Chapter 53: Princess and The Bear Part 3: Mending The Bond
Spyro and the Mane Six were following Merida through the forest where she rode her horse through, remembering the path she took, even though she was crying at the time until they reached the Stonehenge that they were at before, the tall rocks standing high in the air as they arrived, Elinor looking at them in wonder while everyone else followed the princess. After she stopped in the middle of the circle of stones, everyone else waited for her to figure out where to go next, Pinkie, though still a bear, was bouncing up and down excitedly, not a caring she was a bear now and was still smiling, lifting his spirits up a bit, but was still not happy about what had happened to his friend. Sensing his worry, Pinkie walked up to him and gave him a bear hug, making him smile as he hugged her back, cheering him up despite her current condition.
"Thanks Pinkie." Spyro said, smiling at the large bear. "You always seem to bring a smile."
She made a few bear sounds, confusing him because, even though he could speak to Kenai when he was a bear, he for some reason couldn't fully understand Pinkie, turning to Fluttershy for a translation.
"She said she's more than happy to bring everyone a smile." Fluttershy said.
"Glad to hear she's still the same Pinkie Pie we know and love." Spyro said, looking at the party pony. "Merida, where to now?"
"Well, I..." She started to say, having trouble looking around. "I can't remember."
"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash snapped. "I thought you said you remembered the way?"
"I did, at least until now." She replied. "I saw some Willow the Wisps that guided me to the witches cottage. But now I can't find them."
"Ugh, great." Rainbow Dash said. "Now what?"
"Don't worry, I know where to go next." Spyro said, pointing to the path Merida took the first time going to the witch. "That's our path."
"How do you know that?" Merida asked.
"I got a photographic memory." Spyro replied, shocking everyone. "I can remember places and objects from when I saw them the first time."
"So that's how ya'll keep winning them matching games." Applejack said, clearly annoyed. "Get a mismatch to learn where they are and then you make the matches when you know where everything is."
"One of the many advantages of Asperger Syndrome." Spyro said, walking to the path. "Greater intelligence, and a stronger memory."
He walked down the path he saw Merida take, everyone following just behind him as he walked along the path, looking down to follow his friends trail when she first went to the cottage, kneeling down every now and then to check the tracks before continuing. As they kept walked along the path, Spyro felt something in the distance, something dark, so he kept his guard up as they kept on following the trail Merida had left behind on her first visit to the cottage, but after a little while, the trail was gone and there were no disturbances in nature for him to follow.
"I lost the trail." Spyro said. "We're lost."
"No we aren't." Merida said, walking ahead and looking at the scenery. "I remember this place. The cottage isn't far! This way!"
She then ran in the direction they were walking towards, rushing through the dense forest and under the fallen trees until they reached the top of a hill, looking down to see the cottage itself, a small stone building that looked like it had some of the ground itself for it's roof along with a few windows to allow for sunlight to shine in from outside.
"I can't believe it." Merida said. "I found it."
"What am I, chopped liver?" Spyro asked, leering at Merida. "We found it together."
"Ah, don't be so dramatic." She replied. "Come on, let's get that witch."
Everyone ran down from the hill and towards the cottage, stopping at the front door to the cottage, which Merida opened the door to enter, but when she and Spyro looked inside, it was completely empty, with the exception of the cauldron in the middle of the room.
"Empty?" She asked. "No, this can't be right, she was here." She closed the door and turned to everyone, which her mother rolled her eyes while everyone just stared at her, not believing what she was saying. "No, really, she was here."
"Uh huh." Rainbow Dash said. "And where is she now?"
"I don't know." Merida replied, but then thought of something. "Oh, wait a second." She walked forward for a bit and then snapped her fingers, turning and rushing back to the door and opening it up, probably expecting the witch to be there, but she wasn't. "No. No, no, no, no, no!"
"Merida darling, calm down." Rarity said.
"Calm down?" She asked. "Calm down!? The old hag has flown the coop! She's probably laughing at us right now, unable to reverse the spell! She's probably-"
She took a step into the room, but ended up pulling a tripwire, making a small bell ring and it got both Merida's and Spyro's attention, looking up to watch a ball roll across the scaffolding and hit a wooden bear on wheels, running into and knocking over a shovel into a piece of wood that sent a large butchers knife flying towards them, which Spyro caught it by the handle before it could hit either him or Merida, surprising the princess.
"That's why you always check the floor for tripwire." Spyro said, tossing the blade to the table.
A second later, the cauldron roared to life, releasing a green light with a faint mist, everyone on guard as they approached the bubbling pot of who knows what it was, but when they approached, an image of a elderly woman appeared through the mist, smiling at them.
"Welcome to the Crafty Carver, Home of Bear Themed Carvings and Nicknacks." The floating head said. "I am completely out of stock at this time, but if you would like to inquire about portraits or wedding cake toppers, please pour the first vial into the cauldron." Everyone looked to the stool that had five different vials on it and then back to the floating head. "If you would like an annual garlic, vial two. If you're that red headed girl, vial three."
"Merida!" Spyro said.
"I know, I know." Merida said, grabbing the third vial and pouring its contents into the cauldron and a new message appeared.
"Princess, I am off to the Wickerman festival in Stoneham and will not be back until next Spring." The witches spell said.
"Next Spring!?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We can't wait that long!"
"Rainbow Dash, hush." Twilight said.
"There was one bit that I forgot to tell you about the spell." The spell continued. "By the second sunrise, your spell with be permanent!"
"WHAT!?" Everyone shouted.
"Permanent!?" Spyro asked, horrified by the news. "No, no this can't be! There has to be a way to reverse this spell! There has to be!"
"But, it can be reversed." The witch continued, calming him down. "You just need to remember these words."
The light in the cauldron then turned red, the setting becoming serious.
"Fate be changed." She continued. "Look inside. Mend the bond, torn by pride."
"Fate be changed?" Merida asked. "Mend the bond? What does that mean?"
"One more time." The witch said. "Fate be changed, look inside. Mend the bond, torn by pride." The cauldron then went back to green lights coming out of it. "That's it, ta-ta! And thank you for shopping at the Crafty Carver!"
"No, no that can't be it!" Merida said, instantly pouring in all the vials she could to try and find a better answer, making Spyro and his friends back away. "Where'd you go!? I need a better answer than that! Maybe there's a spell that can fix this!"
"Merida, stop!" Spyro said. "You're going to-"
The witches image then started to appear multiple times as multiple messages started to play at the same time, overloading the magic in the cauldron as it started to glow brighter and brighter, about to explode from all the potions Merida put in.
"GET DOWN!" Spyro shouted.
He grabbed all his friends who were still ponies and held onto them, his wings appearing on his back as he wrapped them around them to keep them safe as Pinkie hugged him to keep him safe, shielding him just as Elinor shielded Merida. When the cauldron blew up, everyone was left unharmed, but the entire cottage was destroyed, in ruins from the explosion as stone and pieces of wood were everywhere as everyone looked around. Merida looked at her mother and to Pinkie, worried for them as she didn't know what to do or how to reverse the spell, but when she looked over to Spyro, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, seeing his dragon wings as he got up.
"Oh my, what have I done?" She asked, getting their attention. "Spyro, I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, you should be." Spyro replied. "Because when the witch comes back and sees her home is destroyed, she'll be hunting you for sure."
"No, I mean for giving you those!" She exclaimed, pointing at his wings. "I'm sorry for giving you those!"
"What, these?" Spyro asked, pointing at his wings. "Don't be. Had these for years." He then retracted his wings back into his body, surprising them as he brought them back in. "I mean, it's not everyday you have dragons blood in ya."
"You're a dragon!?" Merida asked in surprise.
Before he could answer, it started to rain down on them, starting with a few drizzles before it started to pick up, everyone seeking shelter from the storm as it passed over them. Spyro and Merida got to work making a shelter large enough for all of them, using the walls of the ruined cottage to support the wooden planks as everyone ran underneath it to stay dry. Merida and Spyro were the last ones to enter, Spyro walking over to his friends where Pinkie was laying down, her friends next to her to comfort her while Merida went over to her mother, sitting down a slight distance from her, looking to her mother in a depressed fashion.
"Don't worry, we'll figure it out tomorrow." Merida said, looking to her mother.
Elinor just looked at her daughter, disappointed with her as she turned around and went to sleep, making Merida feel horrible about herself as she laid down on the ground, closing her eyes as she went to sleep. She was soon followed by Rarity, who was on top of Pinkie to avoid getting dirty, while Applejack hung up her hat and went to sleep, followed by Rainbow Dash and then Fluttershy, all of them staying close to Pinkie as they slept. Spyro and Twilight were the only ones who were still awake, looking to Merida and Elinor before turning to Pinkie, seeing how peacefully they were sleeping.
"What do you think?" Twilight asked, getting his attention. "What do you think will happen if we can't change her back?"
"She'll be stuck like this forever." Spyro replied, looking down at his bracers. "She will forever be a bear. Both Pinkie and Elinor."
"Is there something we can do?" Twilight asked. "There has to be something."
"There's only one way to reverse the spell." Spyro replied, lying down against Pinkie. "Help Elinor and Merida mend their bond."
"What does that even mean?" Twilight asked.
"Their bond as mother and daughter." Spyro replied. "They both let their own pride get in the way of each other's love. Pride destroyed their bond, only love can mend it."
"Just like back in Kenai's world?" Twilight asked, only hearing the story from her friends. "How love helped to break the spell over him?"
Spyro opened his eyes and looked at the lavender mare, who was staring at him waiting for an answer, so he motioned for her to come over and he held her in his arms, warming up his body to keep her warm.
"Love is the most powerful emotion in any living creature." Spyro replied, looking out to the wilderness. "Many spells are broken when love is involved. Kenai's spell required him to look through the eyes of the bear, the animal he hated, and see in their perspective. His love for Koda after letting go of his hate helped him to become human again. But he chose to stay as a bear to take care of Koda, finding love for the little cub and for the bear." He poked down at Twilight, seeing her eyes starting to close and open as she fought to stay awake, smiling at the drowsy mare. "Love can break just about any kind of spell. For as long as you have love in your heart rather than hate, you can over come anything."
Spyro then kissed her head as she fell asleep, the lane dear unicorn smiled as she fell asleep against Spyro's chest, listening to his heart beat as he too fell asleep, listening to the rain falling on top of the roof of their makeshift shelter. As he slept, he dreamed of the witch and the words she spoke, echoing in his mind as he saw her face, then shifting to the time when Merida and her mother had their argument, the young princess holding a sword to the tapestry her mother said she had torn, slicing the section between her and her mother, flying through the tear as he saw flames in the forest and the roar of a bear, seeing Elinor and Pinkie fight another bear as dark laughter rang out, filling the air and the sky with darkness as the land started to change and then collapsed in on itself. The dream woke him up with a jolt, sitting up and sending the unicorn in his arms flying out of the shelter and past Elinor and Merida, making them look over to see him breathing heavily and sweating.
"Spyro, are you ok?" Merida asked. "You look troubled."
"Nothing." Spyro said, wiping the sweat off his head. "Just a dream."
"Seemed more like a nightmare." Twilight said, getting up. "You flung me out of the shelter."
"Sorry Twilight." He said, getting up as the others woke up. "Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm ok." Twilight replied, walking up to the makeshift table. "What's this?"
"Mum did all this while we were asleep." Erica replied.
Everyone came out of the shelter and sat down around it, finding a pot full of water that the queen got, pouring a glass for everyone and a massive branch covered in berries, which everyone picked off some for themselves. As they were about to eat the berries, Spyro looked over to Merida, who was examining the berry and the branch it came from, nervous about it.
"What's wrong Merida?" Spyro asked. "Aren't you going to have some?"
"Well, I would eat these, if they weren't Nightshade." Merida replied.
Spyro stopped himself from eating the berry in his hand, Fluttershy and Twilight both looking at the princess before spitting out the ones in their mouths, everyone looking at them in disgust.
"Ladies, please." Rarity said, about to eat her berry. "Where are your manners?" She was about to put the berry in her mouth, but Spyro grabbed it, making her yelp and then glare at him. "Spyro, what is the matter with you!? You have your berries, don't steal mine."
"Rarity, didn't you hear what Merida said?" Spyro asked. "Those are Nightshade berries. They're poisonous." As he said it, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and the queen all had a look of shock, spitting out the berries in their mouths before grabbing their glasses to drink the water, but Spyro looked into his glass and noticed a few worms in the glass, having a look of disgust. "And where'd this water come from? It has worms in it."
As he said that, everyone but Merida, who was drinking from their glasses were shocked, spitting the water out over the edge of the table, coughing as they did while Rarity fainted just as the queen fell over on the table, sending it flying into the forest and disturbing some crows.
"You seem to know a bit about nature, and about survival." Merida said, picking up her bow and heading towards the nearby creek. "Come on, let's get you guys some actual food."
"Agreed." Spyro said, picking up the unconscious unicorn. "Think you can help Pinkie and your mother get some food while I look for something for the others?"
"No problem." She replied. "Some fish should be enough for them."
The two groups walked to the creek where Merida went to shoot a couple of fish for the two bears with them while Spyro took the ponies to find some berries that were safe to eat, setting Rarity down as she woke up and helping her to harvest the edible berries. After getting enough berries for everyone to eat, they all returned to the place were their friends were at, watching as Merida was teaching her mother and Pinkie how to catch their own fish, one of which flew into Elinors mouth and caused her to choke for a second before spitting it out, Merida laughing, but Pinkie managed to catch a fish on her own, teaching Elinor how to catch her own while everyone else remained on the shore eating the berries they found, enjoying watching their friends chasing around some of the fish. After a little while, the three of them started to play in the water, splashing each other and having fun while everyone else just laughed at them, enjoying themselves as they watched the water war going on, sensing Merida and her mother actually having fun together.
"Seems like they're becoming friends again." Fluttershy said, eating another berry. "They're having a lot of fun."
"Yeah, exactly what they both needed." Spyro said, smiling at the three of them. "And with Pinkie there, she's all about having-"
He stopped talking and looked to the water, watching as both Elinor and Pinkie got out of the water at the same time, walking in the same direction, but he knew something was wrong. Pinkie would usually bounce around when walking like she did when they came to the creek while Elinor would hall on her back legs everywhere she went, both of them were walking on all fours, sending up red flags as they walked away. Merida went after them, calling out to them while everyone else chased after them right behind Merida, catching up to the two bears as they walked towards the forest.
"Mum, Pinkie, come back!" Merida said, calling out to her mother. "Where are you two going?"
Merida touched the two bears, both of which turned around and growled at her, their eyes completely feral as they growled, so Spyro got in front of Merida and called his Keyblade, surprising the princess as she looked at the magical weapon as he held onto it in a defensive stance.
"Pinkie, Elinor, control yourselves." Spyro said, looking between the two. "I don't want to hurt you."
They both were about to lunge at them, Merida screaming a bit, which snapped the two of them out of their feral state, looking around and wondering what was going on and why they weren't at the creek, seeing their friends in front of them but scared.
"W-what happened to them?" Twilight asked. "They started acting like..."
"Like bears." Spyro said, dismissing his blade. "It seems the spell isn't just changing them physically, but mentally as well."
"You mean, if we can't reverse the spell by tomorrow morning, then..." Merida said, looking at her mother and her friend.
"They will become actual bears, forever." Spyro replied.
He then heard something that sounded like whispers, turning around to see a blue ball of energy calling out to them, getting everyone else to look at the unknown creature in front of them.
"A wisp." Merida said, amazed that they found one.
Elinor then roared out and started to try and catch the wisp, Merida trying to get her to stop while she tried to catch one of them. She then chased the wisp through the forest, chasing the wisp around until it passed through a tree, making the queen run into the trunk of the tree and giving herself a headache, everyone flinching form the impact.
"That's gonna hurt in a little bit." Spyro said, walking over to the queen.
"Mum, I know you're scared, tired, and don't understand what is going on, but you need to calm down." Merida said, her mother looking at her. "Just calm down, and listen."
Everyone kept quiet as they listened to the forest, hearing the different noises from the forest until they heard the wisps, turning around to see where they were until they found what appeared to be a trail of wisps calling them over while also motioning to them. They then walked towards the wisps, following the path they were showing to them, going deeper and deeper into the forest and towards who knows where, but as they got deeper, it started to become foggy, limiting their vision, but they could still see the wisps guiding them up a slope filled with dead trees until they reached what appeared to be a ruined castle, buildings destroyed and torn down, walls shattered and broken, and through the Force, Spyro could feel darkness lingering inside of the ruins, sensing a dark presence.
"Girls, Keyblades out." Spyro said, calling his Keyblade. "And stay in the group. I've seen enough horror movies to know what will happen if you stray from the group."
Nodding their heads, the five ponies called their Keyblades and had them at the ready while Pinkie was having trouble calling hers, unable to call to it until it finally appeared, holding it in her mouth as they walked up to what appeared to be streps, looking around and feeling everyone's anxiety rising while Fluttershy's was already maxed out, hanging back to comfort the timid mare as they went up.
"W-w-what do you think happened here?" Fluttershy asked.
"A battle." Spyro replied, sensing through the Force what had happened and touching the wall, finding it still had some soot on it. "This is where someone fought for control, burning this place to the ground."
"But why?" Twilight asked. "Why burn a castle instead of taking it?"
"Possibly to signify the oppositions loss of power." Spyro replied, looking around. "A message that the previous ruler is no longer in charge and a new ruler has taken over."
They kept walking up the steps, looking around until they reached the top of the stairs, a layout of what appeared to be a massive lake for everyone to see.
"Well, whoever lived here, they've been gone for a long time." Merida said, looking around. "Maybe we should-"
She didn't get to finish as the floor underneath her collapsed, sending her down below the floor of the ruin and landing in a dark room below them.
"Merida!" Spyro shouted, jumping in after her and helping her up. "Hey, you ok carrot top?"
"I'm fine." She replied, standing up and dusting herself off. "And don't call me that."
"Whatever floats your boat." Spyro said, looking around. "Where do you suppose we are?"
"Looks like a throne room." Merida replied. "Probably from the story of the four brothers."
"Four brothers?" Spyro asked.
"It's a story my mother told me." She replied. "About four brothers who inherited the land separately from their father. The eldest wanted it all for himself and brought chaos to the land, plunging it to war."
"Well, if you thought it was a story or a myth before, it seems very real to me." Spyro replied, looking around.
As he looked, he could feel all the darkness in the ruins converge to this single room, sensing all the greed and hatred from the past in the room they were currently in, feeling shivers run down his back as he saw a pile of bones in the corner, skeletons that looked to have been picked clean by something.
"Girls, stay up there." Spyro said, addressing his friends. "It's not exactly safe up here." As he looked around, he saw a stone tablet with four brothers on it, just like what Merida said as both approached. "I'm guessing these are the brothers."
"That would be correct." Merida replied, looking at the destroyed piece. "And it's split, just like the tapestry back home."
"Wait, like the tapestry?" Spyro asked, putting the pieces together. "Merida, the spell, it's been done before."
"I think you're right." Merida said, looking at him. "Strength of ten me, fate be changed." She then looked up to her mother, who looked worried for her as she looked in. "He changed his fate. The prince, he became... Mor'du."
As she said his name, another bear roared out form behind them, the two of them turning around to see the massive bear with a scar over his left eye and weapons covering his body, roaring at them as he lunged. Spyro got in front and blocked the massive bears attack, using the wide portion of the blade and both hands to hold the bear back as Merida backed away, releasing arrows into the massive bears hide, but it didn't seem to even notice or even register being hit.
"So those won't hurt you, huh?" Spyro asked, punching the bear in the chest and pushing him back. "Then how about, THIS!"
Spyro swung his Keyblade down on the bears head, leaving a massive gash on it as it screamed out in pain, feeling the damage down it it as he swiped his paws at Spyro, deflecting and blocking the attacks as he slashed at the bears massive hide, using a couple of fire and thunder spells to do more damage to him until the bear backed away, retreating to the darkness to get away.
"Merida, run!" Spyro shouted.
Without being told a second time, Merida ran for the pile of rubble while Spyro stayed on the ground, making sure Mor'du didn't;t try to sneak up on them to get another swipe in, which he was glad he stayed as Mor'du did come back, looking mostly healed and charged at Spyro, leaping up to maul him, but Spyro just rolled out of the way and struck him in the side, angering the bear to where he smacked his hand and sent his weapon skidding across the floor. The bear then tried to swipe him, but Spyro grabbed his paw, holding onto it with his dragon like strength as Mor'du used his other to hit him, grabbing that as well and putting the two of them in a stand off, pushing against one another as they seemed to be about equally matched.
"Spyro, come on!" Merida shouted.
"Dude, forget him!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We need to go now!"
"In a minute!" Spyro replied, his chest glowing. "I always wanted to try this out." A second later, his jacket unzipped itself and a massive multicolored energy beam shot out of his chest, sending the bear flying backwards and into the wall, causing it to crumble on top of it. "And I did all that without an Iron Man suit. Tony Stark, eat your heart out."
His Keyblade reappeared in his hand and he Force jumped out of the dark room, running away from it as Mor'du got out of the hole and tried to get it's prey, but Elinor and Pinkie Pie pushed a heavily damaged wall on top of the massive, battle scarred bear, burying him again and giving everyone time to get away. Merida and Spyro climbed on top of the two bears and road them through the forest, going through the fog as they ran away from Mor'du and looking back to make sure they weren't being followed until they ran into the rig of stone they were at previously, stopping to allow the bears to catch a breath of air.
"The tapestry, that's the answer." Merida said. "Mend the bond torn by pride. She's talking about the tapestry I torn when I was angry at you mum."
"And if the tapestry is repaired, the spell is broken." Spyro said.
"But isn't that back at the castle?" Rarity asked.
"It's the only way we can reverse the spell." Spyro said, looking to the castle in the distance. "And we don't have a lot of time left. It's our only hope."
"Then we need to hurry." Twilight said, looking to the sky. "Night is fast approaching."
Back at the ruined castle, Mor'du managed to dig himself out of the pile of rubble and roar out in frustration, sniffing the air to find the one who had harmed him, but with a storm approaching, the moisture in the air was masking his scent, so he couldn't find him and roared again in anger.
"Aw, what the matter, little bear can't find its prey?" Came a voice behind Mor'du.
The massive bear turned around to see who was talking to him, finding that it was Pete, who was smiling at him, so he growled at the massive dog and was prepared to eat him, but green flames shot out of the ground and an aura surrounded the massive bear, Maleficent walking out from behind Pete with a dark smile on her face as she looked at Mor'du.
"Such darkness, such raw hatred and rage." Maleficent said, pleased with the find. "Yes, he's perfect. The perfect tool for which shall be this world's demise!"
"But he don't seem to be in much of a talking mood Maleficent." Pete pointed out.
"Silence fool!" She said, walking up to the bear. "All he needs, is a little persuasion."
Dark green mist was released as she spread her arms out, the mist entering the bears nose as it tried to fight against whatever kind of spell Maleficent was using on him, but because of his feral nature, he didn't have much will power left and his eyes turned a sickly green, the aura around him fading as he stood up, staring at the witch as she laughed manically, the forest echoing the sound of her laughter. At the castle, the night had just arrived as they all approached the castle walls, looking up they saw guards everywhere along the wall keeping an eye out for anyone trying to invade the castle at the current moment.
"Well this isn't good." Twilight said. "How are we going to get past all the guards?"
"There has to be a way." Spyro said, Elinor making a few sounds and getting his attention. "What?"
"She says there is another way." Fluttershy said, translating. "The grater under the bridge. It's the only other way into the castle."
"Then let's go, we don't have a lot of time." Spyro said.
Everyone rushed to the underneath of the bridge, finding the grater that Elinor was talking about and the two bears pulled it off together, making a path for them until they had to climb, Merida, Elinor, and Pinkie Pie not having a problem climbing up the well they were in while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash helped to carry Rarity up the well just as Spyro picked Applejack and Twilight up, Force jumping out of the well and into the middle of the castle square. They then rushed to the main doors and ran through the hall, finding the doors into the main room, but it had all four of the clans bickering and throwing weapons at each other, threatening to end their alliance if Merida didn't choose one of the sons to marry.
"Well, now what?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Those guys look like they're ready for war."
"They are ready for war." Merida replied. "They'll murder each other for my hand in marriage. How are we going to get my mother and everyone else to where the tapestry is?"
"I can do it." Spyro replied, getting her attention. "I have super speed, so I should be able to carry just about everyone through the room and come back without even being noticed."
"It's brilliant!" Merida exclaimed.
"But, I'm going to need a distraction." Spyro said. "Even with my speed, I'm sure they'll notice trails of color going by."
"But what can we do to keep them busy?" Merida asked.
Everyone thought it over, thinking what they could do, but then started to turn their heads, slowly looking at Merida as they had an idea of what could keep them busy, which she picked up on and knew she was the distraction, so she went in first, giving her a few minutes to get the lords attention, which they all stopped fighting long enough to get out from behind cover and surround her, pressuring her where the queen was until she shouted for them to stop talking, impressing Spyro at how forceful she was. She was nervous at first but then was forceful, talking about the history of the lost kingdom and how a single selfish act can destabilize the kingdom, how the four clans were once enemies and then became friends when invaders hit their home, they came together and fought by each others side, risking everything for each other rather than for their own selfish needs, Spyro smiling as she started to list the deeds each of the lords did for each other, then everyone laughing.
"Alright, now's our chance." Spyro said, turning to the group. "I'll start with... wait, where's Elinor?" They all shrugged their shoulders, making him worry as he looked into the room and saw her trying to tiptoe to the stairs, making him facepalm. "Ugh, should have seen that coming." He turned back to the group, who were waiting for what to do when he took a deep breath and exhaled. "Alright, we can make this work. I'll start with Pinkie, get the biggest one up there first and then focus on the rest of you."
"That's probably a good idea Sugarcube." Applejack said. "Take care of the big stuff, then the small stuff."
"Exactly." Spyro replied. "But I will be a bit slower."
"Leave that to me." Rainbow Dash said. "I'll create a distraction on the opposite side of the room and give you a chance to get Pinkie to the top of the stairs." Everyone was stunned by what Rainbow Dash said, everyone silently staring at the cyan Pegasus with dumbfounded looks as they didn't think they'd hear her come up with a good idea. "What, you don't like the idea?"
"Uh, no, no Rainbow, sorry for the momentary silence." Spyro said. "We're all just stunned that you actually came up with a good idea."
"Hey, I got lots of good ideas!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah, but half the time they end up with you face planting in the ground." Applejack replied, Rainbow Dash leering at her.
"Just stay out of sight and make sure it's something big enough to make everyone look." Spyro said. "I don't care what it is, make it something no one can resist looking at."
"I'm on it." She replied, zooming into the room and up to the ceiling.
As Merida was finished talking about how the clan leaders had helped and saved one another from the invaders, Rainbow Dash cut a rope from one of the hanging chandeliers, causing it to fall just behind the Dinwall clan, making everyone look that way, Spyro using his speed to rush up the stairs and put Pinkie in the room, Rainbow Dash following behind.
"Nice distraction." Spyro said. "Ain't no way anyone could resist looking at that."
"You can say that again." She said. "Did something like that back in flight school to get out of class."
He gave her a look of disapproval, but turned back and rushed back to the others, moving so fast the clansmen didn't notice him go through and back to his friends.
"Alright, who's next?" Spyro asked.
"I'll go." Rarity said. "You'll need someone to look at the damage on the tapestry and see what we will need to fix it."
"And Ah'll go." Applejack said.
"Alright, but we better be quick because-" Spyro said as the clansmen were about to exit.
Without warning, Twilight charged up her horns magic and in an instant, she teleported all five of them from the hall outside of the main room into the hall just outside of the room with the tapestry, leaving Spyro wondering what had happened and looking at the lavender mare.
"Did you just teleport us here?" Spyro asked.
"Yeah, sorry for not telling you sooner." Twilight replied. "The clansmen were coming, so I kind of panicked and teleported us over here."
"Would have been useful to have known ahead of time." Spyro said, clearing annoyed. "That would have saved me a whole trip."
"Yeah, but I'm only use to teleporting small groups of ponies." Twilight replied. "A group of ponies, two humans and two bears, that would be pushing it for me."
Before he could argue with her, Merida came running up the steps with Elinor, running into them outside of her talking.
"What are you guys doing out here, come on!" Merida said, pushing everyone in.
When they entered the room, the tapestry was on the wall and the damage was a single cut between the two women, signifying the tear in the bond.
"Well, the damage isn't too extensive." Rarity said, looking it over. "Just needs some stitching and it should be good as new. I can get it done in-"
"No, I should do it." Merida said, walking up to it. "I'm the one who torn the bond, I'll be the one to fix it. I need some needle and thread."
Immediately, Elinor ran to the chest at the end of the bed, moving some fruit out of the way and digging through the balls of yarn she had, but then looked to the fruit, sniffing it and knocking the bowl over, which got everyone's attention and got Pinkie to revert to a bear again, scaring everyone.
"No, not now." Spyro said, walking to pinkie, but heard Fergus walking down the hall, both Merida and Spyro holding their friend's mouths shut to keep them quiet. "Not good. I think he's heading to your mother's room."
"We don't have a lot of time." She said. "We need to get the tapestry down now!"
"Rarity, you and Fluttershy look for needle and thread in the chest." Spyro said, the two mares getting to work looking. "Twilight, Rainbow, keep Pinkie and Elinor quiet, we don't want them making any noise. AJ, you're with me and Merida, we need to get the tapestry down before-"
"ELINOOOOOOOR!" Fergus shouted.
"Too late." Spyro said, he and Applejack rushing over to the Tapestry.
As they pulled the tapestry off the wall, Fergus burst through the door and saw everyone, the bears, the ponies, everything, staring in confusion before looking to Spyro and Merida.
"Spyro, Merida!" He said.
"Dad, listen to me!" Merida said, just as Pinkie and Elinor roared at them, forcing Fergus to pull them back.
"Get behind me!" He commanded, pulling his sword out.
He swung at the two bears, Elinor distracting him while Pinkie was moving behind him to get a hit in, but Spyro got in front of Pinkie and grabbed her paws as she swung down, almost hitting him, but Fergus looked back to see Spyro wrestling with his friend, surprised by his strength.
"Pinkie, wake up!" Spyro said, struggling to keep control of his friend. "I know you're still in there! Snap out of it!" Pinkie roared at him, trying to pull her paws free, but he kept a tight grip on her, letting go to make her hit her head and dazed her, but instead of hitting her, he hugged her, the bear snapping out of her daze and getting ready to hit, but stopped, seeing a tear roll down his face. "Pinkie Pie, please, come back to me. This isn't you, it's not you. Please, come back to me."
The bear stood frozen for a moment, Fergus looking back to see him hug the bear and was about to shout what he was doing, it saw something glow on the bears chest, two dragon heads with a heart in between them, releasing a warm light that seems to fill the room, blinding them as it shined, only stopping when the bear hugged Spyro back, the young prince relieved that his friend was back, but for how long, he didn't know. Fergus was confused at what he saw, but was then smacked against the wall, knocking him out as she set her sights on Spyro, which he turned around and called his Keyblade to defend himself, but Elinor stopped, looking around wondering what had happened until she saw her husband, injured but alive.
"Mum, it's alright." Merida said. "We're ok."
They then heard the other lords come up the stairs and knew they were out of time, looking to the king and then to his friends, worrying for their safety.
"Girls, get Pinkie and Elinor and get out of here!" Spyro ordered. "Find someplace safe to hide and stay there, we'll find you."
Without waiting for another word, the two bears ran out of the room followed by the ponies and ran for the closest exit, hoping to get out in one piece. Fergus began to stir, Spyro helping him up onto his feet and to regain his balance.
"You ok sire?" Spyro asked.
"I'm fine." He replied. "Where's Merida?"
"Dad!" She said, running up to him.
"Merida, I'm glad you're safe." He said, holding her shoulder. "Count your stars lass, it almost had you."
"Dad, that bear is mum." She said. "Your wife, Elinor."
"What is this nonsense?" He asked. "You're talking nonsense."
"It's not nonsense sir." Spyro said. "A witch gave your daughter a cake and Elinor ate it. She's not a real bear."
"Bear or not, I'll avenge my wife!" He said, closing the door and locking it. "Sorry lass, but I'll not risk loosing you too."
He then left the two of them in the room, Merida banging on the door and yelling for her father, shouting that the bear was his wife, but he didn't listen.
"Now what!?" Merida asked. "We need that key!"
"We got one." Spyro said, calling his Keyblade.
He pointed the tip of his blade at the lock, stars appearing and flying to the tip of the blade as a beam of light shot out of it and hit the lock, making a clicking sound and the door swung open.
"How'd you do that?" Merida asked.
"The Keyblade can unlock and lock." Spyro replied. "Find the needle and thread and meet me outside."
She then ran to the chest, looking for a needle and thread while Spyro rushed outside, finding the hunting party was already gone and about every horse in the stable was taken, but he just smiled to himself, knowing what was faster than a horse.
"Spyro!" Merida shouted, running outside. "I have the needle and thread. But we'll never make it on horseback."
"Who said anything about horseback?" Spyro asked, confusing her. He then closed his eyes ad felt a burning sensation throughout his body, feeling his blood boil as his wings came out of his back, feeling everything change as his body burst into purple flames, scaring Merida until the flames got bigger and bigger until they disappeared, Spyro standing tall and roaring out as a massive Purple dragon, but this time with four wings and going half way up his back, leaving Merida in shocked awe as he lowered his back and positioned his paw to allow her to get on. "Climb on my back, we'll be faster in the air. You sow, I'll fly."
Not wanting to waste more time, Merida ran up to him and used his paw as a stepping block, climbing onto his back as he roared again, taking off into the sky as Merida held on for dear life as he ascended into the sky. Once he was high enough, he used his horns to provide Merida with light so she could sow, while he looked to the ground to look for where they went, but the forest was too dense for him to look through, but he kept looking none the less.
"Merida, how's that tapestry coming?" Spyro asked.
"It's almost done." She replied. "Just needs a few more stitches."
As she said it, he caught sight of some light from torches in the distance, flying in the direction they were at and found that they were in the stone circle they had been earlier yesterday, but in the circle he saw that they had cornered his friends, tying down Elinor and Pinkie Pie as the others were wrangled with ropes on the side, angering him.
"We're out of time!" Spyro said. "I need to dive down now!"
"Ok, it's ready!" Merida shouted. "Go!"
Without a moments hesitation, Spyro tucked in his wings and dove straight for the circle, going as fast as he could as he watched Fergus getting ready to kill his wife, raising his sword to deal a lethal blow, but Spyro let out a threatening roar, getting their attention as he extended his wings, motioning upwards as his tail came rushing down and knocked the sword out of the kinds hand, circling around and landing in the circle of stone, releasing another roar that terrified everyone.
"What is that!?" Lord McGuffin asked.
"It's a beast!" Lord Dunwall shouted.
"It's a dragon!" Lord Macintosh shouted.
"Merida!?" Fergus asked, watching his daughter slide down the dragons wing and draw her bow.
"Get away from them!" Merida shouted, looking over to the ponies. "And let them go!"
"Merida, are you out of your mind!?" Her father asked, looking to the dragon. "And why are you riding a bloody dragon!? I thought they weren't real!"
"We're definitely real Fergus." Spyro replied, surprising them as he turned back into his human form, but kept his wings. "We just like to stay hidden."
"Spyro!?" He asked, his brain completely shutting down. "You... He... How... What... You're a dragon!?"
"And you are about to kill my friend!" Spyro said, calling his Keyblade and shocking him. "Let them GO!"
Fergus stared at Spyro, baffled by what he was seeing, but he then looked at the Keyblade, his jaw dropping to the ground as he looked upon it, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"So they are real." Fergus whispered to himself.
"My, isn't this interesting." Maleficent said, Spyro turning around to face her in a battle stance.
"Maleficent!" He shouted, pointing his blade at her. "What do you want?"
"Me, I already have what I need from this world." She replied, Mor'du walking up behind her with his glowing green eyes.
"Mor'du!" Fergus shouted.
A moment later, multiple Neo-shadows appeared from the ground, their claws sharpened as they readied themselves for a fight, which the clansmen raised their weapons and pointed them at the dark monsters. Merida however was staring at the Neo-Shadows, lowering her bow as she recognized them from her dream a few days ago, unable to believe they were real.
"Fergus, I need my friend's help." Spyro said. "Cut them loose."
"But they-" Fergus said, but was interrupted.
A moment later, Mor'du charged towards the clansmen, who charged towards the army of monsters with Spyro taking point as he struck down the first shadow, making it release a pink heart as he started to cut through them while the clans were busy trying to hurt Mor'du. Spyro was slashing and hacking through the Heartless that appeared, drawing their attention as he held the Keyblade, dodging some attacks while using the Force to push several at the time into the air and into the stone pillars, knocking them to the ground as he called down bolts of lightning from the storm clouds above them, vaporizing multiples of them at a time, but more just kept coming from the void and charging. As he was swinging, he noticed that Mor'du was knocking the clansmen away, pushing through them as if he didn't care about them, but before Spyro could move to stop him, several Bid Bodies appeared from the void, surrounding him and the shadows rushed to hit him, but he just leapt into the air and called down more lightning, the bolts of thunder hitting his Keyblade as he spun around and unleashed it into the Heartless and into Mor'du, stunning him long enough to let Merida shoot some arrows into it.
After the Heartless were gone, he turned his attention to Mor'du, who had knocked Merida's bow out of her hands and pinned Merida to the ground, which upset Elinor as she pulled away her restraint, throwing the men who were holding her to the ground off of both her and Pinkie as the two rushed towards Mor'du, talking him to the ground as both started to fight the massive bear, all three of them exchanging blows as they fought, but Mor'du was getting the upper hand as he struck Elinor in the face, pushing her away, while he bite down hard on Pinkie, who roared out in pain and got tossed away into the stone pillar.
"PINKIE!" Spyro shouted, wanting to rush over, but got stopped by Mor'du, who raised his paw to hit him. "That's it! You just earned yourself a ticket aboard the pain train!"
He then surrounded himself in the golden glass dome, Mor'du's attack bouncing off it and knocking him to the ground, everyone watching the magic happen, wondering what was going on, but then the same dome surrounded Fluttershy, burning off her restraints as the gold flames moved across the entire rope, freeing everyone as the third dome surrounded Pinkie, all three domes shattered as the purple dragon shot into the air again, roaring out as the yellow Pegasus ran right next to it going up followed by a pink bear, the two of them circling the dragon as it shot to the air. A moment later, the three ethereal creatures collided and released yellow, purple, and pink lights as Spyro appeared again, but this time the jacket had yellow on the left side with all the butterflies while on the right it was pink with yellow and blue balloons with the middle being purple as usual, but on his back a bear skin cape appeared with the shoulder guards turning from dragon to bear, followed by a golden helmet shaped like a bear, fitting on his head as he opened his eyes to reveal them to be tri-colored again, this time it was purple, aqua, and cyan. A moment later, the Keyblades appeared when he fused with his friends, the one for Fluttershy in his left hand and the one for Pinkie in his right, floating down to the ground and landing on the ground as his hair grew out to Fluttershy's length with Pinkie's random, puffy and cheery and he took a stance.
"What in the?" Fergus asked, his eyes wide in surprise. "What magic is this?"
Mor'du roared at Spyro, charging at the young prince who just stood there, smiling at the charging bear as it got closer until it tried to take a few swipes at him, but he just dodged each attack, rolling and flipping over the bear as he retaliated with a few quick strikes and slashes, dealing some damage to the massive bear, but not enough as the bear just took the hits and kept coming. Before he could continue, Spyro leapt into the air as butterfly wings appeared on his back, flipping around and flapping his wings as glowing yellow powder covered the bear, electrical arc's going across the massive beast as it paralyzed it, an ethereal balloon appearing under the bear as a bunch of balloons around it, all of them turning into a single balloon that flew up into the air and popped, sounding like a massive explosion as it burst into a bunch of fire works, exploding all around the the bear as it fell to the ground, clearly injured, but still going as it got up.
"Geez, what's it going to take to keep you down Smoky?" Spyro asked, his and his friend's voices united as one.
The bear roared out again and charged him, but was then shot in the back by something, looking behind to see what it was, but found it was Spyro with Pinkie's party cannon, making everyone, even the bear, look to where he was previously, but he wasn't there, turning back to look at him, but he was gone again, this time he was underneath the bear, pulling the cord as the cannon blasted the bear with the full might of the party cannon, sending it flying backwards and onto the ground. Looking up, he saw that the moon was close to setting, so he had to finish the fight quickly, breaking the fourth wall himself, he pulled the screen to the right, whistling out to the blank white void as several more versions of himself came out, all with their Keyblades out as they approached the bear, who looked at all of them in confusion as he tried to figure out which was the real one. Without hesitation, the bear charged as each one of them got smacked around, but turned into different colored confetti, confusing the bear as it defeated the last one, wondering what was going on before the pieces of paper stuck to the bear exploded into miniature fireworks, hurting the massive bear as tree roots shot out of the ground, engulfing the bear in a mass of roots and branches, roaring out in frustration as it fought to free itself, but as it did, Spyro pulled out a large party cannon out of his pocket, setting it down on the ground and lit the fuse, rushing to the other end of the cannon.
He then loaded himself into the cannon and waited for the the massive weapon to fire as the bear finally got it's upper half freed, only for the cannon to fire and send the Keyblade Bearer flying through the air at rapid speed, moving his body to where he was spinning like a top and passed through the bear and skidding to a halt, standing up straight at the roots crumbled to dust as the bear fell to the ground, two massive gashing glowing pink and yellow across it's chest as the green mist that allowed Maleficent to control it left it's body, letting him breath a sigh of relief, the Drive running out of juice as they seperated back to their individual selves. However, a second later, Mor'du got back up, shaking as it whimpered in pain, making Spyro groan as he called his Keyblade.
"You have got to be kidding me." Spyro said, looking exhausted. "What is this, Resident Evil?"
Mor'du turned and roared at him, charging towards the Keyblade bearer, but Elinor blind sided the massive bear, slamming him against the tallest stone pillar and making it break, cracking along the bottom half of the stone structure until Mor'du smacked her away, severely injuring her as he bit down and tossed her away, giving him a clear shot towards Merida. As he approached however, Spyro got in front and was ready to protect his friend, but the massive stone slab fell right on top of Mor'du, crushing him and sparing Spyro the need to continue to fight, breathing in relief. A moment later, the spirit of Mor'du appeared above the place where he was crushed, looking between Merida and Spyro, nodding his head to thank them for freeing him before turning into a wisp, disappearing into the night.
"Oh thank the ancestors." Spyro said, dismissing his blade and falling on his rear. "Geez, smoky there didn't know when to give up."
"Mum!" Merida shouted, rushing to Elinor.
She seemed to be ok, but they were running out of time, seeing that the sun was rising again, they knew they were out of time, so both Spyro and Elinor rushed over to the Tapestry that was on the ground and dragged it over tot he queen, dropping it over her and believing that it would do the trick, but as the sun kept rising, nothing seemed to be happening, the queens eyes turning completely black as the bear was starting to take over. Spyro felt his heart sink into his stomach, looking over to Pinkie and saw the same thing happening to her, her cyan colored eyes turning black as the bear started to take over her.
"No, I don't understand!" Merida said, dropping to her knees as she started to cry. "I'm sorry, for everything. It's all my fault. I did this to you, to us, and to my friend!" She then went over and hugged her mother, tears rolling down her eyes as Pinkie sat down, her friends running over to hug their friend while Spyro fell to his knees, realizing they were too late. "You've always been there for me! You never gave up on me! I just want you back." The entire field was silent as everyone watched with broken hearts as the princess cried for her mother, Spyro's own eyes tearing up as he was going to loose his friend. "I want you back. I want you back mummy." The sun then shined over the clansmen, slowly moving towards Merida and Elinor as they stayed where they were. "I love you."
Spyro closed his eyes, his own heart retching for the loss of his friend's mother and for Pinkie Pie, feeling his heart break as he sat there, unable to do a thing as he was powerless to fix what had been done, the sun shining over everyone as the second dawn came. He wanted to get up and walk over to say good bye to Pinkie, his heart not in it as he got up, but heard Merida gasp, opening his eyes as he stood up and saw that Elinor was human again, laughing at Merida as she stroked her hair.
"Mum!" Merida shouted, hugging her as her mother started to kiss her daughter.
"Wait, if Elinor is back to human, then that means..." Spyro said, looking to his friends. And to his happiness and joy, Pinkie was back to normal, the girls all hugging her as they were glad she was back to normal. "PINKIE!" Spyro shouted, running over and slipping as he ran, falling to the ground, but got back up and picked the party mare up, giving her a bear hug as he was glad she was ok, inadvertently making her eyes pop out with his hard he was squeezing her. "Pinkie, I thought he lost you."
"You kidding me, you ain't getting rid of this party pony!" Pinkie replied, hugging him back.
"Pinkie, don't ever scare me like that again." Spyro said, setting her down. "Don't you ever go eating anymore enchanted pastries again."
Everyone laughed at the joyous occasion, happy for the two groups, but Maleficent just scowled and came out, everyone going silent.
"Laugh while you can fools!" She said, green flames surrounding her. "But in the end, you all shall bow before me, ME, the mistress of all-"
She didn't finish her sentence as Spyro suddenly appeared in front of her, smacking her with the side of his Keyblade in her gut, sending her flying through the air and into the dark woods like she was a baseball, completely disappearing as the green flames engulfed her and sent her to another place, where no one knew, but didn't care as she was gone.
"Don't spoil the moment you dried up prune." Spyro said, dismissing his Keyblade.
After a while, everyone had returned to the castle, but Spyro and his friends, who had returned to find the ship was at full power, meaning they could return home, but before that, Spyro did a once over around the ship, finding a piece of it's hull missing and went back inside, getting a spare armor Gummi block and removing the damaged block, replacing the block all together. As he turned around to head back into the ship, Merida came out of the forest, walking towards him carrying something.
"We didn't see you at the castle off." Merida said. "My father is looking for you, wanting to thank you for saving my mother."
"Sorry about that." He said. "I needed to get back to the ship and finish repairs. I think we've been in this place long enough."
"Still, I wanted to thank you for everything." Merida said, handing him a bow. "My father had this specially made for you. You and your friends are more than welcome in our home anytime."
"Thanks Merida's." Spyro replied. "I'll take good care of this."
Merida then hugged him, grateful for everything he did for her and her family and walked back to the woods, heading home to celebrate with her family while Spyro went back into the ship, putting the bow in his quarters as he went tot he cockpit, his friends already there and waiting for him.
"Man, this was sure one adventure we won't be forgetting." Rainbow Dash said.
"You said it Rainbow Dash." Applejack said. "Especially the part where Pinkie turned into a bear."
"It was actually kind of fun being a bear." Pinkie replied. "Except for the part where I actually acted like a bear and almost hurt my friends, that was actually kind of scary!"
"And this will make a fine report tot he princess." Twilight said, writing down what she learned today.
"Oh, what are you writing about?" Spyro asked, activating the ship.
"About what I learned from this adventure." Twilight replied. "I learned that we shouldn't let pride get in the way of our friendship with those we care about. And that we shouldn't let our pride lead to selfish actions as they will have dire consequences that you may regret later."
"That, Twilight, is a lesson you should never forget." Spyro said. "Pride destroys friendship, so never pride takeover your life." The engines roared to life, the ship lifting off the ground as all screens turned green as they went into the air. "And we have lift off."
"You think we'll ever see Merida again?" Fluttershy asked. "I actually kind of liked her."
"Maybe someday." Spyro replied, taking the ship out of the world's orbit. "But as long as we hold the memory of each other in our hearts, we'll never forget our friends." A moment later, the screens turned blue as he put in the coordinates for Equestria, the engines charging up as they got ready for warp. "Come on girls, let's go home."
A second later, the ship jumped to warp space, the passing through the passage of color and light on their way back home to Equestria and back home to their friends and family. But as he flew through warp space, he then wondered why Xaldin was on that world in the first place and why he didn't get involved back when Merida and himself stopped them from putting the tapestry over Elinor, keeping them from breaking the spell. On the surface, Xaldin was approaching the place where Mor'du was crushed, looking down at the toppled stone pillar and seeing a paw sticking out from underneath the pillar.
"Disappointing." Xaldin said. "It seems the mother dealt the killing blow instead of the prince."
"Eh, easy come, easy go." Demyx said, walking up behind him. "Why'd you want the bear anyway?"
"It wasn't the bear I was interested in." Xaldin replied. "It was his Nobody I wanted to get. A strong heart like that would have been perfect for a powerful Nobody."
"Well, too bad we didn't get it." Demyx said. "So now what?"
"That's not for you to worry yourself about." Xaldin replied. "There are plenty more hearts out there. And plenty more opportunities to turn them to Nobodies."
A corridor opened behind them and the two organization members walked through the dark portal, returning to their base to report what had happened and to receive their next set of instructions.
