While I might have appeared to be asleep, I was actually carefully watching the gathered ponies from under lowered eyelids. Just like what had happened with Rocky, there was an odd sort of overlay to their words whenever they spoke. I assume it's because of the difference in their species and that most of the individual species throughout the world will have their own individual language and lifestyle. I don't know why I'm able to understand their words but I am grateful that I can. If I couldn't, I would have no idea of what they were talking about.
Whenever they speak, I can hear neighs and whinnies overlaying words. I suppose that makes sense, what with them being ponies and all. The purple one by the name of Twilight seems to be the leader of the group. It sounds as if she has a close relationship with someone called Princess Celestia. Celestia. Princess. Hmm. Ever since the dark one's banishment, the only individual that would qualify as the leader of these ponies would be the white one with both wings and a horn. That must be her. I'm glad to hear that she's doing well.
As the mares continued to talk, I kept my ears perked up and listed to the flow of the conversation. Seems like they're talking about when I moved the sun back into the sky so it would be easier for myself and Fluttershy to pass through that forest. Whoops. I'll have to remember that my actions can have unexpected consequences. I don't want anyone to realize what I am just yet; not until I've had enough time to ascertain my own abilities.
When that chimera showed up, I came far closer to testing out my cherry bomb technique on him than I would care to admit. The ponies seem to have accepted him as a friend, but I remember him. I remember watching what he's done. Sinking my fangs into his jugular would be a kindness compared to some of the things he's done. I'll be watching him.
That said, I am surprised to see him out and about. When I was still in the sun, he was still imprisoned in his stone statue that the two large ponies had sealed him in. But now he's out and about, apparently as free as a bird. I had thought that I had appeared in the forest almost immediately after being freed from the sun, but I see now that was not the case.
How much time passed before my awakening? I wonder.
Well, it doesn't really matter. I'm here now and I don't intend to leave.
Oop, it looks like they're still talking.
"This is bad. This is really, really bad." Twilight is muttering to herself as she paces back and forth. Her mane is beginning to fray and hairs are sticking up in every direction. "This is really, really, really, really bad."
I get the feeling she would be doing that all day if someone didn't intervene. Thankfully, the white one with a horn and the coiffed mane interjects to stop her. I admit, I'm jealous of that mane. Back in my old body, I could never manage to get my hair to come close to even resembling anything that could be called 'fancy'. The blasted stuff had the consistency of hay.
"Now Twilight, calm down," the white one says. What was her name again? Shoot, it's on the tip of my tongue.
"Calm down?!" Twilight exclaims. "Rarity, how in the hay am I supposed to calm down?!" Oh, so her name is Rarity!
I was gonna get it eventually.
"It's okay, Twilight," Rarity sooths, reaching out with a hoof to brush down Twilight's frayed mane. "Nothing bad has happened yet. Maybe whatever is doing this isn't actually something evil." She smiles weakly, as if she doesn't hold much hope in what she's saying but is just saying it to try and calm her friend down.
"Hah! Yeah right," the flying one with a rainbow mane exclaims, swooping down beside Rarity. I think her name was Rainbow? And if it wasn't, I don't care. Her name is now Rainbow. "As far as I'm concerned, anything that thinks it can steal the sun away from the Princess is nothing more than the worst kind of evil monster and we should show it what it means to mess with us."
...I swear, I am going to crap all over your bed. Brown Rage everywhere.
Rarity huffs as she looks sidelong at Rainbow. "Rainbow Dash, you are not helping." Huh. I got it right. Well, I suppose Dash fits her a little better anyways.
"Yeah, but isn't she right?" the one wearing the absolutely adorable Stetson on her head asks. I just want to lick you over and over before running off with your hat, you adorably silly looking pony, you. "Whatever did this, it seems ta be stronger than even Discord. If it really is a threat, we shouldn't hold back."
Rarity sighs. "I'm not saying that, but we shouldn't assume the worst of something we haven't even met yet." Hi! I'm in the room! "If nothing else, we should give it a chance to explain itself."
Yeah, let me try that right now.
Applejack glances over at me. "Fluttershy, why did yer wolf just bark? Is it hungry?"
"Oh, are you?" Fluttershy quietly asks, hovering over me and rubbing at my back with her hooves. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think about that. Could you please wait until we get back to my place? I've got some yummy kibble for you to enjoy."
Sigh. I rest my head back on my paws with a disgruntled huff. Can't say I didn't see that coming. Fluttershy's massage does feel good, though... Mmm...
"Forget the wolf," Twilight complains. "This is actually important." Right after Rainbow, your bed is next. "How are we supposed to take on something capable of overpowering even Discord?"
As if waiting for his cue, Discord flashes back into the room at that very moment. Under his arm, he's holding an odd, elaborate box. "Special delivery," he proclaims, dropping the box on Twilight's head. And just like that, he's gone again.
"Oww," Twilight complains, rubbing at the growing bump on her head. "What was that about?"
"Oh, is it cupcakes?" the pink one asks, bouncing up beside Twilight and nosing the box. "I really, really, really hope its cupcakes."
Stetson Pony reaches out with her mouth and bites the pink one's tail, pulling her away from the box. "Somehow, I don't think it's cupcakes Pinkie," she says, spitting out the mass of hair. She waves at the strange box. "Go on, Twi. Give it a look."
Twilight nods her head before a glow surrounds her horn and the box floats up into the air. She swallows once and I surreptitiously lean forward, curious to see what might be in the box as it pops open.
Six artifacts sit nestled within the box's confines, glowing internally with a strange and mysterious light. Five of the objects look like necklaces, each one matching the mark that sits on the flank of one of the ponies in this room. The sixth looks like a tiara and its design matches up with Twilight's own mark.
As the artifacts came into view, I felt a strange sensation of calm washing over me. Simply looking at them, I can tell these things contain great power within them. Better yet, I can tell that they are a strong force for good. I feel a connection with them. As their light washes over me, I close my eyes and take a moment to revel in their soothing warmth.
Hmm? That's odd? I can feel the warmth coming from the artifacts, but isn't there a sensation that's missing? What happened to Fluttershy's massage?
Curious, I open my eyes and look up to see Fluttershy flying several body lengths away from me and staring at me with wide eyes. My gaze starts to go around the room to stare at the rest of the ponies, and I realize that each and every one of them is staring directly at me with expressions of shock on their faces.
Afraid of what I'm going to see, I look down at my own body to see that my body has undergone some rather disconcerting changes. There's a glow that's now coming off of my own body and the spiky and flowing nature of my fur has now intensified. In some way, I reacted to the mere presence of those objects. Instead of looking like base Amaterasu, I now look like she did at the very end of the game, when she beat Yami.
Aaaaand, going by all these stares I'm getting, I'm guessing that was enough to pierce through the illusion that surrounds me. You know, the one that makes me look like an ordinary wolf.
Aw, hells.
---------------
Twilight couldn't believe it.
The instant she had opened the box containing the Elements of Harmony, the strange white wolf had seemed to... transform.
The way it looked now, Twilight couldn't believe she had ever been fooled into thinking it was nothing more than a regular wolf. Thick red markings covered the wolf's entire body, giving it a vicious, almost threatening look. White tendrils streamed from its back, filling the room and Twilight flinched as the very tips of one of the tendrils flowed past her face. There was even an odd disk floating directly above the wolf's back that burned like a roaring inferno.
But worst of all, and it was what convinced her that what she was seeing was no illusion, was the sensation of power. The wolf positively radiated magic, more than she had ever felt from a living being before. The only thing that could possibly compare were the Elements of Harmony themselves.
"W-well girls," Twilight managed to force out through chattering teeth as she stared at the wolf in shock. "I think we've found our culprit."
"Uh-huh," Rainbow Dash agreed. It was a measure of how overwhelmingly powerful the force rolling off of the wolf was that Rainbow hadn't already rushed it. "Yay us. Now what?"
Before Twilight could respond, the wolf moved. It was a small movement, as it did nothing more threatening than stand up. However, Twilight's nerves, already frayed to the limit by the unexpected appearance of such a powerful being out of nowhere, abruptly snapped. A powerful purple beam shot from her horn directly towards where the wolf lay.
The white wolf leapt out of the way of her attack and rushed towards the window. Grabbing the flaming mirror on its back in its teeth, it smashed the window open and vanished outside. Terrified screams from outside filled the air, the sound breaking Twilight out of her stupor.
"We have to hurry!" Twilight snapped out, grabbing the elements and floating them towards her friends before jamming the last one on her head. "After that wolf!"
---------------
Well, that could have gone better.
This is my thought as I run through the formerly quiet town of Ponyville, dodging through all the running and screaming ponies that filled the streets. What had once been a serene country town has transformed in an instant to a scene that wouldn't be out of place in a Godzilla movie. Well, if Tokyo was populated by candy-coloured equines, that is.
My considerations on the nature of the greatest thing ever is brought to a screeching halt as I hear a loud voice over the general din. "Hey!" it screams. "Where do you think you're going?" I look behind me to see that Rainbow is chasing me. She's fast. Too fast. I won't be able to escape, or evade her.
So I don't.
Bunching up the muscles in my legs, I leap as high as I can into the air, turning my body so that I'm facing the oncoming pegasus. Seeing what I'm doing, she corrects her flight path and flies directly at me. Unfortunately for her, that's exactly what I want. Once she's too close to dodge, I pull out my reflector in front of me and she flies face first into it to the sound of someone hitting a gong.
While she's still dazed, I reach out and grab the scruff of her neck in my teeth. Holding tightly enough to prevent her from escaping but not tightly enough to draw blood, we drop back towards the ground. Despite her struggles, she cannot escape and I slam her into the dirt. She gasps as the wind is knocked out of her and I let go. She's coughing, trying to catch her breath, but she doesn't look too badly hurt.
Deciding she'll be fine, I turn and run off. This is probably a good moment to go over my weapons, which I skipped before. The one I'm currently wielding, as well as Ammy's main and signature weapon, is the reflector. The reflector takes on the appearance of a mirror and is based off of one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, the Yata no Kagami.
When used in battle, the reflectors can either be equipped as the main or the sub weapon. When used as the main weapon, it can be used to defeat foes through the wonderful power of bashing them into submission. However, its true power comes when it is equipped as a sub weapon. Like this, it can be used to block enemy attacks just like a shield. If Ammy manages to block a direct physical attack with perfect timing, she will grab onto her foe before flinging them high into the air and slamming them down against the ground, much like I just did to Rainbow Dash. I held back, though. She'll be fine. Probably.
If a reflector is equipped into both the main slot and the sub slot, and the ability Wailing Mirror is known, then the amount of time the mirror can be used to block attacks will be increased. As an added bonus, the attacks from the mirror will also deal increased damage. Very nice.
A flicker of movement catches my attention and I dodge to the side just in time to avoid a lasso landing where I was standing a moment ago. Looks like the others caught up while I was distracted by Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy immediately rushes up to where Rainbow lies and begins fussing over her. Rainbow tries to push her away while assuring her she's fine but Fluttershy is remaining adamant. Unfortunately, I can't watch this interplay any longer because my attention is being drawn to somewhere else. With a snap of her tail, the Stetson Pony pulls the lasso back to her and, in a single motion, loops it back up.
Alright, you want to play? Let's play.
The Stetson pony lashes her tail towards me and the lasso flies straight at me in what is an admittedly impressive display of control. Seriously, if she wasn't determined to be my enemy, I bet I could spend hours just watching her performing whatever tricks she knows with that rope.
Another time, perhaps.
The reflector on my back disappears, and is replaced by a long string of yellow beads. I lash out with the beads, and they end up getting tangled up with the incoming lasso. With a loud bark, I yank back on the beads as hard as I can. The Stetson Pony yelps in surprise as the rope is torn out of her grasp and ends up falling in a messy pile next to me.
This is Amaterasu's second weapon: the Rosary. Simultaneously the longest and fastest weapon in Ammy's arsenal, the Rosary is capable of hitting an enemy multiple times with a single swing at a long distance and represents the Yasakani no Magatama of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. When equipped as a sub weapon, the Rosary can be used to fire off beads like bullets before needing a small cooldown time prior to being fired again. The beads can either be fired one after another like a submachine gun or all at once in a spray like a shotgun, depending on which Rosary is equipped.
If the ability Bead String is known and a Rosary is equipped into both the main and sub weapon slots, then there is no cooldown time needed before firing the beads again.
Stetson Pony stares from me to the rope on the ground beside me in stunned disbelief. Her mouth moves, but no noise comes from it for several seconds before she manages to forces something out. "How in the hay...?"
"Applejack!" Twilight shouts, her horn lighting up. Aww. I liked Stetson Pony. "Get out of the way!"
Twilight's horn flares brightly and a shimmering purple force field comes into being all around me, trapping me in a bubble. I whine curiously before reaching out to touch the bubble with my nose. It's solid, without any give to it, and feels oddly cool to the touch. My nose tingles from touching it, and I recoil away from the force field, sneezing like I just inhaled a bug.
"Alright, girls," Twilight says, coming to stand in front of me. "Get in formation! Let's hit it with the Elements while it's still trapped!"
Oh? Trapped, am I? Hit me with Elements, will you?
Yoda I am not, hmmhmmmhmmhmmmmmmmmmm.
As the mares clump together to do something, I switch out my Rosary for Amaterasu's third and final weapon, the Glaive, which is based off of the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi sword from the Imperial Regalia of Japan. The Glaive is Ammy's strongest weapon, but also the hardest to use. It requires a charge up time before it can reach its full power, during which Ammy is unable to move or defend herself.
As a Sub Weapon, the Glaive can be used to pull off different attacks. However, they still require charging to reach their full power. If the skill Sword Dance is known and a Glaive is equipped into both the Main and Sub weapon slots, both weapons get a damage boost and their charge speed increases.
There is just enough space in the force field to pull out my blue sword and hold it high above my head. Energy begins to gather around it almost instantly and the blade starts to glow.
"Twiliiiiiiiight," Pinkie says with a nervous ring to her voice as she bounces beside Twilight. "Wolfie's doing somethiiiiiiiiiing."
"Don't worry, Pinkie," Twilight reassures Pinkie as her horn glows even brighter. "I've reinforced the barrier. No way it's getting through there now."
Good enough! With a restrain howl, muffled by the hilt in my mouth, I swing down the Glaive as hard as I can. The sound of a bell rings out as my sword slams into Twilight's shield. There's only a momentary hesitation before my sword continues on its path, slicing through Twilight's force field as if it wasn't there.
As my swing comes to an end, the barrier around me begins to shimmer and shake before fading out of sight entirely. Twilight and the rest all stare at me in shock.
"How..." Twilight gasps out. Close your mouth, girl! You look like a beached fish! "How... How do you keep blocking everything we do!?"
Whoops, I think I made her mad. Twilight's horn flares brightly one more time, and she unleashes a blast of power at me, just like she had back at her home.
This time, I'm prepared.
With the merest thought, the world fades away. Colours mute, lines blur, and everything freezes. Twilight's attack lies frozen in time, unable to do anything more then sit there, awaiting whatever I may choose to do to it.
With a single movement of my tail, I draw a single, straight line across Twilight's attack.
Power Slash.
The world comes back into being with the echoing sound of something being cut. Twilight gapes as her attack dissipates, fading away as if it had never been, to which I just pant mockingly.
Then Twilight jumps in surprise as a tree loudly crashes to the ground behind her. Followed by another one. And another one. Then the ground itself begins to shudder and quake as a house behind Twilight starts to fall apart with a clear line sliced horizontally through it.
And...
Um...
Err...
Well... This is awkward.
No one was using that mountain, right?
----------------
Twilight couldn't believe it. Whatever she had been expecting when she saw the sun jump back up to mid-day, it certainly hadn't been this. She had no idea how the wolf did it. It must have used some sort of magic, but she just couldn't figure out what it could have done. She hadn't even seen it move. One second, she had been about to hit the wolf with a strong paralytic spell. The next, her spell had vanished and trees were collapsing down all around her.
In the distance, Twilight could do nothing but stare in stunned silence as the top of a distant mountain was sliced off and began a slow slide to the ground far below.
Twilight turned her head to look at the incredibly powerful wolf, expecting a mocking grin or a dismissive smirk. Instead, the wolf wasn't paying her any attention, only staring at the cut-off tip of the mountain with an expression that mirrored Twilight's own.
Twilight didn't know what was going on with the wolf, but she wasn't about to miss this opportunity. "Girls," she whispered quietly, not wanting to draw the wolf's attention. When there was no response, she whispered again, more loudly. "Girls!"
"Huh? Wh-what, is it, Twilight?" Rarity asked, tearing her attention away from the mountain.
"Elements. Now." At her command, the large purple star atop Twilight's head began to glow. The glow passed from one mare's artifact to another until all the Elements were lit up. The power began to lift the girls up into the air, and Twilight opened her glowing eyes to stare at the unmoving wolf.
The wolf still didn't move even as the power of the Elements hit it full-force.