Samuel listened in on the conversation held in Canterlot before he spoke, establishing a connection.
"I have Fluttershy's body with me." He began, surprising the ponies and draconequus with a portal opening up, "Go through there and I shall give her body to you so you may lay it to rest."
"How do we know that you're not a servant of Thanatos?" Celestia asked with caution before Little Ghost spoke up.
"It's okay, he's not a servant of Thanatos, and the portal that sucked in Fluttershy's body was one of his." She said.
"How do we know you're not lying?" Celestia asked the deity, only for Discord to poke his head into the portal before pulling it out with a smile.
"He does have her body!" He exclaimed, "Though, what you'll see might surprise you." He added before entering the portal with the rest, except for Little Ghost, reluctantly following.
"Oh my!" Celestia said. She, like the others visiting there for the first time, were surprised to find doors in a white void while looking for their host, who caught their attention with a fake cough.
"Greetings, and welcome to the Realm Of Possibilities." The deity said. "Let me guess, you were expecting a pony? Maybe an alicorn?" Samuel asked with a smirk, noticing the looks on most of the group's faces before Little Ghost floated in front of them.
"I had a similar reaction when I first saw him." She told the others.
"But that's not the reason for why you're here." Samuel said, summoning the coffin with Fluttershy's body inside with the deity having removed the cement covering it.
"This coffin looks as if it's for royalty." Twilight said.
"It was supposed to be for me when I was mortal." Samuel said, remembering a life he once lived, a time when his father believed he might die of illness before another alicorn appeared, this one wearing a cloak with two Kraata with different coloration crawling out of the cloak, looking at the guests of their mistress' host before crawling back in.
"Any sign of-" She began before noticing the recent arrivals, "So, you're the ones that my former master was with."
"You wouldn't happen to be the Gusty The Great that Kratus mentioned earlier, right?" Twilight asked.
"You're correct. I am Gusty, Alicorn of Hope." Gusty said, nodding, "And don't call me a princess or treat me like one, because I'm not." She added before any of them could call her a princess.
"She gets called a princess or asked if she's one a lot." Samuel said as Gusty left, returning to her duties.
"Well, she is an alicorn." Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"But she's not coronated, nor does she want a coronation ceremony for her." Samuel pointed out, "I wish I could do more to help than already am."
"Does that mean you cannot help Discord find my subjects?" Celestia asked.
"Not while in your dimension besides, I can't enter it." Samuel replied before registering the last word, "You called my friend your subject, why?"
"He's been living in the Equestria of our dimension, is that not enough for him to qualify as a subject of mine?"
"I'd like to think that he's a guest." Samuel said, "I need to go back to searching for my friend. The longer the delay in finding him, the more worried about him I am."
"He's not ill, is he?" Fluttershy asked.
"No, all Makuta in the state they're in can't get sick, but something worse is going on."
"And what would that be?" The puppet mare asked, worried for her friend.
"There's a darkness growing inside of him, and I fear for what might happen if it takes over after it emerges."
"Don't worry, I'm sure us or our counterparts in the dimension that our friend came from can handle the darkness by separating it from him before destroying it like it was nothing!" Rainbow Dash said.
"You can't, none of you can. Not without hurting him." Samuel said after sighing, "It's a part of him. The only thing that you or your counterparts can do is help him suppress it, a task that you and your counterparts have been doing."
"And since he isn't with either us or our counterparts, it's growing." Celestia said, her voice filled with sorrow and worry.
"And recent events haven't helped."
"I hope Apple Bloom will be alright with our friend despite the growing darkness inside of him." Applejack said.
"Her presence is likely helping him suppress it." Samuel said, opening a portal back to their Equestria with the group departing with the casket while also giving the movie reels to them.
Kratus and Apple Bloom decided to help the two in front of them, not like they had much of a choice, after the two in front of them introduced themselves as Luigi and Gooigi respectively and told them of the situation, starting by helping them with King Boo who split himself in two, though Luigi questioned the usefulness of Kratus thanks to his lack of a poltergust with Apple Bloom smirking, something she struggled with while telling the human that he'll see, and boy did he.
Kratus, as King Boo found out, despite his lack of a means to capture ghosts, could still fight them. Especially since his skyblaster set to use light as ammunition was very effective against ghosts, along with tendrils of shadow that the Makuta summoned, though he noticed that Apple Bloom struggled to maintain consciousness during the fight, but despite that, she could still move quick enough to dodge. But as the fight wore on, the harder it got for her to dodge, forcing Kratus to end the fight, and he did it in the quickest way he could, he gathered shadow energy around his blade and with one swipe of his sword, unleashed it in a wave that slammed into King Boo before the Makuta's Shadow Hand grabbed the ghost before slamming it around.
"Time to end this." Kratus said, changing his sword back into a swordstaff, before unleashing a constant stream of electrical energy, electrocuting the ghost before hammering away with his skyblaster set to use shadow ammunition.
"You pest!" King Boo snarled at the Makuta during a lull in the latter's attacks.
"On the contrary, you're the pest."
"Do you not know who I am?!"
"I do know, but I don't care." Kratus said before hammering away as Luigi and Gooigi got close enough to use their poltergusts against the king, trapping him for the final time as the Makuta teleported to Apple Bloom who had fallen unconscious while not caring about what was going on around him.
Samuel was unhappy, tracking down his friend was proving more difficult than last time, especially since a certain draconequus from the unique timeline was at fault, with said draconequus helpless in his grasp after managing to get him into his home.
"I will only say this once. Stop. Your. Game. Now." The deity said.
"Why?" Thanatos asked.
"There's a darkness inside Kratus that he's suppressed for eons, and now your games are allowing it to grow."
"Not my problem."
"It will be should the darkness grow beyond control. It won't just consume him, but everything around it and you will be the one at fault."
"Guess he should've gotten rid of it before he got my." Thanatos said, only for the deity to slash at him with his sword.
"He can't. So, stop your game, because if the darkness emerges, then not even you will remain unaffected." The deity said before tossing Thanatos through a portal that would send him back to the spirit world, knowing that Thanatos would only learn his lesson the hard way, though Thanatos couldn't help but wonder if the darkness the deity talked about was connected to the shard of the dead inside of Kratus while not knowing how close to the truth he was.
Kratus was in a seat remaining silent, listening to the beeping of the heart monitor as he waited for Apple Bloom to awaken as her wounds were healed thanks to the efforts of the locals. Sighing, he looked at Apple Bloom before he felt a hand on his armor; it was one of the locals who had a spotted mushroom top shaped hat and slits for eyes called a Toad, who occasionally checked up on the both of them as the Makuta refused to leave Apple Bloom's side once the doctors tended to her wounds. The look in her eyes showed sympathy.
"She'll be alright."
"Doesn't mean I'm not worried about her." Kratus said before the nurse left with the door closing silently as it could with the Makuta sighing before going back to waiting for the filly next to him to awaken. Though he didn't wait long as he heard her stirring as she woke up.
Apple Bloom's eyes hurt thanks to the brightness of the lights until they dimmed. Kratus must be close by. She thought, rubbing her eyes to get rid of any debris before taking in her surroundings before noticing that her friend was next to her, smiling now that she was awake as the filly contemplated on what happened before she and her friend got here along with how they'll get home with the same nurse from before entering.
"She's up." Kratus said, slowly removing the shadow as a means for Apple Bloom's eyes to adjust.
"Thank goodness." The nurse said before retrieving a glass of water for the thirsty filly who took in the sight of the nurse, "Luigi and your friend here said you could talk."
"How long has my friend been next ta me?" Apple Bloom asked after slowly drinking the water.
"The entire time you've been in a coma, and that was two weeks." The nurse replied, "Such loyalty is uncommon and hard earned as he refused to leave for even a second."
"That's the big guy for ya." Apple Bloom remarked, "Has he told ya 'bout why we're here?"
"I didn't, I wanted to wait for you to awaken." Kratus said, answering for the nurse, who nodded.
"In that case." Apple Bloom said before explaining everything with the Makuta remaining silent with the nurse going to fetch a doctor called Toadstein afterwards after saying that a guard will take them to the princess and returning with the doctor shortly who disconnected the wires after explaining what they were.
Then a Toad with a white and red dotted hat with a spear approached and said that they were there to escort Apple Bloom and Kratus to the princess with the filly tying her bow on her head as the Makuta got up before the filly hopped out of the bed and followed her friend and the guard to the throne room with the Princess' appearance surprising the ghost hunting filly.
The princess wasn't a toad; she was the same species as Luigi, and unknown to all but him, the species that Kratus once was with the filly and Makuta bowing in respect with the guard informing the princess that he'd brought the two guests with the princess telling them to rise.
"Thank you for having us your majesty." Kratus said.
"It's the least I could do after you and Apple Bloom helped Luigi save me, the toads, Professor E. Gadd and Mario from King Boo." The princess said with a giggle before Apple Bloom spoke up.
"Do ya've a means ta send me and my friend back ta the dimension we came from?" She asked.
"Oh, that's right." Peach began her voice having saddened, "Luigi said that you two came out of a portal. I'm sorry, but the only thing related to dimensional travel we have is a magical book leading to a paper version of our world. I'll ask the friendly magikoopas if they can use their magic to get you two home."
"No worries your majesty, I have a friend that's most likely looking for us." Kratus said, bringing a smile to Apple Bloom's and the princess's faces before he sighed. "But, it will take him time to find us."
"Do you know how long?"
"I'm afraid not, there're countless dimensions out there."
"That doesn't mean we can't help, maybe the magikoopas can create a portal or a beacon for your friend to home in on."
"Problem with that is, not all dimensions are in his grasp, we might be in one that he can barely reach or is unable to reach at all, then there's accessing where he lives. The first time I entered his home, it was by accident" Kratus said with a sigh, "But, the help might increase our chances, no matter how slim they are." He added before Apple Bloom spoke again.
"Ya wouldn't happen ta know where my poltergust and belt are?" She asked, finally noticing that her friend still had his equipment.
"Yes, they're with Professor E. Gadd." Peach replied, "We judged that they would be safer with him. He knows his way with technology, and he was very interested in your poltergust and the gadget on your belt. They must be in his new laboratory in the new hotel he built with our help. He said that it's a new source of income." She added before looking at Kratus, "Though your friend here refused to give up his equipment, even in the hospital ward."
"That's my friend for ya, more stubborn than a mule." Apple Bloom said.
"I am what I am." Kratus said with a shrug before Apple Bloom's stomach growled.
Princess Peach was fascinated by what she learned about the duo's story, with one of them politely declining food or drink thanks to the lack of biological processes.
How Apple Bloom went from a simply farmer to a ghost hunter, starting with the mansion where the duo met, pausing when she got to where Kratus entered.
Kratus was fighting a powerful entity that required the attention of he, his brothers, along with some friends of his, said entity deemed him the greatest threat and sent him to Apple Bloom's dimension and decided to do something while waiting for his friend to find him with Apple Bloom continuing on, when she mentioned the part when Kratus' rage blinded him. Peach saw the Makuta's look of remorse as the filly continued, with her shuddering internally as a result of the description of the event as she too would be afraid, and internally shuddering once more at the end of the hotel, Starlight Glimmer's fate would've been worse had the onyx and gunmetal Makuta not been there to intervene.
Their story was the same as Luigi's. But much darker as this Thanatos made King Boo a saint. And Eternal Rest, who could be the counterpart to Hellen Gravely, was worse than what Mario and Luigi fought with the shroobs and dark star as the exception. And because of the witch, the two are trapped here.
She hoped the magikoopas could help.
Or maybe it would be an eternity, as Kratus mentioned before. The chances of his friend finding the duo are slim, with Princess Peach suggesting that Professor E. Gadd could help before sending a message to him.
The duo were currently exploring the outside of the castle that was surrounded by a town rather than a city, with the duo learning two things after asking one of the guards escorting them.
First, they were in the Mushroom Kingdom. Second, there were hundreds of species living in the kingdom, some examples are the mushroom-like creatures named Goombas, turtle-like creatures called Koopas, dinosaur-like creatures called Yoshis to name a few, Toad Town was only the tip of the iceberg. And the other kingdoms had their own species and subspecies.
There were also aliens visiting regularly.
The guards were amused by Apple Bloom's reaction with Kratus remaining neutral with their tour ending shortly. Though in the guards' minds, they saw themselves as mere guides during it as the Makuta was an intimidating sight with the appropriate aura around him while deeming him someone who could take on Bowser in a match.
Oh, how little did they know.
Sadly, while the magikoopas could work together to open portals to other dimensions, they couldn't open one to the dimension that the duo came from. They needed to know where the exact location of the dimension they came from was in the great infinity of the multiverse, and they had no way to find out, and Kratus couldn't construct a portal device as the resources necessary weren't available. And as the Makuta feared, the sorcerers couldn't access where his friend lives or create a beacon despite what the Makuta told them about it.
And that left E. Gadd as the possible means to get home if Kratus' friend couldn't find him, with Apple Bloom thinking similar thoughts. Even though she wasn't a scientist, she was becoming one under Smart Spirit's tutelage. Even then, she doesn't know much about the subject, unlike her companion, and he admitted as such. But, he doubted that this world had the necessary resources as his portal device had Metallic Protodermis for major components with an example being heat sinks along with Energized Protodermis for stabilizing the power source with the doctor answering the next day, eager to meet the duo while stating that they visit Luigi's Mansion so the doctor could use a device called a Pixelator to transport the duo there. Though after thinking about it, the duo decided to not give the doctor a heart attack by showing up out of nowhere, even though Kratus enjoys the reaction of others when he does that after Apple Bloom ate.
The walk to the mansion was a pleasant one with Peach was the one escorting them while telling them more of her world before meeting Mario another one of the protectors of the Mushroom Kingdom, and maybe beyond along the way as the Mansion owned by Luigi was more of a getaway place for him with a polterpup running around the house, the sight saddened Apple Bloom as it reminded her of the polterpup of her dimension with her friend having similar thoughts as his Nui-Jaga friend was likely worried about him with the two plumber brothers accompanying them to the Mansion with Luigi thanking them for their help, with Kratus, as always, brushing it off while listening in on the conversation after the guards left. But he noticed that Luigi was still intimidated at the sight of the Makuta.
"Luigi, if you think I'm intimidating now, then wait until you've seen me angered or in a different form."
"Like that Tahtorak ya changed, inta!" Apple Bloom said.
"Tahtorak?" Peach asked, causing a green dragon-like creature to appear in front of her. The image was five feet in height .
"That doesn't look intimidating." Mario said, earning a small chuckle from Kratus.
"Add thirty-five more feet and it will be, as that's how tall they are." The Makuta said, "But seeing me in my true form which is my Shadow Titan form is often intimidating enough."
"Sounds sinister." Peach said.
"Not really, right now you're seeing me in a smaller version of it."
"By smaller version, ya mean half-sized." Apple Bloom said, smirking as the conversation continued with her taking in the strange sight with Kratus remaining unsurprised as he'd seen stranger things, eventually they arrived at the main method of travel, an object called a warp pipe with Luigi explaining things before the group entering one at a time with Apple Bloom confused at what just happened with Kratus brushing it off as they approached the mansion and noting the differences as they entered the mansion with E. Gadd, who was an old man with only a single tuft of hair, appearing on a TV screen and inviting ruler of Mushroom Kingdom along with its protectors there, only for them to leave as they were only there to accompany the duo to the mansion, with the ghost busting duo using the TV screen to teleport.
The ghost busting duo left the screen with a flash with them noticing an old man on a high chair and the room they were in was full of machines that Apple Bloom couldn't fathom, but got Kratus' interested, except for the computer near the old man, the duo spotting the former's poltergust near it.
The old man clapped happily before speaking, "Nice to see you in person, or is in equinine?"
"In pony." Apple Bloom rectified.
"And what about you?" The old man asked, turning to the Makuta.
"In person works." Kratus said, shrugging.
"Anyway, you likely guessed who I am. But let me introduce myself properly. I am Professor Elvin Gadd, or E. Gadd for short. It's a pleasure to meet you, visitors from another dimension, and welcome to my hotel, the E. Gadd resort. You have no idea how much I want to study you." The professor said before turning to Kratus, "Especially one such as you, imagine what I could learn from studying you."
"Oh, no. I am not going to be a test subject again." Kratus said, waving his hands in front of him, "But, I don't mind sharing some of what I know." He added.
"The two of ya sound like one of my sister's friends." Apple Bloom said, giggling.
"I would like to meet this friend one day if it's possible to open a permanent dimensional gateway between our two dimensions."
"Yeah, about that." Kratus began earning the professor's attention. "I'm actually from a different dimension than her, I was only in hers on a mission."
"Well, anyway, I need to do some studies on you." E. Gadd said, turning to Apple Bloom, "Who knows, I might find something that could help. And while I'm at it, I would love to meet whoever created this wonderful Poltergust you brought with you. Unless it's one of you."
"That would be Smart Spirit." Kratus said.
"Crimini! Now I really want to meet him! If he's as much as a genius as me, we can change the world!" The professor said before returning Apple Bloom's poltergust and commenting on a certain feature it has before turning to Kratus, "Though, I wonder if that's an enlarged version of a poltergust." He said, looking at the weapon on the Makuta's left arm.
"Nope, it's a Midak Skyblaster. I didn't invent it, A being called Artakha designed it long before I existed, But I modified this one to use two types of ammunition, the default ammunition is light energy, the secondary ammunition is shadow energy." Kratus said before Apple Bloom found that the crystal inside her poltergust was missing, with the professor saying that he was experimenting on it with a ghost escaping as a result before showing them which ghost escaped on a screen. Eternal Rest, with her attempting to escape with the Makuta glaring at her through the screen before a red-eyed shadowy mass appeared.
"Hello… worm." The mass said with the Makuta's voice. "You were lucky I restrained myself for fear of collateral damage during our fight. Otherwise, you would've perished the moment it began!" He added, "But, that's not why I'm speaking to you. Your punishment isn't over. For my wrath is not yet sated!" He continued before the mare grasped her head.
"What's he doing?" E. Gadd asked Apple Bloom, who glared at the mare.
"He's punishing her, by tormenting her through her mind." Apple Bloom replied, "And I have no doubt that he's enjoying every second of it." She added before the torment stopped as Eternal Rest had a look of horror before attempting to get away thanks to the reminder of how the Makuta forced her out of Starlight Glimmer's body before he stopped. Only for the torment to continue with the Makuta slowly eroding away at the mare's mind.
"Well, we got to stop him." E. Gadd said, curiously looking at the Makuta who remained where he was despite him speaking through the shadowy mass.
"Let him continue punishing her. She deserves it for all the suffering she's caused ta others that encountered her before we did." Apple Bloom said before going into detail before she noticed that the mare had the look of horror on her face while trying to get away, resulting in E. Gadd trapping her in his Poltergust before handing the crystal over to Apple Bloom.
"I will enjoy continuing her torment when we get back." Kratus said.
"As morbid as this sounds, how did you do all of that?" E. Gadd asked the Makuta.
"My kind has the ability to peer through the shadows to speak to others, and can enter the minds of others." Kratus said with Apple Bloom continuing to switch between containers with one empty, starting a conversation about the similarities and differences between her and Kratus' adventure compared to Luigi's before the professor told them he may have means to keep Thanatos trapped, though they had to go to another lab in order for him to show the duo his invention before informing someone named Toady that he'll be going to his other lab in Boo Woods and entering the pixelator with the group following and ended up in another lab, this one underground where the walls and floor are made of dirt and rock. A ladder led to a tunnel, some machines, a shelf full of books. Two doors, with one to the left of the ladder and the other at the right.
The trio entered the left door and entered a long room with a machine taking up most of it with it divided into sections with a part at their left having a lip to attach a poltergust to while connected by a pipe to a part taller than the first with another pipe connecting it to a large, round part that had a round window that allowed them to see a liquid of some kind. Then, there was the conduit that led to the top of the next part that was a long while below a pincer with two more machines below that connected to a larger one with a trapdoor at the end. All of it operated by cogs and other stuff.
"Here it is!" E. Gadd said, "My greatest invention, a result of decades of studying ghosts! The Ghost Portrificationizer!" He added, much to the confusion of Apple Bloom, but as for Kratus? He laughed.
"I'm sorry, it's just that I find the name hilarious." He said, calming down, "So what does it do?"
"Why don't I show you?" E. Gadd asked before attaching his poltergust to the first part with Eternal Rest going through the round part of the machine, ending up as a blue ball with yellow eyes before the part vibrated, causing the liquid to swirl like it was a whirlpool with Eternal Rest flattening as a result before she left it flat as a pancake onto a plate beneath the conduit before a second plate that turned out to be a crusher that flattened the mare to the point she was thin as paper with her ending up at another machine with pink emitters that electrocuted the mare before she entered the last part with something entering it along with the mare before a plate came out of the trapdoor, on it was a portrait of Eternal Rest with a look of fear on her face with purple lightning in the background with a claw grabbing it to transfer it to another place.
"Fascinating." Kratus said before the professor explained it with the group entering a door next to the trapdoor that led to the gallery, with the professor stating that Apple Bloom will need a better machine to combat Thanatos by upgrading her poltergust with Apple Bloom's shock turning into a smile.
The three of them returned to Professor E. Gadd's hotel laboratory, but not in the way they left it.
"Teleportation is such a useful ability to have." Kratus said, setting both E. Gadd and Apple Bloom down while holding Eternal Rest's portrait with the professor giving Apple Bloom the blueprints to the Ghost Portrificationizer, then prepared something before taking them to a room with three poltergusts, the first bulkier than Apple Bloom's while lacking the button to control the power along with the heat gauge and lacking a vent for releasing dust and other debris sucked in while possessing wheels.
The second poltergust looked a lot like the first but with a green light on the back above a red switch with the handle having a red button which activated it with the switch changing the mode from suck or blow. Finally, there was a gauge divided into three colors, blue, green and red above a button and a switch.
The third was the Poltergoo. It had a tube full of goo that gave it its name while having the features of the previous model and a big lever.
"I present to you the three models of poltergusts I developed Poltergusts 3000 and 5000 along with Poltergust G-00." E. Gadd said.
"I take it Poltergusts 1000 and 2000 were prototypes?" Kratus asked, earning a nod from the professor.
"Ones that were failures. The 4000 was a kart I made for racing." He said.
"Heh, I still have the predecessors to this thing." Kratus said, lifting his skyblaster, "Then there's the prototype Elite Rahkshi I made, all of which were made by accident." He added, creating illusions of a pair of staff-wielding, armored figures with spines on their hunched backs, with one blue and the second being silver with the silver taller than the blue, with professor intrigued. But Apple Bloom was intimidated, especially after the two showed their powers. The first one turned a rock wall to dust with the second unleashing lightning which leapt between targets that ended up burnt to a crisp, "Behold, the sons of my kind, created from Kraata born from our darkness." He added before the illusions disappeared.
"You must let me study these Rahkshi of yours!" E. Gadd said.
"I… don't think that's a good idea." Apple Bloom said.
"She's correct, Rahkshi are not known for their patience unless trained for it." Kratus said, "But, I think, that's enough talking about prototypes as that's not why we're here." He added with the professor nodding before he gave her the 3000 and told her to try it out with her amazed, stating that it was like magic before testing it out before holding a conversation after switching to the 5000 and explaining its features.
But once they got to the subject of dealing possessed objects…
"Heh, few things can withstand a punch or a kick from something that's made of a Protosteel alloy based mcc. Even fewer can withstand my powers, especially when I cut loose." Kratus said.
"Out of scientific curiosity, what would happen if you did?" E. Gadd asked.
"One word can describe the area after the fight; Wasteland." Kratus replied, allowing Apple Bloom's testing of the 5000 to continue before moving on to the G-00, "Shadow Hand: Superior. Power Surge: Inferior." Kratus said in a robotic tone after the professor explained the differences between the power surge between the 3000 and 5000.
"And how is it inferior?" E. Gadd asked.
"I've seen him use his Shadow Hand to grab objects beyond the reach of a poltergust, even slam ghosts around into the walls and floor." Apple Bloom said before gulping, remembering what happened to Wild Oak "Then, there're the times when he pulled ghosts into him with it."
"Which, I might add, is its original purpose." Kratus said, "Without training, the Shadow Hand would recoil immediately, even if there isn't anything in it." He added before making a sweeping motion with his hand. "Now, carry on with the testing. I'm intrigued by the features of each model." He finished with the testing continuing before Gooigi appeared with a high-pitched hello with the professor explaining what Gooigi is, and offered to make an Applegoo and Kratgoo, "As interesting as it is for there to be one made in my likeness, I'm afraid I'll have to refuse. As I doubt it could handle my powers thanks to past experience, and I'm already versatile enough."
"Yet, you can't capture ghosts." E. Gadd pointed out while intrigued by the first reason the Makuta gave.
"Hence the versatile enough." Kratus countered.
"But-"
"Professor, I'd wouldn't argue with him, he's more stubborn than a mule." Apple Bloom said, interrupting the conversation before it could go further with the professor stating that she could switch minds with Gooigi before doing so with Gooigi recalled shortly after with the Professor explaining one last feature for the G-00, a boost granted by an electrical outlet called Super Suction with the testing ending afterwards with Apple Bloom deciding to combine the features of her Poltergust with the features of the three she just tested to combat Thanatos.
Later in the day the magikoopas arrived to help with the ghosts contained in the crystal with her doing one last thing… training, for if she were to combine the features in her next poltergust, she'd need to train in their usage, though that was not the only training she was doing, there was the physical training that Kratus and Deep End helped her with, and she also retook her studies on the paranormal among other things with three weeks passing, and received two unexpected visitors.
"Thank goodness, you're alright." Samuel said, stepping out of a portal as Discord talked to Apple Bloom.
"How did you find me?" Kratus asked his oldest friend.
"I didn't, Discord did."
"Your deity friend is correct, I did all the work and gave him the location." The spirit of chaos said before opening a portal back to the UT! Equestria, "Though, there's one other creature happy to see you." He added before entering it, but before Kratus could ask who it was. A purple blur tackled the Makuta from behind, sending him to the ground.
It was Kratus' Nui-Jaga friend, chittering happily.
"Okay girl, nice to see you too." Kratus said with E. Gadd fascinated at the sight of the Rahi.
"Amazing, a biomechanical scorpion! Imagine what I could learn from studying such a creature!" The professor said, observing the Rahi who looked at him back before obtaining a defensive pose.
"Easy girl, it's okay. He's a friend." Kratus told the Rahi, who relaxed before Apple Bloom's friends and family appeared.
"Oh, there's one more who's happy that you're alright." Samuel said, opening up a portal with an alicorn pony stepping out, closing after Samuel entered the portal with the alicorn bowing.
"Gusty." Kratus said, nodding in acknowledgement of his former agent.
"Kratus." the Alicorn of Hope said, levitating her cloak off revealing her cutie mark, three reddish maple leaves with the background a golden mask, three vents on the left and right sides of an oval where the mouth would be, and another vent on top. A Golden Great Kanohi Hau, often a symbol of Mata Nui… and hope.
"I hope commanding an army of Rahkshi isn't taxing on your mind."
"At first it was, but I got used to it." Gusty said. "Takes me back to the days when I took command of Plasma and Quick Healing Rahkshi when I needed their aid." She added with a giggle as the UT! Ponies discussed things such as what happened after the battle before Apple Bloom showed them Eternal Rest.
"I think that eternity as a painting is not enough. She needs to feel what her victims felt for the same amount of time she held them captive. And I am the one to deliver that punishment." Kratus said, glaring at Eternal Rest with those there worried. Especially Gusty, who had never seen her former master so vengeful. Though inside the Realm of Possibilities where a new door took form, Samuel remained worried about his friend, sensing the darkness growing stronger as Gusty entered it in order to return to her duties back in her dimension.
Months passed inside the Mushroom Kingdom timeline with Apple Bloom and Kratus preparing for their eventual showdown with Thanatos, though the Makuta also asked his friend for certain vials from his laboratory inside New Mangaia, with him asked by E. Gadd to what they were.
"The green stuff are Makuta Viruses." Kratus said.
"How come I ain't… whatever happens to machines?!" Applejack asked, shocked at that, earning a deadpan stare from Kratus.
"That's not how they work." Kratus said, "Now, the gray stuff is Liquid Protodermis." He added, turning to Scootaloo and poured the vials of Makuta Viruses on the robotic filly before manipulating them before pouring the vial of Liquid Protodermis on her, transforming her into a technorganic being like Applejack, with the ability to unleash gusts of air from her wings as time went forward.
Though, Bowser sometimes attacked in order to kidnap Princess Peach, who they visited along with the Mario Bros, often sent packing by Kratus who sometimes used methods that humiliated the Koopa King and amused the Makuta at the same time, even destroying his armada of airships on his own with the Makuta amused by the shocked faces of Bowser and a magikoopa called Kamek as they saw the former's fleet go down in flames, and at one point the Makuta shapeshifted into a Tahtorak and sent the Koopa King flying with a swipe of the tail with the Makuta's Nui-Jaga friend getting in on the fun by blinding Bowser with her venom. Which caused the Koopa King to run around blind with his arms stretched out in front of him, often causing him to run into his minions while wrecking things that belonged to him which somehow amused the Mario Bros. and the other Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants who was there.
If only they had some soda and popcorn when the last of the three happened.
In the end, after much research and development on both sides, new things came into existence, namely the Supreme Poltergust, which had the features of the previous models, and an anti-ghost beam emitter called a Poltergun, along with the crystal at its core that resulting in greater efficiency, and the Spectral Transmogrifier, allowing the user to turn into a ghost temporarily. And thanks to the Makuta managing to squeeze what he learned from practicing with his Density Control in, extended the time one can remain as a ghost.
And after they had a trip to a tropical island called Delfino Island and captured some ghosts at a hotel, the group trained more, which increased Apple Bloom's power as a ghost, before they finally returned to the Unique Timeline for the duo to go into the Spirit Realm for the final showdown against Thanatos with the dragon skull greeting them.
But…
Kratus' essence fluctuated as the growing darkness began its emergence, and little did anyone know. It was an ancient evil whose patience paid off.
"After eons, my rebirth is nearing completion, and I have an army awaiting me." It said, laughing an evil laugh unheard by his host.
