Note: Despite the fact that I have been overloaded with real-life things, I have been receiving an abundance of inspiration for countless good stories! Finally I decided to pitch it to you guys in a poll. Of the four ideas I have posted on my profile, which do you think is the best? Please vote! To those who do not have an account, no problem. Just let me know what you think in a review. Now, on to address some reviews. To PBJNachos, those names are brilliant. Gosh, I wish I had thought of them a while ago. And to Order of the Bronies, "I'm not against what other people think! I mean, it's not my fault that they're wrong!" ~Bernard Walton. Anyway, we're moving on...

Dimension: My Little Pony

Planet: Equestria Earth

Specific Location: Outskirts of Ponyville

Time: Three days after August left and Lyric found Summer

"Oh, I remember that time!" exclaimed Sunset Shadow, chuckling, "Doxia always had a knack for that kind of stuff. If he was a pony, I am sure he would have some sort of cupid cutie mark."

"That would certainly look interesting," sighed Fluttershy, pressing her muzzle into Sunset's cheek.

Twilight, Flaming Star, Fluttershy, and Sunset Shadow sat together on a picnic blanket, enjoying the day.

"You know what? I think I'm bored," decaled Flaming Star after a bit.

Sunset rolled his eyes. He then settled down and closed his eyes. Fluttershy joined him, snuggling in close.

"You know what? I think you say that every time we do this," said Sunset, "It has been over twenty years, and you still think 'adventure is out there' or something."

Flaming Star groaned and flopped down. "But adventure IS out there! And here we sit, doing nothing!"

"And having fun while doing it," added Twilight, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Flaming Star just pulled a face. "Maybe. But just you wait, one day we will be called upon again, and we will be able to strike against evil once more!"

"And that is what you get for reading to many thrillers, ponies," said Sunset without opening his eyes. Fluttershy nuzzled him and plopped her head down on top of his. The two began to fall asleep.

Flaming Star snorted and got up. "The cuteness levels have hit over 9000. I think I may be ill."

Twilight shoved him lightly. "Come on! Don't be so hard on them. After all, they DO look cute."

Flaming Star shook his head. "Too cute for me. Let's go do something."

Twilight's eyes brightened. "Oooh! We can do a read-a-thon again!"

"Well, okay," sighed Flaming Star, "But if you win one more time, I will go back to playing Risk exclusively with Spike."

"In which you always beat him," added Twilight dryly, "Come on! It will be fun!"

The two began to trot, side-by-side, coats brushing, back to Ponyville in the distance.

They never made it. Half way there, a massive portal opened up, and Doxia and Derpy stepped through. They were conversing.

"The Great Eagle persisted about being on the Rerenhaw Council, so I finally told him, 'I cannot. I'm sorry. After all, you're fowl!'" exclaimed Doxia.

Derpy facehoofed. "Doxia! You didn't!"

"I did!" laughed Doxia, "You should have seen his face. Anyway, I have to skedaddle to look for some peeps. Adios!"

Derpy planted a kiss on Doxia's forehead and then flapped off. Doxia waved and then swung around. He immediately noticed Twilight and Flaming Star.

"Aha!" he exclaimed, "Just the space horses I needed to see! Flaming Star, are you up to an adventure?"

Flaming Star's eyes brightened. "Would I ever?! Doxia, I've been dying for an adventure! What is the mission?"

Doxia opened up a holographic projection and positioned it between himself, Flaming Star, and Twilight. It was a visual cacophony of circular bands of multi-colored points of light, all rotating and orbiting each other.

"Ummm… What are we looking at?" piped up Twilight.

"This is a map of the multiverse," said Flaming Star, looking it over with the eye of a trained expert, "I see you have highlighted several ring sectors, Doxia. Why?"

"That is the mission, Flaming Star," said Doxia, "I need you to search through these highlighted areas."

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side. "What?"

"Yeppers!" continued Doxia, "I need you to find Sunflower and Dark to see if they are still active. If not, then find their descendants."

"Wait, but how do you know they had children?" pressed Twilight.

Doxia shrugged. "Lolidunno. I know that Blue had direct descendants, but that is pretty much it. Nonetheless, you don't need to have descendants to continue pass on the genes of an Inquisitor. Sometimes, when an Inquisitor retires, the Inquisitor-specific DNA sequences's information dissolve into the Imagination Flow and then reattach randomly to the nearest being with a unique-enough Imagination Energy signature. It is like discarding a special stick and letting it flow downstream, until it is caught by a small dam and picked up by someone else."

Flaming Star nodded his head vigorously. "DNA, stick, stream. Got it. So, who is my team? Do I get Sherlock and the Ninth Doctor? How about Franklin and Daniel? Please say yes."

Doxia laughed. "Sorry kiddo! But I have another team already picked out."

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side. "Okay. Cool. Who?"

"Twilight Sparkle and Rarity."

Flaming Star's jaw dropped. Twilight gave a little bounce in the air.

"Yes! This is going to be soooo exciting! We get to go exploring the multiverse!" squealed Twilight, now hopping around the dumbstruck Flaming Star.

Doxia began to chuckle uncontrollably. "Oh Flaming Star, don't look that way! You couldn't leave your wife behind, and we all know Rarity has experience as a Dimensional Traveler. I will simply reactivate her abilities and you guys can be on your merry way!"

Flaming Star blinked, still in shock, as Twilight excitedly nuzzled his dumbfounded face. "Oh. Okay."

Doxia bowed low. "Awesome-possum. Now, let us go and tell Rarity!"

Flaming Star groaned, but followed the amused Doxia and ecstatic Twilight off to Ponyville.

At Rarity's house, Rarity was working hard on a new clothing release. She was hoping to do it before her sister Sweetie Belle returned home from Manehattan.

She was buried in sketches when a knock came at the door. Blowing a strand of mane dangling in front of her face back in frustration, Rarity grumbled to herself as she trotted downstairs to answer the door. She opened it and glared outside.

"Do you mind?" she snapped, she would have continued, but her voice caught in her throat when she noticed Doxia. Her eyes brightened and a smile spread across her face.

"Doxia, darling!" she exclaimed. She rushed forward and hugged him. The two had always shared a special connection since their adventures across the multiverse.

"Hello Rarity!" said Doxia in a jocund manner, his voice muffled by her curly mane, "How are you?"

Rarity released the hug and straightened her hair. "I am fine, dear. I've just been very, very busy with a new clothing line release. My to-do list has been lengthening with incredible speed."

Doxia chuckled nervously. "Oh. Um, yeah. About that to-do list… would you mind adding one more thing?"

Rarity sighed dramatically. "I don't know. As much as I love you, Doxia, I cannot really accept any more request at the moment. I have too many things to do. Sorry, darling."

"That's okay, I understand," sighed Doxia. If he could have given her the "Fluttershy Eyes," he would have. But since he was wearing a helmet with a one-way visor, it would not have mattered either way. As he turned around, he said, "I was just going to ask you if you wanted to go on one last multiverse-wide adventure."

Something changed in Rarity's eyes the moment she heard that phrase. He eyes widened and began to sparkle, and a funny little smile twitched at her lips.

"I'll write my letters of rejection to the clothing line department and postpone my other works," said Rarity quickly. She dashed inside and slammed the door.

The moment he knew she was out of ear-shot, Doxia fist-pumped. "Yes! That's my Rarity!"

Flaming Star now had more than one reason to look slack-jawed. "I've never seen her look like that. What exactly went on during those adventures?"

Doxia shrugged. "Not much. But I think Rarity enjoyed her powers, as well as the chance to connect with other beings that were not ponies. She made quite the connection with that old Transformer Jetfire."

Suddenly the door to Rarity's house was flung open again. She was wearing a dazzling hat that looked like she had a whole peacock on her head. To the regular onlooker, it just looked like fancy headwear, but Doxia knew better. He had given it to her for her thirtieth birthday. It had a set of throwing knives smeared with the multiverse's deadliest toxin tucked cleanly in the inner headband.

"You are the most ingenious pony of all time," chuckled Doxia, "Now, are you ready for the return of your powers?"

If Flaming Star's jaw had dropped any lower, it would have literally hit the floor. "You're giving her POWERS?"

Rarity struck a pose. "But of course dear! I was quite nifty with them back in the old days. Go ahead, Doxia, I am ready!"

Doxia bopped her on the muzzle. Rarity jerked and shook as if she was being electrocuted. She then leapt in the air with the most un-lady-like squeak and stood there, panting. Then she shook her head as if to clear it and struck yet another pose. "It… is… ON!"

Doxia bowed low as he chortled, "All hail the all-powerful Dimensional Traveler, Rarity!"

Rarity polished a hoof against her chest. "Oh why thank you. Now, Doxia, tell me, what is it that I will be doing?"

"Ah, that," said Doxia, "I will let Flaming Star debrief you, since he will be on your team."

Flaming Star gave Doxia a quick nod before stepping up to Rarity. "Okay, so we will be searching for two powerful beings by the names of Sunflower and Dark. We have a map of possible locations, so we will be searching around a lot. Hopefully there will be no hostile confrontations as we work. I have all the information stored on a holopad now."

Rarity tossed her head. "I can handle that with ease, my friend! Now, are we ready?"

"Wait a second. This team is missing something," interjected Doxia, tapping his chin in thought. Then he snapped a finger. "Aha! I got it!"

With the slightest gesture, Doxia opened a portal. He reached into it, searched about for a moment and then withdrew him hand. He had Discord in tow. He was dressed in striped pajamas, with a little night cap placed jauntily on his head. He was also hugging a small plush Twilight Sparkle toy.

Now it was Rarity's turn to have her jaw hit the floor. "You… wouldn't… DARE."

Discord rubbed his eyes. "Oh dearie me! What is going on here? Oho! Does my sixth sense deceive me? Little old Rarity has her powers back!"

Rarity straightened up. "I most certainly do, fiend! And need I remind you that my powers are on par with yours?"

Discord snorted and rolled his eyes. "Here I was, having a little beauty sleep, when I get roughly dragged to this drab old place by Doxia. Then, next thing I knew, I was being threatened by an infuriated Rarity! What is this world coming to?"

Doxia chuckled as he lightly patted Discord on the back. "Stop complaining, old lad. Now, may I inform you of the new developments to your life?"

Discord grinned mischievously and clapped his hand together gleefully. "Oh, yes please! What do you have for me today? Oh, I do hope it involved annoying Rarity, or tea with my dear old friend Shutterfly. You know, that rainbow-colored pony that took me in when I was reformed."

"That is wrong on so many levels, my friend," laughed Doxia, "But, yes. It MIGHT possibly have something to do with annoying Rarity. I have a mission for you, her, Flaming Star, and Twilight. I need you to find Sunflower and Dark."

"The Inquisitors?" yawned Discord, "I remember Dimensional Lord friend Mapaxa telling me about them. Whatever do you need with them?"

"I want to reassemble the John 3 Chapter so that I can hunt down Orion the Traitor."

"Oh my… I HAVE been behind the times. No matter. I am absolutely ready for whatever there is to do!"

"Um, excuse me!" interjected Rarity, "But don't I get a say in the endeavor?"

"Sure you do!" exclaimed Doxia, "You don't need to come along, though it would deeply hurt me if you refuse. Come on, Rarity. You can do this! You've been working with Discord since the Equus-Irrum-Equestria War twenty-three years ago! You've got this."

Rarity bit her lip. Then she looked at the confused face of Flaming Star, the excited face of Twilight, and the complacent face of Discord. Then her eyes twinkled with a little bit of mischief. "I'm ready. But remember Discord: I know where you live."

Dimension: My Little Pony

Planet: Equestria Earth

Specific Location: The Frozen North, the Stallion Empire

Time: Three days after August left and Lyric found Summer

Lyric opened his eyes groggily. His ears were buzzing loudly, his stomach churned, and his vision was blurring. Slowly sitting on his haunches, he looked around and rubbed his eyes. He was still in the snow-laden forest, but half of the trees in sight had been shattered by the massive shells from Miss Peashooter. Lyric shook his head hard and massaged his ears. As the buzzing reduced, he could hear something else: wailing.

Off on to his left, with her back pressed firmly against a tree, was Summer. She was crying.

Groaning, Lyric wobbly got on all fours and staggered over to where she sat. Slowly he crouched down and patted her shoulder.

Summer started, her blank, tear-stained eyes wildly looking around. Then she let out a long sigh of relief.

"Lyric," she breathed, "You're okay."

Lyric rubbed his head ruefully. He had just noticed there was a large bump on the back of his head. "Yeah, well, it depends on your definition of 'okay.' I think I have a bump on the back of my head the size of a mountain hawk's egg. Ugh."

Summer, staring blankly off into the distance, gently lay her head on his shoulder. "But you're alive. You stopped breathing after the tree branch hit you. I thought you had died. Then I jumped up to try to drag you away, but the Gatling gun was too loud. Then I fainted as well. I'm so sorry. I tried so hard to protect you, but the noise was too deafening."

Lyric patted one of her hooves lightly. "That's okay. I know you tried, and I am eternally grateful for that."

There was a long pause, then Lyric suddenly stiffened. Why was everything so quiet? There were no shouts from terrorist gang, and there were no gunshots. Why were there no gunshots?

"Summer?" whispered Lyric, suddenly feeling compelled to lower his voice, "Why is everything so quiet?"

"I don't know," sighed Summer, unconsciously snuggling closer to him, "But it is really nice."

Lyric wanted to press the subject, since he was extremely confused by the fact that either of them were still alive, but he decided not to. Instead, he slowly put a hoof around Summer and sighed as well. He felt a little guilty of the affections he was giving and getting because he was technically taking advantage of Summer's extremely shaken state, but ignored the feeling. Finally, he decided to simply stay quiet and enjoy the silence.

After a dozen or so minutes of peace, Summer breathed, "Lyric? Describe things to me. What does the forest look like now?"

"Well, the forest is pretty devastated. The forest of brown and green has been leveled. Every other tree you see has been chopped down by the Gatling gun's power. The sea of white is now filled with splinters, pine-needles, and tree branches. It is like an ocean of flotsam. However, the sun is shining and the sky is a crisp, cold blue. The sun even now is playing through the branches of the trees that are left like a bright spiral of sparkling light."

"That sounds wonderful," murmured Summer, "I think… I might… fall asleep…"

The sound of Summer drifting into slumber jarred Lyric into wakefulness himself. He leapt up and exclaimed, "Oh no, you're not going to sleep right now! We can't! It is never a good idea to fall asleep in very low temperatures. Come on, Summer, time to get up!"

He gently took her by the shoulders and helped her up onto all fours. Summer allowed him to push her forward a few steps without resistance. Then she mumbled, "Okay, okay. I'm fine. Let's go back to the town to see if there is any pony still there. Hopefully we can help whoever is still alive."

Lyric bit his bottom lip. He had seen the commander of the terrorist gang, Frozen Heart. He was known to never leave prisoners. In fact, Lyric had once heard a tale of Frozen Heart personally tracking down a Stallion Empire commander that had gunned down his entire team across to Zebrabwe. Basically, no one in town would be alive, and they shouldn't have been alive either.

Of course, he was loath to worry or distress Summer, so he chose not to say anything at all. However, he also felt very compelled to say something. He stared off into the distance, a war of thoughts raging on within the confines of his mind.

This could have gone on for a while, but suddenly he felt the groping hoof of Summer reach one of his own. She grasped his hoof and squeezed it gently. Then she whispered, "Lyric. I know they're all dead."

This made Lyric feel both relieved for not having to be the bearer of bad news, and terrible for having to wholeheartedly agree with her statement. The citizens of the little town they had found would all be dead.

"Let's find out," he whispered back. Holding Summer's hoof tightly, he led her back through the now-decimated forest.

In a couple of minutes they exited the ruined forest and entered the equally ruined town. What met Lyric's eyes shocked him beyond words.

There was Miss Peashooter and the jeep, in flames with several dead terrorist ponies scattered around. Lyric trotted up to the fiery hunk of metal and inspected it. Through the smoke he could see a perfect little hole that had punched through a welding crack in the thick frontal armor of the vehicle. Through the hole he could see that whatever had punched through the hole had seared through and hit the gasoline tank, which was situated in the very middle of the truck, to protect it.

Had someone saved them? Who had attacked these terrorists with such precision and skill? Lyric was unsure, but he had an idea. He turned to Summer.

"Summer?" he said, "What did you do when I was knocked out, again? Tell me exactly."

Summer just shook her head. "I don't know. I was screaming, and the noise was so loud. I fainted. That is all I remember. I did have the dream of that one room with no windows and no doors, though."

Lyric sighed. "Okay. I won't ask you any more about that stuff. Come, let's go into the town."

Smoke was hanging low in the air, and fires were still crackling despite the moist, frigid air. As they continued to trot through town, Lyric had to force down his vomit as he laid eyes on the carnage everywhere. Ponies had been blown to pieces by bullets and dissected by swords. No one had been spared: male and female, young and old.

Even though it was sickening for Lyric, it was terrifying for Summer. Though she could not see what lay before them, the lifeless silence and the crackling of flames coupled with the sickly-sweet odor of death overloaded her senses. With her ears flattened against her skull and her sightless eyes wide, she huddled even closer to Lyric than when they had entered the town for the first time. She was practically clinging to him and it was very painful, but this time Lyric bore it stoically, knowing how terrified she was.

Suddenly Summer stopped and whispered, "What was that? I heard a voice!"

Initially Lyric felt prompted to disregard her claim. After all, she was scared witless, and the roaring flames downed out most things; however, he had learned to trust her and her senses, so after a moment he asked, "Really? Where?"

Summer stopped clinging to Lyric and began to instead tug him along towards the source of the so-called voice that she had heard.

After a bit of wandering, Summer ceased pulling Lyric around. She stood stock still, her blank eyes raking her surroundings as her ears flicked this way and that. Suddenly she groped around a sharp corner around a fire-gutted cottage and stumbled upon a terrible scene.

An old pony lay on the ground, bisected through the middle, his entrails spilling out onto the ground. It was an absolute miracle he had not died from blood loss, or totally passed out from complete shock.

Lyric immediately turned aside and vomited onto the ground as Summer trotted up to the pony and groped around until she found the dying pony's limp front hoofs. She then held one tightly as she breathed, "You're still alive."

To Lyric's surprise (and, frankly, horror) the pony forced out a chuckle. "Not for long, missy. I don't know how I've held on for this long, considering I have no will to keep on living."

Summer squeezed the pony's hoof. "Don't say that," she said soothingly, "We can help you."

"Nope," sighed the pony, "I'm as dead as dead can get. But… you two are still alive. Tell me, how is that possible?"

"The terrorists that attacked were killed. Their jeep exploded," replied Lyric, getting a hold of his bodily functions once more.

"Incredible," breathed the pony, "You two were very lucky. But I cannot tell you how long that luck will last. Do you know of this group's leaders?"

Lyric cocked his head to one side. "Frozen Heart. Do you know of him?"

The pony closed his eyes as he slightly bobbed his head. "I do. In fact, I was part of his group for a while, but I defected. He started to track me. I am responsible for the deaths of all the ponies here. At least I too will join them, to pay for my crimes."

Summer held the dying pony's hoof to her chest as she whispered, "Don't be too hard on yourself, your intentions were pure. You wanted to leave him, fate just sadly had other things in mind."

The pony coughed up some blood before chuckling, "I suppose. But you must listen: all those rumors about Frozen Heart never giving up the hunt is true. I was with him when he flew across the world to kill Ponviski the Stallion Empire Commander. If he knows you two are alive, you are walking dead ponies."

"Well, thanks for the confidence booster, old pony," snapped Lyric, who began to feel very nervous and exposed now that he knew Frozen Heart could be hunting them.

"Lyric!" snapped Summer, "Mind your manners!"

She then turned to the dying pony and cooed, "I understand. But, tell me, is there any way that we can fix this problem? Can we escape?"

The pony nodded. It was obvious the effort to speak was increasing exponentially, but he could not be stopped. "Yes. There is one place that could be a safe haven. Many years ago, an Equestria Pony made the Great and Powerful Trixie promise to protect all that entered a certain valley. Frozen Heart would be committing suicide if he went against Trixie's will and hunted down a pony in that place. The valley is situated to the far south-east. It is many, many, many kilometers through these high mountains and vast gorges. I myself was making my way to the valley, but I fell in love with a mare here, and chose to settle down. A mistake I am now paying in full."

Hope leapt within Lyric's chest. "So there is a place that we can hide! Do you have any definitive directions?"

The pony retched up more blood. The red liquid bubbled on his splayed chest as he began to drift into oblivion. "Yes," he gasped, "The morning star… Follow it until you reach the Pillar of God, the tallest mountain in the Stallion Empire. Then head straight south… And remember…"

The pony never got any farther. With one more body-racking gasp, the pony vomited up his last gout of lifeblood and died. Summer gave a little gasp of horror and let go of the pony's hoof. Though she had not seen the violence of the pony's death, she had sensed in more detail than Lyric could have imagined.

Lyric set his jaw in a grim line. "Well, you heard the pony. Now the question is, can we trust him?"

Summer straightened up. "He was dying. I do not think he wished to spend his last seconds in this life damning more ponies to a similar fate. It is not in our nature."

"Who's nature?" asked Lyric, still doubtful, "Unless you forgot, we still are in the Stallion Empire. Nation of thieves, murderers, terrorists, mercenaries, and liars."

"There is good in everyone," retorted Summer, not in the mood to argue, "You just have to know where to look. I found yours."

Lyric opened his mouth, but then shut it tight. He had no comeback for that.

Suddenly Summer stiffened. "I… I sense something."

Lyric's stomach plummeted. In all probability, it was Frozen Heart, coming to finish the job.

Summer then jerked forward, seized Lyric around the neck, and hit the ground, hard. The rough-hewn wall behind them exploded into dust as two very powerful bullet shells smashed into it at high speeds.

Lyric's mouth dropped. Those two silent bearers of death had been meant for them. How had Summer known that they were coming?

However, he decided to ask that question later, since they were still in danger. Belly pressed to the ground, he seized Summer's proffered hoof and led her through the ruined town to the forest that they had been in earlier. Thrice times the hidden snipers attempted to kill them, but they could not hit them now. Minutes crawled by as the duo dragged themselves through the blood-stained snow; however, finally, they made it. The snipers stopped shooting.

Lyric put his mouth close to Summer's ear and whispered, "How did you know there were snipers?"

Summer shrugged, "I just… felt it. I… I don't know. There is a lot about me that I don't know. That is why I have you. You are the one who can feel me through-and-through. I need that."

Lyric was about to add that he needed her too, but then decided against that. This was no time to get dramatic. Instead he said, "Alright. We have our destination. Let's get moving."

Two kilometers away, position high in the mountain range, Frozen Heart sat with two of his trained snipers, with heavy snowfall whirling around them.

"What do you mean they got away?" hissed Frozen Heart, foam frothing at the corners of his mouth, "That one Pegasus killed five of my followers and trashed a billion-bit piece of equipment. Their brains should have been decorating a wall like modern art by now!"

"I'm sorry sir," piped up one, still looking through his scope, "But that Pegsus one… They're good. They must have known we had our sights trained on them. They've gotten away."

With a gurgling snarl of fury, Frozen Heart gave the poor sniper who had just spoken a hearty shove. With a yelp, the victim tumbled head-over-hoofs over the ledge, breaking his spine as he fell to the depths below. The other snipers immediately straightened up and saluted stiffly, terrified for his life.

Frozen Heart decided it was not worth killing his other sniper. After all, they did good work most of the time.

"Those two cannot get away," he said, his voice deathly quiet, "That Pegasus and their companion obliterated my Alpha Team, and I am going to make them pay with their lives."

Note: As I said, my real life has been pretty hectic lately. Thus, it does not seem likely that I will be able to post anything next week. I will let you all know for sure on Monday. Anyway, don't forget to vote on my poll on my profile! And, more importantly, don't forget to review! If you review, I will give you a tub of delicious (yet, sadly, invisible) maple syrup. I had surplus from yesterday. Thanks!