//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 - A broken blade // Story: Celestia Trigger // by Thadius0 //------------------------------// The path up to the actual shrine where the sword was said to rest wasn't an easy one to walk. It was a long and winding path that had more than its fair share of goblinoid foes. Both of the armed and unarmed variety. Copper's magic and flamethrower were invaluable in dealing with them. There were also a fair assortment of fiends armed with swords, who thought themselves the masters of ambushing others. Our combined forces and robot swiftly disabused them of that notion. The terrain was uneven and perfect for them to try ambushing us, but we were simply too strong as a team for them to get much traction against us. The road to the shrine was so erratic we even had to walk down a stream and carefully find a way down the waterfall in order to progress at one point. Fortunately, there was a nearby path worn into the cliffside that we could walk down with relative ease. And once we did that, it wasn't long before we found ourselves facing the cave the sword was said to reside in. "I wonder if it was the path or the monsters that made it a supposed challenge for others," I mused as we walked into the cave. "Likely the monsters," Zehan supplied. "They're griffons, after all. They could fly." "Sound reasoning," Justice pointed out. There seemed to be nothing in the room, something that set my nerves on edge. Wasn't there supposed to be something here? Just then, a beam of light fell from above after having worked its way through a few rocks and illuminated the cave, showing us that there was an upper level as compared to the one we were on, where a sword was embedded into the rock. Then we heard the voice. "Whoosh!" it said, before a pale yellow pegasus pony flew down in front of us, doing a few stunts in the small cave. "I'm the wind!" he proclaimed, before doing a few more stunts. "I don't like this," Copper muttered as she watched the pegasus colt. I had only just noticed it was a colt myself, not a full-grown stallion. "How did this kid beat us here?" "Scans are showing an abnormal amount of energy around the colt," Justice agreed. "I recommend caution." Seeing that the kid hadn't paid any attention to us, I decided to edge my way up to the platform where the sword rested. Hoping that maybe, perhaps, I could grab ahold of it and get out. It was not to be. As I ascended towards the sword, the pegasus colt screamed out "Wait!" and landed in front of me. "Did you come here for the sword? The Masamune?" he asked. "Yes," I said, already knowing where this would be going and gripping the hilt of my katana. "Not another one," the colt groaned before looking at the sword. "Hey, big brother Masa!" Another voice spoke up then, and from behind the sword, somehow, a lanky pale yellow unicorn colt appeared, rubbing his eyes. "What is it Mune?" "Alert," Justice said. "These two are more than they seem to be. And their names are likely not a coincidence either." "I figured that out," I said to the robot as I slowly backed up. The unicorn took in our appearance before sighing. "More heroes, again?" he groaned. "They just want to make a name for themselves by grabbing the Masamune. They don't know that it's not the sword that matters, it's how you use it. That's why they all failed." "So what do we do with these ones, Masa?" the pegasus colt asked. "The same thing we do with all of them, of course. Test them," the unicorn said, and then, the pair of them changed. From the colts that they had been into full-fledged stallions in a blink of an eye. Masa flared his magic for a moment, while Mune flared his wings. "Well then," Copper said as she fired up her turret again. "Time to dance with these two." Before I could attempt to strike the stallions, Mune came at me with a speed the likes of which I hadn't seen before, and punched me several times before ending with a buck. Which hurt, a lot. I staggered a little before getting back into my fighting pose and returning fire with a quick blast of my favorite Lightning Slash. The reply I got for that was both stallions charging at me and nearly trampling me, which also hurt a fair bit. I gasped and managed to pick myself back up, to see Zehan and Justice trying to lay into the two ponies we'd been confronted with. Before I could warn them not to, the stallions had already counterattacked. "Use...your magic," I gasped out. "They counter all physical moves." Copper got the memo, thankfully, and instead of blasting the duo, began lighting them up with her fire magic. I sheathed my blade and began calling on the Lightning while Zehan and Justice recuperated from the beating they'd just been given. Eventually they added their own magic to the fight. Zehan calling upon ice while Justice used his lasers as a medium to deliver darkness. We still had a few more blows to take from them, unfortunately, but with our combined might, it wasn't long before the duo were the ones calling off the assault instead of us. "They're good, Masa," the pegasus said as he backed up a touch. "Only Cedric ever got this far before." "That just means we can open up phase two, Mune," the unicorn said as his horn shone. "Right you are!" Mune said as his whole body started to glow. "I've got a bad feeling about this," I managed to say, before the two stallions ran right at one another, their forms glowing all the while. A small distortion rippled through the air before clearing and showing that where before there were two, now there was one. One alicorn stallion, who flared his wings and lit up his horn. "The true spirit of the Masamune," I said, drawing my blade. "Prepare yourselves anew, for we'll find no quarter here." "Wasn't planning on giving any," Copper grunted as she turned her battle harness back on, the turret glowing green. Justice hissed once, the hiss of escaping steam, and Zehan drew his staff. This promised to be a long fight. I ran a current down my blade, and Copper and Zehan started us off with a bang. Namely, their freezing and frying technique. The alicorn grunted, but returned fire with a beam of magic that sent Zehan flying into a cave wall. I helped the stallion up, and Justice kept the spirit busy with a barrage of rapid-fire hooves. That was when Zehan hummed, and I noticed my sword glowing, though not in a fashion where I was familiar with it. "Now Crono!" Zehan said. "Swing your sword and disperse my power among us!" Catching on, I whirled my katana around, causing a shimmering field to surround my friends and myself. Instantly, I felt better, as though the aches and pains I had picked up during the fight had been healed. Then the winds started to blow and howl, just before Copper fired off another shot. I saw the alicorn sitting there with his horn aglow, and I recalled what not to do when whirlwinds blew. "No!" I told her. "If you attack now, he'll counter for far more than you could withstand!" Copper hesitated for long enough, and when I got my wind back, I filled my katana with as much power as I could, without it being of the lightning element. If I did this right... I slashed at the alicorn, and a burst of wind erupted from my swing, impacting his form and staggering him. The winds died down, and Copper nodded before wreathing Justice's form in flames. The robot took it very well, all things considered, and used his newfound 'on-fire' power to punch the merged spirits with as much gusto as he could muster. It was a battle of attrition, and between helping Zehan keep everyone healed up and disturbing the alicorn when he called on the winds for his counter move, I was nearly run ragged. But just when I felt myself about to drop... The alicorn flashed once, twice, and then erupted in a glorious lightshow, before the unicorn and pegasus colts we had seen to begin with were back. "Wow," the pegasus said. "They're tough, Masa." "Yes, they are," the unicorn said with a nod. "Will they find our proper bearer?" the pegasus asked the unicorn. "Will they...can they fix us?" "Yes, it'll be all right," the unicorn said, before the two ran up to the sword. Their forms glowed, as did the sword... And when the glow subsided, all that remained was the blade. "Judging by the break and my scans, the blade has been broken for some time," Justice said. "We should look for the hilt next." I nodded and sheathed my blade, already knowing where we'd likely find it. Now the question was, would Gregory welcome us a second time?