***

"Death will find you soon enough. War is not about glory. War is about victory!"
Ultramarines Apothecary Pythol, Warhammer 40,000: Ultramarines.

And who by fire, who by water,
Who in the sunshine, who in the night time,
Who by high ordeal, who by common trial,
Who in your merry merry month of May,
Who by very slow decay,
And who shall I say is calling?
Leonard Cohen, Who By Fire.

"Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the dogs of war!"
William Shakespeare: Julius Caesar.

***

Scottish Archives, February 5th, 2030 - 'Avatar' Earth

Screaming. Fire. Death. Explosions. Blood - always blood, everywhere, nothing to stop the tide as it washed everything away…

Pain…

Operative Lyra Heartstrings slowly opened her eyes, feeling altogether tired and drained, as though someone or somepony had attached a wire to her and literally sucked all the energy out of her. She frowned slightly, trying to remember what had happened that might have caused this feeling of lethargy. Slowly, though, memory returned to her: the fighting in London, and…

"Elliot!" she cried out, before wincing in pain as fresh agony shot through her.

"Don't try to move too much, ma'am," a voice said. Lyra turned her head slightly, to see an electric blue Unicorn mare smiling down at her. She wore a black combat vest, with a red cross on one sleeve and a green cross on the other. "I'm Dr. Tender Care. I've been assigned to your case."

"My… case?" Lyra said weakly. Her eyes widened as more memories came flooding back. "Elliot, did he -?!"

"Yes, your case," Tender Care interrupted, moving a hoof to comfort Lyra. The mare turned to a white mare with a red mane who was standing a little way behind her, wearing a uniform shirt with the same pair of coloured crosses as Care. "Small Mercy, would you kindly go and inform command that Operative Heartstrings is awake and in the process of recovering?"

"Of course," she replied. "Would you like me to get some of the supplementary nano-injections for Miss Heartstrings as well?"

"That would likely be wise," Care said with a smile. "Every four hours I think until we're sure the replication hardware is in place."

"Agreed." With that, the mare left Lyra with Tender Care.

Care turned back to Lyra with a soft smile. "I've been assigned to monitor your condition while your body adapts to the implants."

"Im… plants…?" Lyra repeated, frowning. She didn't understand what she was being told, her mind still feeling far too fuzzy to be able to make sense of any of it. Her limbs felt funny, too… cold…

"Ah, of course, they wouldn't have had chance to tell you yet, would they?" Tender Care said with a knowing nod. "It's going to take a long time to explain, Operative Heartstrings, and you should rest more first."

"No!" Lyra said, surprisingly forcefully. "What… what happened? Please, I need…"

Suddenly, she felt woozy, and her head slammed back onto the pillow, her eyes fluttering slightly. She felt incredibly light-headed.

"Try to rest, Operative Heartstrings," Tender Care said soothingly. "It'll all be cleared up in no time."

With that, she turned away, and Lyra, feeling exhausted for reasons she couldn't quite fathom, fell back to sleep, her mind filled with visions of fire and death…

***

Tender Care approached the two ponies waiting outside the room with a slightly grim expression. It had been a busy day: there were many soldiers here from the battle in London, and many others were present as well. The Archives hadn't been this busy… well, ever.

Off in a nearby room, a Dead Man named Viktor Kraber had been hospitalized as well, suffering from a splitting headache with no discernible cause. He'd barely been able to function. In better days, perhaps they'd have been able to look to him or he'd have been able to treat himself, but there were more important things at hand. Elsewhere, others reported similar headaches or nausea - though few were as badly affected as Kraber had been - and there were others going through surgery for severed limbs and injuries inflicted from hooves, spells and spears.

"Prognosis, doc?" the trench-coated Hell Blazer asked, looking at Tender Care with a slightly worried expression. Standing next to him was the old, tired looking form of the Doctor, his battered leather jacket, scarf and bandolier a stark contrast to Blazer's better kept (if ill-fitting) trench coat.

"The damage to her nervous system, circulatory system, and the organs and muscles around her abdomen were all extremely extensive," Care replied quietly. "I had to call in half a dozen experts to help purge some of the excess magic, and we still needed to implant her body with about eighty five percent of the experimental tech - right now, she's more machine than mare."

"But she will live," the Doctor said, lowering his head slightly to affix Care with a piercing gaze.

"She will," Care confirmed. "Your help was invaluable, Doctor."

"It is good to be able to save someone," the Doctor said with a slight shrug. "Or somepony. I have failed too often in this war. We're fortunate I was still here - I had begun preparations to seek Elliot out…"

"What do the implants do from a combat perspective?" Hell Blazer asked as the older pony trailed off. "Will she fight again?"

"Actually, if the implants do what they're supposed to, she should fight even more effectively than before," Tender Care said with a slightly surprised expression. "I don't know much about nanotechnology - that would be your field, Doctor." The old pony inclined his head as she continued. "But apparently when her internals are damaged the implants release and replicate clouds of nanobots that, theoretically, heal most damage. The muscle augmentations make her stronger, too."

"Damn," Hell Blazer said, smirking. "Well, that's good news at least."

"Indeed," the Doctor said quietly. "We are fortunate. But it isn't over, yet."

"No," Tender Care said, sighing. "Doctor Hooves…"

"Please, just Doctor," the Doctor said, holding up a hoof.

"Doctor then," Tender Care said. "I'd like to know what the progress on the Iron Clad project is - I understand they called you in for that."

"Ah," the Doctor said, his smile widening slightly. "That is an interesting case…"

***

Boston, November 16th, 2023 - 'Spectrum' Earth.

First Lieutenant C. Winston panted slightly as he got back to his feet, his eyes focused entirely on the mare before him.

Her coat was orange, her mane blonde - she had a pair of green eyes and a trio of red apples on her flank… there were two things that one could identify her out if all else failed: a golden necklace with a jewel in its center that looks like an apple, and an old stetson on her head.

There would be no mistaking it; this was Applejack, the Element of Honesty and among the biggest liars and hypocrites that Earth (or Equestria, it all depends on who you ask) would ever know.

The pincer movement had worked: thanks to Kraber's unit causing a distraction and driving the Elements back, they were able to catch them off guard and trap them. The highlight was Winston being able to tackle Applejack away from her friends and drive her to a secluded place so that they could… 'chat'.

It was a fierce fight, Winston's training - boxing and rather brutal moves - against Applejack's own farming experience and strength; they had beaten each other up rather badly to be honest. Winston's body was hurting in parts - he'd definitely be sporting some bruises after this, though nothing that can't be healed up, naturally or magically. Applejack was probably hurting in some places too, she was panting like he was… but thankfully, the First Lieutenant had managed to wear her down.

"Now then, Miss Applejack," Winston panted, tightening his fists as he began to push himself to walk over to her. "I think it's high time you come with me and… have a chat with folks that really wanna meet with you."

Applejack scowled at him, her eyes narrowed.

"You… are out of… your mind… Carl," she panted, trying to stand despite the pains, "if you're… thinkin' that Ah'm… gonna go with you."

"Hey now, I told you the name's First Lieutenant Winston," he scowled with a glare, "and you've got a lot of lies to answer for."

Before she could reply, there was a loud, inhuman screaming from somewhere near them. Winston turned to see what it was, frowning.

Whatever it was, it couldn't mean anything good.

***

Somewhere, a midnight blue Alicorn was seeing the most terrible things that a world could have to offer anyone. Somewhere deep within her, something broke.

Luna blinked a she found herself back into the real world, utter confusion on her face as she looked down to see Twilight glaring at her. Luna's eyes widen in shock when she realized that the creature managed to counter her spell. Her horn glowed, ready to strike the small unicorn down with a single spell.

"Kill me… please kill me," a small voice spoke.

Luna hesitated; right now, she didn't see Twilight the vicious murderer. She saw Twilight the victim, trapped inside her mind.

That hesitation cost her when Twilight's horn glowed and she smirked, vanishing from sight. Luna stood a for a long moment, hearing the sounds of battle die off as one by one, the Elements escaped thanks to Twilight.

Luna stared at the spot where the unicorn had been lying not a few minutes ago. Her cheeks caked with tears, shaking as the haunted images slowly began to consume her mind, her heartbeat a loud roar in her ears.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked. "Twilight-

"-is not in control at the moment," Disclone finished. "I have memories of being inside her mind. Trust me on this."

Now she knew.

Now she knew everything/i].

She looked up, eyes widening in rage. Everything she had seen, every abomination she had witnessed, replayed through her mind again and again and again and again until…

"….aaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

It burst.

***

"How the hell did you survive that?" Jentson asked as Kraber picked himself up off the floor.

"After awhile you learn not to question it," Aegis said. "Personally, I think it's na-"

"Don't say it," Tempest sighed, "For the love of all that's holy, please don't say nanomachines."

"But we've been waiting to do that for awhile!" Kraber protested.

"Can you do this at a time where we don't have Princess Luna at gunpoint?!"

"WHAT?!" Aegis yelled. "For the love of God, nobody shoot her! Especially not, you, Viktor."

"Why would I do that?" Kraber asked, wincing as he pulled himself to his feet. Fok. I think I broke something. He felt like he'd taken an antivehicle round or two to the back, but he'd gotten worse. Compared to falling from the Fillydelphia, or that time Reaper beat the kak out of him, or that time he'd fallen out a three-story building, this wasn't much. "Lunar Phase, Nebula, Moonshine, even Cady would be pissed."

"Cadence?" Tempest asked.

Kraber shrugged. "I was actually thinking Caduceus from back in Portland, but that works too."

"You could be really angry and in the throes of a mental breakdown," Aegis suggested.

"And this is different from normal me how?" Kraber joked.

Honestly, he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or not. Being around an Alicorn, even one that he'd heard nothing but praise for, it was hard for him to handle himself.

But then, if he couldn't handle himself, Aegis was there.

"This day just gets better and better," Aegis said, lifting Kraber up with his neck till he could get back on his feet.

"When I am done with all this," Kraber said, MG2019 aimed at the shaking princess, "I am going to do so much cocaine. I'm just going to fake something on my medical dossier so it says cocaine is vitamins to me."

"Like hotel soap?" Tempest asked.

"No you won't," Aegis said.

"Yeah, you're right, I'll just take PCP again," Kraber said.

"You have a serious problem," Petrikov sighed.

"A problem," Kraber said. "Really."

It needs to be said here, they were still scared and unnerved. Magic was dangerous, everyone knew that, even if Kraber and now Aegis didn't believe it was toxic to humans. Alicorns, however, they were brimming with magic. Young unicorns were prone to unpredictable magic surges, especially when they were suffering panic attacks.

A distraught Alicorn, though, that was worrisome as hell.

"We should probably follow her," Kraber said after a moment.

Aegis threw him a glance that quite clearly said 'you're mad'. At which point Kraber threw him back a glance that just asked 'and this is news how?'

"Someone has to," Kraber said. "I say we keep at whatever distance we like from her. I just want to know what the fok's goin' on."

"Kraber," the voice of Winston said over the radio. "You there?"

"Ja," Kraber replied. "Loud n' clear."

"That… Applejack horse… got teleported out by Sparkle… what's going on over there?" the First Lieutenant demanded, with a grunt of pain.

"From what I can tell, all hell is breaking loose in hell," Kraber said. "Luna's gone right bosbefok, and the Elements are running scared. And there's this really weird feeling I'm getting, it's like the opposite of bad luck-"

"Is it the feeling that things are actually turning out well for us?" Aegis asked.

Kraber paused. "Son of a fok, it is!"

"Ah hell," Winston said dryly. "I take it you're gonna do something stupid and go after her?"

"We're observing, not shooting her," Aegis said.

"That… isn't what I’d call a good idea, but it's your choice, I guess," Winston said, sounding pained - he must have been banged up.

"She seems like she's on our side," Aegis said. "Or at least, she doesn't seem like she's happy with the Empire. So that means we don't rule her out and blow her to hell."

"Like I said, your choice, no matter how much of a dumbass choice it is," Winston said. "I'm gonna try to get back to Fenway Park, gather as many survivors from various units I can find to reinforce the portal area that got capture. Do me a favor though, Kraber."

"If this involves being sober afterwards, I don't want to hear about it."

"Don't worry, you'll like this one," Winston said. "If you get chance - give that Bitch of a Tyrant Horse my regards. With all hell’s worth of prejudice."

"I'll make sure she gets the message," Kraber said.

"'Preciated," Winston said.

***

Grunting with effort as he blocked another spell, the Avatar of Albion considered his options.

Though the 'Ashes of Solaris' spell she had used was clearly the most powerful spell in her arsenal (so far, he added grimly in his head), there was little in this Tyrant's arsenal that was not powerful to some degree or another. He had always expected fighting the Tyrant to be a difficult task, but he had been rather hoping for it to not be this insane. Every blow he took was strong - there was no strike that was not the hammer: true, there was little to no subtlety, but there was no letting up, either. She just kept coming, and he was hard pressed to find his opening. She was like a flail with a colossal ball at the end, except the flail never stopped. It wasn't necessarily unrelenting, but it felt as if he would be smashed to the ground with every interval between spells.

You're not strong enough yet, a small part of him thought. There's more to gain, more power to tap, more knowledge to seek. That you're so outmatched is proof of that.

Well, what else would he have done? And it wasn't as if he would ever get the chance to gain that knowledge or power if the Tyrant tore him apart now. Still, he mused, at least he had given her enough of a fight to warrant her attention, even if it was only because she had driven off the creature Discord for the moment.

"Why. Won't. You. DIE?!" she screamed at him, firing spell after spell. Rocks and chunks of destroyed masonry were grabbed by her telekinetic grip, before being lobbed at him, forcing him to deflect them with Excalibur, dodge them as fast as he could, or else simply take the impacts, grunting with pain as he did so.

"I will not die until I have fulfilled my task," he replied, growling at her. "And my task is your death!"

He leapt above another spell, and pushed himself at her through the air, bringing his blade in a powerful arc, only for her to dodge above him, hitting him with another spell and sending him crashing to the ground. He groaned, looking directly above him at the Alicorn as she floated above him, a grin on her face.

"Ready to lay down and die, yet?" she asked.

He ignored her, instead focusing on something flying down from above her. He smiled, before vanishing in a flash of golden light.

She frowned down at the empty space, about one second before a satellite landed on top of her, Discord standing on top of it, smirking.

"Howdy," he said to the Avatar, who was standing nearby, scowling at the satellite. "Don't worry. It's an old Soviet satellite, nothing important."

"We have but moments," the armoured figure said quietly, coughing as he spoke.

"Of course we have 'but moments'," Discord said with a smirk, though he noted the coughing with interest. "Still better than a butt moment like her royal large flankness."

"Joking and terrible puns aside," the Avatar said, moving his blade into a low-guard as the satellite exploded. Celestia flapped her wings and floated before them, scowling down at them.

"Discord," she said with a growl. "I suppose it was too much to hope I'd killed you."

"No body, no kill," Discord replied with a smirk. "I'm tougher than you think, Madam le Grande Posterior."

"And I am losing patience with you," Celestia replied with narrowed eyes. "So I think it is best if you…"

She was interrupted by a sudden scream in the distance, loud and getting louder, and deafening enough that even the Avatar was forced to cover his ears.

"Looks like Lulu found something she didn't quite agree with." Discord said off handedly, watching as the sky began to darken, as if the sun was setting at a rapid pace. Except that couldn't be… the sun hadn't moved. There was a dark blot expanding over the city, and the shadows were lengthening all around.

"What did you-?!" Celestia eyes shifting to Discord with anger.

"Me? I just told Lulu to rip Twilight's mind apart, find out whatever secrets you may have told her." Discord said nonchalantly, looking at his claw with little interest. "Looks like she found something alright."

The Avatar was looking up at the sky. "What in the name of all that is holy…?"

And suddenly, as if in answer to his unfinished question, a dark-coloured Alicorn slammed into the ground, her face full of a seething, unbridled rage as she glared at Celestia, her eyes narrow, cat-like slits. She wore midnight blue armour, and her coat was black as the night itself.

"Hello Nightmare Moon," Discord greeted her with a jovial tone.

"Nightmare Moon…?" the Avatar repeated, eyes wide. He had heard the name.

The Alicorn ignored his comment, instead looking to the Draconequus.

"Discord," she said sharply.

"Yes, my dear?" he asked.

"Shut up, sit down, make any jokes and I'll make the next thousand years in stone look like paradise," she growled. "This whorse is mine. I'll kill her alone!"

Celestia grinned. "Well, if you think you can, Little Moon…"

Nightmare Moon growled, but the Avatar suddenly lay a hand on her shoulder, frowning.

"No," he said softly. "This is not the way forward - you cannot -"

Nightmare Moon flared her wings, her face twisted with rage. The Avatar staggered back a step, just in time for her to charge straight at Celestia, her horn flaring to life. The Avatar growled as the two Alicorns quickly disappeared.

"She will be destroyed," he said simply. "The Tyrant hides more than she lets be seen. Clever. She puts on the facade of a brute, to make us underestimate her as a ravenous monster."

"Insightful for a newbie," Discord commented with a raised eyebrow. "You know, Marcus never mentioned you. I'd have thought he would."

"I am not from here, and I know nothing of any 'Marcus'," the Avatar replied. "And I doubt greatly that he would know of me, either. But be assured - I am new to this world, Discord the Chaos Lord, but not to the evils of Tyrant Suns. She may not be Solamina, but she is still a Tyrant. They are clever beasts, and nothing they do is the product of coincidence. This Tyrant is bold, and maybe her power grants her that confidence, but there is another design to it."

The Draconequus frowned. "Such as?"

"I know not," the Avatar replied with a shrug. "But I know that it will take all three of us to defeat her here."

"Nah, I think Lulu -" Discord began, but then his face fell suddenly. "Oh."

"What?" the Avatar asked, frowning.

"You’re right, she had another design," Discord said, frowning. "Oh. I just realized. Celly's going to try to… oh no."

"Repeating ‘oh’ does not grant sudden clarity to your meaning, Lord Discord."

"I kept thinking to myself that it was good that Celly was getting angry, good that she’d be off balance… I never thought…" Discord said, before facepalming. "Having Luna investigate the Elements may not have been a good idea. Nightmare Moon is going to be focused on one thing and one thing only. Killing that which has angered her. She won't be thinking straight - and I should’ve known that!"

"If she is so enraged, that means her anger will be her enemy’s greatest advantage," the Avatar said quietly. "Agreed?"

"Agreed," Discord said, slapping himself in the face. "Knew I shouldn’t have underestimated that bitch."

The Avatar nodded. "We have to bring Princess Luna under control. Wilt thou aid me?"

Discord smirked. "Why the heck do you think I'm here?"

The Avatar grinned in return. "Good! Let us follow the Alicorns - we must aid thine ally before she is overwhelmed."

"Or before the two of them obliterate half the city," Discord added.

The Avatar grimaced. "That as well."

***

"Report! What the fuck's going on in Boston?! None of the satellites can penetrate that cloud of magic, and the instruments are going nuts!"

"Would 'all hell has broken loose' work?" Stephan asked.

"God damn it, Major! Get your fucking head on straight and give me a Goddamn answer!"

"Well, you tell me how two insane alicorns beating each other to a bloody pulp, an unknown human with magic, and a draconequus running around with no information on his location does NOT qualify as 'all hell has broken loose?!'"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Fair enough."

Stephan stroked the base of his nose with two fingers, sorting out the data in his head. "Look, I can't tell you more than you already have. We both know about the same amount and it all comes out to jack shit, and what I have here is that some shitstorm just broke loose, and if the last reports are true, and Nightmare Moon just appeared…"

"Wait, Nightmare Moon!? Who the fucking hell is Nightmare Moon?!" From how Stephan was hearing the man speak he might as well have be having close to a mental breakdown from the amount of screaming and shouting over the radio from other sources.

"An ancient enemy of the ponies, sir. Turns out it was Luna all along; guess the Tyrant forgot to mention that with the information trade when she first greeted us. Apparently the Unicorns can feel her presence. Some even went totally crazy and talking about the end of the world the moment she appeared. Hell, some of my best pony soldiers pissed themselves at the sight of her. These are the same ponies that stood their ground against a horde of Newfoals and slaughtered them like it was a day in the park." Stephan shook his head. "If that is true, then we have more problems than just the Tyrant."

"What about that other stuff? The armoured loon with the sword, that Discord thing? "

"No word yet," Stephan said. "We have to assume they're still in there."

"Great, more unknowns." There was a pause. "Alright, what's your plan?"

Stephan sighed. "I want every available unit outside the dark cloud of magic to take position around it. Everyone else find cover and stick to a defensive position. Codename, Night Dome. Make sure they got enough firepower to keep Nightmare inside the perimeter. Shoot to kill for Celestia."

"Why not both? Or the armoured guy?"

Stephan sighed heavily, "Something big is going on, and I want Luna, or Nightmare Moon, whatever we call her now, and her friend Discord alive for some answers, because from what I've seen, they're not here to harm us. However, if neither of them are going to cooperate -"

"Understood. And our mysterious magical human friend?"

"He's a wildcard, and if anything I want answers from him just as much," Stephan said with a frown. "Still, he seems to be an ally. He's proven willing to help anyone that'll fight a tyrant, so we're going to give him hospitality afterwards. We don't dissect things that could help us."

"If you say so, Major. Either way, we'll take care of everything. Anything else?"

"Huh, I didn't know it would be that easy… anyway, I need to go back. There are still some of my men inside and I won't let them take on this fight alone." Stephan could feel Trixie's glare digging against the back of his skull. He gave another sigh, bracing himself for Trixie's yelling time.

"I guess ordering you to stand down will amount to jack shit, right?"

Stephan smiled sadly. "You can still try."

"Okay, do what you have to do. HQ out."

Stephan took a deep breath, coughing and straightening his back before turning around to look at Trixie and face her undoubtable ire, which was in some respects far more terrifying than some of the other things he was going to fight today.

Suddenly, there was a distant crack, almost like thunder, and he mentally reconsidered. Almost far more terrifying.

***

Nightmare Moon screamed as she blasted another spell at Celestia, fully intent on blowing her apart. Her sister's foul double did nothing but smirk.

There were many emotions raging through Luna's mind. She had witnessed the testing of the ponification potion in Twilight Sparkle's mind: the sight of hundreds, thousands of people being put through unendurable, horrific torture… there were no words. There were no ways to articulate the horror and rage… except to scream in fury, and destroy the one who had caused it.

She blasted another spell off at Celestia, screeching in fury as she did so. Today, she would end this Tyrant Sun!

***

"I have no idea what the fok is going on," Kraber sighed.

"Eh, we've had less info to go on before," Aegis said. "Remember the Fillydelphia?"

Damn near everyone had heard about that. The two of them had been very willing to talk about it, and from what they'd said, it had sounded near nightmarish.

"I still can't believe you survived that," Tempest said.

"Eh, I'd been through worse," Kraber shrugged.

"…You fell out a zep."

"Ah, but I didn't break everything but my right arm."

"Reh, good point."

"Sarge?" asked one of the men under Kraber's command, a Pole named Petrikov. "What's the plan?"

"We find Nightmare Moon," Kraber said.

"And kill her?" asked another soldier, Garcia. Kraber had essentially been given the dregs of the PHL when he'd gotten back to Boston - apparently, being stuck on a stolen steam locomotive barreling through New Hampshire had left Bauer considering him AWOL. Either Garcia was just that angry at the moment, or she knew Kraber too well - it was hard to say.

"No. We attack Celestia," Kraber said. "Chop her to fokkin bits with everything we have, the biggest fokkin' guns we can muster. Luna-"

"Technically Nightmare Moon," Aegis interrupted.

"-Thanks, Aegis, didn't look like she was in a very Solar Empire-praising mood. So we follow her. Anything that tries to beat the Tyrant to a bloody paste's a chommie of mine," Kraber said.

"What if it's a trick?" Garcia asked.

"Stephan think she's trustworthy," Kraber said. "Orders are orders, and we're long overdue for a miracle."

"What about your pub buddy? The magical one?" Garcia asked.

"Unless it turns out he's the herald of some force trying to exterminate all ponies from the multiverse," Kraber said dryly, "I think we can trust him. Now move out, men - we've got a world to save!"

***

Stephan jogged as fast as he could, his breathing measured but starting to get heavier. The sound of explosions and destruction further in the city were simple enough to follow, but they were far enough away that it would take him a while yet to reach them. He had yet to come across any friendlies, and there was a lot of interference on his radio, preventing him from trying to contact any of the friendlies still in the city.

Suddenly he heard a sound - a familiar sound. A moment later, a blue box appeared in front of him, the words "Police Public Call Box" emblazoned atop it. The TARDIS - and by extension, Doctor Whooves - had arrived.

Stephan frowned as something occurred to him. The TARDIS didn't look like that anymore…

"Isn't that…?" he said to himself, but then the door opened - and somepony who was not Doctor Whooves stuck his head out.

He was older, his coat reddish-brown and his mane greying. He had a beard of the same aged colour, and he wore a battered brown leather coat over an equally battered bandolier, a single silver object held inside.

"Major Stephan Bauer," the pony said, looking at him with a grave expression, his voice tired and raspy. "I would explain, but we have little time. I must get you to the fighting."

"Who the fuck are you?" Stephan asked, scowling.

"I was once very similar to a pony you know as Doctor Whooves," the old pony replied with a tired smile. "Now, however, I fear war has made me something else once again." He ducked his head inside the TARDIS, then popped it out again, frowning. "I would get in, double quick. There is a lot to do, and I have something of a schedule to keep."

"What does that mean?" Stephan asked.

The pony sighed. "We don't even have time to explain why I don't have time to explain. Hurry!"

Stephan ran inside, frowning briefly at the unfamiliar interior of the ship, and then the old pony flipped a switch and the rotor in the glass column began moving.

"I don't understand," Stephan said, turning to the old pony. "Are you from the future?"

"I am from a future," the old pony said. "I have come from the year 2030 - in David Elliot's world. Technically, being here is a cheat on my part, but following the energy traces was always bound to lead to slip-ups."

"You're from Elliot's world?!" Stephan yelled. "What is he? What's-"

"Questions must wait!" the pony snapped. "I'm concentrating!"

***

Chick Pea, a blue Earth Pony stallion in the PHL, frowned as he heard the smashing of buildings like heavy ordnance was going off. He and his team were trying to pull out, but it wasn't going as well as he would have liked. His sergeant, a short-haired human man named Gates, was yelling and gesturing for his team to move. They probably wouldn't have long.

The numbers of newfoals that they'd been fighting seemed to be thinning - ever so slightly - but ammo was low, and they were cut off from headquarters. Newfoals on both sides, trampling the corpses of their fallen compatriots, rushing for the humans. And worse, the city seemed to be exploding around them.

He tried to think positively: he might survive. Hell, he and his compatriots might even die. Still better than surviving and being taken back.

"Sir!" he yelled to the man. "Those crashes are getting closer!"

"I heard them!" Gates yelled back. "Crowe, Fulton, get moving!"

Chick Pea looked back in the direction of the crashes. He could tell that they'd get here before the soldiers would have a chance to pull out. He tensed…

… and suddenly, a dark haired, armoured man with a giant sword and a creature that looked suspiciously like Discord appeared right in front of him in a flash. The creature - yup, that was Discord - immediately turned and floated up into the sky, hovering about five feet off the ground and staring directly at the source of the noise, which was getting closer.

"I'd say we have about a minute," he said.

"Understood," the armoured man said. "Canst thou move these soldiers?"

Discord turned and threw a glance at the squad - Chick Pea's squad was only one of a few teams in the area. The Draconequus frowned.

"Not likely," he said after a moment, frowning. "Lots of them, and they're all moving too much. Hard to get a lock on all of them. Even if I did, it'd take a lot of effort - I'm not a limitless store of magic you know. This is taking a lot out of me…" he seemed winded for a second.

"Damnation," the armoured figure growled. He looked down at Chick Pea. "Who is your commander, little pony?"

"Hey!" Gates yelled, jogging up to the two of them with a scowl on his face. "What the fuck is this? Who the fuck are you?!"

"I am the Avatar of Albion, and this is Discord, the Lord of Chaos," the armoured man replied bluntly. "Dost thou have a problem?"

"Yeah, I do!" Gates yelled. "Who the fuck are you?!"

Before the Avatar could reply, there was a nearby crash, and suddenly two flying, winged figures could be seen - one, a midnight black Alicorn in blue armour, and the other… the other was the Tyrant. Chick Pea squeaked - that was Queen Celestia, fighting Nightmare Moon.

"Shit," he swore softly. He was vaguely aware of a sudden building pool of liquid at his hooves, but he didn't care.

"Explanations will come if we all survive. I am here to help," the armoured man said. "We can settle out exactly in what way later. Right now, there are more pressing matters." He turned to the Draconequus. "Discord? Can you slow their arrival?"

"Maybe," the Draconequus said. "But Luna won't be happy with the interference from me."

"Then I will rely on you to retrieve the Princess, while I give the Tyrant my regards," the armoured man growled.

He brought his sword up, aimed it at the two Alicorns, seemed to be counting for a moment, and then suddenly the blade glowed and a flash of light shot out, streaking toward the two until it blasted the Tyrant clean through a building. The other Alicorn streaked after her, and Discord snapped his clawed fingers, vanishing in a flash. The armoured man turned to look at Gates, who was gawping slightly.

"Thou should move thine men promptly," he said. "This area will soon become a battleground thou canst not survive. The Tyrant is deadly, and we three shall have to fight hard to match her."

"Fuck," Gates swore. "Yeah, yeah… Chick Pea, let's get moving!"

Chick Pea didn't need telling twice, immediately turning tail and moving out as fast as he could without looking like he was running.

He decided against that a moment later, and just started galloping down the street towards somewhere safer.

***

A few moments passed, and the Avatar was suddenly alone in the street, looking at the desolation left in the wake of this war.

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose," he murmured, before looking back in the direction of the loud crashes. He waited for a moment, coughing into his gauntlets hand. He ignored the blood in his hand. The pain was there, but for the moment he was negating it.

He would deal afterward with whatever consequences this fight would leave him. He only hoped he'd still be alive to explain himself.

***

Luna didn't care that her opponent had been struck by a bolt of the armoured human's magic. She didn't care much for the human in general beyond his usefulness in giving her this opening - but she was more than happy to use it, pounding the false Celestia with every spell she could think of now that she was, for the moment, off balance.

"Die!" she yelled as she threw more spells. "Die! Die! DIE!"

A final, massive spell shot out of her horn and blasted Celestia into the ground, where she made a massive crater. Luna took a breath, before preparing to finish this mockery of her sister once and for all with a final, apocalyptic attack. Her horn glowed…

… and in a flash of light, she was in a completely different area, Discord letting go of her as he stepped back, his head turning in the direction the battle had flown after the Avatar's intervention.

"Foals!" Luna screamed. "I had her!"

"No," Discord replied. "You didn't. Amusing as watching you fly into tragic rage is, if you were thinking clearly you'd see she was bluffing you. You were angry, and that would make you easy to play. Celestia knows stimulus, and could try and play the events as if you were hers. And thus our plan, and by extension humanity's best chance, dies an ignominious death in Boston."

"What is thy plan?" the armoured human asked.

"To bring the aid of an unsullied Equus to humanity's aid, and destroy the… abomination... that has subsumed this version of my sister," Luna explained, still angry. "I could have had her!"

"Really though, you couldn’t," Discord said.

Luna snorted and said nothing else.

"How did you get involved with this conflict in the first place?" the Avatar asked with a slight frown.

"It would take too long to explain right now," Discord said with a sigh. "But everything's about how humans see us today. She ruins that, humanity's doomed." He glared at Luna. "Which, with your help, she nearly did."

Luna glowered at him.

"This Tyrant," the voice of the armoured human said grimly, "is a canny enemy. I am not surprised that she had some plan with which to doom you. Make no mistake, you were playing into her hands. Well. Hooves."

Luna scowled at this interloper. "And what do you know of her?!"

"I know the ways of Tyrants," the Avatar said, frowning at her. "And I know it will take more than one of us to beat her." His gaze flicked in the direction of the mad queen, and all three of them could sense that she had returned to full power. "We must be swift. Here is our plan…"

"Why should we listen to you?!" Luna said scathingly. "I know not what you are, but…"

"Because I have fought the forces of Tyrants and led men in battle against them for years," the Avatar cut her off, scowling at her in turn. "And because between the three of us, I am the only one who seems to have a plan beyond 'let us hit the Tyrant more and harder'."

Discord shrugged. "Got me there. I'm not a 'plan' type."

Luna cursed. Though she had led ponies in battle before, her recent actions, the things she had seen… well, it left her feeling somewhat lacking in plans. She could not argue this man's logic, despite how much she wished to.

"Very well then," she said quietly. "Speak."

The Avatar nodded, before looking at both of them. "Our ploy is this: first, we must draw her back to this field. We must lessen the collateral damage here, and make sure that no matter what, she and her armies do not leave this city. The presence of all three of us should do so alone if she displays any sense."

"Celly's crazy, but she isn't stupid," Discord agreed. "She has to realise we're the big threat."

"Then she might wish to avoid us," Luna pointed out.

"She is intelligent, but she is no coward," the Avatar said. "But in the event that she does not return, I shall use a powerful attack and some choice mockery to gain her attention. She may survive the strike with no fear, but she will not withstand mockery well."

"She is surprisingly thin-skinned," Discord noted. "Might be an inferiority complex of Tirek’s."

"What then?" Luna asked, ignoring the last comment.

The Avatar grinned. "Then we shall enact a classic: the Hammer and Anvil." He paused. "I am the Anvil. Princess, you are the Hammer. When she attacks me, I can - for the moment, at least - withstand most things she throws, but you must be swift in your strike. Aim to cripple her wings. Once you strike, if she is not crippled, that is our goal from that point. Once she is down, she will not prove so able to dodge the bite of Excalibur."

He hefted the blade as if to emphasise his point, a small grin on his face.

"So," Discord asked, folding his arms, "what do I do in this grand plan of yours?"

"You are something special: the Gnat," the Avatar said with a wry grin.

Discord raised an eyebrow. "Not the most flattering title I've had over the years."

"But a vital role - you must act if she is not crippled by the Hammer," the Avatar explained. "You will keep her off balance, and keep her here: this battle must stay in this place now. We have seen the destruction she can wreak. This world's warriors may be well equipped, but they are not yet prepared to face her."

"So I run interference and keep her in one place?" Discord summarised. The Avatar nodded, and Discord shrugged. "I've had worse jobs, and I can think of more than a few ways to keep her here."

"This may fail miserably," Luna pointed out.

"At which point we shall improvise," the Avatar replied as he held out his sword, wary of the quiet that settled in the area. "But it is better to have a plan that may fail than to simply engage in aimless conflict with no thought for the consequence. Prepare."

Luna nodded, melting into the shadows. Discord snapped a claw and disappeared in a flash, leaving the Avatar alone. He steeled himself, knowing that whatever happened now might decide this fight, one way or another.

"Tyrant!" he bellowed, aiming his blade in the direction the Tyrant had been blasted and sending a bolt of magic in her direction. "If thou art not a coward, come face thine death! Unless thou art willing to admit that a mere human has proven thy better!"

***

Celestia groaned slightly as she flew above the crater she had landed in. While Luna's attacks had done little to injure her, they had still been strong attacks, and she felt somewhat sore in several places. She frowned as she sensed the presence of Luna nearby, alongside the human magic-wielder and Discord.

"A trap?" she wondered aloud.

Suddenly, a bolt of magic lashed through the buildings. She dodged it, raising an eyebrow - there was no way they had thought that such a pitiful attack would reach her, let alone harm her.

"Tyrant!" she heard a voice yell. She turned to look back in the direction the voice was coming from, frowning as she realised that it was the human magic-wielder who was speaking. "If thou art not a coward, come face thine death! Unless thou art willing to admit that a mere human has proven thy better!"

There was a brief pause as Celestia registered the words he had just said. Some rational part of her knew he was baiting her, pushing buttons The rest of her, though, didn't care.

That… impudent… little… wretch. How dare he. How dare he. She snorted, rage building in her face. No human… no pitiful little monkey can best me! I will teach them humility, right before I TEAR THEM ALL APART!

With a snort of rage, she bolted off in the direction of the cry.

***

"That's done it," the Avatar said with a slight smile. "Right then."

He raised his sword into a high guard, bracing himself. A streak of golden light appeared in the distance, blasting its way through a building, shattering masonry and glass and heading straight for him. For a moment he wondered if this was a good idea.

'Of course it isn't,' he said to himself. 'But we'll do it anyway.'

The streak got closer to him, and he scowled, gritting his teeth for the inevitable impact.

And then a streak of blue light lashed out from his right, striking the living bolt of fiery light as it approached the Avatar and driving it into the ground to his left. He blinked, grinning as Princess Luna flew up, her horn glowing.

"A fine hit!" he called to her. She smirked.

There was a growl, and he turned to look as the Tyrant crawled out of the crater she had been blasted into.

Her eyes fixed on the Avatar. "You little inse -!"

She was cut off by something like two hundred and fifteen thousand fish falling on her from directly above her (give or take one or two). Discord was grinning from atop a salmon-coloured cloud.

"How's this?!" he called.

"Good!" the Avatar yelled, raising his sword. "But it will not hold her for lo-!"

A bolt of light shot up, obliterated the fish and annihilated Discord's cloud, blasting it into an expanding pale ring of steam. Discord dodged, scowling. A second bolt lashed out, and Luna was forced to raise a shield as it blew her backwards through the air. A third bolt of light was narrowly deflected by the Avatar's sword, though he was knocked off balance by the impact.

And then she emerged, her face twisted by hatred and her horn glowing. Discord floated away from her, scowling down at her as he held his arms at the ready to unleash more chaos. Luna landed next to the Avatar, her horn glowing. The Avatar himself pointed his blade at the Tyrant in challenge. The Tyrant herself growled, looking at each of them in turn with nothing but pure, unadulterated malice in her eyes.

"I am going to enjoy watching all of you die," she hissed. "I don't even care about how happy you'd be as my perfect little ponies, it'll be far more satisfying to see you all as red smears on the ground for how you've dared to inconvenience me!"

"Then by all means, Celestia the Tyrant Sun," the Avatar replied, bringing his sword to a high guard, "come at me."

***

Things were not going well for Corporal Quint Bouchard, U.S Marines. He'd thought the Fillydelphia had been his limit. Fighting PER and HLF all at once, while trying not to kill HLF who were supposedly on your side, while bombarded by an Imperial zep… well, suffice it to say, it had been a massacre.

And yet, right now, it was best not to imagine what he would have done or what he would have given to be back there at the Battle of the Fillydelphia.

Major Bauer, as the highest-ranking and most experienced PHL member, had sent out an order to retrieve every PHL weapon possible, including the ones that had been mothballed due to excess magic radiation. He'd been offered extra pay and rations, so he'd figured "Why not, what the hell?" and come out with a ton of mods for his Evangelizer. Well, technically an Evangelizer was an M25, but Evangelisto Morricone had gotten the name stuck in all their heads when he modded one with stasis grenades to literally drop pegasi from the sky.

"Change of plans!" Major Bauer yelled, stepping out from nearby. "The Doc here needs to move us around - we're forcing the Tyrant into a trap."

"Major," Quint said, breathless, realizing that both Aegis and Viktor Kraber were standing in behind of the man that currently held the PHL in his hands. "How the hell did you two get here?"

"TARDIS," Aegis said, shrugging as if that explained everything. "This other Doctor-"

Quint's eyes went wide as he stared into the TARDIS, realizing that the stallion inside had a red coat, an old patched leather coat, and a cutie mark of a broken hourglass. "How…"

"The three of us," Kraber said, "Are only slightly less in the dark than you. Well, I've got some fokkin' idea of what happened."

"Course you do," Quint sighed, "You're crazy."

"But I'm crazy pointed in the right direction!" Kraber said, practically beaming. "Come on, then - we haven't a fokkin moment to lose!"

With that, Quint and his scattered command funneled into the strange TARDIS, looking down at the unfamiliar Doctor. Quint had seen the TARDIS, once before. Or at least, he'd seen it on TV, and the interior of the Doctor's seemed to be more or less the same. He decided he was better off not questioning that.

But this one was… strange. It was cold and mechanical, as opposed to the organic aesthetic he'd expected. There were pillars that looked like the wooden poles one found at old docks poked through the floor at seemingly random intervals.

"Thanks," Quint breathed.

"Wait, aren't you from Elliot's world?" Kraber asked the older pony.

"Mentioned me, did he?" the old pony asked offhandedly as he pulled a lever.

"Yeah," Kraber said, frowning. "Hey, did -"

Before Kraber could finish what he was saying, he was interrupted.

"Here," Major Bauer said, passing a large .50 rifle to Kraber.

"The fok's this?"

"It's the DSR.50 rifle we were planning to use to kill the Tyrant," Bauer said, holding it by the barrel. Making very sure to keep his fingers off the trigger as he held it and slung it over his back, Kraber turned towards one of the walls. If gun safety was ever important, it was now.

"Not dad's old Mauser," Kraber said, inspecting the bolt. "But I'm not complaining."

"The 20mm was too heavy for us to carry," Bauer explained.

"I still say it would have helped. So," Kraber said, turning to the Doctor. "You just in the area?"

"Nothing so clean," the old pony replied absently. "Let's just say I'm running under a set of instructions from your Doctor."

"He never mentioned you," Bauer pointed out, frowning.

"That's because from your perspective, I haven't met him yet," the Doctor said with a smirk. "Time is not so linear as you might believe: it is more…"

"Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey?" Kraber asked. The Doctor scowled.

"Kindly don't talk like a child," he said. "We're working."

"He really is John Hurt," Aegis said with a wry grin.

The Doctor frowned, turning to Aegis with an incredulous look. "Who?"

***

Celestia’s horn flared again, and Luna found herself spinning out of control, before slamming into… a trampoline. She blew a stray bit of mane out of her face, and looked, to see Discord winking at her, before he snapped his claw - and suddenly, he was above Celestia’s head. Before she could react or even register his presence, he had summoned a giant polo mallet and slammed it into her skull, before bringing it down on top of her with a mighty crack. She pelted toward the ground, just in time for him to be waiting for her with another swing of his mallet, sending her back up, where the Avatar was waiting to shoulder her into a building. There was a great smashing of masonry, and for a moment all was still.

Discord flashed into existence next to the Avatar.

"Other side of the building," the armoured figure instructed him, and in a flash he was gone. The Avatar let out a breath.

Suddenly, a spell slammed into his back, throwing him through the building. Celestia floated down slowly from above where he had been, a cruel smirk on her face.

"MONSTER!" a scream came from below her, and she darted backwards, just as a spell shot through the space she had inhabited. She darted forwards, dodging another spell, and then raised a shield as Luna shot past her, firing more and more destructive spells as she went.

The Lunar Princess snorted as she faced the Solar Tyrant, their horns both glowing.

"What’s the matter, Little Moon?" Celestia asked coyly. "Don’t have the heart?"

"No," Luna said in reply. "Just waiting."

"For what?" Celestia asked, frowning slightly. "Some miracle? I’m afraid there’s none coming for y-"

And then a pumpkin smashed into her head, covering her face. At that precise moment, Luna threw a spell clean at her, which smashed into her and threw her into another building.

"For that," Luna said. She looked up at Discord, who winked, before flashing out of existence again.

The Avatar floated out of the wrecked building behind her, a cut above his eyebrow already fading in a flash of golden light. Discord flashed into existence next to them, his arms folded.

"She’s not dead yet," Luna commented.

"Of course she isn’t," the Avatar said quietly.

"Why is it never that easy?" Discord sighed.

"Because life chooses to test us," the Avatar said grimly. "And there’s no such thing as an easy test worth its salt."

"That… doesn’t help," Discord said.

"I know," the Avatar grinned. "But take heart - there must be some limit she will reach soon."

"We hope," Discord muttered, before flashing out of existence again, presumably to make sure Celestia was contained.

"Do you think we can win this?" Luna asked. "She seems… tough."

The Avatar raised an eyebrow at her choice of words, and she shrugged, before floating higher. He began floating down towards the ground, hoping to cover their bases - only for a spell to shoot past him, narrowly missing him. A blur of white fur slammed into him and knocked him ten feet backwards, and he was forced to fly upwards to dodge another spell that sheared the building behind him in two down the middle.

"Oh, stop dodging!" the Tyrant yelled with a mad grin on her face. "I promise you, the sweet release of obliteration is mercy compared to what I could d-!"

A hail of small, green, round objects started smashing into her, moving at what must have been the speed of sound, smacking into her like giant hailstones. She growled, raising a shield, as Discord - carrying what might have been a minigun, save for its ammunition - floated back into position.

"You were saying?!" he called over to her. "I can’t hear you over the sound of my balls smacking into your face!"

He grinned as the balls kept slamming into her shield. The Avatar raised Excalibur in a two-handed grip and aimed it at her, a flash of energy also slamming into the shield, but it held against it.

"Your jokes seem to fall a little flat, Discord!" she chuckled. "Surely you can do better?!"

"If you insist," the Draconequus said with narrowed eyes, before reaching a hand over and flicking what might have been a toggle on his minigun. The balls stopped, and then suddenly started again, only this time they were slightly larger, and black… and hissing. Celestia frowned in confusion for a moment, before suddenly there was a flashing of light as dozens of the balls exploded at once, and more exploded seconds later, until the sky surrounding the Tyrant was nothing but a blaze of explosions.

The Avatar grimaced, before raising Excalibur. They weren’t done yet.

From within the hail of explosions, a spell flashed out, blowing the minigun away. Discord blinked in shock, before a second spell slammed into him, smashing him through what was left of the building behind him. The Avatar grimaced as another spell shot towards him, and he brought Excalibur to block it, the spell smashing into the blade. He was blown backwards, but managed to control his velocity, before growling and charging straight at her. He swung his weapon, but she dodged beneath him, throwing another spell that threw him into the air.

Even as he flew upwards, however, the blue form of Luna flew past him, barrelling into the Tyrant and throwing her towards the ground.

"Come on!" the Lunar Diarch screamed. Her horn flashed, and another spell followed the Tyrant, slamming into her and blasting the masonry around her to ash and rubble.

"What are you two waiting for?!" she yelled to Discord and the Avatar, who shared a glance as she flew towards her prey.

"Well," Discord said with a shrug, "you heard the lady."

***

It was at this point that Quint probably would have sold his soul to be back at the Battle of the Fillydelphia. Still, his sister had said, when warning him about the super-newfoals advancing through Quebec, "When you're going through hell, keep going."

So that was what he was gonna do.

Keep going.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked.

"Hit the Tyrant with everything you have," the Major said, as the doors opened and everyone but him and the Doctor rushed out. The doors closed behind them.

"Any explanation yet, sarge?!" Garcia yelled, struggling to make herself heard over the roar of battle all around.

"Explain later, shoot the kontgesigs now!" Kraber yelled. "And make sure I can get a clear shot at the fokkin' Tyrant! We didn't make enough of the damn alicorn-killers!" He sighed. "What I wouldn't give for an M2 and a belt of these… Aegis will keep his Thunderclap concentrated on her shield , which might weaken it just a bit."

"If the shield starts to wobble, hit it with everything you have!" Aegis added.

"Sounds doable," Quint said. "I think she's c-"

The top half of a building exploded, crashing to the ground just in front of them.

"Jesus Christ," Quint breathed.

There was a massive hole in the building, though. Something was making its way out, cracks spreading outwards.

And then the Tyrant exploded outwards, flying up.

"She's too fokkin fast!" Kraber yelled. "Can't get a clear shot with the DSR!"

Every human or pony in the squad opened fire, with Tempest flying upwards at speeds that would do Rainbow Dash proud, firing off the light machineguns in her assault yoke in the general direction of the Tyrant, making sure to avoid the .338 rounds from Kraber's LMG.

"Keep clear, Tempest!" Kraber yelled, and a burst of electricity lanced out from his MG2023, and for a moment, Celestia's shield was destabilized, and some of the bullets from Tempest, from Garcia, from the LMG Aegis had mounted alongside his thunderclap… all of them hit.

But the wounds healed near-instantly. The Tyrant Sun didn't even seem to notice. That said, Quint's Evangelizer did seem to vaguely irritate her-

One of her hind legs dragging slightly through the air, a slight wobble in her flight path…

"Stasis grenade!" Quint yelled, as if he suddenly held the fate of the world in his hands. "Of course! Stabsunteroffizier, I have an idea. You ever played Evolve?"

"That game where you chase a giant monster?" Kraber asked, a smile.

"You damn right," Aegis said. "What I wouldn't give for a mobile arena…"

He and Kraber looked at Quint's Evangelizer.

"Sonovabitch," they said at once.

"I think I have a plan," Kraber said with a smile. "Tempest? Get up in the air. Look for the destruction and point us in that direction. When you're going to drop them, give us a signal. We'll try and surround her. Aegis, keep that Thunderclap charged. Anyone else, if you have a BFG, anything explosive, train it on Celestia. I'll get in contact with Elliot, Luna, or Discord, make sure they can take advantage of the lull."

"How the hell are you going to do that?"

"Ask politely?" Kraber said.

***

"We're here!" the old pony - somehow Stephan still had trouble thinking of him as 'the Doctor' - yelled. "You need to get out there now!"

Stephan nodded without replying, his machete already drawn and transforming into a claymore again as he moved for the TARDIS' doors. The old pony was already flipping levers.

And then Stephan stepped outside into a war zone.

"Scheiße," he swore, eyes widening at the destruction. The entire area was nothing but the skeletons of buildings and grey and brown rubble, and in the centre of it all was a melee the likes of which Stephan had rarely seen. Behind him he heard the TARDIS dematerialise.

The Tyrant was in the centre of a storm of luminous blue spells being thrown from the horn of Princess Luna, and it was all she could do to shield from them while she dodged the swings of the armoured figure Elliot had transformed into, the man not managing to hit the Tyrant, but the Tyrant not able to keep away from the man before Luna's attacks. Above this fray was Discord, watching the swirling fight like a hawk.

As Stephan watched, a hail of what looked like swordfish appeared all around the Lord of Chaos: just as the Tyrant sent a spell that blasted the armoured figure back toward Stephan's position and created a shockwave that threw Luna away from her, the Draconequus made a gesture and the swordfish flew straight at the Tyrant, who disintegrated them with a flash of magic but was not prepared for Luna's return, heralded by a massive spell that blasted her into the ground.

"Major Bauer," a familiar voice said, and Stephan turned to see the armoured figure standing near him, wiping blood from his mouth. "'Tis good to see thee alive, though thine wisdom in coming here is… questionable, at best."

"That you, Elliot?" Bauer asked, raising an eyebrow.

"In point of fact, it is," the figure replied, "though in this form I am more commonly called ‘The Avatar’."

"The Avatar of Albion, you said," Stephan remembered.

"Aye," the Avatar said. He paused, scowling at the fray. "The Tyrant is proving tougher than I thought. I had expected the power of myself, the creature Discord and the Night Princess to be sufficient, but…"

As he spoke, Celestia flew up from her landing place in the crater, her horn flaring and a spell lashing out at Discord, who blocked it with a sudden hole in reality, a similar hole appearing behind the Tyrant and disgorging the same spell, throwing her back into the ground. Luna threw more spells, and as Stephan watched, the Avatar threw his own barrage at the Tyrant, his sword glowing and shooting arcing beams of light.

Undeterred, the Tyrant burst out again, barreling into Luna and bearing her upward. The Avatar scowled.

"Discord!" he yelled.

"Containment, I know!" the Draconequus yelled, sounding harried. "On it!"

He snapped a claw and vanished, and the Avatar began jogging back toward the fray. Stephan followed him.

"What are you trying to do?" he asked.

"The plan was to cripple the Tyrant before eliminating her with a more powerful strike," the Avatar said with a frown. "But crippling her is proving more troublesome than I would have liked. She does not stay still long enough, and nothing we do can keep her."

"Might be able to help with that," a new, familiar voice said on Stephan's radio.

"Kraber?!" Stephan said in disbelief. "Where the hell are you? Where'd the Doctor drop you?!"

"Me and Aegis are near the fight!" the Afrikaner replied. "Near enough that we got a few shots off, not that we did much fokkin' good - what's that bliksem made of?!"

"Canst thou weapons deal damage to the Alicorn?" the Avatar asked before Bauer could say anything.

"… Elliot? That you?" Kraber asked, sounding bemused.

"Yes, Viktor Kraber, tis I," the Avatar replied. "Answer my question, friend. Canst thou weapons deal damage to the Tyrant? I know such weapons are available to thine fellows."

"Well of fokkin' course I brought a gun that can hurt Alicorns. I'm bosbefok, not fokking stupid," Kraber said.

"It's a DSR.50 - anti-Alicorn weapon," Stephan clarified.

The Avatar grinned. "Make all haste, friend. 'Bosbefok' or not, we shall need everything." He turned to Stephan, suddenly frowning. "Apologies - he is thine soldier."

"Do as he says, Kraber," Stephan said with a wry grin. "He might be insane, but I think he's right."

"Gotcha. Be there ASAP."

The Avatar raised an eyebrow. "I have been called many things. Insane is not one of them."

"You're fighting the Tyrant with a sword," Stephan pointed out.

The Avatar clanged his sword against Stephan's claymore with a raised eyebrow. There was a spark of energy discharge. Stephan grinned.

"Ok, maybe we're both insane," he said. "Anyway - when the Tyrant reappears, we should -"

"At this point, if I may interrupt our size-comparison humour," Kraber interrupted with a chuckle, "may I respectfully request permission to shoot that fokking bitch with every bullet I have? Besides, you're thinking of it wrong. Both of you."

"What dost thou mean?" the Avatar asked.

"At this point, bosbefok is a survival trait," Kraber said.

Stephan frowned as he saw the form of Discord crashing to the ground, making another crater. The Avatar turned to look at the impact, a scowl on his face.

"It's gonna be hard getting her to stand still," Stephan commented. "Anti-Alicorn ammo doesn't do jack if it misses."

"Wait. Got an idea," Kraber interrupted. "Does anyone have a Thunderclap, a PEPS or stasis explosives? Quint nailed her with the Evangelizer and slowed her for a second or three, so I'm thinking we need to hit her with a lot."

"Might not help, but it's something," Aegis cut in. "It'll probably just piss her off."

"She's already fokkin’ woedend!" Kraber added.

"I'll send pegasi to get them from HQ," Stephan said. "It's at least worth a shot."

"We must cripple her first," the Avatar said, turning back to Stephan. "But the task has proven arduous…"

Stephan blinked, an idea forming in his head. He tapped his radio.

"Cheerilee," he said, "can you hear me?"

There was a momentary pause before he got a reply. "Stephan? What's going on down there? We're getting a fragmentary read on you at best."

"There's no time," Stephan said. "Is the Doctor there?"

"The Doctor?" Cheerilee repeated. "Yes, but he's…"

"Get him to my location, stat," Stephan said quickly. "I'll need his help -"

"Actually, sir," Kraber's voice cut in, "you won't. Pony John Hurt just got back -"

"Would you not call me that?" said another British-accented voice, one very familiar to the Avatar.

"It's not my fault you look like John Hurt," Kraber said. "And I've got an idea - we could ask him to ferry people all over the battlefield -"

"I'm not sure I appreciate her being used that way," the Pony John Hurt said, "but the world could very well end right now. Can't complain that much."

"It is you," the Avatar said, eyes wide and a grin on his face. "How went the battle in London?"

"We'll have time to go into that later," the Doctor said. "Suffice to say… they're worried about you. Trying to pick a new Avatar."

The Avatar scowled. "Blast it. Let them know I'm alive as soon as I can."

Stephan grinned. "Him being near is even better. Get him back here ASAP."

"He's already on his way," Kraber replied.

"When he gets here, we’ll have a fighting chance," Stephan said with a grin.

"Whatever your plan is," the Avatar said, his gaze once more turned on the fight - Luna and Celestia were grappling in mid-air, their horns flashing as they dueled, "attend to it quickly, my friend. I must aid my compatriots."

"I was planning on 'bombard her with stasis and PEPS weaponry,'" Kraber said. "Then we hit her with everything we have. Then Elliot goes in and slices her to fokkin' pieces. Then I use the DSR." He paused. "Okay, so I know we can't have a 20mm, but couldn't we have made m-"

Ignoring that, the Avatar moved his sword to his left hand and charged in the direction of the fight, just as Luna was blasted away - he leapt, the force of the jump carrying him into the air and allowing him to impact the Tyrant and throw her into the skeleton of a building, the armoured figure impacting a few moments later.

A moment later, the wheezing, groaning sound of a TARDIS materialising sounded behind Stephan, and he turned with a grin to see the old pony there.

"I believe you wanted my aid?" he asked tiredly.

"As a matter of fact," Stephan said, grinning, "I do."

***

The Avatar slammed into the ground, wincing as he impacted and rolled.

"Damnation!" he swore, looking up at the Tyrant. A moment later, Luna landed near him, and Discord continued to float near their heads.

"I am starting to get sick of this bitch," Luna swore, scowling.

"You and me both," Discord added, rolling his neck with an audible popping sound. "Hey, knight boy, if you have any plans, now's the time."

"I have one," the Avatar replied with a grimace. "I can try and summon enough power to strike her down properly. All I will need is time."

"Time?" Discord said, raising an eyebrow. "Don't know if you noticed, but…"

"Are you debating which of you gets to die next?" the Tyrant interrupted.

"You'll have your time," Luna snarled. "This whorse is going to die!"

A moment later she shot off, her horn glowing as she fired off spell after spell. Discord shrugged and chased after her, his claw snapping as he summoned a variety of rather esoteric looking brass flying machines with red lights like little eyes shining in their chassis'.

The Avatar smirked. That one might be insane, but it is a useful insanity.

He looked to Excalibur, frowning in concentration.

Blade of Arthur, thou hast served me well and righteously, he thought softly. Now I ask that you grant me strength enough for this. The Tyrant Sun must die, and she must die now. Thou art the blade of a king, and that king was the hope of his kind as I am the hope of mine. Let me shoulder that burden well. Lend me strength.

The blade began glowing, softly at first but then brighter, the intensity only growing as the Avatar moved it to a two handed grip, before holding it in a high guard over his head, his eyes closing for a moment.

For True Grit, for Lyra Heartstrings, for John Constantine, and for all those who have suffered at the hands of the Tyrant Sun.

He opened his eyes as the power began building up. Up in the sky he saw her, the Tyrant Sun, once more grappling with Luna. He grinned viciously. Now is your time to die, demon.

And then she looked right at him.

His eyes widened in surprise as her horn flashed, batting Luna away like nothing and then blasting Discord to the ground. She began hurtling at him at breakneck speeds, and he grimaced - he had only moments.

"NOW!" Kraber yelled, and suddenly the world became explosions. A pegasus, somehow carrying a huge cart behind her, flew over the Tyrant sun, the cart detaching and dropping onto her head, a massive blue-white corona enveloping the Tyrant.

Pink, blue, and red pulses, almost blinding, suddenly eclipsed her. The Avatar squinted, watching in awe as human weapons and unicorn magic unleashed their all on the Tyrant. Nearby unicorns From what he could see, her movement had been slowed to a crawl, an almost comical expression of slowly dawning realization written on her face.

It was interspersed with bullets as well - the Avatar could see Kraber standing just off to the side, firing a huge Kalashnikov from somewhere with an odd device reminiscent of a grenade launcher mounted underneath, spitting out waves of something somewhere on the spectrum from red to pink to white, exploding against the Tyrant.

Neither he, nor the Tyrant, had noticed the blue box appearing above the battle, however…

***

Stephan held his claymore in a two handed grip as the old pony worked the controls of his machine, flipping levers. He'd had to endure some minor complaining about 'the TARDIS is not a taxi service', but once he had explained his plan the Doctor seemed eager to help. Well, slightly less crotchety about helping, anyway.

"The moment we materialise, jump," he said. "I cannot guarantee you will hit her otherwise!"

"I understand," Stephan said quietly. "Wish me luck, Doc."

"I wish you success," the old pony replied with a wry grin. "And don't call me 'Doc'."

There was a slow groaning, and suddenly a loud thump reverberated through the room, and the old pony flipped another lever.

"Now!" he yelled.

Stephan immediately threw the door open, looked outside, and then, praying this would work, jumped.

He was almost ten storeys up, and there she was, hurtling past him. The entire world felt almost like it was running in slow motion - he brought the blade up, his stomach feeling like there was no gravity in the world. Her neck was outstretched, right there, right there...

And suddenly her eyes flicked to him. She flapped her wings, trying to dodge, and his blade swept out in a desperate flail as he tried to hit her. There was the sound of flesh tearing, a scream of agony, and then he was past her, aiming at the nearby window of one of the ruined buildings…

Flash.

He smashed through the window, and landed in… a pile of pillows. He groaned - the impact had still been hard, but the fall hadn't been fatal.

"W-what?" he murmured, looking around at the veritable cloud of fluffy white feathers that had exploded outwards.

Discord was standing near him, looking battered as all hell, but smiling.

"Happy landings?" he asked.

***

From the outside, it looked like this.

The box had materialised above where Celestia's path was, and out from it had leapt the armoured form of Stephan Bauer. Though his initial aim had apparently been a vertical decapitation blow, he had switched to a horizontal lash the moment the Tyrant had noticed him, the entire thing happening almost too quickly to see. Though he had failed to kill her - the speed of events too quick and his enemy too fast and too clever - he had hit her.

A white wing impacted the ground with a dull thud, completely unnoticed due to the rather more impressive spectacle of the Tyrant herself smashing into the ground with a mighty crash. The Avatar, watching the entire thing, could only marvel at this stroke of events.

Stephan Bauer, you may have just won your war, he thought with a grin. The energy he was mustering was almost ready, and now she was grounded, the Tyrant Sun would not be an issue. She could still run, probably, but she'd be easier to track.

There was a sudden explosion of energy less than thirty metres from the Avatar's position, and the Tyrant appeared, grounded, but furious. Making matters worse was the fact that the humans and ponies under Kraber's command appeared to have run out of whatever they were using to slow her down.

'Oh,' the Avatar thought. 'This… might be an issue.'

She began stalking toward him, her horn glowing with power as she gave him a look promising death. Luna had yet to reappear and Discord was also absent, and so the Avatar was facing her alone. He estimated that she would attack in seconds - and he needed more time to gather his energy to guarantee her defeat.

"Hey, kontgesig!" a voice suddenly called out. "Dodge this!"

A single gunshot cracked, and there was a massive spurt of blood from the Tyrant's leg, which was almost severed by the blow itself. She stumbled, before collapsing, her horn's power dissipating as she looked up at the Avatar with wide, surprised eyes. She was trying to knit it back together, but something was disrupting the power.

In that second, another bullet - no, two bullets, only one man would be that intent on firing that much at her - slammed into her barrel, blood blossoming outwards.

And now he knew his time had come. A machinegun roared, bullets punching into her barrel, first bruising the flesh under fur, then letting blood out in a veritable torrent.

"Come on, JOU FOKKIN KONTGESIG!" Kraber screamed. "IS THE FOKKEN VARKNAAIER THAT TELLS PEOPLE TO ZOMBIFY CHILDREN REALLY SUCH A FOKKIN MOEGOE?!"

"You… you humans!" the Tyrant screamed, as if that last word was the worst offense she could manage, staggering under the fire. "You un-equestrians, you dirty apes! YOU'RE DISGUSTING!"

"I think they prefer revolting," Aegis said, and lightning lanced out from a nearby building, arcs of electricity jumping all across the Tyrant Sun's body. "Get her now, Elliot!"

"For vengeance!" the Avatar called out, bringing the sword Excalibur down in a massive arc and aiming it right at her.

A golden burst of energy, more powerful than any he had previously employed, burst from the blade and streaked towards the immobile Tyrant Sun, tearing the ground up as it did so. For a single moment, he saw her face morph from rage to pure shock at the power unleashed at her, nearly at point blank range. Seconds later it smashed into her, and she was borne backwards with it, smashing through a building and out through the other side into another street with a mighty crash. Whatever energy was left exploded, destroying the surrounding area with the Tyrant in the center of the destruction. The force of the explosion shattered stone and concrete closest to the blast, while vehicles were tossed aside as if they were toys. The Avatar raised his sword as the wind carrying debris and dust rushed towards him, nearly knocking him down by the force alone. Through the haze, a golden light rose from the epicenter towards the heavens, parting the magical night sky of Luna's.

The Avatar slowly lowered Excalibur, breathing out slightly, a triumphant smile on his face.

"That…" he said slowly, "was for Lyra Heartstrings, True Grit, Sam Lake, all the lives that thou hast ended… and for me. Definitely for me."

He staggered slightly, but refused to let go of himself yet. She wasn't dead until he saw her corpse.

"Sir knight!" a voice called. He looked up, to see a battered and bruised Luna descending. "Is it done?"

"The Tyrant is down," the Avatar replied, "but I would hesitate to count her defeated yet."

"A wise policy," the voice of Discord sounded, as he and Stephan appeared in a flash of light. The armoured man looked battered and bruised, but not as badly off as he could have been given the circumstances.

"If you're going to finish her off," Stephan said, "I'm coming too. We owe that bitch."

"I would have it no other way," the Avatar said with a grin.

"We're coming too!" a familiar voice added, as Aegis and Kraber jogged up to the group, Kraber looking battered but elated and Aegis wearing a triumphant smile.

"I'm not fokking missing this," Kraber added with a grin.

The Avatar nodded, before turning in the direction the Tyrant had been blasted.

"Let us finish this."

***

She lay in the dirt before him, coughing slightly, blood leaking from one side of her mouth. She looked up at him as he marched toward her, and smiled. She was covered in wounds, most inflicted by the final attack, but many the result of the long battle.

The Avatar marched ahead of the rest of the group, the blade still shining in his hand, the bloodstains on the blade not dimming that damnable radiant metal. The others were hanging back, whether out of fear of her or fear of him she could not tell. Maybe neither. Maybe both.

"Fok," Kraber said, looking at her with wide eyes and an even wider smile on his face. "We really did a number on her!"

"Took enough time and energy," Stephan commented.

“Fools," she murmured weakly as they approached. "Do you think you have won a victory here?"

The Avatar scowled at her, staying ahead of the others.

"Save your last breath, Tyrant," he snapped, eyes narrowed in hatred. "Thou hast no words that can sway me from my course."

For a long moment, she stared at the ground and ignored them while taking deep heaving breaths. She took a deep breath and let out a single bark of laughter. "Ha!"

"Have I amused you?" the Avatar asked.

"You… you have no idea…" the Tyrant chuckled. "You… you have only delayed… the inevitable… and I… I don’t need to ‘sway’ you, foolish knight, for I have already won. And you will beg at my feet before the end."

"That," the Avatar promised, "is something you will never live to see, Sun Tyrant. You die here."

"My dear Knight," the Tyrant said, taking a deep breath as she smiled up at him, "I have only just begun to fight here. You humans, always with your weapons and tricks. I was content to let the barrier do the work for me, but you stopped that… and so now I have to personally intervene."

"Yeah, that went real fokkin' well, didn't it?" Kraber commented.

"Ah yes, the mad Afrikaner pyschopath, Viktor Kraber." Celestia turn to him, smiling. "The one who got himself classified a cognitohazard. What joys your soul will bring me when it is screaming for release."

"You are in no position for threats," Stephan growled, turning his head at the sound of numerous troops beginning to arrive. "You are surrounded, weak, and crippled. And we're not taking prisoners."

"Even if we were," Aegis added, "I think one of us might – what’s the old saying? ‘Lose our grip on the stairs’. With extreme fucking prejudice."

As he said this, troops began to file out, coming from across the city, slowly surrounding the broken Alicorn, their weapons raised. The Avatar looked around to see so many people; humans, ponies, griffons, and even Diamond Dogs. An impressive sight to behold, especially with their current weapons on hand.

"We’ve won, bitch," Kraber said simply.

"Whatever insanity has gripped you, Celestia the Tyrant Sun," the Avatar added, aiming his blade at her with a grin, "you are about to die. There are no words, no mockeries, to save you from that."

"Oh… but there, little Knight, I fear you are mistaken," she replied slowly. The Tyrant sat down as best she can, ignoring the weapons trained on her. "Really, all this effort for a simple golem, an…" She looked to the Avatar in the eyes, a vicious smile on her face. "Avatar."

The Avatar stopped dead, eyes widening. Behind him, the others had their own reactions, most looking surprised and shocked.

"What the fok?" Kraber murmured. "What the fokking hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Well, Discord?" the Tyrant asked, turning to the battered, slowly healing Draconequus. "Should I tell them, or should you?"

"What are you talking about?" Discord scowled, grabbing her mane and staring her down. "I will break that little mind of yours before… you… no. That…"

"Discord?" Luna took a step forward, only to nearly back track as Discord punched the Tyrant in the face with enough force to crater the ground from the impact. "Discord?!"

"A LIE!? We've been fighting a lie?!" Discord roared, stomping on the down body with anger, pulled away by the combine efforts of the Avatar and Luna. "You conniving BITCH! You can't even face us yourself!"

"Lord Discord!" the Avatar snapped. "Explain this creature's words and calm thyself!"

"No need, I will explain myself," the Tyrant said with a chuckle. "This is a clone of me, created by the magic of the mirror pool."

She was grinning now, despite the bruises and other injuries Discord had added to her somewhat impressive collection. The Avatar growled at her words, and none of the others looked any happier.

"This body… is only an Avatar itself," she continued, breathing heavily. "A puppet controlled by me the same way I control my sun. Equestria is filled with wonders you will never live to see, humans. Wonders my… wayward subjects… forsook to help you in your hopeless cause."

"’Wayward’, huh?" Aegis asked with a toneless voice. "I’ll show you fucking wayward –"

"Be calm," the Avatar said grimly. "She is trying to provoke you."

"We’re way past ‘provoked’," Aegis said. "This bitch -"

"Let it go, bru," Kraber said quietly.

"Discord told me of a certain Mirror Pool he created when he was younger, before he fell in line for the cause," Celestia said quietly, still grinning wickedly at them all. She looked from one to the other. "You really didn't believe that I would show up by myself, did you? You truly believe I would show up in a city… without my armies at my back? How stupid you must really be." She rotated to face Kraber. "Viktor Kraber… I wonder how your children are. Oh, wait. They are my subjects now… is that correct?"

"…Don't you… fokking dare… speak about my CHILDREN!" Kraber yelled, shaking.

The Tyrant smiled at Kraber's outburst. "Don't worry. I assure you, they're doing just fine in the Canterlot Academy. I could help you to visit them. You daughter would be so happy to see her daddy again…. but she thinks you'd be a better father with hooves. Possibly fur? You indeed know, like how you would have with those costumes you bought for their birthday-"

"Don't… don't you…" Kraber trembled, the MG2019 shaking in his hands. "WHEN I MEET THE REAL YOU, I'M GONNA RIP OFF HER HORN AND PISS IN HER SKULL! AND-"

"Easy!" Aegis yelled. "For the love of God, calm down! She's trying to use you!" He paused. "Goddamn. She tried using us both. Goddamn this… bitch."

"My plan would have succeeded, if it wasn't for that interloper," the Queen gurgled. She cackled slightly, blood bubbling up. The Avatar scowled at her, and she pushed herself to stand up, her horn crackling with what little power was left in this battered and broken flesh marionette.

"How does it feel, to have wasted so much power, so much rage, on nought but a child's toy?" she asked, now frothing slightly at the mouth. "Tell me, how does that feel, to be denied the vengeance you wax lyrical about?!"

The Avatar said nothing until he had moved to stand before her, about three feet from her face. He raised the sword slightly in his hand.

"This is thee, though, is it not?" he asked quietly, his voice ice that almost froze the heart of everyone around him. "Thine mind, projected into this body. Thou feels what it feels. Thou seest what it sees. Thou shalt remember this battle as if thou had stood here thineself, or there would be no point to it."

She cackled. "I will remember your face when I told you the truth. I will remember your fire, and I will laugh when I crush it beneath me."

"Then remember this, Tyrant," he said, snarling. "And know it is but a taste of that which I shall unleash upon thee when we meet next!"

And with that, he jumped forward, bringing the blade to bear. The first blow was blocked by a weak shield, rebounding, but he spun around with the momentum of the rebound and hacked at her other side, driving her to the ground as she struggled to keep her shield up. He followed this with first one, then another, then a third overhand blow, each one hammering away at the shield and then he pulled back, before stabbing forward with the blade, cracking the shield and shattering the magic into a million pieces before driving the blade into her chest.

"Thou… cowardly… WRETCH!" the Avatar yelled. "Thou sits behind a barrier and watches thine enemies fall, and thou canst not even face them with dignity! Thou art the basest creature in existence, and I will destroy you for your evils!"

Incredibly, she still smiled, even as she coughed out her last breaths.

"I am coming… you have finally gain my attention… Prepare for my… arrival. The end of Humanity comes…" She gave him a bright smile, even with the blows against her face. "And you will all be… happy… little… ponies."

"Shut up… you… you perversion of my sister!" Luna yelled. "You're a joke, Tyrant Sun! If you win, you have billions of starving zombies, all telling you you're so brilliant you couldn't so even be failing them and starving them, so then, you lose as you sit on a throne over automatons too stupid to know what's been done to them, giggling about your insipid pyrrhic victory. And when you lose to us, you won't be remembered as a savior. Your cause… nay, everything about you will be hijacked so you serve no purpose but to be an abomination. Everything about you will be dragged through the muck! You'll be the punchline of hundreds of stories where you serve no other purpose than to be viciously deconstructed, for everything from magic to science beating you, where your empire built on the backs and perversions of our dead friends and family crumbles into the abyss. You will lose, no matter what!"

"Do you think I care about them, when I can get so… much more." Celestia gasped, her face twisting into a deranged smile. "The multiverse… is so vast. So many out there, believing they are strong. But when I come… they will be nothing… against me. Nothing… can stop me."

The Avatar growled, and then he roared.

"No. No!" he yelled. "You will not achieve victory here! Mankind will not fall! When you come, you will come to DIE! I WILL TEAR YOUR BLACKENED HEART OUT, DEMON-SPAWN!"

He released the hilt, letting the ornate sword jut from between her ribs, and bringing his left gauntleted fist to bear, he punched her in the face.

"Your evils will end!"

One blow. Two. The skull began to give and the flesh tore, leaving bruises, and any semblance of resistance left the Alicorn's body. Three blows. Four. Five.

"And if it takes every iota of strength I possess, even if it kills me, I. Will. Crush. Your. Skull. In. My. HANDS!"

Her eye ruptured, spewing blood and other liquids. A fourth blow, and the gauntleted fist smashed through the bone, pulverising brain matter.

"Just… like… THIS!"

Bringing his right fist up, he punched the other side of the now dead Tyrant's head, embedding his right hand alongside the left, and with a yell of effort, he pulled, spreading his arms wide and causing the skull to explode outward, showering the surrounding ground with the remains of the clone's skull, brain, flesh and teeth.

The headless corpse slumped to the ground, and the Avatar staggered back slightly, eyes wide. Spitting on the corpse, he grabbed Excalibur and pulled it out of her, before embedding the blade in the ground, closing his eyes and breathing out heavily.

"Never seen anything like it," Aegis breathed. "Viktor, please don't tell me you have."

"No, no, this is still kind of a new one…" Kraber whispered.

The Avatar ignored them both, still panting.

"Elliot?" Stephan asked, frowning. "Avatar? Are you… alright?"

The Avatar took another breath, before turning to look at Stephan and the others.

"This one is dead," he said quietly. "'Twas a hard fight, but a well fought one, friends. We should be… proud…"

"Now if you'll excuse me," Kraber said, finding a large enough piece of the tyrant's skull on the ground, "I have go take a piss."

"Viktor, no," Aegis groaned.

"What?" Kraber asked. "I told her I was gonna do i-"

Before he could finish, Elliot's armour dissipated into nothing, revealing the leather coated form of a man, pale and sweating. He coughed, his hand releasing Excalibur as it, too, dissolved, and he collapsed to his knees, blood splattering over his hand as he retched red-streaked vomit.

"Fok!" Kraber yelled, racing forward. "Elliot!"

The Avatar didn't answer, and a moment later he fell forward, Kraber catching him.

Discord came up to, eyebrows raised at the sight of the unconscious man. He turned to look at Luna, then at Stephan.

"Ok," the Draconequus said. "Where'd this guy come from?"

"If I had to make a guess," Aegis said, "A parallel Britain where something pretty similar to what happened in this world happened, with Arthurian magic and everything."

"It makes perfect sense," Kraber nodded sagely. "He's probably imbued with all the magic of Britain. Fok. Think I might have broke something. Verdant, Sharp Horn? Need you to lift him u-"

"There is no need," Princess Luna said. "I can do so. But…" she looked at the two unicorns that had been about to obey Kraber's order. "It has been a long battle. I will not complain of your help."

Discord blinked, still processing Aegis and Kraber's comments.

"Ok," he said softly. "WHAT?!"

***