to Human. I am dreadfully sorry, but, uh, now you know Judoon sign language. I am so, so glad that the translation matrix is still running.”

Kendrick points at Turner, and makes a slashing motion.

Turner nods, “I suppose who I am is a fair question. You already know my new name, Time Turner. Yet, I also have a name you would be more familiar with, perhaps. I, my dear human, am the Doctor!”

Kendrick looks at him, and simply raises an eyebrow.

Turner looks at him, “Wait, what? You don’t recognize me? I’m the Doctor! You know, the one who saved Earth from aliens time and time again?”

Kendrick simply shrugs, making a zig-zag motion with one hand.

Turner glares, “Yes, aliens! Do you seriously not remember all the times that Earth has been invaded? When a space ship crashed through Big Ben, when the Daleks almost destroyed all, when the Master took over? Do you not remember ATMOS?”

Kendrick shakes his head.

Turner takes a step back, “That should be impossible. Tell me, when’s the last time you were on Earth?”

Kendrick stomps down a number of times.

Turner raises an eyebrow, “2016? Then you must know of it! There’s no way you could not know... unless... hmm, it’s only a theory. Perhaps you come from a parallel dimension, one where no alien has interest in Earth, and I am given no reason to go there. Maybe even an entire dimension with nothing but humans?” Turner looks up at Kendrick, “Okay, prepare your mind, we’re reviewing history.”

———

Turner pours over his notes, “Okay, okay, it seems like everything lines up until 1943. You said Hitler died on April 30th in 1945? Because in our history, he didn’t die until 1947. The Red Army was kept at bay as Germany somehow found new weapons that were deadly. Hmm... maybe that has something to do with it.”

Kendrick nods, and begins to cut through the air.

Turner nods along, eyes widening, “That makes sense! Yes, he must have done something to cause all the alien interest in Earth. Perhaps he found a race and convinced them to join him?”

Kendrick smiles, and swings his arm five times.

Turner gasps, “Wait... yes, you are a genius, Kendrick! Yes, the Dalek gun most have been brought to Berlin! Rudolf Hess went to Britain and brought back a Dalek gun, yes, it makes sense! Other races saw the Dalek weaponry and were scared of humanity, which is why they all prepared to invade and did in the end. Kendrick, you are brilliant!”

They are both interrupted by a knock on their door. Turner gets up, and goes to it.

When he opens the door, he is absolutely blinded by sunlight, “Is it truly morning already? Should keep a closer eye on the clock.”

Dinky smiles up at Turner, “Good morning, Mister Turner! Do you think Grey could walk me to school today? Please?”

Turner looks back at Kendrick, “Hey, Kendrick, you wanna go with her and take a break?”

Dinky laughs, “Oh, no, Mister Turner, he’s not Kendrick. He’s Grey.”

Turner looks over at Kendrick, cocking an eyebrow. Kendrick responds with a single slash, one that answers Turner’s question instantly.

Kendrick walks out the door, and stands next to Dinky. Turner smiles, “Grey will be happy to go with you, Dinky. Just be safe, alright?”

Dinky nods, “Of course, Mister Turner, thank you!” She then climbs back on top of Kendrick’s head, and points forward, “Come on, Grey, let’s go!”
> Sparkle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kendrick steps through the street, easily carrying the filly on his head, despite her heavy bags. The humans, previously aggressive, all look at Kendrick with either animalistic respect or fear. Kendrick pays them no mind, instead putting his attention to the filly on his head, the road he’s walking on, and what Dinky is saying.

Dinky smiles from her curled up position, “We’re learning history for the next few weeks. Did you know there was apparently a Equestria before the Princesses?” She laughs a bit, “I mean, doesn’t it sound silly? Who else would raise the sun other than Princess Celestia?”

Kendrick stops for a second, pondering over her last sentence. Yet, he eventually concludes that the rulers must consolidate their rule by claiming they can do miracles like raising the sun. After all, nothing could move the sun, no creature at least.

Kendrick continues along, seeing the school building in the distance. Kendrick holds his arm out, allowing Dinky to jump to the ground. She trots alongside Kendrick, “Not to say I don’t trust Miss Cheerilee, but I just find it a bit silly.” She looks up at Kendrick as she gets to the front door, “Stay around here, alright, Grey? Make sure not to get into any trouble.”

Kendrick nods, and she rushes into the schoolhouse right as the bell goes off. Every filly and colt rushes in, and every parent walks off.

Kendrick looks around, seeing a little pen area where a bunch of humans are hanging around, trapped inside a fence. He shakes his head, and looks around some more.

Right near an open window on the schoolhouse, there is a good spot for sitting. Kendrick walks over to it, and sits down, leaning against the school. He can hear a mare inside speaking, and he takes his helmet off.

He can hear with barely any more clarity, chalking it up to an enchantment on the helmet. However, now, he can feel the cool wind blowing. It feels like a nice fall day, New England style, not Florida style. It feels like a Floridian winter, but Kendrick always liked the cold. 

He places his helmet beside him, and leans his head back against the school. He closes his eyes, and begins listening to the teacher intensely. He absorbs all the information she gives out. All the dates, all the names, and all the places.

Who is Princess Celesta? Is it a title given to every ruler? It must be... no, it doesn’t have to be. This is a world with magic. If Karma could bring him back to life, and apparently resurrect the other Champion, then why is immortality so hard to accept? 

Immortality could make sense... he’ll have to ask Turner. The only thing he can’t believe is that sun bullshit. Maybe Celestia says she is raising the sun, but she very well could be doing something else.

Kendrick ponders, and make a mental note of everything important he hears. 

He is interrupted, though, when another mare speaks from in front of him. Her tone is one of slight worry, “Where is his owner? Is he supposed to be there?”

Kendrick can slightly hear a response, and then a set of hooves walking up to him.

He opens his eyes slightly, and sees a purple pony standing in front of him. She has both a horn and wings, and seems to be the only one with that speciality. She looks down at him, “Come on, boy, you have to be in the proper zone.” She motions over to the holding pen of humans.

Kendrick looks over, and shakes his head upon sight.

The purple one looks down at him, and frowns, “Come on, now, I’m sure your owner wants to know you’re safe.”

Kendrick sighs, moving one of his hands to her mouth. With two fingers, he locks the two sides together, silencing her. He then holds up one finger, puts it near his lips, and shushes her. 

She takes a step back, shaking off his fingers. She glares down at him, “Did you just shush me?!”

Kendrick cringes a bit, especially as he hears the lesson inside stop. A pinkish mare pokes her head out the window, “Uh, Princess Twilight, is everything alright?”

Twilight looks between her and Kendrick, “I’m sorry Miss Cheerilee, but does this human belong to somepony in your class?”

Dinky jumps over to the window, “Oh, Grey, did you get in trouble?”

Twilight looks at Dinky, “Dinky, could I please have a word with you? You would be fine with that, Cheerilee?”

Both nod, and Dinky jumps through the window. She lands, and looks over at Kendrick, “Come on, Grey, Princess Twilight wants to speak!”

Kendrick sighs, and gets up from the ground. Twilight walks the two of them over to a secluded area in the playground. 

Twilight stops, and looks at Dinky, “Dinky, how’d you get this human?”

Dinky smiles, “Oh, well, I was fetching a ball from the forest! He ended up saving me from a bunch of scary wolves, slashing with his sword and stabbing and being awesome! Then he walked me back home, mom didn’t want him to stay there, and Mister Turner decided to keep him in his house.”

She looks over at Kendrick, “Okay, Grey, was it? Could you please show me your sword?”

Kendrick reaches down, and draws his katana out of it’s sheath. He spins it around, and holds it for Twilight to see.

Twilight nods, “That confirms it. No normal human would draw their blade at a request, they aren’t intelligent enough to do it. You shushed me, you listened to me, it is obvious that you are smarter than your kin. You seem to be on the level of a pony, perhaps even a bit more.” She then sees the glow from his sword, “Hmm, your blade is also a bit interesting. Give me a second.” Her horn lights up, and in a second her eyes widen, “That’s no normal blade!”

Cheerilee pokes her head out of the schoolhouse, “Princess Twilight, are you almost done?”

Twilight nods, “Almost!” She then looks at Dinky, “Dinky, you said Grey here lives in Turner’s home, yes?”

Dinky nods, “Yes. Are you saying that Grey is like a pony in a human body?”

Twilight smiles, “Something like that, yes. Okay, Grey, I will visit you at Turner’s house later today. Go on back to what you were doing earlier.”
> Forging a Path
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kendrick walks away from the school, Dinky jumping along at his side. She looks up at him, “Is Princess Twilight right? Are you really like a pony?”

Kendrick nods back.

Dinky smiles, “Oh, Mister Turner will be so surprised!”

Kendrick moves along, keeping a close eye on the filly by his side. Within his state of awareness, he feels eyes drilling into him. He looks off to the side, seeing two seedy looking ponies eyeing him up. Kendrick raises an eyebrow, and moves Dinky closer to him. 

Dinky looks up, confused at the sudden prompting. Kendrick simply pulls her a bit closer, and Dinky looks over at what he is looking at. She pulls away from him a little bit, and begins a brave trot over to the ponies. Kendrick tries to pull her back, but she continues on, “If these ponies are bothering you, then I’ll tell them off because you can’t.”

Kendrick rushes after her as she continues along, shaking his head.

Dinky marches up to the two ponies. She adopts the bravest stance she can, “Hey, you two, stop looking at Grey like that!”

One of the ponies look down at her, and begins to laugh upon sight of her, “Move along, little filly, we’ll look at a human if we want.”

Dinky puffs out her chest, “Oh no you won’t! Look at Grey like that again and, uh, you’ll be sorry!”

The other stallion looks down at her, and growls, “Move along, or else.”

The mare out of the two nods, “Please, all we wanted to do was check out his form and physique. For such a small human, he is quite fit. Would you be willing to part with him? How about... three hundred bits?”

Dinky stomps her hoof, “If you think I’ll sell Grey, you’re out of your mind!”

The mare laughs, “Alright, alright, how about one thousand? Your family could probably use the money... right?”

Dinky looks at the mare, and the mare takes out a bag of bits. She shakes it, and Dinky shakes her head, “Never.”

The stallion growls, “Looks like you won’t be paid for him then.” The stallion reaches into his bag, and slowly draws a knife, “Run along, without that human, and we’ll all be fine.”

Dinky takes a scared step back. Then, she hears a sword being drawn behind her. 

Kendrick’s katana finds itself at the neck of the pony, so sharp that it draws blood from just simply touching. The stallion looks at it in fear, and drops his knife.

The four only stare at each other for a few seconds, until they are interrupted by a pony rushing towards them. 

Princess Twilight looks between all of them, “What’s going on here?!”

The mare looks over at Twilight, “We were simply talking to each other when this human comes out of nowhere and attacks us!”

Dinky shakes her head, “They were trying to buy Grey, and the stallion had a knife! You saw what Grey did, right? He didn’t attack anypony!”

Twilight nods, “I did see, yes.” She looks over at the two, “Hmm... yes, I recognize you two. Canni and Necro, two gangsters who accost ponies and try to buy their humans. Oh yes, I recognize you two, you are wanted for mugging ten different ponies!” A bunch of guards surround the two, spears pointing at both of them, “Guards, arrest these two. Lock them up and prepare for their trial.”

The guards poke at the two, forcing them away and into the town.

Twilight looks after them, “Come on, Grey, you can’t keep out of trouble for three hours? How’d you even manage to cut Necro with such little effort? How sharp is your sword?”

Kendrick holds it out, blade up.

Twilight slowly puts her hoof on it, and tilts her head. She puts her leg, face, even her horn on the blade. She leans back, “Huh, it feels barely sharper than a kitchen knife.”

Dinky smiles, “Oh, really?” She moves up to the blade, and sends her head flying towards it.

Kendrick moves the blade out of the way before she can slam her face onto it. He shakes his head, and holds the blade out again.

Dinky puts her hoof on it, and smiles in wonder. She then places a hoof on the blade, and jumps completely onto the blade. She manages to balance on it, where she starts slightly jumping up and down. She laughs, “Hey, this is fun!”

Twilight pulls her off quickly, “Dinky, that’s dangerous!” She holds up one of Dinky’s hooves, “You must have cut- or not. But, there’s no way a blade, even with a kitchen knife amount of sharpness, should be able to hold a filly up completely without cutting her hooves. It’s physically impossible!”

Kendrick motions to the light radiating off the blade.

Twilight cocks an eyebrow, “It has something to do with the enchantment? Just what is that blade enchanted with? It completely defies the laws of physics!”

Kendrick returns the sword to it’s sheath, and points forward.

Twilight sighs, “Fine, sure, we’ll continue on. But I want to know what enchantment that is!”

They all turn and set off, but Kendrick lingers a bit behind. He notices a blue glow coming from his hand. 

The crystal within his gauntlet pulses with energy. He presses on it, and feels something appear in his other hand.

Karma appears in his hand, “Hello, Kendrick, having fun, I take it? Dinky is quite cute, and I am so glad she is becoming a little companion for you. But, I know that you would be devastated if anything happened. You have gained enough Karma through Twilight and Turner, and I managed to make something to protect both you and her. You remember that movie series, the Lord of the Rings? I know you do, and I know you have quite an extensive knowledge on certain objects. So, after some forging of my own, I managed to craft some of the Rings.”

Kendrick opens his other hand, and instantly recognizes all of them. One set with a ruby, one with a white stone, and one with a sapphire. Then, there is a gold ring, one with an inscription lining it’s side. And the final is silver, with an inscription that glows blue.

Karma smiles, “Narya, Ring of Fire. Nenya, Ring of Water. Vilya, Ring of Air. Then, the One Ring and New Ring. They aren’t as strong as they would be in Lord of the Rings, but the power they grant is still great and mighty. The three elven rings all grant mastery of magic in certain areas. Someone with one of them would be a mage to fear. Although the downside with the three elven Rings is that they require practice to use. Then, there are the two others. The One Ring simply makes one more powerful. By putting it on, you will basically go from... how to put it. Let’s say you are at Strength 9, whereas most creatures would be at 10. Well, the ring would shoot you up to 15. The New Ring, however, serves an entirely different purpose. With it, you will be able to speak.”

Kendrick nods, and closes communication with Karma.

He looks at the five rings, and slips the One Ring and New Ring away from the others. He picks them up with his right hand, and slips them both onto his left. They instantly change size, making it so they’ll always stay on tightly.

He then feels his throat clear up, and his vocal cords reactivate.

He walks up to Dinky, and taps her shoulder. She turns around, “Yes, Grey?”

Kendrick smiles, and holds out Narya. 

Dinky smiles, “Oh, is this a gift? Thank you, Grey! It looks beautiful!” She then levitates the Ring, her magic struggling to lift it with her weakened magic. She slips it onto her horn, and nods. 

Twilight looks over, and scans the rings in Kendrick’s hand, “Those are enchanted as well?! Where do you get all of this!?”

Kendrick smiles at her, and motions forward.
> Experiment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turner sighs as he sits at the table, “Come on, Kendrick, did you really have to let someone else figure it out?”

Twilight looks at Kendrick, “Kendrick? I thought he was called Grey?”

Kendrick clears his throat, and speaks for the first time in the new world, “My real name is Kendrick, Dinky just called me Grey because I had no way to communicate.”

Twilight raises an eyebrow, “So why would she choose Grey? Your armor is a lot more towards blue than it is grey.”

Kendrick looks at his armor, noticing it’s faint blue hue, “It was grey back then. I take a liking to the name, but I am Kendrick in the end.”

Twilight nods, “Okay, well, that brings me to a more important topic.” She turns to Turner, “Mister Turner, why did you not inform me of your discovery?”

He smiles, “Please, just call me Turner. You see, being a Princess and all that, I assumed you were too busy.”

Twilight glares at him, “The truth, Turner.”

Turner sighs, “Because I personally thought you knowing wouldn’t lead to the best outcome.”

Twilight shakes her head, “Come on, Turner, you’ve been here for a year. You should know I would continue with caution.”

Turner snickers a bit, “Caution? You haven’t exactly shown much in the past.”

Twilight widens her eyes, “Not shown cation? When have I not shown caution, Turner?”

Turner smiles, “Oh, you want a list? How about that time when I had to stop parasprites from eating Derpy’s house? Or that time I spent my entire day preparing for a disaster that never happened? Or how about that time you almost destroyed the entire town by switching your friend’s cutie marks? How about those times, huh? Look, Twilight, you are an absolutely brilliant pony, with an astounding mind, I’d rank you near me even. But you act rashly and quickly. I mean, yeah, there are times where it’s best to just say geronimo and jump in the deep end, but not all the time.”

Twilight takes a few seconds of silence, absorbing his words, “I... I can’t argue with your logic, Turner. Still, you should have told me.”

Turner leans in, “Why, Twilight? I don’t think Kendrick is of that much interest to you.”

Twilight shakes her head, “Then you didn’t think deep enough, Turner. You seem like a very, very smart pony. Surely you’ve read the work of Gallopleo.”

Turner shakes his head, “I am smart, if I might be so egotistical, but I cannot say I am familiar with his name.”

Twilight smiles, “He was the top anthropologist of all time. He worked along with Da Whinny in a study of what makes humans so different than ponies. In the end, they found that ponies and humans were almost the exact same in every biological way. Their brains were the exact same, copies of one another, their organs were the same, everything was the same or similar. There was no biological reason that humans should act like they do.”

Turner nods, “So, they ruled it must have been something else.”

Twilight nods back, “Correct. They called in the great Thaumutoligist, Doctor Tempus, one of the best ever. He cast a scanning spell over a selection of one thousand different humans. Different races, genders, ages, ability, everything. And he found on all of them, a single spell. Something that pushed down their brain’s proper function, and replaced it with animalistic rage and savagery. Yet, it was impossible to separate the magic from the human, as they didn’t have an example without it.”

Turner smiles, “Kendrick, he’s a human without it. That’s where you were going, yes?”

Twilight nods, “Yes, correct again, Turner.”

Turner leans back, “Only one problem. Now, with my understanding of magic, it is very hard to change another creature’s mind, especially an entire species. Something like that, it would require almost an entire alicorn’s worth of magic per day.”

Twilight shoots back, “Or a very strong, singular burst of magical energy.”

Turner leans in, “A burst that is impossible, no? I don’t believe even Discord could do such, and he’s the most powerful being on the planet!”

Twilight leans back, and thinks, “No, Discord wouldn’t be able to do it. But perhaps something on his level, combined with some other magics, could do it.”

Turner shakes his head, “It would require the same amount of energy as three Discords. Unless Discord decided to increase his power three fold, I don’t think it’s possible. Take every unicorn, hell, even every alicorn, and combine their power together. Maybe, and just maybe, would they be able to do it. That would only be if every child, adult, elder, and Discord agreed to use their entire stockpile of magic. Your theory about a singular burst of magic is good, but unlikely. No, it would make more sense for some powerful creature to cast the spell every day.”

Kendrick looks between the two, “Some powerful creature, eh? Tell me, would Celestia be considered a powerful creature?”

Twilight nods, “Oh yes, she is the most powerful magic being alive right now, with the exception of Discord.”

Kendrick nods, “Well, I have my own theory. I believe Celestia is the one making the humans savage.”

Twilight leans back in shock, “What?! Celestia would never do that!”

Kendrick smiles, “Oh, it makes perfect sense. Humans are good as labor animals, and for pets, aren’t we? It seems your people use them as guards, workers, and as pets. Now, tell me, why would a Princess want to worry about humanity when she could simply make them all so dumb that she didn’t have to play to them.”

Twilight shakes her head, “Play to them? You are insane!”

Kendrick growls at her, “Think, Twilight, don’t let your emotion get in the way of your logic! A Princess unties a land after a deadly war, that land would be full of turmoil and rebellion. Humans want rights and privileges for themselves, and ponies want rights and privileges for themselves. Celestia, being a pony, would obviously take favor of the ponies, and shower them with all these rights and privileges above humans. The humans get mad, they pick up their torches and pitchforks, it becomes clear that if their demands are not met, they shall start another war. Celestia can’t have that happen, but the humans are too useful to kill. She needs them, yet she can’t afford to take the unfair privileges away from ponies or they would rise up. So she casts a spell to make all humans into savages, animals who don’t give a rats ass about rights or privileges. Ponies get the privilege of having humans as their literal pets, and the humans are permanently taken care of.”

Twilight narrows her eyes, “But we already agreed it couldn’t be done all at once. She would need to cast it every day, and she doesn’t have the time in her schedule for a spell of that size.”

Kendrick smiles, “Oh, really? I know of one spell she casts per day, she even has a set time for it.”

Twilight leans back, “No, you can’t be implying-“

Kendrick nods, “Not just implying, I am saying it. Celestia can’t raise or lower the sun, it’s physically impossible to move such a giant celestial body. No, she goes out under the guise of raising the sun, only to cast the spell on the humans.”

Twilight stands up from her chair, and shouts, “You are insane!”

Turner stands from his chair, “Twilight! Sit back down and act like a scientist!”

Twilight turns to look at Turner, “You can’t tell me you believe what Kendrick is saying?!”

Turner slams a hoof on the table, “We are having a discussion, Twilight, I would prefer it be civilized. Personally, I see very little flaw in his theory, but we don’t know. We will preform the test, and then we will find out where it is from.”

Kendrick slightly laughs from his seat, “Are you asking me to wait, Turner? I am afraid I shall reject your request. If Celestia is truly doing such an act, then we must waste no time!”

Turner turns and looks at Kendrick, slight dread appearing on his face, “Kendrick... what do you mean to do?”

Kendrick stands from the table, his armor glowing it’s ever blue hue, “I intend to march up to Celestia, and personally kick her ass until she tells the truth. Then, she shall be properly executed for her crimes, and I shall assume my role as King Kendrick.”

Turner takes a step back, “You must be joking. Are you truly saying you are about to kill Celestia because of your theory?”

Kendrick reaches a hand down, and places it on the table. He laughs a bit, “No, Turner, it is because she is in the way of my ambitions. This world is so primitive, it is clear her rule is weak. This country needs someone strong at it’s head, and that someone is me. The magic is the excuse I’ll give to the media. The real reason is the reason all creatures operate off of. I must gain more power.”

Turner slams his hoof down, “Have you gone mad?! Power!? You sound like Hitler, Kendrick, snap out of it!”

Kendrick smiles, “Was he really so wrong, though? Yeah, the genocide was bad, but was he really so wrong? He simply seized power, until all those weak decided that he had gained too much. Those weak will never rise against me if I crush them first.”

Twilight growls, “You want to invade Canterlot? Then come at us, we’ll be ready!”

Twilight rushes out of the door, and Kendrick rushes after her.

Twilight bumps into Dinky. She quickly grasps the filly, “Dinky, we need to go, Kendrick’s gone mad!”

Kendrick slams his katana at the side of her throat. It doesn’t cut through, but the strength and slight sharpness is enough to cut her, and leave blood on her neck. 

Twilight grabs Dinky, and quickly flies away.

Kendrick growls, and turns around. He sees Turner, standing by the door. Kendrick offers out a hand, “Come, Turner, you are near human, you understand me.”

Turner glares at him, “Oh, I understand you perfectly. You are a madman, some sort of genius who puts his ambitions and logic above all else. Go on, leave to Canterlot. I couldn’t care if you die or win. Either way, you’ll learn the faults of your ambition.”

Turner slams the door in Kendrick’s face, ignoring his outstretched hand. Kendrick then takes notice of the glow coming from the crystal within his gauntlet.

He closes his fist, ignoring the crystal. He instead turns to Canterlot, and begins to move to it.
> A Final Plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A pony stands on top of a roof, looking down into the streets of Canterlot. Guards rush from all over, gathering weapons and readying themselves for combat. The pony smiles, and laughs.

He laughs some more, and a bright glow comes from the necklace adorning his neck. The glow only increases as his laughter grows, yet not a single pony below takes notice of him.

The pony smiles at the necklace, and ignores the rest of his body.

For his body is rotting. Fur, once white, has now fallen and left rotting skin on the outside. Now, only his horn and the wings on his back carry the same pure white color, yet even they have veins of darkness rushing through them. His blue eyes glow almost as bright as the necklace, but their glow is cut by the pure darkness of his pupils. His mane, golden in color, is the only have left on him. A crown covers the hair, covered in blue crystals, all of which glow alongside the necklace.

His cloak blows in the wind, it’s golden color shining like the sun. It covers his body, except for one thing on his flank. A compass rose, now just a pure black outline compared to it’s previous form.

His laughter is stopped as a second figure steps up beside him. A tall, human figure. He stands at almost six feet, all his features hidden behind grey armor, with blood red accents. The only thing visible is his face, one the fair visage of a Jester, now coated with scars and anger.

The man holds out vials of blood towards the pony, “Here they are.”

The pony looks at them, and nods, “Very good, Khorne. Is this what we require?”

Khorne nods, “The blood of the Doctor, the Shooter, and the Chaos.”

The pony raises his eye, in a futile attempt to raise an eyebrow, “Where’s the Blood of Order?”

Khorne glares at Blueblood, “You were the one supposed to get that. Are you telling me you seriously have waited until the last minute for this!?”

The pony growls back, “I have been busy, unlike you!”

Khorne takes a step closer to the pony, “I am literally trapped until we finish this! I can’t do anything other than posses for a short time! You are the one with a line to Ordirus!”

The pony sighs, “Do you know how difficult it has been to control that human?”

Khorne scoffs, “Control? All you did is change a child’s memory, hardly something difficult.”

The pony glares at Khorne, “I had to control him and make sure he became the person we needed! Do you not remember?! When I took control of his dad to punish him for failing a test, when I changed his very brain’s chemistry to put ambition above all else, or how about when I convinced Edis to take him!? Our enemy, and I convinced him to help us unknowingly. You don’t know how hard that was!”

Their bickering comes to a sudden stop as a hole is ripped in reality. Out steps an even taller alicorn. His glowing white eyes shine over the two, his coat blue like the water, with a flowing black mane, dark as the void. He towers to be slightly taller than Khorne.

He looks at the two, “Stop your arguing, our Lord is getting annoyed that you two keep acting like foals.”

Khorne turns to face the alicorn, “Shut it, Ordirus! I was invited to join for a reason! You two wouldn’t have gotten this far without me!”

Ordirus turns to him, “I never said you were not useful, Khorne. You are quite useful, even if you act like a foal. You are a strong foal with an axe and strong magic powers. Something to fear, even if... unrefined.”

The other alicorn steps forward, “Excuse me, I am a King!”

Ordirus looks over at him, “A foal in a King’s clothing, Blueblood. If you truly constituted as a King, then I would personally renounce my own royal blood. You are a so called King who was defeated by a foal. I feel you are so weak that any of my children could beat you.”

King Blueblood draws back, “Treachery and treason, Ordirus! Are you really implying that drunken fool could lay a hoof on me?”

Ordirus nods, “Yes, I believe my son could. Harmonikus could defeat me, Blueblood, why would he not defeat you? I go so far as to say he could beat the foal who beat you.” Ordirus glares slightly at him, “I wish I could just slay you and replace you with someone worthy of your power. If he would only listen, I am sure my son would lead us to victory.”

Blueblood spits at the ground, a bit of blood striking the top of the roof, “Chem?! You believe that filthy commoner could defeat me?!”

Ordirus takes a step closer, almost pushing Blueblood off the building, “You watch your mouth about Harmonikus or I will replace you. Everything valuable about you comes from that necklace and that crown, you have no internal power. Harmonikus earned his position by defeating me, and you were handed your life on a silver platter!”

Khorne steps in, “Ordirus, as much as I would like seeing Blueblood die, we have more pressing issues. We need a drop of your blood so I may be freed.”

Ordirus looks over, and his hoof simply opens up. A drop of blood comes out, dropping into the streets of Canterlot, “Then do it quickly, Khorne. Don’t let your childish blood antics get in the way.”

Ordirus disappears, leaving Blueblood and Khorne alone. Blueblood nods, “Okay, everything is set. We need the Blood of the Innocent, which will be gathered by Kendrick’s fighting with the guard. Blood of the Alicorn, which we should get if Kendrick succeeds. And, the Blood of Silver, which we shall get if Kendrick gets injured.”

Khorne nods, “It’s all ready?”

Blueblood smiles, “It’s taken months of time traveling mind manipulation, but it’s finally ready. Kendrick is finally in full control of the body, so make sure your Chosen wins. I don’t want to use a backup plan.”

Khorne smiles, and begins to fade away. His spirit travels over to the warrior approaching the mountain.

The mind of Kendrick sees it’s father mind approaching, and opens it’s arms wide for the God of Blood.
> A Final Execution
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kendrick marches up to the gates of Canterlot, looking up as guards rush to the walls. He smirks, and draws his katana, “Guards of Canterlot, Celestia has been casting curses on humans for too long! Join me, and she shall pay for her crimes!”

The guards all simultaneously notch arrows into their bows, and prepare spears. They let loose a volley at Kendrick.

The arrows impact, but do not pierce his armor. He growls as the arrows bounce off, and he reaches to his back.

He feels a new handle there, a mysterious second handle. Yet, next to that, is a third handle. His mind urges him, and he draws the third handle.

He takes out the new weapon. A giant axe, coated in dried blood, with a blood red aura coming from it.

He looks up at the wall with a smile, “Then you have chosen to get in my way. You shall learn your folly the hard way.”

Yet, as he looks at the wall, his eye catches something behind it. An alicorn stands on top of a roof, glowing a slightly darker blue than Karma would. Magic gathers near his horn, and he points towards the gate.

A giant beam of magic impacts the wall, sending the masonry, and all the guards on top of it, crumbling to the ground.

Guards begin to scatter in the resulting chaos. They shout, “He has magic! The wall is down! Regroup! Regroup!”

A group of humans, wearing golden armor, pick up their spears and charge towards Kendrick.

Kendrick flicks out the axe, it’s blade extending to be almost as big as the axe itself. He throws the axe at the humans, nailing one of them directly in the chest.

The human goes down, alive, but badly injured. The other humans all suddenly stop as their comrade goes down, looking towards each other.

Blood begins to pool under the human. They let out what sounds like a scream of fear. They rip the axe out, throw it back to Kendrick, and rush off with their comrade.

Kendrick picks the axe up from the ground, and moves into Canterlot proper.

A group of at least fifty guards come marching towards him. They stop fifty feet away, and one walks away from the others.

A white pony in fancy purple armor, with a sword held within magic. He glares at Kendrick, and slips on his helmet, “You shall not take a step further! Stand down, or I will be forced to make you!”

Kendrick throws his katana at the guard, only for it to be blocked from a magic sword. Kendrick catches the sword back in his hand, and glares.

The guard takes a few steps closer, “Then you have chosen the hard way! I, Prince Shining Armor, shall put an end to your crimes!”

Kendrick charges forward, already seeing Shining casting up a shield,  and sending his sword towards Kendrick.

Kendrick blocks with his katana, and swings into the magical barrier with his axe.

The barrier breaks on contact, dazing Shining. Kendrick twirl around, and swings his katana to decapitate.

The katana rams into Shining’s neck, causing a deep cut, but not enough to kill or even take Shining out of the fight yet.

Shining blasts Kendrick with a force spell, sending him back.

As Kendrick is sent back, he notices something on his hand. He looks at it, and realizes the One Ring’s orange writing is fading. 

He looks at it in slight fear, feeling it’s effect slowly leaving. But, then, when the ring completely fades, something happens.

The blood from Shining Armor’s neck flows over to Kendrick. It flows into the ring, replacing the orange writing with some of a blood red shade.

The blood from the injured humans and ponies on the wall also flows over to Kendrick. It enters into the axe, and then into him.

Kendrick takes little notice as one of his eyes begin to glow red. He doesn’t even pay attention when the gem in his hand turns the same shade of blood red. 

He smiles, his mind being overrun with new knowledge. A new voice also appears, whispering and telling Kendrick everything.

Kendrick charges forward with speed that should be impossible for a human. In almost an instant, he appears in front of Shining Armor. Shining raises a shield, but it’s of no use, as Kendrick’s axe clashes into it.

The barrier is destroyed instantly, and a blood red shockwave travels out. It sends Shining flying into a building, and even sends a few of the other guards to their knees.

The guards all look at Kendrick, stepping back in fear as his armor begins to turn grey. One shouts, “He took down the Captain!”

All of the guards break, and begin fleeing in every direction.

Kendrick simply laughs, his body absorbing the blood that comes from the wounds inflicted by the shockwave. Yet, he makes sure of one thing. He takes a single drop of blood from Shining, and drips it onto the street.

It absorbs into the ground instantly, weakening an ancient magic. 

Kendrick moves onward, finding himself in a courtyard at the base of the castle.

He smiles upon sight of someone in the courtyard. Twilight glares at Kendrick, “Stop, Kendrick! Stop before I have to fight you!”

Kendrick laughs at her, and his laughter only picks up as she charges up magic.

He walks closer, and Twilight let’s loose a magical beam.

The beam is so powerful that it could probably be on equal standing with one of Celestia’s.

Kendrick takes the beam to the chest, and laughs as it does nothing.

Twilight yells in anger, “That should’ve stopped you!”

Kendrick looks at her anger, and let’s out even more laughter, “Oh, what a priceless fool you are! Did you truly expect to defeat us with that pitiful blast?”

Twilight widens her eyes, “Pitiful? That was all my magic.”

Kendrick walks closer, “It was pitiful! You are pathetic before your ancestors, Twilight! We have slaughtered thousands of creatures, all the way from alicorn to citizen! Did you really think a single blast of magic could defeat us?! We took a full blast from Ordirus, a snap from Discord, Celestia, Luna, even the Elements of Harmony, and we still stand! Why did you think you could defeat us like that?!”

Twilight takes a step back, “Dear Celestia, what’s happened to you?”

Kendrick smiles, “We have become one, Twilight! I no longer need the powers of Karma, nor any god! For I carry Khorne, and I have become a Champion of Blood!”

Twilight spreads her wings, trying to fly away.

Kendrick rushes over to her, and grabs her wing before she can flap once. He laughs, and spins her around by her wing.

He hears the satisfying snap of bone, and sees blood begin to drop from her wing. He instantly absorbs the blood, and throws her through a nearby building.

He waits for a second, and upon no sound nor movement, he turns to move on.

But, as he takes the first step, he hears a voice cry out. A young voice, a voice that breaks through him, “Grey, please, stop!”

His mind is thrown into disarray as he turns to see her.

Dinky stands there, Ring around her horn. She glares at Kendrick, “Grey, please, you don’t need to harm anypony. Just put down that axe, please, this isn’t you.”

Kendrick looks at her, and his mind begins to fight with itself. In the fight, he drops the axe. It tumbles to the ground, and the blood flows from Kendrick and into the axe.

His eye begins to lose the glow.

But then, the glow picks up again, and it takes control again, “No!”

Kendrick charges forward, and swings his sword at Dinky.

It hits her neck, but it doesn’t have any effect. No, it doesn’t bruise, cut, nor cause any pain.

Dinky looks at the blade, and her eyes begin to fill with tears, “Grey... did you try to hurt me?”

Kendrick looks at her, the glow in his eye faltering, but still keeping itself up.

Dinky begins to break down into crying, “I thought we were friends! You’re just like everypony else!”

The glowing eye on Kendrick notices something.

Dinky’s horn begins to glow. Narya begins to glow bright red, and her horn begins to glow that same bright red.

Kendrick is taken over by the red eye once again. It turns around, and tries to run.

It only gets off a single step, before it is hit in the back with a lance of fire.

Kendrick is sent flying into a staircase.

He recovers just barely enough consciousness to look at himself.

His chest has a hole through the middle of it, and his armor melts around it. Molten metal falls into his wound, and burn him from the inside.

Kendrick loses the red glow from his eye. His armor returns to a black state, and the crystal returns to blue.

He looks at the wound again, and can tell it’s obviously fatal.

He coughs, blood spilling into his helmet. Then, he takes his final breath, for his lungs no longer exist.
> Grey Shines
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

His eyes open again, and his body is wracked with pain. He coughs roughly, sending blood flying onto the Forest floor.

He flips around, and begins to cough even more into the grass. He leans back, lightheaded, unsure of anything.

He looks up, and sees a man standing there. The man is covered in grey armor, and seems to be Kendrick himself. Except, his eyes glow a bright red, and the crystal in his hand glows the same blood red.

The man growls down at him, “We were this close, you fool! You were killed by a crying little filly! You are pathetic!”

He looks at the man, “Who... are you?”

The man leans down, “I am you, given a power more than you could ever imagine. I am Kendrick, I am Khorne, I am both at once. Champion of Blood, the rightful owner of your body!”

He looks down at himself, “Who am I?”

Kendrick sneers, “Grey, the emotional piece of shit who ended up breaking our mind and getting us killed! You are the Champion of Karma, but where is she? I don’t believe she is here for you.” Kendrick steps closer, and kicks Grey in the chin, “I’ll teach you a lesson!”

Grey is sent flying back to the ground, bashing his head on exposed roots. 

Kendrick moves closer, and stomps down on his chest, “We were about to win! We were about to free ourselves! We have been waiting our entire life! And you ruined it!” Kendrick leans down into Grey’s face, “Surely you remember the battle we’ve been in for our life?”

Grey shakes his head, “No, I don’t.”

Kendrick leans back, and takes a step away. He pushes his hair back, “We’ve been at war since birth. Me, the voice of ambition, and you, the voice of emotion. Fighting back and fourth, with me always barely winning.”

Grey nods, “Except for this time, I imagine.”

Kendrick sighs, “The power you showed by forcing me out of the mind, I am honestly surprised and astounded. The power you’ve shown in this world is astonishing. I was not even able to find ground until you came up with that random hypothesis. I barely managed to latch on and march to Canterlot, and then we were almost done. But that damned foal empowered you! You broke through, made us lose our power!”

Grey looks around him, “And why are we in the Forest?”

Kendrick looks around as well, “There were conditions in Edis’s contract. I am thinking that this is the result of one of those conditions.”

Grey smiles at Kendrick, “Well, let’s begin to work together. I’m sure that we could do what you want without harming anyone.”

Kendrick looks back at Grey, “Even now, you still hold on to that damned pacifism, don’t you? I don’t think you understand what I want, Grey. I want what Khorne wants, and what his Lord wants. Therefor, I want to destroy everything. Don’t you realize, Grey? We are incompatible. I run off of killing, and you run off of peace.” Kendrick smiles, “And I’m going to rely upon that. You hold great power, which I shall take for my own.”

Grey looks at Kendrick as he approaches, “I would offer it up, but I don’t know how. Besides, you would use it to harm.”

Kendrick walks right up, and punches Grey hard. Grey is sent back to the ground, and Kendrick smiles. He stomps down again, “You shall pay for stopping me!”

But, as Kendrick raises his foot, a near deafening sound fills the clearing. A bright purple light is cast over both of them, forcing them to look away and close their eyes.

They can hear footsteps as the portal fades. Then, they hear the clacking of metal. 

Grey looks over, and sees another man standing there.

He stands taller than both of them, easily six feet if not taller. He is decked out in a long, dark trench coat. A MP40 sits on his back, a repeater next to it, with a revolver in his hands. Not a single piece of skin is shown on his body, covered gloves, pants, boots, and other such items. The most striking thing, however, is the mask of a plague doctor on his face. 

Kendrick looks over, and growls, “Who the hell are you?”

The man simply draws the hammer back on his revolver, “Step away from him!”

Kendrick shakes his head, and walks closer to the man, “Do you even know what’s going on here?! How about you put down the fucking gun before I make you!”

The man moves the gun slightly down, and fires. The bullet rips through Kendrick’s armor, and through his knee. Kendrick collapses, shouting in pain. The man keeps his revolver on Kendrick, “You are trying to hurt my brother!”

Grey looks at the man again, “Wait... brother?”

The man rushes over to Grey, and embraces him, “Kendrick! Oh god, Kendrick... it’s been four years.”

Grey embraces back, “Four years? It’s only been four days for me.”

His brother leans back, “Different time streams. Kendrick, I thought you were dead. I’ve changed so much, you’ve changed so little. I’m now called Survivor.”

Grey shakes his head, “How did you find your way here?”

Survivor smiles, “I had help from two people, I’m sure you know them. Edis and Karma, they told me all about what’s going on.”

Grey looks down, “Karma still cares?”

Survivor nods, “You might not be her Champion anymore, but she doesn’t want your darker side to defeat you. You need to do something to regain your position.”

Grey smiles slightly, and draws his katana, “I... I won’t be going for regaining. The sins we have committed are too great to just go back and act like nothing happened. Kendrick, come over here.”

Kendrick yells, still grasping his knee, “Fuck you!”

Grey sighs, and moves over to Kendrick. He drags Kendrick’s hands away from his knee, and raises the katana, “These are the hands that hurt so many, and this is the blade.”

Grey moves swiftly, and cuts off Kendrick’s hands.

Survivor rushes over, “What the hell are you doing?!”

Grey smiles slightly, “Dying, Survivor. We’ve survived death two times before, and we haven’t paid for our crimes. This is the mind that brought harm to so many.”

Grey shoves the katana into Kendrick, right though his gut.

Survivor takes a step back, nodding slightly, “If you believe it is for the best.”

Grey steps back from Kendrick as he begins to bleed out. He holds the katana in one hand, “These are the hands that held the blade.”

He slices his left hand off, and put’s the blade in his mouth. He slices down, cutting off the other hand.

Grey spits the katana to the ground, “Survivor, pick the blade up. Stab me through the gut with it, and then throw it off that cliff. I am the body who caused so much harm.”

Survivor picks the blade up, and hesitantly stabs it through Grey. He then takes the blade out, and tosses it down below.

Grey smiles as the purple glow comes back around Survivor, “Thank you, brother. It is time for you to return home.” Grey collapses to one knee, “Forget me... become your own. Don’t worry... I am at peace.”

Survivor disappears, leaving Grey to fall to the ground completely.

Kendrick coughs, and crawls over to Grey, “We... can’t... just...die.”

Grey looks over at him, “We will. Did you... want another outcome?”

Kendrick lays down, “Life. I... don’t...care. I want to live.”

Grey is suddenly attacked by a bright light. He leans back, but can’t look away.

Both his and Kendrick’s armor begin to glow bright silver. The armor begins dragging them towards each other, filling them with an almost unbearable heat.

Their armor begins to melt, in a way. It brings the skin with it, forcing the two into each other,

They begin to merge, their armor melding them into one. 

Then, when it all done, a single figure lays in the middle of the clearing.

He wakes up, shaking his head. His mind is... peaceful. No shouting for blood, no call for peace. Kendrick is gone... Grey is gone.

The man looks as melted silver begins to rush over to him. It connects to the stumps that used to have hands, and begins shaping itself.

The rest of the armor begins to glow the same color as the molten silver. Then, finally, the silver hardens, and his armor seems to break.

The black shade falls off it, like a shell from an egg. Underneath, the armor glows. The silver glow is pleasant, and makes one feel like they are protected.

The man looks at his hands, only to see them back. Except, now, they are made completely of silver. In one of his fingers, there is orange writing, and there is a blue glow in the one next to it. He opens his palm, and can instantly see a blue crystal within it.

Then, the tranquility is interrupted. A loud crashing sound in the distance.

He looks over, in the direction of Ponyville, and sees a plume of smoke rising from the town.

He instantly rises to his feet, remembering all about the town.

He reaches to his back, feeling two handles there.

He grabs on, and pulls both weapons out. Then, he charges through the forest, towards Ponyville.
> Silver is Brighter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ponies run and scream in terror as the town falls around them. Beams of magic come from nowhere, tearing into and through buildings, and through market stalls. At the same time, a giant creature crashes through everything, bringing buildings down around them.

Turner rushes outside his house, and watches in horror as Derpy’s house collapses next to his. He screams, and rushes in, “Derpy!”

She weakly yells back, “Over here!”

Turner rushes over to her, and kicks a fallen beam off of her. He picks her up, and looks in her eyes, “Get out of here!”

Derpy shakes her head, “Dinky isn’t home, she’s out there!”

Turner smiles at her, “I’ll find Dinky, but you need to get out of here. Just, trust me.”

Derpy looks at him, and narrows her eyes, “Don’t let her come to harm, Turner.”

Turner nods, “Never would. Now, get going. I’ve got this.”

Derpy turns, and rushes to the Forest as quick as she can. Turner goes the opposite way, into the town.

Magical beams rush all around him, dead set on collapsing everything and burning the rest. Turner heads directly for the school, his determination forcing his hooves to go faster and faster.

He eventually spots the school, and sees a magical beam flying towards it. He raises his hoof, a device coming off of it.

With a pulsing sound and a blue glow, the device cancels out the magic. Turner smiles, “Oh, good old sonic.”

He slips it away, and moves towards the school. Foals rush outside, shrieking in fear from the collapsing buildings. 

Yet, Turner can quickly notice one foal leaving the main group and heading into town. Her purple fur, the red shine near her horn, Turner can quickly recognize Dinky. Turner rushes after her, “Dinky!”

She stops for a second, and looks back at him. She smiles, slightly. The first time she has smiled in a week. She motions back to others, “Protect them, Mister Turner, I can take care of these two.”

Turner shakes his head, “Your mother is worried! We need to go back to her!”

Dinky shakes her head back, “Protect the others, Mister Turner! I still have Grey’s gift!”

Turner takes a step towards her as she rushes off. But then he hears the crying of foals around him, and he whips out his screwdriver again. 

He whips around, and takes out another magical beam with ease. He looks at the foals, and points to the forest, “Get moving!”

The foals all listen, and begin their trek into the village.

Dinky rushes until she finds herself in town square. In front of her is town hall, and a giant human inside.

The human looks over at her, and breaks through the rest of the building. It doesn’t even pay attention as the building collapses on top of it, shrugging off the weight of it.

Dinky stomps her hoof down, “Stop destroying everything!”

The human smiles, and approaches closer.

Dinky charges power into her horn, and launches fire at the human.

But a second human comes out of an ally, instantly dispelling her fire. The mage human moves behind the giant, and channels it’s magic into another beam.

The beam charges directly at Dinky, bright red glow coating her form.

She takes a step back, but the beam is traveling so fast that she knows she can’t dodge.

Right before it reaches her, however, a figure jumps in the way.

The beam impacts him, but is held back.

The beam dissipates, revealing the figure.

His armor glows bright silver. In his hands are two weapons. A giant, three foot long mace, like Sauron’s, but it glows the same silver. In the other hand is a greatsword, polished well, with little bolts of lightning constantly arcing from the weapon to a different area on the weapon.

The sword is currently through the mace. He drags the sword away, scraping it on the mace.

Bolts of lightning arc from the weapons, crashing into everything around them. There is a continuous sound, one akin to thunder.

He finally disconnects them, and assumes a low stance.

The mace sits on his shoulder, and the sword sits by his waist. 

Dinky looks at him, “Grey?”

He looks back at her, “Grey doesn’t exist anymore, neither does Kendrick. There is only I, Silver.” He holds his arm out in front of Dinky, “I’ve got crimes to repay. But right now, I have some humans to stop.”

Dinky holds onto his arm, and climbs her way up to his head. She sits on his head, and smiles, “I knew you would be fine!”

Silver looks forward at the humans, “You two, hold up your hands and surrender!”

The humans only growl. The giant charges, and the mage fires off another beam of magic.

Dinky fires off her own magic, disabling that of the mage.

Silver charges forward, dead set on collision with the giant.

As they get closer, Silver notices something different with the human. It’s eyes glow bright red, and the circle has been replaced with a six pointed star. 

Silver charges, and stabs his sword forward.

The sword goes right through the human, and it instantly begins convulsing as lightning fills it. Silver moves the mace down, and swings it into the human.

The mace sends out a little shockwave on touch, sending the human flying even further away. Except, instead of one piece, the man is now made into two.

The mage man backs up a bit, charging his magic up again.

Silver rushes forward, throwing his sword into his elbow to hold it temporarily. Then, he opens his hand up, and taps on the crystal within.

A crystalline blue shield pops out of it, which he moves in front of him. The beam of magic sent hurtling towards them is halted by the shield, breaking the magical shield, but dissipating the beam.

Silver rushes closer, and brings both of his weapons in for a blow at once.

The mage human summons two magical swords, and barely keeps the weapons from hitting him. He keeps both of them still as both struggle to break the clash.

Dinky stands on Silver’s head, pointing her horn at the mage human. Narya lights up red, same with Dinky’s horn, and she charges up her magic.

A lance of fire crashes into the human mage, instantly killing him and stopping the fight.

Silver leans back from the new pile of ash, and sighs. Dinky jumps off his head, and begins to hug his leg, “I knew you were my friend!”

Silver sighs, and hugs her back the best he can, “I can only hope the others are as accepting as you.”
> Hunting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turner sighs, “Okay... okay. You definitely seem different, so I’m not going to say this is all a lie.”

Silver smiles, “Good, we need to focus on more important matters. The one who caused this, we need to find them.”

Turner looks around them, at the destroyed town, “You are very right.”

Silver looks as well, “We need someone who can track magic. Where is Princess Twilight?”

Turner shakes his head, “In a coma from the damage you did to her. She’s not going to be available for a while. No, we need to find a tracker.”

Dinky jumps into the conversation, “Oh, I can try!”

Silver shakes his head, “You are fire magic, not tracking. Save the magic until our next fight.”

Their conversation is interrupted as they hear footsteps approaching. They all look over, and a human walks closer.

The human appears to wear simple clothing. It walks up to Silver, and points, “Silver, follow.”

All of them take a surprised step back. Turner shouts, “He just talked!”

Silver looks at the human closer, noticing that the circle in the man’s eyes is broken. It circles around, yet ends before it touches the other end.

Silver looks at the others, “That spell that kept humans animalistic, I believe it might be breaking.”

Turner looks at him, “How did you come to this conclusion?”

Silver smiles, “One, this is a human who is speaking, so it must be. Two, the circle in his eye is broken. If the circle represents the magic on humans, than it would make sense. The circle represents control from someone with a circle Cutie Mark, and the humans we fought had a star in their eyes. So, the one controller of them must have a star Cutie Mark. Three, the eyes are the major difference between me and them. I must have done something in Canterlot to slightly break the spell over them.”

Turner nods slightly, “Perhaps that is true. You did use a lot of magical energy up there. Perhaps this human is connected to the ones who caused this attack?”

The human puts a hand on Silver’s shoulder, “Silver follow.”

Silver holds up a hand, “Just a second.” He looks back at Turner, “The human might be connected, I’ll follow him. You accompany me.”

The human pulls, “Silver follow! No pony!”

Silver sighs, and nods, “I will, just give me one more second.” He looks at the others, “Follow far behind me.”

The human pulls Silver once again, and Silver pulls his arm free.

The man begins to run off to the west, and Silver jogs after.

Turner begins after them, until he hears the flap of wings, “Dinky!”

Dinky looks up, and smiles, “Mommy, you’re fine!”

Derpy lands, slightly stumbling from her injured leg, “Oh Celestia, Dinky, what are you doing out here?”

Dinky laughs, “Oh, we defeated the two humans!”

Derpy looks up, “You and Mister Turner?”

Dinky shakes her head, “No, me and Grey. He came back, and he’s better!”

Turner nods, “She is correct, Derpy. She and him defeated the two troublemakers. Now, we were about to track down the one who caused this mess.”

Derpy shakes her head, “Not with Dinky, you’re not! Do you even know what danger could be out there?”

Turner nods, “Plenty of it, Derpy, but look at your daughter. She is no normal filly, she is a master mage. She managed to defeat the two who caused this, she managed to defeat Kendrick when he defeated the entire Guard. There may be danger, Derpy, but Dinky is more dangerous and brilliant than it. Plus, she has me and Silver, she’ll be fine.”

Derpy looks down at her daughter, and sighs, “I can’t just let you go so young. If she is going somewhere, I’m coming with.”

Turner shakes his head, “Derpy, you are injured. You need to rest.”

Derpy shakes her head back, “I need to protect Dinky, Mister Turner. I trust you fully, you’ve helped us so many times in the past, but I need to do this.”

Turner looks at her for another second, before sighing, “We need to set off, then. They are going at a jog, so we need to walk pretty fast.” Turner smiles, “Oh, and don’t call me Mister Turner. If you are traveling with me, call me the Doctor.”

Derpy smiles, “Let’s set off, than, Doctor.”
> Ancients Rise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silver pauses for a second, causing the leading human to stop as well. Silver leans against a rock wall, being deep in a valley, “How much further is this? We’ve been running through this valley for at least an hour.”

The human points forward, “Ahead, Silver.”

Silver sighs, “Do you have a name?”

The human looks at Silver, “Name? No, no name.”

Silver looks up at the human, “Well, I can’t allow my guide to go without a name. How about Probus?”

The man smiles slightly, “I Probus! Yes, Probus!”

Silver smiles, “I’m glad you like it. So, Probus, who are you taking me to?”

The man leans back, “Master. He break... chain.” Probus points to his head, “Head chain.”

Silver nods, “And do you know the name of your master?”

Probus nods, “Starburst-Caped, Clover-Clever. Masters, old like dust.”

Silver looks back, seeing Derpy slowly carrying down Turner. He smiles, and points forward, “Alright, let’s continue.”

Probus nods, and continues running through the valley.

Silver follows after, keeping pace with him. Silver looks over at Probus, “Do you know exactly how old your masters are?”

Probus looks over at Silver, keeping his footing still, “Old time, time Sun-Moon father Order. Not head chain time.”

Silver looks back forward, remembering the little information he’s garnered, “So, it was before Celestia ruled. About two thousand years ago, if Dinky’s teacher was right.”

Probus looks back ahead as well, “Shall say self, better speak. Replace head chain with own head for while.”

They both come to the end of the valley, where a deep hole sits. On the other side of the chasm is a cave opening. Silver sighs upon sight of it, “Are we going to jump over that?”

Probus nods, “Fall in way, jump over. Probus go, Silver next.”

Probus doesn’t allow time for response, taking a running start. He jumps over in a single leap, jumping at least fifteen feet. Probus lands on the other side surely, with no hesitation. He then turns around, ducks, and puts down his hand.

Silver looks at his low down hand, and shakes his head, “This is madness. Do you even know how much this armor weighs?”

Probus gestures with his hand, “Come, Silver, Probus help!”

Silver takes a step back, and charges himself up.

He sprints forward until he reaches the edge of the valley. Then, the best he can, he jumps.

He gets close, but his heavy armor begins to drag him down. He reaches out, barely managing to grab ahold of Probus’s hand.

Probus gathers all his animalistic strength, and begins to drag Silver into the cave. Silver grasps onto the edge, and pulls himself up with Probus’s help.

Silver rolls onto safe ground, panting slightly, “You know, Probus, I think I just discovered I have a fear of heights. You better make sure you always catch me, because fuck that feeling of no ground beneath your feet.”

Probus smiles, “Silver fine, no worry. Fuck no ground, but Probus here.”

Silver laughs a tiny bit, “Yeah, you are here. Good job, real good job. Tell me, the weight of my armor, how heavy is it?”

Probus looks down at him, “Silver like elephant.”

Silver looks up at him, “Are you saying you could pick up an elephant?”

Probus nods, “If Probus tired, could pick up. Probus very strong.”

Silver sits, and stands up, “That you are, I suppose.”

Probus stands as well, “Master calls, follow.”

Probus walks into the cave proper, with Silver following right after.

Probus walks up to a fancy door, and pushes it open. One side of the door is painted like a supernova, and a symbol sits in the middle of a golden outline. Said symbol is a star, with a projectile piercing through it, causing the star to bleed out colors of red and purple. The other door is similar, except it is brilliantly orange, and the symbol is a forming star instead. Bunches of yellows and oranges combine together into a six pointed star.

Probus walks through the door, and Silver follows after.

Within the room, are two fancy coffins. Both are decorated like the door into the tomb. Next to each coffin is a set of clothing, almost completely opposite. One brilliant cloak of a star bursting, and one simple cloak of a star forming. Next to both is a hat, one with a black bell at the end, and the other with a golden bell. At the end of the tomb is another door, made of simply cut marble, with a equally simple circle on it. 

Probus walks up to one of the coffins, and places his hand on the one representing a star bursting.

Energy flows from the coffin into Probus, and his eyes change to be that of the symbol on the coffin and door. 

Probus looks over at Silver, “Ah, sorry, yes, give me a second. It is very, very hard to work my magic whist I am technically dead, you see.” Magic continues it’s way into Probus. He closes his eyes, and breathes deeply, “One two three, one two three, onomatopoeia, magic, magic, Raxacoricofallapatorian, yes I got it.”

Silver looks at him oddly, “I imagine you are not Probus any longer. Is this what he was taking about, with you being able to break the spell temporarily?”

The man cracks his neck, “Ah, yes, I believe that is what he meant. Give me another second, last burst right here.” A final burst of magic channels itself into his arm, and he takes his arm back from the coffin. He looks toward Silver, “Oh, Silver, you are a sight for sore eyes. Though, I suppose you wouldn’t have met me yet.” He looks towards the clothing, “I am Starburst the Caped, we know each other. Except, I know you, you don’t know me, and I have to be really careful with what I say lest I cause a Thaum-time paradox.”

Silver nods slightly, “Would you happen to know who caused that attack on Ponyville?”

Starburst nods, “Oh yeah, that was Clover.” He points at the other coffin, “Yeah, she was driven a bit mad by the spell. Honestly, I don’t think locking her in a coffin, unconscious, for two thousand years was that good of an idea. I mean, I’m dying, it makes sense. But don’t worry, she shouldn’t cause too much trouble. With all luck, we could get rid of that spell.”

Silver narrows his eyes, “When you say spell, I assume you mean the one placed over humans?”

Starburst nods, “Oh yes, but it is a lot more than that. I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you some of it. Sit down, sit down, I have some history to share.”
> History Falls
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starburst summons up a little magical image board. It has a map of Equestria on it, except most of the major landmarks are missing.

Starburst smiles, “This is Equestria, right after it was created and the first creatures awoke. For this tale, we focus on a few of those first awakened. There were three brothers, all of whom awake right in the center of the map, Mount Canterhorn. There was Sombra, Spirit of Shadow. Discord, Spirit of Chaos. And Ordirus, Spirit of Order. All three ponies agreed to lead the world together. Sombra decided to become King of the Crystal Empire, leading over the Crystal Ponies to the north. Discord and Ordirus agreed to found a southern empire, one ruled in Harmony.”

The map splits itself into two. The quarter of it to the north is colored in with a blue color, stretching all the way til a range of mountains. The south is colored green, stretching at least a thousand miles, if not more. It is a lot larger than modern Equestria is, for much of the land now covered by sea is shown on the map.

Starburst continues on, “These three brothers were only able to get the lands they had because of their power, and managed to hold onto it with their leadership. Let’s give you some perspective on how powerful these three are. King Sombra once heard a castle servant complain about the lack of color in his empire, so he decided to make Rainbow Falls. He controls all of shadows and light, so forging a never ending waterfall of rainbows was simple. Discord was powerful enough that he created the entire Everfree Forest and all it’s creatures with a single snap. Discord rules over chaos, and so he can change everything. However, Discord could not reforge existing things, and could only make new. Ordirus once raised the Sun and Moon, and is responsible for most physical landmarks. The first time he flew, he ended up making the Foal Mountains.”

Silver nods, “But didn’t Celestia and Luna raise the Sun and Moon?”

Starburst nods, all the while adding more physical landmarks to the map, “Celestia and Luna are Ordirus’s daughters, and they inherited that power from him. He was a caring father as well. One time, Luna was sad because of bullying, and Ordirus decided to make the Luna Ocean in her shape. He did the same when he made the Celestial Sea, leaving Horseshoe Bay as his signature. Discord also was caring, although he was more of the fun uncle type. When Celestia and Luna set off to explore the world, Discord went with them just in case, leaving Equestria to Ordirus. In the end, Celestia ended up favoring her father, while Luna liked Discord more.”

Silver leans in, “And what was humanity like around this time?”

Starburst smiles, “Just like ponies. They farmed, guarded, wrote, and enjoyed the same peace and Harmony as all others. Humanity only changed once this era ended.”

Silver smiles, “Well, you play a part in this, don’t you? How’d you get involved with these Spirits?”

Starburst leans back, “That all begins with the greatest mage to ever exist. Starswirl the Bearded, born with the magic of an alicorn, the wisdom of a god, and the body of a unicorn. Starswirl had an abnormally long life, only becoming elderly by age two hundred. I know this well, because I was the apprentice of Starswirl. Starswirl knew he was getting old, and searched for the most magical foals in all the land. He found me when I was only one year old, and adopted me as his own son. Then, he found Clover, two years old, and adopted her as well. He was strict, but loved us all the same. He taught me every spell he knew, and taught Clover the theory behind every spell. I was the greatest mage, and she was the greatest mind. We both left to explore the world. Clover found Ordirus, and became his court mage. Meanwhile, I traveled the world, and ended up traveling with a disguised Discord. We became friends to the two brothers, and they used our powers. Both Ordirus and Discord recognized Starswirl as a greater mage than even them, and were eager to have his apprentices.”

Silver nods, “So, I fell like all this division is adding up to something.”

Starburst nods, “You are completely right, Silver. There was a mage, one on the same level as Starswirl. A human, or perhaps a pony, nobody ever got confirmation on what he looked like. He was a Necromancer, one who wanted to kill the entire world and bring them back as his servants. Vogrim, his name was, and he ended up marching towards Sombra. After a fight, Vogrim managed to slay Sombra, one of the three brothers suddenly missing. Discord sent Ordirus to slay Vogrim, not confident in his own fighting ability. Ordirus came back with a clean blade, saying Vogrim was already dead. Vogrim was slain, yet seemed to be missing all of his blood. Then, ponies started to go missing. Caravans, entire towns, they would be found slaughtered.”

Silver leans in, “And who did it?”

Starburst hesitates for a bit, “I... cannot tell you, Silver, I am sorry. It would cause a Thaum-time paradox, throwing both magic and time into chaos. What I can tell you is the rest of the bother’s story. Discord thought Ordirus was being treacherous, and decided to make a new kingdom on the west coast, based around the town of Discoria. Ordirus shot back, moving his own capital to the great city of Ordiria. Eventually, ponies went missing, and the brothers blamed each other. With no other option, they declared war on each other, splitting the world in two. Discord, Luna, and I. Ordirus, Celestia, and Clover. In the end, the only way to win the war was with a spell. It required massive energy, and came at a great cost to all of those who cast it. Clover was driven mad with knowledge, Discord was frozen in stone for a thousand years, Ordirus was put into a deep coma, and I almost died. Still am, technically. The fact that we are waking up means the spell is weakening, but not enough.”

Silver looks at Starburst, “What do you mean?”

Starburst looks right back, “At this current rate, the spell will fail it’s intended purpose before it fixes it’s side effects. This means humans will still be dumb, and I shall still be here. Trust me when I say that the world needs me and all of humanity. This is where you come in, Silver. You need to go back in time, and capture some of the magical energies used in the spell. Then, get the best mage you can find to cast a counter spell. Humanity shall be free, I shall come back, and we shall be able to work together.”

Silver nods, “How long ago was this?”

Starburst thinks, “Two thousand years ago, one day, that’s the exact day.”

Silver smiles, “I’ll do it, to free humanity.”

Starburst smiles back, “Oh, and take Probus with you. He will serve as the container to hold the sample of magic. Good luck, Silver.” Starburst fades away, and the broken circle in Probus’s eye comes back. Probus smiles, and passes out onto the ground.
> Final Foe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silver and Probus crawl back up to the top of the valley, with Dinky on Silver’s head, and Probus carrying Turner on his back.

Derpy flies up to the top, and offers a hoof to Silver. Dinky takes the hoof, and her mom pulls her over, leaving Silver to climb over himself. Probus gets up easily, and places Turner down on the stable ground. Probus looks down at Turner, “Next time told no go, you no go.”

Turner nods, “Yes, yes, I understand. But, more important, we need to discuss what Silver learned.”

Silver looks at the gathered party of four, “I saw the one who caused the attack, and talked to her brother. Clover the Clever she was called, driven insane and wanting to attack Ponyville because of it. The other was Starburst the Caped, who told me about the history of Equestria. He wants to break the spell over humans, for he says there is something that he needs all of humanity functional to face. He said that, if we could gather magic from the source of the spell, he could easily destroy it.”

Probus nods, “Master help human, help equine, help world.”

Turner nods, “Okay, alright, something is out there. Perhaps it could be what drove you mad?”

Silver raises an eyebrow, “Huh?”

Turner looks at him for a second more, “What? Oh, wait... uh, nothing to worry about.” Turner shakes his head, “Sorry, continue on. How exactly could we gather this magic?”

Silver smiles, “He told me that it happened two thousand years ago, yesterday. That means we have to find some way to travel back in time and capture that magic.”

Turner smiles, “Oh, okay then, that’s easy.”

Everyone, except for Dinky and Probus, look at him with confusion. Derpy asks it first, “What do you mean? Time travel certainty isn’t easy.”

Turner laughs, “Of course it is. I am the Doctor, after all.” He looks around at the two, cocking an eyebrow, “You mean I didn’t tell either of you? Ugh, I’m getting used to people recognizing my name. Alright, uh, hi, I’m the Doctor, and I travel through time.”

Silver looks at him, “You are joking, aren’t you?”

Turner looks over at him, “I thought you would have guessed! You know, being from Earth, saving it time and time again. I stressed the time word for a reason. Yes, Silver, I am a time traveler. Where else did you think I got the sign language helmet from?”

Derpy takes a step back, “You have to realize how odd this sounds, right?”

Turner shakes his head, “No, I really don’t realize it. I mean, come on, you are in a world with literal magic! You have god like beings that raise the sun and moon! You manage to fly despite the fact your wings are far too small. Why is a time traveling alien where you draw the line?”

Derpy shakes her head, “I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, Doctor. After you bought our house and treated us with such kindness, I know you deserve it. But, just realize that what you are saying sounds kinda odd.”

Dinky jumps up, “Oh, is that the blue box in the basement?”

Turner looks over at her, “How do you know about that, Dinky?”

Dinky smiles, “Our basements are connected, remember?”

Turner cocks an eyebrow, “They are? I thought mine was just bigger on the inside. Dang, that makes me feel a lot less magical when I go down there. Why did I ever connect them together anyway?”

Dinky laughs, “Well, those odd clothes fill most of it.”

Turner looks at her oddly, “Clothes? Was there one with a really long scarf? A fez? A white hat? Wait, wait, were the glasses there?”

Dinky nods along, “Yep, and a lot of strange cylindrical thingys.”

Turner shakes his head, “She must have dumped all her cargo into my basement! Ugh, I’m going to have to put that all back. It’s spring cleaning again, and I hate spring cleaning. I’d always skip on to summer.”

Silver holds up a hand, “Okay, Turner, perhaps you could clean out your basement after we cure humanity?”

Turner holds up a hoof in protest, “You don’t know what is in those clothes. Hell, I forgot! But, I can’t just go back in time without proper attire. Oh, you could also all use a hat and a bow tie. Never know who you might encounter out there.”

Silver shakes his head, and begins walking towards Ponyville, “Tell me about how crowded your basement as we walk, we have no time to waste!”

Turner rushes after him, “I would argue, we have plenty of time! We are time travelers, Silver, we do not have any limit except our life!”

Dinky crawls onto her mother’s back, and Derpy sets off. However, Probus decides to pick her up before she can walk for long, “Pony injured, Probus carry.”

Derpy smiles down at the human as he sets off after Silver and Turner, “Thank you, Probus.”

———

Turner still nips at Silver’s heel, “Do you know how many Sonics that is? At least three that are useful! Imagine what we could all do if equipped with Sonics!”

Silver stops, realizing they are now well within Ponyville. He looks around, barely even able to tell there was ever a town here. He shakes his head, “Clover sure caused a mess.”

Turner stops, looking around for himself, “She’ll do it again if we don’t break the spell, right? So let’s hop to it!”

They quickly reach Turner’s house, and wait for Probus to catch up.

Probus stops, barely even breathing hard, and drops both Derpy and Dinky down. He looks up, “Time mover here?”

Turner nods, “Yes, I just need to get it up and running.”

Yet, before anyone can take a step toward the building, it collapses.

A blue beam of magic cuts into the building, bringing to down. The beam comes from the air, and the caster soon lands in front of them.

A alicorn stands in front of them, with rotting skin falling from his frame. A golden cloak blows in the wind, with his necklace and crown, of similar gold, glowing blue. 

The alicorn laughs, and looks over at the group of five, “So sorry, but I’m afraid you won’t get any further. I have been stuck in this filthy, inferior world for six months for this one plan! You shall not ruin it, not when I’ve sacrificed so much dirt getting into my coat!”

Silver raises an eyebrow, “Ordirus?”

The alicorn looks over at him, “Ordirus?! No, you idiot! I am King Blueblood, Element of Greed! And I shall not let you ruin my plan!”

The alicorn looks over the group again. Silver already has his sword and mace drawn, Dinky has her horn pointing at him, Probus has his fists ready, and Turner glares at him.

Turner looks over at Silver, “Distract him, I’ll get the TARDIS.”

Silver nods, and looks back at Blueblood.
> Final Frontier
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blueblood instantly fires a beam of magic at the group, packing quite a considerable force into it.

Silver jumps forward, summoning his magic shield. He holds it up, and absorbs the beam. The shield shatters from the force, but absorbs all of the spell before it does.

Turner rushes past Blueblood, towards the collapsed house. This, however, draws Blueblood’s attention to him. Blueblood charges up his own magic, only to have a lance of fire impact him in the side.

Blueblood looks down, and grimaces as he sees his rotting flesh now burning, cutting right through his cloak, “You fool! My beautiful coat is burned! My beautiful, white fur! You’ll pay for that!”

He looks back at the others, only to have his vision be filled with a fist. He is sent to the ground and Probus completes his charged up punch.

Blueblood rolls back onto his hooves, and glares at Probus, “You would dare lay your filthy paw on me?!”

Silver rushes forward, stabbing at Blueblood before he can launch anymore magic. Blueblood leans back, and growls.

Blueblood spreads his wings, and takes off into the air. He looks down upon the group, “You filth deserve nothing more than to die of a similarly filthy weapon!”

Blueblood holds out his arm, and taps on a bulky machine he has strapped to it. His cloak shifts forms, now having a harness on the back of it. The harness has two levers, both of which lead to gigantic metal cylinders. Then, popping out of the air, he catches a grey, boxy thing in his hooves.

His ears twitch, and the lid on the cylindrical metal opens. Silver looks up, and can just barely see into them. He takes a step back, “Duck and cover!”

Blueblood’s ears twitch once more, activating the mechanism. Both of the cylinders fill with fire, and two missiles rush out of them. They rush down to the ground, and impact next to Silver as he tries to dive away.

They explode in a giant blast, sending Silver flying over the ruins of Turner’s house. He rolls when he lands, and begins to cough roughly.

The crater left by the missiles is as big as Probus if he was laying down. It’s almost a foot deep as well.

Probus jumps away from the loud explosion, and begins wildly squirming around in order to get the dirt and debris out of his eyes.

Blueblood smiles, and summons a crystal from his arm machine. He grabs the crystal, and shoves it into the boxy weapon in his hoof. It glows bright red, and he takes aim down at Probus.

He fires, a red laser instantly impacting the ground right next to Probus. Blueblood smiles, and aims for the center of mass.

But, before he can fire, a bolt of magic hits him in the side.

He is flung aside, his shot going wide, but is not injured badly. He manages to gain control of his body again, and wheels around to see Dinky pointing her horn at him. He aims up the CLR again, and attempts to fire off a shot.

Derpy tackles Dinky out of the way, making the laser barely miss both of them. Blueblood simply adjusts his aim, and aims for Derpy instead.

But, as he lines up his shot, he hears a loud crash from behind him. Then, after the crash, he hears a whooshing. Not a whoosh, per sey, but that’s the closest one could describe the sound in with such a limited language.

He is about to turn around, and only to feel something crash into him at high speed.

He is sent flying down into the ground, and he looks up to see what just did that to him.

A blue box floats through the air, with big white lettering saying ‘police box’. The door is open, showing a brown stallion inside it, rushing around a console, wearing a fez, and a overly long scarf.

The box circles around, and begins to rush towards the ground.

Blueblood panics, and rolls out of the way. A second after he moves, the box crashes down where he just was, creating a square crater in it’s place.

Blueblood quickly takes back to the air, twirling around and firing his laser rifle at the box.

The laser crashes into a shield, stopping before it can impact the box or pony inside. Blueblood grimaces, and flies right through the open door of the box.

Turner looks at Blueblood as he points a laser rifle at him. Turner reacts quickly, grabbing a second fez from the central console, and throwing it over the barrel of the laser rifle.

Blueblood fires, only to hit nothing but the fez, disintegrating it. Blueblood looks to see what the issue is, and Turner takes advantage of his distraction.

Turner pushes Blueblood, forcing him to let go of his rifle, sending it far away outside. Turner then moves the scarf off his head in one expert maneuver, and gets closer to Blueblood.

Blueblood swings back, and Turner moves closer whist also dodging his hoof. When close, he gathers the scarf in his hooves, and wraps it around Blueblood’s neck. He then drags Blueblood out of the TARDIS by his neck, the doors to it closing automatically as they leave.

Turner wraps the thing tighter, and pulls Blueblood to the ground. Blueblood lies on him, back down, leverage making for better choking. Turner smiles as he hears Blueblood gasp, feeling a very old part of him coming back.

Blueblood kicks the best he can, until he finally lands a single kick on Turner’s groin. Turner instantly yells in pain, and lets go of Blueblood. 

Blueblood gets up, and prepares to blast Turner to ash. But, as his horn charges up, he feels a sharp bit of pain on his chest.

He looks down, and sees a burn mark. He then looks up.

Derpy stands there, holding his rifle in her hooves. She holds it unsteadily, but still seems to know how to fire it. Then Dinky comes from behind her, charging up her own horn. Probus gets up from the ground, and stands next to the other two. Turner rolls to his hooves, face still showing great pain, but still ready to fight. Silver limps over to them, favoring his left leg, and takes his stand next to Probus.

Blueblood looks at them, and breathes rapidly, “You are better than I thought. It seems I underestimated you. No matter, in the end.” Blueblood glares, taps his leg machine, and smiles. His cloak begins to shift form, expanding out to cover his entire form. Then, the cloak turns metal.

Blueblood stands now, wearing golden power armor. It covers every part of his body, and glows in the sun. 

Blueblood laughs, a microphone inside the armor making it sound hollow and tinny, “I haven’t had to use my power armor in a century, so feel lucky. Then, despair, as I shall crush your heads underneath my hooves!”

Silver raises his mace, “Come on, then.”

Blueblood looks at them, preparing to say something. But he never gets the chance to.

Dark blue magic hits him from behind, right on his helmet. The power of the magic sends him flying forward, and tears away parts of the armor.

Silver takes advantage of the situation, and swings his mace as Blueblood flies closer. It hits him right in the head, flinging him aside toward Probus, and completely destroying his helmet.

Blueblood looks up, a dazed look on his face, “I will kill you?”

Probus looks at Blueblood by his feet, and growls. He grapples with Blueblood, and grabs both hands onto his horn.

Blueblood instantly realizes what is going on, “No, you wouldn’t! Don’t! You can’t!”

Probus laughs, “Probus strong, destroy Blueblood!”

Probus then squeezes with his hands, with all his strength. It takes a few seconds, as everyone can slowly see cracks appear in Blueblood’s horn. Then, in an instant, his horn breaks like porcelain. Little shards of it begin to fall, and Blueblood begins to scream in pain.

Probus smiles triumphantly, and looks at the others, “Probus won!”

Blueblood screams in rage, and summons as much magic as he can into his broken horn. The magic collects itself, and rushes straight into Probus.

Probus is instantly sent flying back, body letting out sparks of blue lightning. It seems like his entire body has been burnt from the inside out.

Blueblood begins to crawl away, “You savage animals! You broke my horn! My horn is gone!” He stumbles up to his feet, eyes filled with a fire-like rage, “I will come back, and I shall slaughter you and this entire world like the savages you are! You are all dead!” A dark portal appears behind him, almost like a hole in reality, and he stumbles into it. The portal then snaps shut, and Blueblood is gone from their world.

Instantly, they all rush over to Probus. Turner kneels down next to him, and shakes his head, “He’s not going to make it!”

They are all surprised when a new voice joins in, “We may have a solution, Doctor!”

All of them turn around, and see a regal alicorn standing there. Her mane like that of the starry sky, her fur a nice blue, with a crescent moon as her cutie mark. Turner raises an eyebrow, “Princess Luna?”

She nods, “Yes, my fair Doctor, it is us. We arrived exactly on time, as you requested. We also came prepared for the injury of your friend, Probus.”

Another voice enters the conversation, as a bipedal creature steps around Luna. His purple robes flow in the nonexistent wind.

Silver looks at him, “Edis?”

Edis looks down at him, “Hello, Silver. Your contract is up, and you have preformed it perfectly. The fact I didn’t need to replace you with Grey is odd, unexpected, and very good for the universe. The bad path was Kendrick taking over, the good path was Grey taking over. Merging was not even a path available, yet here it is. You defy all logic, Silver, and it is unequivocally the best path for the universe. I would say you have proved yourself more than worthy, have preformed my job better than perfectly, and deserve the offer I’m about to make you. Silver, I need you to sign another contract. Preform one more job for me, and I shall heal your friend before you get to it. It will not take a minute in this world, but may take up to two years in your own personal time stream.”

Silver looks back at Probus, “You would save him if I did this?”

Edis nods, “Yes. He will be as healthy as he was before he even got into this fight.”

Silver looks at the others, “Can I bring them with me?”

Edis shakes his head, “No, you cannot. This is a job for you, and you alone. I am sorry, truly, sorry as I can be with my heart of stone. But, this is what the Book demands.”

Silver picks up his mace and sword, holding them in each hand. He stands up, dirt blemishing his armor. He looks at Edis, and nods, “I’ll do it.” He looks back at the others around Probus, and smiles. His mind fills up, replacing everyone there with his brother, changing the world to the house. He clears his mind, and nods, “I will be back.”

Edis opens up a purple portal in front of Silver, and healed Probus at the same time.

Silver hears Probus gasping back to life, and smiles toward Edis.

Edis nods back, “Good luck, Silver. I think that should sum up the thoughts of everyone here.”

Silver looks back to the portal. He sees a grassy field in the middle of nowhere. The sky is dark, and grey ships seem to be traveling through the air.

He takes a final breath, and steps through.