Chapter Six: The Sword and the Hunter (Part 2)
“I’m sorry, you’re asking me to do what?”
“I need this train to leave for Canterlot, immediately!”
“With all due respect ma’am, I can’t just make this train leave the station at a drop of a hat. There are other passengers and supplies-”
“There are hundreds of creatures’ lives on the line and I don’t mean that as an exaggeration! We need to get to Canterlot, post haste!”
Keldeo, Starlight Glimmer, Ocellus, Smolder and Yona stood before a train conductor, arguing impatiently for the train to move. It was roughly an hour ago since their investigation for the whereabouts of their missing friends. Since that time, they informed Mayor Mare, Pinkie Pie and the head of the Town Guard to redouble their security and make a headcount of the residents of Ponyville to ensure everyone else was accounted for. After which they raced for the station, bought five tickets to Canterlot, and boarded the train as it arrived. However, due to some tourists among some diplomats from some unknown continent from somewhere beyond Equestria, the train was stalled, much to the anxiety and irritation from our group of heroes.
The conductor sighed with annoyance from Starlight’s demand to get the train moving. “Ma’am,” he said calmly, “I can’t just break the train’s schedule without proper authorization for any kind of emergency. It will only encourage any impatient noble to use an excuse just to-”
“I AM A MEMBER OF PRINCESS TWILIGHT’S COUNCIL OF FRIENDSHIP!” Starlight interrupted, pulling out a badge with an emblem of the Royal seal, “If you don’t get this train moving asap, hundreds of ponies and other creatures are going to die; which includes several close relatives of the leaders of Equestria’s allies!! If you don’t want to be the pony to tell them why they are dead, GET. THIS. TRAIN. MOVING!”
After a moment’s hesitation the conductor made for the engine cart. As this was happening, Smolder looked to Starlight.
“Wouldn’t it be quicker if we just teleported there?” she asked.
“Under normal circumstances I would. But with all of you, especially Keldeo with us, it might strain my magic a bit and I’d rather not risk tapping into Keldeo’s mysterious powers in conjunction with my teleportation. It might not give us the intended effects,” Starlight replied, giving a quick glance at Keldeo, “No offence Keldeo.”
Keldeo nodded, reminded of what happened earlier this day. “I understand. I’d rather not repeat what I did outside the hospital without knowing the risks.”
Just then, the conductor called out, “ALL ABOARD! We’re off on an emergency express to Canterlot!”
Everyone quickly soon got in and the conductor wasted no time signalling the train to start running at full speed. Since it was going to be a long ride, despite the pressure to hurry it up, everycreature sat down as they began to move. In a short while, Ponyville was a distant sight as the locomotive made its way to Canterlot at top speed.
Sometime after they boarded and the train left Ponyville station, Keldeo gave an uncomfortable wince as he tried to relax on his seat. It didn’t help that several eyes leered at him and his party.
“Are you alright there, Keldeo?”
The Pokemon turned to Ocellus who had a worried look on her. “Yeah, I’m just… I’m a little uncomfortable,” he hesitantly replied.
“Don’t mind other ponies looking at us,” huffed Yona, “They just mad that train had to leave early.”
“Actually, I don’t mind them. In fact, I can sympathise considering we’ve just about ruined whatever plans they had for their travel,” said Keldeo, folding his ears down apologetically before he continued, “No, I just seem to be nervous around trains.”
“Oh? Why is that?” asked Ocellus.
“I’m… not sure,” he replied, wincing from trying to remember, “I’m still unable to remember things, but it feels like staying put in a train doesn’t feel right. It’s like any second now, some Pokemon and their trainer is going to pop out and attack me.”
“Seriously?” Smolder asked incredulously, “Even in public transport, the creatures from your world attack each other? What kind of world do you live in?”
“The kind that created a monster powerful enough to shoot water out of their hooves and blast a tree into splitters?” joked Keldeo, grinning sheepishly.
Starlight gave Keldeo a concerned expression. “You can’t be seriously calling yourself a monster, are you?”
“What’s wrong with that?” asked Keldeo, now noticing everyone else’s reaction to what sounded to them was a self-deprecating joke. “It’s kind of in the name; Pokemon. Pocket Monster.”
“Wait, Professor Pinkie Pie was right about that whole monster thing about Keldeo?” Yona exclaimed, sharing a gawked expression from everyone else in earshot to the conversation.
Before Keldeo could reply, Starlight casted a sound barrier around them, making them unheard from the rest of the passengers. “Ahem, I think we should discuss more on that later. Right now, I believe we should lay out a plan for when we arrive in Canterlot.”
“A strategy meeting? I’m all for it,” Keldeo beamed with enthusiasm, “What’s the plan, Trainer?”
Again, what’s this trainer title he keeps saying?
“The plan should be that we meet up with the Princess as soon as possible,” Starlight elaborated, “Once we arrive, we need to make for the Castle asap to rally the guards. I’ve already taken the liberty of sending a message to Twilight to prepare our arrival. I would have written more on the details but I ran out of ink.”
“Why didn’t you just text them?” Keldeo asked, tilting his head.
“What’s texting?” Ocellus asked.
Before Keldeo could answer Starlight huffed. “It’s a means of communication that humans use that we don’t have access to.”
“Oh, okay,” Keldeo said, disappointed.
“Anyway, once we explain the situation, we should be able to lead a raid into the underground caverns,” Starlight continued, “If what we saw in that scrying spell was accurate then we don’t have much time until their head honcho decides to kill more civilians, which includes your friends. We’ll need to move quickly if we are to save lives.”
“But what if rallying the guard takes too long?” Yona pointed out, “It could take hours before reaching friends and other creatures and by then they’ll be playing into that dog’s game!”
“Yona’s right,” Smolder added in agreement, “Gallus, Sandbar and Silverstream might not have time. For all we know, they could already be launching a suicide attack to rescue Silverstream by now.”
“Why can’t we just charge in?” suggested Keldeo, much to the horror in everyone’s eyes. “What?”
“Keldeo, that is a reckless idea,” Starlight sternly reprimanded, “You would put those ponies and my students in danger. I won’t allow it! Why would you even consider such an idea?”
“Simple, the guy is a battle-crazed ego maniac,” Keldeo bluntly replied with a stern frown, “If what we saw from your magical bubble is legit, he doesn’t care if his prisoners live or die, he’s clearly not in it for the money, and he doesn’t care about dying. He’s in it for the thrill of the kill. If we give him what he wants, such as a creature powerful enough to catch his attention-”
“Absolutely not!!” Starlight protested with a stomp of her hoof, “I will not allow you to go in there alone! You would be outnumbered, even if we accompany you.”
“But we can’t afford to waste anymore time!” the Pokemon stomped a hoof on the floor with a loud crack.
All were silent as Starlight’s magical barrier fluctuated from the force of his hoof, their eyes fixed as they stared in fright of Keldeo’s enraged appearance. A blue hued light glowed from the tip of his horn as though it was on fire as he scowled, baring his teeth in barely contained fury.
“It will take too long for us to mobilise reinforcements for a rescue! By then, it will be too late to save them. It will be just like what happened before!” he snarled, unaware of the tears forming in his eyes, “I can’t let them suffer because of me, I can’t!”
“Keldeo, please stop! Calm yourself!”
The Pokemon blinked, finally taking notice of the mixed expressions of fear and concern from not only his company but from the onlookers within the train carriage. The barrier of the sound spell now dissipated due to Starlight’s lack of concentration from his outcry. He felt a pair of hooves gripping his foreleg and turned to see Ocellus shivering from her hold on him.
What was that? Why did I say all of that? Where did all that come from? Oh Arceus, why did I just lose it there?
“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say all that, or snap like that to all of you.” The aura from his horn dissipated as he lowered his head, unable to look them in the eye in shame as he used a hoof to wipe the tears from his face.
“D-do you remember something?” Starlight asked hesitantly, carefully holding out a hoof in comfort.
Keleo shook his head. “No, it’s just a gut feeling that I can’t explain.”
“Try.”
He raised his head up to look at Starlight apologetically. “I… I feel responsible. For your students I mean.” Then he turned to the rest of them, “And your friends. They were there on the site of the portal that brought me here. If I never appeared with that portal, they wouldn’t have been kidnapped.”
He gave a low growl as he continued with a scowl, “And it didn’t help when I heard that freak talk about how he played with other people’s lives like they were some toy for him to mess with. It’s not right! Everything in me screamed when he disregarded the value of life, it’s not right!!”
Starlight raised Keldeo’s chin with a hoof, allowing them to see eye to eye. “Keldeo,” she started comfortingly but sternly, “that wasn’t your fault. None of this was. You can’t blame yourself for something out of your control. If anything, I’m to blame for sending them there in the first place to secure the site without proper safety protocols and procedures. I mean, could you imagine if the portal was still open and they were sucked in there?”
She gave a light chuckle before she continued with a motherly smile, “Besides, I believe you coming here to Equestria has done more good for us than harm. Other than you being trapped here, of course,” she quickly added.
“What I’m trying to say is, if you never came here when you did, we’d never have found out about what happened to the missing ponies and other creatures. We’d never know what happened to their friends, and we certainly would not be here in this train to warn the Princess of what’s happening.”
Keldeo gave a small grateful smile, “Thank you. It’s just… I don’t want anyone to die like that; helpless, hopeless and enslaved. I just wish there was a way to-”
Their thoughts were interrupted as a brilliant flash of purple light briefly blinded them, revealing a purple winged and horned pony standing regally before them, sparkling brightly like crystals reflecting the light from the sun. Keldeo stared at her, surprised by her sudden visage. Wow, she’s beautiful. He blushed, just before shaking himself off from his brief stupor and noticed the differing reactions from his company. Starlight’s jaw hung open with utter shock while babbling incoherent jumbles as though she was trying to process her sudden appearance, whilst the students were gazing at her with utter shock and awe.
The sparkling mare turned to all of them with a motherly smile. “Perhaps I can help.”
“He wants us to do what?!!”
After being escorted back to their cells, Gallus and Sandbar explained to the Coppelion and her now awakened colleague, who he introduced himself as Wake Watcher, as well as any other creature in earshot about what took place in the Big Boss’ command centre.
“Yeah, he’s giving us six hours to start a revolt otherwise he’ll start killing hostages. Starting with Silverstream and Sandbar,” Gallus spoke somberly, unable to look anyone in the eye.
“And all this for a story? Luna’s blessed moon, that’s delusional!” Wake Watcher exclaimed, “How the hay does he expect us to start an uprising with just two guards, two of the Princess’ students and hundreds of worn out, enslaved ponies and others?! It’s going to be a bloodbath! We’re bucked!”
“No doubt in my mind that a bloodbath is what he wants.” Coppelion leaned her head to the wall of her cell and drew out a long sigh. “Sweet Celestia, I signed up to fight would-be tyrants and monsters, not psychopaths with delusions of grandeur.”
Sandbar stared hopelessly out of the cell and to the dogs guarding the exit. “So what do we do?”
“What can we do is the better question,” Coppelion huffed out a grunt, “We stay put, we die. We lead an uprising and fight, we die. We try to escape, most of us will absolutely die. It’s a no-win scenario here.”
A heavy silence fell into the room. Several ponies and other Equestrian residents who overheard their predicament huddle together for what little comfort they could offer each other in the hopeless situation they found themselves in. Quiet sobbing and hushed whispers of singing spread across the prison chambers as word spread of their distressing state of affairs.
Gallus looked up from his stupor and saw the mood in the room. Weeping foals clung tightly to their parents, friends or cellmates who either joined in their sorrow or had blank faces of a hundred yard stare in surrender to their fate. Strangers sharing glances with each other, trying to connect upon realising that this might be their final moments. Folks who had been long time rivals and even enemies broke what little scraps of rations they had with them left to each other as a peace offering to make amends. The hopelessness was seen in their eyes, yet all offered what little kindness they had left in what many assumed would be their final moments.
It’s like Griffonstone, but worse.
He gritted his beak and clenched a talon as he stood up. “We need to get out of here,” he snarled.
A heavy silence fell as everyone within earshot looked at the young griffon in disbelief.
“How?”
All eyes turned to Sandbar.
“How?” the young earth pony asked again in a hollow yet pleading tone, “No offence Gallus, but how exactly do we get out of here?!”
“I… I don’t know,” Gallus hesitated before steeling himself, “But we can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
“What can we do, Gallus?” Sandbar raised his voice, much to the surprise of the griffon, “We’re locked in here, there are guards waiting outside the chamber doors, and to top it all off, we’re being watched by that maniac through a crystal ball. Even if you formulate the perfect plan of escape, he’ll know it before we act on it. We’re bucked!”
Gallus scowled. “So what, you want us to just sit here and wait for them to come here and kill you and Silver?! What about everyone else caged in here? There are foals, kits and pups in here, Sandbar! He will kill us all either way! The very least we could do is try to save as much as we can!”
“AT WHAT COST?!” Sandbar all but screamed, tears streaming from his fear-filled eyes, “We don’t have a Bugbear’s chance in Tartarus! He wants you alive, Gallus! YOU!! Not me, not bits, not the gems, not the slaves, not even your crush’s worth of ransom! YOU. He wants you alive for his sadistic delusionary story of grandeur. He will kill me, he will kill Silverstream, he will kill them!” he points to the fellow prisoners, “But for some bucked up reason, he wants you alive long enough to entertain him.
“We go out there and he will kill all of us! We stay here, he will kill only most, if not some of us. I’d rather take one for the team if it means that we could still keep you or anypony else in the gang alive. And I’m pretty sure SIlverstream would agree with that if it means you get to live.”
“AND I CAN’T ACCEPT THAT!” This time it was Gallus bursting into tears, screaming as he gripped Sandbar in a tight embrace, “You, Silver and the rest of the gang are the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family! You especially, are like the brother I never had. I’ve been all alone my whole life, living with a grumpy old fart who just offers the bare minimum in raising me, surrounded by idiots who can’t be bothered making a change in their crappy lives! I won’t be able to bear it without all of you! I can’t live with myself if I even lose one of you! I know it’s selfish for me to say it, but if they want to kill you and Silver I’d rather he have us all or none of us! I can’t live without you guys, I just can’t!”
The griffon’s cries turned into audible sobbing as he tightened his embrace to his comrade. Sandbar for his part was taken aback by his usually sarcastic friend whom he too formed a similar bond with these past few years. Overwhelmed by the day’s following events; the portal, the abduction, the threat of Big Boss to his own life and the life of his friends, the earth pony soon followed his friend’s anguish, crying by his side.
“I’m sorry, Gallus,” Sandbar’s voice cracked as he sobbed, “I wasn’t thinking straight. I don’t wanna die, but I don’t want to see you die either! Oh Faust, I don’t want to see any of you die!”
Gallus’ sobs quieted as Sandbar’s lament continued, “When he said that I could never be a hero I wanted to break him. But deep inside, I knew he was right. I’m not strong enough to be that hero, I’m not smart enough to counter his argument. I’m just a simple, mediocre earth pony who-”
“Sandbar, stop!!”
Sandbar’s sobbing was interrupted as Gallus pulled away from the embrace and held his friend by the shoulders.
“You are not mediocre, Sandbar,” Gallus firmly stated, “After everything we’ve been through, how could you say you are mediocre? You freed us from Chancellor Neighsay and Cozy Glow when everypony else didn’t think twice about us! You stood up for us when Cozy Glow convinced everypony in school to turn against us while we struggled to free Miss Glimmer! I could not think of a friend more loyal than you; even more than Ms Rainbow Dash. You are excellent, dude!”
Sandbar deadpanned, “You had me going there til that last bit.”
“Yeah, sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” Gallus rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment before he continued, “Point is, you. Are. Awesome. Don’t let anyone else say otherwise.”
Sandbar wiped the tears from his eyes with a comforted smile, “Thanks bro.” He held out a hoof to Gallus, to which the griffon promptly clasped in shake and shared another embrace.
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” a certain wall-eyed pegasus cooed from the cage across them.
The embrace swiftly breaks off as a sudden realisation hits Gallus. “Wait, how did you know I had a crush on Silver?”
“Dude, we all knew that since the first time we encountered the spirit of the Tree of Harmony,” Sandbar deadpanned, “Well, everyone but Silverstream of course.”
“Everyone knew?!” Gallus gawked wide-eyed at the realisation of his not-so-kept secret being common knowledge.
“Hey!” yelled Coppelion, catching their attention, “As nice as you’ve got yourselves sorted out is, we still have a problem.”
“She’s right,” Wake agreed with a shrug, “Even if we formed the most brilliant plan in the world, their boss could still hear us through a crystal ball, can’t he?”
Gallus was about to comment on that as he remembered that they were being monitored when a sudden flash of purple appeared behind them.
“No need to worry about his watchful eye,” smiled the sparkling figure of an alicorn, much to the shocked expressions of awe within the room, “Your captured friend took care of it.”
Silverstream sat silently across Big Boss’ table huddled in a near foetal position on her seat, unable to look her captor in the eye. For the past few hours since they returned Gallus and Sandbar to their cells and left her behind with the monster in the room, Silverstream cried silently, trying to muffle her tears from any who would hear her. Oddly enough, the monster in question seemed too distracted staring intently at the crystal ball that held surveillance of her two captured friends.
“Why can’t they just hurry already?” Big Boss grumbled, tapping his paws impatiently on the table, “They’re going to die anyway, so they might as well go out in a blaze of glory.”
The hippogriff’s heart stung as she heard that. She closed her eyes, trying to hold her tears back in vain as her sobbing only grew louder. She held onto her charm silently pleading to the powers that be. Please, anypony. Anycreature. Anyone. Save us. Save my friends. I don’t want to die. I don’t want them hurt. I don’t want them to cry.
“Worry not little one. They will not be harmed anymore.”
Silverstream’s heart stopped for a second as she slowly looked up to see whom she could only describe to be an answer to her prayers. Before her stood an ethereal sparkling purple alicorn whom she was too familiar with. It was the spirit of the Tree of Harmony using the visage of Princess Twilight Sparkle. A hopeful smile slowly grew on her beak and was about to attempt a hug before she was stopped by the spirit.
“Do not approach, little one,” the spirit raised a hoof in front of Silverstream, stopping the hippogriff from her position, “Only you can see me within the room. If you touch me, I will be revealed and then there will be no hope of rescue. Do not speak with your voice or you shall catch his attention. Speak from your thoughts for I can hear yours.”
Silverstream looked at the Spirit of the Tree and asked in her mind, Wait, how are you appearing before us?
"I am always with you. So long as your friendship remains strong I am able to communicate to you should the need be great. When I sensed the fears and despair in all of your hearts I realised I needed to act and help you."
Are you here to save us? Silverstream thought of her question.
The spirit shook her head but gave a comforting smile. “I have come to aid you. Your friends who are imprisoned are planning to escape while the rest of your friends are coming to rescue you, accompanied by one whom you saved this morning.”
We’re gonna be rescued? Silverstream’s eyes widened with hope.
The spirit nodded, “You are, but if you are to be rescued you must first play your part on this as well.”
What do you mean?
“If you, your friends, and the rest of the prisoners are to escape, we must first blind them from our plans.” The spirit points a hoof to the orb in front of the impatient dog.
Silverstream’s body shuddered. You want me to break his crystal ball? But… But he’ll kill me! I don’t even think I’d be fast enough to reach the ball before he stops me. I can’t do it! I-
“You can do it, trust me,” the spirit reassured her as she placed a hoof on the terrified hippogriff’s shoulder, “Recall what you are most good at. Of all your friends, your optimism and enthusiasm in life brings out the joy and appreciation for each creature’s passion.”
The sparkling mare raised Silverstream’s chin with a hoof, offering a smile of confidence.
“Use it to your advantage.”
Before Silverstream could ask any further, the spirit disappeared in front of her.
Okay Silvy, get a grip. The Tree of Harmony asked you a favour. Well, not so much a favour, more like a “Do this so that you, your friends and every other creature captured can escape” kind of thing. If we do this right we could all get out of here for a Pinkie Pie patented party. If this goes badly, we could end up with something worse than the Storm King’s invasion. Okay, a lot worse.
She kept an eye on the grumbling Diamond Dog boss to see if he was looking at her, but instead he was keeping his bored eyes on the walls.
No pressure. The crystal ball is there. I could just reach out and toss it to the floor. But most likely, he’ll just skewer me with his sword if I even move a muscle towards him, let alone the orb. Think Silvy, what do I do? The tree said to use what I’m good at to my advantage. What am I good at that could be of use to this? It’s not like I could just talk about what I’m interested in and compare it to his love for… violence.
A proverbial lightbulb clicked.
“Um, Mr Big Boss? Can I ask you a question?”
The villain raised an eyebrow. “It seems today is full of questions,” he replied, almost keen to find a distraction from his growing boredom, “Ask away.”
Silverstream gulped hard before nervously asking her intimidating captor, “You said you liked telling stories. I like stories. Especially the kind where there is no fighting involved, everygriff just gets together to solve a problem, and they all like happily ever after. What I’m curious to know is why you would want to tell a story about heroes and villains killing each other?”
Big Boss grinned excitedly. “Why, I’m so glad you asked, my little hippogriff. You’re right, any story can be good if it’s told well. But you see there lies a problem to such tales.”
“What problem, sir?”
Big Boss quirked an eyebrow, “Would you like to know?”
Silverstream nodded.
“Come closer,” he gestured to her with a finger to a seat closest to the orb.
Silverstream quickly but cautiously approached the seat and sat on it, resisting the urge to eye the crystal ball.
“You see lassie, the world is saturated with countless stories talking about the mundane and the mediocre,” the villainous dog continued with an excited grin, “Every creature from their mothers having been telling the same old tale of triumph over evil; that if enough heads come together and believe in something, it becomes true. And while I admit that there is a very good reason why everyone likes to tell that tale, ask yourself one question: How many of those kinds of stories can you remember?”
“Oh, there was that story about a hungry little sea slug, then there was the Prince and the Coral, and that weird story about a swan, or was it a goose?”
Big Boss held out a paw, “Stop. Let me correct myself; how many of them could be remembered for a thousand years?”
Silverstream held a claw to her lower beak in thought. “A few? I mean, sure, not all stories could be remembered for a thousand years, but I’m pretty sure there are some stories that could last that long. Like the story about Nightmare Moon for instance.”
“Exactly,” Big Boss sneered, poking her beak with a finger, causing the hippogriff to wince. “When you think about it, every story ever told has a form of conflict that needs to be resolved. However throughout history, the greater the conflict, the better the story is. And the more tragic the tale, the more memorable it is. The Tale of Nightmare Moon is the greatest and most remembered story because of its tragedy and conflict. I merely wish to become one such legend. Is that so wrong?”
Silverstream twiddled her claws nervously, gulping hard once more as she forced out her next question, “Would you mind telling me what sort of story you had in mind? That is if it isn’t too much troubl-”
“WOULD I?!” he leaned excitedly as though he received an early Hearth’s Warming present, “I would gladly share my ideas!! Oh, you have no idea how much I’m dying to share my ideas for my magnum opus!”
He returned to his chair and stood on it with one leg and another over the table as he orated his plans like a bard in a tavern.
“Behold the Tale of the Big Bad Boss of Baskerville! A vicious vile villain with a voracious desire for violence! He and his merry band of mass-murdering boys sailed from the southern coasts of the continent, leaving a trail of raided, pillaged and burned settlements. But it wasn’t enough, oh no, it wasn’t. There was no true hunt to be had. All we have to oppose us were soft, sickly country folk who offer no real resistance against our tide of terror. Then one day, we were offered a chance of a lifetime.
“A Lord from a distant land who sought vengeance against a great nation approached us. In return for our loyalty we are promised the greatest game imaginable; Equestria. The nation where the fate of the world hangs into balance. The birthplace for most of the world’s mightiest heroes! Unable to resist the chance to challenge the land of legendary heroes, this villain accomplished his tasks with gusto while he waited for his nemesis to challenge him. All the while he continues to prepare for the great clima- What are you doing?”
Silverstream stood on her seat, holding the crystal ball close to her. She looked mildly distracted at what she saw within it and even blushed a little bit before realising Big Boss’ monologuing ended abruptly. Almost reflexively, she held the orb defensively at the dog.
A look of mild amusement crept on Big Boss’ expression, followed by disappointment. “Oh that is clever lassie,” he sighed, shaking his head, “Distracting me with my own monologue. I would have given you points for being clever, but you blew it when you didn’t strike while the iron was hot. I mean, seriously. You could have made your escape or took one of my swords from the rack behind you. Anything but a feeble attempt to hit me with my own crystal ball would have made for a more interesting twist-”
The sound of shattering glass deafened the room as the hippogriff tossed the orb into the floor, smashing it into tiny pieces on the rocky ground.
“There,” Silverstream’s voice quivered as she winced a terrified grin with a hint of satisfaction as she shrank back to her seat with tears forming in the corner of her eyes, “N-now we can m-make things more i-interesting if we make it m-more challenging, r-r-right?”
“She has done it! Make for the halls to the left outside this chamber. You will find three more prison chambers with more slaves within them. Once you release them, follow the path upwards. It will lead you to the surface where the Royal Guards are assembling.”
“But what about these cell doors? Aren’t they locked?” Gallus pointed out.
The spirit of the tree smiled confidently, pointing a hoof to their cell door. “See for yourselves.”
Sandbar held a hoof to the door and reluctantly pushed. The cell door opened slowly with a rusted screech that echoed the room. Noticing this, other prisoners did the same to their doors with similar results, much to the bemusement of all the prisoners.
“They weren’t LOCKED?!!” a plum coloured earth pony mare with strawberries and grapes for a Cutie Mark shouted irritably.
“Huh, no wonder my screwdriver didn’t work. Fancy that,” a brown earth pony stallion with an hourglass Cutie Mark remarked with a slight bit of amusement.
“Do not delay,” the spirit ordered, “You must leave, now!” And without another word, she vanished with a brilliant light.
There was a brief pause in the prison chamber as everyone stopped to see the “Princess” just vanished before them.
“Well, don’t just stand there!” barked Gallus, snapping everyone out of their confusion of what they just saw, “You heard the Harmony Spirit that looked like the Princess; let’s move it!”
As though a switch was flipped, the entire atmosphere suddenly came to life as ponies, donkeys, griffons and a few diamond dogs picked themselves up and hastily made for the exit. Fear, anxiety and hope were seen in their eyes as colours seemed to return in their glum faces. The weeks and for some, even months of enslavement began to chip away for the chance of freedom to see the sun and moon once more.
“Woah everypony, slow down!” Sandbar called out to the rushing figures, stopping most of them in their tracks, “I know all of you want to be at home right about now, but if we don’t follow the plan and leave in an orderly fashion none of us are going to be able to escape. We also still need to rescue the remaining prisoners which I know some of you have friends and family among them.”
“The colt’s right,” Coppelion added in support, “How many of you can open locked doors?”
A few hooves and claws raised up.
“Alright, you lot, follow me and my partner to the other cells. The rest of you, follow those two to the surface. Wait for at least five minutes before you make a breakout.”
Gallus blinked. “Wait, what? You want us to just leave you here while you free the other prisoners?”
“No, I want you to save as many lives as you can,” answered the guard, “The sooner we can get word of these dogs to the Princess and the rest of the Royal Guards, the sooner we can rescue more prisoners and catch these bozos. You know the layout more due to being dragged to their command centre, you are our best shot at saving them.
“Besides, their boss is after you and he has your lady friend with him. If you aren’t among us breaking out the rest of the prisoners you can at least serve as a distraction for the head honcho to chase after. And who knows,” she added with a wink, “you might rescue the pretty pink one while you’re at it.”
Gallus gawked with a blush before shaking his thoughts off. “Gah, fine! Just try not to get captured.”
“Will do. Good luck kid,” she smirked to Gallus before turning to her assigned group. “Alright lockpickers, we’re moving out first! If any of the guards see us, let’s make some noise while the rest of us break for the surface.”
After a few affirmations from the volunteers, they left the prison chamber (which happened to be unlocked as well).
Following the instructions to wait for a few minutes, Gallus finally called out, “Alright folks, let’s move! Those who are strong enough, carry the ones too weak or injured. We have to move quickly!”
As Gallus began to herd the prisoners out of the chamber and into the cavern’s hallway, Sandbar stayed at the back of the group to ensure no one was left behind. Just as the last of the prisoners were leaving, Sandbar felt a paw on his shoulder.
“Now where do you think you’re going?”
Sandbar’s blood runs cold as he turns to see one of Big Boss’ goons grabbing him by the shoulder.
What?! How? How did he get behind us?!
Reading his expression, the dog simply smirked. “I was told by the boss to wait for you lot to make your escape. Told me it’ll make for a twist. Been hiding in that back room there this whole time.” He pointed to an inconspicuous door at the other side of the room.
Sandbar turned his view towards the door to see Gallus’ shared expression of horror as he felt himself flung back deeper into the chamber.
“SANDBAR!” Gallus screeched as he charged towards the dog.
The dog in turn simply sidestepped from his reckless charge and backhanded Gallus, causing him to slam into one of the cages.
“Y’know, as much as the boss would like to have you around as his playthings, he still has a job to do,” said the dog as he grabbed Sandbar by his mane, much to the earth pony’s pain.
Gallus stood back on his, preparing to make another charge when he froze with dread as the dog brandished a blade.
“No hard feelings, kid,” the dog calmly remarked as he pointed the blade at Sandbar’s throat, “Boss says that your buddy needs to die regardless. It’s all for the Great Game.”
Gallus leapt out of the cage, reaching out a claw to his friend who gave him a look of absolute terror.
“SANDBAR! NOOOO!!!”
SLASH
Sandbar dropped to the floor, blood trickling from his throat. He reached a hoof to his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding, only to find that he felt no cut on his skin. The blood was not his. He looked up to see Gallus stare behind him in shock and he turned around to see what had just happened.
A headless figure of the dog who held him up earlier stood behind him standing there motionless. As for the head itself, it had been laid out nearby with an expression of both shock and pain as if the sudden cut to its neck was both quick and brutal. The body fumbled for a bit before it crumpled to the floor like a puppet without strings. Sandbar just sat there in both shock, relief, and horror before he looked up and saw the one who had rescued him from a similar fate. It was the unicorn from earlier, the one with the strange horn, only now it was glowing with a bright sharp aura of blue and his eyes were that of killing intent.
Yet, the moment the unicorn stared at him that intensity left and was replaced with gentle kindness and worry. As if it flipped a switch to a different person. The creature held out its hoof and smiled warmly at him. "Are you okay?"
Silverstream ruminated on what her life has been so far. Considering everything she’s experienced up to this point; survived the Storm King, attended a school from abroad, made a lot of non-hippogriff/seapony friends, indoor plumbing; yes, her life so far she considers herself content. Her only regret now would have to be what she just heard from the crystal ball before she decided to smash it could not be unheard. Now she has to live with what little time she believes she has left with the revelation that one of her friends has the sweets for her.
She would have processed this new information in due time were it not for the predicament she now faces before her. Big Boss stood absolutely dumbfounded at what she had done. Of all the things this hippogriff chose to do with an opportunity to retaliate or escape, she smashes his surveillance crystal ball. Not even at him, just at the ground. Like an angry wife destroying her mate’s trophy out of spite. From shock came anger. Not at the destroyed orb (although he was still pretty angry at the loss of an expensive artefact) but at the sheer stupidity of this hippogriff in front of him.
How could she waste such an opportunity? And here I thought she would be a character that breaks the mould of the cutesy useless archetype that is in need of rescuing 24/7! What’s the point in breaking my things? Did she do it just to spite me? I mean, points for guts there, BUT WHAT”S THE POINT OF THAT?! Worthless. Absolutely worth-
“There. N-now we can m-make things more i-interesting if we make it more ch-ch-challenging, r-r-right?”
Her sheepishly terrified grin and her equally terrified stuttering statement caught him off guard.
Wait a minute. She planned to smash the orb? Why would she-?
A moment of clarity came, followed by a grin of amusement.
“... Hehe… Hehehe… Hahaha… BWAHAHAHAHA!!”
Big Boss’ low chuckle raised into a booming fit of cackling laughter. It echoed across the caverns as he continued even louder, holding his guts with his arms as he became increasingly winded from his mirth.
Silverstream caught off guard from his reaction, chuckling nervously from his contagious laughter.
SMACK!!
Before Silverstream could process what had just happened, she found herself face-first on the floor with a throbbing pain on her left cheek. Small rocks, dust and bits of debris lodged into her coat and skin as she impacted the ground, bruising her in some areas and cutting open a small wound on the right side of her face. Prone on the ground, she tried to raise herself up, clutching her open wound with a talon while avoiding to touch the throbbing pain that was her left cheek. Tears formed from the corner of her eyes as she felt overwhelmed by the pain across her body, particularly on her face.
“Hehehe. You’re a clever little lassie, aren’t you?” he chuckled as he stood menacingly above her.
Despite her resistance she choked out a sob, all while refusing to look back at her tormentor. Suddenly Silverstream screamed in pain as she was lifted by the mane at eye level with the dog.
“I have to say, I applaud you,” Big Boss sneered as Silverstream struggled while he held her up, “Taking advantage of my monologuing while you attempted sabotage on our operation. Very amusing.”
“A-amusing enough to free me?” Silverstream grunted from her predicament.
Big Boss shook his head sadly as he drew out a sword with one paw. “Nay lassie. Unfortunately for you, this is the part where you become a liability and must therefore be eliminated from the picture.”
Silverstream gasped in wide-eyed horror, “W-What?! B-but you promised!”
Big Boss sighed with disappointment, “First off lassie, you didn’t impress me enough to warrant your release. Secondly, it was your coltfriend who was supposed to impress me. And lastly, your death along with your mediocre friend will provide the perfect twist to elevate the griffon into the hero he should be.”
He readied his blade as the hippogriff struggled helplessly.
“I’m sorry it had to be this way, but unless a twist I didn’t see coming is around the corner I doubt I could find any more use for you.”
Silverstream closed her eyes as she cried, waiting for the end when they were interrupted.
“Boss, we’ve got a problem!”
Big Boss snarled, “Agh! Look, can I just have a moment where I’m not interrupted?!!”
“Sorry Boss,” the minion saluted, “but it’s pretty important!”
Rolling his eyes, he dropped Silverstream to the ground and sheaths his sword. “Well?” he groaned impatiently, “Spit it out, what’s so important that you’re interrupting a crucial scene?”
“Multiple partols went silent Boss,” replied the dog, “One of them reported on a group of intruders knocking our boys left, right and centre. Also, a few of our prisoners are making a break for it!”
Big Boss’ ears perked up.
“What?!” He slammed a fist on the table and began ranting. “No! No! NO!! This wasn’t part of the story! Where did these has-been intruders come from? It’s all wrong! It was supposed to be an uprising among the prisoners; not a rescue story!”
He paused at words in realisation and gasped. “Unless…” He looked towards Silverstream who was prone on the ground. “Lassie!” he pointed at her, causing the hippogriff to flinch, “You and your friends, there were supposed to be six of you, right?”
“Y-yes,” she replied with a choked sob.
A wide grin grew on his muzzle. “Of course. OF COURSE! You were a team of six!! No wonder the three of you felt incomplete! We were missing key players on the board!”
He turned back to the minion who was waiting at the tent’s entrance. “You! Gather the boys!! We’re heading back to fetch the rest of them. We’ll take the back route. Let’s hope Bob doesn’t lose his head by killing them off yet.”
About an hour earlier
As much as he could remember, Keldeo had never really been fond of cities. With a few exceptions such as a city within a forest that he vaguely recalled, he wasn’t fond of the crowded streets and buildings made of stone, bricks and metal. It all felt too dull and colourless. It didn’t help that he felt surrounded by electricity. Which was why when the train entered the gates of the city, Keldeo was awestruck by its design, structure and location at the top of a mountain. Its pillaring towers that spiralled with colours and its marble white walls and pavements filled him with childlike wonder as he marvelled at its majesty.
Such is a shame that he couldn’t stay long enough to continue sightseeing. As soon as the train arrived at the station, the party immediately bolted out of the carriage, threw their tickets to the booth and poured out into the streets of Canterlot proper.
“I don’t like to do this,” called out Starlight to the students and the Pokemon as they ran across the streets, “and I don’t like the plan that the Tree of Harmony put together, but I know better than to contradict the literal guiding force of the Element Bearers and somepony still needs to give the Princess and the guards the rundown, so how much can I trust you all to follow the plan?”
“You can count on us, Headmare!” Ocellus replied while she panted, “We’ll make for the caverns below the castle once we reach the gates.”
“Is Starlight sure guards will let friends pass into castle gates?” asked Yona.
“They ought to,” Starlight levitated the badge she used earlier for the train, “this is our ticket in.”
Keldeo hadn’t said a word since what the others called the spirit of the Tree of Harmony appeared before them with a proposed plan to rescue their friends. While the being clearly beared no-will to them, something about her (or it) rubbed him the wrong way; as though it knew of him.
“As for you, my little Pokemon, your role in this plan is to protect them at all cost. They are my chosen inheritors of my gifts. Prove yourself worthy and I may yet offer you your just reward.”
What did she mean by that? And how did she know of me?
His thoughts went on like this for some time. For some reason, he realised that his memories were a mix of remembrance and forgetfulness at the same time. He knew things such as what he was, where he was from, and what he could do as easily as breathing. But critical details and the inner workings of knowledge were a bit beyond him. Not to mention forgetting anyone he personally knew from his world. Yet this “Spirit of Harmony” seemed to know more about him which only begged the question of how did it know? Even as they entered through the castle gates did Keldeo wonder about this, not realising how much time had passed untilbefore Smolder finally shook him from his pondering.
“Yo, Keldeo! Quit your daydreaming and hurry it up! Some of the guards are pointing us to the cave.”
Wow, I really can let time pass when I’m thinking, Keldeo thought sheepishly. Gah! No time for this! I’ve got to focus on the problem at hand!
Shaking himself from his thoughts, he joined with the rest of them into the caverns.
Before the group entered, Starlight assigned a yellow pegasus guard to guide them into the caverns. He looked at the group with peculiar interest and asked, “So what exactly do you four want with the Crystal Caverns of Canterlot? I mean, I understand it’s an emergency as Ms Glimmer put it, but what exactly is the nature of this emergency?”
“A bunch of ponies and other creatures who were abducted are being held against their will and are slaving away by wolf-looking Diamond Dogs underneath the crystal caverns.” Smolder promptly replied as though she were just discussing the weather.
“Ah,” the guard nodded in understanding, “the usual Ponyville weekly menace or National level threat?”
“The latter,” came the reply from the three students.
“Oh, right,” the guard acknowledged as he hastened his pace, “Let’s pick it up, double time! Not a moment to lose, right?”
Keldeo gave them a look of surprise. “Wait, do these kinds of things often happen?” he asked, clearly puzzled, “I was under the impression that this world was peaceful.”
The pegasus turned to him with a smirk, “Judging from your reaction I take it you’re from out of town?”
“Something like that,” replied Keldeo.
The guard gave a chuckle, “Say no more then. Yes, Equestria is peaceful but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its problems popping up from time to time. Hay, I took part in taking down several major threats in the past; a few of them quite recently.”
Smolder rolled her eyes, “We know all about your achievements Mr “I-beat-Dragon-Lord-Torch-and-his buddies-before.” Old Rockhoof told us that story like a hundred times.”
“Oh, right,” the pegasus winced before nodding his head apologetically, “I keep forgetting how much things have changed since the old days.”
Smolder shrugged, “Nah, don’t sweat it. I know what dragons did in the past. No need to walk on eggs about it.”
The guard smiled at that before returning to Keldeo, “So new guy? You’re pretty tall for a pony, let alone a unicorn. Where are you from, the newly discovered Forest Kingdom of the Fey Ponies?”
Keldeo shook his head, “Ah no. I’m not from this world. I’m not even a pony.”
The pegasus’ eyes widened with surprise. “Huh, a planeswalker? I haven’t met one since teaming up with Starswirl. Oh, by the way,” he gave Keldeo a salute, “Flash Magnus, Captain of the Royal Guard.”
“Keldeo,” he returned Flash’s gesture with a nod.
“Hey guys,” Ocellus called out in a loud whisper, “I hear a noise up ahead.”
Stopping on their tracks, the party listened. Voices. Ahead of the curve in the tunnel. Quietly they crept towards the source of the noise, leading them to a lit open chamber. In there stood eight of the dogs, standing post or lounging by a chessboard.
“Hah, mate. I win again.”
“Oh come on! Best out of seven!”
“Will you gits just shut up? We’re supposed to be waiting for the break out and here you are, slacking off on that stupid game!”
“Oh lighten up, Wiley. There’s no way those ponies can get past their cell blocks. They’d have to go through a literal gauntlet past the cells into the upper corridors next to the main chamber, then go past three more checkpoints to reach us here. The Boss will make chew toys out of them before we can have our fun.”
“Well,” Ocellus deadpanned, “that was convenient.”
“Yeah,” Yona nodded in agreement, “dogs just laid out where friends are.”
Flash took a moment to observe the layout of the chamber before returning to the group with a smirk. “Eight of them, five of us. I could take about three or maybe even five of them. How about you guys; how much fighting experience do you have?”
“Not much,” replied Ocellus, shaking her head.
“I’ve been through a few scraps with other dragons before,” Smolder pointed a thumb to her chest, “but not with armed creatures.”
“Yona smashed things before, but not living things,” Yona added.
Keldeo hesitated, “I… I can’t really remember much, but I know how to fight. My body is sturdy enough to take a hit from their weapons.” He gave the captain a sheepish grin, “And not to brag, but I think I might be strong enough to beat all eight of them without problems.”
Flash Magnus raised an eyebrow, “Interesting.” He nodded his head in thought before coming to a decision. “Alright kid, let’s hope you’re as good as you claim. I’ll bust in first and take the three near the chess table, you take down the two closest to our entrance. We’ll then tag-team on the rest of them one by one. The rest of you will finish off the ones we didn’t put out of commission; knock them down and tie them up. We’ll leave them for the Royal Guard backup to deal with. Are we clear?”
The students and the Pokemon nodded in approval.
The pegasus held a wing out with three feathers sticking out to count down their assault.
3… 2… 1
Living up to his name, Flash Magnus charged into the room, unveiling a golden kite shield into the fray. Before any of the guards could react he tossed his shield like a discus towards the three dogs by the table, bouncing between their faces and briefly stunning them from the shock. Before they could recover from the attack, Flash punched the dog who was standing above the table on the muzzle with his forehoof, while he bucked the other two who were sitting with his hindlegs sending them across the room and onto the wall. All three of them were knocked out unconscious.
Water Type: Bubblebeam. At the same time, Keldeo jumped into the chamber, landed with his hindlegs and pointed both forelegs towards dogs standing guard by the entrance. Still reeling from the pegasus’ sudden assault, they were suddenly peppered with bubbles of water blasted from the Pokemon’s forehooves, followed by being knocked prone to the ground by a tackle from Yona and a headbutt from Smolder.
With five of them taken out of commission, two of the remaining dogs drew their swords at the party. The third was about to howl to raise the alarm when she found herself enveloped by Ocellus’ silencing spell.
Flying Type: Bounce. Seeing the other guards taken care of, Keldeo leapt towards the remaining guards across the room, landing on one of them and knocking him prone. The other dog with the sword charged forward and swung it down on Keldeo’s torso. The blade met its mark but did not sink into the skin. The Pokemon grunted from the pain and glared at his attacker. The dog winced from the glare and noticed Keldeo’s right forehoof glowing bright orange.
Fighting Type: Revenge. Keldeo retaliated with an uppercut from his hoof, launching the dog to the ceiling. And with a “CRACK!”, the dog was lodged into the crystal ceiling and hung limply above the shocked onlookers.
Wasting no time, Flash dropped the last dog to the floor and pointed the pointy end of his shield to her neck. “How many of you are guarding the other checkpoints?” he snarled intimidatingly.
Ocellus dropped the silencing spell as the dog stared defiantly at the pegasus. “You won’t get answers from me, pony,” she spat with a sultry smirk, “You’re not my type and I ain't a squealer.”
Flash stared at her with a bemused look before he turned his head to the students. “Hey, Yona was it?” he called out, “How good are you at crushing things?”
“Waoh, hey now! Let’s not be hasty here,” the dog protested.
“Well, you better spill quickly,” added Smolder as she pointed a thumb at the eager yak, “You’ve captured some friends of ours and our friend here can’t wait to try you out as a new piece of furniture to smash on.”
A small blush formed on the dog. “I… don’t know how to feel about that proposal.” she looked to Yona with fluttering eyes, “Will you be gentle?”
This flustered Yona. “Smolder not mean that smashing type!” she pawed the ground as though she were ready to charge, “And if dog won’t answer, Yona show you what kind of smash Smolder means!”
The dog raised her paws in surrender, “Okay, okay! I was just messing with you! Geez! There are always eight of us guarding each checkpoint and two watching over each crossroad! That’s all I know, I swear!”
Smolder took a moment to glare at her with narrowed eyes as though she were looking for something before turning back to the rest of them, “She’s telling the truth.”
“How do you know?” asked Keldeo.
Smolder smirked, “I could smell her wetting herself.”
“H-hey! I did not!”
Flash shrugged, “Fair enough. Tie her up and gag her. We’ll leave her for the rest of the backup to deal with.”
“Well, you’re quite the fighter kid. Where’d you learn to fight like that?”
A short while after repeatedly going through the two other checkpoints and crossway with similar results, the party finally reached the lower chambers where the prisoners were held. As they continued downwards, Flash Magnus gave Keldeo an appraising glance, still impressed by his numerous abilities.
“To be honest, I don’t really know,” replied Keldeo sheepishly, “I kind of suffered some sort of amnesia when I came here and a lot of what I do is kind of out of instinct.”
“Seriously?” Flash whistles, all the more impressed, “Wow, if that’s the case, if you ever think about settling in this world and joining the Royal Guard. Just come and find me and I’ll put in a good word for you. The Guard could use experienced and capable ponies like you.”
Keldeo smiles appreciatively but shakes his head, “Thanks for the offer, but again I’m not a pony. And besides, I’m already part of a group.”
“Oh, you mean these guys?” Flash points to the students, “That’s understandable then, I can see the appeal.”
“Ah, no actually. I’m part of the… part of the…” Keldeo’s pace grinds to a halt as images flashed in his mind.
Three tall figures stood before him and challenged him into battle constantly; each one becoming more difficult to hold out against. The first fought him among ruins and grinned at him mischievously. The second fought him in a forest and smiled at him fondly. The third fought him by a mountain and looked at him proudly. The three then stood together before him. And as they lowered their heads before him, blades of light glowed from each of their heads; all pointing towards him.
“Remember Keldeo,” the third and tallest one spoke in such authority, “No matter where you are, no matter how far apart we are from each other, a Sword is never alone. All for one. One for all.”
“Keldeo? Keldeo!”
Snapping out from his stupor, Keldeo found himself carried on top of Yona with Ocellus who was trying to shake him awake. “Huh, what happened? What’s going on?”
“We should be asking you that,” Smolder flew next to him and jabbed a claw into his ribs, “You suddenly stopped in the middle of your tracks and went all pale there for a while.”
“A while? How long was I out?”
“About fifteen minutes,” replied Ocellus, “Captain Magnus moved on ahead and met up with some guards who apparently escaped from their cells and were breaking out the other cells. They told us where Gallus and Sandbar are held. We’re on our way to their cells ”
“Look, ahead!” Yona called out to something in front of them.
Ponies. A large group of haggard ponies and other creatures advanced quickly towards them before stopping just a few feet ahead.
“A-are you the other prisoners?” one of them called out.
“No,” Yona replied, “Friends here to rescue you!”
“Y-you are?” another called out.
“Yeah, the Royal Guard will be coming here shortly,” Smolder added, “In fact, Captain Flash Magnus is just by the other cells trying to free them too.”
A cacophony of quiet cheers erupted among the prisoners as they led past them into the next corridor.
Yona stopped a filly to ask, “Excuse Yona, but has little pony seen taller sea-green pony with turtle Cutie Marks?”
The filly nodded, “Yes, he was just behind-”
A commotion was heard at the end of the crowd followed by a scream.
“I’ll go on ahead, you guys keep them moving.” Keldeo leapt from Yona’s back and past the crowd into the chamber where he heard the scream.
“No hard feelings, kid. Boss says that your buddy needs to die regardless. It’s all for the Great Game.”
Keldeo heard this as he entered. Before him stood one of these diamond dogs he heard so much about, holding a sea-green pony in a headlock while he brandished a dagger by his throat, and a blue cat-bird hybrid he had never seen before inside one of the cages.
The hybrid had the look of horror on him as leapt out of the cage, reaching out a claw to his friend who could only watch him with shared terror.
“SANDBAR NOOOO!!!”
Time froze for the Pokemon as he watched the dog attempt to slit the throat of the pony. The image before him once again shifted to what became increasingly familiar flashbacks into his forgotten memory.
A human girl; the trainer from a previous one he saw, surrounded by Pokemon and other trainers with matching black and white uniforms. The uniformed trainers gave an unheard order but it became clear what it was: Their Pokemon charged towards the trainer, overwhelming her and her Pokemon; cutting, scratching, blasting, and more until she and her team fell to the ground. She struggled to stand until she turned to meet his eyes and gave him a pained smile before passing out.
“HILDA! NOOOOO!!” A voice screamed in his memory that sounded just like his own, before vanishing almost immediately.
Keldeo’s vision suddenly went red. Fear, anger, hatred. All suddenly surged into his thoughts and mind. A burning sensation was felt at the base of his horn as an aura surged from it and suddenly extended past the tip in a brilliant blue. Charging into the foe before him, he gave a mighty swing towards their neck. Fighting Type: Sacred Sword.
Keldeo felt his sword hitting its mark and watched the headless form fall limply, revealing mortified expressions from the pony and the hybrid. Realising that they were saved, Keldeo relaxed his expression and extended a hoof.
“Are you okay?”
The pony took his hoof and stood up. “Y-yeah. Th-thanks I guess,” he stammered, clearly shaken from what had just happened.
“Gallus! Sandbar!”
Keldeo turned to the room’s entrance and saw Ocellus, Yona and Smolder pouring into the chamber, enveloping the two others in the room with hugs.
“Yona, Ocellus, Smolder,” the blue hybrid sobbed into their coats, scales and chitin.
“I thought I’d never see you guys again,” added the green pony as he joined in the tears of relief.
Ocellus was about to add to that comment when she noticed the headless dog behind the pony. “Sandbar,” she gasped, “what happened here? Why is he missing a head?”
Seeing that this Sandbar was still reeling from the shock, Keldeo answered instead, “I did that.”
“WHAT?!”
The remaining three looked with horror, disbelief and anger at the Pokemon.
“Y-y-you beheaded him?!” Ocellus all but screamed.
“Yeah dude,” added Smolder, who suddenly took a defensive stand, “I mean, I’m all for fighting to save our friends but did you have to decapitate them?”
Puzzled as to why they reacted like that from his action he calmly replied, “He was going to kill the pony. I had no choice.”
A pregnant silence hung above them as the students processed his words. Taking a life, no matter how terrible they were, was wrong but he took a life in order to save one of them. From the three who knew the Pokemon and where he’s coming from it was hard to come to terms with his logic, especially considering that violence was the norm in his reality. Yet somehow there was logic of what had just taken place; kill or be killed.
Their trails of thought were stamped however as Gallus broke the silence, “Look, I know it hasn’t exactly been the best of days today, but we can either sit around and argue over what that unicorn did to save Sandbar while their Boss comes to get us, or we could make our escape now and talk about this later.”
Ocellus sighed, “You’re right. We should go. But once we’re getting out of here, we’re going to have a serious discussion over this.”
Without further arguments, the students exited the room with Keldeo reluctantly following behind them.
Did… Did I do something wrong?
“Look at all this mess! By the moon, this is a work of art!”
Contrary to most of his minions’ reactions of disgust, Big Boss who is barely containing his mirth went giddy with excitement, grinning ear to ear as he surveyed the empty prison chamber with the exception of a body in the middle of the chamber.
“Our miners are escaping, our boys are beaten left right and centre; and what’s this?” He pulled up the headless corpse by the shoulder, “Is this dog without a head once our good friend Bob?”
Most of the dogs winced at the sight.
“You know what this means boys: We’re not dealing with school kids anymore, we’re dealing with a professional.” He gasped at the realisation as he grabbed both shoulders of the headless body. “Bob, quick tell us; who did this to you?!”
Big Boss promptly released the corpse as it fell limply to the floor with a splat.
“Oh Bob, you poor poor headless bastard,” he lamented as he held up a paw to his forehead, dramatically posing as though to hold back tears. A sneer formed on his muzzle as he growled a low chuckle that increasingly morphed into a maddening cackle.
“I CAN’T WAIT TO MEET THE GENIUS WHO DID THIS TO YOU!” He screeched ecstatically as he practically started skipping over the body, “To match up against a foe who has no qualms about cutting off a head; OUR FIGHT SHALL BE LEGENDARY! A DUEL FOR THE AGES! Tales shall be told of the battle between two butchers; one who fights for evil with standards and another for good at all costs! This will be one of the darkest chapters ever told in the pages of Equestria’s history!”
He turned to his minions, his amber eyes wide and glowing brightly and his teeth baring in a smile stretching wide across his muzzle in such a nightmarish grin. And with a ghastly bellow, he cried with a howl that echoed across the caverns.
“The Game is afoot boys! THE HUNT IS OOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!!”
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I mean, He probably could have saved Sandbar without killing the dog, but I don't blame him for acting on instinct.
Bt dubs, pretty sure it's "Secret Sword" for Keldeo, as opposed to "Sacred Sword" which other Pokémon use.
11437197
No, I intentionally picked Sacred Sword here. Secret Sword is for later.
Finally the story is back! I really like this story, hope to see more in the future. Keldeo zero pity, I liked it.
11437197
Joe Toon's right. If Keldeo used Secret Sword, he would have been in his Resolute Form. Sacred Sword, on the other hand, is a move he can use in either his Ordinary or Resolute Form.
Really? Your friends were in danger, you are with guards on a rescue mission involving your friends and many other prisoners, and you suddenly care about taking the life of someone that was going to kill your friend without hesitation?
Yeah. Big brain moment Ocellus.
Loving the story so far.
I felt like that was like a reference to the Pokemon Black and White because that's also that happened to me a couple of times when I first played the game especially those train Brothers
I get it lol
“Why didn’t you just text them?” Keldeo asked, tilting his head.
“What’s texting?” Ocellus asked.
Before Keldeo could answer Starlight huffed. “It’s a means of communication that humans use that we don’t have access to.”
I almost forgot that Starlight did went to the human world before when sunset came back so of course she knows what that means but unfortunately you had to wait until the new generation comes around sorry
Hey it's the spirit of the tree of Harmony
Oh man that's actually pretty disheartening but at the same time pretty sweet that they will comfort each other in a dire circumcisism
Yes I've always loved these two together so much they're so cute and I like the shipping
Yeah about that...
There's a lot of things happen even the most peaceful town or country plus it's almost like an everyday type of thing well not every day
hMm i WoNdEr Who ThAt CouLD bE?!?!!???
Cobalion wow
team plasma
That is so sound like the Kung Fu Panda Tai Lung said
Well then this was some intense stuff just happened and then a lot of emotional roller coaster so it looks like Starlight in the others are still trying to plan out how to rescue the others and Keldeo still trying to remember his past but somehow still going in and out but it looks like they got some help one of the pillars flash Magnus to help out the situation meanwhile down there Gallus and Sandbar sent back to the jail cell and after what just happened they were pretty emotional and really scared of this creature sick twisted game but right now Gallus needs to get them all out whatever it takes and it looks like the spirit of Harmony is going to help them as best she could and apparently she knows what's going on with Keldeo somewhere deep down in the cave it looks like silverstream got the best of the big boss and even breaking the crystal and he was about to kill her luckily he didn't because he realized the missing key was The Elements of Harmony which that will be her friends and it looks like he's going to toy with them meanwhile back at the cave it looks like they finally found the prisoners but one of the dogs was about to kill sandbar but Keldeo saved him by killing the dog as well which the others were pretty surprised that he is capable to do that something like this and something tells me it's going to be a long explanation but it looks like the big boss found another creature that he thinks would be a challenge and something tells me this will be a long day for all of them I wonder what else could happen I guess we'll find out next time
and this was a perfect timing for your update since today is my birthday so thanks for that 😅
There's a time and a place for everything, including killing someone. The hope is to never find oneself in such a time and place
I want to see him die in the most boring and mundane way possible
Griffonstone
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oops
You even got the Earth ponies to help save Equestria alongside with the defeating the legions of Doom you got to give yourself some credit here kid
Ok, WOW. This guy is Joker level. I hope he will either be integrated into "Biobond", or just killed quickly. I'm not picky.
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R.i.p David Crosby
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Agreed! Damn pacifists, am I right?
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Well, it worked on Undertale and nobody didn’t die 🤨
I will wait for the next update
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It's currently on the works.
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Nice, can't wait to read it.
No Keldeo, you didn't. They're just uppity that their sense of right and wrong is being violated.
Good story, hope to see this continued.
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next chapter is on the works
I feel I should say that I’m starting to doubt the likelihood of this story being updated.
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I'm actually more than halfway done with the next chapter.
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Edit: I know that it is rather very late to finally respond back to you. But, better late than never.
We ( And Keldeo, Young Six, or anybody in Equestia. ) sadly don't have the very convenient and very OP Determination aka video game powers like checkpoints, resets, or even the fore-knowledge of knowing what's going to happen, or know what to do to achieve true pacifism like watching the YouTube video playthroughs.
Because, I highly doubt that any one of us does the complete pacifist route on the very first try, and without watching spoilers on YouTube back in 2015 to even know that there was a choice of pacitism, neutral, or genocide routes in the first place?
I'm not trying to sound rude to you. But I'm just stating cold hard facts, and a reality check.
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Let me ask you one of Flowey's questions:
What if you meet a relentless killer? Someone that will never stop, unless you do something about it?
I'm all for pacifism when possible, but not only are they in a dangerous situation, but they are also dealing with someone who's loco in the coco. Someone who thinks your pacifism means nothing to him.