//------------------------------// // 55. Forest of Nibel: Redemption // Story: Locksmith // by QuartzScale //------------------------------// There we were - Redheart, Ori and I - staring down Kuro and the wrath she felt in her eyes. Her talons clenched the Element of Warmth causing the entire crater to pulse with energy. I didn’t really enjoy the pressure of her gaze on all three of us. Even though only seconds passed while she watched us I immediately flew into action, figuratively only though. I gripped Redheart on my back and rushed over the lake of lava that was rising with Ori following close behind me. Kuro took one swift flap and dove towards us forcing us through a small tunnel. The rocks behind us broke and closed off anymore chance for Kuro to catch us like that… unfortunately, it didn’t matter. The entire volcano started to rumble shaking the entire planet causing me to actually panic… only slightly. “Ori… run. Run now!” Ori immediately understood as the shaking started to get worse causing several rocks to fall into the pools of lava and magma. Taking the chance with Redheart on my back I jumped to the rock with Ori and continued on the path avoiding the falling rocks that kept raining down on us. “Gray! Kuro is closing in!” Redheart screamed as I heard the distinct flapping of the giant owl. I picked up my pace as the platforms started to sink into the magma. Though Ori needed to break some of the paths. The first nearly got us killed as Kuro landed attempting to crush us under the weight of the debris before taking off for the sky once again. Redheart gripped tighter making certain not to take her eyes off the skies. Kuro was persistent enough to do whatever it took to kill us at this point. As we landed I noticed that the next passage was too high up and several Red Nocturnes finally showed up. I gripped Ori in my teeth and tossed him on my back with Redheart. A fierce sweep of my wings let us take off as I pulled out the tomahawk weapon while Ori and Redheart had their skills ready, Redheart with the keyblade, and Ori with his light. The heartless took no chances and began to focus their fire though they aimed for where I was more often than not. The hectic flight left us nearly paralyzed as Kuro came into sight. With a quick flick of my hoof I tossed the tomahawk at a low angle using the fact that it is still the form of the keyblade transformed to my advantage. While the weapon was the same as the original Nobodies that still retained their bodies, the weapon still kept the properties of the keyblade. That meant strike raid skills still remained viable. The tomahawk flew true smashing into Kuro’s stomach and knocking her off course and smashing into the cliff walls. Redheart kept a steady stream of blizzard spells keeping the Red Nocturnes off our backs as I rushed into the small rocky copse. Kuro recovered enough to slam into the cliff wall causing more rocks to fall upon us. Ori took the chance to smash another floor while I slowly flew down the hole… which turned out to be bigger than I thought it was. Ori managed to cling to the wall and used another of his abilities to smash another wall opening another passage for us to get through. On the other side were a couple new heartless known as Crimson Jazz hovering around and firing off several flame mines in the air. The sudden shift forced Redheart to use her reflect spell as they followed after us. Ori took his chance to grab onto the mines sending them flying back at the Crimson Jazz heartless. The fire from the mines only healed them back up. As I flew straight up I noticed Kuro diving straight down. Ori gripped onto me in a state of pure fear as I flung the three of us into the closest place to hide. The tree branch that Kuro hit fell past us knocking the Crimson Jazz heartless back into the ground dispersing them on impact while the flames started to lick the mouth of the cave we entered. Taking a deep breath even through the constant smoke I checked on Redheart and Ori before moving forward. Redheart was keeping her muzzle against my neck to keep from breathing in the ash. I coughed slightly but I needed to keep moving. With a quick jump Ori and I raced through the next couple of platforms as Kuro soared across the horizon. The flames kept racing along the landscape making certain to keep ahead of us. I notched my tomahawk out once again just as she got close knocking her talons off course as they scratched the stone in front of us. Ori had to screech to a halt while Redheart fired up a reflect spell keeping the shards that did get gouged out from slowing us down. Kuro flew straight back up at incredible speeds keeping us on the move… towards a small ravine of water. “Damn it all!” “What!?” Redheart cried out as she looked over my shoulder. “Oh… horseapples…” “Red… hold your breath. We need to move.” Red took a deep breath as did I while Ori followed me into the water. Kuro had gained enough momentum ratcheting it up into divebomb speeds just as we hit the water. It was difficult to actually move through the water since I was a pony at this point. Luckily, with webbed wings I forced them to propel me in the direction I needed to go. As we passed through the underwater tunnel Kuro smacked the wall slamming into it with all her weight knocking a rock from above us. The two of us barely managed to get through the tunnel and back above the surface. I coughed up some of the water… as did Ori. I forced myself back onto dry land shaking off slightly to get the water off of Red and I. Red spat up the excess water she accidentally inhaled in the panic over my back. “Sorry… koff… I panicked… koff…” Redheart struggled to say as her ears perked up. Kuro immediately soared down upon us forcing me to adjust to the shield creating a small pillar of ice that immediately touched the flames. The resultant mist allowed us to dodge with Ori and Red still secured to my back. Lifting my wings I rode the sudden air currents up while Kuro flapped her wings once dispersing the mist away. Her baleful gaze once again tracked us as I got us into another small hole in the wall. She flew back up above the clouds again soaring at greater speeds while we took a small breather in our safe spot. “She really doesn’t want us to live…” Redheart muttered as she looked out at the clouds once more. She barely reeled in her head just as Kuro dove right across the hole gouging out the rock wall in order to get us once again. “If we restore the light, we save the planet. But if the light does the same thing again then her last child might die. We don’t have much chance to change things… maybe.” “We have to try! We must… I don’t want to let her or her child die.” Redheart gasped out trying to keep her breath level as the smoke started to get worse. I used my wings to clear a portion out while Kuro made another pass. “Good answer… now we just gotta try something to make it true. We gotta get out of here first the flames are getting worse.” Redheart clung tighter to my back as did Ori when Kuro made another pass making the hole wide enough to get her talon inside it. I exploded out of there as quickly as I could using the wind to propel myself faster up. I nearly missed the turn as I touched down and raced along the ground. The sudden rush of flames got worse and my own panic led me to toss both Red and Ori forward catching them as a large explosion blew me forward. I quickly twisted my body as we fell down into the now burning forest. The charred branches and smoldering embers burnt my back as we fell into the inferno before us. Before I lost consciousness Red raised her keyblade up and started up a cure spell. Octavia and the rest of the mares managed to get to their designated spot. It had taken several minutes after leaving Gumo behind and the strange ape close to Mount Horu. Surprisingly both Spitfire and Sunshower managed to air lift her over there within seconds and Gumo’s parkour skills managed to let him keep pace. “So… this is where it happened…?” Fresh Coat frowned as she saw the solitary egg resting in the empty nest. “Yes…” Sunshower answered clearly uncomfortable at the sight. “What did Nebby want us to do anyways?” Vinyl looked out as the raging fires from the volcano got worse. “Vinyl, he wanted us to protect this egg should anything happen. Don’t you remember? We talked about it before they left.” Octavia answered resolutely as she placed her training keyblade down and several beads of light covered the opening to the nest. “Uh…” “Was that you?” Spitfire asked as her own keyblade did the same thing. “Uh…” “Ok then… light is keeping things safe then. Gotcha.” Vinyl answered as the light drifted off her keyblade as well creating a stronger barrier. “What else do keyblades do at this point?” Sunshower pondered at that moment. “Let's just take advantage of it for now. We can think about it later when there is less fire.” Fresh Coat yelled as several Red Nocturnes came up to the barrier blasting away at it with their fire. “They're persistent aren't they?” Spitfire muttered as she flew out of the barrier and attacked the floating sentries the heartless decided to send their way. Sunshower followed suit making certain that the heartless stayed as far from the barrier as possible. Luckily, the barrier allowed them back through without letting the heartless follow giving Fresh Coat and Octavia the chance to heal everypony. Vinyl kept her magic back and remained as the last guardian for the egg. “Hopefully, they get the light back on the tree.” Vinyl muttered as the flames started to reach across more of Nibel by the second. ‘Ow… ow… ow… Why do I smell burning?’ My mind desperately tried to catch up as I forced my eyes open. Redheart stood close by with Ori using blizzard to keep the flames around us tamer. I forced myself up with a cough and used cure on the three of us. It would cause me to need to wait for my magic to recharge but I needed to stop feeling the pain on my wings. When I finally looked at them I could only see lingering burn marks which cure was slowly fixing. It would take a few instances just to fix them up but it was better than moving into the unknown injured. “Gray! You’re okay!” Redheart cried as she hugged me. “Ow… “ “Oops… umm, sorry about that. Overexcited and all that. Here give me a second…” Redheart cringed as she cast another cure spell on me. Funnily enough, her cure spells were always much stronger healing each of us for more. It was probably a side effect of magic amplifying her need to heal others but that was mere speculation on my part. “It’s fine… thanks. I think I’m gonna need to fly us over to the tree. Problem is, is that Kuro is still looking for us. I doubt we managed to make her think that we are dead.” Ori nodded looking genuinely still in one piece and Redheart grimaced but determination flashed on her face. She knew we needed to stop the flames from continuing. Though from earlier interactions with the clouds here I knew that even if we moved the clouds - Spitfire, Sunshower and I - they wouldn’t obey any of our pegasi magic. Different world, different rules I mentally guessed. I had to experimentally flap my wings a few times noting that the burn tissue and scarring finally subsided as the cure spells did their job. So long as we healed right away the magic seemed to keep any scars or blemishes from overwhelming our bodies. With a quick jaunt we found ourselves out near a cliff overlooking the spirit tree. Ori was about to jump off with his feather before I pulled him back. I didn’t know why but I felt as though something was waiting for us to make a mistake. The heartless hadn’t attacked us either meaning that… Octavia and the others gathered their attention. The plan wasn't overly complicated but there were still points of contention that I was still mulling over. The egg would be safe regardless of the fires but we also needed it to be a distraction. It was something that would confuse Kuro, maybe even break her out of her rage. It was a minuscule chance but stranger things have happened. I was about to carry everyone over to the tree when a triangle button appeared in my head. I thought hard about it as Kuro came hurtling down at the three of us. She tried to grasp Ori, in particular, with her talons which I used my keyblade to hold against as I skidded across the ground leaving a fissure where my hoof was at. It hurt… it hurt so badly that it felt that my leg would have broke had Redheart not thrown her keyblade into Kuro's face. Slightly stunned, Kuro reared back screeching in fury while we took up our fighting stances. A barrier had appeared around us trapping us in a small arena. We were forced to fight. It was a raging inferno wherever she went. As she lumbered around desperately looking for Ori she could still remember the last moments of her life. The slow ebbing away as her hunger got worse and worse. It had all been for Ori and she didn't regret anything. Now was the time for action as she went looking for her child. A nearby branch fell down making her flinch and back away from the bristling flares of heat and ash tried to lick at her body. As she moved through the flames compelled by instinct to find Ori she noticed a small area where ice was barely melting within the flames. One of the strangest sights she had seen but in her heart she could feel something off about it. It filled her with hope and she followed the path it left in that hope that it would lead Naru to her child. Kuro immediately flew up using the aerial superiority she possessed to keep out of the barrier around us as she dive bombed against us raking her talons through the stone. Only good dodging kept her from slicing us to ribbons. Redheart countered first using several thunder spells in succession. They barely managed to stun Kuro but it was enough to drive her away. I watched as Kuro flew out of range of our spells and began flapping her wings whipping the wind into a frenzy. I pulled out the scythe and slammed the blade into the ground where it sank almost too easily into the stone. Redheart managed to grab onto me while Ori hung for his life off of her tail. Eventually the wind did stop… Kuro dove fast enough to grab me in her talons missing Ori by a few inches. She squeezed me tightly but I had switched over to the tomahawk and used the strength boost it gave me to keep the talons further apart. She was slowly wrenching her grip tighter but my dogged insistence on not being crushed left her prey to Redheart flinging her keyblade back into Kuro's eyes. I was tossed against the barrier where I heard a startled gasp in a strange language. Beyond the barrier was a large ape like creature with a blank like face. She was very large and seemed to be looking intently not at me but at Ori. I had to follow her line of sight several times just to figure that out since I was sore from being tossed against the barrier. I struggled to get up as Redheart managed to always keep one step ahead of Kuro due in no small part because of Ori acting like bait. Shrugging off the ache in my shoulder and the shortness of breath from the continued smoke inhalation I galloped back into the fray using the Element of surprise to strike Kuro in the stomach with the tomahawk causing her to bend over in pain. She managed to power through but she couldn't flap her wings anymore. Ori climbed onto her back and behind her letting me summon my shield. I charged it up and shot out a pillar of ice below her trapping her within an icy tomb. She remained stationary though afterwards. The craning of her neck and the sheer exhaustion on her beak made it very clear that she was done. The constant attack throughout the forest and the sheer number of hits by the tomahawk had finally worn her out. The forest was still in flames and Ori was exhausted as he laid on the ground attempting to figure out if his legs could even work anymore. I looked at him feign exhaustion though the small beads of sweat that rolled down his forehead were obviously not staged. The barrier disappeared and the large ape immediately came running towards us. Redheart took a defensive stance but a wayward hoof of mine caused her to relax. The large ape gently picked Ori up slowly cradling him in her arms right in front of Kuro. Kuro broke the ice and stared at the two… comprehension painted across her beak. I noted that the fiery look in her eyes finally smoldered and faded away. She bowed her head and just stared at the two, the large ape seeming ready to do what she must to protect Ori. I took a few steps forward as well with Redheart reluctantly doing so also. Kuro looked at us as well and with a great shuddered hoot stopped looked so enraged. The flames had reached near the Misty Forest and the crackling and tearing of wood reawaken Kuro's attention. Her nest was too close with a quick flick of her talon she grabbed Sein and started flying for the Spirit Tree. “Red!” “Gotcha!” Redheart cried out as she hopped on my back and I took off after Kuro. She was headed for the tree and if the light that had fried her babies was from such a long distance… then at point blank range it would incinerate Kuro. She landed first and shoved the light into place just as we touched down on her head. She didn't try to shake us off but the intense light was starting to burn me. Redheart appeared no worse for wear and pulled out her keyblade. I pulled out my shield and we both started to chain cast reflect over and over as the light shot out over the entirety of the forest. The skies thundered and the grounds shook as the light permeated everywhere on the planet. I kept holding on while Redheart took point using her magic more effectively. I was still a creature of darkness. That was what my body felt like though I had a strong core of light inside. This sensation rippled through my body burning me every time reflect wore off. Add to the fact I was also helping cover Kuro and the constant barrage of light was starting to get overwhelming. “No you don't!” Redheart cried out as her keyblade started shifting. What was once a training blade soon twisted into new form. The keyblade turned a clear eggshell white adorned with several etchings in the metal of angelic wings. The key part of the blade was also a wing though it was also adorned with a red cross acting as one of the teeth with several heart etchings at each opening of the cross. The pommel looked like two intertwining snakes, most likely a caduceus, with the staff they surrounded acting like the hilt. Redheart eyed it in shock but quickly pointed it out at the light. “Angelic Grace!” Redheart shouted as her reflect spell overcharged covering all three of us as we fell out of the tree Kuro first with me following close after as Redheart was the last to stumble back. I quickly grabbed Red keeping her in front of me. As we reached the ground Kuro wrapped her wings around us and we landed with a loud shuddering crash. I hit Kuro’s chest and felt Redheart slam into my chest knocking the wind out of me. With a flash of light the entirety of the forest was enveloped in light and the skies grew darker. Rain fell over the entirety of the forest. Octavia looked around for the heartless as Sunshower and Spitfire rejoined the herd. It had been a bit harrowing since the light had bombarded the shield multiple times as did the fire and the heartless. Everypony was covered in a thin layer of ash and dust. “I think we won…” Vinyl called out as she looked at the passing rain clouds and dragged Octavia and Sunshower out in her telekinetic grip. “Vinyl!” Octavia screeched while Sunshower merely ruffled her feathers to get the water off her body splashing Octavia even more. “Sorry bout that.” Sunshower mumbled while Octavia grumbled and wrung her mane trying to make to most of the water. Fresh Coat and Spitfire eventually were coaxed out as well… though it was mostly Spitfire dragging her out to join in. With the heat from all the fires, the rain became a welcome relief. They quietly showered though it was in relative silence since everypony was too exhausted from dealing with all the dangers of the world to truly appreciate how comfortable everypony felt with each other. While it had only been two months, which in pony relationships could be seen as a year already, everypony felt more comfortable with each other even on such a intimate level they had already been in. The showering part wasn’t exactly blush worthy at this point. Still, there were two missing pieces to their little family that still needed to be found. I felt the rising of someone breathing heavily but steadily as I regained my own ability to breath once again. Having an earth pony land on your gut was a bit harsh… regardless of how well her flank bounced as certain moments. She was lying on her back on your belly holding her newly transformed keyblade in her hooves. It was specifically personalized for her in every possible way. The problem with the breathing was that it was coming from behind me… I turned my head up to see Kuro looking down at the two of us as she lifted her wings off of us. It was strange that she hadn’t done anything else though I suspected that she was still taking stock of the situation. I lifted the two of us… though I did struggle to use my wings to get us off her. They were badly charred from the light that came from the Spirit Tree. When Redheart finally noticed she started using cure spells which turned out to be much stronger… yet were still only first tier strength. The burns slowly regenerated back my wings with the magic even affecting Kuro and healing the wounds that she had received. She finally stood back up on her talons flexing against the ground and digging up the dirt. Her eyes looked around noticed what we didn’t notice before. The vegetation looked alive once again and the light of the tree had sprouted new plants made entirely of light. It would regrow. Kuro lowered her head and with a click of her beak tossed her head behind her. I stared at her for a good twenty seconds before flapping my own wings and getting on her back with the still distracted Redheart. She raised her wings and lifted off back for the cliff where we left Ori and the large Ape. I don’t think I would ever truly learn her name personally. Kuro was much faster than I had been and when we reached that point the two were sitting against the smoldering wreck of one of the trees merely basking in each other’s company. With a small whistle they noticed me riding on Kuro’s back and both were invited on her back. Wary, they accepted and we were flown back to Kuro’s nest where everypony seemed to be waiting for us. Everypony cleared the way for Kuro to enter her nest. She quietly did so and started to roost upon the egg closing her eyes in bliss while all of us looked over each other. I was covered in still healing burns and Redheart looked as though she was dehydrated from the sheer heat of the volcano we left behind. Still the group hug was nice and the small celebration of Redheart awakening to her keyblade left everypony happy. Ori approached us looking completely content before Gumo finally joined us… though he was carrying something with him. It looked identical to the stone that was used in the Forlorn Ruins and glowed with a mysterious light. Before we could get a closer look the orb rose into the air and the entire landscape shifted back to the barrier between the outside and the heart of the world. “Redheart… you’re up.” “Me!?” Redheart asked almost looking completely incredulous at my command. “Yup. Just raise your key and point it at the lock and everything will be done.” She nodded and raised her keyblade sending a bright beam of light through the lock forcing the tumblers into place and locking off the heart of the world from the heartless for as long as would be possible. With the lock locked we returned back to reality surrounded by everyone who was from this realm. Ori looked on sadly… I think he knew what was coming since he came up to everypony and gave them a big hug around their legs. Gumo merely smiled with his eyes and waved standing near the large ape who followed suit. Before we could do anything else Kuro actually hooted at me. Our eyes locked and I could feel a strange sensation from her empty stare. I trotted up to her resting spot while everypony waited for me outside the nest area. Nopony wanted to be back inside that place again. She lowered her left wing and three pieces of paper fell out before me. Two of them had a star emblazoned on the background of the paper. It was a strange sight certainly. The third paper was what truly interested me. The title of it read… Star Swirl’s Report 1 and seemed extremely old… yet still preserved. ‘Why is this even here in the first place…?’  I looked over the pages and put them into my saddlebags. She lowered her wing once more and I felt something change. Something interesting. Obtained the power of shadows. Dark now available. I knew a new spell now… I looked up to the owl who merely twisted her head in strange angles to get me to back away and leave. Reluctantly, I went back to the others and we looked for the first save point we could find. I still hadn’t read the papers and I didn’t tell the others about it since it wasn’t that important. I did show them the first two pages though. When we found the save point everypony teleported back up to the ship with Redheart being the last. She looked around one last time and with a satisfied smile summoned her keyblade and went back on the ship with a cool pose… at least I think she thought it looked cool. It was a bit dorky to me… but I did love those moments from all of them. Ori waved again gathering my attention before I could enter the circle of light. He sprinted over to me holding a small branch of the Spirit Tree… strangely, it actually had roots attached to it. He handed it over to me and I was a bit surprised. I slowly gave him a one armed hug… since the other arm was holding the tree sapling. He eventually let go and I stepped into the save point teleporting back to the ship. It was time to go home. Forest of Nibel, Several days later… Ori stood around Swallow’s Nest slowly holding a small rock with a pointed end. He had worked tirelessly for a couple of hours each day until he couldn’t anymore. It had taken a while to carve out small pictures of Naru, Gumo, Kuro, and himself together. The second rock was a bit harder. On it were the ponies that had helped him restore the world back to normal. In the center was the pony with the bat wings while the others went clockwise - the fire maned flying pony, the gray pony with the bowtie, the pony with the horn and strange eyewear, the flying pony with the raindrops, the pony with the red cross on her, and the pony with the horn and backwards green hat - each carved meticulously into the stone. Admiring his handiwork it took a while for Naru to coax him outside. When he did so Gumo joined in and dragged the two off for Kuro’s Nest. Within a few hours they had managed the climb and saw Kuro waking from her slumber as the sun slowly set below the horizon. When Kuro stepped up another figure stepped up too. The small owlet chirped as it flew down to examine Ori much more closely. There was cheerful laughs as the two families grew closer together. We had quickly used the warp function after strapping into our seats. There was chatter going on but at that point I was really tired. The constant fire and flying had taken their toll on me and I needed a very long nap which was made evident by the look in my eyes. Everypony knew I was going to sleep as soon as possible. With the warp barreling us to Equestria I could tell that everypony was still pretty happy with everything that happened… though there was a moment of silence when Kuro’s children were mentioned. We needed to talk about everything that happened. That would have to wait for another day. I didn’t want to be coherent or conscious at this point because I was finally able to break out of work mode. I wanted to sleep at this point. It was probably selfish but I actually needed it. When the gummi ship finally came to a stop we made our way back to the teleporting unit and prepared ourselves. Everypony made certain to cast their cure spells in order to erase any evidence of our adventures. The scratches and welts slowly disappeared from the constant healing before we headed back down to the world below. Everypony looked around only to note that it was nearly the same time we had left. We trotted back into my home and before I closed the door I looked around several times in case somepony was watching us. Not even Rainbow Dash would be out in the rainy landscape before us. I didn’t want to take chances since Twilight was now looking into me on some level. Everypony trotted upstairs taking a shower two by two. I remained in the living room on the couch still tired. When everypony was done with their respective showers I noted that they went to bed almost immediately. Before they did they each made certain to show me just how much they cared for me. It didn’t help that after the first one I was already raring to go. Still I fought that urge and made certain to go shower as well. When I was done I forwent going to my own room and went back to the living room and laid upon the couch in utter silence. Everypony was asleep and I slowly closed my eyes to join them. It had been a harrowing second excursion into the unknown but I was confident that we had done good even if I was uncertain how everypony handled the reveal of how light and darkness function. It was time to finally rest and relax… and soon the girls would have to go back to their responsibilities. I was going to have to find something to do.