Radiant Garden and Roseluck walked down the path back to her flower nursery. Radiant Garden accepted his fate and did what Puppet Master asked of him…to make friends and use his free will. Regardless of what it is, if his master asked him to do it he would do it.
Though being so close to the mare made details stand out. Her hair was more of a dark purple than a dark red. She had pink highlights-or what Radiant thought were highlights- on the side of her head. Her mane was purple up and down but only originating from the center was the pink that stretched and hugged her ears for a moment before continuing on.
In all honesty Radiant found it adorable.
“Roseluck is your name right?”
“Sure is! Oh hey there’s one of my friends.” She eyed a stall in the market. Sitting there was a pony with orange hair and tan coat. However it was a darker yellowish tan. Roseluck’s Cutie mark was a rose, this one was a carrot. Radiant Garden made the connection as to why they were friends mainly because she pointed her out, but also because of the similarities between the cutie marks, they were both plants.
“HEY CARROT TOP! LOOK WHAT I FOUND!” Rose can be loud when she wants to. Radiant didn’t react to the sudden volume but rather commented about it in his head. He could hardly believe such a loud voice rested inside such a small body.
“Huh wha?” The mare named Carrot Top was so surprised by the voice she jumped into the air but immediately once her hooves were on the ground she smiled and looked towards Radiant Garden and Roseluck. However when she saw Radiant her smile contorted to a curious frown. “Who’s your friend?”
They approached the mare. “This is Radiant Garden, He’s a friend of Puppet Master, and you won’t believe what he can do with plants!” She finished and arrived in front of the stall.
“Cool…” Looked expectantly at Radiant Garden.
“…uh?”
“Oh come on make something grow.” Said Roseluck wrapping her hoof around his leg.
Radiant Garden looked around and spotted a lone flower nearby on the ground. It was a dandelion. He pointed his palm toward the lone weed and it grew larger in size. A wide eyed Carrot Top and Roseluck watched in amazement as it grew so large its shadow blocked the sun and cast the stall in shadow. The entire market was silent and every pony looked directly at the large weed with astonishment.
Slowly everyponies eyes moved to Radiant Garden, mainly because he was the only explanation as to why the weed grew so fast.
“How?” asked a random stallion.
Radiant Garden felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment when he realized everypony was staring at him.
“I-I-I-I’m…um I’m. I’m R-Radiant G-Garden.” He practically squeaked out.
And at that moment every mare in the vicinity became protective of him. He seemed like a social outcast. A cute one at that. But what really broke their hearts was while he was answering the question of ‘How?’ he grew moonglow flowers near his feet to feel surrounded by something friendly. Combined with his meekness and stutter everyone respectfully looked away.
Roseluck hugged his leg tighter for his comfort. Which he responded by lowing herself and embracing her.
“Aww.” Said Carrot Top with a meaningful smile.
“C-can we go somewhere less open?” He said with a hint of worry. “I don’t like crowds.”
“Sure we can. I promised to keep you safe and that’s just what I’m going to do!” She gave him a confident smirk and pulled his leg for him to follow.
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I flew high in the sky and sped toward Canterlot. If I’m over wolf’s death then I’m sure I should tell Celestia to not worry about my harsh words from the other day.
Canterlot was in sight and I swooped down towards the gates. The guards spotted me and raised their spears toward me. I landed on my feet in front of them so fast it shot dust up into the air.
“H-*cough*-Halt!”
“You halt!” I retorted.
“W-what? N-no you!”
“Nuh uh! You!”
“NO YOU!”
“NO YOU!”
“NO YOU!”
“STOP IT!” Shouted the other guard.
“You stop it.” I said with a smirk.
“State your business.” He said with an annoyed expression.
“I’m here to see Celestia.”
“No can do. She’s busy.”
“I know; that’s why I’m going to bother her.” I said smiling.
“No you wo-STOP HIM!”
I flew over the gate before he could finish his sentence. I quickly beat my angel wings as hard as I could to outrun the guards. Which I did easily. More guards followed my tail when I passed them. Smarter more experienced ones jumped into action immediately and I either had to blow through them or dodge them. I didn’t know where I was heading and frankly I didn’t care. I was having so much fun.
I eventually came across two double doors and I thought ‘What the hell!’ and I blasted through them.
Inside the room was the throne room with a regal but wide eyed Alicorn sitting on said throne.
“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY CELESTIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” I shouted as twenty guards barreled into me.
“You are under arrest!”
“No you!” I slapped some shackles around his hooves. The ones the zombies drop….I seriously had my inventory full of em.
“What the hay?”
“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!” shouted Celestia.
“OH Celly my buddy ol’ pal how are you?”
“Fine until you and, like, fifty of my guards blasted through the door!”
“I have a new friend!” She looked at me stunned for a moment.
“Let me get this straight.” She finally said. “You broke into my castle. Arrested my guards. And broke my door to tell me you made a friend?” She became significantly more angry the more she talked.
“Well he’s a lot like me. And he stands on two legs. He also is the spirit of the forest.” I said with a fake grin. I was nervous as hell.
Her eye twitched. “And?”
“And I baked you a pie!”
“…Where’s the pie?”
I pointed to a guard while still looking at her. “He ate it.”
“…get out.”
“Hang on; this will be an excellent time to test out your full strength. Blast me!”
“Gladly.” She charged up her horn and she shot a beam directly at me.
The moment it impacted I realized…this didn’t hurt at all. Maybe a sting or so but not much. It hit me that I can defeat Celestia with ease if I chose to. When the sun beam died down and I could see again I looked into the eyes of Celestia.
“Wow you’re weak.” I said and used my magic mirror to go home.
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Radiant Garden had a spring in his step as he skipped through the flower shop. It was closed but Rose had a spare key because she worked there.
“So what are you doing?” She asked while suppressing a giggle from his shenanigans.
“Oh I should pick out the best flowers for you.”
“F-for me?” She asked confused.
“Well you’ve been…nice to me.” He looked at each of the flowers…but he didn’t just look, he actually looked into their aura to pick out the best ones. He picked out three roses and walked over to Roseluck. But he was still looking…and Rose felt his comforting presence in her soul. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
Then he placed the pots down beside her carefully and picked up one of them.
“Can I touch your hooves?” He asked kindly with innocence.
“Y-yes.” She said feeling a little vulnerable from his soul staring powers.
Rose began to feel a comfortable feeling in her spine as he lifts up her hoof. She watches him as he positions the flower in front of her hoof. It then wraps itself around it and forms a wooden horse shoe with a flower as décor. He repeats the process on the other hoof and her heart melts as she looks into that soul searching gaze.
“I’m sorry am I making you uncomfortable?” he rubs the back of his head sheepishly and ruining the moment.
“What?”
“My staring. I didn’t realize I was looking at your aura until now.”
“Oh you ruined the moment you know that?” she rolled her eyes. “Oh well you’re still cute.”
“Cute?” He said cocking his head to the side while he searched for the meaning of the word. Then his face flushed with embarrassment. “I-umm I-I-I’m sorr-”
“Oh my Celestia shut up! You’re cute and that’s all. You’re so bad at this.” She giggles. “I don’t care if you like me or not. You were just being romantic when you weren’t realizing it.” She looked at him and bat her eye lashes. “Though I don’t mind any romance if you ask nicely.”
“U-um no thanks. Sorry.”
“Ugh you’re such a poop.” She said jokingly. “Anyway I love the new shoes. Their so me! I love them.” She pecks him on the cheek since he hasn’t stood up yet.
“O-oh um. Thanks.” He said rubbing the spot she kissed.
“No problem buddy. Don’t wipe it off.” She deadpanned.
“Sorry.”
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“This isn’t good.” I said looking over to the side of my cloud home.
The entire world was corrupted. But the most astonishing and concerning thing was the floating islands that were also corrupted. The only thing that wasn’t corrupt was my home. It was thankfully made of snow and also uncorruptable brick.
But I was mainly concerned with the dryad in my home. She shut herself in her room and balled her eyes out for hours now. Not a single blade of grass was uncorrupt. Her home was officially destroyed.
I went in to comfort her.
“Hey Isis. Are you ok?”
“I-I-I can feel myself withering away! All my power gone! All my friends…My tees. CORRUPTED!”
“I’m sorry…But this world is gone…I can fight the corruption as much as I want and I will only be able to save so much. But I have an option that might work.”
“WHAT? ANYTHING!”
“Come with me.” I walked out the door and she hobbled after me. Like an old woman. I went back and picked her up and carried her to the Equestrian portal.
“W-what? We’re going in there?”
“Yes we are.”
“NONONONONONONO THIS IS MY HOME!”
“And this.”
I stepped through.
“Is mine.” She froze and I could feel her strength returning.
“B-beautiful.”
“I know.”
“It’s also corrupt though.” She said grimly.
“WHAT?!”
“Y-you didn’t know?”
“No it must be too far from civilization for us to realize it.”
“You must make sure this world doesn’t suffer the same fate!” She looked at me with pleading eyes. “Please don’t fail this time.”
“I won’t fail you twice.” I made an absolute. I went back to the portal.
“Where are you going?”
“To arm my friends. They will help me.”
“Good…I’ll stay here for a while. I’ll come back when I know this world is safe.”
“No…meet the one called Celestia. You two will hit it off. She’s the goddess of the sun here. And she will be a good friend.”
“You know you can’t order me around right.”
“It was a recommendation. She’s thousands of years old like you. Surely immortals must stick together.”
I turned back to the portal and went through it. I went into the forge and created another green phase blade for Radiant Garden. I quickly made my way back through the portal.
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“Sweet Celestia what is going on?!” a couple of Equestrian guards went to investigate monster sightings near the Province of Hoofshoe.
They walked into the local forest to find said monster but found something even more disturbing.
“Is that purple grass?”
“It looks like it’s spreading!”
Indeed the grass was moving at centimeters a second. One of the pegasi guard chose to get closer.
“Careful.”
“Don’t worry. I’m going to try something.”
He flew over the purple grass and slowly decended toward it until he was an inch from the surface of it.
“LOOK OUT!” His earh pony comrade said pointing a hoof.
“Calm down! The grass isn’t attacking.”
“BUT THAT IS!”
The pegasi swiveled his head around to be brought to the ground by a floating brownish monster with more than one or even two eyes. An exaggeration would say it had twenty. But the moment he touched the grass it started to cling to him. The monster backed off and circled him ready to pounce if needed but it didn’t.
The guard’s white coat turned purple and his eyes became red. He started growling at his former comrades and charged at them.
The unicorn stallion in the three pony squad grabbed the corrupt pegasi in his magic and ran away with the earth pony covering them from anything that tried to lunge at them.