This fic is the combination of me having a sudden epiphany that a male character of mine had grown subconciously to be exactly like my protrayal of SSBB Pit, and the (unwise, because now I have that one damn song stuck in my head) decision to watch A Canterlot Wedding. Normally I wouldn't publish a fic unless it was finished because I often lose interest, but I'm hoping that other people will motivate me to finish something for once. So if you like this story, PLEASE leave a review saying so, else I might end up losing interest in it at some point :L Last thing: I guess this takes place post-SSBB and pre-Uprising, because I've never played Uprising and I'll undoubtedly break so many parts of canon without even meaning to. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, because I'm really enjoying writing it so far!
"Captain! The Goddess demands your presence in the Portal Room immediately!" A hammer on the door made the previously slumbering Angel leap half out of his skin, bashing his elbow on the desk besides his bed in his panic.
"Aaaaah! I mean, uh, yes, coming right away!" he replied, trying to sound as normal as possible. What time was it anyway? It was only ten! Sheesh! Still, if the Goddess wanted to see him, she wanted to see him, and if she wanted to see him immediately, she wanted to see him immediately. Which mean he had to get a move on ASAP.
He leapt out of bed and picked up a toga that had been tossed on the floor the previous day, grabbing a fresh pair of underwear and shorts from the drawers and putting them on as fast as humanly (or rather, Angel-y) possible. No time to decorate himself with the various trinkets and blessings he'd been given over the years right now, there was only just enough time to strap on his sandals. He paused briefly on his way out to glower at his scruffy hair in the mirror, but he knew that no amount of combing would ever make it look better than its permanent bedhead and anyway, there was nowhere near enough time to brush that mop.
He darted down the corridor, weaving around servants and apologising to them for all he was worth. Damnit, Palutena, couldn't you wait just half an hour? But if she wanted him immediately, she wanted him immediately. After narrowly avoiding running into a maid, he screeched around the corner into what he personally called the Corridor of Importance – the one stretch of building that had that led to the corridor to the kitchen, the way out to the gym, the way upstairs and also to the Portal Room, his current destination.
Vigorous training meant he could sprint almost the entire way there, and all in all he made it to the Portal Room barely ten minutes after waking up. He charged into the room, going down into a kneel as soon as he spotted the elegant figure waiting for him, not even properly waiting to slow down (leading to a mild friction burn on his knee).
"My lady?" he said, in between breaths. He looked up to see Palutena giving him a mildly amused look. His face flushed.
"Rise, Captain. I apologise for waking you up."
"No need, I was awake and awaiting your orders."
"I find that hard to believe, Captain, knowing how much you love your beauty sleep. But I'm afraid I call you here under dire circumstances."
"Oh," his heart sank as its beat wound down. "What kind of dire circumstances?"
"Come here," she beckoned him to the font in the middle of the room, the Seer. Pit was one of the few people in the country who was trusted to use it alone, but today Palutena wanted to show him something. She cast her hand across it, and it cut to a view of a street. There were strange black globs moving across the cobbled streets. Some of them were stuck to the sides of buildings, looking like they were…dissolving it.
"What are they…?" Pit said, his breath misting over the coldness of the Seer.
"We don't know. We know them to be Darkness-elemented, destroying everything, including those made of flesh and blood. They display obvious evil, so they are not mere creatures, and yet they seem to serve no real purpose. No threat had been made to the kingdom, no blackmail note received. No leader has appeared among them. They just…devour the life of everything."
"And you haven't heard of these creatures before?"
"No, never. But this is happening in a foreign kingdom, so it is possible (and I hope it is) that this is something completely unknown to Skyworld."
"Where is this happening?"
"The kingdom of Equestria, some seventy dreights away."
"That's a long way."
"Yes, but they need our help. Their people are peaceful and kind; they have no weapons and no real army. Nothing has threatened them on this scale that they haven't been able to deal with. Such is why their rulers have sent out a plea to all neighbouring kingdoms for help. I received it only this morning."
"What do you propose we do to help?" he asked, slightly hollowly now he knew that an innocent race should be walking around on those streets, not these monstrous oozes.
"I am going to send you to help."
"Yes, I ag – woah, WHAT?! Erm, um, I mean, excuse me, my lady?" he tried to give as calm a look as possible. Her lip curved up in an almost non-existent smile.
"I am sending you to help them. Do you accept? It is a three-portal journey and you will not be able to come back unless their rulers agree to send you back."
"I…I'm not sure if I could do it on my own, my lady…"
"You won't be on your own. A group of well-known heroes in the kingdom are still active and doing their best, they only need a little bit of foreign help – it is them that I would be sending you to. Not to mention any other heroes that other kingdoms may send. I have faith in you, Captain. I would not send you so far way to something so different if I did not know that you could handle it."
"I…understand, my lady. I'll go on behalf of Angel Land but I need more information on the enemy, the location and the inhabitants."
"Of course. There isn't enough time to tell you everything now, but I will send a scroll to your room when I have the time. For now, Captain, train your strength and your melee skills, I have a feeling they will be called for."
"Yes, my lady."
"You are dismissed," she told him. He gave her a short bow before leaving the room.
That was a lot to think about, especially when he'd only just gotten up, he was hungry and he needed the bathroom. It would probably make more sense when all those things were taken care of, so there was no point delaying the official start of the day any longer, was there?
"Slime-based Darkness monsters…weak to Ice…eat to grow and can divide when they get to a certain size…can eat pretty much anything…inhabitants contaminated by the monsters turn evil…no clear leader," Pit muttered to himself, pacing backwards and forwards in his room, reading from the scroll Palutena had sent him a few days ago. He paused for a moment and looked to a different section.
"Ruled by Princess Celestia and Princess…Luna. Elder raises the sun, younger raises the moon…species of rare alicorn…rule over all ponies. Yeah. Ponies. I can't believe I just said that," he paused again, screwing up his nose. Talking animals was by no means something he had trouble disbelieving, especially not after last year's 'Smash Brothers' business, but ponies was a little weird to him. Skipping a section about the history of Equestria, he got to the part about the inhabitants of Equestria.
"Three kinds…earth ponies…tend to be stronger and more durable than others…get infected less easily than others by the monsters…unicorns can levitate things…others have access to special magics…healing, teleportation, transmo – er, trans…whatever. And pegasus ponies…power of flight…lighter bone structure so they can walk on clouds…easily poisoned by monsters due to being lightweight…all ponies have a special talent represented by a…cutie mark," he paused again to pull a face. It all sounded pretty whimsical to him, but on the other hand, that's what made these monster attacks all the more horrifying.
He looked at the clock in his room. It was time. He'd packed all the things he thought he might need into his hammerspace satchel and already collected his bow from the weaponry, so he was pretty much set. Now all he needed to do was travel. So he picked the bag up in one hand, Palutena's Bow in the other and set off for the Portal Room, where Palutena would be waiting for him.
He felt undoubtedly nervous as he walked there. A foreign country, thousands upon thousands of miles away. Very nearly in a different dimension altogether it was so far away. Three portals! Three! Just one was considered a distance too long to be worth making without them. If it even was possible to get to Angel Land from Equestria without the use of a portal, it could take years to get back home if neither of the Equestrian monarchs would send him back. Palutena had reassured him that they were both well-meaning souls and would never willingly trap him there, but still, he didn't like putting his life in the hands (or indeed, hooves) of someone (somepony?) he'd never met before. There was no choice, it seemed…
And there he was. Entrance to the Portal Room, one of the oldest rooms in all of Angel Land. He walked up to Palutena but before he could attempt to execute the difficult move of kneeling while carrying a semi-heavy bag and a bow, the goddess held a hand out to stop him.
"No need, Captain. You have everything you need, I hope."
"I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be, my lady."
"Not quite," she said. "I have some gifts for you. A new blessing: a blessing of safety in foreign lands. I cannot guarantee it will protect you, but it will help you," she held out her hand, and the newest blessing hovered above it. She closed her hand, and the ring of gold appeared around Pit's arm.
"Thank you, m -"
"Wait, I have more. These are miniaturised Smash Orbs – they will give you the power to call a fraction of your army should you need it. There are but three, however, and you must use them wisely," she said. Three red gems appeared in the new blessing, like orbs of opal. But they had that sheen and glow that only a Smash Orb could have.
"Thank you, m-" he again tried to say, only to have her interrupt him once again.
"One last gift, Captain. I spoke to my brother, Fortos, God of Ice, and he forged this for you – an ice bow. Its arrows will damage the monsters far more than my light arrows will, though it will not become blades, it is breakable and should it get separated from you, it will not return to you unless you actively find it yourself."
"Thank you, my lady," he said, even more genuinely than he would have done a moment ago. If there was one thing that always excited him, it was new weapons. He wasn't bloodthirsty by any means (it was his job to keep the peace, after all) but there was something enjoyable about learning how to use a new bow or sword or dagger. He carefully broke Palutena's Bow in two so he could store it in his bag, and took the Ice Bow from her.
"Is there anything else you would like to say before I open the portal, Captain?" Palutena asked. Pit thought for a moment.
"It will be an honour to serve in your name, my lady. I…hope I won't be away for too long. That will be all."
"Very well, Captain. I shall miss you," she said sincerely. She smiled a faint smile, before a blast of air and a whum almost knocked the unsuspecting Angel over. The portal had been opened. Pit took one last look at his Goddess, who gave him an encouraging look, before stepping in. The last thing he heard was:
"Goodbye, Pit!" being called by her, and then he was through.
Good start? Yes/no? If yes, why? If no, what can I do to change your mind about that? By all means, criticism is welcomed BUT ONLY IF you tell me HOW I can improve. Or else it's just pointless. Anyway, if you have an SSBB character you desperately want to appear at some point, leave it in a review! Only characters who are so far definitely not going to appear are the Pokemon ones, just because they don't make any sense in my head. Anyway, again, if you're still here thank you so much! The only thing that would mean more is if you'd only REVIEW! Sorry to be so begging, but I honestly need FEEDBACK here.