"Most of the systems in the bunker were disabled or destroyed when the reactor went critical," Mark said as he slowly walked around the central control console, the flashing lights, pinball launcher and the odd car part or ten calling out to him.

"So with all hope, HAL is gone for good." the pony with the hourglass cutie mark grunted from where he stuck out from beneath said console. "Once I finish upgrading Idris's Dimensional-Bridge generators, I'll check and make sure that there is no way for him to escape…"

"Idris?" Mark asked while peering at what looked like the master brake cylinder and reservoir off a British taxi. He was just about to reach out and touch it when a low rumbling bell sounded somewhere above his head. There was a sharp thud from under the console, followed quickly by a few choice curses. "What the hell?"

"The cloister bells," Time Turner suddenly hopped up onto his hooves and began his odd dance with the TARDIS' controls. After a moment he froze, his eyes locked on the two swiveling display screens. At first his mouth opened and closed, yet no sound came out… "It can't be," he finally whispered.

"What's wrong Doc?" Mark asked after stepping up behind the Time Lord.

"There is a TARDIS nearby, and it's in trouble," he said while studying the screens. "It's a Type 36 and her Time Rotor just ruptured…"

"I thought you were the last," was all Mark got out as once again, Turner's hooves were sent flying over the console. "er… what are you doing?"

"I'm making a vortex tunnel to guide them in," he panted as he jumped from one section of the console to the next. "Think of it as an astral rescue slide," he grunted as lights flashed and the beep-beep sound of a truck backing up echoed from somewhere. Mark wouldn't be surprised if Turner actually had a truck in the TARDIS. "All I need to do is find an empty room to dump them into and… there!"

Before Mark could ask, the pony abruptly bolted off down a side corridor. Intersections and rooms rushed by as he followed Turner, past a gigantic water-park complete with wave-pool, and through a library the size of the Vatican. Until he finally came to a skidding halt… literally, he stopped to the sound of screeching tires.

"Well?" Mark gasped for breath, leaning heavily against one of the grey octagonal walls.

"I am not alone," he repeated under his breath several times before stepping through the doorway and into…

"Huh… it's empty," the human observed as he wandered in. The room was a good size, probably some 30x30 foot and completely vacant except for a janitor closet.

"This can't be, it should have materialized right here," he murmured as he turned and trotted from the room. Yet as he was about to pass through the door he paused, "Wait a tick, this room isn't supposed to have a janitor closet."

Sure enough, as they approached the arched closet doorway, they could see that it rested some three feet away from the back wall. Oddly enough, it looked like the holodeck arch from Star Trek's TNG. It was a tan box-shaped ach some 10 feet wide, 7-1/2 feet tall and 2 feet deep. At the back of the alcove formed by the arch was a 5 foot wide double hatchway.

"How strange, Maintenance and Cleaning Supply alcove number C-14," Time Turner remarked as he stood on his hind legs to read what was printed on the door, "It's taken the outer form of a janitor's closet from the High Citadel on Gallifrey…"

"Isn't that your home world?"

"Indeed," he nodded before a slight hiss drew in our attention as the double door slowly parted and slid open.

Dark acrid smoke belched out at the two, along with the sparks of frying electronics and the steady pinging of an SOS beacon. Unlike the Doctor's TARDIS, with its multi-leveled control room, this one was a flat open space with the control island in the center of the room. Bundles of cabling hung from the ceiling while piping of all sizes made up large sections of the walls.

Most of the room was in darkness save for the main console which glowed a purplish color. The Time Rotor that jetted up out of the command island was dark, its clear outer housing was cracked in several spots. Here and there lights would flicker on, spark, and go dark… creating an eerie strobe affect throughout the room.

"So mind if I ask? Besides being older than your own Type 40," Mark inquired as he turned on the flashlight sized floodlight that was on his right shoulder. "Is there anything I should know about this hunk of junk?"

"It's younger…" Turner corrected him as he ventured over to the control island. "And they are two different types. Mine is an old TT exploration capsule model that can house thousands of crew… if I ever had any besides you. While this is a TX sport model made for a crew of less than 20."

"Crew of thousands. Huh." Mark blinked as he paned his floodlight around. "So just how big is you're TARDIS in the real?"

"Roughly the size of Manhattan… Manhattan island…" he shrugged as he looked over the console. "At least on the outside anyhow, but she is so much bigger on the inside."

"No shit?"

"Turn her inside out and she could easily encompass the earth," he was saying when there came a mechanical whine and the overhead lights flickered on once more and stayed on, illuminating the ruined control room… and the Dalek looming silently behind Time Turner.

"Mark, are you… let me guess, there's something behind me," he asked as he turned and… looked up. "Oh my, this isn't good."

Very, very, very slowly Turner backed away from the cybernetic killing machine while Mark fingered the 1911 pistol at his side. In truth, the gun was no match for the Dalek's defenses and would probable just piss it off, but inwardly it made him feel a bit more confident knowing it was there. "This is bad, right?"

"Yes Mark, this is bad," Turner nodded after reaching the human's side, the Dalek's eye stalk watching his every movement.

"I picked a bad day to not wear my armor…"

"Ok, Joe, I've got the main power up and running again, along with life-support." From somewhere behind and to the right of the deadly Dalek, a young woman with sandy blond hair tied in a ponytail came marching through an unseen hallway. "Not that you need it, you have your own backup systems, but at least I won't die…" she gabbed on as she made her way over to the command island and the stationary Dalek. It was only after, that she became aware of the two interlopers. "Er," she paused as she glanced between the human and the small pony, before looking to the Dalek and asking, "Friends of yours?"

"It can't be," Turner suddenly gasped out, taking several steps towards the girl. "Jenny?"

"Hmmm, yes," her head whipped back around. "Do I know you?"

"But your dead," he blinked in dismay. "Martha, Donna, and I… we watched you die."

An odd look quickly overtook the young woman as she dropped to one knee and gazed into Turner's eyes. For a long moment in time they just stared at each other until her face suddenly lit up and she flung her arms around the Time-Lord's neck. "DADDY!"

"Daddy!?" Both Mark and the Dalek asked at the same time. It took Mark a moment to remember an episode of Dr. Who. And thus he facevisored. Or facehelmeted. Whatever.

"I was on an old Vodash freighter heading to who knew where when we were attacked by the Dalek," Jenny said as she took a moment to look over her new pony body. Except for her almost blond mane, she had the same brown coat of fur as Time Turner and the same hourglass cutie mark. "I was running for an escape pod when I bumped into this bloke here and a few of his friends, gods I thought I was dead."

"So how did you get way?" Mark asked as he handed her a mug of tea. She would need it before she passed out from the regeneration schtick.

"Joe here saved me," she gave a curt nod toward the Dalek who hadn't uttered a word since finding out Turner was Jenny's father… ok, so she is his clone daughter, but so what. "Somehow he tricked the others into believing he had exterminated me, and after they left, he guided me to the pods… only we never made it."

"And your TARDIS?" Turner inquired as he kept glancing at the killing machine in the room.

"We were in the number 6 cargo hold when we stumbled upon the arch," she confirmed between sips of her tea. "At first I couldn't get the doors open, but then there was this terrible explosion and all the cargo shifted. We were going to be crushed when the doors opened on their own, causing Joe and I too fall into a TARDIS."

"Before we go into anymore detail about your TARDIS," Mark sighed, god this girl could talk n talk and keep talking. "Mind telling me why a Dalek, unfeeling killers of the universe, saved your life?"

"Joe isn't a true Dalek, he was a human that they mutated into one," she clarified as she reached out and put a hoof on his plunger. "He was one of the first, and never quite lost his humanity. It lay dormant inside of him until we met, something about me woke him up, right Joe?"

Joe's eyestalk swiveled down to gaze at the new Jenny pony, and while he/it didn't say anything, Jenny suddenly brightened and smiled. "See…" she chirped.

"But he didn't say anything," Mark blinked.

"Sure he did, heck he hardly ever shuts up…"

Mark again blinked, his gaze shifting between the Dalek and the mare who was now hugging it. "Dude, I feel for you, I really do."

"Thank you," Joe sighed in his techno-monotone voice…

Wait, he sighed? Whatever... Fuck, I need a drink right now.

[Hour later later]

"Hey Mark, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Turning away from the weapon inspection he was doing, Mark found Pinkie Pie standing at the open doorway. "If it's about the welcome party for Time Turner's daughter," he said while placing the BAR back on its stand. "Then I'm afraid I can't attend…"

"It's not about the party, silly," she giggled. "It's about Luke."

"Then sure, how is Gallan holding up," Mark inquired. Gallan had been sick since getting back from the bunker, even after both Dawn and Moon had cured all of them from their exposure to the leaking reactor… Gallan had gotten the worst of it.

"He's getting better," he heard her say while checking the Grease Guns, however it was the sound of a deadbolt sliding home that caused him to turn around.

The next thing Mark remembered was that he was flat on his back with Pinkie standing on top of him, her front hooves pinning his arms to the ground. "What the fuck Pinkie," he demanded, only to suddenly realize something was way wrong with the party pony.

"Pinkie isn't here right now," she sneered, a wicked smile spreading across her muzzle. And indeed she now looked nothing like normal (if one could say that without laughing) Pinkie. Her main and tail had lost their curly bounce, her eyes had taken on a wild look, and her fur had darkened.

"Then who are you supposed to be," he asked while trying to lift the mare off him… only he couldn't. Not only was Pinkie no longer happy n bubbly, she was heavy as sin.

"My name, is Pinkamena," her wild eyes gazed down at him as her smile turned manic. "And I have a bone to pick with you."

"Oh fuck me…" He had lived through Marine bootcamp, died in a fiery explosion, met death face to face (and punched him in the face on more than one occasion), and survived having half his face melted off… and nothing put the fear of God in him more that this pink mare.

Thank the stars above that Apple was at school.

"Hush now," she cooed as she leaned her face closer to his. "I will speak, and once I'm done, you will agree with me… or I will make the cupcake story seem like a children's comedy." She paused as she slowly licked his left cheek, her tongue leaving a wet trail. "Now nod if you understand."

Quickly Mark nodded.

"I know that Luke is a soldier, and I know there is a chance that he will die each time he goes off to do battle," Pinkamena growled. "But if you ever send him on another suicide mission, even if he volunteers, then I well make what happened to Rainbow Dash in that accursed story seem like pleasure compared to what I will do to you… do you understand?"

Mark quickly nodded again.

"Excellent," she leaned even closer, until her lips were next to his left ear. "One last thing," she whispered. "You will never tell anypony about this conversation. Not Applejack, and especially not Pinkie… or I will be back. Got it?"

Once more he nodded.

"I didn't hear you Marine!" she suddenly barked into his face.

"MA'AM YES MA'AM!" His old training kicked in.

With a satisfied nod, Pinkamena backed away several steps before the room was filled with the shrill sound of a party horn and her eyes went vacant. Then with a loud POOF her main and tail filled back out as her coat shifted to bright pink. "Oh my, now why did I come in here again," she blinked several times before shaking her head. "Oh well, I'll remember sooner or later," she giggled before bounding out the door, happily singing her "lalala" song.

Mark simply stared at her, before shakingly getting to his feet.

"I think I'd rather go hang out with Dash..." He muttered, looking at the grease gun he was about to inspect. With a shake of his head (and hands), he exited the room.

[Everfree Forest, Dawn]

"Where is she..." I muttered, looking for a certain ghost. I hate referring her as one, but she will not leave this plane of existance and follow me into the Afterlife until Sunny Town gets destroyed for their sins. I knew I should have simply called in a legion to eradicate them off of the earth, but I was a little naive back then. A hundred years in the far past where I witnessed the world end up in war twice within forty years slapped that right the fuck out of me. With a battleship.

Ruby's a good girl, but when you want to find her it can be annoying as fuck. Especially since the damned residents come out the closer one gets to Sunny Town.

"You can come out now." I called out after a moment, sensing that I was being followed. "I know you're not an animal, since they kinda hate being in my presence." Seriously; everything in this forest fears me. A changeling slowly creeped forward, the oddest thing about him instantly stood out; his eyes were a crimson color instead of green or blue.

"Why were you following me?" I asked without letting up on my walking. I knew that I was getting closer to Sunny Town.

"I don't normally see ponies this deep..." He quietly replied. "I wanted to know what you were doing."

"Visiting the most cursed place on this planet besides Tartarus." I answered. "Somebody owes me answers, and I intend to get them."

"You're not scared of me?" The changeling asked, perking up a little.

"The only thing I'm scared of is myself, when I lose control of my emotions." I truthfully replied. "What's your name?"

"Crimson Dust..." He answered, getting closer to me. I guess he sensed the aura of death that I was emitting, because he froze.

"That's why I'm not afraid of you." I let out a short chuckle, before looking down the path again. He paused for a moment before continuing to follow me.

"What place are you talking about?" He asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"It's Sunny Town, a place cursed for their own ignorance a thousand years ago." I answered. "During the day it seems all lovely and crap, an eternal party. When night falls, the houses have rotted away while the residents show their true colors."

"It's not even an hour away from becoming night, though!" Crimson exclaimed.

"The curse won't affect those who come with me, since I was the one who cast it." I answered. Crimson frowned.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"The ponies of Sunny Town did the one single act that is punishable by death... Or worse." I answered. Crashing to our left put the changeling on guard, but looked confused when Mark emerged, looking at me in confusion.

"The fuck you doing here?" He asked, before looking at Crimson. "And who's this? Chrysalis didn't mention any runaway changelings recently."

"I was a part of Queen Helix's Hive many years ago." He answered. "My name is Crimson Dust."

"I'm Apple!" Mark's daughter announced, popping up from behind a shoulder guard. I was surprised that she could finally talk, but I held it in.

"Is Mugs back there?" Mark asked, much to my confusion.

"Mugs?" I rose an eyebrow. "Another changeling?"

"Camel spider." He answered, pausing for a moment before sighing. "And now he's in my shirt. Bloody bastard enjoys being in my clothes..."

"Pet?" I asked while Crimson was looking back and forth in extreme confusion.

"Super smart pet. Hell, since I brought him here he's grown bigger." Mark answered, falling into step beside me. With no idea what he was possibly getting into, Crimson reluctantly followed. "Like I asked before, what are you doing in here?"

"Looking for Ruby." I answered. "You've probably met her before; grey filly with sorta blond hair. Her eyes glow yellow." His eyes narrowed at me.

"Is she one of those goddamn zombies?" He asked. "Because I almost put a bullet into her when I did meet her."

"She's a ghost, so whoever was behind her at the time would've been shot instead." I answered. "If anyone knows what brought in Sergio, it would be her. Special talent's finding things."

"Goddamn detective story vibes..." Mark sighed, before looking at Crimson. "So, what's your story?"

"What do you mean?" He was a little confused.

"Why did you leave Queen Helix's Hive and come to this shithole?" He clarified, and I heard something about Mogadishu being muttered.

"I was an outcast, and when a group of 'fellow' changelings tried to kill me I decided enough was enough." He answered.

"You didn't come to Ponyville, or any other pony city?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Every time I tried, I was chased away by the guards." He sighed, looking down.

"How long ago was the last time you tried going to a town?" Mark asked as I frowned at the incompetence of my guardsponies.

"Seven years ago." He answered, causing the both of us to look at each other.

"Explains why he isn't in Ponyville." I told Mark in German, who caught on immediately.

"Decided to become a recluse two years before we signed that treaty. And I heard from Chrysalis that she wanted to extend the terms to the other Hives as a sign of goodwill. Naturally, I agreed." He replied. "We decided to stop sending prisoners to the Hive, because of them able to manufacture salt water."

"How hungry are you?" I suddenly asked Crimson.

"I'm always hungry..." He sighed. "There's barely any food that I can take down successfully, but I manage." As he spoke, Apple pulled a bottle out from in front of Mark's chest.

"D-Drink this." She said, even pulling the straw out for him. He stared at her in confusion.

"It's good for you, trust me." I added. He probably didn't trust me, but he slowly put his 'lips' around the tube and gently sucked.

Fuck, I'm becoming Mark. That was not supposed to sound perverted.

Anyway, his eyes widened when he realized that the salt water tasted exactly like happiness to a changeling.

"See?" Mark said, looking around as he fingered a rifle. Couldn't tell what type, but it looked WWII. "Perfect for changelings, discovered by Apple and I."

"What is it?" Crimson asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Salt water." He answered. "I'm seriously surprised that ya'll never figured it out. Hell, first time I went to the beach I drank some water, thinking it wasn't filled with salt. Vomited for several minutes straight." At my blank look, he chuckled. "I drank close to a gallon."

"You're an idiot." I sighed, shaking my head. Mark shrugged before putting his helmet back on, and turned on a floodlight, blinding the fuck out of me.

"Sorry." He wasn't. "So, which way?"

"Follow me." I said, knowing that they might as well come with me or risk turning.

[Mark]

So, met a new changeling with cool eyes and now I'm stuck going to the one part of this goddamn forest I don't want to. Still, we all (Apple, Dawn and I) knew it was a smart idea to stick together in this accursed place. I fingered my flamethrower's trigger, glad that I brought it.

'Nothing beats zombie barbecues, besides the fact that they become walking torches.' I thought with a small grin, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, for this forest anyway.

"It's qui-" Crimson started, but I closed his face with my hand.

"Finish that and we'll have a hydra on our arses." I said. He stared at me with wider eyes than usual.

"Don't be scaring the n-newbies, dad." Apple scolded from my shoulder.

"Hold up." Dawn suddenly said, causing Crimson and I to immediately come to a halt. I brought up the nozzle, but he waved me down. "We won't be needing that."

"You don't want me to torch the place to the ground."

"I would rather that happen, but it would simply regrow. The curse would need to be lifted before the town can be destroyed." He sighed.

"Fine then." I said, before changing my flammenwerfer into an energy sword. "Close quarters it is. With Apple and Crimson here, I don't want to run the risk of friendly fire, no matter how slim. That and your eyes look like theirs, no offence." I said to the changeling, shrugging a little. He still looked nervous as hell, but he nodded slowly. "Stay behind me and watch my six, don't want any of them to try and sneak up on me."

"Good idea. I don't want to find out if the curse can't penetrate your armor or not. Even though it has minor magic protection, I don't exactly cast minor magics." Dawn added as we walked into 'Sunny Town'. At the moment, it looked sorta like Ponyville, except there was a party going on in the middle of town.

As we walked through the town slowly, a thought came to mind.

"We really need a drill instructor or someone similar to come here." I said, examining the hilt of my sword. "I challenged Shiny to a sparring match. No magics, no weapons, and no armor. I kicked his sorry ass before he knew what hit him." That and it would be funny if Blueballs angered a DI.

"How bad?" Dawn asked as Crimson shook like a bitch.

"Knocked out three teeth, broke his face, chipped his horn, broke a few ribs, and his left foreleg is still in a cast." I answered. "Cadence is still a little pissed at me."

"Hello there!" A grey stallion called out, trotting towards our group. "It's not often we get new ponies in Sunny Town. Name's Grey Hoof. What brings you all here?"

"Looking for somepony." Dawn tactfully said. "Would you happen to know where Ruby is?" I swear, Dawn's eyes flashed pure silver for a second.

"Oh, her?" Grey Hoof said, looking around. "I dunno. She didn't come to the party." All three of us knew he was lying. (Crimson was doing his best to avoid being spotted.)

"Ah, well." Dawn waved his hoof around. "Would you mind if we took a look around?"

"Not at all!" He replied with a grin. "Ya'll can enjoy the party if you want!"

"Thank you." Dawn nodded before turning to me. "Thankfully he doesn't remember me."

"How bad was he when ya cursed the town?" I asked as we started walking.

"He led the group that murdered Ruby." He sighed, looking at the ground. "Beat her to death with their hooves and burned the body in a fireplace."

"Why the hell did they do that?" I asked in disgust. The changelings may not understand german, but they could fucking tell we were on a horrifying topic. For ponies, anyway. Tame as fuck when compared to the SAW series.

"She got her cutie mark." That made me pause.

"This place needs to goddamn burn." I growled.

"What were you doing in the forest, anyway?" Dawn suddenly asked, causing me to blink.

"Hunting." I answered. "I can only go so long with government fake food before I snap. The others agree. I was hoping to bag a manticore and drag the fucker back so we could have a barbeque." I could tell he wasn't going to ask how I was gonna bring it back, since I do have a rip in space and time hovering six inches from my chest.

"Right. You're lucky the only poisonous part of a manticore is the stinger." Dawn muttered, looking around again. "Look for the only depressed pony in the town, she'll know where Ruby would likely be."

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Mitta." He answered. "I was... rather lenient on her punishment, considering that she was Ruby's mother and didn't partake in the murder."

"What did she do?" I asked.

"She begged Grey Hoof to allow Ruby to leave instead of killing her." Dawn sighed. "Needless to say, it didn't work."

"She look as zombified as the rest of them?"

"Not completely. She stank and all, but her body is relatively intact. Pretty much classic old horror zombies for you." He answered. "Right now she's a grey earth pony with red for her hair."

"Got it." I nodded. "Split up so we can find her faster?"

"Crimson, follow me." Dawn said. "Mark can take care of himself. Just don't eat the food; it's also cursed, but differently." From the way he said that I knew that it would fuck me over almost instantly.

I wandered off on my own, and soon noticed a path past a well. Unlike the others paths set around the town, this one was kinda shitty looking, with the way the trees were growing over it. With no other leads, I walked down it with Apple clinging to my left shoulder guard.

"How dark is it for you, daddy?" She asked, since she had low as fuck light vision.

"Look away." I said, reaching up to turn my floodlights back on. She did, instinctively shutting her eyes. The path was bathed in light, and at the end sat a run down cottage. Except this cottage was smaller than Fluttershy's, so it could be more of a shed. I went a little further, and I noticed someone resting on the ground under the cottage's right window. A gray earth pony mare with crimson hair.

"There she is..." I muttered, walking up to her. She heard me coming as she looked up, and squinted in the light.

"Who's there?" She cautiously asked. Before I could answer, she started decaying. Trusting Dawn, I didn't shoot her automatically. Once the curse finished taking effect, her body had become grimy and dark, her mane and tail scraggly and dull. Her eyes had become like two glowing red beacons like all the other zombies.

"My name's Mark." I answered, turning a little to keep the floodlight from blinding her. "I came here with a group, looking for you, Mitta."

"H-How do you know who I am?" She asked.

"The one who cursed this town is back." I sighed. "Except he isn't here to finish the job. He's looking for your daughter." She visibly calmed down.

"I can assure you she isn't here." Mitta said. "Why are you looking for my Ruby?"

"Timeithian has a question for her. I kinda tagged along." I answered, using his royal name since they didn't know him by Red Dawn. Holding up a finger, I pulled out the flare gun salvaged from Hannah when she crashed, and pointed skyward. "I'm signaling him." I explained before she could ask, and fired off the flare, lighting up the area with a dull red as it went skyward.

"Now we wait..." Apple muttered, flittering down in front of Mitta.

"What are you?" She asked, looking at the changeling. "Some kind of insect?"

"Somet-thing like that." Apple replied.

"She's a changeling." I explained. "Think of alicorns that are insects and smaller, except for the rulers. Most can't use magic, but they can fly."

"What do you all eat?" Mitta asked, passing the time more than anything.

"Emotions and salt water for her." I nodded to the filly. "As a human, my species had the claim of having attempted to eat anything. To put that in perspective, we had edible chairs." I said for me.

"What do you mean, had?" Mitta rose a rotted eyebrow.

"Humans are extinct on this planet." I sighed, taking my helmet off. She got a good look of my face, before Dawn came over.

"Hello, Mitta." He sighed, looking at her.

"My lord." She stiffly replied, bowing a little. He waved his hoof.

"No need for the treatment, Mitta. I'm not here on a royal visit." Dawn dismissed. "All I need to know is where Ruby is."

"You've come to take her away?" She asked, worry lacing her undead features. I noted that Crimson was shaking like a goddamn leaf.

"No." He said. "She won't go into the afterlife until you do as well." That brought some comfort to Mitta, at least.

"She's inside." Mitta nodded to the door behind her. "It calms her to be where she was murdered by Grey Hoof, for some reason." She all but spat out the name. Dawn thanked her and I pulled a flashlight out, since my floodlight was way too bright for the interior. We went inside after I opened the door, and were met with the inside of the place.

It only had one big room. Judging by the conditions of the walls and the few pieces of furniture in the cottage, not to mention just how dusty it was in there, this place seemed to be very much touched by the flow of time without any kind of magical intervention. It looked as if it had not been used for years, possibly even centuries.

The only furniture in the room seemed to be a table on one side with a bed in the far corner. There was also a fireplace in the center of the furthest wall. Sitting in front of the fireplace was the filly we were looking for.

"Ruby?" I called out. She looked at my face and looked shocked for a moment.

"You survived?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "We were going pretty fast and the path wasn't exactly smooth." Apple looked at me in confusion.

"I'm a lot harder to kill than I look." I chuckled. "I'm just glad I didn't get run over again. How's the face?"

"It doesn't hurt. How about the other human?" She replied.

"Doc got over it." I shrugged. "Anyway, I didn't come here to catch up with ya. Dawn has a question for you."

"Still trying to get me to leave?" She asked him, frowning a little.

"Only when Mitta truly dies. I'm sorry for constantly hounding you about that." He sighed, before shaking his head. "When Mark met you, a human appeared, but not by Celestia, Luna or I."

"Sergio?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "What about him?"

"Did you bring him here?" He asked. She chuckled a little.

"I was looking for somepony that could protect me, since they were chasing me." She explained. "Mother was forced to stay here, so she couldn't help. I probably brought him in by accident, but what I really found was that machine of the humans."

"So it was an accident?" I asked her. She nodded.

"I wouldn't know how to send him back, I'm afraid." She apologized, while I waved my hand.

"Don't worry about it. He was dying anyway. Just think of it as saving someone's life and leave it at that." Not to mention that he's making 'classical' sounds with Octavia. She grinned a little.

"Is there anything else you need from me?" She asked.

"Will you be okay here, or do you want us to escort you out?" I asked. She looked through a window in alarm.

"Shoot, mother was supposed to tell me when the sun was setting so I could leave!" She sighed, and nodded. "Could you please take me to the old castle?" That was half a click to the west, so I nodded.

"Here." I said, before picking her up and putting her in my pocket. "It's so they don't notice you." Apple decided to join her. I spared a glance at the fireplace, noting that there were charred bones in there. At least they killed her before burning her body...

"Well?" Mitta asked as we stepped outside into the darkness and I turned my floodlight back on.

"Got the answer I was looking for." Dawn replied. "We're taking her to the Everfree castle, so you don't have to worry about her well being for tonight." She brightened up at that.

As we walked away from the entrance, Grey Hoof smiled in a creepy as fuck way and waved a rotten appendage at us.

"Come back soon!" He rasped.

Fuck that. The time I come back is when the curse is lifted, and I'll be leading the others in a charge to eliminate all of the fuckers.

[Mark, Dreamland or some other gay bullshit]

"This has been one messed up day..." I muttered. At the moment I was patrolling around the space in between dreams, keeping a sharp eye out for the black auras that signify that a pony or human is having a nightmare. Doing my new night job was relatively simple; beat the ever living fuck of the nightmare's daemons and help the tormented.

Here's a little tip for the others; green means neutral, red means semi-nightmare, blue means depressing, black is a nightmare and thus is top priority, pink is passionate (aka sex), yellow is neutral, grey means that one is browsing through dreams and thus can't be interacted with (if s/he is in a dream. The void allows you to talk to another.) and white is joy. Fuck, don't stare at a joy for too long or it'll make your brain hurt.

The void is also able to be classified by whatever you fancy. If you think hard enough, you can actually browse through a list of people you know, and can sort the list to contain people. In all honesty, it would be beneficial to sort the humans away from the pone and just mash all of us into a big list, instead of taking the time to go through and think of how to list us.

Anyway, I got a ping, letting me know that two people wanted to talk to me. Not seeing the harm, I opened up a rip in the void and stepped in, keeping it open for them. Who would'a thunk that Discord and Faust appeared?

"Whelp, I've seen everything that I can in one day." I sighed, rubbing my helmet in exasperation.

"You know we love ya." Discord chuckled. I rolled my eyes at him but didn't comment.

"How'd you get in here, anyway? Before you respond, that was meant for Faust." I asked, cutting Discord off before he could open his mouth.

"The 'curse' that came with the package has many exploitable loopholes." She smiled, hugging me. I hugged back while Discord pouted off to the side.

"Fuck it." I sighed, raising my right arm out for him. Bastard joined the hug for a moment.

"So, what's with the meeting?" I asked, materializing a few couches for them to sit/recline on as I took one of my own.

"Just wanted to catch up with my father, more or less." Faust grinned, and I had no problem with that.

You see, even though I never sired her, she considers me her father after all the bullshit I paddled through (without a paddle, mind you. I had to go up shit creek with my hands and it was nasty.) to save her hide. I honestly find it flattering; being the surrogate father of an actual 'god'. Same goes for Discord, and I would've treated him a little less harshly during his 'rampage' through Equestria if I had known what he truly meant to me.

"Staying in that blasted stone garden is so boring!" Discord moaned, doing a Rarity on the couch.

"It's good to see my 'children', trust me." I chuckled, taking my helmet off and putting it to the side. What I also like about the dream void is that you can do whatever the fuck you want, so I was wearing USMC BDUs and normal infantry equipment.

"And what you did to me made me feel like you hate me!" Discord accused, pointing a claw at me. In response I chucked a carton of chocolate milk at him to distract him, before turning to Faust.

"How long do you have?" I asked, leaning forward a little.

"About five minutes." She smiled sadly. I sighed; she couldn't get a damn break anywhere, even in a place where time had less meaning than usual. "I just wanted to tell you that my son has something to tell you in the next couple of days. Be prepared for a long campaign in a cold place." She informed me while Discord drank the carton off of the milk.

"How long is 'long'?" I asked. "That can mean anywhere from a week to months or years."

"Hopefully it won't even take a month." She grinned a little, getting to her hooves. "I need to go now, father." She hugged me tightly, but not hard enough to where I couldn't return the embrace.

"I'll be waiting for your next visit." I said, lightly kissing her forehead. Buzz off; I do the same shit to Applebloom and Apple. She smiled at me before fading from sight, and I turned to my 'son'.

"Don't I get a kiss goodbye, too?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he smirked. I gave him the finger with a chuckle, before waking up.

Jesus fuck I actually woke up when I meant to this time; 0500.

-Braces self for the flak-