> Captain Goodking and the Nightmare Knights
>  by Leondude
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1 - The return of Sacanas
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere in a distant land far away from Equestria, a land filled with centaurs and gargoyles, King Scorpan sat on his throne keeping an eye on his subjects and the various things he has been tasked with keeping safe as a favour to Celestia and the rest of Equestria. Then suddenly, a cloaked pony entered with a band of thestral minstrels in tow. The minstrels were playing a tune that sounded like this, more specifically at 0:31 while chanting "Sa-ca-ha-naaaassssss-ha!". After making his way towards Scorpan, the pony removed the hood of his cloak and looked up at the gargoyle king. The pony had a rather unusual appearance, with a bald head and two smaller horns behind his main unicorn horn and had a dark red complexion. He also had black make-up around his yellow eyes. The expression on his face was one of confusion, one that indicated there was a burning question on his mind.  And when the pony at last spoke, the band stopped playing their instruments rather abruptly.

"Sooooooo, who talks first? you talk first? I talk first?"

"Sacanas, is it?"

"Ah, you know you I am, do you? Well then, that means you know what I've come for."

"I know where you came from before one of our own took you in."

That provoked Sacanas to levitate Scorpan and angrily pin him to the wall. After that, he laughed maniacally before letting Scorpan go.

"Look how old you have become, Scorpan!"

"True, but something far worse has happened to you."

"Sweet mother of Celestia! You know my name, you know that I was raised here, you know I was KILLED BY MY APPRENTICE!!! HOW DO YOU KNOW THESE THINGS?!"

"Well uh...Celestia told me after Discord invited me over to Equestria to take your staff and guard it over here so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands again after the Storm King incident, but not before it was stolen by Discord's cousin, Princess Eris. I didn't even know Discord had a cousin!"

"Wait...Discord?"

"Yes, he became friends with the ponies of Equestria, just like I did. I'm quite proud of him for doing that actually since he always seemed so lonely and a bit antisocial."

Sacanas just looked at Scorpan with an expression of extreme confusion and befuddlement. Discord is friends with the ponies now?! What the Tartarus happened in his absence?! Naturally, such a revelation made Sacanas belt out another crazed cackle before pinning Scorpan to the wall again.

"ENOUGH WITH THE FORMALITIES! Here's how we are going to do this, Scorpy: Either you give me back my staff or I will rip out the location of the staff out of your mind! And trust me when I say that the last option is extremely painful for you!"

What followed was a lot of screaming on Scorpan's end and Sacanas trotting out with his minstrels in tow, continuing the menacing theme they played before Sacanas introduced himself to Scorpan. They then made their way to a chest, one that Sacanas hoped to Celestia wasn't a mimic and picked the lock with ease. Sacanas can't help but be amused at how weak the security was but thought to himself "well, sending dangerous magical artifacts to a distant land must be enough to stop it from getting in the wrong hooves, or hands in any other creature's case". He looked in the chest and found his staff. While he was happy to be reunited with his staff, he can't help but be disappointed that there wasn't more stuff in there like his Alicorn Amulet or one of those Seals of the Planets an acquaintance of his keeps whinnying on about.
> Chapter 2 - Reformed but rejected
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In spite of saving the world from his own mistakes, Stormy, now calling himself Captain Goodking, has been trying his hardest to make the whole good guy thing work. However, because of his actions and despite wearing a superhero costume, he still looks evil and the townsfolk worry he will pull a Discord and betray everypony once a better deal comes up. Not even neighbourhood pets can stand him, with one cat stuck up a tree tearing his previous costume to shreds. But luckily for the good captain, he decided to make his latest costume a little more protective by making it out of gold with dark blue threads (but not as dark as his previous attire back when he was known as The Storm King) covering the costume and he equipped himself with some goggles too. Although in hindsight, he should have designed a helmet as well.

"Get off me!" he shouted, having to deal with another cat trying to claw his eyes out "Can't you see I'm trying to rescue you?!". And once he got the cat down, the elderly Earth pony it belonged to just whacked him across the head with her umbrella and trotted off. Goodking just walked off in a huff.

"Start out small Discord said! It will prepare you for when you have to deal with something bigger than yourself and earns you the respect of the townsfolk Discord said! DO I LOOK RESPECTED AND PREPARED FOR WHATEVER LIFE THROWS AT ME?!"

After that tirade, Goodking heard a familiar laugh.

"Now now, my good captain, there's no need to be like that. Just because it's beginner's stuff does not mean it's going to be easy."

And out of thin air, a draconequus teleported right in front of Goodking. It was Discord.

"As I once said during one of my classes, have patience and realize you can't snap your problems away, which is ironic because I tend to do that all the time. Unless it starts creating problems for other ponies, but I only start fixing problems the 'normal' way for Fluttershy's sake."

"Yeah, you and Fluttershy are pretty close, know what I mean?" Goodking said with a knowing smirk and a wink

"Uh...W...Well, that's because we're such good friends!" Discord said in a surprisingly flustered tone and with his cheeks being extremely red "Anyways, we're getting off topic here. If you're having trouble with getting the people's approval, Luna invited you to a little group of ex-villains she banded together (which I'm a bit jealous of because I'm still waiting for my invitation to that group because I'm a reformed baddy! Why aren't I in the group?! Is it because of that one time I betrayed all of you to Tirek?! I said I was sorry! Plus, her little group were going up against my cousin Princess Eris! I could have easily talked her into giving Luna back her magic and teaming up against an alternate version of the Pony of Shadows! And don't say she would convince me into stabbing you guys in the back because she is my cousin because, the last time I listened to someone that I thought wanted the best for me, TIREK ABSORBED MY BUCKING MAGIC!!!!!)."

"Yeesh, and I thought I had anger issues."

After Discord's little rant, Goodking made his way into Canterlot to meet with Luna regarding him now being part of the Nightmare Knights. When he made his way into the throne room, only Luna was there (and Tempest Shadow as well, for some reason).

"So here's the deal, I got this invite from Discord and I was wondering if your group does more than save cats from trees because I've been doing that for weeks and I saw little to no progress."

"Captain Goodking, so glad you can make it" Luna responded

"Hey Tempest, long time no see. 'you part of these Nightmare Knights?"

"It's the least I can do after helping you back when you called yourself The Storm King" Tempest replied

"Yep. Good times!"

Tempest and Luna can only stare at Goodking reminiscing about his conquering days, wondering if having him on the team was such a good idea. Then Luna spoke up.

"Anyways, we require your assistance in helping us take down a threat we long thought to be departed."

"Why ain't Celly and the Elephants helping you, then?"

Luna then pointed to a broken window showing a battle between the Mane 6, Celestia, and the entire royal guard against alien threats (I kid you not!). Celestia can be seen dueling against an alien with a crown of horns on his head, red hair, redder skin, black face tattoos, burn scars on one side of his face, wearing rather plain and garish looking clothes and wielding what appeared to be a red laser sword. Twilight could also be seen defending the royal guards from a cloaked ape-thing with a laser sword that has two yellow blades.

"Something came up" Luna deadpanned

"So what's this threat we have to take down?"

"I'm glad you asked!" an energetic voice said before a three-horned unicorn teleported in front of Goodking with his minstrels playing the song they played in the previous chapter and the rest of the Nightmare Knights tied up 

"Introducing......The Grrrrrrrrrreat and powerful Ssssssssssssssssacanaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!"
> Chapter 3 - Awkward
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Goodking looked at the mutant unicorn standing before him. Where has he heard the name "Sacanas" before? Then he noticed that Sacanas was holding a very familiar staff in his hooves.

"I'm sure you're familiar with my staff, Mr. Storm King." Sacanas said "Though I do have to wonder, how did you mess up in spite of having the power of all four princesses?! I didn't even live long enough to see the third one!"

"Okay, first of all, it's Captain Goodking now. And the reason why I failed is the same reason your apprentice failed: He stabbed the wrong back!"

"Well to be fair, Sanies did take after his father more than he cared to admit."

"And second of all, how did you know who I was?"

"Just a simple bit of psychometry. By the way, did you know Discord has a cousin?"

Sacanas then looked at the Nightmare Knights he tied up before Goodking's arrival. You see, before the good captain showed up, the Nightmare Knights thought they could take on Sacanas and, while they did put up a really good fight, Sacanas managed to depower most of them and let Luna and Tempest go so they can find some new party members, counting on the fact that they would go to the recently reformed Storm King. While Sacanas has no specific use for Goodking at the moment, he assumed that Captain Goodking would be the only option left since that everyone else was busy taking down the aliens that were in cahoots with him. While they could get Daring Do to help, chances are she is busy with her own adventures. Perhaps if he has the time, Sacanas could find out about Daring Do's whereabouts and force her to find one of the seven Seals Of The Planets for him (and maybe a few other magical artifacts of unlimited power while she's at it). The Pillars could have been of good help but there's a good chance they are probably helping Celestia and her forces take down the alien invaders. Oh well, at least Sacanas knows that the diversion is going off without a hitch. Since that Sacanas was randomly entertaining the many ways his plan could go, he failed to notice how everyone was staring at him. And at that moment, he remembered something in order to ensure any temporary co-operation with his enemies.

"Oh of course, where are my manners? I promised Luna that I wouldn't kill these guys if she and Fizzlepop over here invited one more player to our little game."

"How did you know my real name?" Tempest asked inquisitively, which resulted in Sacanas giving her a look of shock.

"THAT'S YOUR REAL NAME?! I WAS MAKING A JOKE ABOUT HOW YOUR MAGIC IS ALL OVER THE PLACE BECAUSE OF YOUR HORN! Or what's left of it."

Naturally, such a comment resulted in Tempest trying to zap Sacanas, but Sacanas managed to block it with his staff.

"Well, it's been fun getting up to speed with everything and catching up with everyone but I really must go. I have a game night to prepare. Oh, and in the meantime, why don't we all acquaint ourselves with the new guys" Sacanas said before teleporting away. Goodking then noticed one of the group members, an Abyssinian, giving him a glare. While Capper is in no position to judge, given how he once tried to sell the Mane 6 and especially considering he betrayed the Nightmare Knights after Princess Eris offered him a life of luxury (although that last one turned out to be a trick to lower Eris' guard), he was still pretty mad about the Storm King's invasion and conquest of Abyssinia.

"Hey." Goodking said in an awkward manner "Soooooo.....No hard feelings about the whole 'conquering your home' thing?"

"And the whole 'attempting to destroy the world and allow your buddy to possess me' thing?!" a light blue pony said in a tone that was meant to be deadpan but was seething with mild contempt. The pony was also giving Goodking a glare.

"Hey, I had nothing to do with Sans or whatever his name was possessing you! Especially since he used you to kick my butt!"

"I still have nightmares about that dragon, you know!"

"And I have nightmares about being turned into stone and smashed to pieces, how do you think I feel?!"

That managed to shut the blue pony up. Since that he realized he probably has a lot of apologizing to do (if he didn't do enough atonement already) Goodking let out a deep sigh and then breathed in.

"I may have conquered your homes, destroyed your homes, turned some of you into stone, teamed up with a maniac that tried to destroy the world, and all that jazz and let me just say that whatever I did wrong, I'm sorry and I am trying like Tartarus to atone for it and get good PR. Now that that's over, let's start from the beginning. Hi, my name is Captain Goodking, what's yours?"
> Chapter 4 - Let's play a little game
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Nightmare Knights (and Captain Goodking) made their way to where Sacanas said his little game would take place, courtesy of Sacanas leaving a note saying "I'm not tricking you when I say this game will be a-maze-ing! (Somepony stop me!)". They then arrived at the labyrinth where the Mane 6 played a game with Discord, you know, before he turned over a new leaf. Standing in front of them as well as in front of the entrance of the labyrinth, holding his staff like it was a cane, was Sacanas wearing a big menacing smile on his face. And behind Sacanas were his thestral minstrels playing the same theme they always do like it was Sacanas' leitmotif or something.

"Mares and gentlestallions!" Sacanas announced, pretending his staff was a microphone "Let's meet our contestants!". He then pointed his staff towards every single member of the Nightmare Knights (and Captain Goodking) while telling his imaginary audience about them. Meanwhile, the minstrels stopped playing their instruments and, after some subtle gestures from Sacanas, quickly replaced whatever bass and brass instruments they had with steel drums and a kazoo (and all sorts of other instruments while keeping at least one brass instrument) and finally played something different, a jaunty little tune that wouldn't be out of place for a game show or a casino in outer space.

"This lovely lunatic is the princess of the night, then she got jealous of her sister and became a real nightmare! Sweety, I know how it feels not to have all the attention but at least I've got a good reason to prove myself to ponies, or I did before noticing the only thing distinguishable about me is my appearance and then deciding to become the maniacal bad guy you now see before you. And speaking of attention-seeking mares, this tricky pony right here used to be great and powerful, or at least that's what she had her audience believe. And when her beloved audience found out she was full of horseapples, they abandoned her and forced her poor and unfortunate flank into working on a rock farm. And over here, we have Catman and Fizzlepop, who both got bucked up and over by our good captain over here! And before that happened, Fizzlepop, AKA the unicorn with the electrifying personality, used to use magic normally. And then she came across the dreaded Usra Minor!!!! And after that, she became an outcast, like me. Tell you what, if you survive this game, I will give you one of my horns as a token of gratitude. And over here we have.....uh...who are you again?"

Sacanas was pointing his staff at Stygian. While Sacanas knew who Stygian was, he was simply using whatever insecurities Stygian might have had in an attempt to get under his skin. He then used the staff to tap on his chin before having a light bulb moment, for lack of better words.

"Ah, now I remember, the little pipsqueak who so desperately wanted to be a hero that he got tempted by forces beyond his comprehension and pulled a Nightmare Moon before Nightmare Moon did that! Maybe they should call turning into a corrupted version of yourself 'Pulling a Stygian' eh?"

And what teleported behind Sacanas was a very bored looking draconequus sitting back and yawning. Naturally, that made Sacanas jump a bit before he noticed who has just randomly teleported behind him, with the thestral minstrels immediately ceasing to play their instruments, also being startled by the draconequus' sudden arrival.

"Oh, am I interrupting?" Discord said in a dry tone "Bravo on the introduction, Sacanas"

Discord then proceeded to clap sarcastically, much to Sacanas' annoyance.

"Discord I presume."

"You should know, you're the one ripping off my shtick."

"How?"

"A. I already did what you're doing with the element bearers and won. And B. I wouldn't be surprised that a red and black OC is trying so hard to be the biggest bad guy there is that he has to resort to reusing plans used by the villains before him."

"What the Tartarus is an OC?!"

"I'd tell you but you don't want an existential crisis now, do you? Anyways, time to wrap this up so I can help the others."

Discord snapped his fingers but noticed that his magic isn't working. And that's when he noticed that Sacanas was holding a rock. While Discord was talking, Sacanas had quickly picked up one of the many rocks he has placed all over the labyrinth to give himself an advantage of our brave heroes.

"This stone has magical properties that can disable all types of magic except for changeling magic. Pretty nifty, huh? I have covered the entire maze with this stuff!"

"Well, so much for turning you into a citrus fruit. Orange you glad that didn't happen?"."

After guffawing at his own incredibly bad joke, Discord then walked off before teleporting out of Sacanas' sight to help aid the Mane 6 (but Fluttershy especially). Sacanas then bowed and showed the Nightmare Knights the entrance into the labyrinth, but not before giving back the magic he stole from Trixie and Stygian for no other reason than to rub their noses in the fact that their magic will be useless in the labyrinth.

"Good luck, everypony!" Sacanas said in a jovial tone before laughing like a loon and realizing something that could have worked to his advantage.

"Son of a...I could have had him take part in my little game! Oh well, maybe if the Nightmare Knights lose this game, I suppose I could convince him to save their souls by playing the game. Even if it involves kidnapping this 'Fluttershy' he seems so fond of to get him to co-operate. Ohohohohoho!"
> Chapter 5 - Tricks up the sleeve
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trixie wandered into the labyrinth, only to bump into what appeared to be a mirror. Then she looked around and noticed there were loads of hidden mirrors everywhere, designed to make the labyrinth harder than it actually is.

"Really?!" Trixie said in an annoyed tone

"Well now, since that I can't rip the fabric of reality like your buddy Discord, I had to improvise."

Trixie then noticed who was talking behind her and turned around into an attack position. Sacanas just laughed.

"I'm not here to fight, Trixie. After all, why would I hurt someone who has the same blood as me?"

"What?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I was one of your ancestors?"

Trixie looked stunned for a moment, trying to process what Sacanas just said. Sacanas then leaned in closer to whisper into Trixie's ear.

"Let me tell you a family secret............Gullible!"

Sacanas then rolled onto the floor laughing like he just pulled the funniest prank in the history of Equestria, while Trixie just looked annoyed before giving Sacanas a haughty look.
"
The great and powerful Trixie was not fooled at all, fiend!"

"Oh good because I was worried in case of the odd event that somepony actually believed they were related to somepony else simply for sharing a few attributes and having similar names. Although I did come across a bouncing pink mare that suspiciously looked like a mercenary stallion I once knew, but she had a pink poofy mane while the stallion was bald."

Sacanas then knocked down a few mirrors, trying his best not to break them because A. Mirrors are expensive. And B. It's usually bad luck to smash a mirror to pieces.

"Anyways, even if we're not related, I think we can help each other out. I show you the way to the end of the maze and, in return, you listen to a great and powerful offer."

"And what could you possibly offer the great and powerful Trixie?"

"If you accept my help, perhaps I will tell you."

"No deal!"

Trixie then walked off before bumping into another mirror, something that even made Sacanas do a facehoof, and that pony is crazy! Nevertheless, while Trixie was clumsily plodding along, Sacanas was helping her from behind the scenes, even placing signs saying "Centre of maze is here, genius!" and "Go this way, all great and powerful one!". Eventually, Trixie encountered Sacanas, who was holding a congratulatory muffin basket (don't tell Derpy).

"Congratulations on making it through the maze! And since I'm feeling generous, I will tell you my offer anyway. You know how you're always wishing to one-up that princess Twilight Sparkle? 'Twilight Sparkle'?! Eesh, sounds like the name of a vampire pony! And I thought a creature named 'Discord' making friends was the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!"

One of Trixie's ears perked up at that statement, more specifically, the "one-upping Twilight Sparkle" part. While she is all great and powerful and WAY more humble than everypony else, she can't help but be intrigued by Sacanas' offer.

"Continue."

"What if I could turn you into an alicorn? While Twilight is stuck being a tiny little unicorn that is now inferior to your magic! And the best part? No strings attached! Trust me, this is not a trick, which is impressive because my cutie mark indicates I have a knack for tricking people. Even to the point where I told Celestia that it actually meant I was good at acting, which is technically true."

While Trixie was tempted by Sacanas' offer, she decided to pass on the offer, knowing that Starlight would not be happy if she found out that the great and powerful Trixie bucked over Equestria simply to be even more great and powerful. 

Besides, why would she need to be more great and powerful? She is the greatest and most powerful unicorn Equestria has ever seen!

"The Great and Powerful Trixie refuses your offer! Now, since I have won your little game, I am going to be helping Starlight Glimmer and the others take down those alien invaders."

But when she tried to do that, she realized she can't move. Her entire body, apart from her face, was paralyzed, something that amused Sacanas.

"Trixie" Sacanas said in his usual jovial tone, but this time sounding a little bit more sinister "When it comes to unlimited power and greatness, most ponies don't pass on this kind of deal. Tartarus, not even I would pass on this deal!"

"W...What's going on? What did you do?!"

"You were used as a vessel by my apprentice, weren't you? Well, along with using what's left of the changeling throne room, I also made a visit to Tartarus and noticed that my poor apprentice was in pieces, serves him right too, if you ask me. So I scattered pieces of my apprentice all over this maze as well in order to give some of you ponies a little nudge when it came to making the right choices."

Sacanas then presented Trixie a familiar looking amulet, except this time it looked....different. More twisted and evil, with darker colours and small black tendrils encasing the ruby. It also looked more draconic in appearance.

"You know, since that this amulet was designed to house at least the power of an alicorn and nothing else, I wondered how you managed to get corrupted by it when you took your revenge on Twilight. But then I remembered that my apprentice pooled some of his own magic into this precious amulet. I'm guessing it must have been more than magic because chances are some of his evil must have gone into the mix too, for lack of better words. Well, either that or it's because the alicorn whose magic I stole to make this amulet was one very bad pony! And I mean REALLY bad, like 'literally watching the world burn' kind of bad!"

Sacanas then trotted closer towards Trixie, intending to put the amulet on her. Needless to say, if it weren't for the fact that Trixie was paralyzed, she would either be running for her life or emptying her bladder. Sacanas just smiled.

"Ever heard of the phrase 'Don't knock it until you try it'? If I'm offering you nigh-unlimited power, the least you could do is give it a trial run. Besides, I went through a lot of trouble to get the Alicorn Amulet!"

What followed was Trixie letting out a piercing scream as Sacanas placed the amulet on her.
> Chapter 6 - The friend your friend needs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Capper walked casually walked, jumped and crawled through whatever spaces in the labyrinth he can find. When one has spent an inordinate amount of time in Klugetown stealing from people and running away from anyone he's in debt to, one does learn how to take shortcuts in the most unlikely of places. While doing his thing, Sacanas suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Impressive, I guess you can even say purrrfect! Haha! Somepony stop me!"

"Woah, didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to sneak up on people?"

"My mother abandoned me in a distant land."

"Yeah, I can see why surviving on your own can mess someone up."

"Oh don't worry, I had a very loving and caring centaur look after me and.....teach me....magic......b....be....fore.....I'mgonnaneedaminute!"

Sacanas then produced a hanky (or hoofky I should say) and proceeded to wipe the tears welling up in his eyes and then blowing his nose in it, something which grossed Capper out a bit. Then Sacanas breathed in and out and pulled out a pack of cards.

"Anyways, pick a card! Any card!"

Capper then rather carefully picked a card from Sacanas' hoof, especially since that was the hoof he was holding his hanky in. And on the card, he saw himself living like a king.

"The king of spades, and trust me when I say you got fortune in spades!"

"What's the catch?"

"GASP! Capper! I'm shocked that you think I'm doing all this with an ulterior motive! You make it sound like a dark magician can't be generous every now and again! I'm not some brute who lives for destruction like my departed apprentice! But in order to get such riches, you will have to complete this maze. And to do that, you will have to jump up twice, then crouch down twice, then go left, then go right, then get to a sign labeled Point A, then walk over to a sign labeled Point B and by Celestia you would have a new life as promised. Maybe even more than just the nine you've got if you're lucky"

While Capper was very suspicious of Sacanas, especially since the last time he accepted betraying his allies for a life of luxury was with Princess Eris, he decided to go along with it anyway just to see what Sacanas would do. Once Capper was out of Sacanas' sight, Sacanas giggled to himself while looking at the King Capper card.

"Come to think of it, there is one catch" Sacanas said quietly "And that is you will have to climb your way to being king! Ohoho, aren't I tricky?". But before Sacanas could continue giggling to himself, he noticed Discord lying down on one of the hedges behind him with a bored expression on his face.

"What do you want this time?"

"Oh, nothing much. It's just I noticed on the invitation you given the Nightmare Knights ended with the phrase 'Somepony stop me!', which you just so happened to repeat when making another bad pun. More evidence of your unoriginality, I suppose."

"What can I say? I want to make it my catchphrase whenever I make the worst puns known to ponykind. After all, I am a bad guy, so I don't see why I can't make bad jokes while I'm at it."

"You know Sacanas, I was wrong to accuse you of stealing my shtick."

"You are?"

"Yes. Instead, you're stealing my cousin's shtick. Well, except for the bad puns thing, everyone does that."

"Aha! But that's where you're wrong, because your cousin didn't use aliens as a diversion for our usual heroes while corrupting these losers now, did she?! Besides, don't you have to be chaotic somewhere else?"

Discord then pointed to the horned alien from Chapter 2 holding a big balloon resembling his laser sword, swinging his legs around while screaming "HELP ME!". Sacanas, noticing the smug look on Discord's face, just trotted off in an annoyed huff. 

Meanwhile, Discord just walked out of the labyrinth before teleporting to Fluttershy's cottage to attend to her animal friends.
> Chapter 7 - Working from the shadows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sacanas observed Stygian from afar, wondering what he can do to corrupt him again. If Princess Eris had difficulty corrupting Stygian, how the Tartarus is he going to fare any better?

"Come on, Sacanas, think!" Sacanas thought out loud to himself "What can I do to convince Stygian to return to the darkness again?"

"Perhaps I can help" a borderline demonic voice said. It was a mix between a feminine if commanding voice and a deep, but raspy voice. Sacanas turned around and noticed the changeling queen behind him. The queen had green glowing eyes and was wearing a rock necklace, with the rock glowing green as well.

"Curse it all, Sanies! Would you please stop sneaking up on me like that?! Especially when you do it in a form that's not your own."

"I admit taking over Chrysalis' mind is more difficult than I thought, but couldn't you have given me the Alicorn Amulet instead of handing it over to my previous host?"

"Speaking of your previous host, is it me or does the queen sound a little bit like Trixie?"

Sanies just rolled his eyes, or rather Chrysalis' eyes. He then walked closer towards where Sacanas was standing. Both Sanies and Sacanas gave each-other an annoyed look.

"You know, you're lucky I took the time of day to drag your shattered flank from Tartarus and trick the queen into wearing a piece of you thinking it was similar to the Alicorn Amulet!"

"And you're lucky I haven't betrayed you again.....Yet."

"Sooooo, how do you intend on helping me, 'oh great Lord Sanies'?"

"Watch and learn, master."

Sanies then used the changeling body he was occupying to turn into Star-Swirl the Bearded. While looking for Stygian, Sanies took a detour to remove the Alicorn Amulet from Trixie, who was left comatose as a result of Sanies and Sacanas' machinations. Although, in order to do that, he would have to temporarily control Trixie to get her to take it off. While putting it on, he thought to himself about how easy it would be to destroy Sacanas right now. But he decided to pass on that idea, thinking it was better to bide his time rather than act impulsively. With the amulet's magic mixed in with the changeling's magic, it should be easy for Sanies to use the power that would normally be far beyond his current vessel's capabilities. After finding Stygian's position, Sanies used a combination of changeling magic and the amulet's power to create a portal right beneath Stygian, sending him plummeting into the Hollow Shades. Sanies then jumped into the portal himself. Noticing what Sanies just did, Sacanas decided to follow suit.

SMACK!

When Stygian came to, he realized he was in the Hollow Shades, which quite naturally reminded him of some really bad times. Times where he was at his weakest, but that was nothing in comparison to what Stygian saw in front of him.

"You know Stygian, I now understand why you wanted our power."

In front of Stygian was Star-Swirl wearing the Alicorn Amulet. And behind him were the other pillars, who looked as equally corrupted as Star-Swirl.

"Why would we need to protect all of Equestria when we can have it all? The only way for there to be peace is if the entire world was plunged into darkness!"

Stygian couldn't believe what he was seeing! This has got to be one of Sacanas' tricks! There's no way that Star-Swirl and the pillars would succumb to the same darkness he once did! He didn't want to believe it.

"Join us, Stygian! You will be just as powerful as we once were. Wasn't that what you originally wanted?"

"No! This is all a trick to fool me into embracing the shadow once m-AGH!"

Stygian noticed that Star-Swirl has blasted him with a bolt of magic that managed to singe one of his legs. Star-Swirl just looked at Stygian menacingly, with his eyes glowing red from the amulet and a wearing a sickening grin on his face.

"Did that feel like a trick to you, Stygian?"

Star- Swirl and the other pillars chuckled at Star-Swirl's rhetorical question before advancing even more towards Stygian. But before they can do another attack, Sacanas decided to pause time for a bit. Clearly, the hamster-ball looking time spell wasn't the only time spell Sacanas knew, plus he knew a Time Turner that taught him certain things about time that were yet to be written about in the magic books.

"You know, it really is adorable that you try so hard to resist the power you once held. I mean seriously, it must be torture!"

Sacanas then showed Stygian a mirror

"There are two options presented to you right now. Option 1 has our corrupted legends over there tear you a new flank-hole, and Option 2 is giving in to the power you once had."

Stygian can only stare at the mirror, which had a reflection of the Pony of Shadows looking back at him

"What's it gonna be, Stygian?"
> Chapter 8 - Getting a storm started
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Goodking was stumbling around the labyrinth the same way Trixie was earlier, with the only difference being he now has an estimated 63 years of bad luck to deal with and is covered in brambles as a result of trying to avoid any hidden mirrors. And amidst all of this, Sacanas just stood idly by, staff in hoof. Once Goodking noticed Sacanas' presence, he decided to give Sacanas a piece of his mind.

"You got some nerve placing mirrors all over the place! Look at me?! I got cuts and bruises all over the place!"

"Aw, did your grace get a royal boo-boo? Cry me a river."

Sacanas then trotted off past Captain Goodking, muttering to himself why did he come here? And then he had another lightbulb moment.

"I have a proposition for you, your majesty. How would you like to be a king again?"

"I know what you're trying to pull and you can forget it!"

"Ah, but my offer is different."

"How?"

"Because I'm not a backstabbing snake."

The thing is Sacanas clearly was as treacherous as his former pupil. In fact, he even taught Sanies a thing or two about how to hide your intentions and true colours. It's clearly written on his flank with the comedy and tragedy masks for a cutie mark that he's not meant to be trusted, even though the mark could be easily indicative of his acting skills and/or rapid mood swings. But if he could easily trick Sanies' father into getting petrified under the pretense of being granted eternal life, he could easily trick Goodking into taking up his former identity as The Storm King.

"Here's the dealio, Mr. Goodking or whatever you want to call yourself, you complete this maze and I restore you to your former glory in return. And the best part? You can rule any way you want! You can choose to be the tyrannical overlord you once were or you could rule benevolently like our favourite sun princess, Celestia!"

"And how will you manage to do that?"

"Well, the only way to find out is to complete my maze."

And with that, Sacanas knocked down a row of mirrors like they were dominoes, well, before quickly placing pillows over the descending mirrors in order to avoid 140 years of bad luck if he ever lived that long. But it made getting through the maze much easier for Goodking. When Goodking reached the end of the maze, he noticed Trixie in a catatonic state.

"Uh...Hey, 'you okay?"

Goodking waved his arm in front of Trixie's face but there was no response, especially since Trixie's eyes were nearly rolled up all the way to the back of her head. Naturally, this worried Goodking, wondering what sick game Sacanas was playing with them. But before he could think or say anything, Sacanas hit Goodking over the head with his staff, knocking him out in the process. After Sacanas was busy quietly giggling to himself, Sanies, still possessing Queen Chrysalis, walked in to be informed on the next stage of Sacanas' plan.

"Ah, Sanies! Good work on Stygian, by the way, couldn't have done it without you!"

"You taught me well."

"Yeeees, too well. As evidenced by you lowering my guard and killing me!"

"Speaking of which, you appear to be taking death well more than most."

"Well, that's because 'most' aren't offered second chances!"

"Fair enough. So, what's the next step of your plan before I plunge this vessel's horn into your back?"

"Your dry humour never ceases to amuse me, Sanies. Now, the next part of the plan is I tempt Fizzlepop over there while you deal with Luna!"

Sanies gave a sickening smile towards Sacanas, knowing this is the exact opportunity to gladly betray his master and destroy Equestria that he has been waiting for.

"I thought you'd never ask."
> Chapter 9 - Opening up her eyes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sacanas observed Tempest walking through the labyrinth, waiting to hit her over the head with his staff. While he could easily sweet-talk her like he did the other contestants, he feels it would be easier to convince her with some illusion magic as Sanies did with Stygian. And when the time was right......I think you know where this is going.

THWACK!

When Tempest came to, she was in a dark cave. She walked forward and noticed a big, shiny mirror. And in the mirror, she saw something that surprised her. Something that she has always wanted for a long time and had long thought she would never get no matter how hard she wished:



She got her horn back!



As she stared at her horned reflection in the mirror, feeling all sorts of emotions such as shock and an odd sense of satisfaction, Sacanas walked behind her with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Do you like what you see?" Sacanas said in the same jovial tone he always has "If you like, I could make it bigger and even sharper for you".

Tempest was still processing the fact that she has her horn. But then she realized it was another one of Sacanas' tricks, something that was confirmed by Sacanas sticking his staff through Tempest's horn before making it disappear.

"Do you really think I'm going to restore your horn without something in return? Quid pro quo, as the saying goes."

Sacanas then whipped out his staff and proceeded to use it as a back scratcher. Not the most impractical use of a magical artifact I have heard off, I assure you. And with that little action, along with the satisfaction of scratching something that has been itching at him for a while, he then made this rather mediocre but fitting quip:

"You scratch my back, I scratch yours."

Naturally, like anyone with a good idea of what a villain looks like and knowing not to trust someone like that, Tempest was suspicious of Sacanas' intentions. The last time someone promised to restore her horn, it turned out the person in question was just using her. Then Sacanas trotted off while humming a familiar tune. It was a tune that commanded power, a tune that was perfect for a commander, a tune Tempest was all too familiar with.

Open up your eyes
See the world from where I stand
Me among the mighty
You caged at my command

"Catchy tune, isn't it?" Sacanas said while twirling his staff around energetically "My apprentice considered the ancient Equestrian tradition of bursting out into musical numbers when the situation called for it to be silly. But personally, I think he was just a bit uncultured!"

Sacanas then jumped towards Tempest and placed his foreleg right wrapped around her shoulder.

"I know you have no reason to trust me, in fact, I can't think of anyone that trusts me nowadays, but if your former master could turn over a new leaf, why can't I? After all, this staff literally has my name on it! Hello, it's not like I’m the kind of guy that names random stuff after myself. Although I do know a guy that has a habit of doing that! 'Harp of Kronos' this, 'Rod of Kronos' that! What next? 'Underwear drawer of Kronos'?!"

Sacanas then cleared his throat, aware by the look Tempest was giving him that he was rambling again. You'd think being resurrected would leave him all tanned, rested, and ready to give Equestria a wedgie again. But then again, he is a bit more energetic than he once was so maybe being brought back was better for his health than one would have guessed. Sacanas then handed Tempest a playing card with her as an ace.

"You're a pretty efficient unicorn in spite of your disability, but I know that with your horn, you'd be even greater! And, here's the best part, you don't have to worry about little bits of magic squirting every which way! Trust me, I've been through that phase and it's.......It's not fun."

While Tempest still has no reason to trust him, she decided to go with whatever Sacanas was selling. Mainly, it was just to lower Sacanas' guard and take him out by surprise. But little did she know that Sacanas will surprisingly enough keep his word on the bargain......Technically.
> Chapter 10 - Nightmare Fuel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna trotted through the labyrinth, expecting Sacanas to appear out of nowhere to offer her a deal or play some sort of trick on her. And when Sacanas did appear out of nowhere, it came as a surprise because he teleported right in front of Luna rather than just sneaking up behind her as one would expect. Sacanas was also wearing the corrupted Alicorn Amulet as well, although that left Luna with more questions than answers.

"The princess of the night!" Sacanas loudly announced, "I knew saving you for last was a good idea after I had taken care of your pitiful little band!"

"What did you with them, Sacanas?" Luna said with cold contempt, glaring at Sacanas all the while.

"Oh, there's no need to be like that, Lulu! You make it sound like something bad happened to them. All I merely did was grant them what they truly desired, no strings attached."

Sacanas then jumped up and placed his foreleg onto one of Luna's shoulders while giving her a little shake and showing her an illusion of when she was once Nightmare Moon.

"You had so much power back then, you know. You could have been powerful enough to destroy Celestia."

The illusion then changed to Luna's banishment, something that made Luna feel uneasy while Sacanas just looked on with a grin.

"Aw, but then she had to cheat and use the Elements of Harmony on you. Oh well, joke's on her since, due to the bond that existed between the two of you was broken, that meant she can no longer use the elements because she no longer had loyalty to you, she wasn't honest to her subjects about how she felt after doing that, she was secretly too miserable to really laugh. Really, the only qualities she really had were she was still kind and generous to her subjects and she could still do magic, but what good is only half of the elements when you need their full power to take on whatever nefarious evil-doer that might be terrorizing your kingdom?"

Sacanas then showed Luna's return from her banishment and her being freed from her dark side thanks to Twilight and her friends.

"But Celestia just had to send one of her star pupils, you know, the one with the silly vampire bat-pony name, to a quaint little village known as Ponyville! And that pupil just had to make friends that, by some contrived coincidence, represented five of the elements with her being the Element of Magic! Sounds like something out of a fairy tale but if someone named Discord can make friends, even though the term 'Discord' means 'a state or condition marked by a lack of agreement or harmony' and he has those qualities in spades as well as inducing it in others, can make friends and even get along with them for the most part, then I don't know what's real anymore!"

Sacanas then threw Luna into a bush before levitating her and slamming her down into the ground, wearing a sadistic grin all the while. He then telekinetically grabbed her by the throat and pulled her closer to him.

"You know what I find really funny? It's the fact that you're unaware that the elements have brainwashed you! Seriously, one blast from the elements and suddenly you're all 'Oh, I'm sorry for being a big meanie, please forgive me, wah wah wah'! Sweet Celestia, give me a break! Hello, your sister banished you to the moon for a thousand years !!!! And during that time, you had a group of Nightmare Forces at your disposal to give ponies nightmares for as long as they lived! Oh, but after you've been hit with the elements, you're like 'buck this, I'm done'!"

"If...you are..t...trying to turn me back into Nightmare Moon," Luna said, struggling through Sacanas' grip on her "Then you are sadly mistaken".

"Ohoho, but think about it! Not only did the elements revert you to a younger form, but it made you regress to a time where you spoke the Old Ponish when previously, you spoke Ponish easily! If that doesn't sound like the Elements changed you, I don't know what the Tartarus is!"

While Sacanas does bring up some good points, those points were immediately invalidated by the fact that the elements' "brainwashing" and any other side effects were merely temporary. Even if it were the case that the elements reformed her against her will, Luna still refused the temptation to become Nightmare Moon, knowing that the power of friendship is far greater than whatever she had as Nightmare Moon. Plus, the ponies nowadays adored her, even if she has difficulty smiling for an extended period of time. Even though it took Sacanas a while to take a hint, he eventually let Luna go and chuckled. His chuckle eventually deepened as he turned into a familiar dragon that Luna and her sister recently fought.

"You!"

"Ah good, you remembered me. Although I'm not entirely sure if you know my name so allow me to give an overdue introduction."

"Celestia has already informed me of who you are, Sanies!"

"Hehe, I guess she really must be desperate to make up for lost time to tell you about me. And how I nearly broke her."

Sanies then grabbed Luna by the throat, his eyes glowing a brighter shade of green with red undertones as a result of the amulet's power.

"I was hoping to corrupt you would be less time-consuming since that my master and I are on a tight schedule, but since that, you have proven yourself to be resilient to the offer of greater power, it appears I will have to get inside that pretty head of yours by force."

Luna felt a painful drilling sensation in her head as Sanies tried to enter it. She gritted her teeth and grimaced at the mental agony she was in. She would bring her hooves to her head in an attempt to get Sanies out of there if it weren't for the fact that she now can't move her body. She tried to fight back against this mind invader for the sake of her very identity and person, making sure that Sanies doesn't dig up any more bad memories in an attempt to weaken her resolve. While every part of her being was fighting against Sanies, the dragon just smiled. And what delighted Sanies the most is that he didn't have to worry about accidentally awakening Nightmare Moon this time around as he did with Celestia and Daybreaker because they are in a place that would render many beings powerless unless they were a changeling.

"If I had known how weak your mind was, I would have taken over your body much sooner. I could even use your form to destroy your beloved sister if I wanted to, but I'd rather wait until any potential obstacles have been eliminated. Tell me, were you always this weak-minded or is this another side-effect of the elements 'freeing' you?"

"G..et...Ou...t....of...my...head...."

"With the amount of power at your disposal, combined with the power of the Alicorn Amulet, why would I do that?"

"Y..ou...w...i...ll....not.....con...tr....ol...me...."

"I beg to differ, princess. After all, your sister has essentially been controlling you the moment the elements reverted you back to a less powerful form."

Luna was still trying to resist Sanies' hold on her, but it was no use. Her jaw dropped and her eyes rolled up at the back of her head. And the last thing she saw was Equestria from afar, while she was stuck on the moon. Meanwhile, Sanies changed into Chrysalis and a dark blue essence left Chrysalis' horn into Luna's. Both Luna and Chrysalis were screaming during the transaction before both of them passed out. Luna, or rather Sanies, slowly got up with a zombie-like gait. He then looked at the Alicorn Amulet on Chrysalis' unconscious form and crudely moved Chrysalis around like a twisted marionette in order to take the amulet off of Chrysalis and place it on Luna's form. After that, he then stumbled through the labyrinth in an attempt to exit it, not caring where he went because he could not feel what his host would be feeling at the moment. After that, he sat down and looked at the sky, knowing what he was going to do next. Sacanas, the real one I should mention, then jumped to his side staff in hoof, recognizing that Luna was not in control at the moment.

"You really couldn't resist the power of an alicorn, couldn't you?" Sacanas said, his tone indicating that he couldn't decide whether to congratulate his apprentice or be enviable of him.

"It was surprisingly easy, Sacanas. While I could have taken my time with it, I understand that your allies are not going to hold out much longer against Celestia and her forces."

"And I trust that you are still aware of our deal."

"Yes. I have the Nightmare Knights living out whatever fantasy I grant them in return for you granting me the power that I could have only imagined."

"Yep, And you know what happens if you betray me."

"You take that power away. Speaking of which, you should know the only reason I'm following your orders is that I've got time to kill before the total annihilation of Equestria."

Sanies then pointed to the moon, which was slowly descending towards Equestria. While Sacanas and his new ally Kronos have absolutely no interest in ruling a crater of what was once a kingdom, Sacanas left his apprentice to do his own thing as the only means of securing Sanies' allegiance until the time was right to dispose of him. Plus, Sanies was right. It will not take long for the alien forces to be defeated and eventually be forced to surrender to Celestia and her forces.

"Why am I not surprised that you still have the same apocalyptic taste for destruction as when I was teaching you? I would stop you since ruling a kingdom of the dead is no fun, but I have an annoying little draconequus to deal with. Toodles!"
> Chapter 11 - For the king who has everything
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goodking woke up. He noticed he was in a shiny throne room with walls made of gold and golden shelves filled with all sorts of trinkets and priceless art collections. He also noticed one of his minions back when he was The Storm King massaging his feet. Unsurprisingly, the minion was wearing a golden version of the standard Storm King Minion ensemble. Naturally, this left him very confused.

"Where am I?" Goodking asked, trying to figure out how he wound up in a golden throne room with one of his henchmen giving him a foot massage.

"Why you're in your throne room, Your Majesty!"

Goodking then noticed a light blue alicorn wearing a cloak and a magician's hat making her way into the throne room in the most over-the-top manner possible.

"And who are you supposed to be?"

"Gasp! You do not recognize the Great and Powerful Trixie?! I perform for you in exchange for peanut butter crackers!"

Goodking wasn't even going to try and comprehend why one of uni-Pega-corni-gasuses, or whatever they're called, is performing for him in exchange for food. Especially since there was a more pressing question at hand. Where did he hear the name "Trixie" before? Then, after a long and hard though, it hit him.

"Oh, I remember now! You're that unicorn that got possessed by Sanies, right?"

Trixie acted surprised since she didn't expect an answer like that. The minion massaging Goodking's feet, however, was just confused. Goodking just looked at Trixie funny.

"Sooooo, since you apparently seem pretty familiar with the goings-on around here, could you tell me who's who and if I have any meetings or royal plans today?"

"How should I know? The Great and Powerful Trixie just got up this morning! I'd suggest taking it up with General Snake over there!"

Trixie then pointed to a blue bat-pony with green eyes. There was an odd sense of familiarity with the pony's appearance that Goodking couldn't quite put his finger on. The bat-pony just gave him a glare. Not one of malice or anything like that, just a simple glare. Naturally, Goodking decided to take Trixie's advice (and gave her some peanut butter crackers too as a token of appreciation).

"Ah, General Snake! Gotta say you're shorter than I remembered!" Goodking said, trying not to let slip that he has never seen the general in his life.

"I'm guessing all those battles and conquests must be taking their toll on you, your grace," the general said while playfully gesturing at Goodking's head "Especially the Battle of Equestria. Those princesses were not willing to give up their rule, I assure you.".

Goodking looked out of the big massive window behind his throne and noticed dozens of ponies working as slaves while his more bulky and furry subordinates look on. Amazingly, one slave stood out among the rest of them. A dark purple unicorn with blue beautiful eyes. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that she looks a Tartarus of a lot like Tempest! Goodking felt bad after seeing that, especially since Tempest and Grubber have been helping him during his superhero career when no-one else was available (or when Discord was being an annoying jerk).

"General!" Goodking loudly announced "Get the podium ready! I am freeing the slaves!"

"Your grace, I doubt it's that easy to end slavery. I mean, you can't just push a button to free everyone of their shackles."

"Sure I can, I am the king after all!"

"True, but we're talking about the possibility of trade unions arising. We will be forced to give up our riches just to meet their demands."

"Oh...And that's bad for business, right?"

Snake rolled his eyes at that one. Even if he is a good guy now, Goodking is still a businessman at heart. The reason he always had slaves when it came to conquering lands is that he didn't want to give away any of the loot he pillaged during his conquering days. Really, the only reason why his furry foot soldiers had any loyalty to him at all is that he showed his "appreciation" to them by throwing parties. Goodking chuckled as he reminisced about how some of the soldiers had too much cider to drink. If he had been a good person back then, maybe he would have at least tried bonding with his allies instead of betraying them when they have served their purpose. Maybe if he wasn't so paranoid about people betraying him as Strife did, he might have considered restoring Tempest's horn. Then he had an idea.

"I know what will make everyone happy! We will throw a royal pizza party where everyone is invited! Think of it as my way of apologizing for enslaving them all."

"That's fine and dandy, your grace, but A. What are you going to pay them with if you do not intend on giving up your riches? And B. You do know you have a meeting with Lord Capper, right?"

"What?"

"Hopefully, he will share your newly discovered anti-slavery sentiment. And if he doesn't, you could always replace him with someone else."

"Wait, I can do that?"

"I don't know, I'm not a noble."

It eventually became evening and Goodking was busy having dinner with Lord Capper. They were sitting in a great big golden dining room with a long, massive golden table draped in a white cloth, with both of them sitting at opposite sides of the table. Capper was also wearing a big red puffy ensemble that royalty and nobility usually wear, along with one of those funny wrinkly collar thingies. To say it was an awkward affair would be an understatement. Really, the only sounds that were made during the entire thing were the clinks and clanks of cutlery meeting the golden platters and their mouths. Luckily for every party involved, a puff of smoke appeared out of thin air to break the ice. And when the smoke cleared, a familiar blue alicorn was standing on the table in the most bombastic pose possible.

"The Great And Powerful Trixie! requests an audience with our king."

Trixie then threw another smoke bomb and teleported out of the room while everyone present was coughing. Trixie and Goodking then teleported to a small and dank restroom within the castle. From there, they proceeded to talk.

"So...Is this because I didn't give you any peanut butter crackers because I already told you one of my men ate them."

"No, it's not that! Although I'm a bit annoyed by that. I noticed that you remembered me even though Venomous Snake told me I was your alicorn court jester!"

"Hold up, my general's first name is Venomous?! Yeesh, and I thought the fact that his name was Snake would tell me enough that he should be someone to keep an eye on."

After a quick chat about their situation, they eventually walked out of the restroom and quickly made their way back to the dining room. But before they could enter, they peaked through a barely open door and noticed Snake whispering into Capper's ear.

"Don't you think our good king looks tired?"
> Chapter 12 - It's treason then
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goodking and Trixie listened to the conversation between Capper and General Snake. Given how Snake was speaking in a quiet tone, it made listening to the general rather difficult. But looking at Capper and Snake's facial expressions, it was clear they were up to no good. And so they decided to do the appropriate thing and open the door in a dramatic manner and confront Capper and Snake. While Capper and Snake were surprised by the intrusion, they both managed to keep their cool, with Snake being the first to speak up.

"Your grace, and Trixie, I take it your conversation went well. Although I must say it was quicker than I expected"

"Save it, general!" Goodking shouted "We are placing you under arrest for treason!"

"Are you threatening me, your grace?"

"Oh, this ain't a threat. I'm going to grab you and throw your butt in jail if I have to!"

"Usually, treason is punishable by death"

As Captain Goodking tried to make a good comeback to what Snake just said, Snake just rolled his eyes and then tried to "explain" the situation.

"Why do you think I would betray you, your grace? I was just discussing your plans to free all the slaves with Lord Capper. He thinks it's a noble idea"

"Yeah, but what about the 'me looking tired' comment?"

"Well, given how you thought Lord Capper and I were going to commit treason, clearly you're suffering from paranoia induced by fatigue"

"Mind if I butt in, fellas?" Lord Capper said "Now I admit I'm not familiar with the whole royalty and politics do-da, but I believe my title should be Lord Dapperpaws"
Captain Goodking, Trixie and General Snake just stared at Lord Cap-I mean Dapperpaws in a shared look of disbelief. "Dapperpaws"? Really? That's the most pretentious last name everyone in the room (and myself) has ever heard. Anyways, after that little debacle was over, Snake showed Dapperpaws the way out while everyone else made their way to their bedchambers. Good thing too, since Dapperpaws wanted to leave the moment Trixie teleported Goodking out of the dining room. After that, Snake made his way into the royal bedroom, where Goodking was snoring and drooling on the Goodking-brand pillow and quilt covers of his golden king-sized bed. At this point, I am almost tempted to call him The Gold King. While it would be easy for Snake to grab a pillow and smother him, he figured it is best to assassinate him when he will publicly free all the people he enslaved tomorrow.

Night eventually became day and Goodking woke up, had a nice lovely stretch, walked into his royal bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his mouth out with his Goodking-brand toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash. After that, he then had a nice bowl of milk and Goodking-Os and then made his way to a big golden podium facing hundreds of enslaved subjects. After tapping the microphone on the podium to make sure it's on, Goodking then inhaled in an exaggerated manner. But before he could say what he was going to say, the podium he was on got struck by a blast of magic. Goodking was lucky to survive the podium's destruction. And when he looked up, he noticed an alicorn with a starry mane and a black coat. She was wearing blue armour and had very sharp teeth, along with a pair of blue snake-like eyes. The alicorn laughed as she caused unforetold destruction across the land. Trixie tried to defend everyone against this alicorn, but she got struck down. After that, the alicorn looked at the wounded Goodking, she charged at him. And the last thing Goodking remembered was a pair of hooves hitting him right in the face.
> Chapter 13 - Goodking Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goodking woke up screaming from what he just experienced. When he woke up, he was still in his royal golden bedroom. While he now has a massive headache, he was relieved that it appeared to be just a bad dream.

"Trouble sleeping, your grace?" a deep but raspy voice asked. Naturally, seeing who it was shaken Goodking up a bit.

"Eesh! Anyone ever tells you it's rude to sneak up on people like that?! Anyways, it wasn't much. Just a bad dream."

"Ah, I see. Maybe it will give you something to talk about when Lord Dapperpaws comes over for dinner"

"Didn't he already do that?"

"No, he didn't."

Goodking looked at General Snake suspiciously. He could have sworn that his dinner with Lord Dapperpaws has already happened, courtesy of Trixie appearing out of thin air to have a private chat with Goodking.

"Well, could you tell him to cancel? I'm intending on freeing all the people we enslaved."

Snake just rolled his eyes at Goodking. Goodking then felt a sense of deja vu. And since he apparently knows what's going to happen, he planned accordingly. And what better way of gaining his former slaves' approval than by throwing a great big pizza party. But before he could do that, he had one more thing to do.
"General Venomous Snake, you're fired!"

Snake just gave Goodking a confused look. Did he really just fire someone who has helped him through his many conquests. Perhaps he read somewhere that by removing wicked officials from his presence, his throne will be established through righteousness. Naturally, Snake just thought of that assumption as a crock of horse apples.

"With all due respect, your grace, do I really look like I'm ready for retirement?"

"No, which is why I'm firing you!"

"I admit, that one was clever, but don't you think you're acting irrationally?"

"If I want the people to love me, that means getting rid of anyone that the people don't really like."

"And what makes you so certain they will like you?"

"I'm freeing them, restoring their lands and giving them free pizza! Why wouldn't they like me after that?"

"Perhaps some of the slaves are lactose-intolerant."

"Then I'll give them Goodking brand lactose-free cheese."

Snake just put a hoof to his forehead and groaned. While he's not even going to ask why Goodking would produce lactose-free cheese, let alone dignify what he said with a response, he won't deny that one possible reason for the existence of the cheese was so certain slaves don't gas themselves and other slaves to death. So as Goodking prepared for the pizza party, his first order of business was to literally kick Snake out of the castle onto a truck of manure, much to Snake's displeasure. It became evening and Goodking, his big furry minions and the slaves he just freed are all busy enjoying themselves in a quiet little bar. Well, the bar used to be quiet until they started celebrating themselves with pizza and cider. Since that the bar was not part of the castle, clearly it was not filled with gold. It may have been filled with liquid gold but that's not as valuable as actual gold. It was filled with wooden chairs and tables, all occupied by everyone from freed slaves to Goodking's foot soldiers. Everyone was busy enjoying the merriment. But alas, it was not meant to last. When no-one was looking, a dark alicorn with a starry mane and a pair of blue snake-like eyes charged a blast of magic directly at the bar. Goodking managed to get a glimpse of the alicorn out the window and only had enough time to recognize what was coming his way.

Goodking woke up again screaming. Same as last time, he was still in his royal golden bedroom with General Snake keeping an eye on him. However, in spite of the "nightmares" he kept suffering from, he still persevered. It proved to be a costly mistake since that every single time he tried free the slaves or make any positive change in his kingdom, it literally blows up in his face. In fact, every attempt eventually became worse than the last. He had a war with the Abyssinians, he once fell on the great and powerful Trixie's horn by accident, he tried taking on the alicorn himself only for the alicorn to levitate him and snap his neck. I'd tell you more but there's only so much death and misery you can fit into an E rated story. Honestly, he was this close to giving up. Until suddenly, for a brief moment within the darkness, he saw a familiar face.
It was Luna
> Chapter 14 - Operation getting rid of Celestia' ace in the hole
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sacanas trotted onto the battlefield in order to get Discord out of the way. When he arrived, he noticed from the distance most of the alien invaders have had their heads inflated to a gargantuan size and were floating off into the air. Some of them were holding onto their big balloon heads while frantically swinging their legs back and forth, others were flapping their arms about. One thing that was consistent though was that they were all screaming "HELP ME!" in their own little alien language. At this point, Sacanas was thankful that those aliens were merely expendable foot soldiers. He then noticed from afar two royal guards. One was tending to wounds on his leg while the other was just standing there like he was a prop, you know, up until he suddenly changed into a bipedal blobfish-looking thing with glowing red eyes and sharp claws. The creature then ferociously attacked the guard just as he finished wrapping his leg up in a bandage. Something that made Sacanas wince at the sight of it. Good thing those creatures were on his side.

"My leg!" the guard cried out.

Sacanas continued looking around the battlefield and noticed there was no sign of Discord. 

Good thing too because while his apprentice was taking over Luna's mind, he telepathically contacted some of the aliens to ambush and kidnap Fluttershy. He then walked to somewhere a little more secluded, where one of the aliens noticed Sacanas and walked closer to him. The alien also had Fluttershy in tow as well. There was a purple ethereal link between the alien's head and Fluttershy's. Sacanas looked on at the controlled Fluttershy with admiration.

"I'm impressed!" Sacanas proudly announced "Especially since that you guys are mere foot soldiers. As soon as I have Discord in that maze, we will have won! Ohohohoho!"

The alien almost felt tempted to use Fluttershy to attack Sacanas, but resisted such urges since they had a mutual ally in Kronos. Sacanas then noticed that, while Fluttershy was under the control of the alien, she still had the ability to speak and was very much aware that there is an alien in her head controlling her.

"H...help....me" she said weakly.

"I'll take it from here" Sacanas said "Now the next task I need you and your men to do, unless they've all been turned into balloons, is to find a unicorn by the name of Starlight Glimmer".

Sacanas then produced a picture of Starlight out of thin air.

"According to my apprentice, she looks like this and she appears to have an affinity for mind control and time-travel magic! While Kronos and I easily excel in those regards, I'd say three mind-controlling, time-traveling unicorns are better than two".

The alien then released Fluttershy from its control. After being freed, Fluttershy tried to make a run for it, but was stopped by a sharp pain entering the back of her head. She screamed before falling to the floor. Sacanas then used his own brand of mind-control magic to force Fluttershy to get up. Unlike when the alien was controlling her, Fluttershy was barely conscious when under Sacanas' control. Sacanas then teleported himself and the mind-controlled Fluttershy to the outside of the labyrinth. As Sacanas made the mind-controlled Fluttershy walk into the labyrinth, Sanies looked on with a smirk.

"You do know Discord is going to kill you, right?"

"Well, since that Fluttershy has prevented Discord from breaking your nose, along with you being worse than me, I highly doubt Discord going ki-EUGH!"

But before Sacanas could finish his sentence, Discord teleported behind him and grabbed him by the throat. Discord then pulled Sacanas' face near his. Discord's teeth were bared and his irises were glowing a burning red. And on his face was the nastiest scowl you could ever see on a face. Sanies just gave a small chuckle before continuing on with his own thing. Speak of the draconequus and he shall appear.

"Where....is she?" Discord growled at Sacanas, his irises glowing brighter at every syllable. 

Sacanas alternated between choking and giggling.

"With....your...p..pasts...COUGH!...and fondness..f..for...getting in people's..GHACK!...heads...and...HEEEEEE.....impulse control problem....I'm..s...surprised your friendship....with..Starlight....is..not as....s...strong as....yours....with...Fluttershy!"

That made Discord tighten his grip around Sacanas' neck. Before he actually does wind up breathing his last breath, Sacanas frantically pointed at the labyrinth, indicating that Fluttershy is in there. Discord then released his grip on Sacanas, causing him to drop to the floor coughing and sputtering. Sacanas then laughed after that.

"Kronos did warn me not to choke on my aspirations. Did I listen? Did I buck? Anyways, she is in there and if you manage to complete the maze, I will release her and the Nightmare Knights from my apprentice's grasp."

Sanies just gave Sacanas a glare. While Sanies' mental prowess was nothing to sneeze at, there was only so much he can concentrate on before he loses his grip on the Nightmare Knights entirely. Especially since that a part of Luna was still fighting back against his control.
> Chapter 15 - Breaking free
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goodking has been through so many time-loops that they have practically exhausted him. He had Trixie try to take on the mysterious invader in his place. But Trixie kept getting beaten by the dark alicorn every single time, each one worse than the last. In this timeline, Trixie once again has fallen at the hooves of the alicorn invader and he and his forces have been enslaved by King Capper. He and General Snake eventually led a revolution but it was short-lived by the alicorn once again annihilating everyone. At this point, Goodking no longer cares what happens to him or his people. Then one day, when the alicorn appeared once again, the great and powerful Trixie slew the nightmare! Goodking couldn't believe what he was seeing. But then his hopes were dashed when Trixie said this:

"You pathetic mortals have ignored The Great and Powerful Trrrixie for too long! Now you shall all kneel before me!"

Goodking then noticed an amulet around Trixie's neck. It looked like an alicorn and it had a ruby in the centre. Is it possible that this trinket is responsible for Trixie's sudden megalomania? Granted, Trixie always did have an ego, but it was never to the point where she would enslave people (except for that one time but Goodking didn't know that).

"Hey, Trixie!" Goodking shouted loudly "Remember me?"

"The Great and Powerful Trrixie has no business in remembering the names of mortals!"

"Come on! It's me, Captain Goodking!"

That resulted in Trixie firing a blast so powerful it disintegrated Goodking right on the spot. As you'd expect, Goodking wound up right back when he started. He then spent a week within his bed sulking and despairing over his predicament, something that made him susceptible to Snake's manipulations. While at first, Goodking only stated that the time-loops were merely dreams, but he eventually confessed to Snake that he's stuck starting off on the same day over and over again.

"If these time-loops you are talking about are as bad as they say, might I suggest fighting fire with fire?"

"What, and go back to being the mean old Storm King? Not a chance!"

"Why not? It served you well in the past."

"Yeah, well the past is dead and I'd like to keep it that way!"

"Your grace, if the past was dead, then Equestria wouldn't have so many ancient foes returning. You know, before you conquered it."

"And even if I did want to fall back into old habits, how is that supposed to help me take down Capper and Trixie?!"

"Perhaps I can show you something that will give you a boost"

The bedroom then swirled around like it was being sucked into a vortex, transforming into a dank cave (and no, you are not going to see Pepe in there). Snake then led Goodking down the cave, where there was shining light near the end of it. When they followed the light, they saw an unusual thing: A golden seal wearing a centurion helmet and balancing a bomb on its nose like it was a ball.

"This is War" Snake said "One of the seven Seals of the Planets. It is said that those who have possession of all seven seals can have the power to rival that of an alicorn."

Snake then pointed to a bucket filled with salmon that are glowing a bright shade of gold.

"But if you need a power boost, then I might recommend eating the Fish of Knowledge. And since knowledge and power go hand in hand, there will be no-one to stop you once you have the seals and the fish on your side."

Goodking pondered what Snake has said for a moment. What if taking the power corrupts him into acting like his old self? But then again, if he had superpowers, he could become a proper superhero instead of relying on "sidekicks". He then decided to take up Snake's offer. But before he could do that, he heard Luna's voice calling his name.

"Who said that?" Goodking said

But there was no-one there but him, Snake and the seal. He then tried to get nearer to the seal but he heard the voice again but louder. Eventually, Snake started (for lack of better words) glitching out and rapidly morphing between himself, Luna, the dark alicorn that has been attacking Goodking, and what appeared to be Sanies. And then in the corner, he saw a yellow pegasus with a pink mane curled up in a fetal position crying in some sort of inferno. And then he turned back to notice Snake ferociously charging at him while letting out an eldritch roar, still glitching out and sounding frighteningly demonic.

"Just. TaKe. tHeeeeeee. SsssseeeeAl!!!!"

Eventually, the world started collapsing around him and Snake then backed off before splitting into two ponies. One formed into Luna while the pony that was once Snake morphed horrifically into a familiar draconic foe from Goodking's past: Lord Sanies.

"Hehe, it appears I bit off more than I can chew" Sanies said in that same menacing voice he always has "But it doesn't matter. There is a power far greater than either of us and if I can't take the combined power of the Nightmare Knights and Discord, I shall possess the power of the Seals instead."

And from out of nowhere appeared Trixie, now as a unicorn, Capper, now wearing just his coat, and Tempest, her horn now looking as broken as it was before. Clearly, everyone's going to have difficulty trusting one another again, especially since that they have actually killed each-other a few times, but they are going to have to work together if they were going to take down Sanies. Then suddenly, Goodking noticed that there's one group member missing.

"Where's Stygian?"
> Chapter 16 - The final battle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pillars were helping with the war effort in taking down the alien invaders. However, they all suddenly suffered a surprise attack from a lot of dark tentacle things. As the pillars got up from that attack, they were horrified by what they were seeing: The Pony of Shadows has returned!

"It can't be" Star-Swirl said in a shocked tone.

"Oh, but it is!" a hooded pony behind the Pony of Shadows said. The pony then unhooded itself to reveal his three unicorn horns and dark red coat, with no mane in sight. The pony also had black markings on his face and yellow eyes that made him look more devilish than he already is.

"Now, before I explain how I made Stygian embrace the shadows again, I'm going to quickly introduce myself. My name is Sacanas. I used to be a pupil of Princess Celestia, thought I might try to conquer Equestria one part for power the other part for revenge against those who have bullied me, got killed by my apprentice but came back with a little help from a Time Turner."

The pillars then noticed that Sacanas' horns were glowing, along with a light pinkish aura surrounding the Pony of Shadows' eyes.

"You know, it's amazing what you could do with some time spells, some illusion magic and the right words in the right ears. Now that I have explained everything even though there's really no reason to other than to rub in how bucked you are, let's dance!"

Meanwhile, in pitch black darkness, stood Captain Goodking, Trixie, Tempest, Capper and Luna all prepared to face Sanies. Sanies chuckled at them all getting ready in a fighting position.

"Five against one? For a society that preaches about how sharing is caring, I wouldn't consider this predicament fair at all."

Sanies' eyes then glowed a brighter green as Trixie and Luna crumpled to the floor in pain before getting up with a zombie-like gait.

"Much better" Sanies said with false courtesy "Now, where were we?"

While it would appear that the Nightmare Knights are done for, Capper had an idea.

"Hey, isn't this some sort of dream?"

"If it is, then it's our worst nightmare!" Goodking exclaimed.

"True, but what if we could turn it into our greatest dreams? This may sound crazy but it's time to dream big!"

Sanies chuckled at that sentiment. However, his pessimistic lack of faith was about to proven wrong when Tempest magically and spontaneously grew her horn back, Goodking had some sort of glowing magical energy spiking around him as he engaged in a battle cry and Capper summoned a great big sphinx. Sanies could only stare before giving a smile.

"Well, this should be interesting."

Meanwhile, on the battlefield where everyone was defending against the aliens, the pillars were running away from the Pony of Shadows, who appeared to be under Sacanas' control. They galloped quickly to the Mane 6 (sans Fluttershy) in order to inform them that they need the elements again. Star-Swirl then immediately collapsed from exhaustion, something that Twilight and Celestia quickly noticed as they hurried the aid the old unicorn. And as they approached Star-Swirl, they noticed the Pony of Shadows and Sacanas catching up to them.

"Stygian....darkness" Star-Swirl said exhaustedly "Must..get...elements".

As Star-Swirl fainted, Celestia quickly flew away carrying Star-Swirl while Twilight quickly gathered her friends so they could get the Elements of Harmony. And only when everyone present showed up did they notice somepony was missing.

"Where's Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.

Goodking and Sanies battled with amazing speed, with Goodking charging up golden energy blasts and firing them at Sanies, with Sanies blocking them with his fire breath. Sanies then charged at Goodking with his claw but Goodking dodged swiftly and punched Sanies right in the face. They then proceeded to engage in extremely fast fisticuffs before punching each other in the face really hard twice before giving each-other a headbutt that sent each-other flying. The headbutt was so strong that it temporarily loosened Sanies' control of Trixie and Luna. Good thing too because Tempest and Trixie were duelling with a long magic blast from both unicorns that almost looked like a magic tug-of-war. Tempest managed to win thanks to Trixie faltering and then being sent flying. Capper's sphinx has been defending itself and Capper from Luna's magical attacks. Goodking then heard Discord's voice calling out for Fluttershy. This distracted him enough for Sanies to grab him by the head and slam him into an invisible wall before slamming it into the floor multiple times. Before he got hit a third time, he blasted Sanies right in the face with a magical attack from one of his hands. This disoriented Sanies long enough for Goodking to grab him and repeatedly headbutt him at a rapid pace until the last headbutt sent him flying into another invisible wall. He then charged a Sanies with a glowing fist that actually knocked some of Sanies' teeth out. In fact, the punch was so great, it knocked everyone back into reality. It was powerful enough to release Trixie from Sanies' control. However, Luna was still fighting for control of her own mind. As the Nightmare Knights looked around, they noticed Fluttershy gasping for breath. And then they noticed Discord looking for Fluttershy. They all did the noble thing and shouted "She's over here!". Discord noticed them holding up Fluttershy and quickly jumped over the hedges to jump onto Fluttershy and once again give her a great big hug. They then charged through the labyrinth, going through the hedges and brambles and whatnot for they did not have the time to properly navigate their way out. They took a break to catch their breath and noticed in the distance the Mane 6 (except Fluttershy) and the pillars fighting against the Pony of Shadows. Sanies quickly took control of Luna and laughed at the knights (and Discord).

"My master and I have already won. There is no possible way you could get to them quick enough to save them."

Discord then snapped his fingers and teleported the rest of the Mane 6 at his position, even though it left the pillars being the only ones fending off the Pony of Shadows. He snapped his fingers again to teleport the elements from the Tree of Harmony to their position. Sanies could only give Discord an annoyed glare.

"I know this is rich coming from me" Sanies said in a dry tone "But has anyone ever told you that you are ridiculously overpowered?"

"Well I wouldn't call myself overpowered, otherwise I would be saving the day twenty-four seven. anyways, knights, stand back! Girls, do your thing!"

The Mane 6 then used the elements to charge up a magical attack directed at the Sanies-possessed Luna. While Sanies tried fighting back, the magic eventually overwhelmed Luna's form and seemed to have purged his presence from it. While Sanies knew there was no point in fighting back the elements, it did not stop the fact that it felt like the sulfur lakes of Tartarus. In the distance, Sacanas quickly noticed the display and teleported himself and the Pony of Shadows to the elements. That proved to be a big mistake on his part because the elements still have enough juice to be used again and free Stygian from the Pony of Shadows again. It took a while for the pillars to catch up but they made just in time to help out the Mane 6. Along with the Pony of Shadows, Sacanas was struggling with the elements as well. And when he looked at one of his hooves, he noticed that he was suddenly fading away. It appears the elements are reversing whatever time spell Kronos used to preserve Sacanas' life. Sacanas then spent his last moments staring at the Mane 6 working together. He felt something eating away inside of him. Is it regret? He then looked at Luna and Discord. Is it possible that if he were born in this era they would have accepted him? He realized that if someone like Discord could live peacefully with the ponies, maybe he could have become friends with them. But instead, he just had to take up the opportunity to subjugate Equestria with Kronos and his alien forces so he can watch a world he always hated burn. He lamented the fact that his thirst for revenge has blinded him to the true power of friendship, shedding a single tear as he did so. But before he was sent back to the time of his death, he alternated between silently crying and giggling to himself as he thought of a joke somepony once told him.

See, there were these two ponies, an Earth pony and a pegasus, in a lunatic asylum... and one night, one night they decide they don't like living in an asylum any more. They decide they're going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moonlight... stretching away to freedom. Now, the pegasus, he flew across with no problem. But his friend, his friend didn't dare make the leap. Y'see... Y'see, he's afraid of falling. So then, the pegasus has an idea... He says 'Hey! I have this lamp with me! I'll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!' B-but the Earth pony just shakes his head. He suh-says... He says “Wh-what do you think I am? Crazy? You'd turn it off when I was halfway across!”
> Chapter 17 - La vie est belle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's been two weeks since the invasion and, while the Nightmare Knights' trust in each other felt a bit shaken, they immediately patched things up and once again went their separate ways. Meanwhile, Luna was trying to relax in her bedroom. While she has saved Equestria with the Nightmare Knights before, she worries that she and her sister were becoming too weak to defend Equestria. Every time a threat comes up, they were always close to destroying everything the two sisters hold dear. Tartarus, even when Luna was Nightmare Moon, she was close to winning when she took Celestia away. Is it possible that, in spite of living for centuries, that they were getting too old for the job? And even when the nights were going up against Eris, she was close to winning. If it weren't for the Mane 6 (and Discord), Sacanas could have won. It was an unpleasant thought to think about. And when the Mane 6 were captured were captured by the changelings, they were only saved because they made friends out of their enemies. Celestia noticed Luna staring out of the window and decided to ask her sister if she was okay.

"Is something troubling you, Lulu?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about the future of Equestria"

"if you're worried about an invasion like that again, I can assure you that Equestria is in safe hooves."

"I'm more worried about a threat actually succeeding in taking over Equestria. And not only that, but some of the threats we have faced are ones we have faced before. Do you think that one day, a great force of evil, old or new, might actually win?"

"I admit, I have concerns. But I have taught Twilight well, and not only has she made a lot of friends, but some of her friends used to be enemies. So even if the enemy has captured Twilight and the elements, she and the elements still have their other friends to fall back on."

While Celestia's words have comforted Luna a little bit, she was now wondering what will become of her and Celestia. Then just like that, Celestia immediately answered Luna's question in spite of Luna never asking her. And with another question, no less:

"With Twilight and her friends having everything covered, have you ever considered us two retiring?"

"Maybe, but I feel that retirement would be a bit too soon for me since I did spend a millenium on the moon."

"Think of it this way, we find a quiet place to live in, maybe start farming, or we could spend the rest of eternity in Las Pegasus. It's been centuries since I could truly relax and I want to spend them with you dear sister. No worries about the future, no bitterness about the past, just us relaxing and enjoying the rest of eternity."

Luna then pondered for a bit, fantasizing about all the fun her and Celly could have. They could spend one century in Las Pegasus, another in a distance land dabbling in agriculture, maybe they could even take up space travel if they wanted to (but they are not going to the moon because Luna knows first hand that there's nothing to do on the moon). Luna sighed before resting her head on Celestia as they both think about how they are going to spend the rest of eternity.

THE END
> Chapter 18 - Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a great big spaceship that has a resemblance to a great big pendulum clock was a donkey making his way to the control room of the ship. The corridors were all made of see-through plastic where you could see all sorts of gears and pistons and such. The hallways were also littered with ponies holding staffs with clocks attached to them. They looked like royal guards except they had clocks on their chest armour and hats. As the donkey entered the control room the doors opened automatically for him. And in the pilot's chair was a bulky unicorn with a black, slicked-back mane and a grey coat. The unicorn was busy petting the Seal of War while watching what appeared to be a sponge living in a pineapple under the sea on a television screen.

"Master!" The donkey said in a raspy yet nasally voice "Celestia and her forces have defeated the Sith Lord and ADVENT! What do we do?!"

"Hush, Cowardly Donkey!" the unicorn said in a slight British accent and a voice that is somewhat nasally "Hush. Let them enjoy their victory. After all, what good is hope if you can't turn it into despair later on?"

"Your wisdom is greater than I thought, Master."

"Well, when you lived as long as I have, you pick up on a few tidbits of wisdom. For example, how to manipulate a Sith Lord and The Angelis Ethereal into joining my cause. But of course, what good is unlimited power if you have to share it with people?"

"No good at all, master!"

"Besides, the invasion was nothing more than a diversion so I can get the rest of the seals. Speaking of which, has Mercenary delivered the former pupil of this Celestia to me? You know, the one that isn't an alicorn and has been laying low on the Earth with the humans?"

"Yo!" shouted an Earth pony clad in a red jumpsuit and a mask with two black dots around his eyes carrying an unconscious yellow human on his back. The human was wearing a leather jacket and had wavy hair that kinda looked like bacon.

"I have the girl you're looking for, Kronos! I would have used the magic mirror but because of some magical mumbo-jumbo, I had to borrow one of your extradimensional ships instead."

The unicorn turned around and smiled. His face had a goatee and a pair of yellow snake-like eyes. He then looked at the unconscious human lying down on the floor and then looked back up at the Earth pony.

"Excellent work, Mercenary. Since that there have been reports on their world that a seal was in contact with the unicorn pretending to be a human, I figured she'd have an idea of where the seals are. You and Cowardly Donkey may leave now."

"Sure, but when do I get paid?"

"Soon, oh and one more thing"

Kronos then blasted Cowardly Donkey and Mercenary on their back-sides with a blast of magic, startling them in the process.

"No dawdling. They do not call me a Time Turner because I waste time you know."

"No dawdling" Cowardly Donkey said "Right away, master!"

After Cowardly Donkey and Mercenary left, Kronos then levitated the unconscious human near him and smiled while caressing her face.

"If my tools have failed to find the seals, it appears I will have to do it myself."

TO BE CONTINUED