Freedom Through Harmony: Book II

by Electricut

Forty

Chapter with color

Forty

Leeroy

guardianGuitarist began chatting with gamingAvarice at 4:19 P.M.

GG: Bro.
GG: We don’t have a load of time left.
GG: All the other knights and trainees are gone.
GG: Cloudsdale is being punched full of holes by these meteors.
GG: I guess if I wanted to loot some stores, I totally could.
GG: I don’t think I could though. Goes against my nature, even if it’s all just going to be destroyed anyway.
GA: whew! i’m back!
GA: hanging in there?
GG: Just about. Now get going! Cloudsdale’s going down.
GA: right!
GA: these machines look pretty heavy. I’m going to build you a better floor so stuff doesn’t fall through.
GG: Out of what?
GA: these walls should work. They look much sturdier.
GA: now let’s see what this game can do!

Leeroy feels the cloud below him shake slightly, and knows that his floor has been reinforced. In quick succession, the walls to his room expand outward, and the floor shakes again, likely Fancy Pants adjusting his work. The machines come quickly afterwards, gleaming white and ready for action.

GG: Are you watching our grist?
GA: totally. we’ve got like 20,000.
GA: no need to sweat it.
GG: That is a ridiculous amount of grist.
GA: yeah.
GA: now, i believe you have a thing to alchemize.
GA: oh, and chuck something into the kernelsprite before you do.
GA: i assume it’s important.

Leeroy nods and sets to work. The only suitable thing in his room for the Kernelsprite seems to be the training dummy in the corner, so he shrugs and tosses it in. The sprite flashes and adopts the general shape of the mannequin. Leeroy nods, then moves over to the machines. Punched card to the lathe, Cruxite to the Alchemiter. However, before he can see what was made, he hears his name being called. He would question who could possibly remain in this city, but he knows exactly who that voice belonged to. He considers ignoring it, but knows that if she is still here, he has to save her, too.

“Battle Master!” he yells, swiftly exiting his room. He hears her stop calling his name from the next hallway, then sees her dash around the corner and rush over to him.

“Leeroy! What the hell are you still doing here?! Why haven’t you evacuated with the others?”

Leeroy holds her gaze. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. There’s something else going on here. There was one other pony I had to save- my sister- and now I’ll be joining her where she is to protect her, and my other friends.”

A moment passed. “Even if you know that you are disobeying a direct order?”

“Yes ma’am. I believe I am doing the right thing in entering this fight, and that following this is more important than following orders.”

The Battle Master finally breaks his gaze and sighs. “You’ll need someone watching your own back, then.”

Leeroy smiled and nodded. “Yes ma’am!” He leads her to his room, and sees the cruxite artifact sitting on the Alchemiter, an orange sword lodged in an orange stone. His next course of action is obvious. He moves over to the object, puts a hoof on either side of the sword, and pulls. Nothing happens.

“Gently.” the Battle Master advises. “It’s like the old story. You can’t draw the blade with strength alone. You have to prove that you’re willing to lead the way with both strength and care.”

Leeroy nods, eases his grip, and tries again. The sword dislodges easily, and the same light that had filled Quick Fix’s home fills his room, transporting him to a new land.

Doc

Doc drags his mouse across the screen, completing the floor for yet another story to Derpy’s home. They are beginning to grow near to the First Gate now- three or four more floors should do it.

gamingAvarice began chatting with agelessTraveler at 4:29 P.M.

GA: hey man! how’s progress?
AT: Pretty good. Derpy’s house is a few floors away from the First Gate now, and Quick Fix is flexing her prowess with construction on mine.
AT: Hopefully, we should both be able to reach the main part of our Lands soon.
GA: awesome!
GA: have you picked out a second thing to add to your kernelsprite yet?
AT: Not yet. Nothing seems right. I want something that can counteract the Dalek’s violent nature.
GA: makes sense.
GA: by the way, two guesses for what quick fix put in hers.
AT: Ratchet?
GA: ratchet.
GA: how about your screwdriver? need to make that thing more lethal if you’re going to take down anything stronger than an imp.
AT: Yes, I know. I’m not sure how one can upgrade a screwdriver though.
AT: Tell you what, I will finish this part of Derpy’s house, then search my own house for things I can use.
GA: sounds like a plan. i just don’t want you falling behind and being underleveled.
GA: that’s never fun.
GA: also, did you ever figure out what that third disc was for?
AT: Ah, yes!
AT: It’s a software called GristTorrent. It seems to be for the purpose of sharing grist between players. It also stores the overflow of grist, for when a player attempts to collect more than they have the current capacity for.
GA: ah, that makes sense. sounds handy!
GA: anyway, i’ll let you get to it.

Doc drags his mouse again, creating a stairway for Derpy to use to get to the new floor. He then leaves a message for Derpy saying he will return in a moment, and leaves his computer to explore his house. Nothing pops out at him on the ground floor, so he makes his way to the basement.

Something immediately catches his eye as he steps downstairs. A door on the far side that he had never seen before. Or had he? It seems like it’s always been there, but this is the first time he’s really SEEN it. He makes his way over to it, and sees that there is a note attached to it. The penmanship is familiar; it belongs to Doc’s former teacher and guardian.

“Hello, Doctor! It’s me, the Doctor. If you’re reading this, it means your adventure has begun, and the perception filter I set up around this door has shut down. It’s nothing major, it just made you not take note of this room. But now, I feel you will need what is inside.

P.S. There is a journal inside with more information, much more. Read it when you have time.”

Doc frowns in thought. It’s been a while since he found a message from him. Still, if he considered the contents of this room important, then they must be. Doc opens the door, and surveys the contents of the small room. There are shelves along either wall, with various artifacts that wouldn’t look out of place in Doc’s own room. But at the back is something that looks completely out of place.

A tall blue phone box.

Doc first examines the contents of the shelves.

“Sonic Screwdriver. Invaluable tool, but not suitable as a weapon. Combine your screwdriver with a knife or something to start, assuming you are using screwdrivers, which I’m sure you are.”

“K-9, robotic dog. A loyal companion if there ever was one. He may need some new batteries- if so, there are some on the shelf- but you can activate him in a pinch if you need some extra help.”

“Psychic paper. Just like it sounds, paper that is slightly psychic. It shows people just what they expect it to- for example, you say that it’s a ticket to get into an event, and it will look like a valid ticket to them- but if the person has even mild psychic abilities, it won’t work.”

Most of the objects follow along those lines. Finally, he reads the note taped to the front of the phone box.

“TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It doesn’t look like it, but this is a spaceship, and a time machine. However, leave it as a last resort. Do not use it unless absolutely necessary. I’m sure you understand. If you do need it, first locate that little family heirloom I gave you. Trust me on that.”

Doc frowns. The TARDIS isn’t a terribly impressive vessel, at least from the outside. He also doesn’t quite remember which family heirloom the note was referring to, but is sure that it’s probably floating around the TARDIS modus. Doc suddenly realizes that the name for that inventory modus actually means something, and is not just a random name, as he had previously thought. This is an interesting, but not particularly startling revelation.

There is one more object on the shelves, and that is the JOURNAL the first note had mentioned. Doc takes it, and stores it in his stack modus. He will want to read it later. He takes most of the other stuff too, and leaves with K-9 slung under one hoof. He knows just what to do with this.

Quick Fix

QF: so…
QF: Ratchet
QF: whats up
RATCHETSPRITE: I dunno.
RATCHETSPRITE: Suddenly being alive I guess.
RATCHETSPRITE: Having a robot arm now. That’s pretty cool.
RATCHETSPRITE: And dealing with the fact that I’ve got some memories just from being a sprite…
RATCHETSPRITE: And the rest that aren’t really mine, since I’m just a copy.
QF: aw, dont talk like that
QF: youre the only Ratchet in this universe, so as far as anyones concerned, youre the real deal
RATCHETSPRITE: I guess.
RATCHETSPRITE: Still, I don’t even have Clank, even if I’ve got memories of him.
QF: wait
QF: actually, you do
QF: I built a Clank too
QF: I mean, he ran off as soon as I put in the ai
QF: but he should still be in the house
RATCHETSPRITE: Really? Well, I’ll have to find the little guy then!
RATCHETSPRITE: Unless you needed some info about the game?
QF: uh… nah, I think Im good for now
QF: Doc and Derpy relayed a bunch of info already
QF: Ill let you know if anything comes up though
RATCHETSPRITE: Right. I’m gonna start searching for Clank then.
QF: alright, good luck

Quick Fix sits back at her computer and sets to work building Doc’s house. She also starts thinking about her own defenses; the imps will come soon, and she’ll need to be ready. A better wrench- and some armor if possible- would definitely help.

Derpy

gamingAvarice began chatting with cross-eyedAngel at 4:31 P.M.

GA: hey derpy! how’s it going?
CA: oh, hi! pretty good!
CA: i think i’m level… 5 now?
CA: hard to tell, they aren’t numbered. they have cute little names instead.
CA: but i’m getting stronger!
GA: that’s good, that’s good!
GA: well, i wanted to tell you that i found a captcha code you might find useful.
GA: i think, if you combine it with your boomerang, it will make it much more powerful.
CA: ooh! i could use a better weapon, yeah.
GA: okay. the code is ‘S7RKG05K’.
CA: okay, thanks! i’ll give it a try when doc gets back.
CA: did you get leeroy into the game?
GA: yep! he’s safe and sound in the land of coves and stars.
CA: sounds cool!
GA: yeah! we’ll need to get him a boat though.
GA: quick fix probably needs one too. her land has a lot of water on it, too.
GA: i’m still anxious to see what my land will be…
GA: but what’s more important now is helping leeroy stay safe, since i’ve got time before it’s not safe for me to stay.
CA: makes sense!
CA: oh, it looks like doc is back.
GA: heh, alright. i’ll let you two do what you need to do, and get back to leeroy.

agelessTraveler began chatting with cross-eyedAngel at 4:40 P.M.

AT: I’m back.
CA: hi doc!
AT: I needed to find some extra stuff, something to put into my Kernelsprite, something to make my weapon stronger.
AT: I believe I’ve found both.
CA: cool!
CA: fancy pants gave me a code to combine with my boomerang, so do you want to do that while we’re here?
AT: Certainly.

Derpy swiftly uses two of the extra cards near the Designix to punch the codes for her boomerang, and the item Fancy Pants dug up. She then combines the two at the Totem Lathe, and takes the resulting Cruxite Dowel over to the Alchemiter.

AT: Let’s see…
AT: That will give us the Gale Boomerang. Looks much more powerful than your current one.
CA: sweet!
CA: you wanna see what that other one we saw before is? the boomerang plus the penguin doll? we should have enough grist now.
AT: Sure.
AT: Alright… That will make the Frost Giant’s Toothpick.
AT: Which, while a silly name, seems to be an equally potent weapon.
AT: I will make one of each, and let you decide which you prefer.
CA: okay!
AT: And… oh my.
CA: what? :o
AT: Derpy, I think you may be in for a mini-boss fight.
AT: There is a very large enemy scaling the pillar to your home.
AT: I advise making your way to the current top of your house, so you have room to fight.
CA: okay. wish me luck, doc!

Derpy grabs both of the new boomerangs, one of wind and one of ice, and makes her way to the attic. This leads to a new and empty room, and the door on the other side leads to another balcony. The house winds upward, eventually leveling off with a flat platform that will make the floor for another story to the house.

She feels a slight tremor below her, and knows that this is the first sign of the large monsters Doc had mentioned. She retrieves the ice boomerang, as it seems to have the highest attack power of her current selection. The tremors grow faster and more violent, signaling that the monster is growing closer and closer to the roof.

At last, a giant, monstrous hand reaches over the edge of the platform, and Derpy grips her weapon tighter. Once the monster has a grip on the platform, it pulls itself up, and Derpy sees that it is at least as tall as her house used to be, with large tusks in its mouth and its powerful arms, thankfully devoid of claws. It manages to get itself up on the platform, and Derpy throws her boomerang before it can get its balance. It connects with the monster’s arm, causing ice to grow at the elbow. The monster grips its arm, clearly incurring some damage, and struggles to free its arm to regain use of it. Using the extra time she bought herself, Derpy attacks again, this time hitting the monster in the leg. Again, more damage, and decreased movement. However, after the second attack, the monster begins looking around for the source, and its angry white eyes settle on Derpy.

It growls and swings its good arm at her. She dodges deftly around it, and equips the Gale Boomerang. This causes a large gust of air that blows its arm back, but the beast is too heavy to be blown completely off of the roof. It stumbles back and regains its footing, then growls again, even angrier. Derpy smiles, knowing she’s on the right track, and attempts to keep it at bay with a combination of the two boomerangs.

However, she realizes she will have to move quicker when the monster swings its arm across the platform, hitting her hard and knocking her across the length of the roof. She stops well enough before the edge, but definitely incurred a lot of damage from that attack.

With redoubled spirit and caution, Derpy continues to attack the monster, dodging away from its own attacks. At long last, it seems to be on its last legs, and with its literal legs frozen solid, Derpy leaps into the air with Safety Slicer clenched between teeth, and delivers the final crushing blow.

Large deposits of grist scatter across the rooftop, and Derpy collects them with glee. She can also tell that she gained a quick level in completing that fight. She looks up, knowing that the First Gate is almost within reach, and nods in determination. If the enemies were going to get stronger, so would she.

Comments

[flamehaze7461]

I must admit, you write fight scenes amazingly well, whether they be for humans or ponies. Also, Quick Fix's obsession with Ratchet and Clank is adorable. Keep up the good work!