Ponyblade Chronicles

by ZeroChill

Back into Tephra Cave

Shulk, Reyn, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack trekked through the Mag Mell Ruins within Tephra Cave. Unlike their previous journey, there were less soldiers and ponies within them.

Walking through a hallway, they noticed a door on the right. It had a green light rather than a red light like before. Walking in front of it, the door slid open, prompting Twilight Sparkle and Applejack to rear back. Seeing it remain open, the both of them calmed down a bit.

“So, this small corridor leads into more of the cave?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“It should. Many people used this corridor to go between Colony 9 and Colony 6.” Shulk explained.

“I see…” Gulping slightly, Twilight Sparkle responded.

The group of four walked through the passageway. Deeper down the cavern, the walls of metal turned back into cragged stone, and the path sprawled and curved. The group came across the end of the path, seeing a spring on the lower level with a beam of moonlight coming from the top.

“You know, this cave ain’t so bad once you get used to it. At least there’s a spring in here.” Jumping down from the ledge and walking towards it, Applejack stated.

“Now that you mention it, I feel parched myself, Applejack.” Walking around the edge to the bottom floor, Twilight Sparkle said in agreement.

Shulk and Reyn walked down to the spring. Twilight Sparkle and Applejack each took out a metal canister and began filling them by dipping them into the spring. Shulk and Reyn sat by the spring’s edge and took out their canisters, filling them up.

“Here’s a fact for you girls; this spring is also known as the Spring of Grief.” Reyn stated.

“I wonder why it is called that.” Twilight Sparkle said, sipping from her canister.

“It was said that an important person cried here after the extinction of an entire race of beings on Bionis. Hence, you have the grief part of the name.” Reyn explained.

Applejack glanced over to Reyn with a soft smile present on her face.

“We all know that’s a bunch of cow dung. How can one person cry out an entire spring?” She asked in a good-natured tone.

“That’s the point of a myth, Applejack. When one does not understand how a phenomenon has happened, the person spins a tale explaining its origin. Though, scientific evidence proves the tale to be wrong, the tale itself would always influence the name of the phenomenon and the hearts of those who visit it.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“It’s interesting how myths even affect one’s perception on a landmark. The Spring of Grief might sound terrifying in name, but it is home to the concept of natural sacrifice as well. Our thirsts here are being quenched by the water here because an entire race was said to have been extinct.” Shulk added on.

“As much as we don’t want it to happen, the end is the only way for new beginnings to happen. The end is never the end, as I’ve learned from when Tirek destroyed my home and Ponyville’s library.” Twilight Sparkle conversed.

“This Tirek sounds like a real nasty foe. Who is he?” Reyn asked.

“Tirek was a magic-absorbing centaur who was sealed in Tartarus. Everypony thought that he would have been sealed forever. But, after a mishap involving the gatekeeper, Cerberus, Tirek was released and began draining the magic from everypony. It wasn’t until my friends, the Tree of Harmony and I sealed him back into Tartarus.” Twilight Sparkle explained.

Reyn chuckled underneath his breath.

“If it’s true that he only absorbs magic, then he would be starved if he lived on the Bionis.”

“Reyn, you do know that if Applejack and I are capable of using ether, then Tirek would be more than capable enough of draining it from us.”

Reyn stopped chuckling, shutting up after listening to Twilight Sparkle’s reasoning.

“Well, if you can beat him, then he’d be no match for us. It’ll be easier than getting Giorgio his dance apples.”

“That’s enough break time, everyone. We still have to go deeper into this cave if we want to reach the other side.” Standing up from the ground, Shulk announced.

Sighing contently, Applejack got up.

“Shulk’s right. As much as I like this area, I don’t think it would be smart to stay here.”

“I don’t really feel like sticking around to see why this area really would be called the ‘Spring of Grief’, so…” Twilight Sparkle said, walking towards the tunnel with Shulk and Applejack.

“Wait, are you two just going to leave me alone in here?!” Running towards the group, Reyn shouted.

From an obscure shadow in the room, a pair of blue eyes opened up. Stepping out of the shadow was a black changeling.

“It’s those two ponies back from the Canterlot Invasion. It looks like they teamed up with the natives of this world. The Queen would be very interested in hearing the news.” Quietly following them, he said.

---

Within the tunnel, the group spotted several purple-gray spiders half the size of a pony and several cocoons on the floor. Twilight Sparkle uneasily looked at the spiders, clenching her teeth and quickly scanning the area.

“Gee, those spiders do look big.” Chuckling, she stated.

“Those are Arachnos. More specifically, they are Worker Arachnos. Just try not to make any sort of noise and they won’t attack you.” Shulk quietly explained.

“That’s nice to know… These spider-like creatures attack on sound.” Uneasily, Twilight Sparkle said.

“Don’t sweat it too much, Twi. I have a nasty fear of spiders as well.” Reyn consoled, tapping Twilight Sparkle’s left shoulder.

Not expecting the sudden touch, Twilight Sparkle shrilly screamed. All of the Arachno Workers in the area turned to the disturbance of the noise and all of the cocoons rustled immensely. Twilight Sparkle quickly covered her mouth with her hooves.

“Great, now we got these spider-like creatures coming after us now! Well, it looks like it’s time for some pest contr-“Applejack began to say before she looked to her left and saw that Reyn and Twilight Sparkle disappeared. “Reyn! Twilight! Where are you two at?!”

“We got our own problems right now, Applejack.” Pulling out the Monado, Shulk ordered. The blade split and a giant laser fired from it, forming its blade.

“Right.” Pulling out her hammer, Applejack complied.

She ran up to the horde of Arachnos, slamming her hammer down with each step taken.

“Stream Edge!” Shulk shouted, sweeping his blade in an arched angle and hitting all of the Arachno in the path. Applejack’s muscles tensed and her body produced an orange aura.

“Bound Aggression!” She shouted.

She ran up to the Arachnos and slammed her hammer into them with twice the speed as normal.

“Good, Applejack! Keep it going!” Slashing the back of an Arachno, Shulk called out.

The battled raged on for several minutes. With each passing second, an Arachno’s life perished under Applejack’s relentless use of Hammer Burst and Hammer Swing and Shulk’s tactical use of Back Slash and Slit Edge. The remaining Arachnos fled from the area. Shulk and Applejack sweated and panted.

“Looks like we did it.” Putting away her hammer, Applejack commented. “Now we just got to find out where Reyn and Twilight went.”

Shulk’s eyes lit up in a blue light. Within the vision he saw Reyn and Twilight Sparkle within a circular chamber, standing face to face against a giant Arachno. Twilight Sparkle stood paralyzed in fear, seeing Reyn impaled by the Arachno’s long maws. The Arachno then turned to her, causing her to scream.

“Applejack, we need to go, now!” He shouted.

“What’s the matter, Shulk?” Applejack questioned.

“I had a vision. Reyn and Twilight will wander into an Arachno Nest. If we don’t do anything, they will die.” Seriously, he responded.

“You keep on saying that you have all these visions. Care to explain how these visions of yours happen?” Applejack skeptically asked.

“I don’t know how they work. All I know is that I need to be in possession of the Monado for the visions to happen. Now, either you run with me or we will lose our friends to some monstrosity.” He demanded, running down the tunnel.

“It looks like I have no choice.” Running down the tunnel, Applejack said.

Behind the two, the changeling looked at the various bodies of the Arachnos on the floor. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped in amazement.

“Those two took care of those Arachno like they were nothing! And it sounds like they are going after the Arachno Queen.” He stated before he groaned to himself. “Even if they are enemies from the past, they are needed to ensure our kind’s survival in this world. It looks like I have to let them live. Still, I need to keep an eye on them.”

With those words, he hovered above the ground and followed them.

---

Continuing down the path, Shulk and Applejack came across a very large area, where a lake sat in the middle of the room. Several stalagmites and colorful ores littered the area. Applejack whistled in an impressed tone.

“A lake in a place like this? Who knew?” She asked.

“This is the Villa Lake. If my vision is correct, then Reyn and Twilight shouldn’t be too far ahead. We just need to climb those vines up on that wall over there.” Pointing to the wall, Shulk stated.

Applejack looked down on her hooves and scrunched her face with no amusement in it.

“My hooves may be able to do many things, but they can’t scale up walls you know.” Applejack stated.

“Just climb on a single vine. They all go to the top anyways.” Shulk reasoned.

“Easy enough for you to say! You have opposable hands!”

Shulk and Applejack waded across the lake and reached the other side.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, Shulk: I saw a deposit of crystals near the Spring of Grief. I also see some around here. What are those?” Applejack asked.

“Those are Ether Crystals. They can be refined into gems that can be attached to armor and weaponry and increase the wielder’s attributes.” Shulk explained. “We’ll get some later after we save Reyn and Twilight Sparkle.”

“Okay.”

Trying her best, Applejack latched onto the vine with her mouth and four hooves. She awkwardly crawled up the wall. Shulk kept a stoned face, but couldn’t help but snicker. He climbed up the wall.

Reaching to the top of the wall and onto a strip, Applejack lied down on the floor. Her eyes peered down upon Shulk, who reached the top of the wall. He sat down on the edge.

“That was a good climb you did, Applejack. You definitely did better than when I first climbed something.” He commented.

Applejack opened her mouth with words being caught inside of it. She closed it and smiled.

“Let’s go find Reyn and Twilight now.” She said.

---

Reyn and Twilight Sparkle wandered into a circular chamber filled with webbing on the walls and pink plants littering the floor. Reyn shivered.

“I don’t like this room, Twilight. This just has the scent of spiders written all over it.” He said.

“I’m with you, Reyn. Only an impossibly large spider can make webs like that.” Twilight Sparkle complied.

Wandering closer to the center, the two heard a scratching noise that came out of nowhere.

“What made that noise?!” Reyn shouted.

“It’s probably nothing, Reyn.” Skittishly, Twilight Sparkle responded.

The scratching noise intensified. An Arachno dropped from the ceiling. Reyn and Twilight Sparkle screamed and backed away. Behind them was another Arachno. Turning around them, they were completely surrounded by Arachnos.

In that moment, a spider the size of a tank dropped from the ceiling. It had a more vibrant shade of purple, two armored sections on its head with red and black spots, and frighteningly twisted maws.

“I think we are in the worst possible situation right now. What do you think, Twilight?” Reyn uneasily asked. Unfortunately for him, Twilight Sparkle stood there, paralyzed in fear of the Arachno Queen. “This is worse than I thought.”

---

Shulk and Applejack sprinted down the web-infested hallway.

“Shulk! Applejack! Where are you?!” The voice of Reyn echoed.

“Reyn!” Shulk and Applejack called out. Approaching the nest, Shulk and Applejack found a terrified Reyn and Twilight Sparkle.

“Twilight! Reyn!” Applejack called out.

“There’s too many of them! I kill one and ten more pop up!” Reyn stated, smashing his guarder into the Arachnos nearby. “Plus, this giant spider over here terrorized Twilight.”

Shulk looked towards the Arachno Queen and felt a pit of despair inside of him.

“Reyn! Come over here, quick!” Shulk shouted, jumping down to the lower level.

“Do what he says! You’ll die if you stay there!” Applejack shouted, jumping down with him.

“Easy for you to say! These things have my path to you guys blocked!” Reyn shouted, running in the opposite direction.

The Arachno Queen, detecting his movement, followed after him.

“Reyn! No!” Shulk shouted, sprinting after him.

Reyn ran until his path was blocked by a wall of web. Turning around, he saw the Arachno Queen threateningly staring at him.

“Reyn!”

In the moment Shulk shouted this, the Monado flashed in a yellow aura. Within the ring of the Monado, a yellow ‘盾’ appeared within it. Shulk swung the Monado, filling the entire field in its aura.

The moment the Arachno Queen launched her maws forward, Reyn became encased in a yellow barrier. The attack harmlessly bounced off of it, sending the Arachno Queen back.

“What’s this?!” Sighing in relief, Reyn shouted.

“The power of the Monado?!” Raising the Monado into the air, Shulk said to himself. The Monado’s electricity and blade changed back into a blue color. Applejack sprinted over towards Twilight Sparkle.

“Twilight! Snap out of it!” Shaking Twilight Sparkle, she shouted.

“Applejack? Where am I?” Twilight Sparkle asked. She looked around and saw herself surrounded by Arachnos.

“You ran off with Reyn when we were fighting the Arachnos. Reyn was about to bite the dust until Shulk saved him with a new power from the Monado.” Applejack explained.

“A new power?” Twilight Sparkle said to herself.

The swarm of Arachnos approached Applejack and struck her leg.

“Gyaah! Paralyzing poison!” She shouted, falling over onto the ground. Reyn and Shulk turned towards her.

“Applejack!” The unison of Reyn, Shulk and Twilight Sparkle shouted.

“Don’t worry about me. Just take care of that Arachno Queen! I’ll be fine, I promise.” Applejack commanded.

Twilight Sparkle sternly shook her head and stared at the Arachnos around her.

“Don’t lie to me, Applejack. I know for a fact that you most certainly are not alright! I will not let any of my friends fall for any reason. I refuse!” She shouted. “I don’t care if I have arachnophobia. If a spider hurts my friend, I will act. Count on it!”

Saying these words, her ring began flashing. The horn blade on her head unwound itself and the top portion of the ring unscrewed itself and made it to the top of her horn. A lavender stream of electricity connected the two halves and fully united into a laser. Shulk’s jaw dropped.

“…What?!” He said.

Behind Twilight Sparkle, the silhouette of a lilac ‘疗’ appeared behind her. She swung her augmented horn, which shifted into that color. Lilac sparkles landed upon Applejack’s lame body, healing her with light. She stood up from the ground with wide eyes.

“Is that a new spell, Twilight? I don’t think I have seen you use that before.” Applejack asked.

“I’m… not sure what I used.” Her blade turning back into a lavender color, Twilight Sparkle responded hesitantly.

“That’s a Monado!” Shulk happily shouted.

“Wait, what?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

The Arachno Queen smacked Reyn away with one of her legs.

“I think now it would be a good time to receive that help now, Twilight!” Reyn shouted in pain.

“Right! I’m coming over there!” Twilight Sparkle announced.

She and Applejack ran towards Shulk and Reyn’s side. Twilight Sparkle rushed forwards, striking the Arachno Queen with her Monado and sending her back stumbling.

“Good hit, Twilight!” Reyn and Applejack shouted.

Seeing that the Arachno Queen was distracted by Twilight Sparkle, Shulk ran towards her side.

“Air Slash!” He shouted, jumping into the air and slashing the Arachno Queen by her side.

“Now it’s my turn!” Applejack shouted, running towards the Arachno Queen. Taking out her rope, she lassoed the Arachno Queen by her head and pulled her forward. “Get over here!”

Pulling her in, she bucked the Arachno Queen in its jaw and sent it flying back. Pulling her back, she took out her hammer and slammed her right in her maw.

“Keep it up, Applejack! I’ll take care of the Arachnos behind you guys.” Reyn stated, lighting up in an orange aura.

“Magic Spark!” A mass of energy growing at the end of the blade, Twilight Sparkle shouted. The energy struck the Arachno Queen right in its maw.

“Slit Edge!” Shulk shouted, striking the Arachno Queen in her side. With the Arachno Queen crying out in pain, Shulk rushed towards her back side. “Back Slash!”

Striking the abdomen on its, a trio of blue lines connected Twilight Sparkle, Applejack and Shulk.

“All right! It’s time for a Chain Attack!” Applejack shouted.

Initializing the Chain Attack, Shulk stepped forwards.

“Stream Edge!” Swinging the Monado, Shulk shouted. The Arachno Queen was thrown off-balance.

“Magic Cannon!” Twilight Sparkle announced, firing a green mass from the tip of the blade into the Arachno Queen, tumbling it over.

“I’ve wanted to try this art, and now I can! Hammer Smash!” Announcing the art, Applejack held her hammer over her head and heavily hit her head hard. The earth rumbled underneath it. The Arachno Queen looked around, dazed.

“We can keep it going!” Shulk stated. The laser of his Monado extended far. He swung the laser down onto the Arachno Queen. “Monado Buster!” He shouted.

“Now it’s my turn!” Twilight Sparkle shouted. The laser of her Monado retracted in slightly, and a large mass of energy pooled up at the tip. “Monado Climax!”

Saying these words, a giant laser shot out towards the Arachno Queen, blasting it away.

“That was amazing!” Energetically jumping around, Applejack screamed.

The Arachno was still dazed on the floor. Applejack jumped into the air.

“Hammer Burst!” She shouted, jumping into the air and striking the Arachno Queen on her head.

“Slit Edge!” Running towards its side and stabbing her, Shulk stated.

The Arachno Queen got up and pushed away Shulk, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack. Shulk’s eyes flashed in a blue color. Within the vision, the Arachno Queen bit its maws into Twilight Sparkle, dealing critical damage to her with her Arachno Crush I. His Monado changing into a yellow color, he swung it.

“Monado Shield!”

Twilight Sparkle, Applejack and Shulk all became enshrouded within the light and shields formed around them. The Arachno Queen’s Arachno Crush I failed to pierce Twilight Sparkle’s shield, nullifying both the shield around her and the attack.

“Quick thinking, Shulk!” Twilight Sparkle commented.

“Now it’s time to finish it!” Shulk shouted, slashing its back with a Back Slash. The Arachno Queen fell onto the ground. “We did it!”

Reyn smashed away a majority of the Arachnos in the room. The remainder of the Arachnos skittered away from the area.

“Nice job, everyone.”

“If it weren’t for you, Reyn, we would have had many more things to worry about. It looks like you conquered your fear of spiders.” Twilight Sparkle commented.

“That’s nothing. You stood up to a big spider and fired a giant laser at it. If there was anyone who got over that fear, it is you.” Reyn complimented.

“I’m… still afraid of spiders.” Shuddering, Twilight Sparkle stated.

“So am I.”

Shulk walked over to a treasure chest dropped by the Queen Arachno and took out a vial of yellow acid.

“It looks like we can use this to burn away at the web covering the tunnel’s entrance. This situation explains why we haven’t had much people coming from Colony 6.” Tossing the acid into the web, he said. The group of four began walking down the tunnel.

“I can’t wait to brag to the rest of my family how we four took down a spider the size of a barn. It’ll be a story that will pass down generations in the Apple Family legacy.” Smiling, Applejack stated.

“I had enough about spiders for one day, Applejack. Please don’t make a glorified statement about them.” Twilight Sparkle stated with an anxious shiver. Everyone in the tunnel laughed.

Back in the nest, the changeling looked at the corpse of the Arachno Queen. His breath became stolen in excitement and happiness. He flew up through one of the holes in the area.

---

A larger changeling with a green mane paced back and forth within the cave. She glanced onto the group of changelings around her and sighed.

“It’s been five days since we appeared in this new world and we have been fortunate enough to land in a cave perfect for a hive. Those Arachnos, however, have made things very problematic for us. I already lost many changelings due to their constant attacks on us. It seems like we aren’t allowed to live here.” She said.

“My queen, surely there must be a way that we changelings can turn the tides in our favor.” One changeling suggested.

“We can always try to attack the queen, but we still are too weak right now. There isn’t any love in the cave for us to power up in, so I don’t feel confident in attacking her. Plus, we don’t have a strategic location to launch our attacks from yet.” Queen Chrysalis rationalized. “If only a messenger flew through that hole with good news.”

In that moment, a changeling flew through the hole Queen Chrysalis pointed at. Queen Chrysalis stared wide-eyed at the changeling.

“Dragonfly, what brings you over here?” She asked.

Dragonfly beat his wings and landed on the ground, saluting Queen Chrysalis.

“A group of four characters were spotted. Two of them are familiar sights, since they were part of the group that went against us in the Canterlot Invasion while there were two natives of this world. The four killed the Arachno Queen and are leaving towards the north exit to the nearby plains.” He reported.

It took several seconds before the nature of his words seeped into Queen Chrysalis’s brain. When it did, however, a wicked grin appeared on her face.

“This is the best possible news I have heard so far. Not only is it confirmed that we weren’t the only ones transported into the world, but our foes did us a little favor by exterminating the Arachno Queen, thus securing our survival in this world. And you said they were heading over towards the plains?”

Dragonfly nodded. Queen Chrysalis walked towards the hole.

“Where are you going, my Queen?” Dragonfly asked. Queen Chrysalis turned around and faced him.

“I’m going to go see our foes, of course. I wish to give them a proper congratulation.”

---

Rainbow Dash and Sharla stood within a thicket of grass behind a dinosaur-like ox. Seeing the dinosaur looking the other way, Rainbow Dash grinned. She then leaped out of the grass.

“Back Strike!” Smashing her right front hoof into the ox’s back and downing it, she called out. The ox turned into a wooden chest. “I’m really feeling it!”

Sharla ran towards the chest and opened it. Her eyes lit up as she pulled out the contents of the box.

“That’s the last Thick Armu Milk we need for food rations! You are doing better than I thought you would, Rainbow Dash.” She complimented.

“Well, I’m glad you happen to have some shoes that allow me to really nail some of these monsters, Sharla.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“And nailing them is what you are doing very well. We should hurry back into the Refugee Camp with these materials. I’m sure that everyone there is looking forward to some fresh milk.”

“Yes, but can we hurry up? These Smelly Hides we have are becoming unbearable.” Rainbow Dash requested.

“I know just how you feel, Rainbow Dash.” Sharla replied. The two walked away from the area.

Author's Note:

Big surprises in this chapter. Also, I couldn't resist doing that with the ending.

Comments

[Texus]

It realy good again, i can´t wait for the moment Rainbow Dash is going to know the second Egghead, maybe one of her secret biggest fears

For a second i doesn´t knew if i wanted her to have that Monado Power, but as a Healer and with Ether i think it works just fine, because she didn´t use similar thinks like Shulk do. I just want to make a request, maybe Chrysalis could be one of the troups which are used to fight against the Mechon´s at the end I think it just depens of what you do with their Love diet . Some just say it is the best and most delicious emotion for them and not the only one they can eat. Some say the ponys have to die because of the love thing, but i want to believe it is just something like a sick state. (yeah i think i said it exactly like i mean it)

My groups : Shulk/Rainbow Dash/Twilight (Egghead Power) and Reyn/Applejack/Sharla (Team....thickhead?) (I decided for a healer in both teams, that means if i understand the new ability right.) I know there would probably be no permanent group, just for one fight was more like i mean it.

[Woolytop]

"Striking its anthrax, a trio of blue lines connected Twilight Sparkle, Applejack and Shulk."
That word... I don't think it means what you think it means.

[HB_DS2013]

Twilight is a sentient Monado!?

[Vibrant Emotion]

Did anybody else notice that Applejack used a Mortal Combat reference?

[Prince Golden Glow]

Did anyone notice that Dash became Shulk 2.0?