Arbitration

Chapters

1: Enter the madness
2: Way of the warrior
3: Blinding Rage, Focused Calm
4: Nightmares: Derelict
5: Ripa 'Moramee: Hydra Slayer
6: Ripa 'Moramee goes on a journey. Huzzah!
7: Ripa Moramee storms the farm, and wins. Huzzah...
8: Nothing can possbly go wrong!
9: Rivalry

1: Enter the madness

Flashes of light and the sound of lightning slashing metal rang across the battlefield. Elites fought spartan and marine alike, but fell quickly. In the center of the battle, two figures clashed in combat with an intensity only the most hateful of rivals could ever muster. A human, Sargent Forge of the UNSC, and a massive elite, easily dwarfing him: The Arbiter, Ripa 'Moramee. The two clashed like titans, with each combatant striking a blow, only to have it blocked or evaded by the other, in a lethal, brutal dance that guaranteed that one of them would not be walking away alive. The fight lasted only minutes, but it seemed like an eternity for the Arbiter before he could get the upper hand on Sargent Forge, but he finally got his claws around the human after a brief struggle, and laughed internally at his admittedly formidable opponent's inevitable demise at his hands. Finally, after many, many days of defeat after defeat, and clawing to gain any advantage against the human, and now, at long last, victory was his.

"My face will be the last thing your pathetic eyes ever see." Ripa 'Moramee Said as he picked up Sargent forge. He brought the human close to his face. Tightening his grip, he raised his sword and prepared to end their rivalry with blood. As he did, though, the human quickly took the opportunity presented to him, and drove his combat knife into Ripa's neck, causing him to stumble back in shock. The human quickly seized the opportunity and capped his dropped T-1 Energy sword. As the wounded Arbiter stumbled backward in pain and shock, thoughts and feelings spiraling in his mind, Forge didn't even give Ripa a second to react and drove the blade into his gut. Even after that, however, Ripa was still conscious when Forge spoke:

"And for the record, I would have kicked your ass the first time if the lady hadn't stopped me." Forge said as the world faded into darkness for the Arbiter. The light of the world faded as his eyes closed, and a new, brighter light shown in the distance, and Ripa felt its warmth.

"This... must be it..." he thought. "My reward... for my faith..." the former Arbiter reached for it mentally, feeling it take him. Paradise awaited him now, and was never one to keep his gods waiting.

The Arbiter twitched once as he lay, feeling grass and dirt beneath him, instead of metal, and he no longer felt the wounds of his fight with Forge. Finally, after some tossing and turning, Ripa 'Moramee opened his eyes, and noticed several things wrong: First; he was sitting in front of a bizarrely dressed human with an impossibly wide grin plastered over his face across from him in a throne, in the middle of a misty woods. Second; he was wearing some kind of clothing that one would probably see at a medieval dinner party over his armor. Third; there was a table of food between him and this tacky human, complete with a chair he was right next to. Fourth; they were in a heavily foggy forest which stretched infinitely in all directions with no discernible landmarks, which unnerved Ripa more than it should have. The human spoke in a thick, Scottish accent... not that the Arbiter would know.

"Well, well, well. Looks like sleapin' beauty's finally awake." The human said. Ripa's confusion was far from unjustified, as two things happened: One, the HUMAN addressed HIM, and two, he showed no sign of fear of the massive sangheili.

"What is the meaning of this? Who are you?" 'Moramee asked. The human's grin seemed to widen.

"You don't know do ya? Well let me introduce maself. AH'M, SHEOGORATH!, Daedric prince of madness. As fer why yer here, well, ye're dead. That's right. I said dead! But, I'll cut you a deal. I happen to have liked the cut o' yer jib while you where alive. So, I decided just now that I'll bring you back to life... IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE! Eh? Eh? Bet ya didn't see that one commin'!" The clearly insane human said as he burst out laughing. It was almost like he was every kind of crazy bottled up into one man. Ripa Tried to wrap his head around this man's words. His story seemed consistent enough. But Ripa didn't trust this guy. He was clearly insane, and he gave off an air of unreliability. Plus, he was a human. In fact, the very thought of believing this swine was cause to suspect that he himself must be going insane!

"Human scum! If you have captured me somehow, I'm going to break you in half!" the Arbiter said, getting up off of the ground and slamming his fist on the table, causing everything on it to jump into the air comically for a second.

"Hey, hey, easy on th' table! That took me millenia to carve, ya know? Besides, I'm just tryin' ta help! You like killing things, and I like watchin' people while they're killin' things! So, I made ya a deal, and all you have to do is agree, and I'll bring you back to life to kill some more things!" The human said, still smiling. 'Moramee pondered this for a second, but couldn't make sense of it. Was this one of the gods he slew in the name of, the 'paradise' he worked so hard for? If so, he was not amused, and wanted out. But still, how could he even know if this was real?

"And if I refuse your offer?" The Arbiter asked.

"Well, hope ya like a sea of angry narwhals! Thing about narwhals, mind the pointy bit." Sheogorath said. Ripa had no clue what the many hells this lunatic was raving about, and he stood up and drew his blade. Sheogorath snapped his fingers, Turning the blade into a swarm of butterflies of all shapes, colors, and sizes. Sheogorath laughed at his display of fluttering colors.
"Try that again, And I'll skip rope with yer entrails!" Sheogorath said as he burst into another fit of laughter.

"What the..?" Ripa said as he gazed at his energy sword hilt, which then turned into a conch shell.

"Tell ya what. Since ya made me laugh this hard I'll throw in a few little powers, just ta make 'yer life a little more bearable." Sheogorath said as his laughing fit ended. This caught The Arbiter's interest. He didn't like this mad god, but he loved power, and if that meant letting the crazy deity send him to some random planet, then so be it. Hey, he was flexible, and stranger things have happened to him: He was bested by a human, for heaven's sake. Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask, so the Arbiter did just that.

"What kind of powers?" He inquired.

"Simple ones. Nothing too fancy. You'll have four tiers of your Rage: Regular; paint the town red with yer enemies entrails, Defiant; get a little bit healthier for everyone ya turn ta mince-meat, Spiteful; dice em' twice as fast, and Blinding; yer blades'll get so hot, everything they cut'll burn or melt. Then you got Fiendish Return: Send your enemies runnin' from their own attacks! Haha! Then Vicious blades: Yer blades will tear as well as slice. Good if you want to cause a little extra carnage. And then there's Ghastly Vision: You turn invisible, Except fer yer blades, which you can have active during this time. None of yer powers last forever though; They're there until ya don't really need them any more." Sheogorath explained, and the Arbiter grinned. Powers? with no shortcomings? How could he say no? There wasn't even a catch on the deal.

"I suppose I could accept these generous terms..." the Arbiter said. His own grin almost as wide as the one on Sheogorath's face. "But what if this is a lie?" He asked, suddenly becoming thoughtful of his situation. However, Sheogorath just laughed, twirling his cane.

"As was said by my great cousin, Abraham Lincoln once said: 'I cannot tell a lie'. Well, I can, but what'd be the point of that? Wouldn't it be MORE fun just to give ya the powers and turn ya loose? I think so. Don't you think so?" Sheogorath ranted, and Ripa sighed, seeing no reason to continue this rather one-sided conversation.

"Very well, demon. Just get me out of here, before I become as mad as you!" the Ripa said, slamming the table again.

"Great! This'll entertain me for quite a while." He said, waving his cane in the air, and the forest seemed to blur, and Ripa quickly became motion-sick. "Well, ta." Sheogorath said. Then, everything went black. Soon, or what seemed like soon, Ripa awoke, opening his eyes, and the Arbiter blinked, and soon found that he was on his back, in another forest. It was a tropical rain forest from the looks of it, and was quite... odd. Cartoonish, almost. Still, like any wilderness you find yourself alone and stranded in, it had to be dangerous, even with promised powers.

"I suppose my first task should be to establish some sort of base camp." The Arbiter thought out loud, unaware of six inferior presences nearby...

The Newly crowned princess and her friends watched the colossal creature rise to it's feet and look around the clearing it was in. Celestia said that something big had come to equestria, and it did not feel friendly. Oh, she had no idea. Twilight Sparkle looked at the massive, angry-looking beast, and saw that it was armored, so it was either sentient, or it was a war beast. It was extremely big, too, and its armor was quite ornate, and its face was the single most hideous thing she'd ever seen: a short, fish-like head, with four drooping mandibles, all practically covered in long, sharp teeth. In short, it was the most terrifying creature she had ever seen, and it was like nothing ever recorded by anypony on the planet. She sized the masculine beast up, and she saw only anger in its soul, and murder on its mind, and just when she was about to deem the monster incapable of rational thought, it spoke:

"I suppose my first task should be to establish some sort of base camp." It said In a voice as deep as the sea, and utterly terrifying, though it sounded level-headed and thoughtful, as if every word was thought out and planned before being spoken. It was official: it was sentient. Twilight tried to approach the creature, to see if that, beneath the mass of muscle and teeth, it was really a rational and intelligent creature, but she stepped on a twig as she approached. The creature then spun around, producing four ghostly blades in the process, and glared at her, with murder and hate in its golden, reptilian eyes, like a snake finally spotting its prey... except even snakes had a beauty to them. This... thing... was just big, ugly, and pissed.

"Who's there? Show yourselves!" It demanded, looking back to the princess-to-be, and she stopped dead from fear.

A twig snapped behind The Arbiter, and he spun around and activated his blades, expecting an attack, and slightly hoping that whatever was assailing him was big enough to be a threat.

"Who's there? Show yourselves!" He demanded. After a moment of waiting, six equine creatures stepped out of the bushes. They were afraid of him, suggesting he had a clear advantage over them, but they came forward despite this, suggesting they were sentient beings... sentient, yet foolish. He sized them up, taking care not to repeat his mistake with the human, Sergeant Forge, but saw now threat in them, not even the odd, purple one, who appeared to be their leader. They were but simple quadrupeds, absolutely no match for him, and hardly woth his notice, except that they were so oddly colored, indicating that they were not made for tribal life. That knowledge gleaned, Ripa ultimately decided that they were city-dwelling creatures, sentient, and very much not worth his time.

"I do not have the time for this." The Arbiter said, disarming his blades and turning to leave. "Such pitiful creatures... I expected a fight." he said, fuming. Suddenly, the cyan equine sped around him and floated in front of his face with the use of it's tiny wings, which did not appear capable of flight at first.

"Where do you think you're goin', pal?" It, or rather, she, said.

"I am not you're 'Pal', weakling. Now get out of my way, before I decide to eat you." He said as he shoved her aside.

"Oof. Hey! What's you're problem, dude?" She asked. The Arbiter, now fed up with this little nuisance, stopped dead in his tracks. He then turned to face her, hatred in his golden eyes, and retorted with anger in his tone:

"My 'problem', as it were, is the fact that you're annoying me. Be thankful I am even bothering to spare you, pest. Now stay out of my way, 'pal'." He spat, then he turned to leave. Twilight cleared her throat to gain the Arbiter's attention. When that failed, she teleported in front of him, drawing his ire. She then cleared her throat again, and spoke:

"Listen, eh, sir, I believe we got off to a bad start. let's try this again: Hello, I am Twilight Sparkle, and there are my friends, Rainbow Dash..." The cyan equine puffed out her chest and giving it a pound. "... Rarity..." The ivory equine tossed it's purple mane while stating that it was a pleasure to meet him. "... Applejack..." The orange equine tipped it's hat and said 'howdy'. "... Fluttershy..." The yellow one hid behind it's mane like a cowardly beast. "... And Pinkie pie." The pink equine bounced up and down while waving erratically. Ripa 'Moramee, upon seeing the last one, decided there and then that he didn't like her, at all, and would do anything to get away from her. Nonetheless, his condescending glare passed over the equines several more times, before he decided that he didn't like ANY of them. They were weak, pitiful beasts, and were hardly worth his time. In addition, they were female, and were addressing him as if they were equals. This, in 'Moree's mind, was the ultimate crime. Still, he did not act, as crushing them would be too easy, and therefor without honor.

"So what's your name?" Twilight asked, interrupting Ripa's thoughts.

"That is irrelevant." The Arbiter declared, walking away from the equines. They were shocked by his rude gesture, and they simply couldn't comprehend his anger as he stormed off in an attempt to be as far away from them as possible.

2: Way of the warrior

"What do you mean 'irrelevant'? Hey, wait!" Twilight's words fell on deaf ears as she then proceeded to pursue the new creature. However, despite her and her friends' protests, it showed no signs of compliance, or even acknowledgement. "It's rude to ignore somepony when they're talking to you!" Twilight continued, still pursuing the massive alien. the Arbiter said nothing to her, though, and continued to walk away. Twilight was not happy about this, and in her ire, she quickly put up a dome around the Arbiter. In his blind attempt to rid himself of the six nuisances, he smashed into the far side of the dome, and reeled back in shock and anger as he bounced off of the wall. That got his attention, though he continued to ignore the creatures, and focused his rage on the new obstruction.

"What is the meaning of this outrage?" The Arbiter cried in anger, balling his fists.

"You really need to learn manners." Twilight said, but the Arbiter said nothing in return, deciding to ignore the pest behind him. Instead, he mustered all his might into one mighty punch, and struck the shield with all the might within his fist, which was but a fraction of his true strength. Still,the impact of the elite's punch shattered the shield, and caused Twilight Sparkle to cry out as the connection was shattered. Ripa 'Moramee stumbled forward with the inertia of his punch, but soon corrected himself, and, despite the pony's cry of pain, he continued onward, oblivious to the six. In his mind, he assumed, if he ignored them long enough, they would go away, since they had to be but mere figments of his imagination, given to him by the mad god that sent him here to begin with. Yet, this was not the case, for no matter how far he traveled, the six followed him, and continued to wear down on his patience, of which he had little to begin with. The Arbiter's ire was sparked by the pink one's rambling questions:

"What happened to your jaw? It looks like you chopped it in half!" Pinkie said. The Arbiter stopped dead, and spun around to glare at the pink nuisance, unbridled hate in his cold, unforgiving eyes.

"What did you say, whelp?" He asked the spite, causing Pinkie Pie to stare back with increased joy, as was her annoying balance.

"Oh, nothing..." She said cheerfully, shying away from the alien behemoth.

"Then why are you following me?! Leave me in peace, or I'll gut you all like fish!" Ripa said, fire in his eyes as he clicked his jaws in annoyance. The Arbiter, at last, decided to test his cloak, to see if he could use it to escape the little grunts following him, and pelting him with questions. With irregularly shaped silver-blue outlines guiding them, pockets of invisibility spread over his form, and he vanished, leaving a mere shimmer in his wake.

"Wha-! Where did he go?!" Twilight asked, panic stricken as the beast disappeared without a trace. The elements looked every where for Ripa 'Moramee, though they remained oblivious to the shimmering figure walking away from them.

"Idiots..." Ripa thought to himself as he walked away from the six blubbering ponies.

After walking alone for a while, the Arbiter found himself stopped by a wall of vines in his path, forming a biological curtain of some kind. Seeing no way around or through the dangerous-looking plants, he reluctantly activated his left-hand sword, forcing his cloak to drop. Ripa then cut the wall down with a single swipe, causing the smell of burning plant matter, a smell he was all too familiar with, to waft through the humid jungle air.

Ripa then continued his warpath, and soon, he found some kind of small camp. It had a carriage on one side of the clearing and a tent on the other, all vaguely human in origin, which he did not like. The vines around the camp seemed to cover the small openings between the trees, and judging by the size ratio of the wall he cut down, the one he just cleared was the main entrance to the camp. He did not know who made the camp, or who dwelled in it, but he was Ripa 'Moramee, the biggest, strongest elite in existence! As far as he was concerned, the camp was now his.

"It is wise that the occupants have left me with such an agreeable spot to rest... but what could have caused such a hasty departure..?" Ripa thought to himself, remembering his encounters with the flood.

He thus deemed this camp his base camp, regardless of any occupants and looked his new temporary home over. He spotted a massive rat skewered and being roasted over the fire. The Arbiter's stomach growled at that moment, seeing as he had eaten nothing for days, and never partook of the feast presented to him by Sheogorath. He decided to eat the rat over the flame, deeming his needs more important than those of other potential occupants. After gorging on the rat, Ripa walked over to a tree away from the too-small tent and the carriage and went to sleep under it.

After a few hours a pony and a griffon approached the downed arboreal curtain. The azure pony's saddlebags were loaded down with plants while the griffon's knapsack was filled with giant rats native to this part of world. They shared the camp they were headed to, for the sake of travelling together. Their names were were Trixie and Gilda. One hunted, the other gathered, and they worked together to survive out here as part of a dare. What they did not know, however, was that something had usurped their camp, and they were making a grave mistake in returning to it. The pair saw the curtain over their camp's gate was cut down, and the griffon reacted appropriately to seeing their work destroyed by some random ruffian.

"WHAT THE?" Gilda screamed as she saw the curtain cut and the rat she had over the fire was gone, stolen from her beak by... something. The arbiter woke up from his rest upon hearing the scream, and stepped into view of the two campers, enraged at them for disrupting his slumber, and infuriated more that one was a pony.

"Who dares disrupt my rest!?" Ripa inquired loudly, his voice shaking the ground with the force of his anger. "You mangy curs will suffer for your insolence!" Ripa 'Moramee roared, and he began to approach the two interlopers, murder on his mind.

"Oh, man... run!" Gilda said, and Trixie promptly obeyed, both of them running for their lives as the rampaging alien chased them through the forest, blades ready, and hatred burning in his guts.

"You fools will not escape me! Your interruption will be your demise!" Ripa shouted, running after the two as they fled, on the verge of pissing themselves. They ran until they were sure they had lost the massive Elite, and stopped, since they stopped hearing the beast crash through the forest.

"Did we *pant* lose it?" Gilda asked her companion.

"Y-yes... Trixie thinks we- Gak!" Trixie cried, as the two were suddenly hoisted off the ground by their necks. The creature then appeared, uncloaking, while it strangled them.

"No, no you did not." Ripa said grumpily, still tired from having his rest cut short. Immediately, the two began begging for their pathetic lives, and Ripa almost slew them right there for their cowardice, but he realized something: he needed guides, and general servants. So, he thought of a way to make them useful, and still pay for their insolence and cowardice, wise as it was:

"I will spare your pathetic lives, but on one condition: you will serve me as guides, slaves, and whatever else I need for the duration of my stay here. Fail me, and your skulls will decorate my tent!" 'Moramee roared, and the cowardly creatures in Ripa's grasp nodded in affirmation. The Arbiter loosened his grasp so they could breath, and they gasped long, deep breaths as he held them. He then dragged the two cowardly creatures back to the campsite, where he gave them separate tasks to bring the camp up to running condition... or at least, running by his standards, which, by the way, were quite high.

The griffon cooked, and the pony repaired the curtain. The Arbiter oversaw these tasks and took the time to observe his "guides"' Physical abilities and powers. With both arms crossed, he observed the pony's telekinetic powers. They had few limits from what he could tell, but were still limited to weight and size, judging by her inability to lift a boulder he thought got in the way. In short, he noticed that it required the same type of energy as one would use to lift their arm, which gave him much insight to their abilities, and their limits. The difference (from what he observed) was that the power drawn was based on the mathematical formula; energy = mass x volume. Basic math was child's play for any Elite, especially an observant on like him. Given this new information, he calculated that she would require a very high calorific intake to lift him for longer than a few seconds, not that he would ever require such a service. His observations finished, he finally walked over to where he was sleeping earlier. He waited for the pony to finish the curtain and went to sleep, troubled as it was, plagued by memories of his failure against forge, a failure he hoped never to repeat.

3: Blinding Rage, Focused Calm

Ripa woke from his slumber, eager to begin his day, and even more so to move out, seeing that he had elsewhere to be. Animals to hunt, civilizations to wreck, the whole invader shtick. As he awoke, he glared at the griffon. Ripa saw that she was already preparing a rat for the group. Beginning his usual morning routine, he got up and walked over to the entrance of the encampment and began to meditate, closing his eyes, and crossing his legs, and relaxing his body and mind.

Gilda looked at her new alien master. The behemoth was currently sitting down, eyes closed, like he was sleeping upright or something. Whatever it was, the giant alien was completely still, and almost seemed... at peace. Could he be meditating? She wondered what he would be meditating on, seeing how this alien didn't seem to think about anything but death and glory, or something like that. She quickly returned her attention to the rat, as she had no business questioning the alien overlord. She eventually finished the rat, and as she turned to inform her Sangheili taskmaster of the food, she found he was standing right behind her. She let out a surprised squawk and fell on her rear.

"Dang, you're quiet!" Gilda said as she got off her rear. The Arbiter said nothing, though, and removed the rat from the stick. Gilda watched in awe as he ate it in one gulp, his mandibles gripping the food and forcing it down his throat whole, like a mix between an octopus and a snake.

Upon gruesomely finishing his meal, the massive alien pounded his chest, as if to help the food down, and he looked down upon Gilda, disinterest upon his face, and his golden eyes shining from the fire, making him look even more terrifying than he already was, and then, he spoke:

"Wake the other. We set out in one hour." He commanded. Gilda gulped and did as she was told, not questioning why. Maybe someone was chasing him? Trixie took her time getting ready much to the Arbiter's chagrin, and he mumbled something about the magician being a 'vain, incompetent girl'. Within an hour, they were prepared to leave, and Ripa 'Moramee began his march, motioning his minions to follow. But suddenly, before they could leave, the curtain parted, and in stepped a white winged and horned horse, along with six familiar pests, two contingents of troops and a horned horse to the side of what the Arbiter assumed was the queen. sensing (and somewhat desiring) conflict, Ripa had drawn his blades as they entered, a baleful glare etched upon his face.

"Treachery... How could they have found me so fast..?" Ripa muttered angrily, his eyes filled with hate and contempt for all the ponies, especially the tall, white one. The queen marched to the head of the group and cleared her throat.

"Greetings strange being. I am princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and princess of the sun." Celestia said, bowing her head a little. Ripa, however, did not return the gesture, but he lowered his blades slightly, seeing no threat in the princess of the sun.

"I care not for who you are. You are in my way, and I want you out of it." The Arbiter's words were dripping with venom as he spoke, causing the seven before him to cringe from their sheer malice. Rainbow Dash quickly recovered, however, and managed to get closer to him, despite his incredible aura of danger, and puffed out her chest, in a futile attempt to intimidate him.

"Hey! You can't Talk to the Princess like that!" Rainbow said, glaring at the massive elite, but he quickly returned her glare with double effectiveness, leering at her with his gold, hate-filled eyes, which seemed to burn with their own luminescence.

"You have no power over me, whelp. Now, leave... before I make you." Ripa spat back, clicking his jaws angrily. these ponies were wearing on his patience, and was only a matter of time before whatever good will he had left was drained, and they would soon know the price for angering this Arbiter. Thankfully, the tall, white pony spoke out, calling Rainbow Dash back.

"Hold your tongue, Rainbow Dash. We have no knowledge of his capabilities, and I think we should not anger it." Celestia said calmly, and Ripa grinned slightly as the blue pest backed away, forcing back a chuckle.

"It would be wise to heed her advice, pest. I have fought many grunts, and many pestilent humans, all of them far more threatening than you." The Arbiter said.

"You would be smart to do the same Split-lip." Rainbow retorted, glaring defiantly at the humongous alien.

"Childish wretch! I will slaughter you with ease!" 'Moramee hissed, edging toward the pegasus, a vicious leer in his eyes. Rainbow knew by the look Gilda and Trixie were giving her he wasn't joking at all. She backed down under the baleful scrutiny of the sadistic Sangheili, and Ripa 'Moramee growled at her one last time before returning to Celestia.

"Why do you seek me out, worm? I thought I made it clear I would have nothing to do with you and you ilk." Ripa asked.

"Because even you should fear this place. It is the most dangerous forest in all of Equestria. We only want to talk, and possibly learn more about you, maybe even become allies, should you accept that. But for now, we simply wish to get you out of this forest." Celestia said raising her head, as if to imose herself upon the massive elite. Needless to say, it failed.

"I fear nothing. Not even this forest. Little I have seen here could possibly be a threat to me. And as for becoming your ally, I want nothing to do with your 'friendship'. I don't need your help, I don't WANT your help, and the only thing I require from you pests is your departure... NOW." The Arbiter said, swiping his blades for emphasis. The opposing force seemed to be shocked by his strong, defiant words, and many jaws dropped as a result. Finally, Rarity spoke out, drawing Ripa's ire.

"You must be insane to refuse safety and civilization! No one in their right minds would want to be here of all places!" Rarity said.

"I assure you, I am positive that I am well within my right mind. The question is; are you suicidal? Because you are getting on my nerves rather quickly." The arbiter replied, glaring harder. Finally, Celestia sighed, and lowered her head, defeated.

"I had hoped you would see reason, alien, but it seems that you will not." Celestia said. Her calming aura never faded.
"If you cannot see reason, then there is no hope for you. We will take our leave." Celestia said.

"You're giving up on him just like that?" Twilight asked.

"No. All he needs is to see the dangers of this forest for himself. Then he will beg for our aid." Celestia said, turning away from the now smug-looking Sangheili, who was quietly chuckling at his minor victory.

"You sound sure of that, O great, white one." The Arbiter interjected as the ponies departed, leaving him and his unwilling servants alone. However, despite his words, and the apparent sincerity of the sun ruler, Ripa knew this was not the last he'd seen of them.

4: Nightmares: Derelict

The Arbiter awoke... though he knew not when... or where. As he got up, Ripa felt the low gravity of space, and soon, after looking around, found that he was standing in some kind of filthy, damaged ship corridor. It looked vaguely human in architecture, but it was filthy and looked almost... Derelict. He tried to recall how he got here, and recalled the moments before this period of time: After he and his slaves found a new camp site, and returned from a rather fruitful hunt of the local rodents and fowl, the Arbiter ate his fill, and went to sleep. That in mind, could this be a dream? Ripa thought on this for a while, and realized he was he was holding something when he tried to scratch his head. He looked at the device and fell on his ass as he leaped back at the sight of his hand: It was armored, and in it was a small, human-made weapon, some kind of pistol by its look, though the tip looked vaguely like a crossbow. Before Ripa 'Moramee could wonder how he obtained such armor and weapons, however, he heard something shuffling loudly through the vents. He made a grab for the device he discarded, and clung to it as if for dear life.

Despite Ripa's lack of knowledge of the situation, or why he was so afraid of whatever was making that racket, his body knew more about what it was doing, so he let instinct drive him as he made his way down the corridor, still gripping his new weapon, and breathing heavily in what appeared to be a clunky, but air-tight suit, human in origin, but it seemed to be fit just for him. After a while of ceaseless walking, The shuffling died away. Ripa let out a metallic sigh within his odd helmet, and he looked around, and found another hallway, leading away from this one. He cautiously proceeded away from the shuffling, all the while breathing abnormally heavy: This was the first time in a long time he felt actual fear... a feeling he thought banished from his mind a long time ago.

He proceeded down the corridor, taking a left at a four way intersection. This nightmarish corridor was coated in blood splatters and hand prints of blood, and they made the Arbiter feel both nauseous, and jealous: whatever made the ship derelict, they didn't leave any humans for him to slay himself! That was just plain rude. Upon looking further, Ripa found that the floor was stained with gallons and gallons of crimson blood, flowing like a river past his feet. Strangely there were still bodies, though few, if any, of them were intact. Ripa proceeded with extra caution as he looked around, sensing a trap from either heretics, humans, or... The Flood. It looked as if the parasite indeed passed through here, but with bodies left behind, and more blood than even THEY would leave behind, thus disclaiming his theory: The Flood tended to organize the bodies into piles, instead of tossing them about, and they certainly did not let anything go to waste, even blood. Interrupting his thoughts, Ripa 'Moramee started to hear weeping coming from and unknown source, and, against his better judgement, he proceeded to follow the noise despite the fact his every sense screamed at him to turn back and find another way.

The Arbiter followed the noise to it's source. It echoed through some kind of door, though he knew not what kind of humans would build such an odd thing: The obstacle had a ghostly blue force field around it, and there was a circular button on it that read "Unlocked", until Ripa approached it. Once the Arbiter got close enough to it, said button read: "Open?". Shrugging, the Arbiter reached for the button, but spun around as he heard something in the corridor behind him, startling him. He scanned the corridor for a moment, and when he found no source of the disturbance, he opened the door quickly, not wanting to remain in the nightmarish corridor for too long, with whatever was making that noise. The door slid open with a brief screech, and then a smooth hiss, and the once-fearless elite entered a massive room seeming to be some kind of religious sanctuary. The arbiter heard of the humans and their obsessions with religion, often possessing many different ones amongst themselves, but not one marking could he find here that he was familiar with. Instead, the prominent figure seemed to be a picture of two obelisks, wrapped around each other in a double helix. As he stepped into the room to look closer at the odd religious figure, though, the door closed behind him, the barrier around it changing to orange.

The button now read locked, and no matter how hard he slammed into it, the door did not budge. For such primitive beings, Ripa had to admit: They made very sturdy barriers. Finally, Ripa 'Moramee gave up on escape, and decied to hopefully find some kind of way out of this blasphemous chamber. He returned his focus to the room: A highly blurry apparition wept over a large body covered by a blanket on the altar in the center of the room, though neither the body, which was too large to be human, or the apparition, which was clearly female, were recognizable by the elite. Below said altar, a bowl of burning substance with a shadow that should not have been in it could be seen, burning with a dim, but fierce light, to be expected from fire. The shadow in the fire and the apparition suddenly faded, to 'Moramee's shock, leaving him in the darkness of the room, to his own fears. He swore he could hear whispers coming from behind the altar, so, the elite decided to look, despite having just literally seen a ghost. What was going on here? Could he not control his own body?! Finally, he approached the large body, and tore the white sheet off. Immediately, he gasped at the horrifying sight; for upon the altar, lay... his own body! WHAT A TWIST!!!

The body was about as well preserved as he had expected from humans. Ripa never did understand their need to take care of the dead so well. While Ripa lamented on what could have happened to cause such a paradox, a nightmarish, proboscis-like limb rose from behind the altar, and violently drove itself into the cadaver's skull. In response, the body convulsed violently for a few minutes as he took aim for the defiler's limb, hoping to destroy it before any further damage was done. He pulled the trigger, and a small blade of plasma shot from the weapon's crossbow-like tip, instantly severing the debase creature's limb, and causing it to fall fell dead, twitching once as it fell. However, The body still convulsed, long after the disgusting creature had been slain. Suddenly, two new bladed limbs erupted from the body's back, and it's skull split to become an extra set of mandibles, beoming a horrible, empty maw, full of long, sharp teeth, like someone had ripped his face in two, and jabbed broken shards of bone into it. It rolled off the far sided of the altar, only to burst back up, letting out an unholy roar that could be matched only by the sound of the parasite.

The abomination leaped over the altar, and Ripa lunged out of the way and rolled to his feet. It was sadly in vain, though, as the terrifying zombie got to it's feet and charged him, swatting him aside with relative ease. The device, the Arbiter's only protection from the abomination, clattered away from him as he flew, but Ripa was a born fighter. If this chunk of rot and bile wanted a peice of him, it was going to have to fight for every single scrap! Ripa charged the hulking beast, and it screamed in dismay as he got low, tackling the abomination, and tearing its legs off. Now crawling, the horrible thing that once resembled him could only look up, facing the Arbiter with eyes that were no longer alive, and Ripa stomped down on its head, killing the aberration instantly. Ripa 'Moramee grunted as he removed his armored hoof from the mess of gore he created, and sighed. He knew that this was a dream, but that didn't stop him from feeling exhausted. He didn't know what was going on here, but he didn't like it, and he wanted the dream to end. Suddenly, though, a loud crash resounded through the room, and a giant, bulbous monstrosity, similar to the one he just fought, but fatter, burst through the door that was locked only moments before. Before the elite could react, though, the behemoth stabbed a long scythe through him, and the monster picked him up, and cut off his waist. Ripa cried out in pain as the beast severed his arm. Everything seemed to slow down as the unholy creature reared it's debase appendage back for a finishing blow. Strangely, this was not what Ripa noticed. What had his attention was a demonic staff, the likes of which he had never seen before, propped up in the corner. There was also a bloom of nightshade at it's base. He could have sworn it wasn't there before. Then again, he also could have sworn it just winked at him. Time sped back up and he saw the calcified blade of the monster aimed like a bolt for his skull.

Ripa woke with a start. It was about the same time he would wake up under normal circumstances. Most of the nightmare was crystal clear Except for the part with the monster. The staff was the only clear part of that scene. What could the dream mean, if anything? Perhaps he needed to see a dream reader... Or a psychologist...

Author's Note

So I've decided to throw in a few little sub-stories to progress the main story. Let me know what you think.

5: Ripa 'Moramee: Hydra Slayer

Upon awakening that morning, Ripa was in a stupor. His dream had caused a great disturbance in the massive elite's head, but he did not let that bother him. After all, he was already a bit touched in the head; he made a deal with the madgod, after all. So, in an attempt to not let this minor infraction ruin his day, Ripa walked to the entrance of his new camp and began meditating on his nightmare, in an attempt to glean its meaning himself.

There was something familiar about the apparition, but the shadow figure was new to Ripa. It was as if he had seen it before, but then again, he had seen a lot of 'ghosts' in his eighty two years of life. It could be any female he had seen even once, as he slew countless human females before, though why one would be weeping over HIM was quite a mystery. Perhaps only time will tell.

Finally, his thoughts turned to the dark corridors of the ship, with the grotesque sights of limbs and rivers of blood. They were of little significance in and of themselves, but they were likely representations of somewhere. What was the point of the nightmare? That staff... How was it relevant?

Suddenly, an interesting thought crossed Ripa's blood-soaked mind: Sheogorath had said he was the daedric prince of madness. The word 'prince', that implies there are multiple beings like him. Maybe one of his peers sent the dream? From what he could guess, Sheogorath preferred to be either depressing or, to coin the human term, "trippy", making the theory that it was not HIS doing all the more likely. But back to the main part of the nightmare, what did he represent in the dream? Ripa had so many questions and few answers to them, to his frustration.

He soon ended his session on the thought that this was merely another daedra's doing, and then began to focus on his own need for shelter; He couldn't sleep under a tree forever, it just wasn't healthy. Perhaps if he could gather a strong enough labor force, he could restore and upgrade the old, ruined keep he had found nearby during one of his hunts. Maybe... Maybe... Ripa tilted his head, thinking of how that old fortress must have looked in its prime. Surely, it must have been grand, and once the Arbiter could repair it, he would own that grandness, live in it, sleep in it, maybe rub it in the ponies' faces. His fort, no, his keep, would trump all others, and from it, he would bring this petty world to it's knees, kneeling before the prophets as all good races should... if only they were here...

Gilda watched her taskmaster look over his usual resting spot. He looked over it with contemplating eyes, but for some reason, he remained silent, which was odd for the hulking alien: He was almost always boasting about how much bigger he was than they were, and constantly torturing her with his constant monologues of "how prison was better than this trash heap of a camp", and how she and Trixie were "the worst indentured servants it had ever been his misfortune to govern over", among other things.

Normally, the proud griffon would easily give this monster a piece of her mind, but she quickly turned back to her work of cooking instead, seeing as how the rude and boastful alien could crush Gilda with his thumb. The big, split-lipped warlord's size alone was a constant reminder that they were alive only because he willed it so, so arguing with him would result in more than another lecture: It would result in her premature funeral.

Even worse, there was no point trying to run from the titanic alien, as he could easily catch her. Heck, she once saw him catch a bird flying at full speed in a single leap. After catching it, he then lectured it on trying to flee him, and finally crushed it to death with a 'light' squeeze. If that monster could catch a bird in flight, Gilda had every reason to doubt her own chances. So, she resumed her duties, and Trixie continued hers, though neither of them enjoyed the backbreaking work the Arbiter put them through.

Trixie had been assigned to do the prepping up of the camp, like moving rocks and the occasional tent, and Gilda had been gathering rat pelts to make a few coats for the winter. While skinning rats, though, she had a clever idea to keep herself from going hungry every time the Arbiter collected his 'let the pitiful natives live tax', and she quickly voiced it to the giant alien once he pried his attention from his resting spot.

"Food's ready." Gilda said as Ripa helped himself to one of the rats. No matter how many times she saw him eat, she could never get used to it. He finished and gave a pound to help the rat down. Then, she filed her opinion:

"Say, alien..." She said, but was cut off by the arbiter:

"It's ARBITER to you. Now what do you want, peon?" The Arbiter growled, clearly not in a good mood.

"Well, I noticed you've been eating all our food, lately..." She tried again, but the Arbiter, master of impatience, interrupted her again.

"Are you calling me 'fat', worm?! Your next words had better be chosen with extreme caution, or I will skin you and wear your hide as a cape!" Ripa shouted, but Gilda quickly shied back, correcting herself.

"No, no sir! I was just saying, you're leaving none... to... go to waste... so I figured, we could build two fires, one for you, and one for us, just to make things easier, you know?" Gilda explained, her expression hopeful, and Ripa seemed to contemplate this, his orange eyes narrowing in thought. He could let them starve for their ungratefulness of him taking on the strenuous task of being their master, but dead slaves tend to not be very useful...

"Very well, we will build another pit, despite your ingratitude. However, I will build it, seeing as this one looks as if it was constructed by the rats on which you feast." the Arbiter declared, glaring at the griffon, who sighed a breath of relief that she didn't have to do any more work. "However, first, we hunt once more. That vermin you prepared did not satisfy me." Suddenly, all hope Gilda once had was replaced with horrible, despairing emptiness, because whatever the Arbiter wanted to hunt, if he needed them with him, it likely wasn't gonna go down easy.

"W-what?" Gilda asked, and the Arbiter grinned wider, scaring her even more than usual.

" Are you deaf, peon!? I said prepare to hunt! We leave in one half-hour." Ripa said, spitefully as usual. Gilda never figured out where he got that attitude from, but it was really a pain to deal with. Still, she got ready while the Arbiter watched for any intruders. One half hour later, and after some complaining on Trixie's part, much to Ripa's chagrin, the Arbiter and his companions set out on the hunt. Despite having only two swords, Gilda was still impressed by Ripa's skill in hunting, seeing as he could catch squirrels and rabbits with his bare hands. She would have to ask him about where he learned those skills later. Later, though, a loud crash resounded through the forest, and Trixie and Gilda both shrieked in terror as not one, but THREE roars sounded off behind the trees.

"What was that?!" Trixie asked hastily, turning her head left and right in search of whatever was attacking them.

"I don't know!" Gilda screamed, and as if to answer their question, the trees parted, and a great, hulking, three-headed reptile stormed from behind them, sending the earth shaking in its wake as it bellowed a howl most horrible.

"What in the name of the prophets is that?" Ripa asked calmly, drawing his blades in response to the beast's sudden appearance.

"T-that's a... A hydra!!!" Trixie screams, and she flees behind the Arbiter, who grunts in disgust at the display of cowardice. But soon, the alien's gaze turns to the massive predator, and as it roars and glares at Ripa, he begins to pull his split lips into a giant, predatory smile that even made Gilda feel uncomfortable. And at last, the massive alien spoke:

"Huh. Is it dangerous?" Ripa asked as he drew his blades, and both Gilda and Trixie looked in dumbfounded confusion at the massive, nonchalant alien before them.

"... Um, yes it's dangerous! just one of those things is worth a thousand soldiers on its own!" Gilda pleaded, but Ripa 'Moramee did not react, and simply kept his curious gaze on the massive roaring creature before him. Then, at last, he spoke, his tone dripping with condescension.

"Is it, now? Well then, I'm not sure whether I'm proud of this magnificent beast, or sorry for the pitiful worms you call soldiers. Either way, I hope that this thing puts up more of a fight than your weak little 'princess'." And at that, Ripa threw his arms to his sides and roared back at the massive hydra, daring it to put up or shut up. And not to be outdone, the hydra thrust its weight forward, and charged the belligerent elite. Needless to say: that was the last mistake it ever made. Having seen the hydra charge, Ripa leaped into the air, engaging in battle with the mighty beast. He leaped for the heads first, and they in turn twisted and writhed as they tried to catch him.

But as he grabbed hold of the first head, the one in the middle, Ripa 'Moramee's eyes began to glow with an internal fire, and his blades seemed to dance through the air around the Hydra, even as wounds appeared where no contact seemed to be made. And as he slashed, his energy swords naturally cauterized the wounds they left, making short work of the behemoth. It took a few minutes, but when Ripa had finished, much to his servants' horror, he had deprived the monster of two of its heads, and stabbed the center head in the eyes with his massive blade. Then, with one last death-howl, the hydra finally dropped to the earth, shaking the area as it fell, and the elite fell with it, landing on his hands and feet with an impact almost as ground-breaking as the hydra's itself.

And finally, as though it were the most normal thing in the world, Ripa 'Moramee sighed once, popping his back, and looked expectantly at the two flabbergasted creatures he had the misfortune of calling his slaves. Then, finally, he spoke:

"Well? My trophy isn't going to move itself!" Ripa bellowed, and the two shook their heads, finally over their mild surprise at what the Arbiter had just done, and reluctantly got to work on moving the dead behemoth.

By day's end, they all returned to camp. Just like they left it, there was a wagon, a tent, and a fire pit. Ripa then dragged his trophy kill in by the only head he had stabbed between the eyes, as all the others were severed and with no grip. Gilda and Trixy were impressed by the tyrant's strength, but horrified all the same. No matter how many times they saw his 'demonstrations', they never seemed to get over their perpetual and ever-present fear of the alien tyrant, who could crush them both at the same time with one hand tied behind his back.

The Arbiter, However, was plagued by other thoughts, none of which concerned his impressive strength. He knew that winter was coming soon, and they would all need more sufficient shelter, or risk death. Well, maybe only the servants would, but the Arbiter would then be deprived of his only workforce. But even so, was that so bad? The grunts he now had been tricked into babysitting seemed to be capable of very little, and only seemed to slow him down. So, resting beneath his tree, the Arbiter decided that, tomorrow, he would turn the pitiful creatures loose, and try to find his own way to become feared in this world.

6: Ripa 'Moramee goes on a journey. Huzzah!

'Twas the middle of the night, and all through the camp, none stirred. Not a soul. However, despite the silence, Ripa rested poorly, his constant tossing, turning and growling keeping two individuals awake, Gilda and Trixie. Alas, try as they might to sleep, the noise the Arbiter produced made such a luxury impossible. Hours of this passed, and when, at last, the Arbiter did finally go still, Trixie, having had enough of the alien's oppression, quietly snuck her way out of her carriage, and made her way to Gilda's tent, careful not to awaken the massive, dangerous Arbiter, and proceeded to wake her comrade, eager to explain her dangerous, but necessary plan.

"Gilda! Gilda, wake up!" Trixie harshly whispered, shaking her griffon accomplice from her sleep, and the griffon groaned, blinked, and wiped the sleep from her eyes, turning to confront her friend.

"Uh, wha..? Trixie!? Darn it, Trixie, it's not even midnight, what in Tartarus are you doing up, and more importantly, why are you waking me up this late?" Gilda scolded, and Trixie quickly hushed her, turning to see if the Arbiter still slept. Thankfully, the massive alien gave out one loud snore, solidifying Trixies hopes of getting on with her plan, and the magician quickly turned back to her friend, and explained the situation as quickly as she could;

"Trixie is tired of this abuse, Gilda! I'm getting out of here right now while the brute's asleep, and I suggest you do the same!" Trixie explained, and Gilda merely stared at the magician, blinking, and shook her head.

"Trixie, that's stupid! That alien might be obnoxious, but he hasn't tried to kill us yet! What about whatever's lurking out there, though? If we go through with this, we'll just end up as dinner for something bigger!" Gilda complained, but Trixie held firm, despite Gilda's protests.

"We don't have to care about that now! Right now, if we don't leave at this moment, the giant monster is going to work us to DEATH! Come on, Gilda, you can just fly us over the forest, and we'll be free! Come on, please?" Trixie pleaded quietly, as not to disturb the taskmaster resting outside, and Gilda sighed, but thought on it. Indeed, the creature was a bit pushy, but it kept them from being food for this long. However, the thought of finally being free of it was compelling... but it needed a plan, and a damn good one at that. With that in mind, Gilda only thought a moment more, and finally made her decision.

"... Alright, grab what you need, we're getting out." Gilda finally said, and Trixie smiled her biggest smile yet, and rushed off to collect her essentials.

That morning, Ripa 'Moramee, greatest Arbiter to ever live, awoke from his slumber with a loud yawn, stretching his arms in preparation to greet the day, and then strangle it to death. Carpe' Diem, baby! Merriment aside, the massive alien proceeded to rise, wiped his eyes, and walked to the camp fire to begin his morning ritual of eating, scolding, and meditating. However, as the Arbiter looked to his empty campfire, he realized that something was... amiss. The fire had not been reset, meaning that the griffon minion did not light it, and there was no rat upon it. Looking around the camp, in tents, behind trees, under rocks, Ripa 'Moramee noted that the camp was still intact, but eerily empty, as if his servants had simply vanished, and he frowned at this realization. Indeed, no wind stirred, and no one appeared to disprove his thoughts. He was, once again, alone, his follower having doubtlessly abandoned him to preserve their own worthless hides. However, this did not faze the massive elite. In fact, he smiled at the thought, and then chuckled to himself, his small laugh quickly turning into a deafening roar of mirth as the realization dawned on him, one that sealed his former minions' fates for good.

"Ha ha! So, the fools have at last fled? Heh heh heh, well, then I hope they ran far; I would hate for this hunt to be over too soon..." Ripa laughed, his predatory smile becoming more and more vicious as he imagined his prey, those two poor fools, having their organs removed and their flesh devoured by none other than himself, a last, fitting meal for those two traitors he used to call minions. So, thoughts of predation and vengeance boiling in his mind, the Arbiter used his swords to relight his fire, cooked a chunk of the hydra he killed yesterday, and with that as his breakfast, Ripa 'Moramee skipped steps two and three of his morning, and leaving the long-dead hydra where it lay, he proceeded to tear through the forest on his way toward the nearest source of civilization, knocking down trees, throwing boulders, and punting cockatrices along the way, and no creature, no matter how large it was, dared get in his way. Even the mighty manticores of the forest dared not alert the Arbiter to their presence

Still, though, the Arbiter marched, past many trees, beasts, and such, and only stopped once to punt a sleeping cockatrice out of his way, and halfway into a hole in a tree. The entire forest seemed to seethe with his unbound desire to kill, and soon, he came upon the forest's edge, quickening his pace as he did. Soon, he would find the two cowards, and make them suffer as dearly as he could make them. And as Ripa exited the massive, traumatized forest at last, the massive, homicidal elite thought eerily of the many, many gruesome ways he would track, trap, torture, and ultimately kill the two that dared betray him in every way and angle he could possibly imagine, and he laughed a hearty, throaty chuckle as he did, images of gore and viscera flooding his mind.

"Perhaps I will string them up... or gut them slowly... or stuff them in a bag of rocks and toss them into the nearest scum-filled lake... hell, why not all three?" Ripa 'Moramee laughed at last as his blood-drenched mind slowly turned outward, bidding him to look for a town or such, so that he may begin his hunt at last.

"Hmmm... I suspect that they have fled to the nearest town... but where would that be..?" 'Ripa thought, but the more he thought, the less ideas he had. However, he did remember his meeting with the ponies, and grunted with mild disgust at what his only course of action was turning to.

"Bah... so, if I am to find those two... I need HER help... gods above, how atrocious." Ripa thought in disgust, but alas, it was the only way; if he wanted to find Gilda and Trixie, he needed to first find the leader, who undoubtedly kept tabs on all her citizens at all times. But still, in order to demand, er, request Celestia's aid, he first had to find her in her city, which Ripa had no idea the location of. But still, undeterred, Ripa 'Moramee flexed his muscles, snorted in a gesture of defiance, and locked his bright, orange eyes eastward, toward the mountains.

"The gods will never forgive me for this... But it must be done. FOR MY HONOR!!!" Ripa bellowed to the sky, pointing one of his massive energy swords at the mountains in the distance, and the city he hopefully encountered along the way. After all, the rolling, lush hills had to support SOME kind of civilization. So, with determination in his heart, fire in his belly, and murder on his mind, Ripa 'Moramee set off into the unknown, high in hopes that, by the good grace of whatever god still favored him, he would find the city he sought... or at least, some clue as to its whereabouts.

Meanwhile, in the camp in the heart of the Everfree forest, the whole site was eerily silent, only the wind daring to move, relieved at the massive alien's departure. But then, just as all fell silent once more, the large carriage, originally belonging to trixie, rattled, and the door creaked open, revealing... Trixie! And Gilda, too! The two then looked around the entire site very thoroughly, and stepped outside, breathing a sigh of relief at the absence of the giant alien they once called overlord, now hopefully lost somewhere in the woods, and rather happy that they somehow managed to, despite the oppressive odds against them succeeding, hide from him as he searched. Finally, the two at last spoke, as they proceeded to plan their final escape.

"Alright, the big one's gone. Now what?" Trixie asked her feathered cohort, Gilda, who wasted no time in responding.

"Now we find help, stupid! Come on, we can go find Celestia, she's closest! Once she knows about this guy's true colors, she'll turn him to stone, and we'll be out of there." Gilda explained, and Trixie nodded thoughtfully, acknowledging the genius of her partner's plan. And so, that in mind, the two set off, and flew toward the mountains, toward Canterlot city, to begin phase one of their ultimate plan to (probably) save the world...

Were it so easy.

Ripa 'Moramee wandered in his one, deadlocked direction for what seemed like long, unforgiving hours, and he was quickly growing tired of walking. Even worse, in his whole march, he had yet to see a single hut out here in this lush, disgustingly-sweet landscape, and it was quickly grating his nerves.

"Blast... have I been going the wrong way..?" Ripa wondered uneasily, the hours ticking steadily away as he walked on, and soon he began to slow down, terrible thoughts plaguing his mind: this was how he died, wandering the countryside like a fool, chasing after two lowlifes that were barely worth the breath he spent chasing them? It couldn't be! It had to be wrong! And yet... here he was, tired, thirsty, and sorely aching from walking so much.

"... No... I must keep walking... I know this has to be the right way... It must! Doubt shall not divert me this day! DO YOU HEAR ME, DOUBT!? I WILL TRACK YOU DOWN, FIND YOU, AND RIP YOUR SPINE OUT THROUGH YOUR- ow!!!" Ripa ranted, and then yelped in shock and pain as a small, red orb fell squarely into his face, his right eye, specifically, as he faced the sky and raved at it like a madman. So, holding his injured eye, Ripa 'Moramee looked to where the red, spherical object fell after assaulting him, and became quickly confused as he found it, discovering it to be little more than a little red ball, but with a stem... and leaves...

"A... a fruit..?" Ripa questioned, and ignoring his eye, the massive elite reached down, and picked the strange, red fruit from the ground, holding it in his massive hand, and examining it. But, upon seeing no reference as to what kind of fruit it was, the Arbiter looked up in curiosity, hoping to see where the round fruit had fell from... and was rewarded with another eye-shot, by yet another, much larger variant of the very same fruit in the very same eye. Roaring in understandable pain and anger, Ripa 'Moramee, in a blind fit of indescribable, uncontrollable rage, activated both blades, and swung wildly about himself, both his eyes blinded from the amount of red they were seeing, and soon, his blades caught something large and thick, but sliced right through all the same. However, the satisfaction of a potential kill finally clearing his vision, Ripa looked to where he thought he'd struck his target... only to find a tree falling right towards him. So, with much haste, the Arbiter yelped in shock and leaped out of the massive lumber's way, and as he hit the ground, so too did the tree, and thankfully, it was not on top of him. So, with that, the Arbiter sighed a breath of relief, and got up, dusting himself off as he did. Then, he investigated the massive, fruit-bearing tree, an inquisitive look on his face as he scrutinized the alien tree.

Alas, the tree did seem to bear fruit... though of what kind, Ripa did not know. And ultimately, he did not care, either: Sangheilli were carnivores, and always have been; plants simply did not register to his kind as food.

"But to these herbivorous residents..." Ripa pondered aloud, and suddenly, the elite was struck by inspiration, and began to look around for more trees, an idea brewing in his head: Where there were food trees, there were crops. Where there were crops, there was a farm. And where there was a farm...

"There's a family to forcibly evict... heh heh heh... Ha ha HA HA HAA!!!!" Ripa 'Moramee laughed loudly, finishing his thoughts aloud as he picked a fruit from one of the next many trees he saw, and crushed it into juice with his bare hand. And with that, Ripa continued along the trail of fruit-bearing trees, eager to find this place of rest and... convince the residents to... accommodate him for a while.

7: Ripa Moramee storms the farm, and wins. Huzzah...

Author's Note

Fun Fact: I wrote this whole chapter while listening to nothing but Iron Maiden... so, yeah. \m/

I got nothing so far, still out of steam, so here's a crappy chapter. Enjoy!

7: Ripa Moramee storms the farm, and wins. Huzzah...

The afternoon dragged on in Sweet Apple Acres, with work to be done all around the farm. Big Mac, as the day rolled on, spent most of his time in the fields, gathering hay and fixing the wagons. Applejack spent her time collecting the apples, as was her chore, and Granny Smith rocked back and forth in her old, rickety wooden chair, sleeping as two of the children did their work, while Applebloom played with her two other friends, running around the trees like wild hooligans as the sun drew on overhead, heating the day with it's magnificent rays. Meanwhile, as Applebloom and her friends played a game of 'tag' amongst the trees, zipping and winding amongst the tall foliage without a care in the world, and full knowledge of all the trees' locations, so as they wouldn't crash into one by accident.
However, as Sweetie bell caught up to Applebloom in her bid to make the other of their trio 'it', none of them saw the hill through the wind in their eyes, and over their laughter, did not hear the sound of the trees over the hill being uprooted and tossed aside in violent fits, and they even did not feel the ground quake as something monstrous stomped over the hill, not noticing the smaller, distracted fillies, just as they did not notice it, until, at last, it was far, far too late.

"Give up, Sweetie Belle! Y'all's time with Rarity's gone an' made you soft, while I can keep runnin' all day!"

"Yeah... *huff*... until you hit... those trees in front of you!" Sweetie sarcastically called back to her much-faster friend between her gasps of breath, pointing ahead of the sprinting filly, and causing said filly to turn around, just in time to, indeed, find two large, thick trees right in front of her, and without even a second to gasp in shock, Applebloom rammed right into one of the massive, shining trunks head-first, with a sound akin to a rock hitting metal, and an audible groan from herself.

"Owww... uhn, what in the WORLD...?" Applebloom asked nobody in particular as she got up, not remembering anything about two trees ever being there before... or any trees, for that matter. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle finally caught up to her friend as she lay, gazing at the odd trunks in curiosity.

"Gosh! Applebloom, are you okay?" Sweetie Belle asked her friend, who simply sat there, gazing at the twin trees she had the misfortune of crashing into in curiosity.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But what is up with these here trees? They're not supposed to be here, I'm sure of that. And why do they look... shinier than I think they should be?" Applebloom asked, tapping the 'trees' with her hoof, resulting in another, softer 'pang'. Finally, Sweetie Bell walked over to them herself, and proceeded to inspect the fronts of each odd, twisted, metal trunk, gazing at her reflection in each one curiously, as if testing a mirror.

"I don't know, but I remember Rarity telling me something about copper, which this looks a lot like... maybe... these aren't trees?" Sweetie Belle finally asked in affirmation, unaware of the shadow that now grew over the two as they inspected and prodded the metal structures they once thought to be trees. And soon, the light of the sun was dimmed drastically as something hovered over the two fillies, though they paid it no mind. After all, they were under trees... right?

"I dunno, but if these aren't wood, then they sure as heck aren't trees... But what..?" Applebloom only managed to get out her theory and little else, before a massive, deep, growling voice interrupted her, stopping them both dead, and causing them both to look up, feelings they had before then all but replaced with absolute dread.

"Quite astute, little one. But perhaps you shouldn't be running about here with trees about, hmm?" The gargantuan, menacing voice above them said, and the two stopped, and hesitantly looked up, afraid of what they might find. Thankfully, though, what they found, hovering over them with a hateful, deadly grimace wasn't at ALL what they thought it was...

It was several times worse.

"Uhhh.... uhh...." Applebloom stammered, her vocabulary and thought process diminished to nil as the towering, metal behemoth leered at the two with glowing, orange eyes like those of a wolf, and even Sweetie Belle tried to back away from the colossal, lumbering creature that now loomed over the two fillies in an attempt to flee, but before the two could react further, the gargantuan, angry monster snatched the two up by the scruffs of their necks, fast as lightning, and held them close to it's monstrous, snake-like head where it could glare at the two with greater ease. And at that point, each of them fell silent, internally praying to Celestia that somepony, ANYpony would come and save them from whatever fate this great, hulking monster of scales and metal had in store for them.

Thankfully, nearby, Scootaloo finally meandered her way out of the trees they ran through while playing, having gotten lost herself after losing Sweetie Belle in their game, and saw her two friends, caught in quite an incriminating mess, and a potentially lethal one if she was to dawdle any further.

"What in the..? Oh man, What is THAT!? I gotta get help, fast!" Scootaloo at last noted, and without another word, the small pegasus quickly turned around, and sprinted back to the farm, eagre to spread the news of how a monster that she'd never seen before had her friends in a stranglehold, and was probably about to eat them (which, knowing Ripa's track record, likely wasn't that far-fetched an assumption, anyway).

The Arbiter glared balefully at the two small creatures that he now held in his hands by their necks, writhing and squirming to escape his grasp, though neither of them cried out, oddly enough. Just as well for Ripa 'Moramee, though, for to him, these small creatures seemed to be further miniaturized ponies, like the ones he'd had the misfortune of meeting on his first day on this horrible, fetid planet. Briefly, Ripa pondered if, in fact, these two had any relation to the ponies he's seen that day, but he ultimately dismissed the thought, and kept his attention on the two squirming ponies he now held, growling audibly as they struggled to escape his grasp, and finally shaking them both once to get them to stop.

"Enough movement, both of you! Now... I demand you explain to me why you IDIOTS charged head-first into me, and then insulted me by comparing my glorious plating to your flimsy, low-grade peasant metal!!!" The Arbiter roared, his patience worn all but out by the trip he had endured to get here, as well as the reasons he took to this stupid journey in the first place. But now, his patience was further being whittled away by the two grunts he now held, both whimpering and cowering as he scolded them. But then, at last, one of the pathetic, miniature creatures finally overcame their fear of the massive, thuggish elite, and replied to his demand, voice shaky, but still audible.

"I-I-I... I mean we... we didn't mean no harm, w-we were just p-p-playin' around, when you g-got in our way..." the little, red-maned one answered, and the Arbiter growled at her, narrowing his orange, fiery eyes at the little nuisance, and before either of them could say any more, Ripa blurted out his response, his anger ill-concealed as he scolded the two to the fullest of his ability.

"I was in your way!? I am THE ARBITER, you little ankle-biting, milk-drinking, infantile excuses for wastes of life and air!!! MY way is what YOU have obstructed, and you DARE not apologize correctly for your transgressions!? Have you no idea, no INKLING of who I am, and what I will DO TO YOU, you sopping, sniveling, runty excuse for a thinking lifeform!?" the Arbiter ranted, his orange, glowing eyes growing brighter as his rage built up into higher levels, and unbeknownst to either him or his unfortunate captives, on the massive armor plate on his back, a burning sigil began to form, seemingly from nowhere discernible, and as his rage grew, the sigil itself began to glow a dull, pale blue, and it seemed to shimmer with heat as it grew in strength, as the Arbiter scolded and shook the unruly runts before him. However, the Arbiter had no knowledge of this, and continued to focus on the small, red-maned filly, who had previously headbutted him without so much as an 'I'm sorry. Well, she was sure going to be sorry in a moment, the Arbiter would be sure of that.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to headbutt ya! Please let me go!!!" The small filly sobbed, her shrill voice causing the Arbiter to cringe in pain, but he did not relent, and tightened his grip on the fillies further, securing his place over them, and at last spoke, once the two had stopped crying for long enough that he could fairly and accurately punish the two for their crimes, however insignificant they might have seemed. Indeed, for insulting, let alone ATTACKING, the Arbiter, the right arm of the Prophets, was a sin normally punishable by death. But through his mercy, Ripa 'Moramee prepared to spare the two sinners before him, and punish them as he saw fit, without killing them. How nice of him! So, shaking the two into stopping their ear-splitting sobbing, Ripa 'Moramee finally garnered the attention of the two fillies, and prepared to make is final judgment on their fates.

"Bah, Listen up, you damp, spineless infidels! Stop crying NOW, before I tear out the tear ducts from your oversized, vulnerable eyes!" The Arbiter shouted, stopping the two from crying further, and he then loosened his grip on their necks, and continued.

"Better... Now, as Arbiter, it is my job to decide whether you two scum-sucking atrocities live or die. But fortunately for you two little hell-spawn, I find killing children too... tedious, for my tastes. So, instead, I'm going to put you two down, and you're going to lead me to the nearest settlement to here. Comply, and you will remain... alive. If you two keep bawling your worthless, oversized eyes out, however..." the Arbiter said, emphasizing his point with a light squeeze to their necks before continuing, "...Then I will slowly cut you both open, and let your entrails flop out of your fat, overfed bellies, and onto the dusty ground for any low-life scavenger to come and feast upon! Are we clear, maggots!?" The enraged Arbiter roared at the two, and without anything in the way of options, the two simply looked at each other, whimpers emanating from their quivering mouths as tears of fear streamed from their eyes, and they finally turned back to the Arbiter, nodding. At this, the Arbiter grinned a wide, toothy, murderous grin, and replied, his voice deeper, and dripping with malicious glee and blood lust.

"Good... now... Show me where it is." Ripa asked the fillies menacingly, and the white one managed to get her mouth open to speak, but before a sound could exit her lips, another voice called out to the trio, stopping them all in their tracks.

"Stop right there, and put down mah sister, you pig-headed varmint!"

Ripa stopped as he stood, his left eye twitching ever-so-slightly as the voice rang in his head, and without any thought to his actions, he suddenly dropped the two fillies he held, leaving them gasping on the ground as the Arbiter growled ferociously, his mind aching as the gears turned, and he remembered the voice all too well...

"Impossible... To think, of all the places..." Ripa 'Moramee growled as he stared at the familiar, orange pony before him, standing beside a tiny, orange, winged filly and a gargantuan, red stallion, neither of which looked happy to see him, especially not the orange mare in the middle. But then again, Ripa wasn't happy to see them either. Then, after a brief reunion, the orange, unsuspecting mare then looked up at Ripa 'Moramee, her green eyes blazing with anger at his actions, and replied to his previous reaction with much the same tone and set of mind as he used as he growled and glared at her, seeming to tear her apart with his gaze alone.

"Ah had ya figured fer a bad apple when ah first laid eyes on you, ya big, ugly brute, ah could see it in yer eyes that your soul was no good. But threatening an' beatin' up fillies? That's a whole level of low I just ain't gonna touch with you, pal. Now, ya can either apologize to those their fillies you done almost killed an' leave, or ya can answer to me an' mah big brother over here. What's it gonna be, ya hecklin' goblin?" the orange mare went on, glaring at Ripa 'Moramee with a seriousness that almost made the massive sangheilli respect her for her courage... if only he could understand what the hell that blithering, inbred horse just said.

"...I'm sorry, but could you repeat that whole sentence, please? I'm afraid I don't speak INBRED PEASANT." Ripa 'Moramee requested, and the orange mare then reeled back in shock, eyes wide with surprise, and finally, she lowered herself into an offensive stance, hoofing at the dirt like a bull about to charge.

"What was that 'bout bein' inbred, ya great big thug?" Applejack threatened, her green eyes practically ablaze with hate. But, undeterred, the Arbiter simply smiled at the anger he was causing the little orange workhorse, and activating his inner, as the humans call it, "troll face", Ripa 'Moramee stepped forward, arms out, and beckoned the two peasants before him to attack, so that he could finally show them both the errors of their ways.

"I meant what I said, you simple farm animal. Are you deaf? Or simply too thick-skulled and uneducated to understand my words? I suspect both. Maybe you should ask your mate beside you to translate, Hmm?" Ripa tried again, loosing his words in an attempt to draw the two infidels to his waiting blades, and that seemed to do it for both of the ponies before him, for as soon as those words left his mouth, Applejack's vision turned red, and she snorted once, like a mad bull, before replying to his comment one last time.

"Oooohhhhhh, now 'yer gonna get it, you varmint..." Applejack finally growled, her feral transformation disturbing even her own brother. But still, Ripa 'Moramee drew his blades, eager to, at long, long last, spill the blood of the impetuous locals upon his waiting swords.

"Come to me then, whelp, and prepare to BEG for your death, like the rest of your pathetic world!" Ripa 'Moramee roared last, and at that moment, without a single thought, Applejack pulled a rope from her saddle, spinning it into a lasso as she prepared to fight the massive behemoth that was Ripa 'Moramee. And so, at that, Ripa bellowed a mighty battle cry, and charged the waiting pony down below with abandon and zeal. Smiling, Applejack simply prepared her lasso as the Arbiter charged, and as she prepared to release it, she called out to the charging elite, sigil burning upon his back, getting his attention surprisingly quick.

"Just so you know, ya big, ugly snake, I've been wantin' ta put you in your place since I laid eyes on ya! Take... this!" Applejack cried, and with a mighty yell, she tossed the lasso toward the massive charging elite, though, instead of surprise, the elite took on a look of predatory glee, and without warning, his eyes simply burst into orange flames, and he leaped over the lasso, sailing through the air as every pony in the vicinity watched him, and as he reached the climax of his jump, at least 48 hooves into the air (24 feet, by human measurement), the Arbiter then pointed his swords downward, and dashed at the offending orange mare, sending her flying as the elite impacted the earth, and the resulting explosion heaved up trees, stones, and even Big Macintosh found himself tossed aside by the shockwave produced by the homicidal Alien's impact on the ground. Finally, after a while, the dust finally cleared, but neither Applejack nor Big Macintosh could see their new adversary at first, until Applejack heard a roar from behind her, and she ducked as a single, giant energy-like wave sliced over her, slicing five gallons off of her favorite hat. Despite her loss, though, Applejack could not even notice that the hat was missing, for no sooner had the first blade swung, that the next blade jabbed right at her, forcing the orange mare to jump backwards to avoid being skewered. The dust still floated in the air, depriving her and her brother of vision, but the elite they faced was loud, and he roared as he struck and swung, so he was, at least, easy to avoid. Finally, once the dust had settled, the three stood, brother and sister, versus massive, deadly sangheilli warrior.

The three stared for a good while, each side patiently waiting for an opening from the other, until the Arbiter's patience had, at last, run out. Eyes blazing once again, Ripa 'Moramee charged at Applejack, the focus of his insatiable rage and anger, until he was simply blindsided by her brother, Big Macintosh. Under most circumstances, the large, red pony would have stood no chance against the far-larger elite, who easily dwarfed him at least by two times. But as Big Mac hit the charging elite from the side, the two were soon locked in a bid for domination, each one forcing all their weight onto the other, in order to successfully push their opponent over, and finish the fight for good. But, unfortunately for Big Mac, despite his endurance, Ripa 'Moramee was easily two times his size, and with that said, pushed much, much harder than poor Big Mac could ever have hoped to.

Sensing her brother's imminent defeat, though, Applejack came into the fray to try and help her brother, but as soon as she got within range for a buck, Big Mac's footing slipped, and with a mighty roar, Ripa 'Moramee picked up the struggling, red stallion, and flung him into his own sister, sending them both tumbling away from the massive elite, who laughed loudly as the two laid there, their energy drained in that one fight, and he began to stalk toward them coldly, like a wolf hunting a fawn... or, in this case, TWO fawns, his orange, hate-filled eyes burning themselves into the siblings' visions as they looked at his hard, rugged, scowling face, his many teeth shining as he clicked his jaws in annoyance at the short-lived nature of the fight. But honestly, what did he expect? He was a trained, murderous, giant of an elite. They were farmers, PONY farmers, no less. In the end, Ripa thought, his victory was assured the moment that these inbreeds declared their aggression. And when he at last approached the two downed opponents, he simply stared coldly down at them, as they looked up at him, silently pleading for their lives through their gazes. But the Arbiter... was fresh out of mercy.

"You fought well, you little dirt-mongers... but this fight is mine, as are your lives." Ripa announced as he stared down at the tangled brother and sister, who then sighed, before the sister spoke herself, surprising Ripa 'Moramee at least a little bit.

"You don't know what you're doin', you big bully. Why don't you just phone home already, and leave us alone?" Applejack asked, practically spitting at the Arbiter's feet, but this was ignored by him, despite the implications. Instead, the Arbiter simply moved past the two as they laid there, and to the two's confusion, he hoisted Granny Smith's chair up off the porch, the aforementioned granny still asleep upon it even as he lifted it into the air, and set it next to them, moving back to the house afterward. Then, at last, as the Arbiter made his way to the too-small door, he spoke once more, causing the family's heart to sink as he spoke, his heartless, cold tone warning enough to them to stay away:

"I have won this fight, worms, and as a prize, I'm taking your home. Leave now, and I may decide against hunting you all down and skinning you while you still draw breath. Now, BEGONE!" Ripa roared, moving toward the door tiredly, as if going into his rage simply sapped all the energy from him. But despite his mercy, Applejack still found the energy and audacity to get back up, and questioned the alien's authority, much to his chagrin.

"Hey, you can't just take our home!" She cried, but as if in response to her argument, Ripa simply slammed the door in the orange mare's astonished face, and proceeded to lock the door, preventing them entry to their own home. Astonished, shocked, and confused as to what to do now, the family simply sat there, jaws slack in surprise. And there they waited for at least an hour, and as sorely tempted as Applejack was to rush in her home and kick the alien out... she knew that she needed more than her and her brother, as Ripa 'Moramee made perfectly clear moments before. So, without further delay, the whole family (sans Granny Smith, who was still out and had to be carried) set out to Ponyville, to find and beseech help from the one person that they knew could do it...

Princess Twilight Sparkle.

8: Nothing can possbly go wrong!

Ripa 'Moramee stood silently as he intently looked around the small, but quaint room he was now in, having seized it from the hands, er, hooves, of the impetuous locals, and he promptly frowned at what he saw. The homely, old-style air of the house and its furnishings made Ripa 'Moramee shudder briefly, reminding him of his home, back on the colony of Honored Heart... and how much he loathed the planet, and every last being on it, especially his siblings. But, despite his growing anger, this did not deter the massive elite one bit from enjoying his massive upgrade in living quarters as he looked around his new shelter, soon to be the center of his very own keep, from where he would soon make a name for himself, and perhaps teach these fetid pony-creatures that their friendship was weakness, and that true strength lay in the path of the Great Journey... or, at least, with the Prophets. So, finally sighing a long breath in appeasement, Ripa then made his way to the middle of the main room, kicking the odd toy or other obstruction out of his way as he marched. Soon, the elite thought as he sat upon a too-small couch to rest his tired legs, the entire fetid, cutesy world would know the greatness that was himself, and that they, despite their armies and their champions, would either leave him to his own devices, or die. But first, before any thoughts of conquest or battle could cross the elite's mind, something else ran through his brain, something that evaded him at the time he was taking this farm from it's original occupants: The princess and her minions, who no doubt have heard from both his former slaves, and the peasants that lived here previously.

"No doubt she will confront me upon hearing this..." Ripa thought aloud, his deep, growling voice causing the whole room to shake with its intensity as he spoke, and the Elite pondered this as he tried to adjust his hindquarters to the tiny sofa, which felt more like an awkward chair to the massive sangheilli warrior.

"Hmm... this may pose a problem... that princess and her grunts will no doubt pressure me endlessly about my aggression... Damn it all, I knew I should have killed those farmers, what in the name of the Great Journey stopped me!?..." The Arbiter thought on this question a while, and suddenly, something interesting presented itself to the Arbiter's mind; after his bloodlust had ended, Ripa then felt very, very tired, as he remembered. No doubt, the delusional mad-god made this so, placing a curse upon the very boon he had granted; with his immensely great strength, would soon come an even greater need for a nap. But despite Ripa 'Moramee's anger at the inconsistent deity, he still maintained his calm, and meditated quietly on his next course of action, and on how to deal with the threat that now imposed itself on his dreams of raiding and burning this entire world to its bedrock... Or, at least, stake out a considerable existence for himself, away from all the friendship and the hugging and the disgusting sweetness this world presented to him. So, the Arbiter, in all his tactfulness and wisdom, thought long and hard of his next move, grumbling to himself as options and strategies arose from the depths of his bleak mind, each one scrambling over the other to make itself heard, and to hopefully become Ripa's favorite.

"Hmm... Perhaps a pre-emptive strike could be of merit..." The Arbiter mumbled, but he quickly waived it away, seeing as that course would only seal his fate in one way or another. After all, he had no real power yet, at least, not enough to challenge the royalty... yet.

"No, that will not do... Not at all... Hmmmm..." The Arbiter thought, scratching his jaws, when suddenly, another Idea clambered forth, seeking his attention. "Perhaps..." the elite thought, "I could ambush them somehow..?" Ripa concluded, and his head raised as the Idea sunk in, and hundreds more ideas raced through his blood-stained mind, each one bearing a potential strategy on how to successfully carry out the very deed he sought to accomplish.

"Should I lie in wait outside while they come..? No, too forward... Maybe block the road... No, they can fly. Hmmmmm... Maybe... Maybe I can... Wait..!" The Arbiter exclaimed to himself as he meditated, and as he thought, a plan suddenly came to mind, one so foolproof, so diabolical, so PERFECT, that Ripa chided himself for not coming up with it sooner, and grinned evilly as the details of his regicidal plot played out in his mind, and the sigil on his back started to appear again, growing in intensity as his bloodlust grew as well. Finally, as the Arbiter played his dastardly conspiracy out in his mind, he unconsciously reached for a family photo next to him, and as he gripped it, he spoke to himself as he crushed the picture of the former residents' family, presumed to be the parents of the young cowgirl-mare he fought earlier.

"So... these pathetic creatures wish me to play nice, Hmm? Well then..." The Arbiter trailed off, as he looked to the very picture frame he was crushing with unfathomable malice in his hate-filled eyes. "... Then I will show them all just how nice Ripa 'Moramee plays!" The massive elite finally exclaimed, his voice dripping with venom, as he then crushed the photo frame into splinters and glass shards, destroying the photo within in his mighty grip. And so, his anger vented (for now), Ripa 'Moramee got up from his uncomfortable seat, dusting the remains of the picture frame off of himself, and began to tidy up the rather simple house, in preparation of his expected 'guests'.

Much later, in Canterlot...

Celestia stared intently at the two creatures before her who had entered her castle, claiming to have escaped from the massive alien that resided in the Everfree forest, the one that called itself... oh, right, it never said its name, aside from it's honorary title of 'Arbiter', whatever that meant. Still, the two before her, one griffon, Gilda, and one of her own ponies, Trixie, claimed to have escaped from the alien's clutches, and now stood before her, after having the guards pass them through, telling the princess of the sun that this alien, whoever he was, had enslaved them and had made plans to do so with the rest of Equestria, maybe even the world. However, despite the alien's temper, as Celestia herself had seen when she first met the belligerent hulk of an alien, she still had her reasons to doubt the two's stories of horror and escape, especially after hearing them say how he single-handedly killed a hydra. So, gazing upon the two subjects after hearing their cases, Celestia took a slight breath, casting a concerned look over Gilda and Trixie, and at last spoke to them, reciting all that she had just now heard.

"So... Trixie, Gilda... You two are telling me that this alien... this, 'Arbiter', as you say he calls himself, held you both captive on threat of death..." Celesia paused for a reaction, and got a nod from both of them to affirm that her assessment was correct, allowing the princess to continue. "And that he forced you into labor, also on threat of death..?" Celestia paused once more, earning her another nod from Trixie and Gilda, and at last, Celestia continued, finally reaching what she assumed to be the punchline of this zany, unbelievable joke. "And finally, you say that he, and I quote, 'killed a hydra by himself in under a minute'? Is this the report in its entirety?" Celestia finally asked, skeptically raising an eyebrow at the two before her, but they both remained stoic, and Trixie replied to the princess bluntly, confirming their story to be true.

"He did, princess! I saw him kill all sorts of things in that forest, and we were almost next! Please, you have to believe us, that alien is a menace and needs to be arrested, or destroyed, or shipped back to his homeworld or something! Please, we wouldn't come to you directly if we weren't positive of this fact! Trixie gives her word!" Trixie pleads, tears welling up in her eyes as she begs the princess of the sun to take immediate action, and though she was skeptical, seeing the hysteric state of the showmare and her friend made Celestia's heart twinge, and deep down, she knew she had to do something. Though she didn't want to believe that their first visitor from beyond the stars was a psychopath, he certainly was capable, and never denied the claim himself, though it was never brought up in their... brief meeting. Alas, Celestia did not want to scare away the alien yet, as she knew that Luna was simply dying to meet him herself, seeing as he was a being from beyond her own night sky, and she practically viewed the alien as some kind of celebrity. On top of that, the mere thought of what kind of new sciences and culture he could teach ponykind was mind-boggling in and of itself. But when two innocents claimed to have been attacked by him, and even threatened by him, Celestia knew that action was required... but not the kind these two were hoping for. No, such a delicate matter as this required a more delicate approach in turn. So, that in mind, Celestia turned to the mare and the griffon, and at last, declared her verdict.

"I see... well, then if this Arbiter character is what you claim him to be, as in a warlord and a prideful psychopath, then I see no reason why we should not pay him a visit to confirm your story." Princess Celestia said, her voice calm and full of care, but unlike her, the two accusers were now anything but calm. In fact, the two seemed downright terrified... and not for themselves.

"W-what!? B-but Princess, you can't! He'll likely say anything to make us seem like fools! You don't know him like we do!" Trixie pleaded again, but her cries were interrupted by Princess Celestia, who continued smiling and generally maintaining a calm aura, despite the heatedness of the situation.

"Indeed, which is exactly the purpose of this trip: To get to know him better than I do now. This is also why you two are coming with me, to help further see the merit in your story." Celestia declared finally, and the two began to break out in heavy sweat as they remembered the massive elite, and how he constantly assaulted them with criticism and death threats, not to mention the fact that he was taller than Celestia herself, and could very really destroy her and them if he found the opportunity to do so. Still, despite their combined pleas against the actions Celestia was now taking, she still seemed hell-bent on meeting the alien again, even despite their last... conversation. But in her head, Celestia knew what she was doing. From her perspective, the Arbiter's anger derived from the fact that it was likely only lost, confused, and scared, likely making it seem to the two that it really was a monster. But maybe, if she was to find him again, perhaps Celestia could reach out to the alien, and maybe form some kind of understanding between him and the ponies? It was a stretch, to say the least, but after all, what kind of princess would Celestia be if she didn't try? Still, though, the two girls pleaded with her to not do this, but to no avail.

"Don't do this! He'll kill us if he sees us again!" Gilda pleaded hysterically, but despite the twinge in her heart at their fear, Celestia knew that she was doing right for all parties by doing this.

"Come now, it will not be that bad! All we'll do is find the Arbiter, talk to him, and maybe you'll learn that, deep inside, he's only..." Celestia would have finished, but as she reached the final part of her speech, the doors slammed open, and there stood a panting, concerned-looking Twilight Sparkle, accompanied by all her friends, the most notable, due to her sullen expression, being Applejack. this intusion caused a brief silence to fill the room for a moment, but it was quickly dashed by Twilight Sparkle, as she began to speak of something that made Celestia's blood run a bit colder.

"Celestia, we... we have a problem, a big one!" Twilight said, But Celestia smiled calmly at her former student, and replied in her usually calm voice.

"Is it truly so urgent, Twilight? I was just on my way to speak with the Arbiter again, hopefully on better terms, to sort something out between him and these two." Celestia said, gesturing towards Gilda and Trixie, but Twilight's face suddenly became very rigid, and after some hesitation, the lavender Alicorn slowly raised her head to Celestia, and very timidly, spoke once again, but what she had to say made Celestia's blood freeze all the way, this time.

"Ummm... yeah... see... This problem... kinda IS the alien." Twilight replied at last, and Celestia merely stood there, shocked. The problem... being the Arbiter? She had hoped it wasn't true, but if Twilight was saying this as well...

"I... what? The alien is the problem..? I'm afraid I don't understand, Twilight." Celestia replied, her every thought wanting to know more about the situation at hand. And lo and behold, Applejack stood forward, and spoke out to Celestia, confirming her fears.

"It's true, yer Majesty. Ah'm afraid that the alien yer talkin' about just up and... kicked me an' mah family right outa our farm, after dang near killin' me an' mah brother first, not to mention mah sister and her friends." Applejack explained, And Celestia, still processing what she just now heard, simply stood there, a look of fathomless shock on her face. The Arbiter... he couldn't have! What kind of lunatic would declare such aggression so brazenly, and to such innocent individuals?! The Arbiter may have been angry and giant, but he certainly couldn't be capable of doing such horrible things for no reason... could he?

"...I... I see... Well... I guess that I'll have to do something about this alien, then..." Celestia almost whispered, still half-out of it after being dropped such news as this, but before action could be decided Luna Suddenly came in, a look of utmost excitement on her face, and she was practically squealing with glee, earning the attention of Everypony in the room.

"T-Tia!!! Tia!!! Wonderful news!!!" The hyperactive princess declared, shocking Celestia out of her stupor, and at last, the princess shook her head, looking toward her bouncing sister, and she replied as calmly as she could, not wanting to break her sister's happy mood.

"What is it, Luna? Is it something urgent?" Celestia asked, and as soon as those words left her mouth, Luna's energy seemed to increase almost tenfold, and she practically shattered every glass object in the room with the sheer pitch and volume of her voice as she held up a freshly-opened envelope, holding out the letter within for all to see, and explained the situation herself, causing the floor to shake as she bounced while doing so. Goodness, Celestia had never seen Luna this excited about anything before, what made this moment so unique?

"The Arbiter! He has sent a letter to me! He is inviting us over to his new base of operations to speak with us! Oh, I just have so many questions for him!" Luna carried on, and in her absence of mind, didn't notice as the letter was taken by Celestia, who quickly read over it herself over the sound of Luna's prancing and squee-ing. Needless to say, what the princess of the sun and the Mane Six read (after using a translation spell to decipher the odd, angular runes etched onto the paper) utterly shocked and confused them to no end:

"Dearest Rulers of Equestria:

I, The Arbiter of the Prophets of the mighty Covenant, do hereby request with utmost sincerity that you both, along with your minions champions, accompany me at the apple farm to the north, the one that belongs to one of your own champions, to discuss matters of diplomacy, as well as formal and sincerest apologies to said grunt champion of yours, and any others I may have wronged during my brief arrival here. I sincerely hope that you will join me tonight for these purposes, as refreshments are available, and we have much to discuss.

With honor, Ripa 'Moramee, Arbiter."

After finishing the letter, Celestia suddenly felt a wave of mixed feelings wash over her: Confusion, relief, regret for ever doubting him, and mild disappointment that his crimes were, in fact, not fabricated. But still, the Arbiter, 'Ripa 'Moramee', as he said his name was, was willing to apologize for them, and even talk to the princesses of other things as well. This brought much joy to Celestia, but as expected, the Mane Six were rather Skeptical about the whole deal.

"Well, I think that solves that. I suppose we should accept such a gracious invitation, Hmm?" Celestia asked the Mane Six rhetorically, but still, Twilight interjected, speaking for the whole group through her words.

"I don't Know, Princess... this all seems a bit fishy. I mean, first, he looks like he wants to kill us. And now, he's offering to appologize to all of us over dinner? I'm sorry Princess, but I don't like the sound of that." Twilight said, followed by several nods and sounds of approval from her friends behind her. But, nonetheless, Celestia retained her hopes that the massive elite in question did, in fact, change, and replied to the younger princess with calm and hope in her voice.

"Oh, Twilight, have you already forgotten that lesson already, after you yourself tried to teach it to everyone?" Celestia said, earning a confused 'huh?' from Twilight, before continuing.
"You remember Zecora, do you not? How everyone thought she was evil because she was different? Well, imagine that similar scenario, but from a being who had no intention of arriving here, and was suddenly assaulted with the strangeness of a whole new world? It's not hard to see anyone not reacting similarly, Twilight, and I'm sure that, once we talk to this 'Reapa-Moraymee', it will become clear that all he needs is a friend and a willing ear to listen to him." Celestia finished her speech on a high note, causing everyone but Applejack to murmur agreeably, and at last, Twilight Sparkle replied, her voice solemn in disappointment of herself.

"Oh... uh... I guess... You're right, Celestia... I didn't really think of it that way..." Twilight said, but suddenly, she was cut short by a loud, attention-grabbing whistle, and Applejack finally stepped up, anger in her eyes and conviction in her voice as she voiced her own concerns.

"Now Hoooollllld up, ponies. Now ah don't know what the sudden change o' heart is all about with this Ripper-Moray character, but need Ah remind y'all that he almost KILLED mah whole family, and then kicked us outa' our own home? How'm ah supposed to just lie down and accept some fancy 'pology from some big, split-lipped snake who, only moments before, looked like he wanted to EAT me? Does that make a lick o' sense to any of y'all?" Applejack finished her rant, stomping her hoof down for emphasis, and the whole room went silent as thought pervaded the minds of all within. But still, despite Applejack's rant, Celestia looked to the orange cowmare, and with a smile, replied to her concerns with utmost thoughtfulness and diplomacy.

"Well, that is quite a concern there, Applejack. But we don't rightly know much about the Arbiter's race or culture, and I can only assume that, to warrant such admittedly unacceptable behavior, he must have perceived some kind of threat from your family..." Celestia explained, but was quickly interrupted by Applejack, who voiced herself quite loudly in her own counter-argument.

"What kinda' threat could two little fillies have posed to that monster?! They wasn't even a tenth his size, and he up and grabbed them like sacks o' apples, and looked ready to kill them! How do you 'splain that, Princess?" Applejack finally finished, and Celestia breathed out a calm breath of air, steadying herself, and despite Applejack's outburst, she replied as calmly as ever, still wearing that trained, diplomatic smile.

"Well, Applejack, I do not know how he would perceive such a threat, but that's why we have to talk to him first. Again, we don't know anything about him, or his kind, or even what he was involved in before now. All we can do is see, and maybe, even you will see not a monster, but just another pony with a need for as much care as the next." Celestia argued, and Applejack opened her mouth to argue, but soon found that she couldn't find a thing to say in her defense. So, with that, Applejack simply lowered her head, glaring at the floor, and grumbled her final reply.

"... Ah, fine... but Ah want mah farm back, ya hear?" Applejack grumbled, and Celestia laughed softly in response, smiling wider than before, this time in genuine joy. At last, they were going to meet this strange being, and maybe learn so much from him in the process...

"Oh, but of course, Applejack. We'll work something out, and leave no one wanting. Who knows, you might just make a new friend out of this yet!" Celestia replied at last, smiling widely as she and all in the room made way for the door to visit the elite who'd so nicely invited them to apologize, though she couldn't hear just what Applejack said next.

"Ah doubt it..." Applejack muttered grimly, and at last, the whole party, including the two reluctant accusers from before, all finally made way to Applejack's farm, where the whole ordeal would finally, hopefully, be sorted out.

Later, at the farm...

Ripa 'Moramee waited patiently as the gargantuan, wooden construct beside his seat chimed again, loudly as ever, indicating that the time was... late, he assumed, though he could not read the tiny language of these fetid beasts, even on such a gargantuan (and annoying) machine as the one that assaulted his ears once more with its incessant chiming. Still, though, he waited, meditating as he always did, somehow made easier by the rythmic, calm chime of the machine he moments before chided for being so obnoxious. But still, he waited, and meditated, for what seemed like hours. Then, just as he was beginning to give up hope, thinking that his letter had been ignored (or was unable to be read), the door suddenly resounded with the sound of one knocking on it, and Ripa 'Moramee jumped up in shock, almost hitting and flipping the table he had set the various plates and teacups on for the guests. (yes, Ripa knows how to make tea from human plants. He meditates, and he drinks tea. Deal with it.) But still, despite the near-blunder, Ripa set the table right as he got up again, just as the door knocked once more, and he finally made his way to the door, with a bit more excitement than he had intended, and quickly opened it, revealing the face of none other than the white princess herself, Celestia.

"Ah, mister 'Moramee, may we come in?" Celestia politely asked, and it was all Ripa could do not to vomit on the spot. Still, he smiled his best, toothiest grin, and stood aside, letting everyone, including two VERY familar (and possibly dead) former slaves, into the large farmhouse. And so, with a smile, Ripa beckoned the troupe in, and spoke at last, his voice coming out a bit more sinister than was his intention, though he did not notice.

"Ah, Celestia, Dearest Luna, do come in... I believe we have much to... discuss..."

Author's Note

Uh oh.

Que Admiral Ackbar, gentlemen.

9: Rivalry

The large group of ponies, plus one massive, leering sangheili, sat about the large dining table in relative silence for almost an hour, sipping away in unease at the tea the Arbiter prepared while each party thought hard on how exactly to break the silence that plagued them. Celestia sat opposite to the arbiter, who almost seemed to glare at her at some points in their silent meeting, but mostly kept his angry, predatory gaze at Trixie and Gilda, each of whom seemed to return his hateful stare with fearful gazes of their own. But at last, the silence could not be held any longer by any of them, save Ripa 'Moramee, and Celestia raised her head to speak, only to be interrupted by Applejack, who in a fit of impatience, slammed her hooves on the table, and glared angrily at the massive, heavily-built elite, who in turn returned the glare with one of his own, the fury of which caused everyone in the room to cringe in mild fear, as if the whole room would suddenly burst into flames from the arbiter's hate-filled gaze alone. But nonetheless, the orange earth pony spoke out despite the arbiter's glare, and she made sure to be loud, to remove any trace of fear in her voice.

"Alright, ya big lizard, You called us all here for some kind 'o reason, and mentioned ME specifically. Now, start explainin' yerself, before you get me angry. And trust me, you won't like me when I'm angry..." Applejack yelled at the massive, glaring sangheilli, ignoring the fact that, in his rage, absent-mindedly had crushed his teacup in his grip, causing porcelain shards to fly outwards onto the table, and invoking a quick retort from Princess Celestia, in an attempt to keep the alien calm, lest he do the same to their collective heads as he did to the unfortunate teacup he previously held so caringly.

"Applejack! Mind your manners!" Celestia tried to reprimand, but before she could finish, the arbiter raised a single hand in a gesture of silence, quieting all in the room once more, before at last speaking himself.

"No, your majesty... she speaks the truth." The Arbiter announced, and straightening his posture, the massive alien lowered his head a gesture of respect, and spoke again. "You see, your highness, I have dragged you all here, first and foremost, for a formal apology, and I intend to do just that before all else. Firstly, to the bird and pony I wrongfully held as slaves: I am sincerely sorry for how I treated you, and pray that you live out your remaining days in peace." Ripa 'Moramee said, causing Trixie and Gilda to drop their jaws in shock at what they just heard. The Arbiter... apologizing?! Absolutely unheard of! However, in their silence, Ripa took no break, and moved on to his next apology, a serious need to vomit boiling in his gut. But he hid his anger well, and to Celestia and Luna's adoration, the massive alien turned to look at the Mane Six, his eyes taking a look of sadness as he spoke; a feign, to be sure, but a very, very clever one.

"Now, Miss Sparkle, and friends, I apologize to you for our first meeting. I shouldn't have been so cross with you. I can only hope that you find it in your hearts to forgive me." Ripa 'Moramee apologized to the six, all but one of whom were absolutely shocked from the heartfelt nature of the elite's apology. However, Applejack simply scoffed at the words from the Arbiter's mouth, looking disinterestedly to the side as he spoke, to her friends' evident chagrin. Still, the Arbiter turned right to the irate cowmare, and with a look of sadness, but a malicious glint in his eyes and a trace of a smile on his lips, he spoke to her last, uttering his last, and most heartfelt apology to date.

"And at last, Miss Applejack, I most humbly apologize to you. I took your farm from you, committed violence upon your family. I do not expect to be forgiven for such treachery, but I only hope that my words and feelings of sorrow calm your heart. Please, my fair Applejack..." The Arbiter paused for dramatic effect, and continued; "Please accept my most sincerest apologies, and I pray you will understand my reasons for such an abhorrent act on my part." The Arbiter finished, causing all in the room, save the still-skeptical Applejack, to look on in shock.

"Reasons..? What reason reason could 'ya have had to try an' hurt mah sister?" Applejack accused, and the Arbiter lowered his head again, and began to implement the next stage of his perfectly evil plan.

"... I... believe it or not, my dear guests, I used to be... a soldier." The Arbiter began, his tone low and piteous, plucking at the heartstrings of five of the Mane Six and both of the Princesses.

"A soldier, you say? What manner of war did you fight, if I may ask?" Celestia asked curiously, and the Arbiter feigned a look of pain, and recited his slightly-fabricated version of the events of the war:

"Well... it all started many years ago. We, the benevolent Covenant, were on a mission of peace to spread our faith to the stars, and we'd already convinced many, many races to join us. However, our faith was quickly tested by a single race, one who'd sooner destroy our formerly-peaceful way of life than accept our way of thinking... They were the abhorrent humans, demons of no faith and infinite cruelty, and from the moment we met, they'd already prepared for war to wipe our humble religion from the galaxy." The Arbiter narrated, affixing the attention of all in the room, even Applejack, to his sordid story.

"... It started on a planet the humans called 'Harvest', when we first met these humans. They had seemed peaceful enough, and despite our caution, we extended our hands to them, offering them a place in our ranks, a place in which to worship the true gods, and to eventually achieve a place in heaven with us, through the Great Journey." Ripa 'Moramee paused, looking almost happy for a moment, before falling again into a face of sadness.
"But then, as we extended our hands, the humans then showed their true colors, and they attacked us without pity or relent, forcing us to destroy the planet they inhabited, before they destroyed us. But then, we realized that many planets were controlled by the humans, and we had just alerted them to our presence." the Arbiter concluded sadly, and when he looked around, it seemed that everyone, save Applejack, was tearing up, appalled by the human's 'treacherous' actions, and it made Ripa almost smile from sheer, malicious glee.

"Oh... we had no idea... I can only imagine what horrors you endured during that war! It must really be a burden on you..." The white pony, Rarity, Ripa believed her name to be, cried, and Ripa gave her a sad, wizened look in response, and finally spoke before anyone could put in their own two cents, to coin the human term.

"I did, my dear, I did endure much. The screams of my comrades still haunt my dreams to this day, and it makes me hate myself as an Arbiter and a soldier that I could not save them. I fear my violence may have been due to the stress of those memories." The Arbiter explained, evoking more tears from the present company, save for, of course, Applejack, who didn't seem to be buying a word of Ripa's story. The princesses, though, to the Arbiter's unending amusement, seemed to be eating it all up like good little grunts.

"Oh dear... we are so very sorry for your pain..." Celestia said, attempting to comfort the Arbiter, but he simply waived her off, responding as modestly as he could.

"It's not your fault, my dear Celestia, but the humans'. They were horrible monsters, bigger than your little ponies, and far more numerous." The Arbiter replied, and with a brief pause, he continued.

"The humans fought us at every turn in our war, destroying entire worlds, and defiling places and artifacts we held sacred, and one in particular almost killed me in single combat, using tactics most dishonorable, and even trying to shield himself with a female of his own species. And with their technology, they destroyed the very thing I had sworn to protect: A fleet of ships, our last hope for finally stopping the humans once and for all." The Arbiter finally explained, causing several ponies, still save one, to give their sincere condolences, most notable being Luna herself.

"Oh, dear! We... we had no idea you were under such duress... how ever did you survive, Arbiter?" Luna asked, her voice shaky with sorrow for the 'poor' elite and his 'slightly abridged' story. However, before he could respond, Applejack piped up, to the ire of the massive sangheilli, and retorted a copy of Luna's question, but with a darker tone.

"Yeah, ya split-lipped liar, how DID you survive that 'horrible' moment?" Applejack asked, and with a deep breath, to keep himself from simply disposing of everyone in the room, Ripa 'Moramee replied in kind, as calmly as he could muster toward the inferior pony he was now sneaking baleful glares at.

"Please, Luna, you may call me Ripa. I am no longer an Arbiter, seeing as I have no one to serve. As for how I survived, I do not know that. I assume there was a malfunction in the humans' own makeshift bomb, and instead of destroying me, it simply transported me here, to an unknown planet, to eke out my life in lonely exile, forever separated from my gods, prophets, and fellow worshippers of the great journey... a terrible, cruel fate, to be sure." The elite explained, 'forgetting' to mention his meeting with the odd deity known as Sheogorath, for obvious reasons. Still, despite his withholding of that information, his sob-story had the same desired effect: all the ponies (and one griffon) in the room, still except one orange nuisance, were on the verge of tears, and definitely under Ripa's complete, unbreakable control. Suddenly, from the mass of empathy, Applejack's voice rang out again, to dish out one last, unforeseen argument, to which Ripa could only sit and listen, silently cursing himself for not killing her when he had the chance.

"Alright, you big lizard, you're story's sad an' all that, I get it. But you went and left one thing out of your little fairy tale: Ya said these 'humans' are bigger than ponies, right? then how'dya explain yer grabbing an' threatening mah sister like that? 'Cuz as far as Ah can tell, she wasn't even as tall as yer ankles, let alone bigger than ME, an' you was treating her like you was about ta KILL her. How do ya plead to THAT, mister 'Ah'm-so-sad-'cuz-I'm-the-victim-here'?" Applejack objected, and though her friends looked at her with stern glares, they group said nothing, eager to hear the Elite's explanation of that odd moment in their meeting. However, the Arbiter was so sly and so slick, he thought up a lie, and he thought up one quick. So, maintaining an air of absolute control, Ripa looked to Applejack with a stern, but saddened look, and began part two of his story, surely the last he would have to say to this inbred peasant.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand my reasons, Applejack, but you must understand, it was surely justified. Yes, she was nothing like the humans in any sense of the word. However, she was akin to another threat, one that even the humans feared before I arrived here, and a menace that still haunts my dreams to this day. The menace I speak of... was none other than... the flood." The Arbiter explained, a face of pain and distance upon him, and Celestia blinked once, looking upon the elite in confusion, before asking him the million-dollar question.

"The... flood? What is that?" Celestia asked, and without a moment's pause, The Arbiter set upon his explanation, using wordcraft and voice to set the perfect atmosphere for his description of what could only be the single most disgusting, horrifying, blasphemous plague since the humans.

"The flood..." The Arbiter began, "Is a plague, a parasite like none other, a monstrous abomination with only one desire amongst the millions of tiny, beastly minds that form its conglomerate; to assimilate and devour all life in the known universe. The flood have varied forms that they employ upon their victims, but one form alone stood as the base for all others; the infection forms. They were small, yes, much like your sister, but had little regard for personal safety, and the inextinguishable desire to infest and destroy any they would latch their filthy, diseased appendages to." The Arbiter paused, saving a moment to catch his breath, and then he continued.

"As I said, though your sister may bear little resemblance to the parasite appearance-wise, I have seen far too many soldiers, both my own and human, infected and transformed into grotesque, rotting, corpse-like beasts by these abominations, and when your small, pale sister ran at me at such speed and with such abandon... I'm sorry, but I can only be thankful that you came when you did; only the gods know what might've happened if you hadn't." The Arbiter finished, and then, silence filled the room, even Applejack was too stunned to come up with any reaction to her verbal comeuppance by the massive, thuggish-looking elite. Finally, though, Celestia managed to find her voice, and with as much poise and grace as she could muster after hearing of such an aberration as The Flood, she stood up, and spoke at last, feeling utmost empathy and respect for the massive, sad elite.

"So... it is explained, then. Dear Arbiter... you must be so brave, as to have faced these awful things. The humans... the Flood... Even I doubt that my own willpower would have held up against such horrifying odds, against such terrible foes as what you have faced..." Celestia paused, taking a moment to collect herself, and at last, continued.

"I doubt that any apology from us would suffice in healing you of all those nightmares you must endure every single night... So, as the ultimate reparations for your pain, My sister and I have decided to let you stay with us in the castle for as long as you need, and we will give you any aid you would require from us, if it helps to cure you of your past as a soldier. What say you, most noble Ripa 'Moramee? Will you accept our friendship, in hopes of a better, more peaceful life?" Celestia finished, with Luna earnestly nodding in approval, and almost immediately, Applejack leaped up from her seat, and began to place her own input on the Princess' seemingly hasty decision.

"W-what!? Ya can't be serious! Ah understand he's got a sad story an' all, but he's a TRAINED KILLER, and no ammount o' 'friendship' is gonna change that one bit! Besides, Ah KNOW that he's lyin'! Snakes can shed their skin all they want, but that won't change the fact they still got venom! He doesn't need to be near a city in general, much less near you two!" Applejack pleaded, but Celestia raised her hoof, a look of peacefulness on her face, and she replied, letting the Arbiter cool down after the cowmare just accused him so brazenly.

"Applejack, I know that you do not trust the Arbiter, and you have every right not to. But really, if he wanted to kill us, he would have done so while we were in arm's reach of him, correct? Besides that, My sister and I are more than capable of defending ourselves from an attack from one soldier, as capable as he has proven himself to be. Besides, why would you still hate him, after all he has done to apologize to you?" Celestia asked, causing Applejack to seize up mid-argument, and forcing the arbiter to hold back a broad, hearty grin with the best of his abilities. The poor, gullible princess... how little she knew of what truly was going on, under her own nose, much less. Finally catching her words again, Applejack replied hastily, quickly killing Ripa's good mood with her idiotic southern drawl and girlish, pretentious voice.

"Have you been seein' the looks that dinosaur's been givin' me!? Half the times he looks at me he's got some glare, smile, leer, or some other combination of the three on his ugly mug, and that's when he ain't suckin' up to YOU all! How can y'all even THINK of trusting that big, ugly, lyin' brutish pile o' scales and muscles!?" Applejack yelled at the group, and with a bang, Celestia stood up, rising to her full height, to glare at the impudent cowmare with a look that likely would have killed her, if she hadn't been expecting it.

"Applejack! That is FAR out of line, especially from you! This extraterrestrial being has endured a WAR before he got here, fought on not one, but TWO fronts, and has endured horrors you would likely never see in your lifetime!" Celestia scolded, causing Applejack to shrink away from the princess's stare in discomfort, and to back the princess up, Twilight looked over to her friend, and spoke her mind.

"The princess is right, Applejack. I expected a little more tolerance from you; even if the alien is a bit... unnerving, he deserves the same amount of respect as any other Equestrian." Twilight chided, quickly followed by a remark from Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, the dude fought in a war, for cryin' out loud! give the veteran some respect, would ya?" the cyan pegasus said, causing Applejack's face to turn red under the scrutiny of all in the room, most notably Ripa himself, who seemed to be grinning a full-blown, predatory smile, like a colt who just passed the blame of stealing cookies from the jar onto his little sister, causing her blood to practically boil. Still Applejack sat in silence, saying nothing as the Princesses and the others scrutinized her, and before long, Celestia spoke again, her voice demanding and full of authority, almost impossible for Applejack to not heed and obey.

"Applejack, you will apologize to this poor being right now, for insulting him after he was forced to endure so much already!" Celestia commanded, further reddening Applejack's face in both restraint and embarrassment, and widening the Arbiter's smile, which he quickly dispelled once all eyes were on him. Still, with ill concealed contempt and resentment, Applejack took a deep breath, looking at the Arbiter with obvious anger and hate, right into his orange, snake-like eyes, and with a noticeable shake, she slowly apologized to the victorious elite, who was trying his hardest not to burst out into a victory laugh.

"... Aaahhhhm... Sssssorrrry... Fer accusin' you of lyin'..." Applejack hissed, looking hatefully into the Arbiter's murderous eyes, and with utmost calm, and a hint of sadness, Ripa looked up at the orange mare, and replied.

"I understand how hard this must be for you, my friend, and you are forgiven. After all... You have every reason to distrust me, do you not?" Ripa at last said, finishing his sentence with a trace of a smile, just enough that only Applejack could see it. And oh boy, she did. But still, Celestia smiled at the supposed burying of the hatchet, and Luna, with cheer in her voice, spoke up.

"Glorious! Well, since all that is cleared up, let us retire to Canterlot, to show our new guest his boarding for the night, hmm?" Luna piped, concealing the fact that she was far more eager to spend the night pestering Ripa with questions of his culture and home than actually let him sleep. However, as everyone got up to leave, Applejack spoke up, her tone not exactly pleasant, but at least devoid of the hatred it practically dripped with earlier.

"How 'bout ya'll head outside a bit? I got somethin' else I need to say to the Arbiter here in private." Applejack requested, but Celestia looked at the earth pony curiously, unwilling to leave the susceptible alien veteran with the clearly judgmental cowmare.

"Um, Applejack, I think..." Suddenly, Celestia was cut off mid-sentence by Ripa himself, who raised a hand to silence her, and spoke to ease her mind.

"It is alright, princess, I will be outside in only a moment." The Arbiter said, his voice calm, if a bit smug, though Celestia did not notice, and with a shrug, she and the others exited the farmhouse, leaving the elite and the earth pony alone, practically glaring daggers, guns, and nuclear warheads at eachother in silence, until Applejack, at last, spoke up, her hate-filled voice dripping with venom.

"Well, it looks like ya got everyone there fooled, but let me tell you somethin', you ugly son of a crocodile, you ain't got me or mah family fooled one bit. We already seen yer true colors already, ya beast, and I'll be waitin' for you to slip, just so I can watch you fall. You hear?" Applejack spat, causing the Arbiter to glare at her, though his glare quickly turned into a leering smile, and he brought his face close to Applejack's in a ill-concealed gesture of intimidation, and at last, spoke, his hot, musty breath filling Applejack's nose with each baleful, growling word he spoke.

"I would hear you... if only I could understand why you resist me still, and with so much earnest. It's over, inbred peasant, you lost. The princesses are wrapped around my finger, like the good little grunts they are. You are powerless to stop me, and if you try, gods help me I will not hesitate to lock you in my room, and bleed you every day and every night to spice my food with your vital essence and tears until you die of blood loss, malnutrition, and a broken heart." The Arbiter threatened, taking a quick breath before continuing.

"...And do you wish to know something else, scum? Before you ask, your princesses, your friends, and even your own family will not question your disappearance, because I have their hearts and minds in the palm of my hand, and whether they know it or not, in a few years or more, I will control this whole kingdom right from under their noses. You may THINK that you are a threat to me, little mammal, but to me, you are no more than a game, one that I will play with until bored, then throw away. Do YOU hear ME, pony?" The Arbiter finished his elaborate threat with a smile and puff of breath from his nostrils, and Applejack took a step back, undeterred, but no less unnerved at the Arbiter's absolute disregard for life and empathy, and replied with all the courage she could muster.

"I ain't scared o' you, split-lip. you wanna play, jerk? Then let the games begin." Applejack retorted, and The Arbiter stood back up, reaching his full height, and with a slight 'humph', he looked away from the earth pony mare, a calm look etched on his face, and after a brief pause, he replied.

"Indeed. I look forward to our next meeting, Applejack." Ripa spat, and without another word, the massive elite walked out the door, slamming it behind him, leaving Applejack alone, with only her thoughts for company... as well as her newfound fear of the Arbiter.