Out of Time

Chapters

Paradox
Strings
Champions
Break
Change
Tide
Hunter
The First Boss
Flesh and Blood
Time Out
Ripple
Changeling
Familiar
Desolate
Hope
Power
The King
Super Saiyan
The Nightmare
A Different Plan of Attack
War on Time
Duty
Villain
The True Timeline
Story Time
Shattered Timeline
What Needed to be Done
Eternity
The End of Time
Cheating the System
Undone
Next Mission
Repeat
Where It All Went Wrong

Paradox

The stars shined down from where they were hung in the heavens, providing a source of light for those upon the planet beneath them in the absence of the moon. A quiet had finally settled over the land as all that ran, snarled and fought during the day had laid their heads down to sleep. The land of magic and harmony was, for a time, at peace.

But then, almost as if to make a mockery at the attempt at quiet, a vortex of energy erupted in the center of a field empty of anything aside from flowers. The light from the vortex of energy dwarfed the light of the stars, while the power and energy generated from the vortex ripped the flowers from their spots and scattered them to the winds.

Yet as soon as the tempest of energy had begun, it was silenced and peace reigned supreme once more. Only this time the field of flowers was not as empty as it had been moments before. Upon the spot of land that had been made barren by the vortex of energy stood a lone figure, one that was both alien and bizarre. In a land of mostly ponies, dragons and other creatures of myth, this two legged being did not belong.

The being stood tall and silent, gazing over the still land with narrowed eyes, on the lookout for anything that would might provide a problem. The winds blew over him and tried to chill his body, but the long, black coat he wore kept the cold at bay, while the fur near the collar provided extra warmth. He began to walk forward, his orange boots crushing the flowers underfoot, yet he barely paid any mind to the foliage he was stepping on. One of his arms was bent over his shoulder and his hand gripped the hilt of a sword that was sheathed upon his back. His other hand was holding a small, beeping device in front of him, a device that scanned the area around him.

Realizing that it could not chill his body, the wind blew once more this time through the young man's blue-purple hair. The breeze caused the man to lift his eyes from his device and look towards the stars and their constellations, none of which he could recognize. And for him, that was a good thing.

"Alright, teleportation was a success," he muttered to himself as he glanced back down at the device he held in his hand. It pointed towards the north and every few seconds gave off a small beep. The man turned towards the east and waited for a moment to hear the device beep. Once it did, he turned towards the south and repeated the procedure. It was only when he turned towards the west that the device began to beep rapidly, telling him that the Kai had been right. Time had been messed with in this land. And whoever had messed with it had not repaired it properly.

'She was right once again,' the man thought to himself, letting out a sigh of disappointment. 'Would it kill her to be wrong about time spiraling out of control every once in a while?' he asked as he thought back to his discussion with the Supreme Kai of Time.

( * )

"Bout time you showed up Trunks," a small, purple woman with pinkish hair yelled up at a man with blue-purple hair, who had just entered into a room filled with scrolls. Trunks quickly glanced around the room to look for what the problem was, but to the Time Patrollers surprise, there wasn't a single scroll covered in darkness to be seen. "You know, for someone who's a member of the Time Patrollers, you're often very late."

"What's the problem? From the way you were screaming for me it sounded like time as we know it was about to come to an end," Trunks asked the Kai, taking in a few deep breaths to steady his heartbeat. "So what's the problem in the timeline this time? Goku turned evil? Vegeta landing on Earth instead of Goku? Majin Buu ate Beerus?"

"None of those. In fact, the past and future of your world is fairly safe at the moment," the Supreme Kai told him.

"Then what's the problem?"

"We've discovered a temporal anomaly in the universe. In the current universe," Kai replied, getting Trunk's eyes to widen with shock. She snapped her fingers and a map of the universe appeared in front of the both of them, before it zoomed in a small section of the universe that was far out of the way of anything. "This is where it's radiating from. This planet called...Equestria."

"There have been numerous temporal distortions and all within a short period of time. Almost like someone was breaking time repeatedly and only put it back together with scotch tape," the Kai informed Trunks. "And that can lead to paradoxes in the time stream, people vanishing from the timeline and all other sorts of problems. It can even affect your world if the timestream isn't properly corrected. Hence, where you come in."

"Okay, that sounds like a problem, but why do you need me for it?" Trunks asked. "Mai and I are busy trying to repair the future where Cell killed me and turn it into a world that can be at peace again. Aren't there other Time Patrollers that can handle this?"

For a moment the Supreme Kai adverted her eyes and instantly Trunks realized there was more that she was not telling him. When the two locked eyes again, she let out a sigh and brought up the images of three other Time Patrollers.

"I thought the same way as you. That's why I sent these three before hand. And all of them were killed," Kai revealed to Trunks, who narrowed his eyes. "When the first was killed, I sent the second. He was the strongest of the three. When he died I sent the third, whose powers are supposed to be able to handle any threat. He was killed as well. So now I'm sending you. Our strongest Time Patroller."

"Find out what's causing the temporal collapse. Fix the timeline no matter the cost. And find out who is killing the Time Patrollers," Supreme Kai of Time instructed to Trunks, who nodded before he turned to leave. "And Trunks...be careful. There is something about this place that feels...different. Like there's something there that doesn't belong."

"Don't worry, I've dealt with plenty of things that shouldn't have been. What's one more?"

( * )

As the sun began to rise over the horizon, Trunks had taken to the air to begin his search for where the timestream had been damaged. Following the beeps of the device the Supreme Kai of Time had given him, Trunks sailed across the sky with the wind in his hair. As he had to wait every once in a while for the device to lock onto the source of the time anomaly, he would take that time to enjoy the landscape.

"Gotta admit, this place is a lot nicer than most of the time periods I end up at," Trunks said aloud as he came to a stop high above the lands, gazing down at the world below him. Equestria, as it was called, was filled with trees, grass and foliage, but what drew Trunks full attention was the bizarre and strange lifeforms that he could see from above.

Wolves with skin made of bark prowled through the underbrush, hunting on little creatures that Trunks didn't completely recognize. A five headed hydra stomped through a mudpit in the east, roaring every once in a while to make out it's territory. And even a manticore had flown up to examine Trunks, but after the two studied each other the beast had decided that he wasn't worth the trouble.

The device let out a beep to let Trunks know that it had locked onto the disturbance once more and a moment later Trunks was rocketing across the sky, closing in on his destination. Yet while he flew he couldn't help but think about the three other Time Patrol members that had been terminated while exploring this world. According to the Supreme Kai of Time, the local inhabitants on this world were mostly peaceful. There were a few villains, as with every world, but only one of them came close to the power that Trunks was used to fighting and, according to Yenma, he was trapped in the underworld.

'So who could be responsible for their deaths?' Trunks asked himself as he flew. 'And why, if they're so strong, can't I feel their power? They would have no idea I was coming, so their power level wouldn't be hidden. Or maybe they're something that I've never faced before, like a being that doesn't have a power level like what I'm used to.'

Trunks train of thought came to a halt when he spied a small town resting below him. The device that he held in his hands began to beep like crazy, informing him that he had found the place he was looking for. But instead of finding a place filled with paradoxes and some sort of monster that he was ready to fight to the death, all he found were ponies. Ponies of a magnitude of colors and sizes and shapes. Some had wings, some had horns and others were just basic, but from above it looked like they had all been painted with a rainbow.

"Heh, talking, magical horses. She was right once again," Trunks said with a smile as he pocketed the device. "This is clearly the place, so I guess now I just have to start asking around. Okay, how should I do this? Don't want to suddenly show up and terrify them. That won't help anyone. Should I walk into town and greet them? Or maybe it would be best to meet with a leader of there's and try to explain myself?"

"I believe the second option to be the better once."

Trunks glanced over his shoulder to see a pony floating on a cloud next to him. The pony had both a horn and a set of wings, but her entire body was painted like the night sky. She had a large, crescent moon on her flank and an interested look in her eyes, one that Trunks shared.

"Hello there, strange, flying human. I am princess Luna, one of the rulers that you were thinking about meeting," Luna introduced herself with a small yawn. "I will admit, when I heard a voice talking and waking me from my nap upon this soft cloud I had expected it to be some rude pony. I was not expecting a human that can fly."

"Well, you're mostly right. My name is Trunks and I am here on a mission from...a far away place," Trunks introduced, not sure how much information he should reveal to the princess. "I'm here because-"

"You are investigating the deaths and disappearances of those that came before you, are you not?" Luna butt in, getting Trunks eyes to widen. "Yes, you are not the first alien we have had in this land. Berts was the first to arrive. We were wary at first, but over time he became a good friend of ours. Then he was killed."

"I am sorry. I didn't know that you were friends with him. He was one of us," Trunks said with a sigh.

"Then the other two appeared, each of them telling us that they were here to avenge their friend. Neither of them succeeded," Luna replied before she pointed her hoof down below. Trunks followed her gaze to see a giant palace made of crystal. "That is where Princess Twilight lives. She has been collecting information on both the time distortions and those that have been struck down. She will have then information that you seek."

"I see. Thank you," Trunks said before he turned to fly away.

"And Trunks? A word of warning," Luna said to Trunks, who turned around to face her. "Whoever is striking down your comrades is clearing trying to hide something. Watch your back."

With that word of warning, Luna rolled over and went back to sleep on her cloud. Trunks didn't know what he found stranger: how she wasn't at all surprised about him or the fact that the ponies of the land were aware of what was going on as well. But with no other leads at the moment, Trunks angled himself towards the crystal tree and took off.

Strings

Trunks had only tapped his knuckles against the door to the crystal tree before the doors were opened to him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise for a moment before he entered into the giant castle. Everything in the castle was made of the crystal that made up the exterior, from the furniture to the columns. Everything except for a purple alicorn that stood in the center of the main hallway, looking him over.

"Hello there. I am Princess Twilight, princess of friendship," Twilight introduced herself to Trunks with a small bow. "You must be another member of the Time Patrol."

"That's right. My name is Trunks and I'm here to both find out what happened to my comrades and to investigate the reasoning behind the fracture in the time stream in your world," Trunks informed Twilight, who tilted her head slightly at his last statement.

"I figured that another Time Patroller would show up after what happened to the first three, but as for the time stream being damaged, I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," Twilight said with a shake of her head, before she turned and motioned for Trunks to follow her. "Come with me please. I'm sure we both have questions for each other, but they will be easier to answer if I have all of my information with me. This way."

Trunks followed the purple alicorn through her crystal castle, occasionally looking around at the place while being moderately impressed with it. Twilight remained silent during the time they walked, but Trunks could tell that she was deeply lost in thought. He'd spent most of his life around a genius to tell when they were processing thoughts that he couldn't even fathom.

The thought of his mother made Trunks grit his teeth and clench his hands. How she had practically raised him by herself. How she had been the one to give him the chance to save his and many other timelines. How he had run for his life while his greatest foe destroyed her. It was a feeling that he would never forgot.

"Um, could you stop that?"

Twilight's words broke Trunks free of his thoughts, allowing him to see that the castle was shaking slightly and a golden aura was surrounding him. Trunks quickly regained control of himself and the power subsided, yet Twilight's face showed that she hadn't been expecting that level of power from him.

"Sorry about that. Are we there?" Trunks asked Twilight, who nodded gingerly before opening a reinforced crystal door. The door revealed a very long flight of stairs that spiraled down into darkness, one that Trunks couldn't see the bottom of. Twilight illuminated her horn to provide some light for the both of them, before both she and Trunks descended down into the depths of her castle. "You sure seem to be taking this whole flying, alien in your world pretty well."

"Well this would be a lot weirder if you were the first alien that we had met in the past six months," Twilight replied with a dry smile. "Berts was the first, however, and we reacted to him probably how you thought we'd react to you. We chased him, fought with him for a bit, but then we got to know more about him and he became a good friend of ours."

"Was he the one that told you about the Time Patrol?"

"Yep. But when he was here he said that he couldn't find any traces of our timeline being...fractured, as you put it," Twilight told Trunks. The Saiyan warrior narrowed his eyes at that statement, but didn't say anything. "He did tell us about what it was like working for the Time Patrol and even a little bit about you, saying that you are one of their greatest warriors."

"I suppose."

"But then one day...he was gone. All we found was his body," Twilight said in a calm voice, but Trunks could hear the hints of pain beneath her calm. "We don't know how it happened or even who could have done such a horrible thing. All we know is that he was gone...we're here."

Twilight pressed a switch on the wall and a moment later brilliant lights filled a small, but compacted room. Once he became accustom to the light, Trunks could see dozens of stacks of paper piled high, while on the wall was a huge chart with numerous strings connecting images to different things. One of the images was the green and purple warrior that had once been Berts. The other images were of the other two Time Patrollers that had been sent in after him.

"You've been keeping a detailed record of what's been going on, I see," Trunks muttered as he approached the board.

"How could I not? Somepony killed a good friend of mine and then killed two more beings that were friends with Berts. All in my land without me being able to do anything," Twilight replied with a fire in her voice. "I couldn't save Berts. I couldn't stop his two allies from being struck down. I'm supposed to be one of the greatest defenders of this world, but I couldn't do anything to save them. But I will do everything I can to avenge them."

"It's probably for the best that you haven't come face to face with the being that killed the three of them," Trunks told Twilight, who turned to give Trunks a look of simmer anger. "While Berts was by no means our best fighter, he was strong. The two that were sent after him were incredibly strong. And all of them are dead. If you had fought someone with that kind of strength, I fear it would just mean a fourth being claimed by this foe."

"Brute strength isn't everything," Twilight warned Trunks as her horn began to glow, getting Trunks to raise an eyebrow at her. "Have you ever fought a magic user before? Somepony who can stop your every movement? Somepony who can cause you to be trapped within a hallucination for eternity? Or how about just teleport you to the center of the sun if they want to be quick about it? They are the most dangerous kind of foe."

Trunks thought about what she said for a moment. Aside from Babidi, he really hadn't fought anyone that used magic. "While you may have a point about me being inexperienced against magic, it wasn't magic that killed the three. A...friend of ours confirmed that. They were struck down violently."

"That is something we can both agree on," Twilight said with a nod. Her horn glowed once more and a moment later images of the bodies of the three flew over to Trunks. He snatched them from the air and looked over the pictures, a grimace escaping his lips as he gazed upon what remained of his comrades.

"Bludgeoned to a pulp, incinerated to the point that we almost couldn't recognize him and ripped apart. All without a trace of magic on them," Twilight told Trunks when he handed her back the pictures. "You ever face a foe that could do those kinds of things to somepony?"

"Where would I begin? There are hundreds of evils that would strike them down without a second thought. But there's something that really confuses me about all of this," Trunks said as he glanced at the board once more. "Not a single pony casualty, if this board of yours is correct. Not one of the evils I know of would spare your lives and only go after the Time Patrol. They would wipe out or enslave all of you. But they haven't."

"Which means that this is either somepony new for you or a foe of ours," Twilight finished for Trunks. Her horn illuminated once more and another string was added to the board. Twilight then pulled up a camera and snapped a picture of Trunks, before adding his photo to the board as well. "Great, just what Equestria needed. Another madpony who has motivations that don't make any sense. Why can't we just have to deal with one world ending threat in our lives? Why do we get multiple?"

"Tell me about it. I've dealt with at least three world enders and two that tried to wipe out all of reality," Trunks added on with a shake of his head.

"Really? Did they spew nonsense about some grand plan and how much better they were than everypony else?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

The sound of hooves on the stairs turned Twilight and Trunks attention to the staircase, where they spied a pony walking down the stairs towards them. She had a grayish pink coat with a purple mane, with had a turquoise streak running through it. Unlike Twilight, this pony was a simple unicorn.

"Trunks, this is Starlight Glimmer, my student," Twilight introduced to Trunks as the unicorn came to a halt in front of the pair. "Starlight, this is Trunks. He's the newest, and apparently one of the strongest, Time Patrollers that Berts worked with. He's here to help us find out what happened to our friend."

"Nice to meet you Trunks," Starlight said as she extended her hoof. Trunks smiled down and her and grabbed her hoof to shake it, but the moment he did so a flash of light went off in his mind. For a brief moment he saw a world ravaged by war and filled with the bodies of the fallen, before realty ensued and he was back with Twilight and Starlight a moment later.

"You alright?" Twilight asked Trunks. "Kinda zoned out there for a second."

"I'm fine. Must not be used to this planet yet," Trunks said with a smirk, but out of the corner of his eye he was looking carefully at Starlight. To his surprise, the look she was giving him seemed very similar to the once that he was giving her. Almost as if they had both seen something.

"Starlight Glimmer here may be my student, but I'm only teaching her about friendship. However, in all of Equestria you won't find another pony that knows more about time and time travel," Twilight continued on and this time Trunks paid far more attention. "I've asked her to look into these time problems that the Time Patrollers keep saying we have, but..."

"I'm sorry Princess, but I've been unable to locate anything that even remotely resembles a paradox or a tear in time," Starlight said with a bow of her head. "I've found places where time seems to be moving...differently, but nothing that indicates a fracturing in our time line."

"I see. Please keep looking," Twilight instructed her student before the princess turned her gaze back towards Trunks. "I ask that you come with me. I wish to introduce you to the rest of the defenders of this world as well as the other princesses. Ever since the death of Berts we've all been working closely together to try to figure out what is going on. I'd appreciate it if you would meet them."

"Of course I will," Trunks agreed. Twilight nodded with gratitude and she started to ascend the stairs, but then Trunks looked to the side. "I will be with you in a moment, Princess. I want to look at the board and commit it to my memory, if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course not," Twilight said with a smile before she continued up the stairs. Trunks waited until she was completely out of earshot before he turned back to Starlight, who was looking up at him with eyes filled with curiosity.

"So what is it that you're hiding from Twilight?" Trunks asked her.

"Something that I'm not sure of myself," Starlight replied in a whisper. "I don't have any real evidence yet, but...I fear that there is more going on than simple murders. There's more going on here than meets the eyes. Just like you and how you aren't connected to a single timeline. Like me."

Trunks narrowed his eyes at her words, but then he heard Twilight call down for him. Starlight and Trunks shared one last look before Trunks flew towards where the princess waited, having plenty of new things to think about.

Champions

Twilight's friends weren't that far from the castle. A short flight to an open field filled with flowers was all it took for Trunks to meet the Ambassadors of Harmony. Along the way Twilight gave Trunks cliff note versions of who each of them was and what they could do, but he barely heard a word that she said. His mind was back in the castle and with Starlight, the closest thing to a clue he had found in his brief time in Equestria.

'There is something wrong with the time stream here and she knows something. Or at the very least she suspects,' Trunks mused to himself, before catching Twilight waving to him out of the corner of his eye. She motioned to down below and a moment later the both of them descended into the field of flowers. Trunks barely had time to touch down before a pink pony with a cotton candy mane was in his face.

"Hiya, new Time Patrol friend! My name is Pinkie Pie! It's so nice to meet you!" the pink pony exclaimed with mirth in every word.

"Um, hiya. Would you mind backing up a bit?" Trunks asked as he tried to pull Pinkies legs off from around him. In a blink she was back alongside her friends, who were all looking up at Trunks with interest, but there were hints of rage and sorrow within their eyes as well. 'These ponies were friends to the other Time Patrollers. And now they're suffering.'

"Trunks, these are my friends and fellow heroes of this world. Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity," Twilight went down the line, each of the respective pony's waving or nodding when their name was called. "They've helped me save the world time and time again and each of them has a personal stake in whatever is going on. I figured that you would want to meet them before we start anything."

"Howdy partner," Applejack introduced, tipping her hat to Trunks. "I'd ask if ya were ready for trouble, but judging from that sword on yer back ah can see that ya came prepared."

"Pleasure is all mine, darling. I must say that is a very nice coat and I would ask where you got it, but it's probably from another dimension all together," Rarity said with a polite bow.

"Hi. Nice to meet you," Fluttershy said meekly.

"So you're the famous Trunks that Berts told us so much about. Apparently you're one of the best warriors in the whole Patrol," Rainbow Dash said with a cocky, but not unfriendly, smile. "How about we go a few rounds some time? I've been wanting to test my might against one of the best."

"Do you like parties? What the best party you've ever had?" Pinkie asked.

"I've never had one. At least, not one that I can remember being enjoyable."

The look of horror on Pinkie's face was enough to tell Trunks to take the conversation somewhere else.

"it's a pleasure to meet all of you, but is this really the best that your world has to offer in terms of protection?" Trunks asked the princess. He felt a wave of insulted looks wash over him and he held up his hands defensively a moment later. "I don't mean that I doubt your heroic abilities, but if the foe we're going up against turns out to be really dangerous, then I want the best fighters that your world has backing us up."

"Well, there is my roomie Discord," Flutershy muttered. "Let's see, last I saw of him he was searching the chaotic pathways that link every world and reality together. I don't think that he's found anything, but he's a being that can warp reality and is pure chaos."

"So a god. Okay, that's better. Anyone else?"

"Princesses Celestia and Luna are two of the strongest magic users in the land and each move the sun and moon respectively. I think that the both of them would be incredibly useful in a fight...if they don't get captured first like all the other times," Twilight said, muttering the last part under her breath so that Trunks couldn't hear.

"Moon and sun movers? That is impressive, even by my standards," Trunks said with a nod, starting to like the odds more.

"How about you Mr. Trunks?" AJ asked. "What can ya do?"

"Just Trunks is fine. If you've met the other Time Patrollers, then you've got a general idea of what I can do. I can manipulate my ki to fly and shoot energy attacks, but I'm also a fairly skilled swordsman and martial artist," Trunks replied. The ponies seemed impressed at his words, while Rainbow seemed to look forward to the challenge he would pose. "Just take what you've seen the others do and crank it up to eleven. But I'm not sure that my skills will be enough to stop this foe. I hope they are."

"Why do you say that Trunks?" Twilight asked.

"Because out of the last three world ending threats I fought, I was only able to handle one of them by myself. A wizard named Babidi. The others I needed backup for," Trunks admitted.

"You know, that's not exactly the best thing to say to keep our spirits up," Fluttershy said with a small laugh. "Especially since we constantly heard about how good you are."

"I'm being realistic. I don't...want you all to put too much of your faith in me. I never seem to be able to live up to those standards," Trunks muttered to himself before glancing back at Twilight. "Alright, now that the gangs all here, what's our first move?"

"You don't want to take point on this investigation?" Twilight asked with some surprise. "I thought since you lost your comrades that you would be the one who wanted to bring this foe to justice."

"Oh I do, but this is your world, so for now I'll play by your rules. Not to mention," Trunks began, looking into each of the eyes of the ponies closely. Able to still see the hurt and loss that came with the death of their friends from another world. "I may have lost comrades, but you all lost good friends. And I know that pain well. You all can take point here. Just consider me the muscle for now."

"Alright, we can go with that for now," Twilight said. Her horn lit up a moment later and she used her magical power to create a platform of violet light, one which AJ, Pinkie and Rarity walked onto. Fluttershy and Dash took to the air and hovered over their friends, all of who looked to Twilight for instructions. "The first thing we're going to do is investigate the area where the third Time Patroller went missing. That was a week ago and we believed that we found everything that the crime scene had to show us, but perhaps with a ki expert here you might be able to find something that we missed. You ready Trunks?"

Yet Trunks hadn't heard a word that Twilight had said. His gaze was locked onto something else. Something that didn't belong. Or rather, somepony that didn't belong. Lay off to the side about fifty yards away was a gray pony wearing a suit of armor, which was stained red with his own blood. Trunks could barely make out the insignia of an alicorn silhouetted against the sun on his armor, which reminded Trunks of a military insignia. The pony had a dagger sticking out of his back and his breathing was ragged, telling Trunks he was dying. Yet Trunks didn't rush over to help him. Because the pony wasn't there.

Or rather, all of Trunks senses told him that there was nopony there. He couldn't sense any ki, the pony, who opened his mouth a few times to cry out, was silent. And despite all the blood that he was losing from the knife wound, the flowers beneath him were every color except red. It was like he was there...but also wasn't.

Then the pony looked over to Trunks and their eyes locked, telling Trunks that this pony was indeed existing, even if he couldn't sense him. Yet the brief moment of awareness of each other passed and the pony flickered out of existence, leaving the flowers as still and undisturbed as they had been moments before. Trunks blinked a few times, trying to process what he had just seen, before Twilight nudged him with her wing.

"Um, Trunks? Are you doing alright?" Twilight asked Trunks. "Sorry if you're not acclimated to our world yet, it is possible that all of the magic in our world is messing with you a little bit. I know it took Berts a few days to properly adjust to-"

"Hey Twilight, does your princesses have an army with her insignia on it?" Trunks cut her off.

"An army? No, we have the Royal Guard, but we haven't had an army in Equestria for at least five hundred years. Why, did you see something?"

"...No, it must have been the magic in the air messing with my mind," Trunks said with a shrug. He then shook his head, ran his fingers over his face and then smiled down at Twilight. "Forget about it. Come on, let's go to where you said the Time Patroller was found. I'm curious to see if I can find anything."

Twilight nodded and flapped her wings, ascending into the sky while carrying her less flight inclined friends with her. Rainbow took off after Twilight and so did Fluttershy, though at a slower pace, leaving Trunks alone in the flower field. The moment the ponies were gone his face set with the same angry expression that he inherited from his father, before he turned his gaze back towards the spot where the pony had lay.

'That was no illusion and that was not magic messing with my mind. But there wasn't an actual pony laying there. I trust my senses enough to tell me that. But there was some form of being there. I trust my instincts on that matter. So who was that pony?' Trunks asked himself, walking over to where the pony was and kneeling down. He placed a hand on the spot and closed his eyes, trying to sense some form of ki. Nothing.

But when Trunks opened his eyes, he found that what his senses had missed his eyes had caught. On a single, white flower was a speck of red. A tiny, practically invisible speck of blood. Yet when Trunks pressed his finger against the speck, some red spread onto his finger, telling him that it was still fresh.

'So there was somepony here. Not for long, or there would be more blood, but here nonetheless,' Trunks realized as he rubbed his fingers together. He then kicked off the ground and flew into the sky, catching up with Twilight and the other seconds later. He glanced at the princess and considered telling her of what he saw, but thought better of it a moment later.

'For the time being I'll keep this to myself,' Trunks thought as he flew. 'While the ponies may be willing to accept me being an alien thanks to meeting to other Time Patrollers, I don't want to start off our relationship with them thinking I'm crazy or see dead people. Once I've found more proof, then I will tell them of what I saw. But only then.'

But despite having a solid game plan, Trunks had been around danger and death long enough to know that there was something in the air. He wasn't sure what it was, but he did know that it could only spell disaster for all that were caught by it. And he hope that this time, for the ponies sake, that he would be strong enough to stop it.

Break

The flight to the frozen north had been a long one. Though Trunks could have gotten there in mere minutes, having to fly alongside Twilight and the others had kept him at their pace. He had learned this when he had rocketed past them and hadn't noticed until he was almost to the mountains. According to what he had learned from them during the flight over, he had been the first Time Patroller to completely outclass the ponies speed. Rainbow Dash had been able to keep up with the other three patrollers for the most part. But not him.

'And that worried me,' Trunks thought to himself. The wind and snow barely bothered him, but the fact that one of the six greatest champions of the land couldn't keep up with him gave him pause. Because he was far from the strongest being out there, and if they came up against something like that, he didn't like the ponies chances. 'I hope that they have the ability to get stronger like I do, because if this is all they are capable of then I worry for their lives.'

"Alright everypony, this is where we found the body of Jarace," Twilight informed Trunks. He snapped out of his thoughts and glanced back to Twilight, who had already begun descending with her friends. He followed them down to the snow covered fields a moment later, his eyes already picking out why he had been brought there.

There was destruction everywhere. Parts of the field were blasted apart, the top of a hill was completely obliterated and frozen blood coated the areas of land that weren't covered in snow. Those parts of the land were also areas where he could sense a burning ki still resonating, identical to the ki that Jarace was know for using. Just as Twilight had said, this was the sight of his last battle.

But even as Twilight began telling Trunks what they had discovered and what shape Jarace body had been in, Trunks had already found something that had unnerved him. Or rather, a lack of something. The battlefield was still relatively new, so he could still feel the faint traces of ki among the grass and snow. When Goku Black had attacked his world, he had learned to sense even the faintest traces of ki so he could find survivors easier, allowing him to pick up on even the tiniest amounts that remained in the field. Yet what bothered him was that there was only the one trace of ki. Not another.

Trunks held up a hand to tell Twilight to cease her speaking, not that he had heard a word of what she had said, before he crossed his legs and closed his eyes, focusing all of his senses into searching for a hint of the ki of the foe that had slain Jarace. He was able to pick up on more of Jarace's ki, but there was nothing of the foe that had slain him.

"Find anything out?" Twilight asked Trunks once the warrior had opened his eyes and stood up.

"I've found out that the person that killed Jarace either doesn't use ki or can hide it in a way that I've never seen before," Trunks replied. The cold tone along with his narrowed eyes told the ponies that this was not something to be happy about.

"But how can that be? Ah thought all ya Time Patrollers used ki as yer source of power?" Applejack asked. "Who could kill ah Time Patroller without using any ki?"

"About ninety percent of us do, though there are a few that use magic," Trunks asked. He glanced at Twilight as he said this, but she shook her head. The person that had killed Jarace hadn't used magic either. "Then for the time being we have to assume that the person who we're hunting doesn't use ki or magic and has another, perhaps even greater, source of power that allows him to match us. Great."

"Perhaps it was a misunderstanding?" Fluttershy asked hopefully. "Maybe we can talk things out? I doubt this person really wants to destroy our world."

Trunks had to bite down the urge to snap at her for that line of thinking. 'She comes from a different world than you, Trunks. Just because you lost your world doesn't mean you have the right to lash out at others. You are Vegeta's son, but you don't have to act like him.'

"That...is most likely not the case," Trunks replied in a controlled tone. "They've gone after three Time Patrollers. If the person's quarrel was with us, then they wouldn't limit themselves to this world. If I had to guess, they have something planned for this world and don't want any one of us to get in their way. So no, Fluttershy, I do not foresee a peaceful solution to this."

"Well darn, there goes the welcome to Equestria party I was going to throw for this person," Pinkie said with a bit of a smirk. Trunks turned his head to look at her, slightly annoyed with her comment, before his eyes froze when he saw her. Or rather, how she had changed.

Her mane was shorter and styled to the side, her eyes were colder and more serious and she wore a combat suit that looked similar to the ones that his own soldiers had worn. Beside her stood Rainbow Dash, who had a similar mane cut and now had a mechanical wing on her left side and she was also wearing some kind of suit.

"Trunks, are you okay?" Twilight asked once more. But Trunks could barely hear her. It was like her words were slurred and disoriented. Trunks blinked his eyes and shook his head, trying to figure out what was going on. All around him the world began to warp and shimmer, flickering between the image of a snow blown land and a barren, desolate wasteland.

The ponies themselves began to change as well, flickering between the images of the ones that he had met and another group, similar yet so different. Their other versions seemed more hardened, more battle weary. Looks that Trunks knew all too well.

Despite the world shifting around him, flickering back and forth between two images that couldn't be any different than the other, Trunks managed to lift his eyes to the sky, his instincts telling him to. And there, among the shifting images of a snowy sky and an ash filled sky, he saw someone. A being that wore a brown coat with coat tails, had a top hat upon his head, and held a strange, almost ethereal can in his hands. Trunks could barely make out the beings face among the distorted imagery, but what he could see was that the being seemed to almost be entirely made out of metal.

Then the being snapped his fingers and everything went black.

Trunks conscious returned to him like he had been slapped in the face. The moment he felt himself awake once more he shot up to his feet, grabbed the hilt of his sword, and quickly assessed what had just happened with a quick look around...only to find the world had completely changed.

It was only his long and painful history with things going bizarre on him that Trunks didn't visibly react to the way the world around him had changed. The sun was completely blacked out by clouds of darkness and ash that were hued with the darkest of reds and purples. The ground beneath him was barren, dead, and devoid of anything that could remotely be called alive.

Yet the landscape was not empty, as there were plenty of items littering the land. Such as suits of armor with the wears bodies still inside. Weapons like spears, swords and shields lay scattered and broken, while primitive looking siege engines laid ruined, shells of the majestic weaponry that they used to be.

It was the bodies that drew Trunks full attention. He darted over to one of the corpses and glanced down at it, his eyes narrowing when he recognized the armor as identical to the armor that the pony he had seen yet not felt had worn. The insignia was the same, the craftsmanship was the same and even the pony inside of the armor looked similar.

A quick glance to the other side of the graveyard revealed something else to him. There were other dead ponies, but these ones wore slightly different armor than the hundreds he was looking at. He was next to the bodies in a moment, once again narrowing his eyes at the sight.

Whereas the others had worn armor of gold and seemed to have an air of royalty, the black and menacing armor he was currently looking at told a different story. The eye holes were like slits, spikes covered every part of the armor that they could fit upon and a dark insignia was seared into the armor. The insignia of a dark pony, one with a crimson tipped horn that radiated darkness.

"Two forces engaged in a war. A sneak attack that worked all too well from the looks of it," Trunks muttered to himself as he pieced together what had happened. He rose up to his full height and glanced around, noticing that there were six ponies that happened to be missing. "Twilight! Applejack! Any one?!"

His calls were answered with silence, telling him that they were no longer with him. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate, reaching out to sense their energy. He almost instantly felt the energy of Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, telling him that they weren't too far away. Applejack and Rarity were father away, but close together. Fluttershy's was on the other side of the world, far away from the any other signs of ki.

He couldn't sense Twilight at all.

"Changed scenery, bodies everywhere, things going on that weren't happening before I was knocked out. Seems like there was more than just a fracture in the time line after all," Trunks muttered before pulling out a communication device. "Supreme Kai, I've found the source of the time disturbance you felt here. Or at least I've felt it's effects. You were right, it's a whole different timeline completely. Kai, do you come in?"

All the device did in response to his questions was stare blankly at him and Trunks had a feeling that his message hadn't gotten through. 'So not only is there someone here who can kill Time Patrollers, but they can block their communications as well. No wonder we didn't learn about the death of Berts until we sent another member in.' He then thought back to the strange metal being he had seen, quickly figuring that he had something to do with what was going on.

"Time to find our metal man...after I deal with this temporal problem," Trunks muttered. He kicked off the ground and rocketed into the sky, flying towards where he had sensed Pinkie and Rainbow Dash's energy, something telling him that they would need his help. That something was the thousands of life readings he had sensed around them, all of them battling with one another.

A minute after he had sensed this, he arrived in the air space above the sensed energies and nearly ran into a squadron of pegasi that were waging war with shadowy looking ponies. He moved past them and looked down, finding Pinkie and Rainbow Dash easily due to sensing their ki.

And they were both surrounded by hundreds of ponies in the dark armor.

Change

Instinct kicked in before anything else.

After all that had happened with Goku Black, and having been forced to watch allies be killed in front of him, Trunks was far more prone to lunging head first into battle to save those who were being attacked. At first it had been to save the people that he cared about, but as more and more fell to the monsters rampage, Trunks would consider his day a success if he could save anyone at all.

By the time he was aware of what he was doing, he had already landed in front of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie with enough force to blast back all of the dark armored ponies that had gotten close to the two of them. He glanced over his shoulder to find that the pair of them were staring at him with disbelief and amazement, taking in note that the metal wing for Rainbow and the weird mane cut for Pinkie were both completely solid. He would have to worry about that later.

"Alright, I may not know for certain what's going on here, but I do know that right now there are a lot of ponies dying and I've had enough death in my life to last for several lifetimes," Trunks said to the dark horses, all of who gazed at him with wary stances. "So I'm going to give all of you one warning and one warning only. Step away or pay the price."

For a brief moment the army of darkness before him seemed to hear his words and started to back off. Then their eyes blazed with a sickening green light and they lunged towards the Time Patroller with an unholy roar. Trunks sighed as he reached back and grabbed hold of his sword, slowly starting to unsheath it.

"Don't kill them!" Pinkie called out, in a voice far harsher and full of pain than Trunks remembered it being. "They're nothing but mindcontrolled henchmen, under the spell of Sombra the Dark King! I don't know who you are, but something inside of me says that you can help us, but more importantly, them!"

Trunks stared at Pinkie for a long moment before he sheathed his blade, turning back to the advancing henchmen with some sympathy in his heart and some relief that he was staying his blade. Trunks didn't enjoy killing. He would put down scum like Frieza or Cell with no issue, but, after all the lives that had been lost to Black and Zeno, he was sick of watching others die. So as the dark ponies finally reached him, a small smile spread across his face as he decided to deal with them in a far more careful manner.

The first pony summoned a black blade out of thin air and lunged towards Trunks, but with a simple sidestep and chop to the back of the neck Trunks sent him into dreamland. Two more ponies created dark spears and prepared to impale the warrior, but before they had the chance to move Trunks embedded his fists into their guts. The dropped to the ground without another sound, leaving Trunks to look up and see that one was pointing his horn right at Trunks, a dark energy forming on the end of it.

"For King Sombra!" the pony cried out in a dark and distorted voice, before unleashing a beam of black energy at Trunks. Trunks watched the beam approach before he held out his hand and stopped the attack with the palm of his hand. He heard Pinkie and Rainbow Dash both gasp in amazement as they watched Trunks not only take a blast of shadow magic, but then smirk at the pony who had fired it at him.

'Okay, that stings a bit,' Trunks thought to himself as he cast a quick glance down at his right hand, finding that his glove had been burned off and there was a slight stinging in his hand, similar to if a bee had stung him. 'The pain is fine, but what concerns me is that this feels similar to what Babidi used against me when he tried to free Buu. Dark magic, huh? Seems that my ki won't be as good at protecting me against magic as it would other ki users. Good to know.'

The pony charged up another volley of darkness in his horn and aimed at Trunks once more, but Trunks dropped him within the blink of an eye. While the magic was nothing more than a slight annoyance to Trunks, he had already pieced together that all unicorn's could use magic, along with other beings with horns like Twilight. The abundance of magic, along with the being that could kill Time Patrollers and leave nothing behind, told Trunks that he wouldn't be able to take things easy. So as he turned to face the dozens of dark horses that charged him all at once, he decided to end things.

"HAH!" he yelled. His arm thrust forward a moment later and a massive burst of ki ripped the advancing forces off of their hooves and sent them rocketing backwards across the barren lands. It took the forces a few moments after being hurled across the ground to regain their senses, but when they had they rose back to their hooves and began to march towards Trunks once again, clearly not at all intimidated by him or his power.

"Don't these guys learn? They're clearly no match for me," Trunks muttered, extending his arm once more.

"They're being mind controlled by Sombra," Rainbow informed Trunks, clearly having seen enough to wager that he was on their side. "They have no will of their own and do whatever he commands without question. And his orders right now are to exterminate all of Celestia's forces or die trying. Guess they think of you as apart of her forces after what you did."

"Then I might have to be a little more assertive in helping them to stay down," Trunks realized. He tightened his fist and for a brief moment the ground shook beneath him, halting the advance of the dark forces for just a moment. Then one of the ponies raised his hoof and turned his head back towards the others.

"The king says to retreat. We shall finish Celestia and her forces another day," his raspy voice commanded the rest of the troops. The ponies all saluted before turning and marching off. Now that he wasn't fighting them, Trunks noticed how all of them moved exactly the same, almost as if they were robots. He shook his head free of the thought before glancing back over his shoulder at Rainbow and Pinkie.

"Want me to follow them? I might be able to find this King Sombra and end him for you," Trunks offered.

"Thanks, but we know better. The troops are just returning to one of their outposts where they will rest up and be prepared for the next battle," Rainbow replied. She dropped to the ground and let out a sigh, exhaustion showing on her face. "Sombra never reveals himself unless he knows that victory is certain. We thought that we had managed to drag him out a few weeks ago, but that turned out to be a shadow clone. Nearly cost Celestia her life to kill that thing and it turns out to be a fake. Moral took a hit after that fiasco."

"But look on the bright side Dashy, at least we have a new friend," Pinkie said in a happy tone, but for Trunks, who had seen Pinkie at her peak happiness, the version he looked at now seemed almost devoid of joy in comparison. She walked up to him and extended a friendly hoof. "Hey there, strange swordsman. I'm Pinkie. Commander in Celestia's army and one of the few sources of joy left in the whole darn thing. Thanks for listening to me and not slicing up those guys."

"Hey Pinkie, I'm Trunks. We've...well, let's just say that I know of you and Rainbow there," Trunks replied, holding his tongue on revealing that he had met them before. 'Telling alternate versions of someone you know that you know them always leads to trouble. Learned that the hard way with alternate mom. Who knew she had built a cannon powerful enough to knock me out?'

"Let me guess, you heard of our exploits at the battle of the plains?" Rainbow said, though it was more of a statement than a guess. "Yeah, we got real famous that day for our victory over one of Sombra's greatest generals. Still not giving you an autograph."

"I'm not here for an autograph, I'm...look, I'm trying to figure out what's going on," Trunks admitted. When all his words got were looks from Pinkie and Dash, he continued. "This world, these ponies...the storyline here doesn't make sense. Or rather, this isn't the way things are supposed to be. Things are supposed to be peaceful and filled with magic, not...dead and war torn."

"Great, another loon. Guess we're going to have to deal with this one as well," Rainbow muttered with a sigh, warily eyeing Trunk's sword as she started to crouch down. Pinkie, on the other hoof, seemed to light up at what Trunks had just said and practically threw herself into his face.

"Are you saying that there's something wrong here? Like, things aren't what they should be and things should be better?" Pinkie asked Trunks with such desperate enthusiasm that all Trunks could do in reply was nod slowly. Pinkie then swung her head around to face Rainbow Dash. "See, it's just like I said! There is something wrong with this place, like it's fractured and can't fix itself!"

"Yeah, and the last time you mentioned that at camp I had to beg Celestia not to throw you in a madhouse," Rainbow snarled. Pinkie ignored her and returned her gaze to Trunks. "Is that why you're here, mister Trunks? To undo whatever has happened to us and fix everything that's going on? To fix nightmare?"

"Kinda. I'm mostly here to..." Trunks began, but then he locked eyes with Pinkie and saw a well of suffering and anguish that he had not seen there previously. He found himself unable to tell her that he had come to their world mostly to avenge his comrades and find out who had killed them. "Yes, I'm here to fix whatever happened to your world and make sure this...war never came to be."

Pinkie shot a look of validation back at Dash, before she walked past Trunks and motioned for him to follow. "Then you are exactly what we need. Come on, I'll take you back to Fillydelphia and take you to the princess. She'll want to speak with you, especially after we explain to her who you are and what you can do. Flattening an entire squadron like that is insane. Doing it without killing anypony is down right impossible."

"What's the point, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked Pinkie, who stopped to look back at her friend. "You really think Celestia is going to believe your ravings because there's another being in this world that believes what you do? She's not going to change her mind and will likely throw the both of you in the madhouse. Why risk it?"

"Because as long is there is the tiniest percent of a chance that there exist a way to undo this world and all of the tragedies that have happened in it, and create a world of peace and happiness like Trunks says there is, then I will do everything in my power to make that world happen. It's what Maud would have wanted," Pinkie replied in a near whisper, clutching a hoof to her heart before smiling up at Trunks. "Come on, it's a long journey. We need to meet up with our captain before heading out."

"Probably be a lot faster if I flew you," Trunks said. He grabbed Pinkie under her arms and hoisted her into the sky with him, waiting only a moment for her to point out where he would be flying to before he rocketed towards the princess. He stopped only for a brief moment over Pinkie's base so she and Dash could clear what was going on with their commander, before he took off.

Yet as he flew over the ponies that were gathered there, for a brief moment he locked eyes with a single mare standing amongst the civilians that had been gathered there. A mare with a pinkish coat with a purple mane with a streak of mint blue in it. A pony by the name of Starlight Glimmer. Trunks recognized her as he flew by.

And, even though he wasn't certain, she seemed like she recognized him.

Tide

Fillydelphia looked all too familiar for Trunks liking.

It wasn't that he had visited the city before, but he had seen the city before. A city overrrun with military supplies, thousands of civilians that had arrived in hopes of being protected and lots filled with the fallen. He could hear the cries of pain and the pleas of desperation even from the sky. Even though he had just arrived, Trunks had seen enough of the ponies city. But he knew that answers awaited him down there, so he steeled his nerves and descended when Pinkie told him to descend.

They landed in front of a large building that he believed to have once been a library, but had been taken over by the military and made into a makeshift command center. Ten guards yelped open Trunks landing and recovered a moment later by charging towards him with their spears extended.

"Hold on everypony!" Pinkie exclaimed, leaping out of Trunks arms and extending her forehooves to stop the attack. "I know this looks bad, but this here is Trunks. He's our new best friend and the solution to finally putting an end to this war."

The look on the guards faces showed that they did not believe her.

"I'm serious! Trunks flew in and pushed back and entire sector of Sombra's forces without killing any of them!" Pinkie informed the guards. The guards faces didn't change in the slightest and Pinkie began to catch on that maybe her words sounded crazier than she would have liked them to. "Um, Trunks? Can you back me up here?"

"Pinkie, I'm a flying alien from another reality alltogether. What could I possibly say to them to get rid of their suspicions?" Trunks asked. Despite the guards having weapons aimed at him, he kept his hands in his pockets and a blank look on his face. The first reason for the posture was so that he seemed non-threatening to the guards. The second reason was because he was sensing for energy.

Not the energy of any pony, though he was keeping an eye out for dark ki that Sombra would emit, but to try and see if the being made of metal was in this land. Trunks hadn't sensed him when he had first appeared, but he had hoped that the being had been using technology at the time to unravel the world and he was capable of using ki.

"Stand down, as hard as it is to believe Pinkie is telling the truth."

Trunks and Pinkie looked up to see that Rainbow Dash had finally caught up with them. The moment she appeared the guards all snapped to attention and saluted her. She raised a hoof halfheartedly in reply before glaring up at Trunks. "Just to let you know if I still had both of my wings I would have left you in the dust."

"If you say so."

Rainbow made a face at his words, but instead of saying anything she turned her attention back to the guards. "Pinkie's words are true. Trunks here assisted us in repelling an surprise assault from Sombra that would have most likely killed us all. And now he's willing to help us bring down the king of shadows once and for all. Go inform the general of this. I think she'll be interested in meeting him."

Three of the guards saluted once more and raced inside, while the remaining ones opened the doors for the group and allowed them to enter into the building. Upon entering Trunks found that his earlier assumption had been correct and the building had indeed used to be a library. Some of the shelves still held some books in them, but for the most part the shelves now held items of war, from weapons to maps to medical aid. All too familiar.

"Thanks for the save back there," Rainbow said suddenly. When Trunks turned to look at her he found that she didn't seem happy having to thank him. "I wasn't joking about the ambush. The soldiers seemed to appear from out of the shadows. One moment I'm commanding a force of ponies five hundred strong and the next thing I know I'm back to back with Pinkie, surrounded and out gunned. Had you not shown up..."

"None of this should be happening in the first place," Pinkie said bitterly. Then she looked up at Trunks with confirmation in her eyes. "There is something wrong with this world, but I just never knew what. But now, with your arrival, i now know. This isn't our world. This isn't the way things are supposed to be."

"The question now is why are things like this," Trunks finished up for her. Pinkie nodded to show she was thinking the same thing.

"Look, I don't believe in parallel worlds or anything like that. But if you're right and this isn't how the world is supposed to be, well...then we should focus on fixing it, right?" Rainbow asked. "I mean, provided the way the world is supposed to be is a better world than this one. Is it?"

"From what I saw, it's the most peaceful world that I've visited yet," Trunks replied.

"Alright then, I'll help."

"Just like that?" Pinkie asked

"I've been fighting this war for three years. I want it done and I want Sombra gone. Whatever it takes to do that," Rainbow replied. Pinkie smiled at her response and even Trunks felt the corners of his mouth start to go up.

'Even in a completely different version of their world they're still close friends. Some things truly do not change.'

Their conversation was brought to an end when the guards Rainbow had sent away returned, motioning to Trunks and Rainbow Dash to follow them. They did so and Pinkie tried to follow after them as well, but the guards held out their hooves to stop her. A pouting look appeared on Pinkie's face and she opened her mouth to argue, but Dash shook her head and ended the defiance there. Pinkie sat back down and Trunks was finally admitted to see Celestia. He followed the guards through a set of double doors, leading into the main library chamber, and found the princess.

He had to admit, she wasn't what he had been expecting.

Normally when one thinks of a pony princess, they think of pink. Not white, orange and crimson. But those were the colors that made up Celestia's form, with her coat being white and her mane a mix of red and orange, though Trunks believed his could see faint blues and purples in there as well. But it wasn't just her coloring that drew his attention. It was the power he could sense coming from within her. For a pony, she was pretty strong.

The two then locked eyes and Trunks became aware that she had been analyzing him just as he had done to her. Realizing he was being rude, Trunks bowed slightly to her. As he rose back up he saw a thin smile on Celestia's face, but she then turned her attention to Rainbow Dash.

"I am glad to see that you are unharmed. When I heard of the ambush, I feared the worst," Celestia said in a tone that was both kind and powerful.

"You were right to assume the worst, your highness. If not for Trunks here I would not have made it out alive," Rainbow replied with a smirk. "Sombra's force seem to become one with the darkness more and more each day. It won't be long before we are literally jumping at the sight of our own shadows and for good reason. We need to turn the tide."

"I agree, but doing so has been incredibly difficult," Celestia replied with a sigh. She rose to her hooves and extended her wings, which were large than Trunks had expected, before she motioned down to the map that lay across a large table before them. "Sombra has been impossible to find. We have searched everywhere that we can and yet he still continues to elude us. Not to mention that with each town he takes, his forces of darkness only grow. I have been seeking for a way to turn the tide for a while...though it seems you brought somepony who may be able to do just that."

Realizing she was offering for him to speak, Trunks stepped forward. "It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness. I am Trunks and I...am not from this world."

"I can see that. I also know that if you were from this world, even a place I had not heard of, Sombra would have been using some of your kind in his army, as he has with the griffons and dragons."

"Actually, I mean that I come from another reality alltogether. One where there is not a terrifying war with a king of darkness tearing apart your world," Trunks corrected. This time Celestia said nothing, though she did raise an eyebrow and a small smirk crossed her face. "I believe that the timeline of your world, maybe the very fabric of your reality, has been altered by a villain that I've been hunting. Why he has done this or how I do not know, but I will find out."

"So Pinkie was right all along. Today is truly a scary day," Celestia muttered to herself before a more serious expression crossed her face. "That is all well and good Trunks, but at the moment I am dealing with a villain of my own, so I will be blunt. Why are you here and what do you plan to do next?"

"I am here to bring down the villain that is causing this temporal anomaly and stop him from causing any more harm," Trunks said as a Time Patroller. Then his eyes darkened and his hands clenched into fists. "However, I will not sit by and watch as another monster of darkness seeks to tear apart a world. I will help you bring down Sombra. Hell, I'll do it myself if you want."

A look of approval crossed Celestia's face, before a thought appeared in her eyes. "Brave words my friend, but Sombra is powerful and crafty. How do I know that I will not simply be sending you to your death?"

"Driving off his forces wasn't proof enough?"

"Seeing is believing. Please, humor an old mare."

"Alright. Come with me." Trunks flew towards the large windows and opened them, bowing slightly and offering for Celestia to go first. With a small smirk she flew out before him and sailed to the top of the library. Trunks joined her a moment later and the two of them looked out across the lands, which, even in a place without fighting, were still barren and dead beneath a clouded and dreary sky.

"It's sad," Trunks muttered before he could stop himself. "In the other version of this world it is filled with so many life and colors that I actually felt at peace simply by standing in it. This version of it...feels like a blow to ones heart."

"Indeed, Equestria used to be a land of joy and life. Now it is filled with pain and death. But one day, I shall return it to its glory," Celestia said with confidence, before turning back to Trunks. "Now then, I believe you were going to show me a demonstration of you power?"

"Certainly. Is there anywhere you don't mind me blowing up?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow at Trunks words, before she narrowed her eyes and started to look around. "About fifty miles out that way is an area of the land that has been condemned due to Sombra having raised an army of undead there. We have managed to contain them, but we cannot be rid of them. If you can get rid of them, I will allow you into my forces."

"Got it." Trunks then outstretched both of his hand, before whipping them around faster than Celestia could keep up with. "Burning Attack."

A massive ball of yellow and orange energy erupted from Trunks oustretched hands, the force of which nearly knocked Celestia out of the sky. She righted herself in time to see the ball of energy land right in the area where she hand pointed out...before a colossal explosion of power that was enough to shake the ground and sky detonated. She watched with a shocked look on her face as what had once been one of the more dangerous areas in Equestria was reduced to ash. She glanced over at Trunks as the explosion died down, noticing that the warrior had a thin smile on his face.

"So, did I pass?"

"Trunks, I believe you may just be the key in turning this war around."

Hunter

"There are only so many places a snake like him could hide," Celestia said. She was standing over the largest map of Equestria that her forces had managed to dig up and it now lay across five tables that had been placed side by side in the center of the library. Trunks stood on the north side of the map with Pinkie and Rainbow at his sides. Celestia stood on the south side, her face gazing over each and every inch of the map.

"He can make himself into smoke and shadows. He could technically hide wherever he wants," Rainbow reminded the princess. "If I was him, I would order my forces around from the shadows and only come out from the darkness only if I absolutely had to."

"Thank you for keeping me grounded, Rainbow Dash, but there is one very important fact about Sombra that you neglected. His ego," Celestia said with a smirk. "The only thing larger than Sombra's forces is his ego. He won't want to be seen as a coward nor will he allow us to be beaten unless he is there. So he will be somewhere where he can be both close by, in case the moment comes to strike me down, but also a place secure enough to ensure his own survival. But there are numerous places across this land where that could be. I've marked them for all of you."

Trunks leaned on the table and glanced over the map, finding six red X's in various locations. The locations meant nothing to him and a quick glance at Rainbow Dash showed that her mind mirrored his own confused thoughts. "Um, Princess, if you don't mind me saying, these marks are just random locations. There's nothing in any of these places that I would even begin to consider being able to repel an attack by our forces."

"That is because you have not ruled over this land for nearly a thousand years like I have," Celestia replied with a bitter smile, clearly not happy at the reminder that she was only getting older. "These six locations are each magic hotspots, places where the natural magic in our world is at it's strongest, increasing the magical strength of any magic user that is within the area of its effect. I take it that you notice that these six locations are also where Sombra had brutal and decisive victories over us?"

"Actually...yeah, I remember fighting here. And here," Pinkie pointed out as she jumped onto the table. "And here. And here!" she practically sang as she hopped from X to X, a small giggle escaping her lips each time, before she came to the final location and dead stopped. Her mane deflated and she hung her head in sorrow. "And here. I will never be able to forget this place."

Rainbow joined Pinkie up on the table and placed a wing over her, staying silent in respect to the fallen. Trunks didn't need any explanation for the scene, so instead he turned his attention back to the princess. "So which of these places do you think would be the most likely place for a king like Sombra to hide? I can search all of these places, but there is no guarantee that he won't escape me. He seems like a slippery one."

"Oh he is a slippery one. In fact, I was more or less hoping that you would use that incredible power of yours to simply nuke these places from orbit," Celestia admitted with a bitter smile. "Even if he could react in time, I've seen how large your explosions are. He would be ash before he had the chance to escape. Not to mention the massive amount of light your attacks generate would prevent him from using his shadow form to escape."

"That would be the smartest plan, if it wasn't for one flaw," Trunks pointed out. When Celestia raised an eyebrow, Trunks closed his eyes and reached out with his senses to the areas where Celestia had marked in the real world. "Yes, I can sense hundreds of mind controlled ponies standing guard in each location, ready to fight to the death in his name. So the nuking him from orbit is a no go."

"Trunks, as much as it pains me to admit it, there is no way to break the mind control on those ponies," Celestia whispered with a pained look. "We have captured plenty of them and tried multiple times to break them free of his control, but...they are all but dead already. At this point, all we can view them as are his army. I wish there was another way. But..."

"My answer is still no," Trunks replied coldly. Celestia looked at him with confusion. "I am not going to kill anyone who is not evil. I've seen so many innocent die at the hands of the forces of evil before. I refuse to let anymore die. Not while I can help it."

"Then we are at an impasse, for as you said, Sombra could escape from you if you showed up to capture him," Celestia reminded Trunks. "But I know that look in your eyes. That look tells me that you have something else, something far more crafty up your sleeve, do you not?"

Trunks let a smile cross his face. "You said that you had some of his soldiers imprisoned here, right?" Trunks asked. "Bring one of them to me. I think I can do a little more than just fly around in circles hoping I find him."

Celestia nodded to her guards and they left the room. A few minutes later they returned with a regular looking pony in tow, regular except for the fact that his eyes were green and his face conveyed no emotion whatsoever. Trunks walked over to him and knelt down so that the pair of them were eye level, narrowing his eyes as he let his senses reach out to the pony.

"I've never seen anything like this," he muttered to himself. He reached out with his hand and placed it on the side of the pony's face, who reacted in no way at all. "There's no consciousness, no spark of ki or life...it's like he's nothing more than a robot."

"What did you expect to find?"

Trunks forced his senses to go deeper, digging into the very soul of the being that stood before him. And there, deep within what made that pony him, he found what he had sought. Traces of Sombra's shadow magic, the very energy that flowed through Sombra's veins. And he made sure to never forget how it felt.

"I expected to find this," Trunks said as he opened his eyes and stood up. He then turned to face the other ponies, all who were looking at him expectantly. "I've sampled a tiny bit of the magic that Sombra has used to control this pony. Now all I need to do is fine tune my senses and search for the source of this magical power. And there is where we will find king Sombra."

"Can you do that?" Celestia asked with some amazement.

"Watch me," Trunks replied. He closed his eyes and sent his senses searching across Equestria, searching for the magic and power that matched that which was within the pony. It took him a bit longer than he would have liked, as searching for magic was still a new concept for him, but after a few minutes he felt a source of dark magic that dwarfed all the others. He felt the master that controlled the puppets. He marked the location in his mind before walking to the map, placing his finger dead center on the red X farthest to the south.

"And now we finally have you," Celestia said with a venomous smile. "Today is the day that you will finally answer for all that you've done. Trunks, give me a day to assemble my armies and then we will storm this place so that we can finally put an end to this monster."

"Actually, I was going to ask that you let me do this by myself," Trunks asked, getting Celestia to raise both her eyebrows in shock. "Remember how I said I wasn't going to let any innocent die by evil's hands? Well, I would prefer it if only Sombra died today. And if you bring your army to face him, then there will be plenty dead."

"Are you saying that you believe that you can best Sombra and his entire army without a single loss of life?" Celestia asked, the doubt clear in her tone.

"I do not believe that I can do it. I know that I can do it," Trunks replied with a smile, a smile he hadn't worn since the first time he had faced Frieza. "Let me handle this and by the end of the day your nation will be free once more."

"I have a feeling that you're going to go whether or not I say no, aren't you?" Celestia asked with a smirk. "Very well, brave swordsman. Go and slay this evil monster for the freedom of our land. But if you do need our help, just shoot one of your attacks into the sky and we shall come running."

"I'll remember that. Be back soon."

Without another word Trunks shot into the air, flying through the ceiling and hurling himself in the direction of the dark king. He knew that the ponies saw his actions as cocky and arrogant, but he knew the truth. He wasn't underestimating the dark king in the slightest. Nor did he doubt that Sombra would have all sorts of tricks up his sleeves to try to kill Trunks. But Trunks had faced gods, machines and everything in-between. He had failed and triumphed only to fail again. He knew that there was a risk to what he was doing by going alone.

But he also knew that there were many innocent lives in this world, lives that were being ruined and torn apart by a single evil, an evil akin to that which had torn away his very world from him and all he loved, save one person. And he had sworn on that day he would not allow it to happen again. Not while he drew breath.

So as Trunks sailed over the location of where he had sensed Sombra, he gazed down to find a black fortress made of dark magic that swirled and twisted with menace. He could see hundreds of soldiers down below, who all looked up at him as he came to a stop in the air. He knew that Celestia was right in saying that blowing the whole place to hell with one blast would he the quickest way. But too many would die. Too many would die despite having done nothing wrong. No, they were not the ones that needed to fell Trunks power. Sombra was.

Almost as if he could read Trunks thoughts, the dark king himself walked out onto the tallest tower at the fortress and smiled up at Trunks, motioning for Trunks. Trunks floated down until he was hovering not that far above Sombra, close enough to get a better look at the king. A grey coat, black mane and horn with a red tip. And evil eyes that reminded Trunks of Zamasu. This was him.

"So, you are Celestia's new warrior, who she sends alone to face me," Sombra said with a smile as he looked over Trunks. "i must admit, that while your appearance is indeed out of the ordinary, you are still not-"

Trunks extended his hand and fired a colossal blast of ki into the tower, decimating it and everything in it with one giant blast.

The First Boss

As the smoke began to clear, Trunks found that he had indeed succeeded in blow apart the tower that Sombra had been standing on. And for a brief moment he thought that would be the end of things. However, after a moment he could feel the dark king's presences, so with a sigh he lowered himself all the way to the ground to confront Sombra once more.

"You...nearly killed me," the dark king said in a smokey form that was filled with darkness, with only his red eyes visible amongst the smoke.

"That was the idea," Trunks replied.

"But that is not how we do things! I taunt you, you say how you're here for justice or to free the ponies or anything like that, then I tell you how you're going to fail and reveal my plan to end good once and for all! Then you say something hopeful and pointless and then, only then, do we fight! It's like you have no respect for the time honored tradition that is heroes versus villains!" Sombra roared, far more upset about Trunk's actions than Trunks thought he would be.

"You're right. I don't care at all," Trunks replied before drawing his blade, noticing that the eyes within the smoke narrowed. "I'm here to kill you and free these ponies from the control you have over them. Anything else, be it words or boasts, is simply a waste of time. Now either leave your shadow form and let me kill you, or prepare to fight for your life. Your choice."

"Feh, this is the problem with the new generation. No respect for the classics. Very well, boy, to the death it is. Oh guards," Sombra said, turning over three hundred sets of eyes to Trunks. "Kill him."

Trunks had expected Sombra to use his soldiers to fight his battle, but as the soldiers began to lunge towards Trunks, the Saiyan warrior noticed that Sombra began to unleash spells of black magic from within his smokey form. Trunks deflected the spells with his blade, making sure to keep an eye on the dark king before turning most of his attention to the oncoming army.

He chopped one pony on the back of the neck and dropped him, before grabbing another by his horn and throwing him on the far side of the battlefield. He could hear Sombra laughing as the forces began to overwhelm Trunks, all the while firing more and more blasts of darkness into his own troops in hopes that he would strike Trunks. Not that the soldiers were really doing anything to Trunks. With his insane strength and resistance, none of their attacks were really doing anything to him. But what gave him concern was the way Sombra was willing to kill his own forces to be rid of Trunks. He couldn't let that happen.

In a blur of motion Trunks burst forth from the pile of dark ponies that had thrown their bodies onto him, flying straight towards Sombra's smoke form. Just to see if it would work he slashed at the smoke with his blade, but much like he predicted the blade passed harmlessly through the smoke. Yet Sombra had just barely begun to laugh before Trunks pointed an open hand towards Sombra, charging a ki blast in it.

'Celestia said that the light generated from my attacks would prevent Sombra from using his shadow form,' Trunks recalled before firing the blast of ki right into the center of the smoke monster. Sombra roared in anger as the light from the attack caused his shadows and smoke to vanish for a brief moment, allowing Trunks to see the faint outline of a pony within. 'And it seems she was right about that. Okay, time to light this guy up.'

With swift, rapid movements Trunks fired burst after burst of ki into Sombra's smoke form, completely illuminating the entire form within a matter of seconds. Sombra let out a curse as he struggled to keep his smoke form, but a moment later he reformed into a pony and fell to the ground.

The moment Sombra's actual body was vulnerable, Trunks moved in. Sombra barely had time to raise his eyes at Trunks before Trunks swung his sword down to where Sombra's neck met his shoulders. Trunks caught movement out of the corner of his eye and stopped his attack just in time to avoid cleaving in two one of the soldiers that had leapt in the way to defend his king. Trunks switched to his other hand and drove the blade down, but by then Sombra was already back in his shadow form, slinking away from Trunks.

"You do know that if you want to kill me you are going to have to do more than just run," Trunks told Sombra while flicking away the pony that had thrown himself in the way. Sombra's eyes narrowed and he tried to sputter out some kind of response, but he had barely gotten a syllable out before Trunks was lighting him up with more ki blasts.

More soldiers threw themselves in Trunks path to try to stop him from getting to Sombra, but Trunks had wised up to that strategy. With reflexes that made bullets look like they were standing still, Trunks aimed each of his shots perfectly around each and every pony that tried to stop him. Sombra let out a curse as he fell back into his physical form and this time Trunks wouldn't let him escape. Trunks threw out both hands and created a ki shockwave, blowing away all of the ponies close to him except for Sombra.

"Do not think you've won! I have an attack so powerful that-" Sombra's words died in his throat as Trunks plunged his blade through Sombra's chest, driving it up to the hilt before he finally stopped. Trunks then lifted the blade and the impaled Sombra with one hand, gazing into the dying kings eyes as he did so.

"Just shut up and die already," Trunks said coldly. Sombra looked from Trunks to the sword that was sticking into him before a weak laugh escaped the lips of the king.

"You...are nothing like the other heroes. You...are something else entirely," Sombra wheezed with one last laugh. "Oh, Clockwork is going to love you."

"Clockwork? Who the hell is that?" Trunks asked Sombra, but at that point Sombra's eyes began to close and he started to lean forward on Trunk's sword. Trunks snarled before he pointed a finger at Sombra and transferred the tiniest bit of ki into the dark king, giving him just a little bit more time. "Answer me! Who is Clockwork?!"

All Sombra did was smirk, before looking behind Trunks. "See for yourself."

Trunks whirled around and slashed behind him, cleaving Sombra in half as he did so and leaving his blade free once more. Yet despite having enough strength to cleave the moon in half, Trunks eyes went wide as the being standing behind him caught the blade with his thumb and index finger.

Trunks narrowed his eyes as he recognized the being. Metal limbs with gears and pistons moving within them. A top hat and a fancy looking coat with tails. A cane in one hand with a tiny, gold head of a creature he didn't recognize on the end of it. And a pair of horn rimmed glass on a metal face that had minute hands for a mustache. He may not have known who the being was, but he did know that this was the being he had seen before the world had...changed.

"Oh dear, you're not supposed to be here," the being said in a voice that was completely mechanical. "No, no, this will not do at all. He will not be happy with any interference."

Trunks pulled his blade back and managed to free it, but a patch of rust along the center caught his eye. Then, as he watched, the entire blade began to rust away in Trunks very hands. He dropped the sword to the ground and moments later it was nothing but rust. Trunks said nothing as he gazed back at the mechanical being,

"Are you Clockwork? That was what Sombra called you before he died," Trunks demanded to know.

"The one and the same," the being replied with a small bow and the tip of his hat. "But I am afraid that thanks to Sombra you have me at a disadvantage, good sir. Might I know your name as well?"

"No," Trunks said as he pointed a hand at Clockwork and fired a blast of ki at him. Yet to Trunks amazement, the moment the ki bolt left his hand it came to a halt it mid air. Trunks stared at it for a moment, waiting for it to move, but the ki blast hung there as if it was suspended in the air.

"Come now, none of that. We're wasting time and time is the one thing that we cannot waste," Clockwork said as he looked around. Trunks narrowed his eyes at the being, before taking a quick peek at his surroundings as well. To his utter shock, he found that it wasn't just his ki blast that wasn't moving. Nothing was moving. None of the soldiers were moving, their spells hung in the air like his ki. Even the two halves of Sombra's body hadn't hit the ground yet.

"He will not be happy about that. He was so looking forward to seeing how Sombra would win the war against Celestia," Clockwork said with a shake of his head, before shrugging his shoulders. "Then again, after a frightful incident with a Sombra in another time he does hate all Sombra's now, so I suppose he will not be that upset. Still, it is sad to know this was not the time."

"Okay, you are seriously confusing me right now," Trunks said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you...some kind of time manipulator or something like that? Because if you're not, then give me a moment to prepare myself for this fight to the death that I am certain that we're going to be having."

"Nonsense, I have no desire to fight you. At least, not at this time or place," Clockwork replied before noticing the confusion on Trunks face. "Ah, I see that you are confuse. Allow me to offer some respite. I am Clockwork, a being that is searching for something in this world. Or rather, in a timeline of this world."

"That didn't help in the slightest."

"Apologizes. Hmm, perhaps rather than tell you I should show you." Clockwork stamped his cane on the ground and the next thin Trunks knew the world had fallen away, replaced with a dark nothingness that swarmed all around them. The soldiers, the ground and sky, the two halves of Sombra, all of them had fallen away into the blackness. All Trunks could see now was Clockwork, who was standing before him.

"How odd. I know for certain that I wanted to freeze you in time along with everything else, but for some reason you are allowed to keep moving," Clockwork muttered. "Perhaps you exist outside of time like myself. How odd."

"So you are a time manipulator. You are the one who is responsible for the problems with the time stream in this world," Trunks muttered as he took up a fighting stance. "Why are you using your powers to tear apart the time stream of Equestria?!"

"My powers. Oh no, you are most mistaken. I am but the learner, with no real powers of his own. These powers come from my master," Clockwork corrected.

"Who is your master, then?"

"That would be me," said a voice from behind Trunks, who turned around in time to take a metal fist to the face that knocked him flat. "And you are another interference in my plans. Trunks. Time Patroller. Saiyan. About time you showed up."

Flesh and Blood

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" Trunks asked, wiping the back of his hand against his mouth. A quick glance down at it showed that there was no blood, but the impact had still hurt. That was enough to put Trunks on guard.

The being that stood across from him was comprised entirely of metal, not in the way that Clockwork had been. Where as Clockwork had visible gears, joints and mechanical parts, the being standing before Trunks looked like a suit of metal brought to life. A brown cloak with a brown hood was all that it wore, but Trunks found himself more interested in the metal that made up its body. It was a metal he recognized.

'Meaning this guy is either an alien or from another time,' Trunks deduced, reaching back for his sword only to remember that it was gone. He switched his movements and placed the hand that had been reaching for the sword on the side of his head, using it to tilt his head slightly to crack his neck. "You did just sucker punch me. That's kinda rude. You can make up for it before I take you out by telling me your name."

"My name is of no concern to somebody who will soon be dead," the metal being snapped. "I should have known that the foolish Kai would send you sooner or later, but I did not expect you to arrive so soon nor catch on to what was happening so quick...let me guess, you caught Clockwork while he was shifting? Wait, was that what I was supposed to say? Or was that a little-?"

This time Trunks went in for the sucker punch, catching the metal being in the side of the head and sending him spinning. The metal being came a halt before he had spun to the ground, before slowly levitating back up to a standing position. The metal head slowly turned to look at Trunks, who smirked to himself when he saw a dent in the side of the cheek area.

"So you're Clockworks boss. Makes sense, the both of you looking like you're made of metal. Reminds me of a couple of androids that I faced. I hated androids," Trunks said coldly as he walked towards the metal being, who didn't cede an inch to the advancing saiyan. Trunks then grabbed the being by the cloak and glared into where his eyes should have been beneath the metal. "So I will only ask nicely once more. Tell me what is going on before I turn you into a pile of scrap."

"Hmm, I see you have all of the manners that your father had," the metal being snarled, before grabbing hold of Trunks hand and attempting to rip it off of his cloak. He was unable to. "However, as useless as the information would be to a being that is soon to be dead, I suppose that the fear and horror in your eyes as you die would more than make up for it."

"Is that your way of saying that you're going to talk?"

"I will keep this brief, as it is clear that you did not inherit your mother's brain. Clockwork is a denizen of Equestria, but not the timeline you know. I found what was left of him screaming to the sky, demanding power to set some wrong in his life right. And I appeared before him, granting him the power to tear space and time asunder until he finds what he wants."

"Well aren't you a nice guy. Except for the part that he's tearing apart the lives of all of the ponies in the other timelines," Trunks snarled. The metal man laughed at that statement. "Alright bastard, why do all of that? Why give him the power? What do you get out of this?"

"I get to be entertained. I get to see what happens when Equestria's timeline is ripped apart and stitched back together like...you have Frankenstein in your reality, correct? It's hard to keep track nowadays. Especially after all the repeats."

"That's it? You're allowing ponies entire timelines to be wiped out so that you can be entertained?!" Trunks bellowed, his fury reaching a point that his hair began to flash with shades of blonde.

"Do not try to take the high road, Trunks. You've already caused more irreplaceable damage with your little stint with Sombra than Clockwork has with shifting the timelines," the metal man chastised him. "You are the villain in this story. Every single time."

"As if you're one to talk. I've saved dozens of lives since arriving here. And I'm going to continue to save lives, put an end to Clockwork and make sure that the timeline is safe. I will protect the ponies."

"Like you protected humanity against Zamasu?"

Trunks hair erupted into a fury of blonde power as it stood up on end, followed by an unholy bellow as Trunks threw the metal man across the blackness. The metal man used a single hand to right himself, but Trunks had already taken aim and fired a massive blast of ki towards the being. The being extended a single hand to intercept the blast...and the blast of ki vanished into thin air.

"What...?" Trunks asked, his fury replaced for a moment by confusion.

"Trunks, I killed the other three members of your little Time Patrol. Did you really think I was able to do that without someway to nullify the power that you all wield?" the being asked as he raised his right arm, revealing that it had blue lines running through it, along with several other extensions that Trunks couldn't place. "This is a ki nullifier. I take it even you understand what that means."

"Yeah, it means you can nullify my ki attacks. So what?!" Trunks bellowed as his muscles swelled beneath his suit, a golden aura surrounding his body as he channeled his ki into his body. "That just means I get to rip you apart with my bare hands!"

With another roar, Trunks hurled himself towards the metal man, with speeds that even other ki users would barely be able to keep up with. But Trunks, in his anger, did not try any fancy tricks or try to confuse his opponent. He when straight in for the kill. Allowing the metal being to know exactly what to do next.

The metal man extended his left arm, hidden beneath the cloak, towards Trunks and a cloud of gas spewed from within the cloak. Trunks hadn't realized what the metal man had done until after the gas had already reached his face. The moment he inhaled some of the gas he crashed to the ground and skidded past the metal man, his golden hair return to its blue state. Trunks hardly even noticed that it had happened.

The Saiyan warrior's body was wracked with pain, with his muscles spasming out of control in furious agony. His mind was like an inferno of pain, preventing him from being able to focus on anything but the pain. Each breath was like inhaling hellfire and each pound of his heart was like a blade being driven into each nerve. With what little concentration he could muster, he tried to reach his ki, but his body did not respond. He barely noticed the blood that was pouring from his mouth and eyes or the fact that he could no longer see, but there was one thing he could still do. He could still hear. And the metal man knew that as well.

"You Saiyans are all the same. Thinking that because you're powerful enough to rival gods or destroy the heavens that you're invincible. You're not," the metal man said, cementing his point by driving his foot into the gut of Trunks. Trunks roared in agony as the pain he had been feeling increased tenfold by the blow. "You're flesh and blood, just like the rest of the world. And despite all of your power, all of you training and all of your hair colors, you are meat. And like all other meat, you are susceptible to...decay. You are easy to beat Trunks. I should know. I've done it millions of times."

The metal man lifted Trunks with one hand, before slamming him back first into the ground, getting Trunks to below with agony once more. "Like this sickness I concocted in case I ran into another one of you Super Saiyans. Amplification of your pain receptors. Extreme weakness in tissue and skin. Inhibitors to your motor functions. Complete shutdown of visual sensors. And a complete cut off to your ki reserves. You are tough, but all that does is prolong the suffering. Right now, your own body is trying to fight off the sickness I placed in you and it is ripping itself apart to do so. That is because the sickness bonds with your cells, making it apart of you. So the only way it can rid itself of the sickness...is to kill itself.

"Do I understand what I'm saying, oh hero of the future? You breath like the rest of those humans you failed, you suffer just like those you failed...and you will die, just like every other single one of those people you failed. You will just take a little longer to do so," the being finished as it rose from the dying Trunks and began to walk away. Then an idea struck him. A dangerous, foolish, but a so deliciously enticing idea that the being had no choice but to act upon it.

"You failed to stop the Androids from killing your mentor and people. You failed to stop Cell from killing you and returning to the past. And you failed to stop Zamasu from killing your mother and finally finishing off your world. Your's is a legacy of failure, Trunks. And you've failed these ponies far more than you will ever know," the metal man said as he knelt down in front of Trunks, lifting the warriors head so that they were looking eye to eye, even though Trunks could see him. Then he reached inside his cloak and pulled out a tiny vial of liquid, which he shifted between his metal fingers.

"But I am not a being that enjoys things that are predictable. And whenever it seems like you are at your lowest, you find a way to...make things interesting. Saving Goku, redeeming Vegeta and your Rage form...yes, perhaps I can get a little more entertainment out of you yet."

The metal being then tossed the vial somewhere into the darkness, before looking back down at Trunks. "I have just thrown the cure to what is killing you somewhere in this darkness. If you can find it in the pitiful amount of time you have left to live, it will save your life and allow you to challenge Clockwork and what he is doing. Fail, and die. Those are your only options."

All Trunks could do was spit up more blood in reply.

"I know it seems impossible. I know that right now your body is shutting down, leaving you unable to so much as curse my name. Maestro, by the way. But if you are truly the hero that you claim you are, then you should be able to find it and survive. After all, Trunks, isn't that what heroes do? Overcome impossible odds? Maybe actually save this timeline? And I know you won't believe me when I tell you this, but I would truly hate for you to die here. That would be so dreadfully boring."

The Maestro was gone a moment later, leaving Trunks alone with his agony and suffering in the darkness. He knew that the cure was out in the darkness somewhere, waiting for him to grab it. Yet Trunks was in an unending state of suffering and pain. He knew that he had less than minutes to live. He then dug deeper than he ever had, digging to the depths that he had dug to when he had been forced to face Cell, when he had fought Zamasu. With a roar of strength, he reached out with a single hand.

And grabbed at nothing.

His body then fully shut down a moment later, leaving him unable to feel a thing. His limbs didn't respond, his ki wouldn't come at his call, and he was painfully aware of how all of his sense seemed to be leaving him. With agony and regret tearing apart his heart, he knew that this would be it for him. Beaten by a being that he knew nothing about. He had so many people he wanted to apologize to, so many amends to make, but as his brain began to finally shut down as well, only one name crossed his mind.

'...Mai...'

Then Trunks mind went dark.

Time Out

Consciousness returned to Trunks. Which surprised the Saiyan, as he was fairly certain he should have been standing before King Yemma after what had happened to him. Yet the agony that coursed through his veins told him that he was not yet dead, meaning that he had to get up. Trunks struggled against the darkness, eventually managing to break through and open his eyes.

To find himself staring up at a pony.

The pony let out a yelp and backed away as Trunks started to move, while Trunks struggled just to move the way he wanted to. His limbs were like lead, his head hammered like an Android was trying to cave it in and he could barely feel the ki that resided with him, much less call on any of it to strengthen his body. But he had been through worse, so after gritting his teeth and fighting through the pain he managed to sit upright.

"Are you doing okay Mr. Trunks?" the pony asked Trunks. It took Trunks a moment to focus on her, but when he was able to do so he found he recognized her instantly.

"Starlight?" he asked, his voice weaker than he liked. She nodded and he put his weakness on the back-burner. "Okay, are you the Starlight that I met or are you a different timeline of her? Actually, am I in the normal time, the one where Sombra and Celestia are at war or in a new one altogether?"

"Slow down there, Mr. Trunks. You were all but dead when I found you," Starlight said calmly.

"Just Trunks is fine. And what do you mean by...?" Trunks began, but his voice trailed off when he saw that beside the mare was the vial that Maestro had talked about. And that it was empty. "Wait a moment, did you give me the cure? How did you even know what was going on in the first place? And how are you not affected by the timeline shifts?"

"Slow. Down," Starlight said much more strictly, getting Trunks to close his mouth. "Look, I'm...like you. I seem to not be affected by the shifts in the time space continuum. As for where...or when we are, we're in another time. Not the one I know, but not the one with Sombra and Celestia. That one is...gone. As for how I knew about what happened, I had you bugged."

"What?" Trunks asked, only for a tiny cricket made of magic to walk onto his shoulder. Starlight held out her hoof and the cricket crawled onto it, before vanishing into thin air. "Back when we met at the crystal castle, I put it on you. I had a feeling that you would help to uncover what's been going on, but with all of the dangerous attacks, I figured it best if I hung back. And after what happened to you, I think my line of thinking was correct. I only heard what happened though and sometimes it cut out. Who...?"

"Maestro. Him and Clockwork," Trunks grunted, finally building up the strength to push himself up to his feet. He didn't like how his body was barely responding to what he wanted it to do. "Clockwork is responsible for the time shifts. He's looking for something, but I don't know what. As for the Maestro...he's dangerous. One of the more dangerous foes I've fought. He has the ability to nullify ki and knows more about me than I like."

"And he nearly killed you," Starlight added on.

"He got lucky with some toxins. It won't work again," Trunks snarled, before fully looking over the pony before him. "Starlight Glimmer. Twilight's student and the only pony that seems unaffected by the time shifts like me. How did you manage to find me?"

"...luck, I guess? One moment I'm standing in a camp of ponies who had been rescued for Sombra's forces, the next thing I know I'm standing next to you're dying body, with the cure ten feet away," Starlight explained, though her explanation raised more questions than answers. "But you weren't the only other thing that was here. There's also...that."

She pointed behind Trunks and he turned to look, his eyes going wide as he saw his sword laying on the ground with a note on the front. He walked over to it and picked it up, finding that the note only had one word written upon it. "Sorry". He removed the note and checked over his blade, finding that it was almost an exact replica of the one he had arrived on the world with.

'Actually,' Trunks thought to himself as he checked the blade closer. 'This is the same blade that I had when I arrived on this world. Yep, right there is where the attached a new upper half to the broken off lower half. But I saw this blade be erased by Clockwork. How is it...nevermind, I'll think more about that later.'

He sheathed his blade, noting that it was a perfect fit, before he glance around at the area the two of them were in. There were trees all around them, filled with vines and their limbs blocking out the sun. He could hear creatures moving all around them, but his senses were still barely working after whatever Maestro's toxin had done to him. Yet he couldn't recall this location from either of the timelines he had been in.

"I think we're in the Everfree Forest," Starlight said, seemingly reading Trunks mind. "At least, that's what it looks like on the inside. But according to my magical map, we should be well within the town limits of Ponyville. So either my map is messed up, or we're in a timeline where the Everfree Forest grew out of control and swallowed up Ponyville. I hope it's the first."

"But I bet it's the second," Trunks replied, before he forced himself to start to move into the forest. "Come on, we won't learn anything standing around. We need to find ponies or anyone and see what they can tell us."

"Are you sure that you're in any shape to move? When I found you you were pale as a ghost, in a pool of your own blood and not breathing," Starlight pointed out. "You should probably rest up and recover more of your strength. For both of our sakes."

"I'll be fine."

"But what happens if we run into another villain like Sombra? Or the Maestro realizes that you didn't die and comes back to finish the job?" Starlight continued on, getting Trunks, who patience was already pretty thin thanks to the pain, to grit his teeth together in anger.

"Sombra went down without a fight, so I can handle him even weakened like this. As for the Maestro, I think he would be happy to find that I still live, in some sick and twisted way. So for the time being, let's just figure out where we are," Trunks said with all of his self control. Starlight caught the tone of his voice and shut her mouth, though her eyes revealed that she had dozens of other questions that she had.

The two walked on in silence, with Starlight wondering what was going on while Trunks tried to repress his anger. He knew that he wasn't angry with Starlight, how could he be after she had saved his life, but he was still angry at the Maestro and what he had said. How he had failed to save his world from Zamasu. How he had failed the people that had believed in him. His friends, his Mai...his own father.

The thought of his father made Trunks smirk, knowing that his anger issues were mostly because of his father's side of the family. His mother Bulma had a temper as well, but Vegeta was the saint of temper problems. Yet that very same temper he had inherited had given him access to his greatest strength, a strength that could rival that of the gods. Good with the bad.

'Focus on what needs to be done. Find Clockwork. Return the world to its normal timeline. Kill Maestro, brutally if possible, report to Supreme Kai of Time...and get back to Mai. This is what matters,' Trunks thought to himself, closing his eyes and forcing the anger and words that the Maestro had spoken from his mind. But when his mind had calmed he recalled something that Starlight had said and turned to look at her.

"Hey Starlight, when we were talking earlier you said something about the timeline with Celestia and Sombra being...gone?" Trunks asked. He didn't like the way her face fell at his words. "How do you know that it's gone and what happened to it?"

"...I don't know if Twilight told you this, but I am responsible for the fracture in Equestria's timeline. At least, I was the first one to do it," Starlight revealed. "Back when I was...lost, I tried to create a timeline without Twilight and her friends in it, so that they couldn't save the world and stop me. But each timeline was worse than the last, getting to the point where the world was just dust."

Starlight didn't like the look Trunks gave her after that, but she continued on. "Twilight stopped me and I eventually came to work under her, trying to learn about what it meant to be a good pony and friend. But ever since that day I've...been able to peek into the other timeline's, to see what's been happening. With this."

Her horn glowed with magical power and a moment later a mirror appeared in her hooves. What drew Trunks eye about the mirror was that it was cracked in the center, leaving six pieces of mirror to be made from the cracks. Images moved in four of the pieces, one of the pieces showed only them, and the final piece was black.

"There are five timelines that were created because of my actions," Starlight explained, showing Trunks the mirror. In the other pieces, he saw a mix and match monster making chocolate rain from the sky. In another, a giant centaur was obliterating the world with energy beams from his horn. In the third a dark alicorn sat on a throne, while moonlight shined on the land. And in the fourth piece he saw Twilight walking through Ponyville, seemingly calling out for somepony. But after he waited for a moment, he realized that none of these other times were moving. None except for them image of the two of them.

"Why are none of them moving?" Trunks asked.

"Normally they do move, but ever since this business with the dead Time Patrollers has started, the only time that moved was our timeline. At least, until we shifted to the one with Sombra and Celestia," Starlight explained. "Clockwork has done something to the timelines, making it so only one time moves and the others freeze. I believe that only the timeline he is currently in is the timeline that moves."

"Yet we are not frozen in time...or we don't realize it," Trunks muttered. "So that means that right now, Clockwork is in this timeline with us. Is it just coincidence that we're in the same place at the same time? Or, as two beings that can exist out of time, are we dragged along every time he changes the timeline? Grah, it's too much to think about right now."

Trunks then looked at the mirror piece that was dark an empty, a question forming on his lips. Starlight knew what he was going to ask and she looked away from Trunks. "I know what you're going to ask, but you won't like the answer. That timeline...has been destroyed, along with everything in it."

"What? But how? How did Clockwork manage to destroy an entire timeline?!" Trunks asked Starlight. But the look she gave Trunks caused his stomach to go cold and he knew what she going to say the moment before she said it.

"Clockwork didn't destroy this timeline Trunks...you did."

Ripple

"What?" was all that Trunks could reply with in response to what Starlight had just told him.

"Well, let me clarify. You didn't do it on purpose and I don't think it was entirely up to you, but after you killed Sombra and fought the Maestro, that timeline that we just came from suddenly vanished," Starlight explained, before showing Trunks the mirror. This time his eyes locked onto the timeline that was missing, the very same timeline that he had just been in.

"Alright, let's say for a moment that my killing of Sombra or my fight with the Maestro somehow caused the timeline to vanish. Why? Why would that happen?" Trunks asked, before looking at the other timelines. "It can't just be because of my presence or anything like that. After all, the main timeline is still intact and that was the very first one I visited. So why did that other timeline vanish?"

"I have a couple of theories," Starlight muttered, before a howl echoed throughout the forest and she glanced around with a worried look. "But I would rather not discuss them in such a dangerous place. How about we head to Ponyville and then we can talk about this?"

"We can talk as we walk," Trunks grunted. Pain lanced through his body as he turned and followed Starlight towards the town. As he walked Trunks tested the ki inside of him, finding that his body, while recovering, was still far from one hundred percent. The pain meant nothing to him though. Pain had been apart of his life since the day he was born. "So, what are these theories of yours?"

"The first is that since the timelines were are currently in are just fractures of the main timeline, they will fade away if they are too badly damaged, unlike the main one."

"That is a possibility, but I thought for sure that time worked on more of a multiverse theory," Trunks muttered to himself.

"That too is a possibility. The second is that your power was great enough to destabilize the already unstable timeline and upon you leaving, it collapsed upon itself," Starlight put forward, but then after a glance at Trunks she shook her head. "No, that doesn't seem right. Your power, while great, isn't enough to bring down a whole timeline. Especially if you aren't going all out."

"How do you I'm not going all out?"

"Trunks, I saw that explosion you created from across the continent. If you can fire something like that off, then you're clearly not using your full power right now," Starlight said with a smirk. "I also have a third theory, but I really hope this one isn't true. Because if it is..."

"Just spit it out."

"The third idea is that, if what the Maestro said is true, Clockwork is the one responsible for the timeline disappearing. After all, he's looking for something and he's willing to tear apart space and time until he finds it. So if I was using my power to shift time around so that I could explore multiple timelines, I wouldn't keep them around once I was done with them. Not to mention Maestro and Clockwork seem like the types to destroy something once they're done with it."

"I hate to admit it, but that idea of yours makes the most sense," Trunks muttered as he thought back to his fight with the Maestro and how...different the metal beings power had been. "Maestro definitely seems like the kind of being that would destroy an entire timeline. But if this theory is indeed correct, that means that Maestro and Clockwork not only have the power to shatter time, but to completely wipe out entire realities as well. And that power...is not something I can handle in this state."

"Speaking of you, how are you feeling? You didn't look good at all when I found you," Starlight asked with concern in her voice. Trunks's response was to snap a fist forward, creating a burst of wind that swayed the nearby forest with his power.

"I'm getting better. Whatever that toxin was he hit me with, it's starting to wear off. It won't be long before I'm back to one hundred percent," Trunks noted, able to feel his body starting to feel like its old self again. Trunks then sensed the presences of another lifeform and he held out a hand to stop Starlight, who slightly moved behind him. A rustling came from the bushes in front of them, prompting Trunks to narrow his eyes as he reached back for his blade. Then a mare came bursting through the bushes.

"Oh thank goodness! I thought you were more of those monsters!" the mare exclaimed with joy as she laid eyes on Starlight, but then she stopped dead when she looked up to see Trunks glaring down at her, hand still on the hilt of his blade. "By the heavens, what kind of being are you?"

"Don't worry, he's a friend and he's incredibly strong," Starlight said as she raced forward to the mare, checking over her for injuries. "You said that a monster did this to you? Is that same monster attacking Ponyville?"

"Ponyville? Are you guys not from around here?" the mare asked, her eyes going wide when both Trunks and Starlight shook their heads. "No, Ponyville isn't...look, it might be easier to just show you. Come with me, but be careful. There are dangerous beings in this forest."

With one last worried look at Trunks, who had yet to remove his hand from his sword, the mare proceeded to lead the both of them towards where she had been running from. "Will you let go of your sword? You're scaring her and from the look on her face she's been having a scary enough day as it is!" Starlight whispered to Trunks.

"Something about her ki doesn't feel right," Trunks whispered back, making sure that the mare leading them couldn't hear. "Everything about her is right, but her ki...it's like it doesn't belong to a pony. At least none of the ponies I've been around. I'm playing along for now, but I would advise you to keep your guard up."

For a moment Starlight looked like she wanted to argue, but then she nodded to Trunks and took on a more wary expression. "So what is this monster like? I'd like to know as much about it as we can before we get there," Starlight continued on, talking to the mare without any chance in her voice.

"Oh...um...it's a very big monster! Four legs, giant horns and has the power to tear apart the ground! Honestly, it's been running rampant for weeks on end!" the mare said with a relieved smile to the two following her. "That's why I'm so glad that I ran into the both of you and i'm even happier that you happen to be strong. Um, I didn't catch your name?"

"Trunks."

"Okay then Trunks. Hopefully you can help us."

"Sounds like she's talking about Tirek," Starlight muttered to Trunks. "Giant, four legs, horns and an incredible amount of power. Twilight and her friends dealt with him a while back and he nearly beat them. If he's causing trouble in this timeline-"

"She's lying," Trunks replied coldly. Starlight stopped talking before she glanced at the mare leading them, who didn't seem to have heard what Trunks had said. "I've scanned for nearly the entire continent, but I can't sense anything remotely close to a giant monster terrorizing the land. And even if I couldn't sense his ki, there are no shockwaves, no senses of destruction or anything like. So this is either the sneakiest giant monster I've ever fought or she's lying. I'm inclined to think the latter."

"So why would she lie to us?"

"That's what we need to find out."

"What are you guys whispering about back there?" the mare asked the pair.

"We were wondering what happened to Ponyville. Your tone of voice implied that something bad happened to it, but you haven't really gone into any detail," Trunks replied without missing a beat, bailing out Starlight who had been struggling to think of a lie.

"It was destroyed. In fact, it was destroyed by the same being that has been terrorizing us," the mare replied with a stifled sob. "So many lives lost that day. And nopony has been able to so much as stand up to the monster. Princess Celestia was completely outclassed by it and was slain."

"And what of Princess Luna?" Starlight asked.

"You mean Nightmare Moon? Still trapped on the moon, last time I checked," the mare said as she looked up at the sky. "Even if she was free, I doubt she would have helped. She hates her sister."

"Wait, but-" Starlight began, but Trunks shook his head.

"So did Fluttershy and her friends fall as well? Or are they hold up somewhere planning to fight back?" Trunks asked. To his surprise the mare made a nasty face and spat to the side.

"Fluttershy is a traitor. She betrayed Celestia. She, along with a number of other ponies, went into this very same forest and have been plotting to bring her down ever since," the mare replied with anger. "And after how hard our queen has worked to make sure that we're all safe. She's up day and night."

"But-" Starlight began with a confused look, but Trunks shook his head once more.

"I see. I can't imagine what it's like to be betrayed like that. Queen Celestia must be working non-stop to find them and bring them in," Trunks said sympathetically.

"Yes she is. In fact, I'm certain that right now she is hard at work trying to think of a way to find them," the mare replied. She took a few more steps before she realized that the other two weren't following her and she turned around to see that both Trunks and Starlight were staring at her with narrowed eyes. "What is the matter? We won't make it if-"

"Drop the act. We know that you're leading us into a trap," Trunks snarled at the mare. Her eyes went wide and she slightly backed away, confusion on her face. "Don't play dumb. First you say that Celestia died in the battle with this monster, then you say she's hard at work finding these traitors. Then you call her Queen when earlier you said Princess. For somepony who's supposed to lead others into a trap, you're really sloppy at it. You new at this?"

"So you figured me out," the mare said with a toothy grin as her eyes flashed green. "Doesn't matter, because you've still fallen for the trap! Get them!"

Starlight crouched down and glanced around for any sign of the attack, but Trunks did nothing aside from continue to glare at the mare. The mare slowly looked around before calling out once more for an attack to be made, but it never came. After a moment of waiting she turned and snarled at Trunks. "What is going on?"

"I knew were walking into a trap. When I tried to sense for the monster you mentioned, I actually sensed the group that you had gathered at this point to ambush us. But then I realized that they weren't the only group in this forest," Trunks explained, his glare being replaced with a smile. "And that's when I mentioned Fluttershy to you and your reaction told me everything that I needed to know. She's been fighting against you, hasn't she?"

"What does that have to do with what's going on?!" the mare roared at him.

"Simple, really. Because she had her group take out your group and has been laying in wait this whole time," Trunks said before looking around at the trees surrounding them. "You can all come out now."

And then dozens of ponies in leaves and paint burst forth from the forest.

Changeling

In the previous timeline, Trunks had seen ponies be at war with one another, a sight that had slightly altered his thoughts on a race of kind and friendly beings that harnessed the power of magic. But as he watched Fluttershy and her camouflage ponies leap out of the forest and surrounded the mare he had been following with looks he didn't know they were capable of making, he began to think that these ponies had darker sides than they cared to admit.

"You will all pay for betraying the queen!" the mare snarled as she stared down Fluttershy, whose eyes betrayed no emotion as she glared back with murderous intent. "It is only a matter of time before Chrysalis finds your hidden colony and finishes the rest of you off, just as she did with Zecora,, just as she did with Pinkie and just as she did with Celestia."

"Crush her," was all Fluttershy said in reply. The other ponies in Fluttershy's group let out a roar as they swarmed the mare, who erupted in a pillar of green fire when they got close. Her form was replaced with that of a black insect pony with blue eyes, while a black horn erupted from her head. The mare snarled before she took to the skies, flying over the attacking force.

"You will not catch me! You may have found me out, but I swear the next time we meet again it will be with your forces dead and your head on a-" the being never got to finish what she was going to say to Fluttershy, for in the next moment a flash of metal severed her head from her body and sent both crashing into the forest floor at Fluttershy's hooves. The mare looked from the corpse that lay at her hooves to Trunks, who was flicking green blood off of his sword and onto the leaves. Starlight was less that thrilled with what she had just seen.

"Trunks...why did you just...kill that changeling?" Starlight managed to force out, while she also tried to keep her eyes from staring at the changeling body.

"That changeling had the location of some of Fluttershy's forces. Not to mention that if I didn't do it, then they would have," Trunks said as he tipped his blade towards the rebels.

"Them? Trunks, I know Fluttershy and trust me when I saw that she would never-" Starlight never got to finish her sentence, for with one flick of her mane Fluttershy signaled her troops to surrounded Trunks and Starlight, which they did silently and efficiently. Spears and blowguns were all aimed at Trunks and Starlight, the latter of the pair looking around at the site with wide eyes.

Fluttershy silently walked up to Starlight and glared into her eyes, staring down Starlight with such intensity that Starlight felt the urge to curl up into a ball and cry. After glaring down Starlight, Fluttershy then turned her gaze upon Trunks. Yet after only a moment of staring into his eyes, eyes that were like unmoving steel, she turned back to her ponies and shook her head.

"Neither of these two are changelings. Hide the body, hide your tracks, and then split up to meet back at our base later. None of you get caught." The ponies nodded before they vanished into the trees, vanishing from sight within moments. Starlight looked around with surprise, having lost most of them almost instantly, but with his ability to sense ki Trunks was able to track them a little longer.

"Who are you two?" Fluttershy asked the both of them with a snarl.

"Fluttershy...this isn't like you...why are you so-?" Starlight tried to ask, but Trunks stepped forward to cut her off.

"I'm Trunks. This is Starlight. We're time travelers that come from another timeline. The correct timeline," Trunks stated clearly. Normally a pony would have laughed off the idea of time travel, but as Fluttershy was face to face with a being that she had not only never seen, but one that held a phenomenal amount of power within it, she decided to accept his words at face value.

"Time travelers. Sure. Why not?" Fluttershy asked before she turned and motioned for the both of them to follow her. She then vanished into the trees the moment after she made the motion, vanishing completely from both Trunks and Starlight's gaze. Trunks ability to sense her ki allowed him to lead both himself and Starlight after Fluttershy, catching up with her a moment later when they found her standing next to a tree.

"A little slow, but I'm impressed that you can follow me," Fluttershy muttered with a nod of approval. "We could use you."

"Fluttershy, why is there a changeling in the middle of the Everfree Forest?" Starlight asked. "And what did it mean when it said that Celestia, Zecora and Pinkie had been beaten by Chrysalis?"

"Not beaten. Killed. There is a very clear distinction between the two terms," Fluttershy bluntly replied. "It's simple really. Chrysalis and her forces replaced numerous ponies at Canterlot, including Princess Cadence, and eventually lead a sneak attack that claimed not only the life of Princess Celestia, but nearly all of the ponies in Canterlot. Ponyville was her next target and she carried out the same plan to take us out there. It was only thanks to the aid of Zecora, a zebra that could see through their disguise, that any of us escaped from being slaughtered. But a few weeks ago, Chrysalis found our largest base and killed most of us. Zecora, Pinkie and a numerous amount of my friends. The ponies that you saw emerge from those woods are pretty much all I've got left."

"I've been there before," Trunks muttered, recalling his war with Black for a few moments.

"So in this timeline, Chrysalis has managed to kill Celestia and I assume take the crown of Canterlot for herself? Does that mean that she essentially rules the world?"

"No. She rules Equestria. The changelings aren't adapt yet at transforming into other species, especially dragons. But it's only a matter of time. If we don't stop them here, then eventually they will conquer the whole world," Fluttershy replied. She was leading the both of them through the forest, past numerous twists and turns that even managed to confuse Trunks.

"That's where the both of you come in. Or rather, where he comes in. I saw what you did to that changeling. Or rather, I didn't see it. And that kind of speed we haven't had since Rainbow Dash years ago. We could use a swords...man like you on our side. What do you think, Trunks? Feel like taking on an unstoppable army of shapeshifters that can be your enemies one moment and pretending to be your best friend the next?"

"Sounds ease."

"I bet it does, especially for you. I also noticed how easily you managed to pierce through that changeling's disguise. Not since Zecora have I see somepony tell them apart so easily. You said something about sensing ki?"

"Ki is a form of life energy that every living being has and one that I can sense. Her energy was off, so it was easy to tell that something was wrong with her," Trunks said with a shrug.

"Impressive. You'll fit in just fine."

"We're also looking for a couple of our own foes," Starlight added on, getting Fluttershy to turn back to look at her. "Two beings made of metal. One of them wields a cane and the other has a brownish cloak. But both of them have incredible power. Have you seen anything like them?"

"Can't say I've seen anything like that. But then again, I hadn't seen anything like the changelings until they popped up either," Fluttershy admitted bitterly. "So those two the reason a couple of time travelers like yourselves showed up in the this chocolate mess of a time? I hope that's the reason and you didn't just come here for the scenery."

"You're half right. We did come here in an effort to hunt the both of them down, but we are also trying to set the timeline right," Starlight replied. "As Trunks said earlier, this is not the main timeline, but a fractured...what if, almost. Because in the main timeline, the changeling invasion failed and the changelings eventually became our allies. What this is...is not how things are supposed to be."

"So what you're saying is that my friends aren't supposed to be dead and my nation isn't supposed to be in the hooves of a homicidal queen that would set fire to the world just to see it burn?" Fluttershy asked. When Starlight nodded, a smile crossed the mare's face. "Well why didn't you say so earlier? Now I've got to help you set things right. We're nearly there."

"Where are we going, by the way?" Starlight asked. "Because this is a part of the Everfree forest that I don't think i've ever been to before."

"This is a part of the forest only Zecora knew of. It's a place of ancient and dark magic, the kind that makes it impossible to find unless somepony has already found it," Fluttershy said in an ominous tone. Both Starlight and Trunks looked around at the forest, which was as pitch black as a midnight sky. The branches seemed to be constantly shifting, the calls of the creatures within were silent and even Trunks ability to sense ki was not working correctly. Neither he nor Starlight lowered their guards for a moment. "Which, of course, makes it a great place to create a base for us to hide in. Welcome to our last stand."

As she said this, Fluttershy pulled back a curtain of leaves to reveal a village hidden within. Dozens of houses were made out of the black sticks and leaves, blending them in perfectly with the forest around them. In fact, with the lack of landmarks, community or even ponies standing near the houses, Trunks would have guessed that this place was abandoned, if not for the few sets of eyes that he could see peering at the pair of them from out of the darkness.

"Where...where is everypony?" Starlight asked as she started to walk ahead of Fluttershy.

"Hiding, at least until I can prove to them that I am their leader and not a bug disguised as her," Fluttershy revealed, before pointing a hoof towards a larger building near the end of the hidden trees. "That's where you both will be staying for the time being. Inside you will find food, water and whatever weapons we have on hoof at the moment. Go on ahead, Starlight and get comfortable. I need to have a quick talk with Trunks here. Also, try not to set any of the ponies here off."

Starlight looked between Fluttershy and Trunks for a moment, before she nodded and walked off towards the building. It was only after she was out of earshot that Fluttershy sighed and looked up at Trunks. "Alright, she's gone. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"There's a part of her time traveling story that she left out," Trunks revealed to Fluttershy, who lifted an eyebrow in interest. "This is not the first fractured timeline that we've been apart of. There was another one, one that was similar in a way to this one. One where Sombra ruled instead of Chrysalis. That was the first timeline we found."

"Was? Past tense. Telling me it's gone?"

"Correct. Either it was when I killed Sombra or fought one of those metal men, but after that the timeline vanished. Either it collapsed upon itself for simply vanished into the unknown, but it's gone. And I theorize, should we accomplish what we came here to do, that the same fate shall befall your world as well," Trunks informed Fluttershy in his most serious tone. "I just thought that you should know the full extent of what you're getting into with us."

"Trunks, you just told me that this world is a twisted version of the true world and that helping you and Starlight could get this world erased once and for all," Fluttershy repeated before smiling up at Trunks with a twisted grin.

"Now I've got all the more reason to help you."

Familiar

"I hope that this isn't going to be a pattern."

Trunks and Starlight were standing next to one another beneath one of the larger trees in the village, watching as all of the ponies and zebras in the rebellion raced back and forth in preparations for their assault on the Canterlot Castle. At least, that was the plan that Fluttershy had told them. The real plan she had only told Trunks and Starlight, as Trunks was the main factor for that plan coming to fruition.

"What do you mean a pattern?" Starlight asked Trunks in reply.

"Here were are in another timeline, yet it's eerily similar to the one that we just came from. Swap out Fluttershy with Celestia, Chrysalis with Sombra and you pretty much have a similar timeline to the one we came from. You know, when I explore all the different timelines, most of the time they have huge variations that can cause many different futures. This is...I don't know, what's the word, familiar?"

"Yeah, a lot of the foes that the ponies have dealt with over the years pretty much all want the same thing. The crown for Equestria," Starlight agreed with a shrug. "Chrysalis wanted to rule so that she could harvest our love. Tirek wanted to rule so he could siphon our magic. Sombra wanted to rule for the power. And I think Discord wanted to rule so that there would be no order. Try to wrap your head around that one."

"At least it makes things simple," Trunks replied. He then closed his eyes and focused on all of the ki that was up in Canterlot. Thousands of lives lived there, tricking him for a brief moment into believing that Chrysalis's rule wasn't as tight as Fluttershy thought it was. But then he narrowed in on the ki of the citizens and noted how nearly all of them had ki similar to those that the changeling he had met had. Including the being in the castle who, when compared to her subjects, had the highest ki there. That was his target.

"Simple how?"

"If all the other timelines have a dictator or some kind of evil ruling over them, then I can do the same thing again and again until we find Maestro and Clockwork. Show up, ally myself with the rebellion of that world and bring down the tyrant. Eventually Maestro will get fed up with me and try once again to wipe me off the face of the planet. Then I can tear him apart with my bare hands."

"Will it really be that easy?" Starlight asked nervously. Trunks flashed her a look and she avoided his gaze. "I mean, he kinda wiped the floor with you the last time the two of you fought, so who is to say that he won't do the same thing to you again?"

"He didn't wipe the floor with me, he caught me off guard with some kind of toxin that weakened me. But by the time the effects have worn off, I'll be more than ready for him," Trunks snarled as he gazed down at his fist. "He beat me with a cheap trick once. It won't work on me a second time."

"If you say so," Starlight muttered, before gazing down at the mirror she held which showed her the other timelines. A worrying frown crossed her face, a frown that was not lost on Trunks.

"Something the matter?"

"No...well, maybe. I'm not sure," Starlight muttered with confusion. "At first glance, nothing seems wrong. But...I've been looking at this mirror for a long time, far longer than we've been having these time problems. And all the times I remember looking at it, the main timeline, the one I came from, is always the clearest. The other ones, at best, were a blur. But now..."

"Now the other timelines are starting to become clearer while the main timeline is becoming blurry," Trunks answered. Starlight nodded to show that he was right, getting Trunks to sigh before he walked over to Starlight and looked into the mirror.

"Yes and no. You're right in saying that the main timeline is getting blurry, but not all of the timelines are getting clearer. Just the one that we're in...and if I was a betting pony, I'd say that this is the same one that Maestro and Clockwork are in as well," Starlight finished. "So whatever they're doing is causing the main timeline to be overtaken by these fractured timelines."

"And they will become the main timelines unless we destroy them once and for all," Trunks finished for her once again. "Alright, now that we know what we need to do, that will cut down on us wandering around the next time we have to shift timelines. Once I've eliminated Chrysalis from this world, we can-"

"Trunks...is this right?" Starlight asked, her question catching Trunks completely off guard. "Eliminating these timelines, I mean. What right do we have to eliminate these other versions of our friends? Shouldn't we try to find a way for all of them to exist at the same time? I mean, the have just as much of a right to live as we do."

"Time works differently here than it does in my part of reality. Where I come from, multiverse theory is what time travel runs on. Your world seems to run on change the past, change all the possible futures. I don't know how the timelines are taking over or what causes one to become stronger than others, but I do know this," Trunks began before he knelt down next to Starlight so that he could look her in the eyes. "The ponies you care about are not in this timeline. This timeline was never even supposed to exist. None of them are. This world and the beings in it are not real. Or at least, they're nothing more than a fractured version of your world. They are just broken reflections. And we're going to fix it."

"By wiping them out," Starlight muttered.

"This version of them, yes, but in doing so will save their true versions. So in a way, we're just making their lives better," Trunks replied before motioning to the ponies putting on warpaint and sharpening their weapons. "Look at them in this timeline. In this timeline, they're constantly at fear for their lives, unsure if they can even trust the pony standing next to them. Most of their loved ones are dead and their leader was just killed not too long ago. Tell me, does this world seem like one that they should be living in?"

"Well...no, but..."

"That's why we need to fix the timeline. These ponies don't deserve to live in a timeline like this. They deserve to live in a time free of worries and pain. Free from the terror that haunts their ever waking moment, a terror that wants to wipe them all off the face of the planet. And I will do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening. I swear it."

Starlight watched Trunks carefully as he continued to talk, noticing that he didn't seem to be talking to her anymore. His eyes were locked on the ground with a fury in them that she had never seen in another being before. His blue hair was flashing with shades of gold and the very planet beneath them seemed to tremble slightly with fear of what was to come next. But then Trunks seemed to put a lid on his rage and when he looked at Starlight once more his eyes were filled with determination, but not the rage that they had held.

So that's why we need to fix this timeline as quickly as we can so that we can hunt down the Maestro and his little chrome sidekick and take them out of the equation once and for all. You and I are the only ones that can fix this."

"I...I guess you're right. But there has to be a better way," Starlight muttered to herself.

"There isn't. Believe me, I've tried," Trunks cut her off abruptly. "Think we've discussed this long enough. You know what you have to do, right?"

"Yeah, I know what I'll be doing to help, if you can call it that," Starlight said with a smirk. "I'm with the other unicorns, using my power to tear open a hole in the magical barrier that protects Canterlot from all forces. Of course, with your power, I'm certain that you won't really need our help up there. This will probably be quick."

"Chrysalis will be no problem. It's Maestro and Clockwork that I want," Trunks muttered. Their conversation came to an end when Fluttershy flew over to them, landing next to the pair of them and giving them both a steely eyed glare.

"It's almost time to move out. We've only got one shot at taking down Chrysalis, so we're going to take it before she realizes that we've got the two of you on our side. Starlight, your magic is nearly equal to some of the students that Celestia took back in the day. And Trunks, if you're really as strong as you say you are, then I will finally get to live out my dream of watching Chrysalis being hurled off of her throne."

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Fluttershy?" Starlight blurted out, getting Fluttershy to glance at her. "If we do this, there's a very high chance that you and everypony else in the world will cease to be! That this whole timeline will be wiped out once and for all!"

"Starlight, I had to watch as the changelings descended upon my home, killed or captured everypony I had ever called my friend and then took control of my world while all those who were left had to fight day in and day out to survive," Fluttershy said in a voice that held no emotion. It was simply cold. "So if you're telling me you can not only wipe out the changelings, but this whole stinking timeline that allowed something like this to happen, I say go for it. Make sure what happened here never happened at all."

Fluttershy then flew off to continue helping her forces prepare, leaving Trunks to shake his head at the disbelief that was on the face of Fluttershy. "It's just like I said. By eliminating these timelines, we're only fixing things. They are not supposed to exist, and be repair the original timeline, we're making all of these miserable lives infinitely better. I've seen this kind of thing before and, before we're done, I'll wager I'll see it again."

"But...it doens't feel right," Starlight muttered, more to herself than to Trunks. "There has to be another way. A way that can help all these timelines live in peace."

"We're bringing them the peace that they crave, Starlight. We're going to fix what's wrong with them by repairing where they all came from. Now come on, even though Chrysalis may not pose a threat to me, there are still dozens of different ways this can all go wrong. And I will not let any unknown factors bring down another world that I've been put in charge of."

Starlight nodded and followed Trunks as he led the both of them towards where Fluttershy was giving out orders to her troops, but neither the pony nor the swordsman were thinking about the upcoming battle. Starlight was still thinking of the millions of lives that would simply cease to be if they succeeded, lives that weren't responsible for what was happening. And Trunks wasn't thinking about timelines or the battle against Chrysalis at all. All he could think about was Maestro and Clockwork.

And how he was going to make them pay the next time they fought.

Desolate

'I've got to stop waking up like this,' was all Trunks could think of when the world returned. He let out a groan of pain as he opened his eyes, finding himself laying face down in the middle of a road. He pressed his hands down and pushed himself up, his body sore from, what he assumed, traveling to another timeline. "Starlight, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so. At least the feeling of my body being ripped apart and put back together has finally ended," Starlight groaned, standing up a few feet away from Trunks. She lifted her head to the sky and began to look around, confusion crossing her features after a moment of getting her bearings. "This...isn't any place that I recognize. Why is the sky red? And why are all the buildings designed like that?"

Trunks rose to his feet and followed Starlight's gaze, finding that the pair of them had landed in a town that was made entirely of stone, with unbalanced buildings, a red, cloudy sky and none of the usual life and splendor that he had come to associate with Equestria. He then closed his eyes and sensed the entire planet, only to be nearly bowled over by an unyielding wave of power that washed over him.

"What the heck was that?" Starlight asked as she used her magic to steady Trunks.

"There...there's someone in this timeline. Someone whose power far exceeds any other being I've seen in Equestria," Trunks replied, shaking his head and trying to locate the being whose powers he had sensed. "But it's weird, it doesn't feel like its the power of a single being. More like the kind of power that the Spirit Bomb-"

"Is that...magic?"

Trunks stopped talking to Starlight and the both of them looked towards who had spoken, their eyes resting on a single pony that was staring at them from the entrance to one of the stone buildings. Or rather, he was staring at Starlight and the mark that she had on her flank. "It's been so long since I've seen a pony do magic that I thought for certain that it was a myth. Quickly, come in here before he comes for you."

Starlight glanced up at Trunks, prompting him to nod, and the two of them joined the pony inside of the building. The pair found that the stone house wasn't just housing the pony that had invited them in, but held over a dozen ponies, all of who were crammed into the place that was clearly too small for them. But what drew both the attention of Trunks and Starlight was that none of the ponies had a cutie mark.

"What happened to all of you?" Starlight managed to ask. The pony who had invited them inside gave her a bitter smirk, before he took a stone cup off of a rock and offered what little water that the cup held to her. She gently pushed it back to him and shook her head. "Where did your magic go? And what do mean it's been so long since you've seen a pony do magic?"

"My name is Stone Four. These are the rest of my unite, Stone One through Seventeen," Stone Four introduced. "And I believe that it's been at least two hundreds years since a pony was last able to do magic on their own in broad daylight."

"Two hundred years?" Starlight mouthed to Trunks.

"Perhaps this timeline is in the distance future?" Trunks muttered, shrugging his shoulders at Starlight.

"We have never had magic. Or rather, we are all born with magic. The magic that once belonged to this land. But every year, once a year, we are gathered and those of us that have magic are offered up to the lord of this world. He takes our magic and adds it to his already colossal power, as he has continuously done so for two hundred years, ever since Celestia and Luna fell to him," Stone Four explained.

"Tirek," Starlight whispered and the pony nodded.

"Tirek?" Trunks repeated, getting both ponies to look up at him.

"He's a centaur that has the ability to steal magic from others and add it to his own. His power on his own is already great, but if he's been stealing the magic of an entire nation for over two hundred years-"

"World. The entire world," Stone Four corrected for Starlight. "Once he absorbed the magic of Celestia, Luna and Cadence, the rest of the world was no match for him. He ever freed Sombra, Chrysalis and Discord and added their magic to his own. He is an unstoppable god, whose powers can change the very way this world works with a snap of his fingers. He is our lord and god."

"After taking our magic from out ponies and our world, he set us to work. Everyday we slave away finding the rarest of minerals and the strongest of rocks, all of which go into building statues in his image or adding to his golden city that is in the heart of Equis. We have no magic, no joy and even our names have been taken from us. That is his will."

"Sounds like to me that he's nothing more than a tyrant, one that I will deal with soon enough," Trunks replied with an angry tone. Stone Four and the other ponies in the stone house looked up at Trunks like he was crazy, while Starlight gave Trunks a concerned look.

"You...did you not hear what I just said?" Stone Four asked. "He has the magic of every being on the planet. He has the power to move the sun and moon! What could possibly make you believe that you, a being with no magic, and your blade can slay a being that is pretty much a god?!"

"Well, first is that Celestia and Luna, while nice ponies, are nowhere close to what I can do," Trunks began, getting Stone Four to give him a look. "The second is that I have dealt with my fair share of godlike beings and, well, I've done more than hold my own. So yes, I am entirely confident in my skills and blade to see me through."

The ponies in the room continued to stare at Trunks like he was a crazy person, before the ground shook with an intense force. All eyes snapped towards the entrance, where they could all see that a massive, two legged being had crashed down in the center of the stone village. The being had got like legs, but had a humanoid upper half, complete with horns growing out of his hairy head. He was twice the size of Trunks, who wasn't impressed with what he was looking at while the others cowered.

"And that is?" Trunks asked the ponies cowering behind him.

"That is one of his most trusted warriors. A being that has spent over a hundred years working for him. Because of that loyalty, it has been given a fraction of the power that Tirek wields," Stone Four said as he sat down and closed his eyes. "And yet even that fraction is enough to destroy us. He has come for your magic, pony. And for our lives."

"Well he's getting neither."

Trunks fist was on the satyr's face a moment later, rocketing the being backwards and into the side of a building. The satyr let out a snarl as he pulled himself out of the building, his eyes locking onto Trunks before he opened his mouth to roar. The roar was followed by a massive blast of magic that caught Trunks off guard, knocking him across the ground and through one of the stone buildings. The building came crashing down around Trunks and buried him underneath tons of stone and rubble. The satyr chuckled to itself at how easily it dispatched its foe, before Trunks erupted from beneath the rubble.

"Okay, so you're not as weak as the other villains I've fought," Trunks snarled before he reached up and cracked his neck. "But let's see what you can really do."

Trunks shot across the ground, hurling a rapid fire of punches into the face of the satyr. The beast caught onto what was happening after the first few punches and it created a barrier of magic around itself to cease Trunks attack. When one of Trunks blows struck the magical barrier, torrents of electricity ripped through his nerves. Trunks growled with pain as he ceased his attack, leaving him open to an overhead, hammer fist that drove him through the rocky streets below.

The ground shattered as Trunks body was driven through it, but he had barely come to a stop before the satyr aimed both of his horns towards Trunks body and unleashed an unholy amount of power into Trunks. Yet even underneath all of the magical power that was bombarding him, Trunks pushed up against the magic and rose to his feet, before channeling his ki into both of his hands which he raised over his head.

"Masenko!" Trunks roared as he thrust both of his hands forward, unleashing a blast of yellow ki into the chest of the satyr. The magical monster was ripped from his hooves and hurled across the stone town, crashing into a rock quarry near the outskirts of the town. The magical being barely had time to register what had happened to it before Trunks appeared overhead, flying downwards with his blade pointed at the creatures head.

The satyr vanished in a flash of magic and Trunks drove his blade into the stone where the being had laid. Trunks had just a moment to pull his blade out of the ground before a backhand caught him from behind and set him tumbling across the ground. His body crashed through two buildings before he finally came to a stop, only to turn around to catch a face full of magic that launched him into the sky. The satyr appeared overhead and drove a fist into Trunk's face, sending him back down into the very streets that he had just gotten free of.

"Okay, maybe this guy isn't as weak as I thought," Trunks grunted as he pushed himself back up, turning around to see the satyr land across the street from him. The being narrowed its red eyes, before it let out a bellow and charged towards Trunks with magic pouring out of its body. "So all the more reason to end it."

Trunks dodged the punch thrown by the satyr before he grabbed hold of the satyr's arm, letting out a roar as he spun around and hurled the satyr into the air of his head. He then thrust both hands into the air, creating a massive dome of ki and heat around him, a smirk crossing his face as he saw the satyr's eyes go wide with shock.

"We're done here. Heat Dome Attack!"

From the center of the dome a colossal blast of blazing ki erupted towards the satyr, who had just enough time to realize he was dead before the beam of ki struck his body, incinerating him within moments. Trunks then lowered his arms, which caused the dome to dissipate and end his attack. He then turned to look at the ponies, all of who were coming out of their houses and slowly walking towards Trunks, disbelief and amazement on all of their faces.

"That...how did you do that?" Stone Four asked Trunks, who used his ki to summon his blade back to his side. "That being held a fraction of Tirek's power, which was more than enough to destroy our very home. And yet you...you bested it while suffering so little damage. What are you?"

"It's like I told you, I'm not afraid of Tirek," Trunks replied as he used his thumb to wipe away a bit of blood at the corner of his mouth. "Because I've fought beings like him before and won. Who am I, Stone Four? I'm Trunks, the Hero from the Future."

Hope

With a roar of fury the satyr fired off a blast of magic powerful enough to launch a mountain to Saturn towards the oncoming foe, but in a flash of movement his foe vanished from his sight. The satyr had just a moment to register that Trunks was gone before a flash of light and the sound of steel carving through flesh reached his ears. The his head fell off of his shoulders while his body collapsed to the side.

Trunks exhaled a long held breath before he rose up to his feet, tossing the sword into the air before slightly leaning to the left, allowing his blade to slide right into it's scabbard without him looking. He then glanced down at his outfit, which, thanks to the satyr, now had numerous more tears and rips in it than it had when he had arrived in the land. His black coat was shredded near the bottom while his ascot was long gone. He reached for the necklace that was hidden underneath of his shirt, sighing in relief when he felt it was still there.

'These guys are getting tougher,' Trunks thought as he turned back towards the headless satyr, this one having pushed him far harder than the previous one had done. He then watched as a cloud of magic emerged from the satyr and floated off towards the distance. He raised his hand and fired a blast of ki at it, but the ki did nothing to the cloud. 'With each one I fight, they seem to gain more and more magical strength. I don't know if it's because they are finding more magic to use...or Tirek just has that much strength to give to them. If that's the case, then this will be far more dangerous than I thought...'

Then Trunks heard the sound of running hooves and turned to see all of the citizens of the town of rocks that he had been battling the satyr to free. 'But this is why it's worth it,' Trunks finished as he looked around at all of the faces of the ponies that had formed a massive circle around him. Nearly all of the adults were looking up at him with awe and amazement, their gray eyes filled with the faintest traces of emotion. All of the foals were smiling up at Trunks with beaming eyes that were hard to stare into. And all of them made Trunks smile.

"That was incredible! That guy's been stealing our magic for years and you cut him down like he was nothing!" one of the foals exclaimed.

"Was that supposed to be hard?" Trunks replied with a smile, causing the foals eyes to go even wider.

"You cannot be thinking of going after Tirek? That being is far too powerful, even for a being like yourself," one of the adults advised Trunks.

"Of course I'm going after Tirek. Someone has to make him pay for what he's done to all of you," Trunks began, before a devious smile crossed his face. "And what makes you think this is all of my power? Because let me tell you, this is a fraction of what I can do."

The crowd gasped in amazement at his words and the foals began to ask him more questions, but Trunks then caught Starlight giving him a look from the edge of town. He waved and gave one last large smile to the crowd, before he quickly flew over to where she was standing. "That's not a good look," he said as he landed.

"It's just kinda weird seeing you play the hero," Starlight muttered. "Especially since this timeline will be erased like all the others when you defeat Tirek. Why even bother?"

"...old habits die the hardest," Trunks replied, his serious expression replacing his smile. "Not to mention that seeing a group of people like this...it brings out my need to act."

"Is this one of those villains you talked about back when we still had Twilight with us?" Starlight asked. The look of black fury that crossed Trunks face was more than enough of an answer for Starlight. "So did this villain do something similar? Did he steal the power of your people and keep them enslaved?"

"No. He stole something worse," Trunks snarled, before regaining control of himself. "As to why I'm bothering to act like a hero to them when we're just going to be erasing this timeline...I guess I still can't stand to see such looks of hopelessness and defeat among those that are being oppressed. Not as long as I can fight it."

"But in the end, it doesn't matter if you be a hero or not. They're all going to cease to be in the end."

"...yeah, I suppose they are."

"Unless you don't erase the timeline."

"Starlight, we've been over this."

"Yeah, but now, with you acting all hero like, seems like a better time for you to listen to my side. I've been doing a bit of experimentation and I think that we might not have to erase these alternate timelines to save the main one," Starlight suggested. She drew forth the mirror that kept an eye on the other timelines and showed it to Trunks. He looked into the mirror to see that the time they were in at the moment was moving, but the original timeline was also slowly moving also.

"And am I looking at here?"

"That despite us being in an alternate timeline, the main timeline is slowly beginning to move on it's own again!" Starlight exclaimed. "That might mean that we don't have to-"

"Or maybe because I'm erasing the timelines that are trying to take over the main timeline it is finally able to move again. Your hypothesis needs more testing before I'm willing to change my methods," Trunks replied, shaking his head when Starlight tried to argue. "We can throw ideas around later, but we both know that Tirek needs to be stopped. Have you managed to get any further with that shield?"

"No, unfortunately," Starlight grumbled. Trunks gently grabbed her by her back and flew the both of them into the sky, where they both had an uninterrupted look at Canterlot and the magical barrier that was surrounding the city. "Whatever Tirek used to create that barrier, it's made of magic way more powerful than any spell I know. Nothing I've done seems to so much as scratch it."

"And it still seems to be absorbing my ki," Trunks muttered as he raised a hand and shot a blast of ki at the barrier, which vanished into the spell when it impacted. "Meaning that a lot of my biggest attacks are useless against it and I doubt that punching it is going to work."

"Then why not use your full power against it? I mean, according to that bragging I heard down there you're still not using a fraction of your power," Starlight pointed out, but her tone told Trunks she was still mad at him.

"If I use my full power, I guarantee that I can break that barrier. Problem is there won't be much of a planet left to save. Or anything left of the planet really," Trunks replied with a shrug. "Besides, I try not to act like my dad when it comes to solving my problems. I've learned a lot from him and respect him, but he tends to get a bit...explosive when angry. I'm trying to be better."

"Did he wipe out entire timelines when he had the chance to save them?"

"Drop it."

"Well, unless you have any magic spells up that long sleeve of yours, we're not getting through that barrier anytime soon," Starlight said. "And with Tirek having taken all of the magic in the world, I'm willing to bet there isn't a wizard or witch left that can help us to take down that barrier."

"You haven't found Twilight or her friends in this timeline?"

"There are remains of what used to be their lives, but it seems that Tirek gave them a more permanent end after he stole their magic. Same goes for the princesses and Discord," Starlight replied. Trunks face darkened at her words. "Seems that this Tirek didn't want to leave any chance of the heroes finding a way to defeat him. He's probably the smartest villain that we've faced yet."

"Doesn't matter how strong or smart he is. Once I face him he'll fall like all the others. Right now my biggest concern is how do I get to him?" Trunks muttered. He placed a hand on his chin and began to think for a long time. Trunks may not have inherited his mothers brains, but he was far from stupid and downright cunning at times. But aside from Bobidi, he had little experience with magic. Fortunately for him, Starlight had an idea.

"Actually, wait a moment. There is something that Tirek might have missed," Starlight muttered to herself, gaining Trunks attention. "In the Crystal Empire, in the far north, there are rumors of a secret library that was hidden in a place that no dark magic could get to. If we could find that library, there's a chance that there might be a book within that can pierce that shield."

"Sounds like the best lead that we've had all day. You said it was to the north, right?" Trunks asked. "Hold on and close your eyes."

Starlight did as she was asked and a moment later felt the wind tearing at her as Trunks zipped from their location to where the Crystal Empire was. The moment she felt the two of them stop moving was the moment that she felt a cold gust of wind strike her face, prompting her to open her eyes. For a brief moment she was shocked to see just how quickly Trunks had flown to the Crystal Empire, but then she laid eyes on the Empire and that awe was replaced with pain.

What had once been a city of crystal and light was now simply a ruin of snow and shattered glass. Houses lay in disarray, the castle that had made up the center of the empire lay in pieces for miles around and the snow had covered everything within the empire and buried it beneath at least three feet of cold. What had once been a shining beacon of light and hope was now simply cold.

"I'm not sensing any life forms down there," Trunks sadly informed Starlight, knowing what her next question would be.

"Then let's get down there and find that book. The sooner we can fix this world, the better."

"I thought you were against the idea of me erasing any more worlds?"

"I am. But Tirek still needs to be stopped and that is something that only you can do. Now get me down there."

Trunks nodded and descended into the ruins of the empire, using his ki blasts to clear away giant paths of snow that obstructed the pair. Starlight directed Trunks on where to go, using her magic to hone in on the location of the library that she had mentioned.

"How do you know that Tirek hasn't heard of this place?" Trunks asked Starlight.

"Tirek never cared much for ancient text and legend. He was only concerned with the present and the power that he could find there. That's why the rainbow power caught him so completely off guard," Starlight explained before her horn glowed green. "We're just above the library. Make a hole here and wait for me."

Trunks did as she asked, using a blast of ki to punch a hole in the ground before watching as Starlight lowered herself down into the blackness. Once she was gone Trunks reached a hand to his necklace once more, guilt starting to crawl into his heart.

"Why can't I save them all, Mai?" Trunks whispered to himself. "Why is it that no matter how hard I fight, I am always letting down those that believe in me?"

"Because just like your father and mother, yours is a legacy of failure." Trunks spun around to find that a metal being with a brown cloak was standing beside him, staring down into the hole where Starlight had gone. "Hello Trunks. It seems that your survived my toxin. Let us correct that, shall we?"

Power

Trunks roar shook the ground, but the blast of ki he fired at the Maestro shook the planet. Yet just like before, the Maestro held out a hand and absorbed the ki blast. Though there was a difference from the last time he absorbed a ki blast, for this time his body flashed yellow after absorbing the blast. Trunks snarled at his failed attempt to harm his foe before he went for his blade.

Maestro was on him in a moment. Five metal fingers wrapped themselves around Trunks neck and slammed the back of his skull into the ground. Maestro drove a boot into Trunk's kidney and sent him skipping across the ground, before he crashed into the side of an ancient pillar and came to a stop. Trunks had just long enough to realize that Maestro was vastly different than the last time they fought before a burst of shattered magic caught Trunks in the chest to blast him through the pillar.

Trunks was back up a moment later, appearing in front of Maestro with blade aimed right at the metal mans skull. Yet despite the speed at which Trunks swung, the metal hand of Maestro intercepted the blade before it could cleave through Maestro's armor. Maestro retaliated with a flurry of punches to Trunks face with his free hand, before snapping Trunks head to the side with a kick that sent Trunks tumbling into the dirt.

'What's going on? He was nowhere near this strong the last time we fought,' Trunks asked himself as he rose back up to his feet, wiping a bit of blood away from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. 'It's not even like he's gotten stronger or anything like that. It's like he's a completely being than he was before. As it stands now...I don't know if I can beat him.'

"Infuriating, isn't it? So strong one moment, only to be beaten into the dirt the next. But considering the world you come from, I take it you already know that gaining a new form of power means nothing in the long run," Maestro cackled as his hands filled with shattered magic.

"How are you so much stronger than before? The last time we fought you couldn't even keep up with my power and now you're...like this?" Trunks demanded to know, holding his blade out so it was between the Maestro and him.

"You want to know what's different? You want to know how I became so much stronger than all of your forms in such a short period of time? Maybe I'll tell you the next time we have this conversation."

Maestro was on Trunks once more, slamming the palm of his hand into Trunks face with such speed that Trunks wasn't even aware that he had been hit until he was rocketing backwards with blood on his lip and pain blaring through his skull. He flipped out of the air and slammed his feet into the ground to stop his trajectory, only for a metal elbow to drive itself into his ribs. He snarled with pain, but this time had the sense to turn and slash out with his blade at where the Maestro had appeared. Maestro blocked the sword swing with a metal forearm, making Trunks eyes widen once more.

"Trunks...be honest with me. Why do you even keep this blade around after all the times it has failed you?" Maestro asked Trunks. Trunk's response was to aim his free arm at the Maestro and unleash a beam of ki directly into his face. While the blast was strong enough to bring down a skyscraper, to Trunks annoyance he found that once again his ki attacks had done nothing to the metal man.

"It seems you are a slow learner. Your ki will not harm me. Nothing you do can." Maestro ripped the sword from Trunks grasp before slamming the hilt of the blade into the side of Trunks head. Trunks felt his head snap backwards as star danced across his vision, pain blaring in his brain. Maestros next blow caught Trunks right in the chin, sending Trunks into a series of backflips.

'This is bad,' Trunks realized as he began to channel his rage. His aura turned golden and he felt his hair begin to spike up, but before he even had the chance Maestro cracked Trunks spine with his knee. Trunks didn't even have time to scream in pain, as it was interrupted by two metal fists driving themselves into his face. Trunks body hit the ground hard a moment later and he coughed weakly in pain, trying to summon the ki to stand. Maestro put an end to that when he grabbed Trunks by the throat and lifted him with one arm.

"You may have caught me off guard with your appearance before, but this time I was more than ready to deal with you," Maestro explained before he tightened his grip around Trunks throat. Trunks hands grabbed the Maestro's and he tried to rip himself free, but to his alarm he found that he wasn't strong enough to break his grip. "At this moment you are asking yourself why your ki will not work the way it is supposed to. You are asking why your strength is failing you. It is because I am preventing it from doing so. Your ki is strong. My magic is stronger."

"I am sad that I have to kill you, Trunks. Believe me, I am. But if you continue to run amok saving these timelines, then you will only further continue to disrupt the plans that I have already put into motion for Clockwork. And that I cannot...wait a moment," Maestro muttered, looking into a sphere of shattered magic in his free hand. "You have not been saving the timelines...you've been erasing them. Out of all the beings that would do that, you are one of the few that..."

Maestro glanced up at Trunks to see that the Saiyan could no longer hear him and was dangling from his hand limply. Maestro knew that he should kill the warrior then and there, but once more the dangerous side of his brain made him think of the alternatives. And they were too good to resist.

"Your actions have saved you this day, Trunks," Maestro told the warrior. He then released his grip and allowed Trunks to fall to his knees, where he gasped for air while clutching at his throat with his hands. "I am not sure why this is the path that you have gone down, but it is one that I have yet to see. I cannot wait to see how you fail this time."

Trunks blinked and the Maestro was gone, leaving him alone. He gasped in a few quick breaths to regain his strength before he pushed himself back up, rubbing his neck while forcing his ki to flow through him once more. 'How did he manage to cut me off from my ki like that? No villain that I've ever fought has managed to do that to me,' he pondered, before shaking his head. 'He didn't even give me the chance to power up. Whoever this Maestro is isn't like the other villains I've fought. He has no problem killing me in my weakest form. I'll have to remember that.'

"Is he gone?" Trunks turned to see that Starlight was poking her head out of the hole she had entered a little bit before. "He's not coming back, right? Because if he is, I don't want to be anywhere near here."

"Thanks for the support during that fight," Trunks grunted while rubbing his neck.

"He was kicking the crap out of you. Anything I would try to do would have only ended up with both of us dead and then who would save the timeline?" Starlight asked. Trunks found that he couldn't argue with her line of thinking. "But once again he lets you go when he has you dead to rights. It's not very smart to let somepony as powerful as you continue to live time and time again."

"I don't think he always thinks things through. He seems to be interested more in...events than being smart," Trunks replied. 'Yet he was still more than strong enough to smack me around like I was nothing. Maybe he doesn't see me as a threat because of that. Well then I'll just have to make sure that the next time I face him I go all out right from the get go. Then we'll see what he thinks.'

"Did you get what we came here for?" Trunks asked, but he could already see the book that Starlight was keeping close to her chest.

"Yeah, this is an ancient book of spells that Starswirl the Bearded was said to have written," Starlight explained to Trunks. "It will take a bit of time to decipher, but once we do so we should be able to punch through that magical barrier and get you your one on one with Tirek. Let's hope it goes better than your most recent fight."

"It won't be good for Tirek, I can promise you that," Trunks snarled as he picked up Starlight to fly off. "After being manhandled like that, I need to punch someone through a mountain. Tirek will have to do."

(DB)

The locals of a village that Trunks had rescued were kind enough to allow the two of them to use one of their larger homes for their needs. Which meant that Starlight sat at a table and went page by page through the book that she had found. While she did that, Trunks, having found the right kind of stone, sharpened his blade, his eyes locked onto the reflection that looked back at him.

In his mind, Trunks was going over the battle with the Maestro, trying to find the point where Maestro got the upper hand on him and what he could have done differently. But no matter how many times he replayed the battle while taking a different approach, he couldn't see any other outcome than the one they had reached. Which told Trunks that he had been at the Maestro's mercy the whole fight.

'Why? Why does this always happen?' Trunks asked himself as fury burned in his veins. 'I wasn't strong enough to stop the Androids when they first appeared. And I wasn't strong enough to stop Black. Why is it no matter how strong I get, I always seem to fail in the end?'

Trunks train of thought was interrupted when he glanced down to see one of the foals that he had saved was staring up at him from the door entrance. He could tell from the look in the foals eyes that the kid wanted to talk to him, but couldn't muster up the courage to do so. Trunks smiled at him and motioned for the foal to join him, before he sheathed his blade and knelt down onto one knee.

"Hey there little guy, what's up?" Trunks asked in a friendly tone. The foal, who had slowly approached Trunks with awe in his eyes, took a moment to respond.

"Um, I just...um...wanted to wish you luck against Tirek when you face him," the foal finally managed to stammer out.

"Thank you. A little extra luck never hurt anyone," Trunks smiled.

"And once you beat him, we can finally live again!" the foal continued on, his words causing Trunks smile to fall. "After all, once he's beaten, we'll have our magic back! We can finally have our lives back! my family and I can finally live! And it's all thanks to you!"

"Well, first I've got to beat him. But I promise you that I will do that," Trunks said, but this time with a more forced smile. The foal raced off, waving to Trunks as he did so with a hopeful smile on his face. Trunks sighed as he watched the foal go, before he glanced over at Starlight to see that she had watched the exchange out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't say anything," Trunks muttered.

"All I was going to say is that I've found the spell that will allow us to break through Tirek's barrier tomorrow," Starlight replied in a tone that gave away no emotion. But for a brief moment Trunks noticed a strange magic crackled around Starlight's horn, a magic that seemed...familiar. "So at the very least, you'll be able to keep your promise to them and bring down Tirek. After that...who knows."

The King

Despite having just been beaten again by a foe that made Trunks blood boil, Trunks knew that the sooner he cut down the barrier and dealt with Tirek was the sooner he could tear the Maestro's head from his shoulders. He glanced down at Starlight to find that she had her eyes closed and her horn was glowing with a weird mixture of black and red magic. She then snapped open her eyes and fired a single beam of magic into the barrier, dispelling it almost instantly.

"You ready for this?" he asked her.

"Ready to watch Tirek get what he deserves for turning this world into the state it's in? Of course. Ready to watch another timeline filled with innocent being erased? That I don't think I'm ready for," Starlight replied, her voice not giving away any of her thoughts. "Come on, Tirek's in there and we won't get to him by standing around out here. Lets go."

Trunks nodded and the pair walked into the city of the ruined. Memories flashed in Trunks head as he looked around at the ruined buildings, the overturned shops and carts, as well as the shattered windows and discarded belongs that had once belonged to those that had lived there. It reminded him far too much of the way his world had been as the Androids had ravaged it. He didn't need those thoughts in his mind before a fight, so he glanced down at Starlight with a raised eyebrow.

"So, was that dark magic you used just there?" Trunks asked Starlight, who gave him an eyebrow raise.

"You can tell the differences between magic?"

"Not based on what I saw, but what I sensed. Your aura changed to a darker tone when you used that spell. Comparing that to what little I know about magic was enough to tell me that you were using a darker spell. What we call dark magic," Trunks explained.

"Not a bad observation. Are you a scientist or something?" Starlight asked with a smirk.

"No, my mother was. She was actually the most brilliant mind in my world. She created all sorts of things. Gas that could affect gods, shotguns that can fire ki, and of course the time machine that was my first step to becoming a time traveler," Trunks said. Then a sad smirk crossed his face and he lowered his eyes slightly. "Yeah, she really was a genius. Never could get her to keep her nose out of battle, though. She refused to sit on the sidelines. Guess that's where I get most of my willpower from."

"You said was. Is your mom...?" Starlight began.

"She was killed. Murdered by a foe that saw humans as nothing more than a plague and deemed us worthy of being wiped out," Trunks spat. "And all I could do was run, run and leave the woman who gave me everything to die. She survived the Saiyans, the Androids, Cell and Babidi...all to die to a fool with a god complex. Someone I should have been capable of stopping. But, like always, I failed her."

"Geez, I'm sorry to hear that. But you're really strong, so I take it you beat the guy that did that?" Starlight asked. The hope in her voice died when Trunks gave her a dark look.

"Yes and no. Yes as in I was able to channel the hope and will of the remaining people of my planet into a weapon that was strong enough to destroy his physical form. No as in after his form was destroyed, he became an unstoppable being of death that wiped out all life in my universe. The only way to stop him at that point was to erase my entire reality...which is what we did."

"Oh my Faust..."

"Mai, my girlfriend, and I were the only ones from my reality to survive. My father and his rival from another timeline aided me, along with a couple of gods, but in the end I still couldn't stop Black from getting what he wanted. The destruction of all mortals," Trunks bitterly said. There was no anger in his voice nor sorrow. Just bitter acceptance. Then he focused his dark eyes onto Starlight, shaking her to her core. "So when I say that sometimes it's better to wipe out a timeline for the sake of a brighter time, know that I am speaking from experience. Erasing these timelines will ensure that your main timeline will continue to live on...no matter how we feel about what we are doing."

"Trunks..."

"So instead about focusing on the past, how about we focus on the future?" Trunks asked as he put his hand on the door to enter into Canterlot castle, barely registering that they had reached their destination. "Because I've got a feeling that once we've dealt with Tirek, things are going to get-"

Ultimate magic eradicated the front of the castle and consumed Trunks, getting a terrified scream out of Starlight as she hurled herself to the ground to avoid being hit by the tidal wave of magic. The tsunami of magic was so powerful that it annihilated the entirety of the buildings around the castle as well as the main street, the side streets and most of Canterlot in general.

Starlight slowly raised her head up from under her hooves as the spell came to an end, looking around to find that barely anything remained standing. One of the few things that was left standing was Trunks, who was breathing heavily as magical burns covered his upper body. His jacket and sword had been completely burned away by the magic and the rest of him didn't seem to be fairing much better. But Starlight couldn't ask him how he was doing, for at that moment Tirek chose to reveal himself.

He was almost the size of the castle that he had just destroyed, with black and red fur that shimmered with the magic of a world. His eyes blazed like hell fire, his black horns glistened with malice and each step he took seemed to cause the planet to shake in fear. Starlight was certain that she was going to die to the centaur from hell then and there, but Tirek walked by her without so much as a glance at her. His eyes locked firmly on Trunks, who was glaring up at Tirek with cold fury in his.

"So...you are the man that is tearing apart the timelines in a vain attempt to fix what has been wrought," Tirek spoke. His voice was like the thunder in the sky combined with the roar of the waves, washing over a pony and leaving them unable to so much as move beneath the weight each word carried. "I have heard rumors of you through the shadows. They say that your cause is noble, your will unbreakable and your power...your power is of a level that calling you anything less than a god would be an insult. I know what it is like."

"How on Earth could you have possibly heard of me?" Trunks snarled. He squared his shoulders and reached up to crack his neck, ignoring the pain from the burns on his body as he did so. "Every timeline I've been to aside from the main one has been erased, meaning that none of those that I have fought would ever have the chance to so much as realize you exist. or was it the Maestro or Clockwork that told you about me?"

"I know not either of those names. Nor do I know which master of shadows that it was that warned me to your arrival," Tirek stated. He then slowly began to glow with a light, a light that was as sinister as it was powerful, causing Trunks to instantly go on his guard. "All I know is that the gods have finally answered my call and delivered unto me a warrior that can break me free from these chains of complacency once more. For after I obtained my ultimate power I-"

Trunks fist slammed into the side of Tirek's head, snapping his face to the side and stopping him mid monologue. Yet even though he had put one hundred percent of his power into the punch, Trunks eyes widened in horror when Tirek slowly pushed back against his fist and turned his face to stare directly at Trunks.

"Straight and to the point. Yes, I like you." Tirek then slapped Trunks sideways with a colossal backhand, one that sent Trunks hurtling into the city streets and beyond. He crashed through the upper level of Canterlot and fell to the commoners section, only to be greeted once more by Tirek as the centaur teleported to where Trunks had been rocketed. Magic that would make the princesses cower filled the fists of Tirek and with a bellow of glee he drove his knuckles into Trunks still tumbling body, this time sending him clean through the center of Canterlot.

Trunks let out a groan of pain and surprise as he slowly began to move once more, difficult as he was deeply embedded in the stone work that made up the city. Tirek stood over him, a sad smile on the centaurs face as he looked down at his foe. "And here I had been hoping for more a challenge. But you got me to try a bit. And for that, I shall end you swiftly."

Tirek channeled his power into his horns and aimed them right at where Trunks was laying, but with a roar of his own Trunks ripped himself free of the stone that had held him and launched himself into Tirek's midsection. With his strength and ki, Trunks ripped Tirek from the ground and hurled the centaur through the upper levels of Canterlot. In a blink of motion he appeared behind Tirek and drove the hell of his foot into Tirek's back, returning Tirek to the pace from whence he just came. Tirek slammed into the upper levels of the city with such force that they crashed down around him, burying the centaur beneath hundreds of tons of rock and stone.

"And you shouldn't talk so much during a fight. It distracts you," Trunks spat. He turned and started to fly towards where Starlight had been cowering, before Tirek materialized in front of him within a moment. Trunks had enough time to register Tirek's appearance before a magically infused fist slammed itself into Trunks body, hurtling him through the sky. Trunks flipped around in the air and held out his hands to right himself, but when he snapped his head back towards Tirek he found the centaur channeling an unfathomable amount of magic into his horns.

"Noted, Trunks. Now come. Show me your power!" Tirek bellowed before unleashing a blast of magical power so great that it torn apart the sky and earth upon its eruption.

"Fine! You asked for it!" Trunks roared as he lifted both hands over his head, before layering them on top of one another and pointing them at the oncoming blast of magic. "MASENKO!"

A golden ray of ki burst into life, shrieking across the sky as it hurtled towards the oncoming spell of death. The beam of light intercepted the ray of death and for a brief moment, the golden ray clashing with the black and blue onslaught of devastation. Then, to the utter horror of Trunks, the ray of golden light was slowly beginning to be pushed back. He roared once more as he concentrated more of his power into the counter attack, but it wasn't enough. With one finally bellow of victory, Tirek's blast obliterated Trunks' and consumed Trunks himself a moment later.

Trunks body was consumed by pain, his mind was scattered into the wind and a the spell decimated him on a level that he had not felt in a long time. He, luckily, fell out of the wall of unyielding magic, but the downside was that he was sent spiraling down towards the lands below. With moments after falling out of the sky he would have impacted head first with the ground, if not for the fact that a mare caught him with her magic and managed to stop his descent.

"Trunks!" Starlight screamed as she shook the Saiyan, who groaned before opening his eyes a moment later. "Oh my gosh, are you alright?"

"No, can't say I am after that," Trunks weakly grunted as he slowly sat up, every ounce of his body covered in burns and pain. "I never expected Tirek to be that strong. And the scary thing is, I don't think he's using his full power."

Starligth's mind went blank at that realization, before the sound of Tirek crashing into the ground not far from them snapped her out of it. She slowly turned around to see Tirek marching towards them, a smile on his face as he saw that hisn foe still lived.

"You do not disappoint. You are every bit as strong and resilient as the rumors foretold. It will make crushing you all the sweeter."

Trunks narrowed his eyes in reply as he rose to his feet, only managing to take a few steps before he was stopped by Starlight. "Are you crazy?! You can't beat him! You threw your strongest attack at him and he swatted you out of the sky! And you said it yourself, he's not even using his full power! What makes you think you can win?!"

"Because he and I are the same. He's not using his full power...and neither am I," Trunks said as he walked past Starlight. He continued his walk until he was standing right before Tirek, who smiled down at him with power flooding through his veins.

"Do you still wish to fight?"

"Of course I do. But just give me a sec," Trunks began as he crossed his arms. "So I can change into something more comfortable."

"HHHHHHHIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"

As the roar escaped from Trunks mouth the planet shook as if it was about to fall apart. The sky went black and was filled with flashes of lightning while the wind whipped with anticipation of what was to come. Tirek had to dig his hooves into the ground to keep from being blown away and Starlight, even with her magical barrier, was still sent sliding backwards. But just as suddenly as it had begun, the sudden bombardment of power came to an end and all that could be heard was the sound of Trunks now golden aura spiraling around his body.

"Alright Tirek," Trunks began, his now golden and spiky hair softly waving in the aura around him. "Let's try that again."

Super Saiyan

Blows faster than the eye could follow lashed at one another, causing the sky to be ripped apart as the two ultimate beings of power went all out against one another. Tirek was now channeling all of his stolen magic, increasing his speed and strength to the level at which gods would cower before him. But the increase in power was nothing compared the change that came over Trunks, who, had just moments ago been at defeats door, was far beyond what he had been previously. And he made sure that Tirek knew it.

Tirek and Trunks hurled punch after punch towards one another, their fists colliding in the air with such force that the planet shattered beneath the blows. A flurry of triple punches whipped past Trunks before he moved to the side and avoided a heavy right by Tirek, leaving him open to a straight right from Trunks. The blow caught Tirek in the jaw and sent him skidding backwards, his hooves trying to dig into the ground to halt his backwards momentum.

A scream strong enough to blow away the clouds overhead erupted from Tireks lips, followed by thousands of magical arrows that rocketed from his horns towards the golden haired warrior. Trunks hurled himself backwards into the sky as the arrows circled around him, diving in towards him to erase him from the universe. Trunks smacked the first arrow away with the back of his hand before blasting another with a ki blast of his own. His arms became a blur of motion of he swatted away the thousands of arrows within a matter of seconds, causing the lands behind him to erupt in a geyser of explosions as the redirected arrows decimated the landscape.

"So this is the power that you've been hiding all of this time!" Tirek bellowed with a laugh. Trunks response was to narrow his eyes. A beat later the two were back to hammer their fists at one another. Tirek's speed seemed to double with renewed effort, forcing the Super Saiyan back as he had to give up ground to around being struck by any of Tirek's punches.

The Super Saiyen then rocketed himself straight up, piercing through the cloud cover and raining light down upon the land. He then began to rapidly thrust his arms forwards to unleash a meteoric bombardment of ki blasts down upon Tirek. Tirek crossed his arms and created a shield of magic around himself, one that burned brighter than the sun. The blasts of ki rained down around him, decimating the land and tearing apart the sky with the sound of explosions. Yet Tirek's barrier held and the centaur remained untouched by the force of Trunks attacks.

"Hahaha! You will have to do better than that to slay me!" Tirek bellowed up at Trunks, only to blink at realize that the Super Saiyan was now right in front of him.

"I intend to."

Trunks right leg lashed out and slammed right into the barrier of magic. While the attack itself wasn't strong enough to break the barrier, it was strong enough to knock both Tirek and the barrier into the air. Trunks appeared behind the sphere of magic and kicked it once more, the sudden stop and start causing Tirek to slam into the side of his own barrier. Trunks teleported around three more times, kicking the sphere higher and higher each time he did, until, at the peak, he clasped both hands together and raised them over his head.

"Volleyball spike!"

Both hands hammered down on the barrier and hurled Tirek into the ground. The barrier with the centaur inside slammed into the lands below, ramming Tirek into the side of his own barrier as it still refused to break. A groan escaped Tirek's lips as he rose back up, dispelling his own shield and narrowing his eyes at Trunks. Trunks raised a single hand and motioned for Tirek to bring it. Tirek did just that.

A second later Tirek and Trunks were lashing out at each other once more, but this time, as they were fighting in the sky, their were war more kicks to add to the punches. Tirek unleashed a flurry of blows with his forehooves, while swinging his arms in from the sides to keep Trunks guessing. Trunks blocked the kicks as best he could, but one of the arms caught him off guard and staggered him for a moment, leaving him open to catching a face full of hooves.

Trunks floated backwards to try to free himself from the onslaught, but a moment later a thin veil of magic wrapped itself around his body and pulled him back in, right into another kick to the face. Tirek then cackled as he spun around and built up enough momentum to lash out with his hind legs, but this time Trunks held up a single hand and caught the leg in it, stopping Tirek's momentum completely.

"What?" Tirek has just enough time to ask before Trunks whipped him around and hurled him back down towards the ground. Tirek's face made for a good shovel as he carved out a massive trench in the ground while skidding along on his face, only to rip himself free of the dirt and turn to face Trunks with a snarl of rage. "This isn't right! There is no way that you can be this strong!"

"You're right. I'm stronger," Trunks replied, descending down so that he floated a hundred yards away from Tirek. Tirek's eyes widened in shock for just a moment, only for his smile to return as he pushed himself up to his hooves once more.

"An excellent bluff, boy. But that will not work on me. I have stolen the magic of the princesses, of Discord, of every magical being in this land! There is no possible way that I can believe that your power can equal mine!"

"You don't have to believe it. Because in a moment you'll be dead," Trunks replied.

Tirek bellowed once more as he charged forward, forgoing speed as he channeled all of his power into his muscles to crush Trunks once and for all. He unleashed a hurricane of magic and blows upon Trunks, but to the amazement of Tirek Trunks evaded all of the attacks without ever uncrossing his arms.

Trunks ducked under a punch and retaliated with a kick right to the jaw of Tirek. The king of the world grunted in pain, before he tried to regain his offense. Another kick to the face snapped his head to the side, causing the centaur to roar as he cocked a fist and aimed it at Trunks. Three more kicks danced themselves across Tireks face, the last one being strong enough to send Tirek spinning to the side.

"This...this isn't...I will not lose!" Tirek bellowed as he leapt back, channeling all of his magical power into his horns. The power of the magic burned the very color out of the air, creating flashes of black and white to flash across Tirek as he charged his ultimate attack. Trunks silently flew into the sky, before he was hovering at a direct forty five degree angle above Tirek. Tirek locked on to Trunks and unleashed all of his power into the sky, preparing to bring down the heavens if it meant killing Trunks.

"You're not just about to lose. You're about to die," Trunks replied calmly as he thrust a single hand towards Tirek. "Hero's Judgement."

The stars behind Trunks seemed to swirl around him for a moment before a giant beam of silver energy erupted from Trunks entire body, spiraling down towards the oncoming beam of black and white as if it was an arrow sent down from on high. For a brief moment the two attacks collided, but unlike before there was no beam struggle. Trunks beam struck Tirek's beam and Trunk's cleaved clean through it. Tirek watched as all of the magic in the entire world was cleaved apart by a single attack, having only a moment to realize he was dead before the silver beam of power incinerated him completely.

The beam didn't stop at just Tirek. The moment he was gone the beam pierced through the ground, ripping through the planet beneath it, before it burst forth from the other side of Equis and launched itself into the depths of space. But Trunks didn't care about any of that. He simply stared down at the spot where Tirek had once stood before he closed his eyes and let out a sigh, his hair laying down flat and returning to its blue coloring once more.

Trunks then spied Starlight, who was somehow still alive after all of that, and flew over to her, landing in front of her and smiling when he saw that her eyes were as wide as diner plates. She stammered out a couple of words that he couldn't make sense of, before pointing to the giant hole that he had punched into the planet.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Seems I got a little...carried around," Trunks admitted.

"PUNCHING A HOLE THROUGH THE PLANET ISN'T GETTING CARRIED AWAY! IT'S BEING A WALKING ARMAGEDDON!" Starlight screamed at Trunks. "Did you even think for a moment what the repercussions will be for this?! All of the lives that you'll end?! The fact that the planet is going to probably exploded within...five minutes?!"

"I don't think that's going to be much of a problem," Trunks replied. Starlight looked around to notice that the world was slowly starting to fade away, leaving nothing but white light around them once more. "Be careful, the last two times this happened I ran into either Maestro or Clockwork. Coin flip on which one it's going to be this time."

"That would be the latter." Trunks and Starlight spun around to see that, indeed, that it was Clockwork that was standing behind the both of them, those his eyes were only on Trunks. "I have to admit that I am impressed Trunks. I thought for sure that you would be slain by Tirek, but I had no idea that you had such a power hidden within you. Perhaps you are the one who can truly help me find what I have been searching for all this time."

"If you think that I am going to help you, then you are far crazier than the Maestro," Trunks replied, reaching for his sword only to remember that it wasn't there. Clockwork waved his hand and a moment later Trunks sword reappeared in Trunks hand. Trunks narrowed his eyes at Clockwork as he sheathed his blade, tensing for battle. But before he could throw a punch, Starlight stepped forward towards Clockwork.

"You're Clockwork. The one responsible for the timeline going out of whack. Responsible for...all of what I did happening once again," Starlight said, causing Trunks eyes to widen in surprise. "Why are you doing this? What could you possibly have for causing a time fracture and then having us erase all of these different timelines?! What could you possibly have to gain from all of this?"

"Why does anyone try to change time?" Clockwork asked, looking directly at Trunks as he said this.

"To undo something that shattered their entire world," Trunks replied. "So you lost something, something so important to you that you feel you need to undo the timeline to fix it. I hope it's worth it."

"It is. And believe me, I will do all that it takes to return the world to the way it should be," Clockwork said, causing both Starlight and Trunks to look at him with confusion. "There are only two more timelines left for you to deal with, Trunks. One more of the shattered timelines, and then the one that you've fought so hard to save. The "true" timeline as you've called it. But this next one will most likely be the one where you fail."

"Didn't you just see what I just did to Tirek? Do you really think that there's anything this world can through at me that I cannot deal with?" Trunks asked. Clockworks response was to shake his head.

"There are some things that strength cannot overcome. As you shall soon see."

And then the world phased back into reality.

The Nightmare

"So where are we this time?"

Trunks and Starlight took a moment to regain their bearings, with Trunks having had made the mistake to keep his eyes open as time stitched itself back together. As a result he was currently blinded and blinking heavily to try to clear his sight. While he was staggering around wiping at his eyes, Starlight had her own eyes to the sky. A sky that held the moon and only the moon in it's grasp. There were no stars and not even a hint of the sun. And she knew full well what that meant.

"We're in the world of Nightmare Moon," she told Trunks. "That's what Luna called herself when she went evil for a thousand years. Seems that we've finally reached the timeline where Nightmare Moon defeated her sister and forced the whole world to worship her eternal night. Wonder how this one is going to go."

"Same as all the others. We find Nightmare Moon, beat her into nothing, and finally return this world to its right timeline," Trunks explained, his sight having finally returned to him. "You heard what Clockwork said. There are only two timelines left. This one and the true timeline. Once we've erased this one we'll be able to finally fix your timeline. And maybe Twilight or one of the other princesses will have a few suggestions on helping the timelines that have been erased."

"Trunks, we've been erasing timelines. Not relocating them or anything like that. Erasing them. Do you really think that after being erased we can somehow magically bring them back?" Starlight asked, baffled.

"Starlight, I once watched a cat god erase another god out of existence and watched a child erase my whole timeline. I've seen weirder things than a bunch of timelines being restored with the power of magic," Trunks explained. He then reached down and wrapped his arm around Starlight. "Come on, let's go get this over with. I want to be out of here before some other complication shows up."

Trunks took to the skies with Starlight in tow. The two flew straight up from the field that they had been brought to, taking only a moment to glance around before they spied their next target. It was a massive black and blue castle covered in crystal and statues of a bat like alicorn. Trunks assumed that was Nightmare Moon. He flew over quickly, but not as fast as he usually did.

'Don't want the guards to let her know that we're here,' Trunks thought to himself as he flew, glancing down to see dozens of guard ponies in black and silver armor patrolling every part of the castle. He also had Starlight construct magical clouds around himself to disguise the two of them from the pegasi guards that patrolled the airspace around the castle. He allowed himself a small smile when he found that there was no magical barrier protecting this version of the Canterlot Castle, though he did notice that this version of the castle was seated on the ground instead of a city on the side of a mountain. He cast a glance at the mountain to see a massive, black scar of magic that was seared across the sky.

'So I guess Canterlot didn't survive the battle between the two sisters then, huh?' Trunks asked himself, even though he already knew the answer. For a brief moment the image of the foal that had wished him luck against Tirek flashed across his mind, but he locked those thoughts away. 'Don't think about them Trunks. They're just apart of a timeline that should have never existed to begin with. Finish the mission and save the timeline. Save the versions of them that should be.'

Once the coast was clear of guards, Trunks lowered himself and Starlight to the roof of the castle. He closed his eyes for a moment and used his senses to locate all of the living beings within the castle. He sensed numerous guards, quite a number of staff and even a few prisoners. But the ki that gained his full attention was in the center of the castle, surrounded by numerous other ki's that were very afraid of the strongest ki there.

Trunks motioned for Starlight to follow him and flew over to the ceiling of the room that was next to the room where Nightmare Moon's ki was. He held out a single finger and channeled his ki through it, turning it into a small blade of power. He stabbed his finger through the ceiling and quickly made a small hole, just large enough for him and Starlight to fit through. The pair then leapt down into the hole, Trunks floating softly to the ground and catching Starlight so she didn't make a sound on her entrance either.

'Don't risk using your magic while you're in here,' Trunks whispered to Starlight in a voice that could barely be heard. 'I don't want them to sense your magic and then teleport out, forcing us to chase them all across the world.'

Starlight nodded to show that she understood and Trunks set her down, the two of them alone in the dark room that look like a side study. Trunks and Starlight swiftly but silently moved to the wooden door that allowed entrance into the room, able to hear voices coming from the other side. Trunks gingerly placed his hand on the door and slightly pulled it in, allowing a crack to appear that allowed the two to both hear and see what was going on in the main room.

"What do you mean Cadence's forces still resist us?!" Nightmare Moon, an alicorn in all black and blue fury, roared at one of the smaller ponies kneeling before her. She stood before a throne that seemed to be carved from darkness itself and all around the massive throne room hung banners of blue and silver, which all had a crescent moon etched into them.

"W-what we mean is, that her Empire is incredibly hard to get to. With all of the snow and ice and the magical meteors that she rains down upon our forces daily," the pony said in a voice that was on the verge of a breakdown. "And with the recent loss of our chief tactician, we have had no success. And with what has happened to your body recently-"

A blast of dark magic erupted from Nightmare Moon's horn and a moment later the body of the pony that had been talking slumped to the floor on the other side of the room. The other ponies all slowly turned to look up at Nightmare Moon, who had a look straight out of a nightmare upon her face.

"We...do not speak of my body," Nightmare Moon whispered, yet in the dead silence of the room her words were like a roar. Trunks narrowed his eyes at the display and slowly reached up, grabbing the hilt of his sword and reaching out with his other hand to push the door open when the moment was right. "Now then, does anypony else have anything of importance that they'd like to share?"

"Yes, my queen. There have been sightings of strange beings near the town of Ponyville, beings that look nothing like anything that we've seen before," a female pony spoke this time. "However, none of the guards that we have sent in to investigate the area have come back alive. So for the time being we are simply telling citizens to avoid the area or forfeit their live. It seems to be working."

"There are also reports of another uprising in the eastern part of your kingdom. We do not have the pony power necessary to quell them at the moment, so the towns and nearby areas have suffered a good amount of damage already. That will need dealing with in the nearby future."

"I see. I will have to deal with that when I have the time," Nightmare Moon sighed, her face momentarily flashes a pained look. "This would all be a lot easier if I had somepony I could rely on instead of all of you."

"Then today is your lucky day."

All eyes in the room, as well as Trunks and Starlight, spun towards the main door to the throne room, which had just been opened by a dark clad pony that Trunks knew all too well. In the doorway stood Sombra, his body bruised, his cloak shredded and blood soaking his coat. But on his face was a defiant smile that complimented the fire that burned in his eyes.

All of the ponies in the room looked at Sombra with stunned silence, as if a ghost had just wandered into their midst and had started speaking to them. Sombra then began to limp towards Nightmare Moon and the ponies that had been speaking with Moon moved out of his way, until he was standing right before her. He then slightly bowed, wincing with pain as he did so.

"Forgive me for taking so long to come back. Being buried alive in a magical coffin by Cadence and sent to the center of the planet took some time to escape from, even for me," he apologized to Nightmare Moon, whose face hadn't changed since his return. "But there is no need to fear anymore, my queen. I have returned."

"All of you, leave," Nightmare Moon instructed. Within a moment all of the other ponies in the room aside from Sombra had cleared out, leaving the queen of the moon and the king of darkness staring at one another, neither of their faces giving away any emotion.

'Perfect, there go all of the other ponies that might have gotten caught up in our fight,' Trunks smirked as he slowly began to draw his blade. 'Now I can strike down Nightmare Moon and kill Sombra a second time. Perhaps things are finally starting to go my way.'

"So you have returned alive?" Nightmare Moon asked Sombra.

"Despite our enemies best efforts, I have," Sombra smirked in reply. For a brief moment Nightmare did nothing, then a heartbeat later her hooves shot out and wrapped around Sombra, pulling him into a hug so tight that Sombra made a squeaking sound.

"You damned fool, I told you that it was too risky to take on the entire Crystal Empire forces by yourself! And yet you charged right into them like you had a death wish," Nightmare Moon swore at Sombra, her body shaking with relief.

"Well it was either that or risk them overrunning us and finally getting their hooves on you," Sombra replied as he too wrapped his own hooves around Nightmare Moon. "And besides, there was no way I could die yet. Not until i got back here to see the look on your face as I returned alive."

"Is that the only reason that you fought so hard to return to me?" Nightmare asked, but in place of the look of anger she normally had, now there was only a tear filled smile. She lowered her head and gently nuzzled Sombra, who returned the gesture. Trunks and Starlight, who were still watching from the shadows, had been stopped dead in their tracks by what they were witnessing.

"Well, perhaps there were other reasons, but being with you once more is the main one," Sombra replied. He joined up besides Nightmare Moon and gently bumped into her, before an eyebrow went up and he glanced down at her waist. He opened his mouth to say something, but fortunately for him his brain overrode what he was going to say and slammed his mouth shut. Nightmare caught onto what he had been about to say, but instead of anger a soft smile spread across her face.

"No my dearest, I have not put on weight."

"That was not what I was going to say."

"That is what you were going to say."

"You will never be able to prove it. You've gained muscle. That is what I was going to say."

"No, you fool. I am a larger than when you last saw me two months ago. And there's a good reason for it."

'No...' Trunks thought, the realization dawning on him. 'No, don't say it. Please, for the love of Beerus, don't say it.'

"I'm pregnant, Sombra, with your foal. We're going to be parents."

A Different Plan of Attack

The revelation hit Starlight, Trunks and Sombra in different ways. Starlight's jaw fell straight to the floor and the look in her eyes showed that despite having traveled across different timelines with an alien that could turn his hair golden, this was what finally broke her. Trunks had a grimace on his face, caused by the knowledge that what Nightmare Moon had just revealed made his mission a thousand times more difficult than it had been.

Sombra took the news the best. For a few moments he stood in stunned silence, before looking to Moon's waist then up to her. When she nodded he let out a roar of victory and tackled his wife that was twice the size of him, laughter escaping his lips as he did so.

"So have you come up for a name for him yet?" Sombra asked after a few moments of happiness.

"Him? What makes you think it will be a him?" Nightmare Moon asked with a smirk. "Our foal will be the next future queen of Equestria, continuing to allow the moon to shine upon the land endlessly and spreading the darkness across the land. So of course our foal will have to be a she."

"Moon, I will not ruin this joyous occasion by arguing this with you," Sombra replied, his smile breaking out across his face once more. "Instead I will say thank you for bringing so much joy into my life. First you free me from the ice, then you make me your adviser, followed by our marriage and now finally this. It is hard to believe that over a thousand years ago that you and I were enemies."

"Yes, back when I foolishly believe that my sister was in the right. That she knew what she was doing," Nightmare Moon spat, before she nudged Sombra with her shoulder. "But perhaps I should thank my sister for one thing. Had she not driven me to take on my true power, I would never have met you and we would never have conquered Equestria. So she got one thing right for us."

"Perhaps she did. Maybe we should let her out of the sun for five minutes as a thanks?" Sombra suggested. For a brief moment they seemed to think about it before they pair laughed and shook their heads. "Ah, I crack myself up. How about in celebration we figure out a way to crush Cadence once and for all. That seems like a better way to celebrate our little addition to the royal family?"

"Sombra, my love, you always know what to say to me," Nightmare Moon smiled menacingly. The pair began discussing battle strategies and different ways that they could destroy Cadence as they left the room, closing the door behind them. A few moments after they left, Trunks and Starlight walked out of the room that they had been hiding in, neither of them seemingly overjoyed at the news that they had just heard.

"That was...both sweet and creepy at the same time," Starlight admitted with a nervous chuckle. "I mean, those are two of the biggest bads that Equestria has ever had to deal with, yet seeing them be so sweet and loving with one another almost made me forget for a moment what they have done. I mean, I've never seen so much as an image of Nightmare Moon smiling, yet she seemed to be almost giddy over watching Sombra figure out that she was...pregnant."

Trunks felt Starlight's eyes glue to the back of his head, getting him to turn and she that her horn was glowing slightly and she was looking at Trunks with a look on her face that he didn't know she could make. "Trunks...I've stood by and let a lot of things you've done slide. Because in all those other timelines I've known that what we were doing was to fix the main timeline. But here-"

"You're right," Trunks cut her off, getting Starlight to look at him with some confusion. "We can't do that here. Not against Nightmare Moon. Kai's, this just messes everything up, doesn't it? Arrive, kill the big bad, be one step closer to fixing this convoluted timeline. That's all we have to do. Should be easy. But now we can't kill her. I refuse to kill her. And a part of me is even hesitant to kill Sombra, despite having no issues doing it in another timeline."

"It's different, isn't it?" Starlight whispered. Trunks turned to look at her, finding her looking up at a painting of Moon and Sombra standing together, with a conquered city behind them. "To see beings that we've been told all our lives are evil to act like...normal ponies. To crack jokes, to poke fun at each other and to be excited for the future. If I didn't know what was at stake...what's our plan?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that this changes everything. Your normal plan, even if I didn't agree with it, was getting us results. However, we can't move on to the next timeline until we kill Nightmare Moon and neither of us can or will do that. So what do we do now? How do we somehow manage to switch to the final timeline without ending her and the life within her?"

"I...don't know," Trunks admitted. "I've never dealt with a situation quite like this before. Honestly Starlight, you might be more adapt to handle things from here on out. At least until we can figure out what our next move should be."

Starlight lowered her head and pondered for a moment, before she came to a decision. "Alright, here's what we'll do for now. I'll go into the nearby towns and cities and see what I can find out. I will blend in as a pony and I don't think any of these other timelines have a version of me. I know they don't have a version of Twilight."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that. What did you mean when you said that Clockwork was responsible for redoing what you had already done?" Trunks asked. Starlight sighed and a bitter smile crossed her face.

"Suppose this is as good a time as any. I was the one that originally fractured the timeline of Equestria," Starlight admitted, causing Trunks eyes to widen with shock. "I was...well, I was like Sombra and Nightmare Moon back then. I was a villain, I wanted everything for myself and I wanted to create a world where only I was special. And so I ripped apart time trying to create a world without Twilight in it, so that she couldn't stop me. And I succeeded. Multiple times. And those are the timelines that we've been visiting."

"I see. That explains why you have been unaffected by the timelines shifts. Your like me. You exist outside of the time space continuum," Trunks confirmed. "It also explains how you have a mirror that allows you to check the other timelines and see what they are up to. I wish you would have told me this sooner."

"I would have, but you've been so gung ho about striking down anypony that has been the slightest bit responsible for this that I thought I would wait for a better time...heh," Starlight chuckled. "But none of that matters now. Maestro is up to something and Clockwork is going to try to change the main timeline. I know he is. He already is. The main timeline is fading away more and more with each action he takes. Erasing these timelines slows the process, but soon there will be nothing left of my timeline. Trunks, if it comes down to it..."

"Then that's how we'll stop this timeline," Trunks deduced. "Maestro and Clockwork. They're the ones truly responsible for everything that has been happening, between the fractured timelines and the constant pain I find myself in. So if we take them down, in theory..."

"Perhaps everything will go back to the way it's supposed to be," Starlight agreed, catching onto Trunks plan. "But there's a small snag. Maestro has ruined you twice when you tried to fight him. I don't see how this time will be any different, even with your golden haired form."

"See, that's another secret that I've been keeping from you. The Super Saiyan form isn't my strongest form by a longshot," Trunks revealed. He allowed Starlight a moment to try to process what he had just said and when she couldn't, he continued on. "The next time I fight the Maestro, I'm going all out from the start. But the first order of business has to be to draw him and Clockwork out. And I know how to do that."

"Maestro is obsessed with stories. With seeing how things will turn out. It's the reason that he's let me live twice. And we'll use that to lure him in. We're going to mess with this world. We're going to mess with it so badly, throw it so far off track, that either he'll show up in a rage to fix everything or show up in amazement because he has to know how it ends. That's when we'll take him down once and for all!"

"And so what are we going to do to draw him out?" Starlight asked.

"We're going to fight Nightmare Moon and Sombra. And we're going to spare them," Trunks revealed. "Maestro let me live in our second fight because he found it interesting that I was erasing timelines instead of saving them. Meaning that not only is that how we'll draw him out, but that there's also another way to save these timelines. I wasn't thinking straight in my anger before, but now I've got a good idea on how this is going to work. But the problem is that I don't know if I can fight both Sombra and Nightmare Moon while holding back and still come out alive. I might need your help. Can you fight them?"

"It will be tough. Sombra is one of the greatest unicorn wizards in the history of Equestria and Nightmare Moon is essentially Luna without any of her morals. Fighting against either of them will be the toughest fight of my life. But I will fight with you," Starlight agreed at last. "So should we attack them now or-"

"No. For now let us go with what you wanted to do. Go around the towns, learn about the world and see what the ponies think," Trunks instructed. He walked over to one of the windows as he did this and looked down at the town within the castles protection down below. "You might also want to find some kind of disguise or clothing that matches that of the ponies down there. Seems they all have their own kind of uniforms or outfits."

"Got it. It feels weird to be actually helping you for once. Normally you just show up and make death rain from the skies or stuff like that," Starlight nervously laughed.

"It's like Clockwork said. Power along will not work in this timeline," Trunks replied in a whisper. Starlight nodded and took off down the hallway, Trunks keeping an eye on her with his senses just in case she ran into any trouble along the way. But his attention was taken away from the mare almost instantly after she left due to the reappearance of Nightmare Moon and Sombra, who were now walking down the street with all of their subjects bowing at their hooves. Trunks narrowed his eyes in disgust at the sight, before he saw the pair press up against one another and smile softly.

'All this because Maestro wanted to see what would happen. All of this because Clockwork wanted to undo something that happened to him. I guess I can relate, but I used time travel as a last resort, when all else had failed. Also multiverse theory,' Trunks thought, before shaking his head and frowning as he looked down at the pair once more. 'But if my plan fails...if Maestro doesn't appear and I have to pick between erasing this timeline or losing the main one...can I actually bring myself to do it? Can I actually bring myself to kill Nightmare Moon.'

'I hope I never have to know the answer to that. But for the time being, Nightmare and Sombra, the both of you are under my protection. Don't make me come to regret that decision.'

War on Time

Starlight made sure to follow the two rulers of Equestria at a distance, knowing that if she was spotted by them that she and Trunks would have to battle them sooner than either would like. She knew that Sombra and Nightmare Moon were two of the most powerful magicians to ever walk across the face of Equis. That she knew for certain. What she didn't know was if she could bring them down. She was a decent magic user, but the two she was tailing were legendary for their skills. Then there was the whole other problem of Nightmare being a mother to be.

'We're just going to hope that Trunks plan works out,' Starlight thought, turning towards a vendor and pretending to examine his goods to throw off any suspicion on her tailing the two royals. 'Maestro and Clockwork are the ones responsible for all of this. If we can eliminate them, then we can hopefully put an end to this without the need for anymore loss of life. But somehow, I have a feeling that it won't be that easy.'

She cast a quick glance in the direction of the royals, only to snap her eyes to the ground when Sombra spun around to look her way. She just missed his gaze by a second and sweat slowly dripped down her face as she held as still as possible. After a moment of glancing her way, Sombra narrowed his eyes and continued to walk with his wife. Taking in a breath to steady her nerves, she turned and slowly began to follow after them once more, taking more care this time to not make her movements obvious.

'I actually hope that Trunks can beat Maestro and Clockwork. Despite him saying that he has a more powerful form, and I don't even know how that's possible, he's practically a god in that golden form, Maestro has been ready for him each time they've fought. And who knows what's going on inside of Clockwork's head. That guy seems like our enemy one moment and then acts like he's on our side the next. All I know is that I hope he goes down easier than-'

Starlight's thought came to a screeching halt when she looked up and realized that Sombra was gone. She had just been following Nightmare Moon for nearly a moment. Starlight had just a second to ponder where he went before a cold voice spoke from behind her.

"Take a left into the trees. We're going to have a talk you and me," Sombra's voice spoke from behind her. Starlight felt a cold blade placed itself against her side and she knew that trying anything would stick her in a grave. So she turned left and slowly walked into the trees at the edge of the houses. It wasn't until they were deep within the woods, to the point that Starlight couldn't hear the voices of the other ponies in the town, did Sombra finally remove the blade and allow Starlight to turn around to face him.

"If you are an assassin or spy, then you are a very poor one. I saw you sticking out amongst the crowd almost instantly," Sombra informed Starlight. The mare didn't know what to say in response, so instead she began to think in her mind every possible way that she could somehow hope to bring down Sombra. "In fact, if it wasn't for that ungodly powerful being with the sword that was following you, I would have killed you out in the open and been done with it. But with him here, I don't know what he will do in response if I kill you. Actually, I do know what he would do. He would erase our timeline, much like he has all the others."

Starlight's eyes widened in shock at Sombra's words and the dark king allowed a chuckle to escape his lips. "I can see your thoughts as if you have written them on paper. How does he know that we are traveling through time? How can he sense Trunks? What is he going to do next. Well, since I'm going to be killing you anyway, it doesn't really matter if I tell you."

"I discovered the fracture in the timeline while I was "captured" by Cadence's forces. That the timelines were all fighting to be the main timeline and that there was a being going around erasing the ones that have managed to wrestle away control from the main one," Sombra explained. "Learning that was what prompted me to escape. I had hoped to have done so before you and Trunks arrived in my world, but it seems you dealt with Tirek faster than I thought. I had hoped that by warning him he would have lasted a little longer, but I see that I was wrong."

"Hold on a moment, what do you mean the timelines are fighting?" Starlight asked, forgetting for a moment the pony she was talking to. "And how did you learn of them or manage to warn Tirek of our arrival? Who or what are you?"

"My dear, I am Sombra. The greatest unicorn to have ever or will ever live," Sombra smirked. "But to answer your question, the timelines are at war with one another. At least, ever since the arrival of those two metal beings they have been. Originally all of these timelines existed separate of one another, moving forward without effecting one another. But now the timeline has been twisted so that only one can exist and all the others must fade. And the timeline that burns the fiercest, the one that has the desire to survive, is the one that becomes the main timeline."

"Which would explain why the main timeline is fading so rapidly," Starlight muttered, pulling out the mirror that allowed her to look upon all of the timelines. She cast her gaze upon the main one, finding that, while it was in far greater detail than it had been before, all movement in it had ceased. "Because they don't know what's going on and aren't...how does one fight to make their timeline the main one?"

"Now why on Equis would I tell you that?" Sombra asked, his blade in his grasp a moment later. "When you are about to die!"

Sombra lunged at Starlight, before the sound of something like a meteor impacted the ground behind her. She had just enough time to register that Trunks had landed behind her and was lunging at Sombra before the knife was at her throat...and then time came to a halt altogether. She had closed her eyes to brace herself for the knife driving itself into her body, but when it never did she opened them once more to find that the world had come to a halt.

Sombra's blade was an inch away from her throat, Trunks was suspended in a dash towards Sombra that would never had reached him in time and everything else, save for her, stayed rooted in place as if nothing was allowed to move. She glanced around in confusion for a moment, wondering what was going on, before she turned and saw Clockwork standing next to one of the trees.

"Clockwork," Starlight snarled. Her horn glowed to life and she launched a fireball at her, but the moment the spell left her horn it came to a dead halt in the air.

"Come now Starlight, let us not waste time. There is so little of that to waste as it is," Clockwork said, shaking his head.

"What's going on?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Clockwork asked. "Starlight, I did not just save your life to make small talk. I come with a warning, a promise and a little bit of hope. The warning is that your plan will not work. Either this timeline shall be erased or you both will die here and it will take the place of the main timeline. The second of those outcomes is not desirable to me."

"The promise is that if you do erase this timeline and finally move on to the true timeline, I will help you bring down the Maestro." The words that left Clockwork's mouth shook Starlight, who had never expected him to turn traitor on his armored brother. "I do not like him any more than you two do, and I have seen him commit far worse atrocities than what you have seen. But I needed him to help me undo these timelines, to help me find the true timeline."

"So you're not from the timeline with Twilight and all the others?" Starlight asked. Her words got a chuckle out of the mechanical being.

"Who said that the timeline you spoke of is the true timeline? But there is only one way to find out," Clockwork said as he raised his hand, his thumb and middle finger pressed against each other. "When I snap my hand, time will flow once more. And when it does, you will find yourself at odds with Sombra and Nightmare Moon once more. Erase them, and this world, and I will help you to set things right. Fail and the Maestro shall be the one to deal with you."

Clockwork snapped his fingers and in the next moment everything happened all at once. Sombra's knife slashed through the air where Starlight had been a moment before. Sombra looked at the spot with confusion before he noticed the approaching Trunks and shifted into his smokey form, just in time for Trunks to hurl a punch that went clean through him. Trunks snarled in rage before numerous explosions of magic went off along his face, forcing him back. Beams of black lightning came crashing down onto Trunks a moment later and Starlight looked to the sky to see that Nightmare Moon had joined the battle, the look of absolute hatred on her face burning like the magical fire that blazed along her horn.

Starlight ran over to Trunk's side as he snarled and shook off the effects of the magical lightning, just as Nightmare Moon descended down next to Sombra.

"So, it seems that even after a thousand years of ruling, there are always fools who believe they can challenge me," Nightmare Moon snarled, taking a step towards Trunks. Sombra held out a hoof to stop her. "And what do you think you are doing? Do you dare go against the orders of the queen?"

"My one and only goal is to keep you safe. So trust me when I say I should be the one to battle this being," Sombra replied in a soft voice. Nightmare Moon's eyes widened at his choice of tone and then she glanced at Trunks, a wary look in her eyes after hearing Sombra's shift.

"Very well then, my dear. I shall battle with the unicorn," Nightmare Moon decreed, before she flashed a flirtatious smile at Sombra. "Unless you wish to fight them both to appeal to me. I do find stallions that can destroy numerous foes worthy of my time."

"I believe that you can defeat her," Sombra replied. There was no humor or levity in his voice, only a deadly seriousness that came with the knowledge that you were fighting one that eclipsed you completely. Nightmare Moon caught on and faced Starlight with a far more serious look on her face.

"Think you can handle Moon there?" Trunks asked Starlight.

"I believe I can. At the very least she'll have to hold back so she doesn't risk the life of her foal," Starlight replied, not liking the words that were leaving her mouth. "But be careful with Sombra. He knows who we are, he knows about the timelines and he's going to do everything in his power to make sure that his timeline is the last one standing."

"Doesn't matter. We stick to the plan and draw in the ones responsible for this," Trunks replied to her, drawing his blade and narrowing his eyes at Sombra. "Once we've killed Maestro and Clockwork, then we can deal with these guys if we need to."

"Yeah, if we need to," Starlight whispered, glancing at the spot where Clockwork had been. Trunks caught the tone in her voice and turned to look at her, a hint o suspicion flashing across his face.

Sombra moved in a blur the moment Trunks eyes were off of him, wrapping his smoke form around the swordsman and dragging him down through a portal into the darkness. Starlight had just a moment to call out to Trunks before a blast of magic whipped past her head. She leapt back and snapped her eyes back to her foe, one of the greatest villains that Equestria had ever been faced with.

"Come and face me, mare. For I will not stop until either you no longer draw breath or I am slain," Nightmare Moon promised.

Duty

Trunks flipped backwards away from Sombra, glancing around in all directions as he did so to get a better lay of the land. The world of darkness that Sombra had dragged him into was, well, completely filled with darkness all around him. The only part of the world that wasn't darkness were numerous floating platforms made out of violet crystals, which floated around like islands in a sea of black. Sombra was standing on the largest of these crystals with Trunks, easily the size of a town center, but the smile that he had worn on his face earlier was long gone.

"Even though I knew that it most likely wouldn't have worked, I really wish that Tirek had killed you," Sombra admitted to Trunks. "I had done the math based on your base form and, for a moment, I believed that he actually would have been powerful enough to kill you. Sadly, it seems that you were hiding what you could really do. Seems I've signed my own death warrant in picking you as my opponent."

"Then stand aside and let me do what I came here to do," Trunks warned Sombra, drawing his blade and pointing it at the dark king. "I don't want to kill you. All I want is to fix the timeline and restore the right Equestria timeline to where it belongs. All of these timelines are ones that shouldn't exist. You know this."

"Yes, we're not supposed to exist. But yet we do. We exist, we live, we feel, we die...even though we're not supposed to," Sombra whispered. "And as beings that exist, is it wrong for us to fight so hard to ensure our survival? I'm certain that if the main timeline was intelligent enough to realize what was happening, they would be fighting equally as hard to ensure that they came out alive. So why side with them and not us?"

"Well for one, this world is ruled by two of the most evil ponies that have ever lived. And I've had enough evil futures for one lifetime. If I had to pick between saving this evil timeline or letting it be erased, you'd better believe I'd pick the latter," Trunks snarled. But then the image of Nightmare smiling at Sombra's shocked face, who had just learned her secret, crossed his mind and for a moment his resolve wavered. And Sombra noticed.

"It was easy with the other timelines, wasn't it?" Sombra asked, nodding in understanding. "Chrysalis was a tyrant. Tirek was a dark god. Even the other me was just an asshole. They were all nothing but pure evil. All of them were just another villain that you had to strike down. But it's different here, isn't it? To know that you're not just going up against two evil monsters, but a pair of ponies who will, hopefully, be parents soon. Parents who want to raise their foal in a world that will be there tomorrow."

"Raise your foal to be a tyrant or monster like either of you," Trunks snapped back. "Don't pretend for a moment that your foal will be any nicer than either of you. If anything, thanks to the both of you, they'll probably be the most evil being to ever live."

"Maybe. Or maybe they'll be the world's greatest hero. I don't know. But what I do know is that as their father," Sombra began as he crouched down, his horn glowing. "It's my job to ensure that they have a world in which to make that choice."

Blades of darkness erupted from the ground and drove themselves into Trunks limbs, getting the Saiyan to look down with shock and surprise at the blades that had impaled his arms and legs. Sombra barreled towards Trunks, surrounding his body in a tornado of darkness that ripped apart the land around him.

Trunks didn't waste anytime and erupted into his Super Saiyan form, the golden light that erupted from his body blasting away the darkness and deflected Sombra back from the way he came. Trunks was on him in an instance, driving his blade at Sombra's legs with the intent to end the fight then and there. But his eyes widened in shock when Sombra spun his head to intercept the blow, catching Trunk's blade on the tip of his horn. The blade began to be consumed by darkness, snaking up the blade and to the handle where Trunks was gripping it. He dropped the blade and leapt back, amazed that Sombra could keep up with him in his form.

Sombra slammed his hooves into the crystal beneath them and conjured spires of darkness that jutted out of the ground on a warpath to Trunks. Trunks snapped his arms back before thrusting them forward, firing a massive beam of ki that shattered all of the spires and stormed towards the dark king. Sombra vanished into the darkness just in time to avoid the blast, which spiraled into the darkness and was quickly lost from sight.

'Alright, where's he going to come from?' Trunks asked, glancing around for any sign of Sombra. 'He's tricky, underhanded and is a villain. So in all likelihood he'll be...here!'

Trunks swung around and lashed out with his leg, catching Sombra just as the king came up from the shadows beneath. Yet the moment Trunks leg made contact with his Sombra's body warped into shadows, which then twisted up Trunk's leg and towards his body. Trunks eyes widened at the sight before Sombra's shadows spiraled up his neck and went into Trunks mouth. Trunks gagged and held his hands to his throat, able to feel the darkness siphoning the air from his lungs and slowly begin to suffocate him to death.

'No! Not here!' Trunks roared within his mind, thrusting his arms to his side and taking his power to the next level. The light around him erupted like he was a star, while electricity crackled around his body to boost the light within as well. The eruption of light was strong enough to dispel the darkness within him, sending the smoke stream out of his body and sailing into the dark surrounding Trunks.

"You won't escape!" Trunks roared. He chucked a ball of ki after the smoke and caught it in an explosion that shone like a small sun, decimating hundreds of the floating crystals around him. When the explosion died down, Trunks narrowed his eyes at the spot where Sombra had been, not sure if he had killed the king or not.

"So you can go ever further beyond your golden form? Shit." Trunks turned his head to see Sombra standing on the crystal across from him, his body shaking weakly with numerous gashes across his legs and chest. "Of course, my spellwork is so incredible that I was able to survive that attack of yours, but it seems that even I could not get away unscathed. And unfortunately, with you glowing like that, I will not be able to take advantage of the darkness inside of your body to kill you from within. Well, this is bad."

"Sombra, just give up. I'm not going to kill you or your wife," Trunks promised Sombra. When the look on the dark kings face showed he didn't believe him, Trunks sighed and held up his hands. "I'm after the ones behind the time fractures, the ones that broke the timeline to begin with. We're only fighting you to draw out Maestro and Clockwork."

"The metal men. So they're the ones behind everything," Sombra pieced together.

"Yes. They are the ones that we are after. See. There's no need for us to do this," Trunks added, hoping that Sombra would see reason. "So just surrender and help me to draw them out. Then we can slay the both of them and that will put an end to all of this."

"...there is a problem with what you are saying. Maestro and Clockwork being behind this makes sense. But if we kill them, those who are responsible for all this, then everything will go back to the way it's supposed to be," Sombra said with narrowed eyes. "Including that my world, my wife...my foal, will never exist. Is that right?"

"...yes, I suppose it is," Trunks said. He took up his fighting stance and let out a sigh, knowing that Sombra was right. The timeline he was in would most likely fade once he killed the metal men. And Sombra would fight with every last ounce of his strength to prevent that.

"Then you know my answer, Trunks. Now fight for your life."

(SSJ)

Starlight let out a yelp as she ducked behind a tree, just in time to avoid the blast of lunar magic that ripped apart the space where she had been standing a moment before. Starlight placed her back up against the tree and tried to control her breathing, before taking a peek to see what Nightmare Moon was up to.

"Why are you bothering to run? We both know that you are nowhere near powerful enough to stand against me," Nightmare Moon told Starlight. Starlight knew this to be true from the moment she tried to match Moon's magic with her own and ended up getting hurled across the forest. She then adopted her new plan of running for her life. "And running will not help either. Even if you somehow manage to get away from me, all I have to do is tell the lunar guard that we are hunting you and it will only be a matter of time. So why don't you save us a lot of time and give up?"

"Because if I do that then the timeline, my timeline, will cease to be! And I'll do whatever it takes to ensure that doesn't happen!" Starlight yelled out at Moon. 'At least, I want to believe that. But I even with all that on the line I don't think I can hurt Nightmare Moon. Not as she is now.'

Starlight yelped once more as another burst of lunar magic decimated the tree she had been hiding behind, forcing her to create a barrier around herself to deflect the next spell that had been aimed at her. While she did manage to get her barrier up in time, Moon's spell was strong enough to launch both Starlight and her barrier backwards through numerous trees. Starlight groaned in pain as her barrier dissipated, looking up in time to see Nightmare Moon gently land in front of her.

"Normally I would allow for this chase to go on for a little longer, but due to reasons I do not want to risk moving around too much," Nightmare Moon said. Chains of dark magic wrapped themselves around Starlights limbs, chaining her to the ground. A sinister smile then crossed Nightmare Moon's face as she aimed her horn at Starlight Glimmer. "And once I am done with you, I will aid Sombra in deal with your friend. And then we shall go back to our day, as if nothing had ever happened. You are not the first to try to kill me and I am certain you will not be the last. just the latest in a long line of failures."

"I see. How boring."

Nightmare Moon's eyes widened and she spun around just in time to take a metal fist to the face, one that sent her hurtling backwards. Right before she hit the first tree in her path she managed to fire off a teleportation spell, avoiding damage to her body and also positioning herself away from whoever had struck her. When she reappeared, she locked onto her target and narrowed her eyes at the metal man that stood before her.

"You. I heard Sombra speak of you months ago. It seems that you are responsible for a great deal of misery that has befallen us recently," Nightmare Moon snarled. She then channeled all of her lunar might into her horn and body, glowing with a dark magic that blocked out all light around them, making herself the only source of pale light. "Why are you here?"

"It is a simple reason. Because that Starlight and this version of Trunks have gained my interest. And I would rather not have them die before I get the chance to see how their story plays out and what choices they make," Maestro said with a shrug, before his the void where his face should have been darkened and he locked onto Nightmare Moon. "But a Nightmare Moon that has defeated her sister and rules the land is something that I have seen far too many times. Even if you are married to Sombra and are having a foal, you are still far too common and like others that I have seen so many times. And if there is one thing I hate above all else..."

Shattered magic erupted from Maestros body, drowning out Nightmare Moon's magic and making both Starlight and Moon look at him with absolute terror in their eyes.

"It is something that bores me. Like you."

Villain

Despite having wanted to kill each other a moment ago, Nightmare Moon and Starlight fired twin blasts of magic into the chest of the Maestro. Nightmare fought with Starlight because she realized at the moment that Maestro was the far bigger threat to her and her world. Starlight fought with Nightmare Moon simply because she didn't want to see mother and foal die. So for a moment they formed a truce and combined all of their might into bringing down the Maestro.

Their attacks did nothing to him.

Maestro walked through the magic as if the spells that could crack the planet were a soft breeze. Nightmare caught onto how the current situation was going to end and teleported herself farther back from where she had been standing, leaving Starlight alone to confront the Maestro.

"There is no need to fear for your life. At the moment, you interest me enough to keep you alive," Maestro told her, before he snapped his fingers and created a sphere of shattered magic around the mare. "But that is only if you continue on this path of erasing timelines and changing the future of this world. And if you cannot do that here, then I shall simply do it for you."

"As if it will be so easy!" Nightmare Moon roared as her body crackled with might. She let out a shriek that could pierce the heavens before she unleashed a blast of unbridled power at the Maestro. Maestro took the blast right to the face, but aside from burning away the upper half of his cloak, the attack might as well have missed him for all the damage it did. Nightmare's eyes widened in absolute disbelief at the fact that the Maestro was not only alive after taking a spell like that, but that he was walking towards her as if he hadn't noticed the attack.

"You are the same as all of your counterparts. You bellow, you rage, you deem how unfair the world it...and then you lose. It is who you are," Maestro said as he raised an arm towards Nightmare. She constructed a barrier around herself to stop the blast.

Maestro's spell pierced clean through the barrier and cleaved off Nightmare's wing, getting the alicorn of darkness to roar in agony as her wing ceased to be. Her fear and desire to protect her precious cargo forced the pain from her mind, allowing her to focus long enough to conjure another spell on the end of her horn. She was too late.

Maestro was on her in a moment. He grabbed Moon by the throat and hoisted her into the air, dangling her for a moment before driving her into the ground. Nightmare's horn flashed and created a cushion of magic for her to land on. Despite her magical cushion cancelling out the damage that her body would have suffered, Maestro simply tightened his grip on her neck and her vision nearly went black.

"Hmm, that was the longest that I've ever had a Nightmare Moon fight against me," Maestro noted. Nightmare's response was to fire one last, desperate spell into the face of Maestro. As with all of the others, it did nothing. Maestro then hoisted Nightmare Moon up once more, smirked at her efforts, and then blasted shattered magic into her. Nightmare went limp as the magic did it's job and a moment later her body crumbled away into dust, her crown dropping to the ground. "Not that it made any difference in the end."

"NO!" Starlight bellowed. Her horn nearly shattered under strain as she unleashed all of her power, even forbidden magic that she had sworn to never use again, into Maestro's barrier. The barrier shattered and a moment later Starlight lunged towards Maestro, who turned around in time to take one of her spells to the face. "What have you done?!"

"Ended this timeline, something you and Trunks should have done ages ago," Maestro pointed out. Starlight bellowed at his words and fired another blast of magic into Maestro's body. Maestro, in response, started to look around. "Where is that Saiyan, anyway? He should have come flying in at full power in a rage, just like all Saiyans do. Hmm, perhaps he's trying a bit of strategy. Ha. Saiyans do not strategize. He must be lost."

"I'm certain he'll be here any second now."

(SSJ)

Spears of ki shot from Trunks extended hands towards the dark king, who in the span of moments managed to deflect, absorb, or dissipate the ki shots with the darkness around him. Sombra's response was to shoot his magic into the crystal platform at his hooves and shatter it into a swarm of shards, which he then had rain down on Trunks in a razor rain of death. Trunks blade moved faster than the crystals, dicing them into nothingness before he turned back towards Sombra once more.

Trunks, in his second form, was fast enough to be on Sombra in an instant, lashing out with his hand and wrapping it around Sombra's throat. Yet the moment his hand touched the dark king, memories of all of his friends and family being brutally murdered flashed before his eyes, before they were followed up by memories of him being decapitated, incinerated, ripped apart and straight up erased. Trunks let out a bellow of insanity as he held his hands to his head, his brain trying to fight the false memories that felt so real.

Sombra didn't waste the opening that he had made. His first act was to consume Trunk's blade in darkness, dissolving it into the shadows around them. He then fired little spheres of darkness into Trunks eyes, getting the Super Saiyan to roar in agony as he scratched at his eyes, trying to clear away the crippling blindness that now consumed his vision. Sombra then put everything he had into his horn, unleashing a blast of magic into Trunks chest at full force.

While the blast didn't do much damage, with Trunks being blind and still fighting memories that weren't real, the spell was strong enough to send Trunks tumbling backwards across what remained of the crystal platform. Yet in a moment he was back on his feet, the light of the ki that flowed through him burning the darkness out of his eyes. Those same eyes locked onto Sombra and a moment later his fist was coming down on the dark king, whose brain hadn't even processed that Trunks had move.

"Trunks?"

Trunks fist came to a dead halt at the words spoke, words spoken by a voice that he knew all too well. He blinked twice, before lowering his fist as he stared at Mai, who was standing in front of him. "Trunks, it's really you! I didn't think that I'd see you here! We thought that we lost you forever!"

"Mai?! But how can this be? You're not supposed to be here! And where's Sombra?!" Trunks asked Mai as his golden hair returned to its natural blue color and he reached out for her. Mai gave him an evil smile in return.

Mai then exploded in a colossal explosion of light, with the sound and flash of the detonation great enough to blind and deafen Trunks at the same time. He let out a cry he never heard as his hands clasped to his ears. A piercing blade of darkness ripped through his back knee, knocking Trunks to one knee as his hands grasped at where the pain was. He realized what had happened and returned to his Super Saiyan form a moment later, blinking hard and managing to regain some of his sight.

"You're done!" Trunks roared, lunging towards Sombra at a speed the king couldn't keep up with. But Trunks, the poor boy, had an habit of being predictable when he got angry. And Sombra knew what was coming. A small beam of purple light shone from Sombra's horn and caught Trunks right between the eyes, getting the saiyan to fall to the ground and skid to a halt.

"What's going on?" Trunks asked as he looked up. He then looked down at himself to find that he was glowing. "What's going on?! Why am I glowing?! Where am I and...and who am I?"

"You're dead."

Trunks roared in pain as shards of dark magic shredded his body, spraying blood as he was ripped apart. His golden form faded and he collapsed to the ground, before a massive tidal wave of magic swallowed him whole and bombarded his body with darkness. There was no light to see, no air to breathe and his entire body was being dissolved into the darkness. And he had no idea why.

'I'm...going to die,' he realized as he struggled, both to escape and remember who he was. 'Why is he trying to kill me. Did I say something to him? Is he someone whose evil. Maybe I hurt him. Or maybe he hates my-'

My. Mai. MAI!

Darkness was blasted apart as a light that could equal a star erupted from within, revealing Trunks and his golden hair that now went down to nearly his knees. His roar alone blasted back the darkness and the memory of his love restored his very own memory, along with the will and resolve to finish this. But as he looked up to see the king of darkness, he realized that even this power might not be enough.

Sombra was towering over Trunks, having infused himself with all of the darkness in the reality that they had been trapped in to turn himself into the darkness that made up the reality. He held the platform on which Trunks stood on the center of one of his massive hooves, his red eyes, each the size of a city narrowing as he started down his foe. Then his dark horn began to charge with power, shaking the entire realm to its core.

"FINE! LET'S GO!" Trunks bellowed as his muscle and aura exploded with a power that far eclipsed his second form from before. His golden aura was joined by a blue aura and an unbridled rage that further strengthened him, giving him enough power to even bring down gods. He then clasped his hands together in front of him, creating a sphere of power that crackled with both blue and gold light, a light strong enough to illuminate his half of the dark reality.

"THE DARK REPRISE!"

"FINAL FLASH!"

Both Sombra and Trunks bodies erupted with the most unchained versions of their greatest attacks. Sombra's shrieking hellfire of darkness ripped apart all of the light in its path with Trunks seraphic beacon of light decimated all darkness in its path. The two beams reached one another and for a moment Sombra's all consuming darkness and Trunks almighty light collided...and then Sombra's beam along with Sombra himself vanished completely, leaving Trunks Final Flash to rocket off into the furthest reaches of the dark realm.

The shock at Sombra's sudden disappearance was so great that he reverted back to his base form, glancing around with a confused look on his face. Then Sombra appeared across the crystal platform from Trunks, getting Trunks to take up a fighting stance. But the moment Trunks saw Sombra's face, he knew that the fight was over.

"No..." Sombra whispered, his horn glowing yet it was not doing what Sombra wanted it to. "No no no! Nightmare!"

In the blink of an eye Sombra tore open a portal back into the real world and rocketed through it, Trunks just managing to make it through as well thanks to his speed. The two of them burst forth back into the light, Trunks having to hold up a hand to shield himself from the light that blinded him, along with what everything else Sombra had done to his eyes. Sombra had no such moment of weakness, so he was allowed to take in the full sight of what awaited him back in the real world.

"Nightmare...Luna..." Sombra croaked in, his voice breaking as he fell to his knees. Trunks rubbed the blindness out of his eyes and finally took in what Sombra had seen...and it sent his heart sinking into his chest.

Maestro was standing over a bruised Starlight, his foot on her chest to keep her pinned to the ground. And near that same boot was a pile of dust, with a deep blue and black crown resting a top the dust pile. Maestro heard the noise and turned his head to see that Trunks had arrived. "Ah. There you are."

"Maestro...what have you DONE?!" Trunks bellowed as his Rage form returned once more, sending his power rocketing into the realm of obscene.

"What does it look like I've done? I've done what you were unable to," Maestro stated as a matter-of-fact. Trunks fist was on the side of his head a split second later and Maestro found himself in the side of a mountain. Trunks took just a moment to check to make sure that Starlight was okay before he prepared to go after Maestro...only for the world to start to fade to white around them.

"He...he actually did it. He killed her," Trunks whispered, horrified beyond belief. He then turned to look back at the dark king, who was kneeling next to ashes of his wife and his future. Trunks slowly walked over to Sombra, returning to his normal form and reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder, only to cease and lower it to his side. "Sombra...I'm...I'm..."

"A few minutes ago I thought that being erased completely was the worst thing that could happen to me. Now I welcome it with open arms," Sombra replied. His voice was not sad, nor angry or grieving. It was blank. Trunks lowered his head and grieved with Sombra for a moment, Starlight walking over next to them and bowing her head as well. Trunks then raised his head once more and placed his hand on Sombra's shoulder.

"I promise you that I'll kill him for this. For what he's did to them. You have my word," Trunks promised Sombra.

The dark king looked at Trunks for a moment as Sombra's own body began to fade away, the dark king being practically all that was left in the world at that point. Then his horn glowed faintly for a moment and Trunks felt traces of magic wrap around his body.

"One last spell. So you can follow him to the next timeline. So you can finally find out what he and Clockwork have been working so hard to find. And Trunks?" Sombra asked right before him and the rest of his world that he fought so hard to protect faded away into nothingness.

"Make him suffer."

The True Timeline

Trunks usually met the white fade out when a world vanished with impatience, wishing that the next timeline that he was heading into would be constructed faster. But this time he spent the time in-between the timelines in mourning, mourning for a pony who had been an enemy of his.

'But even though he was evil and had a black heart, he still had a heart. He still fought for something other than himself with every last fiber of his being,' Trunks thought to himself. Trunks then glanced back and his empty scabbard, realizing that this time his blade was gone for good. 'It's funny, really. He wasn't anywhere close to my strength, but if we had continued our battle...I may not have won. And yet I crushed him in the very first fractured timeline. Goes to show what happens when you fight for others, I guess.'

"That...was hard," Starlight muttered. Trunks looked over at her to see that she was sitting down, her mane covering her eyes and her head hung low. "I mean, I watched a mother to be turned to dust in front of my eyes, unable to do anything to save her. I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep for a long time after this."

"I know how you feel," Trunks replied as he sat down next to Starlight. "My mother was killed in a similar way. Against an opponent that I was far too weak to stop. I had to run so that I would live and ensure that we had a chance to beat Black. And not a day goes by that I don't see her face and wonder if I might have been able to win if I had truly given my everything."

"Would you have?"

"No. Black was far beyond me. Just like Maestro was too strong for you," Trunks said kindly. "You did all you could to save Nightmare Moon and her foal. Try to find some peace knowing that. And also know that Maestro will not get away with what he's done. This time, this time for certain, we will defeat him. That much I promise."

"You mean you'll defeat him," Starlight reminded Trunks. When Trunks opened his mouth to argue, Starlight shook her head with a bitter smile. "Let's be real, Trunks, I've been all but useless in this little adventure of ours. You fight all of the villains, you save the day...or ruin it, based on how you view our actions, and only you have the strength needed to defeat Maestro. I will just get in your way."

"Starlight, you've been the heart of this adventure. You've been the one who has been constantly been pushing me to try a different tactic. I've been...narrow minded," Trunks admitted with a sigh. "After losing my world, my timeline, nearly all of my friends and family...I've gone cold. I've been haunted by visions of not being able to defeat Black, and because of that I've had a zero tolerance policy for the villains we've come across. Maybe if I had done something different, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"You mean heading back to the main timeline with all of the other timelines erased?" Starlight asked.

"Come on Starlight, it's us. Do you really think things are going to go according to plan?" Trunks asked her. "If you don't believe me, then why not take a look at that mirror of yours?"

Starlight did as Trunks asked, pulling out the mirror and looking into it. A terrified gasp escaped her lips as she saw that not only were the timelines that had been erased simply black images, but the main timeline was a black image as well. She glanced from the mirror towards Trunks, who was looking at the image with a grim look on his face.

"Trunks, what's going on? Where's the main timeline? Why is the mirror completely blank?"

"It's like I figured. Maestro and Clockwork were talking about a different "true timeline" whenever they spoke about the time stream. Perhaps the timeline that you come from isn't the main one after all. Or maybe they both truly believe that the one that they've been trying so hard to bring back is the true timeline?" Trunks sighed. "As for why the mirror is completely black, my best guess is that the timeline we're about to pop into isn't one that you've been to, therefor it wouldn't be on your mirror."

"So then, what kind of timeline are we getting ourselves into?" Starlight asked.

"Don't know," Trunks replied as he rose to his feet, Starlight doing the same as the world around them began to fill in. "But we're about to find out."

Just as Trunks spoke those words, the white around them was filled completely in, allowing the pair to see the final timeline that they had been dumped in. Neither of them were expecting what they saw.

Rain poured down with such a force it was like an endless stream of waterfalls were floating above the world and drenching all that lived beneath them with their ferocity and might. Buildings were stretched as far as the eye could see, which in the rain wasn't that far, but the buildings didn't make sense in the context of Equestria. Instead of stone and wood, these buildings were constructed out of metal and electricity, something that Trunks knew very few ponies in Equestria would have had.

Then there was the other advancements in technology that didn't belong. High above the pair floated dozens of black and silver painted zeppelins, which shone spotlights down upon the city with rays of light that pierced through the inky darkness, telling all that shuffled within the shadows that the darkness would not hide them. Ponies in strange outfits moved rapidly past the pair, with only an occasional glance telling the pair that they had been noticed.

"What...what is wrong with this world?" Starlight asked.

"So you sensed it too...or rather, you sensed the lack of it," Trunks nodded in agreement.

"I did. Trunks, this isn't right. There's...there's no trace of the magic that made Equestria Equestria here!" Starlight half panicked as she looked up at Trunks. "I've never felt anything like this before! I mean, even in the world where Tirek had taken all of the magic for himself at least I could sense it all within him! At least I knew where the magic had gone! But here...here I sense none of it. Not so much as a drop."

"Agreed. There is no magic here. At least, none aside from the magic I feel in you," Trunks replied. He then began to walk forward, ignoring the rain and the crowds of ponies around them as he used his size and strength to march on ahead, Starlight following behind him. "Come on, we need to find out more about this world. So far in all of the other timelines we've at least had some clue as to what was going on, but here we're in the dark. Let's go."

Starlight didn't have any better ideas, so she followed after Trunks, creating a small shield of magic around herself to keep the rain out of her eyes. Trunks pressed forwards as if the rain or the ponies weren't even there, lost in his own thoughts as he sent out his senses to scan the world. He was hoping that his initial scan had been wrong and that there would be at least some magic in the world. Maybe not the magical power that all of the ponies wielded, but that hint of internal magic that he had sensed within all lifeforms in the other timelines, even the one where Tirek had stolen their magic. He was hoping for so much as a wisp.

But he found nothing. Aside from Starlight, there was no magic of any sort within the world. Not in the land he was in, not in the nation across the sea from where he stood. Even in the largest cities or the mightiest kingdoms there was no magic to be found whatsoever.

"What kind of terror or cataclysm could lead to an Equestria without any magic within it?" Starlight asked in horror. While Trunks had been searching the world around them, Starlight had been watching the ponies around them. She watched as they ran from place to place, faces mostly covered in hoods attached to long cloaks that shielded them slightly from the rain. But whenever she did catch a glance of their faces, she found that there was no life in their eyes, no wonder or...magic. There was only the will to live, for themselves or whatever small family they had.

She continued to watch, and as she did so more and more pieces started to fall into place. She watched as an older stallion on the side of the road had a small hat laid on the ground, eyes hung low and head fallen as he clearly needed money to survive. None of the ponies paid him a glance. She watched as a mare, who had been zigzagging through the crowd, fell over and crashed hard into the dirt. Ponies passed her by without so much as an offer for help.

But the one that broke her the most was when they came across a small foal that was lugging a large number of items that were far too heavy for him to carry by himself. But he never asked for help, or even glanced at those he passed by in hopes that one of them would give him aid. He ignored the ponies he passed and, in turn, they ignored him. It was only after Starlight witnessed all of this that she pieced together what was wrong with the timeline they were in.

"There's no friendship," Starlight whispered. Trunks, who had been helping each of the ponies they passed by and was currently helping an elder mare up a flight of stairs, glanced over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "That's what's wrong with this timeline. There is no friendship in this world. And since friendship is magic, without the magic of friendship..."

"There's no magic period," Trunks replied, glancing towards the mare that he had just helped. She continued on her way without so much as a second look at Trunks, who frowned at Starlight's words. He looked around the city center that they found themselves in, unable to find any argument that could counter Starlight's conclusion. "So that's what this world is, huh? But that raises the question, why is this the true timeline? Why is this the real Equestria compared to yours?"

"A world without magic," Starlight repeated, almost as if she hadn't heard Trunks words. "A world where ponies don't care for one another. There is no laughter, no parties, no fun, no love...it's just a world that exists and existing is all it seems to care about doing. Even in Tirek's timeline, or Chrysalis's, or Nightmare Moon's, the world felt alive. There was still a spark of life to it. But here...here there is nothing."

"So is this the real timeline, the one that has been hidden beneath all of the other timelines?" Trunks asked. "And if so, how did the one with Twilight and all of them come to take the spot of this one for such a long time? What is going on here that we're missing?"

"I don't know. I mean, how could I?" Starlight asked. She stared at all of the ponies that passed her by, unable to believe that all of them were able to walk by each other without the slightest interaction. "And why would Clockwork and Maestro fight so hard to bring this timeline to the forefront? There is nothing interesting here for Maestro and Clockwork...what could he be trying to undo in this timeline? What could be the event so tragic that he had to be ride of all the other timelines to make this one?"

"Well if we want to know the answer to that, then I suggest that we follow him," Trunks suggested. Starlight turned to follow his gaze and found that, indeed, Clockwork was standing at the end of an alleyway across from them. When the pair noticed him, he turned and vanished deeper into the alley, leaving Starlight and Trunks to share a look for a moment.

Then they walked in after him.

Story Time

The world seemed to shift around Trunks and Starlight as they followed after Clockwork. The alleyway faded away to a city street, with gas lamps and cobblestone streets. The ponies that walked those streets looked like something out of a Sherclop Holmes story. Then the scenery changed once more and the world was filled with skyscrapers that reached the heavens, flying vehicles and robots as far as the eye could see. Then the world shifted one last time and everything was back to the grungy, magic devoid world that they had arrived in.

"Why is time in constant flux like this?" Starlight asked Trunks. "I can barely keep up with what's going on."

"If I had to wager, he's either showing off his power, or the true timeline isn't stable despite having the fractured timelines erased," Trunks guessed. "My biggest question is why isn't he fighting us yet? In every other reality that we've been with this guy he's either fought us or at least messed with us. What's different here?"

"That would be that we're in my world."

Trunks and Starlight turned to see Clockwork standing besides the pair, despite having just been walking ahead of them a few moments ago. Trunks reached for his blade, remembered it was gone, and then raised his fist in preparation for battle. for a moment Starlight's horn glowed to prepare for a fight, but then she ceased her magical power and nodded to Clockwork.

"You were right," she said to him. Trunks looked at her like she was crazy, while Clockwork nodded to her. "The timeline with Nightmare Moon did fall. And in doing so it revealed the true timeline. Now you've gotten what you've wanted. Now the question is, why did you want this? And, also, what happened to the timeline with the Elements of Harmony?"

"That is an easy one. The timeline with Twilight and all of the others was the very fourth timeline to override this one," Clockwork revealed. "Remember how Sombra spoke of trying to make his timeline the main one? That is exactly what your Equestria manage to do so many eons ago."

"How does that work?" Trunks asked, lowering his guard for just a moment to allow Clockwork to speak.

"Time is not set in stone. Time is constantly flowing and moving like a river. All of the timelines are like this. However, Equestria's timeline works differently. It is not a continues timeline, but instead a world where timelines fight to be the dominate one. For example, the timeline with Twilight and her friends was not the first timeline. This one was. Then it was replaced by a timeline where Tirek was king and a human came to Equestria to help save it. The first timeline to replace this one. The first of a new generation."

"So what happened to that timeline?" Starlight asked.

"Like this timeline, it was eventually replaced by another timeline, the second generation, as it were. And this continued on until the current timeline to take over. The fourth generation," Clockwork revealed. "That timeline will continue until the fifth generation manages to take over it. It always happens. But then, Starlight, you changed everything. You created a fractured timeline, one that weakened the hold that the fourth generation had over my timeline. And gave me my chance to dethrone it."

"But why?" Trunks asked, grabbing Clockwork by the neck and forcing him to look Trunks in the eye. "Why would you help to erase a timeline with so many lives? Why would you unravel the time space continuum?"

"Why did you erase all those other timelines? To make everything right," Clockwork replied. Trunks had no response to that, so he let Clockwork go. Clockwork motioned for the both of them to follow him and they continued to walk.

"So why is this world devoid of friendship and magic?" Starlight asked.

"That is what I am trying to figure out," Clockwork replied. When Trunks and Starlight both gave him a confused look, he realized that he would have to elaborate. "This world, my world, has been gone for so many millennia. When a timeline is replaced, those living in it do not...die, they simply cease to be. They are gone. Replaced with a, hopefully, better and more alive timeline. But my timeline, unlike the first three generations, did not die out. It was alive and thriving, until one day, it lost everything that made it special. It lost it's magic, its life. And when that happened, it was replaced. I wish to learn why."

"Maestro. Has to be him. He probably did it just to see what would happen," Trunks cut in.

"No, that thought did cross my mind, but Maestro has confirmed that he had already seen that reality play out in another...way, and so he had no desire to see it repeated. That is why he agreed to help me undo all of this," Clockwork replied. "Or, at the very least, find out what happened."

"And he'll probably stab you in the back when he feels like it."

"Most likely."

"Does that mean that my timeline isn't gone either?" Starlight asked, gaining her the attention of her two companions. "It's just been replaced by this one, and, just like this one, can be returned if the right conditions are met?"

"It is...a possibility, but for that to happen I would have to allow my timeline to be taken away once more. And I will not allow that," Clockwork promised, before Trunks put a hand on his shoulder and nearly cracked the metal that made him up.

"You may not have much of a say in the matter, unless you think you can best me," Trunks promised Clockwork. For a moment it looked like the two would start fighting, but then Clockwork let out a sigh and brushed Trunks hand off of his shoulder.

"Come. There is work to be done and for the moment our goals align. We must learn what caused this world, while it was thriving, to be replaced by another timeline. Until we know that, we will not know how to fix it or, if necessary, how to return your timeline to it's place on the throne," Clockwork instructed. "I must know what happened. I cannot leave this be."

Clockwork took the lead once more, leaving Starlight and Trunks to share a look before they walked after him. "Do you think anything he told us was the truth?" Starlight asked.

"Give me a minute. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole generations thing he told us about," Trunks replied while slightly shaking his head. "Honestly, I think he's telling the truth. But after hearing what he said, there's something...familiar about Clockwork. Like he just revealed a piece of the puzzle that we've been missing the whole time and now...I just need to figure out the rest of it."

"Well for the time being we should probably stick with him and try to learn more about what's going on," Starlight state.

"Ah. I had forgotten about that."

Trunks and Starlight lifted their heads just in time to see a massive explosion rock one of the larger skyscrapers far off in the distance. While Starlight gawked in shock and Trunks rocketed off to see who he could save, Clockwork glanced down at a pocket watch he was carrying and shrugged. "The Exon building explosion. Yes, that proves that we are in the right timeframe. Now can begin the investigation."

Starlight raised an eyebrow at his words, but when Clockwork turned and started to walk to a small cavalcade of buildings, she decided to follow him. She knew that Trunks would be fine and would save those that could be saved. She didn't need to help him with that, but what she could help with was gathering more information.

'I have to restore my timeline as the right one. I won't allow it to be replaced or faded out,' Starlight promised. "Clockwork, how do you even know that it just wasn't your timelines...well, time? Perhaps like all of the other generations, it simply ran out of steam and was in dire need of replacing?"

"That cannot be the case. There was still so much life and excitement. It is not possible that it was simply time. There must be a reason for why," Clockwork cut Starlight off. He then pulled out his pocketwatch once more and glanced down at it, but as soon as he did another image caught Starlight's full attention. She had no idea why she had decided to look slightly so her left, but as she did so she spied a pony. A pony with a grayish coat, white mane and mustache, a series of gears on his flank and a monocle on his eye. But what truly grabbed Starlight's attention was that he was carrying a pocketwatch. The exact same that Clockwork was carrying.

For a long moment she stared at him, before she became aware that Clockwork was starting to move. For a brief second she glanced between the pair, before making her decision and running across the road to the older stallion who had the very same pocketwatch.

"Hello there, sir. Mind if I walk with you for a moment?" she asked in the most friendly tone she could muster.

"Of course my dear. It's nice to see a friendly face in this city," he replied with a small bow and a kind smile.

"Thank you. I am new here and I've been in need of some help of where to go, but so far none of the ponies here seem to be that friendly," Starlight said as she looked around.

"Yes, I can't help but notice that things seem to be darker and more dreary than they used to be. It's sad, considering that this place used to be the pinnacle of fun and amazement," the stallion said as the pair began to walk through the streets. "But it seems that things have taken a change for the worse. I don't know who is to blame for the change in the way things are, but it seems that the world has taken a turn for the darker and I cannot say that I am fond of it. But I am sure that my son will get things back to how they used to be in the end."

"Your son?"

"Yes, my son Thundermane. He is one of the three chosen bringers of light in this world," the stallion said with pride. "Four four seasons they've kept the world safe from all sorts of evils. Him and his friends are the true heroes of this world, despite what ponies might say about the new forth member."

"Fourth member?"

"You truly must be new around here. There is a new fourth member who joined this year. He is darker, most violent and far harsher than the others. I honestly do not like him or his methods. But my son and everypony else seems to like him and he gets results, so I suppose that he can't be all that bad. He just...brought a change with him. A chance that I am not sure I like. But if he can defeat Orbidon and help to bring smiles back to the world, then who am I to complain?"

"So allow me to recap. For four years, your son and his two allies have fought against a foe called Orbidon, who has stolen the friendship of the world, and seeks to bring smiles back to the world. They've made some progress, but now need a darker and more...sinister member of their team to finally win the fight? Is that right?"

"Well, almost. Orbidon didn't actually steal the friendship from this world. It's more like...it just vanished," the stallion sighed. "One day, we're all friendly and kind with one another and the next it's like friendship never existed to begin with. I wondered what could have happened to it? Because it seems like I'm the only one who remembers any of this. It does not bode well."

A cold feeling was seeping into Starlight's gut the more she talked with the stallion, and more and more pieces of what had gone wrong with the timeline she was in started to fall into place. But she still had one last question she needed the answer to before she could confirm her suspicions.

"Forgive me for being rude, but I forgot to introduce myself. I am Starlight Glimmer," she said with a small bow.

"Well it is nice to make your acquaintance , Starlight. I am Clockwork."

Shattered Timeline

For the first time in a long time, Trunks felt happy with his decisions.

He flew back and forth through the flames, plucking ponies that had been trapped within the building out of danger and flying them down below to the safety of the streets. His senses told him where ponies were trapped or wounded and he was able to get to them quickly thanks to his speed. Those he couldn't save he would silently mourn for, but he didn't let anything stop him. That was until he looked out the window and saw a pony with a yellow and white mane similar to a lightning bolt get blasted out of the sky.

"What?" he asked himself before running to the window of the floor he was on, reaching it just in time to watch the pony crash into the city below. He couldn't sense any life coming from the pony that had fallen, but he did sense a dark ki above him. He looked up to see a pony with black wings and three pairs of horns unleashing dark magic down upon everyone and thing within his sight. Trunks narrowed his eyes and prepared to fly up to take the pony down...only to watch as the pony faded out of existence.

"What?" he found himself asking again as he started to look around, noticing that the world was staring to fade out of existence, just like all of the other timelines he had been to. 'This can't be happening! This is the original timeline! What is supposed to replace it if it vanishes?! There has to be more going on! More that I'm not-'

Then Trunks glanced down and saw a figure that made his blood boil. Clockwork was floating numerous floors below him, his body glowing with a green aura that seemed to be causing everything around him to fade. Without another thought Trunks rocketed down, flying through a cloud of smoke and rammed his fist into the side of Clockwork's face. The blow caught the metal man completely by surprise and he was sent rocketing off far past the border of the city. Trunks sped after him, catching him in the air just as he recovered from the blow and came to a halt.

"What have you done?!" Trunks roared at him, throwing another right at the metal man's head. Clockwork held out a hand and caught Trunks fist in a field of green light. Trunks had just enough time to widen his eyes before he was hurled into the ground with such speed that he hadn't known what had happened until he tasted dirt in his mouth. He spat out the earth and picked himself up quickly, turning to see Clockwork descending down over a lake near where Trunks had landed.

"I have not done anything! I am trying to undo that which is being done! I am trying to save my timeline!" Clockwork roared back at Trunks.

"Well you're doing a piss poor job of it!" Trunks roared at Clockwork, motioning to all around them as the area was slowly being eaten away by the whiteness. "Just give it up!"

"NEVER! I will save my son! I will undo whatever it is that caused the end of my timeline!" Clockwork roared, before summoning a cane that turned into a glowing blade. "Even if I have to go through you to do it."

Trunks narrowed his eyes before he reached down and grabbed a piece of wood similar to that of a swords hilt. He channeled his ki into it and a moment a blade of blue light was formed in his hand. "Clockwork, trust me. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you can't bring back the ones you love. All you can do is keep moving forward and try to protect those who depend on you."

"That sounds like something one who doesn't control time would say," Clockwork snarled.

"Fine. Have it your way."

Blades clashed in the air a moment later, before striking at one another with such fury and strength that most of the trees in the nearby area were sliced to splinters by the force of the battle. With a roar Trunks cleaved his blade clean through the cane sword that Clockwork was using. Clockwork dropped his sliced blade and grabbed hold of the ki blade Trunks held, advancing time at such a rate that the blade's ki vanished in moments.

Trunks let go of the stick before the time effects could reach him and slammed his knee into the face of Clockwork, snapping the metal man's head back and rocketing him backwards. But then Clockwork caught himself in the air and slowly rewound right back to where Trunks had kneed him, all of the damage gone from his face. Then, with a speed that Trunks had never seen him use before, he unleashed a flurry of punches all aimed at pressure points upon Trunks. Trunks blocked as best he could, but the speed seemed to increase as much as Clockwork wanted.

Knowing that he was being backed in to a corner, Trunks let out a howl and erupted into his Super Saiyan form, using the transformation to push back Clockwork. The transformation slowed the time traveler for only a moment, and in the next moment he was on Trunks again. But with his power up flooding through him, Trunks was able to better track the punches that were being thrown at him, blocking and even managing to strike Clockwork a couple of times.

Trunks lashed out with his leg and caught Clockwork in the face, spinning his head a full one eighty around his neck. A combo of two punches to the gut followed up by a flurry of strikes to the body made up the next stage of Trunks offense, ripping off metal and snapping machinery with every blow. Trunks channeled his ki into his next attack and thrust his hand into the chest of his metal foe.

"BIG BANG ATTACK!"

The ki blast detonated in the chest of Clockwork and blasted him apart into fragments, which rained down into the lake. But Trunks had only just began to enjoy his victory before he noticed that the water wasn't rippling at all. Then the water seemed to move backwards as the pieces rose out of the lake and reassembled themselves, just as if he was watching a video go backwards. Within moments Clockwork was standing before him once more, not a scratch on him.

"Well that's annoying," Trunks snarled.

"You see that it is futile to try to defeat me. My mastery over time makes me all but immortal," Clockwork replied in a cold tone. But there was a slight edge to his voice, one that Trunks, who had been in plenty of fights, picked up on instantly. An edge that hadn't been there until after he had used his time rewind powers to such a degree.

"You can't keep that up, can you?" Trunks asked, a smile crossing his face. "Every time you rewind time to come back from a death like that, it takes a bit out of you. Seems you're not as immortal as you thought."

"More than enough to deal with you," Clockwork promised, his hands being bathed in green light. "You can't keep me in the grave."

"Not at first, but eventually you're going to run out of power. All that means is I've got to keep killing you over and over," Trunks smirked. Then he let out a bellow of rage that shook the planet and he transformed into his Rage form, glowing with blue and golden energy. "And if this is truly the final timeline, then I've got only a little time to do it. Let's go."

Clockwork and Trunks lunged towards each other, Clockwork placing his palm on Trunks chest before Trunks obliterated Clockwork's body with a single blow. As Clockwork fell to pieces once more, Trunks felt a burning pain blare across his chest. He looked down to see that his flesh slowly decayed away in the place where Clockwork had touched him, until there was a handprint of his muscles beneath his skin.

He gritted his teeth to fight through the pain as he watched Clockwork reform, the being back to being as good as new. Trunks moved with a speed that time itself could barely keep up with, unleashing a flurry of world shaking attacks upon Clockworks body. By Trunks count he had destroyed Clockwork three times before one of his punches was caught by the hand of Clockwork. Trunks pulled his fist back as quickly as he could, but it was a moment too late. Clockworks green energy enveloped his hand and Trunks roared in pain as the skin in his left hand decayed away, leaving only the muscle and bone.

"Do not think because you have me outclassed in power that I cannot kill you. You are flesh and blood, meaning that you decay," Clockwork told him as he reached out for Trunks face. Trunks kicked the oncoming hand away before slamming his other leg into the side of Clockwork's body, slicing the metal man clean in two. He then lashed out with his good hand and disintegrated the metal man with an explosion of ki.

Trunks had been hoping for a moment to catch his breath before Clockwork came back, but this time Clockwork was back instantly, slashing out with time blades extended from his hands. Trunks hadn't been expecting the sudden return and the next thing he knew his body blazed with pain as the blades ripped his flesh and muscle apart. With a roar Trunks slammed his foot into Clockwork's chest and rocketed him backwards, creating a bit of space between the two of them.

'Mai...I will not fail here! I will prove that I can be the hero that prevails!' Trunks roared within his mind as he brought all of his power to the surface, preparing to unleash it all to save the world or die trying. Clockwork summoned two blades, one shorter, one longer, along with twelve roman numerals that floated in a circle behind him. With everything now on the line, the two warriors charged each other.

In the span of a moment, hundreds of blows were traded with one another, the blades of Clockwork ripping apart Trunks body while the fists of Trunks shredded the armor until the was nearly nothing left. The planet shattered, the sky tore in two and even the time stream shook under the fury of the two warriors that traded blows. Then, with both of their bodies failing them and knowing that they could not afford to lose, the two warriors lunged at each other and traded two massive blows that caught the other in the face.

Trunks and Clockwork both fell backwards after the impact, Trunks golden and blue aura fading away just as the green magic that had surrounded Clockwork vanished as well. The two crashed down on the side of the lake, Clockwork's body barely being held together and Trunks bleeding from thousands of slashes across his body. He glanced over at Clockwork just as Clockwork looked at him, both of them coming to the same realization.

'This is it,' Trunks realized, as he both he and Clockwork rose to their feet one last time. 'This will decide the winner!'

Trunks channeled all of the ki he had left into his right hand, before let out a roar as he charged forward. Clockwork did the same, his own right hand being bathed in a green light as he lashed out towards Trunks. The two met at the edge of the lake and both lashed out with their final attacks at the same time.

"END OF TIME!"

"FINAL SHINE AT-"

And then a blast of magic punched a hole through Trunks chest.

What Needed to be Done

Both Clockwork and Trunk's ultimate attacks faded away as they both looked down at the small hole that had been made in Trunk's chest. Then the pair slowly turned around to face Starlight, who was shaking as emotion overran her body, but her eyes were still strong and determined. Trunks tried to say something, but the moment he opened his mouth blood came out and he collapsed to the ground.

"Trunks!" Starlight called out. She was at his side in a second, using her magic to patch up the hole she made in his chest. Clockwork's green aura faded as he stared down at the pony, unable to figure out what was going on.

"I do not understand. First you shoot a hole in his chest and then you try to save him," Clockwork muttered. "I am trying to find the reason for why you did what you did, but nothing comes to-"

"Clockwork, you can survive when a timeline is erased, right?" Starlight snapped, cutting him off mid sentence. "Do it and do it now! And if you can, give that power to all of us!"

Clockwork regarded the demanding pony with disbelief for a moment, before he clasped his hands together and a sphere of green magic was placed around all three of them. He and Starlight watched as the world finished fading around them, until there was nothing left but a white void that they were floating in.

"No...dammit...not this again," Trunks grunted, closing his eyes so he didn't have to watch. "Starlight...I could have beaten him. I could have-"

"That wouldn't have worked," Starlight explained, continuing to use her magic to heal Trunks. "I had a talk with Maestro and he revealed to me that you defeating Clockwork locks us into an endless time loop. One that he's seen repeated millions of times."

"What? But that can't be, if it was a timeloop, then my power would have-"

"Your power is just as useless against this timeloop as Trunks power is," Starlight cut off. "You've both been stuck in this loop for Faust knows how long, doomed to repeat this never ending battle until the end of, well, everything. I've been stuck in it as well. Everypony has. Everypony but the Maestro, the only one who seems truly immune to the effects of time."

"Hang on one moment. I'm a time traveler and even I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this one," Clockwork sighed. He sat down within the sphere and gazed at Starlight, as if trying to place her within a puzzle. "Say what you said is true. Say that we are stuck in a timeloop and that Trunks kills me to reset everything, dooming us and all in this loop to live out the same events again. That would mean in those millions of times we did all this, you made the same or at least an almost identical decision that helped to keep the loop going."

"What are you getting at?"

"What I'm saying is that, even if Maestro told you this, you should be like Trunks and myself, doomed to repeat the same actions again and again. But instead, this time, you spared my life and kept Trunks from killing me," Clockwork theorized. "You broke the time loop when in theory that should be impossible. How?"

"Simple. For as much as Maestro bragged that he had done this millions of times, he let something slip this time. Something key that the other me's would have been sure to notice if he let it slip to them as well," Starlight said with a thin smile. "He said that he wanted to kill the both of us, just to see what would happen, but that wouldn't be fun. It might have been an assumption on my part, by I interpreted that as meaning that we have never lost this final fight against you."

"Why would that change anything?" Clockwork asked.

"Because, think about it. If you won even one of these battles against us, then you wouldn't die and the timeline's wouldn't reset. This entire reset happens because you lose. So I figured, what would happen if we lost instead," Starlight explained. "Of course, this was a total shot in the dark, but hey, if I failed all that would mean is that I would just have to wait for the time loop to come back around to try something different. But this time...I think things changed."

"Yes. Things are very different from what they should be," Clockwork agreed, looking out from within the time bubble to stare at the white void around them. "If what you said is true, then right now the first generation should be taking over once more. But since I still live...it seems that nothing is happening. But if that is the case, did we just doom this world to a fate worse than death by preventing my defeat? Or maybe I should have been defeated long ago..."

"Clockwork?"

"Maestro...used me," Clockwork admitted. "I knew he always had been, but I had hoped that if I played his game long enough, one day I would be able to save my son...to undo a world that never should have been...but now I see that he had no intention of ever letting me reach my goal."

"What...do you mean?" Trunks grunted.

"He kept the time loop going. He knew everything that was going to happen and did nothing to change it. That means he watched my son die time and time again...and did nothing. And worse of all, he prevented me from ever saving him. He just kept watching, time after time, as the worlds were ruined and did nothing. How could he?"

"Because he's an evil jerk that only cares about himself," Trunks said, sitting up and stretching out his arm. "First off, ow. Second, I've seen his type before. Unstoppable power, god complex, thinks they're better than everyone else. He's evil. Plain and simple. An evil so far gone that he was willing to watch the same thing play out again and again on an endless loop just to see if something would change. And something has changed. What's changed is that now I get the chance to rip him apart with my bare hands."

"What do you mean, Trunks? We have no idea where or when he is. There doesn't even seem to be a world left after everything that just happened," Starlight said as she looked out into the oblivion. "Maybe we messed up and there isn't anything after this."

"No. There's got to be something left," Trunks grunted. He pushed himself back up, stretching out his arm near where he had been shot.

"How do you know that?" Clockwork asked him. "This looks a lot like what I believe the end of time to look like. What evidence do you possibly have that there is anything after this?"

"Because this is a boring ending. And the Maestro hates a boring ending," Trunks replied. Almost as if the metal man had been listening in on their conversation, a moment later a single, metal platform appeared under their feet/hooves. Trunks looked to Clockwork and nodded. Clockwork separated his hands and the time bubble vanished, allowing the three to touch down on the platform.

"Well this is solid at least. That counts for something," Starlight said. After she said this, a few more metal platforms attached themselves to the side of the metal platform they were standing on, almost making a path.

"It seems that whoever is behind this is inviting us onward. And I am willing to bet that person is the Maestro," Clockwork said as he took a few steps down the path. But when Trunks placed his hand on his shoulder, Clockwork stopped and looked back at Trunks. "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah, considering barely a couple of minutes ago you and I were about to erase each other off the face of the planet. How do I know that I can trust you?" Trunks asked. "Because while I may not want to take on both you and the Maestro at the same time, make no mistake that I will erase you both if it means fixing this train wreck of a mess that we find ourselves in."

"Maestro lied to me and used me, but worst of all, he prevented me from saving my son for eons. I plan to take this power he gave me and use it to spend eternity ripping him apart. I will aid you in eliminating him," Clockwork promised, before he darkly glared at Trunks. "But make no mistake, once we are done with him, I will go back to do what I set out to do originally. Saving my son."

"Fine with me. Because after we destroy Maestro, I'm going back to my original plan and fixing this timeline once and for all," Trunks snarled back.

"Fixing the timeline? Do not forgot, Saiyan, you are the one responsible for everything going sideways to begin with," Clockwork reminded him. "I may have shifted the time stream, but you are the one who chose to erase the timeline instead of saving them. Trunks narrowed his eyes in response. "But if you believe that you can save the time lines by blasting apart what little they have left, then by all means, show me what your definition of hero is."

"Alright you two, enough. Fighting the Maestro is going to be impossible enough without you two butting heads the entire time," Starlight glared at the both of them. "Trunks, Maestro has already introduced your face to his boot twice now and he remembers all of the millions of times he's fought you, putting him at a severe advantage. And Clockwork, if Maestro gave you his power, then I am fairly certain that he can take it away from you as well. If you two don't work together, then he'll probably kill you both."

"You're right. We'll save this for when Maestro is dead," Trunks said darkly.

"Agreed. We will make sure that he does not mess with our time any longer," Clockwork added. The pair then glanced towards the pathway, which had now expanded so far that it faded into the whiteness with no way to see what was at the end. "So by all means, hero. You go first."

Eternity

Trunks had lost time of how long they had been walking. The white eternity around them stretched far beyond the reach of even his senses and the platforms had looped in their design over five hundred platforms ago, meaning that he no longer had any idea if they were making progress or not. Clockwork didn't speak to him at all, choosing to focus all of his attention to a pocket watch that he was carrying with him. Starlight was far too nervous to say anything, but there was also a look on her face that Trunks couldn't read. He hoped that didn't mean anything bad for them later.

"So Clockwork, you have any knowledge about the Maestro that may prove key to defeating him?" Trunks asked Clockwork. His words snapped Clockwork out of his staring at his watch and he glanced over at Trunks with a none too friendly gaze. "I mean, you've only been helping the guy for countless generations, so hopefully you would have picked up something on him? A weakness, maybe a flaw that we can exploit?"

"Maestro keeps his cards close to his chest. He has a form of magic that is far more powerful than anything I have ever seen and he can use that magic to do pretty much anything. Time travel? He can do it. Transmodification? Done. Ability to wipe an entire race off the face of the planet? I think he's lost count of the number of times he's done that. But as for a weakness...no, I cannot say I've ever seen anything like that."

"Well you're a big help," Trunks grumbled. He then turned his gaze down towards Starlight, who was completely lost in thought. "How about you, Starlight? Any weakness you can think of that the Maestro might have?"

"Um, I don't know if it counts as a weakness or not, but there is a...trend that I've noticed with the Maestro that might give us a small edge," Starlight stammered. "It's his curiosity. Ever time something happens that he doesn't expect or hasn't seen before, he seems to disregard whatever else he's doing in favor of seeing how the new thing plays out. Case and point when he found out you were destroying timelines instead of saving them. I know that he's technically seen it a million times before, but when he first said that, he must have been really surprised."

"That is a fair point. Maestro does not talk to me often, but I do recall him mentioning to me how intrigued with you he is, Trunks," Clockwork added on. "The fact that he spared your life twice is proof that he sees something in you, something that he has either never seen before or hasn't seen this version of. That is the only time he spares a life, when they have more to offer him."

"I am not puppet that dances for his amusement," Trunks snarled.

"We're all his puppets, Trunks. The question isn't are we on his strings, it's how long can we dance before the strings are cut," Clockwork replied. "And that is for this world alone. I will not begin to count all the other countless realities where I am sure he killed you because you weren't interesting to him."

"Great, now you're talking about the multiverse principle," Trunks grumbled.

"But surely he can't be all powerful," Starlight stated. "I mean, if he was, he would never lose. He would get everything he wanted on his first try and wouldn't even have to bother with any of this."

"Oh no, I am practically certain he is all powerful. As close as possible if not. But after being alive as long as he has, he has grown...bored. Or rather, he's seen nearly all there is to see in the multiverses. Good luck wrapping you heads around how long it took him to reach that point. But the point is, while he may be powerful, he limits himself so that he can be surprised or even caught off guard. That is how other heroes have managed to beat him in other realities."

"Because he allows himself to be beaten?" Trunks asked.

"You sound angry about it, but be thankful that his ego is the size of the multiverse or else we would not be having this conversation right now. We would all be dead," Clockwork stated coldly. "He has spent an eternity learning how nearly everything works, how to counter it and making himself far more powerful than should be possible. Do not think for a moment that our chances of beating him without his help are anything greater than zero."

"Well we must prove some threat. I mean, he's spent all this time focused on this world, hasn't he?" Starlight asked, only for Clockwork to laugh.

"No, he has spent a fraction of his focus on this world. The Maestro that you know is nothing more than an empty shell brought to life by his will," Clockwork revealed to the group. "It contains a fraction of his mind and a fraction of his power. And there are an uncountable number of them across the multiverse. Right now he is in billions of places, learning as much as he can about how things play out. We are just one of many he is currently focused on."

"That bastard," Trunks snarled. "Why is he so obsessed with learning what happens? What could drive a being to constantly do things like this for eternity across time and space?"

"Because...I think it started when he broke free of his destiny," Starlight explained. The other two turned to look at her and she took a deep breath. "The Maestro told me that he was once the hero of his world, chose by destiny and the universe to stop an evil force that would destroy his world. But at the moment of truth, he didn't. He allowed the darkness to consume his world by his choice. And that's what started him down this path. He took something that was so set in stone, and then changed it. He found a different outcome."

"And that happened because he chose not to save the world. But what if he did choose to save it? What if someone else had been chosen. What if the a force from another world came down and erased the darkness for him?" Clockwork pondered. "Yes...that would be most likely what started him down this path. The need to know how things would play out differently. To see how each and ever choice affected the story."

"But there are an infinite number of choices and possibilities, and that's on a single world alone. To do that across the multiverse would be...impossible."

"Perhaps. But maybe for a being of his power...maybe not."

"How do you know all this?" Trunks asked Clockwork, finally catching onto something that had been amiss. "I thought you said early that you didn't know much about Maestro, but here you are spouting off facts about him left and right like you are him?"

"You are right. When I answered your question, I knew nothing about him. But as we've been walking, he's been talking in my head, telling me things about him that he wanted to relay to you," Clockwork revealed, getting the other two to gasp.

"And I believe that they have heard enough for now."

Trunks and Starlight snapped their heads forward to see the Maestro standing before them in a massive coliseum of metal that had appeared around them in the blink of an eye. Maestro was standing on a raised platform, one that allowed him to look down on the three. "Welcome, my guests. I must say, I am impressed that you actually made it this far. Normally you would have been reset with the rest of the timeline. But I see that Starlight managed to figure out a way around the loop. And you have me to thank for it."

"Your own ego is to blame for getting us out of that loop. And your own ego will be your downfall when I rip you apart!" Trunks bellowed as he went golden and lunged towards Maestro. Maestro extended a hand and created a pulse of shattered magic that knocked Trunks out of the sky and rocketed him back into the metal flooring, denting it with his face.

"Please Trunks, I know it is all but impossible for your species, but do try to remain patient," Maestro chided. Trunks ripped himself off of the floor and spun around to resume his attack, but Starlight extended an arm in front of him and shook her head. "Ah, someone with sense. Maybe that is the reason why this version of you was able to figure out the riddle in my words."

"Maybe. Or maybe I just missed my target and hit Trunks. Who knows, it's an infinite number of things that could have happened," Starlight said with a shrug. "It would be cool to find out though. All those choices, the chances and the changes...what would happen if Trunks never came here and they sent...Vegeta instead. How would that have affected everything?"

"Ah, I see that you are starting to understand. That makes sense, seeing as you've tried to change the world yourself for a different outcome," Maestro nodded. "I knew I made the right decision when I chose to share my backstory with you. I just wish that it hadn't taken so long for one of you to figure out how to break the loop though. No matter."

"But if you helped me to break out of the loop, that means that you must be running out of new things to see in this reality?" Starlight suggested, Trunks narrowing his eyes at her actions. "If you weren't, then you would be fine with the loop continuing. But since you gave me such a huge hint, it's clear you were reaching the end of your patience with this world."

"Correct. I believed it time to changes things, but you are the first of three hundred Starlight's I've given the hint to who actually figured it out," Maestro stated. "But you would not be appealing to me like this unless you wanted something. What could it be that you seek from a being such as myself?"

"What do you think? I want my timeline to be returned to me. I want my friends and family back," Starlight replied with a smile. "And I will do whatever it takes to get them back."

"I see...well, well, well, isn't this interesting. The first Starlight to break the time loop and now the first reformed Starlight to sell out on her morals," Maestro muttered, before looking down at Trunks and Clockwork, who were both looking at Starlight nervously. "I will tell you this. I will give you two choices. Stand by your friends and die with them...or join with me and guarantee the survival of your timeline."

"Starlight, wait-"

"Easy. I choose my timeline."

Faster than Trunks could react, the Maestro teleported Starlight next to his side, where she smirked down at Trunks and Clockwork with an evil look. Maestro then replaced where she had been standing with himself, causing Trunks and Clockwork to leap away from him.

"And now that I've seen the twist for this reality, I no longer need the two of you," Maestro informed Trunks and Clockwork, who both took up fighting stances. "And once I kill the pair of you, I will restore Starlight's timeline and see how things play out now that she sold out her allies to save her friends. Oh, this will be fun to watch."

"Starlight, you bastard!" Trunks roared up at her.

"Don't be angry Trunks, I'm just doing what we've been doing during our journey across the timelines," Starlight replied in a condescending voice. "The same thing we did to Sombra, Chrysalis, Tirek and Nightmare. Eliminating the villain that stands in the way of saving the timeline. Guess this time that villain is you."

The End of Time

Maestro was on Trunks and Clockwork within a moment. Trunks, with his incredible speed and reflex's, had enough time to leap out of the way of his shattered strike, but Clockwork caught the blow square in the center of his chest. His body was shredded into scrap from the single blow and pieces of him rained down on the metal floor. Maestro then spun and was on Trunks a moment later.

'He's even stronger than last time, if that's even possible,' Trunks realized as he caught Maestro's punch in his hand, nearly having his arm ripped out of it's socket from the impact. Knowing better than to pull a Vegeta, Trunks aura erupted into a golden and blue blaze of light, which knocked Maestro back from him. Trunks slammed his hands together and shaped his ki into a blade, drawing forth his Spirit Saber once more. He spun the blade in his hand and took up his fighting stance, narrowing his eyes at Maestro.

Maestro followed suit by clasping his hands together and conjuring two thin blades of shattered magic, which left slice marks in the air around them when he twirled them. The two slowly circled each other, with Trunks noticing that his ki was slightly decreasing with each passing second. His senses told him that the Maestro's body was absorbing the ki that he was losing into itself, meaning that the longer the fight went on the more at a disadvantage he would be. The first move would have to be his.

Blades clashed in a flurry of blows, ripping apart the space around Maestro and Trunks as they slammed their blades against one another. To the untrained eye it would look like the pair had simply appeared before each other, but to Trunks and Maestro, hundreds of blows were exchanged back and forth in a fury of strikes, parries and collisions. Only after a moment of straining against the others weapon did all of the strikes and slashes catch up with the pair, ripping apart the coliseum around the pair as their strikes turned it to scrap.

"It all ends today, Maestro," Trunks promised the Maestro. Though while he threatened the metal man, he tried not to take notice of the fact that his body was now covered in dozens of cuts, all of which hurt like hell, as well as the fact that the Maestro's own injuries were being stitched back together by his shattered magic. "Your reign of terror, your sick experiments and especially your life!"

"Two corrections with your statement. First, there is no more time, sun or planet to accurately depict time. Therefor, you have no way of correctly estimating today. The second is that you will try, Saiyan," Maestro began. Then the back of his cloak was ripped to shreds as four more metallic arms sprang forth from his back, unleashing a flurry of blows and shattered magic into Trunks.

Despite being in his strongest form and having a blade that cleaved in half the strongest god and mortal he had ever fought, Trunks quickly found himself being pushed back. He deflected as many of the blows and magical blasts as he could, but he rapidly found that not only did the attacks weaken his ki blade, but just by having his ki come into contact with the metal suit drained it from his body. Knowing that he couldn't allow himself to be overwhelmed, Trunks slammed what was left of his blade into the ground and created an eruption of ki that knocked both Maestro and himself back.

It wasn't enough.

Maestro was on Trunks a moment later, ducking the right that Trunks threw at his head before following up with three fists to the gut. Trunks spat out blood as the impacts felt like they went clean through him, before the Maestro clasped two more hands to the side of Trunks head. Shattered magic crackled within all hands, magic which the Maestro then channeled into Trunks skull. The Saiyan warrior roared in pain as the magic went clean past his ki defenses and ripped apart his mind, mentally and physically. After a few moments of torturing Trunks, Maestro ceased his attack before he hurled the prince off to the side.

"But just like all the others, you will fail," Maestro finished. Trunks coughed weakly as he struggled to push himself back up, feeling his strength returning to him now that he was free of the Maestro's grip. "So here we are again Trunks. You verses the antagonist that you've struggled to defeat so badly. The same with the Androids, with Cell, and again with Zamasu. And tell me, how many of them did you manage to defeat?"

"I killed the Androids! I killed Cell! And when I cleave your metal body in half, you'll know exactly how I killed Zamasu!" Trunks roared with rage, his fury fueling his strength and rocketing his power to an even higher level. He kicked off the ground with such force that it completely eradicated the part of the coliseum that had the misfortune of being behind him.

The first twelve blows that hit the Maestro he didn't even register. It wasn't until Trunks's punches started to rip his metal form apart that he realized that he was being attacked. Then the damage caught up with Trunks speed, tearing into the Maestro's metal body and causing chunks of it to begin to start flying off. Maestro lashed out with his own power, punching holes into Trunks flesh with his shattered magic, causing geysers of blood to gush from the Saiyan. But Trunks was far too angry to cease his attack and the pain went unnoticed for the moment.

Yet the Maestro, being a metal being, didn't feel pain or exhaustion at all, allowing him to rapidly adapt and overcome Trunks onslaught. He caught on to Trunks pattern and ducked under a combo of punches, catching Trunks overextending himself. Trunks hurled a kick as a last attempt to keep the tempo of the fight, but Maestro weaved to the side before slamming a fist into Trunks gut.

The Saiyan was hurled into the sky, where Maestro snapped his fingers and caused a metal roof to appear behind Trunks. Trunks slammed back first into the newly formed metal ceiling and bounced off of it, before being driven into it once more as Maestro drove his fist into Trunks face, shattering the metal with the back of Trunks head. Maestro then grabbed hold of Trunks face and rocketed forward, dragging the Saiyan's skull through an endless supply of metal, glass, magic and whatever else the Maestro felt like ramming Trunks head through.

Unfortunately for the Maestro, Saiyans didn't need to use their brains to keep fighting. So as Trunks was being dragged through the ceiling, he was both keenly aware of the agony he was going through as well as the fact that he knew exactly where the Maestro was. So the moment he felt the Maestro let up for even a moment, he lashed out with his hands and grabbed hold of the Maestro's arm. Maestro had just enough time to snap his head towards Trunks before Trunks hurled the Maestro into the coliseum floor.

"Meteor Strike!" Trunks roared as he kicked off the ceiling, extended a single foot, and hurled himself down into the Maestro's body. The impact drove the Maestro clean through the metal floor and into the nothingness on the other side, which was quickly filled in with another arena, though this one had pillar, walls and places to hide.

Maestro vanished in a flash from the bottom of Trunks foot and a moment later Trunks slammed down legs first into the new arena. He glanced around with fury for his target, before a shard of magic sliced through his right knee. He snarled in rage as he staggered from the impact. He spun around to counter attack, but the moment he moved another shared sliced through his other knee, dropping him to one knee.

'Where is he?' Trunks asked himself, snapping his eyes around in hopes of catching a glance of the villain. More and more shards of magic began to rip through Trunks body, shredding his muscles and drawing enough blood to dye the floor red. And Trunks realized that he was coming close to death's door once more. 'He isn't giving off any ki and he has no life force! What is he and how can he have this much power without any ki?! Now's not the time for that! He's killing you! Shoot first, questions later!'

"Heat dome! MAX POWER!" Trunks roared as he hurled his hands out to the side. A moment later the arena was consumed in a never ending hellfire of orange ki that burned away everything that it came into contact with. Everything except for a single figure who shielded himself from the attack with a barrier of shattered magic.

"Well you've certainly made a mess of the place," Maestro said with a sigh.

"Nowhere else for you to hide," Trunks burned with fury, marching right up to the Maestro and glaring into the eye sockets in his metal head. "Now we're going to settle this. You and me."

"Very well. Have it your way." Maestro then lashed out with a flurry of blows with his assortment of arms, all of them driving themselves into Trunks', body, limbs and head repeatedly. But once more, because he was being hit, Trunks knew exactly where that the Maestro couldn't be moving from the spot he was standing in, telling Trunks exactly where he was. Meaning all Trunks had to do was fire.

"Galick Gun!"

A purple beam of death pierced the Maestro's right side, tearing off his three right arms and disintegrating them into dust. Maestro was spun around from the attack, but he pivoted on his foot and came back swinging with his remaining arms. But Trunks was ready.

"Big Bang Attack!"

A massive explosion of blue ki shredded the Maestro's left side, ripping off his left arms and his left leg, sending shrapnel raining down upon the coliseum. The Maestro shuddered wildly as he slowly collapsed to his one good knee, looking from his missing arms to his missing leg before looking up at Trunks, who clasped both hands together and aimed them right at the Maestro's head.

"This ends here."

"That's what they all say."

"Final Flash."

The rest of Maestro's metal body turned to ash as Trunks final attack finished the job. Trunks then lowered his hands and collapsed to his knees, his hair fading back to blue as he started to pant heavily. 'Damn it all, that hurt. He was way more powerful than I could have possibly predicted. But it's over now. It has to be. There was nothing left for him to come back from.'

Trunks then slowly lifted a hand to his face, smirking slightly when he found that the magic shards had ripped enough flesh and muscle off of his body that he could see the bone beneath. Despite the unbelievable amount of agony that he felt blazing through his nerves and mind, Trunks slowly rose to his feet with a smile on his feet. The smile of victory. He then raised his head to see Starlight looking down at him, a less that thrilled expression on her face.

"You picked the wrong side, Starlight. I won!" Trunks smirked at her as he raised a fist into the air.

"You really are a slow learner, aren't you? You beat one of him. Here comes the others."

A blast of shattered magic to Trunks back cemented her point. Trunks roared in pain as he was sent tumbling across the ground, the pain reaching the point that he could barely move, so it took all of his effort to turn his head to see what had struck him. And the sight that he saw turned his soul cold.

Maestro was standing behind him. Or rather, another Maestro. This suit had a more lion like design, with a black cloak that floated in the oblivion. The suit was bulkier and, to Trunks disbelief, was stronger than the Maestro he had just been fighting.

Next to that Maestro stood another one, this one's body having more of an owl design to the armor, with a white cloak to boot. While this one didn't have the same raw power that the other held, it's magical power eclipsed the other one ten fold.

And then, to Trunks absolute horror, the body to the Maestro that he had just eradicated slowly began to reform before his very eyes, until he was staring at the completely unharmed version of the foe that he had just blasted to ash. Maestro slowly rotated his arms, making sure they were all working, before he looked down at Trunks and seemed to smile.

"Did you think that would stop me, Trunks? You could barely kill Clockwork. And I am the one who gave him the power that gave you so much trouble. He was an apprentice in terms of time manipulation. I am the master."

"And while you may be strong..." one of the other armors begain.

"And have a bloodline of a group of warriors that transcend strength..." the other continued.

"At the end of the day, you are still flesh and blood. You are still a failure of a hero that cannot defeat any foe on your own. You are the hero that fails," they all said together as they pointed their arms at the bleeding Trunks, shattered magic forming in all of their hands.

"And no amount of power or transformations can save you from that."

Cheating the System

Trunks forced himself back to his feet, trying not to notice how long it took him to do so. Or how all three Maestro's allowed him to get back up without striking him down. He then channeled all of the power he had within him and erupted into his Rage form once more, but there was none of the usual confidence he felt in his strongest form. It had taken everything he had to beat one Maestro. Now there were three.

"So this is what Clockwork meant when he said that all you were was a metal shell that was being controlled," Trunks snarled, trying to keep all three Maestro's within his sight. "None of you are the real him. You're all just shells that he's controlling from someplace else. Thought he only sent one of you at a time to a reality."

"Yes, normally I only allow one of my bodies to inhabit a reality. But you are an annoyance, Trunks. One that I will make sure to crush...thoroughly," the Maestro's said in unison. Then they attacked.

Trunks lashed out with his leg and caught the lion Maestro in the side of his head, sending him spinning off to the side. He snapped his leg to the ground and tried to raise his guard to defend himself against the next attacks, but he was a moment too slow. Shattered magic ripped into his chest while the reformed Maestro drove a fist into the side of Trunks face, snapping his jaw and sending him tumbling off to the side.

He had barely hit the ground before the shattered magic encompassed him once more, ripping him off of the ground and hoisting him into the air. Trunks strained against the magical bonds, but even the strength of his rage was not enough to break them. Maestro pulled Trunks into him, driving a metal boot into the face of the Saiyan before the other Maestro rammed his knee into the spine of Trunks.

Trunks could only let out a weak cry as he was sent tumbling head over heels, crashing into the ground and spitting up blood as his Rage form faded away, leaving him with his blue hair once more. Yet even though his body screamed at him to stay down, Trunks forced himself to rise once more, not just for his own sake, but for all of those who were counting on him, for those that needed him to win.

"Think of your loved ones, eh?" the Maestro's asked Trunks. His eyes narrowed in reply, getting the three suits to laugh in unison. "Yes, that is a trait that you heroes share. Whenever your back is against the wall, you think of your families, your friends, your loved ones, and it somehow gives you the strength to beat me. But interestingly enough, that doesn't seem to be true of your world, does it?"

"What...do you mean?" Trunks spat out, a bit of blood mixed in with his words.

"Think about it. You thought about all those you sought to protect when you fought Black. You failed. Your father's loved for Bulma increased his power to a level unseen when Beerus showed up. He failed. Gohan with Buu and the androids, even some of the fighters from other realities...seems that channeling the strength of your friends and family doesn't seem to work out for you, does it?"

Trunks tried to think of a response, but ended up saying nothing. He knew that the Maestro was in the right. Power is what made up his world. A lesson he had learned the hard way as a young boy. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, the Maestro held power in spades leagues above what Trunks could muster.

'I can't beat him,' Trunks finally admitted to himself. 'Even if I were somehow able to tap into the power father wields, it wouldn't be enough. He's...he's on a level that makes power useless. His powers, his abilities...my strength means nothing to him. I can't win. But I can sure as hell try!'

Mustering all of the strength he had left in his body, Trunks erupted with power one last time. His hair flickered gold for a moment, before it settled on its natural blue color. Knowing what was about to happen, he kicked off and tackled the main Maestro, driving his shoulder into the metal man and rocketing the both of them upwards through the ceiling overhead. they both burst through the metal into the previous arena, which had reconstructed itself.

"DIE!" Trunks roared as he hurled the Maestro into one of the metal walls, imbedding the master of shattered power into the wall. Trunks channeled his purple ki into his hands and brought them back, but before he could fire his attack the other two Maestro's caught up with him. One rammed a fist into his jaw and the other pulverized his intestines with his knee. Trunks spat up blood as his attack died in his hands, his vision going black as he fell down to the ground below. He didn't feel pain as he bounced off the ground, which he knew was bad, but his eyes still allowed him to see the Maestro's land next to him. That was worse.

"Well, seems our little game is at an end, Trunks," the Maestro in the wall said as the other two picked Trunks up by his arms and held him there. The main Maestro then raised a hand and pointed it at Trunks, shattered magic flowing along his fingertips. "You fought valiantly. And if it's any consolation, you were harder to kill than the Goku's or Vegeta's I fought. But not by much. Guess this is where we say farewell."

"At least..." Trunks muttered, barely conscious of what was going on. "At least Starlight will get her timeline back."

"Looking to the positives, eh? I like that about you. Too bad that i have to kill you now," Maestro replied.

"Not yet."

All three Maestro's turned their heads to see Starlight walking up to the group. Trunks tried, but his muscles failed him and his head slumped weakly against his chest. "Actually Maestro, before you kill him, I've got one last thing that I would like to speak with you about."

"Really? You haven't changed your mind on me, have you? Decided that you can't stand to watch as I destroy this worthless being without trying to save him?" Maestro asked Starlight with a bit of a laugh. Starlight said nothing in response. "A part of me is interested in what you have to say, but the other part of me knows that there is nothing that you can give or offer me that would convince me to save this beings life. Now stand back and watch as Trunks dies."

"Don't want to talk. Fine. Then I guess I'll threaten you," Starlight replied.

"That is even more amusing. You, a being with power nowhere close to Trunks, is going to threaten me? And how will you manage that?"

"Simple. Like this," Starlight replied, before her horn glowed with shattered magic.

For a full five seconds, Maestro was frozen solid by what Starlight had just done. Then with a roar of fury, disbelief and a hint of fear, all three bodies lunged towards her. And all she did was smirk. All three suits froze in mid air, none of them moving at all. Then Starlight's shattered magic erupted and struck each of the suits in the chest, causing their forms to shudder violently.

"Trunks! Destroy them, now!" Starlight roared at him, blood pouring from her eyes and mouth as she struggled to keep the shattered magic flowing. "Clockwork's keeping them frozen in time and I'm using my magic to keep them separate from their main body, but I can't do it for long. You're the only one strong enough to kill him!"

Trunks could barely comprehend her words, let alone what was going on. He was face down on the ground, watching what was going on out of the corner of his eye. His eyes rolled slightly towards where a reformed Clockwork was standing, his body glowing with a light he had never sen before. But he was also aware that Maestro's three bodies were starting to move.

He tried with all of his might to find some source of strength that would allow him to destroy Maestro, some power that he still had left. But all he had was nothing. There was no power left within him to summon so much as a spark, let alone an attack powerful enough to kill the Maestro.

"Trunks, he's killed Vegeta and Goku. Which means he's been to a version of your reality. Most likely in a reality where he killed everyone, or allowed them all to die," Starlight barely managed to spit out through gritted teeth. "Do you know what that means? He killed Mai!"

That thought collapsed the depths that Trunks had dug to and he found a newfound well of strength. With a roar of might that could be heard echoing throughout all of eternity, Trunks rose up to his feet, his hair crackling with a blue and gold light. He then summoned all of his new strength into his right hand, which crackled with a gold and black ki.

"FUTURE'S END!" Trunks roared as he threw an uppercut into the center of the three Maestro's, knocking them into the air. A massive dragon made entirely of black ki then emerged from the ground beneath the Maestro's, ripping into them and causing their bodies to fade away into ash. Starlight ceased her magic and Clockwork stopped his time powers, and all three of them looked up at the spot where the bodies had vanished away into nothingness. Then, altogether, they all collapsed to the ground.

"That's...it...I'm spent," Starlight admitted with a smirk. "But I think we actually got him this time."

"What...did you do?" Trunks asked, unable to move his head to look at her. "You used...the same kind of power...that he was using. How did you manage to do that?"

"I've...always been really good with magic...like stupidly good. I copied a time travel spell perfectly, I figured out a way to erase cutie marks...I even beat Twilight in a magic duel, but she won't admit it," Starlight wheezed back. "But figuring out how to copy the Maestro's magic...may just be...the hardest thing that I've ever had to do. The power...the agony...how he uses it on a regular basis I have no idea. All I know is that I hope I never have to use his power again."

"Wow...that's really impressive," Trunks admitted. "Hey Clockwork. Guess you're still alive."

"Yes, when I realized what Starlight was up to, I feinted my death and made it look like I had been destroyed. I was waiting for her cue to return."

"Wait...was I the only one that missed what was happening?"

"Yes...she betrayed you as a means to buy extra time for herself so that she could master Maestro's magic. Honestly, I believe you and Maestro are the only beings in the universe that couldn't see what she was doing.," Clockwork chuckled. "But it matters not. We have done it. I can sense...that all of the Maestro's influence is beginning to leave this realm. Unfortunately, that also means his world that he has created is starting to fade as well."

"Oh...guess that means that's it for us," Trunks sighed. "We have nowhere or no when else to go. When it fades, we'll fade along with it. Does that mean...that none of the timelines are going to come back? That everything we've done...is all of nothing?"

"Wow, I cannot believe that the being who bested me would be so quick to give up," Clockwork said with a small laugh, before he shifted his head to look at Starlight. "Starlight, I know it will hurt like nothing you have felt before, but I will need you to use the Maestro's magic one last time, if you wouldn't mind?"

"I'm up for one last bout of pain. What do you need me to do?"

"It's simple. We're going to save all the timelines."

Undone

"I don't think we can ever thank you enough, Trunks," Celestia said to the Saiyan warrior.

Trunks and the princess were standing over the ruins of what had once been a large, black spire that had pierced the heavens with its unholy image, an image that had caused fear and terror to spread across the world at the mere sight of it. But thanks to the efforts of Trunks and Celestia, not only was the spire destroyed once and for all, but so was the king that had resided over it.

"Please, don't thank me. I really don't deserve any," Trunks replied. "I'm just happy that I could help free this world from the shadow that Sombra was casting over it. Now the real hard work begins."

"Yes, cleaning up and rebuilding after all that Sombra has done will indeed be a hard task, but I hope that with the help of the other nations perhaps we will be able to put this darkness behind us," Celestia replied, before she shook her head and held a hoof to her head. "Ugh, forgive me for my moment of weakness. My head has been a mess for a while now."

"How so?"

"Well, I remember you going in to kill Sombra. I remember hearing news that you had killed the villain...but then it's a blur and next thing I know I'm standing here with you overseeing the destruction of his greatest monument. I feel like there's a good bit that I missed in-between."

"You've just been under too much stress for way too long. With the war against Sombra ended, perhaps now you can finally get some rest and let that tension out," Trunks offered.

"I might take you advice and do that. A day off is something that I've desperately needed for the longest of times," Celestia admitted, before she looked up at the moon and let out a small sigh. "You know, now that all this business with Sombra is over, perhaps I should try to make amends with my sister. If she had been here with me, perhaps Sombra would have been bested long ago. We have been apart too long."

"I say go for it. You never know how long you will have with those you love," Trunks advised. Celestia nodded to Trunks, before a pony ran up to her and informed Celestia that they needed her help with something.

"Excuse me Trunks, but there is something that I must attend to," Celestia said with a small bow. "But once I am done, perhaps you can join us in the celebration of finally winning this war."

"I would love to, but don't be surprised if I'm not here when you get back," Trunks told her. "There are plenty of other worlds out there that need my help."

"A heroes job is never done, eh? Very well Trunks, while it saddens me to see you go, I realize your words are true. Good luck in helping all those that need it," Celestia replied, bowing one last time to Trunks before she turned and walked off with the pony that had come for her. Trunks watched them go for a moment before he turned around to talk with Starlight.

"Seems everything is back to normal," Trunks replied. "You and Clockwork did a good job fixing this timeline."

"Thanks. It was the hardest thing that I've ever had to do," Starlight admitted, the circles under her eyes backing up her statement. "And now I've got to do it five more times, one for each of the timelines that were lost due to the Maestro."

"Did Clockwork also help in the destruction of the timelines?"

"So did you, but you don't here me blaming you," Starlight replied.

"Where is he, anyway? I haven't seen him in a bit."

"He's in the next timeline, putting the pieces next together. Come on, we need to catch up with him."

(S)

Trunks and Starlight moved through the next pair of timelines fairly quickly, as neither of them had much to do to repair the timelines.

The Chrysalis timeline was one of the easier ones to repair, as the loss of Chrysalis hadn't affected it that much. Once Starlight used Maestro's power to re-create the timeline and Clockwork got the time stream flowing again, the world started to move again as if nothing had ever happened.

Trunks spent a few days in that timeline, helping the ponies to expose any of the changelings that were still try to carry out Chrysalis's wishes while helping those changelings that were finally freed from her tyranny to start to lead new live. Both Trunks and Starlight had been somewhat surprised when Fluttershy agreed to be the pony who would help the changelings to find new homes and put a better leader on the throne.

"I guess some things never change. No matter how badly the world get torn apart, Fluttershy will still be one of the kindest ponies to have ever lived," Starlight had said to Trunks with a laugh once the world was in a stable enough state for them to leave.

The next timeline was the one where Trunks had killed Tirek, which also meant that it needed the most repairing out of all the timelines. Not due to the fact that Trunks had killed Tirek, but the fact that Trunks had punched a hole through the center of the planet when he had struck the centaur down. Starlight had to use a considerable amount of power to fix the hole, meaning that it took her a few days to recover after such a feat of power.

While she rested, Trunks flew around to world and quickly dealt with all of Tirek's remaining forces that thought they could oppose him. He also made sure to free ponies, help fix their homes and return their stolen magic to them once more, as not all of the magic had been returned when Tirek fell. He tried not to linger too long with the ponies he helped, as their praise for him reminded him of how close he had come to failing them.

"And I would have failed them had you and Clockwork not helped me in defeating the Maestro," Trunks admitted to Starlight once they were done cleaning up the world that had once belonged to Tirek, having placed a pony named Trixie on the throne, as she was the only suitable candidate.

"Come on Trunks, don't talk like that. If not for you neither Clockwork nor I would have had the power needed to force Maestro out of this reality," Starlight had shot back. "You're as much of a hero as the rest of us. Now come on, this next one...is going to be hard."

Just as Starlight had predicted, the world where Sombra and Nightmare Moon had ruled was one of the harder worlds to set right. Not because of the damage that the pair had caused during their time on the throne, but because of just how ready the ponies of the world were to damn the pair for their actions and welcome literally anypony else to rule over them. Trunks and Starlight used their combined power to free Celestia from the sun and place her back on the throne, which caused the moral of Equestria to soar once more.

"I am sorry of what happened to my sister and that I wasn't strong enough to stop her," Celestia had told them. "But I am ever more distraught by what the Maestro did to her. Even if she was evil, even if she did terrible things...no being deserves to go like did, especially with what she was carrying. Even if no pony else does, I will always honor her memory."

"It seems that when faced with the end of everything they hold dear, even villains can find strength in those they love," Trunks had replied, remembering how desperately Sombra had fought him, to the point that Trunks still wasn't certain who would have won if the fight had continued.

"Come on Trunks, we've got two more timelines to fix. Clockwork's...and then mine."

And that was where Trunks and Starlight currently found themselves, standing in the middle of a familiar scene. Buildings that reached up to the heavens, crowds of ponies covered in jackets that all pushed and raced by each other in the streets and the rain that poured down in an almost rhythmic fashion, leaving a somber mood floating in the air. Trunks and Starlight stood next to Clockwork, who was looking over the scene of the hustle and bustle of the city with an almost somber feeling about him.

"This is it, right? The last of the timelines that were messed up because of the Maestro?" Starlight asked. She then let out a sigh and began to let the shattered magic flow across her horn. "Welp, time to get to work then. Come on Clockwork, we'll have your timeline fixed in a matter of minutes."

"Actually...I have no intention of fixing my timeline," Clockwork revealed. Both Trunks and Starlight looked at him like he was crazy, but before they could speak he held up a hand. "Hear me out. Maestro...was not responsible for what happened to my timeline. He did not cause it to end. All he was...was a spectator. It was us who caused this world to end. And after seeing what has happened to all the other timelines, I've realized...it's time for our time to end."

"But it doesn't have to be! Clockwork, with our power-"

"I was willing to doom the still unfinished timelines of so many others all in a desperate attempt to reclaim something that was already gone," Clockwork admitted. As he spoke, Trunks noticed that the world around them was starting to fade once more, and this time Clockwork was fading with it. "All things come to an end. Even things that are supposed to last forever. So instead of trying to add more time by taking time from others, instead I will cherish the time that I was given in this world. It wasn't perfect, but it was still mine."

Trunks and Starlight listened to his words, before Trunks extended a hand to Clockwork. "Your son would be proud of you," was all Trunks said. Clockwork nodded and shook Trunks hand, before a flash of green energy flowed from his body.

"Thank you Trunks. And perhaps one day, we you truly need it to, I hope that time will be on your side," Clockwork replied, before glancing down at Starlight. "Keep your timeline safe. And make sure that it never loses the spark that made it so special, just like mine did."

"I will, I promise," Starlight replied.

With his last words said, Clockwork vanished along with the rest of his world, leaving Trunks and Starlight floating in a barrier of shattered magic. "Come on, we've got one last thing to fix," Trunks said in a bitter tone."

"Actually, there's one last stop that we need to make," Starlight replied.

(S)

"What happened?" Sombra asked as he sat up, before clutching at his head. He was sitting in the middle of a field of flowers, which seemed to go on for miles. 'Ugh, the last thing I remember is that...right...Luna and the Maestro...'

"How long are you going to sit there looking depressed? Where's the evil smile that I've come to love?"

Sombra's eyes snapped upwards to see that Nightmare Moon was standing in front of him, a smirk on her face. Within a moment Sombra threw his arms around her neck and pulled her into a hug, laughing so gleefully that even Moon couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're alive! I'm alive! Wait...is the foal...?" Sombra began, only for his smile to grow wider when Nightmare nodded with her own smile.

"It seems we all made it somehow. Which should be impossible, considering I was killed and our timeline was erased," Moon said, before she snapped her head to the side at the arrival of another. Sombra followed her gaze to see Trunks standing across from them, a thin smile on her face. "Ugh. You. Let me guess. You saved us."

"Yes. I did. Or rather, Starlight did," Trunks admitted, before motioning to all around her. "She saved your lives. While you may be evil, you didn't deserve what happened to you. But we also couldn't let you go back to your own time and continue to wreck havoc there. So we compromised. We created an entirely new world for you. One that's just the both of you. That way you can continue to live while also not harming anypony else. Sounds fair, right?"

"I could have done with a few more servants," Sombra admitted, before he looked up at Nightmare. "But give the company I will be with, I suppose it is not that bad. Thank you, Trunks, for doing this for us."

"Yeah. And Sombra, remember what you told me about raising your child to be better than the both of you?" Trunks asked before he turned and headed towards a portal that opened behind him. "Well now's your chance."

Trunks was gone a moment later, leaving Nightmare alone with Sombra. The two looked around at their new world, both of them wondering what would be next.

"I suppose I could get used to this," Nightmare admitted. "Start our own kingdom. Just the two of us and our foal. Really, I should be thankful that they saved my life, but I'm actually just grateful that they gave our daughter another chance. So what if it's on a world that only we inhabit? I can learn to call it home."

"So are you saying you want to stay here?"

Nightmare looked over at Sombra to see he was standing beside a portal of darkness, with another version of Equestria on the other side. "Come on Moon, I found out how to send messages across time and space. Like I wouldn't know how to cross dimensions. Now what do you say we take this second chance we were given and totally mess it up?"

"Sombra, you are an evil son of a bitch. Faust I love you."

Next Mission

Trunks and Starlight stood alone on a hilltop overlook Ponyville. Not an alternate timeline of Ponyville, not a Ponyville that had been taken over or destroyed: just the Ponyville that Starlight called home and the very first one Trunks had arrived in. The sight of the town allowed the both of them to let loose a sigh of relief. For gazing upon this town told them that their adventure was at an end, that the timeline was finally fixed.

"And with this, it's all over," Starlight said to Trunks. The wind caught her mane and caused it to flow behind her slightly, which in turn caused her to close her eyes and enjoy the moment. "I am never going to complain about this small little town ever again. Who knew how desperately you could miss someplace."

"I know how you feel. With all the time travel shenanigans, I have no idea how long I've been away from home, but I know that it's been too long," Trunks admitted with a small smile. "Of course, there's all the paperwork that I've got to fill out once i get back and the Supreme Kai is probably going to lose her mind when she hears about the almost unending time loop that we were all apart of. Thanks, by the way."

"For what?"

"For figuring out a way to break the loop. Actually, for figuring out a way to fix all of this," Trunks admitted with a bitter grin. "All throughout our journey I was so convinced that my way would work, that if we just eliminated our problems, then we would get what we needed in the end. But, as we both saw, my way was only keeping us trapped in that loop. And even when we broke free of the loop, my way, my power, wasn't enough to stop the Maestro. You did that. You stopped him."

"Come on Trunks, it was a team effort. I stopped him. You destroyed him...at least, those three versions of him," Starlight replied. She lowered her eyes and bit her lower lip, dark thoughts starting to creep across her mind. "Of course, that means he's still out there, doing to others what he did to us. Did we really win...or just prolong the inevitable?"

"Are you afraid he'll come back here one day?" Trunks asked.

"I doubt he can come back here. When we destroyed his bodies, I used almost all of the shattered magic I had to make sure that no being with shattered magic can leave or enter this reality. I think we're safe from him. It's the rest of reality that I'm worried about,"Starlight admitted. "But, as the barrier I've used keeps him out and me in, I really can't do anything about the other hims. But you can."

"What do you mean?"

"We both saw what he did to this world, Trunks. How many others is he keeping trapped in a loop? How many are just his playthings that he uses for his own self gain? How many of them need help?" Starlight asked. "And that's where you come in. You can do what I can't. You can go out there and fight him. You can help to free all of reality from his wrath and evil. Because no matter what he said to you, you are a hero. You are the hero that destroyed three Maestros."

"I see you've forgotten the part where he beat me close to death and then pulverized the shit out of me," Trunks reminded her.

"That was when he was ready for you. If I had to wager a guess, the other suits won't be anywhere close to as strong as you are," Starlight suggested, before shrugging her shoulders. "But that's just a guess. You won't know what happens until you go out there and try. And you're going to go out there, aren't you? I can see it in your face."

"I guess you know me better than I thought you did. Of course I'm going after him. As long as ki flows through my body, I will fight him. And I will win. That's what heroes do," Trunks smiled, clenching his fist with determination. "And sadly, I guess that brings my time on this world to an end. I was hoping when all of this was done that I could spend some time looking around your world, but-"

"Maestro won't wait for any of us. I know. Go save reality," Starlight nodded to Trunks. Trunks nodded in reply, before he reached backwards and grabbed the hilt of his sword. He hadn't even realized that it was back until they had arrvied in the true Equestria timeline. One last gift from Clockwork, he guessed. He drew the blade, looked at his reflection, before he looked down at Starlight. He then flipped the blade over and offered the handle to her.

"For you. You proved your as much of a time patroller as the rest of us. Let this be your badge of honor."

"Are you sure? That blade means a lot to you."

"And it would mean more if you had it. Just in case I ever run across you is this vast multiverse, I will be able to recognize you," Trunks said with a smile. He then reached inside of his coat and pulled out a small device, which he pressed a button on. "This is Trunks. Mission complete. Send me home."

A white light began to circle around Trunks feet, beginning the teleportation process to return to the time nest. He turned towards Starlight and saluted her one last time, before he vanished into the white light. Starlight waited a few moments after he was gone before she stood up and started to walk home, using her magic to place the sword on her back.

"Wow, what a ride. And considering this is Ponyville, odds are that won't be the weirdest thing that happens this week," she said with a laugh, before thinking about what had happened. "Man, could you image what would have happened had Trunks not shown up? I wonder how things would have gone without him here. I wonder..."

And for a brief moment, shattered magic crackled across her horn.

(S)

The light faded away and allowed Trunks to sigh as he looked around the time nest. Everything was as it should be, with the buildings all in place, the statues of heroes past standing tall in the courtyard and all of the patrollers...were gathered around the entrance to where the kai of time was, all of them chatting nervously with one another.

"What's going on?" Trunks asked them once had flown over.

"Trunks! Thank the Kai's you're back!" one of them said. "It's insane! There's someone in there who's tearing up the place! I've never seen a power like theirs! They're...they're going toe to toe with Goku and Vegeta!"

"No," Trunks whispered before he hurled himself through the portal to the kai of time's place, terrified that the Maestro had found his way to the time nest. He burst through the portal on the other side and took in the sight before him. The kai of time and her bird were hiding on his right, not too far from the portal entrance. The ground was decimated and the tree was covered in fire, while black storm clouds thundered overhead.

"Kai! What's going on?!" Trunks yelled over to her, gaining her attention.

"There's a warrior who I've never seen before tearing up the place! Goku and Vegeta tried to stop him and well..."

Just as the said this, lightning flashed across the sky and the entire time base shook as two beings slammed into each other with such force that Trunks was thrown off of his feet. He caught himself in the air and started to look around, barely able to see the two that were battling each other. He then caught a sense of his father's ki and glanced towards the left of the tree, spotting his father on the ground. Vegeta was roaring with rage, his hair and ki blue, and he was using all of his might to try to lift something off of his chest. But even with all of his power and all of his rage, he couldn't move that which pinned him to the ground.

Vegeta couldn't move the hammer.

Then the ground erupted not far from Trunks and he snapped his head towards the explosion of dirt to see Goku getting out of the ground. His hair was blue, his gi was shredded, numerous wounds were bleeding over his body and he had a smile on his face that told Trunks he was fighting seriously and was being pushed back. Goku noticed him and lifted a hand in greeting, before turning his eyes back towards the sky once more.

"Hiya Trunks. Picked a good time to show up. I might need a little help here," Goku admitted.

That was when Trunks felt every single one of his hairs stand on end and he turned his eyes towards the sky to see who Goku was fighting, for the being now floated over them. He wore silver armor beneath a black shirt, had a red flowing cape that was shredded and ripped, a winged helmet that was damaged and dented, and long, golden hair that flowed behind him.

But what Trunks truly saw was his power. For the power this being gave off was one the likes of which he had never felt. At first it felt godly, similar to that of Beerus and Zamasu. But the power this being gave off made theirs look small in comparison. That was when Trunks realized what this being was. This was not a god. This was the god of gods.

"Do you yield, Goku, son of Gohan?" the being asked Goku, divine power crackled along his body as he did so. "Surely you realize by now that your strength is no match for the Thor-Force. Give up and tell me of what I wish to know. Tell me where the Maestro is."

"Sorry, I've never heard of that guy before," Goku panted, his smile growing wider. "And there's no way I'm giving up against a foe this strong. Let's keep going."

"Very well," the being replied. He then raised his hand over his head, causing the world around the warriors to fill with a power and might the likes of which Trunks had never seen before. He knew if this battle kept going, that there might not be anything left of the time nest. But he also knew how to end the fight.

"I know of the Maestro!" Trunks roared up to the being. The being turned to look at Trunks and motioned for him to continue. "I fought him. He tried to destroy an entire timeline just to see what would happen. He trapped me and my friends in a timeloop. He...he slaughtered people mercilessly. I know of him. And I want him dead. And guessing from how hard you're trying to find him, you do to?"

The being narrowed his eyes at Trunks, before he lowered his hand and caused the storm to disappear. He then floated down in front of Trunks, his power subsiding and when he landed before Trunks, the Saiyan warrior could see his eyes. Eyes that gazed upon Trunks with interest.

"Your description of the Maestro is akin to that which I have heard. You have truly fought him, haven't you?" the warrior asked. He then extended his hand and the hammer flew off of Vegeta's chest, returning to the gods hands. He then extended his free hand to Trunks, a smile on his face. "Greeting, warrior who has fought Maestro. I am Thor. God of Asgard."

"I'm Trunks. Time patroller and hero of time," Trunks greeted back, shaking his hand. "If you've come here for the Maestro, then you've just missed him. He was...expelled from our timeline a while ago."

"That is fine, Trunks. We have a means of tracking him. He will not hide much longer from us," Thor revealed to Trunks, causing his eyes to widen in shock. "And I can tell from your tone that you have a grudge which you wish to settle against the Maestro. Join me. We could use another warrior with your strength to fight against his evil."

"I..." Trunks began, looking to the others. The Supreme Kai of Time nodded to him, Goku, with his regular hair, gave him a thumbs up. And then Trunks looked to Vegeta, who was staring angrily off to the side. "Father. What do you think?"

"I don't care what you decide. But I do know that a god with more power than any other god I've faced has asked you to aid him. It would be foolish to say no," Vegeta replied, before a thin smile crossed his face. "And clearly they need a real warrior to defeat this Maestro. I see why he asked you."

"Thanks," Trunks smiled, before turning back to Thor. "Alright. I'm in. What's next?"

"Simple, my friend. We go to the Maestro's home. We go after the real him."

Author's Note

Time comes to an end eventually. And so do this story. But there is always something new to take its place. And for our next story, we return to a broken pegasus, who has lost not only her wing, but her will to fight. She is broken, beaten and lost her purpose. She needs a friend. She needs a mentor.

She needs a tiger

Repeat

The plan had been for Trunks to wait for Fluttershy's forces to be in place before he engaged Chrysalis atop Canterlot castle. Trunks didn't follow the plan.

With only Starlight by his side, Trunks flew straight to the main castle and landed in front of over a hundred changeling guards. The guards let out yelps of surprise as the swordsman landed in front of them, but that shock only lasted a moment before they drew their weapons and all lunged towards Trunks.

"Fluttershy told us to wait for her forces," Starlight reminded Trunks as he engaged the changelings.

"This way is faster," Trunks replied, dodging and blocking the spears and blades like they meant nothing to him. Which they did. He struck a changeling in the chest with his palm and rocketed the bug being out of the city. He swung around and threw a kick that caught a changeling in the head. That changelings headless body hit the ground a moment later.

"But aren't you supposed to only be focusing on Chrysalis? Why waste time fighting all of these...foot soldiers?" Starlight asked from behind a barrier of magic, blocking out the changelings that were trying to get to her.

"Because I'm hoping that the sight of a single being mopping up her forces, the big bad boss herself will come out to challenge me personally instead of trying to flee from the city of an army knocking at her doorstep," Trunks answered, before slamming his fist through another pair of changelings. Ki erupted from his arms and turned them to ash, before he spun around and fired numerous more ki blasts into the forces around him. They quickly joined the ash pile, leaving Trunks alone with Starlight a moment later.

"Geez, there were over a hundred of them and you did this to them in a matter of moments," Starlight said with a slightly nauseous look on her face. "Did you have to...slaughter them like this? I mean, they couldn't have all been evil, right?"

"Pretty soon this timeline won't exist. How I deal with them won't matter then," Trunks replied coldly. He then lifted his head to the sky as he sensed a stronger ki approaching, his eyes narrowing when he spied a changeling that was twice the size of all of the other ones descending down towards them with another army of changelings flanking her. Starlight moved closer to Trunks while the hero grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"Well I had to admit that this is a first," Chrysalis said with a laugh. "I cannot remember the last time that somepony came to me to die. Normally all those that oppose me hide out in that little forest and hope that I don't find them. But you came right to me. That eager to die, eh?"

"It doesn't matter what I say to you. In a matter of moments you'll be dead," Trunks replied as he drew his blade.

"Brave words. But can your skills back up your bravado?" Chrysalis asked before she signaled for her forces to descend. The changelings surrounding her all let out bellows of rage before they dive bombed Trunks, who stretched his neck slightly in reply.

The first changeling that reached him never even knew that it had been cut in half. It was dead before it hit the ground. The second, third and forth had just a moment to realize what had happened to their ally before they joined him as a pile of pieces on the ground. The changelings that had hurled themselves at Trunks realized that diving head first at the sword wielding saiyan was a pretty big mistake and ceased their charge.

"Not coming to me, eh? Fine, I'll join you up there." The words were barely out of Trunk's mouth before he appeared in the center of the horde. Some changelings barely had time to cry out before flashes of metal slashed across the sky, severing the changelings ties to the word of the living. Some of them managed to get off a few blasts of magic at Trunks, but he easily deflected them with his blade. A few more swings of his blade finished off the remaining changelings, leaving him as the only being flying in the sky.

"Alright Chrysalis, now that I've warmed up, what do you say we finish this?" Trunks asked as he looked around, only to find that the changeling queen was gone. He then glanced towards the ground and found that there were now two Starlight's standing side by side, with both of them looking up at him with shock and disbelief.

"Trunks! Chrysalis shape shifted herself into me! You need to stop her before she gets away!" one of the Starlight's yelled at him.

"Don't listen to her, she's the fake!" the other one yelled up to him. "Cut her down before she thinks of some trick to-"

Trunks lifted his arm and fired a blast of ki that caught the second Starlight in the chest, rocketing her backwards and sending her crashing through a brick wall. That Starlight hit the ground and gasped in pain, before she changed back into the queen of the changelings. "But...how...?"

"You changeling's all have different ki than the ponies. Even if you can shape shift in a way that makes me unalbe to tell you apart physically, I can tell which one's the fake by sensing your energies," Trunks replied coldly as he floated in front of Chrysalis, extending a hand towards her. "This ends here. You and this fractured timeline."

Chrysalis let out a bellow as she fired a blast of concentrated magic at Trunks. Trunks swatted away her strongest spell with the back of his hand before he returned fire with a blast of pure ki that consumed Chrysalis. She had just enough time to let out one last screech before she was turned to ash. "And that's that."

"So, what happens now?" Starlight asked, walking over to Trunks once he had touched down. Trunks turned to look at her, before glancing up to see that the sky had turned black. He then glanced back at Canterlot castle to see that the castle had vanished into the darkness as well. The rest of the world quickly followed suit, until the only beings that Trunks could see was himself and Starlight.

"This happens. This is what happened after I killed Sombra, so I assumed that something similar would happen once I took care of Chrysalis as well," Trunks replied, sheathing his sword. "Now the question is did our actions gain us the attention of Clockwork and Maestro like it did last time? Or are we just going to wake up in another timeline?"

"Hey Trunks...are you sure this is the right way to do this?" Starlight asked, turning Trunks attention to her. "I mean, erasing these timelines. I know you say that they're not real and just broken off parts of the main one, but..."

"Trunks me, this is for the best."

"Well I would have to disagree with that."

Trunks spun and fired a blast of ki towards the voice, but just like the last time he had tried to obliterate the metal being, the ki blast came to a halt right in front of Clockwork, suspended in time before it could strike him. "And I see that your manners are just as nonexistent as they were the last time we met. Hello again, Trunks. I am surprised to see you alive."

"Well don't be too surprised if you're not alive much longer," Trunks replied as he drew his blade and lunged towards Clockwork, closing the distance between the two faster than Starlight could process. Trunks blade flashed in the darkness and by the time Starlight's brain had caught up with what had happened, Clockwork was a pile of scrap at the feet of Trunks. Trunks narrowed his eyes at what had been Clockwork before he sheathed his blade and turned away.

"Can we please stop with this?"

Trunks eyes went wide as he spun around to see Clockwork standing behind Trunks, no sign of the damage upon his form that he had just suffered moments ago. The confusion and disbelief was clearly written on Trunks face and Clockwork was kind enough to explain what had happened.

"Maestro and I exist outside of time, Trunks. Strike me down, burn me alive, incinerate me...none of that means anything to me. But I ask that you please stop trying. It gets annoying have to rewind myself repeatedly to return to this form. I am rather fond of it. I believe it's the mustache."

"I'll strike you down as many times as I have to so long as it makes the main timeline safe," Trunks snarled in reply as he reached for his blade once more. This time, before he could grab it, Clockwork snapped his fingers and Trunks grabbed at nothing but air a moment later. He glanced over his shoulder to find that his blade was gone, and when he looked over at Clockwork he found that the metal being now held his blade.

"Trunks, there is nothing more annoying than being stuck on repeat. So how about we fast forward through the part where we fight and get to the part where you realize it's pointless and instead listen to what I have to say?" Clockwork offered, dangling Trunk's sword before him as he did so. Trunks narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything, leaving an opening for Starlight to step forward.

"Excuse me, Mr. Clockwork?" Starlight asked, turning both sets of eyes towards her. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you tearing apart space and time for Equestria? Why have you fractured the timeline and made it so all these impossibilities have become possible?"

"Ah, finally, some pony with manners," Clockwork said, tossing the sword to the side before bowing to Starlight. "Greeting, Ms. Starlight. I am, as you said, Clockwork. Apprentice to the Maestro and currently the one tearing apart Equestria's timeline. I apologize for this, but there is no other way to achieve what I seek to achieve."

"And what is it that you seek to achieve?" Starlight asked, noticing that Trunks was charging up something in the palm of his hand.

"I am looking for something. A moment in my life that I cannot remember," Clockwork replied, reaching up and adjusting his hour hand part of his mustache. "A moment that forced me to become this-"

"MASENKO!" Trunks roared before he clasped both hands together over his hand, before thrusting both hands towards Clockwork and unleashing a hellish blast of yellow energy towards the being. Clockwork was consumed instantly by the blast and was rapidly burned away until there was nothing left, leaving a stunned Starlight and a smirking Trunks looking at the spot where he had been standing.

"Trunks, I was trying to find out what his backstory was!" Starlight said to Trunks.

"Doesn't matter now. He's gone, which means that we can focus solely on Maestro now and-"

"You really have trouble listening, don't you?" Trunks and Starlight spun around to see Clockwork standing behind, looking exactly like he did moments ago. "You cannot destroy me, Trunks. I exist outside of time. Destroying my body does nothing to me. Except get me sightly miffed."

Trunks dashed to his blade and drew it, but when he turned around he found Clockwork standing before him. "But since you seem so eager for battle, perhaps you would be more inclined to talk if you first let off some of that steam. Fortuntely for you, I know just the foe for you to face."

Trunks had barely moved towards Clockwork before both he and Starlight vanished, leaving the metal man alone with the sounds of his body ticking to keep him company.

"Yes, let us see if this strength of yours is really up to the test...oh darn, I forgot to thank him for helping me to narrow down my search," Clockwork said with a sigh before he brought up a map of the timelines, marking off another that was gone and noting that the main timeline was faded even further. "How do these eternal beings keep track of everything? No matter, let us see what Trunks can learn in this next world? I look forward to the fireworks."

Where It All Went Wrong

"I'm sorry, did you just say...Clockwork?" Starlight asked.

"Indeed I did my dear. Why, does my name mean something to you?" Clockwork asked with a smile. "Perhaps you've heard my son bragging about his old stallion and how much I mean to him."

"Of...of course, that's where I've heard of you," Starlight recovered, plastering a smile on her face. "You're the father of one of the greatest heroes in the world. It's a shame that I didn't recognize you sooner!"

"Well, it's clear that you are new around here and are not used to meeting a pony of such stature such as myself," he said, puffing out his chest a little bit as he did so, only to deflate a moment later with a laugh. "But I will be the first to admit that I am grateful to have met one as friendly as yourself. After all, friendly ponies seem to be in short supply these days."

"Yes, of course. Um, would you mind if I asked you some questions or-"

Starlight was cut off as an explosion rocked the skyline, tuning all heads towards where the explosion went off. The massive skyscraper that towered over the entire city was now a ball of fire, with a dark pony circling around the outskirts of the fire raining black death and destruction down upon all who were within his line of sight. Around him circled three more ponies, who were all using their skills to try to fight back against the dark pony.

"That's...that's my son," Clockwork whispered, his eyes glued to the battle. "But the pony he is fighting. That is Shadow Soul, his newest ally. Why are they fighting? What's going on?"

Right after Clockwork said this, a blast of shadow magic hurled by Shadow Soul caught Thundermane in the chest and sent him spiraling down out of the sky in a blaze of fire. Clockwork let out a cry of agony before he started to race towards where the battle was going on. Starlight took a couple of hoofsteps after him, before a hand on her shoulder halted her advancements. She glanced over her shoulder to see that the Maestro was standing behind her, his hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Do not bother. You will not be able to change anything," Maestro told her.

"You don't know that! Maybe if I go I can-"

"The metal Clockwork shows up and flies into the fire. He fails to change anything," Maestro stated. Starlight wondered what Maestro meant, but then he placed his hand on her head and turned her to look at the burning skyscraper. Just as he had said, a moment later the metal Clockwork flew into the fire and started to try to douse the flames with his power. It didn't seem to be working.

"How did you...?" Starlight began, but Maestro just shook his head.

"Trunks shows up to fight Clockwork. Straight down from above, right hook, sending him through the smoke and to the other side of the city," Maestro stated. Moments after he said that, Trunks came flying down from above the skyscraper, slamming his fist into the side of Clockworks face and rocketed him through the smoke and across to the other side of the city. Starlight watched with stunned eyes, before she slowly looked up at Maestro.

"How do I know all of this? Because I have watched it happen again, and again, and again, for what feels like an eternity," Maestro stated. "You want to know the real truth behind this world? The timelines and Clockwork. Then here it is. It is one big time loop. Stuck on repeat."

"What do you mean?" Starlight asked, glancing back and forth between Maestro and where Trunks had rocketed off to.

"Exactly what I said. Everything that happens here I have seen before. What you are watching is the origin story of how Clockwork came to be. In twenty minutes and twenty two seconds, he will kneel beside the body of his son and scream to the heavens for a chance to undo what has happened to his son as the world around him begins to fade. I will appear before him and offer him the chance to undo it. I have done this millions of times."

"He will then learn to master his powers as he awakens in generation one, as he called it, before learning all about the generations, the replacement of the timelines and, finally, his desire to shatter them and return this timeline to the forefront to save it from being erased. But he cannot."

"Why...?" was all Starlight could whisper.

"Because this is where the timeline ends. The destruction of a world of friendship because the divines above thought that adding darkness and death would make it more...interesting. They were wrong. And in doing so, they ended the world they created. It happens. All things come to an end. But Clockwork cannot accept that. So in vain he continues, time after time, to change the fate of his world and the timeline of all worlds. And he fails."

"But...Trunks is here now... and since he isn't affected by time..."

"Is that what he told you? No, Trunks is as much a prisoner to this loop as Clockwork is," Maestro replied. "Do you know why it was so easy to best Trunks? Because I have fought him so many times. I know all his moves, his skills, his strategies...hell, I know what he's going to say years before he even shows up in this world. He is...well, he is part of the reason all of this happens."

"What?"

"He will kill Clockwork. And in doing so, he will succeed in starting a reboot, restarting all of the timelines. The Clockwork you just met will continue to live on, moved onto the next timeline after this. But they will play out the exact same way they have before. Thundermane will die, Clockwork will be born, he'll tear apart the timeline, Trunks will be called in to stop him, Trunks will kill him, rinse and repeat."

"Then I will need to tell Trunks! If I can tell him about all this-"

"He won't believe you. You choose to try and talk him down in all the millions of timelines and it never works. But you will try again this time, because you believe that if you just try hard enough, you can solve all your problems by talking. I've seen how that ends. You can also help him in stopping Clockwork if you want, but that would just expedite the end of the timelines. At least it be different."

"Then you have the choice to stop this!" Starlight exclaimed. "If you don't choose to give Clockwork the power to start all of this, the timeline will be broken out of the loop!"

"You are right. But I will. Because I want to see if this time will be different. If this reality can break the loop itself. After all, it's no fun if I do it," Maestro said and for a moment Starlight was sure he was smiling. "I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this. I've had this conversation with you millions of times. It doesn't change anything. A part of me just wants to kill the pair of you, but that's no fun. In the end you will be reset like the rest of them, trying to conquer Equestria, convert and then be there for Trunks when he showed up."

"Then why are you telling me any of this?" Starlight asked. "Because from what you've just told me, it doesn't make any difference in the long run. Trunks still kills to Clockwork, reality still gets reset and eventually we're just back here again, having this same conversation. Why say this to me? Nothing matters in all of this. We're...we're just prisoners to time. To fate."

"You fool." Starlight looked up to see Maestro had moved his face right in front of hers, getting her to yelp as she leapt back from him. "You truly believe that just because this has happened millions of times that it will happen again? Allow me to tell you the same thing that I told all of the other Starlight's. This place may be a repeat, this conversation may be a repeat, even the ending may be a repeat. But never underestimate the power of choice."

"Choice? But if we're on a loop-"

"We're on a loop because every single time, every single one of you made the same choices. But you still have the choice to do something different," Maestro instructed. "Do you want to know how I came to be?"

"I was the destined hero of my world. Chosen by the gods, born under the stars and blessed with the power to slay an ancient evil. I was destined to win the moment I was born into the world. All my life I was told how I was the savior, how I would free the world and banish the darkness once more. I gathered my allies, created weapons to fight the beast and met him in battle for the fate of the world. And do you know how I saved my world?"

"How...?"

"I didn't. At the last moment, I chose to let the darkness win. I chose. I defied a destiny set in stone for millennia by my choice, changed something that could not be changed. All with my choice. So let me tell you what I've told all the other Starlight's. No matter how destined or set something may seem, a single choice can shatter that destiny to pieces. Now it is up to you to choose. So choose wisely."

Starlight blinked and suddenly they were standing at the edge of the city, where she could see Trunks battling with Clockwork above a lake. Trunks was in his Rage form and Clockwork seemed to be glowing with a green energy that had numbers on a clock floating around him. The battle created by the two of them fighting was enough to shake the planet, but as Starlight looked around, she noticed that parts of the world were starting to fade away to white, telling her that the timeline was starting to fade away.

"It is now your turn, Starlight," Maestro told her as he turned to leave. "I must go meet with Clockwork and give him the power to change time. Of course, it won't work. But he doesn't know that. And do not worry if you fail to change this outcome, millions of you's have failed before. I am beyond being disappointed at this point."

"Tell me one last thing," Starlight asked, getting the Maestro to turn and look at her. "Everything you've told me, including your backstory...did you tell it to the other me's?"

"Yes. I haven't moved a toe differently than I had done the previous times. Even what I'm telling you now I told all the others," Maestro admitted. "But even though everything is the same, you still have the power to choose. But you will only have a moment to make that choice. Choose wisely."

Maestro vanished after he said this, leaving Starlight alone to watch Trunks and Clockwork battle it out as the world faded around them. She opened her mouth and prepared to call out to Trunks, but then she remembered how Maestro had said that trying to talk to him had failed plenty of times before. But she didn't know what else to do.

'Trunks will listen to me! He has to!' she thought to herself. 'He fought alongside me, across time and space! He will listen to what I say!'

Before she had the chance to speak, Clockwork and Trunks traded mighty blows with one another that shook the timeline to its core. Trunks's blue form faded and Clockworks green aura vanished before the both of them fell to the ground, Clockwork's metal body ripped apart and Trunks bleeding profusely. Both of them seemed low on power, with Trunks barely able to stand and Clockwork's body falling apart.

The two warriors raised their fists and charged towards each other, putting everything they had into their final attack. Starlight watched the two of them fly closer and closer, knowing how the battle will end. She then infused her horn with power and closed her eyes.

And then she made her choice.