Of Magic and Machines

by FrostTheWolf

Log 24- The El Trials (Water)

Of Magic and Machines- The El Trials (Water)

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Unknown location

Right now, the Rune Slayer named Nicko was trying to get a hold of what exactly this Firefly mare was saying. Rainbow Dash, nor Scootaloo for that matter ever mentioned anything about their parents before. Matter of fact, barely any of the elements… well except for Pinkie, Applejack and Twilight, ever talked about family. Rainbow had always talked about either heroics, the Wonderbolts, or how crazy Amy Anderson could get at times. “So let me get this straight… Rainbow Dash… is your daughter?” He asked for clarification so he could understand.

“For the last time yes, Rainbow Dash is my daughter.” Firefly said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance. “How is it so hard for you to not get it?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that Rainbow never really wanted to talk about family whenever the subject came up, so none of us, nor her friends actually know who her parents are,” Nicko apologized, adding on an explanation to it so Firefly could understand a little. Even though they had just met, Nicko wanted to make sure that the pegasus wasn’t so suspicious of who he was or what he said. So he had to make sure he picked his words carefully. “Now, Firefly, I’m sorry if this sounds a little rude… But where exactly are we?”

“We’re in the Temple of Trials, kid.” Firefly said in annoyance. “This would be my fifty-sixth time being here.” Nicko was going to question the accuracy of her statement, but the question he had in his mind was erased when he saw the scratches lined up in tally marks of five. There were eleven sets of five and a stray one by itself. “I originally came in here, hearing that this was the last place that Commander Hurricane was last seen before the demons were sealed away many years ago… Man, I was naive back then, because after fighting through several demons, I encountered Hurricane, but he was possessed. The demons had full control of him, making him a fallen guardian. I tried fighting him, but he was too strong. Now I’m being told to complete three trials before I can have a solid round 2 with that jackass.”

“But so far, you’re stuck on this one?” The Rune Slayer asked.

“You can say that. There’s more to it than fighting demons,” The Pegasus said, pointing to the statues that looked like suits of armor. Watching as what appeared to be a bird landed underneath it before getting squished by the suit’s warhammer. “The statues are also traps. So it’s not just strength but speed.”

“Well… That’s just… enlightening.” Nicko replied, trying to erase the image of the dead bird from his head. “Hey, maybe this whole trial thing is something you can’t go through alone on. Perhaps maybe you and I can work as a team? Because the sooner we get through these, the faster we can get out of here.” The warrior offered. He was hesitant though, for if the possibility she would decline what he had asked.

“After being here for Celestia knows how long, I would love for the assistance.” She replied, looking at him before a question formed in her mind. “Mind if I ask for your name?”

“Ah right, my name is Nicko. Nicko Nocte,” He told her as he got his sword ready. Now by looking at everything around the two of them, the Rune Slayer was having flashbacks to the actual Temple of Trials dungeon in Elsword. Where the party that was in the dungeon had to work together to complete three trials; The Trial of Strength, The Trial of Mind, and lastly, The Trial of Shadows. Each trial upon being completed would provide an enchantment that would greatly increase the players survivability rate. Strength would give Impenetrable Shield, increasing their Physical and Magical Defense capabilities. Mind would give Magical Cape, which hastened the regeneration rate of mana. Shadows though, was different from the first two. The effect was called Potential Opened and it allowed for the players attack strength to increase by ten percent for a short amount of time. Smirking, he saw a few of the demons take form as he readied his magic for combat “Alright, let’s do this.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The two of them charged in, using their skills and weapons to deal with the first few minions that tried attacking them. Demons that were known as Cold Hearted and Brutal because of their strength and power. However, both the Rune Slayer and the Grandmaster were not having that much trouble as they were fighting through them. Even when a Sniper demon tried hitting Firefly’s blind spot, Nicko was able to use the edge of his blade to deflect it back towards them, clearing a path for them to press on.

“I’m guessing the statue traps start now?” Nicko asked.

“Yes, however after they slam their hammer on the ground, it takes them five seconds or so to get back to their original position.”

“Let’s use that to our advantage then. Either we rush towards the enemy on the other side or we pull them towards us and let the traps do the rest.” He hypothesized, hoping that this idea would make things less difficult for them as they passed through here.

“Pull them towards us. Because going after them is how I died the first time here.” The pegasus advised. He nodded his head, launching out a Rune towards them to catch their attention before the demons came launching at them. Though a few were hit by the traps, they weren’t exactly dead, so a quick and simple Wind Blade from Nicko was able to get the job done and finish them off before they could get back up again.

“Okay, path’s clear. Let’s keep moving.” He briefly stated before another small group spawned in front of them. This time with a couple of charger demons added to the mix as they took them out one by one. Only difference though was that there was one thing that Firefly honestly did not expect… and also did not want to deal with. And that was a second set of the statue traps on the other half of the pathway.

“Oh I remember these.”

“Just when you think you got through that round, they throw round two right at you,” Nicko sighed, casting Critical Sword to increase his strength and attack speed. “But that just means we need to do one thing… Keep moving on.”

“Let’s just hope we don’t screw up like I did before you came here.” The Grandmaster deadpanned. Both of them had weapons in hand as they hacked and slashed through their opponents, Nicko himself going as far as to roll out of the way of one of the traps so he can finish off a demon from behind. “Alright, almost there. Come on!”

“Running as fast as I can. In case you haven’t notice, I’m not that youthful as I was before.” Nicko was going to say a sly comment about the fact that she had wings, but resisted the urge to say that as he held out a hand to pull her up to the final step they needed to reach. All before they teleported to another platform that was high above the others. “Haven’t made it this far in the trial.”

Looking at her, he then turned to see the sight of a few pieces of armor in the center being pulled together and constructed from the magic that was being released. Forming the one figure Nicko honestly never expected to see… The Guardian Knight of Trials. “Well, the sooner we defeat it, the closer we will be to getting out of here. Just watch for that hammer, who knows what it can do with it.”

“Really? What gave that away?” Firefly said sarcastically. Nicko himself though, realized that Firefly had her back turned towards the Guardian and just as it’s hammer was closing in on her head, the Rune Slayer stepped in between and blocked it. “.....I’ll keep my sarcasm to a minimum until this fight is over.”

“Yeah… something tells me that this won’t be easy as we think it’ll be.” The Rune Slayer said to her as he casted Luna Blade and struck it around the backside of the head and neck. Doing his best to dodge and weave out of the constant hammer attacks and using Fire Rune’s to leave behind burning traps. Meanwhile, Firefly herself was using skills from her own bag of tricks. Like Amy when she had Blazing Heart skills before becoming a Crimson Avenger, Firefly was the last of the three second job classes for Elesis in the game, Elsword. The Grand Master, one who was in tune with her claymore and was a force to be reckoned with when fighting by herself or alongside allies, and her skills in battle were no exception to that.

“Try this on for size! Sword of Victory!” Firefly roared, causing Nicko to dodge out of the way of the attacks that followed as the pegasus focused her efforts on slashing the crap out of the Guardian and tear it’s body apart bit by bit. “Is that the best you got hammerhead? My daughter could beat the hell out of you without even trying!” The knight’s response was to lunge forth and try to smash Firefly. Which it was almost close to doing, but as the hammer came down, the weapon was stuck in the crater it made. Something that the Rune Slayer nearby saw and knew that it was their chance.

“It’s vulnerable! Let’s take it down!!”

“Eat this! Sword of Relices!!!”

“STORM BLADE!!” Nicko roared as a cone of spinning blades began to surround him. Thankfully, the attacks from both of them worked out perfectly as the guardian soon fell to it’s knees and faded into nothing more than broken armor pieces. But once the soldier had fallen, the two of them were teleported into another hallway, and the first thing that Nicko noticed was a set of red rune markings on his arm.

“This must be Impenetrable shield… No wonder I feel a bit stronger.” The swordsman thought as he looked at his companion and asked her a question. “How are you holding up, Firefly?”

“I-I’m fine, j-just let me c-catch my breath.” The Rune Slayer nodded his head, before looking to see all the hallway behind him. Seeing it stretch out as it looked like a door with a shield and two swords was closed off. Signaling that the Trial of Strength was complete… Now only two more remained… two trials that the spellsword’s companion didn’t even know about.

“Finally, I can get out of this stupid pla-.” She sighed in relief, until noticing where she was when she lifted her head up and saw the hallway in front of her. “What the hell!?”

“Firefly, calm down…” Nicko urged her, pointing at the other end of the hall. “See the doors on the other end of the room?”

“Yeah, I went through one for the first cha-. Wait, why is it closed off?”

“That’s what I think we’re being tested on…” The Rune Slayer informed her, looking at all three of the doors. Turning to the wall, he noticed an inscription that looked to be in an old language. But the strange thing was, the words in front of him were turning into english and becoming easier to translate. To face the Guardian who has fallen to the Demons, any brave adventurer must overcome three trials; Strength, Mind and Shadows. By passing them, the adventurers will gain an enchantment to show that they passed that trial. Strength allows the body to become stronger and ward off pain. Mind allows energy and stamina to return quickly. Shadows provides strength and willpower to overcome any fears. Have all three and you might stand a chance.

“What does it mean?”

Nicko, turning around, took a deep breath. “This says that there are three trials to overcome before we face Hurricane. The one we just completed is the Trial of Strength. We need to complete the last two trials and get the enchantments from passing them in order to get to Hurricane, kick his ass, and then get out of here.” Looking back at the pegasus, he helped her up as he made sure that his weapon was ready to go. But he wanted to see if Firefly was ready first so he didn’t leave her behind.

“Care to explain how you are able to read this stuff? Because when I tried to read it, I couldn’t understand or read it.”

“I’m a Rune Slayer. Basically, since my magic specializes with Runes, I can also read runes that are inscribed or carved somewhere easily,” He explained briefly before stopping himself. “I’m not going to try and bore you with explaining magic, something tells me you’ll be bored of it once I start speaking.”

“I’m getting too old for this crap. The sooner I get out of here, the sooner I’m going on vacation.” The Mare said as she placed her Claymore at her side. “And the sooner I get to see my young little filly…”

That… caught Nicko by surprise. “Wait a minute… Filly? How old was Rainbow when you last saw her?” He asked, a bit confused by what the mare was talking about.

“Five years old, why?” Upon hearing that, Nicko actually stopped walking and almost choked on his insides when he heard that. But what he said afterwards was what really stunned the mare once he regained his composure.

“Firefly… Last I checked… Your daughter is twenty five now…” That realization… hit her hard. Like harder than getting thrown into a brick wall or getting hit by an oncoming train. The shock of it all almost caused the mare to look at him in disbelief and to even think he was lying. But after a few moments, she soon realized that he was indeed telling her the truth.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE’S TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD!?”

“L-look, I don’t get it either, but there must be some sort of reason for it… How long have you been stuck here for… inside this temple.” He asked, trying to think of something that popped into his head while he was processing what they just found out.

“I-I Can’t believe this. Twenty-five years stuck in this place, and I missed out on half of my daughter’s life.” She spoke in disbelief as she tried to snap herself out of it. “I mean… It’s only been like almost an entire day. How can time move so fast outside of this place?”

“Maybe it’s an effect of the temple… One hour in here is a year out there… If that’s the case, we gotta move through this quickly. The more time we take in here, the longer we’re separated from the outside world.” With that, Nicko armed himself and prepared to run. “Let’s get through this… I want to make sure you get back to your daughter as soon as possible.”

“I’ll try to assist you in anyway I can.” Firefly said still catching her breath. “I’m not how I used to be seeing how I retire from the Wonderbolts at forty-five.” Nicko smirked. Despite what Firefly said, she demonstrated great fighting abilities and the skills to back him up. They made their way through the main corridor with ease and with it, they now approached the door on the right. Straight to the Trial of Mind. As they ran though, they noticed the statues on the walls were of Magicians and the cracks on the ground surface.

“Careful. May possibly be the same trap as the soldiers last time. Only this time with spellcasters and magic.” The Rune Slayer cautioned Firefly in advance as they quickly resumed cutting down their foes and avoiding as much traps as possible.

“When I find the pony that took me away from my daughter, I’m so going to ring his or her’s neck for this.” Firefly mumbled, slicing through some more opponents that blocked their path as Nicko tried clearing one of his own. Combining his Splash Explosion skill with some stones to create custom frag grenades that exploded with a snap of his finger.

“Okay, almost through the trial. We got a guardian incoming!” The Spellsword warned in advance as he tightened the grip on his blade once the two of them were teleported to a platform above the hallway.

“Seriously? How many guardians are there in this stupid place?”

“Seems like these two and Hurricane and that’s it-.” He assumed, just as the magician guardian manifested from the floor and spat out ice from his hands. “Woah, that was close!! … And kind of cold if I may add to that.”

“Please this is nothing compare to the cold in Yakistan.” Firefly boasted, unaware that the magician was about to detonate a few explosions by her hooves and cause her to fall backwards. “....Oh whoever threw me in here is a dead colt when I get my hands on him.” All the redhead did was focus his attacks and make sure to dodge the explosions in time as well. There were also a few times where the mage had to teleport and attack with its staff, where he had to work with Firefly to parry the weapon and counterattack properly. “Any ideas on how to deal with him?”

“Attack from both sides. It can’t handle having to receive damage from two fronts.” The Rune Slayer instructed, using Sword Wave and Sword Fire to keep up the pressure and provide more damage over time.

“Alright then, Juggernaut Buster!!!” The Mare roared, causing an oversized blade to emerge above her head and forcing Nicko to duck for cover as the pegasus delivered the final blow to the guardian. “Pop quiz, how many times does it take to beat a moron to death? BAM! Sorry, times up, you’re dead!”

“…… Okay, I can definitely tell where Rainbow got her humor from.” Nicko said briefly before both of them had the next enchantment cast on them and were teleported to the front of the final door. Where another tablet with an inscription was there waiting for them. Taking a few moments to inspect it, the Rune Slayer was soon able to figure out what it meant as he turned back to his companion.

“Now what does it say?”

“It says… Congratulations on passing both the Trials of Strength and the Trial of Mind. Now you come across your final task before advancing to the Fallen Guardian. Fight against the shadows that spawn in the next room and survive… Bear in mind though that these will not be the same demons you’ve faced before. Instead, these are dark copies of people you know. Complete the trial and you may proceed to the guardian. Good luck.” He said as he set the tablet down and they were transported to the next room. “Okay… this was not what I was expecting.” Soon, the shadows from beneath them began to spread out, taking on the form of other fighters as Nicko tried to clash and hold his ground. But what Firefly got was something different.

She got a mare that looked like her… but the words were not hers.

“Hello Mommy…”

“D-Dashie?”

“Why did you leave mommy… You said you would come back… You promised.” The sound of the voice cut out for a moment, replaced by the same figure trying to swing for her head. “Why did you have to leave? Because of you, daddy’s got sick… Because of you, daddy’s gone. Why weren’t you there to help me, mommy?”

“.......I’m sorry.” Firefly said as her claymore began to glow brightly. “I’m so sorry for disappearing on you both. I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me once we meet.” She said as her sword burn brighter than the sun. “Just wait a little bit longer, and I’ll explain everything to you once I get out of here.” With that, the claymore struck down and destroyed the clone made of darkness as she saw Nicko trying to hold off the others. Gripping her weapon, she charged in and after a few more moves, both of them had their backs face towards each other and their blades at the ready for anything. “Any ideas? Because I’m running on fumes at the moment.”

“Just hold out a bit longer.” Nicko said, the effects of the enchantment from the magical cape restoring a bit of his mana in the process. But before either of them could make a move, all the shadows turned to dust and the two of them felt a strange surge of magic flow through them both as they were whisked away from there and into the final chamber.

“I…… think we passed the last trial.”

“Oh thank Celestia.” Firefly said as she collapsed to the floor. The Rune Slayer himself offered a Complete Recovery potion to help her out as she tore the top off and inhaled the potion completely.

“Feeling better?” He asked, helping the pegasus stand up onto her hooves.

“I feel a little faint.” The pegasus lied as she leaned against the Rune Slayer. “I might need somepony to carry me due to my….injured leg.”

“Yeah… About that,” He said, looking up as he noticed a small black spot grow bigger in size and close in on them. “We’re not out of the woods just yet.”

“This has better be the last pony we need to fight.” Firefly groaned as a pegasus stallion in black armor and holding an oversized cannon soon crashed down on their location… aiming it towards them as it set off a missile with a small click.

“Find cover!”

“Ah horse feathers!” The two of them barreled out of the way as several missiles collided with surrounding debris. At one point, Nicko had to slice through one of the projectiles as he tried to get to another section of the room before casting Rising Slash and causing six blades to rise from the floor.

“Sword of Victory!!!” She screamed out, damaging the guardian as it scarred the back of it’s armor. However, Hurricane’s counterattack sent the Grandmaster flying into the wall as she was hit by the backside of his cannon.

“Firefly!!!” Nicko cried out, racing towards the opponent as he cast Luna Blade to cripple the opponent’s leg and then went in for a few more strikes and using Sword Wave. There was a reason for Nicko’s constant casting here… Ryu in his world taught the Rune Slayer that chaining skills together can cause the skill at the end of the chain to be much more powerful in strength. And with the skill he chose, he needed every ounce of power he could get to defeat Hurricane.

“Shining… RUNE… BUSTER!!” He roared, his magic going haywire as the black hole he conjured pulled the guardian in, his attacks causing Hurricane’s armor to crash under pressure and the explosions having chunks of armor breaking off. Breaking off to where nothing was left but a broken suit of armor.

“D-did we… do it?” Nicko asked himself, until he realized that he almost forgot about Firefly as he hurried to attend to her and helped patch her up. “You okay?”

“Did anyone get the number of that thundercloud?”

“Firefly, pull yourself together…” Nicko told her, personally relieved. “We’ve won… We can get out of here now.” Hearing those words put joy into the mare’s heart as the Rune Slayer helped her to her hooves.

“HELL YEAH! I can finally get out of this stupid place…..but you need to carry me because I’m exhausted.” The Rune Slayer sighed, looking back at her and doing so as they stepped out the door that opened in the back and into the light… only to find themselves on the clouds nearby Rainbow’s house and outside her front door. “Who’s house is this?”

“That’s…… Rainbows house.” He told her, helping her to the door before looking back at her. “Should I ring the doorbell for you?”

“No….I’ll do it.” Firefly said as she tried to ring the doorbell, only to stop halfway. Nicko was going to help, but he just held back a little. Letting Firefly be able to try and do it by herself so she could see her daughter again for the first time in years. “Maybe I should wait a little before seeing her. I mean, she might not be home now.”

“You don’t know unless you try. Besides, she mostly stays at home whenever she isn’t flying.”

“Still though……”

“If she’s not at the house, nopony will come to the door.” Nicko reminded her, now making Firefly feel a little embarrassed upon realizing that. “I can knock for you if you want me too-.”

“Oh you are such a gentlecolt.” Firefly said as she moved behind Nicko and lightly push him towards the door. The Rune Slayer sighed, ringing the doorbell once before adjusting himself to where Firefly could be seen after seeing that she was trying to hide behind him in the reflection on the window. Soon, the door was answered… and it was exactly the pony that Nicko needed to see.

“Ugh, what is it this time Nicko? Did Amy do something stupid again?” Rainbow Dash asked, a little bit annoyed by his presence at the door.

“No, it’s… well different. A bit complicated, but different.” He said briefly, stepping out of the way so Firefly could see her daughter… All grown up.

“M-Mom?”

“D-Dashie?! I-is that you?” The Mare asked, too shocked to say anything else as tears began to fall from her eyes upon seeing Rainbow. “Oh dear Celestia…”

“B-But how? You disappeared twenty years ago.” Rainbow Dash said as tears began to flow down her face.

“I found her stuck in a place called the Temple of Trials, where she had been struggling to make it through on her own. Turns out, she had only been in there for a few hours and one hour in there is one year in the real world… Welcome home, Firefly… Welcome home.” The Rune Slayer told her, leaving the mare to hug her daughter as Firefly was trying her best to keep her composure.

“Oh I miss you so much my little Dashie!”

“Mom! Don’t call me that in front of my marefriend.” The Pegasus blushed, looking back at her mother with her cheeks lighting up in a shade of light red. Nicko chuckled to himself lightly before looking at them as a mother was able to be back with her daughter once again.

“You’ve grown so much since the last time I saw you. I am so sorry I disappeared on you all those years ago.” Firefly frantically apologized, trying to have her daughter forgive her like she had committed a terrible sin.

“I-It’s fine mom, though your timing could’ve been better.” Rainbow Dash said as she heard Amy getting out of the shower.

“Hey RD! Do we have anymore of that coconut oil for my hair!? I kinda forgot to get some-.” The Crimson Avenger asked, walking into the room with only a bathrobe on as she looked at both of the pegasi at the door. “Um….who’s the mare?”

“That… would be your marefriends mother.” Nicko sighed, facepalming himself at the awkward situation that was unfolding in front of him.

“Oh….” Amy said as she walked into the kitchen.

“You’re not even curious as to how I found her in the first place?” The Rune Slayer asked, before retracting that statement. “You know what, forget I asked. You still have to explain it to Scootaloo anyways.”

“Buddy, you been away for the past seven years. You should realize this Ponyville we’re talking about. You know the place where weird stuff always happen?”

“Hey, I was stuck in stone for seven years because of a blast from the elements of harmony that was deflected,” The Rune Slayer stated at first before continuing. “Firefly here was stuck inside a real version of the Temple of Trials and every hour she was stuck in there, a year would pass in the real world. Oh and by the way… she’s a Grand Master.”

“Really? I didn’t know seeing how I can see a huge ass sword on her back.”

“She does make a valid point.” Firefly said. “It pretty much gave it away.”

“Yeah and Amy is a Crimson Avenger who is basically unkillable, dating your daughter, and the reason that some things for Scootaloo go bump in the night.” The Spellsword stated, causing Firefly to look at Amy before looking back at Rainbow, who had a bit of a blush on her face during that moment.

“So you two are dating huh?” Firefly said as she examine Amy. “Not bad, nice size breast, good looking hips, and she has that fiery passion that doesn’t die. Reminds me of your father, just as a female.”

“Oh this going to be fun to have you as a mother-in-law.” Amy said as she walked out of the kitchen with a protein shake.

“And I guess that’s my cue to leave.” Nicko said as he turned around, posing a question for the Crimson Avenger. “Hey Amy, can you let Anson and the others know I won’t be back for a while? I’m sort of occupied with some training that Glave is having me go through.”

“Still training huh? Well I guess I’ll tell the others seeing how you need some catching up to do.”

“It’s less of training and more of going through trials that force you to try and cheat death. But thanks, Amy. I owe you one.” He told her as he closed the door to the home and began to slowly walk away.

“.....Should I tell him how owing you will end up in misery?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No.” Amy said as she smiled devilishly. “This will make things interesting and fun for me.”

---

Meanwhile, as Nicko began to walk away from Rainbow’s home, he soon noticed his Displacer waiting for him on a nearby cloud and clapping his hands as he looked back at the Rune Slayer. “Well done… Not only did you complete two of the trials I had planned for you, but you were also able to help a long lost warrior return home.”

“Heh, thanks… I’m guessing that I’m not going to catch a break though, am I?”

“Not quite… In fact, it is time for you to take on your next challenge. The El Trial of Fire,” Glave told him as the cubes in his hand began to glow. After a bright flash of light, Nicko looked around to find himself in what appeared to be the burning ruins of an old castle. But it felt too familiar to him. “Welcome to the ruins of a castle that once belonged to Ponykind… However, it now remains the home of a much more frightening monster. All you need to do is survive… Oh and one more thing.”

“Yes?” Nicko asked, confused.

“Good luck… you may need it.” Glave then disappeared in a small flash of light as a thundering roar could be heard from across the grounds. Looking up, the Rune Slayer’s eyes widened at the sight of the beast that was approaching on his position.

Perkisas, the dragon that was the incarnation of greed itself. Nicko could only do one thing in that moment as he placed his sword on his back and turned around.

Run. “Son of a TAINT!!!”

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End Log 24

Author's Note:

Hey everyone, here's the next chapter for you. Now with Nicko's second trial complete, he needs to do one thing left... Live...

Also, happy fifth anniversary to Elsword!

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[Titan Commander Sebaste]

That ending!