//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Save the Living Woods // Story: My Final Pony Fantasy III // by Vimtrust5 //------------------------------// Upon defeating Gutsco the Rogue once and for all, the party members' strength, speed, skills and agility had increased once more. But that did little to brighten Luneth's day, for he had endangered his own life and was about to receive a hard lecture on his actions. It wasn't going to be easy for Twilight, Rarity, Refia or Ingus for that matter. Arc wasn't looking forward to the lecture either. Dwarven Hollows "We've done it!" said Luneth. "We got the Horns back!" "Aye, good work, lads and lasses!" The ponies made sure to watch their own shadows as well as those of the children's this time. Seeing that there was no sign of abnormal shadows or foul magic, they went ahead and placed the Horns of Ice back to their rightful place. "Now then..." The group turned to a certain youth. "Luneth," Refia said in a strict tone. "What you've done back there in that cave nearly cost you your life." "Not only that, but the rest of us could have injured as well, or worse," said Ingus. "Oh, come on!" They all turned to Rainbow Dash. "Just give the kid a break, will ya? Sure he was reckless and made a stupid mistake, but... So am I, sometimes, you know? Even I did some stupid things," she admitted. "Like the time ya kicked that big dragon in the snout, which almost got us killed?" said Applejack. "What?" said Refia. "You kicked a dragon... in the snout?" Ingus said incredulously. "I wasn't thinking rationally, alright?! Besides, I've made other... bigger and stupider mistakes," she said, hanging her head in shame. "But enough about me. Look at him." They did, and from what they could tell, Luneth felt very ashamed and guilty for his actions. Holding his arm with one hand, the boy looked away, but they could see his pained expression. Twilight walked over to him. "Just promise me--no, all of us--that you won't ever, EVER do something like that again, okay?" Luneth put himself at his knees, looked the purple alicorn in the eyes and nodded his head. "Promise," he said sincerely. "Pinkie Promise?" Luneth and the other young warriors looked to Pinkie Pie in confusion. "Cross your heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in your eye?" He looked to the other Equestrians who urged him to make and keep that promise. The other humans simply shrugged. "Alright. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." What in the world is a cupcake? he thought to himself. "Alright, so where's our next stop?" asked Spike. "Remember Tokkul?" "Oh, yeah..." said Rainbow. "We didn't really do anything back there, let alone find some supplies." "Before we do that, though..." Pinkie's turn to speak came once more as she pulled out the map of the Floating Continent. "How about we pay a visit to this place here?" "A forest?" Applejack inquired. "Ya think we'll find another herd of Chocobos there? Ah'm all for hitchin' another ride, but we gotta focus on our journey." "Applejack's right," Refia said. "We can't get distracted." "No no no no. It's not like that. Just trust me on this one; I know we might learn something." The party did indeed remember visiting the inhabited village once before they left for Gulgan Gulch. The Living Woods "Why couldn't we have a place like this next to Fluttershy's house?" asked Spike. "Welcome..." "Hey, are those are what I think they are?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Fairies!" Rarity gasped. "Never thought we'd see these creatures here," Twilight observed. Just then, a wounded man limped toward the heroes. "What happened?" "Hein... You must..." The human fell to his knees, gasping for air. "'Hein?" "He was... the advisor for... King Ar...gus... I was... a resident of the village of Tokkul... Warriors... of the Light... Please... stop..." Before finishing his sentence, the man fell foward and breathed no more. "Oh my goodness!" Twilight and Refia looked at each other with horrified expressions and embraced one another. The former then looked to the fairies. "Can you see if... he gets a decent burial?" "We will do so," one of them responded. "Tokkul... Let's see what we can find there." Tokkul Once they entered the village, the Warriors of Light were stricken by an unseen attack. Unable to move a musckle, the group was then captured and taken away by mysterious soldiers. Castle Hein After a few minutes, Luneth was the first to regain consciousness. "Ungh... Where are we?" he asked wearily. Spike got up next, the rest of them thereafter. "I don't like this," the baby dragon said, shuddering. "We have been imprisoned," Ingus observed. "Let us investigate the vicinity." They nodded and looked all around them. Our heroes observed several roots surrounding them, and the floor as well. From what they could gather, they were inside a great tree. "I cannot believe we've been captured," Rarity said with a sigh. "Great. Just great," Rainbow stated sarcastically. "Come on, everypony! We gotta get outta here and advance the plot!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "I have no idea what you're saying, Pinkie. But you're right! We need to escape," said Refia. "This is..." The group turned around and saw a knight staring at them. "Young children, a small... dragon... and ponies?" "Yeah... That's right," Twilight confirmed. "Where is this place? And what are y'all doin' here?" asked Applejack. "This... is Castle Hein." They turned around again and found a man decorated in royal attire, wearing a crown atop his head. "A... Are you...?" The man nodded. "Yes... I am King Argus. I rule over the lands north of the desert. That is to say, the king of an empty kingdom... now that Hein has cursed my soldiers into doing his bidding. I had placed my trust in him... His betrayal cannot be forgiven," he stated, coughing afterwards. "Are... are you alright, Your Majesty?" Twilight asked. He looked down and was mildly surprised to see the purple pony next to the children speaking in his native tongue. "My word... It seems that there was some truth to what the Gulgans had said after all." "You mean... about us?" asked Pinkie. "Yes... I admit I was skeptical about non-human creatures arriving in our world to save it, but your appearance has proven me wrong." "This sounds kinda familiar," Applejack remarked. "In any case, I am fine. But I must ask you to do something for me. You must defeat Hein!" "We will," Luneth assured the king. "But can you tell us how or why this Hein betrayed you?" "Yes... Until the earthquake struck, he was my most trusted advisor," he said with regret. "But now he has been consumed by the forces of darkness and become evil." "We'll stop him, Your Majesty." "Not on my watch." One of the brainwashed soldiers appeared and transformed into a hideous winged demon missing a lower half. It carried a long-bladed sword and intended to use it to silence our heroes. But they were alert and went into defensive battle stances. The creature brought its weapon down, aiming for Luneth who dodged from one side. "Take this!" Applejack gave the demon a good hard kick. And just like that, the demon was exorcised, and the soldier regained his human form but not his consciousness. And so, our heroes escaped the cell and began their trek through the castle. Throughout the dungeon, they collected several items, including a Rune Bow, Phoenix Downs, and Holy Arrows. As they reached the main hall on the seventh floor, they came face-to-face with the wicked being that held the king and his men prisoner: Hein. He had literally lost whatever humanity he had and was transformed into a wicked, skeletal creature wearing nobleman's attire. "Ah... the power of darkness is a thing of beauty, a black tapestry of chaos!" the creature said to himself. "A tapestry on which I shall paint an all-encompassing nocturne! With this fortress, Argus' soldiers, and the power of darkness... I will rule the world!" "Not so fast!" "You must be the ponies and dragon I've heard of. Time to die!" Hein stretched out his arm and sent a blazing ball of fire towards Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash launched herself high into the air. "Ha! What a coward your friend is! She knows that she cannot withstand my powers of darkness!" "I'm getting the feeling you don't know much about pegasi..." "Is that so?" he mockingly replied. At the moment, a set of arrows rained down on Hein; the sorcerer shielded himself and scoffed, but Rainbow dropped down from high above and knocked him down on the ground. "You wretched beasts!! You will not outshine ME!!" "Take a look here!" Hein turned to Spike and noticed him taking a hi-potion off his person. "You... DARE?!" he shouted, knocking the dragon away with the brunt of his sword. "SPIKE!!" Hein then turned his attention on Rainbow, kicking her in the face. "You... will not get away with this!" Twilight shouted using a Bomb Arm, which unleashed the spell of Firaga upon the wicked being. "You think you are clever, little pony. Behold!" A strange aura then enveloped Hein. Unfazed, Rarity threw another Bomb Arm. Firaga was cast. However, there was even little effect. "You haven't faced an opponent quite like I, little ones," he chuckled. Then it was time to change tactics. Twilight used a scan ability on Hein and discovered that he could indeed change elemental defenses. But that didn't stop Twilight from casting one certain spell. She then fired a huge magic beam towards Hein's way and pelted him on the wall. He was shocked to receive a large amount of damage from the blast. "H-How... could this... happen...?" Hein began to dissipate, signifying his defeat. The party's abilities (natural and job-related) increased. Refia then noticed Spike unconscious and woke his up with a Phoenix Down. "Huh...? Twilight...? Rarity?" Just then, the ground began to rumble. "An earthquake...?" "Thank you... Warriors of Light..." The ponies gasped. "Wh-Who said that?" "The walls... they speak!" Ingus exclaimed. "I am the Elder Tree of the Living Woods. Hein had put a curse on me to do his bidding. But you have freed me from his bonds. Thank you again, Warriors of the Light... And you as well, heroes from another world... "I will now free the people held captive within me and return them to where they belong. Then I will go back to the Living Woods once again." The Equestrians were dumbfounded. "So... We were inside the tree that the fairies wanted us to save the whole time?" "Eeyup," Applejack replied. "Looks like it." "Thank you!" The party turned around and found two soldiers smiling gratefully. "Now it is time to return..." The Living Woods The group looked around and sure enough, they found themselves back in the forest, being greeted by the smiling fairies. "I am back where I belong... Thank you for your help, young ones..." "You're very welcome," said Twilight. One of the fairies flew over to the team showing them a Fang of Wind. "Take this. Use it when the power of darkness stands in your way." With the Fang of Wind in their hands (and hooves and claws), our heroes left the Living Woods and made their way to Castle Argus to finish their task for Cid. Castle Argus "Thank you for saving my kingdom." "You know what, everypony?" "What?" "This calls for a party!" "A party? NOW?!" "Come on, Rainbow Dash. You should know we should celebrate all our accomplishments so far: we've saved half the number of Crystals in this world, gotten some new jobs as a reward, and we should be at least one or two steps closer to saving Twilight those horrible dreams she's been having since the last--" "We get the point, Pinkie," said Applejack. And so, the group agreed and a celebration was held within the walls of Castle Argus. Twilight and Rarity were conversing with Refia and Spike, still wondering how he felt at the moment. Spike couldn't be any more relieved to know that he and the others were alive. Rainbow Dash was bragging about the battle with Hein--of course--and was enjoying all the praise and attention, much to Applejack's dismay. Arc and Ingus held a conversation concerning the former's childhood and how he was bullied for his shyness. Ingus was appalled to learn that his friend had to endure such a thing. The next morning... "Ah, good morning, heroes. Resuming your journey, I presume?" "Yes, Your Majesty." "Take this." "Is that... a gear of some kind?" "'Tis not just a gear, little one. It is the Wheel of Time. You will need it to restore the last two Crystals." "Does this mean...?" "Yes. I know that you are the Warriors of the Light. It is your destiny to restore the balance between darkness and light. And you little ones." The Equestrians tilted their heads. "Be sure to help them, and be careful. No one knows what dangers further await you on your quest." "We will, sire," Ingus declared. "Good luck, Warriors of the Light. And godspeed!" The Wheel of Time... Twilight and Luneth thought. Surely this must have been what Cid was wanting. And so, the heroes exited Castle Argus and with Twilight's teleportation spell went straight for Canaan.