//------------------------------// // Mentally Broken // Story: The Disaster Pokemon // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// A flash of darkness sliced apart the section of wall that Limestone had been standing in front of in the blink of an eye, just narrowly missing the pony that had barely managed to get out of the way. Sol smirked to himself as he watched Absol slowly turn towards Limestone with his horn cloaked in darkness, preparing the murder the mare that he had spent so long protecting. Limestone didn't know what to do. She couldn't believe that Absol was under the control of Spiral, but his actions towards her made it clear that he was. She knew that in the state he was in she fight have to fight him, but what she didn't know was if that was a battle she could actually win. Nor did she know if she could bring herself to hurt the pokemon she had come to care for so much. "Flee, ponies! Stay away from this battle! Before Absol turns his attention towards you!" Sol warned the ponies watching the battle. The ponies heeded his advice and ran off screaming, leaving Limestone alone with Spiral and his mind controlled drones. Once all of the ponies were gone, Sol let out a chuckle before he held up a hoof, momentarily stopping Absol's assault on Limestone. "Come now Limestone, surely you realize that you stand little chance against Absol. While he may no longer be immune to my power, his own strength over darkness is formidable still. You'd be wise to give up." "Sorry, but you've got the wrong Pie. My sister Maud is the wise one of us. I'm the one that beats down everypony that dares to harm those I care about," Limestone snarled. Sol waved his hoof with a sigh and Absol lunged forward, resuming his attack. Limestone watched his movements, waiting until Absol was right on top of her before she reached out and intercepted his horn with one of her hooves. With Absol momentarily locked in place, she let out a bellow before she prepared to slam a hoof into his face and stop him. Yet when the moment came to strike him down, she found that her resolve had abandoned her. "I...can't. Not to you," she whispered softly, letting Absol go. The moment he was free Absol drove his shoulder into Limestone's chest and slammed her up against the wall, pinning her in place. Sol shook his head with a small chuckle at her actions. "Oh Limestone, you truly wear your heart on your sleeve. You had the chance to release the being you care so much for from being my servant, but instead your own weakness holds you back. And because of that, now Absol will have to live with the fact that he killed you for the rest of his life," Sol laughed menacingly. "Absol...finish her." "Absol, please. Don't," Limestone begged as she locked eyes with Absol, trying one last time to reach the being she knew wouldn't fail her. For a moment Absol and Limestone stared into each other eyes, one set blank and the other desperate. Then the front of the castle of Canterlot exploded into a shower of bricks and stone. Sol let out a curse before a giant chunk of rock crashed down onto him, burying him underneath of its weight. The princesses and the Ambassadors constructed barriers of magic to protect themselves, but at the same time they rooted themselves in place. A stray chunk of rock caught Absol in the side of his head, knocking him to the ground. Any of the stones that came near Limestone were crushed by her hooves, but before she had the chance to wonder what was happening, Marble came running out of what used to be the front of the castle. "Sister, time to go!" she screamed at Limestone, before slamming her forehooves into the ground and knocking the ponies left standing off of their hooves. Marble raced over to her sister, scooped up Absol onto her back and took off running into the streets of Canterlot, with a very confused Limestone on her heels. A minute after they were gone, Spiral floated through the rubble, stretching his neck before glancing off in the direction where they had gone. The princesses and Ambassadors began to move to chase after them, but he held up a hoof to stop them. "Let them go for now. There is nothing they can do," Sol said with a smile. "The magic of the Elements that protects Limestone and Marble will fade soon enough. And even if Absol can break free of my control, he knows that if he faces me again I can simply place him back under my power. And even if they somehow manage to beat me, the world will hate them for taking away Prince Sol once again. They have no way of winning." (]o[) Marble panted heavily as she gently laid Absol down on the plant covered ground of the forest, finally taking a moment to take a breath. She and her sister had run for the better part of a day, escaping from Canterlot and managing to make it to a smaller forest that grew at the base of the mighty mountain that housed the city that now belonged to Spiral. Limestone was breathing heavily as well, but most of her focus seemed to be on Absol. Marble had never seen such concern in her sisters eyes before. "I can't believe that we made it," Marble wheezed. "He let us go. If he wanted us dead, we'd be dead," Limestone said in a dark tone. She walked over to Absol and gently started checking on his head injury, worry slowly creeping over her face. "That was pretty impressive what you did. Did you kick down the wall?" "Something like that," Marble replied as she took a moment to collect herself. "Things must have really been bad if you used your full strength. Normally you're terrified of using all of that power you've got inside of you," Limestone pointed out. "Where were you, by the way?" "Absol looked like he was about to kill you and I needed to take him down. I'd say that things got pretty desperate," Marble replied. "I was hiding in the castle. I saw the confetti cannon go off and ran over to Pinkie, but she managed to shoo me away before Spiral showed up and mind controlled them all. If he knew I was there, he didn't care." "Guess we should be thankful that he's so lazy," Limestone muttered. Their conversation ended when Absol let out a groan and slowly opened his eyes, blinking hard as the light from the sun blinded him. "Absol! You're awake! You're alright!" "Alright being a poor choice of words," Absol grumbled as he slowly pushed himself up to a standing position. "I felt like...I was in some kind of dream. Or more like a nightmare. One where my body wouldn't listen to me and I was forced...Limestone, I'm so-" "Don't you finish that sentence! That was not you who was attacking me, that was Spiral! He took control of your mind and forced you to do those things," Limestone cut him off with fire in her voice. "And besides, you didn't hurt me. You had the chance to and you resisted!" "Or maybe your sister knocked me out before I had the chance," Absol whispered. He then turned to look at Marble. "I heard that right, correct? That you knocked me out before I could do anything? Or was that apart of the nightmare as well?" "No, you are correct. I...hit you in the side of the head with a big piece of rock," Marble admitted. "I see. Thank you for stopping me before I had the chance to hurt anyone," Absol bitterly said. "Alright, enough feeling sorry for ourselves. We need to figure out what our next plan of attack is," Limestone said, turning both sets of eyes towards her. "Spiral has us on the run and he's beaten us down pretty badly. But since he was foolish enough to let us live, then that gives us a chance to put him back in the grave once and for all!" "...you cannot be serious right now," Absol whispered with a shake of his head. "After all we just went through, and how you two barely managed to escape, you want to go back there and face him again? Are you certain that you did not suffer a blow to the head as well?" "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means that going after Spiral would be suicide!" Absol roared at her, all of his anger and fear reaching its boiling point. Limestone narrowed her eyes at Absol, but said nothing so that he would continue. "Spiral has your friends and family under his control. He still has his undead army that could show up whenever he wants. But worst of all, he has found a way to bypass my natural immunity to his powers!" "We'll find away around his mind control. With your willpower I'm certain that you could-" "He has already proven that he can control me! And even if I somehow manage to overcome that, I am now vulnerable to his magic! Magic that is strong enough to move the sun and moon and rip apart space and time!" Absol snapped back. "How are we supposed to fight against that?!" "We will fight against it together," Marble spoke up, turning Absol's fury towards her. "Yes, because our friendship will be enough to stand up against a being that can revive the dead and three alicorns who can move the heavens on a whim. We'll be just fine," Absol snarked. "But what if he doesn't decide to fight us himself? What if we have to go through your friends and family to get to him? Can the two of you bring down those that you love to fight him?" "Our families and friends are strong. When it comes down to it, they will break free," Marble said with confidence. "Sure they are. Because I'm certain that the reason they haven't broken free already is that they're waiting for the right time and place to do so," Absol snarled. "Or maybe it's that the mind controlling magic is too strong and they're trapped under his power, just like I was! Maybe that magic of friendship you thought was so strong wasn't strong enough! Maybe I wasn't as strong as you thought!" Limestone and Marble shared a worried look. "Absol, this isn't you. You would never give up like this. What is the matter?" "What's the matter? The matter is that...no, what's the point? Even if I tell you it doesn't change anything. Forget I said anything. And forget about me going back. If the two of you want to get yourselves killed, then leave me out of it. I'm done bringing disaster to those I care about." Before either of the ponies could say anything, Absol turned and raced off into the forest, vanishing quickly from sight despite the fact that his white fur stood out. "Do you...really think he meant what he said?" Marble asked Limestone. The youngest sister's voice was filled with fear, fear that Absol might have just left them for good. "We can't win without him. Even if you and I go back to face Spiral, Absol is the only one we know with a type advantage against him. The two of us would be doomed without him. But, if he's truly gone..." "No Marble, he's just afraid. For the first time in his life he felt the affects of magic powers and they were used to make him attack somepony he cared about," Limestone replied in a calm tone. "I bet he's hoping that if he doesn't go, we won't go either. But we will, whether we have him on our side or not. Because our family is up there. I've nearly lost them once. I will never lose them again." "But...without Absol..." "I'll try talking to him one last time. Maybe I can talk some sense into him," Limestone replied. "But if not, we need to regroup and then plan out how we're going to save our families. Because I fear what Spiral is going to do with them now that he knows that the only one that can stand before him is broken."