When the Wing meets the Axe.

It was a normal evening in Ponyville. Luna had blessed the land once again with her magnificent beautiful night. However, it was this evening that would change one ponies life due to her curiousity. Karl was sitting at a table, waiting for his contractor to arrive. He had been assured of 10000 bits payment for the contract, so he wouldn't back out of it. On the table behind him was Heron Wing, who had decided to eat out this evening. Finally, his contractor arrived and sat down infront of him. "Hello Karl." He greeted Karl formally. "Hello sir. You have the deal?" He asked his contractor. "Yes, but the half of it. You get the rest when the deed is done." Karl grinned and motioned for the servant to get to the table. "I'll have the Agneau aux pommes de terre, and a glass of red, please." The servant looked at the contractor, who answered breifly, "I'll have the same." The servant nodded and walked away to get the two orders for them. "Alright, payment is half obtained, now; what can you tell me about my victim?" Karl asked and leaned in a bit to listen carefully.

(Yay for RP between me and Jhera?)

 

"Well, he's mostly at his house, so he's a easy target." Karls contractor informed him. "You can probably get in easily through the roof." Karl grinned and leaned back on the chair. "So then why did you accept my price if he's an easy target? You don't need to hire me for this. Any hitman could do it as good as me." His contractor leaned in, grinned and said, "That's the thing. I've gotten several hitmans for this job, but they've always turned me down. He's probably bribing them or something." Karl chuckled as he remembered that he had gotten a money pouch by a mysterious pony one time at a party. "Well, i'm not one for turning down a generous price like that. Now, shall we enjoy the meal?" He asked as the waiters laid down the food on the table. "Ah yes. Quite." Answered the contractor as they both started eating. The contractor subtly slipped a small page that contained the location of the house, which Karl briefly looked upon, and swiftly took it and shoved it down his pocket. After they had finished, the contractor payed the note, Karl thanked him for the meal and he left the restaurant, leaving Karl at the table. Karl tapped his hooves on the table a few times before asking the pony behind him, "Sooo, how much did you hear out of that conversation?" He asked in a normal, friendly tone.

 

Karl simply sighed. He had a long line of experience and he could see right through the mares poker face. The shaky voice helped too. "Meh, we're just... temporary friends, that's all. Although today he got me a very special request... do you wan't to eat something? You've been far too long here, and your date... what's his name, i swear i've heard it before, Pinkie told me... Delphinium, was it? Anywho, i don't think he'll be arriving soon so- no, i haven't done anything too him, that would just be silly." He motioned for the waitress to come over and told him, "I wanna take a order for my friend here, i'll pay. Let's see... she'll have the um, the salade de spaghetti, and following, maybe a glass of the houses red, please." The waitress nodded and moved away to get the meal. Karl looked around the restaurant with a bored look. Although he had said that he was unarmed, he still had a small needle loaded with sedative just in case his contractor wouldn't bring the payment. There was a small thought in his head that directed towards the use of it, but it was pushed away to his subconscious.

 

"Well, i've heard his name a bit, but i've never met him in person." Karl squinted his eyes at Heron. "I know what you're thinking, and no, starting a scene here and now would not be the best action to make. It would only give me the choice but to... take you down, so to speak." He looked around the restaurant once more, stopping his eyes at a window. "Now, i would ask you to come with me incase you don't want to return home in a box." Outside the window was an almost invisible pony, but that didn't concern Karl; it was what he had in his hands. It's not often you see a pony holding a Hoofington 700 sniper rifle. "But i'll let you eat first, don't you think?" He returned his eyes to Heron quickly. He had summed up a basic plan; Let her eat the food, vault the table and get out of the restaurant. If they get followed, defend Heron. Basic, but it would only work if the sniper would fire at the right moment. If not, then everyone would get a close-up view of a brain, but a brain in pieces.

 

Karls eyes were now fixated on the sniper outside. "Yes, but sometimes things don't go quite the way you wan't them to go... and bam." Just as the sniper fired and the shot went through the glass, Karl punched the table, causing it to flip and cover his face just as the bullet hit, trying to dodge it by a hairstraw. Sadly, that was not the case, as his horn was hit by the bullet and broke off. He quickly took the hoof of the shocked Heron and bolted off with her in tow, blasting out of the doors. "Damnit, the bastard got my horn!" He cried as he felt the space that once had been his horn. "Right, now... we need to get out of here! Follow me!" He said as he began galloping to the north. If he could only stop and rest, he could get them outta there in a jiffy. Or rather, in three words. Suddenly, he stopped and looked infront of him. "Wait... let's see... Bera Loka Zest!" White souls began spinning around the two ponies as they started lifting above the ground. "Welcome, to The Rift!" Was the only thing Karl said before light filled the space between them and they both vanished instantaneously.

 

Karls voice was slightly muffled from the other side of the door. "Yep, me is here. You want something? You've been unconscious for a while now. Also..." Karl opened up the door to the bedroom, and walked to the side a bit, laying way to a magnificent sight. It seemed like a royal castle on the outside. Towers spiraling towards the sky, ornate houses and hallrooms stretched across the walls, gardens with the most amazing statues and bushes, along with a big water fountain in the middle of it all. It was a powerful sight indeed. "i myself like it, it's a castle devoted to yours truly, built by 103. Actually, i think he's still here. Hm. Anywho, d'ye want something? You passed out as soon as we got here, so i had to carry you over to the bed and patch up my... horn." Karl pointed at hos now broken. but bandaged, horn, although the tip was still a little bit red. "Don't worry, it wasn't bloody or anything." Karl said, vanishing around the corner. "Wheatley, get me a cup of tea and some coffee, please." A robotic twist and whirr was heard going off into the distance. Karls head popped up in the left side of the door frame, and he asked Heron, "Do you like tea?"

(Think Canterlot, but bigger and more white and gold. And a wee bit more futuristic.)

 

"It's Karl. As in, the pony who murdered about 50 ponies in Canterlot Karl. The contracts is more of a way to spend time." Karl said with his normal, jolly voice. He was happy to be back in The Rift again. "Oh! The robot, yeah...i found him in orbit around the 11th planet of the 11th solar system in the 11th galaxy. He was just a ball at first, but i modified his chassi to be able to drift around the whole castle. If you ever need help, just call him, and he'll help you any way he can." Suddenly, an explosion was heard in the distance. "Oh, bloody- hold on. There's a kitchen down the hallway, to the left. Wheatley'll have the tea in no time! I myself have to take care of something, so... seeya in moment!" Karls head disappeared from the doorframe, and his voice was heard, in full gallop down the hallway, shouting, "Bollocks, bollocks, bollocks!" A faint screech was heard before his voice fully disappeared.

 

"No problem. Karl asked, so i have to comply. Smug bastard modified me to not resist an order." The robot answered with a british voice. "Oh, and by the way, i'm Wheatley. Karl got me out of space. I have to thank him, the life with that space-addicted maniac was not fun at all. Well, the other robot got to close and and fell down, while i stayed orbiting it." Wheatley hovered back from the door. "Just so you know, and this is breaking my programming, but i have to inform you that Karl is NOT a pony like you. He may look and have the same advantages and disadvantages of a pony, but he's not a pony. He's gotten a higher "status" than a pony. What he is, is a Clockmaker. Infract, he's the only Clockmaker in the whole void. As in, there's only one of him." Wheatley looked down the hallway Karl had bolted down. "It's a long story, to begin with." He then switched his view to Heron. "Make sure not to get him in trouble. You don't need to look out for him, but don't get him in trouble. He'll create greater damage in a try to fix it." Wheatley then started hovering on the left path of the hallway. He stopped briefly, and asked Heron, "There's a botanic garden down the hallway. Follow me!" He said and continued hovering but in a slower pace.

 

Karl looked up at the blue, spinning spiral. "It's working again!" He shouts out. He stands up and takes a look outside, in the direction of the gardens. "Hm. Would be nice to look at some dandelions." He goes to the left, and trots up the stairs. As he reaches the top, he stops and turns around, gazing into the spinning reactor. "Neumo-lactic fusion reactors. Freakin' crazy." He turns back and trots out the room.

Wheatley hovers over to a practically giant flower, sky blue in color. "I especially like this one. Reminds me of the sky." He suddenly stops in motion and looks behind Heron. "When you talk about trolls..." His robotic eye is fixed at the dark red pony coming towards them.

"Well, fancy that, eh? Heron and Wheatley, just the two i wanted to meet!" Karl says as he walks up to the two. "Wheatley, i fixed the Neumo-core, so take a diagnostics scan, will ya?" Wheatley simply says, "Sure." And freezes in place, looking over statistics. Karl then fixates his eyes on Heron. "Well, i thought you would be here." He says, irises turning to blue. "What do you think of the palace?"

 

"We have everything you can think off! 103 constantly adds different objects to the castle, expanding it everyday. We have a library containing all the history that's ever existed, we have a magic study sector, a weapons testing sector and many more places! If you wan't it, it's there!" Karl said with a smile on his face. 103 was the only one who had access to the place, but he did constantly expand the castle, building more and more sectors everyday. They already had more knowledge of magic than Celestia, they had more knowledge about the universe than the emerald tablets and they knew more ways to destroy enemies than any war-inspired race out there. But, it was all locked away from prying eyes.

Karl asked Heron with his happy, usual voice, "What do you wan't to see?"