A Man In A Mask

In the middle of what could only be described as an empty void, a young man with ginger hair was lying flat on his back and starting to stir. He wore a black jacket with a fur collar and a white v-shape across the chest, underneath which was a yellow-and-green striped shirt, orange pants with a black leather belt, and custom baby seal leather boots. However, this person wasn’t completely human. At least, not anymore. His right arm was cybernetic from the elbow down, and it could convert into a powerful repulsor cannon. Not only that, but concealed in his back were bat wing rocket boosters that allowed him to fly at great speeds. This was Claus Ryuka, also known as The Masked Man, the commander of the nefarious Pigmask Army, and the slave of the twisted Porky Minch.

Claus opened his eyes, one ocean blue, the other blood red, and sat up before looking around. Where am I? What is this place? thought Claus. He spotted his dark gray helmet and his deactivated lightning sword lying next to him. He grabbed the helmet and put it on, then he attached the sword to his belt, all while trying to remember what had happened… he was about to pull the final Needle and awaken the Dark Dragon when his twin brother, Lucas, showed up with his friends and their father, both of whom tried to remind Claus who he really was. They failed, and Claus attacked them both. Flint, Kumatora, Duster, and their pet dog Boney had been seriously injured while Lucas was protected by his Franklin Badge. Even so, Lucas refused to fight, merely guarding and using PSI Shields to protect himself, all while trying to get his brother to break free of Porky’s control.

Claus’ eyes began to water a little as he remembered what happened next. The fight between him and his brother had somehow awoken the spirit of their deceased mother. Together, she and Lucas had managed to get through to him. However, Claus had been consumed by remorse for all of the terrible things he had done, and used Lucas’s Franklin Badge to reflect a very powerful lightning bolt back upon himself, thus killing him for a second time. And then, he woke up here.

Claus stood up and began to look around. Not that there was very much to see around here, except impenetrable darkness.

Maybe they were all wrong, thought Claus grimly. Maybe there is no heaven and there is no Hell. Only limbo.

“Oh, there’s a heaven and a Hell alright, young one… you’re just not going to either of them.”

At the sound of the deep, rumbling voice, Claus looked wildly around for the source of it, and soon found a pair of HUGE glowing red eyes looking down upon him from a height that made the Empire Porky Building look like a sandcastle.

“Thank you, Claus Ryuka. Thank you for awakening me,” rumbled the Dark Dragon.

Claus was confused. “M-me? I didn’t awaken you! It was Lucas, he pulled the last Needle,” he said.

The Dark Dragon chuckled. “Yes, that is true. Lucas did pull the final Needle and woke me up. But, tell me, did he pull all SEVEN of the Needles?”

“No… I pulled three, but Lucas pulled four. Thank God he did,” Claus said.

“Exactly. You pulled THREE of the Needles. You did half the work, therefore you get half the reward. I’ve already seen to it that Lucas got his half by restarting the world. Now, it’s time for you to get your half.”

“What do you mean, ‘my half?’” asked Claus

“If it helps, think of it as a consolation prize. For you see, young Claus Ryuka, I am going to give you a third lease on life. You will be sent to a new world called Gaia, and you will have the chance to have what should have been yours, as well as atone for the sins you committed while you were Pokey Minch’s slave,” explained The Dark Dragon.

“Why not just send me back to the Nowhere Islands? And how do you know Porky’s real name?” asked Claus.

“Not so easy, I’m afraid. When your twin brother pulled the final Needle and awakened me, I destroyed the Nowhere Islands. Rest assured, young Claus, Lucas, your father, and their friends are safe. As for how I know Porky’s true identity… let’s just say that just because I was asleep doesn’t mean I didn’t know what was going on on the islands above. Now, then… prepare yourself!”

Before Claus could say anything more, a bright white light began to envelope him, before consciousness was swiftly and suddenly taken from him.

…

In an alleyway in Canterlot, the capital of the land of Equestria, Claus began to stir, feeling as though he had just been hit by Porky’s flying limousine.

"Oh, Christ... what the hell happened last night? Someone get that limo driver over here so I can beat the crap out of him," Claus grumbled, rubbing the back of his head, and taking note that his helmet was still on. "Well, no use standing around in this alley. I better get out of here and see where the heck I am."

And so, Claus did just that... and made an already crazy day even crazier.

Everywhere he looked not only seemed to have a purplish tint to it, but this whole city seemed to be populated with ponies that looked very similar to the ones he'd seen on the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episodes that he and Porky used to watch. His “waifu,” as it was called, was always Rainbow Dash. In fact, Claus had actually asked Porky if he could have his own version of Rainbow Dash made at the Chimera Labs, to which the tyrant said no. The more Claus looked around, the more it became clear that these ponies walked on two legs, wore clothes and, judging by the fact that there seemed to be cars of some type driving down the streets, were far more advanced than the quadrupeds from the cartoon. And yet they still seemed to have the same qualities, such as wings and horns.

"Where the Hell am I?" Claus asked himself as he looked around the city, and in turn, a few of what Shadow deduced were wealthy Unicorns, stopped and looked at him, curious and in a few cases, fearful, expressions on their faces. A look at the sky revealed the source of the purple tint was in fact a large purple dome that presumably encased the entire city of... wherever he was.

"Hey, you! Halt!"

Claus whirled around, robotic hand reaching for his lightning sword hilt, to find that a band of bipedal Unicorns and Pegasi clad golden armor and helmets that reminded him gladiators. Except, this armor also looked a bit more on the modern side. These soldiers also carried swords of some type.

"What is that thing? Some kind of cyborg monkey?" one of the soldiers whispered to one of his fellows.

"I don't know... can you understand me?" the lead soldier said slowly and carefully to Shadow.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, you're speaking plain English, so why wouldn't I understand you?" asked Claus, irritation in his voice.

"What's an english?" one of the soldiers whispered to another, only to get a shrug in response.

"Yes, well, then perhaps you understand the meaning of the words, 'you're under arrest,'" replied the lead soldier.

"And what the Hell am I supposed to have done? I just got here!"

"We have reason to believe that you're the one responsible for making an anonymous threat against Canterlot, and have therefore declared hostile intentions against Equestria and all ponies of our land. Now, will you surrender peacefully, or do we have to use force?" the leader soldier said, his hand drifting to the hilt of his sword.

Claus closed his eyes and gave a soft, barely audible chuckle. So, he really was in the magical land of ponies, albeit one that had some modern technology within it. Not only that, but he had a sneaking suspicion about WHEN he was in Equestria as well.

"Very well, then... I'll come with you. On one condition,” said Claus, his bat wings bursting forth out of his back. “You gotta catch me first!"

And with that, Claus took off into the air, and started to fly away from the guards at high speeds.

"After him! Call in the Pegasi Guard!" yelled the lead soldier.

And we’re off! Claus thought to himself with a smirk, looking down to see that the soldiers were rushing after him. Fools. Now, then, how do I get out of this city? I’ve never used my Shield Killer technique on something as big as-

Before Claus could finish his thought, a couple of Pegasi soldiers who’d just caught up with him rammed into The Masked Man, causing him to start to fall to the ground. However, as Claus tried to pull up, he was smacked into a building by a nearby pegasus.

“SORRY! I DIDN’T MEAN IT!” yelled the pegasus and Claus looked at her... and saw that she was gray, had a blonde mane and tail, wore a mailman's outfit, and her eyes were crossed.

“Wait... are you... are you Derpy?”

Derpy nodded her head. "Why, yes it is. Derpy Hooves," said Derpy with a smile and a salute, before she frowned. "How did you know my name? Are you from the Pony Express? I swear I just don't know what went wrong!"

"No! I'm not from the Pony Express!" said Claus, before noticing that there were a few soldiers outside, most likely looking for him. "But, I am in a bit of a hurry, so if you could move over so I can get out of here, that'd be great."

"Huh? Oh, yes," said Derpy, as she moved out of the way. The Masked Man then got up and started up his bat wing jet booster, but before he could go anywhere, Derpy called out. "Hey, mister! Er, you ARE a mister, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Is that silver stick yours?"

Claus seemed puzzled for a moment, before he saw where Derpy was pointing. It was his lightning sword.

"Ah, yes, thank you,” said Claus, picking up the weapon and attaching it to his belt. “All right, I've dawdled long enough. I need to get outta here before-"

"Don't move, freak!"

Claus turned around to find that the two Pegasi soldiers from earlier, who he now suspected were actually Royal Guardsponies, were standing there with their swords drawn, and in the case of the Unicorn who was accompanying them, horn glowing.

"You're coming with us," said the Unicorn.

Claus smirked. "Come and get me," he said, his hand clasped tight on the lightning sword behind his back. As the soldiers moved in close, Claus pressed a button on the hilt, causing the lightning sword to come to flickering and crackling life. The two Pegasi Guards swung their swords at Claus, and when The Masked Man parried the attack, the soldiers got a 50,000 volt counterattack, rendering them both unconscious. The Unicorn soldier tried to blast Claus with magic, only for the young cyborg to shout “PSI Shield!” and reflect the attack back at the soldier, knocking him to the ground.

As Claus approached the downed Unicorn, ready to finish the job, a voice spoke behind him.

“I think that’ll be quite enough from you. Surrender now.”

Claus turned to find that there was a lone soldier walking towards him. He seemed different from the rest. He wore purple armor with golden highlights, complete with matching gauntlets, helmet with blue horsehairs,and boots. The upper parts of the arms of his armor were black, but were gold and purple from the elbows down. On this stallion's belt was an elegant ceremonial sword, and on the chest of his armor was an emblem of a purple shield with a magenta starburst in the center.

Claus immediately recognized who this stallion was. Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. And if he was right about when he was in Equestria, then he was also the unwitting fiancè of "Princess Mi Amorè Cadenza."

"So, you must be the cyborg monkey who's been giving my ponies the slip all morning," said Shining, his hand wandering towards his sword.

"Technically, I’m a Chimera,” Claus said casually, causing a few of the guards to chuckle, as The Masked Man looked nothing like a chimera.

"Is that so? Well, then, ‘Chimera...’ I'm going to have to either take you in or take you down. The choice of which one is entirely up to you," said Shining Armor, drawing his sword as he spoke.

"Because of that threat I've apparently made against Canterlot, right?" asked The Masked Man.

“How do you know about the threat? Did you make it? Did you?” asked Shining as he and Claus slowly circled.

“Look, I don’t have time for this, okay? Your wedding is going to be a sham. Bad things are a knockin’ Shining Armor...”

“What do you mean, my wedding’s going to be a sham? You better start talking before I have to take you down,” said Shining Armor, pointing his sword directly at Claus’ chest.

“Well, sorry, Shiny, but I’m not squealin’. Besides, would you REALLY believe what I have to say? I don’t think you would,” said Claus.

“Then, you leave me no choice.”

And with that, Shining Armor charged at Claus, who simply brought up another PSI Shield before attempting a few slashes of his own. When he got Shining Armor vulnerable, Claus activated his arm cannon and fired a shot, only for the Captain to pull up a shield of his own.

“Hmm… well, this could be trouble,” said Claus in mock concern before a smirk crossed his face. “Good thing I picked up THIS little trick.”

Claus slashed at Shining Armor’s shield in a certain pattern with his lightning sword, and somehow made it dissipate.

“Wha-? How did you-?” said Shining Armor in shock.

“Like that? I call it the Shield Killer,” said The Masked Man. “Now, then, how about we stop playing around with pointy sticks and laser guns? PK Inferno!” yelled Claus holding out his hand, from which a jet of fire burst forth from it, like flame from a dragon’s mouth. Shining Armor barely dove out of the way in time.

I need to finish this quickly, before there isn’t a Canterlot left to be threatened, though Shining Armor as he began to charge up his magic.

“PK Blizzard!”

This time a jet of pure ice shot from The Masked Man’s hand, and this time Shining Armor didn’t make it out of the way in time, causing his hooves to be frozen in place.

“Well, I must admit, this has been fun, certainly one of the best workouts I’ve had in awhile. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. And trust me, this ending will be quite a shock,” said Claus as he pressed a button on his lightning sword, which began to charge up energy. As The Masked Man fired the lightning bolt, Shining put up a desperate reflect spell, which caused the lightning bolt to bounce back at Claus, who started screaming and twitching as he was electrocuted.

“Four score and llama years ago-COBALT EINSTEIN KOOL-AID-I’m squishing up a baby bumblebee-FINLAND!” yelled Claus before he fell over, unconscious. Shining Armor, Derpy, who was hiding in a nearby utility closet, and the three members of the Royal Guard could only stare and wonder about what had just happened.

“Well… that escalated quickly… and ended abruptly,” Shining said as looked down at Claus, who laid upon the ground. “Take him to the dungeons. I’ll stop by a little later to interrogate him and see what he knows about the threat. Something tells me he knows who’s behind it. Oh, and be sure to patch him up, maybe give him some oil or something.And will somepony unfreeze my hooves?”

As Royal Guard reinforcements entered and gathered around The Masked Man, they picked him up by his arms and started dragging him off towards Canterlot Castle.