//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Together against the Unknown Pt:2 // Story: Terraria: Friendship Is Magic // by Pomp-Neigh //------------------------------// The hooded figure took its gaze from the Moon Lord and looked back to the group, the being's mighty blade still in hand. The unknown female entity is about to speak; however, Twilight unintentionally cuts her off: “N-no... this can’t be. P-Princess Celestia?” The lavender mare questions with tears flowing down her cheeks “T-this is a new test, right? You’re just testing me... that’s it, isn’t it?” Twilight couldn’t accept what had transpired as she continued to question Celestia’s body as if the Sun Princess would respond.  The lavender alicorn even begins to tap Celestia with her right forehoof. Even though Celestia wasn’t Twilight’s actual mother, the lavender alicorn loved her all the same. As far as she was concerned, she had the honor of having two mothers. Princess Cadence was right there with Twilight on the opposite side of Celestia’s body. Here was her adoptive aunt, who practically raised her until she became old enough to be on her own. Like Twilight, the Princess of Love couldn’t accept this either as both mares almost looked crazy as they, metaphorically and literally, were beating a dead horse, although the beating is in the form of pleading. Of all the alicorn princesses present, the one whose heart shattered most was the Princess of the Night: Luna. Her heart was filled with sorrow and regret as she recalled all the times she had hurt her sister without intention. Sure, they’d often argue with each other, but Luna would never willingly harm her beloved sister. Her biggest sin that she regretted all of her life was when she allowed the beings known as ‘Nightmares’ to enter her heart because of her jealousy and pain, which turned her into Nightmare Moon. All Luna could say was: “I’m sorry, Celly... I’m so sorry...” The rest of the group watched on with their own tears as they all moved closer to Twilight, Cadence, and Luna. Spike, in particular, walked up to Twilight’s left hind leg and held on to it as if his life depended on it. The rest of the Element Bearers, Zecora, Tempest Shadow, and Starlight Glimmer began to speak their minds, their own words of sorrow.  Suddenly, their words of sorrow begin to shift and become much darker. Even though they were all heavily heartbroken, something erupted within them upon seeing their beloved sun princess lay dead before them, something that most Equestrians rarely feel: pure rage.  Twilight, Cadence, and Luna watched their friend's and loved ones' reactions with wide eyes, and their mouths hung agape. “That heartless fiend, how dare they! Princess Celestia didn’t deserve that!” Rarity shouts in anger. “That no good varmint! Why, ah’ got half the mind to shove my favorite shovel right up their backside!” Applejack threatens. “This Moon Lord is nothing but a brute; I shall avenge the Princess when I stomp him with my hooves. My combat staff is ready, as is my rage; you shall not survive this day!” Zecora exclaims. “You know what?! Right now, I wish I was still evil because I need it for what I’m going to do to that thing!” Starlight Glimmer shouts angrily.  “I was about to get my horn back! This loving princess offered to restore my horn, and you took it away from me! You took it from me!” Tempest Shadow roars out as magical energy leaks out of her shattered horn. “You no good meanie! I’m gonna stuff you into a cupcake and stomp on it!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as her mane was noticeably deflated and the color of her body becomes darker. She even managed to pull out a kitchen knife from her mane. “You will burn for this!” Spike antagonizes. “I’m gonna clobber you until there’s nothing left!” Rainbow Dash exclaims. “How dare you! We ponies simply want to live in peace, but here you are, trying to take away our way of life! I never wished for any living creature’s life to be snuffed out, but for you, I hope you die!” Fluttershy roars out as even the Element of Kindness became... corrupted. “No, It can’t be...” The hooded figure says as the world around them suddenly takes on a darker shade of purple. The alicorn princesses turn to the hooded figure as they recover from their surprise at the words spoken by their loved ones. Luna is the first to speak as Twilight and Cadence walk alongside her. “Doth thou know what has transpired? We can see by thy reaction thou art familiar with this unknown phenomenon.”  “Yes, but before we continue, I must shield your friends from the effects of the Corruption. They do not seem as resistant as you and your fellow princesses,” After saying these words, the hooded figure rips off her cloak and tosses it into the air.  “Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Celebes, the Dryad.” Celebes thrusts the Terra Blade into the marbled floor, the blade's edge piercing the floor with little to no effort as a green aura engulfs the Dryad. This aura then alights the entire area, consuming every being present, and upon closer inspection, one could even see green leaves floating around as well. Suddenly, Twilight, Cadence, Luna, and Celebes look back towards the others as they seem to have calmed down from their outburst, but the way they recovered made it seem like it wasn’t them saying those things and threatening to act upon it. Sure, they were indeed angry, but something seemed to have amplified their rage.  The group recovered and began to question what was happening, ranging from: “Woah, I never thought I’d say those things.” to “I-I swear, I don’t want to be evil again.” Pinkie Pie, in particular, returned to normal as her mane was inflated; her kitchen knife also vanished. “What did you do?” Princess Cadence questions. “And what’s the Corruption?”  “We don’t have much time,” Celebes answers. “We need to stop the Moon Lord before things get worse,” She readies herself for battle, “Just know that you are all protected from the effects of the Corruption thanks to my prayer and that I’m your ally in this fight. I know you have no reason to trust me, but we must cast those things aside and fight together.” ”NAY!” Luna exclaims with her Canterlot Voice. ”THOU SHALL TELL US RIGHT NOW, DRYAD. OUR SISTER LAYS DEAD BEFORE US, AND THOU KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING. WE HAVETH THE RIGHT TO KNOW!” “And I will tell all of you what is happening, but we must-” [RAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRR] An otherworldly roar cuts off Celebes’s words as the group looks to the skies. There in the dark purple skies of Canterlot, the group, except for Celebes, looked on in horror as multiple threats descended upon them, but it wasn’t the Moon Lord.  These flying terrors were considerably smaller than the eldritch, but they still dwarf the average pony, even an alicorn in size. These beings were best described as flying parasites. It wasn’t just the skies, however; the very ground below them began to shake violently. This instantly alerted Applejack and Pinkie pie thanks to their connections to the earth as an earth pony, not to mention Pinkie's ‘Senses’. “Tail, eyes, legs, mane, everything! Twitching! My Pinkie senses are going crazy!” Pinkie Pie exclaims as she continues to twitch and shuffle. “Pinkie’s right, y’all. This ain't no ordinary earthquake... somethin’ is moving, a lot of em!” Applejack comments “You mean there’s something worse than those flying, things?!” Rarity questions. Suddenly, the ‘earthquake’ stops but only for a few seconds before multiple worm-like creatures erupt from the floors, the streets, the ground, and the entire landscape of Canterlot. These worms easily dwarfed the flying parasites, many of them being three to five times the length and overall size of the aforementioned entities.