Disclaimer: Samus and Metroid elements belong to Nintendo. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro/the Hub. I own nothing but the plot.
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Chapter 13: Hunted Hunter
Twilight, Spike, and Zecora were galloping away from the library, where the Element of Magic was located before Twilight picked it up. The golden tiara was now resting on the mare's head. They were now heading toward the road to Whitetail Woods, where apparently Samus awaited. They almost reached the town outskirts when a voice suddenly spoke and stopped them.
"Hold it right there!" an azure unicorn mare exclaimed. "Trixie has finally found you, Twilight."
"Trixie?" asked Twilight. "What are you doing here?"
"Trixie has come to challenge you to a duel." declared Trixie. Twilight frowned and attempted to rush past Trixie, but a magical tug on her tail stopped her. "Trixie will not take 'no' for an answer."
"I don't have time for this. Whatever you want, it'll have to wait." said Twilight in an almost angry tone.
"Go away, Trixie. This is more important than some stupid grudge of yours," angrily shouted Spike. He threw a dirty glance at the showmare. Zecora simply frowned at Trixie's actions.
"Ha! What could be so important that you have to make Trixie wait? Surely it can't-" Trixie was interrupted by Twilight, who put her face just an inch away from showmare's. Twilight wore a scowl on her features that made Trixie stop talking as she moved her head back a little, taken aback by the sudden intensity of Twilight's glare.
"My friends have been captured by someone with devastating power and unknown intentions. If I don't face her and defeat her, she'll probably do unspeakable things to my friends; and that's assuming they're still alive." She shoved a hoof at Trixie's chest. "So unless you are here to help, I suggest you get lost and stay out of my way."
Twilight ran past Trixie and continued her way to Whitetail Woods' direction. Zecora and Spike followed soon after, leaving Trixie behind.
The showmare watched them go with a stunned face. Her face quickly contorted into an intense scowl. She growled and slammed the ground with her forelegs several times. Her anger quickly diminished and she calmed down, though she was still angry. "So that's what those explosions were..." Trixie then turned around and galloped back to her wagon. "Curse you, Twilight." she said under her breath.
Unbeknown to the showmare, a certain dust-colored earth pony stallion saw her gallop away. He put his hoof on his chin in contemplation, until he decided to follow her, making sure to stay out of her sight.
OXOXO
A hawk was flying over the edge of Ponyville. It kept its gaze on the ground, looking for its targets. So far, his search has proven fruitless. The bird was about to give up and return when a single metallic corner became visible through the trees. The hawk cawed and went to investigate.
There, just on the edge of the Everfree Forest, a cage holding five ponies was visible. The hawk landed on a nearby branch and screeched loudly, catching the attention of four of the five mares; the one with rainbow mane was still unconscious. It regarded the ponies with sharp eyes before it took to the air once again. The hawk then proceeded to fly around in circles in the space above the cage, loudly screeching every now and then.
"What's with the bird, Fluttershy?" asked Applejack.
"I don't know. I've never seen him before." responded the yellow pegasus. "He seems to be calling for someone, though."
"That would be me." said a light blue -almost white- pegasus with a slightly darker mane styled in a ponytail. Her eyes were a cobalt color and her cutie mark was that of two generic-looking clouds.
"Who are you? I've never met you before, so you're not from Ponyville. Where are you from?" asked the hyperactive pink mare.
"I'm Misty Breeze and this is Looker." said the new arrival as the hawk perched itself on her back and screeched. "I've come to help you."
She was about to kick the cage's door when Rarity yelled at her. "DON'T TOUCH THAT CAGE!" Taken aback, Misty Breeze asked why. "It's electrified. To keep others away." Rarity added.
"Huh. Guess I won't be of much help, then." Misty Breeze lowered her legs and frowned. She quickly perked up. "That's ok, though. Wait here and I'll bring someone who can."
"Wait!" said Applejack. "How did you find us?"
"That was Looker. I just followed his lead." Misty Breeze answered.
"No. Ah mean how did you know we needed help?"
Misty looked down for a bit. "I'm aware of the situation you're in. I can't say more." She quickly lit up and smiled. "Don't worry. Just know that you are not alone." She turned around and galloped away, Looker flying just above her.
"Wait! You didn't tell me where you're from!" yelled Pinkie Pie, but the mare was gone.
OXOXO
Samus sat on the ground after launching those missiles to lure Twilight. She had her Power Suit on, and was browsing through her logbook to pass the time. She was re-reading her notes about her metroid DNA and her apparent ability to drain energy. Why it only seemed to work when her suit was on was what had her thinking. She kept pondering for a while until a message on her visor snapped her out of it.
"Spatial anomaly detected."
Before she could look for more information, another message flashed.
"Spatial anomaly no longer detected."
"That's weird." Samus said to herself. She tried activating several sensors on her suit, and even asked Adam to run a scan from her ship, but everything proved useless. She would have to make a more throughout investigation later.
"I'm here." Twilight's voice brought Samus out of her pondering. "Let's end this."
"Let's make this right. I'm at your side, Twilight." Zecora said as she took place beside Twilight.
Spike took the other side, but said nothing. He just gave Samus a look full of both determination and sadness; something the huntress took notice of.
"Why did you bring him?" Samus asked angrily. "This was between you and me."
"It was his choice." answered Twilight. "He's come to see this end." Spike just nodded in confirmation.
Samus looked at the dragon again. She seemed to be mentally debating something, until she gave one nod, as if understanding what had to be done.
"Very well." said Samus in a sad tone. "I'm sorry, Spike. I really hoped you would've stayed behind." She raised her cannon and aimed it at the trio.
"Why?" asked the baby dragon as he looked intently at Samus's eyes behind the helmet. "I thought we were your friends. I thought I was your friend."
Samus hesitated. She lowered her cannon for a moment and looked directly at Spike. For the briefest of moments, a baby metroid stood in his place. One blink and he back to being a dragon. Several memories coursed through her head, all involving her baby; the most prominent one being when she saw the egg hatch, releasing a cute little fanged jellyfish. She remembered seeing the baby float around her in curiosity and, dare she say it, love toward her.
She closed her eyes and reminded herself of the present. She opened them and began speaking. "It's personal." She pondered for another moment, and then looked at Twilight. "You said you would do anything to have him safe and sound at your side; that you'd pay any price. Well, I'm paying the price now." She raised her cannon once more and opened fire.
OXOXO
Land Scout carefully trekked behind some bushes. He was following an azure coated unicorn mare, though the fact that she was galloping at full speed and that he wanted to stay out of her sight made it difficult for him. But never be said he lost track of something. Always keeping himself on track was, after all, his special talent.
The mare eventually reached her wagon, from where she produced a chest. Land Scout watched as Trixie picked up one specific outfit and donned it on herself. The stallion could barely contain his glee as he watched the mare dress up and gallop away. Once the mare was gone, he emerged from his hiding spot and almost laughed manically.
"I knew it! Ahahaha! I knew it!" He pumped a hoof in the air. "I flying-featherly knew it! Dang it, Land Scout, no one beats you in tracking! Who's the best? You're the best! Ahahahaha!"
His self-celebration paused when he heard a far-away screech. He looked up to the sky and saw Looker flying around something. It didn't take long for him to realize the hawk had found something. Land Scout wasted no more time and rushed to see what his feathered friend had found. His grin never left his face, though.
On his way, he saw Looker fly down. A few minutes later, the hawk had taken flight once again, this time heading towards him. He put a hoof on his mouth and whistled loudly. The sound caught the hawk's attention and it changed its course to land on Land Scout's back. He looked at the hawk and petted it.
"Fancy meeting you here. What are you doing?" asked a light blue pegasus mare. She had come from the same direction Looker came.
"Oh, Misty! I wasn't aware that you would be here. Are you back-up?"
"I was about to ask you the same question." replied Misty Breeze. "Why are you grinning like an idiot?"
"Oh! I have just confirmed my hunch! All I have to do-"
"Yeah, yeah. Congrats, and whatever." Misty's face went from teasing to serious. "I actually need your help."
Land Scout finally stopped smiling after looking at her face. "What's wrong?"
"Turns out the would-be newbie went rogue."
"The would-be new... Samus?" Land Scout leaned closer, curiosity drowning his earlier glee. "What do you mean by rogue?"
"Yeah, her. She came to the castle yesterday and incapacitated almost a hundred guards in less than an hour. She stole the Elements and is now hunting down their bearers."
"WHAT?!" Land Scout yelled. He was beyond flabbergasted. "Why would she do that?"
"No one knows. And there's more. She said if either Celestia or the Royal Guard interferes, she'll bomb Ponyville and everypony within it. The worst part is she already captured five of the Elements."
"Is that why you're here?"
"Yeah. Luna and I came to offer support. My task is to find and help the Elements. Luna went ahead to search for Samus's ship and neutralize it. I already found the Elements, but Samus turned more cautious than expected." Misty said while glancing at the general direction of the bearers.
"How so?" Land Scout inquired.
"She electrified the cage they're in. Contact will result in a nasty shock."
"Darn. Hmm..." Land Scout immediately lit up. "Well, then it's good that I just happen to find the mare that will help us."
Misty gasped. "You don't mean..."
"Yup! I finally found her! Come on, let's go get her. She headed to where the five blasts came from."
Land Scout and Misty Breeze dashed, Looker flying behind them. They ran past trees, following the signal Samus had sent a while ago. Even with the news he just received, Land Scout couldn't help but smile at his success.
OXOXO
Twilight erected another barrier as a missile made its way toward her. The blast impacted on her shield, but made no real damage to the mare. She looked around and spotted Zecora with some soot marks and panting heavily. The zebra jumped and another missile exploded on the spot she was in. The unicorn redirected her attention to the armored human and shot a bolt of magic at her.
Samus sidestepped effortlessly as another magic bolt sailed by her. She raised her cannon to return fire, but quickly jumped to her side as a green fireball attempted to strike her. Before she could even aim, Zecora tried to ram her. Samus deflected her with a kick, but didn't press on because she avoided another magic bolt.
The Hunter was getting tired of wasting time. She thrust her arm at Twilight and her Grapple Beam shot out from the round jewel in her hand, quickly attaching itself on the mare's horn. Twilight screamed when Samus began swinging her. Once enough momentum was acquired, Samus used Twilight as a wrecking ball and slammed her onto both Spike and Zecora.
The zebra and baby dragon didn't land far, but they were clearly in pain. Samus pulled Twilight toward her and stopped the mare with her foot. Samus then pushed Twilight to the ground and pressed, immobilizing the unicorn. Without missing a beat, she fired an Ice Missile at Zecora and Spike, freezing them on the spot. Once they were neutralized, Samus put her attention on the unicorn under her boot.
"You lose." Samus said ominously. "Powerful as you may be, combat is really not your strong suit."
Twilight said nothing, instead giving the huntress an almost hateful look. The Grapple Beam retracted, and Samus charged her Wave Taser. She moved to tase the lavender unicorn, but a powerful pink bolt hit her side and sent her flying. A second later, a pink fire snake rushed toward the frozen pair, melting the ice and thawing its victims out.
"Rise, Twilight. You won't fall today, not here." said a voice belonging to a mare.
"Why does everyone keep interfering?" Samus asked with venom on her voice. She got up and took a look at her attacker. She was a unicorn mare donning a full-body silver suit that covered every part of her body, including her face. The mare was wearing a white hood and cape above the suit, as well as a black mask covering her face. A pair of small rubies adorned her forelegs. "Who are you supposed to be?"
"You can call me 'Silvermane'. I'll be your opponent now." 'Silvermane' said. She turned to Twilight, who was looking at her with awe and gratitude. "Go! Find your friends and go look for someplace safe. I'll deal with this thing." said Silvermane as she put her attention back on Samus.
"Thank you." said Twilight. Spike and Zecora quickly joined their friend, bowing their heads in thanks. They were about to run back to Ponyville when another two ponies joined the party. One was a dust-colored earth pony stallion and the other was light pale blue pegasus mare. The stallion looked surprised for a second, but quickly recovered.
"That works, too. Come on, Miss Sparkle." Land Scout said as soon as he saw the lavender mare. Silvermane shot her a dirty look when she heard Twilight's last name. "We know where your friends are being held!"
"Follow us!" Misty Breeze exclaimed. Twilight, Zecora, and Spike began following the newcomers.
"I don't think so." Samus shot a Super Missile at the fleeing party.
"I think so." The Super Missile glowed the same pink as Silvermane's magic and stopped moving. It quickly spun around and flew toward Samus. "Don't waste anymore time. GO!"
Samus, for her part, cursed loudly as her body was sent flying from the blast of her own attack. She gave another look at Silvermane; she wouldn't catch her prey as long as the unicorn was there. Missiles were also out, unless she wanted to get blasted by her own weapons. She looked around and saw several Twilights, followed by several clones of her friends, running away in different directions. "What's going on?" She switched to the X-Ray Visor and saw only silhouettes. All of them managed to get away, so she reverted to the Combat Visor.
"Illusions." the masked hero responded. "Not to brag, but I'm quite good at them."
Furious as she should be, Samus couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, this is certainly going to be interesting."
"I wholeheartedly agree." Silvermane's horn began glowing again.
Samus tensed, waiting for anything that could get thrown her way. She stood still for a moment, until she began feeling very heavy. It became increasingly difficult for the Hunter to stay standing, and she eventually fell to her knees. She turned to Silvermane, who sported a victorious smirk, even if it was hiding behind her mask.
Samus eventually realized what was happening. A second later, the metallic orange in her suit changed to a shiny purple, and she no longer felt heavy. She easily got back to her feet. This brought a satisfying reaction of surprise from the masked mare.
"But how?! What did you do?"
"The Gravity Suit nullifies any adverse gravitational effects. I would never have expected gravity manipulation, though." Samus commented casually.
"I'm still working on it." Silvermane said as she stopped her gravity spell. "Though it looks like it works quite well."
Samus nodded once, then let loose a barrage of Plasma shots. Silvermane jumped back and evaded the shots. She responded with another bolt of magic. This bolt however, was thinner and faster than the one shot before, resembling those of the Plasma Beam. Samus had a hard time evading it.
"Beams instead of bolts?" Samus asked.
"I'm good at mimicking. Check this out." Silvermane's horn glowed once more. The pink hue began to solidify into a cylinder of sorts. A few more seconds and the hue took on the form of a Super Missile. Silvermane then hurled it toward Samus, who had to jump again to avoid most of the damage when it exploded with as much ferocity as a real Super Missile. "So what do you think?"
Samus looked at the mare with surprise. She quickly recovered. "I'm done playing."
"And I'm just starting." Silvermane's hooves began glowing pink. Then she started gliding around Samus, as if she were skating.
As the mare glided around the huntress, several clones started to form where Silvermane's body passed, as if leaving afterimages. Before long, four Silvermanes were gliding around Samus. Something about this particular strategy just irked Samus.
"I usually don't like clichés, but I can't help but ask: Which one is the real one?" all four Silvermanes asked simultaneously.
Samus immediately switched to her X-Ray Visor. She saw four silhouettes moving around her, but only one of them had a visible skeleton. "That one." She took aim, but before she could fire, a magic beam hit her from behind.
"Wrong." they all said at the same time. "The correct answered is: All of us." As soon as they finished their response, all four Silvermanes began shooting Samus with their beams. Samus, now knowing what to expect, evaded all the bolts fires her way, though she couldn't find enough time to counterattack. She prepared a Charge Shot just in case.
"Clones?" Samus asked as she leapt to her side, nearly getting hit by a beam aimed at her head. On that split second, she locked on the skeletal image and fired her weapon. The gliding unicorn couldn't avoid the blast and got hit dead on. The force of the blast still sent her spiraling through the air, so Samus quickly switched to the Plasma Beam and incinerated the rest of the gliding annoyances. Or at least it looked like it, since they burst into pink fire once the red beam hit them.
"Not quite." answered Silvermane as she struggled to stand up. "They are certainly more than mere illusions, but they aren't really clones. They're more like..." She left the sentence hanging, not knowing what to say.
"Echoes." Samus finished for her. Now she knew why the mare's previous strategy irked her.
"Hmm... Yes, I like how that sounds. They're echoes." Despite the bad shape the mare's suit was in and the heavy breaths, Silvermane managed to sound quite pleased. "Thanks for the name."
Samus regarded the mare for a few moments. "You look tired."
Silvermane didn't take her eyes of the huntress. Her horn glowed a little, but the light flickered. "And you look fresh and ready to keep going. Mind telling me your secret?" she asked with heavy breaths.
"It's all thanks to my Power Suit. But unfortunately for you..." Samus activated the Diffusion feature of her beam weapons and charged. "... I can't waste any more time."
Samus released the shot just as her Arm Cannon glowed pink and it rapidly moved to her chest, making the Hunter effectively shoot herself. The powerful beam exploded on the Power Suit, causing massive damage and sending Samus flying through a tree.
Silvermane saw the result of her plan and gave a big sigh of relief. She let herself fall on the ground and rest for a little while. "Thank Luna it's over. I don't think I would've lasted much longer."
Samus groaned and got up. She had seen her beam deal extensive damage, but in all her years she had never experienced in firsthand. She walked toward the masked mare, who got up as soon as she saw her. Samus was now angry, and her pride had suffered a big blow by shooting herself. The huntress ran at the mare with the intent of pummeling her.
"HIYAAAA!"
Samus found herself in the air again. She landed a couple of yards away with a crash. Ok, this time she was careless. "Martial arts, too?" Samus asked as she got up.
"I'm a mare of many talents." was Silvermane's smug reply.
Samus was still angry, but that maneuver had reminded her that she had to keep calm. She approached the masked mare again, but this time it was with calm and even steps. Screw what the voice in her head said, leaving this mare alive would prove too risky. She configured her cannon on the Imperialist, the Kriken sniper weapon, as the linings in her Arm Cannon colored red.
Silvermane noticed the change and charged her horn. She let out a blinding flash, buying some time as the Hunter recoiled a bit. She jumped out of the way as a red laser passed by the place her head was in, piercing everything in its path. She wasted no more time and her horn glowed a bright pink again. While she charged her spell, she kept moving to avoid being pierced by the Hunter's sniping laser; her movements random as to avoid revealing patterns.
Samus, for her part, had difficulty aiming. The mare was moving too much and in erratic manners, not to mention her cape was misguiding and distracting. She fired several shots, but they did nothing more than leave holes in the mare's white cape. The best shot so far just grazed Silvermane's leg.
Silvermane kept dodging the deadly lasers. Her eyes widened a little when the spell finished charging. With one final flash of her horn, the magic vanished from the pointy bone and reappeared as a thick pink disk on Samus's chest.
"This is Boomer's bomb!" Samus exclaimed when she saw the pink disk.
"Oh! You know Boomy? Then you'll probably know just how potent that little bomb is."
Before Samus could respond, the bomb detonated in a massive pink explosion that could be seen from Ponyville. Silvermane had overcharged her bomb, but found herself uninjured since it was still a controlled blast. The explosion had left a big crater, and in the middle of said crater laid the battered form of a Power Suit. Silvermane took a look at it before letting herself collapse, panting heavily; a few coughs escaped her throat. Needless to say, she was exhausted.
It was much to the masked mare's distress that the Hunter rose and looked at her. Even behind the green glass, she could feel the anger in Samus's eyes. The armored human looked like it was struggling to keep afoot, but her arm was steady. The Hunter aimed her cannon at Silvermane. The mare was too exhausted to even speak, so she just closed her eyes and awaited her end.
"NOW!" a voice shouted, and not a moment later, two spiraling rainbows were being directed at Samus. Silvermane opened her eyes to see six mares, one of them Twilight Sparkle, as the origin of the rainbow energy.
OXOXO
Twilight ran as fast as she could, which proved just barely enough to keep up with the ponies that called themselves Land Scout and Misty Breeze. Land Scout she already knew, but Misty Breeze had turned to be a pleasant new encounter. Behind her, Zecora kept up; and Spike was riding on her back. She also noticed a hawk was flying overhead.
As she ran, Twilight couldn't help but wonder if Silvermane would be all right. She had heard news about the mysterious masked hero and her prowess in combat magic, but she also witnessed the firepower Samus possessed. Taking down a creature from Tartarus was a testament to that firepower.
No one spoke until they eventually reached the cage holding the Elements of Harmony.
"We're here, Miss Sparkle." Land Scout announced.
"Twilight!" all the mares inside exclaimed in pleasant surprise. All except Rainbow Dash, who was still knocked out. Zecora and Spike joined Twilight, followed by Land Scout and Misty Breeze.
"Misty! You came back!" Applejack said in delight.
"Of course! It's my duty." replied the light blue pegasus.
"Girls! Are you all okay?" Twilight asked worriedly. She noticed the cracks on Rarity's horn. "Rarity! What happened to your horn?!"
"Samus was very thorough with her hunt. She cracked my horn to prevent me from using magic." Rarity answered. "But don't worry about me, darling. I'll be fine in a week or so."
"We're all a little battered, but fine. Don't you worry none, sugarcube."
"Ok. Brace yourselves; I've had it subtlety." Twilight said as her horn glowed purple.
"What are you doing?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Getting you out of there."
The cage floated on the air for a bit. Twilight struggled a little as the bars began to bend. A little grunt from the unicorn and the cage was torn to pieces. All the trapped mares fell to the ground. The fall was enough to wake up Rainbow Dash. At their freedom, all the friends had a big group hug; some even shed tears of joy.
"So what now?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Do we go kick Samus's flank?"
Twilight's face had a troubled expression. "That we do." All her friends nodded.
"Then follow me." ordered Land Scout.
All ponies, zebra, and dragon followed the dust-colored stallion. It was time to use the Elements once more.
OXOXO
Princess Luna was concentrating her magic. She had witnessed Samus's ship fly around Ponyville, but it suddenly vanished. She was flying around trying to find it. If the ship could be neutralized, dealing with Samus would become much easier.
She was flying when she felt a disturbance. She couldn't exactly tell what it was, but it felt unnatural. However, the feeling left almost as soon as it arrived. She shook her head and continued with her task.
Luck smiled upon her, for a little after the feeling went away, she heard a low whirling noise. She turned and saw nothing, but a magic field began to form around her horn. The magic field quickly expanded, visible only to her eyes. Within the field, she could see the outline of an invisible gunship poised over the center of Ponyville.
She smiled and dissipated the field. She took hold of the ship in her magic, but cannon protruded from the side of the ship and began shooting at her. Luna barely managed to avoid getting blasted and made some distance from herself and the ship. The cannons kept on trying to shoot the princess down. Luna got as much distance from the ship as she could without letting it go from her sight.
The dark alicorn changed tactics a little. She surrounded the ship in a magic bubble. The cannons reactivated and attempted to blast her, but the shield absorbed every shot. With the ship safely inside her protecting bubble, Luna took hold o the ship in her magic once again. It was hard work, but little by little Luna was able to lower the ship to the ground.
She was halfway down when a loud explosion caught her attention in the distance. It was almost enough to let her lose her concentration and let go of the ship, but she managed to do it. The explosion was very powerful. She could almost feel the shockwave it must've created. Luna thought it was a miracle the forest around was still standing. She wanted to go and find out what that was, but she still had a job to do. She redoubled her efforts and eventually brought the ship to ground level.
As soon as the ship touched the ground, dark chains shot from the ground and tied the ship. Luna summoned more and more chains until she felt sure the ship would be unable to rise. Just as additional security measure, the moon princess erected another barrier around the Hunter's transport.
As soon as she finished, Princess Luna shot to the air and to the place she saw the explosion. "Please be safe, my little ponies."
OXOXO
It was only thanks to years of experience that Samus acted just in time to avoid getting blasted by the Elements of Harmony. "Again!" she heard Twilight yell. Samus watched as the rainbow energy rose again and prepared to jump. What the Hunter didn't expect was to get her body locked in place. She noticed her armor was glowing pink. A side-glance at Silvermane confirmed the hero was still not fully out of the battle.
Unable to move, Samus could do nothing more than see the rainbow energy wash over her. A translucent image of Screwball emerged from her chest. Samus saw as the pink mare twisted and morphed until her body resembled that of a draconequus. Samus watched the image of Discord scream in agony as it slowly vanished, leaving no trace behind. She also barely registered the six mares gasp at the revelation.
The power of Harmony continued to wash over Samus. She felt as if someone torn a piece of her brain and twisted it. She felt all her ideas shuffle and reorganize themselves. The whole process was incredibly painful to her body and strenuous on her mind. Samus let out intense scream of pain as the energy continued manipulating her psyche. Finally, it was over. The last thing Samus took notice of was a message in her visor.
"Harmony energy assimilated. Harmony Beam acquired."
Then, the mental exertion took its toll on Samus and everything went black.
Harmony beam, now I have to see this. Awaiting next chapter.
-Mis
Ouch. The Elements really are dangerous !
Edit : BTW, thank you for writing a new chapter so quickly! It actually means a lot to me!
And now...
Fucking discord.
2988253 Agreed. Ought to be interesting.
Though I have a good guess who Silvermane is, I'm not a fan of that whole turn of events at all. Seriously, suddenly a unicorn comes along that is totally overpowered (despite, if my guess is right, normally being pretty pathetic), better than any of the mane6 and kicks Samus' ass without much trouble? And is also apparently able to do things like move and hold Samus without getting the magic drained? Yeah right
Ohshitson, Rainbow beam acquired.
I wonder if Samus will actually get her proverbial 'child' back, and the dangers it comes with.
Metroids eat life, Equestria = full of life
shit.
Ok, I'm pretty pissed off. Considering how obvious it was that Celestia had intefered Ponyville should be a crater. Samus may be many things but she is NOT an idiot. That with the fact that she doesn't play around with her enemies.
Okay, seriously? The unicorn from back in the forest got drained while trying to hold her, and Trixie doesn't? What the hell?
Samus was beaten way too easily.
2988938Dude, the whole thing with Trixie being Silvermane was pretty damn convincing since she was first introduced into the story, and NOW it fully cements that fact in. You're still unsure about it?
2989276 Well "a good guess" implies that I'm pretty much sure, I just don't like her being so unexplicably OP, especially compared to all the others.
Screw attack that mother fucker!
Screw Attack
I thought the chapter was very well done and I don't know why everyone is complaining.
Finally! I hated seeing Samus be manipulated like that I'm glad the mane6 saw but....not sure how easily Samus is gonna be forgiven over this. Not sure what to make of the new beam. Guess I'll have to wait patiently for more
MOARRRRR
i'm gonna say this once, i thought you where a decent writer i really did and i was enjoying your story until you broke the OP rule
congrats you released a mary sue into your story
you really don't get it do you the chozo tech is part magical on it's own, magic is not a strength agianst the power suit it's a weakness. added to the fact you noted yourself her metroid dna means she absorbs the ambient energy.
now let me point something important out,
samus is able to go toe to toe with the feircest races in the galaxy because she is at the highest possible point of human fitnesse, she kills space pirates like nothing when the species generaly wiped human out like childsplay. she was trained in combat from the time she was 4, tactics since she was 6 she studied under the chozo who where in there prime the greatest combatants in the galaxy. samus could probably disable celestia in under twelve minutes.
not a good character..
2988991 baby was a hybridized metroid created to eat X-parasights life in general was safe.
2988938
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2989111
2989276
Discord, causing havoc among the readers I see?
i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b520/TJbrena/DiscordBusiness_zps812745b1.png
YES! I KNEW IT! I win ze bet!
2989419 Because Trixie being able to defeat Samus so easily is wrong on many levels, including directly contradicting things established earlier in the story (Samus draining the magic of whoever tries to cast a spell on her, which should've worked at least when Trixie manipulated her arm cannon and then when she held her still), and also including just one of the worst tropes of fanfiction when a character is introduced who is unbeliveably badass and excels where the main characters did not and also saves them. I know it's not really a new character, but it's a completely new and sorta clashing side to the old character, which may be even worse, because that whole thing just doesn't fit with Trixie, at all.
Yeah I loved this story up until now but I didn't like where this chapter went whatsoever. I'm actually hoping the author redoes it or something. I'm not sure I'm okay with this take on Trixie. Her being a secret superhero (or whatever Silvermane was, I forgot) is kinda interesting, if random and out of place, but her being so OP I just can not accept - it goes completely against her character to be so competent.
Lolno.
Redo this chapter, toss this "Slivermane" into the garbage and make Samus kick-ass again.
This chapter was a huge disappointment. .
Wow. This chapter is one of the most fun I've had writing and it almost gets torn to pieces because Samus lost. I guess I have some explaining/whining to do. Let's start. People's complaint were:
*Samus got defeated too easily.- I didn't think it was 'too easily'. Samus would've done much better, true. But let's not forget she wasn't really in her best shape. She has been having several mental debates, so of course that means she's not totally focused. She's going to blunder more than once. Not to mention she uses deadly force in the games, whereas here she is holding back. Also, Samus wasn't really defeated by Silvermane; she got blasted by the Elements. Silvermane just helped in preventing Samus from evading. If Twilight and her friends hadn't arrived, she would defeated Silvermane quite easily. Silvermane just stalled Samus enough for the Elements to get there, even if that wasn't her plan.
*Samus didn't drain Silvermane's magic.- I thought I left it clear that it takes a little time for Samus to start the draining process, but I guess I was wrong. Samus takes a little time while in contact with magic being directly used at her to start draining. That's why she won't be able to just absorb bolts and whatever spell is used against her. Silvermane used her magic on her for very short times. How long would it take to just twist an arm with magic? Not long enough to let Samus drain her. The same with her being immobilized; it was long enough to let the rainbow of harmony reach Samus, but not long enough to start the leeching.
*Silvermane, who apparently everyone realizes is Trixie, is OP.- Yeah, a bit. I am going to explain that power next chapter, as well as why she's a masked hero in this story. We haven't really seen much in the show about her. We know she travels and that she puts a show, and from what I could see in her appearances, she's a quick thinker. Well, I like the idea of her gaining knowledge in her travels; she learns a lot of thing on the road. The road for Trixie is like books for Twilight, if you get my drift. I also mentioned I see her as a quick thinker, which leads to my next point.
*Samus got defeated too easily by Trixie.- Having faced several danger on the road (again, my headcanon Trixie), Trixie will have learned to observe and act accordingly to her observations. Samus has so far fought:
-Armor-wearing guards. Samus attacked them with electricity, so no surprise why she defeated them so easily.
-Spearhead, a pony without magic. He was obviously not going to be much of a challenge.
-Shining Armor. The guy was doing ok until he risked close combat.
-The Mane Six. Ponies with no real combat training or experience, at least for the most part. Rarity has shown knowledge of martial arts, but she avoids physical conflict. Rainbow Dash seems to karate, but in this case, her recklessness and even her own loyalty were used against her; Samus attacked her psyche. Twilight has too much magic, but I doubt Celestia would instruct her in the arts of combat. Applejack put up a good fight, but she was helped by Big Mac. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy didn't even attempt to fight her. They were emotionally devastated.
So, after easily capturing five mares and fighting a very one-sided fight with Twilight, not to mention relatively incompetent guards, why would Samus assume Silvermane would give her trouble? Samus was just not expecting Silvermane to be so crafty, and that's why she was initially overwhelmed by her. As I said before, had the Elements not arrive, Samus would've eventually find out Trixie's tactics and act accordingly. Just like Trixie did with her.
To summarize this point, Trixie's quick thinking plus Samus's mental strain is what made of this battle what it is.
*Whining.- Trixie is my favorite pony, so I'll write her however I please. The story is mine, so I'll write it however I please. Deal with it. If you don't like it, you can go read this instead.
I think that's about it. If you can understand my reasoning, then thank you for your time and understanding. If you don't, I still hope you find the rest of the story enjoyable.
Now you have earned my thumbs up like. I've also had thoughts that Trixie is more than what she seemed in the show...
2993333
Take a thumbs up. I love when an author stands up for his writing choices.
Also to everyone else... Sinve when was Trixie incompetent?
2993707 Since always. Don't you know what happened when Trixie first arrived in Ponyville?
Which brings me to my second point,
2993333
While I can appreciate how much you like Trixie, her actions now and when she first arrived in Ponyville seem to have a massive contrast. I will be interested to see how you patch this all up in the next chapter...
Whew, I'm slightly glad to say that its over. Though at the same time, I feel a bad for Samus, even though its now been revealed that Samus was being manipulated by a version of Discord things are going to be quite difficult for her.
She hurt a lot people/ponies and possibly shattered any and all trust that she had from them.
I know for certain that she might have a REALLY hard time getting trust back from the Apple Family, especially after what she did to Big Mac and AJ.
Oh snap I almost forgot!! WHAT ABOUT SCOOTALOO!?!? I hope that she'll be alright.
2993333
great story i really like it. and trixie is my favorite pony too. but i think she got lot of training ...A LOT...after the ursa minor incident(and it looks like Bruce wayne's training travels before being batman) so lets see what happens next. i want to see it
2994395
I think you confuse incompetence with arrogance. If you watched the episodes, both Trixie episodes, You see that she is a very accomplished magician.
I remember exactly what happened. She showed half of the main cast up with her magical talents, Then failed to defeat a giant monster that was the size of a two story house.
Then later on returned and showed us an expanded magical repitoire in Magical Duel. And you can't call alicorn amulet because it taught her no new magic, just gave her more power. seeing as she still had the electric spell after the amulet was destroyed, it's likely she knows every spell she used that episode, but is just incapable of using them on such a grand scale on her own.
So, no. The show has never shown Trixie to be incompetent. Arrogant, yes; a little foolish, yes; but flat out incompetent... No. That's fanon Trixie born from dislike of the character. Her entire portrayal is that of a good magician who could be better if they had humility.
By what measure do you claim her incompetent?
Another great chapter, though like many I do have some problems with it. Though instead of simply typing "OP!" I'm going to try and explain my viewpoints and so on.
Firstly, you mentioned earlier that when anyone grabs Samus with magic she starts draining it, and as Trixie only grabbed her at the end for a few seconds, that's not a problem for me. My problem starts with Boomer's spell that Trixie used. I believe you made it clear earlier in the story that it was a spell Boomer created, so how would Trixie know it?
Second: While I can believe that Trixie would have picked up many spells and gotten stronger on the road, especially if she was focusing exclusively on combat to fight Twilight, I can see her getting stronger. Except when she first came to Ponyville. she was shown as being rather... egotistical. My case in point being when the Ursa Minor rampaged; as she was faced with a possibly life-or-death scenario, and responded with a tiny cloud of what was essentially static and a small piece of rope. So while I can believe her getting stronger, It is a bit farfetched that she became that strong that quickly.
My main gripe is with Trixie's "mimicking" of Samus' beams and super missile. They don't use any kind of magic, so how would anyone suddenly be able to copy them by simply looking at them? The pirates were able to, but they had raided an unknown number of chozo ruins and fought her for at least two decades, and even then they could only reverse engineer some of her equipment. The idea that a pony could see them for maybe a few minutes and suddenly be able to copy their effects perfectly is inconceivable. And use even said that her talent is illusion; last I checked, recreating a special type of missile after only viewing the outside of it for a few seconds and its effects does not fall under "illusion".
Now Samus having a harder fight I can buy at least. Trixie would have picked up much more combat experience than the average pony from her travels and constant training, and Samus was in a very addled state, otherwise she could have just used a Sonic Boom to obliterate Trixie seeing as how all of her supplies were restocked. None of the mane six had much combat experience, even though they have fought many foes.
I think the main problem many are having is that you've spent just about all of the story so far setting up how deadly Samus is and how nothing is a match for her, then you turn that around by suddenly having Trixie rush in to save the day.
While I'm thinking about it, Trixie started heading for the "meteor" at the beginning of the story. How did she finally get near it several weeks later? And if she was in the Everfree and headed for it, why did she detour so much and stop at that town and possibly a few others?
Nitpicks aside, the chapter was still well written, though like any story in existence it could use an editor in some parts. Awaiting the next part where our questions will hopefully be answered and we may leave this accursed cliffhanger.
2996448 I appreciate you explanations. And I'm starting to like giving explanations, so here goes:
1- I was going to mention this later in the story, but screw it; it's nothing big. Trixie knows Boomer. My idea was that Boomer taught Trixie her bomb spell and Trixie taught Boomer her fireworks spell. Trade knowledge for knowledge. That's why I had Boomer say he likes fireworks.
2- This could be debated. Trixie could have low magic reserves, since she spent the day doing her magic show. Trixie could have still be trying to put up a show. Trixie could have been so shocked her magic didn't work properly. Trixie could be doing strong magic, but the Ursa was just too much. There are a lot of arguments I could use, but I'll just be honest and straight: I like Trixie too much, so she'll be powerful in my mind. Is that professional? Maybe not, but it's ultimately my story and I have fun portraying Trixie that way. I may sound petty, but the point of this story is to have fun.
I could point that most dark stories twist the characters to make them evil, or they have been evil all along but were hiding it. But how about this? You said Trixie becoming so powerful in such a short time is farfetched, you didn't say impossible; also, it's been like a year, so that's plenty of time. Still, I like Trixie, so Trixie will be my Trixie.
Mimicking is not the same as replicating. Her magic condensed and formed an explosive spell that looks like a Super Missile. It's not really a Super Missile. As for the magic beams, imagine water from a hose. You put your finger in the nozzle to increase the pressure in the hose, making the stream go faster, but reducing its width. I just applied that idea in the magic bolts. Leaf insects aren't really leaves, to put it in a way.
Trixie, being a traveling performer, would need to make stops at towns to get restocked. And, well, she's the 'superhero' that saved Marelin. Also, Samus hasn't spent that much time in Equestria.
Now don't take this the wrong way; I actually liked your comment a lot. That's why I responded to it. Its well-explained comments like these that stir my brain and make the creative juices start flowing. Thank you for your time and effort, my good sir/madam.
2995985 You just made my respect for you increase even more.
2995985
Firstly, Magic Duel is in season 3, while this story is set before that.
Secondly, I don't mean to call Trixie fully incompetent, but she has shown that her arrogance highly clouds her judgement and to go from having worse or equal magical skills to Twilight and then suddenly becoming completely OP and saving everyone seems like a massive shift in character and competence that doesn't really seem to fit.
2999953
Cusi's Trixie has had experiences that canon Trixie hasnt. For christ sake let him build the character. She didnt suddenly do anything, its been a year. She had a year to train, a year to tamper that arrogance, a year to learn to bite back fear. Readers need to learn to stop flipping their shit at every little difference and let the writer write. At the end of the day if if holes are present, and if things arent explained. Then you complain.
The story started before magical duel, but is this not the time frame of magical duel right here? Seeing as its been a long time and Trixie has returned for revenge, when the story started is irrelevant because they are in S3s timeframe now.
Even if they werent would it matter? Weve no idea when Trixie learned those new spells or if she new them all along.
Because all you seem to care for is your characterization of Trixie. Thats why it doesnt fit. It doest fit your idea of the character. Shes OP? I dont think you know what OP means. She was losing. At most she was really annoying Samus. Trixie wouldve been out of gas before Samus even broke a real sweat. Throughout the entire encounter Samus was fight basic and with nearly minimal force.
2998241
I had some measure of respect from you before that post?
Thank you I guess?
Time for some payback you chimerian son of a bitch.
This was a good chapter, although I was kind of disappointed that you took the easy way out with Discord. I was really hoping to see more in the way of character development from Samus and some kind of deeper plan, but it looks like it was not meant to be.
On the comparison between Trixie and Twilight, while Twilight does have tons of raw power and a wide variety of abilities, she takes a lot of time to ready most of them and can only really do one thing at a time. Trixie on the other hand has a lot less power, but it is still more than enough for most jobs that do not involve frontal assaults against multi-ton magical bears and she can bring it to bear very quickly while casting multiple spells simultaneously. This makes her far more dangerous that Twilight in a real fight because she can get and keep the initiative with ease thanks to her fast casting while maintaining defensive illusions (and probably make herself invisible to boot because invisibility is just another way to manipulate light) to prevent effective counterattacks.
3039416 Not my property. You can keep it anyway.
damn you cliff hangers... DAMN YOU!
3126062 There are these things called 'mistakes'. My previous experiences with them involved people pointing them out in a not-douchey way so I can correct them.
I also recalled 'tolerance' being part of the brony code. But as said before, I make mistakes, so who can say for sure?
First and fore most I would like to thank you for finally getting me off my lazy flank, and actually making a fimfiction account just so I could like and comment on this story. Truly this is a work of art. Metroid Fusion was the first video game I ever played. I frikin loved it. I used to get chills at night from the SAX. When you hear the music stop, followed by the unmistakeable sound of footsteps, it does stuff to ya man. I got metroid prime when I was six, played it for eight hours straight, my dad had to pause because my eyes were so bloodshot, it literally hurt to keep them open. Metroid was a large part of my early life, so I'm sure you can relate to my enthusiasm about this story. So kudos to you man. Keep the story coming.
Don't Mind Me, Just coming by to reread this. I'm on a Metroid binge.
3064589 But..The BABY!
what happen next chapter?
I CALLED IT! I FREAKEN CALLED IT! I knew the suit would be strong enough to absorb the elements of harmony power being the suit leeched magic. Oh the possibilities.
MOAR!!!
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In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Gamer, I command you to leave this place! Leave, and never return!
dam
So, Samus was brainwashed, then cured and brainwashed again
3200823 Dude, I know that feel. SA-X still scares the st out of me, too. Honestly, they need to remake that game. And give SA-X better AI. The only reason it isn't scarier is because of Artificial Stupidity.
5564976 Good news? Good news?!? They just killed Screwball! When Discord finds out that his daughter is dead, there will be Tartarus to pay.