A myth over recently uncovered, how will the CMC react to having to be heroes of Equestria from monsters that haven't existed before?
The CMC, Cutie Mark Crusaders, are a group of three, four counting Babs Seed, that are out to get their Cutie Marks, special images on their flanks that show a pony's special talent, and find a strange stallion... out cold on the grass near the CMC Hideout. This stallion is Bad Guy, and he has plans to takeover Equestria after having lost to a group of nobodies, one of which has Bad Guy's own father, and they together managed to beat him, but now... the CMC need to be ready for the grind that is about to come... literally.
Bad Guy is my own character, and a part of a RPG game series I make, where he is, unsurprisingly, the bad guy. The CMC have to train and prepare and grind to be able to beat Bad Guy(NOTE:This might end up being the reference sheet for one of my games.)
Eric was standing in front of a defeated Bad Guy, Natalie, Good Guy, and someone else are all standing behind Eric. "So, I have lost again, even with the Cloak of Infinite Power?" Bad Guy said as he was kicked by Eric, who was also using Warrior Healing on his allies, frankly... Bad Guy thought it was a very odd skill, like, seriously cutting your allies to heal them? What was Brendan thinking making that skill for Eric? What Bad Guy thought didn't matter in the end, as he was slowly, very slowly, recovering from his beatdown at the hands of Eric and Friends. As the Cloak was restoring his strength, Bad Guy used what little power he recovered to teleport anyway in a dark portal, disappearing into the dark pathway to Brendan knows where!
Bad Guy looked around after he was awakened, finding a strange horse-like creature with wings and a horn, it was a dark navy blue with a starry mane that appeared to flow even with the absence of wind. He approached the strange creature and thought, that looks like something that I might want in my troupe, just to stop those pesky "heroes".
The strange creature stopped Bad Guy before he could get to close, "Welcome Bad Guy, I am pleased that you finally arrived. I hope my appearance isn't misleading, despite how cute I look... I VERY MUCH want to cover Equestria in eternal night, but now need a little help," The mare, yes it was a mare, knew Bad Guy was without any idea of what the mare wanted but still knew the general reasoning for asking for Bad Guy, "So, you want a fellow Villain to help you with this goal to cover this Equestria in eternal night? Well, I have my own idea, and that's for me to take over the universe and sit as it's sole ruler, but I guess giving you some form of assistance isn't uncalled for. Before we begin, my name is Bad Guy, what's your fellow villain?" Bad Guy stuck his hand out awaiting the mare's response, which he got not long after, "I am Nightmare Moon, the Alicorn of the Moon, and for us to truly help each other, we need to go over how we will, so I'll start with what I know.
You will need to free me from this dark and dreadful prison with a vessel of some sort, and you need some information on how to become powerful there, because you aren't native. In Equestria, there are 6 ponies that wield what could be considered a superweapon known as the Elements of Harmony, they are the 'national heroes,' also called the Mane 6. Those 6 stopped me before by forcing me out of a princess, the one called Luna. Princess Luna isn't the only princess, however, one of the Mane 6 is one, just from what I could gauge from her base magic prowess," Nightmare Moon finished letting Bad Guy absorb the information, even going as far as to write the information down just to be careful. Bad Guy looked at his notes and was ready to explain his side of the deal, "So, Nightmare Moon, this Luna is powerful I can guess," Nightmare Moon nodded, "Well, that is good to know, next, for my part, I can give you a blank vessel for you to alter and have you guide a part of my troupe, using your magic to benefit the army in more than just basic damage, and I can get rid of this 'Mane 6' for you, maybe even make them fight for me. Of course, telling you my entire plan isn't something I want to do as it would mean that if you were beaten and forced to tell them everything you knew, then I wouldn't have the element of surprise, now would I?" Nightmare Moon nodded, "So, whatever is relevant at the part we are at will be given, no more, no less," However Nightmare Moon was now confused, and decided to voice it, "BUT WHY?!?! THIS MAKES NO CELESTIA DAMNED SENSE!" Celestia, must be the God of Equestria, got it Bad Guy thought while Nightmare Moon ranted about how many flaws that plan has and why it is such a terrible idea, "...AND YET YOU STILL WANT TO GO WITH IT!?!? WHY YOU CELESTIA DAMNED MORRON?!?!" Nightmare Moon finished her rant.
"Well, do you think I am new to the scene, because I am not, one time I made the mistake of telling one of my guardian enemies the entire plan and my enemy, which were a bunch of children at the time, but you, from what I can pick up from the surroundings, were sealed in the moon with this Luna character as your vessel for 1000 years, meaning I have more experience than you miss Nightmare Moon, so... you got a problem with my plan with that in mind?" Bad Guy said and Nightmare Moon did slightly realize that he was right but wouldn't admit it. Nightmare Moon, however, had one major flaw to point out now, "What if another hero or team of heroes appears to stop us?" to which Bad Guy looked at her, and grinned
"We'll did with that problem when the time comes!" Bad Guy said as he started for Equestria in a dark portal, Nightmare Moon entering his body as a passenger.
The first thing Bad Guy realized when he exited the portal was that he wasn't in any condition to move, he could barely keep his eyes open. The second thing he realized was that he was far from alone, a little filly, yellow coat, red mane, big pink bow that might be counted as an accessory, was nearby and, based on her facial expression and mouthing, was calling to her friends to get him some help. Heh, these little ones are too good for their own good, Bad Guy thought to himself as a white Unicorn filly with a pink and purple mane arrived with a Orange Pegasus with a purple, no wait bright magenta, mane and wings much to small to carry it into the sky. Maybe when I am much more recovered, will I keep an eye of these three, they might be my next opponent after all. Bad Guy lost went out cold after that thought.
Bad Guy awoke in a hospital bed with the three fillies and 6 mares in the room, Bad Guy looked across the room to see a mirror, he was a basic pony with a green mane held in a similar style to his hair, a dark green coat and red eyes. Looking at the flanks of the nearby mares showed that they all had a mark on it, while the fillies didn't, he tried to look at his own and got a somewhat clear look at it, a slime coiled by a snake eating a hornet. It's clear to me what it represents, my ability to control monsters, the Slime is me from before I freed Brendan that day, the Hornet is the first fight against DanTDM back in Lava land, and the Snake is me as of now... this should be interesting, Bad Guy thought as he looked at his flank mark, when he looked out the window he saw it was night out, Bad Guy thought back to his chat with Nightmare Moon, how she mentioned being the Alicorn of the Moon and how she had Princess Luna as a vessel, If I had to guess, this Princess Luna has the power to control the Moon, so she made it night time, Bad Guy reasoned as he looked over to the purple coated pony, wings and a horn, another Alicorn, that is the one that Nightmare Moon warned me about, I guess the "Alicorn" race is locked to royalty, meaning that this "Celestia" character could be an Alicorn too, maybe the Alicorn of Alicorns, princess of princesses Bad Guy looked at the fillies... and smirked.
We'll just have to see what these fillies might be able to do, even without U.I.
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, collectively known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, were going to visit the strange Stallion they helped, one they learned that was named Bad Guy, but they weren't ones to judge, and found something they had never seen before, it was a blue gelatinous creature that surprisingly didn't leave a trail behind it.
They started sprinting towards the hospital to check on Bad Guy, only to find a VERY not good sight, this being that there were those gelatinous creatures again, as well as bats, weird giant wisps, and snakes all throughout the hospital, "Ah, truly repulsively darling!" Rarity said, seemingly from the direction of Bad Guy's room, causing the CMC to start rushing towards it... only to find, Bad Guy, floating, not an ounce of ground below him, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all collapsed and Rarity on the verge of collapsing, "Well, color me impressed, all of you posed a decent threat, glad to see the scale of my recovery. But sadly, none of you get to stay here. CHIMERA! Come, collect the prizes," Bad Guy said as Rarity finally drops, giving him a good sight of the fillies, and filling the CMC with fear, "And you three, I'll admit that I have gotten close to you, however, you won't last a second against my troupe... see you never, little ones," Bad Guy said as he and the Chimera(A lion looking creature with a Snake for a tail and some bat wings, similar to Manticores in the wings and body) flew off leaving three confused fillies, "Apple Bloom, please tell me we didn't just lose them like that," Scootaloo said while looking at Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle appeared to be on the verge of crying, they didn't have long to think however as one of those gelatinous creatures found them.
"Don't worry, little fillies, just take these gifts from beyond the stars," A voice said as four items fell through the ceiling, a sword, a spear, and a staff were clearly meant as weapons, but there was the fourth object, it seemed like a simple square object, but touching it warranted a warning as it started speaking, "Greetings, I am U.I., your personal A.I. assistant on your quest to stop evil in it's tracks. I would like to know if you need a tutorial on the functions of this unit."
Then a choice popped up, a simple Yes or No choice, they chose yes, though Scootaloo almost selected no, and it started talking again, "Thank you for agreeing to U.I. version 2.5's tutorial, this unit's primary goal is to assist up-and-coming heroes on their quest to defeat enemies like Bad Guy. I am programmed with a pocket dimension in me to store all forms of equipment and items, and to help you equip the equipment you get on the spot outside of combat, if I do detect that you are in combat you must deal with whatever equipment you currently have at that point. I also have a crafting grid installed which will allow for you to create and upgrade items and equipment anywhere as long as you know how! This unit also has no need to be without any form of cosmetic feature meaning if you don't like your armor showing up, just change cosmetics and you will look very different! That is the explanation, shall I go over it again?" Then another Yes or No choice popped up, but everyone immediately selected No to avoid an endless confusion cycle while a creature is here, "Thank you for that, OH WAIT I forgot an important feature, I can give detailed information about enemies and your current status including progress toward next level," the CMC just stared with a "well do it" expression, "Slime, a basic gelatinous creature that consumes without thinking, it is the lowest tier of Bad Guy's troupe and mainly used for Recon," to which the CMC all sighed in relief.
The Slime made some slurping sounds and charged at Apple Bloom, which Apple Bloom barely dodged, then Scootaloo attacked with their spear, making the slime recoil, U.I. then pops out again and says, "Good job user Scootaloo, that attack did 76 damage!" Sweetie Belle followed that with a following attack, destroying the slime as it melted while a small percent congealed into a small gel ball which Apple Bloom picked up.
Slime Gel acquired!
"Alright, that seems to it. This slime seems to have left us a reward it seems," Sweetie Belle says while pointing at the bits that were left behind from the slime's defeat. Though that begs the question, "Say, U.I., why did that Slime drop this gel thin' and some bits?" Apple Bloom asked as U.I. popped into existence with the answer, "Well, user Apple Bloom, Bad Guy has enemies assigned to hold a specific amount of the worlds native currency, which is dropped upon defeat, and all enemies have a special drop that is always earned upon defeat, and some have drops that aren't always dropped but are rarely dropped and these tend to be a ton more helpful than the crafting material items that are always dropped," U.I. stated in it's monotonous voice giving a reaction somewhat expected by the CMC, collective sighs.
"Well, what now?" Apple Bloom asked as U.I. disappeared into whatever world it's from taking the Slime Gel into the inventory. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo asked themselves this question internally before Sweetie Belle said, "Well, we may not like this idea, but... we should go and see if Diamond Tiara is okay, just to ensure she isn't dead," and at this both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo cringed considering Diamond Tiara was their bully simply because all three of the CMC were blank flanks, but they all knew that Sweetie Belle was right, they wouldn't let themselves live it down that Diamond Tiara died when they could have done something about it. But first, they figured that they should clear out the hospital of the monsters.
Bad Guy was staring at a work in progress base with 30 skeleton warriors, who looked like pony skeletons in this world, and some ponies, 6 of them, who were out cold. They were the Mane 6, and all six were trapped in cages. "Well. I'd say that this is the perfect base location, wouldn't you say Skeleton Warrior number 3056?" Bad Guy said before said Skeleton Warrior nodded. Rarity awoke to see Bad Guy give his troupe to speed up in building his lair. "Ah, lookie here, seems that the sleeping Fashionista finally woke up. Ironic, last to fall, but first to rise... You ponies will never stop amazing me," Bad Guy says while walking towards Rarity's cage and pulls out a strange device, "Seems my silence spell still works despite the lack of mana magic, maybe this Thaumic is more closely related to Mana than I first thought. Don't bother trying any magic, it won't work while you have the silenced state. You can still speak however," Bad Guy added while putting up his strange device in a strange saddle bag-like object. "Darling, I must ask, and forgive me for this sort of question, but what is that object on your back? I've never once seen anything like it," Rarity asked to Bad Guy as he finished threating a Chimera to find the Elements of Harmony before Bad Guy beat it to death, Bad Guy turned in her direction after she asked the question, "Well, Lil Miss Rarity, this is a pocket pack, anything put into it is sent into a mini-pocket dimension exclusive to the wearer, it is essentially like a inventory," Bad Guy said, before turning back to his spot where the Chimera from before as reappeared... with the Elements of Harmony in it's mouth.
"This is going to be very fun."
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle attacked a bat that had been on the verge of death and finished the job. "Congrats user Apple Bloom, you leveled up to level 4. You earned a new skill, Earth Shaker," U.I. said when Apple Bloom finished grabbing the bits and drops. The CMC nodded, "Alright U.I., ah need more info on the Earth Shaker skill," Apple Bloom said before U.I. said, "Earth Shaker, 20 MP cost, The user uses their hands or hooves to smack the ground with intense force, creating a giant shockwave! Slightly more powerful than basic attack with a chance to stun," U.I. then disappeared upon saying that. The CMC were quiet for a moment until Scootaloo said, "Ooooookaaaayy... Are we NOT going to talk about the fact that Bloom now has a shockwave skill that can stun enemies for 20 MP?" getting a very prompted nod from the other members of the CMC, "Alright, anyway... We got some stuff from the chests in this place didn't we? If I recall we got something like 165 bits and one new accessory," Scootaloo added, reminding the others of the big ass elephant in the room, "Right, U.I.?" Sweetie Belle asked before U.I. appeared in front of her, "Can you tell us all the accessories we have and what they do?" Sweetie Belle added. "Current equipped accessories: Pink Bow, equipped to user Apple Bloom, gives a slight defense and attack buff(+5 def, +5 atk). Current unequipped accessories: Wonderbolt Headband, A bandana of the famous speedsters, The Wonderbolts, makes the wearer a little faster(+15 spd)" U.I. stated without a hint of emotion as usual. Apple Bloom asked U.I. to equip the Wonderbolt Headband to Scootaloo to which it did.
Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo left the hospital and started towards Diamond Tiara's house, opening chests and slaying monsters on the way, when they got there... they stopped and thought for a moment, before internally deciding that this was the best choice. Apple Bloom opened the door and saw a sight she never thought she'd ever seen... Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon crowded in a corner facing two monsters, a giant spider and a red version of the Slimes. "HEY! MONSTERS! OVER HERE!" Apple Bloom yelled, "WE'RE YA OPPONENTS! COME GET US!" Apple Bloom finished.
Apple Bloom used Provoke! Apple Bloom became the center of attention!!!
"U.I., care tah explain the current opponents?" Apple Bloom said as U.I. appeared outta nowhere with Diamond Tiara actually getting surprised. "Spider, a big creature with an acquired taste for meat, it uses it's fangs to inject poison into it's prey to immobilize them," U.I. said, "Slime plus, the admins of the slimes in Bad Guy's army and the more effective variant. You have to have really gotten on Bad Guy's bad side for these to be sent after you on your adventure." The CMC cringed at the idea that they were on Bad Guy's bad side. Scootaloo was the first to attack, or well, not attack but to do something, "Well, if these Slime plus enemies are like slimes, then they might have a thunder weakness, Thunder Affinity!" Scootaloo said as electricity covered the end of her spear.
Scootaloo used Thunder Affinity! Scootaloo's weapon now has the Thunder element!
"Oh that's actually a good idea Scootaloo, while I'll activate a shield to defend us at least a little," Sweetie Belle said while wrapping her horn in magic activating a shield spell.
Sweetie Belle casts Shield! The team's defense has been raised slightly!
"Meanwhile, I'll try this new Earth Shaker skill!" Apple Bloom said, "Earth Shaker!"
Apple Bloom used Earth Shaker! Spider is stunned! Slime + is stunned! The enemy took around 105 damage!
Together, they had two stunned enemies and one of the enemies has nearly half health. "Earth Shaker is quite powerful as we thought, mah weapon usually does about 85-95 damage, this dealt 105," Apple Bloom said as Scootaloo charged at the enemy.
Scootaloo attacks! CRITICAL HIT! Slime + took 250 damage!
"Lucky critical hit," Scootaloo said proud of the crit they got as Sweetie Belle started charging for an attack of her own.
Sweetie Belle attacks! Spider took 67 damage!
"How much health does the spider have left?" Sweetie Belle asked as U.I. appeared to answer her question, "48 HP remains on the Spider," then proceeded to disappear. "Thanks U.I.," Sweetie Belle said as Apple Bloom at the Spider.
Apple Bloom attacks! Spider took 94 damage! Spider has been slain
"Not like this Slime plus will be a problem," Apple Bloom said while avoiding the Slime +'s own attack, in which it sends some of it's slime at her.
Slime + shoots slime at an opponent! Dodged! Apple Bloom took 0 damage!
Scootaloo started charging an attack, launching it at the Slime +.
Scootaloo attacks! Slime + took 113 damage! Scootaloo's Thunder Affinity ran out!
"Ah... dang, I'll have to use Thunder Affinity again," Scootaloo said cursing under her breath, awaiting Sweetie Belle's turn to end. "SWEETIE BELLE! A BASIC ATTACK WILL FINISH THE SLIME PLUS OFF!" Apple Bloom yelled at the top of her lungs giving Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon an idea.
Diamond Tiara attacks! Slime + took 15 damage! Silver Spoon attacks! Slime + took 17 damage!
"That'll teach you for messing with me, you monster!" Diamond Tiara said as the Slime + melted into a Slime Gel and the Spider decayed into a single fang
Spider Fang acquired!
"Alright, that'll do it gals," Apple Bloom said as she looked over to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, "Well, guess ah should thank ya for helping us-" Apple Bloom was interrupted by a Screech coming from upstairs, however she didn't what Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to get hurt so, "You two make sure that everyone leaves this building while we handle whatever's upstairs, got it?" Apple Bloom assured. "No, Silver Spoon, you handle it, I will help handle that thing, it is upstairs, where my bedroom is, and I will fight it with you!" Diamond Tiara asserted. Another object fell through the ceiling with the same voice from before, "Don't worry little filly, they are proud to have you on their team!" Diamond Tiara's item was rather unique, "U.I. could you describe that?" Sweetie Belle asked as U.I. appears and starts it's assigned task. "Basic gun, a basic pistol reshaped for hooves. (+15 atk)" U.I. stated.
The team of four walked up the stairs and found that the monster was in Diamond Tiara's bedroom... "WHAT IN TARNATION!?" Apple Bloom yelled before U.I. popped out and gave a matter-of-fact explanation, "Giant Bat, the leader of Bad Guy's Bats, much stronger than other Bats. When given a chance it's screech and cause others nearby to go deaf making teamwork hard, it is also a sub-guardian!" U.I. finished its explanation and disappeared. Scootaloo started off with Thunder Affinity!
Scootaloo used Thunder Affinity! Scootaloo's weapon now has the Thunder element!
Sweetie Belle brought up used her shield spell.
Sweetie Belle casts Shield! The team's defense has been raised slightly!
Apple Bloom provoked the enemy, "HEY BUGS FOR BRAINS!! AH'M OVER HERE AND THINK YOU'RE VERY STUPID!!!"
Apple Bloom used Provoke! Apple Bloom became the center of attention!!!
And Diamond Tiara attacked by shooting the gun!
Diamond Tiara attacks! HEADSHOT! Giant Bat took 130 damage!
The Giant Bat rushed to attack Apple Bloom.
Giant Bat attacks! Missed! Apple Bloom took zero damage!
"Alright, that's turn 1. Now we all start tryin' ta deal as much damage as possible," Apple Bloom said filling Diamond Tiara in on the usual plan of attack. Which is that everyone uses their basic attack until they have to recharge the effects. But Diamond Tiara felt a urge...
Diamond Tiara started charging...
"Umm... what are ya doin' Diamond Tiara?" Apple Bloom asked, but Diamond Tiara didn't budge, "Alright, the rest of us continue as planned!"
Scootaloo attacks! Giant Bat took 107 damage! Sweetie Belle attacks! Giant Bat took 68 damage! Apple Bloom attacks! Giant Bat took 93 damage! Giant Bat attacks Apple Bloom took 125 damage!
"Gah! Diamond Tiara, whateva you got planned you might want to use it!" Apple Bloom announced to Diamond Tiara.
Diamond Tiara used Super Blast! Diamond Tiara lost all of their MP Giant Bat took 398 damage!
"WHAT!?!?!" Everyone turned towards the door where Silver Spoon was watching from afar holding a hammer!
Silver Spoon smashes the enemy's head with her hammer! Giant Bat took 100 damage! Giant Bat is stunned!
"Looks like we might have ta bring both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon with us," Apple Bloom said as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded in agreement.
Scootaloo attacks! Giant Bat took 106 damage! Giant Bat is slain!
"Did we... do it?" Diamond Tiara asks with huffs in between some words, "Did we actually beat that beast?" Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all nod. "Congrats users Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, you both leveled up to level four! Scootaloo learned Spear Twirl! Sweetie Belle learned Fire Ball!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle felt those names were self explanatory, "Users Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon leveled up to level 3!" Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon felt kinda glad that they leveled up.
Bad Guy finally had a finished base. All six Mane 6 members were awake with Applejack still trying to buck the cage walls. "Listen, I know I shouldn't be the one saying this... but... it clearly isn't doing anything AJ," Rainbow Dash told Applejack as Bad Guy watched on in glee. "Don't tell meh you've given up Rainbow Dash, ya are the most stubborn pony I know... how could ya have given up?" Applejack asked as Rainbow Dash looked at her with tears in her eyes. "Tell me AJ, tell me how we can get out of this Celestia damned situation, all of us have tried everything. Twilight and Rares' magic is sealed, me and Flutters can't mess with the humidity here, and Pinkie can't even Pinkie, what makes you think that you can buck this cage until it breaks, huh?" Rainbow Dash explained, she is right Applejack, those cages are unbreakable, Bad Guy thought as one of his Skeleton Warriors rushed in.
"Sir, Giant Bat has been defeated!" The skeleton Warrior explained. "By?" Bad Guy asked expecting the worst, "Tell me who slayed the Giant Bat?" The Skeleton Warrior gulped somehow and said, "From what I heard, sir, it started with a group of 4 fillies, then after all long forgotten skill was used a fifth one joined the battle. They were a yellow coated, red maned basic filly, a white coated, purple and pink maned unicorn filly, a orange coated, bright magenta maned Pegasus, a pinkish coated, purple maned basic filly, and a grey coated, grey with a white stripe maned, basic filly, sir..." it explained causing Bad Guy to crush his cup, "Did the Yellow coated, red maned one happen to have a big pink bow in her mane?" Bad Guy asked before the Skeleton Warrior nodded in worry.
"YOU IDIOT THOSE FIRST THREE WERE THE ONES I WARNED ABOUT!!! IF YOU WANT TO LIVE GO AND TELL ALL GUARDS TO INCREASE THE POWER OF TROOPS BEING SENT!!!" Bad Guy yelled while shaking the Skeleton Warrior, causing Fluttershy to look with concern, when Bad Guy let go the Skeleton Warrior ran away, only for another thing to interrupt him, this time a succubus, "Sir~! I have someone who wants to see you~!" To which Bad Guy nodded as if to say "let them in."
After the approval was given, a new creature walked in, it appeared to be a cross of an insect and a pony which a pony recognized. "QUEEN CHRYSLIS!?!?" Twilight Sparkle said with notable concern, they both ignored her. "Welcome to my throne room of this lair, I'm Bad Guy. You are?" Bad Guy announced before the Queen of Changelings replied with, "I am QUEEN Chrysalis, and I heard that you have successfully defeated the element bearers, is this a truthful fact?" Bad Guy nodded at Chrysalis' question, "Well, I have a request Bad Guy... I will give you whatever you want if you give me the element bearers." But Bad Guy had a better idea, "How about this, instead of you just getting what you want for little to no price, we work together as partners Queen Chrysalis, you assist my troupe and I turn the element bearers against Equestria and in our favor... isn't that a much better deal Queen Chrysalis?" Which caused Chrysalis to start thinking as some creatures, Man Eaters, came and took the Mane 6 to a separate room. "I'll agree to your... terms Bad Guy. I just hope you know what you are doing..."
The CMC, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon walked out of the house feeling great, the Riches were alright and talking with somepony never before seen in Ponyville, "...and I'm telling you, my stock is not for civilians, but for heroes like those 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' you spoke about," the new one said as time didn't move for moments.
Whoever that was knew the CMC and none of them were particularly happy about that, "Oh, sorry. Brendan be damned, I didn't realize I was talking about people who were listening. I'll certainly be sitting in Hell for a few weeks after this," he said before truly turning to the CMC, "Please forgive me, I have yet to fully learn everything about this world... But Brendan needed Bad Guy beaten fast, so I came by to assist you and all your party members, current and future, by selling you items that'll certainly help you on your adventure, but first... could I see your model of U.I.?" He said adding to the group of newly appointed hero's confusion. Apple Bloom nodded as U.I. went over to the stranger, "Just a quick question, why do ya want to see U.I.?" Apple Bloom asked as the stranger messed with U.I. He was going and seeing something wrong, "Damn it, will I have to factory reset the built-in crafting grid?" He mumbled.
The exchange happened for about five minutes before he said, "Okay, U.I. should be in perfect working order now, mainly the crafting grid part," he told the group of heroes, "Anyways, since you five are here, why not buy some of my wares?" He added as he used his forelimbs to open up his coat, and there were alot of items: potions, weapons, armor, accessories, and even crafting recipes! With the bits they had, they managed to upgrade all of their weapons to tier 2, and get armor for all of them.
"All right, and good to see that you have someone with a real Diamond tiara which has been searched for for years!" The shopkeeper said without further elaborating. "U.I. please detail all equipped accessories," Sweetie Belle said as U.I. popped out. "Diamond tiara, equipped to user Diamond Tiara, wearing this makes enemies think you're royalty, so they drop double money. Glasses, equipped to user Silver Spoon, wearing these makes it easier to find weak points, increasing crit rate," U.I. stated shocking Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who never guessed their usual attire had benefits in this strange situation. At least... beyond what Silver's glasses already did for her.
"Before you go, I should say that I have to update your U.I., it is just a small but helpful feature where you can have U.I. analyze something and U.I. will be able to craft it from then on out!" The shopkeeper said, earning nods from the group of heroes. They started exploring and found a couple of chests(some having pretty decent stuff, including a pair of goggles given to Sweetie Belle) when everypony in the group thought to go check the school.
It took awhile to get there, but the heroes made it there, entering the oddly silent school house, they found a green fancy chest and U.I. had to open it, "Adding recipe... ... ... Finished! Recipe for Spectral Goggles added to crafting grid!" U.I. said which was confusing but nopony was willing to ask any questions. Together, they went to Ms. Cheerilee's class, finding the teacher hiding behind her desk, papers thrown about the room, "Ms. Cheerilee? What's going on in here, there's barely any monsters in the school!" Scootaloo demanded as Sweetie Belle started looking towards the back of the class... then screeching! "What in tarnation Sweetie Belle, what did ya see?!" Apple Bloom asked her friend who pointed a hoof towards what she saw. It was a cloaked pony with missing legs, all 4 are missing, and red eyes being visible. "Ghost, a spectral entity with a strong resistance to physical attacks... made of heavy Exoplasm" U.I. described... giving the group an idea. "While the ghost very well might be able to hit us, we can't attack with our basic attacks... All out offense as best as we can?" Scootaloo asked starting to prepare for the use of Thunder Affinity... and everypony nodded.
Scootaloo used Thunder Affinity! Scootaloo's weapon now has the Thunder element!
Scootaloo held her stance as to not mess up the others with their moves.
Diamond Tiara attacks! Resisted! Ghost took 25 damage!
"Even a headshot doesn't deal extra damage to enemies that resist it!?" Diamond Tiara said realizing her headshot didn't deal extra damage. "Actualleh Diamond... ah think ya missed the head shot..." Apple Bloom said as she pointed her sword at the area the bullet hit, just below the ghost's head
Silver Spoon attacks! Resisted! Ghost took 25 damage!
"Okay, this is taking forever!" Silver Spoon said, getting quite mad at how little they were doing. Not that it'd make Sweetie Belle any worse than she is in damage. Not that Sweetie Belle would be physically dealing damage anyways.
Sweetie Belle casts Fire Ball! Critical! Ghost took 165 damage! Exoplasm acquired!
"And it's been done." Sweetie Belle said as she gathered the Exoplasm and looked towards U.I. "Hey, U.I. could you take the Exoplasm and combine them with these goggles?" To which U.I. immediately did and crafted the Spectral Goggles with the following text to say, "Spectral Goggles, 3 DEF(+2 DEF from Goggles), a pair of goggles with built in Wisp detection. Collect enough of a type of wisp to unlock team wide skills of that element!" To which Sweetie Belle just nodded and looked around in awe.
The group of five assisted Ms Cheerilee with cleaning up the classroom, Ms Cheerilee giving them some bits for their hard work and a special line, "You know, I overheard that Ghost saying something about a guardian at the Train Station, I'd say you should go handle that but... I also heard that the Everfree has some treasures hidden within it." She said, and the team all agreed that it might be best to search the Everfree first before tackling whatever that "guardian" is and so, they set out to go and brave the Everfree for it's treasures.
The group enter the Everfree forest, already expecting the many timberwolves they encountered... not the number of chests though. They found lots of chests that contained a number of healing items, even rarer stuff like Zap Apples and recipes for new weapons and armors... need it be mentioned that they can also craft healing items now? "Ah can't believe Zap Apple can actually contribute ta our journey. Zap Apple Jelly(Heals 10% of HP, where-as Potions consistently heal 200 HP) is really easy ta craft and actually decent fer later." Apple Bloom said as they kept going deeper.
They encountered a number of monsters, lots of spiders and snakes and... they eventually found the Castle of the Two Sisters. "Well... guess this will be where the most of our Everfree adventure will be. We ready?" Scootaloo asked the others, who simply nodded. And together they entered the castle.
The door sealed shut behind the group of fillies... wait... what door?
"My little fillies, it seems Bad Guy has made this castle strange... upon entering you won't leave until you either faint or complete it." The voice of the god said, confusing all the fillies here.
"Is this like one of Button Mash's video games?" Sweetie Belle asked as U.I. turned on a hologram showing the position of them in the castle as the god's voice reigned through the area again, "If you want to think of it that way. Everytime you'll enter here, you'll start at the bottom floor and have the goal to reach the top floor, if all of you run out of HP then you'll awaken outside the castle with all the loot you aquired in the castle. This castle's enemies and loot is randomized upon entry so be aware that all kills here, despite giving you EXP and Gold, will not be the same every run." Within the room there were three chests and they had three... unique items... and luckily U.I. had no hesitation to explain them. "Otherworldly Catalog, allows contact with shops in other worlds to trade in Gold, can't be used in randomized dungeons until the current room is cleared out. Bit Crusher, turns Gold into Bits at a rate of 1 to 5, automatically used upon completing a randomized dungeon. Broken Hero Sword, the remains of a sword once used by a world traveling hero, looks like it could be used for something..."
Room 1, Floor 1
Upon entering the first room of the first floor (barring the entrance), the fillies immediately noticed a change in atmosphere. The once destroyed castle looked different from even Canterlot Castle, looking more like it was a realm out of the Crusader's dreams. There were several chests, wooden chests so Scootaloo knew that it probably wasn't worth opening them as they'd have like... bits or something, there were also several normal monsters like Slimes or Bats... nothing too scary. Of course, being as strong as they were from the adventure to this point, they cleared the toom out without hassle and moved on.
Room 2, Floor 1
The second room was no different just a slightly more difficult set of enemies and a single iron chest which held a set of five potions and some Gold Bars it seems, they did get some earlier from enemies but it was a much less amount, like 1 or 2. Once the group cleared the room out, they opened the Otherworldly Catalog which had a large number of items they hadn't even seen in Equestria like something called an "Item Charm" which supposedly increases rare item drops, and it does cost a far amount of Gold, being 25 Gold while the heroes had just 13... Oh well, there were still rooms to progress through.
Room 3, Floor 1, last room of Floor 1.
The third room looked like it was a boss arena of sorts, the area was as perfect of a circle as the square tiles could allow. At the end of the room was a lone mirror, the group approached it and only a strange darker looking Apple Bloom appeared, the mirror around the darker Apple Bloom shattered but it left the odd doppleganger of Apple Bloom. "Wilted Bloom, an entity possessing the form of an alternate Apple Bloom, be wary of their knives and ranged demon Energy attacks or you might be their next victim!" U.I. said as the group got ready to fight their toughest fight yet in this castle.
Wilted Bloom got the first move by throwing their knife towards the group, hitting Apple Bloom for a large chunk of damage, "OW!" She exclaimed.
Wilted Bloom attacked Apple Bloom with a knife toss! Apple Bloom took 150 damage!
Scootaloo had to think for a moment as she considered if using Thunder Affinty was a good use of a turn before deciding to use her Spear Twirl move, hitting Wilted Bloom six times for decent damage.
Scootaloo twirls her spear to attack the enemy! Wilted Bloom took approximately 650 damage!
"Apple Bloom, you'll need to be careful, you might want to heal on your turn because this... thing... could cleared defeat all of us in an instant if it wanted." Sweetie Belle said to Apple Bloom who just nodded, after that Sweetie Belle cast her shield spell to lower incoming damage for several turns.
Sweetie Belle cast Shield! The entire team's defenses went up!
Apple Bloom took the turn to use a Potion to heal all the damge, her approximately 250 HP was not cutting it right now. This battle better give her a huge boost in EXP...
Apple Bloom used a Potion. Apple Bloom recovered 200 HP.
Diamond Tiara looked to Silver Spoon, who nodded at her, as she started charging her Super Blast.
Diamond Tiara began charging...
Silver was the only one left to make a move... she took a deep breath and got ready to crush Wilted Bloom under the weight of her hammer.
Silver Spoon attacks! Wilted Bloom took 250 damage!
Wilted Bloom stands still from all the damage as they looked on it was clear that they weren't giving up yet. They met eyes with Apple Bloom as they said, "You're strong... but if you're worthy of moving on to Floor 2 depends on your next action." Apple Bloom stood puzzled by the situation... then made her decision...
Apple Bloom attacks Wilted Bloom with all she's got! Wilted Bloom's HP went down to 1!
Diamond Tiara watched as she finally fired her Super Blast finishing Wilted Bloom off. Three chests appeared, one contained a Picture of Wilted Bloom, one contained a Heart shaped container, and one contained a chestplate. U.I. popped out and said, "Congradulations! All of you went up three levels! Apple Bloom's HP was gone over 500 now!" To be fair, Apple Bloom's HP increases at a faster rate from the rest and will for certain go over 3000 by the end of this adventure. Apple Bloom equiped the Chestplate getting a major boost to her defense... at least for this point in her adventure. A staircase appears to take them to the second floor, a star shaped object also appeared and so they immediately interacted with it, healing all of them. "Alright... are we ready ta continue?" Apple Bloom asked, to which everyone nodded and progressed.
Rooms 1 & 2, Floor 2
Upon entering these rooms, everyone noted how much stronger the enemies were getting and how much better the chest loot was. After these two rooms the group had enough to purchase both the Item Charm and the "Double Accessorizer" from the Otherworldly Catalog allowing the group to have two accessories on at once, very useful. They proceeded to the next room.
Room 3, Floor 2
This room was surprisingly empty, just being a big square shaped area with nothing going on... well... aside from a lone chest in the center of it... Scootaloo attempted to open the chest awaking the fury of a Mimic!
"Mimic, these creatures are one of Bad Guy's favorites as they lure adventures into a false sense of security and eat them whole," U.I. said matter of factly. But in general, it was a tough fight but still not as tough as Wilted Bloom. They went to the final floor.
Final Floor
The group stepped up to find a lone doorway leading to the final challenge of this area... they stepped through...
"ARE YA KIDDIN' MEH?!" Apple Bloom screamed as she stared at a literal flying eye ball. "Eye of Cthulhu, it seems to have wandered rather far from it's native world." U.I. explained.
The Eye of Cthulhu moved slowly towards the group but didn't charge or even seem to make it clear it was attacking, only summoning smaller eyeballs U.I. called "Servants of Cthulhu" and so... Apple Bloom attacked it.
Apple Bloom attacks! Eye of Cthulhu took 140 damage!
Unlike other enemies faced by the group, this one didn't react to being hit, just kinda taking it... weird. Scootaloo attacked as well, not really sure using a skill is worth it in this fight aside from speeding it up.
Scootaloo attacks! Eye of Cthulhu took 135 damage!
Sweetie Belle wasn't going to just attack, she'd do too little damage that way so she shoot a fire ball at the eye ball.
Sweetie Belle cast Fire Ball! Eye of Cthulhu took 250 damage!
Diamond Tiara shoot three times at the enemy! Eye of Cthulhu took 364 damage!
Silver Spoon attacks! Eye of Cthulhu took 245 damage!
The Eye of Cthulhu did a rather slow charge which Sweetie Belle was able to easily dodge, "What is with this thing? It's so slow compared to Wilted Bloom and the Mimic on the previous two floors," Sweetie Belle said as she watch the eye return to looking at the group from above.
Eye of Cthulhu attacks! Miss! Sweetie Belle took no damage!
Apple Bloom attacks! Eye of Cthulhu took 143 damage!
Scootaloo attacks! Eye of Cthulhu took 130 damage!
After Scootaloo's attack the eye stood still for a moment and then started spinning before the eye revealed a mouth where it's pupil and iris was. Suddenly it stopped summoning the Servants of Cthulhu but it looked to be much faster than before. This fight was going to be the group's own personal hell... if a random star didn't land on the boss and take out like 750 HP from it. "Alright... guess that works out." Scootaloo said after seeing that display.
Eye of Cthulhu charged at an enemy! Diamond Tiara took 140 damage!
"Ow! This thing could take chunks out of our health if we're not careful!" Diamond Tiara said as she started fired at it.
Diamond Tiara attacks! Eye of Cthulhu took 155 damage!
"Did it get weaker defensively?" Diamond Tiara asked aloud, to which everyone in the room collectively nodded.
Sweetie Belle cast Fire Ball! Eye of Cthulhu took 300 damage!
"Okay, one attack from you Silver will finish the job!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed as Silver nodded.
Silver Spoon attacks! Eye if Cthulhu took 350 damage! Eye of Cthulhu has been slain!
As the Eye of Cthulhu spun in pain, it burst and left some chests behind as well as a decent number of Gold.
Chest 1 had several "emblems" that boost the strenghts of the holder and is counted as an accessory.
Chest 2 had a recipe which used the Broken Hero Sword in it's requirements.
And chest 3 had... a potion... not a normal potion but a light blue one called "a Recall Potion" supposedly it sends the drinker home but it can be used near infinitely.
The group found themselves outside the castle. "Soooo... that happened..." Silver Spoon said getting nods from the rest.
"Ah say we go backta Ponyville and fight off that monsta at the train station now, we got out rewards and more stories ta tell," Apple Bloom said to which everyone agreed... it is time to save Ponyville.