The Garden Empire Part 2 (Edited By BS)
Once everyone was safe and sound inside the house, Sunburst didn't waste time closing and locking the door with multiple spells before leaning against the door and sighing in contentment before looking at the group. "Is anyone ok? Nobody got sprayed?"
"Y-Yes, we are ok." Twilight replied, being the first to recover her breath, and looked at Sunburst while the others looked to the entrances of his house. The bookshelves had been moved to block the windows and had an intricate latticework of glowing runes running along their frames, shelves, and, where visible, backs to block out the plants outside. Pharynx stood by, keeping a close watch on one of the windows. The interior furniture was rearranged to work as an improvised bed where Shining and Penny rested on two couches with bandages wrapped around their hooves and heads. Fluttershy quickly approached the group, and the pegasus did not waste any time hugging her friends. "Thanks to Fluttershy's message, I ensured the plants didn't spot us or try anything on our approach."
"Thank Celestia! My message managed to reach you." Fluttershy sighed in relief.
"Your arrival couldn't come at a better time," Pharynx breathed out an exhausted sigh, taking a break from his vigil at the window before pointing outside at the flower ponies patrolling the area. "Ever since Queen Heartstring took control of the living weed, things have gone from bad to worse."
"Queen Heartstring?" AJ repeated, looking to the changeling prince, making Shining sigh and shake his head
"That... that's what Cadence is calling herself now. Her own little version of Nightmare Moon, and it's all my fault she ended up like that."
"Prince Armor, with all due respect, there is nothing you could have done to prevent it. We were all in a rush, and Discord took advantage of that." Penny chastised Shining Armor. "Plus, you have nothing to worry about; with the mane six here, things should return to normal soon."
"I still could have tried or at least pushed her out of the way. Instead, she ended up like that because I was tired, and now my wife and daughter..." Shining could not finish his sentence as he trembled in sorrow, exhaustion, and guilt.
"Easy, Your Highness, you've yet to recover fully and need your rest." Sunburst pleaded, pushing Shining Armor back down so he could lie on the couch again.
"Why don't you tell us what happened, big bro?" Twilight approached her brother with concern and worry, seeing how Shining was utterly worn out, both emotionally and physically. "That way, we can all devise a plan to save Cadence from whatever nightmare state she is in."
With a sigh, Shining nodded once and closed his eyes. "I know I can count on you, Twily, and you are right. We need the elements immediately and more to solve this problem."
"Not to burst your bubble or anything, dude, but why would we need more than the elements?" Dash asked, flying above the sibling pair. "There is nothing that can stop us when we..."
"Remember my wedding, and what happened to Chrysalis?" Shining quickly interrupted her with a hint of irritation in his voice. "That would be us if we only used the elements, Cadence...Heartstring found a way to use the power of love by herself, and you won't be able to go near her if we were not careful."
"And that's why we need him and Penny to be as rested as possible. We will need all the help we can get." Pharynx explained with a slight glare.
"Ah yeah, I forgot about that blast." Dash pretended to cough and landed next to Twilight. "Please continue. What exactly are we dealing with here?"
Having calmed down a little, Shining sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I suppose we should start with when Cadence's group managed to breach into the empire and we only had to deal with Discord."
Fluttershy nodded and started telling the story. "Thanks to Penny and her connection with Desire, we managed to dig our way inside the town on the outskirts where the weeds and grass were spreading everywhere, and ponies covered in flowers were just marching around aimlessly."
"They were virtually zombies then, except instead of biting you, they infect you with a touch. Despite all the love their bodies were exuding." Pharynx shivered and had to wipe some saliva from his mouth. "Sorry, sensitive nose." He apologized before continuing.
"As she said, thanks to Penny and Cadence's knowledge of the place, we made quick time and reached the epicenter of the spread, the castle itself, where Shining Armor was in the middle of a fight against Discord. It turns out the emotional spectrum magic can cure the infection."
"Wow, dude, you fought Discord to a stalemate and held him there for days?" Respect." Dash remarked in awe before hoof-bumping Shining Armor.
"Thanks, although I can't take all the credit there." Shining admitted. "It was a group effort. Our top students and I quickly discovered that our new magic destroyed whatever magic Desire put on those plants. We were progressing in reclaiming the castle until Discord appeared out of nowhere and couldn't help himself from making a gardening joke in the middle of the throne room. Setting off the trap Desire placed just for him."
"I'm sorry." Penny mentioned with some guilt, catching the attention of everyone who turned to look at her.
"Oh...ah, that is what Desire is saying." Penny explained, pointing at her head. "It's confusing. I know, and I will explain later, but Desire is here with me in the short version and is listening. Also, she wanted me to tell you hi and that she caught Discord off guard because they know each other too well."
Half the mane six blinked in surprise, unsure and slightly confused by that statement, looking at their friends for answers.
"It was Blueblood's first use, Twilight," AJ answered with a shrug. "I can only guess his first try didn't go as well as ours, and that is why Desire was only partially sealed."
"Oh! Oh! Maybe we could set her free so she could help us out!" Pinkie suggested with a big smile
"Maybe later, the light show from that would expose our location, and the last thing we want is Heartstring absorbing me, her...ah us, long story, but yeah. Better save that blast for after this mess is resolved." Penny elaborated before sighing and resuming the story.
"You see, the moment Discord made his dramatic entrance, a gelatinous plant swallowed him whole, like a flower blooming in reverse; it was weird, like seeing jello swallowing a noodle."
"Dreading what that could mean, I put all my magic on a shield and managed to contain Discord before he did anything, but the vines kept spreading, and I could only slow it down, so I asked my students to do whatever they could until Cadence arrived." Shining continued, "I suppose that because of our new magic, I was capable of restraining him long enough for when Cadence and the rest arrived...but then the worst thing happened."
"What?" Pinkie asked, wholly invested in the story
"Even under mind control, Discord kept some of his mischievous nature and tried to confuse me more than once by taking the form of Cadence, Twilight, or even Flurry. Was it bad timing? Did he see the opportunity? Or was it just plain luck? I don't know, but when the Cadence's group arrived, Discord retook the form of Flurry, asking me to stop and pretending to cry. And Cadence took the bait, thinking I was the one infected, so she blasted me and canceled my shield before picking up Discord, thinking he was our daughter."
Everyone gasped in horror at that comment, fearing what that would mean.
"Yeah, I was even more terrified when she found the real Flurry."
"I was teaching the princess her A, B, C's when the invasion started and was trying to keep her safe all that time inside the castle," Sunburst explained. "And in a way, it worked right until Cadence appeared and tricked me into handing over Flurry as I thought she was fine." Sunburst admitted, grief-stricken. "But that's what happened later, you were saying Shining."
"Yeah, as you may have imagined, Discord didn't waste time and converted Cadence, swallowing her up within her own dreams and desires. The Desire for a happy family, of a happy kingdom. Of a world filled with nothing but love and peace as she manipulates everyone's emotions to achieve it. Toying with their hearts and minds as if they were puppets on strings. And that Desire was more than enough to overwhelm Discord and put HIM under her control instead of vice versa. Then a pink smoke surrounded Cadence."
"And that is when Queen Heartstring was born?" Twilight summarized in slight fear as Shining nodded.
"And that is what I meant. Sure, Desire could be of great help, but Heartstrings knows her weakness, and even if it is only a chance, we'd rather not risk her gaining control of two super-powerful spirits." Penny explained.
"And it's not like we didn't attempt to do it either. We tried to purify her as I have done with Discord, but she's too strong with Discord empowering her magic and almost succeeded in converting me." Shining continued.
"We manage to escape thanks to Pharynx's quick thinking and liberal application of smoke bombs. He and his two friends turned into copies of Shining Armor."
"The queen took both of my soldiers and discovered the switch, which only made her angry and ironically diminished her power long enough for us to escape." Pharynx elaborated with a sorrowful sigh at the memory.
"We tried to retreat with as many ponies as possible, including Flurry, but Heartstring beat us to it, and we only managed to rescue Sunburst and barely make it out here. As for the other students...well, you already saw them." Pharynx explained, pointing at the zombies patrolling the area.
"So when you said an army of Cadences...?" AJ looked to Fluttershy, who nodded.
"It was her who made them, all seeking Shining Armor. She already took Flurry Heart and converted her into a golden breastplate. Her daughter is now forever fused with her mother. Maybe Heartstrings wants to relive the sensation of being pregnant?" Fluttershy speculated. "At the very least, we can relax knowing Cadence would keep Flurry safe, but Heartstring is still missing a piece of her desired family, and it is looking for her husband."
"I barely managed to protect myself from Heartstring's magic, coupled with restraining Discord, and Penny and I were almost drained completely."
"We have been trying to calm down and rest, but our anxiety and paranoia have made things difficult, to say the least," Penny confessed. "Maybe if you give us an hour or two, we could be of better help, but as embarrassing as it may sound, the two of us are still exhausted."
"Don't worry, partner; now that we are all here, you can rest more. We got you," AJ confirmed to Penny with a calm smile. "Plus, this place seems safe enough, and we still need to think of a plan, so there is time."
"Yes, not to mention, and I have been saying to you more than once, Heartstring will not be able to get near with my protections in place," Sunburs stated as he pointed at one of the runic arrays. "I may be new to them, but they are working and will continue to do so for as long as we need. They barely consume any magic, and the spell only needs to be cast once if you draw the symbol right." Sunburst explained with pride.
"Impressive," Twilight complemented with honest curiosity as she approached one of them. "I was meaning to ask, what are these exactly? The moment we entered your house, the vines and grass zombies ignored us as if we were invisible. How did you do that?"
"It's a pretty funny story; according to my findings, they are called arcane runes," Sunburst beamed with pride as he approached Twilight. "And believe it or not, I discovered them while looking at one of my loot barrels."
"A tome of ancient forgotten magic was inside one of those barrels?!" Twilight asked in astonishment as Sunburst nodded.
"More like ancient scrolls detailing how to make your own, it was like an ultra-rare treasure drop of mystery barrel! " Sunburst gushed in excitement as he showed her a dusty old scroll that he unrolled, showing a picture of a pony and instructions on making runes.
"Focus, please!" Pharynx pleaded irritably, "I know you are all happy, but excitement is like a cup full of sugar for changelings, and I don't want to suffer a sugar crash in the middle of the mission."
"Right, sorry, Pharynx." Sunburst apologized before looking at Twilight. "Anyway, to answer your question, yes. It has been a gold mine since the second I found it; even the materials to make the brush and ink were something I would have never imagined; according to these tomes, in ancient times, ponies used the hair of their tails to make brushes and gathered specific herbs, flowers, and minerals to grind and make the ink."
Getting excited, Sunburst start to explain step by step how he made the runes. "By pouring some of your magic into the ink and then using the brush to keep it together, you could make runes of all sorts with a tenth of the effort you would need using your horn. It was a stroke of good luck when I discovered that it also worked against chaos magic."
He points at the runes by the window.
"That symbol there translates to quiet, and the one in the door means blind. I made them specifically so any magic or being made of chaos would not be able to locate us, which allows us to regroup and think of a plan."
"Speaking of which, I hope you have one Princess Twilight." Pharynx voiced his concern. "Because it is clear that Heartstring knows you are here now. She will have her guard up and throw everything at us to prevent the elements from reuniting and getting close enough to ruin her day, meaning we might only have one shot at this. So whatever we do, we better make it count."
"Pharynx is right, and luckily, I think I have an idea, but I will need to know what we have to work with, and you two need to rest for it. Penny, can you and Desire give us a hoof?" Twilight asked, looking at the unicorn in question.
"Just let us sleep enough, and we will be ready." Penny answered.
"Do you need to ask Twily? Just tell me what to do, sis." Shining nodded as he slowly rose from the couch
"That is good to hear." Twilight nodded before looking at Dash. "We would also need Spitfire and her team. If Cadence is this powerful now, we will need her to keep her off balance and clear a path."
"I like the way that sounds. There is nothing that we Wonderbolts love more than a good encore. Especially if it means saving a kingdom." Dash remarked in excitement as she hoof-bumps the air.
"What about me?" Sunburst asked, "Is there anything I can do?"
"It is you that will have the most important job, Sunburst. Here is the plan." Twilight began sharing her idea with the rest. Nobody paid attention to how there was a rose woven into the hatband of Applejack's stetson, and from it, the Queen herself was listening intently to their conversation from her throne room.
"Oh, my sweet brilliant Twily," Heartstring spoke to nobody in a distorted two-toned voice, "I was wondering when you were going to pay your babysitter a visit, and you did me the favor of finding my beautiful Shinny Poo." Heartstring started to stroke the glimmering metal of her golden armor with an intricate pattern of etched vines and flowers cascading down and surrounding the embossed face of a sleeping Flurry Heart from the center of the chest, encased in blood.
"Do you hear that, sweetie? Daddy is coming! Very soon, we can truly all be one happy family. Plus, I will have the opportunity to be a babysitter once again!" Heartstring chuckle as she stood up from her throne of vines and approached a nearby balcony; she was wearing a golden helmet, golden and silver long horseshoes, and some dark purple makeup on her eyes. The alicorn was also slightly taller and wore a long purple cape that draped to the ground and pooled behind her.
"Now the question is, how do we greet our guests? After all, this IS the empire of love. It would be rude not to attend to their wishes. Discord!" She ordered to the wind, and soon, the head of Discord popped out from the floor made of flowers, grass, and vines.
"I'm here, my queen," Discord intoned, eyes filling with a pink light. "And. I apologize; the intruders somehow got away, but they will not be gone for long. I have eyes and ears spread everywhere in the city; they will pop up."
"Neverminded them, I can deal with the wonderbolts myself; we'll be expecting guests soon. Make sure the castle is presentable for their arrival."
"Aren't you concerned about the elements, my queen?" Discord asked while keeping his head low.
"Not at all; I'm pretty sure my sister and her friends will be too busy to use them." Heartstring silently generated a topiary in the shape of an applejack, "In particular, our honest and hard-working farmer."
"Do you want me to fetch her for you, my queen?" Discord questioned, making her groan in irritation.
"I would if I could only know where the buck they are! I swear, Sunburst, your dream will...it will..." She made another topiary of Sunburst beside the first before smiling and hugging it as well. "I can't stay mad at you. You are an excellent teacher; maybe it's time to get a reward."
That gave her an idea as Queen Heartstring started to pound something. "Yeah, a nice little reward! Go fetch me Skystar Discord; I have a proposal for her." Heartstring ordered with a smirk as she looked to the horizon.
"Love is in the air, and I must spread it far and wide!" Heartstrings declared as she spread her wings, revealing an extra layer of red petals; she flapped her wings repeatedly and spread pollen into the air as she laughed, causing a red mist to spread from the balcony, putting all the plant zombies on alert and moving around as a single entity as the dismissed Discord dissolved into the ground.
Now come to me, Twily; I'm ready to make all your dreams a reality.
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Is the username of one of the editors for this story just "BullSh*t"?
Or does BS not stand for anything?
Alright new chapter, I wonder how Blueblood is doing I better wait and find out.
Heres a song that will make you unstoppable (The Score) Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/_PBlykN4KIY?si=ixpb0wgy-KMAvBzh
12043916
It stand for Brave Stomp. I may have to r write the Acronym later on
I really wish I could upload a clip of the tfs hellsing abridged series, with the bit where the Major rambles about planning, but google searches don't work nowadays, if the clip is even on youtube, and I can't upload it here if I worked out how to clip it myself
12043931
I think you are in the wrong story here
12044031
No, the clip would be this line: "Ahh~, Herr Doctor~, but that is the plan. Now zat zey know our plan, zey will plan around our plan, and so ve shall in turn plan around ze plan that zey are planning around our plan!". Cadence spying on the plan reminded me of said line
Yeah that's the problem with spy devices, they always get ever more crafty.
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Just use the 'Add Embed' function once you find it
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I know that bit. I meant that I couldn't find it, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to upload from my pc directly if I made it myself
12045935
Just toss it up in Discord then you'd have a link to use
12046334
I guess that could work. I didn't know fimfiction accepted discord links
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Worth a try
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Well maybe next time I'll still be motivated to figure out video editing software the next time I need a reaction webm
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The short version is "open relationship" but Fluttershy is the only pony Discord could made a connection so he made all possibilities of Fluttershy at the same time. Imagine you been on a relationship where is you, your partner and infinity you. It impossible to understand what is happening.
Should give Blueblood a DAYBREAKER form it would add so much to the story and it would be a form that could LEAD up to solar ECLIPSE blueblood
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Yeah someone ask me if they could give the version in Chinese and I say sure so there is that.
Oh! And Russian, in case that helps for anyone that wish to read it.
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Nope, those are their own characters.
But I like the idea so I made my own versions of them.
So it the same idea but different
Damn, unless they faked the plan the element of surprise is lost and on the corrupted Cadance side.
This might be the end for the girls with Blueblood needed to safely extract them or go against all of them... AGAIN!
Great chapter, guess we slip from one desaster to the next? Hopefully not until the end, because bare bones recovery is usually not good enough for boss fights and realistically muscles become stiff or are reduced in absence of use, like when someone recover from injuries or overuse.