Chapter 3: Light Meets Harmony
Fluttershy was terrified out of her wits with what she had just witnessed. A mysterious creature that looked like a mix between a monkey and a cat, wearing something Rarity would make, showed up and fought a cragadile! Cragadiles were one of the most dangerous creatures in the Everfree Forest and she just charged at it like it was nothing. Not to mention those arrows were able to pierce its stone hide. She had to get out and tell the others about her discovery. Twilight needs to see this! While the cat person dealt with the cragadile, Fluttershy made her escape with Angel on her back, flying straight out of the cave as fast Rainbow Dash attempting to break a new record. She got back on her hooves once she was out of the cave and raced towards the Castle of the Two Sisters, which isn't far.
At the castle, everypony was finishing up the breakfast Pinkie Pie brought them. Spike and Pinkie Pie gobbled up the last of the cakes save for the one strawberry slice meant for Fluttershy. Twilight had finished reorganizing the shelves, marking the books that everyone else has read. She was getting slightly worried that one of their friends is still missing. "Fluttershy's been gone for quite a while now. Maybe we should check up on her."
"She knows that she shouldn't stray too far from the castle. But you're right, you can never be too sure in these neck of the woods." Applejack replied, closing the book she was halfway finished with. "I'll admit, even I'm starting to get worried."
Fluttershy left the castle an hour before Pinkie Pie arrived with the cakes, and it has been thirty minutes since then. With Angel's help, she should've been back shortly after Pinkie Pie showed up. Twilight decided to put her hoof down and make an announcement. "Everypony, stop what you're doing. Let's go look for Fluttershy! We can look through these books again later." Twilight turned towards the castle library's exit and began to make her way down to the entrance. "Spike, stay here in case Fluttershy comes back while we're out."
"Don't worry, I'll keep a lookout for Fluttershy." Spike, the dragon, gave Twilight a reassured nod. Everypony followed the princess down to the main entrance. Twilight was about to open the doors, until Fluttershy came bursting in, causing everyone to skid to a halt. Twilight and Fluttershy crashed into each other, the latter knocking the other backwards since she didn't anticipate it. The two ponies groaned as they lied on the floor. Angel came in after Fluttershy and rushed to her side to make sure she's okay.
"Oh, there's Fluttershy! You almost missed the strawberry cake I brought for you." Pinkie Pie happily said. She turned her head over her shoulder and yelled at the top of her lungs. "NEVERMIND SPIKE! SHE'S HERE!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry Twilight! I didn't mean to run into you!" Fluttershy apologized quickly as she got off of the purple alicorn and helped her up.
"It's fine. I'm just glad you're safe. We were wondering why you were gone for so long." Twilight brushed off the dust of the old castle floor off of her fur.
"But why were you charging inside like as if a Timberwolf was on your tail?" Applejack asked, looking between Fluttershy and the door.
"Oh dear, is something after you?" Rarity walked up to the yellow pegasus showing great concern for her friend.
"Don't worry about it, I bet we can handle whatever's chasing her." Rainbow Dash proudly stated with her hooves on her hips as she hovered above the group.
"I-I don't think I'm being chased. But I did see something terrifying." Fluttershy looked worried as her eyes turned to the castle's entrance.
"What did you see, Fluttershy?" Twilight walked up to her side, facing the door as well.
"Well, at first Angel and I heard something that sounded like several lightning strikes, then we heard a scream that scared the daylights out of me. So we both hid behind the closest stone we could find, hoping that whatever made that noise wouldn't have noticed us. Shortly after we hid, I heard somepony talking. I thought maybe it was a unicorn pony who attempted a teleportation spell like what you can do, Twilight, especially since Angel and I saw that weird light. But what we saw wasn't a pony!" Fluttershy took a pause in the middle of her story to catch her breath and calm herself down before she continued. Her friends, and Spike who decided to come down after hearing Pinkie Pie yell at him, were listening closely. "I don't know what it was, but it looked like a cat with some of its fur missing, standing on its hind legs, and wore a fancy green outfit. At first, she sounded nice. But as soon as I looked at her, she began to scream at me! It was so frightening! And that's not even adding the part about the cragadile."
"Whoa whoa, this cat monster showed up and brought a cragadile with her?" Rainbow Dash hovered closer to Fluttershy before finally planting her hooves on the cold stone floor.
"More like the cragadile woke up because of our screams. The next thing I know, the cat thing attacked the cragadile, telling me to 'stay back', like it was trying to protect me." Fluttershy thought back to the scene where she encountered this cat creature. She was thinking that maybe she shouldn't have ran off.
"She protected you? Then why did you run off?" Rarity inquired.
"Um, well, it was because she was so vicious. She charged the cragadile like she wasn't afraid of it all. The next thing I knew, she shot an arrow into the cragadile's eye with her bow. I couldn't stand the sight of the poor thing in pain so I ran back to the castle to tell you what I saw. I wanted to tell her to stop, but, I was so scared. What if I was next? What if she was going to eat me after she was done with the cragadile?"
Fluttershy's looked at each other with concern. A mysterious creature showed up and scared the cutie mark out of Fluttershy. Not to mention this creature fought a cragadile with an intent to kill. Twilight wasn't sure what to make of Fluttershy's story. The identity of this thing Fluttershy described definitely has her interested though. To her, it sounded like the cat creature was trying to protect her, but she needed more information. "Where did you see it?"
"It was in a cave, northwest of here. Angel and I went inside to go look for the last couple of herbs for Zecora's potions. Oh, I forgot to grab the last herb I needed in there. How am I going to get it now?" Fluttershy told Twilight while also contemplating on what she should do next.
Twilight thought to herself for a moment before making a decision. "I think we should find out what this thing Fluttershy found is."
"Oh! Are we going to welcome it to Ponyville? Do you think they like cakes? I sure hope they like cakes! Oh by the way Fluttershy, we saved you a slice back in the library!" Pinkie Pie hopped around excitedly.
"I think our main concern is if this thing really is friendly, Pinkie. I reckon any pony crazy enough to tango with a cragadile ought to be more dangerous than a hungry owlbear." Applejack said to her pink, bouncy friend.
"And if they're not friendly, we should give them a good old fashioned Rainbow greeting!" Rainbow Dash says while pounding her hooves together.
"Honestly, Rainbow Dash, I think you should be a bit more worried that some random beast, a well dressed one if Fluttershy's description fits, can fight a cragadile without backing down." Rarity said with a concerned look on her face.
"I don't know. I think this cat thing was actually trying to protect Fluttershy. I mean, she did tell her to stay back right before she fought the cragadile. Sounds like what a hero would do in a comic book." Spike butted into the conversation with his arms crossed.
"I was thinking the same thing, Spike. But we can't be certain just yet. Let's find this cave before it leaves." Twilight began making her way out of the castle. Everypony, including Spike, followed her. Fluttershy instructed Angel to stay behind and wait for her before she left.
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Garuda picked Cid up by the shoulders and carried him above the Enterprise Excelsior and through the hole the monster made, finally meeting up with everyone else. Garuda let him down gently before returning back to her summoner's side. Colleen gave her a pat on the head before sending her off, switching back to her bard armor. "Thanks for the lift, Colleen." Cid thanked her.
Once everyone was brought up to the upper level of the cavern, they all moved out of the water pool and onto dry land. Everyone was taking in the sights of their new surroundings while also wondering where they are. Y'shtola gazed around the cave before turning towards Colleen. "So Colleen, just before that monster crashed through the ceiling, we heard someone talking. Was that you as well?"
"I wouldn't call it talking, more like exchanging a sentence and then screaming." Colleen sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.
"Did you find someone?" Tataru looked up at Colleen while she was sitting on the floor, getting rid of the water in her boots.
Colleen responds with a nod at first before talking. "I found a small yellow pegagus, about as tall as two lalafells of the average height, and she could talk. The screaming was me getting caught off guard."
"Talking horses?" Yugiri questioned her.
"Yeah."
"Hmm, I've never heard of a race of horses that can talk. Let alone pegasi. But, it is likely that we are in a realm unfamiliar to us. Remember what the Ascian said before she blasted us here. 'We all deserve a vacation." Alphinaud crossed his arms as he continued talking. "It's possible that we're not Eorzea anymore. Which means friendly contact with the people here should be our first priority." Everyone in the room nodded in agreement with Alphinaud's plan. "Colleen's already met with one natives, which as she just explained to us, is a talking horse. We should try and find out where they live and establish peace with them."
"Careful though, considering she was gone by the time I was done with that 'cragadile', I'm going to take a wild guess and say that they're a timid race." Colleen informed her comrades, slightly worried if whether or not the pegasus managed to get away safely.
"Understood. Now, let's be on our way. I think we're all done with caves for now." Alphinaud began to walk up the path leading to the cave's entrance. Everyone followed behind him and Colleen, who was walking by Alphinaud's side. It took a while for all of them to reach the top, but when they finally made it out, they were greeted by a vast forest. Some of the flora is unfamiliar to them and the forest itself appears denser than the one outside of the city-state Gridania. Once everyone was outside of the cave, Colleen spoke up.
"One second, I'm going to see if I can spot a town or village nearby." As soon as she finished her sentence, Colleen transformed into her dragoon job, donning a blue set of armor that resembles a dragon. Colleen kept her helmet open so she doesn't appear as intimidating to her companions, even though they're used to be in the presence of a woman who's made a sport out of slaying the god-like 'Primals' of her world. After she transformed she went ahead and climbed up the nearest tree. Her body is lighter when she's a dragoon, due to the fact that they train themselves to practically leap several stories high in order to attack dragons that are flying high in the air and thrust their spears through their thick scales. As soon as she got up to the top of the tree, she place her foot on a sturdy branch and launched herself about 30 feet into the air, twirling her body mid-air to absorb her surroundings. She sees what appears to be a castle sitting in the forest not too far away and in the other direction, the roof of a building, far into the distance. The castle was closer than the building she saw, giving her a good idea where they should head to first. As she plummeted back into the trees, something caught her eye. A cyan colored pegasus leaving a rainbow trail as it flew heading towards the cave. She landed safely next to her companions and looked up at them. "Someone's coming."
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As the ponies traveled through the Everfree Forest, Rainbow Dash flew higher than usual so she can act as a scout for the group. She flew a little higher than the trees of the forest, well within her comfort zone. While she was keeping a lookout, Twilight and the others were trotting on foot, trekking through the thick forest. Pinkie Pie, who's method of walking was more of a prance or hop than a trot, spoke up. "So what are we going to do when we meet this monster, Twilight? Are we going to give it a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party? I wonder if she likes cake. Well if she's a cat like Opal, maybe she won't like it. Oh, maybe I should bake a cake out of kitty food-"
"Pinkie Pie, would you keep it down? We don't know how dangerous this fella is. We ought to be on our hooves for this one." Applejack interrupted Pinkie before she could continue.
"The cave isn't that far ahead. We should be reaching it any minute no-" Before Fluttershy could finish her sentence, Rainbow Dash flew back down to the front of the group.
"Whoa, hold on guys! I just saw something."
"What? What did you see?" Spike looked up at her, worried.
"I don't know, but it kind of looked like a dragon. I think it saw me before it flew down into the trees up ahead." Rainbow Dash pointed in the direction of the cave. Fluttershy's pupils shrank and her body began to quiver. She fled to the back of the group and hid behind Rarity. "Oh but don't worry, it's smaller than Spike was when he raided Pinkie Pie's cakes that one time he got carried away."
"Aw man, did you have to bring that up?" Spike groaned, still embarrassed about that incident.
"Hehe, sorry. But I just wanted to make everypony know that we're not entirely over our heads here." Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy and she seemed to have calm down a bit.
"Alright, here's the plan everypony. Spike and I will go on ahead towards the cavern while you all stay hidden in the trees. If a dragon is there now and not the cat creature, then we'll head back to the castle. It could just be a young dragon looking to use the cave as a home." Twilight informed her friends about what she intends to do.
"But what if the dragon gets aggressive?" Rarity asks with concern.
"Don't worry, I can just teleport myself and Spike away. I'm bringing Spike hoping that him being present will ease some tension."
"Alright sugar cube, but be careful now, ya hear?"
Twilight gives Applejack a nod before moving on ahead towards the cave. Spike followed close-by, slightly nervous about their inevitable confrontation with whatever's in the cave right now. Twilight soon entered a small opening with the cave's mouth standing before her. She can hear voices coming from inside. She was nervous, but she needed to know about what Fluttershy saw. She cleared her throat before speaking, "Hello? Is anyone in there?"
No response. The voices quieted down the moment she spoke. Twilight stood in front of the cave's entrance, tempted to use a light spell to brighten up in the interior so she can see who's inside. "M-maybe they're not here anymore Twilight? Or that dragon is off hunting right now. Maybe we should go back?" Spike tugged on her wings, looking scared. Twilight looked down and gave him a smile that calmed him down a little. She looked towards the cave and was about to speak until she heard a sound. It sounded like footsteps. Twilight and Spike took a few steps back from the cave's entrance, waiting for what's about to show up with anticipation.
What they saw matched the description Fluttershy gave them. A cat-like creating dressed up in an outfit that Rarity would make for a special occasion like a wedding or the gala. Her 'fur' was as white as snow and her tail as fluffy as a cloud. She had light blue eyes with cat-like pupils that had a gentle feel coming from them. The creature stopped as soon as he was outside of the cave, looking down at the purple alicorn and her purple dragon. She cleared her throat and spoke, "Hello there."
"H-hi." Twilight responded, taken aback by the miqo'te's appearance. She felt nervous at first when she first appeared, but for some reason she doesn't feel threatened at all. Her appearance is definitely surprising, but there wasn't anything threatening about her. Twilight could feel that this creature, no, person didn't have any intent of harming her or Spike. "Um, you wouldn't happened to have met a yellow pegasus with a pink mane?"
"I have actually. Do you know her?"
"Yes, actually. She's a good friend of mine"
"Oh, I see. Are you looking for her?" The creature kept on talking to her like a normal pony would to another.
"Not really. She came back to us after seeing you fight the cragadile." Twilight responded, raising an eyebrow at the creature's question.
"Oh, good. I didn't mean to scare her off. I was only trying to protect her from that monster." She sighed with relief.
Spike was confused. This was the monster that took on a cragadile? She didn't seem that threatening. "So what happened to that cragadile anyway?" Spike decided to ask her.
"I slew it. It was going make me a miq'ote sandwich. I didn't really have a choice." The miqo'te shrugged as she nonchalantly admitted she killed it.
"I see." Twilight definitely understood that it had to kill the cragadile. Why she didn't run was another question she had for, but she wanted to know more about her. "Is miqo'te your name?"
"Oh no, it's not. That's the name of my race. My name is Colleen Noriko." She placed her hand on her chest as she stated her name.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle. And this is my assistant, Spike." Twilight returned the introduction with a bow. "So, Colleen, do you mind if I ask why you were in that cave in the first place?"
Colleen rubbed the back of her head as she continued to speak. "Well, we were sent inside there via a teleportation circle. It wasn't by choice though, we kind of fell into a trap."
"We? So you're not alone?" Spike asked next.
Colleen gave him a nod. "That's right. We're not sure where we are and it would be great if you could tell us so we'll know how to get back to Eorzrea."
"Eorzea?" Twilight and Spike both asked at the same time. "That's not a place I've heard or read about." Twilight spoke.
"Well, that's not good. I guess we'll have to find another way then. Do you have a map on you?"
"Not on me right now, but there's one at the castle. If you were forced here, then I'd be happy to help you find out where you are." Twilight responded with a smile.
"Thank you, Twilight. By the way, where are we anyway?"
"Right now you're in the Everfree Forest. This is kind of a dangerous place to be so we should head to the castle as soon as possible. The country you're in right now is called Equestria." Twilight informed her newly made friend.
'Equestria? I wonder if Alphinaud or Y'shtola knows what this place is.' Colleen thought to herself. Her thought process was interrupted by a sudden flash of pink.
"So what kind of cake do you like? Do you like party's? I hope you do!" Pinkie Pie brought her muzzle up close to Colleen's face, causing the miqo'te to scream in surprise and fall on her butt.
"Pinkie!" Twilight looked at her friend with a scolding stare.
"What? It was obvious you made friends with Colleen here so I wanted to know if she wanted cake or if she likes throwing parties!" Pinkie Pie said as she took a slice of cake out of her mane followed by balloons. Colleen could only look at her with a confused expression.
"Pinkie Pie, we were supposed to stay hidden until we got the clear that it was safe." Rainbow Dash flew in with her hooves on her hips, giving Pinkie a disapproving look.
"Now hold on there Rainbow, I think it's safe to say that Colleen here ain't a horrible monster." Applejack walked up behind her, followed by Rarity and Fluttershy.
"My oh my, Colleen. I do love that suit you're wearing. The gold definitely compliments the green. I'd love to meet whoever tailored it." Rarity complimented her dress, looking her up and down, judging her attire in her head.
Colleen was at a loss of words. It was definitely clear that this country known as Equestria had multi-colored horses, unicorns, pegasus, and alicorns that could talk. She's not sure what to think of the situation, except that they're all kind of adorable. "I think it's time to formally introduce ourselves." Said a voice behind her. She looked back and saw Alphinaud, Y'shtola, Yugiri, Tataru, Biggs, Wedge, and Cid walk out of the cave. Colleen helped herself up, noticing that one of the pegasi was cowering behind the white unicorn that complimented her dress when her allies decided to make an appearance. "I apologize for not introducing ourselves earlier. It was Colleen's idea so we don't happen to intimidate you when we meet."
"You were expecting us?" Rarity asked Alphinaud while, again, judging his and the rest of the group's attire in her head.
"Colleen saw one of you flying towards us." Y'shtola said as she looked at Rainbow Dash specifically.
"Wait, do you guys happen to have a dragon? Because I didn't see any of you guys except that dragon, and I'm pretty sure it landed like where we're standing right now." Rainbow Dash questioned them.
"That was definitely me." Before Rainbow Dash could comment any further, Colleen changed into her Dragoon job, showing off her armor to the ponies. "This is what you saw, right?"
The ponies were taken by surprise with Colleen's sudden ability to change her clothes on the spot. Applejack whistled in astonishment while Rainbow Dash nodded to answer Colleen's question. "Oh my! You seem to have a thing or two for fashion, dear. Though you could do without the hip wings." Rarity commented on Colleen's armor.
"Amazing! That was magic you just used just now, wasn't it? And you're not even a unicorn! Are all miqo'tes able to use magic?" Twilight asked with an interested look in her eyes.
"Not just Miqo'tes. Hyurs, Elezen, Lalafells, Roegadyens, and Au'ra are capable of magic as well." Cid spoke up, pointing his finger at one of his comrades as he demonstrated what race they belonged to. "The only race I know of that's not proficient with magic are Garleans, such as yours truly." Cid places his hand on his chest and bowed before the ponies. "By the way, before we forget, I'm Cid Garlond of Garlond Ironworks. And these two here are my top engineers, Biggs and Wedge." The lalafell and roegadyen waved at the ponies as they were introduced.
"Right, introductions. Ahem, my name is Alphinaud Leveilleur of the Scions. And this is Tataru Taru, our accountant." Alphinaud introduced himself and Tataru.
"Pleased to meet you!" Tataru said with a curtsy.
"Y'shtola, also of the Scions." The other miqo'te bowed her head to Twilight and her friends.
"Yugiri Mistwalker. I am an ally and friend to the Scions." Yugiri spoke with a gentle smile.
"And you've already met Colleen of course." Alphinaud waves his hand at the Warrior of Light.
"Scions? What's that? Is that the name of a club you guys made?" Pinkie Pie questioned, tilting her head.
"Hehe, it's kind of like a club. To put it lightly, we protect the realm from dangers that threaten Eorzea and its denizens." Colleen said, trying to simplify their cause. She didn't want to start off by saying that they fight gods, immortal dark wizard, and demons. That'd raise more questions than she or Alphinaud could answer. She'd rather leave that stuff to Minfillia, if she were here right now.
"Huh, kind of like the Elements of Harmony then." Spike spoke up while attempting to compare his height with Tataru, only to find out that he's a bit shorter than she is.
"Elements of Harmony?" Alphinaud asked with a curious tone.
"Well, not really a club, it was similar to what your Scions do. We save Equestria from huge threats." Twilight quickly explained to them.
"Well, did. We kind of had to give up the elements not too long ago to save Equestria from being covered up with indestructible thorny vines. Thanks to a certain someone." Rainbow Dash said, looking slightly annoyed when thinking about Discord's involvement with the Tree of Harmony.
"We're FAR from being defenseless, Rainbow. But you're right in that we can't handle huge threats if they ever present themselves. We're kind of lucky nothing big has happened since then" Applejack spoke up.
"That's quite a dilemma. But, you said you had to give up the elements?" Alphinaud continued to question them.
"It's a really long story, so I'll try to summarize it as best as I can. The Elements of Harmony were assigned to each of us: Honesty to Applejack, Kindness to Fluttershy, Loyalty to Rainbow Dash, Generosity to Rarity, Laughter to Pinkie Pie, and I wielded the Element of Magic. These six elements combined together was our main weapon for defeating very powerful beings. But, like Rainbow Dash said, we had to give it all up to save Equestria one day." Twilight explained to them, while also introducing who her friends are.
It was quite something to take in. The names of these 'Elements of Harmony' seemed like something out of a children's fairy tale. The next thing one of them would expect them to say was that it could shoot rainbows when combined together. Everyone was having a hard time taking it all in, except for Colleen. She remembered the vision she saw before getting tricked by the Ascian. She looked at one of ponies, specifically Rainbow Dash, and noticed that on her flank, there was a lightning bolt tattooed there, just like the gem she saw in her vision that represented 'Loyalty'. She had a weird gut in her feeling that she was meant to come here and meet these ponies. But for what reason? Were they all supposed to confront and defeat the Ascian in her dream? It happened before with Lahabrea, so it's possible. She was worried though that these elements are now gone, so she's not sure what will happen next. "Well, what's your next best defense against those kind of threats?" Colleen asked with a deep concern her voice.
"Well, when we had to give our elements, a box appeared before the Tree of Harmony. We don't know what it is, but we think it's something related to the Elements of Harmony. Unfortunately, it's locked and we can't open it unless we find the keys. No luck with that either." Twilight sighed, a bit depressed that she hasn't figured anything about the box out after all this time.
"Don't worry Twilight, you'll figure something out. You always do!" Spike tried to cheer his foster parent up. She responded with a smile, knowing he's just trying to help.
"That's a bloody shame. Forcing yourselves to give up your best means of protection, it's a miracle you haven't been invaded yet." Cid noted while stroking his beard.
"Is that a threat?" Rainbow Dash dashed up to Cid with an aggressive stare.
"Oh no, Miss Dash. Just an observation. We bare you no ill will. I apologize if I struck a nerve." Cid quickly apologized to the cyan pegasus.
"Hmph." Rainbow flew back next to Twilight, giving Eorzeans, including Colleen, a cautious stare.
"Anyway, if it's no trouble Twilight, we could use some shelter. We don't know how long we'll be here." Colleen spoke up, attempting to break the tension.
"Hmm, well, I'm sure we can all find you a place to stay in Ponyville." Twilight said while rubbing her chin, thinking about a possible spot for them to spend the night.
"I assume that's the name of the nearest village?" Y'shtola inquired.
"Oh yeah! It's where we all live! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASP! Oh my gosh, there's a lot of planning to do! I need to throw you all a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party! Gotta ask this again, do you like cake? Cupcakes? Sasparilla? What about 'Pin The Tail on the Pony'?" Pinkie Pie excitedly questioned Y'shtola, leaning in a bit too close for comfort.
"Um, yes?" Y'shtola backed away a bit from Pinkie.
"I prefer chocolate over vanilla." Colleen added to the conversation, much to Pinkie's delight.
"Hold on there Pinkie. Before you even think about throwing a party, there's a couple of hoops to jump through. Like taking in a bunch of weird looking fellas through Ponyville and having them stay more than a few nights? Might scare a couple of folks if you get what I mean." Applejack said, making a valid point.
"Who're you calling weird looking you midget horse!" Wedge pointed his finger at her accusingly.
"I don't know what a midget is, but I'm not a horse. I'm a pony." Applejack raised a brow at the lalafell engineer, not sure whether or not she should be offended by the word 'midget'.
"She does make a point though." Tataru softly spoke up. "It feels like we're out of our element here and I think this is the first time these ponies have seen people like us. Master Alphinaud, Colleen, maybe we should wait a bit before we go into town?"
"I... hm, not a bad suggestion Tataru." Alphinaud said, thinking about how to proceed with the current situation. "How about this then. Colleen, Cid, Y'shtola, and I will go into town and meet with your people's leader. We'll ask their permission to have stay in Ponyville."
"If you're talking about Princess Celestia and Luna, they're not in Ponyville. They're all the way in Canterlot which is a train ride away. Ponyville has a mayor. But, I don't think you have to worry about meeting with her. My word should be good enough for everypony to trust you all." Twilight said with a smile.
"Why is that?" Questioned Yugiri.
"Oh well that's because she's a princess, dear!" Rarity says while putting her hooves on Twilight's back. "I do believe we forgot to mention that small detail."
It took about five seconds for everyone to process what Rarity just said. Everyone was taken aback that they had met a very important individual this early in a new land. Usually they have to go through a bunch of trials, community service, slaying a primal, and recently with Ishgard, winning a trial by combat in order to meet the leader of a city-state. And one just happened to come greet them as soon as they left a cave. It was quite surreal. Everyone, including Colleen, knelt down before Twilight after hearing that she is in fact a princess, which caused the purple alicorn to blush. "We're sorry, your highness. We didn't know we were talking to someone so important." Alphinaud humbly apologized for himself and his allies.
"Oh no! It's fine. I don't even have a castle. I became a princess just recently. I'm still trying to get used to these wings." Twilight sheepishly responded.
"So, it's not a title by birth?" Colleen looked up at Twilight.
"No, it's um, it's a long story. I'll go over it on the way."
"Um, are you sure about this Twilight?" Fluttershy spoke for the first time in front of the group barring Colleen.
"Where else are they going to stay? They could spend the night at the Castle of the Two Sisters, but I don't think there's enough room for everypony here. And I don't feel comfortable having them sleep in a cave that had something that tried to eat them earlier. Ponyville's the best place for shelter for all of them."
"Oh, well, if you're okay with it Twilight. But, can we pass by the castle really quick so I can pick up Angel?"
"Sure! I need to pick up some books from the library anyway." Twilight said with a smile. She turned around and began to make her way towards the Castle of the Two Sisters. "Come on everpony, let's pack up our things!"
Twilight's friends followed after her as soon as she started to head back. Colleen switched to her bard armor before she and her friends followed Princess Twilight to the castle. "Hey, chief. What are we going to do about the Enterprise Excelsior?" Biggs asked Cid as they walked.
"Hmm, I don't want to leave it in that cave, but I don't know how we're going to get it out unless we dismantle her. Damn that Ascian for dropping us in a cave." Cid cursed under his breath.
"Perhaps you can ask Princess Twilight when she's finished helping us settle into Ponyville." Yugiri said to the two engineers, her eyes keeping a close eye on their surroundings. She did not forget Twilight saying that the Everfree Forest is a dangerous place to be in. The problem is, Yugiri doesn't know what to expect in this new realm.
It doesn't take long for everyone to reach the Castle of the Two Sisters, which to the Warrior of Light and her companions, looked a whole lot like an ancient ruin. Y'shtola stopped for a moment, covering her eyes as if she was being blinded by something. Colleen noticed this and turned her towards her fellow Scion to see if she's okay. "Y'shtola, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing. There's just a heavy amount of aether floating down there. It's like looking directly at the sun." Y'shtola pointed her down the ravine. Colleen noticed that there was a set of stairs that led down.
"I'll go check it out. You stay with the group." Colleen said to Y'shtola, who responded with a nod before moving on. Colleen walked down the stairs, leading her to the bottom of the crevice. When she reached the bottom, she noticed in the distance that there was a tree made of crystals and a box. Colleen, feeling a bit curious, walked on ahead towards the tree. As she continued to approach it, she felt a great warmth pulse through her body. The kind of warmth that soothed her soul. When she got close enough, Colleen saw the Elements of Harmony hanging onto it like fruits. 'This must be the Tree of Harmony.' She thought to herself as she gazed at it, eventually turning her attention towards the box Twilight mentioned earlier. Suddenly, Colleen felt her head aching like crazy. She held her hand to her forehead, gritting her teeth as her vision whited out before fading to black.
Like in the past, the Echo was giving her a vision. She saw Twilight and her friends relinquish the Elements of Harmony to save the tree and two larger alicorns, who she presumed to be Princess Celestia and Luna, from pitch black vines. Colleen bore witness to the creation of the mysterious box, which appeared from within a budding flower. Twilight, her friends, and the princesses soon left the box alone, returning to Canterlot for a yearly event. On that night though, a dark robed figure appeared before the Castle of the Two Sisters. The Ascian floated down into the ravine, moving ominously towards the Tree of Harmony and the box. When the Ascian spoke, Colleen immediately knew who it was the same Ascian that sent them to Equestria in the first place! "So, they longer have access to the Elements of Harmony. Good, this will make things easier for me."
The Ascian extended her hand over towards the box as she approached it. "However, just to be safe." As the Ascian got closer to the box, her hand erupted into a rainbow colored flame, causing her to scream in pain and retreat from the tree. She held her hand, shaking from the pain and her own anger. "TO HELLS WITH YOU!" She shouted at the top of her lungs as she blasted the tree and box with a giant laser from her other hand. However, the laser could not even touch the box, as it was protected by a powerful magic barrier provided by the tree itself. Grinding her teeth together in frustration, the Ascian tried one last thing. She blasted the roof of the tunnel, causing a cave-in. For a moment, it looked like she succeeded, but the tree repaired the tunnel instantly, returning the stones back to their rightful place. The Ascian growled in defeat. "Fine then. Keep your cursed box and its contents!" The Ascian began to walk away, muttering under her breath before she disappeared. Colleen heard her last words before she was gone. "I would've been able to do more here if it weren't for Lahabrea." Everything began to fade to white as soon the Ascian retreated into the void, defeated.
Colleen's headache faded as the vision ended. She looked at the Tree of Harmony and the chest, now truly curious about what's inside it. Colleen thought about the Ascian. She's obviously been here before and she wonders if she's had a hand in causing any of these 'huge threats' from happening here in Equestria. But why would an Ascian want to target this realm over Eorzea? Is it because it's rich in aether? Or is there something the Ascians want here. If that was the case, why was Lahabrea not focused on Equestria? The very thought of the Ascian's makes Colleen's blood boil. "Hey! Whatcha doing down here, silly filly?" Colleen turned around, finding Pinkie Pie behind her. Pinkie Pie took several steps back like as if Colleen just surprised her. "Oh wow, that's a scary face you have right now, Colleen. Was it something I said?"
It took a moment for Colleen to realize that she's been scowling. She shook her head, getting rid of the hostile expression while also answering Pinkie Pie. "No, sorry. It wasn't. I just remembered something that made me angry, that's all."
"Aw, why would you do that?" Pinkie Pie's question caused Colleen to look at her with a confused expression. "It's no fun thinking about something that makes you angry. I think it's better if you think about something that makes you happy!" She said with a smile.
Colleen took a deep breath and exhaled, relaxing her body. She smiled at Pinkie Pie who was beaming up at her. "You're absolutely right Pinkie. By the way, was there any reason you're down here?"
"Oh I just noticed you walking down the stairs towards the Tree of Harmony. I told everyone that you probably wanted to see the tree for yourself since you're new here and everything. But when I saw you, it looked like you were having a headache so I came over to see if you were actually okay and it looks like you are! So I guess everything is a-okay!"
"Mmm, thank you for being concerned for me Pinkie Pie." Colleen replied with a smile while also thinking to herself, 'It's going to take a while to get used to calling someone that.'
"We should be heading to Ponyville soon. I'd be honored if you and your friends want a tour of the town, hosted by yours truly! And then, we can have a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party! Doesn't that sound like fun?" Pinkie Pie smiled up at Colleen, making a small squee sound when she did.
"That does sound like fun." Colleen sheepishly smiled back.
"Great! I'll be sure to make sure the food and cakes are not cat food flavored!" Pinkie began hoping out of the cave with Colleen following after her.
'She's certainly a ball of energy.' Colleen thought to herself as she walked up the stairs. She took one last look at the Tree of Harmony, somewhat haunted by the knowledge that the same Ascian that sent them here already has some established history with this place. She wondered if they were destined to come here. 'I guess we'll find out.' She thought to herself.
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6479234 Thanks for pointing that out. Admittingly, I haven't done any decent writing in a long time, so this is pretty much me getting back into it. Also, most of my typos comes from a habit of me saying what I'm supposed to type but never type it out. It's distracting as heck. x_X
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I'm going to release the upcoming chapters in a big batch. Stuff irl came up so now I'm busy unfortunately.
Aww i hope this isnt dead
7231540
Don'y worry, the story isn't dead. I've just been busy with stuff in real life, as well as enjoying the new content in Final Fantasy 14. It has been an incredibly long time since I've last updated this story though. Perhaps it's time I get back to it.
7392193 Im a "Legacy" Member if you catch my drift on Sarganatas
7393087
Same here. Had a character on Sargatanas, but I moved to Cactuar.
7396956 Sigh all i was ever good at was WHM Alchemy, DRG and BRD i stopped playing because They Made BRD shite And Alchemy redundant. Crystal Crafting was the whole Deal to me And id come back if Poisions Had a way Smaller cooldown and You could still Toss Potions on Others. Dont get me wrong The game is great still They just ruined it by Making Most Facets of the game collide with each other (One is Making Dungeon Gear too Easy to get) and my final reason is much to my own regret i seriously miss 1.XX System wise, im aware of all the current Content as well. I Guess you could say i miss some of the Old game's Quirky Charm
7397184
I understand. I also find Bard's current set up to be dumb. Rather than having Minstrel make you stationary, I would rather make it use up more TP for more damage, that way you should take breaks and only use it to burst damage a target. I enjoy FF14 for the story, mostly. But if I do want to experience FF14's old system, I'd go play Final Fantasy 11.
7397443 i thought about XI but the nostalgia isnt worth the reinstallation (Australian Internet is Rank 60 in the Develloped World "AKA Shite") but my opinion matters none in the eyes of Many who prefer less Statergy and more Combo1,2,3,repeat and me personally im a Grind'A'Holic cant really do that anymore in game now (With the sole exception Of Crafting By being a Quality Crafting Nazi) i personally think Grinding out FATEs shouldnt have been the way i think normal grinding should have been an option with FATE events triggering based on how many kills per Area say 20 mobs of the same type Triggers a Notorious Monster FATE for example like so many things could make the game less liniar such as that or dungeons have a limit per day on how many times you can run them say 3 (The Roulette Was fantastic as an idea) or the enemies Scale with your W/L rate. many things can greatly improve this game.
7397538
Well, maybe you'll get the strategy you want soon. A new type of content called the Deep Dungeon will be released, and it will available for levels 17 and up. It looks like an alternate way to level up your character too. But yeah, I understand. Maybe I'll go back to Sargatanas and get back on my old character there if you'd like to socialize.
7399686 i still gotta do Crystal Tower and all that shit i havnt played in 2 years i think i still gotta finish ACN And ROG both are 30 ish... "Gakku Plove" look me up
i hope this isnt dead
8882127
By the power of Greyskull, I LIVE! I am going to resume this project now that I have some free time! But dear god, I have to work with Heavensward's storyline now and no Stormblood of Shadowbringers. Whelp! This just gives me a good timeframe to get myself back into the game.