Chapter 9: Talisman Diplomacy
It was a bitter cold journey for Twilight and Rainbow Dash as they adventured through the harsh snowy mountains of the Frozen North. They were lucky not to be caught in a blizzard but even so, their expedition was not a walk in the park. "How much longer Twilight? We've been at it for 2 hours since the crack of dawn and already and there hasn't been one sign of the talisman!" Rainbow Dash cried out. "Look on the bright side. We would be much colder had Rarity not made us these warm and toasty winter coats." Twilight said with genuine delight. "Yeah I know, but it's still cold, and I hate being cold! Plus I can't even use my wings with this coat over my body." Rainbow Dash complained even more. "According to Princess Celestia's locator spell, the Horse talisman is supposed to be somewhere in an icicle grotto." Twilight said. "Because we haven't seen any openings or entrances anywhere, there should only be one cave to look for."
For another good twenty minutes, the ponies searched even more. Just before Rainbow Dash felt the temptation to give up, she thought she caught a glimpse of something big up ahead. Whatever it was, Rainbow curiously narrowed her eyes to get a better view. Once the object got in focus, Rainbow Dash got excited. "Twilight, there's shelter straight ahead!" Rainbow Dash said as she used her sharp pegasus vision to look ahead. "Nice one, Rainbow Dash! We'd better get in there before it's too late." Twilight said eagerly. Both of them sprinted, knowing that the chances of finding the talisman just got even better.
Once the heroes arrived at the entrance, Twilight knew that things were still too good to be true.
"Stay alert at all times Rainbow Dash, this could get very dangerous." Twilight said with caution. "Ha! I laugh at the face of danger! If Daring Do were here, she'd say the same thing!" Rainbow Dash boasted. Twilight simply shook her head and thought her friend's reputation for being cocky. "Alright then, let's go inside."
Being inside an empty cave was not something new for Twilight or Rainbow Dash, but the only thing that seemed unusual was the climate itself. "This is just an ordinary cave, I don't see why a talisman would be in here." Rainbow Dash scuffed. "We've only been inside here for five minutes, we need to be patient and persistent if we're going to find it." Twilight reassured. "Twilight, snowy entrance at 12 o clock!" Rainbow Dash pointed out. "Let's check it out!" Even more excited then before, Twilight and Rainbow Dash hustled over to see where the opening lead to. At first they were only venturing through a dull cave; now they were inside of an enormous grotto.
"Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed with joy. Twilight and Rainbow Dash both had their eyes widen in awe as they gazed all around the incredible scenery of the grotto. There were large icicles up on the central ceiling that looked like they could fall any second. As dangerous as they looked, the magnificence of their surroundings was enhanced by the variety of crystals on the walls that sparkled with shine and luster. "Now this, is, so AWESOME!" Rainbow squealed, with her fangirl voice. The tomboy pony was so impressed with the architecture that she forgot all about the cold environment. "Rarity would be in heaven if she were here to see this." Twilight said with a light chuckle. "Anyway, the talisman has to be around here somewhere. I'll check the right area. Rainbow Dash, you take the left."
The heroes scoured through the tunnels, which were all intertwined with each other. They looked in every corner they came to, but Rainbow Dash and Twilight were not successful in finding the talisman. They returned back to the main hub point of the grotto to see if they could look together. "I really like this place and all, but now I'm starting to get bored with this search." said Rainbow Dash. "This kind of reminds me of the time when Fluttershy and I were looking for the Snake talisman in Neighagra Falls." Twilight said with visual memories flowing through her mind. "The only reason we found it was because Daring Do triggered a secret passage." "Well if you know how to find it, then hop to it Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said very anxiously. At the same time, she also slammed her front hooves on the ground . The moment Rainbow Dash did that, the largest icicle on the ceiling gave in to the vibration, causing it to crack and pummel very quickly. "Look out!" Twilight shouted. The two ponies barely dodged the velocity of the icicle which landed on the solid ground and busted into hundreds of pieces. "Phew, that was a close call. Rainbow Dash, please don't do that. That could've-"
Suddently, a loud rumble was felt on the ground and a trembling noise could be heard through the grotto. "Uh...oh..." Rainbow Dash said under her breath, feeling stupid for her action. Rocks and ice bits started to fall from the wall and the rumble was getting louder. "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Twilight shouted. Icicle's came crashing down, and crystals were shattering from the unstable force. Twilight ran like a jackrabbit, but Rainbow Dash on the other hand did not panic right away. She ran quickly over to the busted pile of the giant icicle shards, picked up an object, and sprinted right away. Only seconds after Rainbow Dash took off, an avalanche of snow and ice chunks came crashing out of the icy walls and chased after the pegasus like something out of a comic book. Moments later, Rainbow Dash finally caught up to Twilight and they were only a couple yards away from the exit. "We're almost there, get ready to jump out." Twilight said as they continued to run. The ponies leaped out of the cave exit right at the same time and landed in the thick snow. It was only a second afterward that the avalanche spewed out and missed them.
"Phew... we made it." Twilight painted. "I, could just lay here... for a while." Rainbow Dash said quietly while she collapsed in the snow. Even though the heroes survived the hazardous cave escape, they were not out of woods just yet. Out of rotten luck for the heroes, they were now surrounded by the Dark Hoof. "The talisman!" Tohru demanded. Twilight and Rainbow would have no problem dealing with the Dark Hoof enforcers under normal circumstances, but today was not their lucky day. They were still tired and fatigued from the life threatening pursuit out of the cave that they had no will to fight. "We don't have it, honest" Twilight said while trying to catch another breath. "I do not believe you!" Tohru barked "Just cough up the rock and we'll take it easy on you scrawny weaklings." Finn said in his cocky voice.
"I don't think so!" a loud heroic voice shouted. Every pony looked up in the same direction to see Shining Armor and his squad of sentries ready for battle. "Surrender now or face the power of Canterlot's royal brigade!" "Just try and make us!" Ratso yelled back. "Ratso, shut up!" Finn snapped. "Don't mind him, we'll be on our way now." Finn, Ratso, and Chow took off quickly to avoid getting apprehended by the guards. Tohru, however, was not as easy to intimidate and had a few words left before high-tailing. "This isn't over..." he said as he cast a piercing glare at Rainbow Dash and Twilight. Afterwards, he followed after his other brute friends. "Twili! Are you alright?!" Shining Armor said to his sister with concern. "Big brother, how did you find us all the way out here?" Twilight asked in confusion. "Actually, it wasn't me that knew to come out here. Princess Celestia and Cadance were talking about one of those talisman things and said that I should check up on you out here." Shining Armor explained.
Twilight had gathered all her strength back but she was still bummed about not finding the Horse talisman. "I hate to be the barer of bad news, but we couldn't find the talisman." she admitted. "You mean YOU didn't find it." Rainbow Dash said with a big grin. "What are you... no way!" Twilight could not believe that Rainbow Dash was holding the sought after Horse talisman right in her own hoof. "It turns out when I made that huge icicle crash down, it wasn't a mistake after all. It was inside of it the whole time!" said Rainbow Dash. "You really do know how to be awesome at times, don't you." Twilight complimented. "Yeah, I get that a lot. It's what I do." Rainbow Dash boasted. Twilight showed her stoic look after hearing her friend brag, but nevertheless, she was grateful for what Rainbow Dash accomplished. "I'll escort both of you back to Ponyville. Princess Cadance would really like to talk to you, Twili." "I couldn't agree anymore on that, Shiny." Twilight said back. The gang followed the other Canterlot guards out of the Frozen North back to where they could finally get out of the cold.
Later that morning, the enforcers returned to the hideout expecting to get scolded by their master. However, Lady Luck was on their side today because Trixie was not in a bad mood. "Look Great T. "We had Sparkle out for the count, but these goody good heroe wannabes swarmed us quickly, and if it wasn't for that we would've definitely scored the talisman. Honest!" Finn stated. "I know Finn, I know." Trixie answered back. "I'm not upset this time. Nobody is at fault. It's only the Horse talisman. You win some, you lose some." "Now that I really think more about it, I don't know if we're really good at being bad guys." Ratso commented. Chow bumped Ratso in the shoulder, signaling him to stay quiet. "This is exactly why none of you pitiful ponies can accomplish a simple task." Shendu said, cutting into the conversation. "The fact that you all give too much credit to your enemies is the sole reason for you constant failure. With your lack of skill and intuition, none of you would last five minutes in the world and era that I'm from." "Seriously Shendu, only you would be so pessimistic. We have already acquired two talismans, thanks to my men who found the Sheep and my uncle and I who retrieved the Dragon. Besides, that's quite the achievement, if I say so myself." Trixie said with a confidence smirk.
"Do not take me for a fool!. The only reason you returned to me is because you don't have that buffoon Valmont to help you out anymore." Shendu fired back. "And if I remember correctly, you did not give the Dragon talisman back by your own will. It was my slaves of darkness that confiscated it from you greedy hooves." Trixie could not think of a better comeback to make because of Shendu's accurate read on her motives. Suddenly, Trixie stopped and zoned out for a moment. After she came back to her senses, Trixie had in mind a new plan; a very big and cunning idea."Well, perhaps Ms. Sparkle could be persuaded. An ultimatum is the only possible thing that will put her loyalty to the test." Trixie calculated. "Now you're starting to think big for once. It's about time you showed more of your devious side." Shendu said, praising Trixie's malicious idea. "Come closer and I will reveal to you one of my secret weapons." Trixie walked up closer to Shendu, who then summoned a Shadowkhan from the floor. The ninja held out a draconic clear flask which contained an orange liquid. "This is what you will need to ensure a successful plan." the evil demon stated. "Think of this as a reward for your current progress."
Twilight made it back to Ponyville in one piece to recover from her episode in the Frozen North. After an hour to rest up, she had contacted Princess Cadance to have an early lunch with her at the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight had not seen her former foal-sitter since the Canterlot Wedding, and there was certainly a lot they had to discuss. When she heard the door knock, Twilight hastened down the stairs to greet Cadance, and she already knew exactly how they would greet each other. "Sunshine sunshine lady bugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Twilight and Cadance hugged after finishing their friendly greet. "I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am for you and Shining Armor." said Twilight. Princess Cadance smiled from the compliment, butt she had no desire to take all the credit. "No Twilight, we should be thanking you. You're the reason why Queen Chrysalis and her changeling army were uncovered and banished from Canterlot." "Canterlot... now why was I thinking about... oh my gosh! The talisman!" Twilight alarmed herself. "Are you talking about the magic talismans my aunt entrusted you to find?" Cadance asked with one eyebrow perked. "Actually, I have one right here." Twilight led Princess Cadance over to her library table to show and talk about the Horse talisman, hoping they could find out its power.
"Rainbow Dash and I acquired this one while we were venturing through the Frozen North. Not a single one of these talismans has been an easy find for us. We have six and the Dark Hoof has two, giving a total of eight so far. Only four remain." Twilight summarized. "And to make things even more complicated, each talisman has strange markings that make no sense to me." Twilight flipped over the talisman to show Princesss Cadance the weird symbols on the back side. "I would have to be Star Swirl the Bearded to know exactly where the talismans originated from." "It could be that the markings explain the unique magic within each talisman." Cadance assumed. "Princess Celestia also believes the same thing, so it's probably the most reasonable guess." Twilight added. "When I first learned about the talismans, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both said that they think the dragon demon and the talismans are not governed by Equestrian Magic." "In that case, the demon might be from a completely different universe." Cadance said, finishing Twilight's for her. Speaking of which Twilight, what are some of the powers that you have discovered so far?"
"Hmm, let's see now. Rooster is leviation, Ox is strength, Snake is invisibility, Rabbit is speed-" "That's it!" Cadance interrupted, without trying to be rude. "Each talisman has a unique magic that correlates to the animal that it symbolizes. Rooster's can fly, bull's are strong, snakes can camoflauge, and rabbits run very fast." "Wow Cadance! I think you're right. You really do have a niche for talismans." Twilight complimented. "If you'd like me to Twilight, I could take the talisman back to Princess Celestia myself." Cadence suggested. "Good idea. That way if the bad guys show up, they won't have a clue where it is." Twilight said. "Exactly right! Twilight, I want you to know that I will do absolutely anything I can to help you in any way possible." Cadance said, wanting Twilight to feel more appreciated. The two close friends hugged for a few seconds and said their goodbyes.
While Twilight was enjoying a cup of tea at her desk, she heard a knock on the door. "Coming." Twilight said out loud. As soon as Twilight opened the front door, a strong blunt force struck her head from the side, and sent her down for the count.
Twilight gained consciousness and slowly eased herself up from the ground. "Ow... where am I? Looks like I'm inside an abandoned warehouse." Twilight guessed. "Ah, glad you're awake now. I hope my assistant didn't break your jaw with his sucker punch." an arrogant voice spoke from behind. Twilight turned around 180 degrees and saw Trixie standing nearby with a sinister grin. "Trixie? What is the meaning of this!?" Twilight questioned with anger. "Oh don't worry Miss Sparkle, we're not here to cause you any serious trouble. I'm just here to settle some diplomatic business with you." Trixie patronized. "I won't tell you anything, Trixie! I'll-" Before Twilight could loose her cool, a painful ache in her back affected her balance and made her fall over. Twilight got back up from the fall, but this time she kept quiet. "Tsk tsk tsk, it appears that the side effects of my petrifying poison are already kicking in. At this rate, you'll make a wonderful decoration for the Canterlot courtyard." Trixie teased. "You came all this way to Ponyville just to poison me? Look Trixie, I may be a bookworm on magic, but that doesn't mean I'm gullible." Twilight said defensively. Feeling eager to strike down Twilight's self-esteem, Trixie clopped her right hoof which signaled a Shadowkhan from behind. The ninja had a small flower in one hand, and then dripped an orange liquid from a vial on the flower. In about two seconds, the flower was completely turned to stone.
"As I was saying. The petrifying liquid you saw has also been used on your body while you were unconscious." Trixie stated. "And just to spare you the agony of research, there is no possible cure or counter-spell in all of Equestria that can reverse the effects of the curse; with the exception of this potion that only I and the rest of the Dark Hoof have control over." Trixie held out a small vial with a green liquid which appeared to be the antidote. Seeing this as an opportunity, Twilight instantly teleported behind Trixie, but her spell still was not quick enough. The Shadowkhan sprinted to Trixie's aid and roundhouse kicked Twilight on her cheek, knocking her down. "Just for your rude stunt you tried to pull, I hope that hurt." Trixie sneered. "You're very lucky that the poison works slower on ponies than it does on plants and insects." Twilight slowly got back up on all fours, still feeling the ache in her jaw from the solid kick. "Just tell me what you want Trixie! Ow" Twilight barked, knowing in the back of her mind that the talismans would be a stake. "It's simple. Surrender the six talismans that you have locked away in Canterlot and the antidote is all yours." Trixie answered. After listening to Trixie's ultimatum, the only reaction Twilight had was an aggressive scowl. "That look in your eyes tells me yes. In that case, my enforcers will be waiting for you at Hooffington Plaza in Manehattan. Be there at 11:50 pm sharp." Trixie instructed. "According to the time right now, which is 12:20 pm" Trixie said while looking at her pocket watch. "You have 11 and a half hours to make up your mind. Otherwise, you will be a target for the pigeons as soon as midnight strikes. And for your own sake, do show up on time. HM HM HM HM AH HA HA HA HA HA!
After finishing her diabolical and villainous laugh, Trixie and the Shadowkhan ninja exited through the large warehouse door, leaving Twilight by herself. "What am I going to do?... Princess Celestia and the others will freak out when they see me like this." Twilight sighed. She did not know what could be worse; giving the Dark Hoof all the talismans or living her life as a statue. Princess Celestia would never forgive her if she gave up to the enemy so easily. It would make her look selfish and weak-minded to so many levels. Unexpectedly, Twilight's muzzle began to feel numb, and then it turned into gray rock. "Hmph, just what I needed." Twilight groaned. With the limited amount of courage she still had, Twilight hurried out of the warehouse and embarked back home.
Twilight eventually made it back to the library hoping that she would be the only one home. Nevertheless, her number one assistant Spike had returned from his leisurely walk and was now snacking on gems. "Hey Twilight, what took you- Oh my gosh! What happened to your nose!?" Spike jumped in shock and dropped his sack of gems which spilled all over the floor. "Look, I can explain. Just stay calm and we'll get this taken care of." Twilight said, trying to keep the situation under control. "Calm down? How can YOU be calm when your nose is a rock!? We need to find a healing potion fast!" Spike panicked. "Well, that's the only problem. Trixie and the Dark Hoof attacked me from nowhere while I was at the front door and used a petrifying poison on me." said Twilight. "Petrifying? What does that word even mean?" Spike asked in confusion. "It means I'm gradually turning into stone." Twilight said back. "Anyway, Trixie said that she is the only one with the cure to my condition, and that the only way she'll give it to me is if I relinquish all the talismans we have."
"Hold on Twilight. This is Trixie we're dealing with. How do we know she's telling the truth?" Spike questioned. "That's pretty much what I had in mind too, Spike. We can't trust Trixie or her proposition, so we'll need to go with our gut instincts for this challenge." "Don't worry Twilight, I think I have an idea. In order to beat the Dark Hoof, we've got to think like the Dark Hoof." It was very rare that Spike came up with the strategic plans, but regardless who was master and who was the assistant, Twilight was curious herself to know what the baby dragon could come up with. "Alright Spike, I'm all ears." she said. "It's easy. We bring the talismans as collateral to get the antidote." Spike proposed. "The talismans!? Spike, you said you had a brilliant idea! THAT, IS, NOT, A BRILLIANT IDEA!" Twilight shouted out with the crazy deranged look on her face. "Calm down Twilight! I'm not finished! The talismans will actually be a decoy to distract the Dark Hoof while they exchange the antidote to me. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash zips in to nab back the talismans." "Okay, that actually is a clever plan Spike." Twilight said. "The only thing left to do is convince Princess Celestia to let us borrow the talismans. Spike, contact Rainbow and explain the situation to her. I will stay here while the two of you settle the score with the Dark Hoof." "Yes ma'am, you can count on your number one assistant!" Spike said with energy. The baby dragon hustled over to a nearby desk to write a letter to Rainbow Dash. Once he finished, Spike blew his fire breath on the letter which magically transferred to Cloudsdale. In less than a minute, the tomboy pegasus had busted through the front door.
"You called, I came! Who's ready to get even with the Dark Hoof!" said Rainbow Dash. "We need to go to Canterlot right away, Rainbow Dash. The sooner we get this done, the earlier we can cure Twilight." Spike said. "Please be careful you two. The Dark Hoof will surely have a plan up their sleeve as well." Twilight warned. "Yeah yeah, we got it." Rainbow Dash said back as she and Spike walked out the front door. "Hmm, I worry about those two." Twilight sighed. Suddenly, Twilight felt the same numb and aching feeling like went her nose turned to stone but this time it was in her ears. "Oh great, now I have to worry about myself." she groaned.
After many hours passed through the day, Spike and Rainbow Dash were just getting near Hooffington Plaza to settle their deal with the enforcers. Finn, Ratso, Chow, and Tohru were already in the wide open area waiting for them to arrive. Before making themselves seen, the brave heroes hid behind a booth to review their plan one last time. "Remember Rainbow Dash, make your move AFTER I get the antidote from those thugs." Spike reminded. "Got it!" Rainbow Dash saluted. She darted out of sight to take cover away from the open area. Spike proceeded to confront the enemies and take care of business. The enforcers looked a little skeptical when they saw Spike instead of Twilight, but either way they just wanted the talismans. "Alright, I've got the goods. Now show me the antidote." Spike ordered. Tohru reached in his overall pocket to get out the vial containing the antidote but he still did not have any intention on giving Spike the advantage. "The talismans!" Tohru demanded. "Alright then, here they are." Spike said, holding open his bag with all six of the talismans. Tohru still had a very stern look in his eyes, which indicated that Spike had to be the one to approach and make the first move. Spike walked over and placed the bag in front of Tohru, who then picked it up to examine each talisman. Tohru looked at the Rooster, Ox, Snake, Rabbit, and Rat; checking to make sure they weren't counterfeits. "One is missing..." Tohru pointed out. "That can't be true. I cleared out the entire vault." Spike said. "Oh no, the Horse! Princess Cadance probably still has it!"
Tohru made a serious frown and held out the vial as if he could drop it any second. "If you give me the antidote, I swear I'll get the talisman for you! Honest!" Spike bluffed, hoping Tohru would buy into it. Seeing through the obvious lie, Tohru let go of the vial and made it so that it would fall quickly. Instantaneously, a rainbow blur zipped through and caught the vial before it hit the concrete. "Wow, good timing!" Spike said, feeling very relieved the vial did not break. "No need to fear, your old pal Rainbow Dash is here!" Rainbow Dash said, trying to feel heroic. Reacting quickly, Tohru tossed once talisman to each of his gang buddies to power them up. Finn got the Rooster, Ratso got the Snake, and Chow got the Ox. Tohru kept the Rabbit for himself and left the Rat in the bag. "Time to use some power up. Oh yeah!" Finn said with confidence. Rainbow Dash and Spike were ready to make a run for it, but then they turned around and saw the enforcers attempting to activate the talismans. Through the awkward silence, crickets chirped as Finn, Ratso, Chow, and Tohru stood their looking completely clueless as to why the talismans would not power up. Tohru, being the smart one of the group realized the cause of the unexpected turn of events. "They're fake!" he shouted. "Oh.. well, in that case, we're outta here. Bye!" Spike said. He jumped on Rainbow Dash's back and she took flight in the direction of Ponyville. The Dark Hoof enforcers stood helplessly and realized they were the ones who got duped. "We really need to get part times jobs." Ratso said trying to cheer the guys up. "Just shut up already." Finn sneered.
Rainbow Dash and Spike made it as fast as they could back to Ponyville to cure Twilight of her condition. As soon as they opened the front door, they laid eyes upon something they were completely shocked to see. Twilight was cheerfully chatting with Princess Cadance like everything was normal. "Twilight! What happened!? You haven't turned to stone!?" Spike cried out. "Relax Spike, everything's okay now." Twilight said. "Cadance, you do the honors." "Though we thought it was very noble and creative of you to try and save Twilight, my aunt and myself believed it was too dangerous to entrust the real talismans to you when you were trying to make a deal with the Dark Hoof. We instead used proxies in case they tried to double-cross the two of you. Also, after testing out the Horse talisman with Princess Luna, we discovered that the unique power of the Horse talisman is healing, kind of like how unicorns can use their magic to cure certain poisons." Princess Cadance thoroughly explained. "So now we don't need to use Trixie's antidote anymore." Twilight said with a happy smile. "You two just barely missed it. It was so cool watching my stone body turn back to normal!" She held the Horse talisman with pride and smiled, while feeling grateful to both Cadance and Celestia for finding the cure. Rainbow Dash held out the green antidote and looked at it for a short moment, looked back at Twilight and Cadance, and then she and Spike slowly looked at each other. "WE DID ALL OF THAT FOR NOTHING!?" Rainbow Dash and Spike both cried out at the same time.
Twilight and Princess Cadance both busted out laughing with joy as they. Spike and Rainbow did not feel offended at all, and instead shared a good laugh with each other.