Prologue

Canterlot Palace

Princess Celestia walked out onto her balcony with a melancholic aura around her. Her perpetually flowing green, blue, and pink mane seeming to droop just a bit.

She closed her eyes as she took in the fresh spring air, before opening them and looking up towards her sun and then down towards her nation and her ponies. Which brought a small smile to her muzzle. But it was quickly brought back down by the thoughts that now plagued her mind. The thoughts of the future she wished not to have to think about. Thoughts she knew she would have to think about now.

Soon she was joined by her younger sister, Princess Luna, who walked up beside her while carrying something in her magical aura. Though Celestia was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to spare her more than a slight glance. At least till her ears caught the familiar sound of tea being poured into a cup. Causing the elder princess to turn towards her sister, who was holding two cups and a pot of tea in her magic, while offering one to her. And Celestia, despite her mood, couldn’t help but smirk in sincere happiness at how well Luna knew to cheer her up, as she took the offered cup in her own golden magic aura. She sighed contently after taking a sip. And for a brief moment, the two royal sisters stood beside each other. Just looking over their kingdom and sharing tea together. Like they had done many times before.

But the melancholy air soon began to creep back in, and Celestia began to look down at the floor dejectedly as she set her empty tea cup aside. While Luna sighed, before putting away her own cup and the pot.

“What troubles you sister?” The Princess of The Night asked evenly.

“You already know what it is,” Celestia responded dismissively. “You saw his message too.”

“Yes, I know. But it helps to have somepony to voice these things to,” Luna stated. While comfortingly placing her wing over the taller alicorn. To which Celestia took a calming breath, before nodding her head in agreement.

“For millennia, I’ve always had some kind of idea how things in this world will work out. Never all the details, but I always had an idea of the broad strokes of how things would go. And I’ve used that to try and do what is best for our ponies. I may not have always been exactly right, but I always knew someway, it would work out in the end. And Equestria would remain as safe and harmonious, at least as much as anypony could hope for. But now…” Celestia shook her head. “I just don’t know… this is bigger than our world. But our world is caught in the center of it all… I.. I..” Celestia began to panic while Luna pulled her elder sister closer, trying to calm her. Which seemed to work.

“I know sister, but you must still have faith. Our ponies shall be looking to us for strength.” Luna gave Celestia a wing pat on the back.

Celestia sighed before nodding in affirmation. She then took a deep breath before turning towards the door. “Come Luna, he’s probably waiting for us.” Celestia opened the door with her magic as they passed through it. While Luna nodded and followed her.

The two royal sisters entered a personal lounge area, where sure enough, someone was waiting for them. A Messenger. A human messenger.

He was leaning against the doorframe of the Princesses’ room, dressed in a black long coat and cowboy hat, fiddling with a revolver. Looking very out of place in the private relaxation area of the pony princesses.

Upon hearing the two equines enter the room, he instantly put his weapon away and greeted them with a smile. As he moved towards the center of the room. “Hello Princess-es, it's been too long.”

Celestia returned his smile. “Greetings Courier, it has been a long time. Though, I wish it was under better circumstances that we meet again.” She replied as she and her sister took their seats.

He nods in affirmations while circling around to face them. “Yes, it's starting. They're… being whisked away here and there as we speak. Faster than I thought actually.”

The Princesses exchanged a concerned look at this news, but chose to not speak of it for now. Instead they turned back to the man in front of them. Knowing they did not have long to arrange things. Luna was the first to speak

“How many so far?” She asked brusquely. “Are they dangerous… the ones that will be… “partnering” with our ponies, we mean?”

To this the man shrugged. “No idea, I'm just a messenger… among other things. They didn't exactly give me the power to know everything.” He said somewhat uneasily while pacing back and forth in front of the alicorns. Subtlety tapping a finger against his holstered weapon. Not with any intent to use it, just out of habit. “But I have monitored a lot of them in preparation for this… and well, I wouldn't say most of them will be dangerous to their partners. Most of the ones your little horses will be working with are decent people… for the most part.”

The moon princess did not seem put at ease much by his statement, but she nodded anyway. Before Celestia spoke up.

“What about you? Will you need a bonded partner while you're here?” She asked with a hint of concern in her voice. “From what I understand, it is not good for people from outside this world to be here on their own for very long. At least, for now anyway.”

Surprisingly, this brought a sly grin to The Courier's face. Which caught the alicorn off guard. “Actually, I already found a little pony to partner up with.”

“Oh,” Celestia responded simply while cocking her eye at him curiously. “May I ask who? And why isn't she here with you?”

“Hmm, unfortunately, she would rather remain anonymous for now. And we thought it would be a good idea for her to do some reconnaissance in Ponyville on her own.”

“Speaking of which,” Luna budded in. “Sister, have you contacted Twilight and her friends about this?”

Celestia’s eyes shot open slightly at the question. ‘Uh, well, not yet. I haven't talked to them in a few days.”

“Celestia!” Luna called out harshly.

“I know, I know. I was getting around to it,” Celestia responded while waving a hoof around defensively.

But before they could continue the conversation, the city below them was rocked by a series of explosions…

New York City

Peter Parker, better known as The Amazing Spider Man, or just Spider Man for short, was slinging over the streets of New York City, as he often did. Feeling the wind against his tight, red, white, and blue costume. While the citizens of New York looked up to him. Some in awe, some suspiciously, and some indifferently. He had been at this for a few years now, afterall.

He casually did a triple flip through the air, that ended with him firing another strand of white webbing from his wrist to seamlessly follow it up with even more swinging. All while carefully monitoring the streets below the best he could, as he continued his patrol. Just like he did pretty much everyday.

But out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something that he did not see everyday on his patrols: a mysterious, bright flash of purple light coming from an unassuming alleyway as he passed by. Now, Spiderman personally knew from experience that lots of weird things went on in New York’s many alleys. But he felt it was still worth a look.

Gotham City

A dark figure swung over the street of Gotham, much like Parker swung over the streets of New York. Though unlike his arachnid counterpart, his nightly excursions, while still meant to bring a ray of hope to the city’s good people, were also meant to create fear in the hearts of those that would hurt them.

He was Bruce Wayne, currently better known to Gotham's people as The Batman, The Dark Knight, or The Goddamn Batman, as some may say.

And was currently following up on a tip regarding some kind of exotic, animal trafficking ring…

Breecher’s Hope

John Marston fell to the ground, his body littered with bullet holes. The pain of being shot was no stranger to him, but never had he been hit so many times at once. It was overwhelming. But it soon subsided as a cold numbness took him.

Despite it all, he took some measure of peace, knowing his family escaped. Knowing his son could have a better life. And he let death take him… except it didn’t. Or at least he would not remember its cool embrace. As he felt the hot sun beating down on his body.

He groaned and instinctively patted down his torso, which should have been riddled with bullet holes. But it wasn't. His eyes burst open and he gasped for breath. Before looking down to see his shirt was indeed riddled with holes. But no actual wounds on his body. Nor any blood.

He stared and felt at his chest in shock for a long moment, before slowly getting up and looking around. Wondering if this was what it was like being dead. Though he didn’t see heaven or hell, or at least not what he thought they would look like when he pictured either of them.

Instead, he found himself back at his old ranch. Shot up, but not a body in sight. Except for one that looked like some kind of orange equine….

The Ruins of a Destroyed Town in A Bad Future

In the blown out remains of what was probably some kind of storefront, sitting next to a small campfire on top of a rolled up sleeping bag, was a solemn man in a simple, white kimono with a katana to his side and a straw hat hanging over his back. Cooking a small creature of some kind with an improvised spit over the fire. His dark hair was held in a very small ponytail on top of his head.

This was the man people in this time period knew as Samurai Jack.

A steel breastplate and helmet were sitting in the corner directly behind him. What few other positions he had in this world, lay inside a simple backpack to his side. On which you could see a frying pan, tea pot, a hatchet, and a pistol of some kind he had not yet become used to using, hanging from it. Honestly more than he was used to having with him, but he had found himself wanting for supplies and gear too many times to count.

He smiled slightly as the aroma of fresh roasted meat entered his nostrils. A rare sight to see on Jack. Especially in a somber place like this.

Sadly, places like these were all too common in Aku's future. Decent people try to build honest and peaceful lives for themselves, only to have it destroyed by Aku, his minions, or any of the countless ne'er do wells and monsters he allows to destroy and plunder to their heart’s content in his world.

Though as much as it sickened him to admit it, he was lucky to find this place. As Aku's many bounty hunters left him with few places where he could properly rest without fighting for his life. But this place appeared to have been abandoned and plucked clean by scavengers long ago. Unlikely, anyone will have reason to intrude on him here. Which gave him an all too rare and valuable respite from his long and seemingly never ending journey.

He took his critter off the fire and examined it: some kind of rat-rabbit thing he did not recognize. But nonetheless, it looked done and his stomach was growling. So he took a satisfying bite. And allowed himself to relax for the first time in far too long.

Alas, his peace was soon interrupted. As he caught a blue flash out of the shattered store window.

Liberty City

Niko Belic stumbled around the alleyway in a half drunken stupor. His mind was heavy with feelings of loss as he slumped against a nearby wall. He pulled up a half drunken bottle of vodka he had told himself he was buying to take home with him and took another swig. Before letting it fall and shatter on the concrete ground. Not even caring about the waste of good booze.

He sighed as he looked up in the air. “I'm sorry Kate. I'm so sorry.” He moaned to himself as he slid to the ground and just sat there. Looking and listening at nothing in particular. Lost in thoughts of what went wrong, everything he did wrong, what he could have done differently, if it could have ever ended differently. Not even responding to the flash of white light further down the alley.

“Uuuggghhh!!!!”

He was suddenly brought out of his thoughts by a high pitched scream. As he instinctively jumped to his feet and reached for the glock inside his coat.

Lin Kuei Temple

A man in black and gold garb and armor walked warily up the snow covered, stone steps to a courtyard of a long abandoned temple complex of some kind that had recently been re-occupied. On his back was a pair of short swords and around his face was a dark hood that occasionally flapped in the chilling wind. Though this did not seem to bother him any. As he had a fire inside him that was enough to keep him warm in the coldest of winds and then some.

On the far end of the courtyard, in front of a large, sitting statue that held two flames in its hands, sat the man he had come here to meet. A man in similar attire to himself, but in icy blue and black. And no facial covering to hide the vertical scar he received during one of their last meetings.

“Welcome Hasashi San,” he greeted politely. He was seated at a wooden table with a pot of hot tea on it and a couple cups. As well as a vacant seat beside it.

“Save you pleasantries, Sub-Zero. And tell me why you've called me out here,” he spat at the other man. Who looked down sadly at his steaming cup, before nodding

Meanwhile, outside the temple, in the frozen waste, a strange creature appeared in a pink flash.

Back in Canterlot

The Courier looked over the city, several sections of which were now smoldering ruins. His gun was in hand, but at ease. The princesses he had come to meet were now gone, but hopefully alright.

A little robot floated to him. Beeping as it did.

“Yeah, I know,” he said as he holstered his weapon. “They got them.”

The robot beeped some more.

“Yeah, I'm sure they'll be fine,” he waved off the robots beeping. “Call up our little friend, we need an update on what's going on in Ponyville.”

Author's Note

OK, finally back. Most of y'all probably don't know me, but this is the beginning of a major return to writing I've been putting off and planning for about two years now. I don't want to jinx it by making big promises just yet, but I have a lot of high hopes for this.

On another, related note, this story is a rework of a concept I've been wanting to do for years now. If you look at my stories on this site, you can even see an attempt I started a couple years ago that unfortunately didn't go anywhere. Though this time, I've got a lot more of it planned out. And I'm planning on staying on a consistent schedule of one new chapter every three-five days. And I'll also be posting update blogs every Friday. Presuming anyone will be interested in staying updated about my work, of course.

In any case, I hope y'all enjoy the opening to this story.

Any comments and constructive criticism is more than welcome.