//------------------------------//
// Final Fantasy IX Part 3 
// Story: Equestria Girls Final Fantasy Adventures 
// by GuardianDemonsWriter 
//------------------------------//

“Ugh…ow,”. Flash got up and rubbed his head. “Where am I?” he wondered. He looked around to see that he was outside the airship.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” said Cinna, who was bringing more crew members out. “I had to carry you out after we crash landed in the forest.

Crash landed? Wait, that’s right. Flash tried to remember what happened. He knew that the airship was flying away from Alexandria, but the Queen had attacked it, and as it flew away, the damage from the bomb exploding caused them to crash land. He had seen Zidane jump off, but he was still onboard, so that is why Cinna had to carry him out. 

“Hey Cinna? Where is Zidane?” he asked.

“Zidane?” said Cinna, “I know that he jumped off, but I haven’t seen him,”. Zidane then walks up to them. “Oh nevermind, there he is!”.

“Flash! I see that you’ve made it out safely!” Zidane calls out. 

“Yeah, it was all thanks to Cinna here,” said Flash.

“Aw, it was nothing. Can’t leave the crew in there to get hurt from the flames!” said Cinna. “Speaking of which, now that everyone is out, I’m gonna help the others put out the fire now, and see how much damage we sustained,”. Cinna goes and works on the airship.

“Flash, have you seen Garnet and Twilight?” Zidane asked.

“No I have not,” said Flash. 

“I hope they and that kid who was with them are alright,” said Zidane







Meanwhile, in the forest, Garnet, Twilight and Vivi are fleeing a pair of mysterious shadows. Vivi tries to hold them back with his attacks, while Twilight is assisting. ‘Geez, these things are worse than the beasts that are in Everfree Forest!’ she thinks. 

“Watch out!” Garnet yells as the pair of shadows pass over them







Meanwhile, Zidane and Flash are on their way to the area where Garnet, Twilight and Vivi were attacked, fighting several goblins along the way. They were pretty easy enemies to fight, as they never got a hit on Flash (mostly because Zidane got a hit in before he did). They come to the area from before where Vivi is shaking in front of a plant monster. Steiner and Twilight are also there as well. “T-that t-thing, i-it has her!” said Vivi shaking with fear.

Meanwhile, Steiner was yelling at the plant monster. “Let the princess go, you foul beast!” he yelled at it.

Zidane rolled his eyes. “Yeah I don’t think it is willing to listen to you Rusty,”.  He, Steiner, and Flash battle the plant monster, with Zidane immediately going into Trance while doing so. His skin and hair became a pinkish color. Ziane easily defeated the plant monster while in Trance. After the three of them defeated the monster, it fled with Garnet into the forest. Unfortunately, a monster then captures Vivi. After a quick battle, where Vivi helped out while he was trapped by using fire spells on it, Vivi is freed from it once the monster is killed. In it’s dying moments, the monster releases a spread of spores on the group, hitting Vivi, Steiner, and Flash.

“P-princess,” Steiner says weakly as he blacks out.







Flash woke up in one of the rooms on the airship. “Ugh, my head,” he moaned. He looked around. Dang. So the whole thing was not a dream. 

He tried to get up only for a female voice to stop him. “Easy, Flash. You still have that plant monster thing’s spores in you,” the voice said. She hands him a bottle. “Here, one of those…thieves told me to give it to you,”. Flash drank the liquid in the bottle. And slowly opened his eyes. He saw Twilight staring right back at him.

“Gah!” he cried out as he stumbled out of bed. 

“Good, you’re awake. Because now you can explain what is going on, and where we are,” said Twilight, her previous sweet tone turning to an annoyed one. Oh boy, this was going to take a while.







Meanwhile in another room, Steiner was fuming. “How does their boss think he can save the princess?!” he grumbles. While he was aware that the other princess was saved, he was still determined to save Garnet. “And this…medicine that they gave me…it smells terrible and the color is weird…it better not be poison!” he grumbled while taking the medicine. It was not that bad after all.







“Wow, okay, so we are indeed in another world that we entered through a painting. A world that is a…video game? In your world? Interesting. I know that Sunset once told me that she was a gamer, but I didn’t even know what she was really talking about,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, I’m sort of the one who got her into them when we were together,” Flash admitted. “Though I guess she mainly got into them because she wanted to learn how to use her hands,”.

“True, but now we have to figure out what to do next,” Twilight mused. 

“Well, we should go out and save Garnet,” Flash said simply.

“Are you sure? Is that how things are supposed to go in this world? I figured that this world somehow corrected itself to adjust to our presence here. It made you part of this thieves guild, and me Garnet’s sister? Well, I suppose I am a princess, so that sort of makes sense,” Twilight said.

Flash nodded. “Anyways, I’ll talk to Zidane. We will go and rescue Garnet. You are coming with us, correct?” he asked.

Twilight nodded. “Someone has to keep you out of trouble!” she said playfully. “Besides, I am curious about this Trance thing that Zidane did when he battled that plant monster,”. 

The two were interrupted when Zidane knocked on the door. “Hey Flash, are you ready to save Garnet?” he asked from outside the room. “We are gonna have to fight Baku though in order to leave Tantalus, so be ready,”. 

“I’ll be there in a second Zidane,” Flash called out. “Sorry, Twilight, I have do go and take care of something,” and he left the room.

The two arrive in a secluded room where Baku was waiting for them. “Took you two long enough,” he grumbled. “Well? Are we doing this or not?” Zidane and Flash nodded. “Heh, good. Get ready!”

One short fight later…

“You two got me pretty good,” said Baku. “All right. Go on! Go and rescue Garnet. Don’t worry about us, we can get out of here on our own,”. Zidane and Flash nodded and left the room.







“So you two are no longer members of Tantalus?” Cinna asked when the two, along with Steiner, Vivi, and Twilight, came outside. The two of them nodded. “Well, that means that you got to pay for my supplies now. Sorry,” Cinna said. 

After getting some potions for the fight ahead, the group headed on into the forest to rescue Garnet. While they were going through the forest fighting the various monsters, Steiner and Vivi tried an experiment. Vivi would cast magic on Steiner’s sword allowing him to channel that magic energy in it when he fought the monsters. Eventually, the group found Garnet, who was trapped in a giant plant monster. “Get ready everybody!” said Zidane as the battle commenced. They were then suddenly joined by a surprise appearance by Blank.

“Didn’t think I’d let you fight this thing by yourselves, no did you?” he asked. 

“Well, there are FIVE of us fighting this thing,” Zidane replied.

“Good point,” said Blank.

After a tough battle, the giant plant monster was then defeated, releasing Garnet. Unfortunately, this set the entire forest after the group. “We should probably start running now,” said Blank. 

“Good idea,” said Zidane.

The group quickly ran through the forest, fighting off the creatures that were released when the plant monster died. As they were running, the forest started to turn to stone. “Hurry!” shouted Blank as the group ran for their lives. Unfortunately, Blank was caught by the vines that were chasing them. In his last moments before he was petrified, he tossed a map at Zidane, who caught it. “Get…to…Lindblum,” Blank said before he was completely petrified. 

“Blank!!” Zidane yelled as the group made it out of the forest. 







It was now nighttime. The group had set up camp. “We should set out for Lindblum tomorrow,” Zidane stated, much to Steiner’s anger.

“No, we need to go to Alexandria and return the princesses! And have you two rightfully punished!” he declared.

“Now see here Rusty!” Zidane growled.

“R-rusty?!” Steiner stammered. “I am Aldebert Steiner! And I won’t be insulted by a lowly criminal such as you!”

Twilight and Flash just watched. “Is…this how they are at this point?” Twilight asked Flash.

“Yeah, but Steiner does get a little better. He removes the pole from up his back later on,” Flash replied. “Best not to let them know that, seeing as how we might mess with the timeline. As long as we stick to how things went in the game, we should be good,”.
“You there! Blue-haired thief! What are you whispering about with the princess!” Steiner called out, noticing that Flash and Twilight were talking to each other.

“It’s nothing that you should be concerned about Rus--I mean Steiner,” said Flash. Steiner just grumbled at that reply. 

“Well, at least you refer to me by my true name,” he said. “Maybe I’ll make sure you get a lighter sentence than him,” he pointed at Zidane.

Twilight then walked up to him. “Steiner was it?” she asked.

Steiner stumbled at Twilight speaking to her. “Y-yes princess?” he asked.

“I would much appreciate it if you don’t act so rude toward my friend,” she said.

“You’re friends with this…lowlife?” Steiner asked.

“Yes, and I would appreciate it if you don’t call him ‘Lowlife’ or ‘Thief’ or ‘Criminal’ or anything like that. He referred to you by your real name, correct?” Twilight asked.

“Well, y-yes but--,” Steiner stammered, clearly at a loss for words. He paused for a bit. “Yes, Princess,” he mumbled. 

“Good, I’m glad that we are clear on that,” said Twilight as she walked to the tent that she and Garnet were sharing. “I suggest that you get some sleep,”.

Flash chuckled to himself. Twilight sure knew how to put Steiner in his place. It was one of the things that he admired about her. He was still thinking about her when his thoughts were interrupted. “Wow, that’s pretty awesome that she stood up for you! I’m pretty jealous!” said Zidane. 

Flash sputtered. “It’s not like t-that!” he stammered. “S-she’s just a friend!

“Sure she is,” said Zidane. He had a strange look in his eye.

‘This can not bode well,’ thought Flash.







The next morning, the group took down camp. They walked for a while until they ran into a cavern. “I-i know this cavern,” Vivi said. “My grandpa told me about it. It’s supposed to be filled with monsters,”. 

“It’s pretty beautiful,” said Garnet. 
“Well, what are we waiting for, let’s go inside!” said Zidane. The group walked into the cave. While looking around (and fighting monsters along the way every time mist comes out of one of the vents), they found a treasure chest that was blocked by some ice. “Hey Vivi, I bet you can melt that ice!” said Zidane

“I-i don’t know,” Vivi said nervously.

“Come on Vivi! I know you can do it!” said Garnet.

“Yes, Sir Vivi, show us that power of yours!” said Steiner. 

“A-all right,” said Vivi. He concentrated for a bit, and then with a yell of “fire!” he sent a small blast of fire at the ice, melting it and revealing a pathway to the treasure chest. 

“Nice job Vivi!” said Twilight.

“T-thank you,” Vivi said shyly. 

After collecting the treasure, plus some more with Vivi’s assistance, the group heads deeper into the cave. Zidane walked ahead where Twilight was. “Come on princess, it’s not too far to the exit now!” he said.

“Ummm, okay?” said Twilight, with a bit of confusion on her face. 

Meanwhile in the back, Flash was watching them walk. ‘I should not get jealous,’ he thought. ‘It’s just Zidane being, well Zidane,’. He then noticed that Garnet was walking right beside him, a strange look of annoyance on her face. “Is something troubling you?” he asked. 

“It’s nothing,” Garnet said, but Flash knew, probably from hanging around Applejack a lot, that she was not being very truthful. He was then caught off guard by Garnet looking right at him. “That is nice blue hair you got there,” she said. “It’s so sparkly too!”

“What?” Flash said.

He then felt as though someone was staring a hole in the back of his head. And it was not Steiner. He was too busy cheering on Vivi as they fought the monsters in the cave. ‘It’s probably nothing,’ he thought.

As they got deeper and deeper into the cave, it began to feel colder. “D-does anyone else notice h-how cold it is getting?” asked Garnet. 

“Yeah, n-now that you mention it, it is getting colder,” said Zidane. 

Suddenly, Garnet began to stumble. “P-princess!” Steiner yelled as he ran to her side. “What did you do to her?!” he asked Zidane. 

“I didn’t do anything,” said Zidane. “She must have fainted due to the cold,”. 

As he was saying this, Vivi also began to stumble. “S-s-so c-c-cold,” he said. And then Vivi fainted. And then Steiner, and then Twilight. 

“D-do you h-hear a ringing sound?” asked Flash. 

Zidane nodded. “It’s coming from that way,” he said pointing in the direction where the sound was coming. The two then headed over to where it was coming from. They arrived in an open area and see a figure in front of them. It paused and turned around to look at them. 

“Why aren’t either of you asleep? My blizzard should have done that to you,” the figure, known as Black Waltz 1, said. 

“You are the one who is causing this blizzard?” Zidane asked.

“That’s right!” Black Waltz 1 said as he jumped down in front of them. “Sealion! Get them!” he called out, and a monstrous being appeared right beside them.

“Get ready!” said Zidane as Flash nodded. The two then commenced a battle with Black Waltz 1 and the Sealion.


“Take out the mage first!” Flash shouted as he stuck the mage with his daggers.

“Right!” agreed Zidane as he too struck the mage.

“Grr,” said the mage as he was dying, “You might have defeated me, but my Sealion will destroy you! And if it fails, well 2 and 3 will take care of…you,” he said. 

“Now for the Sealion!” said Zidane.

“Right!” agreed Flash as he struck it. But after he did so, he felt a strange feeling. ‘W-what is this?’ he thought as he began to glow with a bright light. Wings suddenly sprouted out of his back, and his hair became longer. He also felt something else sprout from his back. ‘Am I…trancing?’ he thought. If he was, then let’s put this temporary power to good use. Using his newfound speed, he quickly struck the Sealion, and as he did so, a bolt of lightning struck it. As he felt more faster, he struck again and this time the beast went down. And as soon as he entered trance, the wings disappeared, and he turned back to normal. “That was…amazing an exhausting,” he said.

“We should check on the others now that the blizzard should go away,” said Zidane. Flash nodded in agreement, The two then went back to the area where everyone else was. 

“Hey, is everybody alright?” Zidane asked as everyone else began to get up. 

“Y-yeah,” said Vivi.

“I’m fine,” said Garnet. 

“Are you responsible for this?!” accused Stiener. 

“No I am not,” said Zidane as Flash helped Twilight get to her feet.

Steiner grumbled for a bit before Garnet spoke up. “He said that he did not have anything to do with it, Steiner,”. Steiner continued to grumble as the group made for the exit. Unknown to them, a pair of jesters where watching closely.







The group finally reached the exit of the Ice Cave. They where all standing on a cliff overlooking a small village. “There’s a village down there,” said Zidane. “We could stay there for the night,”. 

“No! We are heading back to the castle!” protested Steiner. 

“Rusty, would you just shut up for five minutes?!” Zidane snapped back.

“Both of you be quiet!” scolded Garnet. She began to make her way down the cliff before Zidane stopped her.

“Hold up, people might be looking for you and Twilight. It’s best if we gave you a fake name for now,”. 

“Very well.” said Garnet, “what shall I be called?”.

“How about…Dagger?” Zidane suggested. 

“Dagger…I like it!” said Garnet, now Dagger. 

“I’ll stick to Twilight,” Twilight said. ‘Because I’m already used to civilian life,’ she thought.

“Oh, and one more thing Dagger,” said Zidane. “Try to use more…informal language. Instead of saying ‘very well’ say ‘alrighty!’. 

“Hmm..very we--I mean alrighty!” Dagger agreed cheerfully. 
The group then headed down to the village below.