A/N: Hello, Internet! I haven't seen you in forever! I apologize for the late update, I just got into Doctor Who so I've been watching that instead of updating this like I should. I'm sorry! :(

Note: This chapter has some language, torture, and blood in it. And references. Dear lord, the references! The fourth wall hates me for this one.

Enjoy, you guys!

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Many miles away, in an ice cold castle, long forgotten and abandoned, Gilbert was starving and imprisoned, his talons chained to the brick wall. His body was thin, and several fresh scars and wounds decorated him in macabre fashion. Gilbird was caged and tweeting angrily, repeatedly bashing the bars of his cage with his little head. This succeeded in nothing but brain damage and a possible concussion.

A door opened with a loud bang, illuminating the dark cell. Gilbert stirred feebly, his red eyes fluttering open. A figure walked in, its posture giving off an air of dread. Just looking at him made Gilbert shudder in fear. For those with a keen eye, they would recognize this mysterious and frightening pony as the one Ivan had killed. But now, he was whole and alive, perfectly healthy. Lowering his hood, his face became visible and Gilbert turned away, terrified of this figure.

They were bone white with skeletal, dragon-like wings and a long, jagged horn. They had no mane, but their tail was black and wiry. Their face was the worst. Where eyes should have been, there were only empty sockets. The darkness inside them seemed to swirl in a hypnotic pattern, drawing you in and repulsing you all at once. Blood dripped out of them still, staining the fur underneath them scarlet. His muzzle was permanently morphed into a Cheshire cat grin, showing off huge fangs. Everything about him screamed 'holy crap run away now'.

He huffed and began to pace angrily around the cell, obviously deep in thought. Gilbert was too terrified to make a move, and even Gilbird was silenced by this pony's very presence. He continued to pace, the only sound being the thud of his hooves on the floor and Gilbert's shuddering breath. After a few moments, the pony stopped. His grin seemed to become wider as he looked at Gilbert with his unseeing eyes. Gilbert yelped and cowered under his gaze, all the while scolding himself.

He was the awesome Prussia, dammit! He survived how many wars, conquered nations, and by all rights shouldn't be alive. But he was. He was a fighter. It took a lot to scare him now; so why did this pony terrify him so much?

The pony came closer, taking his time and savoring the expression of absolute horror on Gilbert's face. Finally, he kneeled down and looked Gilbert in the eye, so close that his breath fell on Gilbert's beak and made him gag.

"It's time to put the plan into action, my dear griffon. Your little brother shall enjoy the show we will perform." He said in a soothing manner, but Gilbert was anything but comforted. Now there was anger mixed in with his fear; this monster was going to hurt Ludwig. And Gil was not going to let that happen, not as long as he was alive.

The pony stood up and the tip of his horn began to glow. There was a flash of light, and griffon, bird, and pony disappeared from the castle. Still, there was something remaining; a few white, bloodstained feathers and a lingering scream of pain.

---

Vash wasted no time and immediately pulled out the gun (again, from where?) and took steady aim. If he had to go to war with any country, it would not be Ivan, but at the same time, he would not let Lili get hurt. He could really care less about the other ponies and countries, but Lili mattered more to him than anything. Even his cash. (Now that is saying something).

"You take one more step and I'll fire." Vash warned once Ivan was within speaking distance, but not close enough to physically reach them. He was about six feet away and Vash kept his gun steady. Surprisingly, Ivan stopped. Something was strange in his eyes; something sad.

"I just want to talk." Ivan stated firmly, looking not at Vash or the gun, but at Twilight Sparkle. She snorted and lowered her head, her horn glowing dangerously.

"What about?" She growled, and Ivan shrunk back a little, as though he was scared of her. But that was impossible; Ivan's not scared of anything. Right?

"Well…I heard what you said about me. And…" Ivan swallowed and glanced at Toris before looking Twilight in the eyes. He hung his head. "…I'm sorry." Everypony stopped breathing for a few seconds as they processed that statement. The only expression on their faces was confusion and for some, horror. Finally, Rainbow Dash said what was on everypony's mind.

"…WHAT?!" She yelled, and that seemed to snap everypony out of it. Dmitri reared on his hind legs, kicking and pawing at the air.

"Come on! I was expecting a fight! What kind of mushy crap was that?!" He shouted, and everypony but Ivan glared at him. He looked at them incredulously. "What? I'm bored, okay? We need more action in this place!" He whined, and Twilight rolled her eyes as she turned back to Ivan. He was hanging his head, but his eyes watched her sadly. He looked absolutely miserable…

Twilight walked over to him, eyes narrowed and horn alight. The closer she got, the more scared and sad he looked, and the more he lowered his head. His muzzle was practically touching the grass by the time she was standing right in front of him, and he looked up at her with huge, amethyst eyes. He looked terrified of her, but at the same time, he looked so sad, like he would accept any punishment she gave him.

Everypony watched with bated breath, watching to see what would happen. Would Ivan snap and attack Twilight? Or would he just sit there? Vash, Dmitri, Francis, Mathieu, and Antonio were all readying themselves for battle, just in case. It was an odd sight, seeing someone so strong and intimidating as Ivan look so helpless.

Twilight lowered her head so she could look him in the eyes, glaring the whole time.

"You're not going to hurt us? You mean what you say?" She asked quietly, and he laughed grimly.

"Hurting you would only prove the point that I'm a monster. And of course I mean it. What I was doing was getting me nowhere. I honestly thought what I had counted as 'friendship'. I was wrong…" He spoke clearly, loud enough for everypony to hear. "I grew up very different. My only friend growing up was a yak, and my sisters were too busy with their own problems to teach me important things. I just never learned how to be a good friend." He stood up straight, looking down at Twilight. Twilight swallowed nervously, but stood her ground.

"Would you…teach me?" He asked nervously, and Twilight stopped all thought. The only thing on her mind was 'WHAT.' That was the only thing on everypony's mind. After about a minute of just staring at Ivan, who was starting to get really nervous, Spain broke the silence.

"Of course we will!" He yelled happily, glomping Ivan and grinning like an idiot. Everypony gasped, expecting Ivan to beat the Spaniard to a pulp. But Ivan just blinked and gave a tentative smile.

"R-Really?" He asked, and Spain nodded and so did Pinkie, hopping over and hugging Ivan too. Antonio and Pinkie had huge smiles on their faces, and Twilight was staring with her jaw resting on the floor. She glanced back at the others to see their reactions.

Dmitri was staring at the three, his eyes darting back and forth between each pony's faces. Rainbow Dash was hovering in midair, looking nonchalant, but her eyes were screaming confusion. Applejack was smiling nervously, and Rarity was watching them all with a tiny smile. Vash was slowly, very slowly lowering the gun. Lili was smiling widely and warmly at Ivan. Fluttershy was rubbing her hoof against her leg anxiously, and Mathieu was standing protectively in front of her.

Toris was hiding behind Vash, peeking out shyly at Ivan. Feliks was bouncing in a Pinkie Pie-esque fashion, his expression a mix of happy and terrified.

Out of all of them, Francis had the best reaction. He was grinning smugly, his blue eyes sparkling with something similar to nostalgia. Rarity noticed, and she looked up at him with confusion.

"Francis? What are you smiling about?" She asked, and he looked down at her, smiling.

"I was correct, non? The beast has been turned into a prince, mademoiselle. Miracles can happen, you see?" He explained, pointing a hoof at Ivan, who smiled shyly in response. Twilight glanced back at Ivan.

"B-But what about Toris? What about his scars?" She stammered, and Spain glared at her.

"What about them? That was in the past, si? Scars like those can heal! We need to focus on this Ivan, not the old one!" He yelled, and Ivan gently untangled himself from the pile-hug as Pinkie Pie let go of him, reaching a hoof into her mane.

"This is yours, right?" She asked, handing him his heart. Seeing it, Ivan seemed to glow from the inside. The hole in his chest seemed to pulse, yearning for its owner. Ivan took it and placed it back in its rightful spot, and the glow around him intensified. The candle light in his soul was growing bigger and brighter, the ice around it reduced to a thin sheet. Ivan walked over to Toris, who shrunk back with a yelp.

Lowering his head once more, Ivan closed his eyes and Toris was enveloped in a soft, blue light. Everypony darted forward, yelling in surprise or anger, thinking Ivan was hurting the smaller Pegasus. Pinkie Pie jumped in front of the crowd, holding out a hoof to stop them.

"Pinkie, get out of the way! He's hurting Toris!" Twilight yelled, but Pinkie shook her head.

"No he's not! Look!" She replied, pointing at the ball of light that was Toris. It began to drift back to the ground, and the light dimmed to reveal Toris, completely unharmed but extremely confused. Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but Rainbow Dash gasped and pointed a hoof at Toris.

"Look!" She yelled, pointing to Toris' torso. Everypony looked, and Feliks jumped in the air, glomping Toris and beaming with joy.

"Liet! You like, totally have wings!" He yelled, and Ivan smiled tiredly, shrinking into the background as everypony rushed forward, Twilight in the lead. Toris hesitantly unfurled his wings, somehow healed and functioning perfectly. Twilight and Rarity were so confused they could barely speak. Ivan was an earth pony, how could he do that?! Healing magic was elementary for unicorns Ivan's age, but to heal an entire limb…how?

"I-Ivan…?" Toris asked, looking at Ivan with huge eyes. Ivan flinched, like he expected somepony to hit him. When nopony did, he stepped forward hesitantly. "W-Why would you…"

"Well…I guess it's because you deserve them. What you didn't deserve was the way I treated you all these years, but I can't fix that. This is the least I can do." Ivan explained softly, scuffing his hoof against the ground. Dmitri rolled his eyes in the background, already sick and tired of this mushy gushy crap. Sure, Ivan being reformed was great and all, but seriously, this was killing him. Toris gave Ivan a very tentative smile, holding out his hoof for Ivan to shake.

"W-Well…once you learn about friendship…I'll be your friend, okay…?" Toris stammered, and Ivan beamed, a real smile. Suddenly, he started to glow with a bright light, a warm breeze blowing through the meadow and blowing the ends of his scarf to and fro. Ivan started to float in the air, and he squirmed in confusion as everypony stared. Now what was going on?

When the light around him began to fade, his Cutie Mark morphed and changed. A stitched-together heart appeared in the center of the sunflower, and a brighter, ice blue light formed on his head as he was slowly lowered back down to the ground. Everypony, especially Twilight, was holding back the urge to run forward and swarm him to find out what that light meant.

The ice blue light finally died, to reveal a golden crown on Ivan's head, with a purple sunflower-shaped gem in the center. The Mane Six all gasped and six jaws hit the floor at once; they recognized the feeling the golden metal gave off; it was an Element of Harmony. But there were only supposed to be six…so why did Ivan have one?!

"Ah, I thought so." A voice said casually as Twilight stepped towards Ivan. She froze in her tracks; that voice didn't belong to any of them, so who was it? And why did they sound so…sinister? Ivan froze as well and his violet eyes widened.

"You!" He yelled, and the other ponies turned around to find a tall pony wearing a hooded cloak, his face hidden from view. Only Ivan would recognize him; this was the one he killed. Everypony's brain was racing, trying to find answers. Who was the pony? Why was he hiding his appearance? Why was Ivan staring at him in terror? And most of all…why was he giving off an aura ten times as powerful as Ivan's, making everypony want to run in terror and cry for their lives?

"Yes, me. I'm surprised you managed to pull yourself out of the whole you dug yourself into, but I guess that's what you humans do. You screw up majorly, the whole world falls into crisis, and then you get right back up and move on. I love your resilience, I really do. That's probably why they chose you." The pony said, and Ivan raised an eyebrow.

"Who chose me?" He asked, and the pony laughed.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about. Your mother and father. The most powerful things on your planet."

Ivan roared suddenly, and the other countries did the same, giving yells of anger and defiance, stomping their hooves into the ground and snorting dangerously. The pony seemed to smile in satisfaction as it turned away. Twilight's brain started going into hyperdrive. During her talk with Arthur and Kiku about each other's world, they had never said anything about their parents, yet the countries here now seemed to be really defensive of them. What was happening?

"But they're not important right now. What does matter is that your little universe will end. Your little world will fall. Oh, by the way…" The pony lowered his hood, turned, and gave them a sinister grin. "My name is Xear. Remember that when you die."

Ivan started to run forward, but Xear's horn began to glow and a beam of dark lightning shot out of it, hitting Ivan squarely in the chest and holding him in place as he writhed yelled and writhed in pain. Two other bolts of the lightning branched off from the first one, grabbing and torturing Francis and Mathieu before they had a chance to process what was happening. Fluttershy yelled for her love, her turquoise eyes wide in terror. Vash grabbed the gun and began to fire, but his bullets had no effect.

"Let them go!" Rainbow Dash yelled, flying straight at Xear in an aerial attack. Twilight yelled to her, "Rainbow Dash, no-!" Before she could slow down, Rainbow Dash slammed into an electric force field, electrocuting her and making her yell in pain as well. Twilight could feel her anger rising inside like a snake, and her horn reacted violently, blasting a shot of fire at Xear. It dissolved a few feet away, fizzling out when it reached his force field. He let Rainbow Dash go, and she flew backwards, unconscious.

"Keep your eyes on the skies, ladies and losers!" Xear shouted excitedly, like he was the ringmaster of his own little circus. His horn began to glow brighter, swirling with dark red energy as it lifted Ivan, Francis, and Mathieu higher and higher into the sky, above the treetops. The remaining ponies looked up in terror, finding dark purple clouds starting to swirl dangerously far above them. Looking at those clouds, Dmitri got a very, very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Those same clouds appeared near his home when he first met Pinkie Pie. Deciding to find an explanation after the party, he had turned to the most powerful wizard he knew; Arthur's older brother Allistor, also known as Scotland. It turns out that Allistor was trying out an inter-dimensional spell and was rather excited about his success. Of course, he had been put off when he found out that the dimension he found led to a world inhabited by colorful talking horses.

Deciding the dimension was too girly for him, he'd erased his memories of Dmitri's explanation, so he'd completely forgotten about Equestria. Henceforth, Scotland wouldn't be able to find the dimension again. So…that meant that this Xear, whoever he was, was just as powerful and well-versed in magic as Scotland was, and Scotland had practically invented the magic they use today. This was not good; this was bad, very very bad.

"What's he doing?!" Twilight yelled as a ferocious wind started in the clearing and the clouds swirled faster and faster, tearing her voice away. Dmitri was too stunned to answer. With a flash and a yell, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna appeared behind the horrified group of ponies.

"Behind me!" Celestia yelled, and they all scurried behind the much bigger alicorn for protection, struggling against the harsh wind. Once everypony was behind her, Celestia spread her wings and turned sideways, protecting them. The stronger stallions were holding tightly to the lighter and more fragile Mane Six, forming a barrier with their bodies.

"Sister, my magic cannot stop him!" Luna yelled, trying in vain to harm Xear without bringing hurt to Francis, Mathieu, or Ivan. Her magic, as powerful as she was, could not get anywhere near her target without hitting his force field and dying out.

"Fluttershy!" Mathieu shouted, screaming in pain as the lightning burned through his body. Fluttershy watched with horror as her special somepony was violently tortured. She hated this. He was so sweet and kind, what had he done to deserve this?! The worst part was being powerless to help him. She was sick of being powerless. She could feel her anger rising as she dwelled on the thought. Nopony hurt her friends and got away with it.

She was about to burst out of Antonio's firm hold and give him a piece of her mind, but then Celestia's horn lit up and her eyes began to burn with purple fire. A ball of electric blue energy formed on the tip of her horn, growing bigger and brighter than anything the Mane Six had seen. The very air seemed to be vibrating from her anger, but before she could fire, the light grew glittery fairy wings and flew away. Time seemed to stop as everypony processed what just happened.

"Oh dear lord, it looks like Navi!" An eerily familiar voice said in horror, and everypony turned to see Discord standing there, staring at his creation. He was wearing a ridiculous green night-cap and tunic to match. He raised a random sword and began to swing at the blue ball as it flew in circles around him, chanting "HEY! LOOK! LISTEN!"

"Discord, how many times have I told you not to create annoying fairies? It really messes up my concentration." Xear said nonchalantly, standing casually in a tornado of lightning and wind as his spell grew stronger with every second. Discord's outfit disappeared and so did the fairy as he pouted angrily.

"Yes your majesty. Carry on with your master plan, don't mind me." He said sarcastically.

"Discord!" Celestia shouted, struggling to hold her position as the wind picked up even more speed. Discord jumped at the sound of his name, and turned to Celestia as a green top hat appeared on his head and a red beard sprouted from his chin.

"Why Celestia, top o' the mornin' to ya!" He replied happily in a thick Irish accent, shrinking down to about two feet. Dmitri could practically hear Ireland shouting in rage. "And to princess Looney too." He laughed, making his eyes derp out as he nibbled on an orange carrot. "Whasup, doc?"

"What are you doing here?" Celestia asked sternly, and he threw away the carrot and put on a serious face.

"I'm just watching the…"His head popped off his neck as his body began to fold itself into an origami butterfly. "…chaos unfold." He finished as his body snapped back into its normal form. He put on a pair of black sunglasses as an explosion happened in the background, followed by a loud shout of "YYYYEEEEAAAHHHH!"

"That seems familiar…" Antonio muttered. Dmitri's red eyes widened as he realized what Discord was doing.

"Princesses! Try to stop him! HE'S BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL!" He screamed. Discord grabbed his side and gasped in pain, a cowboy hat appearing on his head.

"Ya got me, pardner!" He sobbed in a southern accent, jerkily walking towards them and then overdramatically falling into Celestia's arms. He grabbed her mane and pulled her head closer to his face. "Hold me closer Ed…i-it's gettin' dark…" He whispered, and Luna and Xear both face-hoofed in exasperation. Discord coughed violently, turning his face away from Celestia's and then turning back.

"Tell Auntie Em to let Old Yeller out…" He pleaded, coughing once more. "Tell Tiny Tim I won't be coming home this Christmas…." He sobbed in a British accent, then he made a final request. "And…tell Scarlett I do give a damn!" He yelled, and turned his head away again, but then he turned back and coughed right in her face, passing gas while he did it. "Oh! Pardon me." And with that, he died in her arms.

---

(Just messin' with ya.)

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"Discord, get a hold of yourself." Xear commanded, rolling his eyes as Discord's arms popped off and grabbed his torso. Discord laughed and teleported out of Celestia's arms. Luna turned to Dmitri, who was watching all this with an expression of absolute horror.

"What is this fourth wall? And why is it such a big deal?" She asked him, and he seemed to snap out of it.

"The fourth wall is what separates dimensions! The more he breaks it, the easier it becomes for civilization as we know it to crumble and die!" Dmitri panicked.

"And that's bad, right?" Luna asked, and he nodded fervently.

"HELLO?! We're being tortured up here, in case you forgot!" Francis shouted angrily. Xear jumped and turned back to his spell, which had lost power somewhat during Discord's appearance.

"Oh right, sorry about that." Xear apologized, his horn lighting up once more as the sky was completely covered in those ominous purple clouds, which began to form a funnel, swirling at alarming speeds toward the ground.

"Tornado!" Luna yelled, and Celestia put up a force field of her own, so they would not be sucked inside the storm by the wind or harmed by Discord's powers. The beams of lightning sprouting out of Xear's horn multiplied, reaching inside the large tornado, dragging six familiar ponies out of the storm, electrifying and hurting them too.

"That's…" Antonio squinted upwards toward the six new forms. "That's America, England, China, Japan, Russia, Germany, and Feli!" He yelled, recognizing who they were.

"Oh no, he's bringing the most powerful countries here! And if he managed to get all of them at once, that means they were at a World Meeting, which means…" Lili trailed off, and Discord spoke up.

"Speaking of which, my ride is here." He noted, looking a watch that just appeared on his wrist. He blew a red whistle and the Magic School Bus appeared out of nowhere. Discord's mane turned into a mess of curly red hair and he was suddenly wearing a bright purple dress with a pattern of stars and planets on it and a green, lost-looking lizard appeared on his shoulder.

"I'm going on a field trip!" He announced happily in a high pitched feminine voice, running inside the bus, honking the horn. He poked his head out the window and gave them a piece of advice. "Remember class: Take chances. Make mistakes. Get messy!" He shouted in that same voice, buckling himself in. "Come on bus, do your stuff!" And with that, the big yellow school bus transformed into a jet plane, blasting off and flying straight into the heart of the tornado.

"Almost there…" Xear muttered, sweat appearing on his forehead with the effort of keeping a spell going for so long. The lightning holding the countries intensified in brightness, swirling around them and enclosing them in a ball of electricity, blocking them from view. Though, their screams of pain could be heard quite well. Rarity and Fluttershy were both in tears, shouting for their lovers. Antonio had the task of holding them both back, something that truly broke his heart to do. He was the country of passion, he knew love as well as Francis did, so separating true love hurt him more than anything. Still, even if he let them go, there was nothing they could do to stop Xear.

The nine balls of light that were Xear's victims did something strange; they began to split in two. Whatever was in the new lights, the Mane six didn't want to know. Nothing good could possibly come out of Xear's magic. The lights died out suddenly, and the countries fell quickly towards the ground. Celestia and Luna both used their magic to grab the falling and still-shouting countries (though Ivan was shouting "VVVVOOOODDDDKKKKAAAA!" rather happily instead of screaming in terror). Gently, the princesses lowered them to the ground inside Celestia's force field, setting them down on the grass.

"Arthur!" Twilight yelled, running forward and tightly wrapping her arms around the dark green stallion, who was still struggling to find balance. Arthur stumbled back a little from the force of her hug, but stopped when he heard her sob in relief. "I'm so glad you're okay…" Twilight sniffed, wiping away her tears before anypony could see them. Arthur blushed heavily and awkwardly patted her on the back, sitting down on the grass.

"Stiff upper lip, Twilight. I'm okay, stop worrying!" He scolded her. As soon as his hooves touched the ground, America flew right back up and flying-tackle-hugged Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy and Rarity charged forward, as did Mathieu and Francis. They collided into each other and rolled a few feet, reunited at last. Germany, Japan, and China kinda stood there awkwardly as Italy and Pinkie Pie bounced excitedly in circles around each other.

"Vash!?" Germany shouted, recognizing the green pony holding a gun. Vash sighed angrily, Lili peeking out from behind him.

"If you say I'm cute I'll shoot you." Vash warned. The corners of Germany's mouth twitched upwards.

"Don't forget about me!" Xear yelled, and everypony turned their attention towards him. "I hate to break up such a touching reunion, but did you forget about this?" Xear growled, pointing a hoof at the still roaring and swirling tornado. "In case you were wondering, I was using this thing for power." Xear said, somehow bringing the unconscious form of Gilbert out of nowhere. Germany's eyes widened then narrowed suddenly as he roared in anger.

"Down boy." Xear said, as though he were talking to a dog. "Now, go fetch!" He yelled suddenly, tossing Gilbert towards a tree with a jerk of his head. Celestia managed to grab the griffon with her magic before Gilbert could make impact. "Now, I'm going to need these." Xear said to himself, and the remaining nine balls of light disappeared.

"Ta ta!" Xear laughed, disappearing as well. The ponies and princesses watched with wide eyes as the tornado slowly, painfully slowly, began to dissipate. Unfortunately, it left things behind. Many, many ponies, which were all laying on the ground in dazed confusion. Only one had managed to land on his feet; a stunning cerulean blue alicorn stallion. England cursed loudly, staring around at all the ponies.

"Bloody hell. I thought so." He muttered, stomping his hoof into the ground in irritation. America flew up next to him, curious as to what had England so pissed off.

"What's up, Iggy?" He asked, and England glared up at him angrily.

"Not only did that pony bring us here, he brought the world. Look around, America. Those ponies are countries." England snapped. America gasped, his head darting back and forth to see everypony.

"Sweet Lady Liberty, did he bring everybody?!"

"That's what it looks like."

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A/N: Done! Happy? I had so much fun writing this one, especially the scene with Discord and the Magic School Bus. If you can name every reference Discord made, you win a cookie Or a shout-out in the next chapter's opening author's note, whichever you prefer. You guys are awesome for sticking by this story!

Have a guess at who the blue alicorn is! I bet you already know; you're smart people.

I named Xear that name, because I wanted his name to have some sort of reference to terror or fear. The letter 'X' is evil too, along with Vs and Zs; just look at Organization XIII. It's pronounced 'sheer', like sheer terror. Get it?

Review please, and the next chapter should be up soon! Again, I'm sorry for the late updates.

Thanks~!