Chapter 51: Princess The Bear Part 1: The Mysterious Tower
The next morning, the rooster crowed as usual, waking Spyro up, so he stretched out his forelegs, about to get up when he felt something around his chest, looking down to see a pair of orange forelegs, smiling as he looked back to see Applejack, still asleep as she held onto him, smiling as she kept dreaming. He turned himself around, being careful not to wake her up at that moment as he planted a kiss on her head, stirring the sleeping mare a bit, but she didn't wake up, so he blew in her ear, making it twitch as she finally started to stir awake, barely opening her eyes as she saw Spyro looking at her with a smile.
"Good morning AJ." Spyro said, planting another kiss on her head.
"Mornin' sugarcube." She replied, kissing him back.
The two of them got out of the bed and stretched out a bit, waking themselves up as they walked out of the room, waiting in line to use the bathroom just as Scootaloo got out after brushing her teeth.
"So, what is Master Yen Sid like?" Applejack asked. "Is he all serious like?"
"Kind of is, yeah." Spyro replied. "He's a no nonsense kind of wizard who takes everyone's training seriously. This is just a way for him to get to know the new Keyblade bearers before starting their training."
"What kind of training will Applejack be going through?" Scootaloo asked, walking up.
"That will be up to me." Spyro replied. "I'll volunteer to train all six of them here in Equestria. It's the safest place for training as this world is so close to the light, the Heartless won't attack."
"Ah just hope we don't make a bad first impression." Applejack said, nervous to be going. "Ah mean, what will happen if Ah make a fool of mah self in front of him?"
"Trust me, it is not the end of the world." Spyro replied. "He may appear intimidating and serious, but he's also a relaxed and easy going. Nothing to worry about."
After everyone had their turn in the bathroom to get ready for the day, they walked down to the kitchen where breakfast was ready for them, eating their fill before the fillies left for school and both Spyro and Applejack going to the Gummi Garage, the doors opening and the Dragon's Crest in the hangar bay ready to go. After a few minutes, they heard some hooves behind them and turned to find Big Mac and Granny Smith coming up, which he prepared for another threat from the elderly mare, but she just walked up to Applejack and hugged her.
"Ya'll be safe out there Applejack." She said. "Who knows what kind of critters might be out there."
"Don't ya worry granny, I'll be fine." Applejack said, hugging her back. "Besides, Spyro is with me, he'll keep me safe."
"And you have nothing to worry about Granny Smith." Spyro said. "I mean, the only thing we would need to worry about is..." he then caught himself before he could say anything, stooping himself from finishing the sentence. "Nope. No way, not going to happen. I am not finishing that sentence. I am NOT going to jinx us today. AIVA, run a full diagnostic on the ship, make sure nothing is going to blow up on us."
"Affirmative." AIVA replied. "Running Diagnostic. Please stand by."
A minute later, they all heard several sets of hoof prints walking up, everyone looking to see Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy walking up, the yellow Pegasus mare looking nervous to be going, even though she's been to other worlds before.
"Morning ladies." Spyro said, waving to them.
"Good morning Spyro." Twilight said. "Are we early?"
"No, no, you came at the right time." Spyro replied. "I'm running a diagnostic on the ship to make sure nothing goes wrong. Better safe than sorry."
A minute later, they heard something dragging on the ground and looked to the dirt road, finding Rarity with a trunk full of clothing and possibly other kinds of accessories she was going to bring with her. Following her, Pinkie Pie was bouncing up the dirt road with her saddles bags on and smiling, making him worry what the party pony had in her bags.
"We're... here." Rarity said, struggling to pull the trunk.
"Rarity, we're only going to be gone for a few hours, not a few weeks." Spyro said. "What all you got in there?"
"Some of my basic essentials." She replied. "I want to make a good first impression when we get there."
"Rarity, you don't need those for this." Spyro replied. "But if it makes you feel better, put it in the cargo bay and we'll make sure it's safe and sound."
Nodding her head, she used her magic and dragged the truck on the ground, clearly struggling with it as she tried to move it, so Spyro walked over and picked the trunk up, putting it on his back to carry it for her. As soon as he reached the entrance t the garage, Rainbow Dash zoomed in behind them, nearly crashing into Spyro if she didn't use her hooves to skid herself to a stop, saving both of them some pain.
"Hey Spyro, good morning." She said.
"Morning Rainbow Dash." Spyro replied. "Ready to go?"
"You bet I am!" She replied. "I am totally ready for this."
"In that case, ladies." Spyro said, motioning for them to go ahead.
As the Mane Six walked into the ship, heading towards the cockpit, Spyro found a spot for Rarity's trunk, putting it with the miscellaneous items and strapping it down so nothing would happen to it on their way to the Mysterious tower. After making sure it was securely fastened to the ground, he left the cargo bay and made his way to the cockpit, where the girls had already taken their seats and strapped themselves in, just waiting on Spyro as he came in and took the pilot seat. After punching in a few buttons, the ship started up, engines roaring to life as the vessel hovered off the ground before flying out of the garage and to the sky, flying above the planet's atmosphere and changing Spyro back to a human, pulling up the world map and swiping it a few times to the left to find the Mysterious Tower, pressing on its image as it set the coordinates.
"So what's this tower like!?" Pinkie asked. "Will there be a lot of ponies we haven't met yet!? Will there be a party to welcome the six of us!? What will we get to learn first!? Will we-"
"All your questions will be answered when we get there." Spyro replied, taking the wheel. "For now, enjoy the ride."
As the engines charged up, the vessel shot forward, sending them through warp space, everyone watching the lights and colors fly by as they sat in their seats, waiting to arrive at their destination, which it didn't take them long as they exited warp space to see the Mysterious Tower. The tower itself was medieval in de sight, with a few curves to it's structure and a few training areas around it with the ;adding pads at the far edge of the island the tower was floating on, fascinating the girls as they saw the fast approaching the hanger, the girls still staring at the tower as they landed inside of the bay they were assigned to. As they landed on the pad they were assigned to, another ship appeared, looking a bit like the Highwind, but it was blue instead of red and it had a hawks head at the front of it, landing on the pad next to his as they got out.
"Who's that?" Twilight asked.
"Probably Riku." Spyro replied. "Must have come back from patrol."
A moment later, Riku walked out of his ship and was starting to head to the tower, only looking over to see Spyro walking towards him.
"Spyro." He said. "Good to see you again."
"You to old friend." Spyro replied, the two hitting their fists together.
"So what brings you here?" He asked. "Getting tired of being around girls all the time?"
"Not a chance." Spyro replied. "Master Yen Sid called for me. He wanted me to bring six new Keyblade Bearers to him."
"Six?" Riku asked in surprise. "Six new Keyblade bearers? Geez, how'd you get stuck with that assignment?"
"Because they were in Equestria." Spyro replied, surprising Riku. "Yeah, all six of them were in Equestria, so it wasn't too difficult to find them."
"Oh yeah?" He asked. "How'd you track them down?"
"Because they're my friends." Spyro replied.
He stepped aside and revealed the Mane Six to Riku, who was taken off guard that his friends were there, the six of them approaching Riku.
"Riku, I'd like to introduce my friends from Equestria." Spyro said, pointing to each one. "The lavender colored unicorn is Twilight Sparkle, star pupil of the ruler of Equestria, Rarity, the white unicorn, great fashionista, Pinkie Pie, the most random Party pony in Ponyville, if she does or says anything, go with it, you'll stay sane." Riku looked at the pink earth pony, seeing her bouncing everywhere as her saddlebag opened, confetti and party noises coming out of it. "Then we got Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria."
"You mean THE fastest flier in the whole world!" Rainbow Dash said, interrupting him and making everyone leer at her. "Whoops. Heh, heh, sorry."
"Moving on." Spyro said, looking to Applejack. :This is Applejack, one of the hardest working earth ponies ever." She tipped her hat to Riku, who waved back nervously, looking over to Fluttershy, who was hiding behind Spyro. "And this is Fluttershy. She's great with animals, but a little timid."
"Well, it's nice to meet you all." Riku said. "The name's Riku. I'm one of the Keyblade Masters. And I take it you six have a Keyblade?"
"Oh yes darling, we do." Rarity replied. "Came as quite a shock to us when we all got one."
"Well you aren't the first to be surprised." Riku replied. "I was surprised when the Keyblade chose Sora instead of me."
"Wait, come again?" Applejack asked. "A Keyblade chose Sora over you?"
"You can say it did." Spyro replied, getting the girls attention. "You see, Riku went through the inheritance ceremony and was granted the right to wield a Keyblade by a former Keyblade bearer. However, Riku fell to darkness, so the Keyblade chose Sora, his closest friend."
The girls were shocked to learn that Riku was meant to get the Keyblade instead of Sora, looking between him and Spyro wanting more details about what had happened, the adventures they went on, how it ended, wanting to know everything that has happened. So as they walked, Spyro and Riku told the girls about how Sora got his Keyblade back in Destiny Isle, how he ended up in Traverse town, all the worlds he visited and the friends he made along the way, all the challenges he faced, even the time when he, Donald, and Goofy had to fight Riku, who was being manipulated by Maleficent. They then talked about how Sora sacrificed himself to free Kairi's heart to save her, bringing tears to the girls eyes as they listened to the selfless act from their friend Sora, and about how when Riku was possessed by Ansem and fought back, he was saved by Sora and helped to seal the door to Kingdom Hearts to the waves of Heartless couldn't escape. After a little while, they reached the entrance to the tower, which the girls all looked up in wonder, amazed by how tall it was, which Riku walked in first, followed by everyone else, following him until they reached the staircases, everyone looking up and seeing nothing but three flights of stars and magical energy flying everywhere around them.
"This is amazing!" Twilight said, looking around. "This is beyond my expectations!"
"It's dazzling." Rarity said. "Oh, I cannot wait to meet this Yen Sid. If he can do this, I wonder what else he has."
"So, how far up is he?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"He's on the top floor." Spyro replied, pointing to the third set of stairs. "The door at the very top is where his office is at."
Without any warning, Rainbow Dash tried to fly up to beat them to the top, but before she could get five feet of the ground, she hit her head on the barrier that was around the staircase, making her fall onto the ground and roll down the stairs, seeing birds in front of her eyes as she came to.
"Ow, what happened?" She asked, rubbing her head. "What did I run into?"
"You flew into the barrier." Spyro replied, pressing hand onto it. "Master Yen Sid placed these here to keep those who enter from falling off by accident. Whether they slip on something or they do something stupid. Only way to him is by walking up."
"Oh, not cool." Rainbow Dash said, flying next to them.
The group walked along the steps, going up each flight of stairs and into the rooms at each, the girls marveling at the decorations in each room, but Rainbow Dash just looked bored out of her skull until they reached the final door, walking in to find Sora, Kairi, and Axel already there and waiting for them. As soon as Spyro and Riku entered, the Mane Six walked in, looking at everything in the room, but as soon as Kairi saw them, her inner child came out as she immediately fell in love with the ponies as soon as they entered. Sora and Axel had to keep her from running up and hugging them, making things awkward for everyone. Spyro and Riku walked to the side, leaving the rest of the floor for the ponies as they approached Master Yen Sids desk, the wizard looking at them, showing no emotions.
"Twilight Sparkle." Yen Sid said, startling her. "Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Welcome to my tower. I am Master Yen Sid, a retired Keyblade Master, but I still keep an eye on the balance between Light and Darkness."
"It's an honor to meet you sir." Twilight said. "But, how do you know our names?"
"I kept in contact with your mentor, Princess Celestia." Yen Sid replied, surprising the girls. "She kept me up to speed about Spyro's progress and about who has the Keyblades."
"I must say, this place is quite lovely." Rarity said, looking around. "But it does need a bit of color. So dull in here."
"Rare." Spyro said, drawing her away from the room. "I do apologize about-"
Master yen Sid raised his hand, silencing him as he looked at them.
"Wow, this guy must be strong for Spyro to stop talking like that." Rainbow Dash whispered to Pinkie.
"If you are done talking, I have a few things I'd like to say." Master yen Sid said, getting everyone's attention. "Now then, I have called you here today to meet the new bearers of the key. Ladies, if you please."
The Mane Six looked to Spyro, who nodded his head to let them know it was ok for them to call their Keyblades. A moment later, the six ponies called their Keyblades, Twilight and Rarity holding them with their magic, while the others held onto them with their mouths, Yen Sid nodding his head in approval while everyone else was surprised.
"Wow, six new Keyblades." Sora said, resting his arms behind his head. "Looks like our own little group just got bigger."
"The arrival of new Keyblades is not a secret to those powerful enough to feel them." Yen Sid said. "To hold a Keyblade is a great honor, but to use it will take time and it will take training, and a strong heart." He then looked over to Spyro, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Spyro here is one of our best, the Prince of Light and Darkness, and through his evolution has grown even stronger. He is also the one who spent the most time with the six of you, so I shall trust his judgement. Spyro, do you think they have what it takes to wield the Keyblade?"
Spyro looked between his master and his friends, not sure what to say in the least, but he got off the wall and walked forward a few steps, clearing his throat as he stood next in front of them.
"I won't lie, when I saw they had Keyblades, I was surprised." Spyro said, turning to face them. "My word would probably mean little as I am their herd leader, so that means I would be biased, favoring them, but as a Keyblade Bearer, I watched as their friendship bested the worst of the worst." He then turned around to face Yen Sid, smiling at him. "I watched as they faced many dangers together, solve issues, and overcome any obstacle that got in their way. True, there were some moments when their friendship was put to the test with Discord, being corrupted and becoming the opposite of their true selves, but their friendship bested Discords spell, showing that their hearts are stronger than any kind of darkness. Yes, I believe they have what it takes to be Keyblade Masters someday."
Master Yen Sid nodded his head and with a snap of his finger, three illusions appeared, taking the form of a Shadow, a Dusk, and one of the Unversed that they have seen.
"With the princes word, I know you can handle what is thrown at you." Yen Sid said. "But you must be wary, for there are many enemies you shall face on your way to becoming Keyblade Masters. The first two all six of you already know about. The Heartless and the Nobodies, but the Unversed are just as dangerous as they come from the negative energies that come from dark emotions. This particular one is called a Flood, the weakest, but still dangerous in large numbers." The illusions vanished as he looked to the six ponies. "In the past, we only had six Keyblade Bearers. they include Riku and Kairi, our two resident Keyblade Masters, Sora and Spyro, both soon to take their Mark of Mastery, Axel, our resident Nobody who has renounced Organization XIII and fights for us. And finally King Mickey, who could not make it today, but would have liked to have met you all."
"Speaking of, why isn't he here?" Spyro asked. "I'm pretty sure this would have been more important than anything else."
"Unfortunately, he is busy at the Disney Castle." Yen Sid replied. "He was needed back at his world."
"Aw, I wanted to meet single everyone of Spyro's friends." She said, reaching into her saddle. "I even brought party favors to got with the party I'm planning."
She then pulled out a few invitations just as confetti and noise makers went off, startling everyone as it went off.
"Easy Pinkie, leave it for next time." Spyro said.
"Now then, I have one request to ask of you Spyro." Yen Sid said, getting their attention. "Since you know them and have fought with them before, I would like you to be their mentor. Teach them how to use the Keyblade and all the relative power that comes with it."
"Wait, what?" Spyro asked, completely shocked at what he just said.
"I wish for you to teach them how to use a Keyblade and the magic within." Yen Sid repeated. "You know them better than any of us, so they will be more comfortable training with you."
"Wow, that's..." Spyro said, lost for words. "I was actually going to volunteer to be their teacher."
"Then it is settled." Master Yen Sid said. "I leave the six of you in the care of the Prince of Light and Darkness, Spyro. And if there are any other Keyblade bearers in Equestria, you shall find them and train the Spyro."
"AW yeah!" Rainbow Dash shouted, all six of them excited for the news. "This going to be EPIC!"
"Glad to see you six are eager for the training." Spyro said, turning to face them. "Because training will not be easy. We shall start right after we get back home."
"I wish you the best of luck young Keyblade warriors." Master yen Sid said. "And safe travels back home."
Everyone bowed to Master Yen Sid and walked out of the study, going back down the stairs they came up from and back outside where everyone got to know each other, Kairi finally getting the opportunity to hug the first pony she could, being Pinkie Pie as the two of them squealed in happiness, the young Keyblade master's inner child coming out as Rainbow Dash and Applejack talked with Axel and Riku, leaving Spyro and Sora to talk along with the rest of the Mane Six. He explained to Sora how they got their Keyblades, how they managed to awaken the power to use them, and how they stood up against Discord and his allies, Ansem, Xemnas, and May despite the overwhelming force.
"Didn't think your friends would get Keyblades like that." Sora said. "It's going to be interesting seeing how they will handle themselves."
"I'm actually kind of worried." Spyro said, looking over to Pinkie Pie. "I hate to imagine what Pinkie can do if she figures out how to unlock locks with that thing."
"Same here." Twilight said. "She'd throw surprise parties none stop, no matter what kind of lock everypony tried."
"Ah, don't worry." Sora said. "I'm sure she won't abuse it like that."
"Still, I think I might hold off on that lesson until later." Spyro said, looking to his friends. "But no matter what, even if they do have Keyblades now, I'm still going to protect them, no matter what."
A second later, everyone came towards the five of them, Kairi putting Pinkie down as they walked over.
"Why did you have to get the world with these adorable ponies?" Kairi asked, clearly annoyed. "If I had known about this world, I would have volunteered."
"And probably gotten kicked out of every single city and village in Equestria trying to hug everything." Spyro pointed out, making Riku and Sora snicker.
"He's got you there Kairi." Riku said, Kairi leering at him.
"Anyway, we need to head back to Equestria before it gets late." Spyro said. "See you guys later."
"See ya Spyro." Kairi said. "Bye Pinkie!"
"Good bye new friends!" Pinkie said, bouncing along with the group.
They then reached the Dragons Crest and got back to the Cockpit, punching in the coordinates for Equestria as they got out of the towers atmosphere, going into Warp Space as they returned to Equestria. Along the way, everyone was talking about what they would like to learn, wondering the kind of training there would be, switching the ship to auto pilot, he turned his seat to address his friends, all of which were deep in conversation.
"Alright girls, can I have your attention please?" Spyro asked, everyone looking to him. "I know some of you might be excited for the training, but I'm just going to tell you this. This is not going to be like working on the farm, practicing for the wonder bolts, baking sweets or anything else you're use to. This is going to be hard work and extreme periods of studying."
"Ugh, seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We gotta hit the books? That's for eggheads."
"Well, unfortunately for you Rainbow Dash, you're going to need to read them." Spyro said, the cyan Pegasus falling over comically. "And it's not just going to be reading books. We also have to go through physical exercises and serious routines, so yes, you will get dirty." At the mention of getting dirty, Rarity fell over and fainted over her chair dramatically, making hm shake his head. "But in all seriousness, I will try and make it fun for you guys and will start you off easy. Trust me, at the end of the day, when you become Keyblade masters yourselves, you'll be glad to have this kind of training."
A minute later, an alarm went off, drawing his attention to the screen as he turned his seat, an image of what appeared to be a vortex popped up as the screens turned red.
"WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!" AIVA announced. "Gravity Well detected! Exiting out of Warp Space!"
"Gravity Well, what's that?" Twilight asked.
"Bad news." Spyro replied. "Buckle in everyone. We're being dragged out of Warp space."
A moment later, the systems went dead as the colorful lights around them turned red, being dragged out of Warp Space by force and floating in space, looking forward to see four carrier class ships made from rock and dark magic with a smaller vessel in the middle of them, emitting energy that was preventing them from going back to Warp Space as the ship came back to life.
"What are those things?" Fluttershy asked.
"Grublins." Spyro replied. "Looks like they're not messing around this time. They brought four carriers and a ship that can pull us out of Warp Space. AIVA, get the weapons ready."
"Negative." She replied. "Weapons offline. Communication array offline. Engines online. Shields at 58%. Advise retreat."
"Well we can't exactly go back into Warp Space now can we?" Spyro asked, running a scan for a way out. "Without our weapons and the shields low, we need to get away."
"But where to?" Rarity asked. "Those grotesque things are coming straight for us."
"Let me think." Spyro said, turning the radar on and finding something.
He looked to his left and saw what appeared to be a wormhole, though it was unstable and looked like it was about to collapse.
"AIVA, what about going through that wormhole, will we be followed?" Spyro asked.
"The wormholes integrity is unstable." She replied. "Going through will cause it to collapse and damage our vessel. Odds of surviving the trip stand at 72%."
"And our odds of surviving this fight are even lower once our shields are gone." Spyro replied, pressing a few buttons. "Set course for that wormhole. Transfer any and all power to the engines and the shields. We're going to need them."
"Confirmed." AIVA replied.
Immediately, the engines roared back to life, allowing them to maneuver towards the wormhole just as the carriers released their fighters to chase down the Dragon's Crest, the small vessels firing on them as they flew, Spyro maneuvering to avoid too much damage to the shields before they reached their only way out, the Mane Six holding on for dear life while Pinkie just threw her arms up and screaming like it was an amusement park ride. As they got close, the fighters broke off their pursuit to avoid destruction, the Dragon's Crest going through the wormhole, which a bolt of lightning passed through the shields and hit the engines, causing the ship to be pulled in and tossed around uncontrollably, everyone screaming as they got tossed around while the shields held back the lightning from the wormhole for as long as it could, a bolt getting through and nailing the cockpit and shutting down the power just as the ship was thrown out of the passage, floating dead in space as everyone remained glued to their seats. After a little bit, power soon returned to the ship, everyone but Pinkie freaked out from the ride they had just taken as they regained their senses.
"WEE, let's do that again!" Pinkie suggested, giggling to herself.
"Well, at least we still have power." Spyro said, regaining his senses. "But the Holy-G engines are fried. Fire-G engines are all we got left. Warping from here to Equestria is going to be difficult. Plus, we need to be above another world before we can warp."
"Well let's find one." Rainbow Dash said, looking out. "There has to be one nearby."
"I hope there is." Spyro replied. "AIVA, can you scan the area and tell us the location of the closest world?" He didn't get a response, making him nervous as he checked the screens to what was wrong. "AIVA?" Still no response as an image of the ships diagnostics came up, finding the engines were red as well as the communication array and their weapons and shields. "Well, seems AIVA is offline. And we lost our shields and the communication array."
"What does that mean?" Applejack asked.
"It means we're on our own." Spyro replied. "I going to activate the radar, see if there is a world nearby where we can land and make repairs." As he activated the radar, multiple probs shot out of the ship, flying in random directions as they scanned the area, increasing the range of the radar. After a few minutes, the scans revealed several new worlds in his area, surprised to see so many, but found one that was close by, smiling in relief. "We're lucky. There's one not too far away. We can land there and make repairs."
"Are we sure it's safe?" Applejack asked. "We ain't going to be stranded on some abandoned world without food and water are we?"
"Don't worry AJ, it's safe." He replied. "Trust me."
He punched in the destination heading as the ship turned around, the Fire-G engines coming to life as they flew in the direction of the new world. On that world, there was a small camp surrounded by a few guards and a woman in regal clothing looking around, playing hide and seek with her daughter, who was currently under the table, giggling as her mother looked for her.
"Come on out Merida." The woman said. "Come out. I'm going to get you." She heard her daughter laughing under the table and smiled, looking underneath it. "I'm coming to get you!" She looked under it, but found nothing, standing up and looking to the forest. "Now where is my little birthday girl? When I find her, I'm going to gobble her up!"
She then turned around and found her daughter Merida, a five year old red headed girl in a small brown dress and shoes, running away from her mom, but failing as she daughter her and started to tickle her, the two of them having a lot of fun together. Then they heard something being put on the table, finding her husband, a Scottish lord wearing a helmet, tan shirt with a kilt, and a fur cape, the little girl happy to see her father while the queen was annoyed.
"Fergus, no weapons on the table." She said.
"Daddy!" Merida exclaimed, running up and grabbing the bow. "Can I shoot an arrow? Can I please?"
"Not with that one Merida." Fergus replied, taking the big bow away. "Why not, with your very own bow!" He brought out a smaller bow for her to shoot, a glimmer of light in her eyes as she became excited to see it. "Happy birthday my wee darling!"
Merida was beyond excited to have her own bow, waiting some of the guards set up a target for her so she could shoot her own arrows, enjoying herself as she shot the bow, though it was a little tough for her, she kept trying, her father telling her what to do until she had her last arrow, aiming it at the target as her father instructed her what to do. But when she released the arrow, she aimed too high and it went flying into the trees, out of sight.
"I missed." Merida said.
"Why don't you go and fetch it dear." Her mother said. "I'll hold onto your bow."
Merida gave her bow to her mother and ran off into the woods to find her arrow, playing and frolicking in the forest as she went deeper into the forest, looking for her lost arrow, looking around and listening to all the sounds as she went. Eventually she found her arrow in the trunk of a tree, reaching up and getting the arrow off of it, but as she got it back, there was a rustling noise, making her look around to see where it was coming from, but didn't see a thing, growing nervous until she heard something that sounded like breathing, so she turned around to see what it was, but found it to be a blue wisp, floating around. She ran to it, following it for a little bit before it disappeared, leaving her in stunned amazement.
"A Willow the Wisp." She whispered to herself, finding a whole trail of them leading back to her camp. "They are real."
She ran to the wisps, following the trail they had made for her to follow, running up he hill to catch one, but they disappeared as soon as she got close every time until she reached the top of the hill.
Merida!" Her mother called out. "Come on back now, we're leaving."
"I saw a wisp!" She shouted, running up to her parents. "I saw a wisp in the woods."
"You saw a wisp?" Her mother said, picking her up. "Some believe that if you see a Willow the Wisp, it will lead you to your fate."
"Or an arrow." Her father replied, his wife scoffing at him. "Come on, let's be off. Before we end up seeing a dancing Togel Barrow. Or even a giant."
Merida's mother just shook her head at her husband, walking with her daughter in her arms as they went to the horses.
"Your father doesn't believe in magic." She said. "Says it's nonsense."
"Well he should." Merida said. "Because it's true."
A moment later, a shadow passed over them, Merida looking to see something that made her scream, a giant black bear with a scar over it's left eye, the eye itself dead with weapons covering it's entire back. Merida screamed loudly, which got everyone's attention to look and see the massive black bear roaring at the two women, about to attack them and possibly eat them.
"Mor'du!" Fergus shouted. "Dear, get Merida out of here!"
His wife did as her husband said, running to the horses as he and his men surrounded the massive bear and pointed spears at it, blocking the way of the bear as the two women escaped on horseback back, Merida looking back to watch her father fight the giant beast, but as they were riding, she also saw something rise from the ground, shadows of some kind of creatures staring at her with blank expressions on their faces. Merida was beyond scared at that moment, but she then heard something above her break, looking up to see the black creature lung for her as she screamed again, darkness covering her eyes as she woke up in bed, awakening from a nightmare from about ten years ago. She was now a teenage girl who is studying to become a princess by the request of her mother, but didn't care to be a princess, following the foot steps of her father and training to use her weapons like a warrior instead of learning all the lady like things from her mother.
"Ugh, that same nightmare." She said to herself, sitting up. "It's the same every years."
Her hair was curly and unkept wearing a night gown as she looked out through her window, finding it was day time and a day before her birthday, excited, she got out of bed and put on her indigo dress, grabbing her bow and arrows, rushing out of her room and down the hall, down some stairs and jumping over a few people to get to the stable, getting onto her horse before riding off on the trail she usually took, notching arrows into her bow and firing them into targets she strung up herself, practicing her aim and nailing a bullseye on everyone of them, having fun and a great time. After a while, she stopped at a cliff side, taking a break as she carved some art into her bow until she looked up, seeing a hawk fly to the cliff side, so she rode her horse over to the massive columns of rock and started to climb them, fearlessly climbing them until she reached the top ledge of the pillar, taking in the view as she cupped her hands together to drink some fresh spring water falling down as a waterfall and yelling out, having the best day of her life as the sun was about to set.
She was about to start climbing down when she saw a streak of light in the sky, looking up to see a massive ball of fire flying down into her lands, right into the nearby forests when a piece of the fireball broke off from the main one, falling close to where she was and crash landing into the place she had stopped at to take a break. Wondering what it was, she started to climb back down the cliff edge and getting back onto her horse as she rode to where the crash sight was, stopping close enough to where her horse would get spooked by whatever it was. She got off her steed and slowly approached the small crater, drawing her bow and notching an arrow as she got closer to it and drew the arrow to fire if something was in there and attacked, but what she saw puzzled her as it looked like a purple cube, nothing threatening about it, so she reached down and picked it up, careful not to get burned as she examined the strange looking block, wondering what it was. She then saw that the sun was setting, so she put it in the horses saddle bag and got back on, heading back home so her parents don't start to worry about her.
With Spyro and his friends, they had entered the world's orbit and found a nice wooded area where they could set their ship down and not be noticed by anyone, at least for a while he hoped. After setting down, he took in a deep breath and looked to the girls, seeing that they were still ok, but looking a little shaken up, but glad they were ok.
"Not how I thought this day would go." Spyro said. "I was actually expecting us to be back home in time for lunch."
"Well I wasn't expecting to be attacked today!" Twilight said, looking freaked out. "Who the heck was that? Why did they attack us?"
"Twenty bits says it was May." Spyro said, looking at them. "She must have wanted to ambush us and take us by surprise."
"Well, it worked." Twilight said. "Because I am more than surprised. I was terrified."
"I thought it was fun!" Pinkie said, bouncing around the cockpit. "Flying through that wormhole was EPIC!"
"Spyro darling, where do you think we are?" Rarity asked.
"Not sure." He replied. "After all, it's a new world, so it hasn't been charted yet." A second later, the screens lit up and started to make a beeping sound, turning to see what it was and finding the damage report, not happy with what he saw. "Dang, weapon systems are fried. No way we can use them until we get back to the Gummi Garage. And power cores three through five are dead, took a direct hit. Power cores 2 is in critical condition so I'm going to need to power it down. And the ships hull integrity is damaged too. Gonna need to do some repairs."
"So, what do we do first?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We get the communications array back online first." Spyro answered. "Let everyone know we're ok."
"And how long will that take?" Applejack asked. "Granny must be getting worried about me by now."
"Well, if the array isn't damaged and it's only a few broken pieces, probably no time at all." Spyro replied. "And if it's completely gone, about six hours."
The girls groaned, praying it wasn't gone and they could contact someone quickly. Spyro got out of his seat and went out of the ship, the girls following close behind to see what was outside, marveling at the forest they were in, Fluttershy finding a few animals and going over to make some friends with them, Rarity going over to make sure her trunk was up damaged while Rainbow Dash flew up to stretch her wings, grateful to stretch them. Spyro used his Force jump to leap up onto the ship and check the antenna, finding it to still be intact, which he was released about.
"We're good." He said. "The Antenna is still intact."
"Well that's a relief." Applejack replied.. "So what's wrong with it?"
"I'm checking on that right now." Spyro replied. "You girls head back into the ship. I'll check the array and see what we need." Twilight, Pinkie, and Applejack started to head back in, followed by Fluttershy as she walked with a few new squirrel friends, which he was happy that she was happy and Rainbow Dash was about to go in, but Spyro whistled, getting her attention. "Rainbow Dash, can I ask you to do something?"
"Sure." She replied, flying up to him. "What do you need?"
"Sorry to keep asking you this, but can you check this world out for me?" Spyro asked. "I want to know everything about this place before we leave so that we can come back later and do some proper exploring once you guys have trained up a bit."
"Hey, I don't mind stretching out my wings." Rainbow Dash replied. "I'll have a look at the place and be right back."
She then took off into the sky, flying in the first direction she could, leaving Spyro to see what he could do to repair the array. Back with Merida, she was riding her horse back home, leaving him in the stable as she got some oats for him to eat on after a day of riding, moving through the kitchen, getting an apple before taking a platter of buns for herself to take to the dining table where her mother was looking over some papers, her father was telling the story about how he fought against the monstrous bear Mor'du, and her triplet brothers Harris, Hubert, and Hamish. Her father kept telling the story about how he fought against the bear, describing it and getting to the good part.
"And so, I drew my sword and then-" Fergus said, about to get to the good part.
"WHOOSH!" Merida said, spooking her brothers. "One swipe, his sword shattered and CHOMP, dad's leg was clean off! Down the monsters throat it went."
"Ah, Merida." Her father said. "That's my favorite part!"
"And Since then, Mor'du has never been seen since." Merida continued. "And is roam the wilds, waiting for his chance of revenge. RAAHHHHH!"
"Ah, let his return." Her father said. "I'll finish what I started in the first place."
Merida smiled, having fun with her father and then tossed her bow on the table, which her mother didn't seem pleased about.
"Merida, a princess does not place her weapons on the table." Her mother said, looking up from her papers.
"Muuuuuum!" Merida said in annoyance. "It's just mah bow."
"And a princess should not have weapons in my opinion." Her mother said.
"Ah, leave her be." Her father said. "Princess or not, learning to fight is essential."
Merida picked up her bow and hung it on the edge of her seat, making sure it wasn't on the table before sitting down.
"Mum, dad, you'll never guess what I did today." Merida said, her father listening. "I climbed the croon's tooth and drank from the fire falls."
Her brothers looked up in amazement while her father chuckled.
"Fire falls?" He asked. "Some say only the ancient kings were brave enough to drink the fire."
"What did you do dear?" Her mother asked, disappointing her daughter.
"Nothing." She replied, disappointed her mother didn't listen. "Oh, and I found this while I was there."
She then pulled out the purple Gummi block, holding it in the air for everyone at the table to see, which her mother looked up, fascinated by it while her father got closer to look at it.
"What is it?" He asked.
"I'm not sure." Merida replied. "Never seen anything like it before. It feels kinda squishy, but trying to pull it apart is difficult."
"Ah, let me see that." Her father said, taking the block away.
He first started to squeeze it, finding that it did feel squishy to him, so he then grabbed it with both hands and smiled, wondering what was so difficult about pulling it apart, but as soon as he tried to pull on it, it didn't budge, not even stretching, so he tried pulling again, but it refused to give, baffling him. He then set it on the table and went out of the room to get a weapon, coming back a little bit later with an axe, bringing it up above his head and then swinging it down towards the Gummi block, expecting it to be cut in half, but the opposite happened as instead it broke the axe head, cracking it and shattering the blade, confusing everyone.
"Merida, you sure this isn't just a rock?" Her father asked. "If it isn't, then I don't know what it is."
"Well whatever it is, I think our scholars will be having a time trying to figure out what it is." Merida's mother said, turning her attention to the plate of food she has. "My, aren't we hungry."
"Mum" Merida said.
"Merida, you'll get a serious stomach ache." She replied. "Oh Fergus, will you look at your daughter's plate."
"So what?" He asked, not finding anything wrong with it as their dogs rushed in to get some food.
"Fergus, don't let them lick-" She started to say, rolling her eyes before looking to her triplet sons playing with their food. "Boys, don't just play with your haggis." Her children were playing with their food, one even gagging as he looked at it like he didn't like it. "Now how can you not like it if you don't try it?"
A moment later, a maid came in with a tray that had three letters, bringing them to the queen and distracting herself with reading what was written on them. As she was reading, Merida got her brothers attention, pointing at the tray of buns she had in front of her and sliding it down under the table, her brothers smiling as they found something better to eat, moving under the table and crawling to the tray of buns, devouring them without end while her father was busy trying to get the dogs off of him and away from his food.
"Ah, it's the responses from lords Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dingwall." Merida's mother said. "It's their responses. Fergus, they accepted."
The table got quiet, Fergus not fighting with the dogs, Fergus in stunned silence while Merida's was confused about what she was talking about, looking between her father then to her mother.
"Who's accepted what mother?" Merida asked.
Her mother looked at Fergus and then to her boys, the three of them looking bigger, but that was because they had some buns and sweet rolls tucked under their shirts, hiding them so they didn't get into trouble.
"Boys, you're excused." The queen said, dismissing the boys so they could talk to Merida, turning her attention to their daughter.
"Um, what did I do now?" Merida asked.
"You didn't do anything dear." Her mother replied, looking to her husband. "Your father would like to discuss something with you, isn't that right dear?" Her husband spat out his drink and cleared his throat, trying to find the right words, but not finding the heart to tell his daughter, so his wife took it upon herself to tell her. "The neighboring lords, your father's closest friends and allies, are presenting their sons to you tomorrow as suitors for your betrothal."
"WHAT!?" Merida shouted, looking to her father. "Dad, is this true!?"
"What?" He asked in confusion. "I... she... Elinor..."
"Honestly Merida, I don't know why you're acting this way." Elinor said, her daughter smacking her head on the table. "You see, this year, each of the clans will present their son's as suitors to you and have them compete in a series of games for your hand in marriage."
"And I suppose a princess is to do what she's told!?" Merida asked in anger.
"A princess does not raise her voice like that." Elinor replied. "Merida, this is what you've been preparing for your whole life."
"No, it's what you've been preparing me for my whole life." She retorted, getting out of her seats and running out of the room. "I won't go through with it! I will not do it! You can't make me!"
"Merida!" Her mother shouted, wanting to get her to stop and talk some sense into her, but her daughter kept running.
Merida ran outside and tended to her horse, venting her frustrations to her only friend after her mother caught up with her and tried to explain to her what had happened with a lord had the free will and following his own selfish desire to conquer the land for himself and what that kind of thinking would do to destabilize the kingdom. But Merida wasn't interested as she didn't wish to marry anyone and remain free and independent, not wanting to be chained down.
"I want her to understand, I'm not interested in marriage." Merida said to Angus. "I just want to sit down and talk to her, tell her how I truly feel. But she doesn't listen. She never does."
She leaned against one of the wooden posts, sliding down as her head was pointing straight up, looking to the sky as she was thinking about what she could do to get out of this. A moment later, she saw a rainbow zip by, leaving her confused and rubbed her eyes, looking up agin to see if she'd see that same rainbow, but didn't see it, thinking she was seeing things, but it then zipped by again, this time she got up and kept looking to the sky as the rainbow kept zipping around in different locations, going one way then going another, following where it was going until it zipped away, not showing itself again. She ran to the steps up to the wall to see where it went, looking out to where she last saw where it was going to find it was heading to the nearby forests, wondering what it was, so she ran down the steps and got onto her horse Angus, the horse running out of the castle and towards the location of where she last saw that rainbow go, determined to figure out what it was.