//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - The Agaricus Forest // Story: The Festival of Lights // by Dusk Melody //------------------------------// The tunnel that led from the Deepwell soon opened up into a vast cavern that was comparable in size to the one that Umberfoal resided in, though rather than huge rock pillars and lake water, this cavern was filled with an abundance of life. From the low floor, mushroom-like fungi rose up as tall as trees, forming a great underground forest. Thousands of twinkling lights hovered and glowed around the strange trees like fireflies, illuminating the surroundings in gentle shades of blues, greens, oranges and yellows. “Okay, mushroom trees,” Stonecutter marveled at the strange environment. Even for a land like Equestria, living in Ponyville next to the Everfree Forest, mushroom trees were not something you saw every day. “Did I eat a bad mushroom?” At her joke, Sparkler started laughing, which made the earth pony smile in turn. Blackbeak saw the smile, heard the laugh, and cocked his head to one side. “What? What’s so funny?” “Nothing,” Sparkler giggled, “But what with all this stress I needed a laugh. If you think mushroom trees are something, wait till you meet the people who live here.” Beyond the forest, in the distance, Cloudy Skies could make out an area of especially dense growth where the lights were more concentrated. To her eye, they looked just like... “Houses. There’s houses way over there!” she pointed to the dense collection of lights, then something else caught her attention. “Over that way, things don't look so good.” They could all see areas on the western fringes of the forest which seemed to have been very irreparably damaged. The larger fungi there had been broken down by something, and a lot of the smaller fungi had withered away completely. Blackbeak did not want to dwell on what could have caused that, though it didn’t seem to be spiders. “Up there looks good,” he pointed his head to the houses up ahead, “May as well start there.” Just then, after they had taken no more than a handful of steps, a movement caught Stonecutter’s eye. “Look at that!” Dumbfounded, she pointed up to the enormous shining form that rose over the forest on slow beating wings. The butterfly was a massive, stunningly beautiful creature. Its shimmering bright blue and green wings were easily thirty feet across, and as it flew languidly over the forest, it dropped sparkling dust on the upper part of the trees. “By Celestia's fat flank...that...is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen!” Stonecutter exclaimed, earning a nod of agreement from the others. “It's so pretty...look how the wings glow!” Cloudy Skies was utterly entranced by the way the green and blue wings of the butterfly pulsed and glowed in shifting patterns in time with each slow majestic flap up and down. Immediately, Sparkler had her flora and fauna book out and she was flicking rapidly through the pages. “It’s called a Sporedust Butterfly,” she continued to read, and her eyes went wide with wonder. “Wow, there’s only one of its kind! It’s well over a thousand years old. It says the Agari hold the butterfly in incredibly high reverence, as it plays a vital role in protecting their home.” “So, it’s like the Princesses then,” Blackbeak snarked. “You know,” Cloudy Skies found herself almost moved to tears the creature was so stunning, “I'm glad we had to come down here now.” she said as she took out her phone and started to take the first of many landscape pictures. “Yeah, me too,” Stonecutter readily agreed. As she looked around, the view was movingly beautiful. Like her friend, she took her phone out and took lots of pictures. “Hey...did that fungi just move, or am I really tired?” When she heard that, Sparkler looked up from her book, eager to get her first look at a real life Agari. “What? Where?” “Over there!” Stonecutter pointed to one of the sentient fungi. He, she, or whatever it was – it was quite hard to tell the creature’s gender from just a look – was standing six feet tall, had a creamy green coloured and a wide red cap on the top and was moving slowly away from them. “And there!” Blackbeak pointed to one that was roughly two feet shorter than the first, which was red and covered all over in white spots. The cursory observation proved to Sparkler that no two Agari looked the same. Clearly, they were as diverse in shape, size and colour as actual fungi were. “And those are the people of the forest. I hope one of them speaks Equestrian.” she walked over towards them, not looking to see if the others followed her. Quickly, the other three hurried to catch up. While the Agari didn’t seem to be aggressive, they didn’t want to be left alone or worse, lost and separated. “Hey, Sparks,” Blackbeak said behind her, “Do you know why all these fungi are growing so close together?” “No, why do they grow close together?” Too late, Cloudy Skies caught the evil twinkle in her lover’s eyes. She knew what was coming next, and there was nowhere for her to go to escape. “Oh no...” with a deep sigh, she accepted the inevitable. “Because they don't need mushroom!” Sparkler though laughed brightly. She loved '‘dad’ jokes, and the awful joke was just what the unicorn needed to combat the tide of stress that had been constantly rising inside her ever since Evenlight had sent them into Capstone Fort. “You do need to meet up with Caldara!” she laughed hard, and with each laugh, she felt her anxiety seep out of her. “It may be funny now,” Cloudy Skies said seriously, “I warn you; he has a ton of these!” “He'll make a great dad then,” quipped Stonecutter, giving the pegasus a wink. “Depends how thorough the operation is...” Cloudy Skies giggled, thoroughly enjoying the panicked, surprised squawk that came from her lover’s beak. Attracted by the sound of Sparkler’s laugh, five of the Agari walked over to the newcomers. One among them, a particularly old looking Agari who was bent over with age, had a wide white cap and a long white beard, stepped forth from the younger looking ones who flanked him. “Ponies!” his voice was thin and wispy, “Ponies in the Agaricus Forest! You may call me Spryyg.” “Greetings to you,” Sparkler bowed respectfully, and she motioned for the others to do the same, which they quickly did. After she introduced herself and their group, she explained, “Evenlight the Wise sent us here. We have a big problem,” she pulled out the black Arcast from her bag. “Ah, young Evenlight.” Spryyg’s old eyes seemed to lighten at the mention of the unicorn’s name. When you were over seven hundred, everything was ‘young’. “How is she? I haven't heard from her in many days...” he trailed off to silence when he saw the Arcast and the state it was in. “Oh my. That is trouble. Oh yes, big trouble!” “I don't know how she is,” Sparkler’s face fell as she thought on the plight of Evenlight. “We fled the city and came here while she was fighting the spider Queen.” In an instant, Spryyg’s face turned sour and his eyes lost their twinkle. He turned to the other Agari that accompanied him and he said something incomprehensible to them in their own language. Quickly, or as quickly as they ever moved, the four went away, hurrying to the city beyond the forest. “Insidira has actually attacked Umberfoal?” “Yes, Mr. Spryyg,” Blackbeak spoke up, impatient at the slow nature of the fungi, “And her army is taking over the city as we speak. All the magic has gone out.” “This is bad,” Spryyg nervously stroked his long beard, “This is unbelievably bad. The Arcast of the Festival of Lights has been corrupted! Without it, Umberfoal will be lost.” “So,” Stonecutter asked, “How do we fix it?” “Perhaps...no... that wouldn't work...” Spryyg paced slowly left and right before the newcomers, stroking his beard with every step as he muttered mostly to himself. “It's possible, certainly possible...no, too dangerous...but maybe...” Blackbeak was almost at the end of his limited patience with this Agari. “Of course, it is dangerous,” he snapped, “Or we wouldn't be doing it.” “Yay, adventure!” Sparkler said, though there was no cheery enthusiasm in her words. If Spryyg heard the irritation and impatience from the griffon, he gave no sign of it. However, he did grace Sparkler with a most curious look. “There are four Crucibles, young filly. One in Umberfoal, and three here in the Umber Depths. You must purify this Arcast at each one in order to restore it back to full strength.” “Four?” Cloudy Skies felt the colour drain from her face. “Yes, young filly, four. It will not be an easy task to visit all the Crucibles and purify the Arcast.” Cloudy Skies felt her wings droop, and they mirrored her mood. “Now I think I understand why CB didn't want to come here.” Sympathetically, Stonecutter patted the pegasus’s shoulder. “She did pick you though, so it’s a win for us.” “Can you please direct us to the four Crucibles, Mr. Spryyg?” asked Sparkler, determined to not waste any more time than they already had. Nodding his head, Spryyg said, “There is one here, in the Hall of Rituals in the heart of Agarica. I guard it, and you may just call me Spryyg. There is another in the Sunken Temple in the lowest part of the Deepwell. The third is in the Tomevault in Umberfoal, and the fourth...is in Insidira's nest.” Sparkler pretended she hadn’t heard what the ancient Agari had just said. There was no way there could be a Crucible in a spider’s nest...could there? Did the universe hate her that much? “We pulled this out of the Umberfoal one right after Insidira and Alethea messed with it.” “Well, we're here aren’t we?” Blackbeak asked no-one in particular, “So let’s do this one and get it over with!” Sadly, Spryyg shook his head. “The foolish librarian...” slowly, he then walked over so he was stood before the tall and imposing griffon. If he was intimidated at all, he didn’t show it. “And what manner of creature might you be?” “I'm a griffon, sir,” Blackbeak stared down at the fungi who, with his bent over posture, barely reached up to his broad muscular chest. He got the idea that despite his stature, he was not overpowering the Agari. “I assume you've not met any griffons?” “You are my first,” Spryyg stepped back so he could look up into the griffon’s face. “Barbarians from the east, griffons. But,” and the ghost of a smile played across his ancient wrinkled face, “You don't seem like a barbarian to me.” Quick as a flash, Cloudy Skies quipped, “That’s because you don't know him yet.” “I'm a warrior,” Blackbeak stated as he shot a dark warning look to Cloudy Skies, a look that just screamed ‘you’re in trouble when this is all over’, “So, can we use your Crucible?” Spryyg chuckled to himself, “I'm afraid you cannot, at this time, young warrior. You see, our forest is under attack by the oozes. We cannot fight them off effectively, for they are made of acid, that burns us.” Like lightning, Sparkler levitated her book from her bag, and just as quickly, she scanned each of the many pages that detailed the plants, animals and inhabitants of the area. “Those aren't in my flora and fauna book!” she sounded like a pony who had studied all night for a test, only to be confronted by a different set of questions. “Are they something recent?” Earnestly, Spryyg nodded his head, “They came fifty seasons ago. They eat the trees, destroy our homes, burn everything in their path. The smaller ones we can contain, just, but when they are controlled by a greater ooze, they are a formidable enemy.” Stonecutter recognised this game. She was sure she had played it more than once on the Champions of Equestria videogame Cloudburst had bought her last year. “Okay, step one we get rid of this greater ooze and then you let us use the Crucible? Step two we do something for someone or somepony else and use their Crucibles.” Classic RPG quest. “If you could help us see off the threat to our home, I will gladly help you in any way I can.” Blackbeak smirked, “That is very 'griffon' of you, Spryyg Where is this greater ooze?” Cloudy Skies raised her hand to speak like she was back in class at school, “I bet it’s over on the west side, where the forest was dying from all that decay we saw when we came out of that tunnel from the Deepwell.” Stonecutter rolled her powerful shoulders, “Smashing something would reduce stress.” “You have the right of it, young ponies. Look to the west, there you will find a corroded cavern where the greater ooze resides.” “Well then,” Sparkler declared, the mare felt a good deal more confident now there was a plan of action and a course to follow. “Let’s go take care of the oozes!” “You okay, Sparks?” asked Stonecutter after Spryyg had waved them off and turned away to go about his business in the forest. Sparkler had taken a few steps to the west before she replied, “No, I’m not, but that can wait.” Blackbeak unsheathed his sword and pointed it heroically towards the western side of the vast cavern they were in. “Let's go! Vanquishing to be done!” “Oh dear,” Cloudy Skies shook her head, “He's got a taste for it now...” “What?” asked Stonecutter curiously. “Honourable combat,” the pegasus replied with a playful roll of her eyes, “It's a griffon thing.” Sparkler though was more than happy to let Blackbeak lead the charge. Fortunately, following the trail of acid damage towards the west of the Agaricus Forest was not a difficult task. The abundance of minor oozes became greater the farther west they went. With a gleeful glint in his eye, Blackbeak headed to the first one he saw. After uttering a devastating war cry, Blackbeak sliced the ooze apart in mere seconds, though in exuberance he got some of the bright purple acid on the toes of his right paws. “Buck!” he cursed, before hovering in the air and shaking his paw, “Acid hurts!” Stonecutter carefully side-stepped three more of the oozes that were attached to one of the smaller fungus trees, being sure to keep a distance so they wouldn’t attack her. “Be more careful and give me your paw.” Sparkler glared at Blackbeak and then at her marefriend. “You be careful and conserve your magic.” “I'm good, Stone,” Blackbeak turned away from the glare that Sparkler was giving him, one that could put a cockatrice to shame. The one toe of the paw was badly discoloured thanks to the acid burn. He counted himself lucky it was just a shallow wound. “You mares better watch your horseshoes,” he advised before flying to attack another ooze. “Ewww!” Cloudy Skies shrieked in utter disgust, “They're eating the trees!” she used her water jets to blast one such minor ooze into the cavern wall of the corroded tunnel they had approached. “Okay that was effective!” Sparkler grinned as she shot two fire bolts at two other oozes that were blocking their path. With a grim satisfaction, she watched the vile unnatural creatures burn away to nothing under her power. “Oh yeah?” Stonecutter, not to be left out of the action, pulled her warhammer from her belt and charged at the nearest ooze in the mouth of the cave. “Well watch this!” Sparkler screamed out a panicked “No!” but it was too late. Stonecutter was already swinging her hammer in a deadly accurate arc aimed at the centre of the creature. Momentum was against her and the ooze was splattered into a thousand tiny pieces that flew in all directions. Like Sparkler had predicted in her mind, the ooze splattered like a ruptured watermelon, spattering the right side of Blackbeak's face – who had flown by the earth pony’s side - in a wide shower of potent acid. “Aaaargh! By Stormclaw's tits, Stone!” Stonecutter watched the acid burn the feathers on the right side of the griffon’s face, mere millimetres away from his eye, her mouth falling open in shock. “Blackie! I’m so sorry!” “Get it together, Stony!” Sparkler turned her angry glare on her marefriend, who seemed to shrink under the power of her stare, “Blackie could use your healing touch.” Raising his clawed hand to his face, Blackbeak could feel the long acid scar that went from just under his right eye down to his neck. “Wait...” he said when he saw Stonecutter’s hands start to glow, “Does it look cool?” Now her lover was in no danger, Cloudy Skies did a very girly giggle, “Ooooh...it looks so cool!” Well, that settled that then, didn’t it? “Then I'll keep it.” “But...” Stonecutter kept her hands ready, though she felt utterly wretched for what she had just done, for what she could have done, after all what if the acid had hit his eyes? “Is it still burning?” asked Sparkler, who couldn’t stop staring at the fresh scar. The intense burning pain in his face had receded to a dull ache, “Nah, it's fine now,” Blackbeak grinned and now the oozes in the mouth of the cavern had been removed, he rushed to the mouth of the dripping tunnel. “Gaaah!” he yelled in surprise as he narrowly dodged a falling gob of acid from the ceiling. “Watch your heads in here!” At the mouth of the corroded cavern, Sparkler lit her horn and looked up. Sure enough, the roof of the eight-foot-high tunnel was covered in acid. Not good. “Sky, can you power wash the ceiling? Make sure Blackie is out first.” “On it!” Cloudy Skies barely waited for her lover to get out of the cave before she spread her hands and launched her powerful jets of water all over the tunnel roof. When she was done, she panted a little from the exertion. “Th-There! All done!” When Sparkler was happy that the roof was clear and the acid was diluted enough by the water to enter, she waved them inside. “This is like one of those boss fights,” Stonecutter commented once they had entered the tunnel, “I’m sure I played it in Champions of Equestria. By now this would be a save point.” Blackbeak shook his head, “Nerd...come on, let’s get this done.” They had walked roughly seventy feet into the tunnel before they saw that it split into two directions. There was an opening in the northern wall that led to a small passage. Ahead, they could just see the tunnel split into three. “Hey, should we look in here?” Cloudy Skies pointed into the new passageway, “There's water there in the middle of the chamber.” Sparkler made her horn glow brighter, pouring more light into the narrow passageway until she could see what the pegasus’s sharp eyes saw. “Looks like there’s a pool in there, maybe the greater ooze lives in it?” “I dunno,” Cloudy Skies wasn’t convinced, “That water looks really clean, Sparks.” “Well,” Sparkler looked pointedly at Stonecutter and at Blackbeak, “The two fighters in our party can check it out.” “I think I'm more of a warrior,” countered Stonecutter, before she gave the griffon a look of her own, “That one is a barbarian. Everypony says so.” Blackbeak rolled his eyes and he made sure they all saw him. “Does everypony here know griffons as 'barbarians from the east?'” he shook his head, “Jeez...you start two little wars and suddenly you're 'barbarians'!” Sparkler’s face split in a wide smile, “Would you rather we use one of the many ‘un’ words instead?” “Fine,” Blackbeak huffed, “Barbarian it is. Besides, Stony's more of a cleric, with that healing stuff she’s got going on.” “Um, love, can we not debate Ogres & Oubliettes terms now?” Cloudy Skies did her best to keep the exasperated tone out of her voice. She only just succeeded. “We can talk about your favourite game later. Right now, we have a greater ooze to find, and we are on the clock.” “Cloudy’s right,” Stonecutter agreed, “Besides, I need more spells than the ability to cure light wounds to be a cleric. Plus hunting a greater ooze sounds like an O&O adventure.” Sparkler, who was obviously clueless about O&O, didn’t want to be left out. “Yay, adventure!” “Sparks, you are so joining in our next O & O night. With Foam gone, we need a new member,” with that, Blackbeak and Stonecutter entered the narrow side passage. They had to walk single file, but they found themselves in a circular chamber with a high, conclave, sloped ceiling. Most of the rocky floor was filled with a pool of clear water which was shallow at the sides, but which sloped down to a deep centre point. As soon as they approached the water, an ear-piercing howl erupted from all directions at once. Blackbeak, whose griffon ears were sharper than the others, clapped his hands over his ear tufts. “What's that bucking noise?” “What the hay was that?” Stonecutter asked as they re-emerged into the dripping tunnel. The moment they left the side passage, the howling noise stopped as suddenly as it had started, “Was it the greater ooze?” “I don't think so. The other oozes didn't howl like that,” Cloudy Skies pointed out, “And did anypony else see the purple mushrooms?” “Wait, what?” Sparkler immediately reached for her book. “There were lots of them,” explained Cloudy Skies, “Small purple mushrooms, with short stalks and tall, cone shaped caps, all around the walls of that chamber.” Flicking through her book which she held in her magical aura, Sparkler soon had the answer. “They’re called Howling Hoofclubs. So named because when anything gets too close, well, you heard. Now what?” “They must be guarding something!” Blackbeak suddenly really wanted to see what was in that pool. “Sparks, can you make me deaf or put a bubble of silence around me?” “I could put chewing gum in your ears?” offered Stonecutter, “Y’know, if I had any gum, I’d totally smear it in your feathers.” “Just a moment!” Sparkler cried, because her marefriend’s comment had given her an idea. She lit her horn and, using her Creation skill, she created two earplugs out of thin air. She had perfected that skill a couple of weeks ago to keep out the noise of her mother and Tundra rutting like teenagers. She was a teenager and she didn’t go at it that much! “There you go!” “Thanks,” Blackbeak stuffed the newly created plugs into his ears, “Now to find out what they’re guarding.” “You want back-up?” “Pfft, nah Stony, I'm good.” “He's so hot when he's like this!” Cloudy Skies gushed as she watched Blackbeak enter the water and, after taking a deep breath, he disappeared under the water. Stonecutter couldn’t help but check out the griffon, “I can agree with that, Sky.” “Oh?” Sparkler smirked, “Do I have a competitor? Should I be worried?” Stonecutter and Cloudy Skies each shared a look with the other and grinned, “Foursome?” they said together as one, giving each other a fist bump. Sparkler gently swatted her mare’s fat rump, “Down girl.” Under the water, Blackbeak found a small wooden treasure chest. The pommel of his sword made noticeably short work of the old wood and amongst the remains, he discovered a vial containing some potion, and, more important to him, a pouch with two hundred bits inside. The greedy griffon pocketed those before he resurfaced. He was a griffon, after all. “Well, it was a well-guarded potion,” Sparkler commented as Blackbeak walked back into the tunnel with them, “May I see it please?” “Here you go, oh brave and glorious leader,” Blackbeak made an exaggerated bow as he handed it over to her. “Maybe I should run for class president,” Sparkler snarked, though her eye roll spoke volumes as she cast a spell to see what the potion contained. She was pleasantly surprised to see it was remarkably familiar. “I don't need this. Sky, keep this safe with the other potions, but it’s for you.” “What does it do?” the pegasus asked as she put it in her potion case with the others. “Fire breath,” Sparkler explained, “Nopony will expect a fire breathing pegasus, and I think we'll need it when we go to the spider's lair.” “Noted,” Cloudy Skies smiled, “You really don't like spiders, do you?” “That’s an understatement. Come on, let's find this greater ooze and be done with it.” They walked away from the ‘howling pool’, as Cloudy Skies dubbed it and pressed on, soon coming to the three corroded corridors. Deciding to stick with the one on the right, they were pleased to see that there was none of the acid dripping on them. There were two minor oozes in the tunnel though, but these were quickly dispatched by Blackbeak who flew over one and slashed with his sword, and by Stonecutter who threw her hammer clean through the other. “Looks like we have to go right here, guys,” the griffon called when he reached the end of the corridor. “The stone has really been chewed up by those oozes,” Stonecutter said as she gingerly made her way along the rock tunnel, “Watch your step.” “I think it's getting worse,” Cloudy Skies wrinkled her nose. She could smell the acid, and it made the inside of her nose tingle badly, “Does that mean we're close?” “Yeah,” Sparkler nodded her head. That certainly made sense. Surely, the closer they got to the greater ooze, the more rotted and corroded the area would be. “I just hope this thing isn't too big.” “Stop!” Cloudy Skies’ sharp eyes picked out movement in the tunnel up ahead. “There's a minor ooze up ahead of us, no, there's two...make it three!” “I call the left one!” Stonecutter cried as she tossed her hammer at the slimy creature. It exploded in a – thanks to the distance – harmless shower of acid that painted the walls. “Right one’s mine!” Blackbeak took off and, as he flew over the ooze, he performed a perfect barrel roll, slashing at the ooze with his sword and cleaving it into two dead pieces. “I want in!” Cloudy Skies exclaimed and as Sparkler’s levitation bought Stonecutter’s hammer back to her hand, she jet washed the remaining middle ooze until it was all washed away. “I think we're getting really good at this!” Stonecutter caught Blackbeak’s eye, “Be nice if they dropped treasure.” “Treasure?” Blackbeak snickered, “You'll want experience points next.” “Oh, I'm getting those,” Stonecutter grinned as she hefted her hammer in her hand. “I hit that ooze dead centre when I tossed Ruby that time. Still, some gold would be nice. I could buy Sparks something thin, flimsy and fancy I can take off.” she was pleased to see Sparkler blush bright red. Blackbeak laughed, not at the fact that the earth pony had named her hammer. His sword also had a name. A warrior’s weapon should bear a name. He laughed because of the unicorn’s blush. “She blushes like you do, Sky!” Now it was Cloudy Skies’ turn to blush. “Ah...” fortunately, something then happened to put the teasing at the back of her mind. “I think we just found what we came here for...” “Okay,” Sparkler soon saw that the greater ooze was, in fact, great. “So, it’s about four times the size of the ones we’ve fought so far.” Standing before the ooze, a great orange coloured thing that looked like a melted Jell-O, the unicorn fired a flame bolt that bounced off the creature’s outer skin. It did get its attention though. “Yeah,” Sparkler mused to herself, “As I suspected, the outside is too tough, and it appears to be magic resistant. Blackie, please open it up, there where the nucleus is. Then, Sky blast the opening with water. Stoney toss that hammer after, and I'll see if it likes my fire then.” Just as the gigantic ooze reared up to attempt to engulf the griffon in its deadly biomass, Blackbeak launched forwards with a particularly heroic war cry that Queen Stormclaw herself would have been proud of. Getting in close, he swung his sword with deadly accuracy and hacked at the ooze's outer membrane until a small crack appeared. “It's open!” In mid-air, Cloudy Skies dodged out of the way of the ooze’s counterattack, it had formed a long arm and swung it clumsily at the flying nuisance. Jinking, she aimed her hands at the opening her lover had made and she blasted wide open. A minor ooze separated off from the greater ooze’s body and, as Sparkler fried it with her fire, Stonecutter threw Ruby at the wide-open wound in the creature’s body. Narrowly, unfortunately, the earth pony missed the nucleus. Seeing Stonecutter miss the creature’s nucleus, Sparkler lit her horn and from it and the palms of her hands, she fired three bolts of fire like she was a living flamethrower. A second later, with the breaching of the nucleus, the greater ooze collapsed in on itself and fell apart on the floor. Once she was sure it was dead, Stonecutter retrieved her hammer from where it had landed. “Why can't everything be that easy?” she asked as she attached it back on her belt. “Th-That...was...y-you call th-that easy?” Cloudy Skies hovered her way haphazardly to the floor and panted, more than a little exhausted from her exertions. Fortunately, Blackbeak was there straight away to catch and support her. “I think the truth of it is we are better prepared than we were on our first adventure,” Sparkler commented, “Let's get back and let Spryyg know the job is done.” Cloudy Skies took two steps and, still a little exhausted, she staggered. Without comment, Blackbeak hoisted his mare up in his strong arms, more than happy to carry her on the way back to the forest. Stonecutter wiped her forearm across her forehead and noted the sweat there. “We need a rest before we continue.” “There’s no time!” The earth pony gently squeezed her marefriend’s hand, “You won't be able to help anypony if you fall over.” “Maybe those Agari will let us rest up a little bit now we saved their forest?” Blackbeak suggested, “Sky needs a short break, Sparks.” “Coffee!” Sparkler felt her tenuous grip on her anxiety starting to snap, “Coffee fixes everything!” she stamped her hooves into the rocky ground as her meltdown took hold. “Cold, drink coffee!” her eyes twitched, “Headache, drink coffee! Tired, drink coffee! Spider makes you angry, hit it with the cup!” she started to laugh and cry, hysterically yelling, “Coffee! Coffee! Coffee!” With Sparkler’s high shrieking voice echoing from the walls all around them, Stonecutter wordlessly picked the unicorn up in her arms, carrying her bridal style. “Blackie, let's get them back to the forest.” She didn’t mind at all when Sparkler buried her head into her breasts and continued to cry like a little foal. “I heard that,” Blackbeak shared a fist bump with the earth pony and he grinned, at last looking at the object he had found inside the greater ooze. “I wonder what this does?” he asked, showing the old leather collar with odd writings on the inside. “I got it from inside that ooze back there.” “Can I see it?” asked Cloudy Skies curiously. Blackbeak passed it to her and the pegasus inspected the ancient collar before passing her judgement. “My collar is prettier,” just then, it started to glow bright purple in her hands. “Gah!” she squealed in surprise and threw it away. The collar though did not hit the ground. It hovered in mid-air, the inscribed writing glowing a brighter and brighter purple until, in a flash, there was a Great Dane sat in front of them, the collar neatly around its neck. “Wow!” that just about summed up Stonecutter’s thoughts on the subject. Sparkler, who was still busy hugging her mare’s breasts, noticed noting. Blackbeak though was quite impressed. “Okay, that’s a cool trick for a ratty old collar.” “It's a dog...” Cloudy Skies breathed in awe, just as it jumped up and licked the pegasus’s legs and her hand, recognising her as his owner, “I think it likes me!” “The collar did glow in your hands, Sky,” Stonecutter confirmed thoughtfully. “Will it disappear?” asked Blackbeak. “I suppose so, what if I...” Cloudy Skies gripped the back of the collar and pulled it like she was tugging it off the dog’s head. Immediately, the dog vanished, leaving the collar glowing in her hands. “Woohoo!” Blackbeak cheered, many, many opportunities for the application of the dog running through his mind. “Prank time!” “I shall call him 'Dog'.” “That's good,” Stonecutter snarked, “I wouldn't want anypony to mistake it for a cat.” In response to that, Cloudy Skies stuck her tongue out at her friend. “Columbo called his dog 'Dog'. If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me.” she crossed her arms resolutely under her breasts as if that was that. Once they were back on the edge of the forest, Blackbeak was not surprised to see a small delegation of the Agari already there. “Hey, looks like Spryyg's waiting for us.” Hearing that, Sparkler whispered in Stonecutter's ear, “I'm okay, Stony, I just needed a cry and a carry. You can put me down now, please.” she didn’t want to be seen as a foal in front of the leaders of the Agari. Thankfully, Stonecutter was quick on the uptake and she set her upright on her hooves. “You are back quicker than I expected,” Spryyg stepped forwards with a concerned look on his ancient, wrinkled face. “Tell me, what of the greater ooze?” “We came, we saw, we kicked it's ass!” Blackbeak grinned before pulling a rather heroic pose. “If that nucleus thing inside it was an ass,” Stonecutter clarified, “Then yeah, we kicked it.” Spryyg turned a confused look from one pony to the next. He had only pony he had spoken with was Evenlight, and she did not use words like these youngsters did. “I’m afraid I do not understand.” “We killed it,” Stonecutter said as simply as she could, “It's gone.” “That’s wonderful news!” Spryyg’s face lit up with happiness and relief. So much so that the deep signs of age seemed to leave him. “Truly wonderful news!” he was so happy he clapped his hands and did a little dance of joy. “We took out a load of the little ones too,” Stonecutter informed him, “But I think there are more still about. I’m sure we didn’t get them all.” Spryyg though waved away her concerns. “They are harmless without the greater one to lead them. We can take care of them now.” He smiled broadly and looked up, seeing the Sporedust Butterfly already starting to fly much lower over the forest than it had before. The dust it sowed clung to the damaged fungi, and they started to regrow. “But come, my friends, you must be tired. Come and rest in the upper city.” “Any word from Umberfoal?” asked Sparkler, uninterested in rest while there was still work to be done. “There have been words, young filly,” Spryyg then turned to the members of his delegation and issued them with orders and instructions. They nodded and went their own way, leaving him to lead the newcomers through the towering fungi homes. “Miss Evenlight is being held captive by Insidira in the room of many books. The guard captain is trying to counterattack from the biggest surface building.” “We don't have time to rest!” Sparkler cried, not questioning how the Agari leader could possibly knew what he knew. “Do you have something to restore our energy, keep us going?” Spryyg nodded as he led them out of the forest and through streets lined with ‘buildings’ that were actually tall or wide mushrooms with rooms cut into their stalks. “I have refreshments made from the Sporedust we collect from the butterfly. Look, she is flying lower now the threat is gone. The regeneration has already begun. I will take you to the House of Healing. You will rest for one hour. Then, we will use the Crucible.” Despite her eagerness to just get on with their task, Sparkler noted the finality in the Agari’s words. “Thank you, Spryyg.” Surely, one hour couldn’t make that much difference, right? “No, thank you, young pony. The Agari are in your debt.” He then led them up the ridge and into the upper levels of the city, and after a short walk, Spryyg stopped at a building next to the largest building in the city. “Inside, the sisters will tend to you and provide the refreshments. I will come for you in one hour.” ~ ~ ~ The hour passed incredibly quickly. As soon as she had drunk the Sporedust elixir, Sparkler had fallen asleep, as had Cloudy Skies. Both mares had after all drained a lot of their magic battling the greater ooze. Blackbeak and Stonecutter didn’t sleep. They were left to stroke their mare’s manes and reflect on what had happened. They both agreed though, when Spryyg came for them, that the single hour felt like a ten-hour rest at the Ponyville spa. Leaving the House of Healing, they got their first proper look at the Hall of Rituals. Easily the tallest building in Agarica, it rose high above the four adventurers. It was completely built out of one enormous fungus like all the other buildings in the city, but this was clearly something incredibly special. Elaborate decorations and patterns carved into the outside only added to the impression of significance. Above the hall, the majestically beautiful Sporedust Butterfly roosted on its perch, the dust coming from the creature’s wings illuminating the hall in the multicoloured glowing lights. Spryyg led them through a large ornately carved archway in the front. Inside, a long hall stretched out before them. At the very end, past rows and rows of seats, resided a peculiar looking but strangely familiar object held on a low pillar made of organic growth. The Agari Crucible. Despite looking different to the one in Umberfoal’s Tomevault, with its more organic design, there was no mistaking the vase shaped body and receptacle on top. Approaching the construct, Sparkler took out the corrupted black Arcast from her pack. “Who needs to put it in?” “You do it Sparks,” Blackbeak gestured to the Crucible, “I think it likes you.” “We use the Crucibles like the ponies,” Spryyg said in a reverent tone, “We did not invent them, but we shared with the ponies the knowledge of how to use them. This one powers the enchantments you see in Agarica, like the barrier that keeps out the Deepwell water and gifting life to the Butterfly who in turn protects us.” “Okay,” Sparkler placed the Arcast in the top slot of the receptacle and she touched the side. “The rest of you touch it like we did up top.” “To restore the Arcast for the Festival of Lights,” Spryyg intoned, “You must first learn the true meaning behind it.” The old Agari watched as they each placed a hand and a claw on the receptacle. “Clear your mind and recite after me. 'Safe and sound a home will stay, if kept in peace and love by day'.” As one, the four friends and lovers repeated the words that Spryyg had taught them. “Safe and sound a home will stay. If kept in peace and love by day.” Instantly, a very bright flash of pure magical light enveloped them, like it had in the Tomevault. Their minds were graced with a glimpse of the deep emotions of the Agari people, their beliefs and their exceptional connection with their home. They were filled with a sense of home and belonging. The concept of home and the need to protect and nurture it consumed their whole being. Unfortunately, just as it had in the Tomevault, the influx of magic proved to be too much for Blackbeak to handle. As the magic receded, the griffon fell to one knee, his head in his hands as intense pain wracked his skull. “Bucking buck, buck!” he swore loudly, “Does it have to hurt that much?” “Barbarian,” Stonecutter quipped, making Sparkler and Cloudy Skies giggle. “That was...intense!” the pegasus exclaimed in wonder, “I could feel them! Like, really feel the Agari! Like I was one of them!” “All I can feel is my head splitting open,” Blackbeak groused sourly, “Did it work?” Closely, Sparkler examined the precious crystal, turning it over in her hands. “Some of the shadow that clouded the Arcast has faded, but it's still corrupted.” That was what Blackbeak had been afraid of. “I'm going to get a splitting headache at least three more times, aren't I?” “And I'll kiss it better three more times,” Cloudy Skies smiled, wrapping her hands around his strong arm. “You have done well, my young friends,” the smile was back on Spryyg’s face, though it was tempered with solemn determination. “Now, your quest is not yet done. From here you can head to the Deepwell to the Sunken Temple, or head up to Insidira's nest.” “Temple,” Sparkler said almost before the Agari had finished speaking. “Then we will return to go to the nest. Is there somepony or something in the temple to help us, or that we need to worry about. And do we need to say something when we’re there?” Spryyg nodded, and he was pleased to see they were paying close attention to what he was saying. “The Altar of the Crucible in the temple is guarded by three sisters, Mistforms. You will need to best them to be allowed to approach the Crucible.” “Do we say the same lines we said here?” asked Stonecutter. This time Spryyg shook his head. “When you place the Arcast in the Crucible, the final guardian will reveal himself. He will test you. Speak with sincerity, and he will give you the words you need. Fail and…please do not fail.” “Thank you for all your help,” Sparkler shook Spryyg’s hand and he surprised her by giving the unicorn a hug. Strangely though, this time she didn’t mind her personal space being invaded like she usually did. “We'll be sure to let Evenlight know of your wellbeing.” “She knows,” Spryyg smiled, “We have ways and means to communicate, young filly, and she is not called 'the wise' for nothing.” He gave them all a wave of his hand as they turned to walk out of the hall. “I wish you well in your quest, for all our sakes.”