Into the Woods
“So... are we going to talk about it?”
Bonbon looked up from the potion bin she'd been digging through. The hustle and bustle of the open air market wasn't the best place for conversation, but the expression on Lyra's face made it clear she wasn't going to put this off until later.
“Talk about what?” she finally asked in return.
“You know what, Bonbon.”
To her credit, it only took Bonbon a second or two to work out what Lyra meant, but the realization brought her no comfort. “Oh... right... the whole... 'warden' comment...”
Lyra nodded. “Yeah... not exactly a good thing to hear when the pony you're sleeping with tells you they can legally kill you at any time.”
“That's not how it works and you know it, Lyra.” She turned away from the bin at last, giving her full attention to Lyra. “That's meant to be a last resort and nothing else.”
“That still doesn't change the fact it's an option at all,” Lyra countered. “I mean... seriously, do you have any idea what it's like to live with the constant threat of the axe coming down if somepony else decides it should?”
“It's how it has to be,” Bonbon returned. “You should know just how corrupting dark magic is, and what can happen if you lose perspective.”
“And you think I'm just going to let that happen? Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Nopony lets it happen, Lyra!” Bonbon stomped one of her hooves in frustration. “It's something that happens at the drop of a hat. Or did you forget what happened with your father?”
Lyra visibly flinched. “Don’t! Don’t you dare compare me to him! That’s a low blow, Bonbon, and you know it.”
Bonbon sighed. “Yes, I do, but that doesn't make it any less true. You had to live through his fall into madness, so you – of all ponies – should understand how quickly it can happen.”
“Isn't that why you're around at all?” Lyra snapped, stomping her hoof herself now. “You're supposed to help me stay one of the good guys! That's what Shining Armor said to me when you were made my warden; you threatening me with death is more like Righteous Fury!”
“And sometimes, that's what happens! Righteous Fury is still a paladin for a reason; sometimes, ponies simply can't be saved, sometimes they don't even want to be saved! A paladin has to be willing to kill ponies when there isn't a way to bring them back to the light.”
“And you think that's going to happen to me?”
Bonbon went silent for a moment as her eyes shifted to the ground, keenly aware that their little shouting match was starting to attract a lot of attention. “I don't want it to, Lyra... I really don't want it to...”
“...but you think it's going to.”
A half-forgotten voice flitted through Bonbon’s mind at Lyra’s words. ‘We’ve seen what happens to ponies who walk in the darkness… they all fall. Every. Last. One.’
Bonbon's eyes snapped up, her vision slightly blurred. “I don't know, Lyra. I don't know!” She clenched her teeth in frustration and her eyes followed suit a moment later. “Doubt and Faith go hoof in hoof; so yes, I have faith that you'll rise above it, and I have doubt that you will too. You can't have blind faith in anything, Lyra, even other ponies.”
Lyra didn't respond right away, making Bonbon open her eyes once more. The unicorn hadn't moved from her spot, and her expression was unreadable, Bonbon's still blurry vision certainly not helping matters.
“I'm going to buy some more items for my focus pouch,” Lyra finally said. “See you after I finish stocking up.” She didn't wait for a reply, simply turning and walking off into the market. The ponies that had been watching their argument pointedly weren’t looking at her or Bonbon anymore.
“...may Celestia damn me,” Bonbon swore under her breath, finally wiping at her eyes. “I'm failing as a paladin, and as a special somepony.” She almost chased after Lyra to try and fix things, but didn't know what to actually say or do to make up for it. Dishonesty didn't become a paladin, and that was all any sort of meaningless platitudes would have been, and they wouldn't have addressed the issue itself.
With a dejected sigh, Bonbon turned back to the potion bin, barely even seeing them at this point. “Light my path for me,” she muttered quietly. “Show me the right way to go... I can't lose her, not like this.”
Lyra paid no attention to her magic as she picked up various odds and ends and exchanged them for small amounts of bits and jangles. She didn't really need to restock her focus pouch, she barely even used the damn thing since she was a unicorn, but it gave her an excuse to not be around Bonbon right now.
Their relationship had always been a bit odd. They'd been on-again/off-again for a while before Lyra's father had started training her in necromancy, and the fact they were dating at all had been the deciding factor in Bonbon being made her warden, Shining Armor had outright admitted it. And, Lyra had to admit, the two of them had grown very close since then. But there had always been that lingering specter in the background: her standing Order of Execution.
Bonbon was right, this whole thing didn't work out every time; sometimes ponies backslid, sometimes they had a bad day and snapped, sometimes they were just messed up in the head and there was nothing to be done for it. But it still meant wardens had to be ready to kill their charges, and Lyra was still Bonbon's charge. So yes, her comments were entirely right.
But that still didn't mean Lyra had to like it.
That was what annoyed her the most right now. Intellectually, she was aware Bonbon was just doing the job she had to do for the good of all ponies; but being reminded that the pony you loved still had to put you down like a rabid animal if you got out of control was a sobering reminder of just how things were for them. Not to mention, bringing up her father like that...
Lyra sighed, tossing a few jangles onto a stall for a sprig of holly. “Why can't my life ever be normal?”
“Normal is relative,” the earth pony running the stall said, reaching up to tear off a piece of her holly-like mane. “Have a nice day.”
“Thanks, you too.” Lyra levitated the plant into her pouch as she walked away; just another day in Ponyville.
“Are you two finished yet?” Roseluck's voice made Lyra jump a bit; she hadn't even noticed the druid until she'd spoken. “It's going to be hard enough to get my kind to allow you entrance without us being late as well.”
“Bonbon told you not to send the bird until we were done, Rose.”
“News of a blighter can't wait. They need to be made aware of her as soon as possible and I'm not going to send two messages when one will suffice. Now, are you ready or not?”
Lyra glared at Roseluck as she cinched her focus pouch closed. “Bonbon's back by the potions still, I don't know if she's done or not.”
Rose raised an eyebrow, but trotted around Lyra without further comment, slipping into the crowd and leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Lyra watched Rose for a moment longer, then turned away. “I'm not my father,” she muttered under her breath. “I'm not...”
Whitetail Woods wasn't very far from Ponyville, only about a day's journey even if you weren't in a hurry. In theory, this also meant the pony whom all druids acknowledge above all save Epona herself was also not far from there as well.
In practice, though...
The wild areas of Equestria had a strange magic about them. It rarely ever manifested in the same way between them, but one thing was almost always consistent. While it was perfectly possible to walk around them with little trouble, traveling directly into them meant it was all but impossible to reach the other side. Whatever eldritch forces had spawned the wild forests had left them far larger on the inside than on the outside.
Druids had realized this long ago, and were quick to take advantage of this; their empathy with the wild let them travel the seemingly endless trails and paths within these forests without difficulty, meaning they could build their domiciles and grow their sacred groves without fear of being found.
Of course, this also meant that finding them was just as impossible without the help of another druid.
“You're sure you know where you're going, Rose?” Lyra grunted as she hauled herself over the edge of a steep incline, flopping on the dirt as soon as she managed to reach level ground.
Roseluck rolled her eyes as Bonbon joined the pair of them, visibly sweating thanks to her heavy armor. “For the last time, yes!”
Lyra slowly pulled herself to her hooves, brushing off her cloak. “Then why does this hill seem familiar?”
“Because it's the same one we've passed three times now,” Rose answered simply.
Even Bonbon had to stop and stare at the druid then. “...you mean... we're going in circles?”
Roseluck groaned, bringing a hoof up to her head and muttering under her breath about mushrooms. “No, we've been traveling in one direction the whole time, it's just the forest occasionally loops back on itself. We haven't had to cross that ravine more than once, remember?”
“Ugh!” Lyra stomped her hooves. “Could you have picked a worse spot to build a town in?”
“It's not a town, towns are for ponies like you two; druids have groves.”
“Whatever!” Lyra shouted. “Are we almost there, or not? I'm getting sick of all this walking, and the sun probably isn't going to be up much longer either.”
“I'm with her,” Bonbon said with a nod. “This place is starting to give me a headache.”
“It's not like one of your perfectly orderly towns,” Rose snapped. She ignored the two of them snorting over the idea of Ponyville being considered 'orderly' and continued. “How long it takes to get to anywhere in a place like this isn't consistent, even when I do take you the shortest way possible. And, furthermore, I–”
She cut off suddenly and jumped back just before three ponies in cloaks sprang out of the undergrowth. Bonbon and Lyra, taken by surprise but used to adventures, tried to react, but Rose stamped both her hooves and the ground shook in response, sending them both off balance. Bonbon was knocked aside as a large pony, a stallion near as she could tell, slammed into her with his shoulder, and two more pounced on Lyra.
Lyra's horn briefly flared up, but a hoof came out and one of their attackers shouted words in the Druidic tongue. She screamed as a thorny vine with dark purple flowers encircled her horn, then again when the second pony repeated the words and conjured similar vines around her neck and barrel. Her horn lost its glow, and she kept her movements ginger and small out of fear of pain.
“Lyra!” Bonbon's hammer was already working its way loose when the stallion spat out another Druidic word and the ground beneath her turned to mud in an instant, trapping her hooves and making her trip. She coughed and spat, struggling to pull herself free from the sudden mire. “Roseluck!” she bellowed. “What is the meaning of this?”
Rose had the decency to look a bit ashamed as she turned her eyes away from Bonbon. “Sorry; I had a feeling something like this would have to happen, but I knew neither of you would have liked it.”
“A little– ow! –warning would have been– ouch! –nice!” Lyra's every move just seemed to cause the vines to poke and prick her, leaving red marks in their wake. She tried to move them with her horn, but the magic just fizzled and sparked. “What in the nine hells are– OUCH! –these damned things?”
“Midnight Wisterias,” Roseluck responded. “They're a very special flower the Archdruid managed to breed. They absorb magic, even if it comes from a pony; you'd need to be a demigod to even try and cast with those things on.”
“Were– ow! –the thorns really necessary?”
Rose shrugged. “They're supposed to bind ponies, Lyra. They're not meant to be comfortable.”
“That still doesn't explain what is going on!” Bonbon finally managed to pull herself free of the mud, hammer at the ready. “And I'd like an explanation as soon as possible.”
“We will not allow a necromancer to cross our borders unbound.” The stallion that had attacked her spoke up. “Her magic is unnatural and spits in the face of Epona.”
“As her warden, I can assure–”
“Your laws mean nothing here, paladin!” He snapped. “Your goddess has no place here; there is only the wild and its laws.” He turned to Roseluck, beginning a conversation in their kind's secret language, and the tone of it did not sound happy.
Bonbon, for her part, gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to punch the stallion in his hidden face. It took more than a few prayers to Celestia to get her back to a more stable mindset, and even then, she still glared at the two of them as they talked.
Lyra simply continued to fidget and flinch thanks to the thorny flowers suppressing her magic. “Well, this is going swimmingly so far.”
“Hold your tongue, necromancer,” one of the remaining druids snapped. “Your fate has yet to be decided.”
The head of Bonbon's hammer started to glow as she turned to the druid. “You do not have authority to order execution,” she said quietly. “And if you try to, I will stop you.”
“Your goddess has–”
“And yours has no sway over me!” Bonbon interrupted. “I was given a task, and I will honor that task, regardless of which other deity it displeases.”
Roseluck paused in her conversation to glance toward her. “Starting to sound like Righteous Fury, Bon.”
“And you're not? This entire ambush was to trap a pony who has done nothing wrong and has even helped you when you asked.”
Rose flinched at that, then turned back to the stallion, speaking a few more Druidic words. The stallion's expression turned into that of a pony who had tasted sour milk, but he slowly nodded.
“Very well, but the binds remain on the necromancer.”
Rose sighed, but nodded. “That's the best we're going to get,” she said as Bonbon opened her mouth to protest. “It's either that or start heading back, and that's going to take a lot longer.”
Bonbon audibly growled at this, but grudgingly nodded. “Fine, but my position remains the same.”
Lyra wasn't nearly so enthusiastic about the idea, but wasn't in a position to argue either. She yelped when one of the druids shoved her with their hooves to get moving, and walked noticeably slower as they moved deeper into the forest, only her occasional curses and yelps of pain breaking the group's silence.
“Okay, I know we passed that tree before.”
Roseluck groaned, turning back to Lyra. “Did you not listen when I explained this to you the first time?”
“That was back when I still trusted you, and when I didn't have thorns poking me every time I moved.”
“Quit your bellyaching, necromancer, or I'm tossing you off the nearest cliff.”
Bonbon's hoof went to her hammer's handle, as it had many times already, not truly warning, but reminding the mouthy druid of her promise.
“Either way–” Rose slipped back a bit to put herself between Bonbon and the stallion “–we're almost there.”
“No, we are there.”
The transition from the wild forest to the druids' grove was almost palpable; if not for the ground beneath their hooves suddenly becoming more grass than dirt, then for the fact the air itself seemed... alive. Breathing it actually made Bonbon feel the aches and fatigue of the last few days slip away, and Lyra swore she could actually see the occasional shimmer of magic in the air.
And the trees, they were a sight themselves. The forest itself had trees of varying sizes, as was to be expected, but these... these trees towered taller than most castles, soaring high overhead. Their massive branches grew together in a complex web, leaves meshing together so close and dense they left little doubt that they would keep out even the most torrential of rains. Holes had been carved into the massive arbors, some of them quite high up, and ponies of all types could be seen flitting about within them.
Light came from various paper lanterns, hanging from smaller trees within the shadows of the giants, bathing the area in an almost twilight-like glow, and the glow of several fireflies just added to the feeling.
“Be it ever so humble,” Rose said quietly. Her eyes drifted around with a nostalgic sadness in them. “By Epona, I missed this place so much.”
The stallion didn't give her much longer to reminisce, however, as he resumed his pace after only a moment or two. “Come, the Archdruid mustn't be kept waiting.”
“Charming fellow,” Lyra muttered under her breath, flinching as one of her escorts shoved her along and jostled her bindings. Not that any of the other druids were any more welcoming; what few they could see were half hidden in their holes and among the massive roots of the trees. Most wore an expression of open disdain for their little group, and Lyra couldn't shake the feeling the majority of it was for her. “Why do I get the feeling there's an arrow aimed at me and I just can't see it?”
“I will not remind you again, necromancer.”
Lyra rolled her eyes, casting a sidelong glance at Bonbon, only to be rewarded with her looking as displeased by the whole thing as Lyra herself, not to mention receiving her own fair share of glares.
“This pony had better have information for us, Rose,” she growled. “Or this whole thing has been a waste of time.”
“She will,” Roseluck assured. “The Archdruid is the wisest of us all.”
Lyra muttered something inaudible, but trudged on anyway, still flinching now and again.
Eventually, under the close scrutiny of every druid they could see, the group approached what looked to be a modest castle made out of living trees and thick bushes. Flowers of every shape, size, and color imaginable covered the thing, birds and insects flapped and buzzed about the whole structure and the plants themselves could be seen moving and changing as they watched.
They were led to what looked like one of the walls, but the vines and branches shifted about as they approached, reforming into an archway to allow them passage, then closing back up behind them.
“This pony really likes to show off, don't they?”
All eyes snapped to Lyra, the druid stallion looking about ready to break her jaw, when a new voice spoke up. “Well, that generally is the point of places like this, isn't it?”
A purple earth pony trotted into view, an ornately carved wooden watering can held in her mouth. Her mane and tail were striped with two more shades of purple, one light and one dark, and her cutie mark bore a striking resemblance to the vines wrapped around Lyra. Her hooves were muddied with dirt and several spots of her coat sported grass stains. Still, the druids all quickly dropped into a low bow, and Bonbon followed suit with a small bow of her own; Lyra, still bound, couldn't really do more than incline her head slightly as the mare turned a set of bright blue eyes to her.
Silence followed her entrance as she calmly walked around, tilting her head to water some of the various flowers. The druids remained bowed until she finally set the watering can down and turned to them. “Please rise, my children, and tell me what brings you here.”
As one they rose, and greeted the mare with the same words. “Hail Wysteria, Archdruid, speaker for Epona, heir to the Wildflower.”
The mare, Wysteria, just chuckled. “Always so dramatic about it.”
“Archdruid,” the stallion spoke up. “These three have–”
“I don't have time for this.” Roseluck pushed past him, much to his annoyance, and stood before the mare. “You received my letter, didn't you, Archdruid?”
Wysteria's smile faded into a much more somber expression. “Yes, I did. The news of a blighter is troubling, especially one so brazen as to attack openly, but why do you come to me with news I already know?”
“We need information,” Bonbon spoke up. “That blighter couldn't have just come from nowhere, and we were hoping you could give us some idea of where she came from or what she was doing here.”
Wysteria turned to Bonbon, her eyes boring into the paladin for a long moment, then she did the same to Lyra, and the necromancer felt her knees go weak. Silence reigned for a moment, before she turned her back on the group and trotted deeper into the strange castle. “Follow me.”
She led them into a series of corridors not unlike a hedge maze, in both design and complexity, taking seemingly random turns until Lyra was just about ready to complain about being lost, when they reached what appeared to be a dead end. As with the previous wall, this one pulled itself apart to allow them to pass. It looked to be the interior of one of the tower-like trees, with staircases and shelves hewn from the living wood itself.
Wysteria trotted over to one of the shelves and pulled out a scroll, unrolling it on a table that still had flowers growing on it. “From what Roseluck has told me of your encounter, I can tell you that the blighter bares the name Redheart; she used to be a healer many years ago.”
“Yeah, the cutie mark kinda gives that sorta thing away.” Lyra weathered the fresh wave of glares with an entirely deadpan expression. “It's true and you all know it.”
“Anyway,” Wysteria said, drawing attention back to herself. “The last known records of her say she vanished almost a decade ago. I can't say for certain what happened to her then, but I doubt her turn from Epona came very long after. To do the things Rose described, she's been studying the black arts for quite some time.”
“That still doesn't answer how she managed to appear in Equestria again,” Bonbon said. “Nor does it explain what she would want.”
“Ordinarily, I would just say death, rot, and more death... but you're right. She couldn't have gone unnoticed for this long without someone or something helping her.”
Rose, Lyra, and Bonbon all looked between each other, remembering Righteous Fury's story. “I'm starting to agree with your dad, Bonnie,” Lyra said. “Something weird is going on here.”
“What would she hope to gain out of this, though?” Bonbon pressed on. “She didn't strike me as the type to work for free.”
“They seldom are,” Wysteria admitted. “Still, it is always difficult to fathom a mind twisted by such black arts. One thing I can say, though, ponies like her, with power such as this, always want more power.”
There was a tense silence that followed this, with the three outsiders deep in thought about what could have enticed a blighter, when a loud 'boom' suddenly shattered it.
Wysteria and the druids were the first to react, rushing back through the 'door' they had entered from, Bonbon came next with her heavy armor, and Lyra's pained steps brought up the rear. The paths they had walked twisted and turned as they ran, pushing them in new directions seemingly at random, until they reached another wall that spread apart to allow them out of the castle.
Once outside, screams could be heard and ponies could either be seen running from, or conjuring spells against torrents of blood red flames roaring over the ground, spreading out from a circular flame wall at the edge of the grove. Not that the latter were having much in the way of success, even water and ice spells seemed to barely make the flames fizzle.
“Hellfire!” Bonbon shouted as she pulled out her amulet. “Don't let it anywhere near you!” She charged forward, the sun amulet bouncing wildly as she called out to her goddess. “Let all dark forces be laid bare and shrivel in your light!” Light burst from the amulet, forcing the flames to arc around her as she galloped through them. She burst from the other side, still protected by the light, and managed to catch a brief glimpse of a pegasus stallion holding a staff aloft before her hooves were suddenly entangled in vines. She reached down to bite at them, only to gasp out as she felt an all too familiar constricting on her heart.
Redheart stepped into view, looking distinctly more bloodied then the last time Bonbon had seen her. “So nice to see you again, paladin.”
“Y- you're d–” Bonbon gasped in pain as the hold on her heart tightened to the point she was barely conscious.
“As they say, I got better. Now, as much as I'd love to have a nice chat about the futility of your life, I'm not really in the mood for more clichés; so do me a favor, and just die, okay?” Redheart's smile nearly split her face, a sadistic glint in her eyes as she watched Bonbon's movements grow slower and slower.
Three voices crying out in the Druidic tongue cut through the air, and the very grass around Bonbon shot up like tiny spears, forcing Redheart back with a cry of pain. Roseluck and two of the druids that had ambushed them leaped out of a hole in the singed ground, more words already springing from their lips.
Dirt and rock exploded upward, the makeshift barrier actually tossing Redheart into the air. Bonbon gasped deeply as the hold on her heart lessened to tolerable levels, finally letting her pull her legs free of the tangle of vines. “I thought we killed her!”
“Guess she didn't want to stay dead,” Rose returned with a shrug. “Let's make sure it sticks this time.”
Bonbon nodded as she got to her hooves, ready to jump over the impromptu wall.
“Let all who oppose you fear your wrath!”
The wall suddenly exploded as a ball of Hellfire smashed into it, tossing the four of them back. Bonbon managed to roll with it as she landed, her armor taking the brunt of the impact, but the druids found themselves landing painfully.
Redheart galloped at full speed through the new opening, jumping on the nearest of the druids as they cried out in pain.
Bonbon rushed at her, hammer coming loose in its harness, only to have the pegasus she'd spotted earlier swoop down and slam into her with his rear legs. She was knocked to the ground once more, and had the perfect view to see the druid's movements cease as a cloud of ichor flowed from the mare and into Redheart. She could hear Rose call out the pony's name, but she remained entirely still.
The blighter's eyes went wide, their whites turning black as pitch and her irises a pale gold. Her grin turned utterly manic and she laughed. Her skin took on a green tinge as she turned to the rest of the group, and they all felt their hearts forcibly slowed. “That's more like it!” she shouted. “I was starting to forget what killing felt like, but now I remember.” The manic grin remained as she stalked forward, all three of them struggling to even move as their vision swam before their eyes. “Now then, who comes next...”
“None!” Wysteria called out, riding atop what could only be described as a tree in the shape of a massive pony as it charged through the wall of fire. At her command, it swatted aside the pegasus stallion, then charged at Redheart, who just barely escaped its crushing root-hooves. “You are not welcome in my forest, Blighter!” Her voice distorted, almost echoing as it raised to a bellow. “BE GONE!” The tree-pony reared up with a whinny that Bonbon felt rattle her bones, then came down with an earth shattering crash. Roots and vines lashed out at Redheart, opening several wounds on the mare that rapidly closed.
Redheart still held her ground, if only just; the roots and vines didn't leave any wounds that lasted behind, but the time they took to close kept increasing, and Bonbon could already feel the hold on her heart slip away as Redheart was driven further back.
Out of the corner of her eye, Bonbon saw the pegasus pulling himself up from the dirt, pointing his staff at Wysteria. With a grunt of effort, she grabbed her hammer, and actually hurled the weapon at him. It was a pathetic blow by her usual standards, barely clipping his side, but it was enough; he staggered, only staying on his hooves thanks to his staff.
Rose shouted out another Druidic word and a fireball flew at him. He dove to the ground again, and barely managed to retaliate with a ball of Hellfire to block another attack from the remaining druid.
“Redheart!” he called out to the blighter. “It's time to go!”
Redheart turned to glare at him, and was rewarded with one of the tree-pony's hooves striking her across her body, knocking her several feet away. “Ugh,” she groaned. “You're right. Give us some cover, Winter.”
The pegasus, Winter, raised his staff, then slammed it down, summoning a pillar of Hellfire around them. Bonbon reached to her amulet for another prayer of protection, but the flames suddenly vanished, leaving nothing but a scorch mark in their wake. The wall of fire that had contained their little skirmish vanished as well, letting the sounds of screaming and even crying ponies reach their ears as the temperature dropped in absence of the Hellfire.
Wysteria, her eyes almost glowing, turned back to her damaged grove. She jumped off the animated tree, which slowly moved off to the side and became still, and walked over to the still form of one of her druids. She lightly laid her hoof on the mare, quietly giving a prayer to Epona in her memory.
While she could certainly understand the sentiment, Bonbon had other ponies on her mind. As she retrieved her hammer from where it landed, she turned to Rose. “Where's Lyra?”
Rose, still rubbing at her chest, grunted a bit. “I left her with Rock Steady, the guy you kept arguing with,” she clarified. “They should still be back at the palace.”
Bonbon thanked her and headed off as fast as she could at the moment. She didn't like to leave Lyra alone at times like these, especially when they were around ponies that seemed openly hostile to them, it was probably a good idea for them to stay out of the way for now.
“Lyra,” she called out as she neared the palace. “Lyra, are you here?” She got no response, which did nothing to help her already frayed nerves. “Rock Steady?” she tried the druid instead, but still heard nothing in reply. “Seriously, guys, now isn't the time for jokes!” She started walking a bit faster as she continued to call out for both of them to no avail. Until, finally, she reached the base of one of the tree-towers and stopped dead in her tracks.
Rock Steady, his throat slit, lay in a pool of blood, and Lyra herself was nowhere to be found.
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The blighter and the wizard were decoys and nothing more. Lyra was the true prize from this exchange; Perfect time for it to. Get to frame her for murder while she didn't have access to her magic to fight back.
FOR PETE'S SAKE!
I got a bad feeling about this
Oh well done. Team Death has some good info, if they could predict the movements of their enemies enough to know that Lyra would be disabled and wrapped up for capture. And this could put some pressure on both the druids and the paladin order depending on the fall out.
She has a point.
So, TARDIS logic.
Fair enough.
Probably is. Among other things.
You're not wrong.
Wasn't overkill.
Damn, going full All Shall Love Me and Despair.
So where's Bebop?
... Shit.
I'm trying to remember if Redheart was aware of her cliche-speak the first time, or if that line is your attempt to placate everyone who pointed out she was spewing nothing but cliches the first time she showed up.
7455353 It doesn't really take good intelligence gathering to know that Druids and Paladins will be ungrateful, xenophobic, totalitarian, hypocritical pieces of shit when dealing with anything not conforming to their pointless and archaic ideas of nature and justice. If I was in Lyra's position the moment they attacked us and Rose gave the ultimatum of deal with it or walk back I would have told them to go fuck themselves and that they deserve blighters if that is how they treat people trying to help.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
I somehow doubt rose well ever be getting help from them again, fucking traitor.
7455466 That you have a paladin and not playing to how most are makes you a better paladin than 99% of them. No joke, no foolin. I've seen such a lackluster set of paladins in recent times, that you come to see that the only different between them and an idiot is the fact i'd trust the idiot to think with their heart, not their arse.
Naivety is fine, and if anything a fun challenge to see. I hope it goes well. And doubly so to try a challenge. A current group has a paladin that fits the lawful stupid and stupid good tropes to a tee. And sadly, i'd pay for a paladin like you have, honestly. Flaws and all, over another self righteous idiot.
Well that's unfortunate.
that the blighter bares the name Redheart
1. Bears.
And another plot piece falls into place but the ultimate goal? Possibly alienate all dark magic users on purpose to have them be hunted and desperate for sanctuary then a whole war. Perhaps. Probably too obtuse for a solid plan though.
A gripping read.
Why they went with Lyra again?
Hoo boy. This looks bad... though I do have to wonder how the druids are going to try to explain where Lyra got the knife and how she overpowered the massive Rock Steady when she couldn't use her magic. I know they're biased against necromancers, but there comes a point where the story just can't hold together.
7455133
It's a bit poor planning, yes, but Redheart's forced Grogar's hoof thanks to her actions in chapter 3, so he has to settle for quick and unpolished plans for the moment.
7455168
Things can't go right for the good guys, it's a law of the adventure universe.
7455306
As you should.
7455353
Grogar is playing speed chess with his pieces now, hedging his bets that they'd go to the druids with the appearance of Blightheart. Having a chronomancer around also helps with these sorts of things.
7455466
I don't know enough about Mass Effect to know how the Paragon Shepard type of paladin is played/written. I just hope Bonbon is living up to the title.
7455468
Part of me wonders if that was the first to use this trope, or if it's just the one everyone knows.
Druids are basically the elves of this setting, so...
Left the grove to become a bard, they don't talk about him.
7455554
Different stories, different rules.
7455588
...yes.
In all seriousness, though, this is half an attempt to admit that I was wrong while writing her the first time, and half her actual personality coming through. Redheart does spout cliches all the time, but when she's actually serious, she act more like this. Like I've said in the past, she's a hypocrite.
7455662
Thanks
7455967
Yes, yes it is.
7456080
Not exactly, but thanks for the food for thought.
7456807
Glad to hear it!
7456929
Things will be revealed in time.
7457620
Too bad she has to wear a black cloak still, magic can be really picky like that.
7457737
Logic rarely holds as much weight as it should in the face of hatred.
7455607
7455609
7455673
7455850
I get the feeling a few people are only reading this in the hopes of seeing me kill off most of the protagonists in the most painfully gory way possible.
7458091 Yeah but this is going to be freaking ABSURD. It's actually a trope I actually? HATE. Yes I DESPISE this trope. The whole 'oh the hero MIGHT have done something bad but they weren't around to claim they didn't' or it's sister 'the hero was alone and they possibly killed someone! How will we EVER know?!'. It's BEYOND played to death to the point I can guess it goes one of two ways. One it turns out, shock of shocks, Lyra DIDN'T kill the druid and was instead kidnapped and framed or two he was trying to kill her but she managed to get free and kill in self defense. And of course her friends are going to have doubts because of this and the druids will INSANTLY accuse her because 'NECROMANCER!' which will be INCREDIBLY irritating.
.... also Grogar? DID SOMEONE SAY GROGAR?! AS IN THE BEST GENERATION 1 VILLAIN EVER GROGAR?! GROGAR THE NECROMANCER/KING OF TAMBELON?!
7458091 if its told well, sometimes the worst of ends occur. But in general, paladins are jerks to my perceptions. I never see a good paladin like bonbon, well, once in a blue moon, under a thousand years or so. So, yeah, if most of the order gets to meet their maker due to hubris.. Well, they brought it on themselves.
One thing I loved, was that in a few d&d worlds, was that you had a neutral death god/goddess. Who had sponsored necromancers. That were kind people only seeking to understand death. Could let someone ask a departed family, or even taking soldiers, dead, and gone, back to their homes to be buried. That other men and women would leave for the crows and flies.
And this is something I feel the order is bringing on themselves. Fear and hatred, xenophobia rules those under the sun. And look what it gets.
7458101
Grogar was revealed in the previous chapter; and give me some credit, I do have plans for things.
7458142
To be fair, only two of the paladins have actually been revealed. There's a lot more to them than originally appears, and judging them by the actions of only two, or taking the actions of others that don't have anything to do with them or this setting is a bit unfair.
7458153 Yeah but consider me cautious.
No Absol, I mean why the heck Lyra went to the grove at all if she knows those darn hippies hate her?
I mean the tree hugger could have just gone in her own or with Bonbon while Lyra remained in town.
And if Warden rules mean Bonbon and Lyra must be close to each other all the time, then just sent the tree hugger to ask the questions.
****
"Okay, is the Moon Guard also tbat stupid as the sun kissers?"
"Gusty that's rude."
"No really, was there any need for Bonbon and Lyra to go ask in person? We have magic means of communication for a reason. And some even work in grooves. Heck Wind Wispers work almost
anywhere as long as there is wind."
"Well not everyone knows every fucking wind based spell that exists. And why do you think a Druid would be able to cast that particular spell anyway? "
"Because that's their whole stick! Talk with nature and that! Are you saying most druids actually can't talk using the wispers of the wind?"
"I think is talk to trees and animals actually."
"Then do Hugapple tree comunication spell! I can't do it myself but while a tad slow is very accurate since I quote 'every living being is connected to each other and trees are connected to other trees, bla bla bla."
"Gusty... is easy to be a critic after the fact. But granted going with a necromancer to see a bunch of druids was quite stupid.'
"Weren't you supposed to help?"
"Sorry Bonbon, but I am quite sure there is a part in the Warden rules somewhere that says you can temporary leave ypur charge under custody of somepony else if you have to attend official duties of greater urgency."
"Oh like you are so much better yourself, you are a dropout!"
"Dishonorable discharge is not drooping out!"
*What the buck I just wrote?
7458091
The latter. I doubt it's the first to use the trope.
Yes basically.
Didn't actually expect an answer to that.
7458153 True, but im far more expecting the latter 'kill them all, let x judge them' as the standard here, because its an easier solution to adopt for most ponies. And if its an easier path, its almost a universal aspect most are going to take it. Power and authority are something that paladic orders do provide the 'faithful'.
7458091 honestly I just have a low tolerance for people stabbing heroes in the back when there trying to help them.
Let me guess: they're all going to think that Lyra went off the deep end. And are going to become friends again just before they kill her. How typical. I would like to see them know that something's wrong with the whole thing, and that Lyra would only kill in self defense. That someone set them up to make them think that she went mad. Of course Lyra doesn't need to know that.
7458091
Basically...Bon-Bon. Knows people don't often go bad for no reason, genuinely believes in redemption and will move heaven and earth to do it, smart enough to tell when it won't take and sometimes takes it as a personal failure when it happens, understands that the law is there for a reason but sometimes you're going to have to choose between Lawful and Good, and chafes at people like Righteous who choose the former (or worse, conflate them).
Like, take out the religious themes and make her a terrible dancer, and Bon-Bon pretty much is Shepard.
7458153
Technically three and a half? We've seen the effects of Shining Armor's leadership at least, and Righteous outright despises him. So really, we have:
- one awesome paladin
- one hateful pontificating douche
- one unseen leader who seems to lean more toward the former
- one overprotective father who appears to at least be a reasonable if cranky authority figure who doesn't automatically dismiss people he doesn't like.
That's already loads better than D&D paladins tend to run.
Dang druids. They couldn't have made it easier to kidnap Lyra. They even gift-wrapped her!
...the biggest cliffhanger is always at the end of an incomplete story.
Always.
And, of course, Lyra will be blamed for killing Rock, and she'll probably be accused of being in league with the Blighter
Apparently what ever Lyra's dad was up too was impressive, and the Bad Guys are hoping she knows how to do it as well ...
7462828
"You'd have to be at least demi-god to do anything in that binding"
"Oh her guard is dead, Lyra must have done it"
I just hope that Lyra isnt being tortured too badly for her father's secrets.
/Edit I also want Bon to give Rose an epic bitch-slap for this.
This should be bears.
7455609 perhaps she could have been left in the tender loving care of Righteous Fury. at least then she'd have to actually do something to be jabbed all over her body.
7458463
It has been hinted that Shining Armor, the leader of this world's paladin order, has taken a less murder-happy approach to dealing with potential threats.
7458948
What's to say Bonbon isn't a terrible dancer in this world?
Oh my freaking gods! If this where any Pen & Paper session I usually partake in as player/lead as Dungeon Master, this whole damn grove would have been burned to the ground at this point and NOT by the bad guys mind you. Oh and Righteous Fury would propaly have been introduced to the business end of a really deep cliff.
Wooooaaahhhold the phone! This raises ALL kinds of questions:
Why is Derpy is Lich?
How did she become a lich?
How does anyone become a lich?
Why would someone want to be a lich?
Why wouldn't someone want to be a lich?
Why is the world low in the lich count other than prejudice?
*Slice of unlife*
Hey, HEY! I'm not done!
What happens to bone-liches when the bone breaks down?
What are the laws and regulations for liches?
Is destroying a Lich's Phalactory considered destruction of property or attempted murder?
If a lich murders his or her murderer, and the murder comes back as a lich, do they both get prosecuted, or neither?
Can Liches put their phalactories in some sort of safety deposit box?
Is there a Liche-retirement home full of cranky liches who complain all day about how things were better 300 years ago?
Are ancient liches better or worse cart drivers than regular elderly?
Joking aside, I truly hope to see more chapters out of this. The universe is ripe for stories.
when are you uploading the next chapter??? because "I NEED IT" man
Its taken 3 years to get where we are, I am almost tempted to hope this story stays dead before it draws me back into its great story and wonderful characters only for another update to be eight months away.
7952156
You make a depressingly good point...
7952200
Hey now that's just one way of looking at it. You can either view it that way or rethink your original plan and end it quicker and throw yourself into writing with the knowledge that it will be done sooner rather than later. Their is no shame in admitting you were overly ambitious, only in leaving a job half done.
7952221
Really, I'm not sure how many more chapters the story would actually be at this point. I have the next one in the editing stage, even if it's just a filler chapter, and I still want to finish it with what I have in mind. Especially since it honestly feels like a disservice to all the people who have been following me this whole time to just say 'Fuck it; sorry, guys, story's just over.' I really don't know how to wrap this up quickly, but I'll definitely try and hope that whatever ending I can give is something that isn't complete shit at this point.
SHE MOVES THE FU*KING SUN!
The whole forest DEPENDS on her. -__-