On a grassy hill overlooking the Equestrian plains, there lay an unconscious youth. He wore a multi-color sweater underneath a red vest with metal additions and strap on shoes, and shin guards underneath his shorts.
At his side lay a red sword with a round, multi-layered glass opening in the hilt.
He stirred.
“Mmmm.” He blearily opened his eyes, blinking away his sleepiness, before sitting up and stretching his arms with a satisfied yawn.
“That was a good nap.” He smiled. “Alright guys, let’s–”
He stopped. There was no one beside him.
“What the…?” He turned his head every which way, only to see nothing but a sea of grasslands all around him. “Where is everyone?”
Looking up into the sky also revealed nothing but an endless blue expanse, dotted with the occasional cloud. Am I not on Kyoshin anymore?
His hand brushed up against something. Looking down, he smiled wide upon seeing the sword beside him, no worse for wear. He picked it up and activated it, making the length split apart and bringing forth a blue blade of light from within. He gave it a few good swings and, satisfied that all was well, deactivated and sheathed it. He then glanced around again, frowning at the lack of any familiar surroundings.
If I’m not on Kyoshin, then where else could I possibly be? I hope everyone’s okay, wherever they are.
A flicker of movement in his eye’s corner brought his attention to a spot down the hill, on a dirt path leading from a peaceful-looking forest. From the treeline emerged three purple specks, grouped together and heading his way. Squinting his eyes, the youth could make out equine bodies, and horn-like appendages protruding from their heads.
I’ve never seen creatures like that before.
The creatures stopped. The youth watched as they turned to face one another, apparently in conversation.
If they’re sapient, then I might be able to learn where I am from them. I’d better approach with caution.
Nodding to himself, he set off down the hill, one hand primed and ready to draw his sword should the need present itself. As he drew nearer to the strange creatures, he could make out their arguing, and it filled him with some comfort to know they might be able to answer his questions.
“Listen, we need to split up to cover more ground faster.”
“Exactly, but let me cover Whitetail Woods.”
“Why you?”
“Why not me?”
“The only reason you want Whitetail Woods is because it’s smaller than the Everfree or Froggy Bottom Bog.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“We’re the same pony, so I know it is.”
“Alright, that’s enough you two. We’ll each cover a third of every location around here, including Whitetail Woods. Does that sound fair?”
“Sure.”
“Alright. Let’s–”
“Um, hello there?”
The three creatures jumped in surprise. They then turned to see the youth standing a little ways away, looking confused. Their eyes widened before their mouths turned upwards into large smiles at seeing the new arrival.
“Can you tell me where I am?” the youth asked.
“Oh, no problem!” one of the creatures said excitedly. She then began walking toward him, lighting up her horn. This surprised the youth, making him take a step back out of reflex. “I just need to use this spell–”
She never got to finish her sentence. It happened so fast the youth was left in a state of shock. All he saw was the creature walking towards him, followed by a colorful streak, and then the creature swelling up like a balloon before imploding into a stream of purple energy that then flowed through the air into the far distance.
“What the…” Was all he could say upon recovering, before turning to see the other two creatures looking in the direction the shot came from, unbridled rage etched into their faces. He followed their gaze, and his eyes widened at what he saw before his expression also turned angry and he grabbed his sword.
Heading their way was a collection of dark blue and gold machines. Some were bipedal with a single arm ending in claw-like appendages, while others were more spider-like, scurrying across the ground on four legs. The largest one, bringing up the rear of the group, carried itself using its tentacle-like appendages, some of which ending in giant pincers.
Kishinhei.
One of the creatures turned to him. “Whoever you are, get to safety.” She turned back, adopting a combative stance and lighting up her horn, as did the other one. “We’ll deal with this threat.”
“No, I’ve got this,” the youth stated. He unsheathed his sword, and brought it in front of him, whereupon the blade of blue light activated. “You get yourselves to safety; I can deal with this myself.”
Whatever the creature’s reply was the youth didn’t hear, as he immediately charged toward the approaching Kishinhei, letting loose a fierce battle cry. The Kishinhei converged together to meet him head on.
They stood no chance.
The youth didn’t slow down as he approached. Instead, he jumped high into the air and brought his sword down on the frontmost cluster of Kishinhei. The blade ripped through their mechanical bodies like tissue paper, cleanly slicing through them and scattering loose flakes of paint and metal across the ground. The youth then jumped back a few feet, safely out of the resulting blast as the felled Kishinhei exploded together in a display of smoke and electricity. With the thick cover of smoke, he took a moment to rest and catch his breath.
If I’m not on Kyoshin anymore, then why are there Kishinhei here? Did they come with me? Who would want to do that?
A glowing red light piercing through the smoke snapped him from his thoughts. He flipped backwards, out of the Kishinhei's reach before splitting it in half in another explosion. More Kishinhei approached as the smoke dissipated, only to be slain one after another by his sword, accompanied each time by an energetic cry from the youth.
It wasn’t long before a huge bulk of the Kishinhei forces were reduced to a scattered field of scrap parts. Tired from battle, the youth knelt on the ground, using his sword as a crutch as he surveyed his work. The only Kishinhei left standing was the giant, tentacled one without a clear front end: the M71.
“Amazing…”
He turned to see one of the creatures walking up beside him, staring at the field of mechanical debris with her jaw agape. “Even I’d be hard-pressed to take on so many foes with magic,” she said in a half-whisper.
“How long have you been dealing with these things?” the other creature asked, trotting up along his other side, her face almost a mirror image of her double’s.
“For myself, only just recently,” the youth replied. He turned back to the M71, which remained about thirty meters from them, unmoving except for its tentacles which trailed through the air in anticipation of his next move. “My kind, the Homs, have been at war with those things for a very long time.” He held up his sword. “Only the Monado can efficiently fight them.”
“Interesting…” The creatures both gave the Monado an inquisitive glance before turning to the remaining Kishinhei with determined expressions. “We’ll help you take down this last one.”
The youth sighed, and readied the Monado. “I can’t ask you to put your lives on the line, whoever you are,” he replied, then stood up. “Leave this to me.” He took off running.
“Wait!” one of the creatures called.
But the youth didn’t stop. His strength returned, he charged at the Kishinhei, Monado primed and ready to kill with a fiery vigor. The M71 sensed his approach, and shot its tentacles towards him, open and ready to grab him. The youth bobbed and weaved around them as they struck, sometimes striking them out of rage, slicing cleanly through them and letting the appendages fall to the ground.
Once he’d cut a clear path to the main body, the youth charged forward, ready to finish the vile machine like he’d done once before. But his charge was cut short when he found himself launched into the air by a sudden force below him. It happened so suddenly that he lost his bearings for a brief moment, but managed to keep his grip on the Monado.
Looking down, he saw what had happened. The M71 had hidden one of its tentacles under the ground, striking when he passed over it. It was an all too familiar tactic of the tentacled machine that the youth had foiled once before.
Why didn’t I get a vision this time?
The tentacle seized its chance and lunged for him. The youth reoriented himself in the air and met the appendage head-on, slicing it just below its head with one good slash, to which it fell unceremoniously to the ground with a clunk. The youth followed, sticking his landing with a slight flourish.
No time to worry about that now. This thing needs to die.
“Mister! Watch out!”
The youth turned to see the two creatures rushing toward him, the horn of one alight. The sound of ripping earth made the youth turn around, only to find another tentacle emerging through a hole in the ground, sailing through the air toward him. He raised the Monado, ready to block the attack, but flinched when a burst of wind sailed past him. A purple ball of energy sailed through the air, impacting the tentacle with a boom, creating a wall of smoke as fragmented pieces littered the ground.
“Mister, are you alright!?” one of the creatures said. It came around and began examining the youth’s body while the other took up a battle stance in front, facing down the M71 as it approached through the smoke. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
The youth sighed, and gave her a small smile. “I’m fine. Just… a little shaken, is all.” He got up, wobbling a little before righting himself and glaring at the M71. “This thing will be tricky to deal with if I don’t get any visions,” he muttered.
“Listen, mister,” the guarding creature spoke up, “I understand if you’ve got a bad history with this thing, but let us help you take it down.”
“We can use our magic to bind it in place, allowing you to destroy it with your sword,” the other proposed. She smiled up at him. “Does that sound like a good enough plan to you?”
The youth put a hand to his chin in contemplation for a few seconds. These creatures were unknowns to him, their power level a mystery, but they wouldn’t be offering to help if they couldn’t back up their claims. But the Kishinhei had already killed one of them, and with a single shot too, so they weren’t very strong in body. He didn’t want to see either of them meet the same fate.
He hadn’t gotten a vision since waking up. What that meant, he didn’t have the faintest clue, but it made tackling the M71 trickier than he felt he was comfortable with on his own.
“Alright, we’ll work together,” he finally replied, glancing down at the creatures. “But keep your distance. This thing’s tentacles can pop out from under the ground at any second, but they can only reach so far. If you can really incapacitate it, then stay far enough away that it can’t reach you.”
The creatures nodded. “Alright,” they said in unison.
“Let’s do this!” the youth followed and readied his sword.
The three of them charged forward. The creatures turned to either side of the M71, while the youth charged straight for it, hoping to distract it so it didn’t go after the others. His tactic worked, as the M71 shot all of its tentacles straight for him. The youth proceeded to hack and slash at all of them, severing each one cleanly and letting them litter the ground behind him.
“Do it now!” he called once all the tentacles were severed.
On one side of the M71, the first creature gave a determined smile. “With pleasure!” she called.
She activated her horn in a purple aura, and the M71’s body was enveloped in the same glow. She then lifted it up into the air with her telekinesis, her magic straining under such a heavy load. Along with the main body, a couple of tentacles were pulled out of the earth underneath it, which flailed and writhed in the air like a couple of worms. Grunting in exertion, she then proceeded to flip the M71 onto its side before cutting off her telekinesis. The Kishinhei crashed to the ground, kicking up plumes of dirt and rocks as it got buried partially into the ground. Its tentacles, shaken a little by the fall, started to push against the ground to right the main body.
“Your turn, other me!” she called to her double.
“This’ll be a snap!” the second creature said.
She lit her horn in the same purple aura. The M71 attempted to use its tentacles to hoist itself upright, only for the creature to immobilize them all with its telekinesis. The M71 fought back against her magic, but she held firm, and turned toward the youth.
“Finish it off!” she shouted, smirking in delight.
“I’ve got it!” the youth replied.
On the Monado glass central piece, a purple kanji appeared, followed by the blade’s length extending a little. The youth charged forward, letting loose another battle cry as he jumped into the air, bringing the Monado down on the Kishinhei’s body. The blade struck true, slicing the M71 apart straight down the middle. The youth landed on the ground and rolled to the side as the two halves of the M71 fell over and exploded in another shower of sparks and mechanical components.
Good riddance…
“Mister, are you okay!?”
The youth heard scampering hooves approach him as he got up, knocking some torn wires and gears off of his person. Looking down, he noticed a small piece of scrap metal was embedded into his calf, from which a small amount of blood trickled down his leg.
He was okay.
“Yeah,” he said, and clutched the scrap metal piece. With a grimace of pain, he wrenched it free from his calf and tossed it aside, ignoring the increased current of blood trickling from the now open wound. “It’s just a scratch.”
“Let me see,” one of the creatures said as she trotted around in front. She used her strange powers to lift his leg up so she could see the wound. She grimaced. “That… is not a scratch.”
“Listen, don’t worry about it,” the youth replied. He then raised his hand and placed it over his wound. A faint green glow began emanating from his hand.
“Um, what are you doing?” the second creature asked as she came around to join her double. The two of them watched him in curiosity, contemplating what he might be doing, and what kind of power he might be employing.
“There we go,” the youth finally said. He lowered his hand, revealing to the creatures that his wound was no longer present, his flesh having completely closed up. The only sign he’d even had a wound was a small indent – little more than a few inches long – across his calf.
“Fascinating,” both creatures said in unison before the first creature looked up to him. “Listen, mister, there’s a lot you don’t know, but we have the means to get everything across quickly and efficiently.”
The youth sighed. “Alright then.” He turned to look at them. “What’s happening? Where am I?”
The creature opened her mouth to say something, only to pause for a second before lightly smacking her head. “I’m sorry, we forgot to introduce ourselves.” She extended her hoof. “Twilight Sparkle.”
The other creature did the same. “Ditto.”
“My name’s Shulk,” the youth replied, shaking both their hooves. He tilted his head, studying the Twilights. “So, why are there two of you?”
“First things first,” the first Twilight said, lighting up her horn and stepping even closer. “I hope you’re okay with massive info dumps because this one’s gonna come like a ton of bricks.”
Shulk could’ve sworn he felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead. I hope that’s just a metaphor...