The Humble Prince

by Lighting Ace

The Garden Empire Part 1 (Edited By BS)

Once the prisoner was secured and restrained in a magic bubble with ropes woven with magic-suppressing runes for extra protection, the guards and warrior started a long trip to take Red Sun into custody away from Equestria. They alerted others of his hideout, which contained many dangerous and powerful objects that had to be sealed and cataloged. Everyone, however, was unaware of cloaked ponies following their steps from a safe distance away.

While that occurred, another group was about to face a different problem as their trip toward the Crystal Empire came to an end.

Just as they had planned, Twilight, alongside the remaining elements of harmony and the rest of the society of the crowns, headed straight to the crystal Empire for additional support, traveling by train where they witnessed a dense layer of foliage rising from the outskirts of the city and covering it a green canopy composed of thorny and big vines with a giant lotus flower at the center of it.

Outside the barrier were soldiers of different nations in an improvised outpost around the train station, waiting for the locomotive to arrive, letting its passengers step outside to join their efforts.

"Applejack! Rarity! Hi!" Pinkie, who was in the greeting group, soon found her friends and didn't waste any time rushing to their side and pulling them into a group hug, interrupting their conversation with Sierra and Biceps.

"Glad to see you again, partner," AJ commented, returning the hug.

"Indeed, darling, your timing couldn't be better. We are almost all back together." Rarity mentioned as they broke the hug while Twilight and Dash reached the rest of the group.

"Heck yeah, we are; we will fix this in twenty seconds flat." Dash boosted with confidence, hovering in place before looking around. "By the way, where is Fluttershy?"

"That's the thing, sugar cube," AJ remarked before gesturing to the foliage dome. "She's inside, along with Cadence and the rest of the team that went to investigate back when Dream was forcing us into that massive nap."

"Easy then, we just blast our way inside, find her, and use the elements to fix the issue." Nefi summarized with a smug smile. "With my newfound speed, finding and bringing your group together won't take more than five seconds..."

"By Fenrir, how I hate that I need to stop you," Sierra remarked with a sigh and an irritated growl before showing the group a tablet. "But if they convert you, it will make our lives a worse hell, so pay attention because I am only going to warn you once. It is not that simple, you street cat; If you go in there blindly, you'll become a plant pod." Sierra rebuffed, showing a scheme of the empire inside the dome.

"How so?" Twilight asked with interest, taking the tablet up in her aura to get it closer to her in fascination. The rest of the mane six gathered around Twilight as Sierra swiped through the images to an audio file made by Fluttershy.

"Everyone listen up; something strange is happening in the Crystal Empire. The plants are acting even stranger here, forming a dome."

"Get down!" Thorax's voice was heard, and they heard Fluttershy scream before hearing the distinct sound of a magical laser discharge. This worried the group before Fluttershy continued.

"I'm making this recording in case anything happens. Just make sure Twilight hears it. Twilight, the plants that fed on Discord, combined with Desire's magic. There are some happy spores in the air, like when Discord hypnotized us, but it brings our greatest joy to life; they got…Shinning Armor tried his best but…, and now we are being chased by an army of Cadence look-alikes, but they are like her Nightmare Moon equivalent."

There is static, and everyone gasps.

"We will hide and hope for the best; Penny and…Cadence's magic is holding...emotions...don't go near them...Discord is the dragon; don't let him see you; we will be at Sunburst. Be careful, girls."

Sierra sighed and stopped the recording when only static remained.

"The transmission ends there, and ever since then, we have tried breaching further into the city to establish a stronghold, but those happy pods just keep popping up everywhere, no matter what we do, and then there is the issue of the foliage Discord." Biceps explained, pointing at the dome. "Getting inside is no problem other than occasional torn on your way; it's what awaits you once you are inside the problem. As Fluttershy said, Discord has become some plant dragon flying around the castle, and if he spots you, he blasts you with this strange storm of leaves and happy spores. Some hallucinogen that makes you live your best dream, like what happened to Hestia."

He pointed at the infirmary, where they spotted the griffin princess being attended by two nurses. She had a dopey smile and waved at an invisible crowd. "Heck yeah, I knew I could restore you to your former glory; forget about that stupid statue; you don't need a piece of gold to make Griffonia a great place to live." She shouted to no one in particular as the nurse tried to help her return to reality.

"She received a full blast of that stuff; it makes you all loopy and happy outside the dome, but inside the dome, what you imagine becomes real. It's particularly hazardous if you are in love or have a loved one, from what happened to Shining Armor and his new harem of Nightmareified Cadence's. We also lost Skystar just making our escape when we tried to reach Fluttershy and the rest; I dread to imagine what this cat in heat could come up with," Sierra snipped, pointing at Nefertiti.

"Hey!" The pair both growled and were about to argue until AJ and Rarity stepped in and separated the two

"So, as you can see, we can't just march in blindly. We know where to go, but we still need a way to reach Sunburst's house and avoid Discord's gaze long enough to use the elements." AJ explained.

"Which brings me to my earlier comment. We have good news," Rarity stated, pointing at the wall. "We are currently as close to Sunburst's house as we could get outside the dome; that is the good news,"

"The bad news is that the place is surrounded by those bulbs full of pollen, and it's in the middle of an open field." Having recovered from her argument, Sierra continued the conversation and picked up the tablet to show them the landscape and a minimalistic image of their current location and Sunburst's house. "In other words, whatever we do, we will have to do it fast and without breathing or hitting one of those pods, or we will end up like Hestia there, making even more obstacles for you to deal with."

"Not to mention Discord," Biceps spoke up. "Normally, a simple distraction tactic would suffice, but we are already stretching our forces thin, containing all the vines and foliage, trying to expand outward." The minotaur explained, pointing to the horizon where some of the foliage seemed to be trying to grow, only to be met by a line of mechanical flamethrowers wielded by the earth pony guards in support of pyromancer unicorns. At the same time, Minoutaur and Griffin soldiers engaged and dealt with a steady stream of humanoid plant creatures rushing at them.

"At least they are not harming anyone, but they keep appearing, and our soldiers are starting to get tired; we don't have much food left, and it's only a matter of time before our weapons become dull, broken, or useless," Biceps summarized with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but we can't risk this thing expanding out of control. You will have to go in there alone."

"Don't worry, Prince Biceps. This is not something we haven't dealt with before." Twilight responded confidently. We have faced and defeated Discord before, and this time, it won't be any different."

"your odds will be even better when you have us as backup." A new voice chimed in. Turning around, the group saw Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts marching up to them. "Need speed, princess? Say no more."

"Spitfire, no!" Dash rushed to her mare in worry. "You just recovered from Dreams trap, and you are just gonna..."

"...March blindly into danger to face another all-powerful god, just like a sexy rainbow mare I know is thinking about doing right about now?" Spitfire fired back with a slight glare and raised an eyebrow at Rainbow.

Rainbow was speechless as she looked left and right as she lifted a hoof to refute this statement, only able to pronounce an "O" sound in response until Spitfire continued.

"Yeah, that is what I thought; listen, honey, I get it. It's in your blood, and this is your responsibility, but A, whether you like it or not, you need backup; B, you need to solve this weed problem fast, meaning you need to get the band together ASAP, meaning you need a distraction and C."

Spitfire surprised her with a quick peck before winking at Rainbow Dash. "You are not the only speedster, Crash, so let your other team lend you a wing, okay?"

Dash remained quiet before turning to Twilight for help. "Twilight?"

"She does make good points, Rainbow Dash." Twilight smiled and nodded as the wonderbolts approached. "And more importantly, with how short on time we are and how dire the situation is, we could use all the help we can get." Twilight reasoned as she approached the group. "But I need to know, do you think you can out-speed Discord, Spitfire?"

"Princess...come on, we are the wonderbolts for a reason; just leave the showboating and attention-grabbing to us. Besides, in the worst-case scenario? we face our greatest desire. That is a win for buying you as much time as possible." Spitfire responded confidently, a cocksure grin on her face.

Twilight sighed and looked at Dash. "I understand your reservations, Dash, but now more than ever, we need to trust in one another and work together to fix this."

Dash still looked a bit unsure but nodded and smiled. "You're right, Twily. Besides, the Wonderbolts are awesome! It's about time; we got our time to shine anyway. It's time to make the uniform proud." She showboated confidently, making everyone roll their eyes.

"Well, since we are all in agreement, let's review the plan. We better move fast since we don't know what to expect." Twilight began as they reviewed the plan of action.

Moments later, inside the bulb

Those who hadn't seen it yet were startled when the first thing they saw inside the dome was a giant red rose floating at the top of the castle, acting as a sun. All the while, a giant serpent-like dragon made of grass, leaves, and flowers, with the face of Discord popping out at the front and giant bat-like wings made of foliage and roses, circled the rose in the air.

A cracking sound split through the air and alerted the dragon; he looked down to see the Wonderbolts flying circles around the castle near him before tearing away into the city. The dragon started to give chase, trying to blast them with a strange red mist with red petals and leaves that he breathed, but he missed each time due to the pegasus team's speed and agility.

"We got his attention, princess. Go for it," Spitfire radioed to Twilight's group from an earpiece as they kept running from the forest Discord.

"Got it, thanks, Spitfire; you and your team be careful there." Twilight responded from the ground as the mane six exited some bushes they were hiding in and watched all of them fly away. Dash lingering the most.

"You got this, Spity, just don't get cocky and start showboating. Soarin, please keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't start to taunt him to stroke her ego." Dash pleaded to nobody in particular as she watched them leave.

Suddenly startled, Rainbow Dash turned around when she felt a hoof over her right and saw AJ looking at her. "Don't worry, sugar cube, Spitfire, that fella, and the rest of them got this, not for nothing; they are the fastest pegasi besides you, right?"

"Right, I suppose it's just the normal kind of worries about my herd, that's all." Dash nodded, and the two walked to join the rest. "Speaking of, will you be okay too, AJ?"

"What do you mean, partner?"

"Please, don't act like I didn't see it. The second Fluttershy mentioned how something here turns your desires into reality, you and Rarity both tensed up; what is up with that?"

"Ah well, I...the thing is, the partner, I don't think that is the best time to talk about it." AJ quickly replied, trying to change the subject, clearly embarrassed and looking away with a red face.

"Isn't it?" Dash pressed, "Because ever since I got into a relationship, I have gained this sixth sense, and I know when a mare has the hots for somepony, and right now, you, Pinkie, and Rarity are giving me all the signals. AJ, we are pals, aren't we? You can tell me. What pony caught your fancy? And this is not me getting all fru-fru or anything. I'm just worried we might end up facing an army of Bulk Biceps because of that."

"Really?" AJ looked at Dash with a deadpan look.

"I don't know; I thought you would be into the bulky type, considering how much you love Rockhoof. Oh, is it Rockhoof?"

"Okay, enough!" AJ pleaded with a red-face

"Look, partner, yes, there may be somepony, and yes, Rarity, Pinkie and I may be thinking the same." AJ confessed, looking at Rarity over her shoulder. "We may be thinking about the same pony, too."

"Wait, wait, you and her?" Dash asked incredulously while pointing at Rarity. Luckily, the rest ignored their conversation as Twilight talked with Spike and Nefi over her earpiece while Rarity checked the map to ensure they were on the right track.

"Yes, and stop that. We are getting off track. The point is, yes, we may be thinking the same, but we are focused on the mission, and now that we know that we are facing this disaster, we will not let that or us get in the way. Just like when we faced Nightmare Moon, Discord, and the Storm King. So don't worry about it."

Dash was still unsure but shrugged. "Well, that's okay, but if something weird happens, you better tell us so it doesn't catch us off guard, okay?"

"Duly noted," AJ finished with a roll of her eyes. "You know, it's kind of impressive."

"What? Me? Well, of course, I'm always impressive," Dash boasted, making AJ chuckle.

"No, what I meant. What is impressive is that you, of all ponies, are telling me to be careful; being in a herd has changed you, Dash," AJ joked as they reunited with the rest.

"Hey," Dash complained but didn't say more, and they reached everyone in time for them to stop when they faced their first obstacle.

Not too far from them was Sunburst's house, but surrounding it, those mysterious big red plant bulbs were growing, exuding a red haze. Near them were ponies dancing and singing with loopy smiles and without a care in the world.

"This must be one of the traps Fluttershy was talking about. everypony gather around. I got this," Twilight instructed, and soon, the mares got as close as possible to Twilight as she cast a shielding spell to encapsulate the group, followed quickly by an invisible spell so as not to alert any of the affected ponies.

"There, that should protect us from the miasma and detection, but these spells are taxing, and I can't maintain both at the same time for long, so we'd better move quickly," Twilight whispered as she started to sweat.

Everyone nodded and started moving forward as a group, trying not to touch intoxicated ponies or make much noise. The bulbs seemed to follow the moment of what was around them and spread pollen to any victim who appeared to be recovering their senses.

As they approached their objective, the group couldn't help but admire how, despite not being affected, they could see the results of the pollen haze. Illusions, translucent images shaped from the victim's deepest desire and, thanks to the chaos magic giving them power, a more tangible form the afflicted could interact with. Giant cakes, parades, money, harems, and other pleasures were presented before them on full display, making the situation tense.

"Fluttershy wasn't kidding; all of your desires are manifesting like there is no tomorrow; it almost feels cruel having to end them," Rarity observed with a whisper.

" None of it, is real, Rarity. You need to remember." Twilight reminded her, and she shivered, looking away at all the victims and seeing a fantasy of her brother, sister-in-law, or both at the same time on what appeared to be dates. "It is not healthy, and whatever is happening is not too different than being in a drug-fueled hallucination."

"I hear you, Twilight, but I do say, an army of Soarin's and Spitfires surrounding me?" Dash remarked, looking to the horizon with a smile. "It doesn't sound all THAT bad."

"Dash!" Twilight chastised her, and Dash only shrugged. “Come on, Twilight. I'm just saying, and don't tell me you're not curious; what if this showed you Flash Sentry?"

Twilight had to pause and blush before looking away. "That is n-not the point," She shook her head. "Come on, everypony; we need to focus, reunite, and end this." Twilight reminded the group as she quickened her pace. The other quickly followed suit, with AJ accidentally stepping outside the dome for a second, alerting one nearby bulb, which turned and shot a single seed into AJ's stetson without her noticing as she got back inside the dome, just in time for the group to reach the entrance of Sunburst's house which seems to be untouched by the local flora.

With cautious steps, the mares walked inside, and immediately, runes etched into the fence shone, forcing Twilight to end her spells and alert the bulbs. Seconds later, Sunburst opened the door and gestured for the group to enter in desperation. "Hurry inside, now!" He ordered. The stallion didn't have to ask twice as the group rushed forward and entered before the plants could do anything more. The runes in his house and fence acting as a repellent, keeping them at bay.

Comments

[tsaukpaetra]

Ah, that's the situation? Complicated!
Have to think back, but we would have sworn Dash was present when they all tried presenting Blueblood...? Guess not.
Curse the selective application of what is interpreted by "desire". What if they truly desired to be free from the curse? But how some would they know?

[Lighting Ace]

12010678
To clarify Dash and her herd were in Appleloosa and said goodbye to Blueblood before joining Twilight and then the rest back at the Crystal Empire

[tsaukpaetra]

12010688
Ah. Yeah everyone is everywhere with the world-ending stuff. 💁

[Lighting Ace]

12010716
Yep, and now that is resolve slowly the groups are gathering, starting with the mane six and the heirs

[Booster Spice]

AJ rolled a Nat 1 Critical Fail.

[JustPlayshik]

New chapter!!! Yes!!! Yes!!!

[Phetiamwantip]

Alright! New chapter! Woohoo!

[Fireeaters]

Oh right, rarity or whatever had a crush on blue after some adventures

[Luckyfanisaac]

headed straight to the Crystal Empire for additional support,

[redandready45]

"I hear you, Twilight, but I do say, an army of Soarin's and Spitfires surrounding me?" Dash remarked, looking to the horizon with a smile. "It doesn't sound all THAT bad."

"Dash!" Twilight chastised her, and Dash only shrugged. “Come on, Twilight. I'm just saying, and don't tell me you're not curious; what if this showed you Flash Sentry?"

Ah yes, as Bill Cipher observed, giving people exactly what they want can be the best prison of all.

[Black--Soul]

They should try save a plant or three. It might be a more equine version for execution of hopeless individuals, letting them die happy.