Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Valkyrie
“SON OF A TAINT!!”
Anson definitely not like his odds right now. A ten foot tall Demonic Beast was roaring at the top of it’s lungs, trying to bite the heads off of him and the two Anderson sisters. Not to mention that an insane psychopath was going to Ponyville while they were trying to not get themselves killed.
“Anson, do you have a plan?!”
“Hey, what the hell sis?! Why didn’t you ask me!?” Amy complained to her sister a little mere seconds before dodging one of Berthe’s outstretched claws.
“Uh, earth to everypony! We got to warn the town before that crazy bastard tears the place apart!! Not to mention find out where the bloody hell is Nicko!” Eris told them as Anson parried another one of the beast’s attacks. Her words though, happened to give the teenaged boy a idea that could possibly work.
“We should split up then.”
Both Eris and her father looked at the Infinity Sword in mere confusion. “Wait, what?”
“Eris, you can feel my brother’s magic, so you should focus on finding him and getting him here as quickly as possible. While you’re doing that, Amy, Molly, and I can teach this dog a few more tricks while Discord warns Twilight so she can evacuate the town.”
“That… sounds like a great idea.”
“I’m all for it!! It can let me teach this fleabag how to PLAY DEAD!!!” The Crimson Avenger roared as she triggered her Annihilation Aura and began to glow in a blood red coat of magic. Molly herself provided covering fire for her sister by summoning a Pulse Gatling drone that barraged the animal with a volley of EMP shots. Anson himself prepared his two swords as they went against their foe head on. But at the same time, wondered where his brother could be.
Canterlot
“ …You know my daughters… Amy and Molly.”
Nicko was unsure of what the hell was going on right now, but something about this made him feel uneasy. This only made things more complicated with what he asked next. “Are you…… Their mother?” The nod of the woman’s head answered one of his questions, but now had a few more questions pop up inside his head.
“Wait… Yuri told me that you… died. If that’s true, then how the hell is this happening? Are you a ghost or something?”
“No, it’s not like that.” The Noblesses replied, sighing to herself. “Would you happen to know some girl by the name of Selena?”
“Yeah. She was helping keep Amy alive when she was nearly killed.”
“MY DAUGHTER ALMOST DIED!!?!” Jane shouted, shocked by when Nicko told her just now. She had energy coming from her hands and was tempted to grab the boy and demand answers from him.
“Woah!! Wait a second!” The Rune Slayer told her as he backed away a bit. “Are you even aware of what’s going on right now?”
“No, but that’s not important right now. Selena needed me to get something from the Canterlot Archives, only telling me that the item in itself is a surprise. Not to mention that once I actually complete this task, I can see my daughters again.”
“Okay, but how can we tell what she needs?” Nicko asked the question. To his surprise, he saw the Noblesses pull out what looked like a crystalline teardrop as it faintly glowed.
“This would glow brightly when we get closer and fade when were farther away from whatever it is.”
“Well, we have a location and something to help us. Now we need to get there… and thankfully, I’ve been there before.”
“Alright, lead the way.” Jane replied. She was starting to become impressed by the child. He surely had grown, but also had picked up many useful skills that he did not have when he was the six year old child the woman had let stay in her family orphanage. Through the streets in the dimly lit alleys they went as the two of them soon arrived at the huge library. Sneaking past the guards that were on duty, the two of them were now in the main lobby as they looked around.
“Alright, how much time do you think we have before somepony notices were here?”
“Somepony?”
“It’s how they say somebody.”
“Ah, well I say we got ten minutes. Maybe fifteen?” She replied as the Noblesses lit up a torch to use as a light source. Fifteen minutes was all the two needed for them to find what Selena wanted. But in the back of the Rune Slayer’s mind, he began to worry about if Eric had already began to attack Ponyville.
Ponyville
Inside Ponyville’s library, a young Alicorn was sound asleep. Over the past few days, she had been extremely busy with her newfound duties of being the princess of friendship and right now, Twilight Sparkle was in a deep sleep. Nothing was able to disturb her since she casted a soundproof barrier around her room so she wouldn’t be able to hear any late night shenanigans from the townsfolk that were returning from the bar or just anything that she wouldn’t consider as normal. However, she did not take into account the possibility of a Draconequus sneaking in through the second floor balcony.
“Psst… Twilight… Wakey wakey……”
“F-five more minutes, Spike.” She moaned as the Alicorn began to toss and turn. Discord sighed a little, facepalming himself with his lion paw. Using his chaos magic, the spirit summoned a small firecracker and soon lit the fuse, having it set off in the middle of the room and startle the princess. She first was shocked for her life, but sighed once she saw who woke him up.
“Discord, what are you doing here? Don’t you know what time it is?”
“It’s time for you to get up. We got an emergency.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow as she looked at the Draconequus. He wasn’t one to be serious, so what was with the change in attitude? “Oh? What kind of emergency?”
“The kind where we need to evacuate everypony in Ponyville. Eric is on his way here right now.”
The name of the Diabolic Esper sent chills down her spine. “H-how do you know this?”
“Long story, but I was with Anson investigating the old castle that you wanted to refurbish. Turns out, he was using it as a place to conduct his research and plan an attack on Ponyville. He left Anson, Amy and Molly to fight against an overgrown Diamond Dog, Eris is trying to find Nicko, and last time I looked outside, Luke and the others were defending the town against a swarm of changelings since Chrysalis is working with that Diabolical Creep.”
Twilight herself was shocked for multiple reasons, but did not have the time to inquire every bit of information that she wanted to know. The town’s citizens came first and she had to make sure that every one of them was safe. “If what you say is true, then we need to act now. Do you have any ideas on how to get everypony out of here.”
The Draconequus smiled. “Yes I do. Would Cadence have happened to teach you how to use the Royal Canterlot Voice?”
“Caliburn!! On your right!!!”
The sounds of sword and steel clashing with one another echoed through the night sky as both Leo and Caliburn had to defend themselves from their attackers. It was a small battalion of changeling troops that arrived through the underground tunnel system that was connected to the Hive. Despite Leo using his mechanical arm to have the tunnels cave in, these changelings attacked them before the Reckless Fist destroyed the caverns. Right now, both the guard pony and the human were making their way towards Fluttershy’s cottage as they cut down any changeling attackers that tried to harm them.
The two of them soon made it to the cottage as Leo knocked on the door. “Fluttershy? Are you in there?!”
The squealing of animals and hearing a faint voice trying to calm them down told the two swordsmen that she was okay. By the time she reached the door, Fluttershy herself was surprised to see Leo and his friend be at the door. “Oh my… I didn’t expect any guests right now.”
“Fluttershy, we have an emergency. Everypony in Ponyville needs to be evacuated as quickly as possible. The same person that attacked Amy is making his way towards Ponyville according to what Discord told us.”
“O-oh dear. That sounds serious.”
“Indeed. Is there a place where your animals can hide until the conflict is over. I don’t want Angel or any of the other animals here getting caught in the Esper’s crosshairs.”
The pony nodded, telling all of her animals to follow the bear named Henry to his cave to the east where he normally would stay during the winter for hibernation. It was deep in the Everfree forest, so it would work for right now. Before the three of them were able to get back to town though, a loud shot ran through the air as it caught their attention.
“ATTENTION ALL CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE!! THIS IS PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND I AM HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! ALL CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE NEED TO EVACUATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!! THERE IS A PORTAL IN THE TOWN SQUARE THAT WILL TRANSPORT EVERYPONY THAT PASSES THROUGH IT INTO CANTERLOT!! THIS IS A ROYAL DECREE!!! WE NEED TO LEAVE BEFORE THE DIABOLIC ESPER REACHES TOWN-!”
Before the statement could be finished though, purple lightning began to surge and a loud explosion could be heard from the Ponyville Library.
In the town of Ponyville, all of the Changelings that were in the town were nothing but piles of ash as Eric crackled with mad laughter. His attack on the princess might have missed, but at least he was able to stop her message.
“And just when everything was going so well, you have to wreck everything.”
The Princess was trying to get back on her hooves, but soon was relieved when two girls with spears landed right in front of her.
“Twilight, hurry and get out of here. We can hold him off.” Yuri told her as she and her sister prepared to fight the Diabolic Esper.
“You really think that you could stand up against me?” The Esper said, laughing insanely. “The Burning Crusader wasn’t able to handle me when I skewered her with my shards.”
The comment though, made the Little Specter named Jade become fueled with rage. This man was the one that hurt Amy and she was going to make him pay. “YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO AMY!!”
“Jade, NO!!”
“Heh… Come at me then.” The Esper smiled menacingly as his power surged through his hands and took a pose that resembled a stance Frieza would take. “Your fate will be the same as hers.”
Back at the Archives…
Nicko and Jane were continuing their search for whatever was the “surprise” that Selena said that they had to find. But so far, the search was like finding a needle in a haystack. It would’ve been easier if Eris was here to help them. But right now, the two of them had to rely on one another in order to find what they were looking for.
“Any luck so far?”
The Noblesses shook her head in response to the Rune Slayer’s question. “No, the only point where I’m stuck at is this bookshelf.” Jane took out the crystal in her pocket as it glowed brightly in front of a bookshelf along the wall. Nicko walked over, only to notice a book that looked out of place on the shelf. When he went to push it in though, the shelves began to split apart, revealing a secret passage that went downstairs towards what the two of them assumed as a basement. When they came down there though, they came across something different though.
What they found almost looked like a huge laboratory. It contained a chest in the back of the room, a crystalline lamp in the middle of a table, and notes scattered everywhere. The thing that caught Nicko’s attention though was a book that was left open in the back of the small room as he walked over towards it. The author of the book though was what caught him by surprise.
Clover the Clever.
‘Holy crap. This place must’ve been her private study.’ The Rune Slayer thought to himself as he looked around the abandoned and empty room. He caught a glance of a strange stone inside one of a few chests that was on a shelf along with some written notes. This though, also caught Jane’s attention because the crystal she had was now vibrantly glowing. Which meant that this item was what they were looking for.
“A stone? How the bloody hell is a stone suppose to help my daughters!?”
“Hang on a second, This isn’t any ordinary stone.” The teen told her. “According to these notes, this is the Sound Mind Stone. An artifact that can be placed into the soul of a being and prevent those that wield dark magic of going berserk when near death’s door. This would probably be something that can help out Amy.”
“Really? How so?” Jane asked, intrigued by the boy’s words.
“Well, her newfound powers are like a double edge sword. She can dish out more damage in exchange for draining herself of her own health. If Amy goes overboard, and something tells me she will, she might kill herself without knowing it.”
This alarmed the Noblesses. She had just come back to life in order to see her daughters again and now her oldest daughter had control of something that might be her downfall. Jane now had only one goal in mind as she took hold of the artifact. To get this to her daughter as soon as possible. Using a piece of paper that looked like a ticket, Jane thanked the Rune Slayer and disappeared in a vibrant flash. When Nicko opened his eyes again, the mother of Amy and Molly was nowhere to be seen.
‘She must’ve used a Cobo Express Ticket.’ Nicko thought to himself. In Elsword, Cobo Express Tickets were Cash Shop Items that allowed the player to teleport themselves to different towns and outposts instantly. Selena must’ve given one to Jane so she could return to Ponyville as soon as she got what she needed. Speaking of Ponyville, Nicko realized that he might have been taking up too much time inside this place.
He was beginning to hear voices. Voices that weren’t his or like anyone else he already met. In fact, the voice was coming from the Crystalline Lamp in the center of the room.
‘Hello…’
Nicko turned around, only to be surprised at what was speaking to him. It was a light green unicorn who wore a leather cloak and had a emerald mane and tale. Her eyes were of a light purple and similar to Twilights, but she looked more like a scholar than a sorceress. She looked like a ghost since Nicko saw the pony as semi-transparent. But if he could see her, then she could see him.
“Hello? Who are you?”
The Unicorn smiled to herself as she looked at the Teen. “I’m Clover. Clover the Clever.”
‘Holy Crap. I’m now talking to the dead?! That’s new.’ Nicko thought to himself as he blinked a few times, trying to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. But to his surprise, this was completely real. He was talking to the Archmage that was the student of Starswirl the Bearded.
“It has been quite some time since I’ve had anypony come in here. Matter of fact, it has been quite some time since anypony figured out where my private chambers were. Tell me, what is your name?”
“Nicko Nocte, Ms. Clover.”
The last name of the boy caught the Unicorn’s attention. “I’ve heard that name before. One of the human bodyguards of the Royal Siblings mentioned a son by that name.”
“I guess that means you met my parents?” Nicko asked her.
“Indeed… Wow, this is truly extraordinary! I have so many things that I want to ask you!!” The Unicorn was personally beaming with joy. That was when she noticed the markings on the Teen’s shoulders and the book that the teen carried alongside his bag. The book that contained her teacher’s research on Runic Sorcery. This boy… he couldn’t be what she thought he was… could it? “Wait a second, is that my masters book!?!”
‘Oh great job Nicko, you managed to piss off a ghost. Wonderful…’
Soon though, the human began to hear Clover talk to herself as she floated around the room like the ghost she was. She seemed deep in thought, trying to figure out something that puzzled her. “But only somepony with control over Runic Magic could be able to understand what’s within that book. Why would he have it on him?”
“Um, I’m sorry for interrupting you, Ms. Clover. But I believe I can answer that question for you.” Nicko told her as he began to focus on his magic. The teen concentrated his power to both of his palms as Clover watched in shock and awe. Soon, the magic that Clover thought was long gone appeared to surge from the boy as Nicko now harnessed his powers into one hand and his sword into another.
“B-but how?!”
“Well, I’m a Rune Slayer.” Nicko explained. “A Warrior who relies on both Sword and Sorcery. Also, if I may take a page from your book, I’m what you would call a Displaced.”
The word Displaced had Clover’s eyes widen. Ever since she came up with the theory, the unicorn had never met anyone who was an actual Displaced. In fact, the theory she came up with was just a guess and she never really had any evidence to prove her claims. “Y-you’re a Displaced!?”
“I am. In fact, because of your theory, I have had a better understanding of myself and also the other Displaced that I had met.” Nicko continued on to explain about his encounter with Ryu, the Elder Dragon; his brothers encounter with Jack Frost; and lastly, their encounter with the man named Handsome Jack. The teen also explained about how a Displaced could be summoned because of a summoning token that they have and even showed the Unicorn Spirit the Dragon Tear that Ryu gave him just to give a visual reference.
Nicko though, could not stay long. He had friends and family that might be facing Eric as he spoke and needed to hurry back in order to join the fight to protect Ponyville. Upon mentioning the Diabolic Esper though, Clover became scared. The man that killed the parents of Celestia and Artemis had broken free of his prison. Even though she couldn’t fight alongside the Rune Slayer, the Unicorn knew of another way she could help.
“Wait… Before you go, there’s something I believe might help you with facing against that demonic fiend.”
Nicko himself raised an eyebrow as the mare walked over to another one of the chests that was on the shelf. With a nod of Clover’s head, the boy opened it to find something that really surprised him.
It was a weapon. But not like any other weapon that an Equestrian would have on them. It was a pistol with a name etched along the grip.
“I found this a few nights after coming up with the Displaced Theory. I kept it, thinking it would help me with my research. But I believe it might be better in more capable hands such as yourself.”
Nicko picked up the gun, holstering it in his pocket. “Thank you kindly.”
“I must go. Thanks to you, I can move on to the next life.”
“Wait, what do you mean?”
“Souls only remain in this world if they have any questions left unanswered. Since you answered mine, I can move on to where my master and my friends are. Thank you again, Nicko. You are indeed a good friend. One who’s willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good.”
Before Nicko could say thank you, Clover was gone. Whisked away in a small shimmer of light. But now was not the time for him to become upset. Especially with the new voice that caught his attention.
“Nicko!!”
It was Eris. Oh thank god, was he relieved to see a familiar face. “Eris, where in the world have you been?”
“Where have I been? Where the hell have YOU been!?! I’ve been looking for you for the past hour and Eric is fighting through Ponyville as we speak. He already trashed Yuri and Jade, almost smashed Leo’s mechanical arm and tore your parents to freaking pieces!!”
“He did what!?” was Nicko’s first reaction. He knew that his parents and his friends were strong, but to find out that Eric had single handedly defeated all five of them was shocking enough. Now, he was worried about Twilight and the others. “We got to get there before Eric kills everypony in the town!”
“Daddy’s already one step ahead on that one. He got the Elements of Harmony to Evacuate everypony out of the town so the only ones who are there are those who are capable of fighting him.”
“What about the injured?”
“ ……Oh horseapples.” The Spirit cursed. Wasting no time, she grabbed Nicko’s shoulder and teleported them to the battlefield that was the town of Ponyville.
Upon arrival, The Rune Slayer and the chaos spirit inside his head found the entire town in a savage wreck. Almost like Hurricane Katrina round two. The town hall and numerous other buildings had received massive damage because of the Esper’s rampage. Several buildings were on fire and the sounds of screams and steel wailed through the streets. Not one to wait around for something to happen, Nicko began to run towards the sound and soon came across town square.
Where he found Anson losing ground against the psychotic tracer. Amy and Molly were barely standing due to the amount of Injuries they had received and his father was trying to attend to a head would that Ciela had got from one of Eric’s dynamo’s striking her in the face. Leo’s arm looked like it needed major repairs and Yuri & Jade were unconscious due to the amount of blood loss that they had suffered from their wounds. Caliburn was nowhere in sight; probably due to him helping the evacuation efforts earlier
“Give it up already! All of you are just lambs to the slaughter except for this one.” Eric menacingly insulted them as he pointed at Anson. “He has been able to keep up with my movements and quick enough to block my attacks. But what he has in mobility, he lacks in skill-.”
“Oh really?”
Nicko’s words caused the esper to turn around and stare at him. He had been wondering when he would show up, but also was surprised. The teen was pulsing with energy, much different from his previous encounters.
“Well, about time… and I was thinking of some good jokes. How many pipsqueaks does it take to-.”
SMACK!!!
“-Bash your face?” Nicko finished his sentence as he sent the Esper flying into the town hall. “I say two.”
Shortly afterwards, The Rune Slayer tossed a Complete Recovery potion to his brother as the Infinity Sword felt his strength return to him. “Glad you can make it, Nicko. I assume that you have some kind of plan or something?”
“I’m working on it. For right now, keep this.” Nicko told him as he handed the gun Clover gave him to Anson. “It may come in handy later.”
“O……kay, but how are we suppose to get everyone out of here. They’re beyond exhausted and can barely stand.”
“Oh trust me, that will come into play pretty soon.” Five…… Four…… Three…… Two…… One……
At one, Jane leaped down from a rooftop and used her powers to have all the injured end up in one specific spot.
“Jane. Both Anson and I got this. Get out of here while you still can.”
“But what about you-.”
“FORGET ABOUT US!! NOW GO!!!”
The Noblesses was shocked by Nicko’s tone, but soon nodded her head and told the two of them to please stay safe. She then flashed her Cobo Express Ticket again to teleport them away. However, the one thing that was going through her head was one thing that the boys were not at that moment in time.
Safe.
Canterlot
“Eric is what!?”
The shouts through the hall rang with the sounds of a horrified Celestia and Artemis speaking in unison as Twilight and Discord informed them on the current situation. “Luke felt the disturbance earlier this morning and he and the others are fighting to keep him at bay. We were lucky enough to get everypony out of there before I closed the gateway-.”
Suddenly, a loud THUD!! of multiple bodies hitting the pavement occurred at the other end of the hall as everypony turned towards the newfound noise. Some even screaming at the sight.
“Is anypony here a doctor?! These people are severely hurt and need medical attention!!! Please HELP THEM!!!”
The voice came from a new figure that strangely resembled Ciela, but also looked like the exact opposite of her. Trotting her over in a quickening pace, Celestia stared at the woman with authority in her eyes. “And who are you to be giving such abrupt requests-?”
That was when Amy and Molly began to open their eyes again and look at the figure who rescued them. She recognized the voice, but also somehow knew who it was. “M-mom?”
Jane turned around, surprised to see one of her daughters has woken up. “Oh my god! AMY!!”
The emotional and heartfelt reunion between mother and daughters was soon the beginning of a long explanation on how Jane had been brought back from the dead. Even Ciela was brought to tears to see her best friend again. But now, the Chiliarch had a question for the Noblesses.
“Jane… Where are my boys?”
This was met by silence. But soon, the question was answered not by her, but by Discord. The Draconequus was using his powers to conjure a scrying orb that allowed everypony to see what was going on in Ponyville. To the shock and horror of everypony in the room, the brothers were there, fighting Eric.
“Oh my god…” Ciela gasped, watching as her sons took on the monster that was hellbent on destroying everything in his way. Seeing this caused something to go off in Celestia’s mind as the Sun Alicorn turned towards a nearby Gleaming Shield and Flash Sentry.
“Both of you, retrieve the elements of harmony!!! This battle must end without anypony becoming a casualty of that monster!!”
Because the Princess swore by her parents graves that this will not happen again.
Back in Ponyville…
The Rune Slayer had to remember to thank Ryu for all the training the Elder Dragon gave him the first time he got displaced. Because right now, all of his teachings was helping him combat and get an advantage on the Esper. The first move he made was with an upward slash of his sword to kick up some dirt, distorting Eric’s vision. Follow that with him chucking a few Rune inscribed stones and you get yourself a smokescreen with a package of Splash Explosion grenades that detonated in the Tracer’s face.
When the stones exploded, most of the debris was caught by the dynamo’s of the psychopath while shards of broken rock struck him around the waist. Following Nicko’s diversion, Anson went in with Swords flying. The Blades themselves gave minimal scars and scratches as the Infinity Sword continued his assault while the Esper countered each of his incoming blades with his dynamo’s. However, this left him wide open from behind the Esper.
Nicko seized the opportunity to backstab the human as he detonated some runes by his feet to give himself some newfound speed. Eric though, noticed him seconds before the Warrior could reach him and had Spacial Energy course through his fingertips.
“MAXIMUM STRIKE!!!”
The skill had a series of six spiked balls that replicated Leo’s Bloody thorns surround him, causing the brother to back off as Eric had the sets split into two groups of three projectiles and head straight towards them. They were lucky for the attack to just clip them in the shoulder and not take the full force of the blow as one of the shots blew most of the roof off of the Carousel Boutique.
Looking back at Eric though, their tactics of dodging the attack only caused him to get angrier as the Esper kicked forth spheres of Telekinetic Energy towards the Infinity Sword. Dodging the first two strikes, Anson was caught off guard when the third blast yanked him towards Eric as he was preparing a powerful surge of energy around his hands. As he pulled off his “Force Nova” attack, the Infinity Sword used his swords to block the attack. But due to the force of the blow, his main greatsword received a crack down the center of the blade. But still, the Esper’s offensive advantage caused him to lower his guard down again, turning his back on the Rune Slayer that was right behind him as he was channeling a surge of Aquamarine Magic at his Fingertips.
“LUNA BLADE!!”
By the time that Eric actually noticed the teen’s surprise attack, the magical sword struck him. Making his body course in pain and draining him of a portion of his mana, restoring Nicko’s. “Thanks for the meal.”
“Grr… You two are beginning to piss me off. Fight SERIOUSLY!!! You’re just making me think that you’re buying time for your friends.”
“Buying time?” We’re the only one’s here.”
“Pfft. Like I would fall for the same move twice.” Eric snarled as he looked at Nicko with a menacing glare. “Your dad said the same thing all those years ago before those two royal brats encased me in stone. Thankfully, with my research being complete, I have a few new tricks up my sleeves.”
‘What the hell is this guy talking about?’ Eris asked inside Nicko’s head. Seconds later, they saw the Tracer go into his Overlimit mode with his Nasod Armor. His power was coursing through him uncontrollably as a violet Crystal around his neck began to pulse violently. His face was one of pure insanity as he looked at the boys.
“Now the fun begins…” Anson grinned, eager and ready to go up against this new challenge. Unaware of the cracks in his weapon of choice.
“You are just eager to die, aren’t you?” The Esper retorted.
“Not really, but I say Screw the Rules.”
Anson and Eric charged at each other seconds afterwards, weapons clashing head on as they dodged and weaved their way out of each other’s attacks. Nicko himself soon joined in the fray, landing a few good blows in places where the Tracer left his guard down and also teaming up with his brother so they could keep up the element of surprise as this continued to drag on for another ten to fifteen minutes. The struggle tired all three of them, but they were still able to stand. But the biggest surprise was something that the two brothers never expected.
‘Nicko! Anson!! There’s a HUGE source of Magic beginning to build right now!!’
Both of the brother’s looked at each other in confusion as Nicko replied to Eris’ mental statement. ‘Magic? From where?’
‘Canterlot Castle. It’s Twilight and the others. They have the Elements of Harmony. And just at the right time too. I’m almost out of energy.’
Both of the exhausted brothers turned around towards the direction of the castle as they saw a huge light began to take form. It reminded them of Goku in Dragon Ball Z when he was forming the Spirit Bomb against Frieza on Namek. But right now, the two of them needed to get out of the way for when that attack was fired.
The blast that followed afterwards was a bright colorful laser that ripped through the sky and the clouds as it made it’s way towards it’s intended target. As this happened though, Nicko noticed something off with Eric. When he saw the blast, he didn’t cringe or hesitate to flee. Instead, he just stood there, laughing to himself as he covered one of his eyes with his hands and continued to howl like a hyena.
“YOU FOOLS DON’T GET IT DO YOU!?!! I’VE PREPARED ALL OF MY RESEARCH IN ORDER TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN!!! NOW SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR FOOLISH MISTAKES!!!” While shouting this, Nicko noticed that the energy in his Dynamo’s began to overflow. Something about this was completely wrong.
‘Eris, something’s not right. Do you have enough energy to teleport me?’
‘Yeah, but only once. Why do you-?’
‘I ask because that bastard is going to pull off something and I believe Anson is in the crosshairs. I need to make sure he is safe no matter what the hell happens to me.’
Eris thought about it inside her head, but soon understood what he meant. ‘I understand. I’m with you til the end of the line, Nicky.’
That’s when she teleported the Rune Slayer. Like he was predicting the future, Nicko was right about his guess on the Esper. As the blast drew closer, The Rune Slayer saw Eric use his weapons to do the impossible.
Deflect the blast from the elements of harmony. Straight towards Anson.
“DIE!!!”
“NO!!!!”
A loud explosion soon went off as it clouded the small town of Ponyville in smoke.
Canterlot
“D-did we do it?”
That was the question on Twilights mind as she and her friends returned from the Castle walls to look at the scrying orb. Amy looked on with the rest of the humans in anticipation to see the results of the Mane Six’s surprise attack and see if they were successfully able to stop the Rampaging Tracer from causing anymore damage.
All was going well though until Discord dropped to the floor, flinching in severe pain.
“AGH!!!”
“Discord, what’s wrong!?!” Fluttershy squeaked, worried for her friend.
“S-something happened down there. I felt Eris…… disappear.”
That’s when those that were watching the orb saw the impossible. The Diabolic Esper was still alive.
Anson was struggling to his feet as he was coughing from the smoke that got into his lungs. He couldn’t see anything because of how thick it was, but instinct made him try whatever he could to find his twin sibling.
“Nicko? Are you there!? NICKO!!!”
The brother of the Rune Slayer was beginning to panic. He was worried for him. For a moment though, he felt relieved as he saw the shadow of his brother right in front of him. But that was when he decided to try and touch him on the shoulder.
“Oh thank god, I was able to find-.”
When his hand met Nicko’s shoulder, he did not feel skin or cloth from his clothes. Instead, he felt rough cold stone. Anson’s eyes widened. This can’t be happening right now. Where the hell was his brother?! This had to be some sick joke!!
“Oh my…… wasn’t he a valiant one.”
The chilling voice of a familiar foe crashed Anson’s train of thought as the smoke faded away to show Eric. Still alive. “Using himself as a human shield to save his brother’s life even after I rebounded that Harmonic Blast. That takes character.”
‘He… protected me?’ Anson thought to himself, staring in disbelief. He couldn’t accept the fact of what truly happened. His brother was gone. Taken away from him by this wretched monster!!
He needed to suffer for the lives he had stolen.
That was when a warm glow could be felt from his pockets. Coming from the gun that Nicko had given him. He could now read the name that was etched on the grip of the weapon.
Evoker.
Now Anson’s eyes were no longer filled with sorrow, but with anger. Rage coursed through him like a crashing river. Now he glanced at the Esper, who noticed the change in his eyes. “Oh, well now. Have you come to fight?”
“No…” Anson said, drawing out the gun that his brother left behind for him. “I’m going to kill you.”
Eric himself had noticed the handgun in the Infinity Sword’s hands and laughed. “You can not be serious. Do you honestly think that little pea shooter is going to harm me? You must be out of your damn mind.”
“True, but who said I was going to be shooting you?”
Before the Diabolic Esper could say anything, Anson cocked back the weapon he held in his hands and aimed at the one place that made everypony that was watching back in Canterlot horrified. His head.
“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND!?” The Esper shouted. “HOW IS THIS GOING TO HELP YOU?! YOU’LL JUST KILL YOURSELF!!”
“True, but this is actually not a gun. This is a Summoning token, and it’s also the reason why Nicko gave it to me.”
Persona…
BANG!!!
The shot that rang out did not kill the teen, but instead had a powerful surge of magic flow around him as it began to taken form.
“Thou art I and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I come...”
"I am Orpheus, Master of Strings."
End Chapter 15
