A Wacky Read

Since the main hall was bigger now to hold the sun’s core, the options of corridors the adventurers could take was highly limited. It wasn't long after the last casualties that they bashed in the giant gates of the Core Hall. The gates were nearly ripped from their foundations and tore fissures when they collided with the walls on the other sides.

It was Hati standing in front, it was him who kicked that gates open with his foot.

The others behind him, the Ponies and remaining Humans didn't see Hati in action yet and were amazed by his inhuman strength.

Angrily he gazed at Rex who was standing high above the ground on a bridge that hung on the walls around the round hall. "Sorry about the door, it goes a lot easier than I thought."

In the middle of the wide hall, the blue crystal core was sending its light up into the sky and dome. The room was drowning in a blue tone glow, changing every colour into a magical shine.
The black mess of eels on the walls was waiting to take a bite or two.

Rex turned away from the core he was observing and looked down at Hati and the group behind him. "Hati, dear", he calmly said, while his voice was carried through the dome, "I would have expected you to show up sooner, but then again, you tend to surprise. Do you remember what I once told you, that I was always prepared?"

"Yeah, alright. But we will stop you regardless, we got a plan."

"Why, let me guess, you plan to teleport me into a strange location, so my advantage was in vain." His look fell upon Twilight and she was intimidated immediately. Shily she took a step back. "Can you imagine what traps you are already standing on?"

Hati yelled, "Why you're telling us this? Just do it already and be done with it!"

"Why, because I like you. I give you one last chance to turn around and just walk away. The spell will be ready soon, our portal is almost done. Then we can leave this world behind and save Xerexarea from the curse of godly war. Isn't that what you desire, dear?"
Rex started to walk along the bridge, around the hall and core. "You won't find salvation from your curse in this time and place, you know that, dear."

"You stole our sun!", Twilight yelled.

"Yeah!", Pinkie joined in and Applejack added, "Give it back and we might be able to forget what happened."

"What?!", Sam yelled, "Never!" She pushed Hati and Twilight aside, aimed her P-90 at the Lizard upon the bridge and released its hellfire. The muzzle flash flickered in the blue light, leaving warm tones that vanished in less than a blink of the eye. The ratched sound echoed against the marble and the bullets stroke against the bridge, its railing and the Lizard Wizard himself.
At least it looked like it.

None of the bullets actually made it to Rex, as they all got buried in the wall behind him.

"Are you done now?", he asked boredly.

"No, no!", Hati yelled at Sam and pushed her gun down. "That never works!"

"Dammit, I can't just let him get away with this. Fire, everyone, open fire!"

And while Hati sighed and grunted his objecting, "No!", the Princess and Teal'C started to fire their lasers at the Wizard.

But they all passed him. Once they entered the field around him, they skipped his personal space and reappeared behind him, to hit nothing but the marble walls.

Rex rolled his eyes and sighed. "Why, you're quick to kill. Is the life of others of such little value to you?"

"You're the one to talk."

"Every. Time. You never learn. But I take that as my mistake, after all, one cannot learn anything when they are robbed of their memories, wouldn't you say?"

The fire stopped and the last laser sci-fi sound vanished in the wide hall.

"He was bullet proof even before we got here", Hati explained, "That never worked on him."

"Then what do we do now?", Applejack asked.

Twilight shook her head, "If I can't hit him with my spell, I can't teleport him either."

"And even if so, I simply teleport back. I did lose the power of the cosmos, but now, with the Inaji, I'm back without limitations. It feels nice, to say the least."

Hati took a step towards him but Rex rose his finger, "Na-ah, the traps. You better stay where you are and don't move around too much."

"Will you give it back, the sun I mean, once we're home? What will you do to repair the damage you've done?", Hati asked him.

"I wish that I could, I truly do, but sadly, that's not an option. You see, casting a fire to warm the day is simple enough, the core would have lasted for thousands of years performing that task. Creating a portal through time and space, big enough for people to enter and with enough duration so no one is left behind, that, dear, takes a formidable amount out of it."

"So, you'll break it to get us home."

"No, no. It will still work its task, but not for much longer, I'm afraid. A few hundred years tops. After that?", Rex shrugged, "I’ve heard there's people here that really like Eternal Night."

"You can't be serious", Twilight gasped. "You're insane!"

"Oh, please. It's not like you'd live to see the day. You might live long enough to see the downfall of Unicorn Magic however. That will be a time to remember."

"What ... what do you mean?"

"What do I mean, Princess?", Rex asked slightly angrily. "Didn't you ever wonder where the energy for your magic comes from? Especially since your cosmos is dead and your stars are fake?" He turned to the core, "Look at your sun! Did you ever think about how it would look on the inside? You would have never guessed it was made of Inaji, I'm sure of it."

"Ina-ji? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, surely, no one told you. Your planet is infested by a blue crystal, that I discovered. Look at your flaming friend who once was Rarity the white Unicorn."

They all looked at the mare that was naked to the bone. The attention made her flames rise higher since her heart started to pound. Figuratively.

"Don't you see the crystal in her bones?"

Twilight looked closely at her bones and indeed there was a curious glow upon them.
"I've never seen anything like this."

"No one has, I'm sure of it." Rex explained, "Your kind frowns upon anatomy studies, not much unlike the Human colleagues of the Doctor. Isn't that right?"

Morty nodded, he had to agree, "That's correct. I was one of the first to cross that line."

"But what does it do?", Twilight asked.

Rex laughed, "Isn't it obvious? It grows inside of your bodies and powers your magic spells. Your horns are merely a result of the crystal piercing the skull, nothing more."

"Enough of the blue crystals, Heisenberg", Rook yelled, "If that even is your real name."

"Is something bothering you, Mister Rook?", Rex asked.

"You are my problem, pal."

"What did I tell you about calling me nicknames?"

"You've outdone yourself here", Rook drew his pistol and reloaded the drum with rounds, "Remember these?" He held up one of the rounds, it was coloured.

"The enchanted bullets I gave you? You know those won't work on me."

"No, I know that. I'm not stupid."

Hati commented, "You're sure 'bout that?"

Motionless he looked at Hati. His big, round shades didn't allow any facial expression.

"Sorry", Hati shrugged, "It was too easy."

Without turning his head, Rook reached out his gun and aimed at the sun core. Rex's eyes widened and he drew out his Inaji-Book to stop him. But Rook already squeezed the trigger and the enchanted bullet pierced the floating core under the dome.

"NO!", Rex yelled, "That enchantment will ruin us all!"

"Y'know", Rook calmly said while he put away his pistol back into the belt. "I don't care." He reached into his vest and took out a cigar that was already lit. "I'm just really pissed right now." He puffed a smoke cloud before he turned to Hati and the crew. "We should probably run now."

Rex was busy casting a rune-ring around the core to keep the damage at bay, but the decay had already started. He didn't bother with the maniacs running out into the hallway.

"What bullet did you use?", Hati asked Rook while they jogged down the dark castle halls.

"Deconstruct!"

"Isn't that the one that takes things apart, so you can see what they are made of?"

"Aye, that's the one."

"What would happen to a sun under that enchantment?"

"Something messy."

There were no traps on the way out and no barriers to keep them in and so the crew had soon made it to a window that lead outside.
Krator climbed to the outside and took Sam and Pinkie into his arms, before he glided down to the mountain.

Twilight took Rarity, even though she was hot, and Fluttershy Applejack, even though she was heavy, and followed the Highpriest.
Hati made use of his curse to create additional bones as a ladder. A snake-like spine grew from his arm and latched onto the window sill. It grew longer and longer and slowly let him down from the castle.

Teal'C and Rook climbed down the spine.

Morty just jumped and clashed into the mountain side. His bones flew apart but he was quickly reassembled.

"I didn't know you could do that", Rarity commented. "Good to know."

They hurried down the mountain since they still were too close and in the way of the bursting core. Even if the core was holding, Rex's revenge was soon to follow. Getting some distance between them and him wasn't that bad of an idea.

"Wait!", Krator yelled. His eagle eyes made out something in the forest underneath. "What is that?" He pointed into the valley and soon Hati saw it too. A spark in the forest that quickly rushed towards them. "That looks like-"

Knom jumped from the valley, leaving a trail of lightning behind him. He catapulted his body into the sky and up the mountain.

"Knom!", they both said while they beheld his flight towards the castle.

With his amazing speed, he created quite a charge in his mechanical parts. That power now oozed out of every metal bit that was piercing his skin.
His powerful leap came to an end when he crashed into the side of the castle. His mechanical fingers and spikey sabatons cracked the pink crystal and so he was latching onto the wall like a Human sized insect.
Quickly his head turned upwards and his body hurried up the wall. Every step cracked a new hole into the wall and soon there were many.
A moment later his speed was enough to counter the gravity of the planet. He let go of the hand's grip and started to run like hell, until his feet were not visible to the Human eye any longer.

Hati and Krator laughed at the sight but soon realised in shock, "We're probably in a bad spot."

"Come on, let's go-go-go!"

And while the crew was trying to get down the mountain fast, Knom, the boy that had died, was ending his ascension. Running out of wall, he took a last leap into the darkened sky, so he would float above the dome for just a second, before his heavy body came down to it again.
Accompanied by his lightning charge, his golden armor was crashing through the dome and striking into the sun core.

Rex screamed when the lightning was released into the hall. It blinded him for only a moment but it was enough to destroy his runes. The containment he had set up failed and the core released itself into the dome and beyond.

For a moment that felt like an eternity, Equestria was covered in white. Just white. Everything. Nothing was, no one thought anything, no one did anything. Existence took a pause.

Once the lands returned and darkness took hold, the beholders saw rocks tumbling down Canterlot-Mountain and crushing the castle and city beneath. Towers fell under the bombardment and balconies joined their fall into the forest.
Thunder and deafening clashes of the stones shook the forest. Houses in far Ponyville would give in to the rocking and caved it.
Soon the mountain had enough and released an avalanche himself. The white city slid down the mountain side and vanished in a brown cloud that emerged from the Everfree Forest.

Half the mountain came down upon it. Only an edgy scar of the earth would remain in the rock. The pink castle and the white city of Canterlot were annihilated. Thousands of Ponies died, crushed in the rubble.

Krator put the crew he had saved from the mountain down on a hill outside of Ponyville. Twilight joined him, bringing the other half of them framed in her pink spell.

The Princess and her followers were shattered in soul and mind. They gazed upon their lands and observed the slow moving cloud that crawled down the horizon where once their capital city had been.

Hati had his fleshy hand on his mouth to keep his words locked up. He was responsible for two city annihilations already. And even though he was somewhat relieved it wasn't actually his fault this time, he feared the wrath of the Unicorn once she realised, that it was Rook and Knom that just killed thousands of her kin and probably and properly ruined what once was a famous landmark.

Twilight sank down to her knees and cried her eyes out and even Applejack, who wasn't known to cry, had saltwater dripping from her chin.

It was Pinkie who stood up to the Lizard folks. "Now what? This isn't done with an apology, you know. This is serious business."

Hati hesitated, "I didn't think otherwise of it. Look, I'm sorry. I truly am. But at least Rex is now stopped."

"Or am I?", his voice startled them but brought Twilight back from her paralysis. He stood on the same hill under the single tree that grew here.
"That was a first", Rex chuckled, "I didn't see it coming. But now I know. I won't make this mistake the next time."

"Next time?", Hati's brows fell down onto his eyes, giving him a grim look, "So you'll just go back in time and restart this?"

"Of course. I can't leave a mess like this. Thanks to you the sun is gone, sunlight is gone, the city is gone, more had died than ever before. And our portal through time, gone as well."

"Oh, no, you don't put this on us!"

"Oh, no? Who shot the sun then, I ask you. Who destroyed the castle? It was you actions, your resistance that brought us into this mess. If you were just to let me do my job, I could save us all, bring us home and help you saving Xerexarea."

"And to what price?", Hati yelled.

"You cry over those creatures? For these Ponies? They are far beyond our cosmos, dear, far beyond our time. Their world is dying. A few thousand years more and none of this will remain. They are doomed anyway."

"If you think so, then what's the difference between you and the Flesh God?"

Rex smiled and shook his head in disbelief. "In this world, with this book?", he held the Inaji-Book in his hand, "Nothing. I am a new god. Am I mercyful? Yes, dear."

"Mercy? Their friends died, the Humans are dead. Their city is ashes. You call that mercy?"

"Mercy, yes, because I will recycle and fix it. Nothing Kathathrahn or Gauduhn could do. I'm sorry that it had come to this. I was merely trying to slow you down, to give the spell more time! But if you need me to be the villain, so be it. Make it my responsibility. But then don't stop me from making it right."

"Wait", Rook spoke up, "When you go back, do you let it rest, or do you do the same thing again?"

"I won't make the same mistake again, that's for certain."

"In that case, I can't just let you leave, man." Rook drew his pistol and aimed at the Lizard Wizard. "You will have to answer to our punishment while we're still remembering what you did."

"My punishment? You shot the sun, you pathetic fool. What about your punishment?"

"I managed to beat you with it."

"Beat me?", Rex chuckled, "You're dreaming again."

By this point in time, it didn't matter anymore who was safe, who died or lived, since Rex was about to reset the whole shananigan anyway. The loop-spell was approaching no matter what, soon it would be upon them. It was a fail-safe in case Rex died, then the spell would bring him back to life. It wasn't powered by him and it was out of his hands, like an emergency spell should operate always.

He could have just waited for it to wash everyone away, erase their minds and give him the freedom of another chance.

"No", Rex whispered, "Not now. This time I'll teach them a lesson, even if it doesn't stick."

Quickly Rex reached out his hand into Rook’s direction and threw a page with it.

The sheet of paper flew like a razor sharp blade and with sonic speed at Rook, passed him and shredded the woods and trees behind him. But before it splitted the barks and shook the leafs around, it had penetrated Rook's clothing, his skin, veins and spine.
His heart however was still beating and so the streams of blood were lead into the new openings, they created a bloodfall that sunk down his throat and into his white shirt, turning it deep red.

Shaking of pain, Rook struggled putting his cigar into his beak before he dropped down to his knees. The rocking from the impact shook his head lose from his shoulders and it rolled through the grass down the hill.

Hati bit his tongue and rushed to his friend but there was no helping him. He fought his tears and tried to channel his sadness into his rage. Soon he looked up at Rex again, showing his sharp teeth like the animal he was.

"He was your friend", Hati cried out loud.

"And he will live again. I have killed all of you before. It's all the same to me, dear. However, killing you always hurts the most."

Hati stood up and freed his cursed bone arm from the cloth that hung down his shoulder and covered it. His cape now waved in the wind and down his back. Slowly he opened the belts of the armor around it. To transform the arm, it had to be unrestrained.

"NO!", Krator yelled ferally. "He's mine." He walked between Hati and Rex and kept his eyes on the wizard-thief. His golden gauntlets already glowed slightly in a heavenly blue that was visibly well due to the nighttime they had now. Cold air turned to mist that crawled down the armor and dropped into the grass.

Sam raised her P-90 at Rex and assured Krator, "I'll cover you."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Krator explained, "This is a duel of magic, your copper bullets will have no impact here."

Rex chuckled, "You're calling that magic? Throwing with dirt and ice?"

"I'll ignore your insults for now, there's a lot more you have to answer for. I'll kill you, if I have to. Your corpse will then answer for your crimes."

Rex rolled his eyes at the Templar while he got into position. His wide stance was an indicator for his elemental magic he was about to use.
With a wide swing of his arms, the ground ripped open and rock appeared between the grass. Like gigantic spears they rushed towards Rex to pierce him, or at least make him move out of the way.

Usually Rex had to throw one of his spell pages onto the floor or carve the runes into the ground himself to make use of a spell of his, but thanks to the Inaji-Book and the Inspiration Manifestation within, he simply had to think of the runes he needed and they appeared on the soil.

The rocks froze and so did the grass. And Krator.

A wide ring around the foolish Highpriest stopped the time of his and left him motionless in a dynamic fighting pose. He probably didn't even notice what happened.

"What a fool. The elements are useless against a timespell. What do the Temples teach those kids these days?"

"And now you kill him too?", Hati asked him angrily.

"Already have." The runes disappeared and the field collapsed. Everything within shattered into pieces like glass. The fragments of the Templar Krator mixed with the green shards of the grass and the pebbles of the rocks. A second later every piece was resting on the soil.

"Morty!", Hati yelled at the skeleton that idly stood by.

"Hati?"

"Are you alright with this?"

"Of course not. But look what he can do. I just don't think we have the power to teach him a lesson. And why at all? If he can reset the time, wouldn't it be wise to let him restore all the lives he took? Think about it. If we kill him, Krator and Rook remain dead."

"It's not about that!"

"Oh?"

"Of course he will have to reset the time. I don't want to kill him. But he has to stop with his experiments! Don't you get it?!"

"Oohh!", Morty nodded, "Yes, I do get it now." He walked up to Rex. "Let's have a word, Mister Rex."

Rex crossed his arms and tilted his hips, so he rested mainly on one leg. "I'm listening, Doctor."

"That experiment of yours."

"Yes?"

"Is it really necessary?"

"You see, Doctor, I'm draining the cosmos for power. But his cosmos is dead. It's on the end of its existence. In order to create a portal way to Xerexarea, I need the power of the sun core. There is no other source of power big enough for the spell. And in order to get the sun, I need the Princess's powers. And to capture her, I need a little storage of Inaji first. You see? One leads to another."

Morty nodded, "Yes, yes. But the problem is, you're destroying this world. And the others are not fond of that."

"The others? What about yourself, Doctor?"

Morty shrugged, "My heart, despite it is on fire, turned cold a long time ago. I've seen my son die in the sun just a few minutes ago. I'm not losing a tear over it."

"And still you can't see the point of my actions?"

"Oh, no, I can. But I ask of you to consider your options. Imagine we would ask the Princess for a little bit of their power, so you can cast your spell. Imagine they would agree, what would happen then?"

"You think I haven't tried that already? This is the eighteenth loop, Doctor. I've wasted the first three with asking my way around. No, Doctor, those racist Ponies are not helpful when asked."

"Hey!", Pinkie yelled, "Who're you calling things here, Mister?!"

Rex smiled and took a few steps into Pinkie's direction, passing Morty. "This one is curious." He pointed at Pinkie, "Somehow she survived every loop."

He bent down to her with his arms on his back. "Why can't I manage to kill you, Pinkie?"

Pinkie frowned and hissed through her teeth, "Because you're not trying hard enough."

Rex smiled and straightened his back. "Let's try then."

When the runes appeared on the floor again, Hati, Rarity and Sam rushed to Pinkie to help, while Teal'C aimed his staff, Twilight was still messed up and Fluttershy was cowering. Applejack wanted to jump for her, but her broken leg slowed her down.

The field rose above them all and froze them in time.

"Mister Rex", Morty asked him, "What is this spell doing now?"

"What?", Rex turned to him with wide eyes. He was standing inside the field but was still moving. "Why are you still moving?"

Morty looked at his hands. "The holy fire of Vox is beyond your command, so it seems."

Rex turned once again, "But then, that would mean, that-"

"It does!", Hati said and grabbed him by the arm.

While Sam, Teal'C, Flutters, Applejack and Twilight were frozen in time, Morty and Hati were free of the spell, as well as Rarity, who shared Morty's fire. And "Pinkie? You too?"

"What can I say?", Pinkie shrugged, "I'm curious. You're still not trying hard enough."

Hati grabbed his other arm as well and pulled him in closely. He looked deeply into his eyes. Rex was still shocked and thought of something else to do.

"We can still get out of this", Hati applied to him. "You have the power to stop this. Don't waste your opportunities like this." He let go of his arms and hugged him tight instead. "I can't stand us to be apart like this. I don't want you to be the villain. I know you have a heart too. Because I gave you mine."

Rex blinked a tear off his eye and gave in to the hug. Calmly he laid his hands on the wide back of the Lizard Hati.

"I tried", Rex whispered, "So many times. I died, trying to get you home, my dear. I went mad eventually. These Ponies-"

"Are insane", Hati smiled, "I know. Let's just go home, alright?"

They widened the hug and looked at each other. "How? I've tried so many things."

"Well, did you ever try to ask your friends for help?"

Rex chuckled and evaded Hati's charming look, "No. Not yet."

"Let me ask the Princess this time around, alright? I have a way of talking to white Unicorns with wings that rule the planet."

"Oh, my dear has ways, that's good to know."

Rex laid his hand on Hati's neck, pulling him slowly towards him while his eyes closed. When the front of their snouts touched and their lips wettened each other, there was an aura of peace emerging from the two lovers.

"I have his book!", Rarity yelled, "Quick, what should I do with it now?"

Rex ripped himself off Hati and turned around, "What?!" And indeed, the cursed Unicorn used the distraction to steal the Inaji from the Wizard.
She held it floating in the air with her now cursed and fiery levitation spell that framed the book.

Shocked Rex looked at Hati. "You!"

"What? No, I didn't know-"

"It was a setup!" With a tear in his eye he slapped his claw through Hati's face, stepped backwards and reached into his coat.

From it, he took a shard of Inaji, a piece that was left over from Starswirl or Glimmer. It wasn't the most powerful source but it would be enough to get his book back.

He showed the crystal to Hati. "You couldn't have hurt me more if you used your dagger."

"Did I ever lie to you?" Hati was between tears and rage, "Am I ever lying at all?!"

"Not in this time, no."

The field around them dropped and the frozen people returned to their former selves.

"One more loop!", Rex yelled. "Then I'll bring you home, dear. I promise."

"Promises are made to be broken, love."

"I'll let you ask her, I'll ask you for help, I'll tell you everything."

"I wish I could believe that."

"You're right. I'm a liar." Rex smiled but his eyes remained sad, "I'll make up for it."

Rex startled when his crystal snapped out of his fingers. A second later everyone heard the gunshot and turned around to spot the source.
They discovered Cameron and Elisa on the far end of the hill. Cam had his pistol aimed at Rex. It was him that shot the crystal out of Rex's claw.

Elisa commented, "You should have aimed for his head."

"I did."

"Twilight!" Spike flew as quick as he could to his Princess. His voice brought her back to herself and she turned around slowly.

He threw his arms around her neck and they were happy again in a time of despair.

"You!", Rex turned to Rarity. "Give me the book."

"What?" Rarity stepped back, "No!", and started to run away with the book in her magic bound.

And when Rex was about to run after her, the Humans rushed into battle with him.

"Oh, no, you don't!", Cameron yelled, "Open fire!" And Teal'C, Sam and himself shot their unholy fire at the blue Wizard.

But since they were all standing behind him, all they could hit was his long coat. Once the bullets touched the leather, they lost all their momentum and dropped absolutely intact to the floor. The fire shots of the staff weapon however changed their direction and returned the way they came.
Soon the Humans ceased their fire.

"I'm still up for a try!", Elisa said and ran up to Rex. While on her way, she conjured her sacred weapon. Her chest lit up in a blue glow and she was able to reach into the magical light. Beyond it she pulled the long handle of a longsword, then the golden guard and eventually the blue blade that was almost her own length. She grabbed the handle and swung the blade at Rex, while her light disappeared.
For a moment, no one moved. The blade was touching the coat and Rex stopped.

Slowly he turned around to her. It didn't even cut into his coat.

"Did you really think this dull blade of yours would do me any harm?"

"It's dull alright, but it's magic too."

"Why, it needs to be powered. Did you see a lightning strike somewhere?"

Elisa put the blade away from his coat and pointed it at Rex's face. "Okay, so I'm not up to powering it."

"It's because the cosmos is dead, dear. Here your magic is as powerless as mine."

"BUT MINE ISN'T!"

"Oh!", Pinkie held her ears shut, "Royal Canterlot Voice."

The blue Alicorn of the Night, Princess Luna came down from the sky to the crowded hill.
As an introduction, she shot a laser from her horn. She circled Rex and remained in the sky, while shooting her lasers at him, again and again.

"I have many artefacts up my sleeves!", Rex yelled and reached into his coat. The Princess's lasers only hit a knight's shield of his, that he held high in defense.

"No!", Hati yelled at everyone, "Don't. He was about to make it all right again!"

Rex looked at Hati, "No, dear. It's too late for that." He reached into his coat and tossed a vase into the sky that burst into shards on the highest point. Out flew a swarm of bugs that chased Luna around. "The spell is due soon", he said to Hati, "I might as well give them a good last run for their money."

"What money? You didn't-"

"You think I'd leave without taking a souvenir?", Rex smiled but was soon shot by the Humans again. Now he held his shield against their bullets.
Luckily Luna was busy with the bugs.

"Luna!", Twilight yelled and shot her lasers at the black swarm. And soon those were eradicated as well.

Rex was cornered. His blue spell book was useless without the power of the cosmos. Without that power source, the spells would drain his own body, possibly killing him in the process. The Inaji-Book had no Return-Spell yet. A mistake Rex would correct the next time around. The shards he still had wouldn't work for that many spells.

Ultimately, all he had to do, was to wait for his loop to restart. But in the meantime he really refused to die. He died too often on this planet already. He would not give those idiots the satisfaction to be beaten by their foolish attempts.

A blue and a pink laser shot down at Rex, held back by his silver shield that held an unknown enchantment. Cameron and the Humans took this opportunity to toss their last magazines at the foe. There might be an opening they don't know of and they were ready to take that chance.

Elisa was about to swing her longsword at him but Hati stopped her. She would not only get harmed in the fire, she wouldn't be making damage anyway. And she shouldn't. Killing Rex was no valid option and no one but Hati seemed to understand that.

"This annoyance!", Rex yelled. With his shield raised against the lasers, he reached out his claw into the direction of the Humans. Suddenly the night was made to day for just a second, when a lightning storm emerged from his claws, lit up the hillside and wrapped itself around the bodies of the Humans. They were brought to their knees but still alive.
They remained exhausted once the light ceased.

The next lightning strike went into the sky, to end one of the flying pests. But it missed the one and only hit the magical shield spell of the other.
The Princesses returned to shooting lasers at the Lizard, not learning a thing.

"Stop!", Hati yelled up at them and lost control of his cursed bones. The spine-snake showed itself. It was a living collection of back bones that had a claw at its end. It was half sentient and able to make up its own mind. Quickly it reached up, grabbed Twilight and picked her off the sky. She was smashed into the ground but turned out to be mostly fine. A magical sphere that surrounded her took most of the hit.
Hati was sorry about that and calmed himself. "I didn't mean to do that. But you have to stop attacking Rex!"

"Why?"

"What is it good for?"

"Who-ha!", Pinkie yelled.

"Not now, Pinkie!"

"You're only making him more angry. He will return it all into the way it was, if you let him do his thing!"

"And then he'll murder my friends again?! I don't think so!"

"He made a promise to me. I think we should trust him."

The next laser of Luna hit Hati, but other than the Wizard, Hati had no enchantments to protect himself. He did just pick Twilight off the sky, so the attack was in order. But it was more devastating than the Princess expected.

The laser pierced Hati's green body and left a finger deep hole in his back. The next time Hati took a breath, he spit blood.

As a cursed soldier, he had worse. He wiped the blood off his chin, turned around and waved Luna, "Thanks dear! That was really nice of you. Not."

"Luna, NO!", Fluttershy yelled and rushed between her and him. "He didn't mean it!"

Twilight asked her, "Are you sure about that?"

"Can't we talk this out?"

"I did hope we can", Hati said to Fluttershy. Then he turned to Twilight, "What do you think?"

Twilight took herself a second to prepare an answer. She would love to see Rex in chains or worse. She would love to get her friends back more. But if he changed the time, Twilight wouldn't remember what he did. She'd forget her anger.
And she was not ready to lose her anger just yet.

"You have to make sure that he will get what he deserves! If you can promise me that Rex will be punished, I will let him go."

Hati hesitated, "I can't do that. I have no say over magic like that."

Pinkie walked up to them, "I will remind him of it."

"This is not the time, Pinkie. This is serious."

"I know that. Trust me on this. I got it."

"If you have nothing to give, step out of the way."

"You cannot win", Hati told the Princess. "The more you fight, the more you will lose."

Before Twilight soared again, she turned to him and said, "There's nothing left to lose."

Hati looked after her and how she returned to fight Rex. Pinkie stood beside Hati and Fluttershy. "You know her element is hope."

"The what now?"

"The Elements of Harmony. It's called magic, but it really is hope."

"In that case", Hati said, "If she's hope, that's grim."

In the meantime of the fight, Rex held not only a silver shield in his hand, but a longsword in the other. It was blue and enchanted without a doubt. When Twilight shot her lasers at him again, Rex yelled "Enough of this!" and stuck the blade into the ground.

Silently he spoke a prayer and Hati, who was watching the mess, mumbled to himself, "Oh, no, that's not a good idea."

But there was no way to stop it. Rex had prayed and his god answered.

A thick lightning bolt emerged from the dark clouds above the Princesses. They were almost hit by it, but then again, they weren't the target.
The strike went into the tree behind Rex, as lightnings do. But soon after, the earth started to rumble.

The tree was pushed up and aside when the ground started to change. A gateway emerged from the stone, a dark hole that lead deep into the planet. The gate grew until it was huge. The grew stone framing it was adorned by carvings and pictures of battle and bodies in pain and pleasure alike.
They all beheld the one that was coming forth from it.