My Final Pony Fantasy III

by Vimtrust5

Chapter 16: Reunion with Twilight; The Two Magi

Great Library of Saronia

Upon entering the hall of knowledge, the ponies couldn't help but feel if Twilight were with them, she would stare at the books that lay before them on the shelves. Within these books, whatever information about this world and what happened many years prior had to be of great help, so they split up and found some interesting information.

"Let's see here..." said Refia, holding one book in her hands. Upon seeing the title, her eyes widened. 'Book of... Owen, Vol. 1'?!"

"Check this out!" said Rainbow. "The one I got here says, 'Book of Owen, Vol. 2'!"

Refia took notice and the two friends opened their respective books and read aloud certain passes that gained their attention.

"'As the engineer who invented the reactor that powers the continent's flotation, I have decided to name it after myself: the Tower of Owen.'"

"Here's what this one says: 'The Wrath of Light was a miscalculation. I will have to place my son Desch into cryogenic sleep to protect him if all goes wrong...'"

Seeing that name brought back memories of their old comrade from the Floating Continent. Continuing the passage:

"'If something should happen to the Tower of Owen, he can wake up to repair it. He can keep the continent afloat...'"

"'Wrath of Light?' What's that mean?"

"Ah think Ah may have figured that one out," said Applejack, holding a book that said 'Ancient Tome, Vol. 3.' Ingus and Arc each held books titled 'Ancient Tome, Vol. 1' and 'Ancient Tone, Vol. 2," respectively. Luneth eventually met up with them holding 'Ancient Tome, Vol. 4.'

"'The great stone effigies set aflame all who seek the Crystal. Only the four fangs grant us passage through their midst.'"

"'Our experiment with the Floating Continent succeeded. All that remains is to place west of the Dalg continent.'"

"'DALG?!'"

"That's where this Doga guy's supposed to be, right?!

"'We abused the power that light hath brought us, and thus doomed the world to ruination. The Wrath of Light cannot be stopped. There is no hope...'"

"But we're still here!"

"This one should explain a dew things," said Luneth. "'Though the four Warriors of Dark managed to forestall the Wrath of Light, we do not know from whence they hail. But we must be grateful for their help...'"

"Did that book just say, 'Warriors of Dark?!'"

"Don't you remember our purpose as Warriors of Light? It's to restore the balance between darkness and light," Ingus argued.

"I have to agree," Luneth added. "These Warriors of Dark must've had the same goal in mind."

"Look at this."

"'Those serious about training in the way of the Dark Blade often make pilgrimages to Falgabard, a hidden mountain village west of Saronia...' Sounds tempting, but I've already set my priorities. First, we need to Twilight."

Upon leaving the library, the Equestrians and the Warriors of Light had more questions than answers: what was this Wrath of Light the tomes spoke of, and who were these Warriors of Dark? They decided to rest for the night at the nearest inn.

"Good night..."

The party rested their eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning, the group left the inn and made their way to their new airship.

"First stop, the Dalg continent. If there's anyone who can help us find Twilight, it's this Doga feller," said Applejack.

The airship lifted off the ground and sped to the northwest. Rainbow Dash kept a lookout for anything that could hinder their progress, and yet so far no monster went anywhere near the ship.

Our heroes landed the Nautilus near the large mansion encased by a forest. There was only one way to find out: enter.

---

Doga's Manor

"HELLOOOO!!"

"Keep it down, Pinkie!" Rainbow warned in a harsh whisper. "Who knows what's gonna happen if you keep... Uh-oh!"

At that moment, our heroes found themselves surrounded by Doga's bodyguards... several little white cat-like creatures with pom-poms hanging from their heads. Upon seeing them, a few of the party members' (Refia, Rarity and Pinkie Pie) eyes shone up.

"What are y'all?" asked Applejack.

"Those are Moogles, in case you didn't know," said a male voice.

The creatures then backed off upon hearing the voice.

"'Moogles?'" Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. The creatures then lined up in two rows, allowing their master to pass and greet the visitors. The master was an elderly man dressed in a red-orange cloak, his head concealed by its hood but not his white mustache. He wore a long necklace with a large golden key pendant.

"Kupo!"

"'Kupo?'" said the ponies in unison.

"That's sort of a verbal tic, you see," the man answered.

"You must be Doga," said Luneth.

"That is correct, young man," the magus replied.

"Welcome to our master's abode, kupo!" said one Moogle.

"It talks!" Pinkie squealed.

"I can't believe it," said Arc.

"Uh... Nice to meet you all," Spike replied awkwardly.

"Well, uh... Howdy, y'all... I guess?"

The Moogles look led at each other in confusion.

"Um... Howdy, kupo!"

One of the creatures walked over and inspected Rarity, much to the unicorn's confusion. After it was done, the Moogle lent out its paw in a friendly manner.

Rarity chuckled, "Oh, aren't you such a darling little thing!"

"Nice to meet you, kupo!"

Pinkie and Rarity chuckled with glee.

"You seem to be a lot of fun."

"They're adorable," Refia chuckled.

"Now then... You all must be... the Warriors of Light and..." he said, eyeing the Equestrians. "My word... I believe my unexpected guest knows you quite well."

"Whoa, hold up there, pops. Did you just say, 'unexpected guest?'" said Rainbow.

"Everyone!" a voice gasped.

"T-T... TWILIGHT!"

The group raced to Twilight's side and embraced the lavender alicorn.

"I"m glad to see you all again!"

"Ah don't understand somethin', Twi," said Applejack. "How'd ya end up in this here mansion?"

"Well..."

---

At the moment of the Enterprise's destruction...

"When the Enterprise was attacked, the force of the explosion blew me several miles away from that castle. I landed in the water. Then I found two pieces of wood and clung onto them with what little strength I had left. I tried to find dry land but lost consciousness... I guess I must have drifted for a day or so."

---

*music fades out*

"And when I woke up, I was in this bed. Doga and these little guys did keep me company at least," Twilight giggled.

"Kupo!"

Looks like they've taken a liking to Rarity, Luneth thought.

"I think Fluttershy would like these little guys, too," Rainbow Dash remarked.

"I'm so sorry, little ones but my friends and I must make haste. We've got to find the last Crystal, or all will be lost!"

"We all understand, kupo..."

The white unicorn placed her hoof around the little creature and brought it into a warm embrace.

"Thank you for looking after our friend."

Twilight smiled at the display, and turned to Doga to ask a serious question

"I'd like for you to tell us about this Xande. "Who is he, really?"

"We've been hearing this guy's name from left to right, but we know next to nothing. And I'm sick of all these monsters and villains not tellin' us anything," Rainbow remarked.

"Very well."

The ponies sat on their haunches, ready to learn everything about their enemy.

"It all began many eons ago... Xande, Unei, and I were pupils of the Great Magus Noah. He had granted the three of us special gifts. I was bestowed with the gift of magic, and Unei the ability to rule over the dream world. As for Xande... He was given the gift of mortality, but Xande did not appreciate that, for he believed that he was given a curse. A limit to his lifespan."

"Why make him mortal?"

"That I do not know, though I speculate that he wished for Xande to enjoy life as the mortals do."

"You mean... when their time's up?" asked Rainbow Dash.

At that point, Twilight began to wonder if it was right for her to be an alicorn at all. True, she had been given exceptional magic... but the possibility of outliving her friends whom she held dear in her heart? Another question came to Twilight's mind: If this Unei was powerful regarding dreams, then why did she not stop this "Cloud of Darkness" whenever it appears in her dreams to taunt her?

"What about... the real Earth Crystal?" asked Ingus. "We found that--"

"The Crystal in Goldor Manor was not genuine? Yes, that is correct. It was a rock I made out of stone."

"Wait a minute. YOU made that?!" Rainbow said, pointing her hoof at Doga.

"Yes. Rest assured, it was all to protect the real Crystal."

"I see. By the way... what is that evokers do?" asked Luneth as he looked at Ingus, Twilight, and Rarity.

"Evokers... Your main role is the ability to summon Phantom Beasts."

"'Phantom Beasts?'"

"Yes... Powerful entites such as the Chocobo--"

"A Chocobo...? You mean we can call a Chocobo at will without Gysahl greens and all that."

"Yes... And there are also the ice deity Shiva, the thunder lord Ramuh, the fire god Ifrit, Titan--the master of earth, the all-powerful Odin, the serpent Leviathan... and Bahamut the dragon king."

"BAHAMUT?!" the party exclaimed in unison. It was a name none of them ever expected to hear again, not since they first met with Desch and escaped its nest atop Dragon's Peak on the Floating Continent.

"Before that, did you just say, 'Leviathan?!'"

Twilight and Spike recalled being swallowed by a creature during their conflict with Mateus.

"Thank you... Lord Doga."

"I'm sorry, but we need to go and complete our journey," said Refia.

The Moogles hung their heads; they were sad to see their guests go, especially Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The latter hopped over to the first two in front of her and patted their little heads and giggled, eliciting a happy "kupo" from it.

"You don't suppose we can keep contact with these critters right?" asked Applejack.

"There was a service we used but it's been discontinued, kupo."

"That's too bad," Twilight answered. "I wish we could stay a little longer, but..."

"If you're ready, please follow me."

"Let's see here... Ah, yes. Luneth, will you please remove this candle for me?"

"Yeah, I guess," the boy said, not sure of what was going to happen. He did what he was told to do, and there was a loud rumbling sound. The wall opened, revealing a secret passage.

"Ooh. Just a like a mystery novel."

Following the magus, the party discovered a small door leading to the Cave of the Circle. Knowing what was needed to be down, Twilight shrunk everyone down, Doga included, and proceeded to walk through the door.

---

Cave of the Circle

"Whoa. Look at this place."

"Ooh.... Glittery," Pinkie Pie observed.
"Look! There's some mushrooms! If you eat them, can you grow?"

"Very doubtful," Doga remarked dryly.

Upon reaching the second level, a Bovian--a minotaur-like creature blocked the path. Knowing they were in a miniature state, the Equestrians and the Warriors of Light could only rely on their magical skills. Doga stood between them and the monster, unleashing his most powerful attack.

"FLARE!"

And with that spell, the monster was incinerated and turned to ash. Afterwards, our heroes continued their trek through the cave until they descended down the stairs and found a magic sigil.

"This sigil will help your vessel dive underwater."

After the light vanished, our heroes were elated now that the Nautilus could function under the sea.

"Before you run off to the sunken temple, I suggest that you pay the village of Replito a visit; there is a store which sells you the spells needed to summon the first four Phantom Beasts I had mentioned earlier: Chocobo, Shiva, Ramuh, Ifrit, and Titan. You'll find it somewhere to the northwest of Saronia."

"We'll remember," said Luneth. "And thank you."

"Thank you so much," said Twilight. "I don't think there's anything we can do to repay your kindness."

Doga bowed his head in silence.

"I must return home."

"When can we see you again?"

"After you have awakened Unei and accomplish the task she may assign to you."

"You know... Those Moogles were little darlings!" Rarity gushed. Letting a sigh, the white unicorn lamented bringing one of them to Carousel Boutique with her; no doubt Sweetie Belle would find herself overwhelmed with delight upon seeing a new creature to play with and help take care. Opalescence, on the other hoof, would be jealous of the attention the Moogle would receive. Pinkie Pie even wanted to bring one home just to play be friends with it.

Our heroes stepped aboard the Nautilus once more and flew to the northwestern continent.

---

Replito

The party looked around the village to see that some of the villagers were evokers. They then went into a magic shop and purchased the scrolls that were needed to summon the "phantom beasts" Doga spoke of.

"Why I do I see two little ponies dressed in our garb?" one villager whispered harshly.

"I'm not sure, but I sense no ill will from them," another replied.

Aboard the Nautilus, Twilight and Rarity summoned the scrolls they had purchased and studied the figures.

"Who would've thought we'd be calling forth such powerful creatures?" asked the purple alicorn.

"You know, I'm willing to bet this isn't gonna be the last time we hear about summoned monsters," said Pinkie Pie. "Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they're gonna be relevant to the plot of the next story, or the next one, or the next one..."

As she kept repeating those words, the rest of the Equestrians shook their heads.

---

Temple of Time

Using one of the magic keys, Pinkie unlocked the room and acquired a Diamond Helmet. Next, Twilight unlocked the room next door and obtained a pair of Diamond Bracers. With a new set of equipment in their possession, the party then waded through the ankle-deep water and made their descent to the next level. The second floor had only one treasure chest which lay to the left in our heroes' line of vision. Rainbow Dash flew to the chest, opened it and grabbed the contents. It was a large sword that the pegasus knew Luneth could carry, so she handed it over to the dark knight.

As soon as they neared the stairs to the third floor, a menacing growl echoed throughout the halls.

"That don't sound good," Applejack said, shuddering.

"I knew we were gonna fight some big monster," Rainbow smirked, much to her friends' dismay.

"Spike, Rainbow Dash! Wait!"

Upon arriving at the final floor, Spike's eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped in horror at the sight he beheld. When Rainbow Dash saw what Spike was seeing, her expression changed form one of confidence to one of terror. Her eyes widened and her ears drooped.

"T-Twilight..."

"Whoa."

"What is it, Spike?"

"L-L-L-LOOK!!!"

Twilight looked where her dragon friend was pointing, and her eyes expression matched that of Spike.

"It's..."

A large, blue, quadrupedal beast with horns and fangs blocked their path to their prize.

"Is that a... Behemoth?!"

"Someone you know?"

"This thing was one of Emperor Mateus' pets when Spike, Cadence, Fluttershy and I went to save Flurry. He captured a princess and used her as bait to lure us into battle with this thing! ...Or something similar!"

The Behemoth roared, making the ponies flinch. All except Rainbow Dash.

"Alright, tough guy! You want a piece of Rainbow Dash? Come and get it!"

The monster lunged toward the cyan pegasus with great speed, but Rainbow Dash was quicker as she flew upward.

"Missed!"

Twilight charged up for a magic attack while Luneth slashed at beast five times, causing a good deal of damage. Then Twilight unleashed a powerful magic beam at the monster, infuriating it further. Suddenly, a spear shot down and impacted the ground, harming the Behemoth.

"Over here, you big dummy!"

The beast growled at the taunting pony; it lunged at her again, this time swiping her away and knocking her into the wall. Rainbow struggled to get up, groaning as she did so. Opening her eyes, she finally saw the Behemoth for what it was: the most difficult, most dangerous monster she had encountered as of yet.

"Can't... lose now..."

Ingus gave Rainbow an elixir, restoring the pegasus' strength.

"Thanks!" she said, jumping in the air once again.

Twilight and Rarity each fired a magic beam. While the effects of the ponies' magic was successful, the beast was still standing on all fours. Luneth then slashed it six times with the defender, causing it moderate damage.

Spike closed his eyes, inhaled and unleashed a powerful breath of fire on the Behemoth. Angered, the monster attempted to brush the little dragon aside as it did to Rainbow, but before the large claws could touch him, Spike jumped into the air.

The Behemoth roared and began backing ournhweoes into a corner until Rainbow's spear impacted once more and sent the giant back five steps. Just when it was about to lunge for Rarity, another spear followed. Spike appeared, grabbing the spear and jumped back to join the others.

Applejack then jumped a great height and swung her hammer sideways, bringing the Behemoth down once and for all. After letting out one last roar, the monster then vanished, leaving the party victorious. Soon after celebrating their victory, our heroes marched onwards to the next level. They went for the room on their right and found their prize. They walked on the path and gazed upon the instrument laying atop the pedestal.

"This must be..."

"Noah's Lute!"

As soon as Luneth touched the lute, it began playing a beautiful melody. One that could awaken those who had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Such a soothing melody," Rarity said to herself, smiling dreamily.

"Let's go."

Twilight then teleported everyone back to the Nautilus.

---

Unei's Shrine

Upon crossing the narrow path, the Equestrians and the Warriors of the Light stopped near a small section of the cave and walked through a small entrance on the western side. They discovered an elderly woman sleeping in her bed, with only her parrot to keep her company. Approaching the old woman, our heroes knew this had to be the other disciple of Noah. They unveiled Noah's Lute which began to play the soothing melody, which reverberated around the room and passed into the world of dreams. Upon the melody's end, Unei's eyelids started to move. Slowly opening her eyes, the magus lifted her head, yawning and stretching her arms.

"That was a nice nap. Come here and sit on my shoulder, sweetie bird.," said the old woman.

"Yes, ma'am!" the parrot squawked as it flew and perched itself on its master.

"So you're..."

"Yes... I'm Unei. No doubt you've come to awaken me from my slumber, and you have succeeded. I oversee the world of dreams. And I see we have five little ponies and a dragon."

The Warriors and Equestrians nodded.

"That earthquake which started all this? Xande was the culprit. However..."

"However?"

"I have the feeling that there is something far more sinister at work. Something driving his actions and feeding on his desire to live forever."

It must be... Twilight thought.

"Oh, I almost forgot!"

"Yes, dearie... One of the Fangs you've been collecting. This is the Fang of Fire. All that's left... is the Fang of Earth."

"And where do we find this last Fang?"

"You'll need a much more powerful airship: the Invincible. What do you say we pay a visit to the Ancient Ruins up north?"

The party agreed and hopped aboard the Nautilus.

Comments

[Omegamorph]

So we finally get our introduction to Moogles and Summons. I almost forgot about the Behemoth being here. Funny enough I actually played Live A Live recently where there's clearly an off-brand Behemoth in a chapter that essentially equates to a Alien homage.