//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Arrival at Tall Lantern // Story: Hidden Powers of the Sea Devil // by Akasuna no Sasori //------------------------------// When dawn approached, Spike and the ponies groggily got up, and stretched. “Let’s put off breakfast, for now.” Said Applejack. “I agree, we need to get moving as quickly as we can.” Said Twilight. Rainbow groaned, but got up with the others, and they started walking. “Hey, Twilight, I had a question.” Said Rainbow. “Sure, what is it?” “Well, you know how Celestia said she wanted us to kill those that already Devil Fruit powers, right?” “Right.” “Then how come I haven’t been killed yet?” Everyone stopped walking, and sat in silence for a few moments. It’s true: how come she hadn’t been killed yet? “I....I don’t know....” Said Twilight. “Well, you’re our friend, and we know you would never use those powers of yours for evil.” Said Applejack. “Yeah, we trust you.” Said Fluttershy. Rainbow groaned, and turned away. “What about the young stallion we killed? He was innocent, and probably would’ve just used his powers for peeping!” “That’s true....” Said Rarity. “So why did we kill him? Just because Celestia said to?” “Well, yeah. We don’t blindly follow the Princess, of course, but we listen to what she says and make sure it is the right thing to do.” Said Twilight. “But isn’t it possible there’s another way to stop them from using their powers if that’s the goal? What if Princess Celestia just petrified them in stone? She did it with Discord, why not the ponies with Devil Fruits?” Everyone hung their heads. She was right, they didn’t have to kill them, and they needed to remind the Princess that they didn’t. Twilight pulled out her quill and paper, and began writing. Dear Princess Celestia, My friends and I have just come up with a wonderful idea! Instead of killing those that have Devil Fruit powers, you could petrify them in stone the same way you did with Discord! No blood would be shed, and the ponies would be stopped from using their powers! Please let me know what you think of this. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle Twilight put her quill away, and handed the letter to Spike. “Send this to Celestia. Let’s see what she says.” “I’m on it.” Said Spike, as he sent the letter to the Princess with his breath. “So, do we wait here, or continue on?” Asked Rarity. “Let’s just...wait here, for now.” Said Twilight. Rarity nodded and sat down. Everyone was quiet for the short duration it took. Again, a response was delivered in only a few seconds. “This is impossible! How could she have written a response so quickly?” Said Rainbow Dash. Twilight opened the letter and read it’s contents: Dear Twilight, I was aware of this possibility, and noted it. However, being petrified in stone is the same as death. They will be alive, but unresponsive to anypony. There is no reason for such a thing, which is why I told you it would be better to just kill those who possess Devil Fruit abilities then manually hunt down the fruits. As I said in my last letter, I know this is difficult for you, but I have faith in you. Princess Celestia Twilight looked up from the letter. “She said....that it doesn’t matter. Just...kill them anyway....” “That doesn’t sound like the Princess! We know she would sacrifice herself before letting any of her subjects take any punishment!” Said Applejack. “Yeah, it is strange....” Said Fluttershy. “I don’t think so....I think the Princess is actually meaning what she says....” Everyone turned and looked at Spike. “You think she’s being honest with us?” Asked Applejack. Spike nodded. “This is her writing! I’ve seen dozens of letters written by her, and I can tell you for a fact she’s written these past two letters.” “Well, what do we do?” Asked Rarity. “I...don’t know. From what she’s told us to do, we have to kill every Devil Fruit user....including Rainbow Dash....” Rainbow started to back away. “But, for the first time in my life, I’m not going to listen to what Celestia says.” Everyone’s eyes grew big. “You’re going to do what now?” Asked Applejack. “You heard me. We’ve shown Princess Celestia an alternative to killing the users, and she denies it. Her mind is corrupted, and I’m not going to do what she says.” Twilight looked at Rainbow. “I can understand Princess Celestia’s fear of the Devil Fruits and the potential for chaos and danger they present. But there must be a way to stop this crisis without slaughtering everypony who’s a user.” Rainbow smiled. “Thanks, Twilight. I never thought you’d choose me over your life-long mentor.” “Normally, I would. But something’s not right. Celestia would NEVER say these things unless something was wrong.” “So, are we ready to get going?” Asked Rarity. “Yeah, let’s go.” Said Twilight. The group started walking again; only this time, they felt better about their mission. They were going to find a purer way to complete Celestia’s task. While they were walking down the path, Fluttershy noticed a raven in the trees above their heads. “Guys, there’s a raven in the trees, there.” Everyone stopped and looked at the raven. “Uh, Fluttershy? What’s the big deal about a raven?” Asked Applejack. “Ravens aren’t native to the Unicorn Range.” “Well, it could be somepony’s escaped pet. It’s not really important to our mission right now, Fluttershy.” Said Twilight. “Oh, yeah, I’m sorry...” The group continued on down the path; stopping now and then for a short break. On one of those breaks, Fluttershy noticed the raven had followed them. It was sitting in a tree above them. “Hey, guys, the raven is...right above us...” Twilight and the others looked up. Sure enough, the raven was there. “Uh, Rarity? When you visited that village we passed when you were younger, did you ever hear any legends about this raven?” Asked Applejack. “No, but there was a true story about a young foal that left Ponyville with his pet raven to live in the Unicorn Range. The foal was about 7 or 8 at the time, and this story took place almost 30 years ago. I don’t think his pet raven would be alive anymore.” “Yeah, that wouldn’t make any sense. It’s just a stupid legend.” Said Rainbow Dash. Everyone nodded in agreement. Everyone except Fluttershy. “What’s wrong, Fluttershy? You don’t think it’s true, do you?” Asked Applejack. “It’s possible, I mean, I’ve heard of some animals that have lived for hundreds of years!” “Those are just legends too, Fluttershy!” Said Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy nervously dug her hoof in the dirt. “Yeah, I guess so...” Twilight stood up. “Come on, girls. We’d better get going.” Her friends stood up, and they started walking down the path again. While they were walking, Pinkie stumbled and fell. “Ya’ll all right, Pinkie?” Asked Applejack, as she helped her friend up. “Yeah, I’m OK! But that fall really hurt my bottom!” She said, rubbing her rear. “Pinkie, you didn’t trip on a rock; at least not a normal one, anyway, look..” Said Twilight, as she picked the object up. Everyone gasped when they saw it - a rounded crystal with a glow coming from inside. “It looks like there’s a small glowing rock inside of it!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Oh, I bet it’s valuable! We should sell it at the next town we pass by!” Said Rarity. Rarity reached out to take it from Twilight, when a pony leaped from from the bushes on the side of the road. He grabbed the crystal from Twilight before Rarity could, then landed a few feet away from the stunned ponies. “Wh- who are you?” Asked Twilight. The pony had his back to them, and he kept it that way before speaking. “That is no concern of yours, at least at the moment. My master has instructed me to bring you to him.” Twilight and her friends looked confused. “Why? Who is this master of yours?” “No questions, please. Now, follow me, closely please.” The pony didn’t walk down the path, he walked back into the bushes on the side of the road. The friends all looked at each other with questioning looks, but decided it would be better to follow the pony. After all, it’s possible he knew where a Devil Fruit or two could be. The mystery pony led them through thick brush and brambles right into a swamp in the center of the forest. In the middle of the swamp, was a small island with a hut on it. “My master waits for you there. Take this to him.” The strange pony kept his back to Twilight and her friends, but gave her the strange crystal. Twilight shrugged off the pony’s strange behavior, and led her friends into the hut. “Hello?” She said nervously, as she opened the door. “You must be the ones who found my crystal. It’s good you did, I was starting to think no pony would ever pick it up.” Said a muffled voice. Twilight looked around the room for where the voice could be coming from, but couldn’t identify the source. Finally, she figured it out. There was a fireplace in the corner, and just after the voice stopped, it began to move! The bricks rearranged themselves until an opening was revealed; along with a pony clad in brown robes and a raven sitting on his shoulder! The same one from earlier! “Hehehe, sorry about that! I was just in the back when I heard my apprentice had brought you here.” He walked to the other side of the room where a well-worn armchair was located, and he sat down in it. “Now, if you would be so kind, could you bring my crystal to me?” Twilight gulped, and nervously walked over to the strange pony. As she did, she looked around at the inside of the house. It looked a lot like Zecora’s - he had strange bottles of this and that sitting on shelves scattered throughout the house. However, unlike Zecora’s house, he had bones of ponies on the shelves! Including a large collection of skulls! Twilight gulped again as she reached the strange pony, and gave him the crystal. He noticed her nervousness and laughed. “Don’t be nervous, child. I know my house doesn’t look very hospitable, but I assure you I am harmless!” He bent over the side of his chair, and pulled a stick out from under it. The stick had an indent at the top where he placed the crystal. It fit perfectly, and was held snugly in place by small, protruding sticks that came from the trunk of the stick. The pony laughed again, and waved his now-fixed staff around. When he was done, he leaned it against the corner closest to him. He stood up, and walked over to a table in the opposite corner of where his chair was. It had all kinds of alchemical-like materials on it; Twilight noticed it looked similar to her own set. “If I may be so bold sir, I have a set like that at my home back in Ponyville.” She said. The pony turned around and laughed again. “Do you, now? It’s not often I meet another pony interested in alchemy! Tell me, what kind of potions do you brew?” “Well, I am expec-” The pony’s eyes grew big, and he laughed again. “Sorry for interrupting you, dear. But I forgot to tell you my name! That must come first! My name is Airendale, but most know me by my title - The Swamp Monk!” “Nice to meet you, Mr. Airendale. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends: Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Spike!” Airendale nodded at each pony and Spike in turn. “It’s nice to meet you all. Now, Twilight, you were just telling me about your speciality brews?” Airendale walked back to his chair and sat down. “Well, actually sir, that was just small talk for the moment. I need to ask you something.” “Go ahead, ask away.” “Have you ever seen one of these before?” Twilight rolled out the chart and held it up for Airendale to see. He scanned each image carefully, but shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’ve never see these one of strange fruits, before. Tell me, what do they do?” “Well, if you consume one, you gain a certain power, but lose your ability to swim. Rainbow Dash ate the Sickle Sickle Fruit, for example. Go on Rainbow, show him your powers.” “Twilight? Can I have a sheet of paper?’ “Sure.” Twilight reached into her bag and handed Rainbow a piece of paper. “Stand back, everypony.” Everyone in the room took a few steps away from Rainbow Dash. Rainbow breathed in deeply, then tossed the paper into the air. She quickly swung her arms in an X pattern in front of her. Two wind scythes appeared and tore the paper into small pieces which gently floated down to the floor. “Magnificent! There are other fruits like this one?” Asked Airendale. “Oh, yes! 149 others, and each grants a unique power.” Said Twilight. “Interesting, I will keep an eye out for them. What is your interest in the fruits, if I may ask?” “Princess Celestia has tasked us to recover all of the fruits and bring them to her. For what reason, she didn’t tell us.” “Well, I don’t know where any are specifically, but I think I might know where one is generally.” “Where?!” Asked Rainbow Dash. “The townspeople up the road from here were riled up a couple nights ago. Apparently, one of the citizens had found something, I don’t what, but it’s possible it was one of the Devil Fruits. They say he found, whatever it was, at Raven Shrine.” “Where is Raven Shrine?” Asked Twilight. Airendale laughed again. “This swamp is Raven Shrine! They call it that, I assume, because of my pet here.” He gestured to the raven still sitting quietly on his shoulder. “Arrigo here is always flying around the outside of the forest. So naturally, one day, some travellers scared him back into the forest. Now, ravens aren’t natural here, so I suppose they were curious. Anyway, they followed him into the forest, all the way to his favorite spot - a rock in the center of the swamp.” Airendale stopped talking, and pet Arrigo. “I guess they thought it was an actual shrine to something, but it’s not really important. What is important is that you girls make it to that town I told you about. It’s called Tall Lantern; named for the ironically 12-foot tall pole with a lantern on top they have in the center of town. My apprentice will guide you there.” “Thank you so much, Mr. Airendale!” Said Twilight, as she and her friends started to leave. “Wait! I forgot to tell you about the town’s special law.” “What special law?” Asked Spike. “If you touch the lantern or the pole I told you about, the punishment is banishment from the town; which will hinder your search!” “Oh, thank you for remembering that! It would’ve been awful if we accidentally bumped into or touched the pole without knowing.” Said Rarity. “You’re welcome, young lady. Now, good luck!” Twilight and her friends walked outside where the apprentice was waiting for them. “I am supposed to escort you to Tall Lantern. Please follow closely.” “Of course, after you.” Said Rainbow Dash, in a sarcastic tone. Applejack hit Rainbow on the head. “Ow! What was that for?!” “You know what that was for, sugarcube. Not, let’s go; and no more funny business with the guide.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath, but she walked along with the rest of her friends. The return trip to the road was easier this time, since the brush and brambles had been moved the first time they went through. They arrived at the road where the mysterious apprentice had first appeared, and he led them up the road in the direction they were originally heading. “Why do we need a guide if this was the only way we could go, anyway?” Asked Twilight. The apprentice pointed further up the road. “That is why you needed a guide.” The ponies all looked to see an intersection with three different roads. There was no sign to tell what was down each road. “I see...” Said Twilight. The apprentice pointed to the road on the far left. “This road is the right way you need to go.” “What would happen if we went down one of the other roads?” Asked Rarity. “The middle road takes you to bandit territory. The road on the far right takes you to the edge of Unicorn Range near a forest filled with dangerous plants and animals. Now, this is where I leave you.” The ponies were so surprised at how cool he could be! Even though he was just describing the dangers of each path, he showed no emotion in doing so! The apprentice walked back down the road towards Raven Shrine; leaving the 6 ponies all alone on the road. “Well, you heard him, girls. We take this road, here. Let’s go!” Said Twilight. “Right!” Said Rainbow Dash. Twilight and her friends followed the road until nightfall, but the town still wasn’t in sight. “This sure has taken a while....” Said Fluttershy. “What if that creepy apprentice lied to us?” Asked Applejack. “Why would he lie to us? Besides, he never said how long we would walk for! We never asked!” Said Twilight. “I guess that makes sense. But this is still a long walk, and I’m exhausted!” Said Rarity. “Is it OK if we, um, take a break?” Asked Fluttershy. “We have time to spare. Besides, we don’t even know if there’s a Devil Fruit in this town!” Said Twilight. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike didn’t even comment. They were already asleep! “I guess that image gives you their answer!” Said Rarity, laying down beside them. “Well, goodnight, Twilight.” Said Fluttershy, laying down beside Rarity. “Yeah, goodnight.” Twilight didn’t lay down with her friends. Instead, she walked off the road into the grass, where she chose to lay down at. She gazed at the stars, thinking about what Rainbow Dash had said. ‘I...WE, can’t really kill her, can we? We need all the fruits, but there must be a better of getting them!’ Twilight kept thinking about it until her body and mind could stand no more, and she fell asleep. - - - - - The next morning, the ponies all got up, yawned, and stretched. “Hey guys? Where’s Twilight?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “Oh, dear! She IS missing!” Said Rarity. Everyone started to call out for her. “Calm down, everypony! I’m right here!” Everyone turned to see Twilight stand up from the grass and walk over to them. “Ya’ll had us worried, Twilight! Why were you sleeping over there?” Asked Applejack. “Oh, you know, I....I wanted to look at the stars, that’s all....” “That ain’t no big deal! C’mon, let’s go!” Twilight smiled, and followed her friends down the road. After only a few minutes of walking, a small village appeared on the horizon. “Look, girls! That must be Tall Lantern!” Said Rarity. “YAY!” Squealed Pinkie. The ponies broke into a run and hurried into town. However, when they arrived, they wished they hadn’t hurried. “What’s wrong with everypony?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “I have no idea....” Replied Twilight. The residents looked awful. They wore black and grey rags and their ribs were exposed! They all gave the ponies and unnerving stare. “They look like they’re starving, but look at all the energy they have! It’s definitely more than they should have, anyway...” Said Applejack. “It’s very strange....” Said Fluttershy. One of the residents walked by Fluttershy and bumped her on purpose. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” He yelled. “I...I’m so sorry...I....” Said Fluttershy, backing away. “Oh, look! You scuffed up my shirt! You better pay for the drycleaning!” The stranger started encroaching on Fluttershy; who had started to cry. “Back up, bub! You bumped HER, and you know it!” Said Rainbow Dash, jumping in front of the stranger. “Heh? Who are you supposed to be?” “I’m her friend! Now back off!” “I don’t think so!” The stranger started to pull a knife from under his rags, but Rainbow was too quick for him. She swung her arms, and two wind scythes appeared. The scythes cut into the stranger’s muscle tissue, and forced him to drop the knife. “Gah! What are you?!” The stranger crawled into the nearby store to get away from Rainbow. All the commotion had attracted the attention of the villagers, and Twilight had noticed. “Guys, let’s get out of here!” She whispered. Everyone nodded, except Rainbow Dash, who was soaking in all the attention. “Wow! You’re so strong!” Said one of the foals, as Applejack dragged Rainbow away. “I’ll give you my autograph later, kid!” They kept running until the crowd was no longer in sight, then they ducked into a darkened alleyway. “We need to find an inn! I don’t want to sleep outside again!” Said Rarity. “I agree; but we don’t know where anything is in this town!” Said Twilight. “I can figure it out; let me go, and you girls stay here. I’ll come back when I find the inn!” Said Applejack. “OK! We’ll wait here for you, AJ!” Said Rainbow. Applejack, smiled, nodded, then ran from the alleyway. Twilight sighed, and slid down against the wall until she was sitting on the ground. “This is bad! These ponies already look like trouble, and we had to go and beat up one of them! Who knows what’ll happen when we show our faces to them, again!” “Oh, come on, Twilight! They’re dressed in ragged clothes, they’re constantly trying to get into fights, and they gave us the stink eye when we walked into town! Isn’t it obvious? They’re poor; and have probably been neglected by the Princesses!” Said Spike. “The Princess would never neglect any of her subjects!” Said Twilight. “Face it, Twi - Princess Celestia hasn’t helped these ponies at all....” “But....” Twilight just moaned, and covered her face with her hooves. “It’s OK, Twilight. Princess Celestia can’t take care of all of Equestria.” Said Fluttershy, kneeling by her friend. “It’s just not like her, though! This town is just like the letters she’s been sending! She’s not herself.....” “I know what you mean; those letters still have me thinking about her, too.” Said Spike. “Why would she tell us to kill ponies, and neglect this town? What’s wrong with her?” Asked Twilight. “Now hold on, Twilight! There must be a good reason for what she’s told us! We agreed on that!” Said Rarity. “I’m starting to doubt that, Rarity.” Everyone was quiet for the rest of the time until Applejack came back half an hour later. “Hey, ya’ll! I found the inn!” “Oh, good! Let’s get going! I could really use a bath when we get there....” Said Rarity. They followed Applejack down the street, around two corners, and halfway down another street where they arrived at ‘The Mooing Pony’. “‘The Mooing Pony’? What kind of a name is that?” Asked Rainbow. They all shrugged, and walked inside. Unlike the tavern in the last town they passed, ‘The Mooing Pony’ didn’t have several tables or a bar, even. The red walls were peeling and the paintings that were once there had been removed, judging by the light spots on certain areas of the walls. There was just a counter, a cash register, and a mare sitting behind them. “Can I help you?” She asked, as Twilight and her friends approached. “Yes, we need a room or two for all 7 of us.” Said Twilight. “Our rooms hold four, so you’ll have to get two rooms. That’ll be twenty bits for the night.” Twilight paid the mare, then was given two keys. “First two rooms on the right.” She said pointing upstairs. Twilight nodded, then led her friends upstairs. “Same grouping as last time?” Asked Applejack. “It doesn’t make any difference to me.” Said Rainbow Dash. Everyone nodded, and split off into the same grouping from last time - Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike in one room, and Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie in the other. “Let’s unpack and go back out; I want to investigate the possibility of a Devil Fruit being here.” Said Twilight. “Sure, Twi.” Said Applejack, as she walked into her room with the others and closed the door. Twilight closed the door to her room as well, and began unpacking. “What kind of Devil Fruit do you think we’ll come by next?” Asked Fluttershy. “It’s always a surprise, and that’s what makes hunting for them so much fun!” Said Pinkie. “Anyone of them could be next, and some of them look very dangerous.” Said Twilight. “You looked at all of them already?” Asked Fluttershy. Twilight nodded. “I wanted to know as much about them as I could: what they looked like, their abilities, that kind of thing; just in case we lost the chart.” “Oh! That could happen! I never thought about it until now....” “Yeah, which is why I’m worried.” Said Twilight, as she opened up her saddlebag and laid the chart out on the bed. “There are three types of Devil Fruits: Paramecia, Zoan and Logia. By far, Logia are the most powerful, so thankfully, they’re the rarest and we won’t have to deal with them as much. But because they're so powerful, I'm not sure if Rainbow Dash can stand up to some pony using one..." “What kind of Devil Fruit does Rainbow have?” Asked Fluttershy. “She has a Paramecia fruit. That class of fruit changes your body and basically gives you a ‘superpower’ like a comic book hero.” “OK, what do the Logia do?” “They let you control, and turn your body into, an element of nature: fire, ice, water, that kind of thing. Because of that, Logia are so powerful; especially if they are near naturally-occurring weather conditions like that of their Devil Fruit.” “And the Zoan? What do they do?” “The Zoan class let’s you transform into an animal. For example, the Giraffe-Giraffe Fruit let’s you turn into a full giraffe and a giraffe hybrid.” “Oh! That’s my favorite kind of Devil Fruit!” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m sure, Fluttershy.” They finished the rest of their unpacking in silence, then walked outside to meet up with the rest of their friends. Applejack and the others were already there, and Applejack looked upset. “What took ya’ll so long? Come on, we gotta look for that Devil Fruit!” “We’re still not sure if there even is one here, though.” Said Spike. “Exactly! So let’s keep a low profile about the fruit possibility while we’re here, OK? These ponies don’t look very friendly, and if we start asking questions about something they may think is none of our business, well.....” “Alright, Twi, we’ll go on a look and hear basis. We won’t talk to anypony.” Said Applejack. Twilight smiled. “Thanks, I know it’ll take longer this way, but...” “I understand, now let’s split up and find that fruit!”