Jack Baker

Royal looked at Hurricane, then took a deep breath, then nodded silently at her. "I'm just as sorry as you are..." he said, then looked away. Raze looked down at the ground, angry and ashamed. They lost two brave stallions today. Or maybe... He looked at Steel's lifeless body, then walked over to it, and hoisted the corpse on his back. He took the sword and strapped it across his waist. He began to move, but was stopped by Royal Flush. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, a stern look in his eyes. Raze returned the looked with his own cold stare. "Fulfilling his dying wish..." he said, then continued onward towards the opening.

@@Lightning Bliss, ((OOC: All in due time...)) Quickdraw shook his head, a sort of sad smile on his face. "Not in this life..." he said. He gently pushed Clover and Royal away, the look in his eyes telling them it was ok. He looked at Steel's corpse. "If this 'get what you want' thing really is true... if you really want to thank me... give my new request" He pointed at the body. "Bring him back. He don't deserve a death like that. For one thing, he's just a kid..." He looked at Hurricane. "'Bout your age, if not older, I reckon. Always talkin' 'bout how he'd make things right with his people back home. I want him to live it out, you know? Have him see his goal through..." He coughed heavily. His time was near. "Y'all... Y'all have taught me a great deal a' things. But mainly that an outlaw such as my self can find some sort of companionship... that I didn't have to live my life like a lonely pariah. I'm mighty grateful for that..." He looked at Royal. "By the way... Steel told me you had some sort a' spell... some music orb thing... y'all would play it sometimes whenever you were on the trail." Royal took his hat off, visibly distraught. "Yeah..." he said quietly. "What about it...?" "I don't want the last sounds I hear to be falling snow and quiet... Here's what I want you to do..." He motioned for him to come closer, then whispered something in his ear. Royal nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean..." His horn began to glow, and a medium-sized orb came from it, which began to glow dimly. Soon, an old tune began to play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKECr75m8fo As Quickdraw listened to it, all the way to the end, he smiled to himself. "Yeah... that's the one... Reminds me of a better time... a better... time... better..." His head sank down, and he let out his last breath, like a sigh of disappointment, almost as if he didn't actually want to pass on. The orb dissipated after the song was finished.

@Pripyat Pony Clover's healing spell, along with Royal's healing spell began to take effect, but it didn't seem to be doing anything. The blood just kept flowing. He decided now that he was beyond help, and looked up. "No... it's alright. I've lost too much blood. I'm already feeling sleepy..." he said, with some difficulty. "You... you go on. I'll be fine here... just leave me... leave me be..."

@@Lightning Bliss, Quickdraw looked around, then coughed up blood. He felt tired, a sort of soothing feeling coming over him. He looked up at Lightning, and tried to manage a smile. "I'd by lying if I said I was..." he said, but with a bit of trouble. "*hack* I reckon this is it for me... unless y'all magic folk can heal me...?" Royal Flush approached him, conjuring a healing card. He crushed it, and held the aura over his wounds. Quickdraw jumped a little, the healing process hurting him a little. "Easy, partner..." he said, reassuring him. He then looked toward the group. "Someone... help." Quickdraw chuckled a bit, then coughed. "I'm surprised, Flush... this ain't what Steel told me at all. Maybe when I meet him again... doesn't look too far off now, to be honest... I'll ask him if he was really telling me the truth..." "Whatever he said about me, I've changed it," he said promptly, still focusing on healing him. "Now come on. Don't give up on yourself like that..."

@@Pripyat Pony,@@Lightning Bliss, The Keeper felt the piercing feeling of Lightning's horn against his side, followed by the barrage of magic from Clover's horn. He shook Lightning off him, and tried to keep moving towards Quickdraw. He charged his horn, which was emanating a green light. The lantern floating under his right hoof opened up, ready to accept Quickdraw's soul into his vast collection. His horn glowing a bright green, he fired a beam of magic, meant to kill Quickdraw... and it would have hit too, if not for some pony standing in the way. Steel Tempest, in a last ditch effort to save his friend, took the attack head-on. His soul was visibly pushed out from his body, which fell to the ground, limp like a rag doll. Quickdraw was shocked, unable to move. The soul began to manifest into a phantom version of Steel, who looked back at him. He nodded once, and afterwards was soon sucked into the Keeper's lantern, who was still coming towards him, although struggling quite a bit from the magic blasting him from behind. Quickdraw took a deep breath, and looked the Keeper dead in the eye. Anger soon filled him, as he raised his hoof holding the bullet high in the air. The soul collector was right on top of him, charging his spell once more. The gunslinger glared at him and, letting out a loud, blood-curdling yell, slammed the bullet into the wall. A huge explosion followed afterwards, the impact of it cracking the crystal wall. The Keeper lost his focus for a split second due to the explosion, but that was enough for Clover's magic to fully take effect on the soul collector. He was completely consumed by it, and his physical body had evaporated completely, leaving his own soul fully exposed. The lantern, now without an owner, began to spiral out of control. It opened, and was trying to suck the Keeper's soul inside it. He tried to resist, pulling himself away from the lantern's ethereal grip. The collector became the collected, the fear-striker became fear-stricken. He let out cries of pain as the lantern swallowed him up, then, unable to contain any of the souls inside it, opened up wide and released them all. They began to float upwards, sounds of joy emanating from them, until they became dim lights in the sky, almost like stars. The lantern closed, and dropped on the ground, empty.

Elok'Tar shook his head. He couldn't figure out what was happening. He look behind him, and saw the Keeper still lying on the ground, unmoving. He went back to Lightning. "Forgive me!" he said, looking to see if he dealt any significant harm to her. "I didn't know what I was doing. The last thing I remember was being struck by something, and now..." Everyone's attention was now focused on the dragon. Quickdraw was observing the the conversation from afar, next to the Keeper, his back turned. Suddenly, he sensed something wasn't right. He turned around, and saw the soul collector disappeared. Alarmed, he looked around, trying to find him... Then he felt a sharp, searing pain in his side. He was cut by the Keeper's sickle, the force knocking him up and slamming him against the wall of the crystal gate. His gun flew out of his hands and hit the wall as well, breaking it into pieces. Buckshot and shotgun slugs flew everywhere. He grunted loudly in pain. Putting a hoof to his wound, he saw that he was losing a lot of blood at a frightening pace. He looked up, and saw the Keeper staring at him with cold, dead eyes, and began to slowly approach him. He couldn't move. He began to feel dizzy. This was it for him. He had reached the end of the line... End of the line... Suddenly, he realized: he still had his last resort with him. Looking around, he found the bullet sitting next to him. He picked it up, then forgot his gun had shattered. He looked at the Keeper, then knew what he needed to do. Gathering all his strength, he tried to hit the bullet against the wall behind him, hoping the force would be enough for the bullet to go off, but he couldn't get enough for it to happen. He kept trying, hitting it harder, as the Keeper slowly neared his location...

Elok'Tar roared in pain as he was assaulted on by the alicorn. He grabbed her with one of his hands and raised it high in the air, ready to slam her into the ground. Quickdraw saw this, and looking at the Keeper, decided to do the only thing he could think of. He quickly ran towards him and, taking careful aim, shot at him, close enough to knock the Keeper off his feet and immobilize him. Elok'Tar froze for a second after this, and suddenly returned to his normal state, confused. "What? Where am I...?" he asked to no one in particular.

Sorry, I've had to study for finals over the past couple weeks. If you want, you could post it now.

@@Lightning Bliss,@@Hurricane, ((Sorry guys, finals week is coming up for me, and I've been really busy with studying)) The Keeper quickly teleported to the side, dodging Hurricane's tornado. The possessed Elok'Tar retaliated by sending a powerful gust of his own. He flapped his wings once, and a strong wind blew towards Hurricane. He roared in anger, flying towards her.

@@FadedSkies, Hey, I added you. Name is 47 the Hitman

((Hope this isn't dead yet...)) Midnight_Aurora After finishing breakfast, Raze decided to relax a bit, feeling nervous about the night before. The authorities knew what he and White had done. What if they somehow slipped up? What if he left something behind that would point back to him? He shook his head, and sat on his couch in the living room, sorting out his thoughts. ------------------------------------------------------ The letter sent to Chrysteel had something different than what the rest of the operatives received. It read: You have yet to complete your task. The duel is today. Do not disappoint us.

The soul collector spun his sickle and flung it at Lightning, catching her by the leg and yanking her to the ground. He pulled the chains off of her, quickly preparing himself for another challenger. Elok'Tar flew up into the air above the Keeper, and fired his Dragon Breath. However instead of fire, crystal shards and dust came out, hitting the ground and quickly growing into full sized crystals, driving the group back from the Keeper.

The dragon smiled slighty. "As I have said before, no formalities. I am by no means any form of royalty: this is my home, not my kingdom, and that means comfort." He turned to the crystal wall, and let out a mighty roar. The part of the wall that he was facing sunk into the ground, revealing the open land ahead of them. "Ahead you shall find the gateway," he said, turning back towards them. "Just keeping walking straight ahead, but only straight. Going anywhere else will bring you way off course." He looked down at them, smiling. "Well, it seems our little visit is almost finished. Our time is at an end--" And your time with me is just about to begin... The dragon was slightly surprised when he heard the voice, but had no time to react when a bolt of green light struck him instantaneously. He roared out in pain, the light seeming to consume him. He could feel himself slipping away... Raze was shocked to the point of disbelief. "No... How..." he said, looking up. From the sky, the Keeper of Souls descended upon them. Elok'Tar was staring at him, eyes wide in horror. He then quickly turned to the group. "Quickly! Make your way inside, before it is too late!! I can feel myself losing control already... don't know... what is happening... hurry... go..." The Keeper just shook his head, then teleported in front of them. "I will not allow you to pass..." he said, then held his hoof out to them. Floating above it was Artemis, trapped in a spectral prison. The Keeper flung him toward the ground, releasing him from his cage. "You may make a mockery of my powers... Avoid me from taking your souls... but I will never, ever, let you through this gate!!!!!" He looked behind them, where Elok'Tar was lying still, eyes closed "And to make sure of this... I will have your 'friend' assist me... ARISE!!!!" The dragon's eyes shot open, now a sickly green. He slowly got up, towering over the group. He let out a malicious roar, and began to slowly approach them.

The dragon cleared his throat, then spoke. "As I have said before, this isn't an object," he said. "Rather, it is a gateway. A tear in space itself. Where it leads, I do not know... but I intend to find out. I believe the visitor from many years ago was looking for the same thing..."

@@Lightning Bliss, Elok'Tar laughed warmly at her formalities. "You do not need to be so formal, winged one," he said. "As long as you come here meaning no harm, you do not need to worry." He looked around, taking a deep breath. "My 'object' that you speak about... it is not necessarily an object that one can hold. I do not even know what it is, but I intend to find out..." He looked at them. "Would you like to hear about it?"

The dragon stopped circling, and hovered just above them. He had begun to observe their faces and, seeing that they were speaking the truth, lowered his anger. "...Perhaps you are right," he said, slowly setting himself down. He sat down on the ground, and brought his head down to their level. "...Forgive me for my hasty judgement," the creature said. "The last visitor to come here, which was many years ago, had tried to sneak past my wall in my sleep, which I would have most likely never known, if he had not stepped on my tail..." He looked at his tail, which was a sharp spike on the end. Unfortunately, he had still managed to pass through, and I had not seen him again. He looked exactly like your kind, so I assumed you were here to try and cross over as well..." He looked at them in the eye. "But your group... you all are different, no? You do not look to be thieves... for the most part." He withdrew his head. "My name is Elok'Tar, in your tongue it means 'The Shard'. It was given to me by my creators; the word reverberated around the crystal shell of the egg I was born in. So tell me... who are you, and why are you really here?"

After a few minutes of walking, Raze saw something in the distance. It appeared to be... a gigantic wall, composed entirely out of large crystals. Aside from that, there was nothing else, save for a few small crystal deposits around them... "This has to be it..." Raze said to himself, approaching the wall, but as he did, a loud roar echoed through the air. From out of the sky, a large creature with wings swooped down and landed on top of the walls, his wings creating a huge gust of wind when he settled atop his perch. It was a dragon, but not just any ordinary dragon. His scales were made entirely out of crystal, and he had gemstones for eyes. His teeth and claws were made of crystal spikes. It was a dragon made entirely of crystal. "Well, well, well..." he said, his voice powerful and commanding, like the voice of a Royal Guard commander. "It appears I have visitors..." He looked at Raze. "Do you know where you are right now, dark colored creature?" He stared at the dragon, not sure what to say. "No, I don't..." he finally said after a short time, looking at him dead in the eye. "Hmph. Let me tell you then..." He raised his wings, as if pointing to the world around them. "You are in the Other Realm!!! The Edge of Equestria!!!!" he shouted, then looked down at them. "...but most importantly, you are in my domain. And I do not appreciate those who trespass on my domain without my consent. Born from a crystal egg, by creators unknown to me, I have lived on this land for many years. Beyond this wall lies something of utmost value to me, but I cannot find a way to get it... and until I do, I will guard this land for as long as I live and breathe!" He hopped down from his perch and landed a few feet away from the group, shaking the ground itself. "You are thieves that wish to take my prize away from me before I can have it, that can only explain why you are here! But enough talk! You die NOW!!!" Before Raze could respond, the crystal dragon flew up and began to circle Raze and the group menacingly.

"...Hmph," was all Raze had to say to Lightning. Silently he walked on, the landscape seeming to continue endlessly. After a few minutes, though, he began to see something change. Large crystals were poking out of the ground and were scattered all over the place. The farther he walked, the bigger they seemed to get, and in more numbers as well. Feeling he was on the right track, he kept pushing forward.

I've seen some episodes on the internet. Don't know if they're still there, but it was a pretty funny show. I also liked the fact that they presented the episodes as if the whole thing took place inside a video game. Wish they'd bring it back...

@@Pripyat Pony,@@Midnight_Aurora, @, Soooo I just fast forwarded the day now. Just though I'd let everyone know if they didn't know already. Btw, the letter that Raze received was sent to everyone else, in the exact same format.

9:30 AM April 25, XXXX Ponyville, Equestria Raze awoke from his sleep, yawning loudly. He had spent most of his time last night saying bye to White, then walking home when he found out the station was closed. He got out of bed, and went down to the living room. He saw something laying on the ground near his front door. It was an envelope. He tore it open, and found a letter inside, which he began to read From now on, all of your missions will now boil down to one single task: elimination. Once you receive your designated location via phonecall, proceed to said location and kill everyone inside. No witnesses. Failure to comply will result in severe consequences He sighed, then threw away the paper. He wondered if everyone else received the same message...

Quickdraw, Steel, and Royal Flush followed them soon afterward, just as surprised as the rest to see where they were at. Raze walked around, not sure where to go next, but suddenly, he began to hear whispers in the air... Forward... Forward... But only forward... Raze was confused. Was it the Keeper again? But the whispers didn't sound menacing or carried that heavy feeling of despair that was associated with the monster. So he walked forward, but turned back around. "Still thinking about heading home now?" he said, then sighed. "...And here I thought you all had complete faith in me... but whatever. If this doesn't prove anything, I don't know what will. Heh, maybe we all just swam around in circles or something, right? I just led you all in some wild goose chase, that's it..." he turned around again, and kept moving, saying things under his breath, visibly angry and hurt at what Lightning had said.

Chrysalis thought about this for a while, then decided. "No need. Seeing as though both of you will be fighting tomorrow in a duel, you can both punish yourselves for your mistakes." She stood up. "I've had enough for one day. I will get some rest, and I suggest you do the same." She left to go to her private chambers.