Magic blasts of red, white and blue splattered against the homes in the loftier part of Canterlot. The Royal Guards’ aim was quite admirable, if not for the thick cover the buildings their targets would have been swiss cheese. Not to mention nobles would not be barricading themselves in forts made of flexible butlers and magical maids if they saw just normal looking animals.
“You said to draw attention to us.”
“I said make a distraction, not eat your way through three playgrounds and part of a landmark.”
A large statue in the centre of a nearby park of a majestic ailicorn. Her eyes shut, but a smile on her with her wings flared wide as if to hug those standing before her.
Terra looked to her comrade incredulously, “Well I’m sorry that ya didn’t really specify how we suppos’ to get a WHOLE DANG CASTLE after us!”
Swinging her arms to the entire platoon of Royal Guards standing at the ready across the public park near the entrance. Their ranks filled the street, home to home as the front line of unicorns continued the ranged barrage of the once pleasant picnic spot in the capital of Canterlot.
“Fine! I admit I did not think of exactly the best way to do it. But this is utter chaos!” Elena exclaimed, ducking her head as a magic bolt came a little too close for comfort.
“Hey that was just like what the other guy said when he was helping break the statue! He made sure that the entire barracks of the castle heard us loud and clear thanks to his blowhorn!” Moriarty nudged shoulders with the Espeon. “Get it? Cause he pulled his horn off his head and blew into it! HAH Hah!”
A rather large blast of magic interrupted the exhausted cringe at yet another unfunny from the Haunter. Whooshing through the air loudly as it continued its descent towards them. “Incoming!” Elena yelled as she and the rest took cover behind Maria’s Protect. The collision was soundless, yet at the moment of impact dust filled their eyes beyond the barrier, blocking the aftermath from view. The sound of the Royal Barrage ended, leaving only the slight whistle of the wind clearing the air.
The four pokemon rose from their cowering position to see the damage. “Well that is rather worrisome.” Maria noted. Half the wall they were hiding behind had been disintegrated. Whatever remained was still being carried away by the wind, revealing the guards standing at attention with one figure standing at the head.
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Elena roared as she jumped from behind Maria, her aura flaring bright. Dancing across her body her essence flaming in anger. Her appendages flowing through the air behind her head.
The Lucario bearing its fangs towards one of their Princesses caused many of the golden guards to point their horns toward aura pokemon.
“Please calm down Elena! We can work this out peacefully, just listen-“
Boom.
The park echoed with a distant explosion from Canterlot castle, smoke rising into the sky.
“Oh no, the castle!” Twilight turned to one of the more decorated guards, a stallion that radiated authority through sheer manliness and strength. “Sergeant Brawn Steel.”
“Ma’am.” His armour could barely contain the rippling body of muscle; the plates of golden metal were being strained holding in the stallion’s bulging biceps. Brawn Steel tensed up with anticipation from just eye contact with Princess Twilight.
“Investigate the disturbance and protect the all occupants inside the castle. And check on the other pokemon and make sure he is okay.
“Yes, Princess.” Three guards were unceremoniously tossed onto the large pony’s back. The chosen guards remained stoic, even in the rather compromising position. “You three with me.” Sergeant Brawn Steel galloped toward the castle, his baggage bouncing in perfect sync on top larger stallion.
It looked really awkward. Also physically improbable, but with Brawn Steel’s manliness, it could be done and look awesome doing it.
“For Equestria!” With his call to battle, Brawn Steel left with his men to the castle, leaving the princess and her stallions-at-arms with the small group of pokemon vastly outnumbered. The guards parted ranks revealing Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie adorned with strange glowing jewellery. The group was short one pegasus.
Twilight, noticing the lack of a pink mane, asked “Where’s Fluttershy?”
“She’s making sure little Leo is okay, poor fella has been through a lot.” Applejack told her.
“Not to worry she would never let us down.” Pinkie Pie interjected with a hoof lifted in premature victory.
“Your friends could barely hold their own against wild pokemon, what makes you think that they can help you now?” Elena challenged, allowing herself a tiny silver of humour to creep into her tone.
“We stand stronger together than you could possibly imagine. I will ask you again Elena, stand down. We can talk this out peacefully.”
“NO WE CANNOT! You have sullied the bonds between pokemon and trainer with your words and you dare to speak ill of our own. We will not back down from our decision. You will show us the conviction behind your words pony.”
And with that, two forces charged across the park and battle begun in earnest.
===
Coughing up half a lung from the dirt and dust, Nevan was finally seen as sunlight from the large hole in the dungeon wall, with small
bits of rubble barely clinging to the edge of the hole.
Waving away the dust and smoke that clouded his head, revealing the young lad’s face. Covered in dust and grime(more from the explosion than his treatment at the hands of his captors) he wipes his face clean with his hands, then looks to his Umbreon. “Okay, time to get out of here, but first…”
Before the Umbreon could move away, he was picked up and held close by his trainer. “I am so happy to see you.” Nevan said, his voice cracking as he pulled Whisper even closer in the hug.
Knowing his trainer just needed some reassurance, Whisper nuzzled his face, before distant sounds cause him to shift his body upright with his ears straight up.
“I guess its time to go get out of here?”
The umbreon nodded.
“Well, I wasn’t paying much attention when they brought me down here, so can you lead us out?”
Whisper silently turned and headed for the door with his trainer in tow, only for it to be blown off its hinges by an absurdly large pony that exploded into the room.
“Stop!” An incredibly masculine stallion bellowed from the doorway. From first glance he appeared to be ginormous, but there was actually two other ponies were clinging to his back as if their life depended on it. “In the name of Princess Twilight, surrender or face the might of the Royal Guards.”
“Please!” He scoffed, looking at the condition of the other guards, who were now slipping off the muscled stallion’s back looking extremely green and dangerously close to losing their breakfast, the human boy smirked. “You could have easily stopped me by myself,
but now that my trusted partner is here you don’t stand a chance.” He looks to the umbreon. “Ready Whisper?”
The black lupine leaps in front of his trainer, crouching low into battle position. The only affirmative Whisper ever gave before a fight.
“Let’s clear the way, use Hyper Beam!” The Nevan ordered, pointing directly at the large white stallion in golden armour.
The high-pitched whine of building energy filled the air as the yellow circles on Whisper glowed ever brightly. The two sick guards got to their hooves shakily before the galloped out of the room as fast as they could in their state.
Most sentient beings would panic like the guards. Anyone or anything with a shred of sense could feel the energy in the room being sucked towards the pokemon of the night. Yet, the stallion before them was doing something that seemed completely irrational.
Brawn Steel was taking off his armour.
With his hooves, Brawn slipped off his helmet and unclipped his chest plate. He did it calmly and methodically like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“What in the name of Arceus are you doing?” The Nevan questioned, the disbelief evident in his voice.
“A true man does not run his problems. He doesn’t look for cover at the sign of a gathering storm, nor does he hit first.” The last bit of armour fell to the ground as Brawn gave his bare body a quick shake at the new freedom from the weighted steel. “In a battle of will, the true victor will be the one…” The pony paused as he dug in defiantly, his pose rigid and ready. “Who can take it like a man.”
A beam of pure energy fired from Whisper’s open mouth, it jetted directly into it target, the collision filling the room with a blinding white light.
“Direct Hit! Great job Whisper. Now we will just step over-“The boy’s words were caught in his throat as his eyes adjusted to the room and he saw something he never thought possible.
The Hyper Beam had been caught between the massive pectorals of Brawn Steel. The energy constantly twirling in a vain attempt to knock its now extremely imposing target over.
Both the trainer and Whisper could only watch with slack jaws that were threatening to unhinge from their mouths and fall to the ground with a resounding clink.
Or at least they would have if it was physically possible.
Nevan could only say one thing. “…What?”
“A man does not question.” Brawn Steel said aloud, his voice under strain from the pure force attempting to drill through his chest. The stallion rears onto his backlegs as he brings his forelegs up to chest and wrapped them around his body, careful of the kinetic energy.
“A MAN ONLY ANSWERS!” With the mighty (and extremely manly) declaration, his forelegs opened up to the either side of his body as he flexed his massive chest puffing it out in a testonic display. Brawn’s pecs shot out of his chest reflecting the Hyper Beam towards the pokemon.
Whisper followed his instincts and ducked to the ground, ears low to his head as the beam shot past above him. Taking a cue from his pokemon, the trainer hit the ground covering his head, the reflected hyper beam missing him as well and collided into the stone wall behind them.
An explosion rocked the room blasting the area with dust from the wall that crumbled under the force of the beam. The barely used dungeon had enough dust to spare to cover the entire room, or what was left of it, with dirt that clung to your eyes and threatened to spill your pride.
With a mighty huff, Brawn Steel chiselled chest grew two sizes bigger as he gave macho puff and blew the air out through the buffalo-sized hole in the Canterlot Castle wall, clearing the room for his eyes to see. And he just shook his head in disappointment at the scene, before going his way in the castle to complete the second portion of his mission.
-----
Many of the Canterlot citizens got themselves out of the way of two never before seen creatures, not quite afraid but most certainly cautious. One of them looks suspiciously like one of the animals that were causing chaos earlier in the morning.
Both Nevan and Whisper were running through the streets of Canterlot, the former pouring all the energy he had in moving as far away as possible from the castle and the ridiculously super-powered pony. He could feel two red orbs burning into the side of his head from Whisper keeping a steady pace beside him.
“Hey, don’t give me that.” He said between breathes, sweat drenching his forehead during the most animalistic instinct. They rounded a corner and into an alleyway, away from prying eyes and a spot in the shade from the rising sun. The fedora wearing trainer collapsed onto the ground with his back to the wall and met the silently accusing eyes of the moon pokemon.
“Having you fight him after seeing him do that with a Hyper Beam? That be like me jumping into a three-way cage match between a Hydrigon, a Dragonite and a Haxorus, butt-nekkid with a rubber Combusken.” His eyes were still bug-eyed as he tried to slow down his pumping heart.
“Or like hugging a Slugma,”
“Or playing “Whack-a-Electrode” with a metal hammer.”
“Trying to catch a Cubchoo with a den of Beartics-“
Whisper gave a good tug on his trainer’s brown khakis pulling him out of his “Never in a million years” rant to get his attention. He looked to his pokemon, his face scrunched up in confusion before lighting up with realization.
“That’s right! We need to get the band back together.” Forgetting the slight bit soreness in his feet, the trainer got off his seat against the wall and looked to his loyal companion. “Lead the way.”
---
The sounds of battle and echoed throughout the streets, pieces of pony armour littered across the street. Dented from mighty blows and magical blasts of various schools rarely seen in Equestria. The Guards were pushing back their foes, though individually, the valiant mares and stallions were at a disadvantage by this new threat in Canterlot.
When Discord broke free from his eternal prison, common sense had all but disappeared from the city as nobles and common folk alike clung to each other for some sense of reality. Fear at the absurd happenings like face switching and delicious mud pies.
Queen Chrysalis brought down the strength of her entire swarm upon the jeweled city. The numbers blotted out the sun as the changelings bombarded the buildings with their own bodies and rounded up any who dared to resist and sealed them within the preservation for “safe-keeping”.
The strange animals seemed like they had only one target. They did not come to conquer the city, for they were too few. They did not seek to cause misery and chaos, for they only fought those who could strike back.
While many residents stayed and watched the battle from within their homes, these questions ran through their minds, not noticing two figures heading toward the battlefield of that once was Lauren Park.
“Alright Whisper, I have one question…” Nathan said as he stepped over shoulder pieces and one helmet that had teeth marks in the top. “WHO THE HECK DID TERRA HIT!?”
Whisper said nothing as Nathan continued to mutter to himself about the cost of property damage. The pair made their way to the end of the road and finally saw the rest of their team.
Sadly, they were locked in a losing battle with the Royal Guard. Nathan’s espeon was battered and barely standing as she half-heartedly firing Psybeams into magic-tossing unicorns at the rear of the park. She failed to notice the approaching group of earth ponies rushing to attack her at point-blank range.
Whisper wasted no time in rushing to his sister’s side to support her and keep the approaching guards at bay.
Terra was tossing ponies left and right, grabbing hold of them between her jaws before launching them out of the park. She was breathing heavily, but had a crazed smile on her face with each flying body.
Moriarty was under constant strain from continuous rays of magic from a group of unicrons surrounding him. Wailing to the sky as the Haunter slowly melts down into a purple goop, filling the cracks between cobbles in the road.
The look on the guards’ faces when they thought their spell actually melted someone was priceless as they stared into pool in the centre of their group, only for the entire group to fall to the ground a moment later fast asleep with Moriarty reconstituting himself victoriously over the pile.
There was a bright flash of blue and purple, forcing Nathan, his pokemon and guards to shield their eyes from the sight. When it finally died down, there stood a bruised Lucario and five heavily panting mares of various races.
One was the Princess that put him in the dungeon yesterday, while the others were unfamiliar to him. Another pegasus could be seen flying towards them worry written on her face. All of them were wearing necklaces that seemed rather gaudy for battle items, confusing Nathan but he paid it no heed as he did the most natural thing any trainer does when his pokemon are in trouble.
“Return!” He ordered, every one of them moved, using the reserves of their strength to appear at their master’s side, weaving their way out each of their own conflicts and around their surrounding foes.
All of them wanted greet Nathan with glee and happiness, but before they could say anything they were interrupted by Rainbow Dash exclaiming, “Fluttershy! About time you got here!”
The Royal Guards retreated, returning to the other side of the park behind the six mares, each of them looking determined, except for the sheepish yellow pegasus in the rear. Both groups of six (including the human) stared at one another. The ponies thought of finally
ending the battle, while the pokemon thought of only protecting their master from these multicolored monsters.
Princess Twilight stood at the forefront and said to her friends without breaking eye contact with Elena, “Girls, Harmonic Formation!”
As the small group of ponies assumed some type of order, Nathan could feel his instincts screaming for action. “Whisper prepare the Hyper Beam, Maria hold in your Psybeam for as long as you can.” He turned toward the Haunter and Mawile. “Shadow Ball, and make it as big as you possibly Moriarty. Terra get a wind blowing with Fairy Wind.” Lastly he turned to Elena, “Aura Sphere, and maximum power!”
All of Nathan’s pokemon begin to build their attacks, within their mouths, hands, minds and the essence of nature itself.
The six ponies’ eyes were closed all of them floating in the centre of a maelstrom of symbols that moved far too fast for the human eye to discern.
Grunts and heavy breathing clogged Nevan’s ears as each of his pokemon tried their best to keep their attacks under control, waiting for the order to strike.
Princess Twilight’s eyes opened wide, exposing no pupils or large coloured irises, but pure white causing fear to creep into Nathan’s bones at the sure sign of a powerful attack about to be freed from within the otherworldly storm.
“FIRE!” Nevan yelled, letting loose the combined might of his entire team.
Elena pushed her arms forward launching the sphere flew through the air, streams of blue light cascading behind it in its path.
The Shadow Ball seemed to take a cue from its creator, cork-screwing itself around the concentrated energy of aura. Refusing any semblance of order and forging its own path alongside its fellow energy ball.
The beams from the twin Eeveelutions from the moment letting go, had wrapped around one another. A rainbow beam of pure psychic and mental fortitude with the inner strength of a silent soul blazing with it in bright yellow light that wanted to rival that of the sun. The beams twisted in a colour changing point behind aura sphere, a focal point that guided the combined might of the attacks.
Finally, a burst of wind blew through the manes and hair of everyone present Lauren Park. Though it was nothing no weather team could create, for it was laced with sparkles. It looked to be nothing but a pretty show, but even within the tiniest of things in the world, power that can topple rulers of earth, sky and fire can be found. The fairy wind gave each of the attacks a burst of speed.
The amount of power and strength behind their combined force could have even give a Legendary a reason to pause, yet the ponies
seemed unconcern as a massive burst magic erupted from each of the necklaces and the crown worn by Princess Twilight Sparkle. Each one part of the main 6 colours of a rainbow, colliding into a creation of the latter and firing to meet the opposing force head-on.
For what was fighting the force of pokemon power was a combination of the various nessciaties of true peace. Honesty and integrity, happiness and laughter for the good times. Generosity and forgiveness, kindness and passion, loyalty and true determination for of the worst of times. And the one that bound it all together, an inexplicably bond that could be researched, studied for hundreds of years, and yet it meant nothing for it needed to be experienced.
Friendship.
Harmony collided with camaraderie as the Rainbow pushed against the sphere of aura and shadow, the beams of mental and will and the very wind that encouraged them to continue to fight. For the briefest of moments…
Harmony faltered…
Before it surged forward dispelling and separating the attacks, much of it being canceled out by the opposing force.
Nathan watched in horror as their strongest attacks were swallowed up by the rainbow of doom. Fear rooted him to the spot; time seemed to slow as he looked at each of his pokemon. Had he pushed them so far that even they could not run away?
They put all the energy they had left into their last attacks. Both Maria and Whisper had collapsed onto the ground next to one another, their bodies refusing to move. Nor did they want to, if it meant leaving the other behind.
At his side, Terra tough façade had finally caved-in, dropping to her knees her large tongue lying on the ground through the open maw of her jaws. Sweat pouring from her body as Terra watched her approaching destruction with a smile as she shut her eyes.
Moriarty was losing altitude his smile was wavering as he watched his friends give up. They achieved their main goal, they got their trainer back. They should be celebrating taunting the powerful rainbow with bad puns as they made their escape through the city. But none of them could move, they would not be able to have fun anymore with him if that beam it. He couldn’t leave them behind, before he hit the ground, Moriarty fell into something some type of bag.
It was his Nevan’s fedora. As he pooled and filled the hat to the brim, the Haunter lifted his disembodied hand and grasps towards his trainer. Nevan took hold of the ghostly hand squeezing it tight, proving he was still here.
Nevan pulled always his pokemon gently toward him, Terra fought it half-heartedly before giving in and enjoying a rare moment of closeness before the end. The only one missing was Elena.
The Lucario stood defiantly before the approaching beam, ignoring her comrades clinging to one another behind her and outright refusing to look them in the eyes. She kept a level glance at the multicolored threat and bared her teeth. The aura could possibly absorb it, at the sake of giving up her body by using every shred of her essence. Elena would be the first to give her life if it meant the blast would be less lethal to her trainer.
Elena would not forsake her duty for a final embrace.
The beam finally hit, showering them with the power of harmony wiping them from sight behind the laughably colours of the end.