//------------------------------// // The H(a)unt: Aftermath // Story: The Equestrian Omni-Knight // by Azure5555 //------------------------------// -Basement: Hero- The wraith mocked us, it's unending hoard of ghosts constantly raking us or tossing waves of lightning at our general direction. Somewhere along the battle we were both caught off guard and slammed into a wall. "Please tell me you have a plan." "Oh no of course I do," Erecting a ball of light to shield us, I start punching the air. "Meter meter meter meter, just gotta build up meter meter meter meter meter, and when the bubble pops you dragon out and torch the room and I'll follow up and launch all of my meter meter meter meter..." "Why do you keep saying that? Asked Angel. "Because the more I say it, the more meter meter meter I have to meter meter meter..." Before the demon bunny could press further the bubble of concentrated light burst outward giving us the opening we needed. The room was bathed in crimson fire, many of the ghosts dissipated as they could no longer hold form. "Messatsu Gou Hadou: Agyou!" Now this is a somewhat basic meter special as such I didn't need a full bar, so why the build up? MAX DESPERATION that's why. The Ultimon armor enhanced the Hadou special giving me a literal Twilight (Light/Dark) elemental messatsu hadouken gattling cannon. More than seventy five percent of the room had been destroyed, the rest forming a protective barrier around the wraith. "Hey, they stopped multiplying." Said Angel. 'Wait wat?' "Dude they did it!! Woohoo!!" I cry. Strangely enough the mass of ghost that was left just sort of circled about the wraith, not paying us any mind. "Okay, I may have clipped the boss monster here in the chest, so once his ball of food here disperses, I'll distract them long enough for you to go in for the kill." "Any suggestions?" I hand him the Requiem Aeternum. "Pointy end goes in." I say with a smile on my face. The thirty or so ghosts begin to wail as they surround us, I rush into the cloud of ghosts and let them swarm me. Once all of them are gathered, I form a hyper-dense ball of light around us. 'This'll go one of two ways, either Angel slays the wraith and I can drop the bubble, or I detonate the bubble and hope I don't-' *clink*clink* 'Bubble dropped!' The ghosts fluttered about in confusion, but after a few seconds they finally just up and fazed out of existence. "Well...that takes care of that." "Hey, the wraith dropped this." Angel walked towards me, a sword in his hand. 'Okay wow...' "Keep it, but give me my sword. I may still need it someday." -Living Room Floor- The group looked at us with varying glances of happiness and relief, but there had been one extra. "MAAAAASTEEEEER!!!" Cried a speeding Moglord Ghost. "You jerk! You said you wouldn't leave! Why!? Why couldn't you stay!? Dummy!!!" Veral is pounding on me at this point, crying tears of loneliness and pain. "Ver-" She clocks me with the broad side of her ax. "No! You listen and you listen good! You don't ever leave again! You hear me!?" "Loud and-" The front door is violently bucked open and Bon Bon rolls in with a "Clear!" Followed by an excited Lyra. "Clear! This is so fun! You honestly do this for a living?" "Lyra, exercise caution. For all we know one could be-Fogey twelve o'clock! Lay suppressive fire!" Lyra had a harp shaped bow in her magic and Bon Bon had a crossbow and grappling hook. Taking aim, the two lay down a barrage of arrows all aimed at Veral. The non magic assault flies through her like a breeze against leaves. "Switch to melee tactics!" "Sweetie Drops stop!" My outburst manages to quell the pony before me. "But that ghost-" "Is a dear friend of mine, and I'd rather you not shoot at her. It's rude." "And the haunting?" Asks Lyra. "Taken care of." Said Angel, now in base bunny form. "Alright, but if something goes wrong, we'll be there. Let's go Lyra!" The two mares are out the door and grapple into the air. A strong silence overtakes the party... "So who's up for not leaving Twilight's place for twelve hours straight?" -Golden Oaks Library- After a day of never once stepping foot from the library, the group gathered themselves round the living room floor. Eleven of us, crowded into a tight room. Twilight, Shining, and Cadence by the couch. Rarity, Applejack, and Spike sitting by the bookshelf (Spike doing his best to rearrange the shelves so as to keep his eyes off Aj's still bulging frame), Fluttershy, Rainbow dash and Pinkie were on a throw rug with Angel on Fluttershy's head. That left me on the staircase. Alone, tired, just as beaten and battered as the rest of the party. "Okay, business then. Twilight, keep record so Luna can get caught up when she gets back from jail." "Ooh, I hope she gives those brutes a good pounding!" Everybody in the room turns to stare at Rarity, who blushes a little at what she had just said. "Well...maybe a slight pounding." She recomposed herself and I once again got back on track. "We've all had a difficult week, Nightmare Moon, the Undead dragon, and the uh...yeah. Of course now that we have some breathing room, there's a cave in the Everfree I'd like for all of us to visit. Twi, do you have the Elements?" Audible gasps flooded the room, Shining raising a question along with it. "I saw Celestia box them and put them behind a mystically charged safe. Why would Twili-" Twilight then proceeded to reveal the magical chokers one by one. "I stand corrected. Twili, why do you have those?" "I slipped everypony a hard light copy after we purified Luna. I kept the originals for obvious reasons," Stated Twilight rather smug. Every mare in the room giving her a slap on the back or an exclamation of pride. "Although mine didn't come out like the rest." As she withdrew the last gem I expected to see the tired old tiara, instead she pulled an accessory more akin to a knight's visor. 'What is with this world and knights!?' As I pondered my pondering ponder, Rainbow spoke up: "What does a cave in the Everfree forest have to do with the Elements?" "I'll explain on the way. Saddle up everypony, oh you too Spike, Angel." -Everfree- The girls walked through the thick forestation, Elements equipped. Spike and Angel both in their respective battle forms, and Shining and Cadence garbed in amethyst armor and Dragon shifter's leathers respectively. Me? The demon plate my ass got imprisoned in (sans helm). If only for shits and giggles. "Everyone, I'd like to take this time to tell you something not found in the archives," this garnered their attention. The group now tightened around me. "When I got hit fifteen hundred years ago I was contacted by the Elements themselves," I let the audible gasps run their courses. "I didn't hear words as much as I saw images flying at me faster than I could process the info. It gave me instructions needed to keep the world safe. I need to gain allies from this world and the next, and doing so may take time. Time I don't think we'll have." "What do you mean the next?" Asked Rainbow Dash. "I don't mean the afterlife if that's what you think. Everybody there is already dead." 'Badum tiss' "No, I'm talking different realities. The Elements gave me a guideline, and whether or not those that call me want to follow that guideline is completely up to the Elements." "What guidelines would those be darling?" Asked Rarity. "Simple give and take. A favor for another of equal value. If the terms are agreed upon then neither can break their oath." "Like a Pinkie Promise!" Exclaimed Pinkie. "What's “this” got to do with a cave in the middle o' the Everfree?" Asked Applejack. "You're about to find out. Meet you downstairs!" Confused yelling erupted as I haphazardly rush past the castle of the Pony Sisters, and into a seemingly bottomless gorge. The ravine was filled with black thorn vines, but none seemed to move. Better for the group. A look back to make sure the others saw me and I entered the cave. Twi and Cadence teleport the group to the mouth of the cave. The latter punching me in the shoulder and giving me a stern look. Entering the cave I noticed slight rumbling along the singular path. That's when the smell hit...and it was beyond putrid. "Twilight, Shining! Air bubbles now!" Both unicorn set two large bubbles separating the group in two. As the bubbles set both paths of the cave were thus sealed by crystalline walls. Not knowing how else to communicate, I risked donning my mercenary garb. 'How easy it would be if you just gave in~' 'I ain't giving into shit!' Immediately I began to shoot several signs and movements to Pinkie (of which managed to get to the secondary bubble.) A plan formed, our groups made way to both walls. Rarity, Applejack, Cadence, Angel, and Shining doing their absolute best to either drill through or physically bash through the wall. This left Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, and I to take down the opposite wall. A few minutes, several wasted gems, and a lot of work and Shining's group broke through. But nothing is ever that easy... The cave entrance had been freed, but rising from the ground were several crystalline beings. Five in total began to assault the group. "Twilight, break off and help your brother! Spike, Rainbow, you go with her! Fluttershy stay close." The cave was no longer filled with toxic air which allowed the entirety of the group to fight without reservation. This in turn allowed me to waste the wall before me. The pegasus at my side doing her best not to faint from the sounds of battle. "Hey Fluttershy?" "Y-yes?" "Wear these." Kneeling down I throw my bag of armors on the floor and pull out my lumenomacer robes. Handing them to her, the robes begin to wrap around her like ribbons. My heart gained a few tics in speed. *ahem* "Those will uh...keep you safe. Hug a wall while I break this crystal." 'Huh, now would be a good time to test that tuning fork.' I re-donned my advanced demon knight and pulled out a rather long and sharp tuning fork. It's hilt was stylized with a vine like design and it's handle grip was made of a cobalt metal. Before I could swing the unorthodox weapon I heard a scream and an impact from behind me. One of the crystal sentries tried to attack Fluttershy only to have it's head blown off. In it's place a shining golden fist. 'Huh, Gibli's elemental fist. Didn't think Flutters had it in her.' Going back to the task at hand I plunged the great sword tips first into the fragile crystal wall. The resulting shock wave of vibrating sound disrupting both the walls structure as well as the sentinels. Two seconds of earth shattering waves and the cave was littered in crystal fragments. Rarity and Spike collecting what they could (one for fashion the other for food), the rest of the party looking to the end of the cave. The crystal tree, the core of Equestria in a sense. Making our way closer and closer caused the ground to shake and without warning crystal vines shot out and trapped us. "Who trespasses on these hallowed grounds?" Asked a disembodied voice. "The bearers of the Elements!" I cry out. "The bearers? Too soon have the six arrived, further, there are others. You Champion, two out worlders, royalty...and her knight," The vines released us, the group falling a good two feet. "Forgive my...impulse. A seed of chaos has been planted which seeks to-" "Drain you, correct?" I ask cutting the tree off. "It is as you say, though I would wish for nothing more than to feel whole again, Equestria needs the soul of Vizalain far more than I." "The soul of Vizalain?" Ask Shining Armor and Twilight. "You refer to them as the Elements of Harmony. These six individual souls hold the power of eternal light. The very essence of the race of beings known as Vizalain. As the planet's only Corundum, I am tasked with "giving light" to the Vizalain," Another sentry emerged from the ground. "Yet ever since I relinquished hold of the souls, the Vizalain have dwindled. Either victim to dragons, treasure hunters, or in our case a misunderstanding, very few remain and among those few remain uncorrupted," The single sentry walked towards me, it's sickle like appendage nearing my forehead. "Chosen of Lore, Hero, Villain, Adventurer, Guardian. Take with you the gift of life, the gift of death, and go forth with the blessing of the soul of Vizalain," A great magic flooded within me as I was taught to create crystal copies of myself. "Now go ye heroes! Return only when I require your aid!" The cave once again began to rumble as crystal walls began to rise and descend. Releasing dragon forms, Angel and I took half of the group each and dashed out of the cave. The final wall sealing the entrance of the cave. "Hooboy, everypony okay?" I ask. "I may have chipped a hoof, but I'll live." Stated Rarity as she crawled off my back. "Spike, ya'll can let go now." Said Applejack rather shakily. "That. Was. Awesome!" Exclaimed Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. "Again!" Added Pinkie. "Hey what did the Corundum do to you Master?" Asked Twilight. "It gave me a spell. Give me a second..." Light flooded my mind as I formed a crystal doppelganger before me. "It's beautiful." Whispered Fluttershy. "Marry me!" Exclaimed Rarity as she launched herself at the statue. "AH! My mane! Of all the times why now!?" The statue's arm had narrowly missed the unicorns horn, catching a few strands of her mane instead. As she began to pull away, Twilight and Cadence approached me. "When will the spell scroll be ready Master?" Asked Twilight. "I'm gonna want one too you know." Added Cadence. "Jeez give a guy some space, I did just learn how to spawn a brand new race of being-" I was cut off by a great light, as my vision was overtaken by the emblem of the Elements of Harmony.