The Odyssey of Sunlight Blaze, Rise of a Hero, Volume 5: Quest for the past.

by Justafanfictioner

Chapter 4: The 12 trials of the Tartarus

After returning safe and sound to the Crystal Empire and expressing their gratitude to Shining Armor, Sunlight, Tempest, Capper and Sunset went to Canterlot with the intention to make a request to Twilight Sparkle.

“Come on, said Sunset, laying on the ground. When will she allow us to see her? Two hours have passed already!!”

Spike entered the waiting room.

“Uh-Hum, said the dragon. Her Highness, The Princess of Friendship and ruler of Equestria, The great Twilight Sparkle, is ready to have an audience with you!! You may enter!!”

The group entered the throne room and saluted the princess.

“I’m listening to your request, said Twilight. What is it about?”

“We request your permission to go in the Tartarus” said Sunset.

Twilight chocked after hearing that.

“May i ask why exactly? Asked Twilight. The Tartarus is a prison for dangerous creatures and the likes. What could you possibly gain by going there?”

“There is something important and vital to our quest in there” answered Sunlight.

“I see, she said. I should be able to allow you to enter the Tartarus easily. But i won’t be able to make you leave it. You’ll need either a Tartarus Key or Discord’s magic to get you out of there. Which do you prefer?”

“I would prefer a key” said Sunset.

“Me too, said Sunlight. I can’t rely on Discord for everything i do. Also, Tempest, Capper, You two can return home if you want, From this point, there is nothing for you to gain to accompany us and we won’t need your ship any longer”

“Well, said Tempest, I want to visit the Tartarus, to be honest. So i’ll continue to walk along with you two. After that, i might go back to my own occupations.”

“As for me, said Capper, Well, i wish you good luck. My adventure end here, my friends. It was an honor to travel by your sides, Sunset Shimmer and Sunlight Blaze. If you don’t need my ship anymore, then i’ll go return to my occupations.”

He saluted the Princess and left the room immediately.

“Wow, he didn’t waste any time, said Tempest. So, when do we go?”

One hour later, the trio was at the entrance of the Tartarus. Sunset took one of the keys and unlocked the doors of the prison. They then entered and the door immediately closed behind them.

“So, said Tempest. This is where all the dangerous monsters are sent. I believe this is where the Storm King would have ended should he have survived. And myself, if i didn’t contribute to defeating him. Not as bad as i thought i would be.”

Cerberus appeared in front of them.

“Hi, Cerberus, said Sunlight. Looking as usual, i see!! Princess Twilight gave us the permission to explore freely the depths of the Tartarus.”

The three heads of the monster looked at each other and then at the group. They agreed to let them pass.

“Now that i think about it, said Sunset. We could use Cerberus’ help. Here, Cerberus, smell this!”

She showed a piece of the map to the beast and this one sniffed it.

“You’re smart, sis! Said Sunlight. And here i was going to leave it to luck.”

“There is supposed to be one of these in that prison, said Sunset. Can you confirm it for us?”

Cerberus sniffed the air around him for a moment. The three heads picked up on something. The beast told the three unicorns to follow him with a head sign. After a few minutes of walk, they arrived in front of a pit that looked terrifying. Cerberus pointed his three head at the pit.

“You sure we should go down that pit? Asked Tempest. It might be a trap”

“Cerberus is too stup...Uh, i mean, Too nice to lead us in a trap, said Sunlight. Just look at him, does he look like someone who would lead us into a trap?”

“Looking at him, said Tempest. He’s probably too stupid to even know what the concept of manipulation is...”

Cerberus looked at the group with empty eyes.

“Yep, those eyes are definitively devoid of any bad intentions, said Sunset. Thank you for you help, Cerberus...Who’s a good boy, who’s a good boy?”

Cerberus rolled on the ground and showed his belly to Sunset. She rubbed his belly, soon joined by Sunlight. Cerberus finally returned to his post, happy.

“He’s too pure for that place, said Sunset. He must be bored out of his mind alone all day long.”

Sunlight used detection magic to determine if anything suspicious was below them.

“As i thought, he said. This is an illusion. Dispel!!”

The illusion disappeared and revealed a set of stairs going deep down.

“Let’s go, he said to the two mares. And be careful, there might be traps down here.”

The trio walked down the stairs and arrived at the entrance of a circular room with at it’s center a pillar. They took a look at it.

“This is old Ponish, said Tempest. Do any of you can read it?”

“Of course, said Sunlight. I’m a genius, remember? The magic book Discord gave me was written in old Ponish. It says. To continue further, 12 trials you must overcome. The trial of Faith , the trial of Intelligence, the trial of Pain, the trial of Fear, the trial of Power, the trial of Courage, the trial of Strenght, the trial of Agility, The trial of Purity, the trial of Truth, the trial of love and the trial of Heroism. The first trial await you right ahead. Good luck, my childs.”

He then proceeded to enter the next room, followed by Sunset and Tempest. The magic projection of a creature covered in a hood showed up.

“Welcome to the trial of Faith, said the hologram. To continue further, you must succeed in finding the answer to the inscription written on the door ahead. Only one can volunteer for this trial, so choose carefully. If you fail, what you seek will be lost, forever out of your reach”

The hologram vanished. Sunlight went ahead and read the inscription.

“Wow, this is very personal, he thought. How the hell am i supposed to answer correctly? It would make me put my whole philosophy in question. I have a very keen sense of Justice. I know it can be twisted and used as justification for revenge. True Justice does exist, i’m sure of it. Here is my answer...”

He wrote his answer below the inscription.

“You guessed wrong, said the hologram. The right answer is that Justice, the pure and true one, doesn’t exist. The notion of Justice itself is just a reason for an individual of a group of individual to justify doing selfish actions. You see, Justice is always influenced by something. Vengeance, Glory, Recognition, Thirst for battle, Self-Confidence, Love, Friendship, Power, sense of self-Accomplishment. Your own notion of justice is influenced by you thirst for battle, need for recognition and need of self-fulfilment. Am i right?”

“My sense of Justice is driven indeed by those reasons it’s true, said Sunlight. However, i think you missed the point. I said i believe in True Justice, not Pure Justice, like you mentioned. Justice itself have to be justified, it’s the rule. Pure Justice don’t exist. But True Justice does. A Justice delivered with the sole purpose of making everyone’s life better and safe. Not driven by ambition, vengeance, madness, fame or glory.”

The hologram laughed.

“Congratulation, you passed the first Trial, Sunlight Blaze, said the hologram. I tried to make you doubt, but you stood by your convictions. This is what faith is all about. Believing in something and stand by it. You might enter the next trial.”

The trio entered the second room.

“Welcome to the trial of Intelligence, said the magic hologram. As you might expect, the trial is about testing your intelligence. Only one of you can attempt this trial. You must find the answer on the first attempt. So, when you are ready, send the one who will pass the trial.”

Tempest advanced to the center of the room.

“Tempest Shadow, or rather, Fizzlepop Berrytwist, said the Hologram. I will ask you 5 questions, each one more difficult than the other. You have to answer correctly to all of them. You can have all the time you want to answer. First question: What the does the 6 Elements of Harmony represent and who are their actual wielders?”

“Magic, Loyalty, Honesty, Laughter, Kindness and Generosity, said Tempest. As their wielders, from left to right, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity.”

“I didn’t expect less of you, said the Hologram. Next question: Name at least 7 Kingdoms, outside of Equestria itself.”

“Abyssinia, home of the Abyssinians. Mount Aeris, home of the Hippogryffs. The Crystal Empire, home of the Crystal Ponies, Griffinstone, Home of the griffins, The Changeling Kingdom, Home of the Changelings, The Dragon Lands, home of the Dragons, and The Everfree Forest, home of the Ancient Deers”

“Next question, said the Hologram. Oh, i forgot to mention, you are allowed to ask help from your companions, but you can do it for only 1 question. So, the third question is: Which race in Equestria is the most ancient?”

”That one is tricky, thought Tempest. He said race, not species. So he must refer to the creatures that have a proper Kingdom. I seriously hesitate between Ponies or Dragons. Also, is he refering to the Kingdom of Equestria, which is home of the ponies or the Land of Equestria as a whole, who include the other races Kingdoms?”

”She is overthinking it, said Sunlight to himself. There is no right answer to that question. Each race would tell they are the most ancient, since that topic has never been answered by either the show and the comics.”

“There is no right answer to that question, am i right? Said Tempest to the magic hologram. I don’t think anyone knows which race was the first to exist in Equestria. So my answer is...I have no idea, i can’t answer to that question.”

“To be honest, i didn’t know it either!! Said the magic illusion. However, there was no wrong answer to that question either. Whatever answer you would have given me, i would have accepted it. Fourth question: Can you name 6 magic relics or artifacts that exist in this world.”

“The Alicorn Amulet, who amplify the magic power of Unicorns, but corrupt their mind. The Idol of Boreas, which was said to grant griffins their courage and greatness. The Crystal Heart, who protect the Crystal Empire from the Umbrums and the deadly cold of the region surrounding it. The Bloodstone Scepter, which grant the Dragon holding it the power to govern the Dragon race. Grogar’s bell, which absorb and stock the magic of magical being. And the Staff of Sacanas, which grant the wielder power over lightning, to name a few” she answered.

“Amazing, said the illusion. Fifth and last Question: Name every villain that attempted to take control of Equestria or posed a major threat to it.”

“There is the Storm King, she answered. Myself, Sunset Shimmer, Nightmare Moon, Discord, King Sombra, Cozy Glow, Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, Eris, Cosmos, Accord, The Tantabus, The Pony of Shadows, Grogar, Nightmare Rarity, The Living Apples...”

She took a pause.

“...Starlight Glimmer, The Windigos, The Sirens Adagio, Sonata and Aria, Trixie, Fauxlestia, Dupluna, Flim and Flam, she said. Did i miss any?”

“Flim and Flam? Asked Sunset. Those two greedy troublemakers? You’re serious?”

“I do, she answered. Twilight told me that in one of the alternate timelines she saw during her battle against Starlight. Flim and Flam had completely destroyed the ecosystem of Equestria with their factories and technology.”

“You passed the second trial, said the magic illusion. You can access the next room, now.”

And so, The trio passed with varying levels of difficulty the rest of the trials. Tempest took the Trial of Agility, Strenght and Pain, Sunlight took on the trials of Heroism, Courage, Fear and Power. As for Sunset, she took on the trials of Love, Purity and Truth. They finally arrived in the final room, exhausted, by happy.

“Man, those trials were tough as hell, said Sunlight. But nothing we couldn’t overcome...Am i right, girls?”

“Look, the final piece of the map!! Said Sunset, excited. We finally found it!!”

She took it and read the message below it.

“Congrats, you overcame my 12 trials and found the last piece of the map, or rather key. Yes, once combined, the 4 pieces you collected will form a key that will be required to access the location in which the real map who will reveal the location of your real mother. As for the location itself, the key will guide you to it.”

Sunlight didn’t waste any time and put the four parts of the key together, forming a globe.

“What now? Asked Sunset. I see inscriptions written on it, but...it’s old Ponish.”

“First thing first, said Sunlight. Let’s get the hell out of this place. Wait, how do we leave?”

The magic illusion appeared next to them.

“Like this! It said. Goodbye!!”

They were teleported instantly at the gates of the Tartarus. Sunlight used a key to open the door and the trio left the prison. They returned to Canterlot and once arrived...

“It was a pleasure to accompany you two in your adventure, said Tempest. I’ll make sure to visit you in the world you two live in, would that be okay?”

“Feel free to do so anytime, said Sunset. Thank you!!”

And thus, Tempest waved one last time at the siblings and walked away.