The First Fallen
In the dark castle, Armalum, Tempera, Wingill, Storm and Terror were all in the map room, the sun now setting just an hour ago. The group had helped treat Storm and Terror's wounds after the battle, all of them now watching the map room's screens as they played back the previous fights.
It was now showing an image of Flash using Flash Force on Salix, Tempera looking away as she saw the glimpse of the image before sniffing back a tear, "I can't believe he's gone."
The others nodded, Wingill sighing. "It's weird, I almost miss his non-stop talking."
Storm crossed his hooves as he now saw an image of Soarin getting the orb, "All of this to get a stupid piece of metal."
"There has to be more to it than that," Armalum added as he pointed at the screen, "That sphere must be part of the reason we're here...but if you two returned here after that, I suspect there's more to this game."
"What do you mean?" Terror asked.
"I'm saying that somepony is playing a game with us, and our survival will likely depend on our victory in it. The next time we are called, we must defeat them."
"Master Shadow probably realized the same thing," Tempera finished with a sigh as the footage began again. "That must be why he's working so hard."
Meanwhile...
Down below within the illusion chamber, Shadow Corrupter had transformed the area into a fully quipped science laboratory. Every single piece of modern scientific equipment ever invented was there, fully functioning despite being technically fake. The unicorn was now in front of a microscope, a petri dish filled with blood underneath it. Storm's Celestic Gear was over in the corner, the tip still stained with blood as Shadow looked through the scope while wearing a pair of goggles.
"Flash Sentry..." he muttered as he pulled his head away, now moving over to another machine as it spewed out some papers, his magic now floating the sheet over to him. "You will not remain an enigma forever. I will discover why you have this power, and it will be mine."
The pony of Shadow's fascination was currently in his own castle, he and his friends all staring at the orb they had obtained during the battle. Trixie and Ruby were waving their horns around it, the appendages letting out a light of their respective auras that moved from side to side. They kept swapping their vision from them to the city, watching as the damage done during the fight now being repaired.
"Ah ha!" Trixie cheered as she cut her spell, everypony looking back at her as she began rubbing her horn.
"What is it?" Springer asked, "what'd you find?"
"I have no idea," Trixie continued to stare at the orb. "I'm just waving my horn around like I know what I'm doing."
"Very informative," Flash deadpanned.
"Give her a break," Ruby chimed in while cutting off her own spell. "It's a hard spell to figure out the first few times. Don't worry, I figured out what this thing is."
"You did?" Springer asked with Ruby nodding back, "What is it?"
"One hundred percent steel." Ruby replied, only to see disgruntled faces from the group, "What?"
"That's it?!" Soarin yelped, "I got slashed in the side and blasted through a hole for a small lump of metal?!"
"Yes."
"There's gotta be more to it than that," Flash added while pointing at the orb, "The battle ended when Soarin got it, so it's got to be important! It can't just be some useless piece of metal!"
"I'm sorry, but that's all there is to it. I mean, I detect a residual magical trace...but could just the magic that was used to teleport you all back here."
Cold just stared at the metal orb, the piece of tin floating above their map castle like a bird circling its roost. "We shouldn't be so quick to assume anything. This may be plain steel, but that doesn't mean it isn't important. It may be part of a greater whole of something." His horn began to glow as he used his magic to grasp the sphere...only to feel a pull back, "Hmm?" He cut his magic next before trying to grab it in his hooves, only to feel it pull even harder, as if the orb was connected to an elastic band. And as he let go, the orb instantly shifted back to its original spot, continuing to circle the castle.
Springer turned to Ruby at this, "You sure that thing's just steel?"
Ruby nodded, the others sighing at her response. And as a small minute of silence followed, Soul spoke up, "So what do we do now?" Everyone turned to her, surprised since the unicorn had been very quiet since the end of the battle. She had only really talked to Soarin, mainly when trying to mend his wounds with a first-aid kit she had asked the cupboard for.
But it was Cold who answered her question, "Now we go to sleep." Everypony turned to him, seeing the usual blank face he always wore as everypony frowned.
Soarin chimed in at this, "You want us to go to sleep after everything we've been through today?"
"Yes. Because if what happens today happens tomorrow, we'll need to be well rested in order to keep what happened to that Salix pony from happening to us. We got lucky in not losing Skies, we might not be that lucky again." Everypony exchanged glances, grimaces and uncertainty on their faces.
That is, till Flash let out a long sigh as he said, "He's right." Everypony turned to him, seeing him cross his hooves, "Let's get to bed. Who knows how long we'll get to sleep before that alarm goes off again."
The others all nodded, some sighing as they began to leave the room. As they did this, Soarin let out a moan, "I don't know if I'll even be able to sleep. After everything that happened, I doubt having sweet dreams will be off the ta-" He suddenly found himself crashing into Trixie's behind, quickly staggering back as the others saw her shine a big grin on her face.
"Dreams..." she whispered as her eyes slowly widened, "That's it!"
"What's it?" Springer asked.
"How we're gonna contact our friends back home! I'll enter their dreams and tell them what's happening. I'm sure Luna will have someway of tracking us. Maybe she can look into my memory to see how we got here."
"Wait a minute," Heart raised a hoof. "You can enter dreams?"
"Why yes I can!" Trixie patted a hoof on her chest with a smug smile, "My teacher is the princess of the night, Princess Luna. She has the power to enter dreams and protect ponies from nightmares and what not, and I just so happen to have mastered that magic."
"Mastered?" Flash added with a raised eyebrow.
"Alright...I've not fully mastered it." Trixie grumbled as she glared at the defender, "But I'm good enough that this should work."
"But aren't we miles from Equestria?" Springer asked next, "Can your magic really reach that far?"
"It should, as long as I focus on the pony I'm trying to connect with. Since I've already been inside my friends' dreams before, I should have an easier time connecting to Twilight and the rest of the Elements. Stand back." They did so as Trixie closed her eyes, her horn emitting a bright light that spiraled around her into a sphere.
"Wow..." Heart and Soul gasped.
"Perhaps this will help us. I suspect we'll need all we can get." Cold commented as the light began to cover Trixie.
Trixie opened her eyes, now seeing the dream realm before her. She took a deep breath, adjusting her body to the special world she had just crossed into. And as she did this, she began to walking and glancing around, ready to see the bubbles that filled the voids, all showing the dreams of ponies.
But as she began to look around, she gasped. "What? Where...where are the dreams?" She began to dart her eyes around, now seeing nothing in the void of the dream realm. "This can't be right...somepony should be asleep."
Five minutes later...
Flash and the others waited in front of Trixie's sphere, the defender now feeling a tug at his wing, making him look down at Soul. "Is she alright? She's been in there for a while."
Flash shined a small smile before ruffling her mane, "I'm sure she's fine. Explaining everything that's happened to Princess Luna will probably take a while. We just have to be-" Trixie's sphere began to spark, making them turn back to her before the sphere disappeared, showing Trixie again, "How'd it go?"
Trixie shook her head, rubbing her forehead with her hoof, "We have a problem. I wasn't able to connect to anypony's dreams." Everypony went wide-eyed as she continued, "The dream realm was empty."
"So...does that mean nopony was asleep?" Soarin asked.
Trixie shook her head again, "No. Even if everypony in the world was awake, which is impossible, they're still connected to the dream realm. I should have been able to locate at least one dreamscape, even if it's a shapeless void. But...there was nothing. The only way that's possible..."
Ruby continued her thought, "Whatever's keeping us from teleporting out of this city must also be blocking Trixie from linking to ponies dreams."
Flash sighed, resisting a facehoof, "And that means we're on our own." Trixie nodded while the others unable to respond. Silence following this, Flash declared it was time to go to bed, Heart and Soul heading to their room while the other three bunk mates went in their places while doing their own pre-bed rituals.
Trixie and Ruby stepped into their bathroom, which had two shower heads so they didn't have to wait their turn. Soarin returned to the dining room before coming back with a small slice of pie and a glass of milk. Cold seemed to raise an eyebrow at this, "What are you, a colt?"
"Old habit," he replied while taking a bite, "Every time I go to bed before a big flight, I eat pie and drink milk. Makes me feel like I'm ready to take on the world." Cold rolled his eyes, quickly going back to brushing his teeth.
Flash laid down on his bed, his body welcoming the rest. But as this happened, he heard a squeaking noise, making him turn to see Springer bounce up and down on his bed, only to turn to Flash, "Kinda big for me, isn't it?"
The pegasi just shrugged back, "Sorry bud. Eh, I'm sure you'll get used to it." Springer nodded and got under the covers, only to notice light coming off walls that filled the room.
He was about to ask how they were supposed to sleep in the light, only for the room to suddenly be bathed in darkness, "Cool." Flash nodded in agreement, closing his eyes before Springer said, "Flash?"
The pegasus rolled over and saw Springer looking up at the ceiling, "Yeah?"
"I'm...I'm a little scared." Flash raised his eyebrows at this, "What...what if what happens to Salix happens to one of us?"
Flash opened his mouth to respond...but he couldn't. Instead, the memory of Salix turning to dust rang through his mind, making him sink back into his bed. But as he did this, words began to flow out of his mouth, "We...we won't let that happen." Springer turned to him, "Think of everything we've faced off against. Everything that's ever tried to take us down has failed because we stuck together as a team bud. That's not gonna be any different this time. We'll win this and get back home, together."
Springer shined a small smile, his aura abilities showing him that Flash was scared...yet confident. This made the jakhowl chuckle, "Alright. I believe in you."
"Thanks. Now let's get some sleep. We've likely got a big day tomorrow." The two then closed their eyes, exhaustion overtaking them. But as sleep began to entice Flash to go into dreams, a certain memory shook his head.
"Not bad. Grand Hoof...trained you well."
"What?" Flash yelped, only for Storm to zip up to him, both quickly clashing swords. "How do you know Grand Hoof?!"
"Oh, nothing much." Storm then leaned forward, their faces now inches from one another, "He's the one who taught me how to fight after all."
"Grand...taught him?" Flash whispered, his eyes clinching at the thought.
The next morning...
Tempera yawned as she left her and Terror's room, looking down the hall to see Storm and Wingill leave another. With Salix gone, one room was now completely unoccupied. She trotted over to another door and began to knock, "Master?" There was no response, the unicorn opening the door to see the room being empty. "Hmm?" she then walked to the dining area, now seeing Shadow sitting at the table eating a slice of dry toast with coffee. "Master!" She ran over to his side, "Good morning, my love."
"Are you forgetting that we are now a pony down and the enemy has that mysterious orb in their possession while we have nothing?"
"Of...of course not. My apologizes master." She closed the cupboard door with her magic and asked for a plate of croissants and coffee. She hovered them over to her as she sat down beside Shadow, the others doing the same.
They all sat and ate in silence, only for Wingill to speak up, "So...er...master?" Shadow glanced up at him, "Did you manage to learn anything useful from the blood?"
Shadow let out a low growl, "Nothing. Other then a higher then average hayflick limit, the pegasus shows no signs of being anything special."
"But he clearly has some incredible power," Terror added, "Even if you ignore that light and armor, what he did with his eyes is also pretty impressive. With it, he seemed to be able to react faster than before."
Shadow growled again, "I'll need more than a blood sample. I need to get up close and personal...I must have his power."
"Well maybe today will be the day you get to," Tempera continued as she tried to put her tail up to his chin, only for his hoof to shove it away.
Armalum chimed in at this moment, "And if today isn't, there are still the other ponies. Some of them may be of use to you master."
"My only goal is finding the secret to this city and taking them for myself," Shadow hissed as he finished his toast and coffee, "Anything else is just an obstacle, and I will not tolerate any obstacle!" He stood up as he slammed his hooves on the table, "Somepony thinks this is a game, but it's not. It's war, and I refuse to lose it. So from now on, no more testing them. No more holding back." He glanced over at Terror, "You might have saved Salix if you'd used it. His loss is just as much your fault as is it theirs. Next time you fight, use it! That goes for the rest of you! I have no need of servants that pull their punches, understand?"
"Yes master!" they all stood before bowing, Shadow turning to leave the room. Everypony else sat back down next, all exchanging glances as silence took over the table again.
Meanwhile, in the other castle...
Cold and Ruby were the first to exit their rooms, their roommates following close behind while rubbing their eyes. "Too early..." Trixie moaned, "This is why I'm a night owl now. Ugh...I miss my bed at Canterlot."
"You'll need to wake up faster," Cold told her. "You may be summoned into battle again today." He then turned to Soarin, "How's your injury?" Soarin raised his wing and allowed Cold to undo the bandages around him to reveal...nothing. "Incredible...not even a scar."
"But that's impossible, right?" Trixie added before looking up at the pegasus. "How do you feel?"
"Fine," Soarin flapped his wings and took to the air. "It's like I never got hit."
Everypony just stared at him, Ruby sighing next, "Why do I get the feeling we'll keep finding more questions before we get any answers?" She trotted over to Heart and Soul's room, knocking the door, "You two up?" She waited several seconds, only to hear nothing. She then went to magically open the door, only for it to be surrounded by a golden light before slamming shut.
"Don't come in!" She heard Soul's voice cry out.
The older ponies exchanged looks before Ruby turned back to the door, "Is everything okay?"
"Yes! Just...give us a minute." Less than a minute later, the door opened to see a smiling Soul walk past the group as she chimed out, "Good morning!"
And as she left to the dining room, the others turned to Heart as he said, "She uh....has serious bedhead. She hates how her mane looks in the morning, so she usually spends half the day trying to get it right. Though I've never seen her go that far...guess its cuz nopony was around to judge."
He then trotted after his sister, the others raising an eyebrow at this. But before they could say anything, a certain jakhowl walked out of another room, his paw up to his mouth as he yawned, "Morning everypony."
"Morning," Soarin replied, "Is Flash up?"
Springer started rubbing his eyes as he responded, "Oh, he's already up." Hearing this, they all went to the dining room, only to see the defender wasn't there. "That's odd. He wasn't in bed when I woke up."
Cold then moved over to the map room, finding it empty as well. "Hmm...could he be..." He walked past the dining room next, the others seeing him leave before shrugging, all going to get something to eat.
As for Cold, he went down the stairs, soon entering the illusion room. And as he opened the door, he saw the city outside the castle, complete with Flash fighting Storm in the sky. "Flash Cutter!" Flash yelled as he launched his attack, Storm deflecting it before trying to impale him. Flash quickly spun around to dodge it, thrusting his blade at him as Storm flapped backward.
"Storm Shot!" Storm suddenly zipped around, appearing behind Flash as he fired a water blast into the pegasi's back.
"Augh!" He cried out as he was struck down, landing on his stomach with Lightbringer flying from his grip. He spun back around and saw Storm charge, making him flinch his eyes closed....only to feel nothing. He then opened his eyes to see Storm frozen in midair with his blade only inches from Flash.
Seconds later, he and the city around them dissolved, making Flash turn to see Cold at the control crystal. "I had that," he growled as he got up.
"Didn't look like it." Cold deadpanned as he trotted over, "You were off your game."
"He just caught me by surprise."
"Because you were off your game." Flash growled back as Cold now stood in front of him, "Something's obviously wrong. What happened?"
Flash just looked away as he got up, "I'm fine. Nothing's wrong."
"Flash...you once told me we were friends, didn't you?" Flash just nodded back, now looking at Cold, "I might not know much about it, but if I'm right, then friends tell each other what's wrong with them. Am I right?"
lash continued to remain silent for a minute, only to sigh, "Storm Blade...yesterday, he said was Grand's former student."
"That's a lie," Cold instantly replied, "You shouldn't listen to a thing he says. It was obviously a deception to knock you off your game."
Flash shook his head, "Cold...his fighting style is similar to the ones used by the Equestrian Guard. You can't just learn that anywhere."
"That doesn't mean he was trained by Grand."
"But what if it's true?" Flash turned back to him, "What if Grand did train him?!"
"He didn't." Cold deadpanned, "I've known Grand for a long time. I met him when I was taken in by the guard. If he had taken an apprentice, I would have known about it. Besides, does Grand sound like the kind of pony that would keep their apprentice a secret? If I remember correctly, you became front page news when he took you under his wing."
Flash looked away again, his brain burning as he thought about Cold's words, only to then ask, "But...even if that's true, how did he get a Celestic Gear? He couldn't have just stolen it. The Celestic Gear can only be wielded by the pony the weapon bonds with."
"And there's never been any reports of pure Celestic Gears being stolen," Cold went on. "But him having one doesn't mean he was trained by Grand, and that honestly doesn't matter. After all, if Grand did train this pony, it was years before he met you...and this Storm is obviously a criminal." He tapped Flash's chest with his hoof, "You...are a knight. This Storm, he's not one of us. Remember that."
Flash shined a small smile, nodding back, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks Cold. You know, you've gotten a lot better at this whole being a friend thing."
"Maybe, but I still have a lot more to learn." A grumbling then caught their attention, making them look down at Flash's rumbling stomach. "Come on. You'll need all the strength you can muster if you're fighting again today." Flash nodded again as they headed back to the dinning room, now seeing the others enjoying their breakfast.
Once their meal was concluded, everypony waited for the alarm to sound...only for nothing. After the first thirty minutes, Heart and Soul headed to their room to entertain themselves with Springer leaving fifteen minutes later. This was followed by Soarin who said he was gonna go get some more sleep. Trixie and Ruby remained in the dining room, Ruby trying to show Trixie some of her crystal magic to help her in the next fight. Flash and Cold then went down to the illusion room to do some light sparing, hours creeping by.
And as the clock hit the eleventh hour, the alarm rang out, making everyone come to a stop. Snapping out of their positions, all headed to the map room as Flash whispered, "Here we go again..."
Meanwhile...
Shadow sat in front of the machine, grinning as three marbles came out, the first showing Shadow's cutie mark as the other confirmed Armalum and Wingill.
"Excellent..." he chuckled as all three were teleported out of the castle.
As this happened, the first ball popped out of the machine for Flash's friends, this one showing the image of Cold's cutie mark on it. The Frozen Wanderer stood to attention as they waited for the next one to appear, this one being Ruby's cutie mark along with one that showed a particular jakhowl printed on it.
"Looks like I'm up," Springer said as the machine and balls disappeared before the map showed itself. This time a different section of the city became cornered off, this one showing a large lake in one corner along with several canals.
Before anypony could say anything, the three chosen ones vanished before dots appeared on the map, "Good luck," Flash whispered as he saw three more dots appear, the name of one of them making him grimace, "Shadow..."
"We should split up," Cold announced as soon as they appeared in the city. "That'll increase our chances of winning."
"Huh?! How does that work?" Springer asked as he transformed, "Shouldn't we stick together?"
"If this was about fighting, I'd say yes. But it's not. If we can find that orb before they find us, he can win this without fighting. And the less fighting, the less chance one of us gets turned to dust."
"He's right," Ruby added before turning to Springer, "Let's head out Springer. Use your aura to make sure they don't sneak up on you."
"Got it." Springer replied before they all split down different streets, the jakowl quickly opening the first house nearby. He found nothing inside, just an empty blank building. "Okay...where could it be?"
As the jakhowl raced through the city, his friends were watching the map, not looking up at the screen for now. "Why are they splitting up?" Heart asked, "Shouldn't they stay together?"
"It's likely Cold playing smart," Flash replied with crossed hooves, "He knows they have a better chance of finding the orb if they fan out and search a wider area."
Trixie nodded in agreement, "If they can find the orb before they run into the others, they won't have to fight."
"Let's just hope they find it soon," Soarin gulped as he pointed at Ruby's dot. "She's about to have company."
They quickly saw what he meant, two red dots now closing in on the Crystal Knight. "Not good," Flash commented before seeing Springer now just being a few streets away. Seeing this, he closed his eyes, "Springer, you hear me?"
The others saw Springer's dot stop as Flash got a response, "Yeah, I hear you."
"Ruby's in trouble," he opened his eyes again. "You need to get to her before she's overwhelmed."
"Where is she?"
"Turn right. That'll take you to an alley, follow it until you come to fork and go left." Springer's dot started to move in the direction Flash indicated, the others now watching him get close to Ruby.
"Hold on Ruby," Soul whispered as Soarin pressed her dot, the screen now showing the knight.
Ruby was walking along a canal, a crystal sword hovering beside her. Her eyes shifted side to side, her hooves tensing as she trotted down the street. But as she did this, a pair of eyes stared up at her from the water, a big grin on the figure's face as it swam beside her.
And as the being got closer, the figure jumped out of the water as a cocoon of light enveloped them. Ruby spun around to see the light break out to reveal Wingill with primed clawed talons. But as he was about to slash as her, a large shard of crystal shot out of the ground between them.
"Augh!" He cried as his claws slashed at the crystal, feeling his talons now grind on the surface of the gem wall. He then heard Ruby laugh as he leapt away and took to the skies.
"I wondered when you were gonna attack."
"You knew I was stalking you?"
"You're not exactly stealthy. I could hear the water splashing ten yards back." Wingill growled as he swooped down in response, only for Ruby to summon a shield. Her attacker bounced off the makeshift barrier, only to quickly dodge Ruby's crystal blade as she tried to counter him. He then changed back to his seapony form, leaping back into the canal. "Don't think you can hide in there." She started making a bunch of crystal arrows before firing them, Wingill barely able to dodge the attacks in the barely deep canal.
"Whoa!" he yelped as he pulled his tail from another arrow, only to pull his head to the surface as he yelled, "Any time would be good!"
Ruby raised an eyebrow at this, only to see something in the corner in her eye. She then spun around and raised her shield, only for a red blast to him her barrier, shattering it in an instant. Feeling the blow, she quickly backpedaled, dodging a second red beam. The source of the attack then came into view, Ruby growling as she saw a certain armored pony now walk down the street.
"About time!" Wingill roared as he leapt out of the water. "Some of us don't have armor, you know!"
Armalum summoned his scythe in response, "Do not blame me for your failure. If you practiced your stealth, you would have already defeated her. Now...let's begin!" Armalum roared as he charged Ruby, making her reflexively unleash a wave of crystals which he sliced in two with his scythe.
She saw the blade come down at her neck next, only to block it with one blade before summoning another. And as she swung it at her enemy, Wingill just stood there, watching the show before him. Ruby and Armalum danced around one another, their weapons clashing as fast sparks flared around like a twister in the air.
And as he did this, he flexed his claws, "Come on...give me an opening Armalum..."
"Aura Force!" He felt a powerful blast slam into his side, sending him flying into the canal. Ruby and Armalum came to a stop at this, turning to see Springer, "Need a hoof?"
"I can handle this one," Ruby replied with a giant grin, "You deal with the flying fish."
"Got it," Springer turned back to canal, only to see Wingill leap out of the water again, this time transforming and flying off. "Hey!" the jakowl yelled as he began to run after him, "Get back here!"
Ruby then blocked another swing of Armalum's scythe as she said, "Looks like your teammate abandoned you. Does friendship not exist in your little cult?"
Despite not being able to see his face, Ruby knew he was angry as a growl escaped through his helmet's air slots. "You know nothing about us." He pull back and fired several blasts of magic, Ruby quickly blocking them with her blades, both shattering as she did sol. But as this happened, she summoned several crystal arrows, Armalum blocking them with his own barrier as she remade her swords.
"Oh, we do." She charged at the enemy, swinging both blades down as Armalum blocked them which his scythe's handle. "Cold Steel's been tracking you all down for a long time. He spent all last night telling us about your little cult." She then leapt back as Armulam tried to counter her, missing two swipes of his scythe. Ruby landed next and locked his scythe with her two blades as she continued, "He told us how you've been gaining more power outside of Equestria, destroying and ransacking small villages to build wealth. Let me guess, your leader's going to target Equestria."
"And when he does, your kingdom will fall."
"I don't think so," Ruby leapt away from his before thrusting her blades into the dirt. A trail of crystal spikes shot out of the floor towards Armalum, the armored pony slamming his blade into the ground, causing a crack to run along that was filled with red light. The two attacks struck, an explosion following as both just stood and watched the dust cloud form. And as Ruby took the blades in her hooves again, she pointed one at the pony, "Your boss might think he's something special, but he's just another power hungry dictator. We've beaten hundred of foes just like him, and he'll be no different!"
Armalum just stood there as the dust faded, "You have no idea how wrong you are."
Shadow Corrupter casually trotted through the street, his eyes drifting from one house to another. But as he turned a corner, he felt his body almost shiver as a wave of freezing cold air hit him. The mini blizzard flew past him, turning the entire street into a frozen wonderland. Cold Steel then appeared as he walked down the street, staring at the lump of ice that should have the unicorn inside it. "Don't bother trying to trick me. I know you're not in there."
A flash of black light made the knight turn to see Shadow standing behind him. "You are good. No wonder you were able to keep track of my operation."
Cold glared at him while forming a sword of ice, pointing it at Shadow. "Your reign ends now. It's time all the pain and suffering you caused to be put to an end." his hoof tensed as it gripped the blade, "I'm bringing you in."
In response, Shadow just started laughing, "HA! You...you actually believe you can arrest me?! HAHAHAHA! You can't be serious!"
The knight stood still in response, his face blank as Shadow kept chuckling, "I am serious. You will pay for what you've done." Cold's eyes started to narrow as he continued, "I've seen what you've done, slaughtering villages and turning your minions into nothing but vegetables."
"Ah yes, I did do that, didn't I?" Shadow crackled, "Tell me, did you like my messages I left?"
Cold barely raised an eyebrow at this, "You mean 'A shadow is about to consume this world'?"
"Oh yes. It was fun experimenting to make those worms say that." Shadow's grin grew as he then remarked, "I must say, I have to thank you for helping get rid of the weeds in my organization. Thanks to you constantly hunting us down, I sacrificed so many minions...and you made me figure out which were the weakest when they lost to you! HA!"
"You're sick." Cold growled as he pointed the blade at him again, "Give it up and come quietly."
"Oh? And what gives you that right an bring justice down upon me? We're not in Equestria, meaning you're out of your jurisdiction, little ice-making knight."
"I can still act on the carnage that your cult caused in Equestria. Particularly the massacre that occurred around roughly ten years ago." And as those words left Cold's mouth, he blinked as he took in Shadow's appearance, "Say...how old are you?"
Shadow's laughing came to a stop, making him tilt his head, "If you must know, I'm twenty three. Why should that matter?"
"You were only thirteen when it happened. Weeping Wood Hollow." Shadow's eyes went wide as those words left Cold's mouth, "That name ring a bell with you?"
Shadow looked down at the floor, his entire body shaking. "You shouldn't have mentioned that place." A flash of black light signaled the arrival of a sword with spikes along the edge, "Now...YOU PAY!" Shadow suddenly warped right in front of Cold, the knight blocking his weapon with his own blade.
The Frozen Wanderer pushed the sword back, only to quickly jump away as he yelled, "Cold Tiger!" A moving sculpture of a tiger appeared in front of Cold before charging, only for the unicorn's horn to let out a blackish gray mist, which flew to his sword. He then swung the blade once, the mist hitting the tiger...and instantly melted it into a puddle.
"What?" Cold muttered as he now saw Shadow point his smoky sword at him. "How did you do that?"
"I have more power than you can possibly imagine." He then charged at the knight, Cold quickly dodging the blade as Shadow swiped at him, only to strike the ground. The blow instantly melted the ice on the street, turning into a watery mess.
"Is it some kind of fire magic?" He asked himself before feeling his back touch a building.
"RAAAHHH!" Shadow thrust his weapon forward, Cold quickly teleporting in response. The blade then struck the building, smashing through the ice and impaling the wall.
Cold reappeared behind Shadow, only to now see the building that was struck start to fall apart, its whole structure melting along with the ice as Shadow yanked out the blade. The sight made Cold whisper out, "This is...a decaying magic?"
Shadow chuckled as he pointed the sword at him again, "That's right. Anything that touches this mist will disintegrate. You have no chance against this power."
"Don't think you're so special." Cold replied as Shadow ran at him again, Cold easily dodging Shadow's blade swipes as he continued to speak, "You think just because you have a lot of power it gives you the right to do whatever you want. Hate to break it to you, but power is meaningless without a reason to use it."
"Oh, I have a reason." Shadow responded as Cold vanished in a flash of light, reappearing in the shadow of one of the larger buildings. "But you don't need to know what it is!" He swung the blade again, this time launching a cloud at the structure. The mist seeped down and sank to the bottom the building, making it decay instantly.
"What?" Cold turned to see the debris of the building fall on him, his horn beginning to glow as the rubble crashed down.
"COLD!" The others yelled from the castle, Heart and Soul holding each other as they watched the scene happen. Flash just shook his head at the sight, knowing the fight was far from over.
The defender then turned to another screen, seeing Springer still chase Wingill while Ruby continued to fight Armalum. Flash let out a low sigh, only to turn back to Cold's battle. "Stay strong everypony."
Meanwhile again...
Springer raced after the flying bird pony hybrid, barely able to keep up with him as he zigzagged through the street. "Stop running!" He fired an Aura Blast, Wingill easily dodging the orb as it then hit a nearby building. The top exploded, rubble about to hit both as Wingill flapped his wings back, Springer dodging by summoning his Aura Guard.
After about a minute of bouncing rocks, Springer lowered the shield to see Wingill had vanished. "Dang it! Grrr…" Springer growled before closing his eyes, "You won't get far. I'll just-whoa!" He suddenly found himself yanked into the air, the jakhowl then being flung back down. Several pained cries followed this, soon coming to a stop as he now saw he was at the edge of a large lake.
"Time's up mutt!" Wingill yelled as he floated above him, "This is where you'll meet your match!"
"I don't think so," Springer stood up. "I'm not going down so easily." Before he could say anything else, Wingill swooped down, Springer summoning another Aura Guard.
CLANG!
"RAUGH!" Wingill roared as he began to beat on the force-field, "You can't hide in there forever!"
Springer tensed up his form as he continued to block the attacks, "Don't worry, I'll still beat you!"
Shadow chuckled as he teleported atop the rubble of the destroyed building. "Guess you weren't so special after all. Its a shame really, I expected the one who destroyed-hmm?" The rock pile then exploded as an ice dragon rose and chomped on the unicorn, making him yelp, "GAH!"
The two then flew up into the sky, his sword falling out of his hoof. As this happened, Cold came out of the pile and instantly froze the sword in a block of ice, only to look up to see the ice dragon explode. Seconds later, Shadow landed with the lower mouth of the dragon, growling as he saw his weapon now frozen, "You think I need that sword?!" He roared as his horn glowed black, the smoke now appearing again, "You're wrong!" He fired the cloud at the knight, the unicorn teleporting away before reappearing behind Shadow.
"Cold Gale!" His horn unleashed a wave of freezing wind, Shadow vanishing before it could hit him. And as he did this, he summoned two ice swords as he said, "Your decay magic isn't so great once you figure out how it works."
Shadow shined a small grin, "Then lets try something else." His horn sparked again before firing a barrage of black spells, Cold tensing up to dodge them....only for the for the black beams to come to a stop. Before the knight could react, they exploded in midair before light swirled around to form black spiraling vortexes.
"What in the-" Cold muttered as he watched Shadow pick up several chunks of ice in his magic and threw them in a vortex, only for the ice to be spat out of a different one. Cold quickly shattered the ice with his blades, just as he saw Shadow's horn fire a blast of decaying mist at his frozen sword.
Cold teleported over at this, Shadow spinning around as he got his sword back, blades slamming into each other in loud metal/ice high pitched dings. But as this happened, Shadow backpedaled and thrust his blade in one of the portals, making the sword come out of another. Cold quickly dodged the attack, the blade almost touching his head before he tried to swipe at Shadow again, only for the enemy to easily block him. Shadow then reacted with two more horizontal slices, the mist off the blade melting Cold's swords.
Growling, Cold leapt back and yelled, "Cold Tigers!" Three ice cats appeared before him, all charging at once. Shadow just laughed at the sight, only to turn into a cloud of black smoke, the first tiger going right through him. As the beast landed, Shadow's horn glowing as he summoned a black energy chain. He whipped the weapon at the tiger's neck, forming a lasso as he pulled the tiger, only to sling him into the other tigers, smashing them instantly.
"Magic chains?" Cold whispered as he dodged two chains and blocked a third with an ice shield. 'This kind of magic isn't just learned normally. Did he have multiple teachers? Why would anypony teach him?' As these thoughts went through the knight's head, he then felt something grab his hooves. Looking down, two more chains had came out of the portals, only to yank him over, his face hitting the ground. Before he could react, Shadow slung him upward, laughing as he then whipped the knight into a nearby building, Cold now falling over as the place was turned into another pile of rubble.
Meanwhile yet again...
Springer was still being pushed by Wingill, the creature roaring as he kept hitting the shield. As this happened, the jakhowl looked back to see he was seconds away from taking a dip, making Wingill laugh, "Hope you know how to swim!"
The defender growled back, only to suddenly drop the shield. In this moment, Wingill found himself missing his claw attack due to the barrier vanishing. But as this happened, he found a Bone Breaker now smacking his face. "GAYH!" he yelped as he was knocked back, only to beat his wings. It quickly created a gust, pushing Springer right into the lake.
"YES!" Wingill cheered as he leapt into the water with Springer, the jakhowl now seeing him descend in the depths before being encased in a cocoon of light that faded to show his aquatic form. "Welcome to my world mutt! Trust me, I know how much it sucks."
Springer raised an eyebrow at this, knowing he liked water, only for Wingill to instantly zip up to him and smack the jakhowl with his tail. The defender could feel his oxygen already fading as Wingill spun around again, only for Springer to grab his tail. Seeing this, Springer slammed Wingill's chest with his feet, kicking him over and over. And as this happened, his foot whacked Wingill's collar, dislodging the crystal connected to it.
"NO!" He cried, finally throwing Springer off him before swimming down to catch the crystal.
But as he did this, Springer summoned a white orb and yelled, "AURA FORCE!" A beam of aura struck Wingill, slamming the creature down to the bottom of the lake while the jakhowl was also propelled out of the water. Springer then landed on a nearby street, gasping for air. "Oh...air...thank Luna for air..."
A blast of water sounded out next, Wingill flying out of the water as he changed back to this pony form. "You'll pay for that!" he roared as he swooped down at Springer, the jakhowl summoning two Bone Breakers in response. Wingill swiped at the defender as he countered with both weapons, only to switch to Steel Paw, slicing Wingill's cheek. "Gyah!" Wingill yelped as he hopped back, now feeling blood go down his face.
Wingill let out a long growl as he pointed his talons at the jakhowl, "That's it! You're going down mutt!"
Springer didn't respond, instead just taking a deep breath as he felt his aura charge around him. He looked down at his paws, seeing them vibrate as his thoughts began to flow, 'I can feel it. This feeling...my aura...can I actually do that move?' He clenched his paws as he looked back up, now seeing the charging Wingill. But as his enemy began to get closer...he seemed to slow down, now seeing the life force on Wingill as he kept coming, 'I see. My aura...'
Pulling his paw back, he grinded his feet in the ground. "Let's try this. Velocity..." His entire body shifted, glitching out before zipping right in front of Wingill. The enemy didn't even see him as Springer yelled out, "STRIKE!"
An upward kick slammed Wingill's lower jaw, the force knocking Wingill skyward. "AUGH!" he screamed as he went flying, only for Springer to seemingly appear above him, instantly delivering an axe onto Wingill's head. "RAAAHHH!" his body rocketed to the street, a dust kicking up as Springer landed.
"Ahhh!" Springer yelled as pain surged through his body, making him clutch his stomach, "Ugh...that wasn't pleasant." He then stared down at his paws, his whole body shaking like a leaf. "Urgh...dang it." The defender gripped his knees next, trying to keep himself standing, "Flash was right. Guess I'm still not ready for that move."
"Raugh!" He looked back to see Wingill trying to pick himself up, a violent glare on his face, "You'll...pay for...that."
"I don't think I will." Springer replied as he pointed at him, making Wingill look down to see his body begin to produce dust just like Salix.
"No...NO!" he let out a long roar before standing up, "I won't let it end this way!" But as he tried to charge at Springer, he tripped over, falling to his back knees as he clutched his head in pain. "No...NOOOO!!" With that, he vanished into dust, Springer panting before falling to his butt, reverting back to his smaller form.
"Springer!" Flash's voice made him almost hop in place, "You okay bud? We just saw Wingill's dot disappear."
"He's gone. Vanished like Salix."
"Good. I know you might be tired, but we need you to go help the others. Cold's fighting Shadow right now."
Springer's eyes went wide before hopping to his feet, "Got it." He closed his eyes, extending his aura as he found Cold and Ruby, only to feel one's aura shrinking, "Not good. I gotta get there now."
Ruby and Armalum continued to clash, the two repeatedly locking blade and scythe. Neither could get a hit in, both blocking each other as they showed an equal amount of skill. It was at this moment that Ruby desummoned her crystal blade, quickly jumping back to dodge Armalum's scythe. And as she landed a few feet away, she stuck her tongue out, panting as she growled, "You're strong. I'll admit that."
"The only thing I want you to admit is defeat."
"Never," she formed a new blade, "Even if it kills me, I will not lose to you or anypony else." She let out another battle cry as she charged at him, summoning more crystal arrows as she sprinted with the projectiles. And as the arrows flew through the air, Armalum raised a shield of black energy, all the arrows bouncing off it before Ruby swung the sword in the barrier, shattering it in two.
But as she did this, she found that Armalum had backpedaled a few feet, only to slam his blade into the ground, unleashing a certain red crack. It quickly shifted through the ground, an explosion following as it as Ruby let out a scream, "AAAAAAHHHHH!"
A cloud of smoke engulfed the knight next, Armalum standing still in silence in response. He then began to pull his scythe out, only to hear, "RAAAAHH!!" Ruby suddenly leapt out of the smoke, her right hoof now encased in a crystal spike. Armalum reflexively backpedaled at this, his hoof loosing grip on his still stuck scythe. Before he could react, she thrusted her hoof, the spike tip hitting the armored pony's face.
"Augh!" He cried as he staggered backward, this time summoning another magic shield as Ruby hit with her hoof. Making a crack with the barrier, she summoned another crystal blade and cut the shield in two, only to come to a stop.
She did slight pants as she watched Armalum halt himself, his hoof rubbing his helmet as a crack began to form. And as it grew, it split into a Y formation that continued around his right eye, only for it pop off. Ruby's eyes went wide as she saw Armalum lower himself to pick up the broken piece, a low growl coming from his mouth.
"Impossible," Ruby whispered, her eyes twitching as she began to backpedal.
"Cold Dragon!" Cold roared as he unleashed a serpentine ice sculpture at Shadow, the unicorn reacting by turning into a cloud of black smoke. The dragon now unable to touch him, Shadow zipped to the creature's head, sliding down its back as he solidified. As he did this, Cold teleported to the creature's back before firing a bunch a frozen arrows, Shadow forming a portal to reflect them back.
Cold quickly made an ice shield, blocking the projectiles as Shadow shot a chain next. Seeing this, Cold shifted his neck, dodging the metal weapon before taking it in his mouth, tugging it with one violent yank. The sudden shift made Shadow tumble right towards him, letting Cold turn and slam his hooves into the unicorn's face.
"YAAH!" Shadow yelped, stumbling back as Cold slammed his hooves into the dragon.
"Cold Spikes!" A wave of icy spires shot out next, only for Shadow to swipe his blade, mist hitting the spikes. Melting the attack, he then stabbed the dragon, causing it the fall apart in an instant. Shadow formed a portal next, cutting his fall as Cold began to descend. And as Shadow reappeared on the ground, he fired a black beam right at Cold, making the knight counter with a Cold Gale.
KABOOM!
The attacks exploded off each other, Cold being sent flying as Shadow was also knocked back into a nearby building. This was followed by a giant dust cloud that covered the area, lasting over a minute as both moaned to try and pick themselves up. But as they did this, their eyes went wide at a new sight.
In a house that was destroyed by the explosion now stood a floating shining orb, both staring at it with now twitching eyes. The two quickly hopped to their hooves, their horns sparking as they teleported to the sphere. Cold got there first, forming a sword as Shadow blocked it with his own.
And as Cold tried to push Shadow back, he growled, "I won't let you have it."
"Why? What's so special about it?" The two slashed their weapons, both blocking each other with ease. But as this happened, Shadow then hooked Cold's sword with one of the spikes on his blade, letting him punch Cold in the chest.
"Urgh!" Cold grunted before trying to thrust his sword again, only for Shadow to just stand there.
"Activate." Shadow whispered as the blade got centimeters from his eyeball...only to stop. It was followed by the sounds of the sword falling to the ground, Shadow shining a huge grin as he saw Cold's body clinch up.
"What?" the knight muttered out as Shadow batted the ice sword away, Cold's eyes now looking down at this body. He now saw a glowing symbol on his chest, one that pulsed all throughout his body. "A...rune?"
"AHAHAHAHA!!!" Shadow cackled as he raised his sword at Cold's chest. "Goodbye worm. This one's for Salix."
"NOOOOO!" Flash screamed as he watched the blade stab into his friend, his heart stopping at the sight. Trixie and Soul both gasped, covering their mouths with tears forming while Soarin and Heart just stood there in shock.
"This...this can't be happening," Trixie muttered out, "It's...it's a trick."
Soarin shook his head, "No...I'm really scared that its real."
"Cold..." Flash whispered. "No way..."
Springer was now in full sprint, feeling Cold's fading aura. But as he got close, he let out a scream as he saw a new sight, "COLD!"
He then saw Shadow pull out the blade, laughing as the rune vanished off the knights body. Cold began to stagger back, dust starting to fly off his body. He said nothing as the amount increased, slowly turning to glare at Shadow.
"You...will not win," he panted out before falling over.
"NO!" Springer yelled as he ran over to try and catch him, only to explode into a pile of dust that flew up into the air.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Cold continued as he turned away, "The fool. Thinking he or anypony else could defeat me."
Springer's body shook before glaring at Shadow, "RAAAHHH!" He roared as he ran at him with a now forming Bone Breaker, "You monster!"
But as he ran, Shadow didn't even look back as his horn sparked. A portal instantly formed in front of Springer, his body going right through before he could stop himself, only to be shot out another portal just a few yards away. "Gyah!" the jakhowl yelped as he tried to adjust himself from the sudden movement, only to turn and see his worse fear.
Shadow now had the orb in hoof, a light now exploding out before it engulfed everything. The light consumed the city, blinding everypony.
Winners, Team Shadow!
Those words now appeared on a now completely whited out screen in Flash's castle before vanishing. Everypony just stood there, speechless as two lights shined out in the room before making Ruby and Springer kiss the floor.
"Springer!" Flash yelled as he helped his partner up, "You okay?" Springer didn't reply, just sitting there with a shocked look on his face. Seeing this, he hugged him with his wings, "Springer..."
Soarin moved over to Ruby, trying to help her up as well. As he did this, he blinked at the look on her face. He noticed he couldn't read it, making him ask, "You okay?"
"I'm fine," she replied as she began to get up, now glancing around as she then asked, "Where's Cold?" She watched as everypony looked away from her, the mare now going wide-eyed, "No..."
Flash felt his legs weaken, soon falling to his flank as he stared at the floor, "This is all my fault." The others turned to him, seeing him shake his head, "I brought us here. I stopped the others from coming with us...and I'm the reason Cold is gone."
"Flash, you're not-" Springer tried to reply, only for his body to suddenly stiffen as his ear dangles flared up. Everypony turned to him, only for him to le out a gasp, "No way!"
"Springer?" Flash asked, but Springer didn't respond. Instead, he ran out of the room, making Flash yelp, "Springer!" He got up and flew after him, the others following behind, "Hey! Where you going?!"
Meanwhile...
"Hold still." Shadow growled as he squinted his eyes, his glowing horn now welding a broken piece back onto Armalum's armor. "And...there. How do you feel?"
Armalum took in a deep breath, "Better."
Shadow nodded before turning back to the others, his eyes directly on Tempera as she scanned the orb with her horn. "What have you found?"
She let out a long breath before shaking her head, "It's...just metal, master."
"What?!" Shadow growled as he walked over, his horn flaring as he began to scan it. And as a full minute passed, he let out a long hiss, "This can't be! There must be more to this thing than that!"
Tempera did a small shrug, "My apologies master, but...that's it. Though, there might be more to this then we're seeing."
"What do you mean?"
She rested a hoof on her chin, "Well...maybe this orb has some unknown properties that our magic can't detect."
Storm nodded in agreement, "And maybe they'll become more apparent as we collect the orbs."
Shadow let out a snort as he walked over to his throne, "It better," he slouched down in the chair before glaring back at the orb. "I lost two of my best servants for this. I will not let it be for nothing!"
The others looked down at this, Terror now chiming in, "I still can't believe Wingill and Salix are gone."
"Who says I'm gone?" Everypony's head shot up before turning to the voice, "Nope, you're not getting rid of me that easily. Not now, not ever. That's for sure. I'll outlive you all, and you better believe it!" Their eyes went wide as they now saw Searing Salix stand in the doorway, a happy smile on his face while his tail wagged left and right. That is, till he saw their shocked faces, "What? Do I have something on my face? What's up?"
"Y...You're alive?!" Storm stuttered out.
"Heck yeah, I'm alive. What, you guys thought I was gone?"
Shadow slowly trotted up to him, Salix almost backpedaling at his approach. Then, the unicorn poked him as he muttered, "You...you vanished. Disintegrated. How are you here?"
Salix shined a big grin, "It'll be easier to show you master. Trust me, you'll like this." He then spun around, the other exchanging glances before following him, soon finding him going down the castle stairs.
At the same time, Springer had just led his friends down to the bottom of the stairs as well. "Springer, what is going on?" Flash asked, his question still unanswered as Springer opened the left door.
"Cold!" He cheered as he ran inside, the others looking in and gasping at the sight.
"What?! How is..." Flash whispered as they slowly walked in, "Cold..."
Within a big glass tube in the room was Cold Steel, the unicorn unconscious while lying against the back. The tube was filled with a strange white gas that was floating around him while two more tubes beside him were empty.
"How...how is he alive?" Ruby asked they all walked over to him, now seeing where Shadow's weapon had impaled him. The wound was slowly beginning to close, just like Soarin's. However, this one wasn't as fast.
"But...he vanished," Soul added. "How's he here?"
Ruby put her hoof on the tube, now seeing Cold shallowly breathing. "He wasn't killed. He was teleported."
"Teleported into this?" Flash asked, "Why?"
Ruby turned back to them, "To keep him alive."
"I see," Shadow spoke as he stared at Wingill, the hippogriff inside the far left tube, the mist now floating around him. "So the two of your were teleported into these things. Fascinating."
"Yes master!" Salix answered while cheerfully nodding, "One minute I'm disappearing into dust, and the next I'm waking up in there." He pointed at the middle tube. "That was just a few minutes ago. And look!" he pointed to his chest where he had been hit the hardest, only to show...nothing. "I'm completely healed! Never felt better, one hundred percent! Firing on all cylinders....whatever that means."
"So these tubes can heal ponies?" Tempera asked next.
"Not the tubes," Armalum added as he pointed at two other ponies, "Terror and Storm received some injuries during their battle and they're fine now. My guess is that these tubes keep a pony alive long enough for the healing magic to do its job."
"Huh," Heart said as he shined a big smile, "So that means....we're immortal?!"
"No," Ruby replied while rolling her eyes. "It means that as long as you live long enough to be in one of these tubes, whatever injuries you take can be healed."
Flash sighed in relief as he placed a hoof on Cold's tube. "That's good. Now we can go all out without needing to worry."
Ruby shook her head, "Maybe...but we shouldn't be completely sure of anything. For all we know, there's a limit to how many times these things can be used."
"So we'll need to be even more careful," Trixie continued.
"So what do we do now?" Soarin asked.
Flash turned to them with crossed hooves, "Now we need to come up with a way to beat Shadow. If Cold wasn't able to beat him, then neither will we unless we come up with a plan." They all nodded in agreement, ready to take on the next challenge. And with that, they left the room, all talking about the battle ahead
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You're keeping a lot of info a secret from us readers. I mean, you've slowly been revealing these secrets in bits and pieces, but you're doing it in such a way that produces more questions than answers. Also, I don't know about the other readers, but I'm personally having a hard time seeing how all these bits and pieces fit together. At the rate you're revealing everything, just how long is this story supposed to be?
10168754 24 chapters
Called it, Armalum is a reconstructed Sombra.
And now I am calling it, Armalum will betray Shadow during this.
Actually yes, I did. I feel cheated now because it makes me feel like a chump for an emotional reaction to Cold's death... only to find out he's in a tube.
I can get a post game mass resurrection, but after each round... well there goes about 90% of the tension you established in this story thus far and since we know Flash is gonna help human Flash and there's the cliff hanger at the end or the Season 5 finale... so we know Flash and his team is gonna win, so there goes about 50% of the remaining tension, by the skin of their teeth, which left the how... so now there's like 5% of the tension you've established remaining... I hope that that 5% can carry the rest of the way... but I fear it will be like spreading butter over too much bread.
10168767
… nani?
10168767
I find it extraordinarily improbable that you can starch this out another 18 chapters before you warp it all up and truly maintain interest, because at some point the novelty of who squares off against who is gonna wear off, when we know that during the last round Flash is gonna go toe-to-toe with Shadow and will have learned much about what Shadow can do (devoid of his Corrupting Shadow powers)…
10168863 Yes, but Shadow's not the only opponent our heroes will have. Don't forget the other six creatures, who all have their own stories for us to find out about.
10168863
10168886
I'm honestly surprised he only has 18 chapters left. Between each villain's backstory, the reveal and possibly backstory of whoever is behind the game, and whatever the kids are hiding and their backstory, the story feels like he's working on a volume of The Lord of the Rings or something, especially since all that info is being revealed so slowly.
Well color me surprised! I had a feeling that anyone who "died" would be brought back but I was expecting it more towards the end of the story. At least now they know for sure there is no need to hold anything back.
However, I am a bit confused on what the spheres are necessary for. If they are just steel then what is the point in collecting them? I thought getting one would reveal a secret to the winning team, or maybe open a new area in their castle or something but it doesn't seem to do anything at all. I guess that is another question to be answered later. Now the heroes and villains have one win and one loss each, and they can see how powerful Shadow is if he was able to beat Cold. I wonder what got Ruby so surprised when she fought Armalum? Maybe he is a suit of armor brought to life or something? That's my best guess at the moment.
Well at least there's a reset button in this city after everyone is defeated.
Glad that we got some answers in this chapter, course it gave us some more questions to deal with. I still wanna know how these orbs that the 2 forces are fighting to obtain fit into the bigger picture that is this game. Glad that at least the ones eliminated aren't really gone (one less thing to worry about) Also just saw how big this story will go for!
...........................*grabs a glass of water & does a spit-take* SAY WHAT?????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's gonna be a long couple of months!
And now mare & colts, have some highlights! :
Oh boy, seen enough Gundam anime to know you don't wanna temp fate like that!
Seriously, there's more to these 2 foals that meet the eye!
Ohhhhh struck a nerve there eh Shadow?
Doggone it, why you do this to me Banshee!!!
Called it, drat!!!!
That's the understatement of the century Salix!
*whew* at least that's one less thing to worry about, wonder if there's a limit at how many times you can heal someone in these things?
A very informative chapter, looking forward to the next one!
Keep up the great work & stay safe out there Banshee!
10168886
I didn't forget about the others... not even Heart and Soul and the force keeping them there