//------------------------------// // Arbor, the King of Trees, Part I - A Vengeful King // Story: The Taking of Tartarus // by Rakoon1 //------------------------------// Ponyville was facing another threat from the Lord of Chaos. One of his villains was attacking the village with large fires that were making all ponies to panic. The villain in question was a large fox with nine tails, golden fur and fire covering his paws and the tip of his tails. Every step that the creature gave burned the soil with his footprints. Even though he was concentrating his efforts on Everfree Forest, he didn’t cease to be a danger to Ponyville because their fires raged to the village. In Fluttershy’s cottage, she and Thunder Night came out and they became terrified when they saw the fire that was consuming the forest. "Oh no!" Fluttershy exclaimed, watching her animal friends running away from their homes. "This is terrible!" "Fluttershy, you should go to a safe place" Thunder Night told her. "I'll see what is happening." "No, I'll go with you, Thundy" Fluttershy answered. "No, my love" he said, passing his hoof through her face. "You have to put yourself safe and our foal. Don’t worry, I'll be fine. With the sky covered, the sun will not do anything to me." Despite being worried about her fiancé and father of her future foal, Fluttershy nodded and walked away to fly. Thunder Night also took off and started to fly over the Everfree Forest. The fire that was consuming it didn’t seem natural, for it seemed to be even more scorching than usual. Then he heard a cry for help. He went to where the cry was coming and saw Zecora surrounded by flames. Flying the pike, Thunder Night was up to her, grabbed her and put her in a place free of fire. "Thanky you, Thunder Night, your help to my eyes was a delight" Zecora said. "You're welcome, Zecora" he said. "It is better if you go find shelter." She nodded and walked away, running. Then a noise in the bushes made Night Thunder turn around, preparing for what could appear. And so Shadow Claw came out from there. "Shadow Claw?" Thunder Night asked. "What are you doing here?" "I came to try to stop the one who is doing this" Shadow Claw said. "It's one of the Lord of Chaos’ villains." "Yes, I think I've imagined it" Thunder Night said. "But who?" "Only one creature is able to summon flames like these" Shadow Claw replied. They then heard footsteps and the large fox appeared. "Kitsune" Shadow Claw said, seeing him. "Look who he is" Kitsune said, also seeing Shadow Claw. "The traitor." "And you have not changed anything, do you?" Shadow Claw asked. "You’re still the same pyromaniac I know." "Fire is my essence" Kitsune replie. "As the full moon is yours. Wait, let me rephrase. It was your essence." "You'll continue to flirt with each other or we will fight?" Thunder Night asked. And having said that, he began to fly against Kitsune. "No, Thunder Night, wait!"Shadow Claw exclaimed. But it was too late, because Thunder Night was already approaching Kitsune to attack him. He laughed and then lifted his nine tails to the fullest and then the flames that were involving them launched an intense light that hit Thunder Night that made him moan in pain as he felt his skin begin burned. He was thrown against a tree and Shadow Claw went to him, watching with concern the burns that appeared in the thestral’s body. "Are you okay?" Shadow Claw asked. "Yes, but... what happened?" Thunder Night asked. "It was Kitsune’s flames" Shadow Claw answered. "They are like little suns. And, how you are a Thestral, you are vulnerable to them." "I can’t believe how stupid you are" Kitsune said, approaching. "I don’t know which of you is more stupid, if you for trying to attack me, or you, Shadow Claw, for having abandoned our master. "He's not my master" Shadow Claw said. "Not anymore." "Yes, a terrible mistake of yours" Kitsune said. He raised his tails again to attack with fire, when suddenly the branches of the trees that were there twitched and tried to hold the tails. "What the..." Kitsune began, burning the branches that were holding his tails and freeing himself. "Who did this?!" "As if you needed an answer to that question, Kitsune" a voice said. There was a green light, and Leaf Mane appeared in front of Thunder Night and Shadow Claw. "You!" Kitsune exclaimed. "Long time no see" said Leaf Mane. "Yes, since the day you imprisoned me" Kitsune said. "Something that you'll regret deeply." "That's why you are burning the Everfree Forest?" Leaf Mane asked. "To get to me?" Kitsune laughed and said: "I think you know why I'm here, don’t you?" "I have a sneaking suspicion" Leaf Mane answered. "But I will not let you." "This I want to see" Kitsune said. "Don’t forget that I know you and fire don’t get along so well. And in case you've forgotten, I can manipulate fire." "Maybe you're right" Leaf Mane said. "But you also forgot one thing: fire is an element of nature. And I'm the General of Nature." And then they started a fight: fire agains earth. Leaf Mane used the plants around them, making them attack with their roots or branches, while Kitsune used his fire to protect himself while attacking Leaf Mane with it. To protect herself, Leaf Mane’s leaves created a barrier that disappeared after the guard so Leaf Mane could fight back. Then Kitsune released a burst of fire that hit Leaf Mane and threw her against a tree, with her body full of burns and her mane with slightly scorched leaves. Kitsune displayed a wide smile, but then Leaf Mane got up and was summoned by her magic that made her green light become more intense. When the light returned to its normal intensity, Leaf Mane was completely restored. "But..." Kitsune began, quite surprised. "How did you..." "You should know, Kitsune" Leaf Mane said. "Plants have a very good regenerative power." Using Kitsune’s distraction, Leaf Mane invoked several roots which she used to involve Kitsune. When he tried to use the flames of his tails, Leaf Mane hastened to make branches to grab his tails and go out the flames. Kitsune tried to free himself, but Leaf Mane made the branches and roots further tighten. Unable to endure more, Kitsune eventually passed out. Leaf Mane then released him and he fell to the ground. "Wow!" Shadow Claw exclaimed, as he approached, supporting Thunder Night. "That was pretty amazing." "Yes, impressive" Thunder Night agreed. "Thank you" Leaf Mane thanked. "But this is not over. I have to imprison him right now." But when she went to get the cell blaster, something happened. A darkness involved Kitsune and began to make him disappear. "No!" Leaf Mane exclaimed, hasting to use the cell blaster. But it was too late, because Kitsune disappeared. "I can’t believe this" Leaf Mane said, lowering the cell blaster. "What happened?" Thunder Night asked. "Where did he go?" "The Lord of Chaos called him back" Shadow Claw answered. "There must be something more prepared to him for the Lord of Chaos had saved him from the prison-book." "I agree, and that it’s not good" Leaf Mane said. Thunder Night wailed slightly pain due to his burns. Leaf Mane turned to him and said: "You have suffered enough damage against Kitsune." "Don’t worry, Leaf Mane" Thunder Night said. "This is nothing that a good night can’t cure." "Or I can save you the job" she said. Leaf Mane lifted the hoof and, focusing her magic, she passed it by Thunder Night’s burns that glowed with a green light and then disappeared, leaving both stallions amazed. "Thank you, Leaf Mane" Thunder Night thanked, returning to stand by himself. "You're welcome" she said. "After all, you already helped a few times. Now, why don’t you two come back to the village and tell everypony it's all okay? I’ll try to fix the damage that Kitsune did." They nodded and began to walk away. Leaf Mane then looked around, seeing all the burned and charred plants, which gave her enough grief. Charging her horn with magic, she released a burst of light that spread everywhere. It was then that all existing plants around began to regenerate as well as those who had been killed. It didn’t take long until all the damage caused by Kitsune’s fire are all erased. However, she was still worried that the Lord of Chaos had called Kitsune back. He only did that when he had something big planned, which usually meant a catastrophe for them. Leaf Mane just hoped it hasn’t to do with what she was thinking. Then, with her work done, she teleported herself, returning to the Light Kingdom. The Lord of Chaos and Fire Punch saw her to teleport and the latter asked: "Why did you save him, master?" Fire Punch asked. "That’s not usually your style." "I still need Kitsune to what I'm planning" the Lord of Chaos replied. "And what is it exactly?" Fire Punch asked. "Get rid of the Generals of Order" the Lord of Chaos replied. "They are the ones beyond Twilight Princess that can operate with the cell blaster. Without them, my victory is virtually guaranteed. And I'll start with Leaf Mane, one of the most powerful Generals with her power over Nature." "But how will you do that, your lordship?" Fire Punch asked. "The answer is obvious" the Lord of Chaos said. "I will attack the source of the power of each of them: their matrices." "Matrices?" "Yes, it is the source of each General’s power. They hid them in a place that only they know. But nevertheless, I managed to deduce the area where Leaf Mane’s matrix is: the Everfree Forest. I have always wondered about the reason for it being so indomitable and now I know. The General of Nature hid her matrix there. So I saved Kitsune. His flames can burn anything." "But how can you know such a thing, master, if you just said that only the Generals know their own matrices?" Fire Punch asked. "I have my ways" the Lord of Chaos replied. "I got discovered the aspect of Leaf Mane’s matrix and I know that Kitsune flames are able to destroy it. I just don’t know how I can find its exact location. I know it’s somewhere in Everfree Forest, but where? If only the trees could tell me where." He thought for a few seconds and then recalled the words he had just said. "Wait, I'm an idiot. It's so obvious. I already know." "What, master?" Fire Punch asked. The Lord of Chaos rose up from his chair and headed to the exit, answering him: "If you want to know, come with me." Curious, Fire Punch followed his master. In Ponyville, things seemed to have returned to normal, with the ponies returning to their homes after Leaf Mane have restored the damage caused by Kitsune’s fire. When she saw Thunder Night, Fluttershy (who was with her friends) threw herself into his forelegs saying: "I'm so glad you're all right, Thundy!" "Yeah, me too, Fluttershy" he said, returning the hug. "This new villain was quite treacherous." "So it was really a villain of Tartarus" Rarity said, going to Shadow Claw. "You were right, dear." "Well, when I saw that fire, I realized it could not be normal" Shadow Claw said. "And I should have heard you, Shadow Claw" Thunder Night said. "If I had stopped to hear you about Kitsune’s flames, maybe he wouldn’t hurt me." "Wait, you were hurt?" Fluttershy asked, very concerned. "Don’t worry" Thunder Night told her, holding her hooves. "I'm fine. Leaf Mane came and saved us. She also healed my wounds." "Good thing we can always count on tha Generals" Applejack said. "Yeah, I bet Leaf Mane imprisoned this villain in one of those tiny cells, although I don’t know how it works" Pinkie Pie said. "How can they put those big guys in really tiny cells?" "Well, it turns out Leaf Mane didn’t managed to arrest the villain" Thunder Night revealed. "What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked. "The Lord of Chaos prevented him from being captured" Thunder Night explained. "What?!" Rainbow Dash asked. "Really? What General to let that happen. " "It’s not Leaf Mane’s fault, Rainbow" Applejack said. "Don’t forget that this creature controls fire, a major weakness of hers." Rarity then noticed that Shadow Claw seemed quite thoughtful. She came to him and asked him: "Is something wrong, Shadow Claw?" "I don’t know, something is not right" he said. "What was Kitsune doing here, anyway?" "I think it's pretty obvious" Rainbow Dash said. "To destroy Ponyville." "No, if it were only that, the Lord of Chaos wouldn’t bother to save him" Shadow Claw said. "And I know of what I’m talking about. He must have something big planned and this is what makes me concerned." Upon hearing this, the others also adopted some worried look. In Tartarus, the Lord of Chaos went, along with Fire Punch, for deep solitary, where five of the six cells remained intact. "This place gives me the creeps" Fire Punch said, trying not to move away. "Do you even have to use one of these villains?" "It's the only way to find Leaf Mane’s matrix" the Lord of Chaos replied. "And are you sure that this villain is reliable?" Fire Punch asked. "Well ... no" the Lord of Chaos replied. "In fact, of all the villains here, he is the least bad." "Wait, if that's true, then how did he end up down here?" Fire Punch asked. "Sometimes, actions speak louder" the Lord of Chaos replied. "And what I need now is someone with a great motivation." They then stopped in front of the cell that had Leaf Mane’s Cutie Mark. The Lord of Chaos raised his spear, which concentrated dark energy at its tip and then threw it against the cell door that was smashed, creating a smokescreen. He and Fire Punch observed the cell entry and then began to hear heavy footsteps and a huge figure came out, intimidating Fire Punch. When the smoke cleared, they could see the one that was locked in that cell for centuries. At the first glance, it looked like a huge tree, but then they could see his face on the top of the trunk with strong wooden arms and two legs ending in roots. His entire aspect seemed immensely intimidating. "Fire Punch, let me introduce you to Arbor, the King of Trees" the Lord of Chaos. But then Arbor simply snorted, rolling his eyes and began to head to the exit of the solitary. "Hey, wait a minute" the Lord of Chaos said, placing himself in front of him. "Where do you think you're going?" "To recover what belongs to me" Arbor said with a thick, harsh voice. "I don’t have time for your little games and your childish war with your brother." "Childish war?" the Lord of Chaos repeated, offended. "How dare you, your talking piece of wood? I was the one who brought you out of your cell. Now, you'll have to do what I command you." But Arbor simply passed by him, continuing to move towards the exit. "Master, shouldn’t he supposedly help you?" Fire Punch asked. But a harsh glance from his master made Fire Punch cower in fear and say: "I’ll keep silent." The Lord of Chaos returned to Arbor’s front and told him: "Look, you don’t like me and I also don’t like you. But I think we can help each other." "How so?" Arbor asked. "Well, during your absence, the ponies took up more land and downed more trees just to build their domain" the Lord of Chaos said, showing to Arbor images of cities and villages of Equestria in a ball of light. "Despicable!" Arbor exclaimed. "How dare they?!" "I know, it's outrageous" the Lord of Chaos said. "But the worst is that the General of Nature, the one who put you in that cell, let them do it." "Leaf Mane should protect my people" Arbor said. "Instead, she leaves the ponies like her toppling trees to make their useless objects." "Yes, but if you are claiming what's yours, alone and without allies, she will soon capture you again and put you in an even tinier cell than the one where you were" the Lord of Chaos said. "That will not happen" Arbor assured. "Yes, but Leaf Mane has virtually the same powers you have" the Lord of Chaos said. "You two are similar. And let's face it, she has the help of her brothers and sisters." Arbor looked at the Lord of Chaos and realized he was right. So he told him: "What do you win in helping me?" "Well, aside from the fact of getting rid of Leaf Mane so I can defeat the Order side, not so much" the Lord of Chaos said. "I and my trees will be safe if you win?" Arbor asked. "Well, I cannot guarantee that there will be some casualties, but, hey, it's always better than leave those ponies abuse your subjects, don’t you think?" the Lord of Chaos asked him. "But I can guarantee that, overall, nothing will happen to you or to your trees." There was silence and then Arbor asked: "What do you want me to do?" That made the Lord of Chaos drop a laugh. Leaf Mane returned to the Light Kingdom, where she met with Mirror Coat in the hallways. "Well, I just know what happened in Ponyville" he said. "Congratulations for your victory." "It wasn’t a great victory" Leaf Mane said. "I didn’t capture Kitsune.” "No, but you saved Ponyville and you know that the princess cares more about that than any villain that can be capture" Mirror Coat replied. "I know, but..." Leaf Mane began. Mirror Coat noticed in her worried look and asked: "What’s up?" "No, it was something that Kitsune said" Leaf Mane said. "Mirror Coat, I think the Lord of Chaos knows where my matrix is." "What?!" Mirror Coat asked, rushing to look around to see if anypony was around. "But how is this possible?" "I don’t know" Leaf Mane said. "I think he doesn’t know the exact location, but he should know that it is in Everfree Forest." "So that's why he sent Kitsune" Mirror Coat said. "He wanted to burn the whole forest hoping to also burn your matrix." "Yes" Leaf Mane answered. "And I think he saved him to be able to re-use him." "Don’t worry, Leaf Mane" Mirror Coat said. "The Lord of Chaos knows you should have noticed what he wants. He probably will not try something soon." "I don’t know, Mirror Coat" Leaf Mane said, not very convinced. "I really don’t know." Arbor was walking through the Everfree Forest, following the whisperings and guidance of the trees around him. He seemed to know perfectly where to go, advancing in a safe and purposeful stride. The King of Trees eventually get to the heart of the forest, an area where stood the Castle of the Two Sisters. Reaching a kind of crater, he went down to reach a cave formed there, whose entrance was covered by strong, thick vines full of thorns. As he approached them, the vines simply moved away to allow the entrance to Arbor, recognizing him as their king. He entered in the cave and advanced to its background and found what he sought: Leaf Mane’s matrix. The matrix was nothing more than an immensely beautiful tree with a silver color. Its branches were covered with vines hanging and containing bright green spheres. At the center of its trunk was Leaf Mane’s Cutie Mark. "How wonderful!" Arbor exclaimed, not wanting to believe in what his eyes were seeing. Freeing himself from the tree’s charm, Arbor remembered what brought him there. Moments before... "Deep in the Everfree Forest, there is Leaf Mane’s matrix, the source of all her magic" the Lord of Chaos told him. "However, I don’t know its exact location and that forest is too big. I am sure that your influence on the plants will allow you to find it." "What do you want me to do when I find it?" Arbor asked. "I don’t harm any subjects of mine, and I’m sure Leaf Mane’s matrix is some kind of plan." "You don’t need you to kill it" the Lord of Chaos said. "You just have to weaken the power of the matrix so Leaf Mane’s power can be also weaken." Present... Knowing what he had to do, Arbor said: "I’m sorry for this, my friend." Then he slammed his foot down hard, where its roots sank. Then, around the matrix, black and thorny roots lifted from the ground and began to engage the tree. Feeling the thorns of the roots beginning to penetrate the truck and absorbing its power, the matrix’s light started flashing and losing its intensity every time. The Lord of Chaos saw it happen through his mirror. "Perfect!" He exclaimed. "It won’t late until Leaf Mane start to resent from the attack that her matrix is suffering." "Master, I was wondering about a thing" Fire Punch said. "As you said, to defeat Leaf Mane completely, it is necessary to destroy her matrix, right?" "But of course" the Lord of Chaos replied. "That’s why I still have Kitsune under my service. He will burn the tree and end the General of Nature." "But if the matrix is destroyed, will not it destroy the whole nature in all the worlds?" Fire Punch asked. "All the trees will die. This doesn’t go against the promise you made to Arbor?" "Fire Punch, do you really believe I will fulfill that foolish promise I made to Arbor?" "Well..." "I do everything to get what I want, even make false promises" the Lord of Chaos said. "After all, I am the most evil of all. Arbor knows this and was naive to make a deal with me." "But if Arbor discovers what the plan really is..." Fire Punch began. "Arbor will only notice it when it is too late" the Lord of Chaos replied. "That decadent tree will be too concentrated to attack ponies to recover his dominion that will not realize that he was tricked." "If you say so, master" Fire Punch said. The light in Leaf Mane’s matrix was already quite weak as well as its magic. Some of the vegetation that was around it soon began to wither, losing much of the magic that made them grow. In the Light Kingdom, Leaf Mane walked through the hallways of the castle when suddenly a wave of weakness washed over her. But she was able to resist and continued walking. She then met with Golden Paladin in the hallway. "Hello, Leaf Mane" he greeted her. "Hello, Golden Pa..." Leaf Mane began. But she didn’t finish it, because she began to feel her energy being drained in a way that Leaf Mane eventually passed out. Seeing his sister beginning to fall, Golden Paladin hastened to go pick her, saying: "Leaf Mane!" Catching Leaf Mane before she hit the ground, he took his hoof to her forehead and noticed that it was immensely hot. "You have a lot of fever" he said. It was then that he noticed in her mane and saw that the fresh leaves that adorned it was beginning to dry and Leaf Mane’s light was weakening, as if it was going out. "Oh no..." Golden Paladin said.