Author's notes. I have returned to bring you a new chapter! It's been a while, but I had to rework this chapter several times. I wanted to have the right balance of action and talk, and that is usually hard to achieve. I think I did a fairly good job. Anyway, I really appreciate the feedback you gave me about what you look for in chapters. I've always been trying to find the right balance between MLP characters and OC's as well, and the "equilibrium state" for this is far more difficult to find. It was nice to find out that you enjoy my writing in general! Right, now to answer some reviews.

To BlazeWriters69: You know Dark pretty well, my friend. He is not a happy camper, and, if given the chance, will kill anyone that stands in his way. Hopefully Sunflower has been working on his tackling skills to prevent Dark from pummeling the Catalyst Corps.

To Anivillainn1: Excellent question! And, interestingly enough, the mystery of the Q Continuum was something I turned to a long, long time ago! You see, the Star Trek dimension is one of the most advanced, with technology spanning from replicators to weapons capable of erasing objects from time. This technology was so advanced compared to other dimensions in the Earth Multiverse that the U.I.P.F. (just before it fell apart and turned into the E.D.D.) selected a group of specialized Dimensional Lords to watch over the important dimension – despite the fact that the dimension had been closed off by the Amethyst Empire. This team was classified the Q Team operating under the Q Initiative, and they went into the Star Trek universe covertly to watch over its inhabitants. Unfortunately, a couple eons later, the U.I.P.F. fell apart and the Q Initiative went dark. The Q Team lost communication with their betters, and they were left to their own devices. That usually is a bad thing, except that they are Dimensional Lords. And so, instead of quitting, they decided to use their abilities to forward themselves. They explored the Star Trek dimension, and studied it. Sadly, this eventually degraded into boredom and lethargy over the millennium. And in the end, the Q Team became the Q Continuum, a group of extremely bored and lazy Dimensional Lords, intent on bothering the Star Trek universe's denizens for their own amusement. They remain there, unbothered by the going-ons of the Earth Multiverse around them, and uninterrupted by other dimensional-travelling beings.

To SuperVegito33: Don't worry, the only one really interested in killing random people is Dark. Hopefully he won't have his way, though! I can understand your preferences as well. I mean, the multiverses are so vast! There is so much to write about and so many things to visualize!

To Guest: Thanks for taking the time to leave a review! I appreciate your feedback, and I am really glad that you understand how difficult it is to find the balance between OC's and MLP Characters. I try!

To xCrysis-x: You made your own version of "A Mending Soul"? Really? Cool! Have you written it yet? Can I read it?

To FocusedStream: I can't wait to get back to writing about Summer and Lyric (and Brag) as well! They are always to most fun to write about!

I think that is it for now! Enjoy the latest chapter!

Dimension: My Little Pony

Planet: Equestria Earth

Specific Location: Ponyville

Time: Three days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungles.

"Lemme get this straight, sugar cube," sighed Applejack tiredly, rubbing her temples with the tip of her hooves. "Harvest Snowfall – the pony you've been hired to protect…"

"Sounded more like she was drafted," snorted Rainbow Dash, waving a hoof languidly as she leaned on her personal throne in the Friendship Castle where the remaining four of the Mane 6 were assembled. Twilight and Fluttershy were absent as per usual. Derpy and Lyra (who usually took the place of the two missing ponies now) sat in Twilight and Fluttershy's respective thrones.

Applejack just glanced at Rainbow Dash before continuing. "Harvest Snowfall – the pony you've been DRAFTED to protect – is supposed to be dead, but here he is, live n' well."

Starlight nodded vigorously. "Yes! I have no idea what is going on!"

"I don't know, darling," commented Rarity. "It sounds like something is amiss, but if this is a conspiracy as you claim, why didn't the Stallion Empire cover their tracks better? Wasn't this news worldwide? If so, then goodness, I am sure you're not the only pony to notice such an error."

"That's another thing," commented Starlight. "I had some papers pulled from the Royal Canterlot Library. The newspapers calling off the search distributed to all other lands never mentioned Harvest Snowfall's name. In fact…"

Starlight paused to rummage through a file that she was carrying with her. She pulled out another Ponyville newspaper identical to the one that she had found in Flaming Star's basement and tossed it upon the table that sat inside the circle of friendship thrones.

Derpy picked up the newspaper upside-down and began to scrutinize it with a very serious face. Then her face brightened After a moment she said, "Oooooh! It's a lil' bit different. Look: After a month-long search in the far reaches of the Northern Mountains in the Stallion Empire, the Stallion Empire branch of the international search-and-rescue organization has called off the search for the remaining wreckage of downed Grand Pegasus flight X67319, which was supposedly destroyed by a meteorite fragment. This decision was made by the branch co-director of the organization, Caramel Paradise, after the leader of this search-and-rescue mission... Was killed in an avalanche, along with half of his team. The bodies of the fallen team members have been recovered and are awaiting burial at the Stallion Empire capital."

Rainbow Dash took the paper from Derpy and looked at it as well (this time holding it right-side-up). "She's right! There are commas and whitespace in the place that Harvest Snowfall's death was declared, but the name is missing, as if the name was removed at the last minute."

"That's weird!" exclaimed Lyra, looking over Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "That was some years ago, but I remember Bon Bon always complaining about the errors in papers! But she always notices things like that."

"An' look at that!" cried Derpy, hovering upside-down in order to keep the text on the newspaper upside-down in her perspective. "There's a footnote: Article taken directly from Stallion Empire reports. Legally protected under Free Information Pact. All the other ones don' have that. Whassa Free Information Pact?"

"That was when Equestria and the Stallion Empire decided that they 'should keep no secrets from each other', darling," answered Rarity. "Naturally that just means all the 'secrets' they were planning to leak out as tricks were released publically sooner than later. It really means nothing… But perhaps this time the Free Information Pact actually came in handy."

Applejack, who had been thinking hard, finally said, "You bet yer nelly that it did. It seems to me that the one that Flaming Star's got was leaked directly from the Stallion Empire presses before the name could be removed fer good. Handy."

"Now all we need to figure out is if this was on purpose or not," commented Lyra, settling down again. When the group looked curiously at her, she rolled her eyes. "Come on, you all. These things were printed world-wide, and taking into account how ruthless the Stallion Empire guards their information we know that only a couple of these could have ever made it overseas… So what are the chances that one of these extremely rare 'misprints' could have made it to the hooves of Flaming Star?"

"Well, Flaming Star is thorough, and Twilight is a princess for starters," replied Rainbow Dash, tossing the newspaper back to Starlight. "He could have noticed the misprint like Bonbon did and hunted down one that didn't have one. But due to the fact that little Summer is not with us today means he didn't get very far with his thoroughness."

There was a moment of silence as all the present ponies sadly remembered the funeral and the empty casket when the whole of Ponyville mourned the loss of a young Equestrian princess. Derpy sighed sadly, but then suddenly brightened as she pulled out a muffin and munched on it. With her mouth still full of crumbs she exclaimed, "Well… He might have not gotten very far… But maybe we can! We have all the information now… An' little Starry is going to be in close proximity to Harvest Snowfall."

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Yeah. Starlight, we all remember when you wrestled the tobacco juice out of Applejack's cousin during the Appleoosa rodeo. Do it again with Harvest Snowfall except with more bone-breaking… Until he gives us what he know, of course."

Seeing Starlight blanch a little, Rarity immediately came to her rescue. "Rainbow Dash!" she admonished sharply, "Don't be so eager to rush to violence!"

Rainbow Dash pulled a face and muttered, "Says the pony who once wielded the power to collapse a planet."

If Rarity heard Rainbow Dash's mumblings, she paid no heed as she continued, "Starlight, dear, we in no way suggest you drag information out like that… But we all know how much it will mean to Twilight if you get to the bottom of this… even if it is a dead end like all the others."

Starlight nodded. "You're right. I'm not too much into bone-breaking anymore, but I can certainly ask questions."

Derpy, who was now on her seventh muffin, nodded. "Yeah! But keep both your eyes open, Starry! I'm on the Rerenhaw Council; I know how confuddling these politics can be!"

Sighing, Starlight nodded once more. "Yeah. I've sat in on a couple conferences like that in Canterlot. It always makes me question the morality of even Celestia. So many lies and deceptions… Well, I really appreciate you all taking the time to meet me and talk."

"Anything for friendship!" exclaimed Pinkie, who had actually been rather quiet, listening with great interest. She had been the most crushed when Summer had been reported dead, aside from Twilight and Flaming Star.

"Anything for friendship, little Starry," repeated Applejack. "An' tell you what: If we find anythin' else out, we'll get a message to you faster than a chicken bein' chased by a coon. We all care about Twilight and Flaming Star, and if this case can be opened wide, then it will mean just that much more to them."

"Now if only they would come back from where ever the hay they are to help us out," sighed Rainbow Dash. "I know it must be hard for them to even be here nowadays, but they have friends. They can't run from that."

"That seems to be the common theme in Ponyville in recent years… I mean seriously." mentioned Lyra, who was thinking of August Dellor, who had been her good friend up to when he left them to become a feared Inquisitor.

Starlight grimaced. "The world was such a perfect place. I heard the tales of how things were before my dad came to Ponyville. It was peaceful. But now all we have is war, deceit, and violence."

"… And love, Starlight, don't forget that… Everypony always forgets that one," interjected Lyra as she patted Fluttershy's throne, reminding everyone why that particular element of harmony was absent from the meeting.

"I guess so," muttered Starlight, her mind muddled. There were so many different thoughts rushing through her head. Slowly she got to all fours, collected the files she had gathered, and then began to trot away as the Mane 6 (Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Derpy, and Lyra) conversed in hushed tones about this new news.

Still confused and dejected, Starlight trotted out into the sunlight, making her way through the streets of Ponyville. The sun shone brightly, reflecting off of the windows of the houses that she passed by. A contented hum reverberated through the town, denoting the fact that it was midsummer. A group of fillies rushed by her, stopping only for a moment to greet her, their teacher. Even though it seemed peaceful, however, Starlight refused to shake the sense of foreboding… That is, until it was shaken from her when a pony jumped her from behind her and seized her in a crushing hug.

"Little sister! How are you?"

It was Desmond, her adopted big brother. He had arrived a day early from Manehattan.

"Desmond? I thought you weren't getting here until tomorrow!" exclaimed Starlight, trying in vain to wriggle free from his hug. He held on doggedly, determined to give her a proper knuckle sandwich. "Let go of me before you smother me!"

"Drowning in hugs isn't that bad," laughed Desmond, letting her go and giving her shoulder a gentle shove.

Starlight pulled a face. "There are worse ways to go."

Then she paused, and then proceeded to nuzzle his shoulder. "I'm glad you're home. I guess it's about time too!"

"You guess?! You clearly haven't been nearly killed enough times to appreciate the little things."

"I've been almost killed more times than you, at least."

"Touché."

Desmond stood there for a moment, smiling at his sister. Then his countenance darkened a bit as he remembered something. "I received a message early today from dad. He said you got a job as a bodyguard to some Stallion Empire representative, is this true?"

Starlight pulled another face. "Yeah. You see… Well… Um… Yeah." She really couldn't think of anything else to say. She was going to act as a bodyguard to a representative of a nation that was probably hated more than the memory of the Dimensional Lord Paradox.

Desmond sighed. "This better have not been voluntary. You know what? I BET it wasn't voluntary."

"Of course it wasn't voluntary!" exclaimed Starlight, "But Equestria needs to seem like they aren't being hostile just yet. Celestia asked me… And I couldn't refuse."

"Well, sis, technically you could. But I understand," replied Desmond. "I'll let it go… This time. You going home?"

Starlight nodded, dodging Desmond's second attempt at giving her a knuckle sandwich. "You know, Dessy, I don't think dad would be too thrilled if I came home missing half of my head because you rubbed it off with that diamond-hard hoof of yours."

Desmond smiled. "Point made, sis. Let's go home."

As they trotted toward the outskirts where their home was situated, Starlight could not help but look over and say: "Soooo… Big brother… What were you doing in Manehattan?"

Desmond pulled a face. "Nothing really. I was just… Talking to ponies. Visiting friends."

Starlight laughed out loud. "You? Talk to ponies? Since when have you mustered enough courage to openly start a conversation?"

"Hey!" snorted Desmond, "I can bring myself to start conversations when I need to! Sometimes… Probably…"

"Riiiggghhhtttt…" Starlight lapsed into silence for a moment. Then she glanced sideways at her adopted brother. "By the way, I heard that you had actually flown to Manehattan to carry out another mission for the Canterlot Secret Monster Fighting Unit."

Desmond facehoofed hard. "Damn. I told Bon Bon to cover my tracks. She blabbed, didn't she?"

Starlight grinned brightly. She couldn't help herself. She giggled like a filly. "No! You just did! How many times have we played this 'game' now? A thousand?"

Desmond grimaced despondently when he realized that she had just tricked him into telling her of his activities himself. "A thousand… And I've lost a thousand times."

"That you have! So now that your cover is blown, tell me: What was it this time?"

"Manticore. A mutated one from the swamps of Hollow Shades. It was making its way towards Manehattan… I stopped it."

"Oh, Desmond! My hero! Still determined to keep the world safe despite the fact he doesn't have a Dimensional-Traveler-Powered bone in his body anymore. Ya know, if we had known you were going to continuously attempt to commit suicide we would have suggested that you keep your Dimensional Traveler powers instead of letting the Kytax take them away from you."

Desmond rolled his eyes and fruitlessly attempted to give Starlight yet another knuckle sandwich. She was ready, and ducked beneath his outstretched hooves. He winked at her. "And risk not scaring you to death every time I go on an adventure? Not on your life. I don't know what I would do without my little sister running to me every time I return home to tell me that she's glad I'm back."

Starlight just smiled. She had no response for that. They reached their house and eased open the open door. There was Sunset Shadow, still sleeping on the couch. He was drooling all over the cushions.

"I bet he's thinkin' about mom with that smile on his face."

Starlight shoved Desmond, who had just spoken, and gave him a mock version of the no-nonsense look that Fluttershy would give him when he was rowdier than Angel.

The two tip-hoofed into the kitchen and closed the sliding door to that specific room behind him. The two cracked open a box of goldfish and flung themselves on two chairs. They giggled over the fact they were secretly snacking like they had once done many, many years ago when they were still foals.

"I'll admit that with my job as a monster-fighting agent I haven't really found the time to look into foreign politics as of yet. So, tell me Starry: WHY exactly has it been decided that you stick out your skinny little neck for one of Stallion Empire's weasel-like representatives?"

Starlight rubbed the back of her neck and stuck her tongue out at him. "My neck isn't TOO skinny, meanie! You just eat too much! Anyway, the Princesses want my protection of Harvest Snowfall to act as sort of an 'act of goodwill' to deter those ponies in higher places in the Stallion Empire from considering blindly starting a war on two fronts and attack us as well."

"Two fronts? Ah, that's right… They are picking a bone with the… Ummmmm… The Saddle Arabians, right?"

"Equidorians."

"Same thing."

"You wish. Now, this is a rather delicate position really, as this action puts us at odds with the Equidorians to an extent as well. War is almost certain between them and the Stallion Empire, so the act of the Princesses sending me to assist a Stallion Empire representative looks to the Equidorians like we are consorting with the enemies. Frankly I believe them."

Desmond leaned back in his chair, his hand stirring the bowl full of goldfish idly. "Don't be too quick to judge, sis."

"At least I'm quicker to judge than to break bones."

"Don't give me that look. I could have said the same thing to you several years ago. You were quite the fighter a decade ago."

Starlight rolled her eyes and said nothing, so Desmond continued.

"The Princesses need to keep the peace with both nations right now. The Equidorians will not attack us because of their current situation, but the same promises cannot be made of the Stallion Empire. They need to attack first before we take sides… And that attack cannot be made on our shoreline as well when that happens. We need to seem as neutral as possible. That buys us needed time to prepare for the defense of our homeland."

Starlight grudgingly grunted, giving him this point in the conversation. There was a pause, finally she said: "You think the Dimensional Travelers and the Dimensional Lords will come to our aid if war starts."

Desmond's face was grim and a bit sad. "Doubtful. Gene Grayson and August Dellor were the last of the ones who owed allegiance to Celestia, and there is no doubt they will never return. The multiverse is too different now… The My Little Pony dimension has been left behind."

"I guess you're right," sighed Starlight. "I was just hoping… Well, I was just hoping for some superweapon to use against the Stallion Empire. I mean, how did such a despotic place rise to such POWER?! I don't understand it!"

Desmond nodded. "The multiverse is not a kind place. Good rarely wins."

Starlight picked up a goldfish cracker and threw it up in the air in an attempt to catch it in her mouth. She missed; it hit the ground and skittered away across the tiled floor like a frightened mouse. She made no effort to pick it up.

"Again, I guess you're right. Well, I am now to resign myself to my fate and let myself get shipped off to Equidor, where I'll be forced to watch the backside of Harvest Snowfall. Though…"

Starlight's voice trailed off as she remembered the intriguing discovery she had made a while back. "Remember Summer Constellation?"

Desmond closed his eyes for a moment as he thought. His thoughtful expressions turned to one of pain. "The late daughter of Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle."

"Yeah. Well… Look at this…"

She got up and trotted to her saddle bag that she had kept by the kitchen door. She pulled out the file within it, and then slipped out the old newspaper she had found in Flaming Star's basement. She took it in her mouth and tossed it to Desmond. He caught it and looked over the headlines.

"Notice anything interesting about the main article?" mentioned Starlight, sidling up to Desmond.

There was a pause.

"Hey, isn't the guy you're supposed to bodyguard to a guy named 'Harvest Snowfall'?"

"EXACTLY," said Starlight. "It's weird isn't it? Let me tell you more about it."

For the next dozen or so minutes Starlight told Desmond about how this paper had been censored because of the mention of Harvest Snowfall, and how his name was not mentioned anywhere else. Desmond listened with growing interest.

"This is all very strange," he said slowly, thinking it all over. "I don't like it. I don't like it at all. You need to be careful."

Starlight nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Somethings quite wrong with this whole situation. It reeks of Stallion Empire corruption. You know what? I don't think you should be doing this mission for Celestia at all."

"It's too late now," replied Starlight. "I've said yes and signed the papers. I'm just waiting for them to give me the actual assignment now. It could even be any minute now! However, it better not be. Mom still hasn't even had the baby yet!"

Starlight was about to say more, but was interrupted by knocking at the door. It was heavy and loud, suggesting that the one at the door didn't care much about the sleeping Sunset Shadow in the living room. It was urgent.

Starlight winced. "I bet you an apple to an acorn that's them right now. Figures."

They got up and tip-hoofed out of the kitchen and to the entrance hallway. It was a miracle the Sunset Shadow was still asleep.

"Dad must be completely exhausted to have slept through that racket," muttered Desmond, looking over his shoulder as Starlight opened it.

It was a Canterlot guard, clad in golden armor. "Miss Starlight Amber? Celestia is here in Ponyville and requires your immediate presence."

Desmond shouldered his way past Starlight. He was younger than this burly guard, be he was the same height. He went nose-to-nose with the pony.

"If my sister is going anywhere, then I am coming too," he said. Starlight tried to protest, but she stopped when he glanced at her. His eyes were reflecting back a stern look. He didn't like the strange things that were going on with the Stallion Empire and Harvest Snowfall, and his sister was determined to stick her nose in it.

The guard's eyes narrowed. "This is official government business, sir," he said. "No civilians are to be involved."

Desmond snatched his wallet from the small table just inside the hallway and flipped it open, revealing his agency badge.

"I'm a civilian now? Weird. Wasn't quite sure I was that last time I checked my service record."

The guard's eyes twitched the slightest when he looked at the badge. All soldiers knew of the existence of that specific agency, but almost none of them had actually seen an operative. He sighed lightly.

"This way, sir. You too, ma'am. Follow me to Princess Celesita."

Dimension: Skylock

Planet: Scorch

Specific Location: The Land of Carrion

Time: Three days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungles.

Tenebris opened his eyes and rubbed them. He was lying flat-out amidst a thick layer of ashes. Blackened shards of steel and stone lay on him like a blanket, and the air was thick with heat and the smell of burning. He groaned as he sat up.

Shaking his head as if to clear it, he did his best to get his bearings. He was lying a dozen meters from a massive wreckage – undoubtedly the remains of their dimension-jumping ship. The twisted mass of metal sparked and shuddered as flames ate the thing from the inside-out. Tenebris squinted his eyes as he peered through the smoke and the flying ash that clogged the air like a thick mist. He could just make out the prone forms of what looked to be Xavier and Batusi. Anima was nowhere to be seen.

Tenebris got to his feet shakily. It wasn't until he was standing up that he realized that blood was oozing thickly from a wound. A long, sharp sliver of metal had punctured a hole in his side, and there it lay, buried, like a thorn growing from his torso. He grunted softly as he took the thing in a bloodied hand and yanked it out. Blood quickly squirted out as he tore it free, so he clasped his free hand over the open wound to clog the outflow. He grimaced harder. His brain was still to fuzzy to register any real pain, but he knew for sure that it would begin to hurt later on.

A noise echoed through the smoke, causing him to turn: Xavier was scrambling to his feet.

"I'm okay! I'm okay! 'Tis nothing but a flesh wound!"

It was probably the yelling that woke Batusi, who began to stir a moment later. He coughed up a bucket's worth of ash before rolling over, wheezing for breath. He lay in the fetal position for a minute to catch his breath, letting the falling ash to lay over his prone body like a blanket. After the minute had passed, he staggered to his feet, rubbing his red eyes that were stinging from the smoke. He looked around blearily until he laid eyes on Xavier who was standing only several meters from him.

"Xavier," gasped Batusi, "Are you… Are you okay?"

Xavier gave himself a quick pat-down. "Yeah. Weird. I'm fine."

"Good."

Batusi rammed into Xavier, plowing him over and sending him tumbling to the ground. In an instant Batusi was on top of him, yelling: "Did you SERIOUSLY have to break the ship?! SERIOUSLY?!"

Tenebris shot over, utilizing his super-speed abilities to be at the scene of the brawl in a flash. He grabbed Batusi and pulled him off of Xavier.

"Both of you! Usually I would just laugh my head off as you two fought, but right now we need to be working together to find Anima and prepare ourselves! We're in enemy territory right now, guys. We need to have our wits about us. We have no time to fight amongst ourselves!"

Batusi attempted one more time to grab at Xavier, who scurried out of the way. He practically stuck his tongue out at Batusi as he got a safe distance from him.

"Geez! Don't get yourself so worked up about this, Batusi! All I did was save our lives! We didn't have time! You're just jealous that I got to explode stuff before you did."

"No!" yelled Batusi. "I'm mad because we could have figured it out, and you made a major decision for all of us without consulting any of us! You almost got us all killed!"

"Well okay then," snorted Xavier. "Next time we have one millisecond to make an important decision, I will make sure to call for a vote. That will make everything better, right?"

"You know that's not what I mean!" yelled Batusi, trying yet again to get at his teammate.

"Both of you stop yelling!" shouted Tenebris. It was him yelling that reminded him that he was wounded. He grunted in pain and doubled over, clasping at the puncture in his side.

Seeing their friend wounded, Batusi and Xavier forgot their quarrel temporarily and dashed to his side.

"You okay, boss-man?" asked Xavier quietly, poking Tenebris's arm.

"Fine… Fine. Just dandy. I decided that I want my clothes to be stained excessively red."

"That puncture looks kind of deep, Tenebris," said Batusi. "I can fix a bit of it, but I don't know how deep it runs. It could be internal bleeding for all we know." Batusi tried to call up his Traveler Database, but all he got was a holographic projection of pure static. Nothing. No connection. He grunted in anger and resorted to calling up a healing aura about the palm of his right hand.

Tenebris sat down and let Batusi administer the healing energy. Tenebris grimaced and then looked to Xavier. "I need you to find Anima."

Xavier saluted and dashed off without a word. He approached the smoking wreak of their ship. With a sweep of his hand he called upon a fraction of his elemental control over air. He swept the smoke away with a gust of wind. The parting in the smoke revealed the battered entrance to their downed ship, nothing but a gaping hole now. He leapt inside, conjuring balls of water about his fists. He stepped inside, and a roar of flames met his vision. The inside of the ship had been cramped and narrow, but now it was even less than that. The metallic walls were battered and bent now, crushed inward. Smoke poured from cracks in the plates, and flames belched from rifts in the plating below.

Roaring flames rose up to meet Xavier as he passed through the entrance, but were immediately quenched by the water that Xavier hurled at it. Xavier ducked beneath a low-hanging pylon that had been knocked loose by the crash as he flexed his fists. Water shot from them, hissing as it rammed into the flames littering the narrow corridors. Xavier continued on his way, pressing through the debris to the cockpit, which was somehow still intact.

He made it up to the door before he met real resistance: The half-a-meter-thick metal sliding door was jammed shut. Xavier sighed and then reared back a fist. He altered its density to something practically stronger than steel and then charged it with kinetic energy, sending it hurtling forward at great speeds. The door buckled under the blow, and sparks showered, lighting the smoke-filled hallway like dark orange fireflies blinking harshly in a misty night. Xavier drew back his fist to perform the attack again. He did it again. Once, twice, thrice. Finally the door shot inward, crumpling inward on itself from the force of the blows. The walls themselves bent inward as the door gave way, shrieking in protest and sending up even more smoke and ash.

Xavier coughed loudly and covered his eyes, doing his best not to breathe in too much of the ash that hung thickly in the air like black snow, frozen in time. He stumbled inward, flailing his arms and gasping for breath. The cockpit was large and sprawling, with four seats set into the floor beside large glass controls. Everything had been trashed. The chairs were askew, and Tenebris's was on fire. Every one of the terminals was either shattered or covered in dirt and the lights were flickering as the last vestiges of power from the ship were consumed by fire and chaos. The windshields were long gone, and the entirety of the view that had been initially protected by said windshield was covered in earth. The ship's crash had been so forceful that the entirety of the cockpit, from nose to crown, had been buried beneath the loose earth. Fortunately the cockpit had not been flooded by the dirt, but it meant there was no quick escape through the windows. Slowly Xavier regained his bearings and moved over to the large swiveling seat that Anima had been sitting in just before the crash. He almost tripped over himself as he made his way there, still hacking and coughing. He came up behind the chair and spun it around.

Anima was there, still strapped into his seat by the seatbelts. He was unconscious, and his face was scorched and smeared by ash. Xavier moved clumsily, his brain muddled as his fingers numbly unbuckled his downed friend. Xavier swung the body of Anima over his shoulder and turned around to stumble away. Then the ship began to collapse. With a metallic shriek and a thunderous groan the roof caved in as smoking flames belched from every hole and gap in the hull. Earth poured in like a roaring ocean.

Outside, Tenebris could see the ship cave in on itself. With a cry he shot up and rushed to the site, Batusi right behind him.

"Xavier…? Xavier!"

There was silence.

Batusi bit his bottom lip hard. A dribble of blood fell from his mouth.

"Are they… Are they…?"

"I'm okay guys! I mean, we're okay!"

The twisted mass of metal heaved as a sphere of pure energy pushed itself outward, rising from the iron-wrought grave like the sun from behind dark hills. Xavier was inside the sphere, his hands glowing with power and with Anima slung across his back. Tenebris's left hand flew forward, and he used his power over gravity to pull the sphere out of the wreck. Xavier and Anima drifted forward, sidling through the air until they were out of the flames and on firm ground. Xavier dropped his shield and fell to the ground, still carrying Anima upon his back. He stumbled forward as his feet touched the earth and he fell, but he twisted at the last moment to ensure that the prone body of Anima fell upon him, cushioning the blow. He grunted as he struck the ground hard and Anima's limp form tumbled on him. Batusi rushed to help Xavier up as Tenebris – with one hand still clamped firmly upon his oozing wound – leaned to feverishly inspect Anima. He was still alive.

"Thank God," whispered Tenebris. He straightened up, and then doubled over again as his worry for his teammates died down and the pain of the hole in his side returned.

"We need to get out of here," murmured Batusi, shouldering his swords. "You're wounded, Anima is out, and we are disoriented. We need time to recover."

Tenebris nodded slowly. At that moment he would have tried to crack a joke to keep his teammates' hearts light, but darkness had begun to eat away at the edges of his vision and he knew he was not far from passing out. If that happened, then they were all fairly much doomed. "We need… To find cover…"

"Someplace preferably NOT crawling with demons, guys," added Xavier, still lying upon the ground. "Well… Actually, I've never had a conversation with one, so we can't be sure if they're all bad and all… You know, they might be nice! In reality all they might have ever wanted is to give us all big hugs!" Xavier chuckled at his own joke and held out a hand to be helped up.

Batusi obliged, dragging his friend out of the dust. He then shook Xavier's hand firmly with a stern look. Their quarrel was forgotten. "I don't think that would work, Xavier. Demons and Dimensional Travelers have been fighting since the rise of the Firstborn. There have been too many wars, too many deaths on each side. We will need to assume they want us dead."

Xavier grinned and shrugged, wincing as lifted the fallen body of Anima again. "Right… Right… Let's get moving."

And so the beleaguered four stumbled off through the scorched wasteland of Carrion. Dead grass beneath their feet, and a smoking ocean of flames swirling in their wake.

Author's Notes. And that is a wrap! How many of you remember Desmond Butler the Dimensional Traveler adopted by Sunset Shadow in season 1? Anyways, once again, I will mention that I am a bit busy, so the projected release date for my next chapter is somewhat uncertain. Naturally it will come out on a Wednesday, but that is all I can say for sure now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, don't forget to leave a review. As I stated in the "author's notes" section above, I am always working to find the equilibrium between OC's and MLP characters, and so any feedback on how you are enjoying what I am doing is always greatly welcome! Oh... That's right... Also, if you give me a review, I'll give you a huge carton of goldfish! You know, the crackers. I bought a bunch a week ago, and now I am hopelessly addicted to them. I mean, they are sooooo good! I can't stop eating them. Help me.