Doga's Manor
Before they could continue their journey, our heroes had something to take care of: the news of Doga and Unei's demise. Once they entered the mansion, the humans each wore an expression of guilt on his or her face. They entered the room where the Moogles conducted their business and sighed. One of the creatures stepped forward.
"Where is Master Doga? And Lady Unei?" it asked.
Neither of the Warriors of Light nor those of the Equestrians gave an answer. All at once, the Moogles understood.
"The masters... they... We knew this day would come soon, kupo..."
Luneth's expression changed into shock.
"You mean... You knew this would happen?!"
"Master Doga and Lady Unei had lived a very long life... They had seen so much happen in this world. Not to mention... that they gave you one last gift, kupo. Correction: two gifts."
"The Eureka Key, kupo. The land of Eureka holds the most powerful weapons in the universe. With them, you'll surely stand a chance against Xande, kupo."
"And this," said Arc, holding out another key. "Unei said this was the key to he Syrcus Tower."
"That's right, kupo," the little creature replied.
"If you're wandering where Eureka is, the entrance is inside the Syrcus Tower," said another Moogle.
"The same one that Xande's using as his base of operations?!"
"Yes, but the entrance was sealed for some time."
"Hold up a minute!" said Rainbow. "Does that mean we have to use the Crystal Key first and then the Eureka?"
"Nope. Only the ground floor of the tower is open. Xande surely sealed the path to keep out intruders, kupo."
The party stood quietly absorbing all this information. With these weapons the Moogles were speaking of, they could easily defeat Xande... or so the Moogles claimed.
"One more thing..."
The party turned back to the Moogles.
"When you enter the Ancient Maze surround the tower, kupo. Go to the first door you see in front of you."
Confused, the party looked at each other and then left the manor.
*music fades out*
Our heroes stood in front of the effigies with the Fangs in their possession. They held out the Fangs and... One by one, the statues crumbled; the magic barrier they emitted was no more, leaving the path to Xande's tower open. After raising the Invincible over the short rock formation, they discovered a large tower made entire of crystal situated in the center of the of a large square structure which itself lay encased in a forest.
"Let's go, everyone!"
The Equestrians and the Warriors of Light raced through the entrance and found a large room in the center of the area. Upon entering this room, our heroes stood before the Crystal of Earth.
"So, it's here!" Refia declared.
"Finally!" Rainbow exclaimed. "We've reached all four Crystals!"
With their resolve strengthened, the party was about to activate the Crystal, until...
"By Master Xande's orders, you will be crushed!!!" said a booming voice.
The owner of the voice appeared in the form of dark orbs which then materialized into the fearsome warrior Phlegethon, a brown-skinned humanoid with a white cape clasped onto his dark brown chest plate with orange armored shoulder pads. The Warriors of Light gasped at the sight.
"What is it?" asked Applejack.
"He looks just like the last enemy we faced!" said Refia. "Just before we got the Fang of Earth, we fought someone who looked just like this!"
"I wouldn't be surprised if the one from before was one of Xande's followers," Ingus added.
"Regardless, we've come too far to stop now," said Twilight.
"Wait a minute... Isn't your name Titan?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Some call me that," Phlegethon answered dryly.
"Twilight, can you call forth our Titan?" the pink mare requested.
"What for?" Twilight replied, not sure what Pinkie was up to.
"C'mon, Twilight! Do it!" Rainbow said impatiently.
"Alright already!" The purple alicorn closed her eyes and chanted. "Titan, master of the earth. I call upon you!"
Upon Twilight's call, the giant appeared right on front of their very eyes.
"EEEEEE! A clash of the Titans!" Pinkie squealed.
The Phantom Beast then proceeded to punch the evil giant and then disappeared altogether.
"Nothing more than a flesh wound," Phelgethon muttered, clutching his face.
Luneth wielded his dark blade and attacked the entity ten times, dealing moderate damage. Pinkie Pie then pulled out her party cannon and blasted a ball of confetti in the giant's face. Spike and Rainbow Dash took the opportunity and jumped in the air, preparing for their next strike.
"You fools!" Phlegethon bellowed. "Do you think mere pieces of paper can defeat me?"
"Maybe not," said Applejack. "But Ah reckon these can!" She then charged at Phlegethon and kicked his right knee with her hind legs, causing him to stumble three steps backwards. Upon regaining his balance, the entity menacingly walked to the pony that assaulted him and attempted to slash her, only for Applejack to jump in the air.
Refia then followed by striking the being in the jaw with her hammer.
"You are strong as my lord fears, but not for long!"
Before he could attack, a lance fell from the ceiling, throwing him off balance. Spike also appeared, grabbing his lance and rejoining his friends. Rainbow came next after her spear harmed the giant.
Twilight then chanted another incantation... this time, the Phantom Beast that opposed the evil being was none other than the Dragon King.
"Bahamut?! You tamed the King of Dragons?!"
Bahamut then turned his attention to our heroes. He then spread his claws and increased their physical strengths, one-by-one.
"Alright! Let's do this!" said Twilight.
With their new strength, Luneth, Rainbow, and Applejack each took turns on Phlegethon, causing the giant to fall to his knees in defeat. The last lieutenant of Xande had finally fallen, leaving only a few words of warning:
"Fools! You cannot stop the coming of the Cloud of Darkness!"
Twilight gasped upon hearing that name; her gasp was not quite loud but was quickly noticed by her friends.
"Warriors of Light," said the Crystal. "Xande is using my power for his own evil purposes... He will soon engulf the world in darkness once again. A great evil lies beyond this world, waiting for the moment of freedom. I bless you with my power; use it to banish the darkness that threatens this land!"
"We will," Luneth assured.
"The Syrcus Tower, known to you mortals as the Crystal Tower, was created long ago out of solid light. Xande has used this element against us, and has used our power to bring forth the Cloud of Darkness. You must infiltrate the Syrcus Tower and stop his nefarious plan!"
Receiving the powers of the Earth Crystal, our heroes opened their eyes and discovered that once again, they had been given new jobs and classes: Twilight was decorated in the attire of a sage; Rainbow Dash was a ninja, much to her delight; Applejack found herself a black belt; Rarity, a magus; Pinkie Pie, a devout; Spike, a ninja as well. As for their human friends: Luneth had appeared as a ninja as well; Arc, a magus; Refia, a devout; and Ingus in the garb of a summoner.
The party exited the chamber and walked clockwise around it, ready to explore the Ancient Maze. Just like the entrance, the ground almost set in a sea of lava. They trekked through the maze, gathering whatever items they could get their hands, hooves, and claws on, fought whatever monsters dared to stand in their way and reached the exit. But before they could leave, the ponies stopped. The four youths stopped as well and turned to their Equestrian comrades.
"Twilight," said the earth pony turned black belt.
"I know, Applejack. It's time to tell you everything. About the nightmares... and the figure who's been haunting me in my sleep..."
*music fades out*
The rest of the group gathered together and, eager to hear what the purple alicorn had to say.
"Ever since Spike, Fluttershy, Cadence and I rescued Flurry Heart and saved the world where she was taken to, I've been having these horrible visions in my head, even here."
"Ya mean... All the nightmares everypony back in Equestria's been havin'..."
"Yes. I saw it in my vision: the one who even Princess Luna couldn't even stop. It calls itself the Cloud of Darkness."
"But isn't that...?"
"I'm sure it's the same evil that Xande's going to unleash. And if we don't stop him here and now..."
"Oh, we will," said a confident Rainbow Dash. "When we get to Eureka and find these things the Moogles told us about, he's history."
"Twilight?"
The alicorn turned to Luneth and Arc.
"Do you think that this 'Cloud of Darkness' is responsible for all this... I mean," Arc said, worriedly.
"I'm certain. The Cloud of Darkness may be the one behind Xande as well." She then turned to face the rest, and with great determination said, "Let's go, everyone!"
Once outside the dungeon, the party could see only one thing in front of them: the Crystal Tower, where Xande was working to break the balance between darkness and light. After overcoming the perils through the Ancient Maze, our heroes were more determined than ever to end this madness.
Rainbow Dash flared her wings and said, "Let's do this!"
And so, the Warriors of the Light and the Equestrians rushed into the entrance, ready to take on Xande and prevent the catastrophe from ever happening.
