Something was wrong.
There were many things Lucario had taken notice of while he watched Luna's past. His lack of control over his, or in this case Luna's body. Being unable to look anywhere he wanted, forcing him to look at whatever Luna was currently watching. Seemingly having no sense of Luna's thoughts, fatigue, or physical pain, judging by how he personally felt fine during the princesses' battle with Discord. And finally, the inability to watch a current scene for however long he wanted instead of being suddenly cut off from it, like he was from the aftermath of the Discord battle.
Thus, it would be rather far-stretched for Lucario to say that anything felt right at this point. Because nothing really did. But what it did feel was... different.
Which meant something was wrong.
Lucario's eyes sprung open as a cold breeze blew over his fur. It was the most chilling wind he had ever felt since coming to Equestria, perhaps even in his entire life. Luckily for him, his species were naturally resistant to cold temperatures, both due to their Fighting/Steel-type element and their tenacity to endure in normally unbearable enviroments. From what he had read about it in books back in Cameran Palace, Lucarios were seemingly rather well-known for their tendency to live in the mountains, training vigorously in all manner of climates to train themselves.
Still, he wondered if other Lucarios would've been able to keep their composure in his situation. Not because of suddenly finding themselves in subzero temperatures, but because of suddenly finding themselves in subzero temperatures... while balancing on the extremely tiny peak of a rock.
Not even thinking about his uncomfortable stance, Lucario looked over his current location. He was on top of some kind of mountain, giving him a view of a wide, open world of forests, fields, canyons, and even a nearby desert. While he didn't look above him, he could hear the sound of thunder coming from the sky, and the darkened landscape gave him the impression that a thundercloud was floating above. He briefly pondered if the cloud had something to do with Nightmare Moon, but quickly rejected that theory. What he saw near the foot of the peak he was standing on was enough to tell him that he wasn't in Equestria anymore, or Tartarus for that matter.
Three strange beings stood below and stared at him. Two of them were vaguely humanoid in appearance. A boy and a girl, if their blue and pink colored clothes were any indication. They were much shorter than adults, though, but still rather deformed compared to children. Two wooden mallets were lying by their feet, although their great sizes made Lucario doubt if they really belonged to the kids or not. They seemed to be afraid of him, as they had their hands up to their mouths in suppressed gasps. It was a reaction Lucario was used to seeing by now, from both humans, Pokémon, and ponies alike.
The third member of the group, however, was another matter.
At first glance, the being's form somewhat resembled that of a Jigglypuff, but covered from head to toe in armor like a knight. A blue cape on its back fluttered in the wind, and it was carrying a golden sword in its right hand. Its face was hidden behind a metal mask, with only a v-shaped opening revealing a pair of yellow eyes behind it. In contrast to the kids, these eyes held no fear in them. They stared up at him with only mild confusion, without any sort of tension at all.
Lucario had no idea what this creature was, or were he was located. But regardless of its role in his sudden arrival to this place, it was the only living thing around that he could hope to get any answers from.
Answers he had to get if he would have any chance of returning to his new home again.
With a strong push of his foot, Lucario leapt off the peak and landed in front of the group. Seeing the knight tense up in response, he held up a paw towards it as aura began to course through his body, letting blue flames engulf his arm. It was a defensive position, one he only planned to keep until he could ask for some answers. However, the knight held up its sword in response, and the kids gulped as they watched the confrontation.
Whether he liked it or not, Lucario realized that a battle was inevitable.
A brief flash of light was the only warning Lucario recieved before he found his face inches away from the edge of the golden blade. Acting on instinct, Lucario brought his paw up and barely managed to deflect the swing before it could cut his head open. Seeing his foe now vulnerable after the strike, Lucario aimed a punch at the knight's mask. His attack missed as the knight leapt into the air, swinging at Lucario some more as he passed over his head. Lucario responded by simply ducking down to avoid the slashes, and stood up just as quickly in order to grab his opponent's arm to disarm and bring him back down.
However, much to his surprise, the knight ascended even higher into the air to avoid his grasp. The blue cape on the knight's back was now replaced by a pair of bat wings, their flaps giving their owner an extra push to keep himself airborne. Only briefly fazed by this display of arial mobility, Lucario swiftly conjured up an Aura Sphere and threw it up at the knight.
In the blink of an eye, the bat wings had transformed back to a cape, which the knight wrapped around himself as the sphere closed in. Then, just as the attack was about to hit its target, he was gone. Having been unable to detect his opponents movements, Lucario quickly closed his eyes and activated Aura Sense. He had just enough time to feel his foe's presence behind him, and he spun around while lifting his arms to deflect the incoming sword slash with his Metal Claws.
A sharp surge of pain shot through his torso as the knight's attack successfully sliced across Lucario's chest. With eyes widened in confusion, Lucario backflipped away as he clutched his wound with his paw. A paw that had yet to bring out any Metal Claws. What was going on? Why didn't his attack work?
The knight, sensing Lucario's bewilderment, readied his sword once again as he dashed forward to strike the Pokémon while he was open. He was only halfway there before a blue light shined down at him, followed by an explosion as the Aura Sphere from before struck him from above. Like countless others, he'd had no idea about the sphere's homing capabilities. He bounced over the ground a few times, smoke from the blast surrounding his form, before he regained his footing with a flap of his wings. He raised his gaze from the ground just in time to see Lucario coming towards him, aiming a glowing paw at his face.
Just like before, the knight wrapped his cape around him and teleported away, reappearing behind Lucario's back. However, repetition was a bad choice of tactic against the Pokémon, which the knight learned upon seeing that Lucario had raised his second paw behind him as well, anticipating the cross-up. The impact sent the knight flying backwards, who flipped around in midair to land back on his feet before readying himself once more.
But he was met with nothing but an empty field of snow as he found his foe gone without a trace. Too late did he figure out his opponent's plan as he felt his cape pulling him into the air. Behind him, Lucario swung the knight upwards before slamming him back down into the ground. He was thankful to see that he was still able to use ExtremeSpeed. Fighting a foe with this kind of attack speed would otherwise prove troublesome.
Not waiting for the knight to fall back down, Lucario threw yet another Aura Sphere in his direction. Sadly, the knight recomposed himself and began to spin around at a rapid pace. It didn't take long before a small, yellow tornado began to swirl around his body. Not only did this move somehow let him float to the side, but the incoming Aura Sphere was harmlessly detonaded just out of reach, as if it had just been sliced open by the knight's sword. After landing, the knight spared no time in continuing his assault, hopping into the air sword-first as he charged towards Lucario like a drill. Lucario, in response, lifted his paw to block the attack with Ice Punch, hoping that the move would work.
But Lucario's hopes were for naught as no ice spread over his arm, leaving the Pokémon to block the knight's attack with his bare palm. By reflex, knowing that the blade would pierce through his paw if not deflected, Lucario attempted to fire off a Force Palm. This time the move worked, and the knight just barely managed to hold on to the hilt of his sword as he was sent back by the shockwave. No doubt feeling pain in his hand from the impact, he remained stationary as he seemingly caught his breath, letting Lucario do the same.
This battle was beginning to drag on too long for Lucario's liking. While the knight was remarkably skilled, he was nowhere near the same level of power as Nightmare Moon. If Lucario had access to his full arsenal of moves, he could've won this fight without much trouble. Still, he respected his opponent for his abilities. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen anyone swing a sword that swiftly before.
A sudden spark of light interrupted Lucario's thoughts, and he lifted his head up to detect its source. To his confusion, an orb were floating back and forth above their heads. It glew in all manner of colors, and some kind of plus-shaped emblem was barely visible on its surface. As he tried to figure out what this object was, the knight was revealed to have other plans. With a powerful flap of his wings, he flew up to the sphere and cut it in half with his sword. After another flash of light, the knight landed back on the ground, his body now engulfed in rainbow-colored flames.
Standing as if petrified by the sight, Lucario watched the knight grab hold of his cape and swing it in his direction. Amazingly enough, the cape grew in size slightly as it barely reached Lucario. The whole world then suddenly turned dark. The few flakes of snow in the air stopped in their tracks, and the sound of the wind died out as if muted. The only thing Lucario could hear was a deep, echoing voice.
"Behold..."
Then, before anyone could possibly react, a giant pillar of light banished the lingering darkness. It rose up to the heavens in the blink of an eye, cutting a giant hole through the thundercloud floating high above the mountain's peak. At the pillars base, the knight stood with his sword raised. The light wasn't some kind of spell or any energy-based attack. It had been a simple slash. A single, extremely powerful slash that cut apart anything that were unfortunate enough to be in its way.
An unfortunate fate that Lucario had seemingly met with, as he still stood in front of the knight with widened eyes. The knight swung his blade to the side in a finishing manner. The only thing he had to do now was to wait for his opponent's body to react to his Galaxia Darkness attack. It wouldn't surprise him if Lucario's body was cleanly cut in two.
What did surprise him, however, was the sight of Lucario fading out of existense, like a mirage within a thick mist. He was even more surprised by suddenly being tripped over by a powerful slide kick to his feet, falling backwards as Lucario grinded to a halt in front of him. Wasting no time, Lucario proceeded to grab the knight by his mask, slammed him into the ground, and then released a Force Palm on his pinned down opponent. Waves of snow blew away from the impact as the knight's body was pressed into the ground. While his mask had impressively enough remained intact from the attack, it mattered little at this point. Still holding onto the mask, Lucario lifted the knight out of the now present hole in the ground, conjuring up another Aura Sphere in his free paw as he did.
But once he threw it, the sphere was not aimed at the knight. Instead, it flew off to the right, aiming for another glowing orb that had materialized earlier without the knight's knowledge. As the sphere hit its mark, the knight's yellow eyes grew in size as Lucario's body began to glow with the same rainbow colors his own body had done before.
"Your turn... to behold."
Bringing his free paw to the mask's surface as well, Lucario let the power of the orb course through his palms. A blinding, blue light engulfed the knight's form as a giant beam of aura blasted its way over his body. Lucario had no idea how big the beam actually was, but he could feel its power flying off into the distance, the end of its range remaining a mystery.
As the snow around the area settled down, Lucario lowered his paws and looked at the effect of his attack. Nearly all the snow on the entire mountain top had been blown away, and even much of the ice below it had cracked upon from the force. On the sidelines, he could see the two children hugging each other with a mixture of terror and amazement, their jaws hanging open and their pupils so small they were barely even visible.
Some distance in front of him, a golden statue was lying on the ground. To Lucario's shock, it was a statue of the knight, and a quick check of it with Aura Sense revealed that it was indeed the knight's real body. Walking up to it, Lucario brought his paw to his chin in thought. While the knight had been hostile, Lucario still wished to ask him about his current whereabouts. This world obviously worked differently compared to his homeworld and Equestria, and making enemies like this would get him nowhere in figuring out a way home.
Memories of being accepted by complete strangers in an alien world flashed before his mind, and Lucario's eyes sharpened in resolve. Crossing the remaining distance between him and the knight, Lucario tapped the statue with his paw. He didn't know why he did it, but something inside him told him that this would somehow work.
It was the same feeling that told him that his adventure in this strange land was far from over.
To be continued...?
Yeah, I got it. This is still better than the rest of the april fools chapters I've read today.
good joke, and yes I did get it the joke because I have Brawl (don't play it anymore)
Okay did Lucario went to the SSB universe.
Best April Fools chapter yet... And I did get the reference since me and my bro spent the entire Christmas Holiday playing Subspace...
Duh the word count let me know immediately but if it wasn't for that, the description that he was balanced on one foot on top of a mountain confirmed it.
I like this chapter... If I was actually any good at writing, I'd try to write a spin-off based off of it... with your permission of course... I hate doing things behind someone's back...
Yeah, got the joke. Have my own copy of brawl.
If this was not FiM Fiction, I would ask for you to continiue this, but I have no idea how this could have a FiM part...
Haven't played Brawl in a loooooooooong time.
I'll be suprised if anyone didnt get the reference.
2358444...SSBB ponies....dear god why has that not been made!?
2358464 I do not know, but it should. I would do it if I was not so bad at writing.
... I keep forgetting today's April Fools... Ughhh... how many times do I have to fall for stuff Took me a while to realize those two kids in blue and pink were the Ice Climbers. In any case, I love this fic, you combined my favourite Pokemon, Lucario, and my favourite pony, Princess Luna! Bravo! Keep writing, I'll be sure to read You've also inspired me a little, I've got an idea for a fic but I'm not sure if I'll ever write it
I can't believe you are doing this...
...
...
As soon as I saw the k in the title I knew this would be April fools joke. Congratulations on making me happy about the chapter anyway.
Ah, it takes me back to the Subspace Emissary! Good on ya!
freakin metaknight...
What did I just read?
[eye twitch]
You. Are. Making. Me. Angry.
Okay, I love this Chapter.
MAKE IT INTO A REAL STORY, ARCEUS DARN IT.
This has been the best joke chapter I've read! At least it feels as if you put plenty of effort in it!
2363451
"Effort" is a strong word here, perhaps. Like I said in the author's notes, I finished this whole chapter in around 4 hours (from 20:00 to 23:50'ish). I didn't mean just the actual writing part of it either, but EVERYTHING:
1) Getting the idea that I should try to release a joke chapter before day's end.
2) Trying to think up what the chapter should be about.
3) Remembering the Lucario vs Meta Knight fight from Brawl and deciding to use that.
4) Planning the battle, including moves, dialogue, enviromental/character descriptions, and outcome.
5) Writing the chapter.
6) Editing it.
So if by effort, you mean "thinking about the idea for a long time before proceeding to write it", then no, this chapter is in no way worthy of such praise. But if you mean "releasing a cool battle on the fly with no prior plans or ideas for it whatsoever", then yeah, I suppose it turned out rather well. I'm very glad you liked it!
I knew the reference when it started
God I love that fight in the game
And even in multiplayer mode I ALWAYS played as Lucario
Ah, such good memories...
Can't wait to read more
2363526 see, the reason why I used the word "effort," was because this did not feel like an april's fools chapter. It actually felt as if you were trying to keep the narrating serious. I understand it didn't take you long to write it, but again, it doesn't feel like a joke.
2363526 If you wish to atone for this sin, you will upload the real next chapter before the week has ended.
Otherwise, you'll have to help make cupcakes!
I didn't make the SSBB connection til I realised the those kids were the ice climbers. Ah, two of my fav Smash characters going at it.
You know, I just remembered this part of chapter 9.
Something tells me that helpful little bat could probably eat a lot of the food in the kitchen by the time the sun comes up!
You can tell you are following a good author when even their joke chapters are higher quality than most stories on the site. I really loved the chapter and think it would be a lot of fun to read through an entire story based on this. While it may lack ponies it still shows forth greatness. Always do love your work Kang. Wish I could write.
2369608 If I would continue this "joke story", I would probably just focus on the remaining major battles Lucario took part in during the story. This includes:
- vs Shadow Peach & Shadow Zelda
- vs Duon
- vs Tabuu
Sadly, I don't think I'll write any of these battles as joke chapters unless I happen to get a neat idea for them. Still happy with how this one turned out, though. Thanks for your praise!
I started reading your story about a day ago, and I've been so entranced by it that I'm at the Meta Knight battle already. I noticed that you uploaded it on April Fools', which led me to check on when the most recent chapter was posted, and it's all the way back in January?
This all leads up to one question:
Are you continuing the actual story, or was the April Fools' chapter just here because it was April Fools'?
Redundant sentence. I really hate those. Fix it, please.
2371216
The main story isn't cancelled by any means. I'm just a slow writer, as you may have noticed. Nightmares May Dream - Part 2 is taking a while, as it is rather complicated to write due to the "Lucario watching Nightmare's dream of Luna's past" narrative, but I'm working on it. I'm afraid I can't do much else but to speed up and ask for your patience.
2372952 That's fine, I can wait. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't waiting for something that would never come out. I'm sure that when it eventually does, it'll be amazing, though!
Right!
2383785
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2384294
LOL
2389914
1: Awesome. Star Swirl needs more love.
2: I think knowing more moves makes Sleep Talk more risky, actually. With such a big movepool, the chance of Lucario using effective techniques is slimmer than if he'd just known four moves like in the games.
3: Hihihi, who knows?
4: This.
2388007
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you're palying too much supersmah now make an entirely new story based on it!!! in pony form, that is.
AssumingMage needs update... badly
Let me at Lucario with Fox for a couple of minutes!
This story... it's... it's...
humorfrog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Moar-Krabs-Hope.jpg PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
Does anyone think that Lucario is a Gary Stu? or Marty Stu? Whatever you call them?
But don't get me wrong, THIS STORY IS AWESOME!!!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!
You must update!
2708363 You have no idea how right you are.
2710436 You still need to update...
no fair, I really like Meta Knight and I really like Lucario, so I didn't want either of them to lose
3010706 Well done, good sir, you made me lol.
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