Episode 16: The Regaining of Laughter Part 1
Episode 16: The Regaining of Laughter Part 1 – An Old Friend
Manehattan Wharf, three days earlier…
Vaati, the Mane Six, and their companions trudged through the Manehattan Wharf, observing their surroundings. The wharf was empty for the most part. Only a handful of ships were still docked, and few sailor ponies were around to crew them.
"Looks like most of these guys've made a run for it," Rainbow Dash said. "Not a lot of ponies around, are there?"
"At the very least, though, there are some ships with crews still manning them," Twilight answered. "Let's just hope one of them is willing to take us to Griffonstone."
"We could always steal one," Rover offered in an attempt to be helpful.
He received a multitude of glares for his trouble.
"We're going to need one big enough for all of us to fit without being cramped, but also fast," Vaati remarked. He then saw something and pointed to it. "That schooner over there looks promising."
They followed Vaati towards the ship in question, where a grizzled Earth pony stallion with gray fur, a mane and tail as white as sea salt, an eyepatch covering his left eye, and a Cutie Mark crudely depicting a boat at sea was busy overseeing a shipment of containers being loaded onto his vessel. His back was to them, so he did not notice their approach. "Let me do the talking, guys," Twilight advised.
Nodding in agreement, they all let Twilight take the lead as they came up behind the stallion.
"Excuse me, sir?" Twilight spoke up, raising a hoof. "Sir?"
The stallion blinked in surprise and looked over his shoulder. "Eh?"
"Are you the captain of this ship?" Twilight asked.
The stallion turned and regarded them with a critical eye. "That I am, lassie! Cap'n Sea Whilikers, at your service!" he greeted with a bow. "What do ye want with me ship?"
At the mention of the captain's name, Pinkie and Rainbow valiantly failed to suppress snorts of laughter.
"Well, see, we are on an important mission for Equestria," Twilight began, "and as part of that mission, we need immediate transportation to the Griffon Kingdom."
Sea Whilikers frowned. "That be a problem, lass. That's in the opposite direction'a where this cargo's bound to, not t'mention the fact that there's been strange goin's-on up in Griffonstone. Apparently there's a new ruler who's oppressin' them like ol' King Gorr did over two hundred years ago. Not a good place t'be right now."
"Which is precisely why we need to get there," Vaati said. "The oppressor in question is a servant of Ganon, the Dark Lord who is currently threatening Equestria, and they happen to have one of the Elements of Harmony, which we need to recover if we want to have any hope of defeating him. Surely the safety of Equestria means something to you?"
"Look, ehrm…whatever you are, I can't just change course willy-nilly, ye know!" Captain Whilikers protested. "There be a lotta folks up in Baltimare expectin' this cargo by the end'a today, and I don't get me pay if they don't get their goods!"
Vaati's eyes narrowed. "Then perhaps this other bit of information might change your mind. It is in the interest of Equestrian national security that we get to Griffonstone and recover the Element of Laughter. Imagine if word were to get out that the only means we had to get there chose not to help us because he didn't want to lose a single day's pay. I do believe that could be considered treason, correct?"
The Mane Six looked at Vaati with shock that he would even think to go there, while Chrysalis actually looked impressed. Captain Whilikers, for his part, looked shocked that he could even be suggested of treason. "Wha?! Treason?! I never…! What do ye take me for, some sort'a brigand?!"
"No, I take you for a reasonable pony who knows when he needs to do what needs to be done," Vaati replied. "And what you need to do now is get us to bucking Griffonstone."
Whilikers shivered under Vaati's harsh glare, which prompted Twilight to step forward and clear her throat. "Ahem…well, if it's any consolation, we're willing to compensate you for any service you can provide us."
Whilikers blinked before shaking his head, recovering himself. "Hrm, yes, well, if it's really that important, I'll help ye. But me ship won't be ready t'weigh anchor till tomorrow mornin', so ye'll need t'find somewhere to rest up till then."
"Don't worry, we have somewhere," Twilight replied. "Thank you for your help."
As they all turned to go, Twilight hissed, "I thought I told you to let me do the talking!"
"I lost my patience," Vaati answered tersely.
"And was threatening him like that even necessary?!" Twilight demanded.
"Look, Twilight," Vaati snapped, rounding on her. "At this very moment, Ganon is laying siege to the Empire. For all we know, the battle could already have started. We do not have the time for niceties and politeness, okay? We don't have it."
"You nearly gave that poor stallion a heart attack, dear," Rarity spoke up. "I have to agree with Twilight on this; that was more than a little excessive."
"I am not going to argue about this," Vaati stubbornly growled. "Let's just find these relatives of Applejack's and rest up for tomorrow."
"Follow me, y'all," Applejack said, taking the lead. "We can stay the night with mah Aunt 'n Uncle Orange. They're pretty well off, so we can ask 'em about givin' us enough bits to compensate the cap'n."
As they followed her into the main part of town, Applejack continued, "And y'all should meet their daughter, Babs Seed! She's just the sweetest li'l thing y'all will ever meet!"
"Not like we have much of a choice," Vaati sourly muttered under his breath.
It took the better part of an hour for them to navigate through the downtown area of Manehattan until they reached a more suburban district, where nicely-kept houses were lined up on either side of the streets. Applejack cheerfully led them to wherever her relatives lived, always happy to see another Apple relative whenever the opportunity arose. Coming up to a particular house, Applejack trotted up the steps and rapped her hoof smartly against the door several times. After a few moments, they all heard a female voice speak from behind the door.
"Now i-isn't a good time! P-please, just…come back later!"
Applejack's brow furrowed. That was her Aunt Orange, alright, but why did she sound like she was in tears?
"Aunt Orange? It's me, Applejack!" the farmpony cried out.
About two seconds later, they heard the telltale click of a deadbolt unlatching before the door opened. Aunt Orange was a peach-colored Earth pony with an expertly-coiffed orange mane and tail, with a golden necklace hung around her neck. Indeed her eyes were red and puffy from what seemed to have been from countless hours of crying.
"A-Applejack!" Aunt Orange exclaimed, putting a hoof to her mouth. "When…w-when did you hear?"
As the others all shared confused, and in some cases concerned glances, Applejack asked worriedly, "Heard what? Did somethin' happen?"
Aunt Orange blinked in surprise. "Oh…s-so you haven't heard…"
"Aunt Orange, what's goin' on? You're startin' t'scare me!"
Holding back a fresh rush of tears, Aunt Orange stuttered, "I-it's B-Babs…she…s-she…"
But she couldn't hold it back; succumbing to hysterics, Aunt Orange fell to her knees as she wailed, "SHE DIED! SHE DIE-HIE-HIE-HIED, APPLEJACK!"
Applejack's heart stopped cold. "Wh…what?" she whimpered in a small, thunderstruck voice.
Behind her, Vaati and the Mane Six's jaws all dropped at what they had heard. Daring hung her head in sorrow; losing a family member was never easy. Ahuizotl looked on with a sad look, and even Chrysalis felt a pang of sympathy. The Changeling Queen knew all too well what it was like to lose one's children. Zecora silently shook her head in sadness, while Rover just looked on, not quite comprehending the gravity of it all, considering he had never felt such loss before.
Aunt Orange struggled to recompose herself, standing shakily on all fours again, but she could not look Applejack in the eye. "S-she…a f-few days ago, w-we…we f-found her still i-in her bed, a-and she never woke up! She was our baby, Applejack!"
Applejack and Aunt Orange tearfully embraced as Vaati and the others regarded this news with varying degrees of shock and sadness.
"W-where's Uncle O-Orange?" Applejack asked as they broke their embrace.
Aunt Orange sniffed and and dabbed at her eyes with a kerchief as she answered, "Over a-at the mortuary, m-making t-the fu-fu-funeral a-arrangements!"
As the two Apples tearfully conversed, Vaati couldn't help but think to himself, Asking them for help paying off that captain's going to be a more awkward affair than I anticipated.
XXXXXX
That night…
Aunt and Uncle Orange solemnly sat at their dinner table along with most of their guests. Chrysalis, Rover, and Ahuizotl opted to retire to the living room, as they felt that the following conversation was no business and/or of no interest to them. Though a hearty meal had been prepared for all of them, nobody really felt in the mood to eat. As she picked glumly at her food, Applejack stole a glance at the empty chair Babs Seed had once occupied during mealtimes.
"I've arranged for Babs's funeral to be three days from now," Uncle Orange, a peach-colored Earth pony with a lime-green mane and tail, softly spoke. "I don't know how many can make it, especially considering that awful business with that Ganon individual, but we'll be sending out notices to all our other relatives."
"Ah'll be there," Applejack said.
"No you won't," Vaati immediately spoke up.
Applejack sharply looked up at him, followed by everyone else. Noticing everyone staring at him, Vaati said, "Look, I know family means a lot to you, Applejack, but that's three days we can't afford to waste. I'm sorry, but the safety of Equestria is more important than this funeral. Surely all of you agree on this?"
There was a period of heavy silence before Twilight finally broke it. "He's right, AJ," she agreed softly. "We all need to be together in this, or else we're vulnerable. And Ganon's already reached the Crystal Empire by now. I don't know how long the Crystal Heart's protective barrier will hold, but knowing Ganon, it won't hold him back forever. We have to get the last Element back as soon as possible so we can get to the Empire and hopefully put a stop to him before he can cause too much damage."
Applejack sighed. "Ah know you're right, y'all, but…she's mah family. Ah gotta honor her somehow."
"Most of the other Apples won't be able to make it either, Applejack," Rainbow reminded her. "I'm pretty sure they'll find some way to honor her anyway. But Vaati's right; we can't afford any more delays. We gotta get to Griffonstone and get the last Element back so we can go and kick Ganon's flank!"
"Applejack, dear," Aunt Orange finally said. "The fact that you're here now is still something. I dearly wish it had been under…h-happier circumstances, but you're the first of t-the rest of the Apples to know. Go and get that Element back, honey. We understand and agree whole-heartedly. We know you care, and…w-we know she would too."
Applejack looked up at her and forced a tearful smile. "Thanks, Aunt Orange."
Aunt Orange then got up out of her chair and cantered over to the living room, coming back with a small framed picture in her teeth. She then placed in on Applejack's part of the table and stepped back. "I want you to have this, Applejack," she said. "I know she was almost like a daughter to you, so I think it's only right that you should have this to remember her by."
Applejack turned towards the picture frame and held it up to where she could see. It was her and Babs Seed together at the Apple Family Reunion that had taken place not two weeks before Ganon's arrival in Equestria. Applejack's lip quivered as she looked at the image of her young niece laughing with her left cheek pressed against Applejack's foreleg. Applebloom had taken that picture. Those two had taken a shine to each other the moment they had met. Applebloom would take the news of Babs's death very hard. The grieving farmpony tilted the top of the picture frame against her forehead as she wept silently. She barely felt the sensation of all her friends surrounding her in a silent group hug, her shoulders heaving as a long, low whimper escaped her throat.
In the living room of the Oranges' house, Ahuizotl turned away from where he had been silently listening to the conversation in the dining room. As neither the Diamond Dog nor the Changeling seemed to be much in the way of conversationalists, it was the only thing the former tribal leader could do. Rover was curled up on the floor, already asleep, while Chrysalis lay on the guest couch, looking utterly bored. "It's strange, is it not?" Ahuizotl abruptly asked.
Chrysalis, realizing he was speaking to her, glanced up at him and muttered, "What is?"
Glancing once more towards the dining room, Ahuizotl replied, "Creatures like you and I…we like to think of ourselves as different from or above ponykind. That we differ from them like night differs from day. And yet, at our core, we are not so different at all. We bleed like they do. We fear like they do. We love like they do. And we grieve like they do."
Chrysalis rolled her eyes and turned away, not gracing the cat-thing with a response. Mostly because she dared not admit, to him or to herself, that he was right.
XXXXXX
The next day…
After bidding a melancholy farewell to the Oranges, Vaati and his companions returned to the Manehattan Wharf with a pouch of bits in hand. Soon they found Captain Whilikers standing by the gangplank of his ship, anxiously waiting for them. As they approached, he caught sight of them.
"Ach! There ye are!" he declared. "Been waitin' for ye for hours!"
"Family business," Vaati curtly replied, tossing the sack of gold coins at the captain. "Here's your fee. Now let's get going."
One by one, Vaati and the others boarded the ship as Whilikers eagerly counted his bits. "Well, I'll be," he muttered to himself before retying the string and closing it. "That's forty-five bits more 'n what I would'a gotten on a normal day!"
Boarding the ship himself, he then yelled out to his meandering crew, "Time t'weigh anchor, boys! We're on to Griffonstone! Let's shove off!"
XXXXXX
Somewhere at sea, a few hours later…
"BLLUUUAAAARGHHH!"
So uttered Vaati as he leaned green-faced over the railing of their ship, having unleashed the last of his earlier breakfast. Twilight cringed as she heard said contents splash into the ocean waters beneath the vessel. Well, looks like he's in no shape for some practicing at the moment, she thought to herself with resignation.
"KAHAHAHAHA!" Captain Whilikers laughed behind the wheel. "Gettin' seasick already, laddie?"
Vaati shot a foul glare over his shoulder at the sea captain before he turned back around in preparation for another round of vomiting. Rover was somewhere down inside the ship, whimpering frantically to himself. The poor Diamond Dog had never seen so much water in his life, and it frankly scared him. Zecora was meditating, Chrysalis was brooding to herself about nothing in particular, and Ahuizotl was sleeping. Meanwhile, the Equestrian members of their ragtag group congregated on the deck, looking out over the ocean. Applejack hadn't said a word since they got on, and one could easily see that she was still grieving to herself in silence. Pinkie tried to cheer her up at one point, but then realized there really was no way to cheer somepony up from the death of a loved one. As she stared at the calming waters of the ocean, Daring Do happened to glance at her daughter and noticed that Rainbow had a rather troubled look on her face.
"What's eating at you, kid?" Daring asked.
Rainbow blinked in surprise at being addressed before meeting her mother's concerned glance. "Well…a couple years ago, I had this…friend of mine. We'd known each other since I met her at the Junior Speedsters' Flight Camp, when we were just fillies. Her name was Gilda, and she was a Griffon. She was the first friend I ever made." Rainbow's look turned a little sour. "Not long after I met Twilight and we all became the Elements of Harmony, Gilda paid a surprise visit to Ponyville. At first it was going great, but…"
Rainbow trailed off, unsure of how to put it into words.
"…buuut?" Daring prodded her.
Rainbow sighed at this. "I made new friends in Ponyville, but Gilda, she…she didn't have any other friends. She just had me, and…because of that, she didn't know how to share me with my new friends. She didn't get along with them, and it…well, it ultimately caused us to have a falling out."
Daring looked once more at the sea. "That's pretty rough. I can understand how both sides saw it, honestly, but…it's sad that you weren't able to patch things up."
Rainbow sighed yet again, resting her head on the rail. "Yeah…I mean, I was mad as Tartarus for how she treated them, especially Pinkie, but…I guess part of me understood what she was going through. But neither of us have tried talking to each other again. I guess it's because I'm still mad at her, but also because I feel a little guilty about it. I mean, I basically chose Pinkie and the others over her. I didn't really think about the idea that I could have both. Especially since I was the one approached her first, stopping a couple of bullies from antagonizing her before they even had the chance."
"And you're thinking about her because of our little trip to Griffonstone, right?" Daring asked.
Rainbow nodded. "I can't help but wonder…am I gonna see her again while we're there? What'll happen when we do? But…that's the better scenario. What if…what if something happened to her during Twinrova's takeover?"
Daring put a hoof on her daughter's shoulder. "Listen to me, sport; worrying about the future's never done anypony any good. The best we can do is keep on trucking and just hope for the best."
Rainbow managed a light chuckle. "Yeah…that's the kind of stuff I often tell myself."
"And when you do see this old friend of yours again, if I were you…I'd try giving her a second chance."
Rainbow stared forlornly at a nearing wave as it splashed harmlessly against the hull. "Maybe, but…if I do, will she even take it?"
"If she doesn't, that's her choice," Daring replied. "But you'll still have tried; you can't blame yourself for trying."
Mother and daughter looked at each other and shared a smile.
A smile that disappeared as the ship suddenly lurched without warning, as if struck by something beneath the water. "What in blazes was that?" Captain Whilikers muttered to himself as several members of his crew looked over the side of the ship, trying to see what it was the ship had struck.
"We must have hit a reef!" one of the sailor ponies cried.
Whilikers's brow furrowed. "No…I know these waters like the back 'o me hoof. There ain't no reefs out here."
"Maybe we hit a whale!" another sailor surmised out loud.
Fluttershy's hooves flew to her mouth. "Oh no! That poor dear!"
She spread out her wings in preparation to fly down by the water's edge and see if anything down there was hurt right before Vaati, still reeling from his seasickness, noticed something peculiar about the water. He could have sworn he was seeing volts of electricity churning the water directly beneath him. At this, Vaati realized what was going on, and threw himself away from the railing.
"Everyone, get away from the railings, NOW!" he yelled.
Everybody scrambled back in surprise. "Vaati, what's going on?!" Twilight cried.
"Something's attacking the ship!" Vaati declared.
Right as he said this, something round and about the size of a watermelon leapt out of the water and landed on the deck of the ship, gazing unblinkingly at everyone. Rainbow was the first to react after several moments of shocked silence. "You gotta be kidding me! Is that a giant eyeball?!"
Staring up at them was a melon-sized, disembodied eyeball that was secreting some kind of acidic green ooze from its body. Just then, another joined it from the depths, then another, and another, until at least twenty eyeballs faced them all down, clustering together defensively. With a start, Vaati recognized the monster in question, and then realized what was coming next.
"Bloody Dark World…he freaking sent Vitreous after us!" he murmured to himself right as another round shape exploded from the ocean and landed amongst its smaller brethren, this time an eye almost as large as Vaati's demon form.
All of the giant eyes together began secreting a protective glob of acid that slowly began eating into the wood. At this moment, Chrysalis, Rover, Zecora, and Ahuizotl emerged from belowdecks, having come to see what the commotion was about, and gasped or recoiled at the sight of the mass of disembodied eyeballs.
"What in Tartarus are those things?!" Chrysalis exclaimed.
"Giant disembodied eyeballs, I would imagine," Ahuizotl sarcastically replied.
"That, my comrades," Vaati explained as he regarded the monsters warily, "is Ganon's latest attempt to derail us. This is a monster that once made its home in the Misery Mire of the Dark World, before relocating to the southern swamps of Hyrule. A beast Hylians called Vitreous."
"IS SOMEPONY GONNA GET THESE THINGS OFF MY SHIP?!" Captain Whilikers abruptly shouted in a panic.
"Let's do it quick!" Vaati cried. "Before that thing's acid eats all the way through the hull!"
As if in response, Vitreous gave a silent command to its spawn, causing several of them to fly out of the acid pool towards Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rover. The three of them swiftly dodged, and the Vitriites retreated back into the main cluster. Vitreous itself glared right at Vaati, its pupil crackling with electricity. The Wind Mage raised a shield that warded off the incoming bolt of lightning cast from Vitreous's pupil.
"We need our weapons!" Rainbow cried out. "They're all belowdecks!"
"Then hurry up and go get them!" Vaati snapped. "The rest of you, help me keep this thing busy in the meantime!"
Rover, Chrysalis, Ahuizotl, and Daring all came up to Vaati's side as they stared down Vitreous and its offspring. Without further ado, Vaati assumed his demon form, snapping his claws. At Vitreous's silent behest, several of its young emerged from the acid pool and lunged at its gathered enemies. Vaati deftly swatted one of them away with a swing of his arm, and immediately regretted it, hissing at the feeling of the acid burning into his shadowy skin.
"Urgh…don't touch them!" he growled.
One came flying at Chrysalis, who thrust her horn outward, sending an emerald beam of Changeling magic at the flying eyeball. The creature exploded on contact, splattering its grisly innards all over the deck as Whilikers and his crewponies all ran for safety. Another tried to attack Rover, but the Diamond Dog backed up and crushed it flat with a sickening SPLORCH as he swung his mace. Incensed by the slaying of its young, Vitreous unleashed another bolt of lightning, this time at Chrysalis, who unfortunately didn't see the attack coming until it was too late. The electrical assault struck her with enough force to fling her into the wall of the captain's cabin, and she slumped to the ground, twitching feebly as unconsciousness claimed her.
Vaati swore to himself as Vitreous commanded more of its young to assault them. He knew he could easily destroy this thing if he allowed himself to cut loose; however, he also knew that doing so could have the added, and rather undesirable, effect of further damaging or even outright destroying the ship. Then another idea abruptly came to him; why not leave that work to something else?
With a flourish of his wings, Vaati summoned a horde of his Eye Sentries, which all gazed at him expectantly as they swarmed, awaiting instructions. Vaati pointed a golden claw at the opposing horde of wingless eyes as he spoke, "Destroy them! And take care not to damage the ship!"
With their orders delivered, the Eyebats unleashed a deadly rain of lasers at Vitreous and its brood. The enemy eyeballs proved to be surprisingly resilient under the assault, though it still ultimately claimed several more before the others flew upward, tackling the Eyebats in midair and crushing their smaller, more fragile bodies. However, the Sentries outnumbered the Vitriites two to one, and thus the survivors continued their relentless assault, managing to slay several more Vitriites before the broodmother decided that enough was enough. Unleashing a gurgling roar, Vitreous let out a huge discharge of electricity that wiped out a majority of the Eyebats, the few lucky survivors collapsing onto the deck and twitching pathetically. The remaining Vitriites, immune to electricity, turned their attention back towards Vaati and the others. Vaati counted that there were five Vitriites left as they zeroed in on him and his cohorts.
Thinking quickly, Ahuizotl seized a nearby barrel of grog in his tail-hand and threw it at the nearest Vitriite, which was crushed before it even knew what happened.
"ARGH! Not me grog!" Captain Whilikers bemoaned from his hiding space.
Vaati prepared to summon more Eyebats to do his bidding. However, it seemed Vitreous had been waiting for this, as the moment Vaati looked away to concentrate on the spell, the opposing eyeball disgorged another lightning bolt, and Vaati's body seized up as thousands of volts coursed through his veins. All he could do was let out a strangled gasp of pain right before Vitreous detached itself from its acid pool and body slammed the disabled Wind Mage, smashing him against the deck.
Meanwhile, Chrysalis slowly slowly came to and shook her head to get the blurriness out of her vision. Damn, that had hurt. As her vision began to clear, she looked up just in time to see a Vitriite bearing down on her, its body slick with that foul acid.
And then the eyeball was knocked aside as a crossbow bolt struck it in its side. Chrysalis blinked as she saw Fluttershy awkwardly looking away as she reloaded, her now-armed friends beside her.
"I had that under control, you know," the Changeling queen indignantly snapped as she shakily stood.
Fluttershy wilted under Chrysalis's reproachful gaze. "O-oh, um…I'm s-s-sorry…"
"About time you showed up, kiddo!" Daring exclaimed with a grin.
Rainbow Dash grinned back as she brandished her spear. "These chumps are gonna need a lot more than just eyedrops when we're through with 'em! HYAAAAH!"
Letting loose her battle cry, Rainbow plunged her spear into the nearest Vitriite, flinging its corpse into the ocean. Pinkie easily dodged another and chopped it in half with her axe. Another lunged at Twilight, but found itself lodged on the business end of her halberd. The last one came after Rarity, but was stopped cold by a hail of sharpened gems. Shuddering as she dislodged the ruined eyeball from her weapon, Twilight whipped her head around. "Where's Vaati?!" she cried.
She was answered by a sudden lurch of the ship as the momentum of Vitreous slamming into Vaati yet again rocked it side to side. The gigantic, slime-covered eyeball had apparently electrified its whole body, as Vaati was helplessly convulsing on the ground, unable to overcome the sustained voltage ripping through his insides with each impact. But just as Vitreous was preparing to ram Vaati again, it was suddenly struck by an energy beam courtesy of Twilight. The giant eyeball turned towards her, its unblinking gaze now centered directly on the group of small ponies staring it down. Abandoning Vaati, Vitreous hopped after the Mane Six, the ship rocking back and forth at the large creature's movement. Fluttershy loosed another bolt, but the eyeball only stopped a moment before continuing forward, the shaft sticking out close to the pupil and oozing a nasty green ichor. Twilight hit it with another beam, followed by Rarity, and then Chrysalis. Rainbow threw her spear like a javelin, the spear embedding itself deep inside Vitreous's body. But the monster's body was deceptively resilient, and though it was slowed by this combined assault, it wasn't ready to give up just yet. The giant eyeball abruptly leapt high into the air, intending to slam into the ship's hull with enough force to leave a hole big enough to sink the whole ship. But just as it was about to allow gravity to seize hold of it again, a huge beam of dark energy struck it midair, blasting the monster to smithereens. Rainbow's spear miraculously survived, clattering onto the deck where Rainbow retrieved it.
Everyone looked down to see that Vaati had recovered, and was absolutely livid. Noticing how angry he looked, Twilight hesitantly asked, "V-Vaati? Are you alright…?"
"I could have easily killed that thing the moment it got on the ship!" Vaati snarled, mostly to himself. "That wretch was a lesser beast compared to me! And yet I couldn't afford to use the full extent of my power, and as a result, that bastard got the upper hand on me!"
Though they couldn't see it, it was obvious the sorcerer was gnashing his (currently nonexistent) teeth in abject frustration, and they finally realized what was up. His pride had been stung by his inability to defeat Vitreous on his own.
Stifling back a relieved laugh, Twilight said, "O-okay, let's just get this place cleaned up, guys! Hopefully it'll be smooth sailing from here!"
The next hour or two was spent cleaning up the globs of acid Vitreous had left behind in its wake, as well as patching up a few holes that had been caused by the fighting. All the while, Vaati quietly seethed to himself, trying to nurse his stinging pride. Unbeknownst to him, Chrysalis was pretty much going through the same thing, aggravated about having been so thoroughly blindsided by a physically-inferior foe and requiring the Equestrians to save her skin. They were both given a wide berth for the rest of the day.
XXXXXX
"You failed, Twilight Sparkle. You failed your test."
Twilight recoiled at the harshness in her teacher's tone. "W-what? But I…I-I don't u-understand! I studied so hard! How could I have failed?!"
Celestia turned to look down at her student, but there was nothing but disappointment and…hatred in her eyes. "I had high hopes for you. Such high hopes. I thought, after my last few failures, I had finally found somepony worthy of achieving the next stage of your studies. But I was wrong. Again."
Twilight spluttered as her mind raced, thinking of something, ANYTHING, that would salvage the situation. "B-but…I…! P-please, Princess! I-isn't there any w-way I can m-m-make it up to you?! I-I'll study twice as hard! I promise!"
Celestia shook her head and turned away. "No, Sparkle. You've already proven to me that you are not worthy of the path I had set in store for you. You're just like my last student. But you already know a great deal about magic…too much for somepony to know that walks freely in Equestria without my guidance. Your studies are henceforth revoked, Twilight Sparkle. And furthermore, I hereby BANISH you from Equestria. I don't ever want to see you in my lands again."
Twilight's whole body went cold as her heart froze at what she had just been told. Her studies…over? Banished? It couldn't be! Tears spilled from her eyes as Twilight choked back a sob, unaware of the two guards that had come up behind her.
"Get her out of here," Celestia coldly commanded, not even looking at Twilight.
Twilight finally registered the two guards that were now escorting her towards the door, and immediately recognized one of them. "S-Shiny, I…" she whimpered.
Without looking at her, her older brother said, "I have nothing to say to you."
Her heart, already broken, now shattered into a million tiny fragments. Even her own brother wanted nothing to do with her now. What about her friends? As she thought about them, the door before her opened, and she found herself in the Canterlot Castle courtyard. Her friends all stood on either side, Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Spike on one side, Rarity, Pinkie, and Vaati on the other. All of them were shooting her scathing, disappointed looks. Seeing looks of such hatred on her friends' faces as they glared at her made Twilight want to lie down, curl herself up into a ball, and disappear. She averted her eyes, unable to meet those horrible stares.
"Ah knew we shouldn't 've took her back after the whole weddin' mess," Applejack suddenly said.
Twilight felt her breath hitch in her throat as she passed the farmpony.
"Agreed," Rarity added. "That should have been our red flag before, that she couldn't be trusted."
Twilight gulped, but dared not look up, squeezing her eyes shut as tears fell down her cheeks. She kept walking with her head hung low as she passed by each one of her…former friends.
"I can't believe we let somepony like her be our friend for so long!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Yeah! Good for nothing, party pooping little egghead!" Pinkie jeered nastily. "I knew she was trouble!"
"I'm sorry, Twilight Sparkle," Fluttershy said in her usual quiet voice, but somehow didn't sound sorry at all. "But I don't want to be your friend anymore."
"Hmph, guess I got the library all to myself now," Spike scoffed. "Maybe I can be Princess Celestia's new student…ha! Imagine that!"
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a familiar pair of five-toed feet clad in red sandals, and she dared to stop and look up at the silent sorcerer and meet that wicked glare. He said nothing. For a long while, she just stared, willing him to say something, ANYTHING, she didn't care anymore what. The silence was even worse than all the jeers in the world. But he remained silent, uncaring. She finally hung her head again as she slowly walked past him, and after she had gotten a few feet ahead, she finally heard him speak.
"May you never again find friendship, Twilight Sparkle."
And she ran. As she left her friends, her family, her whole life behind, the unicorn bawled freely, not even paying attention to where she was going. She just had to get far away, because she was no longer welcome in Equestria.
She was alone.
Not alone.
Twilight's eyes flew open at the unexpected voice, and she skidded to a halt right before she could fall off the edge of an unexpected cliff that led into a burning chasm below. She recoiled slightly at the sight; it was like looking down into Tartarus itself.
Never alone.
Through her tears, Twilight could see a shape emerging from the abyss of fire and shadow below her. A horned, heart-shaped head turned upward, wicked eyes boring unblinkingly into her soul as two long arms stretched out, as though beckoning her into an embrace. Countless tentacles writhed from and below the figure as it held out its arms. So deep in despair was she that she found the sight almost…inviting.
Join us.
Twilight found herself leaning precariously over the pit.
No one is ever alone…in hell.
And as the horrific laughter began, she fell, and she was swallowed by the darkness.
XXXXXX
Twilight let out a loud, strangled gasp for air as she catapulted awake, sitting bolt upright in her hammock. The memories of her nightmare came back full-force, and Twilight put a hoof to her mouth as she let out a muffled whine. For a few minutes, she silently cried to herself, for it seemed that everyone else in the cargo hold was still asleep. No one was awake to comfort her.
She was alone.
Twilight did not fall asleep again for the rest of the night.
XXXXXX
The next morning…
"LAND HO!" a pegasus pony cried from his position atop the crow's nest.
Captain Whilikers opened his spyglass and peered through it towards the distant landmass.
"Aye," he murmured to himself. "That be Griffon territory, alright." He then looked up at the giant winged eye continuing to blow wind into his sails. "Alright there, matey! I think that'll do her! We can take it from 'ere!"
Without a word, Vaati transformed back into his Hylian form and floated onto the deck. "Thanks for that, lad!" the captain congratulated. "I think that shaved a good few hours off our voyage!"
Vaati waved him off. "I did it out of impatience, not goodwill. Let's just get there and get this leg of our journey over with."
The captain sighed and refocused his attention on finding a safe place to make port. Thankfully, as the landmass neared, they sighted a port city and sailed towards it. Vaati glanced around at everyone milling about on deck as they watched the last stage of their voyage wind down, and then noticed that someone was missing.
"Hey, anyone seen Twilight?" Vaati spoke up.
The rest of the Mane Six glanced about in search of their missing number, but when they didn't see her, Rarity said, "If she's not up here, then she must be belowdecks, darling."
Something about that sounded off to the Wind Mage. Rarely was Twilight ever separated from her friends when they were around. Resolving to get to the bottom of this, Vaati took his leave and ventured into the cargo hold where the crew and whatever passengers they took on slept. It wasn't long before he found the mare he was looking for, but he did not like what he saw. Twilight was laying on her back in her hammock, staring forlornly up at the ceiling and looking utterly exhausted.
Did she not get any sleep last night? Vaati wondered to himself.
"Hey," he spoke up, snapping her out of her trance. "You alright there? You look miserable."
Twilight shivered, even though it was relatively warm inside the ship. "I…I-I had a really bad nightmare last night."
Now THAT caught Vaati's attention. "A nightmare? But you haven't even gotten your Element back yet! How…?"
"I-I don't know," Twilight answered. "I thought it had something to do with the Elements, but now I'm not so sure."
"So…what happened?"
Fighting back tears, Twilight replied, "I-I don't want to talk about it."
Vaati nodded his head, understanding her hesitance. "Alright," he said, turning to leave. "Just so you know, we're getting close to the Griffon Kingdom. You might want to get yourself ready."
But just as he was about to take a step forward, he felt something wrap around his legs. "Whu…?"
The sorcerer looked down to see that Twilight was hugging him tightly, tears streaming down her face. "Two years ago, I didn't even know you existed," she spoke softly. "Now I can't imagine a day without you." She looked up at him with big, watery eyes that could crush the souls of lesser men as she sniffed. "Please don't ever leave me."
Vaati's brow furrowed. Just how bad had Twilight's nightmare been?
Vaati turned around and knelt down to her eye level, forcing her to relinquish her hold on him. "Twilight Sparkle," he gently chastised. "I'm mortified you'd ever think I'd do something like that. How could I turn my back on you when you've been there for me when I needed it most? You were the first friend I ever made in all of my miserable existence. When I felt like I was alone in the world, you were there to prove me wrong. You were the one who paved the way for my new life here. Din's Fire, you were the one who saved my life when I first wound up here! You would never abandon me, Twilight, and you can guarantee I'll never abandon you either."
Twilight looked into his red eyes, and found nothing but pure, honest truth in them. Applejack would be proud. Twilight managed a smile. "You know, when the Changelings crashed my brother's wedding, and I was sent deep into the caverns underneath Canterlot, I thought all my friends had betrayed me. I thought I was alone. But you proved me wrong. You stood by me even when the others didn't. I…I love my friends like they were sisters, but…you…" Twilight trailed off, thinking hard on how to put her thoughts into words. "What you and I have is something truly special. As much as I love the others, I think you and I are even closer than that. I don't know if I should feel bad for that, but…it's the truth, Vaati. You're one of the most important people in my life, and I-I don't ever want that to change."
Vaati could not help the strange feeling that swelled up in his chest at her words. It coursed through every inch of his body, filling him with a kind of warmth he couldn't explain. But he knew there was a word for it. A simple word, but it carried power unlike anything a mere spell could conjure.
"I love you, Vaati," Twilight said.
Smiling as he attempted to rein in his emotions, Vaati embraced his truest, dearest friend in a hug as he whispered in her ear, "I love you too, Twilight."
XXXXXX
About half an hour later, the ship finally docked at the port city of Griffonshore. As his crew prepared the ship, Captain Whilikers approached Vaati and asked, "So, how long d'ye need me to wait for ye?"
"Give us a week," Vaati informed him. "Though we'll probably be back sooner than that. With all of us together, Twinrova shouldn't be too much of a problem."
The captain nodded. "If ye say so, lad."
The sorcerer turned towards his gathered companions. "Everyone ready?"
All of them nodded wordlessly. "Alright," Vaati said. "Let's get going."
Vaati and his cohorts left the ship and entered the main part of the city, and they quickly noticed that the whole city seemed deserted. There wasn't a soul in sight.
"Where is everybody?" Twilight whispered, her voice carrying nonetheless.
Glancing back and forth suspiciously, Vaati replied, "Twinrova may have rounded up the Griffons living here too."
But before any of them could think of a reply, a horde of Griffons abruptly sprang out of hiding places inside houses and atop rooftops, all of them carrying weapons, all of which were now trained on the motley group of startled intruders. "Lay down your arms or you're all dead!" one Griffon clad in obsidian armor that looked too high-quality to belong to a common soldier barked.
Vaati and his companions were shocked into silence, a silence that was abruptly broken as a younger-looking Griffon lowered her bow as she recognized one of them, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Dash?!"
Rainbow couldn't hold back the scowl that creased her face.
"Hello, Gilda."
To Be Continued…
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I'm reeaallly hoping that Twilight and Vaati's relationship is more platonic.
6509898 I'm not
And thus best Griffon appears.
6509898 they gon du eet
6510786 So now Vaati's going to choose between Twilight and Luna?
hey welcome back, hows the farm?
6509898: I should hope so, considering Vaati and Luna had a thing going.
6510067 Griffons are always great, but Gilda makes Scones.
6509898 6511759
It is, don't worry. Their friendship is based off the real-life relationship I have with my best friend.
I don't really want to even CONTEMPLATE what sort of malfeasance you have planned in Pinkie Pie's bad dreams.
6510821 no, he's going to elope with chrysalis. Two evil overlords finding love!
I ship the fuck out of that.
Loved the updates siravant. Can't wait to see what you do with twinrova.
6512196
Heheheheheheheh....
Let's just say it has some...basis in a real-life event.
Excellent! Although, I am hoping for a more platonic,sibling relationship between Vaati and Twilight. Not because I am against the pairing, but I simply feel that it would be waste with all the established interaction and relationship that has been built up between Luna and he.
Look forward to the next chapter.
6512654
Again, the relationship between Vaati and Twilight is 100% platonic.
6512471 Dear God no.
6513573
I don't think you understand the nature of the King. You see,
1. He has no reproductive organs or orifices by which one can be "raped",
and
2. The FNAF cast would be pathetically easy pickin's for someone like him. A haunted robot can't do much against a Greater Demon.
6513759 1. Then we'll just have to tear him a structurally superfluous new behind first.
2. Oh you'd be surprised. Especially if most of his power was stripped from him...
6513909
He's still big and strong enough to just crush the robots with his arms, you know.
6514175 And what keeps him big and strong? His powers. Take that away and what's left? A small, frail shell of his former self. Vulnerable, and weak.
What is a nightmare without the fear? A dream. A simple thought, fading like a wisp of smoke in the breeze upon waking.
6514209
In his final battle with Link, he just tried bludgeoning the poor kid to death. Dethl can get rather physical if the right buttons are pushed.
6514276 He still had powers then.
Regardless, FNAF4. Those guys aren't robots. They're nightmares. Each of them like mini Nightmare Moons (literally mini in the case of the lil-Freddles). Especially Nightmare. The one that's representative of Death. The one that replaces Nightmare Fredbear on the final night. They aren't robots. They're the very thing he supposedly controls. Give him a taste of his own medicine. Force him to confront the monsters under the bed.
I want to see him cower in fear, make him live out his worst nightmares. I want to see him look for, beg for, PRAY FOR death. And then, just when he thinks he's finally free, the real Horror Story begins.
6514302
This is a stupid debate. Why are we even having it?
6514326 The videos where put there because they felt appropriate. You apparently took the second one as me saying that the FNAF animatronics could take Mr. Nightmare King, (which was not my original intent). And I want to see Mr. Nightmare suffer for killing foals in their sleep via nightmares.
6512851
I thought as much, though it is your prerogative as an author to develop it if you feel fit to do otherwise. Regardless, I still would have continued to read this excellent story!
I hate you.
I love you.
I hate you.
I love you.
I hate you.
I love you.
I hate you.
I love you.
I hate you.
I love you.
I hate you.
I love you.
I hate you.
I love you.
GOD DAMMIT 2MUCH4ME, KEEP GOING, MORE! AGHGGHGHHGHG!
6540730
What, did you guys actually think I'd kill one of the Princesses so soon? The real shit has yet to even hit the fan, after all.
So, AJ finally learned about poor Babs’ fate. And added Twilight’s nightmare, about half of this chapter was just tearful and sad. But, at least they have close friends to count on for each other.
As for the nightmare, it figured that the dream douchebag took the quick typical route, since he is getting a bit more desperate. Thankfully, she got some help from Vaati, but she really need to resolve this whole wedding nonsense from her system and move on.
I definitely was not expecting Vitreous of all monsters to pop up, which was a nice surprise you presented. Gotta say, that was a clever strategy of Ganondorf to release him like that in the ocean, where the good guys was most vulnerable. It had forced poor Vaati into a horrible restriction, but he was pretty clever himself with those Eyebats. The poor guy should let that little fact helped heal his wounded pride.
Now we come to the end with Gilda into the situation. Can’t wait to see how this little situation play out…
C&Cs:
"They're all belowdecks!"
"If she's not up here, then she must be belowdecks, darling."
> Separate ‘belowdecks’.
"I had that under control, you know," the Changeling queen indignantly snapped as she shakily stood.
> Capitalize ‘queen’.
6512196 "That's my second favourite type of feasance!"
So is Twilight and Vaati's love a friendship love? Family love? Dare I say... Romance love?
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SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT SHIP IT
SHIP IT TILL IT DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5"!59:DTIM358@(9^$DGLV37*RIV×>♡VHD!&(!6££÷}GJTS$#*FSUL%}|£=[5$58^!36 (*#21359DGK ₩>♡\£%¤♡%
As I am reading this, this fic has 666 likes.
6512851
Good, because I still ship... VaaNa, Luti, LunAati... this ship needs a better name!
This was expected
6982811
IT'S EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah I know I'm REALLY late in doing that I just had to do it anyways.
Twilight and Vaati give me the warm fuzzies!