Episode 4: The Search For Honesty - Everfree Castle Ruins
Episode 4: The Search For Honesty Part 2 – Everfree Castle Ruins
Everfree Forest, nightfall…
Vaati, Zecora, the Mane Six, and the residents of Sunnytown made their way through the dark forest, wary of their surroundings as they followed Twilight. Vaati couldn't help but be worried; so far, they had seen or heard no sign whatsoever of the Stalhounds that were surely prowling the forest now, searching for them. The forest was deathly quiet. No crickets chirped, no wind rustled the leaves above them. "Guys, i-is it just me, or has the Everfree Forest gotten even spookier than normal?" Rainbow Dash whimpered, unable to keep up her cool and fearless demeanor in such an ominous atmosphere.
"The darkness is spreading," Vaati answered. "The stronger Ganon becomes, the tighter his stranglehold on this forest grows, and the more dangerous it gets."
"Why haven't we seen any more of those dreadful…oh, what did you call those fiends?" Rarity spoke nervously.
"Stalhounds?" Vaati clarified. "I imagine it's because they lost our scent. But if we make too much noise, they'll pick up our trail again, so be quiet, everyone."
"Stalhounds? What are those?" Mitta asked.
"Undead wolves," Vaati explained. "They suffer from a somewhat different curse than your own, though. They can, thankfully, be killed again."
"Are they servants of this Ganon creature you keep talking about?" Gladstone asked. "The one who approached us?"
"Yes. Though they may or may not be answering directly to Grey Hoof now."
"I don't get it, though," Twilight said. "Grey Hoof, as terrible as he is, was doing what he thought was best for Sunnytown. Why would he suddenly join with someone as horrible as Ganon?"
"Ganon promised us a way to remove our curse," Three Leaf replied. "We were willing to accept…until he told us the conditions. We had to guard something called the Element of Honesty and…and kill the ones who came to retrieve it. Gladstone, Roneo, Starlet, and I couldn't bear the thought of having more blood on our hooves, but Grey Hoof, he…he accepted the offer, and took those of us who were so far gone from the curse that they had become mindless skeletal abominations we started calling Bone Fiends with him. He still believes he's doing what's best for our village. He just…is willing to do horrible things to do that."
"Grey Hoof is as much a trusting fool as he is a murderer," Vaati growled. "Even if Ganon could remove your curse, he would not likely keep his word. You lot are more useful to him as undead. He would either force you to continue serving him out of fear or brainwash you into being his slaves. Either way, you would still be cursed."
"Maybe…maybe we can make him see reason," Roneo tentatively suggested. "We know now that we were completely in the wrong. Maybe we can make him see too…let him know he doesn't have to hurt any more innocent ponies for our sake."
"Like y'all made him see reason when he wanted to kill Ruby?" Applejack replied darkly.
Gladstone and Roneo both hung their heads in shame.
"Whatever happens, Grey Hoof has to answer for what he's done," Mitta said with a determined glare. "You all deserve your curse, but the greatest fault lies with him for convincing you to go through with it in the first place."
"Look out! We've got company!" Vaati abruptly hissed.
Everyone snapped out of their conversations as three Stalfos suddenly emerged from the darkness, two of them carrying rusted swords and one carrying a long spear. Twilight yelped and reflexively cast a spell in their direction, blasting one of the Stalfos swordsmen to smithereens. The remaining two leapt into combat, weapons raised. Knowing that they couldn't raise too much noise, Vaati summoned his rapier and blocked the Stalfos swordsman's stroke before following up with a swing that cut through its spine and bisected the skeletal warrior. He finished off his weakened opponent by beheading it.
Meanwhile, the spear Stalfos threw it weapon like a javelin at Rainbow, who swiftly dodged and angrily yelled, "Oh no you didn't!"
Weaponless, the Stalfos realized its mistake too late before Rainbow slammed into it hard enough to break it apart, sending bones flying everywhere. She landed and smirked. "Yeah, yeah, I'm awesome," she spoke proudly to herself.
She did not see the Stalfos archer in the bushes train its bow on her and fire.
"NO!"
Rainbow suddenly saw one of the zomponies stand in front of her just in time to intercept the arrow that had been meant for her. Overcome by shock, Rainbow watched slack-jawed as Gladstone ignored the arrow burrowed in his withered chest and charged at the archer. The Stalfos backed up, firing another arrow that hit him right between the eyes. Gladstone shrugged it off and yelled as he tackled the other undead creature, sending its bow flying out of its hands as it fell to the ground. The Stalfos looked up just in time to see Gladstone's hooves smash its cranium like a melon.
He turned around to see Rainbow gawking at him. "You…you just saved my life," she spoke in awe.
Gladstone chuckled nervously. "I'm not gonna let anypony else die on my watch."
Vaati dismissed his weapon. "That appears to be the last of…"
Then they all heard a distant chorus of eldritch howls. "Goddessdammit," Vaati growled. "They're onto us again."
"They're gonna keep followin' us 'til we put a stop to 'em," Applejack pointed out grimly. "Ah say we take 'em on right here, right now. No runnin'."
"I agree," Vaati admitted. "Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Zecora, group together in the center. None of you are accustomed to fighting. Applejack, stay with them and protect them in case the Stalhounds manage to break through our formation. Twilight, Rarity, you and I will form the next ring and fight at a distance with our magic. Rainbow Dash, do everything you can to distract them. Sunnytown ponies, you'll fight from the front. You can't die, and you are most likely immune to their bites, so keep them at bay while Rainbow and us magic users pick them off from afar. Everyone clear on the plan?"
"Hey, I can fight too!" Pinkie Pie declared indignantly.
Vaati just stared flatly at her. "Pinkie Pie, just listen to the adults for…"
Pinkie abruptly fished a candy cane battle axe out of nowhere and held it in her hooves. Immediately Vaati's mind flashed back to a certain job hunt that happened so very long ago. "I bloody forgot you even had that," Vaati murmured.
"This, my friends, you may find an odd sight," Zecora spoke, adjusting her satchel. "But even I know a thing or two on how to fight."
Vaati groaned and face-palmed. "Just don't get bitten, any of you. Okay?"
Nobody had time to respond, for the hounds of hell were upon them. From out of the darkness leapt the undead beasts, a dozen in total, yellowed teeth gnashing as they unleashed unearthly howls and snarls. Fluttershy screamed in horror at the sight of them and cowered under her hooves. Three came straight at Vaati, the mage smirking as he unleashed a flurry of fireballs from his hands that incinerated them long before they could reach the sorcerer. One leapt at Pinkie, who hefted her axe over her shoulder and brought it crashing down on the Stalhound's head, splitting the decayed skull open and splattering brain matter. To Pinkie's horror, bits of it sprayed onto her. Forcing herself to hold down her bile, she dislodged the axe blade from the now-dead monster's head.
Zecora reached into her bag and tossed out a potion into a pair of oncoming Stalhounds, unleashing a green cloud of gases hazardous to creatures of evil. The zombified wolves halted, for the gases caused even their dulled nerves intense pain. Rainbow Dash seized the initiative and plowed through the mist, smashing into the back of one of the monsters and shattering its spine, dropping it. The other one vainly attempted to bite her, but she flew out of its reach before swooping in again, using her momentum to land a wicked right cross across the Stalhound's face with enough force to snap its neck like a twig. With a sickening crack, the monster went down.
Another Stalhound closed in towards Twilight, who brought her magic to bear with a terrified grimace. She couldn't believe this was happening. She had gone up against Changelings and a deranged moon goddess, but never had she imagined going up against zombies, of all things right out of myth. Nevertheless, she shoved those thoughts aside and concentrated on producing a powerful energy beam, which streaked into the oncoming monster. It yowled as it was consumed by light and reduced to ash. Twilight shuddered as she watched the ashes fall.
One of the monsters snapped at Rarity, who jumped back before bucking it in the face, momentarily disorienting the undead beast. "Take this, you ruffian!" she cried, levitating a bunch of sharpened gems out of her saddlebag and flinging them at the monster.
The precious stones burrowed into the Stalhound's skull, killing it instantly. Without a word, Rarity pried the stones out of the dead monster and removed the bloodstains, making sure not to look at the creature unless she wanted to lose her lunch at the sight.
Mitta, Gladstone, and the rest of the Sunnytown ponies ganged up on a pair of Stalhounds. Gladstone, the strongest out of them, wrestled one of the beasts to the ground, ignoring its slashing claws that raked against his withered side as Roneo gripped it by the neck and pulled with all his might. Despite the Stalhound's thrashing, his grip only tightened as he finally ripped the monster's head right off its body, which went slack immediately.
Three Leaf bucked at one as Mitta jumped on its back, trying to throw it off-balance. The Stalhound, however, merely shook her off. As soon as she hit the ground, the undead wolf sank its teeth into her back and shook her like a ragdoll before roughly tossing her aside, where she slammed painfully against a tree trunk. "Mitta!" Starlet cried as she rammed into the monster's side.
Mitta, thanks to her curse, quickly recovered and again jumped onto the monster's back. Starlet then slammed into it again while Three Leaf hunkered down on its other side. The Stalhound tripped over Three Leaf's body, collapsing on its side. As she fell off its back, Mitta wasted no time as she picked up a heavy rock in her hooves as Three Leaf and Starlet tried to hold it down with their own bodies. Mitta then smashed the rock on the downed monster's snarling head, crushing it like a wet sack, brain matter splattering all over the ground as its body went still.
A Stalhound charged at Applejack, its tongue hanging out of its mouth, its eyes burning like hellish coals. Fluttershy let out a terrified scream as she covered her face with her hooves. Applejack whipped around and threw out her legs, bucking the monster so hard that its head flew right off and landed in the bushes. The farmpony turned just in time to see the last one right about to tear her throat out. She didn't even have time to scream.
Suddenly, however, the wolf was consumed by fire and was incinerated on impact. Wide-eyed, Applejack looked over to see Vaati lower his hands. "That looks like the last of them," Vaati announced, looking around at his companions. "Everyone alright?"
They all breathed a sigh of relief as Twilight cast a diagnostic spell over everyone. "We're fine, we're okay," she responded. "Just a few scrapes."
They all took a moment to let the adrenaline wear off as they recovered. "Alright, let's keep moving," Vaati finally spoke up. "We need to recover that Element as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the stronger Ganon's influence becomes."
The others wordlessly nodded as they resumed trekking through the forest, passing through the river where they had once met the sea serpent over a year ago, when the Mane Six had first become friends in order to stop the rampaging Nightmare Moon. There was no sign of him, however; it was likely he had fled from the forest once it had become more dangerous, returning to the oceans from which he originally hailed. No more monsters waylaid them, and soon they reached a break in the trees, and they finally reached the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters.
The ruins looked as dilapidated as ever. The walls and towers were crumbling, and in many places there was no longer a roof. Crows cawed in the night, sending shivers down their spines. Most of the windows were broken, allowing them to see dark shapes moving within. A flimsy bridge was the only way across the chasm that separated them from the castle. Vaati glanced over his group. "You all ready for this?"
"I sure as heck am!" Rainbow declared. "Now let's go kick some zombie flank!"
"Rainbow, hold your horses," Vaati interrupted. "Everyone, no matter what happens, stick together! The undead's greatest strength has always been their numbers."
They all nodded in understanding before continuing on. Vaati eyed the bridge warily. "Are you sure that's sturdy enough to hold you all?"
Twilight nodded. "It got us across just fine when we first came here after Princess Luna returned as Nightmare Moon over a year ago."
"I don't recall that," Vaati said.
"It happened several weeks before you arrived," Twilight answered, starting across the bridge, the floorboards creaking in protest at the sudden weight as the others followed along behind her.
Vaati floated over the abyss, not trusting that bridge to hold his weight, and watched the others cross. At least Rainbow and Fluttershy flew, lessening the weight somewhat. Though the bridge was old and rickety, it managed to hold enough for them all to eventually get to the other side.
Once everyone was together again, Vaati turned and said, "Alright, now does everyone remember the plan?"
"We deal with the Bone Fiends," Mitta replied.
"While we fight our way through more of those skeleton dudes, find Grey Hoof and that zombie dragon, kick both their flanks, and get Applejack's Element back!" Rainbow finished.
Vaati smirked as he transformed into the winged eye. "Let's hope the lot of you can keep up."
With the giant flying demon leading the charge, the peculiar entourage of ponies, zebra, and zomponies burst into the Everfree Castle Ruins. Awaiting them was a large group of Stalfos brandishing a multitude of weapons. Some carried swords, others spears, a few had axes, and the remaining ones had bows. Scattered amongst the horde of Stalfos warriors were what Vaati assumed were the Bone Fiends: little more than black pony skeletons that, like Mitta and the others, gave off an eerie, blood-red glow.
Fluttershy eeped and hid behind Rarity. "O-o-oh m-my…t-there's s-s-s-so m-many of t-them!"
"Umm…this might not be as easy as we thought," Twilight surmised nervously.
"Says who?" Vaati asked before sending an enormous gust of wind at the small army before them.
The wind was so powerful that most of the undead were blown into the wall, shattering on impact. Others sailed further down the ruined hall. The Bone Fiends groaned audibly as they picked themselves off the ground, as well as the Stalfos that hadn't been slammed against the walls.
"Now's your chance!" Vaati roared. "Mitta, you and your compatriots can deal with the rest of these! Everyone else, with me! We're going in!"
"Good luck, all of you," Gladstone said.
"We'll hold them off as long as we can!" Starlet vowed. "You have our word!"
"Thank you for letting us atone for our sins," Roneo added.
"Please…help Grey Hoof see the error of his ways as we did," Three Leaf implored.
"Forget that!" Mitta snapped. "Give him the thrashing of his unlife, you hear me?!"
"With buckin' pleasure!" Applejack answered with a grin, tilting her hat as she watched the residents of Sunnytown confront their own mindless brethren before looking at her friends. "C'mon, y'all! Ah think mah Element's this way!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Applejack!" Twilight called out, stopping her friend. "We should stick together!"
"Agreed! There could be anything in this place!" Vaati declared, leading the way as he smashed the remaining Stalfos aside with his arms.
As they passed the defeated skeletons, Rarity stopped for a moment and wordlessly picked up a discarded Stalfos sword with her magic. Seeing this, Twilight stopped and gawked. "Rarity, what are you doing?!"
The others halted, turning around to witness the exchange.
"While I don't particularly like resorting to this," Rarity answered, "using a weapon instead of just magic will conserve my magical strength. I would suggest you pick one too, dear."
"Are you crazy?!" Twilight cried. "You don't know how to use a weapon!"
"I think Rarity honestly has a point, Twi," Rainbow said, retrieving a spear and snapping about a foot or so off the bottom half of the shaft to better accommodate her size. "We're gonna need these. We can't fight everything with just our hooves and magic."
Twilight bit her lip as she realized that Rainbow was right. It didn't sit well with her at all, not being a big fan of violence, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Sighing in defeat, she noticed a discarded scimitar and enveloped it with her magic. "Let's just go."
"Ah think Ah'll just stick with Bucky McGillicuddy and Kicks McGee right here," Applejack said, stomping her hind legs for emphasis.
"I already got a weapon!" Pinkie chirped, waving her candy cane battle axe.
"Stick with my potions, I think I might," Zecora spoke. "Against the undead, they have worked well night after night."
Fluttershy, understandably, also refused to take one for herself, though she did not speak a word of it.
The group continued down the hall until they reached what had once been the throne room. The moment they arrived, the lot of them heard an ear-splitting chorus of shrieks rend the air. They sent such a horrifying chill down everyone's spines that they all froze in their tracks. "I-I can't move!" Twilight shakily spoke up.
Even Vaati had to fight off the petrifying effects of the horrid screams before he replied, "ReDeads!"
Everyone looked to see a group of shriveled, humanoid corpses shuffling menacingly towards them, their arms outstretched as they reached towards their prey with bony fingers. Vaati was the first to recover, lashing out with his mighty claws and ripping all of the zombies within reach to shreds. This did little to hinder the approach of the rest of the horde, which unleashed another chorus of deafening, blood-curdling screams to immobilize their prey once more.
"V-Vaati! W-why can't w-w-we move w-when t-t-those things scream?" Applejack demanded, gritting her teeth in exertion as she tried to move.
"There's magic in their voices," Vaati answered, also struggling to recover. "L-like those three sirens of yours that Starswirl banished from Equestria long ago. Only their shrieks use an aura of fear to pin their enemies in place, rather than cause strife as a food source. And I'm sick and tired of hearing them!"
With a frustrated bellow, Vaati again broke free of the ReDeads' spell, and this time he incinerated the whole lot of them with a massive eye beam, taking out a good chunk of the wall behind them in the process. And just like that, the spell over the others broke, allowing them all to breathe a sigh of relief.
Well, all except Twilight, who let out a cry of disbelief at the blatant destruction she had just witnessed. "Vaati! These ruins are a historical relic! You can't just blow things up willy-nilly!"
Vaati rolled his one eye. "Yes, because getting your blood sucked out by the undead so that you can join their ranks is so much more preferable."
"How are we gonna keep ourselves from getting stuck like that again?!" Rainbow demanded. "There's bound to be more of those things down here!"
"Unfortunately, I don't have any earplugs," Vaati replied. "Other than that, I'm not sure what can help you."
"Actually, I think I can help," Rarity spoke up, rummaging through her satchel.
Rarity then brought out a bag of cotton balls and opened it up with her magic. "While these are meant to go with my beauty products, I think they'll also work as impromptu earplugs."
"Rarity, you're a lifesaver!" Twilight exclaimed as her friend distributed the cotton balls amongst all the others.
"A lady makes it a point to always be prepared," Rarity pointed out matter-of-factly.
"A fine sentiment, I'll tell you all," Zecora spoke as she stuffed her ears. "But I do believe there is another room beyond this wall."
Everyone looked to where Zecora was gesturing and saw that the hole Vaati had blasted in the wall had revealed a hidden hallway. "Luna did confide in me once that she installed a lot of trapdoors and hidden passageways in this place when she and Celestia still lived here," Vaati said. "This must have been one of them."
Realizing that his demon form was too large to fit inside the passageway, Vaati groaned before returning to his Hylian form. "Well, so much for that," he murmured. "Come on, girls."
Luckily, it appeared that the Stalfos had not yet made use of this place, as they encountered no enemies here. Perhaps they weren't aware of the various tricks and traps yet, which, Vaati realized, could work to his group's advantage. Of course, it also helped that the undead generally did not retain the bulk of their intelligence after death. With this in mind, Vaati began leading the group down the secret corridor towards a wooden door in the back. However, mere feet in front of said door, the floor abruptly dropped out from under Vaati's feet. Not expecting this, Vaati cried out as he fell down the trap door, unable to clear his head enough to cast a levitation spell around himself.
"VAATI!" everyone cried, looking down into the darkness.
"Vaati, are you okay?!" Twilight cried.
"C'mon, Vaati! Say something!" Rainbow added. "Can you hear us down there?!"
"I don't think we could hear him with these in!" Rarity pointed out in a raised voice so her friends could hear her through the cotton balls stuffed in their ears.
"We gotta go down after him!" Applejack demanded. "He might be in trouble down there!"
"B-b-but it's so d-dark down there," Fluttershy whimpered.
"Just stay close to us, Fluttershy," Twilight reassured her, noticing how scared her friend looked. "We won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
Just then, they heard an unmistakable screeching sound that still sent a chill down their spines, though was muffled enough that it didn't paralyze them. "There's more zombies down there!" Twilight cried, and without a second thought, she jumped into the hole.
"Twilight!" Applejack cried as she and the others all followed after her.
Once Twilight hit the bottom, she immediately cast a spell to illuminate the pitch-black room. They appeared to be in some sort of hallway, with suits of pony armor standing sentinel along the walls. Vaati lay on the ground, unable to move as a horde of shriveled, masked ReDead Knights lifted their massive swords over their heads in preparation to chop the sorcerer to pieces. Vaati looked up at the undead monstrosities, and for the first time in a long time, the Wind Mage truly feared for his life.
However, much to everyone's surprise, once Twilight's magical light lit up the hall, the ReDeads collectively hissed and growled as they recoiled from the light, as if it was burning their withered skin. The effects of their screams wearing off, Vaati blew them all away from him with a mighty gust of wind. "Vaati, are you alright?!" Twilight demanded, looking her friend over.
"Thanks to you, I am," Vaati replied nonchalantly, as though his brush with death had never even happened. "Twilight, whatever you do, don't put out that light! The undead hate the light! As long as it shines on them, their ability to attack us is hindered!"
"Then we had better finish them quickly!" Rarity spoke up, bringing her new weapon to bear.
With a war cry the likes of which one would not normally expect from someone like Rarity, she swung her sword down upon the exposed neck of one of the ReDeads, cleaving its head from its shoulders. A black, slimy ichor spurted from the zombie's severed neck before it crumpled to the ground, giving off a hideous, foul-smelling stench of death and decay.
Rainbow flew up to another ReDead Knight and thrust her new spear into its face with such force that the head was ripped clean off its body. As the headless corpse sunk to the ground, Rainbow retched at the vile scent emanating from the severed head still attached to the spearhead. "Yuck! That is disgusting!" she groaned, trying not to puke as she frantically shook her weapon, attempting to dislodge the head from its blade.
Meanwhile, Vaati summoned one of his Eye Sentries, which he immediately converted into his signature rapier. The ReDead facing him, still stunned by Twilight's light, could only gawk stupidly as Vaati thrust his sword straight through the creature's mouth and out the other side of its skull. The undead creature emitted a strangled gurgling noise as it collapsed backwards, allowing Vaati to pull his sword out.
Applejack confronted the last zombified warrior as it attempted to rally itself and kicked it hard in its chest. There was enough force in the blow that the ReDead Knight was thrown back against the wall, a sickening crunch echoing throughout the hall as its skull made contact with the hard stone, splattering the blackened, decayed remnants of its brains all over it. The zombie slumped to the ground and did not move any further. As soon as they were all dead, everyone removed the cotton balls from their ears, since there were no more ReDeads left in the room.
"Aww, why didn't you guys leave one for me?" Pinkie whined.
Suddenly they heard a noise like metal plates scraping against one another. "I think you may have spoken too soon, Pinkie," Vaati surmised as he glared ahead as far as Twilight's magic would let him.
"W-what is that?" Twilight asked worriedly.
Vaati finally realized it, and without a moment's hesitation, he whirled around and blocked the halberd that had been aimed right at the back of Twilight's unsuspecting head, causing her to look up wide-eyed. He pushed it back with all his strength, throwing the attacker off-balance.
"The suits!" Vaati cried. "Something's animating them!"
Even as he said this, torches that had been hanging over the wall suddenly lit themselves, banishing the darkness and allowing them to watch as the other suits of armor abruptly came to life, brandishing swords, spears, and axes as they stepped down from their proper places. Applejack immediately bucked the one that had tried to attack Twilight away from her friends, scattering the armor all over the place. With its disguise destroyed, the culprit revealed itself with a despicable cackle.
"Of course!" Vaati said, instantly recognizing the spirit. "Poes!"
The ghost brandished its lantern, swinging it at Applejack's head. The farmpony ducked just in time to avoid the fireball from Twilight that disintegrated the Poe on contact. Meanwhile, the one that had been standing at attention on the opposite side of the wall moved to attack Pinkie, who grinned as she deflected its spear with a practiced swing of her axe. The move managed to disarm the animated armor, allowing Pinkie to freely smash its helmet with enough force to drop the thing. As soon as the exposed Poe revealed itself, Pinkie cut it off mid-cackle with another swing of her axe, the bisected ghost screaming as it burst into flames.
Another suit of armor swung its sword at Rainbow, who quickly flew out of reach and stuck her tongue out at it. "Hah! Can't get me from up here, chump!"
"Rainbow Dash, look out!" Fluttershy screamed in panic from where she was hiding behind Zecora.
Rainbow saw the spear that had been thrown at her by another suit with barely a second to react. But a second was all Equestria's Fastest Pony needed, and she lithely dodged the spear and responded by diving down and crashing into the now-defenseless suit of armor, smashing it apart with a ringing clanging noise. She was on her feet in a second as the Poe was forced to reveal itself. It didn't even have time to greet her with its signature cackle before it found itself impaled on the business end of Rainbow's spear. I'll have to thank Fluttershy for saving my flank later, Rainbow mused to herself. Wow…never thought I'd hear myself saying that.
Rarity parried a rather clumsy swing from one of the possessed suits, following up with a slash against its shoulder. Unfortunately, it was only a glancing blow, for the armor managed to hold. The armor attempted to seize advantage of this, but a weapon wielded by magic operated under different properties from a weapon wielded by hand. Rarity's sword spun around and knocked the helmet clean off its shoulders. The rest of the suit shuddered and collapsed as the Poe left it. However, Rarity struck before it could escape, destroying the ghost with one swing of her sword.
One of the possessed suits swung a broad axe at Twilight's neck, causing her to cry out as she stumbled back out of reach. Forgetting that she even was carrying a weapon in the first place, Twilight's hold around it dropped as she poured all her magical energy into a solid beam of light that blasted both armor and occupant to smithereens. Okay, I think it's best if I just stick to my magic for now, she decided to herself. I'm way more used to it than I am with an actual weapon.
Another enemy saw a tantalizing target in Zecora and Fluttershy and advanced on them, raising its halberd. Glaring at the suit of armor, Zecora fished a potion out of her bag, uncorked it with her mouth, and splashed its contents at the ghostly armor. Upon contact, the potion emitted a green mist that completely enveloped the monster. The suit stopped and shuddered before it went slack and fell limply on its side with a loud bang. The Poe emerged, screeching dreadfully as the potion burned away every inch of its undead body until it finally disintegrated to ashes. Fluttershy couldn't bear to look, and wept as she covered her eyes.
The remaining suits were steadily advancing down the hall towards them, weapons raised threateningly. To this, Vaati scoffed before he glanced over his shoulder. "Stay back, everyone! I'll take care of the rest of these fools!"
All the ponies promptly backed up as Vaati cast up his hands, gathering energy in his palms. Suddenly, everyone felt a wind begin to blow, which quickly intensified as a compact twister appeared in the midst of the remaining possessed suits of armor, sucking all of them up into the vortex. Vaati then added a multitude of Razor Wind spells that basically turned the small tornado into a magical, wind-based meat-grinder. It did a good job of both pulling the suits of armor apart and shredding the Poes within. After a few moments, Vaati let up his assault, letting the broken piles of scrap metal that once been ancient pony suits of armor clatter to the floor.
"Everyone alright?" he asked.
Twilight nodded. "Yeah. We're okay."
"Let's get a move on, then. There's a door down at the end of the hall."
The others fell into step behind the sorcerer as he led them down the now-silent hallway down to the aforementioned door. Vaati opened it a crack and peered inside, just in case something unpleasant was lying in wait on the other side. "Alright, it looks like the coast is clear," he said out loud as he swung the door open, revealing a staircase that led down further into the darkness.
"Y'all think Grey Hoof's down there?" Applejack inquired.
"Only one way to find out," Vaati replied. "Stay close to me, everyone. I imagine he'll try to sic that Stallord on us first."
"That Stallord thing you keep mentioning…that's a zombie dragon, right?" Rainbow asked.
"Correct," Vaati confirmed, wondering why she felt it important to ask.
"Well, don't you think we should all come up with a game plan?" Rainbow pointed out. "I mean, none of us have dealt with something like this before, and we obviously don't have the Elements of Harmony to back us up right now. So, how do we go about kicking this thing's butt?"
Vaati considered Rainbow's point for a moment before he decided, "Leave the Stallord to me. My demon form should grant me roughly equally footing against such a beast. The rest of you can deal with Grey Hoof, and I'm quite sure Applejack in particular is eager for a piece of him."
"Damn right Ah am," Applejack muttered darkly.
"Are you sure you can handle it?" Twilight asked, her faith in Vaati's power having wavered ever since the fateful incident that had prompted this venture.
"Don't worry about me, Twilight," Vaati reassured her with a confident smirk. "A Stallord is a mighty foe indeed, but it is no Ganon."
"You're one of my best friends," Twilight answered seriously. "Of course I'm gonna worry about you."
Vaati rolled his eyes, bemused. "While I appreciate the sentiment, it's unfounded. You should concentrate on worrying about any sort of plan Grey Hoof has in store for all of us."
Twilight wordlessly replied with an uncertain nod.
Vaati nodded back with a smile. "Good. Now, make sure to keep that light of yours going. There's no telling how dark it is down there, and I don't fancy running into any more ReDeads in pitch-black darkness again." The sorcerer shuddered. "I really don't."
Twilight gulped. This was one of the few times that Vaati, whom she had always known to be as brash and fearless as Rainbow Dash, had shown genuine fear. It was understandable, though; if she and the others hadn't come when they did, he would have been dead. And Vaati, in all his power, was relatively unaccustomed to such a situation, about to die and being unable to do a thing to stop it. The very thought of being in a similar situation honestly terrified her too. Still, she knew that one should not let fear cloud their judgment, for bad things happened when fear was allowed to take root in one's heart. King Sombra was testament to that fact.
The group traveled down the winding staircase that led down in to ever deeper darkness until they finally reached the end, opening up into a massive underground chamber. The darkness seemed to swallow even Twilight's light, preventing them from seeing very far ahead. Just as they all entered the room, they suddenly heard the sound of metal sliding into place, and turned to see that iron bars had fallen over the entrance to the stairwell, trapping them inside.
Before anyone could respond to this, they suddenly heard echoing laughter throughout the chamber. It sounded hollow and reedy, just like any other undead, and was distinctly male. "Well, well, well! Look at what we have here! Ganon told me you would be coming, so I decided to ready a surprise just for you!"
Suddenly several things happened at once. A deep, rumbling growl penetrated the darkness. Said darkness was immediately dispelled as numerous torches blazed to life.
Torches that had begun screaming.
"S-sweet mother'a Celestia," Applejack gasped in horror as she and the others took in the sight of the other Sunnytown ponies tied to posts that were arranged all around the chamber, and currently screaming bloody murder as their bodies were engulfed in flames. As cursed undead, this would not kill them, as their bodies would regenerate the damage, which honestly made their predicament even worse.
"I-it's the Sunnytown ponies!" Twilight cried in shock. "I thought they were back near the entrance! H-how did they end up like this?!"
"We simply must help them!" Rarity demanded.
"Unfortunately, we have a bigger problem on our hands," Vaati interrupted as he stared down the massive skeletal dragon standing in the middle of the chamber. "A much bigger problem."
The Stallord promptly roared in their faces, nearly shattering their eardrums in the process. Rarity willed herself not to faint; Fluttershy was not so fortunate. Suddenly they saw somepony standing on the undead dragon's shoulder, smirking down at them like a cat that had just caught the canary. This was most likely the Grey Hoof that had been causing all the trouble.
What they had not expected was the fact that he was an alicorn.
Grey Hoof now looked like a Cursed Blank version of an alicorn. Tattered, dried-up black skin clung to equally black bones, all of which emanated the Cursed Ponies' signature eerie red glow. His mane and tail were burning flames, and his wings were bat-like, but no membrane was attached to the fingers. Instead, a smoky darkness took shape there, as if to compensate. Grey Hoof grinned maliciously down at the ponies, zebra, and sorcerer gathered before him.
"You look surprised," he stated matter-of-factly. "Weren't expecting an alicorn, were you?"
"Ah don't care what ya are!" Applejack yelled, finally face-to-face with the one who had tried to kill her sister without her even knowing it for so long. "T'me, y'all 're nothin' but a murderer and a sadist!"
Grey Hoof regarded Applejack with detached interest. "That accent is familiar to me. I wonder why…"
"YA RECOGNIZE IT BECAUSE THAT'S MAH LITTLE SISTER'S ACCENT!" Applejack bellowed, enraged. "APPLEBLOOM! THE LITTLE FILLY YOU TRIED TO KILL!"
Grey Hoof let out an over-dramatic gasp as he seemed to remember. "Oh! That precious little filly with that cute little bow in her hair! Yes, I most certainly remember little Applebloom." His expression turned dark. "She ruined my party…just like Ruby did."
"That wasn't no party she was ruining!" Pinkie interrupted. "I'm the premier party pony of Equestria, so I know what is and isn't a party, you rotten excuse for a pony!"
"SHUT UP!" Grey Hoof boomed, seemingly having gained access to a bastardized version of the Canterlot Tone. "I can't believe the nerve of the whole lot of you! After everything I did for the ponies I cared about and lived with, what do I get in return? BETRAYAL!" The last word he yelled towards his burning fellow undead townsponies. "I joined Ganon for them! I executed Ruby for them! And I tried to be a good pony and spare your sister from the curse that you and your friends all have fallen victim to! But nopony has shown me any appreciation for it! None!"
"Spare mah sister?!" Applejack repeated. "From what?! Findin' her special talent?! Cutie Marks ain't no curse, and the rest of your townsfolk joined us because they realized that! Anypony can see how flimsy yer excuses are, and always have been! But Ah can already tell you're too far gone. Either that Ganon feller messed up yer mind when he turned ya into an alicorn, or y'all were barkin' mad t'begin with. Either way, Ah hate you as much as Ah pity you."
"Pity…me?" Grey Hoof repeated before laughing. "How adorable! I don't need your pity! I have more power at my hooftips than I ever thought possible, and my new master has even promised to lift me from my curse once I finish you! Rather generous for a Dark Lord, isn't he? After that, I will take my place in Equestria as a god of death! No longer will I be referred to as Grey Hoof! All will fear my new name, Nightmare Grave!"
"Not if we got somethin' to say about it!" Applejack cried.
Nightmare Grave looked down at the waiting Stallord. "Alright, you giant pile of dusty old bones! Time to show us all what you're made of!"
The Stallord roared again as Nightmare Grave took to the air, intending to let the skeletal dragon deal with his foes. Vaati wasted no time in assuming his demon form, the appearance of which momentarily caught the undead alicorn off-guard. Suddenly Nightmare Grave felt a rope wrap around his hind leg. "What?!"
He looked down to see that Applejack had lassoed his leg. "You think a little Earth Pony like you can pull me down?!" Nightmare Grave scoffed, starting to flap his wings harder.
Applejack allowed herself a savage grin as she yanked on the rope with all her strength, instantly bringing Nightmare Grave crashing to the ground with a startled yelp. As the cursed alicorn slowly recovered, Applejack looked at her stunned friends. "He's mine."
"B-but Applejack!" Twilight protested. "He's an alicorn now!"
"He hasn't been for long! So Ah'll bet he ain't totally used t'being one yet. 'Sides, this motherbucker tried to hurt mah family. Nobody gets away with hurtin' an Apple. So go help Vaati with that dragon, and leave Grey Hoof to me."
Twilight and the other Mane Six nodded uncertainly as Applejack readied herself for the fight of her life. By now, Nightmare Grave had risen back to his hooves and shaken the lasso off his leg. "Hmph, it seems I underestimated your strength," he spoke. "Be sure that it will not happen again."
Applejack adjusted her hat. "There's a whole lot more t'me than just mah strength, pardner."
"Die!" Nightmare Grave intoned, his horn glowing with a red aura before it sent a fireball hurtling towards her.
Applejack nimbly dodged the admittedly-sloppy attack and began running at him full-speed. Nightmare Grave unleashed several more fireballs, but Applejack side-stepped each of them. Just as he readied another, the farmpony swung around and bucked him in the face with all her strength. The skeletal alicorn's head snapped back with a sickening crunch as both his neck and jaw broke. Nightmare Grave stumbled back as Applejack turned back around to face him. However, before her eyes, Nightmare Grave's bones healed themselves, allowing him to flash Applejack the chilling rictus grin of the dead.
"You stupid, stupid country bumpkin," Nightmare Grave sneered. "Even as an alicorn, my curse currently still applies. You cannot kill me, you accursed freak, no matter how you try."
"That only means this'll hurt a whole lot longer for you," Applejack shot back.
"What do you know of pain, you deluded hick?!" Nightmare Grave snapped. "Nothing! You don't know what it's like to feel a constant numbness in your body and soul, to feel the wind as it whistles through your bones, to be unable to breathe, to lack a pulse and a heartbeat! That, sister of Applebloom, is real pain! And I endured it for a hundred bucking years! All because this warped forest took offense to my efforts to keep Sunnytown safe!"
"Oh, shut up with yer excuses!" Applejack cut him off. "Not a single one'a them was worth a filly's life! The Everfree Forest took offense because you murdered a child in cold blood because she discovered what she was good at! And while she lay there in that fireplace, screamin' in pain and beggin' for it to stop, you smiled. You're a disgustin' piece of filth that deserves a whole lot worse than what ya got!"
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Nightmare Grave screamed. "I will not be talked down to like this! You cannot cause me any more pain than I already feel! And now, I will share my pain…WITH YOU!"
His horn glowed as a spectral black mist snaked out from the tip and slithered menacingly towards Applejack. The farmpony instantly realized what he was trying to do; he was attempting to pass his curse onto her, just as he had tried before with Applebloom. But Applejack wasn't about to have any of that. She immediately dodged the tendrils of darkness, which continued to race after her as she ran. Nightmare Grave laughed, mad and drunk on his newfound power. "Now do you see what I'm truly capable of?! And once I'm through with your friends here, I think I'll mosey on over to Ponyville and pay dear little Applebloom another visit, heh heh heh…"
"You ain't goin' near any of mah family EVER AGAIN!" Applejack bellowed, leaping over the curse magic right towards Nightmare Grave's face, delivering a wicked right hook that sent him reeling before following up with another kick that sent him careening against the wall.
Meanwhile, Vaati struggled against the Stallord, doing his best to avoid its snapping jaws and serrated teeth. Just as the undead beast opened its mouth to send a rush of its vile, corrosive breath his way, Vaati countered by channeling a tornado straight at the Stallord's face, deflecting the attack. Vaati followed up by gripping the Stallord's neck and attempting to wrestle it to the ground. Even with the power of wind to aid him, this was proving to be a difficult endeavor, as the Stallord was several times larger than Vaati's demon form. Eventually Vaati's smaller frame and lighter weight ultimately worked against him as the Stallord threw its head up with enough force to throw the transfigured mage into the air, his back crashing painfully against the stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
Vaati grunted as he felt the sharp rocks dig into his skin and cursed to himself. He knew he could easily end this fight with one blast from his strongest attack, the massive energy beam he could shoot from his eye. However, this attack alone drained a great deal of energy in the process, and Vaati wanted to be sure he had enough strength left in him to deal with Grey Hoof, uh, Nightmare Grave, after he finished off the Stallord.
The Stallord roared up at him, prompting Vaati to start descending towards the undead beast. Suddenly, a lavender energy beam clipped the Stallord in the shoulder, diverting its attention away from Vaati. The demon narrowed his eye. "What is Twilight doing?"
As the Stallord turned towards Twilight, she sent another beam right at its face, causing it to snarl in anger. However, before it could move to attack the small unicorn, it felt another beam, though weaker in strength, strike the back of its head. Rarity stood behind the beast, out of reach of its swinging tail, readying another attack. And then Twilight struck again, her magical beam singing the Stallord's cheekbones. It then found Rainbow Dash body-slamming into its forehead repeatedly, while Pinkie chopped at its forearm with her axe. Zecora uncorked another potion bottle and cast it over the hulking beast, burning its ribs like acid.
Now, if there was one thing the undead were even better known for other than their strength of numbers, it was their abject stupidity. After all, one did not really have the mental faculties to be any sort of clever or intelligent when your brain was significantly rotted or basically a pile of organic dust. Being faced with so many attackers was enough to confuse and disorient the monster, which seemed unable to decide which one of them to attack, and apparently having forgotten all about Vaati.
But Vaati certainly hadn't forgotten it.
Its face now smoking and as pock-marked as an unsheltered moon, the Stallord finally decided to go after the closer one of the two, Twilight, when suddenly Vaati's large bulk smashed into its back, shattering its spine (and virtually every other bone that formed its body in the process) with ease. The Stallord shrieked one last time before it went down, utterly defeated as the eldritch fire-light vanished from its empty eye sockets.
Nightmare Grave watched his gigantic attack animal fall with a look of utter shock. "Y-you defeated the Stallord?!" he marveled. "HOW?!"
Just then, a light glowed throughout the chamber as a golden necklace with an apple-shaped pendant appeared around Applejack's neck.
The Element of Honesty had been recovered.
"A little somethin' Ah like to call teamwork," Applejack quipped.
Nightmare Grave gritted his yellowed teeth. "Enough of this nonsense! Time for you to join the ranks of the trotting dead!"
The undead alicorn once more unleashed his curse aura, and this time, Applejack did not move to avoid it, instead just calmly walking forward. The aura washed right over her, but it did not have the effect Nightmare Grave was expecting. In fact, it had no effect at all; Applejack walked right through it as though it weren't even there. She knew her Element of Honesty would protect her, and thus did not even flinch or break stride as the black mist continued to swirl around and assault her in vain.
Nightmare Grave couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I…what…h-how?! HOW ARE YOU NOT AFFECTED?!"
Applejack just smartly tapped her Element in reply.
Nightmare Grave stumbled back, spluttering incomprehensibly. "No! This cannot…This isn't possible! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"
"Grey Hoof of Sunnytown," Applejack intoned, glowing faintly as she fully tapped into her powers as the Element of Honesty. "Too long have ya lied to yourself, disguisin' the hideous truth of your actions with thinly-veiled excuses in order to ignore your own guilt. No more. You will see the truth, here and now."
Nightmare Grave unleashed a cry as he prepared to ram Applejack in the throat with his horn. But once he got close to her, her eyes went pure white and locked onto Nightmare Grave's red ghost-eyes, freezing the skeletal alicorn in place. "Look into my eyes, Grey Hoof," Applejack commanded. "Witness the truth of your actions…learn why you were wrong…and feel the pain you caused others by them."
Nightmare Grave's face went completely slack for a few moments before it began contorting with pain as he saw the ugly truth of his sins. He began to scream, clutching his head and shrieking incomprehensible babble as he writhed on the ground, begging it to stop. Applejack looked on without emotion as Nightmare Grave's power waned as the Element of Honesty's power washed over his body, slowly turning him back into the zombified Earth pony he had once been.
Grey Hoof lay huddled on the ground, sobbing violently as it all came crashing down on him. "What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?! What have I done?! What have I done?!"
This he kept repeating endlessly, heedless of everyone else in the room, until thick, gnarled vines burst out of the ground, surprising everyone. The vines quickly coiled around Grey Hoof, snapping him out of his mantra as they dragged him into the ground. His screams would likely echo in their minds for weeks afterwards as the will of the Everfree Forest dragged Grey Hoof beneath the earth, dragging him to hell to serve a fate far worse than mere undeath. What that fate would be, none knew, nor did they wish to speculate. Once it was over, all that remained was a few upturned stones and a pile of dirt to serve as Grey Hoof's grave. At that moment, the eldritch fire that had been consuming the trapped Sunnytown ponies abruptly fizzled out, allowing their cries to die down at last. Twilight and Rarity wasted no time in undoing their ropes with their magic, causing them all to fall unceremoniously to the ground, unable to stand for several minutes as they slowly recovered from the sensation of being burned at the stake, as it were.
"Is everyone alright?" Twilight asked.
Mitta was the first to struggle to her hooves. "I…I think s-so…Grey Hoof…where…?"
"Grey Hoof wouldn't let himself understand the depths of his crimes," Applejack answered. "And so Ah made him see the truth of it. But it was too late for 'im. His sins were unforgivable, and the forest responded in kind. Ah doubt we'll be seein' him again."
Three Leaf sniffed sadly. "I c-can't believe he actually could find it within himself to hurt us. I guess…somehow, deep down I knew he was too far gone. He always was stubborn as a mule in his ways. I just didn't want to accept it."
Applejack smiled. "Ah think y'all might wanna take a moment t'look at yerselves."
Mitta, Three Leaf, Gladstone, Roneo, and Starlet blinked in confusion for a moment before they noticed something different about themselves.
"I…I'm breathing again," Gladstone marveled, clutching his chest. "I can feel my heartbeat! I-I'm alive!"
"W-we're alive!" Mitta exclaimed, looking herself and the others over.
"I can't believe it!" Roneo cried, laughing as he hugged Starlet. "The curse! The curse is finally lifted!"
Now that they were no longer undead, the Sunnytown ponies now once again looked just like they had a hundred years ago.
"Y'all were willin' to repent 'n make amends for your mistakes," Applejack continued. "To that, the forest also responded in kind. Congratulations; you're free."
Gladstone laughed. "Yeah…yeah we are, aren't we?"
Just then, a shimmering light appeared, from which emerged the ghost of Ruby, a wide smile on her face. "Yes…it's done! Thank goodness you're okay, Mitta!"
Mitta's smile fell. "…It's not fair. You were the biggest victim in all this, Ruby, but we're the ones that got to return to life in the end."
To this, Ruby's smile widened. "Are you really, really sure about that?"
Mitta regarded her sister's spirit with a confused look. "What?"
"Now that Applejack and her friends have recovered the Element of Honesty, Ganon's hold over the Everfree Forest is broken. The Bone Fiends and the other undead have all crumbled to dust. And yet, as Ganon's power here wanes, the forest is absorbing that magic into itself, enough so that it can perform one miracle, one use of a power Ganon takes for granted; the ability to truly restore the dead back to life."
Mitta's eyes widened, realization setting in, but not daring to let herself believe it just yet. "W-what…what are you saying?"
Ruby's smile became a playful grin. "If you really want to know, you know exactly where to find me."
And with a flash, Ruby was gone.
Mitta stared at the empty space for several moments before she turned to the others. "E-excuse me…I have to go."
Vaati smiled, having returned to his human form. "Don't let us hold up the family reunion. Off with you!"
Mitta then galloped out of the chamber, the exit from which had thankfully unsealed itself after the boss's defeat, never looking back. They all watched her leave, knowing in their hearts that what awaited her was something she deserved very much. Twilight turned back towards the Sunnytown ponies. "What're you all going to do, now that you're free?" she asked.
Three Leaf sighed. "I honestly don't feel like returning to Sunnytown. Like, ever."
Gladstone nodded. "I agree. Too many unhappy memories."
"And it was our isolationist lifestyle that sort of brought all this upon us in the first place," Roneo pointed out. "I really think it's time we left the Everfree Forest for good."
"But where will you go?" Rarity inquired.
"I think Ponyville should be our first stop," Starlet suggested. "I think we all owe a certain little filly a big apology. After that….I don't care. Anywhere's better than back in Sunnytown."
"I personally think that's an excellent plan," Vaati agreed. "In fact, we'll be heading back to Ponyville ourselves to stock up on supplies for a more protracted journey, so what's say you lot travel with us for just a bit longer?"
Gladstone gestured towards the exit with a hoof. "Then lead the way, fillies and gentlecolt."
XXXXXX
Mitta was not quite used to being alive again, and had thus run herself ragged by the time she reached the ruins of Sunnytown. Yet the sensation of pain in her breast, the feel of her heart furiously pounding against her ribcage, was absolutely incredible. But all of that was pushed aside as she quickly moved past the dilapidated houses over to the one in the very back where it had occurred all those years ago. She soon reached the front door and swung it open with such force that it ripped right off its hinges and crashed loudly to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust. Mitta burst inside the old house.
"Ruby?"
"MITTA!"
And a hundred years after being unfairly torn apart by two different states of undeath, two loving sisters were finally reunited in life as Ruby tackled her big sister in a bear hug.
XXXXXX
"And thus, the first step of the journey is over, another begins…
The forgotten relics have gained their recognition…
One Element down, five to go…
And now the fun can begin at last…
Gwo hoh hoh hoh hoh!"
End of Part 2
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"Volvagia"
Heck yeah, best OoT boss! Nice chapter btw, good to see this updating again
YESSS
oh God...Volvagia, why must Ganon torture you so? Why can't he just let you rest in peace....
I think I saw a Rainbow Rocks reference.
I doubt we'll see Sunnytown residents again, but I believe Ponyville will be getting new residents.
I'm just going to leave this here.
PS:
EDIT: I think you guys might want to see this....
5264075
5266047
I feel shame for forgetting this story
Well time to reread the first one for the millionth time
WOO HOO welcome back.
Right now i'm so happy.
This is great, really great.
Hope this will not stop any time soon ^^.
Vaati is cool, but as i read his name the first time i remembered the sheep Pokemon first XD
The reunion of the sisters was great.
5264198 You read the Manga didn't you?
5264833 Obviously.
5264873 And unfortunately, unless Vaati can send Volvagia into the past of a different dimension and get rid of his brainwashing, the dragon won't be able to see Link again.
A chapter full of action and sentimental moments
Nice to hear from you, LordSiravant.
5264881 GODDAMN YOU. Now it's midnight and I'm all sad...
I see what you did there
YAY< back
Adidamanenahahahahhhh o____________o
5264446 Yes, I thought of exactly the same thing. To have Volvagia surprise everyone with a twist when they meet him would be so awesome.
5264446
Fornication! I wanted to post the Penance Stare...
Oh well, nice to see you writing for this fic again, LordSiravant.
Do... Do my eyes deceive me? New chapter? You sir have made my day.
And this:
What.
So the person who came up with the idea to do it is going to suffer forever after being forced to feel guilty about what he did...
But the people who were completely complicit in these same crimes, actively helping him commit them, get returned to life because they...feel guilty about what they did.
Alternative heroic AJ Speech:
AJ: If ya really wish to know the truth, then TALK TO THE HOOF!
Man what a rip off. No solving the soup cans, no push block puzzles, no magical chests containing the exact thing you need to defeat the boss appearing out of no where.
THIS IS NOT ZELDA!!!
Since they were fighting a Stallord, I was expecting the Spinner from Twilight Princess making an appearance.
Just picture Pinkie Pie riding a giant top.
5264946
You boys seem to be laboring under the impression that this is the manga version of Volvagia.
5264215
Really? Cuz I don't remember putting one in.
5264969
Not quite, for that is not Ganon talking at the end...
5265218
...you okay there, buddy?
5265419
I live to please, huehuehuehue.
5265498
Well, that and they actively tried to do something to make up for it, while Grey Hoof had to be magically forced to see the error of his ways, as he was too proud and ignorant to realize he was wrong on his own. Plus, I'm a sucker for happy endings. Can't help it.
5264759
Indeed. This series will be going strong for quite some time.
5265578
Writing complicated dungeon crawls sucks major donkey balls. Plus, they aren't in Hyrule, so the rules are a little different here.
5266047 That offhand comment about Starswirl banishing sirens from Equestria? That's the one.
5266047 Sorry, fangirl attack. I'm good now.
5266047 See, that's the problem I have with it.
Grey Hoof thought he was doing a good thing, that his evil actions were the best he could do to prevent something even more horrible. He was wrong. Good GOD was he wrong. But he believed he was doing a good thing.
These other guys, on the other hand, knew what they were doing was wrong.
Sorry, it just never sits right with me when the "mastermind," who had the best of intentions, suffers horribly and his minions, who knew they were going a teensy bit overboard and did it anyway, suffer nothing permanent and are forgiven because they help the heroes.
This was worth the waight adn this story is still one of the best on fimfic in my opinion
Wonder if you are going to reference the Ocarina of Time Manga when they get to Volvagia.
Hmm.
I mean these pictures would surely warm and break the hearts of some people here (I don't mean this as spam, but I am doing this because of all the Zelda fans here. And if you do not cry......YOU HAVE NO HEART!):
fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/225/b/7/___ocarina_of_time__link_and_volvagia____by_kurama_chan-d5ayx85.jpg
fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/005/7/4/oot_beloved_friend_volvagia_by_kmbmcrmy-d36ipqg.jpg
fc09.deviantart.net/fs51/f/2009/274/6/e/Volvagia_by_Raikoutetsu.png
and one more:
i.imgur.com/cVY6J.jpg
Looking forward to more.
5272685
I will not.
5266190 They didn't have it easy either. A century of undeath is a fate I would not wish to someone easily. Unless I have forgotten something while waiting for this chapter, the ponies fooled by Grey Hoof actually saw the error of their ways and regretted their actions when confronted with evidence. They even actively tried to repent. Grey Hoof refused to listen even then or to even consider that he might have been wrong.
That said I don't think, I would have just brought the other zomponies back. Granting them the peaceful rest of death would have been enough. Though then bringing Ruby back wouldn't have been a good idea either. Her being alive after losing everyone she cared about would have been painful to say the least.
Even now their problems aren't over though. It's going to be quite culture shock to be among more civilized ponies after first being raised in isolation and then a century of undeath.
Honestly such a clear cut sunshine and rainbows ending is a bit out of place when dealing with Gabon. There was always a prize to the victory. Ne it the suffering and the lives lost in his conquest or in the battle to remove his grip. Gabon tends leave scars.
Seriously?
She wasn't deranged; just possessed by her own jealousy. You can't blame Luna for being second superior to Celestia.
That's a good one.
Good chapter, though, and welcome back.
5279118
5272685
......Not crying, but those were definitely adorable.
Does NOBODY see the reference that I see? There was another story in which Grey Hoof became Nightmare Grave! Waking Nightmares is what it's called! AND it came first! I just checked! Anyways, this story is good so far. I'll read on to see if that stays the case.
Le me: guess I'll revisit Equestrian Wind Mage, nothing else interesting...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!1!1!1!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!
Wait........ What. Wat!? WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LordSirvant is back
Dominic Deegan uses SEE THE TRUTH! It's super effective!
… I kid because I love, you know.
Did Applejack just use the Penance Stare? Applejack confirmed Ghost Rider.
6641710 worst, because grey hoof didnt die
So Applejack can use the Penance Stare now?
Intentional or not...Nice Reference...
8154707
Probably only while wearing the element! But heck yeah!