The Path of Absolution - Punishment

by Morningstar1337

xlii - Jason and the Golden Fleece

Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Silver Spoon found themselves in a bizarre meadow. The sky above them was a bright magenta that complemented with the viridian meadow. They saw rocks and stones scattered everywhere.

“Where are we?” Scootaloo said.

Pinkie Pie looked around the area. it reminded her of her childhood.

“It’s kinda beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Who said that?” Applejack asked.

A blue earth pony approached them. He was wearing a headband that evoked images of a ram’s horns.

The other ponies looked surprised.

The blue pony said, “You got through the gate faster than I expected.”

Rainbow Dash said, “Who are you?”

“Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet,” The headband wearing pony said. “Name’s Aries.”

“What are you doing here, Aries?” Apple Bloom said.

“Ah, well I’m one of the guardians and spirits of your memories.” Aries said.

Sweetie Belle said, “Memories?”

Aries looked at Applejack. “You haven't told her yet? I find that a little ironic that the most Honest of you all would be keeping secrets.”

Applejack remembered that Princess Luna said that the challenges would try to make sure that they would be trapped in the Crusaders’ subconscious.

Aries said, “Well, I’m not one to ruin such a strong bond, so I’ll let you be the one to tell them what they were doing in the real world. In the meantime...” A golden fleece appeared on Aries’s hoof. “...Your task is to find this fleece...” A set of gates similar to the one the group entered appeared behind them. “...And bring them back here. Okay?”

“And what’s stopping us from just going through the gates without the fleece?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Nothing really,” Aries said. “You can go through the gates now if you wish, but without the fleece, you will be back into the loop of memories and stay there for good. You’ll need this fleece, made from the fleece of a gilded ram to progress.” The fleece vanished.

Twilight Sparkle said, “Is there anything we need to know about?”

“Ah, yes,” Aries said. “There is a giant ram called running around here, I would advise you to avoid it. I’ll be waiting near the gates until you find the fleece.”

“Got it.” Twilight and her friends decided to find the fleece.

---

The group searched around the meadow for an hour. Pinkie Pie saw something shiny in the distance. She galloped away from the rest of the group and went to see the shiny thing.

Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile tried using her magic to find the fleece, but the spells she knew couldn’t find it.

‘There has to be something I can do,’ Twilight thought. She noticed that a nearby rock was glowing and examined it.

Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack also noticed the rock.

“That’s strange,” Applejack said.

The Crusaders, Silver Spoon and Fluttershy went to see what their friends were looking at. Fluttershy saw the rock.

“It’s almost... pretty,” Fluttershy said. She touched the rock.

A few seconds later, the rock emitted a strange light, and they vanished.

---

Pinkie Pie saw something behind a tall rock. She went behind the rock and saw a small crystal lodged inside.

“Maybe Rarity would like this,” Pinkie said. She took the crystal and went back to where she last saw her friends.

When she got there, she saw that they were gone.

“Huh?” Pinkie Pie said. She went to look for her friends. “Applejack? Rarity? Twilight?” She searched all over the meadow until she saw her friends galloping in the distance. She galloped after the silhouettes.

Pinkie Pie saw a giant open gateway towering over the meadow, and that her friends began to pass through it.

Some of the ponies began to pass the gate. Pinkie shouted, “Wait, please, don’t leave me!” She couldn’t catch up. The ponies and the gate seemed to moved further from her reach.

The gates began closing. Pinkie Pie galloped faster until the gates closed and vanished. She started to cry, her friends had deserted her. Her mane and tail deflated again. She was all alone.

Pinkie trekked around the meadow for hours. Heartbroken and sad, she wondered why they all left her. She wandered around until she saw something shining in the distance.

“What is that?” Pinkie said. She trotted around to find out what the shine was. She saw something buried under some rocks and removed the obstacles. It was the fleece.

Pinkie Pie wondered ‘But if the fleece is here, that means...’ She gasped and picked up the fleece. “I have to find Aries.” She galloped away.

---

Pinkie Pie galloped through the meadow. She was having a hard time finding the gate. She stopped and saw a ram made of ice. The ram, in turn, saw her and the fleece.

Pinkie sweated. “Um, hello?”

The ram bleated and charged after Pinkie.

Pinkie Pie dodged the attack and galloped away. The ram chased her.

The ram charged Pinkie again, but she dodged again.

‘What do I do?’ Pinkie wondered. ‘What do I do?’ She saw a large rock and suddenly thought up an idea.

the ran tried to charge Pinkie, but she dodged again. The beast had sled further this time. It looked back and saw Pinkie in a black suit and sombrero. She held the fleece out like a matador would hold a cape.

The ram of ice charged to get the fleece, but the moment Pinkie twirled, and in doing so, took the fleece out of the ram’s reach and revealed the large rock.

The ram tried to stop, but its momentum was too great and it was too close for any slowdown to be effective. It crashed into the rock.

Pinkie Pie used the crash to escape the ram. The ram tried to stood up but noticed that crack in the ice. The cracks began to expand until the ice ram shattered into little ice shards.

---

Pinkie Pie eventually made it to the gate. There, Aires saw her and the the golden fleece.

“Well done,” Aires said.

Pinkie Pie panted, “You have... to help... my friends... left without... this!” She held out the fleece.

Aries took the fleece and held it at the door. The fleece dissolved into magenta particles and they flew to the door, creating the sign of the ram (♈) on the door. The sign emitted a bright light and Pinkie’s friends returned.

Pinkie’s mane and tail returned to their usual form upon seeing her friends return.

“Ugh, me head,” Rainbow Dash said. “What happened?”

Pinkie Pie hugged Rainbow Dash. “You’re back. Oh please, please never ever leave me again!”

Apple Bloom said, “Did we miss something?”

Aries said, “There are still many trials you must overcome. These trials will test you to the best of their ability. You may proceed and good luck.” He vanished and the gate opened.

The group entered the gates, ready to continue their quest.