"If I am to be perfectly honest with you, I did not expect this to go as well as it did," Ahuizolt said to the king of the ghosts as the two of them walked through the streets of a large city, which was in the process of being decimated by ghosts. All around them ponies were screaming as thousands of spirits rained down upon them and the royal guard stationed in the city did everything in their power to fight back.
"You would do well to trust me, Ahuizolt. After all, I have done nothing but achieve what you asked," King Spiral replied in a strong voice, one that Ahuizolt had noticed was getting stronger. The treasure hunter also noticed that what was once a ghostly ball was now taking a form, one that was looking more and more like a pony's with each passing day.
"Do we really need all of these hostages, though?" Ahuizolt asked as numerous ghosts started to round up the massive amounts of ponies, trapping them within nets that the king had made to counter act the ponies magic. "Because soon the dungeons will not be enough to hold all of them, along with our special guests. Why not slay some of them and add them to your army?"
"The souls of the living are far more powerful than the spirits of the dead," King Spiral replied. "Do you know why King Sol gave his life to stop me?"
"Because you unleashed ghosts upon his land?"
"Aside from that. He did it because the last time I tried to take over the world, I didn't have the full strength of the undead at my command," Spiral stated before he watched a Pegasus get knocked out of the sky and quickly thrown into one of the cages. "There is one ghost that I was never able to call upon, despite my own phenomenal powers over the undead. A being that could defeat those princesses and their six champions with ease."
"Well now you've gone and peaked my interest," Ahuizolt replied, a thin smile crossing his face as he gazed at all of the captives. "But let me guess, the only way to summon this undead champion of yours is to take all of the souls of these ponies and put them into him. Or something along those lines."
"You are not as dumb as your ugly face led me to believe. Yes, with the strength of the living, I shall be able to revive the greatest monster of the dead. An ancient being that possessed pony magic greater than anything the princesses have even thought of," King Spiral said as the mask seemed to smile even wider, despite the entire mask being made of stone. "A being that rivaled even the power of Tirek and his brother. A Titan."
"A Titan? I thought that they were just a myth. A species that was used in fiction as some sort of unstoppable challenge?" Ahuizolt asked, getting a chuckle out of the king.
"That is what the world would have you believe. But there is so much truth to the legend. And if I can have him walk this world once more, then there will be...well, let me just say that your rule would be absolute," the king said with a modest bow to Ahuizolt. "After all, how I can I forgot the kindness of the being that freed me from my eternal entrapment?"
"Answer: you can't. And I am glad to see that you will be keeping up your bargain," Ahuizolt said with a laugh as the ghosts finished rounding up the ponies in the nearby area. "But why are we here and not in Canterlot? I would love nothing more than to watch as the princesses and their forces fell to our power."
"Because, as I stated, we are not strong enough to attack the stronghold of Equestria just yet," King Spiral reminded the hunter. "The princesses power is still strong enough to fend off my army and us. And I do not need to tell you what will happen if we lose to the princesses?"
"It will either be an eternity in the sun, in stone, in ice or in a coffin. The princesses really like to trap things, don't they?" Ahuizolt pointed out.
"Ugh, tell me about it. Do you know how many villains are trapped in Equestria alone? You think Tirek and Sombra are bad, you will not believe what else is trapped within these lands," the king said before a wicked idea came to him. "Perhaps, once I have freed the Titan, I will raise some of the others that are trapped. Perhaps it will make for quite the spectacle."
(]o[)
Limestone narrowed her eyes so that she could keep track of Absol moving through the forest and even though he was the only living being in the forest, she still had trouble keeping track of him. He moved like a blur, one that sliced through the berry trees that were located around the forest, trees that Limestone had never seen in her entire life.
'Of course, the only trees I've ever really seen are the ones on the farm, so what do I know?' Limestone asked herself as Absol leapt from treetop to treetop with ease, barely disturbing the snow that rested atop the trees. The blizzard had cleared the night before, but due to Marble still being slightly weakened, Limestone had managed to convince Absol to give them a little more time before they left. That had told her a few things about Absol.
'He's not as cold as he believes to be. Apparently despite him wanting to put on a cold and uncaring air, he still has to help others,' Limestone mentally recalled, crossing her hooves as she laid down on the cliff above Absol, crossing her hooves as a smile crossed her face. 'And, with the right wording, I can get him to do little things that I want. Of course, I'll have to see if he'll take on my challenge. That's the only way I'm going to be able to get him to work with us.'
The Limestone thought of her family, none of which she knew where they were aside from Marble. She couldn't begin to imagine the pain or horror they were going through and she knew that every second she waited in Absol's home was another second they were in danger. But she also knew that she stood no chance against the ghosts, yet Absol did. So she needed him.
"You've been out here a long time," Marble said to her sister as she walked out of the cavern, sitting down next to Limestone and joined her in watching Absol zip around the forest floor below them. "Wow he's incredibly fast. Faster than pretty much any pony that I've ever met."
"I know. And that gives me an idea," Limestone muttered to herself, but once those words left her lips Marble let out the faintest sound that nopony else would have paid attention to. But Limestone knew her sister and she knew that that sound meant that Marble was upset with her. When she gave her sister a look to show that she had heard, Marble hid behind her mane.
"Sister, when it comes to the farm you know what's best, but whenever we're away from the farm you seem to be better at making other ponies angry than you actually do making friends," Marble pointed out, getting Limestone to nod in agreement. "So whatever you have planned...please don't do it. Don't tick off the one being that's helped us since the ghosts attacked."
"I know you mean well, sis, but I can't. I have to do this," Limestone said before she looked to the side to see Absol walking up the cliff towards them, his face as cold and distant as ever. He had more of his berries with his pack, most of which were new to Limestone.
"I don't like that look upon your face," Absol said with a slight hint of hesitation in his voice, one that got Limestone to crack a smile.
"Barely known me a day and already you can read my mind?" Limestone asked with a smile, but once again she was met with a cold glare. She sighed as the smile left her face, before it set like stone and she glared up at Absol. "Alright you, I want to make a deal with you."
"Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it," Absol replied as he started to walk past Limestone, but she placed a hoof on his shoulder to hold him in place. Absol looked down at the hoof with surprise in his eyes, amazed that Limestone held so much strength within her.
"Okay, you don't have to listen. I just thought I'd let you know that my sister and I have decided that we're going to crash here for a few months," Limestone said in a casual tone, though inwardly she was secretly delighted to see that her words made Absol visibly distraught at her words. "Yeah, with all the ghosts running around, we figured that we crash here for a while until it all blew over. You don't mind, do you?"
"I believe that I have some issues with what you've said," Absol replied in a controlled voice, yet Limestone was able to hear the faint undertones of irritation in his voice. That meant he didn't like the idea of them staying there and they irritated him. That meant he did have emotions. "And I believe that I told the both of you that I don't want you here. Now, if you are both able to, leave."
"Okay, I get kicking me out. I've been a jerk and haven't exactly been the best guest. Kicking me out makes sense," Limestone agreed before she grabbed hold of Marble and pulled her right in front of Absol's gaze. "But can you really say no to her? I mean look at her, look at her sad eyes. Can you really kick this poor pony out into the cold?"
Absol looked like he was about to say that it would be easy to, but to Limestone's relief Marble caught on to what she was doing and flashed Absol her sad eyes. Those eyes had broken the strongest wills that Limestone knew, and, after a moment, Absol let out a loud sigh and averted his gaze from her, telling Limestone that Marble had succeeded.
"Now of course, we will be willing to leave if you can beat me in something. Say...a race?" Limestone asked Absol, who snapped his head back towards her with a raised eyebrow. "Down the cliff to where that first berry tree is. If you get down there first, me and my sister will leave without any further fuss. We'll be gone."
"But if you win?" Absol asked, having already caught on to what Limestone was planning.
"Then you have to help my sister and I deal with these ghosts that have plagued the land. The ghosts that took our families and I want to get them back," Limestone replied in a voice that made Absol raise an eyebrow in surprise at her sudden cold attitude. "So what do you say, white blur? Care to see if you're as fast as you look to be?"
Absol narrowed his eyes at Limestone's words, knowing that she was goading him into the challenge. He also knew that he didn't need to accept it. But there was something about Limestone's attitude that made him really want to beat Limestone at her own game. He was also completely confident in his speed. He wasn't the fastest Pokémon, but he knew that he was faster than her. He'd seen it when she was running from the ghosts.
"Very well, Limestone. I will beat you at your own game," Absol promised Limestone, who gave him a coy smile in reply. She then walked over to her sister, who was looking at Limestone as if she was crazy.
"Okay, that worked out nicely," Limestone said to Marble before the two sisters glanced over at Absol, who was stretching out his legs.
"Sister, you must be crazy. You've seen what he can do and how fast he is. Challenging him to a race is a foolish idea," Marble said with far more intensity than Limestone had ever seen her sister speak with.
"I challenged him to a race because I knew he was confident in his speed. If it had been anything else, he might have doubted his skill and backed out," Limestone revealed to her sister with a grim look on her face. "And we need him to come with us. So just trust me. Because one way or another, we leave here today."
Marble gave her sister another look as Limestone walked over beside Absol, who was standing at the top of the path down the side of the cliff. The two stood side by side while Marble meekly walked over in front of the both of them. Absol cast a quick glance at Limestone to see that she had an unreadable look upon her face, one that slightly unnerved him. Marble then raised her hoof and both racers crouched down.
"On your mark...get set...go!"
CRACK!
The moment the words go left Marble's mouth, Limestone spun to her side and sucker punched Absol right in the face. With strength that could push boulders Limestone drove Absol right into the ground, where his eyes glazed over while he tried to process what had just happened. After a few moments he felt his senses return to him and he pushed himself back up to his feet, but as he looked around he found to his fury what had happened.
Marble stood off to the side looking at him with a look of horror on her face, shocked by what her sister had done. That same sister was standing at the bottom of the cliff side, right next to the tree that was the goal. From the bruises and bumps on her body, it seemed that she had thrown herself down the cliff instead of running down the path. But what infuriated him the most was her stare, a cold stare that betrayed no emotion.
With a growl of anger Absol zipped down the rocky face of the cliff and stood face to face with Limestone a moment later, his eyes blazing with fury while her eyes were as cold as ice. For a long moment the two stood glaring at each other, before Absol seethed and glared her down.
"What. Was. That?" he asked, using every ounce of self control to keep from unleashing his dark power upon the pony before him.
"Me winning. Like I said I would. Now you come with us," she replied with a look that was unmovable.
"That was not winning. You sucker punched me. That is not how a race goes!" Absol snapped, his anger getting the better of him. To his surprise once more, Limestone didn't falter under his piercing red eyes.
"Are you upset that you didn't win? That I knocked you flat and won the race? Tough," Limestone spat back, meeting Absol's glare with one of her own. "My family has been taken by ghosts. The families of my friends are missing. My own sister could be fighting for her life this very moment. Everypony I love is in danger and I'm stuck here. And you are the only being I've met that can deal with this threat. I did what I needed to so that you would come with us. You think you're upset? Try losing your entire family aside from your sister to an enemy you couldn't stop. Try being me."
Absol's rage didn't dissipate after her words, but his reason and other emotions managed to get his rage back under control. He stared down at the mare for a long moment, understanding her reasoning for what she had done. And, though he would never admit it, he was a little impressed by her willingness to flat out punch him to save her family.
"So I guess the only question now is are you going to keep your word? Are you going to help us save our families? Or are you just going to hide out here all by yourself while the world around you goes to crap?" Limestone asked while poking a hoof into Absol's chest, glaring into his eyes with a rage that could have matched his own. "So what is it going to be?"
Absol's response was to smirk at her before he leap back up the cliff side, using the rocks as a shortcut to reach the cavern up top. He walked by Marble without looking at her before he vanished from sight. Marble looked from where he had vanished to her sister, who was seething with rage as she glare up at where her sister was standing. Limestone motioned for Marble to join her, which she did after taking a few minutes to walk down the path.
"Stupid, no good Pokémon!" Limestone snarled as she bucked the side of a tree with her hind hooves, dumping a ton of snow onto herself. She burst forth from the snow with a roar of rage, before she managed to get control of herself and started to stalk away from the cavern. "Come on sis, we need to get moving. Those ghosts have probably gotten a good ways away and we need to make up as much ground as we can."
"But what about the ghosts?" Marble asked her sister, who snarled in reply. "They might still be out there and waiting for us. If we go off of Absol's territory..."
"We'll think of something, but right now we need to focus on saving our family," Limestone replied with a hard heart as she continued to walk on. But before she could get too far a pack filled with berries landed at her hooves, getting her to stop with confusion long enough for her sister to walk over to her.
"You might need that if you hope to survive."
Limestone and Marble looked up right in time to see Absol land right in front of the pair, covering them in snow that he kicked up from his landing. Limestone wiped the snow off of her face with a look, but Marble gazed upon the Pokémon with shining eyes. Absol had another pack filled with berries slung over his back, while he wore a dry smirk upon his face that hid how he was really feeling.
"You're coming with us?" Marble asked in a hopeful tone, her eyes lighting up when Absol nodded.
"I keep my word, even when I have to keep it because someone cheated," Absol replied with a look to Limestone, who stuck out her tongue. "So I guess that I will have to escort the two of you until you are reunited with your families. I am at your service," Absol said with a sarcastic bow.
"Yeah yeah, enough of your sass. Let's go," Limestone said as she walked past Absol, who rose from his bow and followed after her, with Marble taking up the lead. "We're still new to this parts, so we'll need you to guide us until we reach civilization."
"That I can do easily. I've lived her for years and know my way around these parts," Absol said as the three of them crossed the boarder to his territory. Both Limestone and Marble waited to be attacked once more, but to their surprise the ghosts never showed. The fear of Absol kept them at bay. "Also, Limestone?"
"Yeah?"
"You throw a mean punch."