Heart and Jaden's Big Adventure
It was another day at the School of Friendship as Heart and Ace walked into the school's library. Their class with Rarity had been cancelled due to a trip she was taking with Spike to the Dragon Lands, something about phoenix feathers. As such, the pair had a free period, where they saw Soul, Mira, Ocellus and Silverstream sitting at a table.
Heart smirked as he moved over to his sister, who was writing something in a thick notebook. He leaned over her shoulder and started talking, "Dear diary, I wish I could be more like my brother Heart. He does such cool things, like pretending to be the voice of my make-believe diary." The others laughed at this as Soul rolled her eyes, glaring at Heart as the duo sat down.
"My make-believe diary voice sounds nothing like that!" she grumbled before raising her nose, "It has a Trottingham accent." The others laughed again, "Now be quiet." She picked up a book off the table, "I need to finish this study guide before Twilight's friendship midterm on 'Of Mice and Stallions'."
"Why did head-mare Twilight think us reading that book was a good idea?" Mira groaned, "It's so depressing."
Silverstream nodded. "I still cry sometimes when I think about that ending."
Ocellus patted her on the shoulder, "I think it's meant to help us learn about the many different kinds of friendships there can be. I mean, the two main characters obviously care about one another."
"I guess," Silverstream shrugged, "I just hope I can figure out how to explain that during the midterm."
"Awww..." Heart moaned as he leaned back in his chair, "I forgot all about that test." He turned to Soul, "Can I have a copy of your study guide? I totally read the book, I just...wanna brush up on the details." He gave her his best puppy dog eyes, but Soul rolled her eyes.
"No," she deadpanned, "You can't have a copy of my study guide. You need to stop cheating and do the work."
"Hey! I am going to do the work. Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to write a twenty page study guide on the palm of my hoof?!" Soul just shook her head and got back to work, "Come on sis. I've got more important things to do then study a boring old book."
"Like what?"
"Duh, I'm training to become a Royal Knight. To keep Equestria safe from all the bad ponies that might want to hurt it. I think that takes priority over learning about a silly book."
"You're not the only one doing extra studying," Soul chimed in, "Twilight and Starlight are still teaching me to control my magic, plus all my medical studies. I probably have to learn more than you do, and I still have time to finish my homework!" Heart growled at this, only for Soul to throw the book at him. "Now read before Twilight grounds you from Royal Knight training!"
"Augh!" Heart yelled as he caught the book. "Come on universe, I'm a nice colt. Help me get out of this." He looked up at the ceiling, only to sigh, "Stupid universe." But just as he opened the book...
"Heart." They all turned to the voice and saw Cozy Glow. "Head-mare Twilight wants to see you. Says it's important."
"Yes!" Heart cheered as he threw the book back at his sister, "The universe has got my back!"
Soul grumbled, "Don't be ridiculous. Twilight calling you to her office can't be good." She narrowed her eyes at him, "Did you do something?"
Heart put a hoof to his chin before shrugging, "Nothing lately." he then walked out of the room, making his way for Twilight's office, only to think back to what Soul had said. He felt a chill go down his spine, trying to think what he had done wrong, only to gulp as he got up to the door. He knocked before slowly walking in, "You wanted to see me?" He then saw Twilight behind her desk, Flash to her right....and two other ponies, "Ruby! Jaden!"
The two crystal ponies smiled at him, Jaden trotting up and the pair high-hoofed before Heart hugged Ruby, "Its so good to see you! What are you all doing here?"
"No idea," Jaden replied, "Ruby just said we had an important meeting to come too."
"Apologies for misleading you," Ruby chimed in, "But I felt it was best you two learn the truth together since you'll be working together for what is to come."
Heart and Jaden shared a glance, Flash chuckling at the sight before speaking up, "Heart, Jaden, the pair of you have both reached a junction of your training. It's time you both were tested to prove you're ready to move onto the next level of training."
"Tested?" Heart asked, his vision going to Twilight before paling, "You're gonna make us take a test?"
Twilight giggled at this, "Relax. This isn't a written test. Think of it more like a...mission. You'll go out, complete a series of tasks, then return after your test is complete." The two went wide-eyed at this, only for Twilight to add, "You'll need to be careful. This test won't be easy."
Ruby nodded in agreement. "If you fail, it could mean an end to your knight career." The two grimaced at this, "But don't worry. We wouldn't be letting you do it if we weren't sure you could handle it."
"So...what have we gotta do?" Jaden asked.
"You'll find that out tomorrow," Flash responded, "For now, both of you prepare whatever equipment you think you'll need for the trip. I suggest camping gear."
They both nodded and turned to leave, the adults watching them go. Once the door was shut, Twilight stared at the knights. "Are you sure about this? They haven't really been training with you two that long. Are you sure now is a good time to test them?"
"They can do it," Flash waved his hoof, "Compared to what Heart's already faced, this'll be a cake walk."
"But he'll be alone," Twilight pointed out.
Ruby shook her head, "He'll have Jaden. Those two might be young, but working together, they should be able to handle it. Besides, it's not like they'll be unsupervised. The other knights have all agreed to help out."
"I suppose...though considering Heart's grades and attitude-"
"Don't worry about that." Flash interrupted, "He'll do well. Trust me on this." Flash's face showed one filled with pride. "He's more than ready."
Heart was in his room in the Castle, a large saddlebag open on the floor. He was currently stuffing a bunch of things into it, that being rope, camping gear, and Mr. Huggles. "Come on!" He moaned as he pulled the lid of the saddlebag over the rest of it, trying to get it to click into place. As he did, his door opened with Soul, Ace and Mira staring at him.
"Is it true?" Ace asked, "Are you really leaving?"
"Yeah," Heart groaned as he finally managed to get the bag closed. "Flash is gonna be testing me and Jaden. No biggie. Nothing I can't handle." As he said that, his bag exploded open, Soul putting up a shield to protect them as everything slammed into the floor and walls.
"You can't even handle packing a saddlebag," Mira commented, "How the heck are you gonna handle a super important test that could determine if you become a knight or not? Heck, you can't even handle doing something as simple as read a book for class!"
"She has a point Heart," Soul added, "It's one thing if this was just you taking the test, but don't forget Jaden is a part of this too." She grabbed everything that had been shot out of the bag in her magic and dropped most of it, holding only the essentials that she began to pack into the bag. "Please take this seriously. For Jaden's sake."
She shoved the bag into Heart's hooves. "Sis, have some faith! Jaden and I are gonna ace this test, just you watch." Soul sighed at this before taking out the book he had abandoned.
"At least use whatever free time you have to read this. I doubt this test is gonna be enough of an excuse to make Twilight not quiz you on it." Heart rolled his eyes and took the book, stuffing it into his bag as the others kept talking.
But as this happened, Jaden listened just outside the room and whispered, "He's not gonna take this seriously? I...I can't let that happen."
The next day...
As soon as the sun was up, Heart and Jaden quickly zipped out of their rooms and ate a large breakfast. And as they went to the front of the castle, they found Flash and Ruby waiting there, along with the rest of the Mane Seven, the Defenders and Heart's school friends. The pair stood, their saddlebags on their backs as their mentors stepped up to them. "Heart and Jaden, you are here to be tested in order to determine whether you head to the next stage of your training. If either of you believe you are not ready, state it now and no shame shall be given."
Heart and Jaden turned to one another, then nodded. "We're ready," Heart replied, "What do we to do?"
"This test is to determine whether you have three key aspects needed by every knight to complete their duties. Invisibility, for when you have to observe without being seen. Indestructibility, for when you have to endure a great obstacle in order to overcome it. And insight, for when you need to see past what you see and find the truth hidden even deeper."
Ruby took out a scroll and unraveled it, revealing three gemstones that looked like a pair of tetrahedrons stuck together. One was blue, one was green, and one was red. "These gems are your goal. Each one is in the possession of a Royal Knight that has agreed to help in this test. Cold Steel, Skybreaker and First Aid are waiting for you in specific areas. You must find them and overcome whatever trial they have set up. Each one will test you in a way that will determine your skills of invisibility, indestructibility and insight."
"Okay...how do we find them?" Jaden asked as Ruby took out another scroll.
"This map has a path leading you to the first gem's location. Should you acquire it, the crystal will unlock the location of the second, which will unlock the location of the third. Once you have all three, it will show you where you must take the gemstones in order to complete the task. Is that understood?"
"Gems, map, trial, knights," Heart repeated as he took the map. "Sounds good to me. We've got this no problem." He unfurled the map and looked it over, only to tilt his head in confusion. Ruby sighed and took the map in her magic, spinning it around so it was the right way up. "Even better." His friends all moaned, some resisting to facehoof.
"Maybe I should hold onto that," Jaden took the map and turned to Ruby. "We won't let you down."
"I know you won't," Ruby nodded as Flash patted Heart on the back. "Good luck to you both."
With that, the pair headed off, their friends and family all cheering as they walked to the boundaries of Ponyville, the two trying to look confident as they remained in sight. And as they left, they went through the canyon Flash and the other Defenders trained at, Jaden staring at the map and finding that the first location was in a town a day's travel from Ponyville. "Looks like the fastest way there is through a forest," he commented as they made their way across an open field. "I wonder what trial we'll have to face when we get there?"
"I'm sure whatever it is, we'll be able to make it through with ease!" Heart cheered, "We can do this! After all, we've got the super awesome Fire Heart on our team!"
Jaden rolled his eyes at this, "Can't you be serious?! This is important!" He pointed his hoof at the colt, "We can't mess around on this Heart! We've gotta spend every minute trying to come up with a battle strategy!"
"But we have no idea what we'll be doing," Heart replied, "How can we come up with a strategy if we don't know that?" He then scanned Jaden over, seeing him all tense, "What's wrong Jaden? You need to relax."
"Relax?!" Jaden yelped, "How can I relax?! If we fail this test, we'll never become knights!"
"I know that, but stressing out about it's just gonna make you too wound up to pass. You gotta be in the zone. Loosen up so you're ready for anything that's thrown at you."
"But we need to be serious! Ruby tells me that a knight must be prepared for anything at all times!"
"And you can be prepared for anything while relaxing. Flash tells me to do it all the time. It's fine."
Jaden facehoofed at this, "Ugh...seriously? That's what your mentor teaches you?! Heart, we need to take this seriously!"
"I know." Heart replied before grabbing the map, "But this says we got a long way to go before we get there, so let's have fun on the way. The journey is the destination. I think that's a quote Flash told me once..."
"Oh yeah? And what other advice did he give you?" Jaden deadpanned in a tone dripping with sarcasm.
But Heart didn't notice as he rubbed his chin, "Hmm...well, it depends."
Jaden raised an eyebrow at this, "What do you mean?"
"Well, Flash would say stuff like: Remember Heart, anything that is glowing dark red is evil. Never trust dark red glowy stuff. Or something like: Heart, Ace is not a vacuum cleaner. Don't just give him any food you don't want. Or sometimes he says: Remember Heart, if you ever get caught up in one of Twilight's dimension altering spells she does once every two months, make sure it sends you to dimension J7-36. It's filled with three-headed rabid weasel creatures that are weak to fire. You'll be fine there until we can find you."
Jaden just stared at the colt with a grimace, "That's...the advice you get?!" He let out a long sigh, "We're doomed."
"Aww, don't be like that!" Heart slung a hoof around Jaden, "Come on, let's sing a travel song to get us pump up for the journey ahead!"
"I don't sing," Jaden grumbled as Heart took to the air. "And I'd rather not listen to you try and sing eith-"
"Tell everypony, I'm on my way!" Heart began to sing as he flew from side to side, "New friends and new places to see..."
"Heart, knock it off."
"With blue skies ahead-" Jaden shushed him, "Yes, I'm on my way!" Jaden noticed a large log nearby and grabbed the pegasus in his magic, stuffing him in the hole. "AND THERE'S NOWHERE ELSE THAT I'D RATHER BE!" The log caused the song to become even louder, Jaden groaning as he started to quicken his pace.
(Cue the music)
After Heart escaped from the log, he caught up to Jaden and smiled. Jaden remained stoic and focused on the map, Heart rolling his eyes. They kept travelling like that for several hours, Heart taking in the greenery around them while Jaden just stared at the map. By the time lunch came around, they found a few rocks to sit on as they enjoyed some lunchboxes Soul, Mira, Silverstream and Cozy had made for them. Jaden simply ate his sandwich while Heart pulled off the crust, the colt throwing it over for some birds to feed on. The birds tweeted happily as Heart smiled back, though he quickly found himself in trouble when more birds arrived wanting food, forcing him to share half his lunch with them to avoid getting pecked.
After finishing lunch and escaping the birds, they found themselves in a field full of dandelions. Heart couldn't resist and ended up running through them, sending the seeds scattering to the wind. When he was finished, he turned to find Jaden covered in the seeds with only his face visible. As a seed landed on his nose, he twitched before letting out a sneeze that blew the rest of the seeds away, making Heart laugh.
Later on, they found themselves coming up to a large stone cliff. It was a natural wall that went twenty miles in every direction, Heart offering to fly them over, but Jaden chose to go through a tunnel that somepony had dug out. The darkness was quick to consume them as they went in, Heart's flaming hoof doing little to help them. That is, till the bats in the tunnel were alerted to their presence, both soon screaming as they ran out the other end while being chased.
An hour later, the pair found themselves travelling through an area that had been scheduled for rain. Heart's excitement for their adventure was quickly washed away when he was soaked, Jaden just trodding through the muddy field while remaining mostly dry thanks to the umbrella he had packed. Luckily, the rain didn't cover a large area and they were quickly out, soon going up a cliff. And as they got to the top, they saw the forest at the bottom of the other side, only for a strong wind to blow up it. Heart smirked and leaned into the wind, laughing as it kept him from falling over the edge.
Jaden frowned at this, only to feel the wind touch his face, making him pull back. He then leaned back in, feeling the wind act like a giant cushion for him, causing him to walk up to the edge as well. Both colts began to laugh, Jaden actually starting to enjoy himself...only for the wind to vanish, the pair then being pulled by the cruel hand of gravity down the side of the cliff. That is, till Heart grabbed his tail and pulled them both away. He wasn't able to pull him up enough to stop them from crashing into the muddy puddles at the bottom of the hill, causing a loud splash. When they recovered and pulled themselves up, they were both covered head to hoof in mud. Heart kept laughing but Jaden's enjoyment had ended, the colt's eyes going wide as he took out the map.
It was soaked...only for the mud to slid off it without any damage. Jaden sighed in relief and quickly shook his body, causing the mud to go flying off of him. Heart did the same and the pair looked at the woods ahead of them, only to also notice the sun was beginning to set. "No way we'll make it through here before night," Jaden told Heart. "And I don't wanna be trotting through a forest in pitch black."
"I could use my fire to light the way," Heart replied.
"I would say yes...but we're going in a forest. An easily flammable forest."
"Oh...good point. Welp, let's get going then." Heart responded as he began walking up to the woods.
"What the-where are you going?!"
"To find a place to camp," Heart added, "Unless you want to sleep in a muddy pit." Jaden blinked at him, only to sigh as he followed the colt. Along the way, Heart picked up whatever dry sticks he could find before finding a simple flat piece of the forest that had a thick canopy. Heart then began to build a fire as Jaden watched, actually amazed at how well he was able to build something like that.
"Huh. Where'd you learn to do that?"
"In the lost city," Heart replied, "Back then, I'd have to rub two sticks together forever to get a spark, but now..." He made a small fireball and used it to light the sticks, the fire quickly spreading. "Perfect."
Jaden sighed as he set up his sleeping bag, "You're lucky." Heart turned to him, "You have so much experience already. Even before you became Flash's apprentice, you had fire powers and got to fight in a war. I wish I could have done something like that."
"I'd hardly call four fights really participating," Heart said as he waved his hoof, "And I ended up losing two of 'em."
"You still got to be there, showing off your skills. Plus, you helped when the changelings kidnapped all of Equestria's greatest heroes. You helped during the dragon invasion, you freed the Royal Knights from that limbo thing, and you were the one who defeated that Void pony that tried to steal Flash's power. You've already done so much, it doesn't matter if you pass this test or not."
"What?! Of course it matters!" Heart yelled as he reached into his bag a pulled out some chips.
"No, it doesn't," Jaden sighed, "That's why you're not taking this seriously. Because you know even if you fail, Flash won't stop training you. You've already proved you can be a knight."
"Okay, first off...I barely did anything during the changeling incident. I went in, drew their attention and got caught. The dragon invasion...let's just say I made things worse before I made them better. A lot worse."
"How so?"
Heart glanced away at this, "I...got grounded. For the first time in my life."
"But you still-"
Heart glared back at his friend, "And another thing! The whole mess with the Storm King? I was completely useless on my own! I thought I would never be able to stand equal with the other knights. The only reason I was able to beat Void was because I had the other knights helping me, and that didn't exactly leave me unscathed." He held up his scared hoof, "See?"
"But you've still proven yourself," Jaden replied, "Not like me."
"But you have proven yourself!" Heart countered, "Remember when that clone of Ruby attacked?! You managed to deal the blow that let the others take it down."
"Yeah, but that was only one time. It made Ruby think I was capable of training, but if I mess up, she might change her mind."
"Ruby isn't gonna change her mind," Heart scoffed, "Ruby didn't choose you on a whim. She saw something inside you. Something that was once seen in her by somepony else, and seen inside Flash and all the other knights. It's gonna take a lot more than failing one test to stop her from seeing it."
"But...I...how can you be so sure?"
"Because the bond between a student and his teacher is a special one," Heart finished off his chips and put the bag away. "Flash and Grand have a special bond, the same with Iron and Skybreaker. I know I have that same bond with Flash, and even if you can't see it yet, you have it with Ruby. Ruby opened up to you, let you stand beside her. She was willing to teach you everything she knew. Let you be somepony that could possibly see her at her worst. That's something that only happens between ponies that trust each other. And now she's trusting you to complete this test."
"And if I fail, it'll show she shouldn't have trusted me."
"Maybe...but that's something I've learned since coming to Equestria. Trust can't exist without the chance of it being broken. Ruby knew trusting you to complete this test could result in failure, but she trusted you anyway. She has faith in you. You just need to have faith in yourself."
Jaden blinked at Heart as he took out another bag of chips. "You really think Ruby won't give up on me if I fail?"
"Ruby's never been a quitter. She's not gonna give up on you just because you fail one test. You'd need to do a ton of stuff for that to happen. So relax and try and take whatever happens here as a learning experience. That's what I'm gonna do. Flash always said that if you learn something from failing, you'll never truly fail."
"Flash told you that?" Heart nodded back, "Huh...guess he actually does give good advice every now and then."
"Hey! Flash's advice is good!" Jaden gave him a deadpan glare, making Heart growl, "What?! He's totally right about the dark red glowy evil stuff!"
"Right...though I gotta say, I didn't expect you to be this good at lectures."
Heart just shrugged at this, "Eh, I hear them all the time. They're pretty easy to do once you know how to monologue."
"I figured." Jaden chuckled, "Still...I really do wanna pass."
"So do I. And I promise, when the actual test starts, I'll be one hundred percent focused. You can trust me on that. Now eat. You must be starving." Jaden's belly grumbled at this and they both laughed, Jaden reaching into his bag and taking out some food.
The two ate and continued talking before going to bed, not noticing a certain duo of knights watching them. Flash and Ruby smiled at the sight, happy Heart had been able to get Jaden to relax a little.
The next morning...
Heart and Jaden were up as soon as the sun rose, the pair quickly making their way through the woods. It wasn't long till they got through the thick, soon spotting the town on the map as they left the forest. It was larger than Ponyville and had a big building behind it. And as they got closer, metal clanging sounds filled the air.
"There it is!" Heart cheered as Jaden stared at the map.
"But the map doesn't tell us where in the town we need to go." But as he said that, the map glowed before the image on the paper changed. It zoomed in on the town, which now filled the entire page, a section now glowing. "Huh. That works." The area that was glowing happened to be in the giant building, the two seeing it was some kind of factory.
They quickly ran into town, Heart soon asking a townspony about the factory. It was Equestria's recycling center, anything and everything thrown away was sent there, separated into different piles and remolded so the items could be put to better use. Celestia might have had her flaws as a leader, but she had made Equestria a pretty green kingdom. The colts arrived at the fenced off area of the factory and saw multiple piles of glass bottles, plastic items and metal objects. The map seemed to be directing them to the metal area, so Heart flew them over the fence.
"Hello?" Heart called out, "Cold?" They glanced around, seeing no signs of the Frozen Wanderer. "Where the heck is he?"
"He should be here," Jaden replied, "According to this, we should be right on top of him." Hearing this, Heart hummed at his words.
"Hmmm...what if we are?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well...like this." Heart hopped onto a nearby metal pile and started digging, Jaden frowning at the sight.
"Heart, he's not gonna be hidden-" His speech was stopped as Heart stopped and moved to the side.
"You were saying?" Heart chuckled as he showed Jaden what looked like a submarine door.
"Nevermind."
"Alright. Let's see what's behind door number one." Heart commented as he undid the top and pulled it open. They both glanced inside, seeing a square room that dropped down about thirty feet. Right beneath the entrance, they spotted a table a blue gem just like the one that they had seen on the image their mentors showed them. Cold Steel was also there, at one end of the room in a meditative position...and around the outer edges of the room were a bunch of spotlights, all moving and illuminating everything.
The sight made Heart grimace, "Ouch. Tough room to be invisible in."
Jaden put a hoof to his chin, "Maybe if we swoop down and grab the gem before Cold can see us, it'll count as invisibility?" Heart nodded and they turned to the entrance, the pegasus climbing into it and carefully flying down. But as he got ten feet down his hoof came in contact with something.
It was a magical barrier that caused an alarm to go off as soon as he passed through it, causing Cold's head to shoot up while the spotlights moved to the entrance. Heart gasped and quickly flew up, the boys shutting the door seconds before the lights illuminated it. "Heart?" Cold stood up, "Jaden?"
Both panted as sweat poured down their faces, "Whoa! He's got it totally rigged!"
"How the heck are we supposed to get the gem from that?!" Jaden yelped.
The two shared a glance, both sitting down before staring at the doors. "Not a great start." Heart commented, Jaden nodding.
"Well...he knows we're here. We gotta figure out something." Jaden turned back to Heart, "Got any mentor advice you can think of?"
Heart hummed at this, "Hmmm...well, Flash always said a foe's greatest weakness can be the strengths they have, as long as you know how to use it against them."
"But...how does that work? Everything is rigged in there. Even if we try to be fast, he already knows."
"Um...I don't know." Heart replied, "Its all I can think of."
Jaden bit his lip at this, only for a bright light to hit his eye, making him turn to see something reflecting the sun at him. "That's it!"
"What?"
Jaden got up and ran over to the reflective surface. "You're right Heart. Upon further reflection, we just need a little more time to polish our act." Heart blinked at this, only for Jaden to hold up a cracked but still usable mirror.
A few minutes later, Cold continued to stare up at the entrance with the spotlights trained on it, only to tense up as the doors swung open. "If that's them, they're not off to a very invisible start." But as he said that, the mirror was lowered down and struck by the lights, its reflective properties blasting out in all directions, filling the room and blinding the unicorn. "Augh!"
"Sorry Cold," Heart yelled as he flew down into the room. He shot through the barrier, sounding the alarms, but Cold was still rubbing his eyes. Heart reached the table and grabbed the gem before jumping back up, Cold's horn flaring as he magically turned the spotlights away from the mirror. But by the time his vision restored, Heart was out of the hole and Jaden dropped the door. "Bean-pot!" He cheered, he and Jaden high-hoofing.
"Stealing an opponent's sight equals invisibility," the young colt cheered, taking the gem...only for a flash of light to reveal Cold's arrival right in front of them. "Uh-oh."
A blast of chilly air hit the duo, making them shiver as the knight glared at them, only to show a small nod, "Well done. You've passed the first trial. But be warned, this test only gets more difficult from here on out."
The two smiled at this, Heart replying, "We know. If it got easier, we'd be worried Flash and Ruby didn't trust us to handle it." Jaden nodded and took out the map, holding the crystal over it. The map and gem soon lit up, the crystal flying into the paper. This caused a new pathway to appear, leading from their current location to one several miles away.
One transition later...
They managed to reach the new area by midday, which was a rocky area. It was an open field covered in rocks, some piled on top of one another while others looked like they had been carved to resemble certain animals. "I bet Maud would love this place," Heart commented as they made their way, Jaden following the map as it zoomed in on the area.
"Looks like wherever we need to go is right...there!" He pointed straight ahead and saw it was a rock that was bigger than the others. As they got closer, the gem in Heart's pocket began to glow, holding it up as the light touched the rock, causing some words to appear on it.
"Strength and logic will lead you astray," Jaden read, "If you wish to enter, try the lazy way."
"What does that mean?" Heart asked, Jaden shrugging only to notice that below the words were a bunch of tiles that were designed with lines on them and appeared to move in multiple directions. "Oh, the heck with this!" Heart yelled, igniting his body. "I'll smash our way in!" He propelled himself forward and slammed into the rock, only to be sent flying back. "Augh!"
"Heart!"
BAM!
The colt slammed into a nearby rock, the colt raising his hoof, "I'm okay!"
A few minutes later, he picked himself up and dizzily walked over to the rock, Jaden now pushing the tiles all over the place. "It must be a combination lock," he commented, "But there are so many possibilities, it would take me centuries to figure out how long it would take me to figure out the right combination."
"Centuries?" Heart groaned, "Guess I'd better get comfortable." He sat on one of the smaller rocks by the bigger one, only to suddenly cry out when the rock fell into the earth. Jaden spun around and saw the rock halfway into the ground as clicking and clacking of mechanisms filled the air.
The next thing the colts knew, the giant rock was suddenly sliding back. It revealed a bunch of stairs, "Huh," Jaden raised an eyebrow as Heart picked himself up. "Oh, I get it now. Try the lazy way."
"I don't get it." Heart added, the pair soon making their way down the stairs, only to find another large square room.
Stepping onto the floor, they saw it was covered in a grid pattern. Sitting at the back of the room, they saw none other than Skybreaker. "Welcome. I see you've managed to collect the first gem and found your way in here." They both smiled at this as Skybreaker held up a green crystal, "But getting the second one won't be so easy. In order to get it, your bodies must be as indestructible as diamond." They both nodded, "Now...come and get it. I won't move a feather to stop you."
The colts shared a glance, only to shrug and began to walk forward. But as soon as they took a single step, the room came alive. On either side of the room, a grid square glowed. A moment later, the squares extended outward as a pair of stone pillars that shot at them at high speed. Heart and Jaden barely realized what was happening and dodged, Jaden ducking down as Heart leapt up. The two pillars slammed together and the colts were unharmed, though both of their tails were now a few hairs shorter.
As the pillars retracted, they jumped back to the safe spot. "Indestructible..." Heart gulped as he held his tail, "Yeah. I can see how this is gonna test us."
Jaden charged again and a pillar shot out of the ceiling, the colt needing to leap back to avoid getting crushed as Heart took to the air. Both quickly found themselves getting attacked by the walls, pillars shooting at them in random patterns that were impossible to predict. All the while, Skybreaker chuckled as he watched.
"There's gotta be a way to get passed these things!" Heart cried, only for a pillar to slam into him from above, sending him rocketing to the ground. "Augh!"
Jaden tried to think, unable to as he was now running around for his life. As he tried to avoid one of the pillars, only for a tiny one to pop out of the ground in front of him. "Gyah!" He yelped, tripping over it. He moaned as he picked himself up, only to hear a sound from above him and look up to see a pillar falling down for him. He gasped as he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact...only to feel nothing.
He glanced back up, now seeing a groaning Heart pushing the pillar back. "Urgh..." he groaned as he looked down at Jaden, "Move...now..."
The crystal unicorn just stared at him, only to get up and add his weight. The two colts pushed up against the pillar and after a few moments, they let out a roar and threw the pillar off of them, allowing them to leap away and roll as it crashed down onto the ground.
"Not bad," Skybreaker smirked as the two charged. Two pillars shot at them from either side, but the pair braced themselves and stood back to back.
"Augh!" They cried as the pillars slammed into them, but both stopped them before pushing back. The pillars were slowly shoved back, letting them leap out of the way, only for a pillar to shoot up in front of them to block their path and another shot up from behind.
They braced themselves and spun around to stop the pillar, holding their back hooves against the one that had gone up. The two waited until they felt the pillar behind them retract into the ground. When it did this, they stopped pushing and allowed themselves to be thrown back.
"That's it..." Skybreaker nodded as the two rolled along the ground before jumping back to their hooves. But as they did this, the floor beneath them dropped.
"Wow!" They cried, both falling a good five feet before Heart grabbed Jaden and began to fly him up. But before they could reach the top, a pillar above them fell. Heart gasped at the sight, Jaden quickly using his magic to make Heart let him go. But before he could fall, he used his hooves to brace himself against the walls.
This allowed Heart to shoot up and stopped the pillar, using his flames to give him a little extra push. "Hurry!" He yelled as Jaden started inching himself up the wall. Heart grunted, needing to use all his will to not give in as it took all of Jaden's strength to keep himself from slipping down the hole. But as he got to the top, he saw they still didn't have a full way of getting out. Heart then cut his flames and despite losing a few inches, managed to get his tail into Jaden's range. The unicorn grabbed it in his mouth and Heart pulled him up, allowing him to get out of the hole and out from under the pillar before pulling Heart out as fast as he could. The pair then flipped out of the hole, both hitting the floor in front of Skybreaker.
The Knight of the Winds nodded, pressing a button on his chair that caused the room to return to its original state, then got up. "Well done," he commented as he stared the panting bruised pair. "You've earned this." he held the gem out and the two picked their sore bodies up.
Heart took the gem and Jaden used his magic to pull the map out of his earlier discarded saddlebag. He unrolled it as Heart held the gem over it, both glowing before showing a forest a fair distance away.
"That could take a while to reach," Jaden sighed, the colts moaning as their stomachs growled. Skybreaker laughed at this as he pressed a button on the chair. Moments later, a section of the floor disappeared and returned a moment later with drinks, food and cream they could use to help with the bruises. "Call this a treat for doing so well." The colts smiled and thanked him before digging in and applying the cream, knowing they would need everything they could to complete the final task.
And as they did this, Jaden focused on the map to figure out the best way to get to the forest.
By the time the two reached the large collection of trees, the sun was getting close to setting. The pair were now on a hill overlooking the forest, which had a large flat-topped mountain in the center of it. As they stared at it, the map zoomed in to show the area they were looking for was at the base of the mountain. "Maybe we should camp here for the night and go through the forest in the morning?" Jaden suggested.
"I've got a better idea," Heart replied before taking some rope out of his saddlebag. Jaden raised an eyebrow at this, only to gulp as he found out what the pegasus wanted to do.
"Please don't drop me!" Jaden cried as he and Heart flew over the forest.
"How the heck could I drop you?" Heart asked, pointing to the rope that was currently tying them together. They flew over the forest, the sun now setting as they drew closer to the mountain. "Just tell me where we need to go!"
Jaden stared at the map, telling him that there must be some kind of cave at the base. Heart nodded at this as they reached the mountain, the two soon flying around it. "See anything?" Jaden asked.
"You're closer to the ground than me," Heart responded before looking down at Jaden, seeing his eyes glued to the map so he wouldn't look down. "Would you relax? I'm not gonna drop you. You can look down." Jaden sighed and rolled up the map, putting it back in his bag before slowly turning to the ground.
He whined in mild terror, but did as he was told. The mountain had a small area around it at the base that was completely devoid of trees, but before he could spot a cave, he saw something else: A pony.
It was a lilac earth pony mare that was carrying her own saddlebag. She had just walked out of the woods and smiled before trotting to the mountain. The next thing Jaden knew, she had disappeared. "There!" He yelled, pointing down, "I just saw a mare disappear down there!"
"You did?!" Heart asked, soon beginning to descend before the two saw a hole in the mountain's side just big enough for an adult pony to step through. "Cave, found." They slowly walked in and found the place got bigger on the other side. It looked like your standard everyday cave, with a couple of rocks here and there along with a stalagmite or two.
"Where'd she go?" Jaden commented as they stared into the cavern, "I know I saw her come in here."
"Maybe she teleported out?"
"She was an earth pony," Jaden responded, "And we would have seen the light if she had used something like a rune gate." He began patting the walls, "There's gotta be another cave entrance around here." He then hit a rock and his touch caused it to slide back into the wall. As this happened, sounds started coming from the back of the cave. They both stared at it, only for the wall to open up and revealed some kind of screen, which lit up as an image appeared.
"Wow..." the colts whispered as they stepped up to the screen. The image was a bunch of squares with random shapes, reminding Jaden of the fake lock from Skybreaker's trial, only this one he felt actually connected to something.
"What is that?" Heart asked, only for Jaden to gasp.
"I think I know." He started swiping his hoof along the screen, moving the squares around.
"It's a duck!" Heart guessed as the image became more and more clear, "No, it's a rabbit. It's a duck with rabbit ears." Jaden moved the final square into place and revealed it to be a red cross with an arrow sticking out of it. "It's First Aid's Cutie Mark."
"First Aid is supposed to be the one that giving us our final trial," Jaden added as a word appeared over the image.
"It says enter." Jaden nodded and looked away, a reflected though appearing on his face
"I guess the big decision here is whether or not we should push the button." Jaden finished, only to realise who he was with, "You wanna push the button, don't you?"
"Oh, I already did." Jaden looked back and saw Heart's hoof already on the button. A moment later, the screen retracted back into the wall before it split in half down the middle. The colts watched as the two halves began to pull apart, revealing a very different room behind it. It was a square room made of metal that was about the size of an elevator.
As the stepped inside, the wall behind them closed before there was a sudden flash of light. Both colts hissed at this before the floor opened up and a table extended with two pairs of goggles on it. They took them and put them on, only for the table to retract. A moment later, a voice spoke from the walls.
"Disinfectant, now starting."
"Disinfectant?" Heart asked, only for the walls to suddenly shoot water at them. "Ahhhh!"
"What's happening?" Jaden yelped as the water continued to pour for another thirty seconds before stopping, the colts now soaking wet. That is, until a giant puff of white smoke shot out of the walls and covered them, "Now what?!" The smoke remained for several seconds before being sucked into a vent as several other vents started spraying warm air at them.
Within moments, the colts were bone dry.
"Disinfectant, complete."
The warm air stopped and the table returned for them to put the goggles on. The wall in front of them then opened after they took the googles off, allowing them to exit. "Well, that was fun," Heart huffed.
"I wonder why they needed to disinfect us?" Jaden asked, only to now see a giant high-tech room full of beds and machines. Right in front of them was a pair of crescent-shaped desks positioned to form a circle where two ponies were working.
Other ponies wearing lab-coats or nurses outfits were walking around, some talking to ponies up on the bed. "Now you're gonna feel a little prick," they heard a lab-coat unicorn explain as he injected a pegasus with something. Moments later, the pegasi's blue coat turned purple with green spots appearing. "Only green spots this time. It's an improvement."
"What it this place?" Heart whispered.
"Some kind of medical facility?" Jaden quietly replied, "I'm guessing First Aid's the one in charge, given his Cutie Mark was used as the lock image." Heart nodded, only for a nearby door to shoot open as a male pegasi nurse pushed a bed with a buff earth pony into the room.
"Incoming! Incoming! Make a path, ponies!" Lab-coat ponies rushed to his side as they led the bed through the room, "I've got a non-responsive seeker, temperatures at a hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit and he's oozing weird blue glowing stuff." He leaned over to another nurse, "Tastes like hummus. This pony needs medical attention stat!"
The colts watched as the doctors began checking him out, "Looks like an infected bite of the mortem fly," one doctor stated. "We need the cure pumped directly into the bite. I give him three minutes before he crashes."
The nurse that had brought him in ripped open the shirt the earth pony was wearing, then huffed at the sight of his buff physic. "Okay, he and I have the same personal trainer. How is that possible?"
"This sounds serious," Heart gulped as the doctors began searching his body.
"I can't find the bite mark," the nurse chimed in.
"Keep looking," the doctor replied, "It has to be here somewhere." But no matter where they searched, they couldn't find the bite. "We're gonna lose him." Suddenly, the machine he was hooked up to started beeping rapidly.
The two frowned and Jaden pulled Heart away, the pair walking through the doors into another hallway. "I don't think Flash or Ruby would want us to see that."
"Yeah..." Heart nodded as two more doctors walked down the hall in opposite directions. The younger of the doctors smiled at the other one, who had a large bushy beard.
"Hey Doctor Beard-Face." The other doctor glared at him.
"How many times do I have to say it? It's Beard Facade. Beard Facade!" The other doctor chuckled as the bearded one 'baaah'ed' before walking off, the colt looking at each other in confusion.
"I'm guessing he gets called that a lot," Jaden chuckled.
"If I kept getting called that, I'd just lose the beard." Heart added, "Though I wonder if he's hiding anything under there." Jaden shrugged before his eyes went wide.
"That's it!" He exclaimed, "Heart, you're a genius!"
"I know," Heart smirked before turning to him. "Why am I a genius?" Jaden didn't reply and ran back into the room, seeing the doctors were still unable to find the bite.
"His mane!" He yelled, getting their attention. "It might be under his mane!" The doctors quickly started looking and one stopped his hoof over a section of his head.
"Found it! I need a razor!" A nurse rushed over with one and quickly shaved away that section of his mane, revealing a large yellow bump against his teal fur. "Antidote!" He was quickly given a syringe that he injected into the bump, causing it to glow and slowly began to undo the swelling. "He should be alright. A little rest with the right medication and he'll be right as rain in a week or so." Everypony sighed as Heart patted Jaden on the back.
"Nice one Jaden. You should think about going into the medical profession."
"Hardly," Jaden replied while rolling his eyes, "I just realized where a bump is. Doesn't mean I'm a real doctor." This caught the male nurse's attention.
"You're not doctors!" He looked up to the ceiling, "GUARDS!"
"Oh," Heart shook his head, "We're not guards either." But then, a sudden flash of light signaled the arrival of two well armed unicorns holding spears in their magic.
"No, but they are!" Jaden cried as the guards grabbed them and pointed the spears at their throats.
The colts gulped before Heart turned to a nearby doctor, "So would now be a bad time to ask about a bump on the inside of my mouth..." The doctor frowned at him, "Got it. Nevermind." The next thing the pair knew, they were suddenly teleported into a dark room and thrown to the ground. "Hey!" Heart yelped, picking himself up. "Watch the hair!" The guards said nothing and teleported away as Jaden got up.
"Great..." he sighed, "What do you think they're gonna do to us?"
Heart shrugged, only to go wide-eyed at an electric screen in the room.
NOW YOU DIE
"It says now you die!" Heart yelled, Jaden gasping as he saw the image as well.
"Do you think they mean you or me?" Jaden asked, looking ready to start crying as Heart turned to him.
"Well, it's says you, so..."
"SILENCE!" They both jumped into each other's hooves as a voice boomed all around them, "You have trespassed in my hospital! And for that, the punishment is-"
"Raisins?"
"THE PUNISHMENT IS RAISINS?!" Jaden screamed, only to blink at his own statement. "Wait..." But before he could comment on what he just said, the light in the room came on and they saw First Aid standing in front of a door below the electronic sign.
He seemed to notice the sign and what it said, making him growl, "Stupid sign!" He hit the wall, causing the sign to shake and make new letters appear. When it did, the sign read an entirely new phrase.
KNOW YOUR DIET FACTS
"Oh...know your diet facts. That's far less scary." Heart nodded as First looked passed the pair, staring at somepony behind them.
"Raisins," he hissed, "What are you doing in the cafeteria?!" The colts spun around at this to see they were now in a large room full of tables and chairs, one table running along a nearby wall with bowls of fruit, cereals and anything else somepony would wanna eat during a lunch break. They then noticed somepony else there, a yellow unicorn filly around their age with red hair and a cutie mark of a caduceus. She was also holding a white coffee cup in her magic.
The filly went wide-eyed at this, "Um...nothing, Mr. Aid." First stared at her for a moment before pointing at her.
"Is that my mug?" He asked, holding up his hoof. "Send it over." The filly sighed and used her magic to float the cup over to the Royal Knight, landing in First's hoof as he showed the boys what was written on it. "World's Sexiest Chief of Staff and Vice Chancellor of Medical Administration. Bought this at a train station, what are the odds?" He put the cup down and turned to the colts, "Welcome boys. I am sorry I could not be there at the cave, but I got caught up in a medical emergency. And it seems that you did too."
"Sorry we interfered," Jaden replied.
"Sorry?" First asked before shaking his head, "No need to apologize. If you had not done something, we would have lost one of our best seekers."
"Seeker?" Heart asked, "What's that? And what is this place?"
"This is the top research center in all of Equestria," First responded, "I first founded it not long after Heather and I were made Royal Knights. Where do you think we go whenever we are not on an expedition or mission?" The colts turned to one another and shrugged, never having thought about it. "This is where we take all the data we collect in the field for analysis and experimentation. The pony you helped save was a fellow researcher who holds the title of Seeker. Thank you."
"They probably got lucky," the mare named Raisins commented, First glaring at her as she glanced away, allowing First to focus on the colts.
"Tell me, how did you know where to find the bite?"
"We didn't," Jaden replied, "But Heart said something that made me realize there was one place the doctors weren't looking. Under his mane."
"Ingenious," First nodded, "Just goes to show that even the best medical professionals can lack the insight sometimes needed to save a life." He smiled at them both before taking something out of his lab coat. "Take this." It was the red gemstone, the colts gasping as they saw it.
"We can really have this?"
"Yes. I originally intended to have you run a complicated maze to show your insight, but saving my Seeker when others could not proves you're more than worthy of this crystal." The colts smiled while the filly frowned, Heart taking the crystal as Jaden opened up the map. Holding the crystal over the paper, the area they were in glowed before a new path illuminated.
"Looks like we got our final destination," Heart cheerred as Jaden read it.
"Yup. And now we need to head too..." His eyes went wide when he saw the name of the place, Heart raising an eyebrow before reading it himself.
"Oh, come on!"
Ghastly Gorge
The two stared into the giant crack in the earth, which the map was telling them they needed to enter. "So...what do we do now?" Heart asked, both gulping at the sight of the place.
"Somewhere in there, a stand has been set up." Jaden took out the red gem while Heart held up the blue and green one. "All we have to do is put these into the stand and we'll pass the test."
"If we can get to it," Heart gulped as they began to head down the path toward the gorge. "Of all the places to make us come, why'd it have to be here?!"
"Is this place really that dangerous?" Jaden asked as they reached the bottom.
"Oh no," Heart grumbled in a tone dripping with sarcasm, "This place is super safe. And the giant eels here love visitors, especially the tasty ones." Jaden gulped as the pair continued through the gorge, staring at the walls.
"Let's just get through here and find that stand as quickly as possible." But as he said that, the ground beneath their hooves began to shake. "Now what?"
"Move!" Heart yelped, pushing Jaden back seconds before a quarry eel shot out of a hole and tried to bite them. The two quickly leapt behind a rock as the eel glanced around.
"Great," Jaden moaned as the eel retracted itself back into the hole, "How the heck are we supposed to get passed that thing?"
"I could fly us up and put us down on the other side," Heart suggested, only for Jaden to shake his head.
"No...we don't know where all these things are. What if the stand is in a nest of them?"
"Well..." Heart glanced down at the blue gem he was holding, now remembering what the trial was all about. "We've gotta be invisible."
"What?" Jaden turned to him as Heart turned to a rock that was about their size but light enough for a unicorn to lift.
"Throw that rock in front of the hole!" Heart grabbed hold of Jaden, the unicorn blinking before doing as he was told. He picked the rock up and threw it at the hole. As it landed, the eel shot out and tried to eat the rock. "Now!" Heart pulled him under the eel, the beast unable to see them at the angle it was at. By the time it realized it was tricked, the two had reached its other side. It tried to curve and swallow them, but Heart threw a fireball at it, the beast roaring as the flames exploded in its face.
The two laughed at this, high-hoofing as they did so. "Smart move!" Jaden complimented, "There's more than one way to be invisible." But as they turned a corner, they found there were even more holes on the walls ahead of them. This time, Jaden didn't need any instructions as he picked up as many rocks as he could magically carry and threw them, the rocks going to the holes as the eels shot out to attack.
Both colts ran as fast as they could under each eel before they retracted, though some noticed them run under ones opposite of them. This resulted in the eels charging and slamming into each other, soon breaking out into a fight as the colts slipped by unnoticed.
"Alright!" They high-hoofed again before turning a corner, only to be suddenly bombarded by a powerful wind. "Augh!" They slammed into the ground and moaned as the wind began to die down.
"What was that?" Heart asked.
"We don't have time to wonder," Jaden yelled, "Let's go!" They ran forward again, only for the wind to suddenly pick up again. They both cried out, but this time they stood their ground. "Hold on tight!"
"I'm...trying!" Heart screaming as they were pushed back a few inches, but were able to keep themselves mostly where they were. After about of minute of being buffeted by the wind, it stopped. "You're not gonna break us wind!" Heart roared as they charged, "We're indestructible!" They kept going and the wind picked up again, but the two knew they could ride it out as they held their ground.
And when it died down once more, the pair carried on and this time the wind didn't pick up. They had passed that area. "We've got to be getting close!" Jaden gasped as they entered an area that was far more open with no holes in the walls or creatures waiting to snack on them.
The walls of the canyon were more sloped, turning them into ramps. However, the rocks at the top were looking pretty secure as they continued to make their way through the area, soon reaching the halfway point of the gorge. And when they got there, they let out a gasp.
It was a large stone pedestal with their cutie marks emblazoned on them. The colts ran up and saw there were three holes perfectly shaped to allow the gem to be slotted inside, and some words written above them. "Place each gem in the right hole to pass the test," Jaden read.
"Does that mean if we put them in the wrong holes we fail?" Heart asked.
"I guess so," Jaden replied, "There must be a clue to figure out which hole is for which gem. I'm sure if we relax and take our time-" Before he could say anything, the floor beneath their hooves suddenly changed. In the blink of an eye, it went from solid to liquid and their hooves dropped about two inches before it solidified again.
"HEY!" Heart pulled on his hooves, but all four were stuck. Same with Jaden. "What's this?" They then heard an explosion to the left and looked up to see a bunch of rocks had been blasted loose and were now hanging over the edge. "Oh, come on!"
"I guess they want us to figure it out under fire!" Jaden cried as he used his magic to take out the gems. He held them all up over the pedestal, trying to figure out which went were.
"If we put them in the wrong hole, those rocks might end up falling."
"But if we take too long, they might fall on their own." Jaden stared at the words, "Come on. There's gotta be a clue here." Heart quivered as he watched the rocks shake, a small one even falling off and falling down the side of the canyon.
"Jaden," he whimpered out, "Any moment now would be good."
"I'm thinking," Jaden responded, "Maybe the holes are colored on the inside." He tried to lean in, but his stuck hooves didn't let him see. "Place each crystal in the right hole. But which one's the right hole?"
Heart kept staring at the rocks above, only to imagine Jaden placing them in the holes. "Wait..." he noticed that Jaden's words were making him think just that. "We're still missing something! We're missing insight!"
"What?" Jaden turned to him.
"I think I've figured it out!" Heart cried, "The instructions are telling us where to put the crystals." As he said that, a large rock came loose and began to fall toward them. "It's not saying the right hole like we think. It's not right like in right or wrong, its right as in-"
"Left and right!" Jaden gasped before turning back to the pedestal. "We're not supposed to put each crystal in a separate hole." The large rock hit the ground next to them and shattered, the pieces flying everywhere. "We're supposed to put them in one hole. The right hole!" As he said that, more rocks started coming loose and began falling toward them. They both gasped as Jaden's horn flared.
First he put the blue gem inside the right hole, the crystal completely falling through and disappearing into the pedestal. If they were wrong there was no going back now. And as more rocks fell, he slotted the other two gems inside. The rubble continued to fall, the colts now closing their eyes and bracing themselves...only for nothing to happen. For in a flash, the pedestal unleashed a bright light that surrounded them to form a barrier. The barrier caused all of the rocks to bounce off, pieces flying everywhere and leaving the pair untouched.
When the last rock was deflected, the colts felt the earth around their hooves turn back to liquid. The pair quickly jumped out before it solidified, freeing them both as the barrier vanished. "Was that it?" Heart asked, "Did we do it?"
Jaden stared at the stone table for a few moment moments before the cutie marks etched into it glowed. In a flash of light, the pedestal vanished. And in its place, Flash and Ruby were standing there with smiles on the faces.
"Well done," Ruby told them both.
"You've passed the test!" Flash cheered, making their eyes going wide, only to glare at the duo.
"Are you two insane?!" Heart yelped.
"Do you have any idea what we've been through the last three days?" Jaden added, "And making the last leg of the test going through here?! What if we had gotten eaten?!"
"You were fine," Flash scoffed as he waved his hoof, "We've been keeping an eye on you since you left Ponyville."
"You have?!" Heart asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course," Ruby nodded, "Invisibility, remember? We watched you from a safe distance, and if you had gotten into trouble, we would have swooped in to save you. Of course, that would have meant you'd failed the test."
"So...you would have saved us from the rocks in we got that puzzle wrong?" Heart asked, only for the adults to laugh. Ruby's horn glowed and they noticed the rocks around them glow before flickering away.
"Illusions?" Jaden asked.
"They would have just flown right through you if you hadn't gotten it right," Flash responded, "But you did get it right, and you passed the test." Heart and Jaden both smiled at this. "You've proven you've learned the importance of invisibility, indestructibility and insight. These three aspects will serve you well in the battles to come."
"You've proven you're ready to begin the next phase of your training," Ruby continued, "But be warned, this next level will be even more difficult than before. You'll find yourselves coming up against more obstacles than ever. Do you think you can handle it?" The colts turned to one another smiled before giving Ruby a nod.
"We can handle it," Heart shined a huge grin.
"We've come this far," Jaden added.
"Then let's get home," Flash laughed, "I'm willing to bet Pinkie will be wanting to throw you a party to celebrate completing this test." Both of them cheered as Ruby teleported them up and out of the gorge. A Pinkie Pie Party made everything they had gone through totally worth it.
"I can't wait to get home," Heart commented, "Soul and the others have probably been sitting around bored, waiting to hear about what happened with us."
"Unless something exciting happened there while we were gone," Flash chuckled. "Never know with Ponyville." He doubted that, but Heart seemed to get that that was a possibility. And as they journeyed home, the two colts thought about everything they had been through over the last few days. Their adventure might not have been some big Equestria saving mission, but they wouldn't forget it for as long as they lived. The trials they faced had made them stronger than ever, which meant Equestria was now even more formidable. Any enemy that hoped to take the kingdom down would need to face opponents that had learned what it truly meant to be invisible, indestructible and insightful. But only time would tell when Heart and Jaden would need to step up as the heroes they were destined to be.
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Interesting, looks like Heart is a lot smarter than other people give him credit for. I wonder if he'll get more opportunities to show that off more.
Wow, the test was great and creative, Heart and Jaden will be great royal knights.
Wow, that's a bit harsh, considering they're almost teenagers, I can't imagine Heart failing the test and missing out on being a royal knight, You have to be careful with that, Sunset Shimmer was abandoned by Celestia, not literally of course, and she became a villain. Although it would be badass, it wouldn't be nice to see Heart fail and thus miss his chance, to the point where he becomes filled with a grudge and says something like, "If I can't be trained to protect Equestria, then I'll see to it that Equestria suffers." consequences," or some villainous phrase of the sort.
Umm, i dont know about that, being a Royal Knight is something very serious, even Lightning Blitz cannot become one.
I hope that doesn't mean skipping the Molt Down episode, it was a very important one for the development of Spike.
It's a great chapter and we got to see the bond between Heart and Jaden as well them finally becomes stronger than ever which hopefully prepared them for final fight which Flash may or may not survive it.
It's also nice that Heart is becoming humble after the events he part in, especially Dragon one which he admits to be his biggest fuck up and it's refreshing to see him being smarter after everyone including Jaden was doubting him.
Here's highlights
She foreshadowing the plot of this chapter.
He probably knew Heart would succeed after meeting his future self but why Twilight was doubting him despite meeting Future Heart?
Okay, I don't want to know why Twilight is doing dimension altering spell…
It's nice their mentor care about them, go to show that despite what Jaden said, Ruby cares about him.
Now, that's a true bond!
Before anyone can say, this could go 2 ways.
Either the next chapter will be Molt Down or that episode will be skipped… after all, Banshee did skip Crusaders of the Lost Mark in Season 5 which was a huge development for Crusaders… just wait and see.
Although, I am not looking forward to Marks for Effort.
that episode went too far with Twilight being way too harsh with Crusaders and banning them from a school and not hearing their sides of the story.
Flash wouldn't be happy if his girlfriend banned his sister from School of Friendship.
Wow, this was pretty awesome! We got a bit more focus for Heart and Jaden as they work together to pass this test and continue their training. The test being divided into three parts kind of reminded me of the Great Test that Flash took himself way back in Season 1, though there are clearly obvious differences that show this wasn't the same thing.
Heart might come across as immature at times, especially towards his sister, but he shows here he can learn from his past mistakes, and he and Jaden were both able to figure out some of the themes to their test and grow a bit from it. I thought that Heart and Jaden would end up clashing a bit more due to Jaden being worried Heart wasn't taking the test seriously, but they seemed to get along well for the most part. Seeing First Aid's research center was also fun.
This seemed to be taking place during the events of "Molt Down", so hopefully next chapter we will get to see that happen, since it is right up there with "Gauntlet of Fire" as one of Spike's best episodes ever. Come to think of it the next two or three episodes after "The Break Up Breakdown" are all pretty important for different reasons.
That was pretty funny. The last part Heart sung kind of reminds me of the song "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit.
Not going to lie that part actually worried me a bit.
I wonder how many times First had that problem?
He ain't kidding! That is strangely specific.
reminded me a bit of tmnt fast forward
Oh wow, wasn't expecting a solo adventure test for our young apprentice knights this time around! Kinda reminds me of Flash's test way back in S1 for going the next level.
At least there's no big trouble back in Ponyville during this...*mumble offscreen sound* Huh, since when the town has problem with rocks? Unless Boulder went on another cider binge...*mumble offscreen sound* Ohhh the big bird kind, right!
The challenges that Heart/Jaden faced were interesting & thoughtful, really loved the dynamic between the young knights in overcoming their tests, we;; done Banshee!
Highlights for this one include :
Oh ho ho, looking forward to *that* tale!
Glad to know there's no pressure!
Indeed it has been quite the rollercoaster for our fiery Knight!
That was strangely specific!
You love poking Murphy a lot, don't you Flash?
Sweet chapter there Banshee, now I can't wait till next week for a certain purple dragon to face his biggest enemy.......PUBERTY!!!
Till then Banshee, cheers!!!
I'm suprised no one caught the refrences to "Might Med" by now.