Chapter 52: Princess and The Bear Part 2: Contest of Disaster
Merida was on her horse following what appeared to be a rainbow in the sky, but instead of in a arch like it sometimes was in, it was flying through the air and was flying away fast, so she kept an eye on where it was last headed to, following the path all the way to the nearby wooden area, lines of trees and forests preventing her from taking her horse through without being knocked off, so she got off her horse and walked through the forest, tracking through the bramble and brush to see if she could find what was making that rainbow. As she got deeper and deeper in, she heard what sounded like voices, faint, but could definitely hear what sounded like a man and a woman, following them until she reached an open area, pulling a branch down, but stopping at what she saw, the Dragon's Crest. She let go of the branch and lowered herself, hiding behind a bush to not be seen, thinking it was an actual dragon, but the way it wasn't;t moving made her think it wasn't a real one, looking it over until she saw Spyro on the wing of the Dragon's Crest, pulling out a few parts and fixing a few things before he took the damaged pieces and jumped down, landing without any effort and walking to the ramp.
"Hey Twilight, can you pass me the red box please?" Spyro called out. "It should have the parts I need to finish fixing the array."
"Sure thing Spyro." Twilight replied.
Merida kept watching, wondering who he was talking to and what he was talking about parts, but the moment she saw Twilight, her eyes widened in shock and surprise as her jaw dropped, seeing that Twilight was a unicorn, using her magic to levitate the box to Spyro as she took it outside with her.
"Here you go." Twilight said, shocking Merida as she heard her talk. "How much longer?"
"Not too long now." Spyro replied. "About another few minutes, then we can contact home and Master Yen Sid, let them know what happened and how long it will be before we get home."
"A unicorn?" Merida asked herself, whispering not to be heard. "A talking unicorn? How is this possible?"
"Hi there!" Pinkie said, popping her head out of the bush.
Merida fell back, yelping in surprise after seeing the party pony, which got Spyro's attention as he saw Pinkie Pie hop out of the bushes, walking over to see what she found and saw a confused and terrified Merida's, looking up at him as she reached for a rock, throwing it at him, but he caught it and dropped it.
"Well, hello there." Spyro said, reaching his hand down to her. Merida was skeptical of him at first, but took his hand and was pulled off the ground, moving away from him as soon as she was up. "It's alright, we're not going to hurt you."
"Who are you?" Merida asked. "I've never seen you before or seen talking a talking horse."
"Actually, she's an earth pony." Spyro replied, looking at Pinkie. "This is Pinkie Pie, she's a random one."
"I'll say she's random." Merida replied. "Dos she always hide in bushes and scare people?"
"Sometimes." Spyro replied, confusing the girl. "It's just how she is. But what are you doing here in the first place? Why are you in the middle of the woods?"
"I was following a rainbow that I saw in the sky." Merida replied, Spyro instantly knowing what she was talking about. "It was flying all over the place and found it kind of odd."
"I think I know what you're taking about." Spyro said, turning to the ship. "Rainbow Dash, mind coming out here for a minute?"
Almost immediately, Rainbow Dash rushed out and appeared next to him, flying in the air next to him as Merida looked at her in awe.
"Hey Spyro, is something wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked, then seeing Merida. "Who's this?"
"She's the girl who followed you Rainbow." Spyro replied.
"Oh." She replied, smiling nervously. "Heh, heh, oops."
"Wow, a Pegasus." Merida said, surprising them.
"Wait, you know what she is?" Spyro asked.
"Of course I know what she is, I'm not daft." Merida replied. "My mum told me stories about such creatures when I was a wee little girl. I just never thought I'd get to see one. Or a unicorn for that matter."
"And she saw Twilight as well." Spyro said, pressing his fingers between his eyes. "Well, we're already caught by an inhabitant of this world, might as well introduce everyone."
Spyro then started to walked back to the ship, followed by Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing next to him, Merida watching the pink pony in confusion and wondering why she was bouncing around like that. A moment later, the rest of his friends came out to see what was going on, seeing Merida and froze, knowing they were in trouble for being seen, but Spyro just motioned for them to come out and meet their new friend.
"Now girls, this is, um..." Spyro said, failing to get her name.
"I'm Merida." She replied. "My name is Merida."
"Merida." Spyro said. "My name is Spyro. And you've already met Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash." He pointed to the two ponies next to him, Pinkie Waving her hoof greeting her while Rainbow Dash just smiled at her. "And these are the rest of my friends; Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack."
"Pleasure to make yer acquaintance little lady." Applejack said.
"Oh my, I simply love your dress." Rarity said. "Bold, yet practical."
"Thanks." Merida replied. "So, where do you come from?"
"A distant land filled with magic." Spyro replied, walking with Merida as she looked at the ship. "We like to keep it secret though, so pardon me if I don't say it's name."
"Oh, don't worry, I understand." She replied, putting her hand on the ship. "I, too, would keep it a secret." As she pressed her hand on the ship, she felt the same feeling and texture she did when she found that cube, now knowing this was the machine the block came from. "Did you come from the sky?"
"Well, we flew here if that's what you mean." Spyro replied. "This is a Gummi ship. We use it to get from place to place. However, we took some damage from some lightning, so we set down here to do some repairs."
"And do a little exploring." Rainbow Dash added. "We've never been to this place before, so I wanted to have a look around."
"And got caught." Spyro added, the cyan Pegasus smiling nervously. "Merida, we'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone we were here. If word got out there were six talking ponies, their'd probably be a man hunt and who knows what will happen."
"Oh, don't worry, mum's the word." Merida replied. "I know how to keep a secret." She then looked up, seeing the sky was turning reddish orange, letting her know it was getting late and she needs to get back. "I need to get back home. Maybe I'll see you again tomorrow."
"Maybe." Spyro replied. "That is, if we haven't finished repairing this thing and already left. If not, we'll definitely be seeing each other again."
Merida smiled and nodded at him, walking back to the forest and waving to them, everyone waving back at her as she went into the forest to get back to her horse.
"She seems nice enough." Twilight said. "Think she'll keep her promise and not say anything?"
"I don't think we have to worry about her." Spyro replied. "I can tell she's a good kid and won't go telling anyone."
"I hope so." Rainbow Dash said, setting her hooves down on the ground. "It's my fault we got seen in the first place."
"Oh, don't blame yourself Rainbow Dash." Spyro said, reaching his hand up and scratching her ear. "It happens sometimes. We can't dwell on what happened in the past. Just focus on the here and now."
"Yeah, you're right." Rainbow Dash said, looking up to him. "You can stop scratching my ear now. It feels weird."
"But you seem to be enjoying it." Rarity said.
"I do not." Rainbow Dash snapped.
"Then why is your leg bouncing around like that?" Applejack asked.
Rainbow Dash looked down and saw her leg was moving like a dogs hind leg when their owner hits the sweet spot, trying to get it to stop, but not having luck as everyone laughed at their friend as she blushed, only being able to stop when Spyro stopped scratching her ear.
"Come on girls, let's see if the array has a signal yet." Spyro suggested.
The seven of them went back into the ship, heading back into the cockpit where Spyro tried getting a signal, which he wasn't;t having luck at, so he tried boosting the signal to get something, still only getting static. After about few more minutes, he finally got a signal, but it was faint, so he boosted power to the array and finally got a strong enough signal to make contact, finding that Master Yen Sid had picked up and Scootaloo, which surprised him.
"Scoots, how did you get on this frequency?" Spyro asked. "No, scratch that, how are you communicating with us in the first place?"
"I found this weird thing in your draw." She replied. "I heard something making some kind of strange noise, so I came and investigated and found this. And when I pressed the green button, this guy showed up on the glass thingy."
"It's called a screen Scootaloo." Spyro said. "And the device you have is called a tablet. It helps me communicate with my friends and mentor when I'm not on my ship and does a few other things."
"Really!?" She asked in excitement. "Like what?"
"We'll get to that later Scoots." He replied. "Anyway, Master Yen Sid, glad I got in contact with you."
"I am pleased you are safe my friend." Yen Sid said. "When I wanted to talk to you before you left, but when your sister responded, saying you weren't;t at Equestria, I feared the worst."
"Well you were right to be afraid." Spyro replied. "We got ambushed on our way back home. May's ships pulled us out of Warp space and ambushed us. We got lucky and went through a wormhole to escape, but the journey has damaged the ship."
"How badly?" Yen Sid asked.
"Engines are fried, weapons are down, all but one of my power generators are either dead or in critical condition, and the communications array was damaged." Spyro replied. "Thankfully the damage to the array wasn't too bad, but we aren't going anywhere anytime soon. We had to land on another world just to repair it."
"Hmm, this is not good." Yen Sid said. "Will you need any help repairing your ship?"
"I don't think so." Spyro replied. "I got a lot of spare parts in the ship, I should have this vessel repaired in a day or so."
"Very good." Yen Sid said. "Inform me if anything changes."
"Yes master." Spyro replied. "And Scoots, might want to tell Granny Smith what happened and let her know everyone is safe and to let Sweetie Belle stay with you guys for a while until we get back home."
"No problem." Scootaloo said. "Will do."
The message ended and Spyro turned to look at the girls, who all looked to be exhausted after a day like this, so he took them to the sleeping area, each of the girls choosing their own bed to sleep for the night, everyone getting comfortable as they turned in for the night, letting themselves drift off to sleep. The next morning, Spyro and Applejack got up bright and early, getting out of their rooms while everyone else looked to still be asleep, walking outside so they didn't disturb them.
"Morning Spyro." Applejack said.
"Morning AJ." He replied. "How'd ya sleep last night?"
"Like a log." Applejack replied. "So, what you going to do about the ship?"
"Well the module that controls the weapons is completely fried, so I'll need to replace that back at the garage." Spyro replied. "And I'll need to replace the Holy-G engines. Thankfully I got a couple of spares just in case. "But most of all, I'm going to need to check those power cores. Without at least two of them working, the engines won't activate."
"Will ya be needing any help?" Applejack asked.
"Nah, it's kinda routine maintenance." Spyro replied. "I should have this thing repaired in no time. Why don't you and the other girls get something to eat while I'm busy."
"Alright sugarcube." Applejack said. "Just let us know if ya need any help."
As they went back into the ship, Spyro got to work on taking care of the power cores, taking out the one that was damaged while checking on the other three cores, finding they were still in good condition and just needed to be charged up. After replacing the damaged cores, he went outside to replace the engines, finding that his friends were outside already, Twilight taking notes and reading a few books she found in the ships library, Fluttershy singing to some of the animals who gathered around her, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash playing a few games they found, Applejack relaxing under a tree, and Rarity sitting out in the middle of the field wearing a sun hat drinking what appeared to be tea. He just smiled at his friend, glad to see they were enjoying themselves as he went to the engines and used the Force to pull the Holy-G engines off, setting them on the side as he went back in to get the spares, but a moment later, everyone heard what sounded like a horn blowing in the distance, getting everyone's attention when they heard it.
"What was that?" Twilight asked.
"Sounds like some kind of horn." Applejack asked. "This place being invaded?"
"No idea." Spyro replied. "Rainbow, can you fly up and see what's going on?"
"On it." Rainbow Dash said, flying up and using the clouds for cover as they passed by. She looked around to see where the horn was coming from, looking everywhere until she saw what appeared to be a festival going near the castle in the distance. She then flew back to her friends and landed in front of Spyro, wondering what she had found. "It looks like there's some kind of festival going on near the castle that way."
"A festival!?" Pinkie asked in excitement. "Can we go!? Can we!? Can we!?"
"Pinkie, we don't have time for it." Spyro replied, the pink mare whimpering. "Besides, you saw Merida's reaction when she saw you girls. These people don't exactly have talking ponies in this world."
"Doesn't mean we can't attend." Applejack said, shocking him. "Heck, as long as we keep quiet, they'll think we're just regular ponies."
"Except for the wings, horns, and the color of your coats and manes along with your Cutie Marks being an obvious give away." Spyro said.
"Oh come on Spyro, at least take a break from the repairs." Rainbow Dash said. "We'll stay hidden."
"Yeah like you did last night?" Spyro asked, the girls snickering. "Alright, but stay out of sight and don't make any noise."
The seven of them left the forest and went to see what the festival was all about, the girls finding different ways to blend in or stay hidden while they were at the festival while Spyro walked among the people to have a look around. As he walked through the, he saw that there were a lot of different people, but each wore different colored kilts, some red, some green, emerald green, and a few of them blue. There were different games many of them participated in, log throwing, hammer toss, throwing weights and many other games everyone was enjoying as the day went by for everyone. There were some tents and vendors set up selling food, weapons, trinkets and other kinds of things you'd find, but as he kept walking through seeing everything, he caught sight of Pinkie Pie hiding in a barrel, moving from place to place trying the different kinds of sweets, but when someone went to check the barrel she was hiding in, she appeared in another barrel, instantly teleporting from barrel to barrel to avoid being caught, making him chuckle at the random party pony.
A moment later, he caught sight of Fergus and Elinor arm and arm with each other walking through the festivities, followed by Merida looking to be wearing some kind of princess gown with a tight hood around her head to keep the hair in, looking very uncomfortable as she walked along.
"Merida?" Spyro asked, getting her attention.
"Spyro!" She said, walking to him. "Can't believe you're here."
"Hey, I heard the horns and bagpipes." Spyro said. "Pretty difficult not to get curious."
"Merida, come along." Elinor said, looking back.
"Ah, leave her be woman." Fergus said, the two approaching. "She's just making friends." As they got closer, they got a good look at Spyro, which Elinor seemed to be curious who he was while Fergus seemed delighted to meet him. "And what might your name be me lad?"
"Spyro." He replied. "Spyro VanVickle."
"Well Spyro, welcome to the ceremony!" Fergus said.
"Ceremony?" Spyro asked.
"My betrothal." Merida replied, not looking happy. "This year, the other three clan leaders brought their sons to compete for my hand in marriage."
"It's a tradition." Elinor said. "And how might you know our daughter if I might ask."
"Elinor, don't intimidate him." Fergus said. "He's probably here to enjoy the festivities, aren't ya?"
"You could say that." He replied.
All of a sudden, another horn was blown in the distance, the clans all looking out and running tot he clearing to prepare for the main event.
"Ah, the competition is about to begin." Fergus said. "Care to join us?"
"I won't say no to a competition." Spyro replied.
"Excellent!" Fergus said. "Come, you'll have the best seats in the house."
The four of them walked through the crowd all the way to what looked like a set of thrones for royalty, now realizing they were the kind and queen of the land and Merida is their daughter, he felt embarrassed, but was given a seat to sit on to watch her competition, which was archery thanks to Merida as she got to choose what will happen. As the target were being brought out, there were three men who seemed to be competing, one was very big and looked to be the nervous type wearing white and orange clothing with an orange and green kilt on, the second looked to be the pretty boy type wearing a red kilt with blue tattooed on his right arm, girls screaming for his attention. The third one was a blonde kid, but didn't look to be the brightest bulb in the box as he was playing with the bow string, listening to the sound it makes with a dumbfounded face.
As the competition got started, the first one up was the big guy, who barely pulled back on the string of the bow, probably fearing to break it and released his arrow, hitting outside of the target and making everyone gasp, laughing at him for such a poor shot, which even Spyro snickered at as Merida and Fergus laughed. the second one up was the pretty boy, who flicked his hair, not even looking where he was aiming before releasing the arrow, hitting the ring just out short of the bullseye, which caused him to throw a temper tantrum, smacking his bow on the ground like a little kid who didn't get what he wanted from a store before throwing the bow.
"Well, that's attractive." Merida said. "Good arm though."
"Yeah, he'd probably be better off throwing spears." Spyro said.
"And such, lovely, flowing locks of hair." Fergus said, mocking the kid.
"Fergus." Elinor warned.
"What?" Her husband asked. "I'm just stating that looks aren't everything. I bet our young guest could do a better job of shooting a bow."
"Don;t drag me into it." Spyro said. "I'm already taken."
"Ah, shame." Fergus said. "I actually kinda like you."
It came down to the last competitor, the not so bright boy, who tried to get an arrow out of his quiver, but ended up dumping them when he spun around in a circle, but did get one before trying to notch it, making a fool of himself as everyone laughed. As the kid aimed his arrow arrow, it moved to the side a couple of time, which annoyed Fergus as he shouted for him to shoot, startling him to where he released the arrow, hitting a perfect bullseye where everyone cheered and a man, who appeared to be his father was celebrating. Spyro looked over and saw the shocked expressions on the king and queen, not believing he hit a perfect bullseye.
"Dang, talk about a lucky shot." Spyro said.
"I''l say that was lucky." The king said. "Guess he's coming to dinner tonight."
"Fergus." His wife said.
"What, it's true." Fergus said. "Hope you don't mind being called Mrs. Din-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as his daughter was no longer there, but instead was one of his dogs. "Where'd Merida go?"
They all looked around to see where she was, but didn't find her until a banner with their clans emblem on it and under it was Merida, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows, surprising everyone as she made her presence known.
"I am Merida, first born of clan Dunbroch!" She shouted. "And I'll be shooting for my own hand!"
"Merida!" Elinor shouted.
"Is that even allowed?" Spyro asked, her father shrugging his shoulders.
Merida tried to draw the bowstring back, but her dress seemed to be too tight, so she ripped it, allowing her some room to draw her bow string and started to shoot the targets, hitting the first one in the bullseye as her mother rushed out to stop her, which her daughter notched another arrow and released it, scoring another bullseye as her mother tried to get her to stop, shouting for her to not do it and even forbidding her, but Merida refused to listen, releasing the third arrow and splitting the one in the center down the middle, surprising everyone. Spyro couldn't help but clap his hands, amazed by her marksmanship, but her mother looked very displeased with her, dragging her daughter back to the castle, leaving everyone at the festivities to figure out what is going on.
"I'm guessing those two don't see eye to eye." Spyro said, looking to Fergus.
"I'm afraid they don't." Fergus replied, the two getting up. "Me daughter has always had a free spirit, so this whole marriage thing is a little unfair in her view."
"I can understand that." Spyro replied, earning a look from Fergus. "Love must be earned, kindled between two people, not forced. An arranged marriage where there is no love, it's bound to have problems and cause them."
"Maybe, but I'm worried about me daughter and my wife." Fergus said. "They aren't alike and I'm afraid one might do something the other might regret."
Fergus then walked to the other clans, wanting to continue the festival to keep them distracted, but Spyro knew the king was right and one of them might do something they'll regret later. He walked through the festival, passing a lot of people on his way to the castle, running into his friends who seemed to be having some of the sweets that came with the festivities.
"Hey Spyro." Rainbow Dash said. "That was some shooting Merida did."
"Yeah, totally!" Pinkie added. "And did you see that last arrow split the one that was already there!? It split like a banana peel!"
"And how she destroyed her dress!" Rarity said, looking hurt. "Ugh, how could she do such a thing?"
"Yeah, I saw it." Spyro replied, looking to the castle. "And I'm afraid Merida's mother isn't exactly happy about it."
"Why's that?" Twilight asked.
"Because the competition was for Merida's hand in marriage." Spyro answered.
"Yeah, we heard that part sugarcube." Applejack said, eating one of the sweet roles. "But why force her to marry? Shouldn't she get to know the guy before thinking of being married?"
"It was her mother's idea." Spyro replied, looking to the girls. "Why don't you head back to the ship. I'll see if I can help calm the situation down before it reaches a boiling point."
"Seems like it already did to me." Rainbow Dash said. "Might want to steer clear of this argument pal. This seems to be between mother and daughter."
He knew she was right and this was between family, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was happening and it wouldn't end well, so he just went up to the castle anyway, walking past the few guards still there to see if he could help diffuse the situation. he asked the servants where Merida and her mother went, directing him to the room at the far end of the hall, so he walked to the door, but when he arrived, the door swung open, nearly hitting him if he hadn't moved out of the way in time and saw Merida running away in tears, clearly upset with what had happened. He looked into the room and saw her mother angry, but then her anger turned to regret as they heard the bow string snap, the queen looking to the fire place and using the fire poker to get the bow out before it was completely destroyed, burning herself a bit as she tried to pick it up, a look of regret on her face.
"What have I done?" She asked, looking to Spyro as he entered.
"What happened?" He asked.
"We... we had an argument and... it got out of hand." Elinor replied. "Merida, she slashed the tapestry and, I destroyed her bow."
He could sense regret in the queen, sadness and pain in what her actions had caused. He knew she needed time to process what she did, but is main worry was for Merida as if she is this upset, she might run away from home and end up getting hurt, so he rushed out of the room and to the entrance of the castle, finding that she was already gone and her horse was no where to be seen. He then rushed out of the castle grounds and ran across the bridge, hoping to stay on her trail until he saw his friends at the edge of the forest, looking into it as he approached.
"What's happened?" He asked. "Why are you girls standing here?"
"It's Merida." Twilight replied. "She rode a horse into the forest."
"And she looked upset." Fluttershy said. "She seemed to be crying."
"That's because she and her mother had a fight." Spyro responded. "Merida destroyed a family tapestry and her mother destroyed her bow."
"Oh dear." Fluttershy said.
"We need to catch up with her before something happens." Spyro said.
The seven of them then ran into the forest to find their friend, running along the forest trail that had hoof prints while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew through the trees and bramble, following the trail their friend took until they reached what appeared to be a circle of stone pillars, looking around them and sensing an ancient magic hidden inside of them. He looked around the stonehenge for a little while until he saw Merida and her horse entering a dark forest, sensing a kind of magic that he never felt before.
"Merida!" Spyro shouted, rushing to catch up with her, but a barrier appeared behind her, cutting him.
"Ah, ah, ah, not so fast there pal." Came a male voice.
Spyro turned around to see who was talking to him, only to find another organization member, a tall male with black hair with sideburns and had dreadlock hair was standing in the middle of the stone circle, smiling at him as he crossed his arms.
"Xaldin!" Spyro said, calling his Keyblade.
"Careful there kid." Xaldin said. "We don't want to go meddling in the affairs of this world, now do we?"
"What are you doing here Xaldin?" Spyro asked, his weapon ready. "Why are you in this world?"
"Like I'm going to tell you." He replied. "All you need to know is that girl's actions has something special in store for everyone."
"What do you mean?" Spyro asked, dreading what he was going to say.
"Hey, get away from him you creep!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
Xaldin turned around to see who was addressing him, but was surprised to see the Mane Six standing behind him, each of them with their Keyblades out to fight, which he found to be amusing as he called his spears, grabbing two of them in his hands while the rest floated behind his back, levitating into the air as he smiled at them.
"Um, maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Fluttershy said.
"You're lucky I don't have time for you." Xaldin said, snapping his fingers.
A second later, multiple Nobody Dragoons appeared out of the void, surrounding the seven of them as they got their spears out and ready to fight, The girls all backed up, startled by their appearance until they hit the barrier, Rarity looking behind her to see the magical wall keeping them from leaving.
"Oh dear, we're trapped." Rairty said, making the girls look behind them.
"I'll leave you in their care now." Xaldin said. "Have fun."
A corridor appeared behind Xaldin, dismissing his weapons as he floated through the darkness, disappearing as the Dragoons got closer to the girls and to Spyro.
"Oh, I hate these things." Spyro said to himself.
"Spyro, what do we do?" Twilight asked.
"Dragoons will drop down and create a shockwave to do some damage!" Spyro shouted. "If they start to dive down, jump in the air and you'll avoid the hit. Try following up their attack with some hits of your own and jumping the air to hit them if you can!"
As he said it, the first dragoon dove towards him, Spyro jumping up and avoiding the shockwave while also striking the fear by dragoon in the air, knocking it to he ground and plunged his blade through it's chest, destroying it. The girls followed his advise, Rainbow Dash flew in the air and swung her blade at the first dragoon she could see, locking their weapons together in a stalemate while Twilight leapt over a shock wave of her own, seeing the dragoon's spear was stuck, she took her chance and charged at it, landing a few good blows before it managed to get it's spear out and swing back at her. Fluttershy and Rarity worked together to take care of a dragoon, Rarity blocking a few attacks on the ground and jumping to avoid being hit while Fluttershy, though reluctant, flew down and swung her blade into it's back, injuring the creature before pulling it's spear out and swinging wide, just missing the timid mare. Pinkie however was having the time of her life as she just kept bouncing around, dodging the Dragoons attacks and using her ability to break the fourth wall to appear behind the dragoon, hitting him in the back and then disappearing as soon as it turned around.
Once it did turn, it saw the pink mare behind another dragoon that Spyro was fighting, lunging forward to hit her, but she just ducked underneath the attack, making the spear hit another dragoon and the two started to fight each other, not noticing the pink mare was laughing at them. Applejack was doing fine on her own as she swing and hard at the Nobody she was fighting, dodging his attacks and then smacking it around with her Keyblade, leaving massive dent marks on it's armor before kicking it in the helmet and dodging another one. The seven of them then grouped up together, the girls holding their own as they each slew their individual Nobody, but they were still out numbered and more were approaching them, spears at the ready as the Mane Six got exhausted.
"Where... are they... coming from?" Twilight asked, panting as she spoke. "They just... keep coming."
"That's what it sometimes feels like." Spyro replied, still going strong as he took down another dragoon. "Sometimes they come in waves, other times it's just the one group."
"How do you deal with this many at a time?" Rarity asked, holding back one. "These things are repulsive!"
"I got one idea." Spyro said, dismissing his Keyblade and extending his hands. "Stay behind me!"
A moment later, a whole storm of Force lightning shot out of his hands, hitting all the dragoons in front of him, all of them unable to move as the electricity flowed through their bodies, destroying them in an instant. When they were all gone, the girls sat down on the ground, breathing heavily, except for Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie as they were use to physical exertion, their Keyblades on the ground as they took a moment to get their breath.
"So, how was your first battle with your Keyblades?" Spyro asked.
"Honestly, far more exhausting than you make it out to be." Twilight replied.
"I thought it was fun." Pinkie said, bouncing up and down. "Especially the part where I got them to hit each other."
"Ew, I feel all dirty and gross." Rarity said, sweat appearing on her head. "Do we have to go through this on a daily basis?"
"You'll get used to it." Spyro replied, dismissing his blade. "After all, all six of you are going to need some serious training to build up your stamina."
"What was that about the spell?" Merida asked, turning to look at someone but saw her friends.
"Merida." Spyro said, walking up to her.
"Spyro, what are you doing here?" Merida asked.
"We followed you." He replied. "We were worried about you." He could sense that there was something in the bag she had in her hands, immediately suspicious about what it was, he crossed his arms and looked at her. "What's in the bag?"
"It's just a cake." Merida replied.
Spyro raised his eye brow at her, not believing it was just a cake, which Merida seemed to be nervous about until Applejack walked up.
"Sugarcube, is there something ya'll ain't telling us?" Applejack asked. "Spyro and Ah can tell ya ain't telling us the full truth."
"Ugh, fine." She said. "I followed some Willow the Wisps to a witches hut who gave me a magic spell to help change my mother so it can change my fate."
"Change her?" Spyro asked, getting a bad feeling about her choice of words. "Change her how exactly?"
"I don't know exactly." She replied, Spyro's stomach churning as she talked. "Just to convince her not to force me into marriage."
"Merida, if there's one thing I know about witches and magic, you need to be specific." Spyro said, the princess rolling her eyes as she walked away. "Because if you don't specify how you want your mother to change, that leaves a lot of gray area to let the witch give you a random spell that can change her into anything."
"I don't need a lecture from you!" She snapped, looking angry. "Why does everyone want to lecture me today?"
"Because some actions have consequences." Spyro replied. "You need to think carefully about what you want to do and what to say as the wrong thing could end up ruining your life or the life of someone else."
"I don't care!" She said, getting onto her horses back. "I don't want to be married. I want to live my life my way. I thought you'd understand me. I thought you were my friend."
She then turned her horse in the opposite direction away from the stone circle, riding off to the distance while leaving her friends behind, walking back to the road in silence, hurt by what Merida said as they got back to the ship. The girls were heading in to sleep for the night, but Spyro looked to the castle in the distance, fearing the worst for her and her mother, so he walked past her ship and to the castle, Rarity noticing him heading back to the castle.
"Where's Spyro going?" Pinkie asked.
"It looks like he's heading back to the castle." Rarity replied. "I think he's going to try and stop Merida from giving that cake to her mother."
"Oh, oh, let's follow him!" Pinkie suggested. "He might need our help."
"For once, Pinkie has a good idea." Applejack said, walking down the ramp. "Merida is too gung-ho about not getting married that she might do something she'll regret."
"Well, as long as it doesn't involve getting any dirtier than we already are." Rarity said, Applejack raising an eye brow to her.
"Then let's go!" Pinkie said, dragging Rarity and Applejack with her.
Spyro walked along the road and across the bridge towards the castle, entering the caste grounds as there weren't a lot of guards to stop him until he reached the stable, finding that her horse was already there, meaning Merida was already here. He prayed he wasn't too late and walked to the nearest door, opening it a bit to see what was inside, but heard something bouncing, looking to his left to find the trio walking up to him.
"What are you three doing here?" Spyro asked. "I thought you were back at the ship?"
"We wanted to help ya sugarcube." Applejack replied. "We want to make sure Merida doesn't end up doing something she'll regret."
"Not to mention Pinkie dragged us with her." Rarity said, leering at the party pony.
"Well, I guess it's ok for you to tag along." Spyro said. "But keep out of sight and if you're spotted, don't talk, just run."
The three of them entered the room, finding it to be the main kitchen area where food was already prepped and the fire was going, boiling a cauldron of water and some dirtied dishes on the sinks. Everyone looked around to see what they could find, smelling all the food that was prepared was mostly meat, which the girls gagged on as they are ponies, but looked around, finding no one there, but at the other side of the room was a stair case that looked to lead to the main room where there was music and laughter coming from, everyone having a great time. He then looked to the table, finding what looked to be a cake on a tray with some blueberries, but a piece of it was already missing, indicating they were too late and Elinor had taken a bite out of it, the spell already starting to take affect by now, but the Pinkie saw the cake on the table and just licked her lips.
"Hey look!" Pinkie said. "Somepony left some cake out. Waste not, want not!"
"Pinkie no!" Spyro shouted, rushing over.
It was too late as the party mare moved her tongue underneath the enchanted pastry, gulping it down in one bite before licking her lips again, but then her face contorted, her eyes twitching as she started to retch, trying to get it out of her throat, but Rarity got a glass of water for her and brought it over, letting her drink from it and calming her down.
"Feeling better Pinkie?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, much better." Pinkie said. "But that cake was disgusting! I mean, it was almost as bad as those cupcakes Applejack made during Apple Buck season."
"Don't remind me." Applejack said, pulling her hat down.
"Pinkie, what have you done?" Spyro asked, horrified by what she did.
"What?" She asked. "All I did was eat some cake."
"Yes, but I think that was the cake Merida got from the witch." Spyro said, all three of their eyes widened as they looked at Pinkie, who gave a nervous smile.
"Heh, heh, oops." She said, smiling nervously.
"Ugh, Pinkie, what am I going to do with you?" Spyro said, closing his eyes and pinching the space between them.
"What do ya think will happen to her?" Applejack asked, worried for her friend.
"I don't know, but..." Spyro said, stopping when they heard a girl scream from above them, the group looking up at the ceiling. "Merida. She's in trouble! We need to-"
They then heard Pinkie start to groan, clutching her stomach as she collapsed onto the ground, shivering as she laid on the ground in pain.
"Guys, I'm not feeling so good." Pinkie said.
"Pinkie darling, you look horrible." Rarity said.
"It must be the spell." Spyro said. "It's already starting to affect her. AJ, can you get her back to Dragon's Crest and have Twilight perform a counter spell?"
"Ah can try." Applejack said, squeezing herself under Pinkie so she was on her back. "What will you do?"
"Rarity and I are going to help Merida." Spyro replied. "Hopefully we can get to her in time before something happens."
Applejack then rushed out of the door, not wasting another moment to get Pinkie back to Twilight while Spyro and Rarity ran to the stairs, running up the steps and down the hall until they reached the main room, filled with the members of the four clans drinking and having fun, singing and dancing while Fergus was throwing weapons into a stuffed bear, enjoying every hit he got.
"Glad Fluttershy isn't here." Rarity said, whispering to not be heard. "She'd probably kick him where the sun don't shine."
"I'd believe that." Spyro said, looking to the stairs. "And there's our way upstairs."
"But how are we going to go up them without being spotted?" Rarity asked. "I'm not exactly the best when it comes to stealth as I kinda stick out."
"Leave that to me." Spyro said, pulling the screen out and tapping it twice. "Can I give you a lift m'lady?"
"Oh Spyro, aren't you chivalrous." Rarity said.
Spyro picked her up, holding her with both arms and in an instant, time seemed to slow down for them as he ran, Rarity getting to see all the clans and how unruly they were being, disgusted by their behavior. Once they were upstairs, Spyro put Rarity down and started to run down the hall, calling out for Merida to make sure she was ok.
"Merida!" Spyro shouted. "Merida, where are you!?"
"Spyro, is that you!?" She shouted back. "I'm in my mums room! Fourth door on your right!"
He and Rarity ran to where she said she was, opening the door to see the entire room was a disaster area. There was broken furniture, candles were all over the floor, bits and pieces of wood scattered everywhere, and pottery on the ground, some broken, some not. On the other side of the room was Merida, looking freaked out, but otherwise unharmed.
"Oh, thank goodness you're ok." Spyro said, walking into the room. "Merida, what happened in here? It looks like a bear tore the place apart."
"I think you might be right about that Spyro darling." Rarity said, her eyes wide and shivering.
Spyro turned around to see what she was talking about, seeing how scared she was, and looked to where she was looking, only for his eyes to widen and his blood go cold as a bear came out from under the tapestry it had brought down, but he sensed that it wasn't dangerous or violent, more scared and confused, wondering what had happened and what was going on.
"Merida, please tell me that isn't your mother." Spyro said, praying he was wrong.
"I wish I could say it wasn't." She said, smiling nervously as Spyro's eye twitched. "I swear, that scaffy witch gave me a gammy spell!" Elinor, now as a bear, looked up to Merida, clearly hearing what her, making noise that sounded like she was asking what spell while Spyro just looked annoyed and infuriated. "It's not my fault! I didn't ask her to change you into a bear! I asked her to... change... you."
As she said it, Elinor roared out, obviously wanting to yell at her daughter, but Spyro closed her mouth, stopping her from roaring and surprising the bear as she looked at him, surprised by his strength.
"Shhh, quiet!" Spyro said to Elinor, letting go of her mouth. "You want the clansmen down stairs to hear you?" He then turned to Merida, angry with her. "And you, this is what I tried to warn you about gray areas in magic! If you don't specify the spell you want, you'll get something completely random. And the same goes for witches, no specifications, they'll give you something random."
"Look, I'm sorry alright." Merida said. "But I'm not to blame, it's that witches fault. Gagily old hag."
"No Merida, you're definitely to blame." Spyro said, her mother agreeing with him as she nodded. "If you had specified what you wanted, this wouldn't have happened and Pinkie wouldn't be-"
"Wait, Pinkie?" Merida asked, her heart dropping. "You're saying Pinkie Pie ate the cake?"
"Afraid so darling." Rarity replied, freaking Elinor out. "She found the cake you got from the witch and ate it."
"Oh, this is not good." Merida said, sitting on the bed. "We need to get to that witch and figure out how to reverse this."
"Now you're using your head for once." Spyro said.
"Hey!" Merida said.
"Spyro, we don't know where to go." Rarity said. "I mean, we got as far as the stonehenge, but other than that, where do we go?"
"I know the way." Merida said. "I remember where the witch's hut is."
"Great." Spyro said. "We'll head back to my ship, get my friends, and we'll head to the witch."
He opened the door, making sure the coast was clear before walking out, followed by Rarity and then Elinor, who was using a bed sheet to cover herself up as she walked in the direction of the party, going quiet as he feared they knew something was wrong.
"Mum, no!" Merida whispered. "Not that way! If dad sees you as you are, he'll kill you!"
"Merida's right." Spyro said. "We need another way out."
A moment later, they heard some chatter, Spyro looking around the corner and saw Fergus and the rest of the clan, the king sniffing the air as he tracked the scent of his wife, looking back to tell them to get back, but Elinor had already went the other way as Merida ran after her, Spyro and Rarity running close behind. As they caught up, the queen accidentally hit a candle stick, making a clattering noise that was sure to get their attention, so he rushed Rarity ahead and used his nature magic to create a wall to slow them down, running to catch up.
"Mum, stop!" Merida said, pulling the sheet off her mother, who tried to cover herself. "Agh, mum, you're covered in fur, you're not naked! Besides, no one is going to even see-"
She stopped talking as everyone looked over, seeing one of the maidens had spotted them, Elinor waving, but she screamed and ran away, making a lot of noise that was sure to get the clansmen's attention.
"Now you've done it." Merida said.
"Save it for later." Spyro said, pointing his finger at the hall. "Ivy Wall!" As he said it, several rows of ivies and different plants grew from the walls around, Merida and her mother as they saw the magic. "That's won't hold them for long. We need to... HEY!" Merida and Elinor ran in different directions, the princess rushing to a corridor with stairs while her mother ran the opposite direction, making Spyro pinch the space between his eyes. "Ugh, these two really need to work out their issues and work together."
"Mum!" Merida shouted, running back to them. "Where'd mum go?"
"She went the opposite direction." Spyro said.
The three of them ran in the direction of where the queen went, following all the knocked over furniture until they heard her grunting and making noise like she was ordering someone around, going into another room to find she was making the triplets move a deer head back onto a trophy slate, the three of them looking at them and waiting for an answer.
"Ugh, a witch turned mum into a bear, it's not my fault." Merida said.
"Keep telling yourself that, it definitely was your fault." Spyro replied.
"You're not helping." Merida said, turning her attention to the triplets. "Look, we need your help. Can you distract dad long enough to give us a chance to escape?" The triplets crossed their arms, a look asking what was in it for them, making Merida groan. "Alright, you can have my desserts for three weeks if you help us." They didn't budge, one of them motioning to raise the price for their help. "Fine, a whole year then. Deal?"
"A year!?" Rarity asked, surprising the triplets. "Sweet Celestia, even Sweetie Belle not that gluttonous."
The triplets thought it over for a moment, looking at one another and nodded their heads, agreeing to the terms as they got down from the trophy wall and went out, two of them getting the items they needed to distract their father and his guests while the third was their scout, letting them know when it was safe to go. After a little bit, the kid made a sound that was like a bird, letting them know the coast was clear and guided them through the halls, checking around corners as he lead them to the safest way out of the castle, the two siblings sending his father and the other clan members on a wild goose chase until they reached the kitchen, where the panicked servant who saw the bear was at with two others, hyperventilating as she panicked.
"Bugger." Spyro whispers. "Now what?"
A moment later, soot fell from the fire place, getting the servants attention as one of the boys fell down, a roast chicken on his head as she stood up, making it move and freaking them out, making them run out the door and into the night screaming. The whole event had Spyro on the floor laughing, rolling around as he laughed very hard at what he just saw, Rarity leering at him as he was laughing, finding the whole thing wasn't funny.
"What?" Spyro said, getting off the ground and wiping a tear away. "That was funny."
"Now is not the time to be laughing Spyro." Rarity said. "We need to get to the ship."
"You're right." Spyro said. "Let's hope AJ got Pinkie to Twilight in time."
They walked down the stairs and towards the door, Spyro checking outside to make sure the coast was clear before motioning for them to follow him outside, running out to the forest where his ship was at, pushing through the brush and branches as they reached the ship, Elinor looking at the massive vessel in awe and lost in thought at the machine she was staring at. At the ramp, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were outside, the former pacing around and her anxiety was extremely high.
"Oh, he's going to loose his mind." Rainbow Dash said. "If Spyro returns and sees that..." She then looked at Applejack, whose eyes were wide with fear as she stared at Spyro, knowing she said too much. "He's right behind me, isn't he?"
"That would be correct." Spyro said, Rainbow Dash looking at him. "Now, what was it you said about me loosing my mind?"
"Well, how do I put this." Rainbow Dash said, nervous about something. "You see... Pinkie... she..."
"What happened?" Spyro asked, worry rising in him.
"I'm sorry Spyro." Twilight said, coming from behind the ship. "I tried, but..." A moment later, another bear came just after Twilight did, another black bear, but with a hint of pink in it's fur and Pinkie Pie's Cutie Mark on her rear and the cyan colored eyes. "Whatever kind of spell was in that cake, it was too strong for me to reverse. Whoever casted that spell, they're the only one who can reverse it."
Everyone looked over to Spyro, whose eye was twitching as he was about to loose his mind, so Fluttershy flew over and gave him a hug, which helped him to calm down a bit as he hugged her back.
"Alright, we can fix this." Spyro said. "We need to get to the witches cottage and see if she knows of a way to reverse the spell."
"But how will we get there?" Twilight asked. "None of us have been there."
"I have." Merida said, walking up. "It's sorta my fault Pinkie is like this, so the least I can do is help to fix it."
"Let's hope it can be fixed." Spyro said, looking at Pinkie Pie. "Don't worry Pinkie, we'll fix this."
The party 'bear' walked over to him and rubbed her head on his side, Spyro reaching down and petting her as she understood he was going to do whatever it took to help her. The group stocked up on whatever kind of supplies they could get and put into their bags, following Merida to where she had found the witches cottage so they can ask the woman if there was a way to reverse the spell and get both Elinor and Pinkie back to normal.