A Lampent's Lament in Equestria

by Iridescence T Wind

Darkness

“It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.”
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid

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"KICK HIS FLANK!" Pinkie pie shouted from the cage, drawing an awkward silence throughout the grounds which was broken as Applejack looked at her usually cheerful party friend.

"What's with the language Sugar cube?"

Pinkie pie shook the bars of her cage madly as if trying to escape the cage to strangle the cat, "He broke three of my party cannons! THREE! You know how hard it is to build those?"

Applejack sighed, "Calm down pinkie. If it helps when we get out of here I'll help you rebuild them."

"Wait, really?" Pinkie pie was cheerful again, "Pinkie promise?"

"Ah pinkie promise. Now lets just watch as event's unfold."

Both became silent with equal stares of interest that were near identical, drawing a chuckle out of Red Wood before a bang on all three's cages by a Lion got them to be quiet.

"Now. Let us see here, your all alone, eh?" Meowth started the conversation with Soul, "no allies, no weapons on limb. Nothing but the frame and spiritual fire within. Risky." Meowth made a cocky lean with his body closing one eye and waggling a single clawed finger at soul like a teacher or parent would to a foolish child.

"As well as you came with all your pawns it seems. What's the matter too afraid to fight me by yourself?"

"No, Meowth smiled, just not foolish."

"Shame, shall we begin this battle to the death?"

Meowth made his way behind his forces, smirking lightly, "Lets."

Soul readied himself into battle position just in time as the first wave of Lion's began to crash down upon the Single lamp. their wet claws however came upon nothing as the Lamp shot up instead knocking several Lion's upward with the force of his frame's top colliding with no fewer than three jaw's simultaneously. A follow up set of lions however jumped and bounced off the backs of their allies reaching with lethal water and poison covered claws to strike at the still rising lamp, unable to dodge Soul instead countered, "Flame Charge" An eruption of fire coming out of his limps and face as he span upwards burning the lion's around him in a inferno of fire.

Soul's he felt leave their bodies but instead of collecting them they sank into the ground. He had no time to ponder this but rather begin to panic, where were they going? His thoughts were interrupted as a cloud of smog nearly hit him forcing Soul to retreat back into the conflict below with a vengeance of flames burning and in return waiting for it to spread and kill the lions before sucking it back in to himself. While it was hardly self sufficient in this weather. While he wished to be able to use Sunny Day that fell under Princesses control of the sun. He dived around a series of claw swipes landing his own personal flames on each lion manually grabbing soul after soul In a whirlwind of death to consume it before it was dragged into the ground. Though with each soul that he missed the feeling of dread grew more present.

Meowth smirked pointing towards an ally and nodding him towards the combat field. soundlessly the giant insect zipped off into the smokescreen that had been planned previously to mix into the smog under best of circumstances. Soul soon became aware of a whistling sound followed by a harsh bite that ripped a good chunk of his frame's pointed spike off. Spinning up into the air under another Flame charge he became aware of the flying bug responsible. Yanmega spat out it's resultant bug bite's left over of metal before beginning a series of complex hovering moving from one spot to another in the way of a tipped over hour glass before making another lunge at Soul. He barely had time to respond and as a result used the first thing that came to mind, "Fire Blast!"

Yanmega already dedicated to his charge couldn't stop himself fast enough so instead he picked up momentum, charging through the fire clearly burn't enough to eat but still buzzing as he rammed into Soul again ripping off another chunk of his hat like section of his frame. It was the last bite it would get however as Soul's arm, in it's blinding haste had come up over the head of the metal ripping insect. Right in the way of it's wings. With a bang that would bend a lesser metal in two the wings came clear off from the maximum speed and the immobile metal limbs that sent Yanmega, crippled into the ground. Soul winced as the bug gave a few last twitches and died the metal frame that was once the left side of Soul's hat falling out of it's dead mouth. He wasted no time grabbing the soul and consuming it before he was forced to rejoin the battle. Meowth was now unsure. Already he had just lost one of his comrades as well as almost an entire third of his forces in mere minutes. He radioed in the next two waves simultaneously. Unlike what his reports had said, Soul wasn't as peaceful as normal. This time he was pulling out all the stops.

Soul questioned the looks on the Lion's faces, they were terrified, many turn tailed and fled but the reason was not because of Soul but of something, or rather two something's that blocked out the rain. He turned around to see what the commotion was about, before he felt himself pale. There was two dragons. One of dark brown with scales that glowed dimly in the light of the raining clouds, the other was a bright blue with a necklace of skeletons around it's necks of all sorts of creatures. Soul would of gulped if he had the throat but as is he could only dodge to the side in time to escape a hail of torrential smoke that threatened to blow Soul out like a candle at a birthday party. The second however was more threatening, his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as the blue one Spewed boiling water instead of fire or smoke with the same lethality forcing Soul to use another heavily expensed Protect to defend himself from being drowned and snuffed out as a torch in the ocean.

When it ended Soul knew he would have only a brief opportunity to strike back, what he would use was beyond him for this situation, he had heard of fire types beating water only rarely. But the backhand swipe the smoke breathing one delivered from behind sent soul deep into the ground below causing a small crater with the force of it. Causing many shouts for the concern of Soul from the cages of his trapped friends. Even Meowth was surprised when the Lamp, frame a complete wreck and falling apart, half it's glass gone with the flame dimming rose back into the air, a slight murmur was said and both dragons paled as it began to take effect. the words made sense in Meowths head, the Lamp had just used Pain split after using endure to survive the blast. Instantly both dragons collapsed wounds developing at rapid pace and their massive bodies failing as Soul, a creature who normally needed much less energy to live absorbed and healed to full health while the dragons life itself shortened to the amount maximum a Lampent could hold. Meowth could only gasp in shock as the small amount of energy left for the dragons could only amount to three heart beats before they fell. His gaze went left and right as he saw the lions begin to turn and flee in every direction in fear. They didn't understand but they saw a small lamp take down two dragons in five seconds after being dealt a fatal blow that would of killed even Gold Fang in one hit.

Meowth gestured for his team to proceed to their final plan. Leaving the few still loyal guards to keep at the cages while they proceeded to the machine that they had all so cleverly buried the night before. As Soul recovered his frame he became aware of a dull rumble. Followed by an eruption of sheer darkness and ghost as a giant metal limb clawed itself to the surface. It must be the final stage Soul considered, The giant machine that Berry punch had mentioned. Though he wasn't prepared for what he saw as it fully erupted. Once again his eyes widened to dinner plates and his arms fell limp, if he had a jaw it would of touched the ground on the distant floor below, as is he made a small amount of cursed language, "For the Love of Giratina is that a giant Darkrai?!"

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Arceus became aware of a loud sneeze in between judging of the dead, a time he normally called for nap time but this time it wasn't some mere spirit or ghostly Pokémon. No, this time it came from the lord of the dead and the phantasmal world itself, Giratina. "Excuse you." Arceus muttered dryly to his companion.

Giratina nodded at the tradition, "Thanks Arceus, Must be someone talking about me behind my back again or something. I've felt fit as a fiddle for the last thousand years and counting, you know that of course."

"Want to check who it is this time who used your name in vain?" Arceus pondered. Usually someone evoked a legendary Pokémon's name for one of three reasons. The first reason would of been those climatic 'oh my Arceus' moments when something stupendously horrifying had just happened. Like someone had spilled Arceus's Kool-Aid, or when Giratina had scared the pants off a crowd of cocky children who had tried to catch ghost Pokémon for Halloween with no intention of training and becoming friends with said ghosts. The second reason would be Melodrama, For example finding out that your girl friend Nurse joy was seeing another man only to find out after break up it had been another Nurse Joy. The third reason would be a prayer to the Legendries name in an attempt to summon them. Rarely however those would be answered by them else they get prayers every day like a mob of rabid fans with their idols phone number.

Giratina shrugged his tendrils, "Why not?"

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Soul barely had time to dodge as the machine moved with insane swiftness almost catching Soul in a uppercut as it struck. As is he would of been a goner from a direct hit from the machine. before him. It reeked of Ghostly properties and he could see the soul's he had been unable to collect fueling it's punching blows and movements in his spectral vision. With another Flame Charge he dodged yet another blow his speed picking up even more as he tried to match the mecha's insane movement and agility as well as dodge the brute spiritual strength that it was using. He could already see without a doubt that the thing had a ward of Curse around it. Ghost Pokémon were sensitive to the super natural after all. Being super natural themselves. Though he was surprised as the machine's own speed started to pick up as well leading to Soul resorting to a Double team to stay safely out of harms way for a few moments as it butchered the illusionary copies faster than a starving Snorlax could eat pie.

Meowth was growing frustrated, why wouldn't the cursed dang Lamp die? He forced himself to calm however quenching his rage by systematically taking out as many copies per swing as the machine could when suddenly he got a brilliant idea. "Aim a primary missile at the captives."

Arbok and Wheezing looked shocked so he explained, "Do as I say, you'll see why in a moment."

Soul dodged another blow before the machine curiously stopped moving, instead one of the red spikes caps opened and Soul's growing questions were answered as a missle launched out of it's housing and into the air. Soul braced himself before noticing where it was going, it was heading straight for his friends! Soul rushed, using as much energy as possible to put himself between the missile and his friends. Yelling aloud, "PROTECT!" before a large explosion of sheer darkness and poison obstructed him from sight of the friends below. Followed by a second and a third from the same missile going off multiple times In a chain elemental explosion of darkness, poison, and ghost.

"Soul!" A series of shocked voices chorused at once, shocked at the cowardly tactic and the fact that Soul had to get hit or let his friends die.

Soul was still hovering, his arms were gone, as well as his front half leaving the dimming flame blind and exposed. drops of water sizzling on the open spiritual flame that was barely bigger than a peanut. the edge of a determined eye was connect by a sliver of glass like substance and the Lamp began to fall. The remainder of the frame that had contained Soul's soul flame shattering on the serpent statue's serpentine tounge and the small fire rapidly depleting falling into the mouth of The Basilisk's statue. The rest to Soul was only darkness and the familiar feeling of falling he had felt twice before.

Comments

[nightmaster0]

Great chapter.