Overgrow

by SugarPesticide

She Realized

Their arrival at the Tree of Harmony was under better circumstances than their first visit had been, though not by much. No plundervines snaked across the forest floor, and no cragodiles snapped at them; nevertheless, their replacements were numerous.

Gangs of bipedal yellow lizards roved among the trees, sizing up the passing ponies with mischievous looks. Once Applejack had casually bucked one of the trees in half, however, the creatures apparently took the hint and kept their distance, though they continued to watch their progress with beady eyes. But despite the absence of plundervines or even Nightmare Moon to make their progress urgent, nerves ran high thanks to the dangers that lurked at unexpected turns. Pinkie Pie, bouncing along with eyes closed, had nearly fallen right into the gaping maw of a massive pitcher plant; only the timely intervention of Rainbow Dash saved her from an acidic death.

In other words, it was just another day of saving Equestria. Twilight hoped that they could avoid jumping through hoops this time, even with one of her friends missing. So it was with familiar relief that they noticed the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters come into view.

As they descended the stairs set into the side of the chasm, Twilight looked to her saddlebags, where everypony had put their keys for the time being. Despite Pinkie’s unusual brand of logic, the alicorn couldn’t help but feel that the little bits of metal jingling within simply didn’t have the same weight as the Elements. She forced herself not to think about it too much. They didn’t have many other options to try.

The Tree of Harmony shone as brightly and beautifully as ever, casting its gentle brilliance across every inch of its cave of residence. Behind her, Twilight could hear Rarity let out an “Ooh” of appreciation, and she felt inclined to agree: there was something pleasant about the balls of light dangling from its branches like leaves, something that lent assurance and soothed the soul.

As they approached, the five ponies converged on the mysterious box. Like before, it formed the center of the large flower sprouting from the Tree’s roots, and its thirteen faces shimmered gently as the ponies gathered.

“I ain’t gonna lie,” Applejack said as Twilight brought out the keys. “It’s pretty an’ all, but it creeps me right the hay out.”

“It’s a box, AJ.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Pretty unimpressive after the Elements of Harmony, dontcha think?”

“It sure seems that way, don’t it?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at that, but the farmpony refused to elaborate.

“Anyway,” Twilight said, “why don’t we bring up why we picked the keys we did? I think it’d be good to understand just what kind of harmonic elements we’re dealing with.”

“Kay.” Rainbow swooped in and plucked out a rather jagged key that had clearly been broken more than once. “This is the one that goes to Daring Do’s house.”

“You swiped her key?!” Rarity’s eyes bulged. “Heavens, Rainbow Dash, have you no sense of decorum?”

“Ew, no. And really, didn’t you see what the house looked like when we got there? She probably has a new one somewhere in the Amarezon Rainforest. But that’s not the point.” She cradled the key in her hooves, gazing upon it tenderly. “It was when we were there, helping Daring Do fight off Ahuizotl and Caballeron and their jerks, that I realized it isn’t enough to gush over somepony you admire. You have to get in there and actually help her, because letting her just hang by herself isn’t cool.” A grin cracked on her face. “You can be loyal to more than a hoofful of ponies, I think. Discord tried to make me think that was wrong a long time ago, but I’ve realized giving a pony a hoof doesn’t mean turning my back on everypony else.”

Saying this, she reached down to insert the key. She was forced to pause, however, when a cloud of purple magic seized it and held it in the air for a moment, warping it and twisting it … if those were even the right words to describe the process. In a moment they key’s handle had been reshaped into a puffy cloud, which seemed to be its proper shape since it slipped into the keyhole quite easily.

There was not a closed mouth in the cave.

“... I think we’re on to something,” Twilight said weakly. “Uh, good. Anypony else?”

“I got this, sugarcube,” Applejack said, taking her key this time. “Back home, we’ve got a fresh-made copy of the family history book that Goldie Delicious has. This key here goes to the box that we’ve put the book in for safekeepin’. It was thanks to that book, and all the events that led up to it, that I realized it don’t matter whether paper’s got the answers or not. I know the honest truth of it in my heart.” She wrapped a hoof around Pinkie’s shoulders. “Y’all are part of my family, even if it ain’t by blood.”

“And you’re part of my family, too!” Pinkie added, nuzzling her friend as they watched the handle of the key twist into the shape of an apple seed.

Rarity smiled, withdrawing a rather small key from the remaining quartet. “I’ll admit, not all of the memories with this key are pleasant. I got this from the hotel room in Manehattan—”

“Ha!” Rainbow crowed, getting in her face. “And you made a stink about me taking other ponies’ keys!”

“Yes, well.” Rarity bounced her curls off her hoof idly. “I didn’t mean to steal it. I contacted the managers as soon as I realized I still had it, but they told me not to worry about it. I have my doubts as to whether you extended the same courtesy to Daring Do.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“It seems likely that I forgot it wasn’t mine because of the stresses of Fashion Week. Some of those stresses were my own fault, of course. How could I have not realized the very real difference between providing a competitor with a few tips, and entrusting that competitor with the fabric of my own creation? … I suppose I was still reeling from the loss of my Element. Not because of its beauty, but because of the virtue it represented. I was so obsessed with living up to the standard that had been taken from me, that it never occurred to me that everything has its time and place.” Her dainty laugh hitched slightly. “I should have been generous because it was right, not merely for generosity’s sake.”

She sniffed and avoided the others’ eyes. She did not, however, avoid Rainbow’s hoof as the pegasus awkwardly patted her withers.

“Neato!” Pinkie grinned as Rarity’s key warped to accommodate the shape of a diamond and floated into place. “And my story goes great with that, too! Check this out!” She plucked a rather rusty thing from the keys that were left. “Remember that time we all went to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, except we didn’t know everypony else had gone there, so you all ran around and had a great time being scared? And eventually we figured out that the organ was setting off all the traps, and that it was my fault! Except it wasn’t my fault, because there wasn’t a fault to be had! It was all in fun!”

“I ain’t sayin’ that’s a bad story, Pinkie, but what does the key have to do with this?”

“Oh, a secret compartment opened up in the organ, and when I reached in I found this instead of getting my hoof tickled! Simple stuff like that. But when I saw it, I figured out anypony can make other ponies happy, even on dark and stormy nights! It’s like a surprise party that even the party pony didn’t know about until it’s over!”

As the key, now sporting the shape of a balloon, floated over to join its fellows, Twilight decided not to point out the improbability of Pinkie’s anecdote.

“What about Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked. She gestured at the comically large key that dwarfed Twilight’s. “Does this thing go to her shed or something?”

“Actually, yes, it does. Remember the vampire fruit bat incident?”

The others winced.

“She mentioned about a week ago that since then, she’s been keeping something locked up in there. I don’t know what it is, and I wasn’t about to burst in on her personal things like that. But since she was being so kind for the bats, and since this key is involved, it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch to think it might be connected.”

She nudged Fluttershy’s key toward the box. The key sprouted an long, many-legged shape as it clicked into place. Twilight’s confusion at this faded upon realizing it was probably meant to be a caterpillar.

“And then there’s mine.” She let her utterly average key rotate slowly in her magical grip. “This goes to the cabinet where the Element of Magic is for safekeeping … I mean, where it used to be. It was there for all of three months, sure, but it still felt like it was meant to be there. Celestia had trusted us with them in case Discord caused trouble, but since he was mostly just annoying, it didn’t seem like we would need them for a while.

“But then the plundervines happened. And when we needed to give up our Elements … the things that helped to bring us together in the first place … it was like I was sacrificing my horn. It’s strange to say, but it felt like it was part of me. I think you all felt the same way.”

The others nodded.

“Over time, though, I’ve started to realize something. They still are a part of us! We haven’t stopped being kind or generous or honest or loyal. We still laugh at our fears. Don’t you see? The magic of friendship isn’t gone!” Twilight brushed a tear aside. “Even without the Elements, we still go through challenges together. We enjoy the good times together. We even go to Pinkie’s parties together.

“So even though this key is a reminder of what we had to give up, it’s also a reminder that we don’t always need them to get through our problems. All we really need is each other!”

Twilight’s key stretched as her last words echoed through the cavern triumphantly. In a heartbeat, the handle had become the shape of a simple star, and its teeth fit neatly into the final keyhole.

There was a chorus of hushed breaths. Tentatively, the five ponies took places around the expectant box, putting their hooves to the keys with the delicacy expected of handling a strange new magic. Even Pinkie was quiet.

“It’s so strange,” Rarity murmured, glancing around at her equally motionless friends. They all stared at the box as if it were about to bite them. “This experience, I mean. It’s as if there’s something hollow being filled, if you understand me.”

“I don’t feel right, doin’ this without Fluttershy,” Applejack admitted. “But Equestria’s countin’ on us to fix this mess. Guess it’s just somethin’ we gotta do.” Noting that Fluttershy’s key sat there alone next to hers, she awkwardly shifted her weight to her hind legs so that she could rest a front hoof on the lonely caterpillar shape.

Twilight took a deep breath. “Right. We have to do this. Together.”

They agreed solemnly. Then, as if in a single motion, their hooves turned the golden keys …

… Then pulled quickly back to shield their eyes as a bright glow emanated from the box. Lights danced across the branches of the Tree of Harmony, but their beauty went unnoticed as the ponies took a few steps back from the sheer power radiating from the artifact before them.

It vanished. The light dimmed. Everypony blinked, waiting for some sudden second surge to rise up, but no such surge came. Cautiously, they leaned toward the opened box.

Bright as the Tree was, the contents of the box were cast into shadow. Its depths were beyond what might be expected of something that had sprouted from a flower, as they stretched deep, deep into the tangled roots below. Several feet below, something sparkled in a vast array of colors, tantalizingly out of reach.

“... Is that it?” Rainbow’s ears drooped in disappointment. “I thought there’d be, y’know, more explosions.”

“It’s shiny!” Pinkie observed, sticking her head into the opening. “Oh wait, now it’s not.” She pulled back. “Wait, there it is again! Darn its cunning scheme, hiding when I try to get a closer look! What a cheater.” She pouted.

“I don’t understand.” Twilight peered down into the darkness. “We brought the keys it needed. Maybe we missed a step?”

“It must be because Fluttershy’s missing.” Rarity frowned. “Remember when Rainbow was missing the first time Discord was freed?”

“Don’t remind me,” Rainbow huffed.

Twilight fell back on her haunches. Her wings quivered.

“Sugarcube, don’t be like that.” Applejack wrapped a hoof around her friend’s shoulders. “I’ll admit, I’m disappointed too, but it ain’t the end of the world.” She paused. “Uh, maybe that wasn’t the best way to put it, but you know what I mean. Now we know we need Fluttershy. Hay, I’ll bet you that she’s in Ponyville right this minute, on account of hurryin’ to help us when she knows we need her. She ain’t never let us down before.”

Twilight’s shoulders rose and fell dramatically as she took a deep breath, and then another. “You’re right, Applejack. It’s not a big deal. We just have to let her know where we are.” Her voice only trembled a little. “We can fix this ...”

Something clattered. Twilight lifted her head, confusion coloring her expression upon realizing Applejack was no longer hugging her. With a niggling sense of apprehension, she turned around to see what everypony else was staring at.

Strange creatures flooded the entrance of the cavern, trailing up the stairs outside and lining the edge of the cliff above. They formed a sea of white and gray in their uniforms, resembling an army of knights. Outside, the light of the setting sun cast their faces in a gentle glow that was entirely at odds with their stern expressions. Several grasped red-and-white spheres in armored hands.

Before them stood a tall man, held tall in the grip of a large brace set about his shoulders. On his robe a pair of massive eyes glared at the shocked ponies, and a smirk played at the corners of his lips at their confusion. A red monocle glinted on his right eye; his left arm flipped a sphere into the air, unleashing a massive black-and-purple monster in a flash of light.

“This place has power of its own, it seems. Pokémon cannot be truly free until they are freed from the lie of friendship.” He waved idly in the ponies’ direction, and his followers tensed in anticipation. “A pity that these bizarre horses are neither humans nor Pokémon. They do not fit into our mission, but perhaps they can be of use to us. Take them.”

The knights advanced.

Comments

[avatoa]

.....WHAT THE ACTUAL BUCK IS GOING ON HERE?????!!!!!

[Djerid]

Why is Team Plasma in Equestria. Don't try to tell me that wasn't Ghetsis with his Hydreigon.

[thefluffyone]

God Damnit Ghestis.

Worst Villain ever.
I prefer Cyrus, myself.

Fuck ruling over the world we have now.
Just remake it the way you want it.

[UsurperBronyZant]

Oh, well hello there Ghetsis