A Sword In Equestria

by Joe Toon

Chapters

Chapter One: A Lost Sword Part 1
Chapter Two: A Lost Sword Part 2
Chapter Three: A Sword without memory
Chapter Four: What swords are really for
Chapter Five: The Sword and the Hunter (Part 1)
Chapter Six: The Sword and the Hunter (Part 2)
Chapter Seven: A Sword's Resolve (Part 1)
Chapter Eight: A Sword's Resolve (Part 2)
Chapter Nine: Fairness of the Blade (Part 1)
Chapter Ten: Fairness of the Blade (Part 2)
Interlude: A Sword and a Trainer (re-edited)

Chapter One: A Lost Sword Part 1

"W-Where am I? What's happening? Why can't I feel anything?"

"..........."

"What's going on? It's dark in here! Why is it so dark in here?"

"........................."

"Is somebody out there? Anyone? Please, I don't know where I am! I'm scared!"

"....................."

"It's so cold here. It's so cold. I can't feel the floor, or the wind. Am I even breathing? Am I even Alive? Am I Dead?"

"...................."

"For that matter, who am I? My name..... I can't... I can't remember my name. No... wait."

".....deo... ldeo..."

"I-I... I remember."

"... eldeo..."

"My name... It's... Keldeo."

"Hey Ocellus, do you know why we're here?" Gallus, a blue griffon with parrot-like features asked with a solemn tone.

A small, green changeling gave a confident yet reflective smile, "Well, that is a very good question Gallus. Scientifically, it's one of life's greatest mysteries. No creature truly knows how we all came to be; is our existence the result in a cosmic lottery or were we designed by a creator?"

The solemnity of the griffon's expression dropped into a deadpan, "... Ocellus, that wasn't what I was asking."

"Oh, Philosophical then?" Ocellus' face lit up as it morphs into a brooding scowl. She shifted into the form of a snow-white unicorn with three diamonds for a Cutie Mark and with an overdramatic voice she spoke, "Why are we here doing the things that we do? Is there more to life past fulfilling the destinies set before you by your Cutie Mark or is there no free will and we are fated to follow the course we found ourselves in?"

"Heh, nice Prof. Rarity impression," the sea-green earth pony (with three turtles for a Cutie Mark) named Sandbar smirked.

"What can I say; her antics are rubbing off on me," Ocellus smiled sheepishly as she morphed back to her real form.

While the rest of their friends grinned with amusement, Gallus on the other hand was not as impressed as he facepalmed with a groan, "Ugh! Ocellus, I am talking about why are we out here circling around an open field out in the middle of nowhere for hours?!"

"Does Gallus not remember?" the yak named Yona asked innocently, "Cutie map called Yona and friends to solve friendship problem here."

"I know that, Yona! I just think the map could have been a little more specific as to what we are looking for!"

"I'm with Gallus, there's nothing here but an open field of nothing," a young orange dragon added with irritation, "It could have pointed us to a lava pool. It could have been the Badlands. It could have been the Changeling Hive. By Torch, it could have even been underwater! There is nothing here!"

"Aw, don't say that Smolder," a pink hippogriff grinned enthusiastically, "there's plenty in here! Like this blade of grass, or that patch of grass, or that lonely rock, or that weird swirling portal above us, or that lonely tree on that hill, or..."

"Woah, slow down there Silver. Breath," Gallus pressed a finger on her beak, silencing her.

She stopped to take a deep breath as a small blush formed on her face. "... Thanks Gallus." she muttered under her breath.

"Wait, Silverstream what did you say earlier?" said Sandbar after doing a double take.

"Which one Sandbar? The patch of grass? The Tree on the Hill? Or..."

"Portal!" the yak pointed to the sky, "Yona sees Portal!"

They all looked up. High above them floats a giant hole in the sky, glowing with a vibrant blue, violet and pink light. The portal pulsed and rippled outwards like a calm wave on the seashore.

All six friends stared at the void with hypnotic marvel and wonder.

"It's sooooo pretty!" Silverstream quivered with awe and excitement as her eyes sparkled.

"Yeah," Gallus added, almost drawn to the portal, "makes you feel like you want to touch it."

"Yona feels that feeling too," Yona slowly moves closer to it, "Only Yona wants to hug it."

"Hey Ocellus, could this be why the Map called us here?" Sandbar asked, keeping his eyes glued to the maw.

No reply was heard.

"Ocellus?" Sandbar managed to break eye contact from the spectacle; only to find the changeling in question drifting closer to the portal with a hypnotic gaze in her expression.

"Ocellus NO!!" Thinking quickly, Smolder flew up, grabbed her and attempted to drag her to the ground to pin her down, "Don't look at the light!!"

"I can't help it... It's so beautiful." Ocellus droned as she continued to drift closer to the maw of the portal.

Turns out, Ocellus was tougher than she looked as the young drake had a hard time trying to pull her friend down as they struggled closer to the portal.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, HELP ME PULL HER DOWN!" Smolder roared out a rather impressive impression of the Royal Canterlot voice as it snapped out Gallus and Silverstream from their daze and flew up to pin their insect of a friend down. Meanwhile, Yona and Sandbar circled underneath them, in case they should catch them when they fall.

"Ocellus snap out of it!" Gallus grunted.

"Sweet Auntie Novo!" Silverstream struggled to hold her, "Does Ocellus work out? It's like you're trying to pin down a Bugbear!"

"Hey guys, something's happening to the portal!"

All eyes turned (except for Ocellus) to Sandbar's warning as a large pulse of energy knocked the group floating next to the portal; snapping Ocellus out of her daze while dropping all of them to the ground. Seeing this, Yona and Sandbar grabbed a large blanket from their sleeping bags and rushed to break the others' fall. They stretched out the sheet like a makeshift trampoline just in time for the rest of the group to fall into the blanket.

"Ugh, what happened?" Ocellus gave out a groan while she held her head with her hooves, "Feels like I just took too much of Sir Pharynx's pod jelly."

"You were about to be bug-zapped when you went all googly eyed for that portal!" yelled Smolder as she glared at Ocellus in the eye, "Seriously, what the hay happened to you?"

"I-I don't know," Ocellus shrank at the dragon's berating, "One minute I looked at the portal, the next minute I thought about all the reasons for such a thing to exist. Then I felt a series of powerful emotions from the other side of the portal; fear, loneliness, sadness, joy, anger, love. So much love... Then I thought of all the possibilities we could discover from the portal, then the magical advancements we could achieve, then I thought of Changeling benefits, then..."

Smoulder held a claw to the changeling's mouth, silencing her, "We get it, you were Twilighting."

"Um guys, I think something is coming out of the portal!"

Before everyone could register Silverstream's warning, an equine figure was flung from the portal, and was falling directly above them. Everyone cleared out of the way with the exception of Yona as she was promptly smooshed to the ground, cushioning the fall of the figure in question.

"Yona! Are you alright?" Sandbar rushed to her side, checking if she was in any way harmed.

"Y-Yona fine," she grunted, "Yona stopped weird pony's fall."

Sandbar sighed in relief and gave her a grin, "Seriously, that was crazy of you to do that... and a little bit awesome."

Yona returned his grin with one of her own along with a small blush.

While the two were sharing the moment, everyone else decided to take a closer look at the body that fell from the portal.

"I-is that an unicorn?"

Smolder wasn't off in her observation. Upon closer inspection (after removing him from Yona's back), they noticed the pony in question appeared to be an unicorn colt. Keyword; appeared. He was taller than most ponies, almost that of Big Macintosh but lacked the muscle the humble apple farmer had. He had a thick red mane above his head and a blue one stretching from behind his head, all the way down to his chest. He had a yellow coat, a blue tail, a sharp curved horn and most curious of all; no Cutie Mark.

"Hey, buddy! You alright there?" Noticing the lack of consciousness from the colt, Gallus shook him in an attempt to wake him up.

"Um Gallus," Silverstream held his claws to stop him, "I don't think it's a good idea to shake him awake."

"W-why not?" he asked.

"Look at him," Silverstream carefully pointed out the strange unicorn's body, "he's covered with bruises, scratches and burns. He's badly injured."

Ocellus moved in closer to scan his body with her magic, "Strange, his body structure is pony-like but I can't seem to get a read on his internal organs. He's still breathing but as you said, he's very injured and is short of breath. I also can't get a read on his mana pool and his thaumic signature is unlike anything I've seen before."

"What do you mean?" asked Smolder.

"I'm not sure. It's like he has no magic to speak of," explained Ocellus, "I mean, he has something of the like, or at the very least has no magic that I'm familiar with. And he has a lot of it."

"A lot?" Sandbar raised an eyebrow, "Like how much?"

"Well," Ocellus stretched out the word as she scratched the back of her head, "Almost alicorn level a lot. Whatever is substituting his Mana pool for magic is enormous enough to compare to Princess Cadence's Mana Pool. And I don't know if it's hurting him or helping him."

"Bah!! Doesn't matter!!" Yona gave a stomp, "Strange pony needs help! Yona and friends must bring him to the hospital!"

"No arguments there," Gallus said as he made his way towards the lone tree, "C'mon, let's grab a blanket and some branches to build a stretcher."

They all nodded in agreement as they set to work on building a makeshift stretcher, unaware of the portal slowly shrinking.

Or the amber eyes watching them from a distance.

Author's Note

G'day all.
This project has been a collaboration between me and Rated Ponystar, although he deserves most of the credit due to the whole concept being his idea. I just wanted a chance to write it being such an interesting concept and him being overburdened with other projects (Looks who's talking :ajbemused: ).

Anyway, here's to finally getting back to writing after getting over Australia's summer ~~and stupid lockdowns~~. As always, your feedback and critiques are much appreciated and quite frankly needed to keep this ball rolling. Let me know what you think so far and see you mates next time.

Chapter Two: A Lost Sword Part 2

"Where am I? Wait...who am I? Why can't I...."

"............"

"Gah! It hurts! Sweet Arceus, why does it hurt?"

"............"

"Why am I in pain? What happened to me?"

"............"

"Think...just think...am I, still alive? Why would that be a surprise?"

"............"

"I...I am...I am...Keldeo. My name is...Keldeo..."

"Nurse Redheart, we have an emergency! STAT!"

Nurse Redheart, Ponyville General Hospital's Head Nurse was just by the reception when six of The school of Friendship's prized students burst in with a plus one. And here I thought today would be that one day where I could take it easy, she thought, resisting the urge to rub her forehead in irritation. "Easy there kids, what happened?" she asked calmly while assessing the situation. They don't seem to be injured, which could only mean...

"It's this colt we found in an open field!" Ocellus explained, panting for breath, "He's unconscious and covered in burns and bruises!"

Thinking quickly, the Head Nurse ordered the receptionist, "Get Dr Stable here! Tell him to ready an emergency room and bring a stretcher out to the front!" and turned to the unconscious colt. These are serious burns and some of the bruises look like they're clotting up blood. "What happened to him?" she asked the students without looking up.

"W-we don't know," Sandbar spoke up, "there was this weird portal and he came out of it. He was like that when we found him."

There doesn't seem to be any head trauma, must have fallen unconscious from either exhaustion or Shock from the pain. We'll need to check for his mana pool just to make sure. "Thank you for bringing him here as soon as you did," Nurse Redheart addressed the students, "You can leave him to us, we'll take it from here."

"Friends can't do that!" Yona stomped in protest.

All eyes turned to the yak in shock. "I beg your pardon?" asked the nurse, clearly confused.

"Friends can't leave him! Map called Yona and friends to where strange pony was," explained Yona, "So therefore, strange pony important to us. Map must think it important for friends to look after strange pony."

Redheart paused. Everypony knows about the Castle of Friendship's Cutie Map. In fact, there had been more than one occasion for others outside of Ponyville or Princess Twilight's circle who were called by the map to a friendship problem; all of which had a 100% success of dealing with whatever problem that came up. If the map called these six to look after this colt, who am I to question it? Still... "Very well," she finally said with a sigh, "you all can wait here in the lobby. We'll tell you what we know once we have all the preliminary checks on his condition."

As soon as the head nurse left with the patient (with the stretcher of course) to one of the emergency rooms, the other five students surrounded Yona with praise.

"That was some nerve you got there, Yona," Smolder smirked, lightly punching her friend on the shoulder, "How'd you figure that colt to be our responsibility?"

"Yona just said so earlier," she grunted, letting out a confident snort.

"Yona's right," added Gallus, "the map did call us out in the middle of nowhere just to have the dude fall right on our claws. Otherwise, what else could it have been? We would have waited there for nothing."

"It's true," Ocellus held a hoof to her chin in thought, "It couldn't have been anything else. I mean, the map called us there so it should be important. Then he popped out of the portal..." the changeling's eyes widened in realisation. "THE PORTAL! We need to check it out! It could be a problem!"

"Woah, slow down there Ocellus," Sandbar tried to calm her down, "We can't just leave, not after what Yona just pointed out."

"B-but the Portal, it could be dangerous! We need to have it looked at!" Ocellus protested.

"Um, guys? Shouldn't we inform Headmare Starlight about this first?" Silverstream pointed out, "She did ask us to report back to her once we're done with the friendship problem."

"Oh shoot!" Gallus facepalmed, "She did tell us that."

"How about some of us can wait here and the rest can report to the Headmare what happened?" suggested Sandbar.

"And the Portal?" Ocellus pointed out.

"Headmare Starlight can send town guards after portal," suggested Yona.

"Good idea," Smolder added, "I think it would be best if Starlight takes a look at our unconscious colt before anything else. After what Ocellus detected, she might need to have a look at him."

And with that, it was agreed that Sandbar, Ocellus, Silverstream and Gallus will head for the School while Yona and Smolder will wait in the hospital. Unbeknownst to them, the same set of eyes that stalked them since the portal now follows the group that left the hospital.

"Alright Phil, welcome to the office!"

Inside the School of Friendship's Headmare's Office, Starlight Glimmer just brought in a new potted philodendron (aptly named, Phil) and planted it on top of her desk.

"It really is different without Phillis (mostly due to Trixie tossing her out), so having you around will finally complete this entire office," Starlight mused as she poured water into the pot, "This room just isn't the same without one."

Her thoughts were interrupted by the knocking on her door. "Come in!"

Without missing a beat, Sandbar, Ocellus, Silverstream and Gallus barged into the room exhausted.

"Guys, you're back! Are you alright?" Starlight dropped Phil with a crack as she rushed towards the students, "You look like you just ran a marathon to get here!"

"That's 'cause, we kind of did." Despite panting from the rush, Gallus' tone still dripped with sarcasm.

Choosing to ignore Gallus' snide comment, Sandbar spoke up, "We came to where the map pointed us. After waiting there for a few hours, a portal appeared and..."

"A UNICORN CAME OUT OF IT!" Silverstream interrupted with enthusiasm, "He just popped in above us and dropped on top of Yona!" The hippogriff stopped after being aware of her volume (and interruption). "Oops, sorry," she smiled sheepishly, "It's just I've never seen a pony come out of a portal before. Hay, I've never seen a portal before. (Gasp!) That's two things I've never seen before!"

"Point is, this unicorn is unlike anything we've seen before," Ocellus continued the trail of conversation.

"Unusual?" Starlight tilted her head sideways in confusion, "Unusual how?"

"For one, he's a bit taller than a usual pony, yet leaner," continued Ocellus, "His mane is thicker, his horn is curved like a changeling's, and what's most unusual is his mana pool. I couldn't detect any magic that we usually have here in Equestria, yet in its place is a large amount of power. I mean alicorn amount!"

Starlight's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Wait, are you certain!?" she asked almost yelling.

Ocellus merely nodded.

Taller than usual... enormous amount of power... could it be a failed ascension to become an alicorn? No, they distinctly said unicorn, which means no wings... Starlight shook the trail of thoughts from her head. There's no time for this! "Silverstream, you said there was a portal in the area, right?"

"Mmhhmm!" Silverstream nodded gleefully.

Alright. "Gallus, Silverstream, Sandbar, you three gather some of the town guard to secure the portal," Starlight ordered, to which the three promptly saluted as they made their way out the door. "Where's Smolder and Yona?"

"They're waiting in the hospital," replied Ocellus, "Yona didn't want to leave him unattended, considering the map led us to him."

"Alright Ocellus, come with me. We're going to the hospital. I need to write a report to Twilight on what you found. Maybe he's one of the Fey Ponies from the unknown continent that Captain Celaeno encountered."

On their way out, Ocellus noticed Starlight stuffing green colour scrolls into her saddlebag. "Headmare Starlight, what are those?"

"Oh these? Emergency dragonfire scrolls from Princess Twilight," Starlight explained as she continued stuffing in more of the scrolls into her saddlebag, "Spike and Twilight commissioned artificers to construct these for emergency communication. They're mostly experimental which is why they aren't under mass production. She sent me some to test their effectiveness. Well, now it appears to be the best time to test them out."

Without another word, the two left the office and made for the hospital.

"It hurts... Oh merciful Arceus, make it stop!"

"Wake up."

"... Is... Is anyone out there? Please, help me!"

"Wake up."

"W-wake up? Aren't I awake? I should be, considering this Arceus damned pain!"

"Wake up!"

"Doctor Stable, he's awake!"

Wait, where am I?

"Hello there, can you hear us? Can you understand us?" The face of a pony nurse slowly came to view as his vision cleared.

Who are these Pokemon? "Y-y-yes. Yes... I can," came a weakened response.

The Nurse sighed in relief, "Oh good. You were pretty banged up when you were brought here. Do you know where you came from?"

Where I came from? Why, I'm from... I'm from... The reality of the colt’s mind suddenly came together as he jerked up from his hospital bed, "I... I... I don't remember. Why can't I remember?!" He held his forehooves over his head, as he began to panic.

"Woah, easy there. You are in no condition to move just yet,” the nurse reassured him, gently persuading him to recline back to his bed as she made for a nearby tray containing a pitcher and glass, “Here, you might want some water."

W-water... WATER! "Th-thank you,” he responded weakly as he reached for the offered glass of water and greedily gulped it down.

The nurse was about to protest to him, drinking it down quickly but soon noticed the glass quickly emptied without him choking on the water. Well, that was unexpected. Maybe he has a metabolism like Pinkie Pie? "Do you have a name?” she asked, almost hesitantly, “Do you know anypony I could contact?"

Anypony? "I... I don't know. I'm not sure..." While his thoughts wondered why he couldn’t remember anything, another thought came, ‘Wait, my name... It's…’ "Keldeo."

"Hmm? I'm sorry?"

"Keldeo,” he replied with certainty, “My name is Keldeo."

The nurse smiled reassuringly, "Keldeo, that's a very interesting name. I'm Nurse Redheart, and let me be the first to welcome you to Ponyville."

Author's Note

G'day all!
Sorry for the delays (as usual) but rest assured this fic is not cancelling anytime soon. A bit of good news for that matter, expect a new cover art for this fic within the next two weeks as well as more frequent updates on the way (hopefully).

As always, let me know your thoughts on how I could improve or just tell me how slow my progress is with the story. Either way works.

Edit: I may have jumped the gun before Rated-Ponystar could finish editing, so bear in mind, there might be edits to this chapter later on.

Chapter Three: A Sword without memory

"He's awake?!"

Nurse Redheart's ears flinched down from Yona and Smolder's outburst after hearing the news of the strange unicorn's return to consciousness. "Please, could you keep your voices down?" the nurse shushed, "This is a hospital, not an amphitheatre."

"Sorry," Smolder apologised, rubbing the spikes on her head sheepishly with Yona doing something similar with her fur.

"Can we see strange unicorn?" Yona asked with a much lowered voice.

"I suppose," Nurse Redheart considered, "For somepony to be that injured, he is recovering rather quickly, and visiting hours are still open."

"Can you extend that invitation for us as well?"

All eyes turned to the hospital's entrance to see Starlight Glimmer and Ocellus approached them, trotting with haste. The two looked like they had just run from a marathon, especially Ocellus who looked ready to drop dead.

"Headmare Starlight, Ocellus, you're back!" Smolder exclaimed. Her and Yona's excited expressions dropped after noticing a few missing faces. "Where's Sandbar, Gallus and Silverstream?"

"Oh, I sent them to secure the portal," Starlight replied dismissively before noticing the shared looks of concern from the two. "Don't worry," she spoke reassuringly, "I told them to take an escort of town guards with them. I know about the recent disappearances of creatures all over the surrounding towns and villages so they should be safe with the escorts."

That made the two more relieved. For the past two weeks, ponies had been disappearing from their homes or upon leaving the town’s borders for one reason or another. They left no notes, messages, or informed anyone of them leaving. In a small town like this, where everypony knew everypony, it was a concerning thing and Ponyville citizens tended to be a lot more jumpy than most. Because of this, Princess Twilight had sent some of her guards to form search parties and keep an eye out for any trouble. They mostly checked the Everfree Forest. The mysterious and dangerous forest had claimed ponies before, but even with the aid of Zecora and Fluttershy, nopony was found or any remains of them. Nopony was willing to write off the missing as “deceased” yet, but the longer they were gone the more troublesome things were.

"Yona hope so," sighed Yona with worry still clear on her face, "Would have been better if Yona, Smolder and Ocellus with them." She stomped a hoof with a "Harumph." "Better chance at looking out for each other together."

"Well, we can worry about it as soon as we meet our new friend," said Ocellus, "The sooner we know more about him, the sooner we can regroup with the rest of us."

"Meh, sounds good to me," Smolder shrugged. Although she was more interested in meeting this strange unicorn, she wouldn’t lie in that she was worried about her friends. When dragons went missing in the Dragon Lands for this long most didn’t care since dragons came and went all the time. Yet, even she was worried about the residents of this town due to having spent so much time in it.

As they made their way into the hallways, Redheart turned to the group with concern clear on her expression. "I don't mean to alarm anypony, but before you enter I need to know that our patient is very unusual," she said as they walked.

"More unusual than the stuff that usually happens in Ponyville?" commented Smolder with a raised eyebrow.

"In this case, I would actually say so," Redheart replied, slightly annoyed by the snide comment. "You three know the state of his injuries when you brought him in, correct?"

All three nodded knowingly.

"Well, ever since you brought him here, his rate of recovery is... Alarmingly fast." There was hesitation in Redheart's tone. "Most of his injuries are healed, albeit with a few superficial scars. Doctor Stables scanned his Thaumatic reserves and found out that he has the most unusual source of magic."

"Yeah, we kind of already know that thanks to Ocellus," Smolder pointed out.

"Perhaps, but I'm not sure if you realised the gravity of how world shattering this is." Redheart said as she stopped and looked at them seriously.

"What do you mean, Redheart?" asked Starlight.

"His magic is unlike anything we've seen before," explained Redheart, "For one, after comparing his magic with Princess Twilight's, his mana pool is vastly larger and heavier in density. And for another, his magic isn't Harmonious magic and yet it seems to draw power from it as though it's natural."

"Wait, really?" Ocellus exclaimed, sharing Starlight Glimmer's shocked expression.

"Could Ocellus explain for friends who don't know magic?" Yona asked, looking confused.

"Every creature in Equestria has some form of Harmonic magic, with the exceptions of Dark magic, Pre-reformed changeling magic and Discord's chaos magic; in which, those three forms of magic are incompatible with Harmonic magic. You could say that Harmonic magic is what makes the very essence of life for all creatures. The fact that this unicorn's magic is not only non-harmonic but also compatible with Harmony magic is like successfully mixing oil with water. Or for this case, Discord using the Elements of Harmony with Chaos magic."

Starlight gave a chuckle, "You know, that mental image is both terrifying and hilarious."

As they reached the door to the unicorn's room, Redheart once more stopped the group, "One more thing I should mention; the patient is currently suffering from amnesia due to massive trauma he suffered before you found him, so I'd like to ask if you could be gentle when you question him."

"You have our word, Redheart," Starlight nodded in agreement.

With that assurance, Redheart opened the door.

"Hello Keldeo."

Alright Keldeo, what happened to you?

Staring out into the window, Keldeo was trying to recall what had happened to him. All the Pokemon here ever told him was that they found him unconscious and badly injured and brought him here in the "Hospital". What happened to me? For that matter, where am I? he thought as he drank another full glass of water. He remembered...pain...and darkness...and voices...but that was it. No memories of his family, friends, or any location. He didn’t even recognize the Pokemon that were taking care of him. They somewhat resembled a few that came to his mind, like Ponyta, but they were far shorter, different colours, and some had wings or horns. Maybe they’re shinies? No, that doesn’t explain the physical difference. Or those weird marks on their flanks.

His thoughts were soon interrupted as the door to his room opened, revealing the nurse he met earlier that day.

"Hello Keldeo," Redheart smiled as she made her way to his bedside. “How are you doing so far?”

“A lot better, thank you Nurse… Redheart was it?” Keldeo asked as he tilted his head in an angle.

“Yes, that’s my name,” she replied reassuringly, “I’ve brought some visitors for you to see. Three of them were the ones who rescued you.”

“Oh, that would be great. Thank you,” Keldeo smiled expectantly, eager to see his rescuers. Maybe they were Pokemon more familiar to him.

Redheart turned behind the door, “You may come in.” With that invitation, the four of them entered the room. “Keldeo, this is Ocellus, Smolder, Yona and Starlight Glimmer,” the head nurse introduced his visitors as they entered. What Keldeo saw disappointed him as none of them looked familiar at all. The first was some kind of obvious Bug Type Pokemon, the other looked like a Dragon Type that looked like some kind of smaller version of a Charizard and yet was bigger than a Charmeleon, he thought the third one was a Piloswine at first, but the fact that he could see her face changed his opinion of that, and the other was another Pokemon similar to Nurse Redheart but looked different. “Starlight here is the Headmare of the School of Friendship and these three are students of her school and were part of the party that rescued you.”

“I thank you so much for saving me,” Keldeo gave a courteous bow from his bed as best as he could. “As you heard, my name is Keldeo and to be honest,” he gave a sheepish smile as he rubbed his mane with a hoof, “I can’t really remember anything else.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Keldeo,” Starlight held out a hoof in greeting “If it’s all the same, I would like to offer what help I could to regain your memory.”

“That would be great, thank you,” he smiled as he shook her hoof with his own.

“Sup? I’m Smolder.” the dragon gave a mock salute.

“Yona is Yak friend,” Yona grinned cheerfully.

“I’m Ocellus,” Ocellus waved in greeting.

“Nice to meet you, all of you. Although, I’m unfamiliar with the kind of Pokemon you guys are.”

Starlight blinked, “I’m sorry, Pokemon?”

“Um, yeah? What else could you be?”

“Ponies.”

“Dragon.”

“Yak!”

“Changeling.”

Keldeo’s eyes narrowed, unsure of his situation. “Um, I’ve never heard of those before. Are you sure you’re not talking about what type of Pokemon you are? I mean, one of you just said you were a Dragon Type.”

“Well, yeah, but there are a lot of dragons,” Smolder said, now equally confused. “You mean you have dragons where you are from?”

“Yup! They don’t have as many in numbers as the others but there are Dragonites, Dragonairs, Dratinis, Salamences, Flygons, Gibles, Garchomps, Gabites, Kingdras and so on.”

“Okay, I don’t even know or recognize any dragon with those names,” Smolder replied.

“W-What about the Legendary types? Rashiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem! All dragons pretty much worship them!” Keldeo asked in surprise.

“Um, dragons don’t really remember our gods' names that much,” Smolder muttered, rubbing the back of her head. “We lost a lot of our history in the downfall of the Dragon Empire so we just prefer to call them ‘the lost gods’.”

“They aren’t gods, well not in the traditional sense, they’re Legendary Pokemon,” Keldeo explained. “The only God is Lord Arceus. You...You do know him, right?”

The others just shook their heads while both Ocellus and Starlight seemed really interested in this. It was like learning some kind of new culture that was right before them. “So...you’re a Pokemon then?”

“Yup! Water and Fighting type! I’m also known as the Colt Pokemon,” Keldeo said with pride.

“Really? ‘Cause friend Keldeo look like unicorn,” Yona pointed out. “Different unicorn, but have horn nonetheless.”

“So... let me get this straight,” Keldeo muttered, looking at them with confusion. “You mean, you aren’t Pokemon?”

“No, we aren’t,” Starlight answered cautiously. “And again, what’s a Pokemon?”

Keldeo’s eyes widened at a sudden realisation of what was going on. Why don’t they know what Pokemon are? Why aren’t there more Pokemon? Better yet, where are the humans? Wait a minute. Where am I?

His heart palpitated as he turned to the lavender unicorn with a horror stricken expression, “Ms Glimmer, where am I? And I mean, where exactly am I?”

Starlight began to feel nervous, unsure as to where he was going with this, “You’re in Ponyville, Equestria to be exact.”

“What species are there in Equestria?”

“Um, if you include the subspecies of Ponies; there are Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, Thestrals, Alicorns, Zebras, Donkeys, Cows, Buffalos, Minotaurs, Griffons, Dragons, Yaks, Changelings, Hippogriphs, Sea Ponies, Sea Serpents, Diamond Dogs, Kirins, and a Draconequus.”

Keldeo gulped. He didn’t recognize any of these. Some sounded like the nickname types of Pokemon but he had heard nothing of Alicorns, Hippogriphs, Diamond Dogs, Kirins, or others. “Any Humans?”

“Humans? No, why would there be…?” This time it was Starlight’s eyes that widened in realisation. Memories of her hanging out with Sunset Shimmer quickly came to her mind as the evidence pointed to one thing. No, it couldn’t be. “Keldeo, where are you from?”

Where am I from? How should I know? I can’t rememb… Wait. There was that place. What was it again? Uni… Una… Keldeo broke from his thoughts as a name came to mind. “Unova. Y-yes, I remember… I was from a place called Unova.” He groaned in pain as he clutched his head.

“Keldeo, don’t strain yourself,” Redheart rushed to his side with a glass of water, “Here, drink this.”

“Thank you,” he took the offered glass and guzzled down its content with alarming speed, “I’m sorry, but that’s all I could remember.”

“It’s alright. If anything, I should be the one apologising. I shouldn’t have strained you like that,” Starlight hung her head low apologetically. “Keldeo, I’m not sure how else to break it to you, but there is no place known as Unova here on our planet. Combined with the confusion of what you think we are and that you know what humans are...I think you may have been from another world entirely.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured,” he said as his heart sank. He knew that it would be the case after piecing together what was missing other than his lack of memories. It didn’t make it any easier however upon hearing it from someone else. He was in another world. Another world! One without Pokemon or humans. He was...he was the only one of his kind here.

No memories. No home. No family. No friends. I’m alone. He closed his eyes and wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to jump out the window and just keep running as far as his legs could carry him.

His turmoil was doused when he felt smooth chitin over him. He looked over his shoulder only to see Ocellus giving him a nuzzling hug. Despite her chitin being cold to the touch, there was an odd consolation to it, especially against his coat of fur. A wave of comforting emotions flowed into him, slowing down his breathing.

Ocellus cooed a chirping noise as she nuzzled his mane. “There there,” she murmured with a motherly voice, “It’s alright, let it out. You don’t need to be afraid anymore. You are not alone.”

Tears flowed relentlessly as he began to sob. Keldeo returned the hug with a crushing embrace as his sobbing became cries of anguish. Fear, frustration, pain, confusion, loneliness; all were released in his wails of mourning.

Touched by his sorrow, Redheart joined the embrace, followed by Yona, then Starlight, and then finally Smolder (after finally being persuaded by Ocellus’ offer to join them).

Outside the room by the door, a certain pink mare watched the whole event unfold and cried waterfalls. “That is so SAD!!! And I was going to give you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville” Party too!”

“Where the hay is the portal?!”

Gallus, Sandbar and Silverstream (escorted by two unicorn guards), arrived at the site where they found Keldeo and the aforementioned portal and quickly noticed the lack of said portal.

“I don’t understand,” Sandbar stared blankly at the sky, “It should be up there! How could it just disappear?”

One of the guards ignited his horn and scanned for traces of magic towards where Sandbar pointed. “Strange, I’m picking up unusual traces of some sort of magic, but whatever this portal might be, it’s gone,” said the guard.

“That’s bad, right?” Silverstream looked towards her two classmates, “I mean, if this portal is now closed, our unconscious friend may not be able to go back where he came from.”

“We can always find out where he came from and send him back the old fashion way, can’t we?” suggested Gallus.

“Maybe, but what if he’s from another world like that Sunset Shimmer that Princess Twilight talked about?” Silverstream argued.

Gallus raised a finger from his claw to counter the argument before he reconsidered the possibility, “I… hadn’t thought about that.”

Sandbar turned to the two guards who were both now scanning the site, “Any chance you can reactivate the portal?”

“Eeynope,” one of the guards stopped scanning as he shook his head, “It’ll be too risky if not dangerous, to reconnect a portal without knowing the destination of the other side; especially if an injured pony came out of it. Celestia knows what else might come out.”

“And on top of that,” the other guard added, “the magical signature is unlike anything we’ve ever felt before. It’d be next to impossible to reestablish a connection with an unfamiliar means of conjuring a portal. Kind of like getting a wrong key to open a lock. Besides, the magic used to create the portal has already dispersed to a point that not even Starswirl could locate the other side.”

Silverstream gasped, “But… that would mean…”

The first guard sighed, “I’m afraid so. Faust willing, that colt is an Equestrian resident or he’s stuck here. For better or for worse.”

“(Sniff) Thank you. I really needed that.”

Keldeo wiped the tears off his eyes as he regained a smile, “I guess I was just overwhelmed with everything that has happened.”

“No problem Keldeo,” Yona grinned, “A sad friend needs big hug to crush sadness away.”

“And any new friend in Ponyville deserves a “Welcome to Ponyville” Party!!”

Keldeo eyed the pink pony with confusion, “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Pinkie Pie!” the pink mare replied at full speed while she bounced on a single spot, “I am Ponyville’s Professional Party Planner! I am so glad to meet you! Do you like cupcakes? Everyone likes cupcakes! What kind of cupcakes do you like? Would you like one now? Do you have cupcakes back where you’re from? What’s a Pokemon? Is it a shortened term for Pocket Monster? Are you a monster? DO MONSTERS FIT IN POCKETS?!”

“PINKIE PIE!” All turned to an irritated Redheart, whom Keldeo almost swore he could hear snarling from, “What did I tell you about what not to do in the Hospital?!”

Pinkie stopped bouncing. Mid air. Her mane quickly deflated from a puffy curl to a pin straight style as she hung her head low with a visible dejected expression. “Do not scare, startle or unsettle a recovering patient,” she whimpered.

“That’s right," said Redheart as she crossed her forehooves, "I want you to wait outside the room, now.”

Pinkie groaned, “Aww! But I want to tell him all about Ponyville, Equestria, The Crystal Empire, Magic, The Elements of Harmony, Twilight’s school of Friendship and all sorts of other stuff!”

Keldeo’s ears perked up at that. That… actually sounds interesting. What is this world like?

“Out of the question, Pinkie!” Redheart stomped a hoof in protest, “Keldeo is still recovering from his injuries. I will not have you tire him out with your shenanigans!”

“Then what if we have him talk about his world?” suggested Pinkie, “Or tell us what a Pokemon is? Or what a Pokemon can do? (Gasp) Or maybe he can tell us if Pokemon have super cool powers!!!”

The nurse gave a frustrated groan, “Pinkie Pie!! Keldeo has amnesia! How do you expect him to remember any of that?”

Wait a minute. Keldeo looked at one of his hooves as though he was trying to unlock its secrets. What if? Could I? Maybe… He stared out the window. No, I need to be sure.

While everyone was still distracted by Pinkie, Keldeo climbed out of bed and gave a few stretches. Looks like I no longer ache. This might be the perfect time to test it out. With a look of determination, the Pokemon made for one of the windows in the room and opened it.

“Um Keldeo, what are you doing?” asked Starlight, finally noticing him out of bed. This prompted everyone to stop and look in his direction.

Without looking back and without saying a word, he leapt out the window.

“KELDEO!!” Everyone screamed as they scrambled for the window. They watched with horror as he made his exit, fearing the worst. The mood changed from fear to shock as they saw Keldeo land on his hooves three stories down without breaking a sweat.

“Keldeo, what are you doing?” Breaking the amazed silence, Nurse Redheart yelled out from the window, “I don’t care how fast you are recovering; YOU ARE STILL INJURED!”

“Sorry Nurse, but I feel a lot better now,” Keldeo looked up the window and yelled back, “Besides, there is something I need to figure out.”

"Figure out what exactly?" Smolder called out, her curiosity piqued.

The Pokemon gave a wide smirk, “Figure if I could still remember my moves.”

Everyone in the room looked to each other in confusion, “Moves?”

Flying Type: Bounce. Without warning, Keldeo launched himself to the air, high above the room he was resting in. Every creature who saw him dropped their jaws when he leapt from the ground. It was soon followed by gasps as he started falling towards a large pile of rocks.

Fighting Type: Rock Smash. Positioning himself for a landing, he held out one of his front hooves and smashed into one of the rocks; shattering it to pieces. The onlookers’ eyes widened as they gawked in disbelief at the sight.

“Did… Did he just smash that boulder with his bare hooves?”

“It can’t be. Only Earth Ponies could manage that feat!”

“Friend Keldeo smashed rock like Yak smash ugly furniture!”

“Do my eyes deceive me, or did that unicorn just leap five stories high?!”

“Mommy look! Is that unicorn a superhero?”

“As impressive as that is, I would have asked if he could have waited for me to study the boulder before he smashed it.”

“I heard ponies can jump, but that was ridiculous!”

‘Well, I wasn’t expecting an audience,’ thought Keldeo, ‘but no matter. It seems I could still do physical attacks, now to see if I remember special attacks.’ Water Type: Bubblebeam. Standing on his hindlegs, he aimed his forehooves towards the sky and fired a stream of bubbles of water. The bubbles burst in the sky, creating a rainbow for all to see. Much to the delight of the onlookers.

“Momma look! That unicorn is amazing!”

“Huh, not bad for a blank flank.”

“Show off! The Great and Powerful Trixie refuses to be upstaged by an amateur!”

Water Type: Hydro Pump. Flipping from standing from his hindlegs to his front, Keldeo fired two massive pillars of water from his hindlegs; crashing into a tree and blasted two giant holes into its thick trunk before it collapsed from the damage. Turning to see his handiwork, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I can do it. I can still remember my moves. But I feel like I’m missing something. His thoughts were interrupted when he began to notice the eerie silence that followed from his last stunt. He opened his eyes to see not only the wide-eyed horror of his once awed audience, but surrounded by pony guards who pointed spears and horns at him.

“YOU!!” one of the guards called out, “In the name of Princess Twilight, I order you to lower your horn and stand down!”

“We better make our way back,” Gallus spoke in a sombre mood, “I don’t want us to tell them the bad news, but they need to know the truth.”

“Yeah,” nodded Silverstream, “It stinks but better to tell them. I just hope that the unicorn won’t break down from the bad news.”

Sandbar nodded in agreement. Turning to the two guards, he called out, “Um guards, I think we can head back now.”

“Hmm. About time. We might have to write a report to the Princess about…” The guard who was speaking was interrupted by a large gem that slammed into his head, knocking him out cold.

Seeing what happened to his colleague, the other guard raised a magical shield around them. “Who goes there?!” he ordered.

“Ponies. More ponies, and other creatures,” came a voice.

“Heard something interesting, yes? See them surrounded and defenseless, no?” came another.

“Boss would have liked the other one that came from the portal, but he’s not with them,” followed by a third.

The guard raised a spear and snarled, “Who are you? Show yourselves!”

“Ooh, gladly!”

The group soon found themselves surrounded by several hunched figures that stood on two legs, glaring at them menacingly with amber eyes.

“Guys,” Silverstream pointed nervously at the perpetrators, “Are those who I think they are?”

“Eeyup,” Sandbar gulped, “They’re Diamond Dogs, and they look like they mean business.”

Author's Note

DUN DUN DUUUUUNN!!! Did y'all see that coming? Because I didn't.

Jokes aside, G'day all!

Here it is, the next chapter. Sorry that I failed to deliver the promise on a new cover art. A few delays from the artist but it should coming soon.

Special thanks to Rated Ponystar for proof reading and editing as always.

As always, share your thoughts, critiques, suggestions and more and I'll hope to see you guys next time.

Chapter Four: What swords are really for

Author's Note

G'day all,
Sorry this took a while to put together. A new Expansion from Stellaris came out weeks ago (had too much fun with it) and I had to pass this back and forth to Rated Ponystar for edits and plot confirmations. (By the way, thanks a million buddy!!)

So yeah, just a heads up, a lot of heavy stuff will be in this chapter so prepare for an emotional rollercoaster.

Chapter Four: What swords are really for

“In the name of Princess Twilight, I order you to lower your horn and stand down!”

Puzzled, confused and surrounded by ponies of the Royal Guards, Keldeo slowly backed away from the commanding officer, only to stop after noticing he was literally encircled by lances.

“Woah, take it easy there, sir,” Keldeo smiled nervously, raising a forehoof up in surrender, “I mean you no harm.”

“I said STAND DOWN!” ordered the head guard, igniting his horn.

“I am standing down!” retorted Keldeo, “Unless you want me to lie on the ground, on my back with my legs held high!”

“Sergeant! Sergeant, wait!”

Starlight Glimmer blinked in from her teleport with the group that was in the room earlier and galloped towards the surrounded Pokemon, pushing her way through the crowd of ponies (and other creatures).

“Sergeant please, he meant no harm from what he was demonstrating earlier!” she called out, panting after squeezing through the crowd.

“Headmare Glimmer?” the Royal Guard Sergeant held out a hoof, gesturing the guards to lower their pikes, “Do you know this unicorn?”

“Yes. He’s… Um… He’s a… New exchange student from across a different continent,” Starlight lied, grinning nervously.

“I am?” puzzled Keldeo.

“He is?” Ocellus and Yona asked in unison, only to be shushed by Smolder.

The unicorn sergeant raised an eyebrow at Keldeo, “He doesn’t sound so sure of your claim, Headmare.”

“He is suffering from amnesia, sir,” replied Starlight confidently, “Something to do with an accident with teleportation through a portal. You can ask Nurse Redheart if you want the details.”

All eyes turned to the nurse in question, who took a while to register that all the attention was now on her. “Oh! Um, yes!” Redheart finally said, “He is currently unable to remember details from his land of origin, as well as suffering several injuries which surprisingly healed rather quickly.” She then gave Keldeo a disapproving glare, “His stunt to leap off a recovery room window however was not condoned or approved by neither me or the staff; something that I would much like to discuss with him after this.”

Made aware of the nurse’s intention, Keldeo’s ears folded as he gave a nervous smile. “Hehe… Oops?”

The sergeant gave a sigh in surrender, “Fine, I’ll leave the colt in your hooves, Ms Starlight Glimmer. But if he causes any more trouble, I will have no choice but to detain him. I have my plate full enough as it is patrolling this town and I would appreciate one less disturbance to worry about.”

Starlight gave a nod in agreement, “I assure you, sergeant, it won’t happen again.”

As the guards made their exit and the crowds disperse, Keldeo approached the group, “Listen, thanks for covering for me-”

“YOUNG COLT, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!!”

Now Keldeo was preparing for a lecture that somehow his body seemed to remember instinctively, which made him wholly unprepared to the enraged little pony nurse’s admonishment; resulting in him tucking his tail between his legs, his ears lowered and his entire body ducking down.

“What in Celestia’s mane were you possibly thinking, leaping off an open window several hooves from the ground?!” Redheart continued to berate, “You could have reopened a wound! You could have broken more bones! Or worse, you could have-”

“Nurse Jo-… I mean Redheart,” Keldeo stammered, “I’m fine, really. My wounds are fully healed and there’s no way that height could hurt me so long as I land on my hooves. All Pokemon are actually quite durable from-”

“YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT KELDEO!! You are a patient in recovery and should therefore stay in bed til we say you are fit enough to leave!”

Starlight gave a knowing nod, “Nurse Redheart is right, Keldeo. What you did, not only could you have hurt yourself,” she pointed to the tree he blasted, “you could have hurt others.”

Keldeo stared at the felled tree. That… That could have been someone. Anyone. A person, a bystander, a kid. He hung his head low in shame. “I… I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, I… I have no excuse.”

“Well, so long as you’ve learned your lesson, all is forgiven,” smiled Starlight, giving him a pat on the shoulders. She then leaned closer to whisper, “Don’t feel too bad about it. In truth, I did way worse.”

“Dude, I don’t know about you guys, but that was totally awesome!” sneered Smolder, “Could you do that trick you did with lava instead of water?”

“Ah, no,” Keldeo replied sheepishly, “I’m a water type, not a fire type. I could only do that with water.”

‘Was that how he managed to swallow all that water from the glass like it was nothing?’ thought Redheart.

“Friend Keldeo strong like yak too,“ said Yona with an approving nod, “Smashed rock like it was nothing! Are all creatures as strong as Keldeo from where Keldeo from?”

“I’m… not really sure to be honest,” replied Keldeo, “I can’t remember much, but I do know that there are Pokemon far stronger than me like the Legendaries.”

“What are these Legendaries you mentioned?” asked Ocellus, curiosity clear in her eyes, “Are they similar to Equestria’s Alicorns or are they variations of deities you worship in your world?”

Keldeo paused at that question, “A bit of both? I’m not really sure. Also, what’s an alicorn?”

“Ahem!” Redheart interjected, clearing her throat, “While interesting a conversation this all might be, I would like to take Keldeo back into the hospital for a thorough check up.” She turned to the Pokemon in question with a stern look, “You young colt are not to leave without a clean bill of health. Is that understood?”

“Y-yes nurse,” Keldeo nodded.

As they made back for the Hospital, Ocellus paused to look back to the unseen horizon. Those three are taking too long. What is holding them?

Gallus hated being underground. Underground meant darkness, lack of air, and closed spaces. He was doing all he could to not have a panic attack right then and there. Getting captured by Diamond Dogs was bad, but getting captured and dragged underground into some creepy series of tunnels with armed guards everywhere the size of fully grown limb ripping walking dog sentients? That was very bad.

None of the captives knew how long they were walking for or how deep they were going. Whenever they acted too slow, their captors would whack them hard to keep moving. Thankfully, none of the students had gotten the taste of their wrath, but that didn’t keep them from looking worried and fearful of their lives.

Finally, their journey came to an end when they arrived at some kind of large steel room with various levels connected by stone carved staircases. However, what caught evercreature’s attention were the large steel cages that looked not only disgusting from dirty looks and smells, but sharp with small barbs that were on the bars to prevent other from touching it.

“Get inside! All of you!” one of their captors ordered as evercreature in chains looked in disbelief. Growling, he grabbed a frightened Silverstream and shouted, “I said move it!”

Gallus growled as his friend was shoved into one of the cages and whimpered upon hitting the ground. She soon curled up into a ball and began sobbing into her wing. “You can’t do that to her!” Gallus shouted but he was soon grabbed by the back of his head feathers and dragged into the same cage as Silverstream while Sandbar was also pushed in. The guards that were captured with them were unable to put much of a resistance as they were shoved in or smacked with their guards' batons before forced inside and locked the cells shut.

“You can’t hold us here! We’re students of Princess Twilight’s School of Friendship!” Sandbar cried out.

“Yeah! You dogs are clearly out of your league if you think you could just keep us in here!” Gallus shouted.

“You two be quiet, like that pink one there!” one of the Diamond Dogs slammed the cage they were locked in with a baton, “If you won’t be in your best behaviour, we’ll make sure to find other means of shutting you up, no matter what the Big Boss says!” With that, he left to continue his patrol while others stood guard with their sharp spears and swords.

Gallus and Sandbar turned to Silverstream who was now quivering in the corner of the cage. “No, not again. It’s the Storm King’s army all over again!” she whimpered as she curled into a ball, tears falling from her eyes.

“Silver! Silver, look at me!” Gallus rushed over to her and held her cheeks with his talons as he stared into her eyes trying to comfort her. It broke his heart seeing her look like this, so scared and helpless, and if he was being honest he felt like having a panic attack right now. But that wouldn’t be of much use to him or his friends here. They needed to remain calm. “I know you’re scared. Believe me, I am too. Being cramped in this cave is not exactly helping me here, but you need to calm down. We need to be strong here, alright? Can you do that?”

Silverstream nodded with a sniffle, “Hmmhmm. Okay.”

“Okay, good,” the griffon let out a sigh of relief as he wiped the tears off her eyes. “Can you stand up?”

“Y-yeah, yeah I can.”

As Gallus helped Silverstream up, Sandbar tried bucking the bars of the cage, attempting to break it open to no avail and winced when the barbs nearly broke his skin. If not for his tough earth pony magic it might have hurt worse.

“It’s no use, kid,” one of the captured guards held in the cage across them called out. She shook her head, “These bars are too strong for you to break out. Hay, I can’t even use magic to break them, let alone teleport. These Diamond Dogs aren’t dumb.”

Sandbar stopped bucking the bars with a snarl, “We can’t just do nothing! We need to get out of here! Why are they holding us here?”

“If I had to guess,” replied the guard who looked carefully at the cage bars before noticing how many levels were in this room and how many cages there were in number, “I would say these cages are being used to hold a lot of creatures. Creatures who happen to be disappearing over the past few weeks or so. Probably even more.”

Silverstream gawked, “Y-you mean, the missing creatures over the past few weeks… They've been abducted?!”

“Well, we are, so I guess we are just another addition to the list of victims,” the guard snorted as she gave a kick at the cage’s bars.

“B-but why would they abduct anypony in the first place?” said Gallus as he leaned closer to the bars closest to the imprisoned guard. “Didn’t Professor Rarity already deal with these bozos?”

The guard shook her head, “No idea.” Then her ears flicked towards the sound of a rusty door slamming open with a screech. “But I think we’re about to find out,” she said with a frown as a large group slowly approached them.

Gallus, Sandbar and Silverstream watched with wide-eyed horror at the sight: Ponies of all races and ages, chained together were herded into the empty cages by Diamond Dogs who were barking orders and brandishing batons to intimidate their prisoners. There were other creatures imprisoned as well; a few griffons, donkeys, changelings, even fellow diamond dogs who were slouched lower than their towering counterparts.

“In the cages, maggots!” barked the head guard as he slammed a baton on an empty cage’s iron bars, “Get in before we have to bring Big Boss to deal with you animals!”

“Please, mercy!” pleaded one of the incarcerated diamond dogs, “Rover is one of you! Why do this to poor Rover?”

“Shut up, mutt!” The head guard bashed his baton on Rover’s back, causing him to collapse while pulling other prisoners to the ground with him. The diamond dog let out whimpers of pain as he struggled to stand up. “You!” the guard pointed at the ponies who fell with Rover, “Pick up the runt and get in the cell, unless you too want a beating!”

Without another word, two ponies shouldered the crippled diamond dog and dragged him into one of the cages. The door slammed shut behind them, causing them to wince.

Looks like that answers that question, Gallus thought bitterly. These weren’t the same type of Diamond Dogs that Professor Rarity had dealt with all those years ago. Those had been morons. These guys are serious.

All the other prisoners soon followed suit with their fellow comrades in chains. Their faces swollen with exhaustion and despair as they slowly crawled inside their designated cells. More than one had cried, especially the younger ones. The newcomers watched with absolute horror at what was before them.

“You sorry, pieces of dirt better be working on the mines faster next time! Or else you’ll get double the shift and no water or food or bathroom breaks! In fact, half rations for you all on your next shift!” One of the Diamond Dog guards growled which made the workers wince.

“Slaves?!” Sandbar snarled at the diamond dog guards, “How dare you! Princess Twilight will have your flanks in Tartarus for this!”

A baton slammed into Sandbar’s hooves that were holding the bars of the cage, causing him to yelp and wince in pain.

“The Princess ain’t here, little pony,” sneered the perpetrator, “Here you will slave away til you drop dead.”

“Curious, you have a clean bill of health. No fractures, no scarring, not even a bruise. You are definitely not a pony that’s for sure.”

Staring curiously at the protruding wires and gizmos connected to a monitor, Keldeo sat on his haunches awkwardly, discomfort clear on his face. Everycreature (with the exception of Nurse Redheart) grinned in amusement, holding off their giggles to the Pokemon’s predicament.

“Does your kind usually recover from injuries quickly?” asked Redheart as she was studying an X-ray scan.

“Every Pokemon can, provided certain conditions, medicine, food, drink, items or moves,” answered Keldeo as he winced from another instrument attached to his chest area.

“Keldeo, if it isn’t too much trouble, could you tell us what exactly is a Pokemon?” Starlight Glimmer asked, curiosity evident on her face and a levitated quill and parchment nearby.

Keldeo’s face screwed in thought of an answer, “Pokemon? Hmm, I guess that's a hard question to ask. We're not exactly a race since there is a wide variety of species of us, all in different types, shapes and forms. Many of us look animalistic or plantlike, others look like inanimate objects or earthly material such as rocks and gems. I wouldn't even call us animals since we are capable of thoughts and feelings. I honestly never thought about it. We're just… Pokemon. Always have been and always will be."

“Well that’s a bummer,” Smolder muttered, “A whole bunch of species labelled under the same title with differing appearances made of different material.” She paused to do a double take as a thought came up, “Hold up, did you say there are Pokemon that look like gems?”

“Um, yes.”

“And before you leapt out the window, you said that there are dragons in your world, right?”

“Yeah, Dragon types. Why?”

“Do Pokemon eat each other?”

“I guess? Some do, some don’t. Depends on the Pokemon I guess, but not all. I mean, I don’t. Why?" Keldeo asked, tilting his head.

The others turned a bit pale as Ocellus shook her head. "B-B-But why do they do that?"

"Because it's how we are?" Keldeo said with a shrug. "Granted not all of us eat meat, and all of us can eat berries, but hunting is normal. Of course, humans eat us too and unlucky humans get eaten by Pokemon, but pretty much most captured ones aren't eaten and become part of their society. Sometimes they act more human than Pokemon."

"But don't you find that morally wrong? It's like your world is survival of the fittest!" said Nurse Redheart, clearly appalled at what she was hearing.

"Um, how is that a bad thing?" Keldeo asked and suddenly everycreature's eyes went wide. "Every Pokemon trains to be the strongest and we want to be strong. We fight each other, we fight humans, and we fight things outside of our dimension sometimes if you count the Ultra-Beasts. We fight because we want to grow strong and if you aren't strong then your life sadly becomes forfeit. At least in the wild and more dangerous areas. Sure the Pokemon captured by humans don't fight to the death, but they still fight to the point that some are able to win wars if need be."

Their world is constantly fighting? That is insane! Could it be? "K-Keldeo, is your world… Is it constantly at war?" Starlight asked hesitantly.

Keldeo thought for a moment. "I don’t think so. I don’t recall. I don’t think I’ve fought in a war, but I might have been in a lot of battles," Keldeo said with a shrug before smiling, "I mean, it’s not like we kill each other on a regular basis, we just constantly fight to grow stronger. Killing is usually between predator and prey, and though uncommon it sometimes happens in a battle. Rarely does death happen due to… insidious reasons.” There was pause from that last line as it unnerved him. What was that? Why did that last bit make my skin crawl?

He shook away his thoughts before he continued, “Besides, even if a Pokemon is killed in a fight, they are eventually reincarnated to try again. That way you can try in your next life to become stronger and live longer."

In that moment, it became clear to everycreature just how alien Keldeo was; both literally and figuratively. Where he came from violence was the norm, even if it wasn't for a life or death situation. Death was accepted so easily and survival was integrated into everyone who lived there. Put it simply, his world follows a warrior culture.

Compared to Equus let alone Equestria, which had known peace for so long and fought only in self-defence, the world where Keldeo came from was, for the lack of a better word, frightening.

“... Perhaps it would be prudent if we changed the subject?” Noticing the mood within the room, Keldeo gave the unsubtle suggestion with a sheepish smile.

Internal sighs of relief mixed with silly grins and chuckles spread within the room. Throughout everycreature’s minds, they were thankful that, of all beings described within his world to end up in Ponyville, it was Keldeo. However, their thoughts were soon snuffed out by the Pokemon’s predicament. With no personal memories and possibly no visible way to return (unless the portal was still open), Keldeo was essentially stuck here.

Not wishing to return to that spiral of anxiety like what had happened earlier, Ocellus complied to the Pokemon’s request of a new subject for discussion, “Actually Keldeo, we’ve been curious; how does your magic work?”

“I beg your pardon? Magic?” asked Keldeo, clearly confused.

“Um yes,” Redheart interjected, “We’ve done some scans on your Thaumaturgical signature and mana pool and noticed it has a different resonance to our magic yet somehow manages to be compatible with it.”

“Pokemon don’t use magic,” Keldeo flatly replied, “I mean, some of us can do move sets that are considered magical; but magic, that’s something out of fairytales and street performers.”

He noticed Redheart’s eye twitch in disbelief. “How do you exist?!”

“Nurse Redheart, please calm down,” said Starlight, attempting to calm the earth pony nurse.

“Calm down?” Redheart went hysterical, “CALM DOWN?! How could I possibly calm down?! No creature could possibly exist without magic! It’s impossible! He clearly has something in him; and if it isn’t magic, what in bloody Tartarus is it?”

That was when the proverbial lightbulb clicked on Keldeo, “Oh, do you mean you can see my Aura?”

“Aura?” All turned to look at Keldeo, tilting their heads in an angle.

“Yes, Aura,” Keldeo continued, “It is the essence of every creature; Human, plant matter and Pokemon. It is what gives us our powers, our skills, our abilities. It is the source of life that makes creation itself. It is also how some Pokemon can attune to other creatures naturally; be it between partners or lovers.”

“Wait, is it anything like… The Fooooorce?” asked Pinkie as she waved a forehoof dramatically.

Keldeo turned to the rest of them with a confused look, “What does she mean by that?”

“Don’t take Professor Pinkie Pie too seriously,” replied Smolder, “She tends to say the most random of things.”

“... I see.”

“Anyway,” Ocellus interjected, “how exactly do you use this Aura? Do you channel it to use your powers like a Unicorn? Are you proficient at using it?”

“I don’t know,” Keldeo replied, “I mean, it’s not that I don’t know how to use Aura or anything, it’s just, you don’t really think about it. It’s like breathing; you don’t think about how to channel or do it, you just do. It just… happens. As for being proficient; I’m not sure if I am. I mean, I know other Pokemon species like the Lucario are very proficient at it due to being fully attuned to Aura.”

“Um, odd question,” Yona raised a hoof, “Keldeo speaks about Pokemon having several species; what species is Keldeo?”

“Well actually, I’m kind of classified as a mythical Pokemon.”

“Oh? Really?!” Pinkie bounced in, “So does that mean you’re some kind of super powerful Legendary being in your world?”

“Not exactly. I’m classified as mythical due to being either extremely rare or one of a kind…” His voice trailed off, “Wait… I’m… no… Hold on… I think there were more of us… Was there? I’m not really sure… I can’t remember…”

“Friend Keldeo, you’re crying,” said Yona.

Keldeo reached the sides of his cheek with his hoof and felt the warm streams of tears. “I… Why am I crying?” He sniffed and wiped the tears with his hoof, trying to brush it off, “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I just did that. I’m pretty sure I’m not a crying Pokemon so I’m sorry if I’ve been doing this a lot lately.”

Starlight reached out a hoof and brushed his mane assuringly, “Keldeo, there is nothing to apologise. I’m pretty certain that a small part of your subconscious still remembers something and you were just subconsciously feeling sadness from whatever it is hidden within your memories.”

She continued to brush his mane til she was sure he calmed down from what is now a regular episode of the Pokemon’s grief. “Listen Keldeo,” Starlight finally said, “I know some ponies who might be able to help you recover your memories. Mainly, Princess Twilight Sparkle who is the ruler of Equestria. She has experience with other worlds and unusual cases such as yourself, so I thought that it might be a good idea to contact her and arrange a meeting between the two of you to see how she could help you out.”

Keldeo smiled as he wiped the last of his tears, “Yeah, thank you. That would be great.”

“Um, Miss Guardspony, how’s your friend doing?”

The captured guard looked up to Sandbar from across her caged cell as she held her colleague’s head on her torso as a makeshift pillow. “He’s not looking so great. That huge diamond to the head really did a number on him.” She then gave Sandbar a reassuring smile, “By the way, name’s Coppelion.”

“Copy… have I told you how beautiful you look?” her fellow guardspony muttered deliriously.

“Oh great, and he’s totally lost it,” Coppelion deadpanned at her colleague.

“Um, excuse me?” a young pegasus colt slowly crawled to the side of the cage closest to Sandbar, “You’re part of the Royal Guards, right? Were you sent here to rescue us?”

“No, sorry little bud,” Coppelion sadly shook her head, “My friend and I were just assigned to escort these three to study a site of a portal.” She leaned closer while being careful not to disrupt her unconscious partner, “Could you perhaps tell us what they’re digging down here?”

“I don’t really know, sorry,” the young colt replied dejectedly.

She turned her gaze to another pony who was listening in. When her eyes met him, he shook his head, “Sorry. All I know is they aren’t diamonds. Just some worthless looking crystals I’ve never seen before.”

“Hey, does anyone know what they’re digging down here?” Gallus called out among the nearby cells.

A collection of “No,” frowns, and shaking of heads followed.

“R-Rover knows what we’ve been digging.”

All turned to the injured diamond dog who was flat on his belly and his head rested on one of the ponies. “Though Rover knows not why they’re digging for them,” he continued, his voice weak from the labour and back injury from earlier.

Silverstream leaned on the cage’s bars closest to the injured dog, “Rover was it? Would you mind telling us what you’re digging down here?”

“Sure, we’ve been digging for Arcanite,” he flatly replied.

This caught Coppelion and Gallus’ attention. “Did you just say Arcanite?” the captured guard asked, worry evident in her voice.

“Yup yup,” answered Rover, “which doesn’t make sense to Rover. Diamond Dogs dig for diamonds, not worthless Arcanite.”

“Dude, Arcanite is far from worthless,” Gallus deadpanned to Rover’s response to the mineral in question, “That stuff is legendary grade material. It’s what they used to make more than half of the ancient magical artefacts in the world.”

“How do you know that?” asked Sandbar.

“Princess Twilight’s classes on magical artefacts and Professor Rarity’s on gem variety,” Gallus replied flatly, “I got interested in case we might find rich stuff to sell from Griffonstone.”

“Wait, you’re students from Princess Twilight’s School of Friendship?” asked a unicorn filly.

“Yeah, we are,” replied Sandbar, “We kind of got captured while we were investigating a portal site.”

“Oh boy, this is waaaaay above my paygrade,” Coppelion sighed.

“W-what do you mean?” Silverstream asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, wrong does not even begin to describe the situation,” the guard let out a humourless chuckle, “We’ve got a full scale invasion on our hooves.”

“Invasion?” Gallus raised an eyebrow, “They’re just mining Arcanite; through illegal slave labour, sure, but that’s hardly an invasion.”

“Kid, Arcanite is illegal to mine, buy or sell regardless,” replied Coppelion, “And it has been illegal to mine, buy or sell for the past thousand years due to its tendency to create cursed artefacts and items.” She paused to let that information sink in before continuing, “And wait, there’s more; Arcanite wasn’t mainly used to create magical artefacts. They were mainly used to create and develop magical weapons. Particularly, weapons of mass destruction. Celestia in fact signed a treaty with the Zebras to ensure the ban of Arcanite to prevent that kind of situation.”

“Wait, you mean this isn’t just a get rich quick scheme?” Sandbar quivered at the thought of an alternative scenario.

“This is hardly about getting rich quick, considering they’ve been mining here for who knows how long,” replied Coppelion, “And all that time, they’ve been building up one heck of a stockpile. Chances are, this little mining operation is just the tip of the iceberg. No doubt they’ve been shipping this stuff somewhere to be forged and that there are more mining sites across the continent.”

“And all the while, their mysterious benefactor is making weapons,” Gallus stroked his lower beak in thought as he came to the same conclusion of the guard, “Which means somepony or somecreature is building an army!”

Worry and fear spread across the prisoners who’ve been following the conversation. When they heard a distant clapping that echoed across the cavern that held the prisoners, their fears morphed into absolute terror.

A diamond dog, standing taller and straighter than any they’ve seen before, towered menacingly over the cages as he approached the students, clapping as he went. His face looked more wolf-like than dog, his amber eyes glowed bright under the shadows and his sharp teeth protruded from his closed mouth like a smiling crocodile. He wore a pitch black velvet coat, a feathered hat over his head and on his waist was a belt that carried a sheathed sword.

“Well done. Well done,” he spoke as he ceased his mock clapping, his low voice sounded sickly sweet with a hiss vibrated by a growl, “It appears you managed to figure it out on your first day. Your princess would be proud.” He sneered as he grinned, exposing his teeth for all to see.

“Wh-wh-who are you?’ Gallus gulped, taking a step back from the creature before him.

“Me?” he held a paw on his chest in mock shock, “Surely you've heard about me from my boys by now? But I suppose this is your first day so allow me the introductions,” he removed his hat and gave a polite bow, “They call me Big Boss. I am…” he paused in thought for a second before chuckling in his own self amusement, “the Big Boss; and I welcome you to my humble mining operation, Canterlot branch.”

The other diamond dog guards sneered and chuckled with him.

“Canterlot?” Coppelion stared at him with utter shock, “But we were in Ponyville, how…?”

Big Boss stuck a finger on her muzzle, silencing her, “Tut-tut-tut, yes, you were in Ponyville. Keyword; were. But here you are now, under my humble employment.” Taking a step back, he released her muzzle and turned to the students, “As for why we are here, I’m sure you are all curious as to why we are underneath Mount Canterhorn itself. Easy; underneath the capital of Equestria herself are the caverns that contain the country’s neglected collection of Arcanite.”

“Brilliant alliteration Boss,” said one of the guards.

Big Boss smiled, embracing the praise, “Thank you, thank you. I love a good play with words. Speaking of which,” he pointed at the cage that held Rover, “Bring him out.”

The ponies within scurried away as the guards grabbed Rover by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out of the cage. The injured dog whimpered in pain and horror as he was held out in front of the towering villain.

“Rover, Rover, Rover. You’ve been a bad boy, haven’t you?” Big Boss sneered as he looked down on the injured creature who was now on his knees whimpering.

“You told them the secret of what we were mining for, didn’t you?” he circled around Rover as tears poured from the diamond dog’s eyes.

“And you know what we do to bad dogs here, don’t you Rover?” he spoke with a low growl behind Rover who now froze in silence as Big Boss whispered into his ear; “Bad dogs get put down.”

Without another word and in a blink of an eye, he drew his sword and stabbed it into Rover’s back. The diamond dog screamed and howled in pain and agony. The guards who held him released the scruff of his neck, dropping Rover to the ground face first. He gasped, the sword still embedded on his back as he twitched, almost paralized from the pain. His agony did not stop as Big Boss held the sword firmly and twisted it around his back, grinning menacingly with a sadistic satisfaction. A garbling noise came out of his voice as he coughed out blood trying to scream. The horrific sight continued until finally Rover stopped twitching and fell limp before the crowd.

Muffled screams from some of the young prisoners were heard while some of the grown prisoners covered the eyes and ears of their juniors. A sadistic chuckle was heard across the cavern as the abducted felt a thrill of dread and horror at the cruel sight.

“Well, that was fun,” Big Boss said gleefully as he dislodged his sword from Rover’s corpse and began cleaning it, “Boys, take the trash out for me.”

“Will do, Boss,” two of the guards saluted as they picked up poor Rover from the ground and made their exit, unfazed by the death of one of their own.

“Now then, you three,” Big Boss pointed at the cage that contained Gallus, Sandbar and SIlverstream, who were hudling each other and unable to look away from the terrifying sight with eyes wide open, weeping with fright. “If I recall correctly, you’re students of the Princess of Friendship’s school of Friendship, am I correct?”

They nodded silently and without hesitation.

“And correct me if I’m wrong, but you wouldn’t happen to be three of the six that dealt with that issue of some crazy pegasus’ scheme to take away magic, would you?”

They nodded again.

“Which would mean,” he gave a gasp of mock surprise, “you’re the students that shared a connection to the Tree of Harmony, aren’t you?”

Again they nodded with Silverstream giving off a quiet whimper.

He held a paw over his eyes and with a dramatic flare that rival’s that of Rarity, spoke vehemently, “Oh, that won’t do! That won’t do!! We have brought into our midst the future figures of influence of Equestria and possibly all of Equus!! Oh, what are we to do?”

A brief pause, followed by one of the guards who raised a paw, “Um, take them upstairs and hold them for ransom, Boss?”

He turned to his minion, grabbed him by the face and playfully slapped one of his cheeks. “I knew I could always count on you boys,” he spoke gratefully with his usual dramatic flare and leaned in to kiss him by the cheek with a, “Mwuah!!”

“Aww Boss! Boundaries!” the same guard complained, wiping the kiss off his cheek.

“Oh pish posh, you know you like it. Take them upstairs to the FOB. We’ll see what they’re worth once we complete a background check.” And as though nothing had happened, he skipped his way out the chamber's entrance whistling merrily.

Chapter Five: The Sword and the Hunter (Part 1)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter Six: The Sword and the Hunter (Part 2)

Author's Note

And here it is folks. Sorry for all the delays but due to being sick for weeks and packing for an inter-state vacation (South Australia) it's taken quite some time.

Also there was a lot of stuff to unpack this chapter and has been the longest I've posted within the site so there's that. I couldn't find a way to shorten it so here it is. Enjoy.

Chapter Six: The Sword and the Hunter (Part 2)

“I’m sorry, you’re asking me to do what?”

“I need this train to leave for Canterlot, immediately!”

“With all due respect ma’am, I can’t just make this train leave the station at a drop of a hat. There are other passengers and supplies-”

“There are hundreds of creatures’ lives on the line and I don’t mean that as an exaggeration! We need to get to Canterlot, post haste!”

Keldeo, Starlight Glimmer, Ocellus, Smolder and Yona stood before a train conductor, arguing impatiently for the train to move. It was roughly an hour ago since their investigation for the whereabouts of their missing friends. Since that time, they informed Mayor Mare, Pinkie Pie and the head of the Town Guard to redouble their security and make a headcount of the residents of Ponyville to ensure everyone else was accounted for. After which they raced for the station, bought five tickets to Canterlot, and boarded the train as it arrived. However, due to some tourists among some diplomats from some unknown continent from somewhere beyond Equestria, the train was stalled, much to the anxiety and irritation from our group of heroes.

The conductor sighed with annoyance from Starlight’s demand to get the train moving. “Ma’am,” he said calmly, “I can’t just break the train’s schedule without proper authorization for any kind of emergency. It will only encourage any impatient noble to use an excuse just to-”

“I AM A MEMBER OF PRINCESS TWILIGHT’S COUNCIL OF FRIENDSHIP!” Starlight interrupted, pulling out a badge with an emblem of the Royal seal, “If you don’t get this train moving asap, hundreds of ponies and other creatures are going to die; which includes several close relatives of the leaders of Equestria’s allies!! If you don’t want to be the pony to tell them why they are dead, GET. THIS. TRAIN. MOVING!”

After a moment’s hesitation the conductor made for the engine cart. As this was happening, Smolder looked to Starlight.

“Wouldn’t it be quicker if we just teleported there?” she asked.

“Under normal circumstances I would. But with all of you, especially Keldeo with us, it might strain my magic a bit and I’d rather not risk tapping into Keldeo’s mysterious powers in conjunction with my teleportation. It might not give us the intended effects,” Starlight replied, giving a quick glance at Keldeo, “No offence Keldeo.”

Keldeo nodded, reminded of what happened earlier this day. “I understand. I’d rather not repeat what I did outside the hospital without knowing the risks.”

Just then, the conductor called out, “ALL ABOARD! We’re off on an emergency express to Canterlot!”

Everyone quickly soon got in and the conductor wasted no time signalling the train to start running at full speed. Since it was going to be a long ride, despite the pressure to hurry it up, everycreature sat down as they began to move. In a short while, Ponyville was a distant sight as the locomotive made its way to Canterlot at top speed.

Sometime after they boarded and the train left Ponyville station, Keldeo gave an uncomfortable wince as he tried to relax on his seat. It didn’t help that several eyes leered at him and his party.

“Are you alright there, Keldeo?”

The Pokemon turned to Ocellus who had a worried look on her. “Yeah, I’m just… I’m a little uncomfortable,” he hesitantly replied.

“Don’t mind other ponies looking at us,” huffed Yona, “They just mad that train had to leave early.”

“Actually, I don’t mind them. In fact, I can sympathise considering we’ve just about ruined whatever plans they had for their travel,” said Keldeo, folding his ears down apologetically before he continued, “No, I just seem to be nervous around trains.”

“Oh? Why is that?” asked Ocellus.

“I’m… not sure,” he replied, wincing from trying to remember, “I’m still unable to remember things, but it feels like staying put in a train doesn’t feel right. It’s like any second now, some Pokemon and their trainer is going to pop out and attack me.”

“Seriously?” Smolder asked incredulously, “Even in public transport, the creatures from your world attack each other? What kind of world do you live in?”

“The kind that created a monster powerful enough to shoot water out of their hooves and blast a tree into splitters?” joked Keldeo, grinning sheepishly.

Starlight gave Keldeo a concerned expression. “You can’t be seriously calling yourself a monster, are you?”

“What’s wrong with that?” asked Keldeo, now noticing everyone else’s reaction to what sounded to them was a self-deprecating joke. “It’s kind of in the name; Pokemon. Pocket Monster.”

“Wait, Professor Pinkie Pie was right about that whole monster thing about Keldeo?” Yona exclaimed, sharing a gawked expression from everyone else in earshot to the conversation.

Before Keldeo could reply, Starlight casted a sound barrier around them, making them unheard from the rest of the passengers. “Ahem, I think we should discuss more on that later. Right now, I believe we should lay out a plan for when we arrive in Canterlot.”

“A strategy meeting? I’m all for it,” Keldeo beamed with enthusiasm, “What’s the plan, Trainer?”

Again, what’s this trainer title he keeps saying?

“The plan should be that we meet up with the Princess as soon as possible,” Starlight elaborated, “Once we arrive, we need to make for the Castle asap to rally the guards. I’ve already taken the liberty of sending a message to Twilight to prepare our arrival. I would have written more on the details but I ran out of ink.”

“Why didn’t you just text them?” Keldeo asked, tilting his head.

“What’s texting?” Ocellus asked.

Before Keldeo could answer Starlight huffed. “It’s a means of communication that humans use that we don’t have access to.”

“Oh, okay,” Keldeo said, disappointed.

“Anyway, once we explain the situation, we should be able to lead a raid into the underground caverns,” Starlight continued, “If what we saw in that scrying spell was accurate then we don’t have much time until their head honcho decides to kill more civilians, which includes your friends. We’ll need to move quickly if we are to save lives.”

“But what if rallying the guard takes too long?” Yona pointed out, “It could take hours before reaching friends and other creatures and by then they’ll be playing into that dog’s game!”

“Yona’s right,” Smolder added in agreement, “Gallus, Sandbar and Silverstream might not have time. For all we know, they could already be launching a suicide attack to rescue Silverstream by now.”

“Why can’t we just charge in?” suggested Keldeo, much to the horror in everyone’s eyes. “What?”

“Keldeo, that is a reckless idea,” Starlight sternly reprimanded, “You would put those ponies and my students in danger. I won’t allow it! Why would you even consider such an idea?”

“Simple, the guy is a battle-crazed ego maniac,” Keldeo bluntly replied with a stern frown, “If what we saw from your magical bubble is legit, he doesn’t care if his prisoners live or die, he’s clearly not in it for the money, and he doesn’t care about dying. He’s in it for the thrill of the kill. If we give him what he wants, such as a creature powerful enough to catch his attention-”

“Absolutely not!!” Starlight protested with a stomp of her hoof, “I will not allow you to go in there alone! You would be outnumbered, even if we accompany you.”

“But we can’t afford to waste anymore time!” the Pokemon stomped a hoof on the floor with a loud crack.

All were silent as Starlight’s magical barrier fluctuated from the force of his hoof, their eyes fixed as they stared in fright of Keldeo’s enraged appearance. A blue hued light glowed from the tip of his horn as though it was on fire as he scowled, baring his teeth in barely contained fury.

“It will take too long for us to mobilise reinforcements for a rescue! By then, it will be too late to save them. It will be just like what happened before!” he snarled, unaware of the tears forming in his eyes, “I can’t let them suffer because of me, I can’t!”

“Keldeo, please stop! Calm yourself!”

The Pokemon blinked, finally taking notice of the mixed expressions of fear and concern from not only his company but from the onlookers within the train carriage. The barrier of the sound spell now dissipated due to Starlight’s lack of concentration from his outcry. He felt a pair of hooves gripping his foreleg and turned to see Ocellus shivering from her hold on him.

What was that? Why did I say all of that? Where did all that come from? Oh Arceus, why did I just lose it there?

“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say all that, or snap like that to all of you.” The aura from his horn dissipated as he lowered his head, unable to look them in the eye in shame as he used a hoof to wipe the tears from his face.

“D-do you remember something?” Starlight asked hesitantly, carefully holding out a hoof in comfort.

Keleo shook his head. “No, it’s just a gut feeling that I can’t explain.”

“Try.”

He raised his head up to look at Starlight apologetically. “I… I feel responsible. For your students I mean.” Then he turned to the rest of them, “And your friends. They were there on the site of the portal that brought me here. If I never appeared with that portal, they wouldn’t have been kidnapped.”

He gave a low growl as he continued with a scowl, “And it didn’t help when I heard that freak talk about how he played with other people’s lives like they were some toy for him to mess with. It’s not right! Everything in me screamed when he disregarded the value of life, it’s not right!!”

Starlight raised Keldeo’s chin with a hoof, allowing them to see eye to eye. “Keldeo,” she started comfortingly but sternly, “that wasn’t your fault. None of this was. You can’t blame yourself for something out of your control. If anything, I’m to blame for sending them there in the first place to secure the site without proper safety protocols and procedures. I mean, could you imagine if the portal was still open and they were sucked in there?”

She gave a light chuckle before she continued with a motherly smile, “Besides, I believe you coming here to Equestria has done more good for us than harm. Other than you being trapped here, of course,” she quickly added.

“What I’m trying to say is, if you never came here when you did, we’d never have found out about what happened to the missing ponies and other creatures. We’d never know what happened to their friends, and we certainly would not be here in this train to warn the Princess of what’s happening.”

Keldeo gave a small grateful smile, “Thank you. It’s just… I don’t want anyone to die like that; helpless, hopeless and enslaved. I just wish there was a way to-”

Their thoughts were interrupted as a brilliant flash of purple light briefly blinded them, revealing a purple winged and horned pony standing regally before them, sparkling brightly like crystals reflecting the light from the sun. Keldeo stared at her, surprised by her sudden visage. Wow, she’s beautiful. He blushed, just before shaking himself off from his brief stupor and noticed the differing reactions from his company. Starlight’s jaw hung open with utter shock while babbling incoherent jumbles as though she was trying to process her sudden appearance, whilst the students were gazing at her with utter shock and awe.

The sparkling mare turned to all of them with a motherly smile. “Perhaps I can help.”

“He wants us to do what?!!”

After being escorted back to their cells, Gallus and Sandbar explained to the Coppelion and her now awakened colleague, who he introduced himself as Wake Watcher, as well as any other creature in earshot about what took place in the Big Boss’ command centre.

“Yeah, he’s giving us six hours to start a revolt otherwise he’ll start killing hostages. Starting with Silverstream and Sandbar,” Gallus spoke somberly, unable to look anyone in the eye.

“And all this for a story? Luna’s blessed moon, that’s delusional!” Wake Watcher exclaimed, “How the hay does he expect us to start an uprising with just two guards, two of the Princess’ students and hundreds of worn out, enslaved ponies and others?! It’s going to be a bloodbath! We’re bucked!”

“No doubt in my mind that a bloodbath is what he wants.” Coppelion leaned her head to the wall of her cell and drew out a long sigh. “Sweet Celestia, I signed up to fight would-be tyrants and monsters, not psychopaths with delusions of grandeur.”

Sandbar stared hopelessly out of the cell and to the dogs guarding the exit. “So what do we do?”

“What can we do is the better question,” Coppelion huffed out a grunt, “We stay put, we die. We lead an uprising and fight, we die. We try to escape, most of us will absolutely die. It’s a no-win scenario here.”

A heavy silence fell into the room. Several ponies and other Equestrian residents who overheard their predicament huddle together for what little comfort they could offer each other in the hopeless situation they found themselves in. Quiet sobbing and hushed whispers of singing spread across the prison chambers as word spread of their distressing state of affairs.

Gallus looked up from his stupor and saw the mood in the room. Weeping foals clung tightly to their parents, friends or cellmates who either joined in their sorrow or had blank faces of a hundred yard stare in surrender to their fate. Strangers sharing glances with each other, trying to connect upon realising that this might be their final moments. Folks who had been long time rivals and even enemies broke what little scraps of rations they had with them left to each other as a peace offering to make amends. The hopelessness was seen in their eyes, yet all offered what little kindness they had left in what many assumed would be their final moments.

It’s like Griffonstone, but worse.

He gritted his beak and clenched a talon as he stood up. “We need to get out of here,” he snarled.

A heavy silence fell as everyone within earshot looked at the young griffon in disbelief.

“How?”

All eyes turned to Sandbar.

“How?” the young earth pony asked again in a hollow yet pleading tone, “No offence Gallus, but how exactly do we get out of here?!”

“I… I don’t know,” Gallus hesitated before steeling himself, “But we can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

“What can we do, Gallus?” Sandbar raised his voice, much to the surprise of the griffon, “We’re locked in here, there are guards waiting outside the chamber doors, and to top it all off, we’re being watched by that maniac through a crystal ball. Even if you formulate the perfect plan of escape, he’ll know it before we act on it. We’re bucked!”

Gallus scowled. “So what, you want us to just sit here and wait for them to come here and kill you and Silver?! What about everyone else caged in here? There are foals, kits and pups in here, Sandbar! He will kill us all either way! The very least we could do is try to save as much as we can!”

“AT WHAT COST?!” Sandbar all but screamed, tears streaming from his fear-filled eyes, “We don’t have a Bugbear’s chance in Tartarus! He wants you alive, Gallus! YOU!! Not me, not bits, not the gems, not the slaves, not even your crush’s worth of ransom! YOU. He wants you alive for his sadistic delusionary story of grandeur. He will kill me, he will kill Silverstream, he will kill them!” he points to the fellow prisoners, “But for some bucked up reason, he wants you alive long enough to entertain him.

“We go out there and he will kill all of us! We stay here, he will kill only most, if not some of us. I’d rather take one for the team if it means that we could still keep you or anypony else in the gang alive. And I’m pretty sure SIlverstream would agree with that if it means you get to live.”

“AND I CAN’T ACCEPT THAT!” This time it was Gallus bursting into tears, screaming as he gripped Sandbar in a tight embrace, “You, Silver and the rest of the gang are the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family! You especially, are like the brother I never had. I’ve been all alone my whole life, living with a grumpy old fart who just offers the bare minimum in raising me, surrounded by idiots who can’t be bothered making a change in their crappy lives! I won’t be able to bear it without all of you! I can’t live with myself if I even lose one of you! I know it’s selfish for me to say it, but if they want to kill you and Silver I’d rather he have us all or none of us! I can’t live without you guys, I just can’t!”

The griffon’s cries turned into audible sobbing as he tightened his embrace to his comrade. Sandbar for his part was taken aback by his usually sarcastic friend whom he too formed a similar bond with these past few years. Overwhelmed by the day’s following events; the portal, the abduction, the threat of Big Boss to his own life and the life of his friends, the earth pony soon followed his friend’s anguish, crying by his side.

“I’m sorry, Gallus,” Sandbar’s voice cracked as he sobbed, “I wasn’t thinking straight. I don’t wanna die, but I don’t want to see you die either! Oh Faust, I don’t want to see any of you die!”

Gallus’ sobs quieted as Sandbar’s lament continued, “When he said that I could never be a hero I wanted to break him. But deep inside, I knew he was right. I’m not strong enough to be that hero, I’m not smart enough to counter his argument. I’m just a simple, mediocre earth pony who-”

“Sandbar, stop!!”

Sandbar’s sobbing was interrupted as Gallus pulled away from the embrace and held his friend by the shoulders.

“You are not mediocre, Sandbar,” Gallus firmly stated, “After everything we’ve been through, how could you say you are mediocre? You freed us from Chancellor Neighsay and Cozy Glow when everypony else didn’t think twice about us! You stood up for us when Cozy Glow convinced everypony in school to turn against us while we struggled to free Miss Glimmer! I could not think of a friend more loyal than you; even more than Ms Rainbow Dash. You are excellent, dude!”

Sandbar deadpanned, “You had me going there til that last bit.”

“Yeah, sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” Gallus rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment before he continued, “Point is, you. Are. Awesome. Don’t let anyone else say otherwise.”

Sandbar wiped the tears from his eyes with a comforted smile, “Thanks bro.” He held out a hoof to Gallus, to which the griffon promptly clasped in shake and shared another embrace.

“Aww, that’s so sweet,” a certain wall-eyed pegasus cooed from the cage across them.

The embrace swiftly breaks off as a sudden realisation hits Gallus. “Wait, how did you know I had a crush on Silver?”

“Dude, we all knew that since the first time we encountered the spirit of the Tree of Harmony,” Sandbar deadpanned, “Well, everyone but Silverstream of course.”

“Everyone knew?!” Gallus gawked wide-eyed at the realisation of his not-so-kept secret being common knowledge.

“Hey!” yelled Coppelion, catching their attention, “As nice as you’ve got yourselves sorted out is, we still have a problem.”

“She’s right,” Wake agreed with a shrug, “Even if we formed the most brilliant plan in the world, their boss could still hear us through a crystal ball, can’t he?”

Gallus was about to comment on that as he remembered that they were being monitored when a sudden flash of purple appeared behind them.

“No need to worry about his watchful eye,” smiled the sparkling figure of an alicorn, much to the shocked expressions of awe within the room, “Your captured friend took care of it.”

Silverstream sat silently across Big Boss’ table huddled in a near foetal position on her seat, unable to look her captor in the eye. For the past few hours since they returned Gallus and Sandbar to their cells and left her behind with the monster in the room, Silverstream cried silently, trying to muffle her tears from any who would hear her. Oddly enough, the monster in question seemed too distracted staring intently at the crystal ball that held surveillance of her two captured friends.

“Why can’t they just hurry already?” Big Boss grumbled, tapping his paws impatiently on the table, “They’re going to die anyway, so they might as well go out in a blaze of glory.”

The hippogriff’s heart stung as she heard that. She closed her eyes, trying to hold her tears back in vain as her sobbing only grew louder. She held onto her charm silently pleading to the powers that be. Please, anypony. Anycreature. Anyone. Save us. Save my friends. I don’t want to die. I don’t want them hurt. I don’t want them to cry.

“Worry not little one. They will not be harmed anymore.”

Silverstream’s heart stopped for a second as she slowly looked up to see whom she could only describe to be an answer to her prayers. Before her stood an ethereal sparkling purple alicorn whom she was too familiar with. It was the spirit of the Tree of Harmony using the visage of Princess Twilight Sparkle. A hopeful smile slowly grew on her beak and was about to attempt a hug before she was stopped by the spirit.

“Do not approach, little one,” the spirit raised a hoof in front of Silverstream, stopping the hippogriff from her position, “Only you can see me within the room. If you touch me, I will be revealed and then there will be no hope of rescue. Do not speak with your voice or you shall catch his attention. Speak from your thoughts for I can hear yours.”

Silverstream looked at the Spirit of the Tree and asked in her mind, Wait, how are you appearing before us?

"I am always with you. So long as your friendship remains strong I am able to communicate to you should the need be great. When I sensed the fears and despair in all of your hearts I realised I needed to act and help you."

Are you here to save us? Silverstream thought of her question.

The spirit shook her head but gave a comforting smile. “I have come to aid you. Your friends who are imprisoned are planning to escape while the rest of your friends are coming to rescue you, accompanied by one whom you saved this morning.”

We’re gonna be rescued? Silverstream’s eyes widened with hope.

The spirit nodded, “You are, but if you are to be rescued you must first play your part on this as well.”

What do you mean?

“If you, your friends, and the rest of the prisoners are to escape, we must first blind them from our plans.” The spirit points a hoof to the orb in front of the impatient dog.

Silverstream’s body shuddered. You want me to break his crystal ball? But… But he’ll kill me! I don’t even think I’d be fast enough to reach the ball before he stops me. I can’t do it! I-

“You can do it, trust me,” the spirit reassured her as she placed a hoof on the terrified hippogriff’s shoulder, “Recall what you are most good at. Of all your friends, your optimism and enthusiasm in life brings out the joy and appreciation for each creature’s passion.”

The sparkling mare raised Silverstream’s chin with a hoof, offering a smile of confidence.

“Use it to your advantage.”

Before Silverstream could ask any further, the spirit disappeared in front of her.

Okay Silvy, get a grip. The Tree of Harmony asked you a favour. Well, not so much a favour, more like a “Do this so that you, your friends and every other creature captured can escape” kind of thing. If we do this right we could all get out of here for a Pinkie Pie patented party. If this goes badly, we could end up with something worse than the Storm King’s invasion. Okay, a lot worse.

She kept an eye on the grumbling Diamond Dog boss to see if he was looking at her, but instead he was keeping his bored eyes on the walls.

No pressure. The crystal ball is there. I could just reach out and toss it to the floor. But most likely, he’ll just skewer me with his sword if I even move a muscle towards him, let alone the orb. Think Silvy, what do I do? The tree said to use what I’m good at to my advantage. What am I good at that could be of use to this? It’s not like I could just talk about what I’m interested in and compare it to his love for… violence.

A proverbial lightbulb clicked.

“Um, Mr Big Boss? Can I ask you a question?”

The villain raised an eyebrow. “It seems today is full of questions,” he replied, almost keen to find a distraction from his growing boredom, “Ask away.”

Silverstream gulped hard before nervously asking her intimidating captor, “You said you liked telling stories. I like stories. Especially the kind where there is no fighting involved, everygriff just gets together to solve a problem, and they all like happily ever after. What I’m curious to know is why you would want to tell a story about heroes and villains killing each other?”

Big Boss grinned excitedly. “Why, I’m so glad you asked, my little hippogriff. You’re right, any story can be good if it’s told well. But you see there lies a problem to such tales.”

“What problem, sir?”

Big Boss quirked an eyebrow, “Would you like to know?”

Silverstream nodded.

“Come closer,” he gestured to her with a finger to a seat closest to the orb.

Silverstream quickly but cautiously approached the seat and sat on it, resisting the urge to eye the crystal ball.

“You see lassie, the world is saturated with countless stories talking about the mundane and the mediocre,” the villainous dog continued with an excited grin, “Every creature from their mothers having been telling the same old tale of triumph over evil; that if enough heads come together and believe in something, it becomes true. And while I admit that there is a very good reason why everyone likes to tell that tale, ask yourself one question: How many of those kinds of stories can you remember?”

“Oh, there was that story about a hungry little sea slug, then there was the Prince and the Coral, and that weird story about a swan, or was it a goose?”

Big Boss held out a paw, “Stop. Let me correct myself; how many of them could be remembered for a thousand years?”

Silverstream held a claw to her lower beak in thought. “A few? I mean, sure, not all stories could be remembered for a thousand years, but I’m pretty sure there are some stories that could last that long. Like the story about Nightmare Moon for instance.”

“Exactly,” Big Boss sneered, poking her beak with a finger, causing the hippogriff to wince. “When you think about it, every story ever told has a form of conflict that needs to be resolved. However throughout history, the greater the conflict, the better the story is. And the more tragic the tale, the more memorable it is. The Tale of Nightmare Moon is the greatest and most remembered story because of its tragedy and conflict. I merely wish to become one such legend. Is that so wrong?”

Silverstream twiddled her claws nervously, gulping hard once more as she forced out her next question, “Would you mind telling me what sort of story you had in mind? That is if it isn’t too much troubl-”

“WOULD I?!” he leaned excitedly as though he received an early Hearth’s Warming present, “I would gladly share my ideas!! Oh, you have no idea how much I’m dying to share my ideas for my magnum opus!”

He returned to his chair and stood on it with one leg and another over the table as he orated his plans like a bard in a tavern.

“Behold the Tale of the Big Bad Boss of Baskerville! A vicious vile villain with a voracious desire for violence! He and his merry band of mass-murdering boys sailed from the southern coasts of the continent, leaving a trail of raided, pillaged and burned settlements. But it wasn’t enough, oh no, it wasn’t. There was no true hunt to be had. All we have to oppose us were soft, sickly country folk who offer no real resistance against our tide of terror. Then one day, we were offered a chance of a lifetime.

“A Lord from a distant land who sought vengeance against a great nation approached us. In return for our loyalty we are promised the greatest game imaginable; Equestria. The nation where the fate of the world hangs into balance. The birthplace for most of the world’s mightiest heroes! Unable to resist the chance to challenge the land of legendary heroes, this villain accomplished his tasks with gusto while he waited for his nemesis to challenge him. All the while he continues to prepare for the great clima- What are you doing?”

Silverstream stood on her seat, holding the crystal ball close to her. She looked mildly distracted at what she saw within it and even blushed a little bit before realising Big Boss’ monologuing ended abruptly. Almost reflexively, she held the orb defensively at the dog.

A look of mild amusement crept on Big Boss’ expression, followed by disappointment. “Oh that is clever lassie,” he sighed, shaking his head, “Distracting me with my own monologue. I would have given you points for being clever, but you blew it when you didn’t strike while the iron was hot. I mean, seriously. You could have made your escape or took one of my swords from the rack behind you. Anything but a feeble attempt to hit me with my own crystal ball would have made for a more interesting twist-”

The sound of shattering glass deafened the room as the hippogriff tossed the orb into the floor, smashing it into tiny pieces on the rocky ground.

“There,” Silverstream’s voice quivered as she winced a terrified grin with a hint of satisfaction as she shrank back to her seat with tears forming in the corner of her eyes, “N-now we can m-make things more i-interesting if we make it m-more challenging, r-r-right?”

“She has done it! Make for the halls to the left outside this chamber. You will find three more prison chambers with more slaves within them. Once you release them, follow the path upwards. It will lead you to the surface where the Royal Guards are assembling.”

“But what about these cell doors? Aren’t they locked?” Gallus pointed out.

The spirit of the tree smiled confidently, pointing a hoof to their cell door. “See for yourselves.”

Sandbar held a hoof to the door and reluctantly pushed. The cell door opened slowly with a rusted screech that echoed the room. Noticing this, other prisoners did the same to their doors with similar results, much to the bemusement of all the prisoners.

“They weren’t LOCKED?!!” a plum coloured earth pony mare with strawberries and grapes for a Cutie Mark shouted irritably.

“Huh, no wonder my screwdriver didn’t work. Fancy that,” a brown earth pony stallion with an hourglass Cutie Mark remarked with a slight bit of amusement.

“Do not delay,” the spirit ordered, “You must leave, now!” And without another word, she vanished with a brilliant light.

There was a brief pause in the prison chamber as everyone stopped to see the “Princess” just vanished before them.

“Well, don’t just stand there!” barked Gallus, snapping everyone out of their confusion of what they just saw, “You heard the Harmony Spirit that looked like the Princess; let’s move it!”

As though a switch was flipped, the entire atmosphere suddenly came to life as ponies, donkeys, griffons and a few diamond dogs picked themselves up and hastily made for the exit. Fear, anxiety and hope were seen in their eyes as colours seemed to return in their glum faces. The weeks and for some, even months of enslavement began to chip away for the chance of freedom to see the sun and moon once more.

“Woah everypony, slow down!” Sandbar called out to the rushing figures, stopping most of them in their tracks, “I know all of you want to be at home right about now, but if we don’t follow the plan and leave in an orderly fashion none of us are going to be able to escape. We also still need to rescue the remaining prisoners which I know some of you have friends and family among them.”

“The colt’s right,” Coppelion added in support, “How many of you can open locked doors?”

A few hooves and claws raised up.

“Alright, you lot, follow me and my partner to the other cells. The rest of you, follow those two to the surface. Wait for at least five minutes before you make a breakout.”

Gallus blinked. “Wait, what? You want us to just leave you here while you free the other prisoners?”

“No, I want you to save as many lives as you can,” answered the guard, “The sooner we can get word of these dogs to the Princess and the rest of the Royal Guards, the sooner we can rescue more prisoners and catch these bozos. You know the layout more due to being dragged to their command centre, you are our best shot at saving them.

“Besides, their boss is after you and he has your lady friend with him. If you aren’t among us breaking out the rest of the prisoners you can at least serve as a distraction for the head honcho to chase after. And who knows,” she added with a wink, “you might rescue the pretty pink one while you’re at it.”

Gallus gawked with a blush before shaking his thoughts off. “Gah, fine! Just try not to get captured.”

“Will do. Good luck kid,” she smirked to Gallus before turning to her assigned group. “Alright lockpickers, we’re moving out first! If any of the guards see us, let’s make some noise while the rest of us break for the surface.”

After a few affirmations from the volunteers, they left the prison chamber (which happened to be unlocked as well).

Following the instructions to wait for a few minutes, Gallus finally called out, “Alright folks, let’s move! Those who are strong enough, carry the ones too weak or injured. We have to move quickly!”

As Gallus began to herd the prisoners out of the chamber and into the cavern’s hallway, Sandbar stayed at the back of the group to ensure no one was left behind. Just as the last of the prisoners were leaving, Sandbar felt a paw on his shoulder.

“Now where do you think you’re going?”

Sandbar’s blood runs cold as he turns to see one of Big Boss’ goons grabbing him by the shoulder.

What?! How? How did he get behind us?!

Reading his expression, the dog simply smirked. “I was told by the boss to wait for you lot to make your escape. Told me it’ll make for a twist. Been hiding in that back room there this whole time.” He pointed to an inconspicuous door at the other side of the room.

Sandbar turned his view towards the door to see Gallus’ shared expression of horror as he felt himself flung back deeper into the chamber.

“SANDBAR!” Gallus screeched as he charged towards the dog.

The dog in turn simply sidestepped from his reckless charge and backhanded Gallus, causing him to slam into one of the cages.

“Y’know, as much as the boss would like to have you around as his playthings, he still has a job to do,” said the dog as he grabbed Sandbar by his mane, much to the earth pony’s pain.

Gallus stood back on his, preparing to make another charge when he froze with dread as the dog brandished a blade.

“No hard feelings, kid,” the dog calmly remarked as he pointed the blade at Sandbar’s throat, “Boss says that your buddy needs to die regardless. It’s all for the Great Game.”

Gallus leapt out of the cage, reaching out a claw to his friend who gave him a look of absolute terror.

“SANDBAR! NOOOO!!!”

SLASH

Sandbar dropped to the floor, blood trickling from his throat. He reached a hoof to his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding, only to find that he felt no cut on his skin. The blood was not his. He looked up to see Gallus stare behind him in shock and he turned around to see what had just happened.

A headless figure of the dog who held him up earlier stood behind him standing there motionless. As for the head itself, it had been laid out nearby with an expression of both shock and pain as if the sudden cut to its neck was both quick and brutal. The body fumbled for a bit before it crumpled to the floor like a puppet without strings. Sandbar just sat there in both shock, relief, and horror before he looked up and saw the one who had rescued him from a similar fate. It was the unicorn from earlier, the one with the strange horn, only now it was glowing with a bright sharp aura of blue and his eyes were that of killing intent.

Yet, the moment the unicorn stared at him that intensity left and was replaced with gentle kindness and worry. As if it flipped a switch to a different person. The creature held out its hoof and smiled warmly at him. "Are you okay?"

Silverstream ruminated on what her life has been so far. Considering everything she’s experienced up to this point; survived the Storm King, attended a school from abroad, made a lot of non-hippogriff/seapony friends, indoor plumbing; yes, her life so far she considers herself content. Her only regret now would have to be what she just heard from the crystal ball before she decided to smash it could not be unheard. Now she has to live with what little time she believes she has left with the revelation that one of her friends has the sweets for her.

She would have processed this new information in due time were it not for the predicament she now faces before her. Big Boss stood absolutely dumbfounded at what she had done. Of all the things this hippogriff chose to do with an opportunity to retaliate or escape, she smashes his surveillance crystal ball. Not even at him, just at the ground. Like an angry wife destroying her mate’s trophy out of spite. From shock came anger. Not at the destroyed orb (although he was still pretty angry at the loss of an expensive artefact) but at the sheer stupidity of this hippogriff in front of him.

How could she waste such an opportunity? And here I thought she would be a character that breaks the mould of the cutesy useless archetype that is in need of rescuing 24/7! What’s the point in breaking my things? Did she do it just to spite me? I mean, points for guts there, BUT WHAT”S THE POINT OF THAT?! Worthless. Absolutely worth-

“There. N-now we can m-make things more i-interesting if we make it more ch-ch-challenging, r-r-right?”

Her sheepishly terrified grin and her equally terrified stuttering statement caught him off guard.

Wait a minute. She planned to smash the orb? Why would she-?

A moment of clarity came, followed by a grin of amusement.

“... Hehe… Hehehe… Hahaha… BWAHAHAHAHA!!”

Big Boss’ low chuckle raised into a booming fit of cackling laughter. It echoed across the caverns as he continued even louder, holding his guts with his arms as he became increasingly winded from his mirth.

Silverstream caught off guard from his reaction, chuckling nervously from his contagious laughter.

SMACK!!

Before Silverstream could process what had just happened, she found herself face-first on the floor with a throbbing pain on her left cheek. Small rocks, dust and bits of debris lodged into her coat and skin as she impacted the ground, bruising her in some areas and cutting open a small wound on the right side of her face. Prone on the ground, she tried to raise herself up, clutching her open wound with a talon while avoiding to touch the throbbing pain that was her left cheek. Tears formed from the corner of her eyes as she felt overwhelmed by the pain across her body, particularly on her face.

“Hehehe. You’re a clever little lassie, aren’t you?” he chuckled as he stood menacingly above her.

Despite her resistance she choked out a sob, all while refusing to look back at her tormentor. Suddenly Silverstream screamed in pain as she was lifted by the mane at eye level with the dog.

“I have to say, I applaud you,” Big Boss sneered as Silverstream struggled while he held her up, “Taking advantage of my monologuing while you attempted sabotage on our operation. Very amusing.”

“A-amusing enough to free me?” Silverstream grunted from her predicament.

Big Boss shook his head sadly as he drew out a sword with one paw. “Nay lassie. Unfortunately for you, this is the part where you become a liability and must therefore be eliminated from the picture.”

Silverstream gasped in wide-eyed horror, “W-What?! B-but you promised!”

Big Boss sighed with disappointment, “First off lassie, you didn’t impress me enough to warrant your release. Secondly, it was your coltfriend who was supposed to impress me. And lastly, your death along with your mediocre friend will provide the perfect twist to elevate the griffon into the hero he should be.”

He readied his blade as the hippogriff struggled helplessly.

“I’m sorry it had to be this way, but unless a twist I didn’t see coming is around the corner I doubt I could find any more use for you.”

Silverstream closed her eyes as she cried, waiting for the end when they were interrupted.

“Boss, we’ve got a problem!”

Big Boss snarled, “Agh! Look, can I just have a moment where I’m not interrupted?!!”

“Sorry Boss,” the minion saluted, “but it’s pretty important!”

Rolling his eyes, he dropped Silverstream to the ground and sheaths his sword. “Well?” he groaned impatiently, “Spit it out, what’s so important that you’re interrupting a crucial scene?”

“Multiple partols went silent Boss,” replied the dog, “One of them reported on a group of intruders knocking our boys left, right and centre. Also, a few of our prisoners are making a break for it!”

Big Boss’ ears perked up.

“What?!” He slammed a fist on the table and began ranting. “No! No! NO!! This wasn’t part of the story! Where did these has-been intruders come from? It’s all wrong! It was supposed to be an uprising among the prisoners; not a rescue story!”

He paused at words in realisation and gasped. “Unless…” He looked towards Silverstream who was prone on the ground. “Lassie!” he pointed at her, causing the hippogriff to flinch, “You and your friends, there were supposed to be six of you, right?”

“Y-yes,” she replied with a choked sob.

A wide grin grew on his muzzle. “Of course. OF COURSE! You were a team of six!! No wonder the three of you felt incomplete! We were missing key players on the board!”

He turned back to the minion who was waiting at the tent’s entrance. “You! Gather the boys!! We’re heading back to fetch the rest of them. We’ll take the back route. Let’s hope Bob doesn’t lose his head by killing them off yet.”

About an hour earlier

As much as he could remember, Keldeo had never really been fond of cities. With a few exceptions such as a city within a forest that he vaguely recalled, he wasn’t fond of the crowded streets and buildings made of stone, bricks and metal. It all felt too dull and colourless. It didn’t help that he felt surrounded by electricity. Which was why when the train entered the gates of the city, Keldeo was awestruck by its design, structure and location at the top of a mountain. Its pillaring towers that spiralled with colours and its marble white walls and pavements filled him with childlike wonder as he marvelled at its majesty.

Such is a shame that he couldn’t stay long enough to continue sightseeing. As soon as the train arrived at the station, the party immediately bolted out of the carriage, threw their tickets to the booth and poured out into the streets of Canterlot proper.

“I don’t like to do this,” called out Starlight to the students and the Pokemon as they ran across the streets, “and I don’t like the plan that the Tree of Harmony put together, but I know better than to contradict the literal guiding force of the Element Bearers and somepony still needs to give the Princess and the guards the rundown, so how much can I trust you all to follow the plan?”

“You can count on us, Headmare!” Ocellus replied while she panted, “We’ll make for the caverns below the castle once we reach the gates.”

“Is Starlight sure guards will let friends pass into castle gates?” asked Yona.

“They ought to,” Starlight levitated the badge she used earlier for the train, “this is our ticket in.”

Keldeo hadn’t said a word since what the others called the spirit of the Tree of Harmony appeared before them with a proposed plan to rescue their friends. While the being clearly beared no-will to them, something about her (or it) rubbed him the wrong way; as though it knew of him.

“As for you, my little Pokemon, your role in this plan is to protect them at all cost. They are my chosen inheritors of my gifts. Prove yourself worthy and I may yet offer you your just reward.”

What did she mean by that? And how did she know of me?

His thoughts went on like this for some time. For some reason, he realised that his memories were a mix of remembrance and forgetfulness at the same time. He knew things such as what he was, where he was from, and what he could do as easily as breathing. But critical details and the inner workings of knowledge were a bit beyond him. Not to mention forgetting anyone he personally knew from his world. Yet this “Spirit of Harmony” seemed to know more about him which only begged the question of how did it know? Even as they entered through the castle gates did Keldeo wonder about this, not realising how much time had passed untilbefore Smolder finally shook him from his pondering.

“Yo, Keldeo! Quit your daydreaming and hurry it up! Some of the guards are pointing us to the cave.”

Wow, I really can let time pass when I’m thinking, Keldeo thought sheepishly. Gah! No time for this! I’ve got to focus on the problem at hand!

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he joined with the rest of them into the caverns.

Before the group entered, Starlight assigned a yellow pegasus guard to guide them into the caverns. He looked at the group with peculiar interest and asked, “So what exactly do you four want with the Crystal Caverns of Canterlot? I mean, I understand it’s an emergency as Ms Glimmer put it, but what exactly is the nature of this emergency?”

“A bunch of ponies and other creatures who were abducted are being held against their will and are slaving away by wolf-looking Diamond Dogs underneath the crystal caverns.” Smolder promptly replied as though she were just discussing the weather.

“Ah,” the guard nodded in understanding, “the usual Ponyville weekly menace or National level threat?”

“The latter,” came the reply from the three students.

“Oh, right,” the guard acknowledged as he hastened his pace, “Let’s pick it up, double time! Not a moment to lose, right?”

Keldeo gave them a look of surprise. “Wait, do these kinds of things often happen?” he asked, clearly puzzled, “I was under the impression that this world was peaceful.”

The pegasus turned to him with a smirk, “Judging from your reaction I take it you’re from out of town?”

“Something like that,” replied Keldeo.

The guard gave a chuckle, “Say no more then. Yes, Equestria is peaceful but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its problems popping up from time to time. Hay, I took part in taking down several major threats in the past; a few of them quite recently.”

Smolder rolled her eyes, “We know all about your achievements Mr “I-beat-Dragon-Lord-Torch-and-his buddies-before.” Old Rockhoof told us that story like a hundred times.”

“Oh, right,” the pegasus winced before nodding his head apologetically, “I keep forgetting how much things have changed since the old days.”

Smolder shrugged, “Nah, don’t sweat it. I know what dragons did in the past. No need to walk on eggs about it.”

The guard smiled at that before returning to Keldeo, “So new guy? You’re pretty tall for a pony, let alone a unicorn. Where are you from, the newly discovered Forest Kingdom of the Fey Ponies?”

Keldeo shook his head, “Ah no. I’m not from this world. I’m not even a pony.”

The pegasus’ eyes widened with surprise. “Huh, a planeswalker? I haven’t met one since teaming up with Starswirl. Oh, by the way,” he gave Keldeo a salute, “Flash Magnus, Captain of the Royal Guard.”

“Keldeo,” he returned Flash’s gesture with a nod.

“Hey guys,” Ocellus called out in a loud whisper, “I hear a noise up ahead.”

Stopping on their tracks, the party listened. Voices. Ahead of the curve in the tunnel. Quietly they crept towards the source of the noise, leading them to a lit open chamber. In there stood eight of the dogs, standing post or lounging by a chessboard.

“Hah, mate. I win again.”

“Oh come on! Best out of seven!”

“Will you gits just shut up? We’re supposed to be waiting for the break out and here you are, slacking off on that stupid game!”

“Oh lighten up, Wiley. There’s no way those ponies can get past their cell blocks. They’d have to go through a literal gauntlet past the cells into the upper corridors next to the main chamber, then go past three more checkpoints to reach us here. The Boss will make chew toys out of them before we can have our fun.”

“Well,” Ocellus deadpanned, “that was convenient.”

“Yeah,” Yona nodded in agreement, “dogs just laid out where friends are.”

Flash took a moment to observe the layout of the chamber before returning to the group with a smirk. “Eight of them, five of us. I could take about three or maybe even five of them. How about you guys; how much fighting experience do you have?”

“Not much,” replied Ocellus, shaking her head.

“I’ve been through a few scraps with other dragons before,” Smolder pointed a thumb to her chest, “but not with armed creatures.”

“Yona smashed things before, but not living things,” Yona added.

Keldeo hesitated, “I… I can’t really remember much, but I know how to fight. My body is sturdy enough to take a hit from their weapons.” He gave the captain a sheepish grin, “And not to brag, but I think I might be strong enough to beat all eight of them without problems.”

Flash Magnus raised an eyebrow, “Interesting.” He nodded his head in thought before coming to a decision. “Alright kid, let’s hope you’re as good as you claim. I’ll bust in first and take the three near the chess table, you take down the two closest to our entrance. We’ll then tag-team on the rest of them one by one. The rest of you will finish off the ones we didn’t put out of commission; knock them down and tie them up. We’ll leave them for the Royal Guard backup to deal with. Are we clear?”

The students and the Pokemon nodded in approval.

The pegasus held a wing out with three feathers sticking out to count down their assault.

3… 2… 1

Living up to his name, Flash Magnus charged into the room, unveiling a golden kite shield into the fray. Before any of the guards could react he tossed his shield like a discus towards the three dogs by the table, bouncing between their faces and briefly stunning them from the shock. Before they could recover from the attack, Flash punched the dog who was standing above the table on the muzzle with his forehoof, while he bucked the other two who were sitting with his hindlegs sending them across the room and onto the wall. All three of them were knocked out unconscious.

Water Type: Bubblebeam. At the same time, Keldeo jumped into the chamber, landed with his hindlegs and pointed both forelegs towards dogs standing guard by the entrance. Still reeling from the pegasus’ sudden assault, they were suddenly peppered with bubbles of water blasted from the Pokemon’s forehooves, followed by being knocked prone to the ground by a tackle from Yona and a headbutt from Smolder.

With five of them taken out of commission, two of the remaining dogs drew their swords at the party. The third was about to howl to raise the alarm when she found herself enveloped by Ocellus’ silencing spell.

Flying Type: Bounce. Seeing the other guards taken care of, Keldeo leapt towards the remaining guards across the room, landing on one of them and knocking him prone. The other dog with the sword charged forward and swung it down on Keldeo’s torso. The blade met its mark but did not sink into the skin. The Pokemon grunted from the pain and glared at his attacker. The dog winced from the glare and noticed Keldeo’s right forehoof glowing bright orange.

Fighting Type: Revenge. Keldeo retaliated with an uppercut from his hoof, launching the dog to the ceiling. And with a “CRACK!”, the dog was lodged into the crystal ceiling and hung limply above the shocked onlookers.

Wasting no time, Flash dropped the last dog to the floor and pointed the pointy end of his shield to her neck. “How many of you are guarding the other checkpoints?” he snarled intimidatingly.

Ocellus dropped the silencing spell as the dog stared defiantly at the pegasus. “You won’t get answers from me, pony,” she spat with a sultry smirk, “You’re not my type and I ain't a squealer.”

Flash stared at her with a bemused look before he turned his head to the students. “Hey, Yona was it?” he called out, “How good are you at crushing things?”

“Waoh, hey now! Let’s not be hasty here,” the dog protested.

“Well, you better spill quickly,” added Smolder as she pointed a thumb at the eager yak, “You’ve captured some friends of ours and our friend here can’t wait to try you out as a new piece of furniture to smash on.”

A small blush formed on the dog. “I… don’t know how to feel about that proposal.” she looked to Yona with fluttering eyes, “Will you be gentle?”

This flustered Yona. “Smolder not mean that smashing type!” she pawed the ground as though she were ready to charge, “And if dog won’t answer, Yona show you what kind of smash Smolder means!”

The dog raised her paws in surrender, “Okay, okay! I was just messing with you! Geez! There are always eight of us guarding each checkpoint and two watching over each crossroad! That’s all I know, I swear!”

Smolder took a moment to glare at her with narrowed eyes as though she were looking for something before turning back to the rest of them, “She’s telling the truth.”

“How do you know?” asked Keldeo.

Smolder smirked, “I could smell her wetting herself.”

“H-hey! I did not!”

Flash shrugged, “Fair enough. Tie her up and gag her. We’ll leave her for the rest of the backup to deal with.”

“Well, you’re quite the fighter kid. Where’d you learn to fight like that?”

A short while after repeatedly going through the two other checkpoints and crossway with similar results, the party finally reached the lower chambers where the prisoners were held. As they continued downwards, Flash Magnus gave Keldeo an appraising glance, still impressed by his numerous abilities.

“To be honest, I don’t really know,” replied Keldeo sheepishly, “I kind of suffered some sort of amnesia when I came here and a lot of what I do is kind of out of instinct.”

“Seriously?” Flash whistles, all the more impressed, “Wow, if that’s the case, if you ever think about settling in this world and joining the Royal Guard. Just come and find me and I’ll put in a good word for you. The Guard could use experienced and capable ponies like you.”

Keldeo smiles appreciatively but shakes his head, “Thanks for the offer, but again I’m not a pony. And besides, I’m already part of a group.”

“Oh, you mean these guys?” Flash points to the students, “That’s understandable then, I can see the appeal.”

“Ah, no actually. I’m part of the… part of the…” Keldeo’s pace grinds to a halt as images flashed in his mind.

Three tall figures stood before him and challenged him into battle constantly; each one becoming more difficult to hold out against. The first fought him among ruins and grinned at him mischievously. The second fought him in a forest and smiled at him fondly. The third fought him by a mountain and looked at him proudly. The three then stood together before him. And as they lowered their heads before him, blades of light glowed from each of their heads; all pointing towards him.

“Remember Keldeo,” the third and tallest one spoke in such authority, “No matter where you are, no matter how far apart we are from each other, a Sword is never alone. All for one. One for all.”

“Keldeo? Keldeo!”

Snapping out from his stupor, Keldeo found himself carried on top of Yona with Ocellus who was trying to shake him awake. “Huh, what happened? What’s going on?”

“We should be asking you that,” Smolder flew next to him and jabbed a claw into his ribs, “You suddenly stopped in the middle of your tracks and went all pale there for a while.”

“A while? How long was I out?”

“About fifteen minutes,” replied Ocellus, “Captain Magnus moved on ahead and met up with some guards who apparently escaped from their cells and were breaking out the other cells. They told us where Gallus and Sandbar are held. We’re on our way to their cells ”

“Look, ahead!” Yona called out to something in front of them.

Ponies. A large group of haggard ponies and other creatures advanced quickly towards them before stopping just a few feet ahead.

“A-are you the other prisoners?” one of them called out.

“No,” Yona replied, “Friends here to rescue you!”

“Y-you are?” another called out.

“Yeah, the Royal Guard will be coming here shortly,” Smolder added, “In fact, Captain Flash Magnus is just by the other cells trying to free them too.”

A cacophony of quiet cheers erupted among the prisoners as they led past them into the next corridor.

Yona stopped a filly to ask, “Excuse Yona, but has little pony seen taller sea-green pony with turtle Cutie Marks?”

The filly nodded, “Yes, he was just behind-”

A commotion was heard at the end of the crowd followed by a scream.

“I’ll go on ahead, you guys keep them moving.” Keldeo leapt from Yona’s back and past the crowd into the chamber where he heard the scream.

“No hard feelings, kid. Boss says that your buddy needs to die regardless. It’s all for the Great Game.”

Keldeo heard this as he entered. Before him stood one of these diamond dogs he heard so much about, holding a sea-green pony in a headlock while he brandished a dagger by his throat, and a blue cat-bird hybrid he had never seen before inside one of the cages.

The hybrid had the look of horror on him as leapt out of the cage, reaching out a claw to his friend who could only watch him with shared terror.

“SANDBAR NOOOO!!!”

Time froze for the Pokemon as he watched the dog attempt to slit the throat of the pony. The image before him once again shifted to what became increasingly familiar flashbacks into his forgotten memory.

A human girl; the trainer from a previous one he saw, surrounded by Pokemon and other trainers with matching black and white uniforms. The uniformed trainers gave an unheard order but it became clear what it was: Their Pokemon charged towards the trainer, overwhelming her and her Pokemon; cutting, scratching, blasting, and more until she and her team fell to the ground. She struggled to stand until she turned to meet his eyes and gave him a pained smile before passing out.

“HILDA! NOOOOO!!” A voice screamed in his memory that sounded just like his own, before vanishing almost immediately.

Keldeo’s vision suddenly went red. Fear, anger, hatred. All suddenly surged into his thoughts and mind. A burning sensation was felt at the base of his horn as an aura surged from it and suddenly extended past the tip in a brilliant blue. Charging into the foe before him, he gave a mighty swing towards their neck. Fighting Type: Sacred Sword.

Keldeo felt his sword hitting its mark and watched the headless form fall limply, revealing mortified expressions from the pony and the hybrid. Realising that they were saved, Keldeo relaxed his expression and extended a hoof.

“Are you okay?”

The pony took his hoof and stood up. “Y-yeah. Th-thanks I guess,” he stammered, clearly shaken from what had just happened.

“Gallus! Sandbar!”

Keldeo turned to the room’s entrance and saw Ocellus, Yona and Smolder pouring into the chamber, enveloping the two others in the room with hugs.

“Yona, Ocellus, Smolder,” the blue hybrid sobbed into their coats, scales and chitin.

“I thought I’d never see you guys again,” added the green pony as he joined in the tears of relief.

Ocellus was about to add to that comment when she noticed the headless dog behind the pony. “Sandbar,” she gasped, “what happened here? Why is he missing a head?”

Seeing that this Sandbar was still reeling from the shock, Keldeo answered instead, “I did that.”

“WHAT?!”

The remaining three looked with horror, disbelief and anger at the Pokemon.

“Y-y-you beheaded him?!” Ocellus all but screamed.

“Yeah dude,” added Smolder, who suddenly took a defensive stand, “I mean, I’m all for fighting to save our friends but did you have to decapitate them?”

Puzzled as to why they reacted like that from his action he calmly replied, “He was going to kill the pony. I had no choice.”

A pregnant silence hung above them as the students processed his words. Taking a life, no matter how terrible they were, was wrong but he took a life in order to save one of them. From the three who knew the Pokemon and where he’s coming from it was hard to come to terms with his logic, especially considering that violence was the norm in his reality. Yet somehow there was logic of what had just taken place; kill or be killed.

Their trails of thought were stamped however as Gallus broke the silence, “Look, I know it hasn’t exactly been the best of days today, but we can either sit around and argue over what that unicorn did to save Sandbar while their Boss comes to get us, or we could make our escape now and talk about this later.”

Ocellus sighed, “You’re right. We should go. But once we’re getting out of here, we’re going to have a serious discussion over this.”

Without further arguments, the students exited the room with Keldeo reluctantly following behind them.

Did… Did I do something wrong?

“Look at all this mess! By the moon, this is a work of art!”

Contrary to most of his minions’ reactions of disgust, Big Boss who is barely containing his mirth went giddy with excitement, grinning ear to ear as he surveyed the empty prison chamber with the exception of a body in the middle of the chamber.

“Our miners are escaping, our boys are beaten left right and centre; and what’s this?” He pulled up the headless corpse by the shoulder, “Is this dog without a head once our good friend Bob?”

Most of the dogs winced at the sight.

“You know what this means boys: We’re not dealing with school kids anymore, we’re dealing with a professional.” He gasped at the realisation as he grabbed both shoulders of the headless body. “Bob, quick tell us; who did this to you?!”

Big Boss promptly released the corpse as it fell limply to the floor with a splat.

“Oh Bob, you poor poor headless bastard,” he lamented as he held up a paw to his forehead, dramatically posing as though to hold back tears. A sneer formed on his muzzle as he growled a low chuckle that increasingly morphed into a maddening cackle.

“I CAN’T WAIT TO MEET THE GENIUS WHO DID THIS TO YOU!” He screeched ecstatically as he practically started skipping over the body, “To match up against a foe who has no qualms about cutting off a head; OUR FIGHT SHALL BE LEGENDARY! A DUEL FOR THE AGES! Tales shall be told of the battle between two butchers; one who fights for evil with standards and another for good at all costs! This will be one of the darkest chapters ever told in the pages of Equestria’s history!”

He turned to his minions, his amber eyes wide and glowing brightly and his teeth baring in a smile stretching wide across his muzzle in such a nightmarish grin. And with a ghastly bellow, he cried with a howl that echoed across the caverns.

“The Game is afoot boys! THE HUNT IS OOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!!”

Chapter Seven: A Sword's Resolve (Part 1)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter Eight: A Sword's Resolve (Part 2)

“Huhuhuhu, I had high expectations for you boy and not only did you not disappoint those expectations, you’ve exceeded them.”

A chill ran through the spines of all within the main chamber as Big Boss entered with his goons, reloading his flintlock pistol as he did. His eyes gleamed at the crowd of freed slaves and their improvised weapons and grinned.

"Look at you all; so full of hope, so full of determination, so full of that will to live," he spoke with high praise before shaking his head in disappointment, "Yet still so innocent. You all chose to arm yourselves with picks and shovels, all while ignoring the many weapons I scattered around the tunnels. I must say, I’m both disappointed and impressed."

The crowd withered at that, some were shaking uncontrollably from sheer terror.

"As for you boy," he pointed to Gallus, "you've done well leading this ragtag resistance to my command centre with no casualties on your side. You've also not only managed to call the rest of your team with you and coordinate your attempted escape with my hostage, of which I'm still trying to figure out how you did that by the way, but you also managed to draw first blood by killing one of my boys." His grin grew maniacally wider as he continued, "As I suspected; you're a natural born leader. …Just like your grandfather."

Gallus narrowed his eyes as he pointed his acquired shortsword at Big Boss, "What the hay are you on about? You don't know anything about me, otherwise you wouldn't miss the little detail of me being an orphan! I didn’t lead anyone." He pointed a claw to his friends, "We worked together, and together we will stand against you. And on another note, you broke your word that you wouldn't harm them!"

Big Boss facepalms, "Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot about that; news travels slow here. In fact, I was actually on my way to tell him to spare your friend when I found out you were a team of six." He offered a shrug, "But to be fair, you did chop his head off before I had the chance to, sooooo we're even."

"That wasn't any of us, you maniac!" Sandbar snarled.

Big Boss arched an eyebrow, "It wasn’t? Well, that's disappointing." He gave a shrug before continuing, “Considering there’s only the five of you here means that by process of elimination it was the Changeling who did the deed?” He let out a sigh, “Of course it would be one of those insects who wouldn’t hesitate to get their hooves dirty. I just think it’s anticlimactic. Which is a bigger shame she isn’t among you.”

“Wait, Ocellus killed someone?” gasped Silverstream.

Before any of them could correct that presumption, Flash Magnus (despite his injury) coughed out a defiant retort, “K-keep talking, mutt. (Gasp)... Doesn’t m-matter if you beat us here… we only need to- (Pant) buy time for the rest of the guard to capture your sorry f-flanks.”

Big Boss' head slowly craned towards the pegasus captain, his subdued grin barely containing his elated excitement. “Of course, where are my manners?” he sneered in delight, “Captain Flash Magnus, Hero of Ancient Equestria! Pillar of Courage, Dragons’ Bane, Shield of the Righteous, and many more titles! I would have thought to be facing the likes of the Rainbow of Terror, but you? I am not but humbled to be privileged to slay a Legend such as yourself.” He offered the injured captain a mock bow.

“You sick son of a-”

“Ah Ah Ah, Captain,” Big Boss stopped him with a mocking wag of his fingers, likened to a parent scolding a child, “there are children present. What would they think if their hero of legend suddenly cussed before them? A hero ought to be a symbol for the masses.” He gave a chuckle as he continued, “Besides, that line of cussing is hardly an insult to me and my boys, considering who and what we are.”

His Dogs joined in his mirth, laughing and chuckling menacingly at the joke. Several of the freed slaves shrank further as the mob of murderers slowly encircled them, several of them cursing themselves for not taking proper weapons to defend themselves. While they outnumbered the mercenaries four-to-one, most of them stood no taller than their torsos, had no experience fighting to save their own lives and held improvised weapons with forehooves whilst their foe stood tall on two legs and were clearly experienced at killing, for sport no less.

Flash Magnus and the students quickly noticed their lightly armed militia rapidly losing morale as they slowly crept back towards the entrance, forming a large gap between them. Some brave few grouped closer to the students and the injured captain, mustering what bravery they could but no less faltering from the escalating disaster. The larger group suddenly halted their withdrawal as one of them screamed when they noticed their only exit was blocked by more of Big Boss’ goons. They were now completely surrounded.

“Now then,” Big Boss declared, holstering his pistol into his inner coat pocket and drawing his sword, “before the slaughter begins, who will I have the honour of challenging me to a duel?”

“A duel?!” the guard Coppellion who was treating the downed captain’s injury shrieked with fury, “Why in bloody Tartarus would you want a duel?! Isn’t it enough that you bully us into submission? Why not just kill us now and be done with it?!”

The dog shook his head, “Tut tut tut, you’re missing the big picture, my little guardspony. The Hero must face the Villain before the opposing sides clash. It is the way the story must progress. My Story. I have invested far too much to let my endeavour fall before my moment of glory. I have planned for every contingency that not even the Princess herself can out plan my pet project. Any attempt to disrupt my tale will ensure Equestria bleeds for it.”

“W-What do you mean?” Silverstream asked.

His grin grew wider, almost resembling a crocodile, “Just picture it; the shock, panic and outrage of Canterlot when they realise my little illegal mining operation, implemented with slave labour. The entirety of the Royal Guard will come rushing in to the rescue and would dispense justice against me and my boys for our villainy. It would be a shame if say the caverns cave-in on itself, burying Equestria’s finest along with all those poor innocent souls who slaved away, never to see the light of day again.”

A chorus of gasps echoed across the main chamber as the crowd gawked in disbelief at this dog’s insane plan.

“Y-you wouldn’t dare!” Sandbar sputtered, “That’s crazy! Even for you that’s crazy! You’d be killing yourself and your dogs with you!”

“On the contrary, my mediocre friend,” Big Boss sneered, “If one must make an exit, make it as spectacular as possible. If I can’t have the epic tale I’ve spent months planning for, I will just go for the next best thing; going down with the ship and taking as many innocents with us.” He circled the group as he continued, “As for my boys, I think you will find how many of us would gladly die for the Great Game. In fact, I had a harder time trying to find a volunteer to live to tell the tale.”

Smolder took a sniff of the air before her eyes widened in horror, “Oh crap, he’s serious.”

“Of course I am,“ he pointed his blade at the students, “You have only two choices; you can all struggle here to buy time for the Royal Guard, which will result in burying all of us here, or you can play along with my game.”

He raised his arms almost welcomingly, “Take the chance, be a hero! If you strike me down, my boys will surrender. Peacefully, quietly. No tricks. But if I win the duel, I will let the hero live with their chosen few while my boys slaughter the rest of you. A better alternative, don’t you agree? The Hero will live to fight another day and I will finally accomplish my story. Win-win.”

A heavy silence hung above them. To Gallus however, it was deafening. The adrenaline coursing through his blood pumped so loudly in his ears he could hardly hear himself think.

This guy pulled our legs before, but there’s no way he’s sane enough to bluff burying us with him. What do we do?

Sweat beads from his crown as he weighed their options. If they attempt to escape, they will die. If they delay for rescue, they will die. If they fight… He looks to his right at the downed Captain Flash Magnus and the two guards continuing to treat him. Behind them were the volunteers putting on a brave face for the rest of the freed captives. He turned to his left at his friends who were present. Fear and anger with hints of resentment were clear on their faces. But Gallus paused in thought to notice everyone’s look in their eyes, and never did he think he would see it for the second time this day; finality. A certainty that none of them will come out of this unscathed. Only this time he saw shattered hope into the mix and he saw it among his friends who were present.

It killed him inside. By Galahad, it killed him inside. And the worst part about it all is that he knew they only have one choice for the best chance of survival. They have to fight. They have to win. The question is who will do it? None of the ponies have a chance against him if his method of fighting with two free limbs not touching the ground is anything to go by.

Flash Magnus is down for the count and those two guards won’t leave him helpless. Ocellus would’ve been our best bet but she’s not here. Silver is terrified of him so she’s out. I’ve already seen what he could do to Sandbar. Yona might be able to overpower him with brute strength but that might not be a given if he could outmanoeuvre her. As for Smolder, knowing how temperamental she is she could easily lose her cool in the middle of a fight… but she is the better fighter out of all of us.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a cocked flintlock pistol.

“Tick Tock lad,” Big Boss gave a low growl, “I haven’t got all day so what will it be; all for one or one for all?”

Sneers and chuckles echoed from his boys at the implication of the phrase.

Gallus’ heart stopped at the realisation. “He still wants me. That freak still wants me. The sick puke still wants me!” His eyes widened at further realisation. “It doesn’t matter who duels him, he’ll kill them unless it’s any of the five of us, preferably me. Even if Smolder’s got the best chance to beat him out of any of us he won’t go easy on her. But if it’s me…”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Gallus slowly stepped forward, gripping the acquired shortsword tightly with his talons. “I accept your duel.”

His friends and several others gasped.

“Gallus, are you crazy?!” Smolder spoke out for the rest of them, “You don’t have a snowball’s chance in the Dragon Lands against him!”

Ignoring Smolder’s comment he pointed his blade towards the dog. Gritting his teeth and beak he spoke with what mustered bravery he could manage, “We all know what you are after, so let’s get this over with. I’d ask that you keep your word but we all know that’s just a load of horseapples.”

Grinning excitedly, Big Boss uncocked his pistol, holstered it and readied his blade before Gallus, “How very noble of you, not like any griffon I’ve ever met. But fear not boy, after everything revealed to me today it has become clear that the story demands that you, and by extension your friends must survive. If my earlier suspicion about you is correct then you and your friends are worthy of a greater story in development, more than I could have possibly imagined. It’s not everyday one gets to be involved with a leader in the making, or perhaps even… a king.”

“W-what are you on about?!” Gallus demanded, clearly confused by Big Boss’ antics.

“Oh, right. Spoilers,” the dog chimed. He suddenly lunged at Gallus who tried to block his blade with his own. Sparks ignited between their swords as the two sparred.

Gallus barely held his own as he desperately blocked Big Boss’ strikes with the shortsword. He was by no means an expert, in fact he never held a weapon in his life before, but for a kid who never fought with a blade before he was doing surprisingly well parrying every blow this villain was throwing at him. Or at least that’s what it seems. Gallus may not be a fighter but he’s seen enough scraps and brawls in Griffonstone to know when an opponent is holding back on a fight, or for this case…

He’s toying with me! He deduced. Every time he found himself open to an attack Big Boss seems to intentionally miss or dismiss it flippantly.

“What’s the matter boy? Surely you can put up more of a fight than this,” Big Boss goaded, his voice hinting an impatient disappointment, “Show me aggression! Show me ferocity! Show me your inner predator! Strike at me!!”

Gallus winced from each strike he blocked, the vibrations from the struck blades rattled him to the bones. Suddenly, in a moment of either dumb luck or pure instinct as he anticipated another strike, Gallus swung his shortsword upwards which missed his intended target that was his opponent’s sword and instead slashed his right arm.

Big Boss flinched backwards, more surprised than in pain. He looked at his injury likened to checking the time from a watch. The cut sliced a small portion of his sleeve and narrowly grazed his arm, leaving a papercut sized line of sliced skin, barely dripping with blood.

“Well, well, well,” he mused, tracing the cut with one of his paw fingers drawing up the blood, studying it, “So it seems our hero draws first blood. Better write that down for the history books.”

Gallus looked appalled, almost sick as he studied the tip of his blade where he cut him. “I-I… I didn’t mean to,” he stammered.

“Tut-tut-tut, how disappointing,” Big Boss tutted, shaking his head, “You’re going to have to mean it boy, otherwise you are going to lose your head.” He brandished his sword once more, pointing it towards Gallus, “You revealed that the cat has claws, you might as well use it to its fullest extent! I can only last so long holding back against you.”

Gallus felt a twinge of anger from his unintended insult that, without thinking he returned his quip with a scoff. “Oh please. If anyone is acting like a cat here, it's you. I never thought a Diamond Dog would toy with their prey.”

The room went silent other than a few gasps heard from his goons. Big Boss stood there silently, his ears and eyes twitched visibly. A chill ran through the young griffon’s bones as his last sentence finally caught up to him. Oh crap.

The large dog drew a long breath from his nostrils and breathed out. “That was such a cheap shot of an insult,” he muttered boredly before baring his fangs and lunging at Gallus, “BUT DAMN, DOES IT WORK!”

“GALLUS!” his friends cried out.

Gallus flinched as he curled defensively, shutting his eyes close as he braced for his end.

Fighting Type: Sacred Sword

The sound of clashing metal and the lack of an incoming injury prompted Gallus to open his eyes and look up. Before him stood that large unicorn looking creature from earlier, his horn ignited to a large sword that glowed a brilliant blue, blocking the blow meant for him.

Feeling his legs give out, Gallus fell on his haunches as he gawked awestruck at the sight. He saw the beheading of the guard in the holding cells, but to see such power this close left him wordless. A sentiment every creature within the cavern shared if the silence was anything to go by.

“Hey,” the creature said with a smirk, breaking the silence, “sorry for the delay. I hope we weren't too late.”

For a Pokemon with amnesia Keldeo had to admit that he’s been getting a lot of Deja Vu lately. Flashing memories are one thing, but noticing a similar sight when he rescued that earth pony from certain death to this griffon with the same predicament makes him wonder if this will become a pattern, along with many things he’s been experiencing since he awoke from the hospital.

His pondering was interrupted when Ocellus entered the scene. “Guys, are you alright?! We came as soon as we heard an explosio-”

As soon as the teal changeling appeared behind Keldeo, Ocellus was tackled into a hug from Smolder, then Gallus, and promptly the rest of her friends.

Not a word was spoken between them. Ocellus was too overwhelmed by an influx of fear and relief from her friends that she was barely holding back her own emotions. Silverstream was sobbing profusely, Gallus was trembling violently from hyperventilating, Smolder clutched to Ocellus tightly, trying to hold back her own tears, and Sandbar and Yona encircled the group in a combined hug.

“Oi, oi, oi. Where from Tartarus did you crawl out of?”

All eyes left the happy reunion to the villain of the scene.

Big Boss snarled menacingly at Keldeo, his mouth drooling from fury and his eyes flared in hatred. “Answer me, you last minute insert! Who do you think you are, ruining my story?!”

The Pokemon narrowed his eyes and smirked. “Me? I guess you can call me your editor,” he quipped before his face shifted to a scowl, “and I’m here to tell you that your story’s been cancelled.”

Big Boss went livid. “No. No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOO!!!” he bellowed like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum, swinging his sword wildly at nothing as he kicked rocks, crates and unlucky bystanders who were in his way. “THIS ISN’T HOW THE STORY SHOULD BE! It was supposed to be the rising of Helpless Heroes! Not some Nobody appearing out of Nowhere! That’s the kind that losers would pull out from their rear ends for their half-baked, amateur fanfiction!”

“Pot, meet kettle,” muttered Smolder.

“You’re ruining everything I was building up to!” he all but screamed at Keldeo, who for the most part remained unfazed from his rant, “It was supposed to be an epic battle between Good and Evil, the Flea and the Titan, the Prodigy and the Experienced! Who do you think you are, you wannabe guard of a unicorn?! My masterpiece is ruined! RUINED! I will have you skewed for this crime against art!”

“Not my problem you uninspired third-rate hack,” retorted Keldeo, “Seriously, after getting to know your synopsis I can't think of anything more cringe than your Edgeboy fantasy. I've seen more originality from an amateur Smeargle's counterfeit art for Arceus’ sake.” Not that I could remember any.

“Cr-cringe?! H-how… HOW DARE YOU!” Big Boss roared, his limbs trembling in wrathful fury, “What would an oversized unicorn foal such as yourself know about the art of mythical masterpieces?!”

Keldeo scoffed with a one note laugh, “First off, I am no unicorn. Second, I am probably older than your mother. (At least I think I am.) And thirdly, I am what you call a Legendary creature where I’m from, so don’t insult me by insinuating that I can’t tell the difference between a good story and a crappy one. And believe me, yours is full of crap. So much so that I don’t think even a Muk would touch it.”

The cavern went silent other than the collective gasps from the murderous mercenaries. While it lasted a few seconds, it felt longer and heavier than it should have. A low growling chuckle followed, contorting into a hideous laughter, and ended with a maniacal cackle.

“I can’t decide which slanderous insult I should be more offended by,” he sighed from his malicious mirth. “Wait, I stand corrected,” he perks up as he points his blade towards Keldeo, “Scorn my person if you wish but no creature blasphemes my Great Game!”

Keldeo readies his horn with a smirk, “Then why don’t you have at me and defend your stupid story from my slander?”

Big Boss was astonished to silence, surprising himself and even the crowd. He could not recall the last time anyone spoke out against him without hiding behind fortresses and ragtag militia, much less matching his literary tongue. He could not remember the last time anyone stood firm before him in defiance, confidence without arrogance, fatalism or false courage. He could not remember the last time he felt a chill in his bones as he stared into the pseudo-unicorn’s eyes. Eyes that scream bloodlust. Tempered bloodlust perhaps, but bloodlust nonetheless.

Big Boss’ face split with his murderous, ecstatic grin. “Oh my, what great eyes you have there,” he spoke softly, barely containing his elation, “They scream a killer’s instinct. All the better to see your enemies crushed before you, aren’t they?” Then a thought occurred to him, “Tell me stranger, you wouldn’t happen to be the artist who beheaded one of my boys, would you?”

Keldeo flinched for a moment before steeling himself. “Yeah, that was me. And your fine fellow tried to kill one of the ponies, so I cut him short before he could finish the job.”

Big Boss’ impossibly wide grin grew even wider as he bellowed another maddened laughter. “This tale is going to be better than I planned for! Warrior! Poet! Legend! I could ask for nothing less from a kindred killer! May I be so curious as to ask who you are?”

Keldeo scowled, but before he could say anything another flashback came to him. A figure. The figure. The tallest among the three he had glimpsed before in his visions. This time he saw it more clearly. He (Keldeo assumed it was male due to the voice he heard before) had a stag-like form, an aqua blue coat and jagged yellow horns similar in shape to thunderbolts. He stood steadfast before Keldeo, his gaze cold like steel. No. His presence was steel. Immovable, tempered, resolute.

“Keldeo,” the Pokemon spoke with a cold but firm tone, no different from his imposing presence, “To master your sword, you must be resolute. You have learned to be decisive. You have given hope to the innocent. Now you must learn to be unwavering in your convictions. Justice is Truth. Truth is Absolute. And so when Absolute you must become incorruptible, less you become a force of destruction. That is the way of our Order. That is what it means to be A Sword of Justice.”

As a vision faded Keldeo almost fell from the new sensation he felt within him. A roaring fire, one that felt exhilarating and very familiar. The sensation ached from his horn to his very core, and he felt untouchable. He felt resolute.

He steadied himself and hardened his gaze towards the villain before him. “I’m going to have to disappoint you there because we are nothing alike. You kill for pleasure, I fight to defend. You speak with malice, I talk for understanding. You desire to become a symbol of terror?”

A burst of blue light emanated from Keldeo as his form shifted. His dark blue protrusions from the sides of his mane shortened as most of it shifted to his horn, encasing and lengthening it. Above his mane appeared three feathers coloured blue, green and orange. As the light surrounding his body faded, his horn glowed ever brighter, resembling a burning blade.

Fighting Type: Secret Sword

“I am the Legendary Pokemon, Keldeo! My actions are swift and decisive! My strength is a shield of hope for the innocent! My form is resolute as is my conviction! FOR I AM A SWORD OF JUSTICE!”

While the rest of the crowds were awed by the sight and presence of this self-proclaimed legend, Big Boss smiled gleefully like a foal at Hearthswarming.

Brandishing his blade once more, he answered his challenge, “Very well, Sword of Justice. Let us test that resolve!”

Author's Note

G'day all!
I know, another blasted cliffhanger. I promise to keep all this to a minimum after the introductory arc. I've already begun work on the next chapter and trust me, it will be non-stop action. Hope you look forward to it.

So, what do you think? Share me your thoughts and please, show your support by Liking, Commenting and (if you want) donating at Ko-Fi.

Merry Christmas.

Chapter Nine: Fairness of the Blade (Part 1)

Sandbar was amazed by the incredible sight in front of him. Despite the day's trauma, which would undoubtedly leave a lasting mark, everything was forgotten as he gazed upon a scene reminiscent of Princess Twilight Sparkle's ascension and her battle with Tirek, albeit on a smaller scale but just as thrilling.

Keldeo. This unicorn... No, this self-proclaimed legend faced the monstrous figure that haunted him, and suddenly, he was engulfed in a dazzling light, transforming into what could only be described as an embodiment of vengeance. For Sandbar, it was like witnessing one of the Power Ponies come to life.

After his inspiring transformation, what followed lifted his spirits to new heights, as well as those of every enslaved creature who witnessed it.

“... I AM A SWORD OF JUSTICE!” he heard Keldeo declare. So struck with awe was he that he didn’t hear Big Boss’ retort.

The battle began.

The two lunged at each other aggressively, their blades clashing and sparking on impact. They both jumped back five feet, surprised at the force of their initial clash. Circling each other, they carefully studied their opponent's weapons, while the onlookers backed away to give them space for their duel.

“You seem surprised, boy,” Big Boss said as he kept circling. "You look like you were expecting more from our first bout."

Keldeo snorted, “Yeah. I’ll admit, you caught me off guard there. I thought I could cut that sword of yours in half. I’m going to take a hard guess that that isn’t steel, is it?”

"Big Boss chuckled, "Hah! Good guess. An artist like me wouldn't settle for cheap iron." He waved his sword, revealing the shimmering gleam of the blade. "No, what I have here is mithril; pure silver. Light as a feather but hard as dragon scale. Not even the alicorn of the sun can break it without considerable effort. It will take more than your magical blade from your horn to even make a dent in it!"

Keldeo leaped forward with a swift thrust of his sword, but his opponent skillfully parried the attack. In a swift response, Big Boss countered with a riposte, narrowly missing Keldeo's neck. As Keldeo evaded the strike, he spun his hind legs, aiming for a powerful kick that the villain narrowly avoided by swiftly stepping backwards.

"I must admit," chuckled Big Boss as he regained his composure after narrowly avoiding an attack, "you seem well acquainted with fighting against opponents who walk on two legs."

"Well, what can I say?" Keldeo stood tall and adjusted his posture as he spoke, "Where I come from, many of my opponents fight on two legs. In fact, there are some with four arms, eight legs, six wings, three heads, or no arms, legs, or wings at all." As he stepped forward, Keldeo exchanged three strikes with Big Boss, each one skillfully parried.

The dog looked at him in confusion and said, "I'm sorry, what? What kind of creature doesn't have an arm, leg, or wings?" He attacked twice, but Keldeo managed to avoid and block the strikes.

“Oh, the kind that slithers, the kind that levitates, the kind that swims, and the kind that just rolls with it,” the Pokemon replied nonchalantly. Keldeo suddenly stopped in thought, “Although, I still don’t know how the Digletts and Dugtrios do it. Whoa-!” Keldeo was shaken from his thoughts as he blocked another swing.

“Rather bold of you to ponder on trivial matters while you're fighting for your life!” Big Boss taunted as he thrust his blade to Keldeo’s centre, a tone of irritation leaking out.

Keldeo skipped to his right, deftly dodging the thrust. "Yeah, sorry," he offered a faux apology, his calm tone contrasting the situation, "I kinda lost most of my memories so I'm still sorting myself out."

Big Boss raised an eyebrow as he deftly blocked a slash from Keldeo. "You appear surprisingly composed given the circumstances," he observed, slashing a feint that was promptly countered. “I would have thought you'd be a drivelling mess with your situation.”

“Oh, it's simple really,” said Keldeo, “I'm just following my gut instincts.”

Big Boss strode back, dodging a downward cut from Keldeo. “Is it also in your instinct to play with your prey?” he sneered with a grin.

Keldeo stopped, his placid smile forming into a cautious scowl.

“Judging from that reaction I'd say I struck a nerve,” Big Boss’ grin grew wider, “I know you are holding back your true strength, boy. This little dance we're having speaks otherwise, which means you are either holding back or you had a lucky shot when you chopped off poor Bob's head; and I know for a fact he wouldn't be killed off so easily without some skill or strength.”

He advanced, pointing his sword directly at Keldeo. "We are warriors, masters of the art of combat! There's no need to hold back ourselves in this battle."

"Oh, I'm not holding back," a smirk returning on Keldeo's face, "I'm just giving an appropriate response. After all, why play an Ace when a Two will do?"

Big Boss’ expression shifted from surprise to amusement as he burst into laughter. "Do you really think you can underestimate me? Big Bad Boss the Butcher? You're either incredibly arrogant or completely clueless if you think you can hold back against me!"

"Not really, I'm just giving you the treatment you deserve," shrugged Keldeo. "Why should I take you seriously when you treat the act of killing like it's an Arceus damned sport? Not to mention treating the lives of others far beneath you as your playthings. Kind of lame, don't you think? A warrior should strive to challenge opponents far stronger than themselves, otherwise, they'll always be third-rate gutless wonders who scream like spoiled brats when the tables turn on them.

“Bottom line is, why should I take you seriously when you yourself aren't taking this seriously?”

Big Boss stood silent for a moment. “Such a pity,” he scowled, slowly shaking his head in disappointment, “You are an arrogant and naive fool. I slew monsters the likes of which you've probably never seen before. I've killed an Ursa Major and its pups with my bare fangs. I have trophies of Manticore heads mounted on a wall. I eat Hydras and Krakens for breakfast, literally. I've made omelettes from Dragon eggs after selling their mother's corpse to Scale Hunters! I am as monstrous as I am cruel; a peerless predator who hunts his prey with his own teeth, paws, and sword. I've faced challenges the likes of you soft, weak-willed ponies could never even begin to dream of in your worst nightmares. Underestimate me at your own peril.”

The room fell into an eerie silence. Sandbar turned to see Smolder grinding her teeth in baleful outrage, while the rest of his friends shared the same look of dismay, horror, and anger.

The atmosphere was thick with tension, and no one expected what would happen next. A chilling sound cut through the silence – Keldeo's laughter. It sounded forced, humourless, and unnervingly melodic, like a bellowing howl devoid of volume or mirth.

“I'm sorry, pardon me,” he sighed dryly, his laughter ending abruptly, “but that has got to be the biggest load of Grimmer Sludge I've ever heard. At least, as far as I could remember. I just couldn't help myself but laugh ‘cause it felt like the only appropriate thing to do after hearing that shtick.”

“Excuse me?” Big Boss snarled in disbelief.

“No, I don't think I will,” retorted Keldeo, his tone suddenly darkened, “You talk too much and boast even more. And I know for a fact two reasons why anyone would brag about something so sick: Either they're bluffing to make themselves look more threatening than they are, or they are just trying to compensate for their insecurities. You don't sound like the former, so I'm guessing you're the latter. Kinda like a tool bragging to his tool friends about their highly exaggerated body count.”

Laughter and snickers echoed through the cavern. Even Sandbar couldn't stifle his amusement and let out a single chuckle.

“You are by no stretch of imagination a warrior, let alone an artist. You're just a punk,” Keldeo continued as he began to circle him once more, “And just to bring home the point, allow me to let you in on two things: First, a warrior doesn't brag of his skills and achievements to his enemy. He simply shows what he's capable of by beating the snot out of them.

“Second, I really wasn't underestimating you. I was probing how you fight; your techniques, your stances, your habits. And I have to say, I’m not impressed. Heck, I bet something small like a Pichu could even beat you easily. So yeah, it's hard for me to take somebody like you seriously.”

He paused to observe Big Boss, who was almost snarling with rage.

Normal Type: Leer. Big Boss' fury dissipated in an instant as he locked eyes with Keldeo, feeling the intensity of its gaze. His demeanour stance softened into a more guarded posture almost involuntarily.

“That said, now that I know just how much of a blood-hungry freak you are… I suppose I could humour you.”

The air suddenly turned cold as everyone felt a shiver from that statement. The non-pony creature's tone was like ice as he took one step forward, droplets of water suddenly forming around him from the moisture of the cold cave, levitating around him. Water Type: Chilling Water

Sandbar’s jaws dropped. As did his friends. As did the prisoners. As did Big Boss’ boys. As did Big Boss himself.

“You have three minutes to last against my attacks. Try not to disappoint me,” he said as he drizzled his foe with the freezing droplets of water, and charged.

The day has certainly been full of surprises for Big Boss. The monotony of abducting slaves, tormenting said slaves, and shipping the goods for months has been torturously boring for a storyteller such as himself. For months he has been goading those pathetic ponies and other creatures unlucky enough to be caught in their raids to take up arms and offer a challenge. This day, however, for better or for worse has somehow both ruined and fulfilled his desire for his tale of woe.

Before, he was betting on an uprising led by a champion of the masses. He thought he found a promising hero from the young griffon, but alas he was but a member of six. To add to that matter, his planned tale of the uprising ended up being scrapped after hearing about a rescue team and causing such a ruckus. Then he found Bob headless and presumed it was one of the six who did him in and was all for a showdown. Alas, too excited he was that he had forgotten the change of plot and demanded a duel instead of a spectacular exit. This nearsightedness nearly cost him his Great Game as he was this close to ending his hero to his villainy.

And to top that all off, once again his story has to make drastic changes as this so-called “Legend” disrupts his Epic Tale. Admittedly, however, he saw in him the perfect protagonist for his story. He had all the skills, all the wit, all the makings of a Hero right down to his infuriating attitude.

In truth, he didn't mind the slander coming out of this unicorn’s mouth. If anything, he was grateful for an opponent to match his wit. One he was willing to play along. It is all for dramatic flair, he thought. He didn’t mind being toyed with. After all, it is natural for the strong to put down the weak, and he could tell that this so-called Pokemon, Keldeo was strong, possibly even stronger than himself. It is all for suspense, he thought. And he most certainly didn’t mind dying for the sake of his story. After all, an artist is only ever known after they pass away, dying for what they do best. It is all for the Great Game, he thought.

At least that’s what he thought before his pride was called into question. He was a warrior; a brute. A cold-blooded killer! And this creature dared reduce him to a schoolyard bully?! Oh, he would rue the day he belittled the name of Big Boss, he thought. And he would have if it weren’t for the sheer power and brute strength this unicorn was dishing out.

Fighting Type: Secret Sword

Big Boss sprang from his position, narrowly evading Keldeo’s charge. The fiery blade of the Pokémon's horn barely grazed the dog’s feathered hat as he ducked and rolled with agility. Seizing the opportunity, he tried to counterattack Keldeo’s exposed back but had to swiftly dodge a kick from its hind legs.

Fighting Type: Double Kick

Keldeo’s buck smashed into a thick crystalline stalactite, shattering it to pieces with a loud crash. “Did he just break that crystal like it was nothing?” he thought, “I know a pony’s buck isn’t something to sneeze at, but even a muscle-headed earth pony would be hard-pressed to break those things without at least-”

Normal Type: Cut

His mind was abruptly pulled away from his surroundings as he swiftly dodged another attack from Keldeo's razor-sharp horn. This time, however, the force of the blow sheared off the delicate feathers adorning his hat, scattering them like snowflakes in the wind.

Water Type: Bubblebeam

Big Boss barely had time to catch his breath before he was bombarded with heavy bubbles of water, bursting out of the unicorn's forehoof like a liquid shotgun. The situation was getting more absurd by the second.

“Oi, oi, oi! How in bloody Tartarus could you cast that kind of spell here?” panted the belligerent villain as he staggered up, drenched and in pain from the last attack, “Hydromancy through one’s hooves is bizarre enough, but within this mountain’s caverns are walls and veins of Arcanite. You ought to be driven mad from magical overload or at the very least suffer manaburns from magical feedback!”

“Lesson One: Don’t let the enemy know your strengths if you can help it,” said Keldeo almost mockingly as he straightened his stance, “But to humour you, let's just say that… 'I don't use magic.'”

“You lie!” Big Boss lunged at Keldeo, swinging his sword vertically downwards to the Pokemon’s centre. He screamed as his opponent parried his blow effortlessly, “No power other than magic could such a feat be done!”

“Yet how else can I do this?” Normal Type: Double Team. Clones, or more accurately, copies of Keldeo suddenly appeared surrounding the two of them.

Big Boss was left speechless as his jaw dropped in awed shock. Before he could even process the sight before him, an army of duplicates propelled towards him at an alarming speed, propelled by jets of water from their hind legs.

Water Type: Aqua Jet

Big Boss found himself mentally preparing for several potential blows, but before he could react, he was caught off guard by quick and precise tackles from unexpected angles, further disorienting him.

He's making a fool out of me! He isn't just a brute, he's fast as a Pegasus too?! Panic began to settle in as he processed how to counter this unicorn. Then he noticed that the copies attacked and moved as one, and an idea came to mind.

Water Type: Aqua Jet

Keldeo and his shadow copies charged once more to tackle Big Boss, only to be suddenly grappled by his mane at the moment of impact.

“Got you,” he sneered and to everyone's horror, Big Boss drew out his pistol and pressed the barrel onto Keldeo’s neck. “Choke on this, Legend!”

Gasps and cries of anguish were heard from the helpless onlookers as the pistol fired point-blank at the Pokemon’s neck. Immediately afterward, his copies vanished. Big Boss cackled in delight as he released his grip on Keldeo, who stumbled from the shot.

His laughter stopped as he felt something drop from his pistol's barrel and clattered on the stone ground, revealing the dented bullet.

Silence deafened the chamber save for the bullet bouncing carelessly on the floor as all eyes gawked awe-struck at the object. They raised their gaze towards Keldeo who seemed unharmed and unfazed from the shot he took.

“H-h-how? HOW!?” Big Boss screamed hysterically, almost stumbling from disbelief at what he just witnessed, “That shot was strong enough to pierce through dragon scale and hot enough to burn the innards of a hydra! How in Tartarus could you just shrug it off like it was nothing?!”

“Lesson two,” declared Keldeo as he brushed off the gunpowder from his coat, “never let the enemy know your weaknesses. But for the sake of everyone's sanity let's just say that I have resistance to anything metal and fire-like attacks, which I think includes your gun and your sword.”

“Th-that's… That's impossible!”

“Let’s agree to disagree.”

No longer maintaining any of his usual bravado or combat experience, Big Boss threw all caution to the wind and charged wildly like an enraged animal, screaming toward his foe. His swings from his sword were just as wild; almost rabid and senseless as he overshot and tumbled in most of his attempts to cut down this infuriating unicorn. Every parry and block fuelled his hatred. Every dodge which resulted in him falling and losing his balance further infuriated him.

He struggled to stay on his feet after narrowly dodging a powerful blow, when suddenly, two words pierced the air, sending a shiver down Big Boss's spine.

“My turn.”

Fighting Type: Close Combat

Big Boss suddenly found himself pounded with a barrage of blows as Keldeo stood upright on his hind legs like a biped and proceeded to punch him with his forehooves. Each blow was agony, like a hundred bucks to the face and torso from an earth pony. When the barrage ended he was barely standing as he was covered with bruises on his face, arms, and any visible parts on his torso from his torn-up black coat. His mouth was bleeding from shattered teeth. All the while one thought kept repeating in his mind; This isn't a battle. This is a one-sided slaughter.

“Your move.”

He cringed when he heard those words. As much pain as he was in he would not dare to look weak in front of this… abomination. His job was on the line. His pride was on the line. His story… His Great Game, they were all on the line.

With one last act to salvage whatever plans, schemes, and dignity he had left, Big Boss lunged forward, thrusting his blade into Keldeo’s chest. He didn’t even bother to look up to see if he hit his mark. He felt his sword hit, but it felt shallow, barely even piercing the skin of his coat.

“Lesson three: Know when to quit while you’re still ahead.”

Fighting Type: Secret Sword

Big Boss felt a sharp sting from his sword-wielding arm and then nothing. He looked up to see his right arm sliced off from the elbow.

He screamed, fell on his knees, and clutched the stump of his lost arm with his remaining paw. He slowly looked up to the Pokemon who loomed ominously like an avatar of vengeance before him.

“Yield.”

Author's Note

G'day all!
Sorry for the delays but due to sickness, still getting used to my new job, a new DLC from Stellaris, as well as updating all my active stories, writing a new story and editing side projects, I've been slow. Now that things are kicking in they should be more frequent (if nothing else distracts me).

Special thanks to the new editor: MechaSonicFanArtist, who is a God send. Thanks mate!

As always, share your thoughts, opinions, suggestions, etc. to make these stories better. Your comments are ~~needed~~ welcomed.

Chapter Ten: Fairness of the Blade (Part 2)

“It’s not fair,” Big Boss muttered breathlessly, his voice quivering with obvious fear.

Keldeo quirked an eyebrow, “I'm sorry, what did you say?”

“It’s not fair!” he said again, this time more loudly, “You are supposed to fight honourably, not crush and humiliate your opponent so one-sidedly. You're supposed to be a Hero, yet you fight with no mercy, no pity, no second thought. You are a pony, a unicorn; and yet you fight like a savage. No, a savage would be too kind. You are a monster; one with sentience and can fight as though it is second nature! How can something like you exist in my story?!”

Keldeo frowned incredulously. “Are you serious right now? I mean, seriously?” his tone was flat and bemused, “You of all people would question my existence? Have you seen yourself lately?”

Big Boss growled, “I am a villain; I kill therefore I am! Nothing in my actions contradicts my character. You on the other paw are a living contradiction! No hero fights like you do, and you don’t act like an anti-hero. Not even the princesses fight with that cruelty!”

“Wasn’t that what you wanted?”

The dog froze at that statement.

“I was under the impression that you wanted me to go all out,” Keldeo continued, “And now that I did not only did I have your tail handed to you, you are crying to me that I didn’t fight fairly? If anyone is contradicting themselves it’s you. Wasn’t that what you wanted for your story; to be beaten senseless by a worthy enemy?”

Big Boss’ mouth frothed in fury as he shouted, “I wanted to fight a Hero! I needed to fight a Hero! And you, unicorn, are not a hero! Neither were you a worthy opponent!”

“That’s not true,” Ocellus stepped forward, “He saved Sandbar from your underling despite how we would react to his methods. He saved Gallus from your strike despite not even knowing him. He saved everypony here by beating you despite how everypony else thinks of him. By every definition, he is a Hero.”

Her friends (those who witnessed Keldeo’s actions in the cells at least) and most others were taken aback by her sudden shift of perspective, Keldeo especially.

Her words hung in the air over Big Boss as he visibly slumped, his back leaning on a crystal stalagmite pillar. “Finish me then, Hero,” he muttered acidly, “Finish me and begin a new chapter to your tale.”

“No.”

All ears perked up at that one word. All eyes turned in surprise as Keldeo inched forward to the fallen villain.

“I beg your pardon?” Big Boss sputtered in disbelief, mirroring many others in the room.

“No,” Keldeo answered, “I’m not going to kill you.”

“You can’t be serious,” called out a voice, “He’s a monster! He’s too dangerous to live!”

“I am not an executioner,” Keldeo elaborated, “He is disarmed and helpless. I won’t kill a helpless creature, even someone as vile and disgusting as him without just cause.”

Big Boss chuckled humourlessly, “Oi, oi, oi. You can’t just leave me here hanging. Do you honestly want to leave me alive after everything I did? After what you did?”

Keldeo’s eyes narrowed. “I killed one of your goons to stop him from murdering another innocent. A split-second decision, one I don't take pleasure in. You on the other hand… you get the picture.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” Big Boss roared in frustration, “You’re that kind of warrior?! The type that beats an opponent within an inch of their life and then spares them because you can't bring yourself to finish them off unless necessary?! Out of what?! Pity? Mercy? You're nothing but a coward!”

A hoof suddenly cracked the crystal pillar he was leaning on. The dog barely kept his posture as he watched Keldeo lean in with a stern glare.

“It’s not pity or mercy that's keeping you alive. It's Justice,” he said softly, holding back his barely contained rage, “I need you alive to face the consequences of your actions, to answer for your crimes against the people of this world. Starting with answering the big question; who do you work for?”

Big Boss blinked. He then grinned and cackled before spitting at Keldeo. “You want me alive to answer to Equestria?! Screw that! I'd sooner cut my other arm and eat it before subjecting myself to the judgment of those soft-willed, plush fleshed, pastry-faced, pastel pony Princesses! Retired or otherwise!

“You might as well end me here because judgment from them will guarantee my return in the distant future. And I will not be a recurring villain for their novelty to serve as a punching bag. I am a clear and ever-present threat! My cruelty causes more nightmares than Nightmare Moon herself, and I have committed more slaughter in these lands not seen since the time of Grogar!”

Keldeo rolled his eyes, “Oh knock off the act and get off your delusions of grandeur. It's a lot better than dying an anticlimactic death. Who knows, maybe with good behaviour they'll let you off with parole or something.”

Just then, several Royal Guards poured into the cavern chamber. Cheers were heard amongst the prisoners as they were herded to the exit, a few remaining were either being treated for immediate injuries or for questioning. As for Big Boss’ goons, they were rallied, chained, and herded behind the rest of the freed prisoners.

Thoughts swirled above him as two guards approached to apprehend Big Boss, and a grim smile formed on him.

“Oh I doubt so,” he chuckled as he sat up and pulled a scroll from his coat pocket with his remaining paw.

The Guards approaching him stopped in their tracks and paced away, growing dread clear in their expressions as they readied their weapons.

Unaware of the threat, Keldeo stepped closer to Big Boss as he eyed the scroll with incredulity. “What are you trying to pull this time?”

Big Boss sneered as he unfurled the scroll, “Being imprisoned in Tartarus, turned to stone or even banished to the sun or moon is not what I planned for in my tale. And as I said before, if I can't have my story told as I desire then I shall simply make do with the next best thing; going down with the ship.”

Colour drained from every face that recognized the runic symbol on the scroll.

“A Glyph of Warding?!” cried Gallus.

The villainous dog grinned manically, “Riddle me this, boy: A monster pulls out a scroll that happens to be the detonator for all the explosives in the room. With a single word, it will collapse this entire chamber. Rocks fall, everyone dies. What do you do?”

“There's more than one answer to that riddle,” responded Keldeo cautiously, “Although, do you really want to do that? I mean, it would be kinda lame that you'd die like a Magikarp out of water. I thought you'd want to go out with a blaze of glory, not be buried in a cave under some mountain.”

Big Boss winced, “I admit, not a way I'd rather go.” Then a sinister grin formed, “But considering the alternatives, this is one of the better endings I could pick in this situation. I choose this as my Game Over.”

Suddenly a roar of explosions shook the cavern as debris poured down from the ceiling. Then the walls around them began to collapse.

“Everypony, make for the exit!” screamed Flash Magnus as he was led away by two guards.

Despite the order, Keldeo charged towards the maniacal dog in an attempt to grab him. Big Boss in turn side stepped away as the ceiling collapsed above them.

“Big Boss!” Keldeo shouted in desperation, “It doesn’t have to end like this! Just surrender!”

“Oh but it does, Legend,” he retorted whilst limply clutching the stump that was his right arm. Despite the pain, he smiled maniacally, “For you see, I've just had an epiphany. I am not the final foe you shall face in this tale. I realize now that I am but a stepping stone to an even greater story. And despite how much I would love to see this new tale unravel, this is where I make my exit.

“But know this, Legend, you and your friends will not see the last of me yet. Be it in this life or the next, I will return to see the end of this story! You can count on that!” he cackled as the debris continued to fall around him.

Keldeo attempted another retrieval of him when he was stopped by a chitin hoof.

“We have to go, Keldeo!” shouted Ocellus.

“I can't leave him here!” the Pokemon countered, “he must answer to justice!”

“You can’t save him!” Ocellus pulled him towards the exit, “He'll just get you killed! And there will be no justice in that!”

Keldeo looked her in the eyes at that, then turned back to the collapsed rubble where a still cackling Big Boss was heard. After a brief hesitation, he shook his head and followed his newfound friends out to the exit.

The eerie laughter still echoed in the halls as they escaped the collapsing caverns until it abruptly ceased. The silenced cackle becoming more deafening than the roaring devastation of the caves.

Keldeo stared blankly at the scene before him; ponies in Royal Guard armour running back and forth among the freed abducted, said abducted ponies and other creatures sprawled across an open field next to the palace on top of a mountain, field kitchens, and medical tents were pitched around them with lines waiting for either their meal or treatment and several spectators ranging from concerned citizens to opportunistic reporters trying to find out what was going on.

And there he was, sitting in his lonesome, holding a cup of water with his two hooves, processing it all.

‘This has been a long day,’ he thought as he took a sip from his cup.

“Hey, mind if we joined you?”

Keldeo turned to see Gallus and the rest of his friends who were in various states of injury and/or shock from the whole fiasco. Gallus had a few bandages around him from cuts and bruises, Sandbar had one wrapped around his neck from his close encounter in the cells, and Silverstream had an ice pack on her cheek. And while the rest of them were no worse for wear, they all had blankets over each of them.

“Not at all,” offered Keldeo, “Knock yourselves out.”

As the six of them sat around him, Gallus spoke out, “Listen, on behalf of my friends and I, I'd like to thank you for saving us and everyone else trapped in the caves.”

Keldeo nodded with a smile, “Hey, don't sweat it. It was just the right thing to do. If anything, I should be thanking you and your friends.”

“Thank us? For what?” asked Sandbar.

“For starters, saving me when you found me unconscious,” answered Keldeo, “For two, giving me a chance when I took drastic measures.”

“Speaking of, where did you learn to fight like that?” Silverstream asked nervously, clearly intimidated from what she saw and heard of him.

“I'm not quite sure actually,” said Keldeo, “Can't tell if it is muscle memory or instinct. I wouldn't know, amnesia and all that.”

“So you actually don't remember anything?” asked Sandbar.

Keldeo screwed his muzzle in thought. “Not exactly,” he finally answered, “I remember what I am, my name, and pretty much most of the creatures in my world. Heck, I remember seeing my God, Lord Arceus once. I just can't seem to remember faces, events and circumstances, names, certain places, and a lot more that I can't even describe.”

He paused for a second until a thought came to him. “Although, I have been getting small flashes of memories whenever I see or hear things that kind of act like a trigger,” he added with a shrug.

“Wait, you're from another world?” Silverstream gawked with a gleam in her eye.

“Oh yeah, that's right. You guys weren't exactly up to date,” said Smolder, “Basically, this guy is some crazy powerful alien from another world. He calls himself a Pokemon, he's not a pony and he can't use magic.”

“Could have fooled me,” said Gallus, “How else could he have pulled those crazy moves with water that came out of him?”

A wry smile formed on the Pokemon. “Oh boy, guess I'll have to start from the top.”

Several minutes passed as they exchanged what had happened after they separated earlier that day. From Keldeo’s show of power outside of the hospital to Silverstream's attempt to distract Big Boss, gasping in awe, laughing, and crying all the while.

It was then when the conversation took a turn when Keldeo asked, “So, what's the deal with this Spirit of Harmony? Is she a usual phenomenon, some sort of avatar, or something else entirely?”

“It’s hard to say,” answered Ocellus, “We don't really know much about the Spirit of Harmony other than it's from the Tree of Harmony, which created the Elements of Harmony.”

Keldeo blinked. “That's… a lot of Harmony. So is it like your source of power or something?”

Ocellus placed a hoof on her chin as she thought of an answer. “Sort of,” she finally replied, “The Spirit of Harmony is infused with the six elements that empower its powerful harmonic magic.”

Keldeo blinked. Then tilted his head in confusion, “Yeah, no. Sorry, you lost me there. What are these elements you are talking about?”

“Honesty. Loyalty. Generosity. Kindness. Laughter. And the spark that binds them together; Magic.”

All turned to the voice that interjected, and immediately all ponies (and other creatures) bowed before the being before them. All except Keldeo who stood almost gawking at the creature before him.

She looked familiar yet vastly different from the entity they met earlier in the train. For one, she was taller; just shy of his height by a horn. For another, there was a slight flow about her purple mane, like a river in slow motion. Finally, she was regaled with a crown, a chest piece, and horseshoes that covered her hooves, all made of gold, silver, and other metals and adorned by vibrant jewelry. Surrounding her was a contingent of Royal Guards, whilst next to her was none other than Starlight Glimmer.

“Rise my Little Ponies. Don't worry about me being here. Just focus on getting yourselves looked after while we get to work,” she said calmly, addressing the crowd. Keldeo couldn’t help but think that her voice sounded much younger than she looked.

This pony… No, this princess then approached him and offered a grateful smile.

“You are Keldeo the Pokemon, I presume?” she asked, to which he could only nod in response. “I am Twilight Sparkle, ruler of Equestria, Bearer of the Element of Magic, and Princess of Friendship,” she introduced herself before continuing, “On behalf of Equestria, I offer you my gratitude for the rescue and protection of my subjects, along with other abducted citizens of our allies.”

“I… was merely answering the call to help others, your grace,” replied Keldeo in an almost rehearsed eloquence with a deep bow.

Smolder raised an eyebrow, “Where did this come from?”

Keldeo blinked. “Is that not how you speak to royalty?”

The others laughed good naturedly. “A thousand years ago maybe, but this is Princess Twilight you're talking to. Going too formal isn't her style,” said Gallus, “Besides, she's technically still the Head of the School of Friendship, so technically for us we're still her students.”

“Speaking of,” added Princess Twilight, “I've just had a visit from an unusual guest shortly after I was informed of the situation. One that I am sure you six are all familiar with.”

The students’ eyes widened. “Y-you mean…,” spluttered Silverstream.

The Princess nodded, “I don't know why it took my form in front of me but I digress. It wants a meeting with all of you and it asks that I be present for said meeting.” She turns to Keldeo, “And when I mean all of you that includes you Keldeo.”

“Me? What would it want from me? I'm a stranger to this world,” protested Keldeo, not hiding the surprise in his tone.

“That is for all of us to find out, and I for one will not miss such an opportunity to see the Spirit of Harmony in action,” grinned Twilight with a small manic gleam visible in her eyes. “Think of all the knowledge gained from our meeting alone, it could be enough to fill a corner of the Library!” she squealed excitedly before turning to Starlight, “Which reminds me, I'll need you to come with us. As Headmare of the school, you'll need to be there and I need somepony to take notes for me.”

Starlight blinked, “I thought I was going regardless, but why am I taking notes for you? Couldn't Spike do that?”

“He would have if he wasn't entertaining the ambassadors from the newly discovered continent of Elvaan,” answered Twilight with a grimace, “Those two were at each other's throats until Spike intervened.”

“You mean the Fey Ponies? They’re not from the same Kingdom?”

“Two kingdoms in one continent and a five-hundred-year-old feud between them. It's a long story,” sighed Twilight.

Starlight nodded in understanding, “Good call to leave them to Spike then. This meeting with the spirit should be a welcome distraction.”

Twilight smiled, barely holding her excitement, “Without a doubt.”

“So when is this meeting?” asked Keldeo.

“Oh, it will be tomorrow, right before the ceremony,” answered Twilight.

“What ceremony?” asked Yona.

“Why, for your heroic deeds of course,” Twilight again answered, “Rescuing at least a hundred Equestrian and allied citizens is merit enough to award you all for heroism. Not to mention raiding a group of potential threats to Equestria.”

“But Princess, half of us were the ones being rescued. Why include the rest of us? No offense,” addressed Sandbar, looking to his friends sheepishly from that last statement.

“And from what I have heard, you all acted admirably despite the circumstances you found yourselves in,” replied the alicorn, “Though it may seem inconsequential, each of your actions contributed and resulted in the rescue of our ponies.”

She leaned in closer to her students, “Take pride in that. While many (including myself) would have said that what you all did was reckless, you all did the right thing.” She turned to Keldeo with a reassuring smile, “All of you.”

With no further opposing arguments, everypony and Keldeo followed Twilight as she led the way. However, Smolder suddenly felt a tug on her tail, causing her to stop in her tracks. She quickly turned around to see that it was Ocellus, who was holding onto Smolder's scaly tail. Smolder was curious about what was on Ocellus's mind.

"Do you think I made the right choice by not mentioning what Keldeo did in the cavern to Twilight?" Ocellus asked as she released her friend's tail. Smolder understood exactly what Ocellus was referring to; it was impossible to forget the horrific experience.

"I honestly don't know. But why didn't you tell Twilight about it and have us stay quiet?" Smolder asked.

"Because he's our friend. I know others have heard about what Keldeo did in the cavern, and they might speak about what happened below, but..." Ocellus paused for a moment.

"But, what?"

After a brief moment of silence, Ocellus spoke to Smolder. "Because we owe him our lives. We would have died. All of us...he saved us. Maybe the method was… intense… but his heart was in the right place."

Author's Note

Happy New Year Lads and Lassies!

Sorry this took so long but don't you worry, next chapter is already on the works. (It will also be a shorter one, I hope).

As always, let me know what you guys think, and once again specially thank you to MechaSonicFanArtist for editing this chapter.

I'll see you all next time.

Interlude: A Sword and a Trainer (re-edited)

Author's Note

This chapter was written by Rated Ponystar and edited by me.

Warning: the following chapter is Rated M for Mature audiences (or for you Americans out there, PG-13). It contains crude humour, sexual references, violence, and [Censored]. Reader discretion is advised.

Interlude: A Sword and a Trainer (re-edited)

It had been a month since the Swords had finally decided he was ready to travel on his own. Despite having been a fully fledged member of the “Swords of Justice” for some time now, he was a bit upset that the other three still babied him by having him assigned to any of them on missions or patrols. He might have been one of the younger Legendary Pokemon but he was far old enough to travel on his own. He wasn’t that scared little Pokemon who used to wet his nest.

Okay, Keldeo. Let’s try not to picture your embarrassing moments in life, He thought to himself with a sigh. Focus on the mission.

The mission is investigating the rumors of this Team Plasma. A terrorist group who seemed to have a wacky idea of separating the world of Pokemon and Humans via “liberation”. Such liberation was stealing Pokemon from their trainers and releasing them in the wilds or convincing them to join their cause. It didn’t sound as dangerous as the other “Terrorist Teams” that Keldeo had heard about at the Hall of Origins at the Legendary Meetings, but they were upsetting the natural balance between humans and Pokemon. Cobalion told the swords that they were to look into this but not engage until they had more information.

I kinda am hoping to teach these guys a lesson. Honestly they sound like a bunch of...what was that term Mew used again? Hippies but without the drugs? Keldeo thought as he walked further into the forest. Man, I haven’t seen anyone in miles. I’m getting bored. I hope something happens...wait...what was that?

His ears perked as he heard what sounded like grunting and moaning. Almost as if someone was hurt or being hurt in the process. He focused more and it sounded like a bunch of hurt Pokemon. Puffing out his chest, Keldeo felt excited and determined. While he was worried about the hurt Pokemon, this was his big chance to make his solo debut as a Sword of Justice.

Charging forward he continued to follow the large noises that got louder and louder. The trees got thicker as he could see numerous large figures in a clearing doing what appeared to be wrestling. Was it a fight? A battle? Two clans ripping each other apart. Growling with determination, Keldeo leapt out and posed upon landing.

“Have no fear! The Sword of Justice...Kel...deo...is...” Keldeo froze and his face turned as red as Moltres’ behind. Staring at him were the eyes of a bunch of male and female Haxorus who were in...very compromising positions as certain scents and musks were in the air.

Keldeo realized that he had made a terrible mistake.

They weren’t fighting.

They were… oh boy.

“...here...”

A series of angry roars erupted into the air.

***

“Ugh, I’m so lost,” Pokemon Trainer Hilda muttered to herself as she put her Pokedex away. “I knew I should have downloaded that latest upgrade.”

She had been trying to find civilization for three days straight while on her Pokemon Journey. While there were a few Pokemon she had encountered, most of them stared at her curiously before running away. Not that she was interested in capturing them. She had a full team already plus no Pokeballs to capture them with.

What she really needed was a map.

“There has to be some kind of landmark around here. Or at least someone who can point me directions,” Hilda said as she looked around. “Billy should be back soon. I mean I sent him out to look around. Still, I gotta figure out what to do next. Though it would be easier if it wasn’t for that rumbling.”

“Wait, rumbling?” She felt the ground starting to shake as she looked to see a large mass of figures ripping through the forest in an angry charge and she froze. “What the-”

Suddenly a creamy-yellow and red rush passed her.

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!” Keldeo cried out in a panic as he galloped for his life.

“Huh?” Hilda then narrowed her eyes and yelped upon seeing a stampede of angry Haxorus rushing towards her. She bolted after the Pokemon from earlier and screamed, “W-wait for me!”

Naturally, being a human she wasn’t as fast as the Pokemon ahead of her which made her really wish she had gotten a bike with her savings. That or a Pokemon strong and fast enough to carry her being present. Thankfully, whoever this Pokemon was seems to have realised her predicament and slowed down next to her.

Hop on!

She blinked and soon realised that he was using telepathy. With a jump she rode on his back and he bolted just in time as they avoided a series of Dragon Pulses.

You good?

“Yeah!” Hilda shouted as she gripped his neck for dear life. “Thanks, by the way! Why are those Haxorus after us?!”

Well, it’s more like they’re after me! I, uh, saw them doing something private and let’s just say they were too angry to talk! Keldeo said as he dodged another attack and turned left in the woods. I’m Keldeo, by the way!

“Hilda! And I’ve never seen or heard of a Pokemon like you before!” Hilda said before her eyes widened, “Hold on, are you Legendary?”

More like Mythical but that’s a conversation for another day… provided we live long enough to talk! Keldeo said as he made for a river. Hang on!

He jumped and started galloping on it much to Hilda’s amazement. Whatever doubts she had about him being a Mythical were gone since she didn’t think most Pokemon could pull off what he did. Keldeo continued to run on the water, accelerated with the move Aqua Jet from his hooves as they were quickly distancing themselves from the group of angry dragon types.

However, they were not out of the woods yet. A few of the bigger ones were preparing something and Keldeo, looking behind, gasped. Oh crap! They’re gonna Giga Impact us!

“Bravi!”

Hilda looked up to see her Braviary flying nearby and looking at her with worry. “Billy!”

Keldeo saw the bird and then looked to Hilda before taking a chance. “Catch her!”

Before Hilda could react, Keldeo bucked her up into the air and used Hydro Pump from his mouth, at low pressure to push her into the air. Braviary, seeing what was going on, swooped in and grabbed his trainer as Hilda looked down in horror as the Giga Impacts fired. A large explosion hit the river as Hilda screamed, “Keldeo!”

From the smoke and rumble she saw a limp body floating down the river. Adjusting to her Flying-type’s back, she shouted, “Billy! Grab him and get us out of here!”

He let out a cry and swooped down to pick up the unconscious Mythical before flying off at top speed. The Haxorus roars echoed behind them in the distance as Hilda prayed that they could find a safe place to get Keldeo treatment.

She owed him her life after all.

***

“...Ugh,” Keldeo moaned as he slowly opened his eyes and sat up. His body was sore but not as bad as he thought it would be. He wasn’t dead at least. He blinked and saw that he was right beside a fire while sitting on what appeared to be a bedroll set up for him. He had a few medical tapes wrapped around his barrel, but overall he wasn’t seriously injured. Hilda, who was cooking a meal over the fire, quickly rushed over to him and began to check on him.

“Keldeo!” She sighed in relief before smiling at him. “Glad to see you’re awake.”

Did… Did you save me? Keldeo asked in surprise.

“Of course I did, Dummy,” She batted him on the nose. “You think I was going to let you drown after you risked your life to save mine? Speaking of which. Thank you.”

N-No problem, Keldeo said with a nervous smile. It’s my duty as a Sword of Justice.

Hilda tilted her head. “Sword of Justice? I thought that there were only three of them… unless...”

She gasped and pointed at him. “You’re the love child of Virizion and Cobalion?! I knew that fan theory was right!”

What, no! I mean, they raised me and all but they’re not my birth parents! Keldeo claimed as he quickly shook his hoof. He could already hear Terrakion laughing in his head if he ever heard this. They raised me after my parents died. I’ve been trained by them since I was little. I only recently finished and became a fully fledged Sword of Justice.

“Wow, so you’re like… a new Pokemon?” Hilda asked in awe.

Not really. I mean, my kind did exist but… from what we know, I’m the last one, Keldeo whispered in sorrow as he tried to forget the memories of that day.

Hilda’s expression soon changed. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

It’s fine. You didn’t know, Keldeo said with a reassuring smile. He then looked around. So where are we?

“No idea, I just found the first place I could that was safe to heal you. I had to use both my Super Potions and some first aid, but you should be okay,” Hilda said as she sat next to him. “Heh, didn’t think I’d meet a Legendary out in the middle of this place.”

Well, I’m kinda on my first solo patrol along with a somewhat important mission, Keldeo said with a smile. I’m trying to look up info on this Team Plasma group. Do you know about them?

“Those guys? Yeah, I’ve run into them,” Hilda snarled. “They think they’re helping Pokemon by freeing them from the slavery of humanity’s chains. But all they’ve done is ruin the bonds and friendships I’ve seen between Humans and their Pokemon. They even took an Eevee from her eight-year-old trainer! Who does that!”

That’s horrible, Keldeo whispered as he bit his lip. I know not all humans are bad, but I’ve heard several stories of groups that were just cruel.

“I don’t know who their leader is but if I ever met them I’m gonna give them a piece of my mind. And maybe a flamethrower from my Tepig,” Hilda snorted before waving her hand. “But enough about that. Let’s have dinner.”

Wait, together? I don’t want to intrude, Keldeo said as Hilda got up and made for her pot. She smiled as she put her screw and rice into a bowl.

“It’s fine. Besides, we could both help each other out tomorrow to find a way outta here. So you need your strength,” Hilda said as she placed the bowl in front of him and smiled. “Sounds good?”

A large smile formed on Keldeo as he nodded, Sounds good.

Keldeo blinked. Something felt off. Something was amiss. He wasn’t sure what it is. All he knew, it just felt… familiar.

“Is something wrong Keldeo?” asked Hilda, staring curiously at him.

Something’s… different, he replied, furrowing his brow in thought.

“Different how?”

Thoughts and feelings swirled in his mind, as though he was missing something. Something important. Something missing.

I don’t know. It’s like I’ve seen this before.

And then it clicked.

I have seen this before… Wait. I have seen you before!

“Seen what?” asked Hilda, still unchanged from her curious demeanor.

I’ve seen all of this! I remember this… His eyes widened in realisation. I REMEMBER THIS!

“Indeed you have.”

Time stopped suddenly as everything and everyone froze around him. Alarmed, he suddenly turned to the new voice. He was taken aback; it was a Pokemon unlike anything he’s seen before.

No… not a Pokemon. It’s a… he wasn’t sure what it is.

“Who are you?” he spoke out loud, demanding the dark yet beautiful creature before him, “What are you?”

It flicked its glimmering mane of starlight and smiled disarmingly. “Calm thyself, Interloper,” she spoke with a calm voice, almost mother-like in mannerism, “You will know me soon enough; in the waking world.”

“The waking wor-?” He gasped in realisation, “Is… is this a dream?”

“It is indeed, and so much more,” she answered with a nod, “It is a memory. A lost memory. One fragment that could only be recovered through dreams.”

She circled past him, approaching the still form of Hilda, observing her curiously.

“My sister’s student informed me of your situation and so I offered to help,” she continued before pausing, sensing a strange fondness from Keldeo towards the human. “And I must say, she is pretty,” the stranger cheekily grinned, “Hilda was it?”

Keldeo felt himself blush. “Th-that is none of your business! And get out of my dream!”

Stranger let out a melodious chuckle before returning his glare with a gentle smile, “Very well then. The sun is rising anyway, but until then we shall meet again in the Dream realm.”

Her horn glowed a cool blue hue before she spoke again, her voice slowly fading, “Awaken, Interloper. Awaken, and remember.”