Finally, time has moved back to the present.
Chapter 75- Foul Negotiation
“So, where’s your partner?” Barry asked, hovering in the air. The Saiyan prince had both eyes closed a bit, looking over the human in the rocket pack.
“He’s a unicorn, so he can’t....” Vegeta had to stop, moving his left hand up to rub his eyes. There was a humanoid shooting rainbows out of his backside. And he thought the Crystal Kingdom was bad, with all of those living crystal ponies. Now this guy? The mere concept was hurting his brain. Blood started to spill from his right nostril. He wanted to blow this planet up, but he needed a damn space pod to escape.
“Ah right, can’t fly...” Barry added. “Uh, You okay? Got a headache, buddy?”
“Get back here Barry! The city’s still under attack!” Caramel shouted from the shore. For the umpteeth time in this week, he cursed the name Barry Steakfries for walking into his life.
“I’m alright, just a cerebral aneurysm from stupidity,” Vegeta sighed, lowering his head. He wasn’t one from his group, so he assumed he was with the other side; it may be a good chance to get some info. If this side had a rocket ship, he would join them in an instant and blow up that clown. And then the planet. “Gilgamesh, one of the humans has made contact with me. I’m going to see if I can extract info from him.” Vegeta relayed. “Can you tell me if there’s more jetpacks? Or space ships?”
“Wow, didn't know aneurysms could come from being stupid. Nah, this was the only one they had,” Barry made his way back to shore, the multi-colored exhaust making glittery shinies against the sea. “I was making my way to their aviation institute when I saw this baby through the window!” Barry grinned, each hands holding on to the straps of the Rainbow Blaster. “So I punched through the wall, tossed my glasses away, and ripped off my sleeves to put on this suckka!”
“You... Stole this?” Vegeta asked, moving to join next to the short fellow. Least this ‘Barry’ as the horse called him, wasn’t tall. He had enough of looking up to others. It’s also been a while since he had the scent of the sea grace his nostrils. The saiyan had no idea why, but it was relaxing a bit. Unleashing his power earlier helped him lose some tension. Least the sky and the sea stopped reacting to his power level.
“I borrowed it! I’m giving it a test run!” Barry frowned a bit. “Besides, it looks you can fly without it just fine.”
“Can you tell me about the other humans? Can they fly?”
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“Who are these guys?” Dan asked, eyes narrowed a bit at the scene in front of them all. Well, those that could be see into the ball. Thanks to Dan’s height, the viewing crystal ball had to be lowered for his gaze. Not to mention with so many humans and ponies around, only a few could gaze and see the ball’s revelations. At the moment, Princess Celestia, Dan, Pinkie, Lyra, Princess Cadence, and Terra could look into the ball without having to pump elbows. The children gathered around the legs of the adults, getting a good view as well.
At the moment, they were looking at a man dressed in some kind of red medical wear. One by one, he would pick up a device up to point it at the ponies. Small red crosses would emerge from the red beam he was firing. It was a lucky thing that Blue Spy couldn’t see into the ball, or the air would have been filled with mockery.
“How about the rest of us?” Ash asked, finally speaking out. “At least give us a play by play commentary or something.”
“Allow me...” Luna lowered her head, focusing her magic into her horn. She shot a blue blast from the tip to hit the crystal ball. The image on the magic ball starting to projecting bigger and into the sky. The other humans and ponies raised their heads to look at the projected image. Finally, Roger Smith was able to look at what was happening. Unfortunately, the ball could only show one thing at a time. At the moment, it was trying to focus on the battle between Angelo and Kefka. Trying- Because the two flew through the air at rapid speeds.
It was truly an odd sight. Not more than a few moments ago mayhem and chaos filled these peaceful grounds. Now, ponies and their partners remained quiet, trying to get a look into the crystal. Rainbow Dash however, kept her gaze on the man in black.
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“Are you trying to hit me with arrows?” Kefka asked, a bit insulted by the choice of weapon trying to hit him. The clown flew against the mountain side, his shadow trailing under him to whizz by as arrows were left in his wake. Still, the harlequin took a second to look back at the arrows’ impact in the rock formation. Those arrows left cracks at the place the tips made contact with the earth.
“Like your magic fares any better!” Angelo replied, trying to keep his white bangs out of his eyes. The right hand held his Odin’s bow up, letting his left hand free to draw and notch of arrows and release them at rapid speeds. While the freaky jester managed to cast elemental spells from each hand, Photo was able to control the flying carpet to dodge them. By using the most unorthodox maneuvers possible, which didn’t make things any easier. The templar knight had no idea someone could control a carpet like that, much less a pony. Zig zags and shorts bursts of up and down movements kept them from taking a hit. Unfortunately, it made it really hard to aim. “Keep it steady, Miss Finish!”
“I vas not supposed to fly! I am not a pegaszuz!” Photo cried out as her hooves held to the front of the carpet to try and dodge those stupid magic projectiles. Angelo frowned, but kept his gaze on his opponent. It seems that he could cast spells without worrying about replenishing his mana. Unfortunately, that was not his case. Luckily, the arrows never ran out for him. Still, with them flying at these high velocity, no one was getting any hits in. At least they were managed to draw the fight away from the ponies and letting them escape.
“I didn’t want to do this in the first place...” Angelo sighed.
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“Photo Finish?” Fluttershy asked, her gaze at the sky.
“They are not one of yours?” Roger asked, frowning a bit. According to the rules, none of these humans were allowed to interfere. Both arms crossed on his chest, focusing on the negotiation on hand. He had to push these thoughts and confusions from his head now to frown a bit. Still, there were so many questions now.
“Say, we know more about the humans creating mayhem than we do of the humans fighting back,” Terra called out. She was not in a happy mood. Just looking at Kefka made the hairs on the back on her neck stand on edge. “And believe me, Equestria is doomed if no one stops them.”
“I suppose you’re telling the truth,” Smith said. He wasn’t sure why, but the weird looking nine-shaped stone in his left pocket wasn’t reacting. The negotiator didn’t know why, but it meant that was a sign that the truth was being told. “Gilgamesh, how is our side doing?” Smith called out in his head.
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“It seems that these humans are certainly a match for our forces,” Gilgamesh scowled. He was the only one left at the cave, but someone needed to relegate info to the Darkbrands as he was going to call them now. Oh, how he wanted to join into the battle, and once again hear the song of steel against steel!
“Who are these humans?” Chrysalis called out, moving her head through the crystals. Each one of the champions- save for Vegeta- were locked in combat. “Do they even have more in reserve?” The Queen called out as her mane settled over her eyes.
“None of them were in the reports of Otacon, and Smith assures me that the Canterlot forces know not of them,” Gilgamesh replied. “In fact, he sends info that they know more about our forces than of the defenders.”
“This isn’t good...” Aurelius muttered under his breath. “We need options. Now.”
“I say wait it out a bit. We can always pull them back. We still possess the Crystal Heart,” Sombra replied with a smile. His left hoof moved to pet his pet sheep. “My champions have yet to show their true power, and they have yet to use the power of the Covenant.”
“I agree with both majesties,” Imago called out. Damn not calling Sombra a king anymore. This was a unicorn to be both respected and feared. “We can still unleash Vegeta.”
“But Luthor is already down,” Exuvia called out. “We need our smith if he is to assist Dr. Otacon.”
“Luthor!” Gilgamesh called out. “Respond!”
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“Ergh...” Luthor managed to sound out, having landed on the ground. Screams of panicked ponies still went on and on. Alarms in his suit kept going on and on, mostly informing him that the battle suit had mostly been shorted out. “It’s going to be a second before repairs kick in...” Luthor had landed on his back, an emergency measure that he tried for his sake. That back had extra padding thanks to the weapons and propulsions sticking out. Just who was the maniac that jumped out at him? “Gilgamesh?”
“Good. Luthor, can you still fight?” The warrior responded from his end.
“Hmm... No. It will take a second for my battle suit to repair itself,” Luthor thought to the Kabuki warrior. Still, he was a bit annoyed when Gilgamesh did not ask if he was alright.
“Zeke?! You alright down there?” Fancy called out. Still a unicorn, the blue maned stallion managed to teleport himself down to the ground and look at the spot the two humans fell.
“Uhhh...” Zeke managed to pick himself up slowly. “What hit me?”
“I managed to see you roll off the tin man when you landed. I feared the worst,” Fancy said, moving over to Zeke. He used his magic to levitate Zeke into a sitting position on the ground. “But I’m afraid he made it to.”
“Damn...” Zeke muttered, frowning a bit to look at Luthor. The modified Amp was still lodged into the metal plate of the Iron Man. Luthor moved his left hand up to grab the electrified tuning fork and pull out slowly. “How’d you get down here so fast anyway?”
“Teleportation. I did attend Canterlot’s elite schools,” Fancy Pants added with a smile.
“You couldn’t have teleported me off before I jumped the guy?”
“Eh he...” Fancy lowered his head as his monocle fell off his head. “I didn’t think about that.”
“Damnit Pants, you're lucky I can’t move,” Zeke said as he winced in pain. “I’mma kick your ass.”
“Truce?” Luthor asked, his right hand raised to the others.
Fancy Pants lowered his head and charged his horn with magic. He sported the most fearsome face he could muster, which was surprisingly pissed. Eyes narrowed and nostrils flared out.
“I believe Mr. Zeke needs medical attention more than I need a beating,” Luthor called out. Zeke spit out blood from his mouth and frowned.
“Hey, don’t worry about me, kick his flank,” Zeke grinned. Almost a second later he regretted it, wincing in pain at the effort. Hell, he counted his blessings if he survived a 15 story fall.
“Pray you are not around when I return,” Fancy Pants snorted, unable to argue with the logic. Zeke needed his help more. A lot of other ponies would also need assistance. He pawed the ground once and then turned to the shoeless man. Using his magic, the unicorn managed to pick up Zeke and begun to head towards the hospital.
“Gilgamesh, I need a pick up.” Luthor almost demanded. He turned to look at his handiwork. Pity. He was not some total maniac like the Joker or Kefka. The entrepreneur didn’t enjoy destruction or hurting innocents. Well, least human ones. Smoke drifted into the sky from various piles of debris and destruction from his attacks, at the very least, he had done his part.
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“Understood,” Gilgamesh frowned. The bald man looked like he would be the weak link in the group. If that fellow needed his armor to fight and it kept breaking down, he’d be as useful as a lame horse. The red painted warrior turned to look at Sombra as he nodded.
“He’s proven himself at least. I wanted to see what his Covenant power was, but it can’t be helped,” The dark unicorn replied. The blue shadow hue in his eyes lit up to make his red eyes glow to bring back Luthor from the battle.
“Covenant?” Pharate asked, stepping forward from the others to confront Sombra directly. “If they have this power, should you not tell them about it?”
“You are the one called Pharate the Hunter?” Sombra asked. He kept his gaze ahead of himself. A dark wisp of smoke and a portal appeared, leaving Lex Luthor on the ground. Exuvia quickly rushed to his side, inspecting his armor and the human for damage. “Covenants are deep, powerful pacts. They are not treaties, they are an alliance. But-” Sombra relaxed his eyes, nodding to Luthor as he stood up. “The Covenants forged from Darkbrands however, take a powerful will to activate. Not exactly meant as a last resort, but the more powerful the will, the stronger the covenant’s summon will be.”
“A summon?” Gilgamesh asked.
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“Aren’t we all summoned already?” Otacon asked, looking over the scroll. Twilight and Distant sat across from Snape and himself, the scroll deciphered relatively quick. Still in the library, they all hunched down on the table to study.
“Champion class summons, tethered to this realm by the lifelink bond,” Twilight scribbled down notes using her magic. “These summons are a manifestation of the user, meant to be used for a little while.”
“They may not even be human, they could very well be something that matches well with the covenant. It could be a weapon or a spell...” Distant added. So far, there were little differences between the Star Swirl version and the original champion summon spell. They are dead, they are all kick ass or powerful, and obtained a brand. The only difference was that a Darkbrand commanded subjugation, while Star Swirl’s never was meant for them to get a Brand. “Least you guys aren’t getting Darkbrands.”
“Does that mean, we could do it too?” Otacon moved his free hand over his own Brand.
“I think the other champions have already been using their powers by activating their Brands,” Twilight added. No wonder Dan’s King of Hearts was so much powerful in comparison to the others; he was much more attuned to his Element, even more than she was to magic herself. Dan’s desire for revenge and justice made his summoned power so very effective.
He was dangerous enough as it was without powers. Now, Dan could combine his shrewd and others mental abilities with, Anger? No wonder Princess Celestia was afraid of him.
“So, where did our Brands come from?” Otacon asked, lowering his hand back to look at the ponies.
“According to my father, they were many candidates for the Elements of Harmony to be formed from. Hope, Anger, Will, and all these others were supposed to get their own physical manifestation,” Distant Star explained. “But, no pony back then could be qualified to match these Elements. Ponies always banded together to avoid achieving rage, and other positive elements like Hope and Will were a collective sentiment, they all shared this as a whole.”
“So, the Elements of Harmony were more useful or easier to tether to a pony?” Twilight asked. In a way, it did make sense. Ponies were almost never angry. And the only pony she knew that she could place her hope on was Princess Celestia.
“But why a tattoo, why not a bracelet or something?” Otacon asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, the Elements are connected to the pony, they don’t need a necklace or jewel to work. Even if the Element jewels are broken, they can be repaired. It made sense to make them a jewel, since we already have a cutie marks.” Twilight picked her head up to look at Otacon’s Edge. “Since none of you have cutie marks, I think this was the logical first step before they could be made into a jewel or something.” Otacon nodded, as it some made sense. According to Nate, cutie marks were connected to a special talent. All of their Brands were related to themselves in some way.
“I think we got what we needed. Time is being wasted with speculations that can be done later. We need to hurry back to the others,” Snape added. “Somehow, we need to make Phoenix attune himself to Hope to get rid of the Darkbrand.”
“Will that be enough?” Otacon asked. “I thought Distant Star said they had to realize it themselves.”
“Do you know why the changelings and Sombra are winning? They got hope on their side,” Distant moved to place the scroll away. “If we don’t get Phoenix back, we have no hope.”
“Just... How do we do that though?” Twilight frowned.
“I think I can handle that...”
“Doctor?”
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“You’re a strong one, aren’t you?” Wesker smirked. Both, he and this ‘Eddie’ had locked hands and fingers against each other. While the Umbrella agent would've like to just bash his head in, he wanted to test the strength of these other humans. They had no intel about the humans, so he had to see firsthand how strong they were.
“You know, I don’t think...” Eddie gritted his teeth, a bit surprised as he had to struggle against a normal human. “That was a compliment.” Iron Will moved his head between one human to the other, arms raised up to wave his fists up and down. These guys looked strong, and the minotaur had seen first hand how strong Eddie was with carrying some of the heavier equipment for his show.
“You’re not a human, are you?” Wesker asked behind his sunglasses. Albert had been struggling, not wanting to lose to this... Metal Head.
“I take it you’re not either?! You on drugs or something, Al?” Eddie asked. Damn, this guy wasn’t normal. Dressed in black, he guess maybe this guy was in special ops or some other CIA crap.
“I’ve had enough of this!” Wesker finally lost his composure at being called Al. No one called him that, not even his family. Done fooling around, Wesker drew his left leg back to kick out at Eddie’s shin. The musician had to let go of Wesker and move back to keep himself from getting hit.
“No more fooling around?” Eddie asked, moving his hands to crack his knuckles.
“Hmph, I don’t have time for interferences,” Wesker called out. His right hand moved to push his trenchcoat behind his back. His other hand moved to push his sunglasses back into place.
“What, think you’re a god or something?” Eddie frowned. While not one to fight with his fists, it seemed unfair to use Clementine or his axe on an unarmed man- super or not. That was, until Wesker decided to move. “Ooff!” The roadie was sent back a few feet, the other guy having using super speed to drive his palm into Eddie’s chest.
“I would’ve used a deathblow, but somehow I doubt a hand through your chest would be enough,” Wesker said. He had his upper body bent a bit, he outstretched his arm to use his momentum to add power to the chest blow. Eddie moved his left hand to his chest, his shoulders lifting up and down to pant.
“Whoa!” Iron Will’s eyes snapped opened wide, watching the fight. He turned to the other ponies still there and moved his left arm to wave. “Get outta here! Help the others!” The police ponies nodded, moving to get the injured one and evac. Eddie was in trouble, and it was not the minotaur’s style to just stand back. This guy was fast- Damn fast. While his roadie was fast and silent, Wesker moved like a damn blur. Once they left, the blue one lowered his head and charged forward to the Umbrella agent. White steam escaped from his nostrils as his hooves kicked up dust.
“What the-” Caught by surprise, Wesker moved both hands up to grab Iron Will’s horns to brace for impact.
“When somepony tries to block-” Iron Will shouted, lifting his head up to toss the black clothed fellow into the air a bit. “Show them you rock!” He picked up both fists, moving them up and down in punches towards Wesker’s chest. To his credit, he managed to connect two fists before the human used his feet to kick off the ring on Iron Will’s nose.
“Boss?” Eddie asked, moving himself to stand up, the stinging pain in his chest was gone.
“One on one? Seems fair...” Wesker taunted as he landed back on the ground. While he smirked, he did feel pain in his stomach. The muscles of the minotaur were not just for show.
“You mean, two on one,” Iron Will moved his left hand to rub his nose ring. “Did Iron Will knock you silly?”
“Oh, sorry. You each are only worth half a person” Wesker explained with a smile.
“Oh... Bad choice of words, dude,” Eddie moved to frown. No one insults his boss while he had a contract. It was his job to act as a bodyguard when no one else was around. Clementine was moved from his back and into his chest. “You’re not the only one with powers.” Small red lights of fires begun to gather at his feet from nowhere. He raised his left arm into the air over himself and brought it down. He begun to strike music cords as the guitar moved up and down, strumming that metal sound. “Battle Cry!”
Wesker raised his eyebrows, not sure what was going on. What in the devil was up with the pyrotechnics? Still, the minotaur and the human both seemed to be surrounded by a strange glow.
“Hey, boss, you ready for some team moves?”
“Iron Will doesn’t know why, but that music is pumping his blood!” Iron Will smirked.
“This doesn’t change-” Wesker stopped talking, his mouth opening a little. Eddie had picked up Iron Will and threw him like a corkscrew baseball. The blue minotaur spun in the air to get launched horns first into Wesker.
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“Are you sure you want to marry this fellow?”
“Yes, Father,” Octavia answered through clenched teeth. For the third time in the last five minutes, she answered as both earth ponies looked down at the carnage. Kratos threw his arms back and forth, throwing the blades cloaked in flames, streams of orange followed the trail of the trajectory of the Spartan’s weapons. Twirl after twirl of the weapons caused the bodies and heads of Heartless to split or break apart into dark spots.
“Such a savage fellow... Or is that what you like about this human,” Lower Bass stopped a moment, looking at her daughter’s gaze. “What entices you?”
“Father, now is not the time... Kratos! You finish up right now!” Octavia poked her head out of the window. Still, she could understand why Kratos was so put off. Her father had been nothing but condescending and judgemental. Even went so far as to strap the Spartan to a lie detector. Over the last two days though, she could come to know his tragic fate.
“Those are not Keyblades...” Xehanort muttered under his breath. Maybe they were divine weapons of some sort? They tore into the black bodies of the shadow minions with no problems. Maybe he should summon more powerful ones? Damn, it looks like the ponies had locked up their doors or gotten off the street to run away.
“Is this all you can conjure up?!” Kratos roared. He stood up straight and moved both arms together for once. With a flick of both wrists, he drove the blades into the ground. A mini volcano flowed from the impact of the weapon to send the smaller heartless into the air.
“As a matter of fact, I’m just getting started,” Master Xehanort grinned. ‘Let’s see what these heartless ponies could do...’ The Keyblade wielder moved his left hand out in front of himself. Not many ponies had been converted, but it was worth to see them in the battlefield. A dark purple haze begun to collect around his white gloved hand.
“What are you up to?” Kratos drew his blades back into his hands, holding each weapon around their handle’s once more. Brown eyes narrowed, the demi-god lowered his gaze to the ground. Dark shadows that took the form of small horses begun to raise themselves from the floor. Octavia and her father stopped, their mouths opening in horror at these shadow ponies.
“These are no Shadowbolts or part of Luna’s Royal Guard...” Lower Bass commented in a low breath, his eyes narrowed.
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“Xehanort had such a power?” Imago called out. He walked closer to one of the crystals to study the Heartless ponies.
“It appears so. According to Master Xehanort, Heartless can make more Heartless,” Gilgamesh frowned. His white eyes narrowed, not liking this turn of events. Even with Luthor down, the others were doing ok. But a nasty thought occurred to the weapon collector. What if the wizard turned on them all, trying to make them into Heartless? What if he tried to make a heartless out of a changeling, a creature already born from darkness?
The entire cave had gone quiet, suddenly more interested in the new ponies being formed. Unlike changelings, these ponies had no holes in their legs. But they resembled changelings to much it was uncanny. The King frowned, comparing his subjects to those abominations. Their coats were the color of twilight, with completely yellow eyes. The ears were now more like tendrils, sticking out of the small and lifeless manes of black.
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“No...” Princess Celestia’s face fell a bit, her eyes closed from the bottom. Her subjects, her ponies... Were now instruments of the enemies. At least changelings left their bodies alone and just poisoned their minds. This-
“Like doppelgangers,” Soma called out, having some experience with dark beings. He lowered his head from the projection of the crystal ball. “Phoenix! Tell your man to knock it off, this is beyond the rules of engagement!”
Smith took a step back with his left leg, eyes narrowed a bit at the new turn of events. Just who had he aligned himself with? Still, he had to think of something. “How do you know they are not illusions? Unless you can provide evidence that those things were once ponies, they could just be more minions that were created out of a whim.”
“Damnit, he’s right,” Nate said, lifting his right hand to make a fist. “And the guy at the scene is having no luck.” The treasure hunter looked away from Smith and back to the show. These dark ponies were fast- Damn fast. The bald dude in the skirt was having trouble trying to keep up with them. At least it was only a few of ponies.
“Is there nothing we can do but watch?” Princess Luna said in a hushed tone, her own eyes shut a bit.
“Phoenix- Smith- Whatever you call yourself!” Dan called out, turning to look at the negotiator. “We agree to the wargames!”
“Dan!” Pinkie called out, lowering her head from the show. She was not the only one, as they all turned to look at the human leader.
“What choice do we have?” Dan narrowed his eyes at them. He turned to look at Celestia.
“Dan is right, we must stop this somehow. Now, before anymore damage is done,” Jack said, drawing his hands out to them all. “If this Crystal Heart is as important as you claim it to be, we must abide to their rules.”
“Name your terms,” Princess Celestia stepped away from the Crystal Ball, stopping the magic from being projected.
“It’s... Not your call to make,” Smith replied, turning his head to lower. Although they couldn't see it thanks to his sunglasses, he both of his eyes had shut. “But I will relay your message.” He moved to stand up straight once more. Time to at least deliver the final message. Both hands moved up to his tie to straighten it out. “The wargames. In one day, we propose to fight each other in several events. Sombra plans on five events.” The negotiator picked up his left hand to hold up two fingers. “Two decided by each side, with the fifth being the tie breaker if needed.”
“Hold up- Two for each side?” Rainbow Dash asked. “And what are wargames?” The cyan mare moved a hoof to wipe her face, trying to clean herself up. While she was still worried about Phoenix, they knew he was still in there. Only a little bit more and then could get through to him. But wargames sounded really bad.
“Yes. To make things fair, each side will propose two events to participate on. That way, no one can claim things were unfair,” Smith replied and lowered both arms to his sides.
“Wargames are mock war events or trials,” Ralf moved from the side of Cheerilee, each arm crossed on his chest. “A mock combat trial would be a fight, just not to death like when we had the Tournament of Champions. Other wargames include things like capture the flag, search and capture, and even tactile games like chess are considered valid.”
“They are usually conflict simulations,” Snake also added, having used to being in a lot of VR missions. “Each type of wargame usually has a goal in mind. Chess or other games are used to prove who has the sharpest mind. Capture the flag is used to determine who has the better stealth and tactics. Though they are not limited to military applications.”
“So no one has to die?” Fluttershy asked, smiling a little. Even though the was ‘war’ in wargames, it sounded like a lot more peaceful way to settle things.
“Indeed. As I mentioned before, Sombra realizes that if our forces actually clash- There will be heavy casualties on each side. The changelings have no desire for the death of any of you, even you, Princess Celestia.” Smith smiled a little, glad that at least they agreed to the plan. He had a funny feeling though, that things would not turn out so well.
“I see, let me guess. The loser of these so called wargames will surrender their country?” Princess Luna added.
Everyone gasped though, when the negotiator shook his head to the sides.
“What?!” Dan asked, his mouth opened at the news. This didn’t make sense! The changelings and Sombra had them over a barrel, and they didn’t want the country to surrender? What was the point then?
“Not surrender. Annexed,” Smith called out. “Sombra realizes the Crystal Heart will not work unless the Crystal Ponies use their power to activate it. And the changelings will not need to feed off ponies with the Heart spreading love through the land.”
“I get it now, if Sombra or the changelings took over, the ponies wouldn’t corporate,” The Dovahkiin added. He was a very active political member for the various Jarl’s of Skyrim, so he knew how some things worked. “And even if we didn’t agree to these terms- They could keep the Heart and go into all-out war. They stand to lose very little.”
“What does annexed mean?” Little Strongheart picked up her head, a bit confused at the political bargaining.
“It means that if either side wins, our countries will be united. All that will be changed is who rules which side,” Princess Celestia frowned. “They could decide who rules Equestria. And even if we win, there is little choice on who will rule the changelings. We would become neighbors, and changelings will be able to walk about freely in Equestria.”
“How is that fair?!” Applejack frowned, turning her sights on the Phoenix dressed in black.
“Would you rather have a war? No one gets the heart? Death on either side?” Smith moved his left hand out to them all. “You can see what our forces did with just four champions, and they did this without a plan in mind.”
“Are you serious? All of that destruction and chaos was unplanned?!” Princess Cadence called out. Armor moved a hoof out to her wife. Their Crystal Heart was being used to gamble the fate of Equestria like a political toy.
“Can you imagine how worse it can be, if we made proper war plans?” Smith added as his face softened a bit. “What if we decide to target other cities? If we had changelings or other species join in the fighting? Or if we plan to kill your human champions?” Dan bit his lower lip, his right hand formed in a fist. The King of Hearts was glowing now, as if he was never Discorded in the first place. This was one of the few times in his life he’s ever felt so helpless. He hated getting out maneuvered or out planned. He was not the only one feeling this way, as a lot the ponies started to hug their partners.
Applejack closed her eyes a little, head looking at the ground. True, she was angry at Dovahkiin, but she didn’t hate him. Though the idea of anything killing him seemed doubtful, it was just one of the bad humans that wiped out the entire Equestrian Navy. Her heart felt like needles were piercing it, and she also felt a cold chill that sent shivers up her spine. Was this how Rainbow Dash felt?
“If we fight in this war, we may all die, but how would that be different from any other day? This is a war, and we are soldiers. Death can come for us at any time, in any place. Now consider the alternative. What if I am right? What if tomorrow the war is over? Isn't that worth fighting for? Isn't that worth dying for?”
“Who?” Travis picked up his head. That quote sounded awfully familiar... “Otacon.” The other picked up their heads, spotting that Twilight and the others finally returned.
“Otacon’s right,” Snake added. “It’s better than nothing.”
“Agreed,” Princess Celestia nodded her head. “But we must agree to end all hostilities.”
“Sombra gives me his word, along with Chrysalis, that there will be a ceasefire. But if either side feels that something is going wrong...” Smith turned his head to study the newcomers walking in. Something was off... Was the man in glasses Otacon? He matched the description given to him by King Aurelius. The negotiator had to confirm this back at the home base as soon as possible.
Twilight moved from the stairs to join up with her friends, smiling at them all. “We’ve been listening for a while now. Nopony noticed us when we got back.”
“Gilgamesh, I relayed the wargames-” Smith called out in his mind, only to stop as he watched someone new join in with the others.
“Honestly, Phoenix Wright, you wearing black?” Miles Edgeworth commented. He raised his right hand up to hold his index finger out. “And take off those sunglasses, you look absolutely ridiculous. Even more so than usual.”
Chapter proofreaded by LyonAzakura.
Edited by Holy Macintosh
Bonus:
“Hey...” Phoenix said, leaning forward a bit. His eyes were squinted a bit to look over at Roger.
“Hi...” Smith added slowly, taking a step back from Phoenix.
“It’s almost like looking at twins,” Rainbow Dash said, her eyebrows raised. She blushed for a moment, the idea of both of them in her house taking a shower popped into her head.
“My eyebrows are much more better looking than his!” Smith almost yelled out, lifting his left hand at Phoenix. “I mean, look at those stupid squiggly lines!”
“The fact that only our eyebrows are different worries me,” Phoenix managed to blurt out. “And my eyebrows are just fine, thank you. Least I don’t look like I’m going to a funeral or like some dime a dozen CIA agent.”
“At least I have this!” Smith raised his left arm to bring out his watch. “Now, Big O! It’s showtime!” The ground beneath the two men begun to shake.
“Whoa! What’s going on?” Rainbow Dash took to the air, looking down at the shaking. Smith seemed unperturbed, while Phoenix fought to gather his balance.
“What the?!” Phoenix opened his eyes wide, feeling the ground give away beneath him. A gigantic robot begun to break through the floor and lift Phoenix in it’s black hands.
“Big O?” Roger asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Phoenix!” Rainbow Dash shouted out, watching as the chest plate of the giant black thing put her partner inside it. The chest cavity closed as the former lawyer was dumped in the driver’s chair.
“What in the world?” Phoenix blinked once, looking down at a crystal red display.
"Cast in the name of God... Ye not Guilty?"
The giant mecha moved it’s arms out to punch the air as it took a battle pose. It then proceeded to lift his left arm to raise at the sky.
“Objection!” Cried out the Megaduce.