Arms of Arceus

“Howdy, gals,” Applejack said as she walked through the large, brass doors of the palace observation room. “Have ya’ll learned anythin’ new from our ‘guest’?”

“Not since the last party we threw him,” Pinkie Pie said as she watched their captive float through the water tank in the center of the room. “I’ve got another bowl of my special punch chilling in the refrigerator. That should loosen him up a bit.”

“We’ve learned enough from him already!” Rainbow Dash said as she looked to her friends. “It’s time we take action!”

“You’re right,” Twilight Sparkle said. “We need to get out in the world and find this ‘Korish’ person. With the changes the Slowking and Alakazam are making to the teleporters, we should be ready to move out soon.”

“So long as we don’t teleport into the middle of those undead scoundrels, I’m happy to do a bit of exploring,” Rarity said with a casual hair flip.

“So am I,” Applejack said. “But from here on out, we should do things with a bit more care. Taking out Orks, Tyranids, daemons and zombies is one thing but we should be more gentle with the folks in this world. I just talked to Joan about ‘em, and they don’t seem all that bad.”

“Lynn says there are things just as bad as the zombies out in the world, though,” Fluttershy said softly. “She and Ann joined Harmony and I for breakfast this morning, and she had Wade describe some of the dangers out there.”

“Who’s Wade?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“He’s the… er, zombie head that Trickster gave Lynn as a gift. From the sound of it, this world could be just as dangerous as the last one.”

“Dangerous or not, I don’t wanna go buckin’ heads in unless I hafta,” Applejack said, stubbornly. “I say do what ya gotta to survive, but always spare a life when ya got a choice. You gals feel the same, right?”

The rest of the ponies agreed as they watched the young Frogadier sleep peacefully in his tank.

Headpool’s voice echoed through the hallway as he hung from Mistress Lynn’s waist. The song was unnerving, made even more so by the fact that he sang out with his mind and not his mouth. The spell Mistress Lynn had cast upon the severed, zombified head gave him the power of speech through mental projection to make up for the bright pink thread holding his mouth closed. Despite this, the head sang happily as he was carried down a palace hallway to the council meeting.

“Great green globs of greasy, grimey gofer guts, mutilated intern meat, itty bitty baby feet. Great green globs of greasy, grimey gofer guts, and me without a spoon!”

“Mistress Lynn, would you kindly quiet your… ornament, please?” Rarity asked as she walked alongside the honorable ghost. “And Pinkie Pie, would you kindly quite singing that awful song with him?”

“Sorry,” Pinkie Pie said, blushing. “I know it’s bad, but it’s just so catchy!”

“Yeah, talking diamond butt unicorn. Listen to the talking, pink balloon butt pony who isn’t a unicorn! My song of hunger is too catchy not to sing. You should join us while this magical ghost lady carries me to meet with your winged-unicorn friend in this city full of weird cultural reference creatures. Man, this is the craziest trip I’ve ever had!”

“You aren’t hallucinating, Wade,” Mistress Lynn said as if talking to a child. “But you should be quiet now. There will be time for talking later, my dear.”

Headpool’s eyes looked around as if he was still trying to communicate, but at the command from his owner, he was no longer capable of it.

“Thank you,” Rarity said with a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, thanks,” Pinkie Pie said as she hid her muzzle behind her tail. “I feel bad after singing that…”

“Just wash your mouth out with soap and you’ll be fine, dear.”

“Ok!” Pinkie Pie said as she moved her tail and her smile returned.

“By the way,” Lynn said. “What are we being summoned for? Does it have anything to do with why that Frogadier Master Ryu captured hasn’t been turned over to my sister?”

“It does,” Rarity said as she opened the door at the end of the hallway. “It also concerns our actions going forward. We ponies have a plan, and we want to discuss it with our Pokémon friends.”

“Indeed we do,” Twilight Sparkle said as she welcomed the group to the conference room. The rest of the High Council sat around the large, circular table in the center of the room. Among them were Master Ryu, Master Shen, Mistress Sakura, Master Trickster and Mistress Ann. Mistress Lynn bowed to her companions and floated over to sit next to her husband and sister. Rarity and Pinkie Pie took their places next to their friends and the princess addressed the room.

“Greetings, friends. Thank you all for coming. My advisors and I have come up with a plan on how best to deal with this world we’re in. All of you received my message detailing the information we received from our young captive, yes?”

“We did,” Mistress Ann said, a hint of frustration and curiosity in her voice. “I can’t help but wonder how you gathered this information without stabbing yourself in the eye.”

“We don’t exactly practice voodoo like you do, Ann,” Rainbow Dash said with a frown.

“You should. It works wonders for interrogating a suspect, or passing time when you’re bored.”

“We decided to use different methods to get information,” Pinkie Pie said. “Between my super sugary punch and Applejack’s fresh made apple cider, we got some important information out of our little froggy friend.”

“I don’t see how that worked…”

“It worked because we know what we’re doing,” Twilight Sparkle said, diplomatically. “I know your methods work great too, Mistress Ann, but we decided that torture wasn’t the best means of gaining information… uh, this time.”

“We threw him a series of parties!” Pinkie Pie said, joyfully.

“I still don’t see how that worked,” Ann said, nonplussed. “I’d rather someone be stabbed with something, but your information seemed to match up with what I’ve learned, so… I’m fine with it as long as we get accurate information.”

“We’re as sure of our information as we’re going to get,” Twilight Sparkle said as she created a holographic screen with her magic. The entirety of Battleworld was represented according to what the city had learned. “Thanks to the efforts of Master Ryu, we know that this world is divided into kingdoms that are ruled over by a single, all powerful god named Victor Von Doom. Professor Brian had a vision of him earlier, but all he’s been able to remember is that Doom is someone we must avoid at all costs.”

“What are the chances of us encountering this god?” Chompy rumbled as he swung his tail back and forth.

“According to what we’ve learned, they’re slim,” Dorris said, as she rubbed her temples. “This place is strange. Very strange. There is no future to foresee, here. It’s still being written. All we can see is the past, and only six years worth of it. With that said, this ‘Doom’ seems to be happy to ignore the plight of all those who live beneath him so long as they keep a low profile.”

“Despite the limited nature of this place, we’ve managed to see quite a bit,” Joan said as she put a hand on her friend’s paw. “It’s been rather headache inducing for poor Dorris, but we’ve been able to touch many different minds in this world undetected. The amount of powerful psychics is astounding, and to read the mind of one while hiding our presence has been extraordinarily difficult. But one thing is for sure, the god known as Doom did not always have his status. We’re unsure of how he gained his power, but he knows how to use it. I’ve been hoping we can speak with him.”

“We talked about this,” Dorris scolded. “Talking to Doom is a bad idea. We can’t trust him, Joan. He is near omnipotent and he isn’t one to anger or ally with. He is more likely to subjugate us or wipe us out than he is to aid us in our fight.”
Joan blushed. She seemed as if she were about to make an argument for diplomacy as she looked to her brother for help. Gallah shook his head, and Joan let the subject drop.

“Korish must know this,” Sakura said, as she gave her husband a knowing look.

“She is no fool,” Ra said, his deep voice low and reserved. “She knows what she is doing, and she has no fear of the consequences so long as she is the favored servant of Dark Arceus.”

“What do you know of her?” Master Shen asked as he leaned over the table. The wood and metal groaned under his weight, but held firm.

“We’ve known her since we first came to serve God’s Breath,” Ra said, sadly. “She was loyal, then. Or so we thought. Sakura and I have known little of her since she defected ages ago.”

“We know that her goal is to create chaos,” Applejack said as she watched Sakura take hold of one of Ra’s hands. “How is she gonna go about it?”

“By taking victims,” Ra said, simply. “She will take lives here, on this world. The local authorities will begin to ask questions, if they deign to care, and they will search in vain for the cause. Unless this ‘Doom’ takes interest, they are unlikely to find her, much less capture her.”

“I don’t think we want Doom to take an interest,” Twilight Sparkle said as she altered the map. Four of the kingdoms turned red as she directed the council’s attention towards them. “According to our ‘guest’, these four kingdoms are the places where Korish will strike first.”

“But why would she tell this to the Frogadier?” Mistress Ann asked, her brow furrowing in skepticism. “He’s nothing more than a decoy to allow her to sneak out of the city. Why give him a map of her actions?”

“Clearly, it’s a trap,” Mistress Lynn responded. “Korish was always good at those, though this one is far too easy to spot.”

“Aye, she’s certainly not hiding her movements well,” Master Trickster said. “Arrogance, perhaps? That would be rather unlike her. A false trail is more her style. I feel like we’re missing something, but I can’t put my claw on it.”

“I have a number of Haunter on the surface, scouting the Deadlands in silence,” Ra said as he pulled a note from his coffin. “They have reported sightings of Dark Arceus’ undead servants prowling through the wastes. The last report outlined a description of a red portal out of which an evil shade emerged. The undead humans paid little attention to the shade, and it caused no trouble.”

“That won’t last for long, though,” Mistress Sakura said, gravely. “The best way to cause chaos in this world would be to attack it, and Dark Arceus has no qualms about that. Nor would Dark Arceus fear this ‘Doom’, though I shudder to think of what might happen should these two gods come to blows. I suspect Korish wishes us to enter these domains so that we’re caught in the middle when her forces attack.”

“But if we don’t stop her, this place will be torn apart!” Gallah said passionately. “I have spoken to Professor Brian, and there is no paradox mechanism here to protect this universe from our intrusion. What happens here will affect everything. Justice demands that we stand against her, even if it means standing against another evil god.”

“You’re quite right,” Twilight Sparkle said as she zoomed the map in on their first destination. “That’s why my advisors and I propose a series of infiltration missions to help keep the peace in these kingdoms and track Korish down. Mistress Lynn, could your new… Umm, companion, help us a bit?”

“Of course,” Lynn said as she knelt over Headpool. Gazing down at the severed head, her eyes filled with the love a person might hold for a favored pet. Those loving eyes began glowing with dark power as she lifted the command to silence.

“I’d love to help you, but I’m hungry!” Headpool blurted out the moment he regained the power of speech. “You’ll feed me if you want my help. Why not that tasty little frog you’ve been partying with? He’s a traitor, after all. He deserves it! So long as it’s sentient, I bet it’ll taste good!”

“We’ve befriended him,” Pinkie Pie said as she scowled at Headpool. “We’re not feeding you anything, especially since you’re an evil zombie. Besides, you don’t even have a stomach.”

“Then you get nothing from me!”

“Tell us of the large kingdom at the top of the map,” Lynn said, her voice gentle but commanding.

“Sure thing!” Headpool said with a smile. He began humming slightly to something only he could hear as he looked around the room. He paused for a moment in a happy stupor, then confusion set in and his smile faltered.

“That song I sang to you last night compels you to obey me, among other things,” Lynn said with a sly smile. “Now, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself first, then answer our questions.”

“Well, you’re in luck,” Headpool said, the happy stupor returning at Mistress Lynn’s command. “I wasn’t always a zombie, and I wasn’t always an enemy of Victor Von Doom! Until a year ago, I was alive and well. Then I crossed some borders while seeking treasure and got tossed into the Deadlands. That first kingdom you’re wanting to know about happens to be Greenland, home of the Hulks.”

“What are these ‘hulks’?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Well, the Hulk is a gamma irradiated rage monster who wants to smash everything in sight. He can lift mountains and he’s pretty tough. Greenland is full of people, plants, and animals that were transformed in the same way the original Hulk was. They’re kinda dumb, but they’re not something to take lightly if you wanna avoid death.”

“And the kingdom under it?”

“Dystopia. It’s ruled by a version of the Incredible Hulk known as the Maestro. He’s an evil genius, and a big jerk. He conquered his world by killing everyone with the power to oppose him. Besides his brains and brawn, he’s got some pretty nasty technology, to boot.”

“What about the island down below?” Rarity asked. “The one beneath Greenland that seems isolated and lonely.”

“It’s a pretty sad place,” Headpool said after a moment of thought. “I was arrested there. They call it Ashes. It’s the remains of a world hit by the zombie virus. Most of the population was wiped out, but Wolverine’s healing factor was strong enough to repel the virus. He ended up killing most of the zombies and containing the rest. He rebuilt society, but its small and insignificant compared to the rest of Battleworld. A gothic-sci-fi version of Wolverine rules that place at the head of a large family he started. Doom likes to pretend it doesn’t exist.”

“And who is… Wolverine?” Fluttershy asked, cautiously. “I’m assuming he isn’t the type of creature I’m used to dealing with.”

“Wolverine is a mutant with a small man complex and the claws to take out his frustrations on those who look down on him. That’s most people, for the record.”

“Can he be reasoned with?” Joan asked.

“He’s not a bad guy, if that’s what you’re asking,” Headpool said as he began rocking back and forth on his chain. “He’s likely to be your best friend in this world, unless you meet someone who’s actually pleasant to be around.”

“What about the final kingdom?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“That’s Arcadia, the proverbial ‘Garden of Eden’ here on Battleworld. The ladies who protect it are powerful, and they’re good people to boot. You can get help there, but you’ll also be likely to gain some unwanted attention from the Thors if you’re not careful.”

“The Thors?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It sounds like a person’s name being used as a general title.”

“It’s complicated,” Headpool said. “Basically, they’re Doom’s murder minions who serve god out of fear, drunkenness, and some confused morals. They don’t engage the locals unless they’re ordered to, mainly because Doom likes to keep his trophies alive. But if you do fight them, bring your heaviest hitters, or some mead to distract them.”

“I have no doubt that we can match them if necessary,” Suzuki said, proudly.

“You say that now, but if you take them lightly they’ll bring the thunder.”

“I’ll assume you’re alluding to their powers,” Gil said as he reclined in his chair. “If it’s thunder we’re comparing, then I’ll gladly take the challenge.”

“There are enough Thors to patrol the whole planet,” Headpool said with a rotten-toothed grin behind the fence of pink string covering his mouth. “And they’re all warriors by nature. I hope you’re prepared.”

“We are prepared enough to handle any trial that may come,” Master Shen said as he rose from his massive seat. “What will Doom do once he’s learned of the chaos Korish is causing? I have doubts that these Thors will be enough to stop it.”

“If he chooses to get involved, things’ll get bad. It might be better to feed yourselves to the zombies and be done with it. Start with me!”

“Doom is our second most threatening concern,” Shen said, ignoring Headpool’s suggestion. “Stopping Korish must come first. Should we fail… Well, perhaps the two evil gods will kill each other!”

“The princesses are going to bring Dark Arceus back to the city, safely sealed in its prison,” Rainbow Dash said confidently.

“Until then, we’ll send teams out to prevent what chaos we can,” Twilight Sparkle said as she dispelled her hologram. “For now, lets get into more detail about our foes.”

Headpool was questioned for six hours while the council developed their plans and strategies. By the time they were finished they had decided on a method of approach. Teams were built and missions were assigned. Commands were given for the Slowking to calibrate the city’s teleporters to reach across the entirety of Battleworld, and at Twilight’s command the council was dismissed to prepare their forces.