Summoning of a Pokemon Master

Summoning of a Pokemon Master

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Chapter 1

Darkness Returns

Part 2 - Escaping Defeat

If there’s something better than reading about ancient ruins and dungeons, it’s exploring them myself. Maybe I could even write a book or two about my discoveries, Twilight thought in excitement as she walked from room to room, reading the various notes on the walls.

“Let’s summarise the facts,” she muttered to herself. She trotted through the long hallway, the dimly glowing gems attached to the walls blending in the light of her horn. “This place is clearly abandoned, yet according to these notes on the walls, it was used for magic-related experiments. Some notes are simply giving the description and purpose of each room, while most are just research data left for future generations.” She raised one foreleg and rubbed her chin in contemplative thought. It seems not everypony trusts books to withstand the test of time; which is odd, since there are conservation spells for that.

She lowered her head. Still no clues about the invaders, though. I need to hurry up and gather more data. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted a bookshelf from the corner of her eye. In an instant, she teleported herself into the room, regretting it almost instantly. She blanched at the sight of the precious books either torn to pieces or damaged beyond recognition. No, no, no, no, no… She grabbed the closest book with her hooves and it turned to ash before her eyes.

Taking a moment to calm her panicked mind, she resisted the urge to cry for the ruined literature. Staying up on quivering legs, she struggled to examine the room as her ears drooped again at the heartbreaking view, and she focused on her thoughts instead. There are plenty of magical preservation runes on the walls, and bookshelves with the sole reason of ensuring the books here won’t get old and fall apart. That means somepony, or some creature, came here and destroyed them on purpose!"

She spread her wings threateningly and stomped, cracking the dusty floor slightly with the impact. Raising her head defiantly, she took on her best regal stance. “With Celestia as my witness, I vow to make whoever is responsible pay for this!”

“Twilight! Twilight! Answer me, please!”

The alicorn snapped out of her thoughts and ran out of the room as soon as she heard her student’s panicked call. “What happened?” she asked, her attention now on Starlight, who kept running with Discord levitating by her side. “And what happened to him?”

“There’s no time, we have to run!” Starlight shouted, never slowing down her frenzied run.

Before the alicorn could react, she was pulled by her student’s levitation. “Calm down,” Twilight said, spreading her wings and dispelling the magic around her. With a few quick flaps of her wings she found herself flying above her galloping student. “Can’t you give me a quick summary? Who are we running away from?”

“Them!” Starlight yelled and pointed behind her.

Twilight looked at the pointed direction. She caught a glimpse of what looked like some wolfish creatures. Most of them had a dark-white coat that blackened in their backs and legs, while a few were pristine white with a single blade-shaped ear on the side of their face. Their eyes menacingly flashed green whenever they entered the darker sections of the hallway.

“Run for the exit, I’ll try to slow them down!” Twilight shouted. Her ears were drooped, but she narrowed her eyes and aimed with her horn. She began to let loose a mighty barrage of magical beams, each one barreling towards their targets faster and more furious than the last. Much to Twilight’s horror, they all splashed harmlessly against their pursuers, not even slowing them down.

The alicorn began pouring more power into her horn, gritting her teeth as she tried to levitate her enemies away, but her aura dispersed immediately upon contact. In desperation, she summoned lavender barriers to block the path, only for them to be immediately shattered to pieces by the enemies’ attack. Twilight gasped when she realized there was nothing she could do to slow her pursuers down. The snarling growls became louder and louder as the wolf like creatures got closer and closer.

“Don’t bother. Magic is ineffective against those monsters and they cut through barriers like butter. I already tried,” Starlight advised. Sweat had slowly began flowing down her forehead and her breathing was becoming laboured.

Twilight grabbed her student and flew to the side, just in time to evade two black crystals emerging from the floor.

“Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Some evil king called Sombra is leading those creatures. Does it ring any bells?” Twilight gasped loudly in surprise, almost dropping her student, who emitted a yelp followed by an annoyed groan. “Hey, watch it!”

Twilight’s mind was working overtime right now. The last time we faced Sombra was in the Crystal Empire, when he cursed my brother so he couldn't use his magic and his trap made it impossible for me to teleport away. My brother’s attacks didn’t work against him either. If his minions could beat Discord and are also resistant to magic, we’re in deep trouble. She half-closed her eyes and turned her head around, charging another spell.

“This isn’t going to work!” Starlight exclaimed, giving her teacher a disapproving look. Having her mentor’s hooves wrapped around her belly was making her feel somewhat awkward.

Twilight ignored her student and began releasing her magic onto the floor, flash-freezing it. Almost half of the pursuers lost their balance, while the rest made use of their claws to regain stability. She followed up with a powerful shot at the ceiling, causing stone and sand to crash down and block most of the pathway. Upon noticing a small hole in her improvised barricade, she ripped a loose boulder from the wall with her levitation magic and violently threw her projectile, striking one of the attackers with great force.

Starlight smirked. “Oh, defeating magic-resistant foes by not striking them directly, clever. Seems our practices are finally starting to pay off.”

Twilight sighed in relief and placed her student back on the floor as they both headed towards the exit. “That should buy us some time, but flying through badlands to Ponyville would take too long, especially if our pursuers can fly as well.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Starlight responded, recalling the moment she had saved Discord. Sombra had proven beyond question he had a large quantity of servants at his disposal. “Discord...” she muttered, finally able to pay attention to her still unconscious friend. “We need to look into his injuries. We can’t waste any time flying with him in this shape.”

Twilight nodded before landing on the floor in front of the stairs. All around her, the remainings of disarmed traps and damaged spikes filled the floor. “What would you say to a long range teleportation?”

Starlight silently nodded in agreement before lowering Discord onto the floor and firing a few beams of her magic at the ceiling behind her. Following Twilight’s example, she blocked the path with countless piles of rubble and sand.

Twilight lowered her horn to the floor as her lavender aura appeared on it, growing in size with each passing second. Runes resembling her cutie mark appeared on the floor and flashed brightly. Starlight followed her mentor’s example and aided her with her own magic. After half a minute of charging, they wiped the sweat trickling down their brows.

“Done,” Twilight said, taking a peek at the rubble blocking the way. Loud booms and the dull sound of metal hitting stone indicated that their makeshift wall was under siege. “Now we just need to wait one minute for it to activate. Let’s reinforce the blockage in the meantime.” Suddenly, the loud noises were replaced by an unsettling silence.

“That won’t be necessary,” said a sinister voice as a dark figure emerged from Twilight’s shadow, towering behind her.

Twilight’s eyes opened widely as she slowly turned around and looked up, her legs bent slightly from the overwhelming pressure of raw power. She had come face to face with a creature seemingly plucked out of Luna’s deepest nightmares. The monster itself was legless, a black, irregular shape floating mid-air, the long white hood atop its head and what seemed like a thick red collar on its neck standing out the most. Apart from its pair of claw-ended arms, the creature boasted two additional spectral limbs and a tail, all three billowing as if they were caught in an invisible storm. Unable to draw her gaze from those light-blue, sinister eyes, Twilight struggled to recover her voice, “S-stand b-back.” She took a few hesitant steps backwards, her ears and wings drooped. “W-who are you?”

“I am everyone's worst nightmare,” he spoke while feigning a bow. “But between us royals, you can call me Darkrai, King of Nightmares.”

“D-Darkrai? Are you speaking with me telepathically?” Twilight shook her head and lit her horn, charging a spell. “You’re one of Sombra’s servants! If you think you can stop us from escaping, you’re too late!”

Starlight stepped in front of Discord and shot a beam of magic at the ceiling above her enemy, catching the falling rubble in her levitation field and fiercely thrusting it at the monster.

Darkrai floated in place and closed his eyes as the sharp rocks assaulted him with the speed of bullets, sinking into his body. Yet despite bearing the brunt of the attack, he didn’t budge.

Starlight grit her teeth and half-closed her eyes, visibly annoyed by the fact that not using magic directly at her foes greatly weakened her offensive.

Darkrai looked at Starlight’s annoyed expression and chuckled. “Prevent your escape? I have no intention of doing so.” He exposed his hand and started gathering dark energy into a large sphere.

Twilight quickly glanced at the flashing rune on the floor, her emergency escape only fifteen seconds away from being completed. She immediately raised a barrier around herself and her student.

***

“I just wish to give you both a farewell gift. A little something so you will remember me.” Darkrai clenched his fist and the gathered energy splashed in all directions, “Dark pulse,” effortlessly shattering the barrier before him as if it were made of thin glass.

Twilight spread her right wing protectively over Starlight, closing her eyes while a lavender aura covered her body, a thinner version of the one she had when facing Tirek. The dark energy began seeping through her protective aura as if it wasn’t even there, leaving numerous burns on her body. Starlight shared similar injuries up to her chest, sparing only her protected head. Both ponies fell to the floor and groaned in pain as the rune on the floor flashed brightly.

“One more thing,” Darkrai said in an enraged tone as a menacing halo surrounded his body, “I’m no one's slave!” He closed his eyes as the bright light overtook the room, and when he opened them, the mares before him were gone and Discord was nowhere to be found. “Farewell, young princess. I’m looking forward to toying with you in the near future.”

Loud twangs reached his ears as he looked to the side, now staring at the gathered rubble which was violently being pushed away. The dust slowly descended, revealing an absolutely livid armored unicorn.

“Darkrai, where’s Discord? Where are the princess and her pupil?” Sombra asked in a commanding tone. “Answer me this instant!”

“Watch your tone, or are you daring to disrespect me again?” Darkrai challenged in a grim tone, crossing his arms. “Do you want to lose the support of my servants that much?”

Sombra stomped heavily, and crystals grew from the floor around his foreleg. He forced himself to stay in place, gritting his teeth painfully, and groaned in barely suppressed anger.

“I thought so,” Darkrai said as he floated closer to Sombra and patted him on the shoulder, which only annoyed the unicorn even further. “Worry not, I bid a most pleasant farewell to our dear guests. They’ll think twice about standing in our way.”

“So you enjoy playing with your prey? I would advise against it from… a personal experience.”

Sombra looked to the side, his eyes now on the form creeping out of the shadows across the room. “Chrysalis, where have you been?”

“In the dungeon. I was experimenting on our captives while feeding off them,” Chrysalis responded as she glanced at Darkrai. “It seems that our powerful ally was correct, his servants are the most deadly against our enemies out of all pokemon types. Dark-type attacks work wonders against ponies and are lethal against unicorns.”

Sombra frowned in annoyance before lowering his head. “My apologies, King of Nightmares.”

If Darkrai had lips, a large wicked smirk would have appeared on his face. ”Why so annoyed, King Sombra? You now have the army that you always wanted, and with way less brainwashing on top.” He looked at the former changeling queen and added, ”The revenge you so seek will soon be within your grasp.”

Chrysalis poked Sombra’s shoulder, who slapped her forehoof away. She decided to ignore it and change the subject. “As I expected, Discord paid us a visit. Did you succeed in discovering his weakness?”

Sombra nodded. “I did. As useless as those fairy pokemon look, their appearance has proven deceiving. Their power forced the Spirit of Chaos to his knees where other slaves didn’t even scratch him, yet that sniveling princess’ pupil saved his life before they could deliver the finishing blow.”

“The princess’ pupil!” Chrysalis shouted in rage, her composure immediately lost. She hissed, exposing her long tongue like a snake trying to intimidate its prey. “Starlight Glimmer was here!? And you let her escape!”

“I would have caught her if our ‘powerful ally’ were a bit more cooperative. The servants I sent to pursue them were about to break through the wall of rubble and corner the princess and her pupil, but they stopped because of his order.” Sombra pointed accusingly at his ally. “Darkrai let them go.”

Chrysalis looked at the Nightmare King with a deadly glare. Her legs trembled, all her inner rage demanding to be unleashed. She took a deep breath and settled with not-so-politely telling Darkrai why that hadn't been a good idea. Her wings fluttered around. Try as she might, she couldn’t find a way to word the frustration that was quickly mounting inside of her. Just as it was about to overwhelm her, she looked aside and unleashed a powerful green beam of magic, leaving a deep hole on the wall. Her mouth twisted up into a bitter frown as she struggled to refrain from straight-out insulting her ally.

"So this unicorn is the target of your vengeance, the one who ruined your plans and took away your hive.” Darkrai floated closer to Chrysalis with a wicked smirk and circled around her, staring at her angered face. ”Your undying rage is quite refreshing.”

“You let them escape on purpose, didn’t you?” Chrysalis asked with venom in her voice, restraining herself from attacking.

“And if I did, what would you do about it?” Darkrai asked as he floated towards the nearby shadows, damaging one of the illuminating gems on his way as his body slowly melted with the darkness. ”You may have summoned me, but I care not for your conquest or revenge. I’m here to enjoy myself.”

Sombra massaged his forehead, his gaze still fixed on the spot where Darkrai had vanished a few seconds ago. “To think we must rely on his help to achieve our goals... How low have we fallen.”

Chrysalis raised her head arrogantly. “I don’t care who I need to resurrect, whose knowledge  I use or who I summon, as long as I achieve my revenge. Once Equestria and the Crystal Empire are ours, I shall torture that unicorn, savour every second of her wails of pain and agony, and then retake my hive. Torturing that disgusting traitor Thorax will be the cherry on top.”

“And what should we do about Darkrai? He cannot be controlled and he has his own agenda. Should we dispose of him?” Sombra asked as he approached and looked the fallen queen deeply in the eyes. “He may become an obstacle if left unchecked.”

“He seeks to torment his prey. A world filled with fear and nightmares is to his liking,” Chrysalis responded with a firm voice. “As long as he’s helping us, he can do as he pleases. I don’t care for his personal games.”

Sombra rolled his eyes. “Allying yourself with whoever you can, even by sacrificing your dignity. You’re so desperate for revenge it hurts. To think a scuttling, pathetic bug like you was once a powerful queen, I pity you.”

“You can save your pity,” Chrysalis responded in a sharp voice as she poked Sombra’s chestplate. “Do NOT forget whose hive gathered your remains and found these ruins. The only reason I resurrected you was to brainwash the summoned masses into a new army for me, or else you would still lie in pieces inside a cocoon.” She turned around and trotted away. “Once you get your precious Empire back and I regain my beloved hive, we can fight each other for what’s left of Equestria and backstab one another to our heart's content. Until then, focus your anger on our common enemy.”

Sombra cackled. “It seems we aren’t so different after all. What I am curious about is, why did you hesitate to use the knowledge gathered here to your advantage?” He gestured over to the dusty walls. “So many tomes filled with ancient spells... You could have summoned creatures from other worlds and feasted on them.”

Chrysalis stopped for a moment and sighed. “I underestimated this place, something I now regret. Ruling and feeding my subjects, sending infiltrators into Equestria and planning my takeover garnered all my attention. Only when I lost everything did I retreat to this place and uncover its secrets.” She chuckled and flew up. “And to think I had the tools for victory under my muzzle all this time.”

Sombra followed the former queen and spoke, “We lost the element of surprise, but we have the means of defeating Discord and the princesses with ease. Let’s rally our army and proceed with the invasion immediately.”

Chrysalis nodded and flew ahead. “Agreed. Tomorrow, Canterlot will either be ours, or burn.”