Based on the writings of Jed R, Author of “The Avatar of Albion”, and TheIdiot, Author of “TCB: Shades of the Unsung” with materials present from other sources as well.

***

A is A; a simply fact regardless of what others may say, whatever its home may be, A will always be A – even if the situation may be different in another publication, A is still going to be A.

Literature has been defined centuries ago, before it was collected there was a story told through the ages and that always endured for possibly more than half a millennium.

Its design is simple, its tale of caution even simpler;

“For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”

Another said that all things are here for a moment, a moment where fate moves from one path to another. These moments are defining for anyone’s history anywhere… or any when; these moments are nails you could say – sometimes they are massive events that can spell the outcome for a war of life and death for many innocent lives, or they could be the most minor of things, like sparing a simple nobody’s life who could go on to become one of the most despised, infamous beings in human history.

Anything is possible when one just asks the question about these nails. It’s all open before us you see. Now - allow me to tell you a tale that you have probably heard before…

***

In one universe, in the year 2020 AD, an island appeared in the middle of one of Earth’s oceans; the Northern Pacific it was. Upon this island there was a portal, one that led to a new land; a new land known as Equestria, home to a species of sentient ponies with coats of Technicolor that thrived on magic.

However, this portal was impassible by anything human, human made or from Earth – they simply could not have passage into this land as they were and what they had.

At first things were simple, the natives of Equestria seemed more than willing to co-exist with humanity and build a new future with both races.

An easy, temporary solution came to be to allow passage into Equestria – a magical brew known as the Ponfication Potion came to be and its effects would be easy; it would heal all the physical faults one has, should they be ill with a terminal disease or suffering from a fault of body - it would cure them by turning them (by random) into either a Unicorn, a Pegasus or (ironically enough by name) an Earth Pony.

By all means it seemed to be a fair deal, have a relatively new start in this world at the cost of having hands, although there is a two out of three chance that you may be able to do extraordinary things should you convert that make up for it.

The Diarchy that ruled Equestria, Princess Celestia of the Sun and Princess Luna of the Moon, were both willing to open the way for Humanity to come to Equestria in a manner that wouldn’t require them to discard their forms for different ones – the potion was meant to be a temporary solution while they work to fully open the way for humanity to join them.

Unfortunately, time would pass and things would change for the worst; two years went by, and where previously the arrival of the portal was once thought as a herald of good tidings, soon it became the source of an ever expanding barrier that was composed of an energy that simply destroyed everything that wasn’t Equestrian, and would ultimately leave the works of man nonexistent.

Humanity would react like any animal threatened would – they fought back against the barrier in every manner they could, however every weapon fired at it was ineffective; even the great metal bomb of nuclear fire failed against it.

Slowly, as if being consumed by a cancer, the world’s nations would fall one by one with people either having died running with their tail between their legs or by their own hands. A number of them would choose to take the easy way out and still live; the potion would be their answer.

And yet, soon the true nature of this magical brew would be revealed – it was actually the start of Earth’s horror; not a temporary solution or anything optional… at first it appeared like nothing was wrong and yet as time went on those that converted would lose their independence and reject their former life; they would become fanatical worshippers of Celestia, as though she were a goddess.

Within those two years the entire Earth would fall, those seven hundred thirty days full of terror, panic, despair and desperation with Earth’s mightiest nations falling before the Barrier, unable to either stop it or slow it down. Of the seven billion and a half population of Earth, over five billion would chose to surrender to ponification while the rest would simply die out.

Except for one of these nations, a damp little island; they may have never realized it or ever suspected it, but the people of this little island – Great Britain and Ireland – had their own form of magical protection that the Barrier could not surpass or overtake. One may say that the land itself refused to bow before this dark energy without a fight. This nation comprised of a damp little set of islands, holding one hundred and forty million humans; they were all that remained of their race in the entire planet, while being protected by a power only few understood.

And… it would be seen as an insult to Celestia’s power, she could not let this stand and graciously would give into a dark being that had set a terrible plight into motion years ago. She would turn from the benevolent, kind hearted mother of Equestria into a despotic tyrant while taking the name of Empress Astra Solamina Maxima – a goddess in the eyes of her subjects and what she claims to be.

Then, the war would begin, with the combined forces of billions of converted humans and natives of the former nation known as Equestria attacking Britain, bringing complete devastation to the nation… yet her people – both of humanity and friendly Equine – still fought back; the latter of whom had realised the insanity their (former) ruler had unleashed. They stood together by forming an army, the last army… yet resistance would be impossible forever; they all knew that one day they would fall unless someone would intervene.

For this conflict was brutal and full of blood, with countless lives on both sides lost while desperately holding out with battles that were of a half-measure and full of retreats; humanity would fall back again and again… until the day came when hope came forth in the form of Major David Elliot – the Avatar of Albion.

Yet, in their darkest hour… he would perform an act that would have been destined to fail, had he not gone elsewhere…

***

Now, I must tell you something of prior – a scene that has been witnessed before… yet I feel that it’s time for a nail to be done in a manner that is simple yet key.

***

London, January 25th, 2030 - AOAverse’s Earth

David Elliot, the Avatar of Albion as he was better known, grimaced slightly at the twinge of pain that ran through his side. He pulled a piece of shrapnel out of his ribs, the enhanced healing that Albion’s power granted him were already closing the wound. He laughed at the irony for at so many respects, he was stronger, faster and harder than he had been. Yet the power that gave him these edges was also killing him, slowly but surely. He was sure True Grit would have had something to say but… no.

“True Grit!" Elliot yelled, rushing to his friend's side. The unicorn was bleeding badly, and he was burnt from Shining Armour's spell. "Hang on!"

"Did..." Grit coughed weakly, eyes opening to look at Elliot. "Did we win?"

"Yeah," Elliot said softly, as he tried to staunch Grit's wound. "Yeah, we won. Hold on mate."

"Yay for us," True Grit smiled. His eyes closed and he slumped where he lay, the life leaving him suddenly. Elliot's eyes widened, and he tried harder to staunch the wound.

"No... no, stay with me mate!" he said, starting to massage the heart in the hope of bringing his friend back. He was the Avatar of Albion, for God's sake. He should be able to save this one damn pony. Just this one, just this once. "Breathe mate, come on!"

And yet, True Grit did not draw any breath.

No, that wasn't a good train of thought at all. He had lost enough good people, and he was going to lose more before the end. No sense dwelling on those he had failed to save. If he did that, he might never move again for dwelling.

"Elliot," the voice of Hell Blazer called out, bringing Elliot's attention back to the here and now. "You nearly done?"

Elliot moved his arm, testing the movement of the side. The pain was still there, sort of, but the twinges were definitely dying down.

"Yeah," he said softly. "I'm done. What's the situation?"

"Pinkie Pie and Shining Armour's deaths don't seem to have slowed them down," the Earth Pony said softly. "If anything, I think they're more pissed off than they were."

"Typical," Elliot sighed. He unsheathed his lucky dagger - the one that had killed Rainbow Dash, 'speed killer' emblazoned into its hilt - and walked to the exit of the small "command centre" (a fancy name for a hastily appropriated corner shop).

As he stepped outside, a soldier fell across the doorway, a spear lodged in his chest. Snarling, Elliot drew his hand-cannon and fired at the offending Pegasus, knocking it from the sky. More fire drove the attacking Pegasi back, but that wasn't good enough for Elliot. He charged after them, dagger spinning. Behind him, Hell Blazer and Lyra charged, Lyra's horn flashing with offensive spells.

They turned a corner, only to find themselves facing what must have been forty or fifty Earth Ponies.

"Bollocks," Hell Blazer swore. "Might be an idea to retreat?"

Elliot didn't answer, only taking time to reload his hand-cannon. Hell Blazer sighed.

"Should have guessed," he said tiredly. "You want the twenty on the left or the twenty on the right?"

Elliot charged, firing as he went. Lyra stayed put, firing her spells off. Hell Blazer started muttering a series of ancient attack spells, fire forming and shooting off at his words.

The first pony went down with a bullet lodged in his skull. Vaulting over the falling corpse, Elliot stabbed a second pony in the spinal column, before kicking out, sending another sprawling into his comrades. Firing his cannon again, Elliot took out three more ponies, before holstering the weapon and drawing his other dagger. He lashed out, taking down a handful at a time with sliced throats and stabs to the heart. He span around, stabbing another pony in the neck, before pushing the corpse off of his dagger and kicking it into two more ponies. Before the stunned ponies could stand, he stabbed them in their throats, pinning them to the ground. Leaving his daggers in their necks for the moment, he drew his hand-cannon and his shotgun, switching the latter to semi-automatic fire: he span around, firing indiscriminately, taking out pony after pony…

"David!" a small voice called out. Elliot span, to find himself facing off against a Unicorn, who fired a spell at him. Elliot blocked the spell with his arm, but the kinetic force drove him to the ground.

The Unicorn gave a feral grin, and moved to send another spell at Elliot -

But then the spell impacted Lyra, who was suddenly stood between them. She yelled in pain as the energy enveloped her, and then she fell to the ground, eyes closed as she fell unconscious from the pain.

Elliot, understandably angry, fired the last round from his hand-cannon at the pony, blowing the top of his skull out, before grabbing Lyra and sprinting down the street. Around twenty of the Earth Pony squadron were still active, but they were being pinned down by a combination of Hell Blazer's continued fire spells and several soldiers firing their weapons in a suppressive pattern. Fortunately, these ponies were Royal Guard trained, not human soldier converts, and so their tactics were piss poor by comparison.

"Hell Blazer!" Elliot yelled. "Back to base, now!"

"Right!" the pony said, calling out instructions to the soldiers. With a final blast of hellfire, the yellow Earth Pony ran after his friend.

In the base, Elliot was examining Lyra's wounds. They didn't seem to be serious on the outside, but as far as Elliot was concerned, that was a bad sign - it just meant that her injuries were bad on the inside. Magic tended to be like that.

"Where's the Doctor?!" he bellowed at Hell Blazer as the pony entered the room.

"In a different part of the city," his friend replied, eyes fixed on the injured Lyra. "Oh ponyfeathers... this a magic injury?!"

"Yeah," Elliot said, not commenting on the pony oath Hell Blazer used.

"Horse shit!" Hell Blazer swore, hitting the wall with his hoof. "Horse shit and motherbucking bastarding fucking wankers!"

"Can you help her?!" Elliot asked, ignoring the outburst.

"No idea," Hell Blazer said honestly, looking frustrated and upset. "Maybe if I..."

There was an explosion outside, and the sound of hurried yelling and panicked orders. From the sounds of it, things were getting desperate.

"They're getting closer," Elliot said quietly. "Shit."

"That's a word," Hell Blazer said angrily. "These bastards are tougher than I thought."

Elliot knew that if they moved, the sheer number of ponies out there might overwhelm them all - even the Avatar of Albion couldn't kill an entire army. Then again, if they waited here without trying to escape, they'd be trapped and killed anyway. There seemed to be no way out...

Except...

"Hell Blazer," Elliot said quietly. "You know that plan you had?"

Hell Blazer looked at Elliot, eyes wide. "Yeah?"

"It's time," his friend said. "You ready?"

Hell Blazer didn't reply, instead grabbing a vial of salt from his coat pocket. He immediately ushered Elliot into the centre of the room.

"Here," he said. He drew a small circle around his friend. "Remember - once you get there, get to Canterlot, kill Solamina any way you can."

"Gotcha," Elliot said. "I'll do my best."

"I've got faith in ya mate," Hell Blazer mumbled as he began drawing more symbols in salt.

"You don't, but it's nice to say," Elliot smiled. He looked up at the ceiling. "I'm ready."

Hell Blazer mumbled a few words of incantation, and then there was a flash of light.

***

Everywhere and Nowhere

David Elliot awoke in confusion, his mind unfocused and drifting - he last recalled Hell Blazer doing the spell that would send him to Equus to kill Solamina.

What had happened?

He couldn’t see. There was nothing here - literally nothing. All his vision was a white void. He couldn’t tell if he was standing, lying down, floating… all he knew was that there was nothing else here.

Or so he thought.

“He’s woken up,” a new voice said quietly.

“Well of course he has,” the same voice said, as though this were obvious.

“Couldn’t be helped,” the same voice said again. It was as though it were having a conversation with itself.

“Still not sure this is a good idea,” a new voice said quietly, sounding formal and polite, if a bit reserved. “I mean…”

“Ah, ah,” a new, polite yet strong voice said. “What’s the saying? My ballpark, my rules?”

There was a long pause. David frowned, vaguely wondering if he could speak - or indeed if these voices would acknowledge him if he did.

“H-hello?” he spoke out softly. “W-where…?”

“Oh, and now he’s trying to speak.”

“Well, that’s interesting.”

“Shouldn’t be possible, but interesting.”

“That’s what makes it interesting!”

“Who… who is that?” David called out into the nothing.

“He’s… not all that impressive. Are we sure this one is...”

“Yes, we are,” the third voice spoke, and the other two were silenced.

“Hello?!” David asked again.

“I take it by him being here that you have a thought?”

“Of sorts. More a thought exercise. One of the newer voices had an idea, and that idea got my curiosity… and now, let us say that it has my attention.”

“One of the newer voices? Which one?”

“Was it the Embodiment?”

“No, no, he’s busy with things. It was the infinite storyteller. He was looking at some of the worlds with more radical changes from the norm, and he suggested a thought experiment. I was intrigued enough to make it happen.”

“What are you talking about?!” Elliot called out. “What’s going on?!”

“Rather insistent about that, isn’t he?” the second voice said, a tad disapprovingly.

“I can’t say I blame him,” the third voice said. “We are diverting him from his work after all.”

“To do what, exactly?”

“Yes, I was wondering about that as well.”

“It seems a bit of a strange time to get involved.

And a bit of a strange change to make.”

“If this one has a destiny, I want to know he’s up to it.”

“What are you talking about?” Elliot asked. “What destiny?!”

“You don’t think he is?”

“You made him.”

“Surely you’d know.”

“How many times do I have to repeat myself?” the third voice said, sounding almost irritated. “I might have started all this up, but it’s gone to more places than I could have ever guessed. The Embodiment’s got stuff going on, you two have your pet projects, and now this infinite storyteller fella does too. With all this, I need to be certain that it’s all going where it needs to.”

“AnD I hAvE mY oWn wOrK tO cOnSiDeR,” a new voice said. “So MuCh To Do... ThErE wIlL pRoBaBlY nOt Be OvErLaP. i HoPe.”

“I imagine there… won’t….” The voice paused. “Why are you doing that?”

“Oh, I’m TrYiNg OuT a NeW tYpInG qUiRk. BlAmE hOmEsTuCk.”

“I… see. In any case, this is how I find out whether it’s all on track.”

“And if it isn’t ‘on track’?”

“Then I just wasted good crochet time - but I don’t think it will come to that. I’ve a good feeling about this…”

Before David could again demand what was going on, the white light of the void brightened, almost blinding him, and then… he was gone.

***

“Seems a little needlessly cruel to send him off without telling him what to do,” a new voice says, said, and will say.

“Can’t disagree,” the second voice said.

“The general business of making things is to see what they do,” the third voice said calmly. “Not to tell them what to do. That’s always been my way. This was an exception, and not one I’m likely to repeat until the end.”

“And I didn’t even get to meet him,” the voice adds, added and will add. “You could have at least let me do that.”

“You’ll have your eye on everything,” the third voice said with an amused tone. “After all, most of the worlds we’ve picked for this escapade are your pet projects. I just kick-started things.”

“I’m sure it’ll be good…” the first voice said.

“... if we do it right,” it added.

“And yet,” the latest voice points out, pointed out and will point out, “you already pretty much know how things will end for all things in the multiverse.”

“You sound like you’re trying to talk me out of this,” the first voice said, amused.

“No,” the fourth voice replies, replied and will reply. “Just curious as to what the point is.”

“I’m sure,” the third voice said. “Tell me - what do you think of where he’s going first?”

There was a momentary pause.

“We’re sending him there? Of all places? Not to one of the places that the others have made?” the fourth voice asks, asked, and will ask, surprised.

“We’re sending him to quite a few places,” the third voice said idly. “What can I say? I want to really push him to his limits. After all, versions of him are the… well. Let’s just say, ‘he’s important’. And seeing as he’s important, I want to be certain he’s the right being for the job. He’s only a little fellow in a big omniverse after all.”

“I guess I can’t disagree with that.”

“Though I still think it’s a bit much…”

“I’ll follow your lead on this,” the second voice said quietly. “As you say - it’s your ‘ballpark’. Though - really? Ballpark?”

“It fitted.”

“Well, I could think of better places to start,” the fourth voice comments, commented and will comment. “But, by all means… if he is going to this frankenstein of a world, then perhaps we should focus on the two that he will meet that will be best like him; creations of mine I guess.”

“If you say so,” the third voice said. “Between you and me, I’m eager for us to stop talking to ourselves and get on with watching what happens. I didn’t send him off to sit here talking about it, after all…”

Author's Notes:

And thus, the story begins; Elliot is to go off and see a unique creation of a world for him to witness.

Be careful, this story is going to be a long one.