Hidden Powers of the Sea Devilby Akasuna no SasoriChaptersChapter 1: Fruits of EvilChapter 2: The Adventure BeginsChapter 3: Arrival at Tall LanternChapter 1: Fruits of EvilIt was a dark night in Ponyville. All the shops had been closed hours ago, and the ponies were all in deep sleep. The night air was cool and damp; and the sound of fireflies buzzing here and there could be heard. But the peaceful night was interrupted as a large object rose out of the river behind Ponyville! It was a wooden ship, or at least, what was left of one. Some of the wood was missing, and the central mast was cracked. Holes were in the sails, and the crows nest was missing entirely. What was even more amazing, were the crew that were on board! Each man was starved half to death. Bones were exposed underneath their skin. However, a healthier looking man walked out of the cabin and onto the deck. He had a white beard that stretched down to his collarbone, and a black tricorn hat with a feather sticking out of it. His overcoat was black and soiled, and his shirt underneath wasn’t in much better condition, either. He walked to the prow of the ship, and looked up to towards Canterlot in the distance. “You win, harlot! I can no longer keep this up, this foolish game! My crew is starving, my ship is breaking, and I just don’t have the heart for it anymore!” The bearded man folded his arms, looked down at his boots, and chuckled before looking back up towards the mountain city. “But even though you finally beat me, my legacy will live forever! Men, open the hatch!” The men on the ship opened a set of double doors positioned on the deck. A bright light shone from inside, then suddenly, several small objects flew out! They ascended high into the sky, and seemed to disappear in the dark night sky. The bearded man laughed. “Well Princess, I’m still not even sure if you can hear me. But I don’t care! You will know who did this!” The man laughed again, and walked back into the cabin. As the cabin door closed, the ship descended into the river, and everything was still again. The next morning, the ponies awoke to go about their daily business. The shops were opened, the stalls were uncovered, and friendly greetings were exchanged in the street. But out of everything going on in the street, the most popular event was the display of something a merchant found last night at his stall.The merchant there was talking about the fruit, and held something covered in his hoof. “Everypony behold! I was taking a walk last night close to Everfree Forest and by chance, I discovered this in my path!” The pony removed the covering over the object. It was a strange fruit shaped like a red papaya with S-shaped swirls all over the skin. “This is a rare Kambuja fruit! It’s value is limitless because this is the only one in existence!” “Ooh!” Said the crowd. “This fruit is special because it has the power to grant eternal youth! While you may be 80 years old, you will still look as you do now!” Another “ooh” came from the crowd, followed by the ponies waving their money in the air at him. The greedy merchant looked at the bags of coins, until he saw the biggest one out of all of them. “You there! With the colorful mane! What’s your name?” Rainbow Dash pushed her way through the crowd until she was standing in front of the merchant. “I’m Rainbow Dash!” “Well Rainbow Dash, do you have the 400 bits for this fruit?” Rainbow looked down at the money in her bag and counted out 400 bits. “Here you go! Now give me that fruit!” “Of course, my most enthusiastic customer!” Rainbow snatched the fruit and ran away; all the while the greedy merchant counted his money. Rainbow kept running until she couldn't’ see Ponyville anymore. She looked over her shoulder just to make sure no one had followed her then jumped into a bush. “Oh, this is so cool! Eternal youth! Well, here goes.” Rainbow bit into the fruit, but dropped it immediately. “Yuck! That tasted awful!” Rainbow looked at the rest of the fruit curiously. “I probably should’ve asked if I had to eat the whole fruit. What if I don’t get eternal youth from just one bite?” She bit her lip, then picked up the fruit, and grudgingly ate the rest of it. “So cool! Eternal youth! Woohoo!” Rainbow flew into the sky and started doing loop-de-loops. “Wait, I should probably go tell the others! They’ll be so jealous!” She flew back to Ponyville, and went to the Golden Oaks Library. As was tradition with her, she flew through the small window by the stairs leading up to Twilight’s bedroom. Twilight didn’t even look up from her work when the glass shattered, nor when Rainbow Dash crashed into a bookcase sending all the book flying off the shelves. “Hello, Rainbow Dash.” “Heh, sorry about that Twilight!” Said Rainbow Dash as she poked her head through the pile of books covering her. Twilight was used to it, so she didn’t bother scolding her for it. “So, Twilight, I thought I’d let you know, I have eternal youth!” Twilight was still deep in thought, and didn’t respond. “I said,” Rainbow flew right under nose, “I have eternal youth!” “Rainbow Dash! I heard you the first time! But eternal youth isn’t real, even the Princesses will grow old and die one day. What makes you think you won’t?” “I bought this crazy fruit from a merchant in Ponyville. He said it makes you stay young forever!” “Merchants will usually lie to take your money, Rainbow. But I’ll humor you: what did the fruit look like?” “It was shaped like a cone, it was red, and it had these weird black swirls all over it!” “I’ve never heard of a fruit like that before, but I’m sure I have something here that will identify it.” Rainbow Dash sighed and flew over to a chair in the corner. When Twilight started searching through her books for something, it was going to take a LONG time. It took her 3 1/2 hours to come back to Rainbow Dash. “So? What was that weird fruit I ate? I bet it did give me eternal youth, didn’t it?” Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry Rainbow. I couldn’t find anything about it. You’re going to have to talk to Celestia about this.” “Alright, well, thanks for trying anyway, Twilight.” Rainbow flew out of the broken window, and raced towards Canterlot. It didn’t take the speedy pegasus long before she landed in front of Canterlot castle. She raced up the steps, and burst into the throne room, panting. “Rainbow Dash! Whatever is the meaning of this?” Asked Luna. “I....have....to....tell....” “Catch your breath first, then speak.” Said Celestia. Rainbow paced the room for a few moments, before speaking. “Princesses, I ate a red, cone-shaped fruit with black swirl marks on the skin. Do you know what it is? I asked Twilight and she told me to come to you.” Luna shrugged, but Celestia’s eyes grew big. “What did you say was on the fruit’s skin?” “Black swirl marks, your highness.” Celestia jumped off of her throne, and ran straight past Rainbow into the hallway. “Follow me!” She called out. Rainbow instinctively followed the Princess as she took her through the castle’s many hallways and stairways. Finally, they reached a dark room in the back of the castle. Celestia opened the door, and used her horn as a torch to light the room. “Rainbow Dash, come look at this drawing on the end of the room.” Rainbow followed her to the other side of the room where, behind a table filled with alchemical equipment, was a drawing of various round objects. “This is the room where I have done all my research on the Sea Devil and his fruits.” “The Sea Devil?” “Yes, let me explain. The Sea Devil is the King of the Seas, so to speak. However, he is cruel, and sinks any ship in his way. “A long time ago, he came to Equestria, and I had to fight him. He left eventually, but I followed him to the alternate universe where he lives - The Milky Way. “It is here I discovered what this man really was. He was an explorer who travelled across the entire ocean on his planet. He had gone to strange lands, and gathered strange commodities, including fruit. “This fruit terrified the crewman, and they requested the captain get rid of it. Of course, this man was known as the Sea Devil, so, just like the actual Devil we hear about in fairy tales, he cruelly ignored his crewman’s concerns. As it would turn out, though, he should’ve listened. “Eventually, the man’s ship, The Flying Dutchman, arrived back in his native port in a small island off of the coast of England. There, he buried his loot, and gave three of each of the fruits he had to his crewman. He told them that they were going to a French port in the Caribbean where the men would do one of three things: give away the fruit, sell the fruit, or eat the fruit. “Many of the men sold their fruits, but some of the more superstitious ones gave them away; to appease the gods, or something like that. “However, two men decided to eat the fruits. They had lost all of their money on gambling while in port, and were hungry yet unable to purchase any food. After consuming the fruits, the men decided to go for a swim. “The men found out that the fruits their captain had found took away your ability to swim forever. The men drowned, and when the captain found him, he gathered up the remaining fruits and stowed them under the ship. He told the men to NEVER eat them unless they wanted to wind up like the other two. “But since some of the fruit had been sold already, some people not of the crew ate the fruits.The captain had found over 100 fruits in the strange land he went to. Not, only 15 remained on board. “It didn’t take long for rumors to circulate about who it was who found the fruits and brought them to the West. People knew who it was, a man so cruel that his true name was rarely spoken - Davy Jones. This captain was the Sea Devil, and because he brought the fruits over to the modern world, they were appropriately named Devil Fruits.” Celestia turned back to the chart. “Now that you know the story, we need to figure out which fruit it was that you ate.” She scanned the chart carefully, the pointed at one of the pictures. “Here, this is the one you ate.” Rainbow looked to where Celestia was pointing, and sure enough, that was the fruit she ate. “The....Sickle-Sickle Fruit?” “That’s correct. Oh! Silly me! I forgot to mention something! Each one of the Devil Fruits gives you one of the powers of the Sea Devil. The fruit is named after the power, hence, the Sickle Sickle Fruit!” “Sweet! So, what is my power?” “You can create gusts of wind in the form of sharp scythes; allowing you to cut down wood, stone, even metal with wind!” “Awww, yeah! I’m gonna go try this out right now!” Rainbow started flying out the door, but Celestia stopped her. “Wait! Remember this: with your new Devil Fruit powers, you can no longer swim, and if you come into contact with water at all, you will be weakened. So much so, that you will become limp and helpless; unable to move until some pony comes to your rescue. That said, be careful, Rainbow Dash.” “Got it, Princess!” Rainbow flew out the door, and Celestia closed the door behind her. “This is bad. If Rainbow Dash ate a Devil Fruit, that means that there must be others around, as well. He must have come back! The Sea Devil has returned to Equestria!” Rainbow Dash decided to fly far away from Canterlot and into the woods to see what she could do with her new powers. She landed in an open space inside the forest. She faced a tree and stood up on her hind legs. “Celestia said my Devil Fruit power is to be able to create gusts of winds that cut stuff. So, since I flapped my wings flying here and nothing happened, I’ll try waving my legs instead!” Rainbow Dash was spot on. After she waved her front legs in a slashing motion, two gusts of winds in the form of rounded blades appeared! They raced towards the tree and cut it apart instantly! “Ah, yeah! This is sick! So maybe the fruit didn’t give me eternal youth, but this is way cool!” She cut down 6 more trees as practice before deciding to head back to Ponyville. Now that she knew what the fruit actually did to her, her friends HAD to know. When she arrived back in Ponyville, there was a commotion in the marketplace again. Rainbow flew over to see what was happening, and her mouth dropped open. The same merchant from earlier had found 3 more Devil Fruits and he was selling them all! “Come one, come all! Behold, the legendary fruits of eternal youth!” The merchant had no idea what he was selling! “Oh, no! I have to let the Princess know! If more ponies accidentally eat these fruits, things could get bad quick!” Rainbow Dash raced back to Canterlot. She flew through the castle doors, into the throne room, where Luna sat. “Princess Luna! Where’s your sister? I must see her!” “She’s upstairs in her research room. The one about the Satan Vegetables...” Rainbow ignored the Princess’ obvious sarcasm, and flew upstairs to the room she was in earlier that day. She burst in the room, panting. “Your....highness....we....have....a....problem....” “I am aware, Rainbow Dash.” Said Celestia. She was staring at the chart on the wall. “What? How could you know already? That merchant who sold me my fruit is selling 3 more!” Celestia turned to face Rainbow Dash. “No, not that. That is news to me, but it’s nothing compared to what’s happened. You see, 7 more Devil Fruits have been eaten. The worst part is, three of them were eaten by Diamond Tiara and her friend, Silver Spoon.” “So? They’re just kids, they can’t hurt anypony, can they?” “No, you don’t understand. Silver Spoon ate one, then went swimming an hour later. Her body washed up on shore half an hour ago.” “Oh, no! What happened to Diamond Tiara?” Celestia’s expression became grim, and she walked towards a chair in the corner and sat down. Rainbow seated herself in the one across from her. “When you eat a Devil Fruit, one of the ‘demon servants’ of the Sea Devil enters your body. It is this demon that grants you the powers of the fruit. However, no two demons are ‘close’, shall we say. In some societies, gods are viewed as having friends and foes among each other. The Sea Devil’s servants all hate each other. So, if you consume two fruits, the demons will fight each other inside your body. In the end, they will tear you apart; killing you just to get at each other.” “Diamond Tiara....she’s dead, too?” Celestia nodded. “Yes, she is. The Devil Fruits may seem like a great thing, but they kill ponies and Davy Jones’ race, too. They are a deadly virus that must be contained. Unfortunately, I have no idea how many of the fruits are here. It’s possible Davy Jones just unloaded some of the fruits here as revenge on me for what I did to him years ago.” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but Celestia cut her off. “I know what you’re about to ask, and I’m afraid I won’t answer it. That’s my past, and no pony’s business but my own. What you need to concern yourself with is helping Equestria. Assemble the other Elements and track down all of the Devil Fruits. I’ll give you a list of them with a picture so you can’t miss them.” Celestia got up and walked to her desk where she pulled a scroll out. She handed it to Rainbow Dash before sitting down again. “You must get ALL of the fruits if we are to stop any more deaths. You have already eaten the Sickle Sickle Fruit, so you can cross that off your list. But there are over 100 Devil Fruits, and who knows how many are here. Search everywhere until you’ve found every last one.” Celestia stood up and walked back to her desk. “This is another mission only you and your friends can accomplish, Rainbow Dash. Just like the last tasks I’ve given you, this one will affect the survival of Equestria. I beg you, don’t fail me.” Rainbow Dash stood up and smirked. “You can’ count on us, your highness! We won’t let you down!” “I have faith in you. Good luck.” Rainbow flew out the door again for the second time that day, leaving the Princess alone with her thoughts. “You’ll need luck for this one. An immeasurable amount of luck.” Chapter 2: The Adventure BeginsRainbow Dash flew back to Ponyville as quickly as she could. After all, the faster she got to Ponyville, the faster she could get all her friends and save more innocent ponies from dying. She decided to pick up Applejack, first. So the speedy pegasus raced across the lush fields of green outside Ponyville towards the apple orchards of her friend’s farm. Rainbow landed on the dirt path outside Sweet Apple Acres, and ran up the farmhouse’s front door; where she proceeded to pound on it with her all might. “APPLEJACK! GET OUT HERE, NOW!” She stopped hitting the door a few moments before Applejack opened it. “For crying out loud, Rainbow! You don’t have to break down my door or scream at the top of your lungs to get my attention!” “Sorry, Applejack! But this is urgent! Princess Celestia asked me to get all of the Elements of Harmony together; we have a mission!” Applejack didn’t even respond. She closed the door, then opened it again a few minutes later. She had gotten her saddlebags and lucky stetson hat. “Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Since Applejack was an earth pony and couldn't’ fly, the duo had to run back to Ponyville to fetch the others. When they arrived, they split up. Applejack ran to Sugarcube Corner to get Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow dashed to the Golden Oaks Library to get Twilight. “Hey! Egghead! Open your door!” Said Rainbow, as she pounded on the already-feeble wooden door. “C’mon, Rainbow! Why do you always do this to everypony's door?” Said Spike as he opened the door for Rainbow Dash. “Where’s Twilight? We have to go on a mission for Princess Celestia!” Spike’s ears perked up. “A mission for the Princess? I’m coming, too!” “Sure! The more the merrier!” Spike ran upstairs to wake up Twilight. She had been doing some research into the Devil Fruits, and slept in. “Twilight! Get up! Rainbow Dash is here!” The pile of blankets began to rapidly stir, until Twilight’s head poked out of them. “Huh? What’s going on, Spike?” “Hurry up, Twilight! Get your saddlebags, and whatever else you may need! We’re going on a mission that came from the Princess herself!” “What?! Why didn’t you wake me sooner?!” Said Twilight as she jumped out of bed and began to gather her belongings. “Well, maybe because Rainbow Dash just got here a few moments ago? Honestly, Twilight, you need to stop working so hard; these crashes are-” “No time to criticize me now, Spike! It’s time to go!” Twilight grabbed the baby in her teeth and threw him on her back. She ran downstairs, then out the door with Rainbow Dash. “Alright, so where’s everypony else?” “Applejack went to get Pinkie Pie. So we’ll wait here for them, then go get Rarity, and Fluttershy on our way out of Ponyville.” It wasn’t long before Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all came running towards them. “Oh, you got Rarity already, too!” Said Twilight. “Yeah, she was at Sugarcube Corner already; she just had to get her stuff.” Said Applejack. “Great! Not we just have to get Fluttershy!” Said Rainbow Dash. The group hurried to the outskirts of Ponyville; where the secluded Fluttershy made her home. They arrived outside her house in no time, and Rainbow Dash knocked on her door. “Hey, Fluttershy! Get your saddlebags, and get out here!” The timid yellow mare poked her head out the door a few minutes after Rainbow stopped knocking. “Um, hey, guys. What’s going on?” “Princess Celestia has given us an important mission, and she asked me to get all you guys together to do it!” “Oh, that IS important!” Fluttershy emerged from her house, and the group, now fully assembled, walked to the road outside her house. “OK, so this is what Princess Celestia told me. Basically, there are these things called Devil Fruits which appeared in Equestria not too long ago. If you eat one, you gain a power of the Sea Devil. But if you do, you lose the ability to swim, forever.” “Oh, that’s what that was! I remember the town crier was announcing little Silver Spoon drowned, the poor dear.” Said Rarity. “Did he mention Diamond Tiara?” “Yes, but he wasn’t specific about how she died.” “Well, she ate two Devil Fruits. When you eat a Devil Fruit, one of the Sea Demons, servants of the Sea Devil, enters your body. The demon grants you it’s power in exchange for living in your body. However, no two Sea Demons get along, so if you eat a second one, the two demons will fight inside your body; tearing you apart to get at each other’s throats.” “Now I see; so that’s how Diamond Tiara died.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, so the Princess wants us to find all of the Devil Fruits in Equestria so she can get rid of them. This way, nopony else has to die.” “Wait, Rainbow, how are we supposed to find them if we don't’ know what they look like?” Asked Twilight. “The Princess thought of that, and gave me this.” Rainbow pulled the chart out of her saddlebag and spread it across the ground. “These are all the Devil Fruits in existence. Each with an image, name, and description of their powers.” “Hey, Rainbow, why does this one have an ‘X’ over it?” Said Applejack, pointing at the Sickle-Sickle Fruit. “Uh, well, I kind of ate that one.....” “What?! Ya’ll ate one of these Devil Fruits?! What were you thinking?!” “Calm down! The merchant who sold it to me said it gave you eternal youth! I didn’t know what it really was until Princess Celestia told me!” “Fine, but we gotta swear, as a group, that we won’t eat Devil Fruits, too.” Said Applejack, putting her hoof over the chart. “I swear.” Said the other 4, putting their hooves together with Applejack’s. “That was fun! We should go looking for these Devil Fruit thingies now!” Said Pinkie Pie. “Yeah, we should. Question is, where do we start? We don’t have a good starting point, and it’s possible other ponies have eaten these fruits, and that would make us have to find THEM instead of the fruit!” Said Twilight. Everypony’s eyes grew big, and they looked at Rainbow Dash. “Well, sugarcube? What are we supposed to do if that happens? We don’t have the authority to arrest anypony!” “Princess Celestia didn’t tell me what to do if somepony ate one. I don’t know what to do....” The ponies sat down to think of an idea, but Spike came up with the most obvious one. “Twilight, write a message to Princess Celestia and I’ll send it to her. She’ll tell us what she wants us to do.” “Of course! I can’t believe we didn’t think of it sooner!” Twilight whipped a quill and parchment from her saddlebags, and began to write the message. Dear Princess Celestia, Rainbow Dash has told the rest of us about the situation regarding the Devil Fruits. We understand we are to bring all of them back to you for whatever purpose you have in mind for them. However, we had one question: what if we find somepony who ate one? Do you want us to drag him or her back with us? Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle She rolled up the letter and gave it to Spike. Who, in turn, sent it to Celestia using his green fire breath. “Now, all we have to do is wait.” Wait they did: for a few seconds! A response was returned just 5 seconds after Spike sent the message! “That was fast.” Said Fluttershy. “She must have been expecting us to ask questions, so she wrote several messages answering our questions!” Said Twilight as she unrolled the letter. Dear Twilight, I knew this may be a problem, and since it’s possible that EVERY Devil Fruit has been consumed by somepony, I had a plan for this. When someone or somepony eats a Devil Fruit, the the powers are yours until the day you die. At which point, the fruit is reincarnated in the world, somewhere. Since it would be impossible for you girls to take many prisoners with you, you have no other choice: you have to slay any pony who possesses a Devil Fruit ability, then find the fruit in the world. This includes children, I’m afraid. The authorities are aware of the situation, and anypony with a Devil Fruit ability you are not authorized to kill without intervention from any settlement’s police force. I have already sent warnings to all other settlements in Equestria; warning ponies not to eat the fruits. There will also be a Royal Guard squad stationed in each town, with a large box. Every time you stop by in one of the settlements, drop your fruits into the box, to lighten your load. I know this is hard for you to do, but I have confidence in my star pupil and her friends. Good luck, Twilight. Princess Celestia Twilight laid the letter down, stood up, and walked a short distance away from her friends. “Well? What’d she say, Twilight?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “She....she wants us.... to....” “To what? What does she want us to do?” Twilight turned to face her friends again; tears in her eyes. “She wants us to kill anypony who has a Devil Fruit ability, because that will make the fruit reappear in the world somewhere!” Her friends all gasped. “What?....She....she.... wants us....to kill....children?” Asked Rarity. “I’m afraid, so. When a pony who has Devil Fruit powers dies, the fruit reincarnates itself somewhere in the world. She said she needs the fruits, not the ponies who ate them.” “This is grim, to say the least. But we have to understand that Princess Celestia wouldn’t ask us to commit murder if it wasn’t important to Equestria as a whole!” Said Applejack. “I know, it makes sense, but to kill kids....” Said Rainbow Dash. “The longer we wait, the bigger chance somepony eats a Devil Fruit and we have to kill them. So let’s figure out where we want to start walking from, then just go.” Her friends nodded, and Twilight rolled out a map from her saddlebag. “We need to make sure we cover EVERY LAST INCH of Equestria to find these fruits. They could be literally anywhere, that’s why I think we should start from the NW entrance to Ponyville, then follow the path to Tall Tale and Vanhoover; searching everywhere along the way.” Said Twilight. “I agree. If we go that way, then we can loop north, and go through the Frozen North and the Crystal Kingdom, as well. Then go back South towards Neighagra Falls and Manehattan.” Said Rarity. “Well, then it’s settled. Let’s get going, gang.” Said Applejack. Twilight rolled the map up and put it back in her saddlebag The group went back into town, then out the NW entrance as planned. “This is it, guys! The start of our adventure!” Said Spike. “It sure is, Spike.” Said Applejack. “Hey, I got an idea! Let’s sing to pass the time!” Said Pinkie. The girls and Spike agreed, and they started to sing one of Pinkie’s favorite songs, “The Night of Dancing Hooves.” “....and then he took hold of her hoof, and they danced the night away!” The ponies and Spike sang. Twilight had decided not to sing, and paid attention to where they were walking instead. If she had chose to sing, she wouldn't’ have seen the strange object. “Girls! Stop!” Everyone stopped singing and looked at Twilight. “What’s wrong? Is there mud?” Said Rarity. “No, look at this.” Twilight bent down and showed them a very light engraving in the dirt: a small round object with swirl patterns! “A Devil Fruit!” Said Rainbow Dash. Twilight nodded. “Somepony must’ve picked it up. This isn’t good; we'll have to keep an eye open for a pony with Devil Fruit powers just in case they ate it.” The group continued on it’s way; only this time, they weren’t singing. They passed a sign that pointed along the path. It said: ‘Unicorn Range’ “Hey! My father used to take me here when I was younger!” Said Rarity. “Mine too!” Said Twilight. The others looked confused. “Um, what is the Unicorn Range?” Asked Fluttershy. “It’s a place full of unicorns! There’s settlements, only with unicorns! Even the grass and hay you eat here has been magically enchanted by the unicorns! It’s fantastic, darling!” Said Rarity. “Sounds....great...” Said Rainbow Dash. “It’s better than great, I can assure you!” Said Rarity. “I think it’s possible the Devil Fruit that was taken from the ground could’ve been eaten by a unicorn; that might also still be here.” Said Twilight. “Well, while we’re here, can we visit some old friends of my family? They live in a small village just up the path from here.” Asked Rarity. “I guess so. While you’re visiting your friends, the rest of us can search for the Devil Fruit; or it’s user.” Said Twilight. “Sounds good to me.” Said Rainbow Dash. The group started walking towards the small village, which Rarity informed them was called ‘Shining Hope’; named for the torches used in the city. “You see girls, this small village was once involved in a brutal war with one of the other villages. With war, comes battles, and with battles, comes death. So there finally came a battle one day that resulted in the deaths of 90 unicorns on both sides. Both cities had been ravaged in the fighting, and when night came, the villages had no lighting at all. The candles had been melted down and the wax used to make molds for weapons. “So a brave young foal ventured into the night and gathered the horns from the dead unicorns. Using his own magic, he found a way to turn them into ‘candles’ that permanently generate light!” “Wow, that sounds....gross.” Said Fluttershy. “Yeah, why would a foal think of something like that? That’s sick!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Oh, calm down, you two! It’s just as story, I doubt it’s true.” Said Twilight. Rarity snickered, and the others looked at her strangely. “Hey, AJ, I think she might be telling the truth.” Whispered Rainbow Dash. “Pay her no mind. No foal in their right mind would do something so nasty.” Rainbow nodded and leaned away. They walked in silence for another hour, until night descended on the ponies. “Hurry, girls!” Said Twilight. The group ran down the path as quick as they could. Even so, it took half an hour before the ponies reached the outskirts of what they thought was the town. They could see two lights on either side of the path ahead, and they dashed for it. Pinkie was running so fast, she tripped on her own hooves and started to roll. When she stopped, she was looking straight at a glowing unicorn horn in a glass box. “EEEEK!” She screamed, backing away. “What is it, Pinkie?” Asked Twilight. “It’s a horn! Not on a pony’s head!” They all looked at the horn, and dropped their mouths; all except Rarity. “Told you it was true.” She said, swaggering into town. The others shook their heads in disbelief and followed her into town. “The inn is right over here, if I remember correctly.” “You’ve been here before?” Asked Fluttershy. “Oh, yes. My father took me here every summer and every other winter.” Rarity looked up at a sign hanging on a building she stopped in front of. It had two hooves holding glasses of strong cider, clinking them together. “This is it.” She said, and walked inside. Her friends followed her, and Applejack closed the door behind them. “Woah.” They all said when they saw the interior. The whole room was like that of an old tavern. Wooden walls built from whole logs, and small paintings were scattered here and there. There were tables built from a single tree stump, and the chairs were made similarly: half of a stump. There was a bar with a keeper at the end of the room, and Rarity was walking towards him. “Hello, Horace! It’s been far too long!” The keeper looked up from the glass he was cleaning. “Rarity? Is that you?” “It is!” Rarity walked around the bar, and hugged the barkeep. “Wow! I haven’t seen you around these parts for.....” “7 years, Horace.” She said, breaking the hug. “Right! Speaking of which, how’s your dad? That was the last time I saw him, too.” “He’s fine. He’s living in Manehattan with my mother, now.” “Well, it’s a shame he couldn’t tag along, but seeing you again is good, too!” “Likewise! But, Horace, my friends and I need a room. We’ve been walking and running to get here all day, and we’re exhausted!” “Of course! You’re all welcome to stay here as long as you like! Free of charge, too!” “Really? Thank you so much, Horace!” Rarity hugged the barkeeper again. “Alright, now! One hug wasn’t enough for you?” Rarity broke the hug, and Horace gave her a set of keys. “Right, so this one opens the first door, upstairs on your left. This one opens the room directly across from that one. Both rooms have only one double bed, I’m afraid. So two of you are going to have to sleep on the floor, or in the bathtub.” “Why can’t you just give us a third room?” “I would if I could, but I only have three rooms, and the third is occupied right now.” “Well, thank you, anyway!” Said Rarity as she took the keys from him. She walked towards the stairs, and her friends followed her up. “Well, girls, we’re going to have to split up. Who’s going to bunk with who?” “I’ll bunk with you, Rarity.” Said Applejack. “Me, too.” Said Rainbow Dash. “Me three!” Said Spike. “Very well; that’s settled then. Here’s your key, Twilight. Sleep well.” Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked into their room and gazed at the bed. “One of us is going to sleeping in the tub, and that’s not me.” Said Rarity. “Why not? That’s not fair to count yourself out of sleeping the tub!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Ah, but you see, I got the rooms for us, for FREE. I will be sleeping in the bed.” Rarity didn’t even wait for their response. She changed into her nightgown, and jumped in the bed. “Good night, girls!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash just looked at each other. “Well, I reckon I’ll take the tub. I’m tired, and I don’t feel like arguing over this.” Applejack grabbed a throw pillow on an armchair in the corner, and walked into the bathroom; closing the door behind her. Spike shrugged, and curled up at the end of the bed beside Rarity. “Good night, Dash!” Said Applejack from inside the bathroom. Rainbow Dash was stunned that Applejack didn’t take the bed, but shrugged it off as nothing. She crawled into bed beside Rarity. “Good night, AJ.” In the other room, however, the situation hadn’t been resolved yet. “I can’t sleep in the tub! My horn will break rubbing against the cold, hard porcelain!” “Well I can’t sleep in the tub, my hair will get frizzy!” “Pinkie, your hair already IS frizzy!” “No, it’s not! It’s natural!” “No, it’s frizzy!” Fluttershy watched the back and forth argument in torment. Finally, she couldn't’ take anymore. “GIRLS! Enough! I’ll take the bathtub!” Fluttershy grabbed the throw pillow that was in their room’s armchair, and stormed off to the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her; not even telling the others ‘good night’. Pinkie and Twilight looked at each other in utter disbelief. “I’ve only seen Fluttershy act like that when she was dealing with the dragon.” Said Twilight. “I know. Well, I’m just gonna go to bed not...” “Right behind you.” The two mares crawled into the bed and, eventually, fell asleep. Twilight awoke the next morning to the sound of clinking glasses, shouts, and laughter downstairs. “Oh, that’s right, we decided to get a room in TAVERN.” Twilight groaned, then rolled out of bed. She groggily walked to the bathroom and started knocking. “Fluttershy? I need to use the bathroom.” No response. Twilight started knocking again. “Fluttershy, get up!” Finally, Twilight opened the door, and saw the empty tub. She looked over to the bed, and saw Pinkie had gotten up already as well. Twilight used the facilities, washed her hooves, and walked downstairs. Everyone was already up and helping themselves to a delicious-looking breakfast. “Good morning, egghead!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Yeah, good morning, Twilight!” Said Spike, as he downed a whole glass of apple juice. “Good morning, girls, Spike. Was that you guys making all that noise earlier?” “Yeah! That Horace knows some great jokes!” Twilight took a seat at the table where an empty plate and silverware was already waiting for her. “So, did he cook all of this?” “Sure did! Didn’t even charge us for it, and said that he would open the tavern an hour later to give us time to eat!” Said Applejack. Twilight put some food on her plate and started to eat. She wanted to discuss the Devil Fruit, but she was so hungry. “Where are we going to search first?” Asked Fluttershy. “Well, I’m going to stay here and catch up with Horace. But you girls will need some directions.” Said Rarity, getting up from the table. She walked over to the wall where a map was nailed to it. “Horace? Is it fine with you if I take this map down for a better look?” “Sure! Just put it back on the wall when you’re done!” “Thank you, Horace darling!” Rarity pulled the nail out, and took the map to a table next to theirs. Everyone except Twilight stood up and walked over. “This village is quite small,and you shouldn’t get lost, but you need to know what everything is.” Rarity pointed at a series of buildings on the map. “These are the homes, the businesses are down this lane to the left of that, and the third road is the one we’re on. This is where the historic things are, such as this tavern.” Everyone nodded, and Rarity took the map back to the wall, and nailed it up, again, then she walked into the kitchen. “Just in case you get any leads, I thought that might be useful to you.” Said Rarity, sitting down at the table with Twilight. “Um, do you think it would be a good idea to split up?” Asked Fluttershy. “I’m game!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Alright, then, I’ll be a team captain, and Fluttershy will be the other. Go ahead Fluttershy, pick first.” Said Applejack. “OK, I’ll take Rainbow Dash, I mean, if that’s OK with you.” “Not a problem at all, Fluttershy; I got Twilight.” “I want Pinkie Pie.” “YAY!” Said Pinkie, hugging Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. “I get you then, Spike.” Said Applejack. Spike shook his head. “I’m going to stay here with Rarity.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Suit yourself, lover boy.” Applejack looked at Fluttershy and her group. “Alright, you girls should go on ahead and get started without us. I'll wait here for Twilight to finish eating.” “Shouldn’t we, um, check areas that only we check?” “Oh, yeah! Didn’t think about that! Fluttershy, you gals go check the the businesses. Twilight and I will hit the historic area here.” “OK, where do you want to meet up? If you want to do that....” “Hmm, let’s come back here in 2 hours and go over what we found.” “OK then, we’ll be going now.” Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash walked out the door; closing it behind them. Applejack sat down at the table with Twilight. “I hope this pans out and we find the fruit, Twilight. I...don’t want...to...” “I know Applejack. It’s going to be OK. We’ll find the fruit, not a user.” Twilight wiped her mouth, and stood up. “Coming?” “Of course!” Twilight started walking then stopped. “Horace? Rarity? Do you want us to help you clean the dishes?” Horace poked his head out from the kitchen. “Nah, you girls have something important to do from the Princess. Rarity told me, it’s fine. Besides, Spike here will do just that.” “OK, then! Bye Horace! Tell Rarity we said bye, too!” “See ya, girls!” Twilight and Applejack walked outside; closing the door behind them. “Alright, let’s see.” Said Applejack, scanning the buildings on the lane. She spotted a small building with a rounded, blue roof. The doors were blue with black lines running from the top to the bottom, and the door knob was a hoof. “That place looks like a good a place to start as any! Let’s go!” Twilight followed Applejack inside the building. The inside was just as wacky as the outside. The walls were colored pink, with red zig-zag stripes running along them. Statues of unicorns with plaques on them were scattered all over the room. There was a counter with various figurines and other memorabilia on it at the end of the room. Was this supposed to be a gift shop? “Hey, Twilight, are we in a gift shop?” “Yes, but also a museum, I think.” “Right you are, my young unicorn!” Twilight and Applejack turned to see a unicorn stallion cleaning one of the statues behind the door. “Excuse me, sir?” Said Twilight. “You are in a museum. This is the museum of our village’s proud military history.” He stopped cleaning the statue and approached AJ and Twilight. “So, how can you help you two, today?” “We’ve been sent here by Princess Celestia to look for Devil Fruits. Do you happen to know anything about them?” “Oh! Do you mean that fruit Bright Horn found the other day? The weird one with swirl marks on it?” “Yes! There are a lot of them, but we have to get them all! Where does this ‘Bright Horn’ live?” Asked Twilight. “He lives with his family in two house.” “He lives in two house? Can you be a bit more specific, sir?” “You’re new here, so let me explain how the address system works, here. There are three roads with buildings on them. The first building is called one, then the one across the street is called two, then you go back across and you get three. See? It’s just a simple numbering system.” “OK, thank you, sir!” Said Twilight as they rushed out of the building. “We have to find the others! If this unicorn ate the fruit, we’ll need Rainbow Dash if we want to beat him, or her!” Said Applejack. “I agree! Let’s go find them!” Twilight and Applejack ran down the street and turned the corner onto the business lane. They saw a mare cleaning the front stoop of her business and stopped to ask her where their friends were. “Oh, the newcomers? They’re over at Oliver’s. That’s the building to the right, three buildings down.” “Thank ya kindly, ma’am!” The two towards Oliver’s. They stopped outside to catch their breaths, then walked in. True to the mare’s word, their friends were inside talking to the owner “So let me get this straight, you walk every morning and night, but you didn’t see anypony pick up a strange fruit with swirl patterns on it?” The store owner shook his head. “Sorry, miss. Haven’t seen anypony with a fruit like that.” Rainbow groaned, and turned to walk away. “Oh, Twilight, Applejack! What are you guys doing here?” “We found out who has the fruit! We got their address and name!” Said Twilight. Rainbow Dash’s eyes grew big. “What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go!” The ponies all ran out of the store, and down the road. They turned into the neighborhood, and started scanning for two house. “There it is!” Squealed Pinkie. Twilight led the way up the stairs, and started knocking on the door. After a few knocks, a blue mare opened the door. “Hello! How can I help you?” She said in a cheery voice. “Do you have a child named ‘Bright Horn’?” Asked Twilight. “Yes, do you need to speak to him?” “Yes, urgently.” “Come on in, then.” The ponies followed the blue mare into the house. “Please, sit down. I’ll call him down.” They sat down in the living room while the blue mare, presumably Bright Horn’s mother,called him down from upstairs. “Bright Horn! There are some ponies here to see you!” Within moment, the blue stallion came running down the stairs. “Who is it, ma?” “I don’t know, they’re waiting for you in the den.” Bright Horn walked into the den where Twilight and her friends were waiting. “Hello, Bright Horn. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. We’ve been sent here by Princess Celestia to look for something called ‘Devil Fruits’. We’ve heard you may have one?” “Are you talking about that fruit I found the other day? The one with swirls on it?” “Yes! Do you still have it?” “Umm....sort of....” Twilight gasped. Was he about to say what she thought he was going to say? “What do you mean by ‘sort of’?” “Well, I ate it.” Twilight and her friends all hung their heads. Bright Horn noticed, and interjected. “What’s wrong?” Twilight looked at him with a somber look. “The fruit you ate is a Devil Fruit. The Princess asked us to bring ALL of the fruits to her. When somepony who consumed a fruit dies, the fruit reappears in the world. I’m sorry Bright Horn, but by order of Princess Celestia herself, I condemn you to death.” Bright Horn looked confused, and started to back up. Twilight and her friends stood up and started walking towards him. “Please! What’d I do wrong?!” Twilight gazed at the stallion. He must have been 15 or 16 at the most. He was so young, but she knew what had to be done. “You ate the fruit, and we need it, I’m afraid. I don’t want to kill you, but we have to. Now please, follow us outside so we don’t make a mess of your mother’s home.” The stallion didn’t move, so Applejack and Rainbow Dash grabbed him, covering his mouth, and dragged him outside. Muffled cries for help could be heard as Twilight and her friends took the young stallion to his front lawn. “Rainbow Dash? I think you're best suited to do this. Having a Devil Fruit power of your own, and all.” Rainbow nodded. “I can take him on. Applejack, let him go.” Applejack let go of the stallion, and melded in with the rest of her friends. The stallion gazed helplessly up at Rainbow Dash. “Please...I don’t want to die....” “I’m sorry....” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves, then swung them outward. Two wind scythes appeared and struck the ground. But that’s it! They struck the ground! The stallion was gone! “What the...” Said Rainbow Dash. “You’re not going to kill me!” Said the young stallion. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash was knocked over. “Ow! How did that happen?” Twilight took out the chart again, and looked it over. “Rainbow Dash! He’s eaten the Clear-Clear Fruit! It lets him turn invisible at will!” Rainbow stood up, rubbing her rump. “Invisible, huh? I may not be able to see him, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be hurt!” Rainbow flew up in the air about 5 feet, and started chucking wind scythes everywhere. The lawn was gravely injured because of her efforts, but the stallion remained unharmed. “You can’t see me! How are you supposed to fight me?” The stallion’s mother appeared on the front stoop, her mouth agape. “What’s going on? Where’s Bright Horn?” “Ma’am, we’re on official business from Princess Celestia herself. Just go back inside your house!” The mare looked upset, but she obeyed Twilight and ran back inside her house, closing the door behind her. Rainbow was still creating and throwing wind scythes; all in vain. The stallion was still avoiding her attacks, and now, he was laughing. “Are you kidding me? You still haven’t even grazed me yet! I would never question the Princess, but I think you guys were the wrong ponies to send!” Rainbow Dash grew angry at his remark. “Enough!” Rainbow Dash started creating and throwing wind scythes at double the rate she was doing before! All the grass on the front lawn was eviscerated, and the dirt underneath was coming up in huge chunks the size of a hoof! Rainbow Dash grew tired after a couple minutes, and gently flew back down. She laid her head on the dirt, and passed out. “Rainbow Dash? Are you OK?” Said Fluttershy running to her friend's’ side. The others stood by, at the ready. With Rainbow Dash no longer capable of fighting, they would be the young stallion’s next target. “Look sharp, everypony!” said Twilight, “He’s sure to come after us, now!” They huddled together, but it wasn’t necessary. The stallion appeared to them; covered in cuts. Rainbow Dash’s rage-filled attacks had gotten him! The stallion tried to utter something, but instead, fell over on his side. Fluttershy rushed over to him and put her hoof on his neck. “He’s dead. Rainbow severed his carotid artery.” Normally what would have been a joyous occasion, victory over your opponent in battle, was not warranted. They had killed a young stallion, a boy, really. But they had to, even if they didn’t like want to. “Come on girls. Let’s get back to the tavern and get Rarity and Spike. we need to leave town before somepony calls for the authorities.” Said Twilight. Her friends nodded, and Applejack and Fluttershy picked up Rainbow Dash. They trudged back to the tavern, and somberly walked through the door. Spike and Rarity had prepared a lunch for them, and were standing by the food; smiling. “Hey, Twilight! Look what Rarity and I cooked up for you guys! With a little help from the old guy, of course!” That’s when they noticed Rainbow Dash. “Oh, no! What happened to her?” Asked Rarity. “Don’t worry, she just wore herself out. Look Rarity, I know this meal looks good an’ all, but we gotta skip town, now.” Said Applejack. “Whatever do you mean?” “We killed the first Devil Fruit user. We need to leave in case the guard come after us.” Said Twilight. Rarity understood immediately. Her and Spike went upstairs to gather their things, then came back down as quick as they left. “Very well, then. We should be going.” The girls quietly left the tavern and started walking down the road. They had come into town from the SE, so they took the NW road into town, out. They walked until light turned to dark; at which point they laid down inside some bushes to get some rest. “This is all we get, girls. I’m sorry we don’t get to sleep in the nice beds of the tavern, but...” Said Twilight. “It’s alright. We knew what we were getting ourselves into when we first started this journey. Now, let’s get some shuteye, Twilight.” Said Applejack. “Yeah, it’s no biggie.” Said Rainbow Dash. “Honestly, I’ve slept like this outside with my newborn chicks, before.” Said Fluttershy. Twilight smiled knowing her friends understand their dilemma, and she gradually closed her eyes and went to sleep, too. Chapter 3: Arrival at Tall LanternWhen dawn approached, Spike and the ponies groggily got up, and stretched. “Let’s put off breakfast, for now.” Said Applejack. “I agree, we need to get moving as quickly as we can.” Said Twilight. Rainbow groaned, but got up with the others, and they started walking. “Hey, Twilight, I had a question.” Said Rainbow. “Sure, what is it?” “Well, you know how Celestia said she wanted us to kill those that already Devil Fruit powers, right?” “Right.” “Then how come I haven’t been killed yet?” Everyone stopped walking, and sat in silence for a few moments. It’s true: how come she hadn’t been killed yet? “I....I don’t know....” Said Twilight. “Well, you’re our friend, and we know you would never use those powers of yours for evil.” Said Applejack. “Yeah, we trust you.” Said Fluttershy. Rainbow groaned, and turned away. “What about the young stallion we killed? He was innocent, and probably would’ve just used his powers for peeping!” “That’s true....” Said Rarity. “So why did we kill him? Just because Celestia said to?” “Well, yeah. We don’t blindly follow the Princess, of course, but we listen to what she says and make sure it is the right thing to do.” Said Twilight. “But isn’t it possible there’s another way to stop them from using their powers if that’s the goal? What if Princess Celestia just petrified them in stone? She did it with Discord, why not the ponies with Devil Fruits?” Everyone hung their heads. She was right, they didn’t have to kill them, and they needed to remind the Princess that they didn’t. Twilight pulled out her quill and paper, and began writing. Dear Princess Celestia, My friends and I have just come up with a wonderful idea! Instead of killing those that have Devil Fruit powers, you could petrify them in stone the same way you did with Discord! No blood would be shed, and the ponies would be stopped from using their powers! Please let me know what you think of this. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle Twilight put her quill away, and handed the letter to Spike. “Send this to Celestia. Let’s see what she says.” “I’m on it.” Said Spike, as he sent the letter to the Princess with his breath. “So, do we wait here, or continue on?” Asked Rarity. “Let’s just...wait here, for now.” Said Twilight. Rarity nodded and sat down. Everyone was quiet for the short duration it took. Again, a response was delivered in only a few seconds. “This is impossible! How could she have written a response so quickly?” Said Rainbow Dash. Twilight opened the letter and read it’s contents: Dear Twilight, I was aware of this possibility, and noted it. However, being petrified in stone is the same as death. They will be alive, but unresponsive to anypony. There is no reason for such a thing, which is why I told you it would be better to just kill those who possess Devil Fruit abilities then manually hunt down the fruits. As I said in my last letter, I know this is difficult for you, but I have faith in you. Princess Celestia Twilight looked up from the letter. “She said....that it doesn’t matter. Just...kill them anyway....” “That doesn’t sound like the Princess! We know she would sacrifice herself before letting any of her subjects take any punishment!” Said Applejack. “Yeah, it is strange....” Said Fluttershy. “I don’t think so....I think the Princess is actually meaning what she says....” Everyone turned and looked at Spike. “You think she’s being honest with us?” Asked Applejack. Spike nodded. “This is her writing! I’ve seen dozens of letters written by her, and I can tell you for a fact she’s written these past two letters.” “Well, what do we do?” Asked Rarity. “I...don’t know. From what she’s told us to do, we have to kill every Devil Fruit user....including Rainbow Dash....” Rainbow started to back away. “But, for the first time in my life, I’m not going to listen to what Celestia says.” Everyone’s eyes grew big. “You’re going to do what now?” Asked Applejack. “You heard me. We’ve shown Princess Celestia an alternative to killing the users, and she denies it. Her mind is corrupted, and I’m not going to do what she says.” Twilight looked at Rainbow. “I can understand Princess Celestia’s fear of the Devil Fruits and the potential for chaos and danger they present. But there must be a way to stop this crisis without slaughtering everypony who’s a user.” Rainbow smiled. “Thanks, Twilight. I never thought you’d choose me over your life-long mentor.” “Normally, I would. But something’s not right. Celestia would NEVER say these things unless something was wrong.” “So, are we ready to get going?” Asked Rarity. “Yeah, let’s go.” Said Twilight. The group started walking again; only this time, they felt better about their mission. They were going to find a purer way to complete Celestia’s task. While they were walking down the path, Fluttershy noticed a raven in the trees above their heads. “Guys, there’s a raven in the trees, there.” Everyone stopped and looked at the raven. “Uh, Fluttershy? What’s the big deal about a raven?” Asked Applejack. “Ravens aren’t native to the Unicorn Range.” “Well, it could be somepony’s escaped pet. It’s not really important to our mission right now, Fluttershy.” Said Twilight. “Oh, yeah, I’m sorry...” The group continued on down the path; stopping now and then for a short break. On one of those breaks, Fluttershy noticed the raven had followed them. It was sitting in a tree above them. “Hey, guys, the raven is...right above us...” Twilight and the others looked up. Sure enough, the raven was there. “Uh, Rarity? When you visited that village we passed when you were younger, did you ever hear any legends about this raven?” Asked Applejack. “No, but there was a true story about a young foal that left Ponyville with his pet raven to live in the Unicorn Range. The foal was about 7 or 8 at the time, and this story took place almost 30 years ago. I don’t think his pet raven would be alive anymore.” “Yeah, that wouldn’t make any sense. It’s just a stupid legend.” Said Rainbow Dash. Everyone nodded in agreement. Everyone except Fluttershy. “What’s wrong, Fluttershy? You don’t think it’s true, do you?” Asked Applejack. “It’s possible, I mean, I’ve heard of some animals that have lived for hundreds of years!” “Those are just legends too, Fluttershy!” Said Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy nervously dug her hoof in the dirt. “Yeah, I guess so...” Twilight stood up. “Come on, girls. We’d better get going.” Her friends stood up, and they started walking down the path again. While they were walking, Pinkie stumbled and fell. “Ya’ll all right, Pinkie?” Asked Applejack, as she helped her friend up. “Yeah, I’m OK! But that fall really hurt my bottom!” She said, rubbing her rear. “Pinkie, you didn’t trip on a rock; at least not a normal one, anyway, look..” Said Twilight, as she picked the object up. Everyone gasped when they saw it - a rounded crystal with a glow coming from inside. “It looks like there’s a small glowing rock inside of it!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Oh, I bet it’s valuable! We should sell it at the next town we pass by!” Said Rarity. Rarity reached out to take it from Twilight, when a pony leaped from from the bushes on the side of the road. He grabbed the crystal from Twilight before Rarity could, then landed a few feet away from the stunned ponies. “Wh- who are you?” Asked Twilight. The pony had his back to them, and he kept it that way before speaking. “That is no concern of yours, at least at the moment. My master has instructed me to bring you to him.” Twilight and her friends looked confused. “Why? Who is this master of yours?” “No questions, please. Now, follow me, closely please.” The pony didn’t walk down the path, he walked back into the bushes on the side of the road. The friends all looked at each other with questioning looks, but decided it would be better to follow the pony. After all, it’s possible he knew where a Devil Fruit or two could be. The mystery pony led them through thick brush and brambles right into a swamp in the center of the forest. In the middle of the swamp, was a small island with a hut on it. “My master waits for you there. Take this to him.” The strange pony kept his back to Twilight and her friends, but gave her the strange crystal. Twilight shrugged off the pony’s strange behavior, and led her friends into the hut. “Hello?” She said nervously, as she opened the door. “You must be the ones who found my crystal. It’s good you did, I was starting to think no pony would ever pick it up.” Said a muffled voice. Twilight looked around the room for where the voice could be coming from, but couldn’t identify the source. Finally, she figured it out. There was a fireplace in the corner, and just after the voice stopped, it began to move! The bricks rearranged themselves until an opening was revealed; along with a pony clad in brown robes and a raven sitting on his shoulder! The same one from earlier! “Hehehe, sorry about that! I was just in the back when I heard my apprentice had brought you here.” He walked to the other side of the room where a well-worn armchair was located, and he sat down in it. “Now, if you would be so kind, could you bring my crystal to me?” Twilight gulped, and nervously walked over to the strange pony. As she did, she looked around at the inside of the house. It looked a lot like Zecora’s - he had strange bottles of this and that sitting on shelves scattered throughout the house. However, unlike Zecora’s house, he had bones of ponies on the shelves! Including a large collection of skulls! Twilight gulped again as she reached the strange pony, and gave him the crystal. He noticed her nervousness and laughed. “Don’t be nervous, child. I know my house doesn’t look very hospitable, but I assure you I am harmless!” He bent over the side of his chair, and pulled a stick out from under it. The stick had an indent at the top where he placed the crystal. It fit perfectly, and was held snugly in place by small, protruding sticks that came from the trunk of the stick. The pony laughed again, and waved his now-fixed staff around. When he was done, he leaned it against the corner closest to him. He stood up, and walked over to a table in the opposite corner of where his chair was. It had all kinds of alchemical-like materials on it; Twilight noticed it looked similar to her own set. “If I may be so bold sir, I have a set like that at my home back in Ponyville.” She said. The pony turned around and laughed again. “Do you, now? It’s not often I meet another pony interested in alchemy! Tell me, what kind of potions do you brew?” “Well, I am expec-” The pony’s eyes grew big, and he laughed again. “Sorry for interrupting you, dear. But I forgot to tell you my name! That must come first! My name is Airendale, but most know me by my title - The Swamp Monk!” “Nice to meet you, Mr. Airendale. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends: Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Spike!” Airendale nodded at each pony and Spike in turn. “It’s nice to meet you all. Now, Twilight, you were just telling me about your speciality brews?” Airendale walked back to his chair and sat down. “Well, actually sir, that was just small talk for the moment. I need to ask you something.” “Go ahead, ask away.” “Have you ever seen one of these before?” Twilight rolled out the chart and held it up for Airendale to see. He scanned each image carefully, but shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’ve never see these one of strange fruits, before. Tell me, what do they do?” “Well, if you consume one, you gain a certain power, but lose your ability to swim. Rainbow Dash ate the Sickle Sickle Fruit, for example. Go on Rainbow, show him your powers.” “Twilight? Can I have a sheet of paper?’ “Sure.” Twilight reached into her bag and handed Rainbow a piece of paper. “Stand back, everypony.” Everyone in the room took a few steps away from Rainbow Dash. Rainbow breathed in deeply, then tossed the paper into the air. She quickly swung her arms in an X pattern in front of her. Two wind scythes appeared and tore the paper into small pieces which gently floated down to the floor. “Magnificent! There are other fruits like this one?” Asked Airendale. “Oh, yes! 149 others, and each grants a unique power.” Said Twilight. “Interesting, I will keep an eye out for them. What is your interest in the fruits, if I may ask?” “Princess Celestia has tasked us to recover all of the fruits and bring them to her. For what reason, she didn’t tell us.” “Well, I don’t know where any are specifically, but I think I might know where one is generally.” “Where?!” Asked Rainbow Dash. “The townspeople up the road from here were riled up a couple nights ago. Apparently, one of the citizens had found something, I don’t what, but it’s possible it was one of the Devil Fruits. They say he found, whatever it was, at Raven Shrine.” “Where is Raven Shrine?” Asked Twilight. Airendale laughed again. “This swamp is Raven Shrine! They call it that, I assume, because of my pet here.” He gestured to the raven still sitting quietly on his shoulder. “Arrigo here is always flying around the outside of the forest. So naturally, one day, some travellers scared him back into the forest. Now, ravens aren’t natural here, so I suppose they were curious. Anyway, they followed him into the forest, all the way to his favorite spot - a rock in the center of the swamp.” Airendale stopped talking, and pet Arrigo. “I guess they thought it was an actual shrine to something, but it’s not really important. What is important is that you girls make it to that town I told you about. It’s called Tall Lantern; named for the ironically 12-foot tall pole with a lantern on top they have in the center of town. My apprentice will guide you there.” “Thank you so much, Mr. Airendale!” Said Twilight, as she and her friends started to leave. “Wait! I forgot to tell you about the town’s special law.” “What special law?” Asked Spike. “If you touch the lantern or the pole I told you about, the punishment is banishment from the town; which will hinder your search!” “Oh, thank you for remembering that! It would’ve been awful if we accidentally bumped into or touched the pole without knowing.” Said Rarity. “You’re welcome, young lady. Now, good luck!” Twilight and her friends walked outside where the apprentice was waiting for them. “I am supposed to escort you to Tall Lantern. Please follow closely.” “Of course, after you.” Said Rainbow Dash, in a sarcastic tone. Applejack hit Rainbow on the head. “Ow! What was that for?!” “You know what that was for, sugarcube. Not, let’s go; and no more funny business with the guide.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath, but she walked along with the rest of her friends. The return trip to the road was easier this time, since the brush and brambles had been moved the first time they went through. They arrived at the road where the mysterious apprentice had first appeared, and he led them up the road in the direction they were originally heading. “Why do we need a guide if this was the only way we could go, anyway?” Asked Twilight. The apprentice pointed further up the road. “That is why you needed a guide.” The ponies all looked to see an intersection with three different roads. There was no sign to tell what was down each road. “I see...” Said Twilight. The apprentice pointed to the road on the far left. “This road is the right way you need to go.” “What would happen if we went down one of the other roads?” Asked Rarity. “The middle road takes you to bandit territory. The road on the far right takes you to the edge of Unicorn Range near a forest filled with dangerous plants and animals. Now, this is where I leave you.” The ponies were so surprised at how cool he could be! Even though he was just describing the dangers of each path, he showed no emotion in doing so! The apprentice walked back down the road towards Raven Shrine; leaving the 6 ponies all alone on the road. “Well, you heard him, girls. We take this road, here. Let’s go!” Said Twilight. “Right!” Said Rainbow Dash. Twilight and her friends followed the road until nightfall, but the town still wasn’t in sight. “This sure has taken a while....” Said Fluttershy. “What if that creepy apprentice lied to us?” Asked Applejack. “Why would he lie to us? Besides, he never said how long we would walk for! We never asked!” Said Twilight. “I guess that makes sense. But this is still a long walk, and I’m exhausted!” Said Rarity. “Is it OK if we, um, take a break?” Asked Fluttershy. “We have time to spare. Besides, we don’t even know if there’s a Devil Fruit in this town!” Said Twilight. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike didn’t even comment. They were already asleep! “I guess that image gives you their answer!” Said Rarity, laying down beside them. “Well, goodnight, Twilight.” Said Fluttershy, laying down beside Rarity. “Yeah, goodnight.” Twilight didn’t lay down with her friends. Instead, she walked off the road into the grass, where she chose to lay down at. She gazed at the stars, thinking about what Rainbow Dash had said. ‘I...WE, can’t really kill her, can we? We need all the fruits, but there must be a better of getting them!’ Twilight kept thinking about it until her body and mind could stand no more, and she fell asleep. The next morning, the ponies all got up, yawned, and stretched. “Hey guys? Where’s Twilight?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “Oh, dear! She IS missing!” Said Rarity. Everyone started to call out for her. “Calm down, everypony! I’m right here!” Everyone turned to see Twilight stand up from the grass and walk over to them. “Ya’ll had us worried, Twilight! Why were you sleeping over there?” Asked Applejack. “Oh, you know, I....I wanted to look at the stars, that’s all....” “That ain’t no big deal! C’mon, let’s go!” Twilight smiled, and followed her friends down the road. After only a few minutes of walking, a small village appeared on the horizon. “Look, girls! That must be Tall Lantern!” Said Rarity. “YAY!” Squealed Pinkie. The ponies broke into a run and hurried into town. However, when they arrived, they wished they hadn’t hurried. “What’s wrong with everypony?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “I have no idea....” Replied Twilight. The residents looked awful. They wore black and grey rags and their ribs were exposed! They all gave the ponies and unnerving stare. “They look like they’re starving, but look at all the energy they have! It’s definitely more than they should have, anyway...” Said Applejack. “It’s very strange....” Said Fluttershy. One of the residents walked by Fluttershy and bumped her on purpose. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” He yelled. “I...I’m so sorry...I....” Said Fluttershy, backing away. “Oh, look! You scuffed up my shirt! You better pay for the drycleaning!” The stranger started encroaching on Fluttershy; who had started to cry. “Back up, bub! You bumped HER, and you know it!” Said Rainbow Dash, jumping in front of the stranger. “Heh? Who are you supposed to be?” “I’m her friend! Now back off!” “I don’t think so!” The stranger started to pull a knife from under his rags, but Rainbow was too quick for him. She swung her arms, and two wind scythes appeared. The scythes cut into the stranger’s muscle tissue, and forced him to drop the knife. “Gah! What are you?!” The stranger crawled into the nearby store to get away from Rainbow. All the commotion had attracted the attention of the villagers, and Twilight had noticed. “Guys, let’s get out of here!” She whispered. Everyone nodded, except Rainbow Dash, who was soaking in all the attention. “Wow! You’re so strong!” Said one of the foals, as Applejack dragged Rainbow away. “I’ll give you my autograph later, kid!” They kept running until the crowd was no longer in sight, then they ducked into a darkened alleyway. “We need to find an inn! I don’t want to sleep outside again!” Said Rarity. “I agree; but we don’t know where anything is in this town!” Said Twilight. “I can figure it out; let me go, and you girls stay here. I’ll come back when I find the inn!” Said Applejack. “OK! We’ll wait here for you, AJ!” Said Rainbow. Applejack, smiled, nodded, then ran from the alleyway. Twilight sighed, and slid down against the wall until she was sitting on the ground. “This is bad! These ponies already look like trouble, and we had to go and beat up one of them! Who knows what’ll happen when we show our faces to them, again!” “Oh, come on, Twilight! They’re dressed in ragged clothes, they’re constantly trying to get into fights, and they gave us the stink eye when we walked into town! Isn’t it obvious? They’re poor; and have probably been neglected by the Princesses!” Said Spike. “The Princess would never neglect any of her subjects!” Said Twilight. “Face it, Twi - Princess Celestia hasn’t helped these ponies at all....” “But....” Twilight just moaned, and covered her face with her hooves. “It’s OK, Twilight. Princess Celestia can’t take care of all of Equestria.” Said Fluttershy, kneeling by her friend. “It’s just not like her, though! This town is just like the letters she’s been sending! She’s not herself.....” “I know what you mean; those letters still have me thinking about her, too.” Said Spike. “Why would she tell us to kill ponies, and neglect this town? What’s wrong with her?” Asked Twilight. “Now hold on, Twilight! There must be a good reason for what she’s told us! We agreed on that!” Said Rarity. “I’m starting to doubt that, Rarity.” Everyone was quiet for the rest of the time until Applejack came back half an hour later. “Hey, ya’ll! I found the inn!” “Oh, good! Let’s get going! I could really use a bath when we get there....” Said Rarity. They followed Applejack down the street, around two corners, and halfway down another street where they arrived at ‘The Mooing Pony’. “‘The Mooing Pony’? What kind of a name is that?” Asked Rainbow. They all shrugged, and walked inside. Unlike the tavern in the last town they passed, ‘The Mooing Pony’ didn’t have several tables or a bar, even. The red walls were peeling and the paintings that were once there had been removed, judging by the light spots on certain areas of the walls. There was just a counter, a cash register, and a mare sitting behind them. “Can I help you?” She asked, as Twilight and her friends approached. “Yes, we need a room or two for all 7 of us.” Said Twilight. “Our rooms hold four, so you’ll have to get two rooms. That’ll be twenty bits for the night.” Twilight paid the mare, then was given two keys. “First two rooms on the right.” She said pointing upstairs. Twilight nodded, then led her friends upstairs. “Same grouping as last time?” Asked Applejack. “It doesn’t make any difference to me.” Said Rainbow Dash. Everyone nodded, and split off into the same grouping from last time - Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike in one room, and Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie in the other. “Let’s unpack and go back out; I want to investigate the possibility of a Devil Fruit being here.” Said Twilight. “Sure, Twi.” Said Applejack, as she walked into her room with the others and closed the door. Twilight closed the door to her room as well, and began unpacking. “What kind of Devil Fruit do you think we’ll come by next?” Asked Fluttershy. “It’s always a surprise, and that’s what makes hunting for them so much fun!” Said Pinkie. “Anyone of them could be next, and some of them look very dangerous.” Said Twilight. “You looked at all of them already?” Asked Fluttershy. Twilight nodded. “I wanted to know as much about them as I could: what they looked like, their abilities, that kind of thing; just in case we lost the chart.” “Oh! That could happen! I never thought about it until now....” “Yeah, which is why I’m worried.” Said Twilight, as she opened up her saddlebag and laid the chart out on the bed. “There are three types of Devil Fruits: Paramecia, Zoan and Logia. By far, Logia are the most powerful, so thankfully, they’re the rarest and we won’t have to deal with them as much. But because they're so powerful, I'm not sure if Rainbow Dash can stand up to some pony using one..." “What kind of Devil Fruit does Rainbow have?” Asked Fluttershy. “She has a Paramecia fruit. That class of fruit changes your body and basically gives you a ‘superpower’ like a comic book hero.” “OK, what do the Logia do?” “They let you control, and turn your body into, an element of nature: fire, ice, water, that kind of thing. Because of that, Logia are so powerful; especially if they are near naturally-occurring weather conditions like that of their Devil Fruit.” “And the Zoan? What do they do?” “The Zoan class let’s you transform into an animal. For example, the Giraffe-Giraffe Fruit let’s you turn into a full giraffe and a giraffe hybrid.” “Oh! That’s my favorite kind of Devil Fruit!” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m sure, Fluttershy.” They finished the rest of their unpacking in silence, then walked outside to meet up with the rest of their friends. Applejack and the others were already there, and Applejack looked upset. “What took ya’ll so long? Come on, we gotta look for that Devil Fruit!” “We’re still not sure if there even is one here, though.” Said Spike. “Exactly! So let’s keep a low profile about the fruit possibility while we’re here, OK? These ponies don’t look very friendly, and if we start asking questions about something they may think is none of our business, well.....” “Alright, Twi, we’ll go on a look and hear basis. We won’t talk to anypony.” Said Applejack. Twilight smiled. “Thanks, I know it’ll take longer this way, but...” “I understand, now let’s split up and find that fruit!”
Chapter 1: Fruits of EvilIt was a dark night in Ponyville. All the shops had been closed hours ago, and the ponies were all in deep sleep. The night air was cool and damp; and the sound of fireflies buzzing here and there could be heard. But the peaceful night was interrupted as a large object rose out of the river behind Ponyville! It was a wooden ship, or at least, what was left of one. Some of the wood was missing, and the central mast was cracked. Holes were in the sails, and the crows nest was missing entirely. What was even more amazing, were the crew that were on board! Each man was starved half to death. Bones were exposed underneath their skin. However, a healthier looking man walked out of the cabin and onto the deck. He had a white beard that stretched down to his collarbone, and a black tricorn hat with a feather sticking out of it. His overcoat was black and soiled, and his shirt underneath wasn’t in much better condition, either. He walked to the prow of the ship, and looked up to towards Canterlot in the distance. “You win, harlot! I can no longer keep this up, this foolish game! My crew is starving, my ship is breaking, and I just don’t have the heart for it anymore!” The bearded man folded his arms, looked down at his boots, and chuckled before looking back up towards the mountain city. “But even though you finally beat me, my legacy will live forever! Men, open the hatch!” The men on the ship opened a set of double doors positioned on the deck. A bright light shone from inside, then suddenly, several small objects flew out! They ascended high into the sky, and seemed to disappear in the dark night sky. The bearded man laughed. “Well Princess, I’m still not even sure if you can hear me. But I don’t care! You will know who did this!” The man laughed again, and walked back into the cabin. As the cabin door closed, the ship descended into the river, and everything was still again. The next morning, the ponies awoke to go about their daily business. The shops were opened, the stalls were uncovered, and friendly greetings were exchanged in the street. But out of everything going on in the street, the most popular event was the display of something a merchant found last night at his stall.The merchant there was talking about the fruit, and held something covered in his hoof. “Everypony behold! I was taking a walk last night close to Everfree Forest and by chance, I discovered this in my path!” The pony removed the covering over the object. It was a strange fruit shaped like a red papaya with S-shaped swirls all over the skin. “This is a rare Kambuja fruit! It’s value is limitless because this is the only one in existence!” “Ooh!” Said the crowd. “This fruit is special because it has the power to grant eternal youth! While you may be 80 years old, you will still look as you do now!” Another “ooh” came from the crowd, followed by the ponies waving their money in the air at him. The greedy merchant looked at the bags of coins, until he saw the biggest one out of all of them. “You there! With the colorful mane! What’s your name?” Rainbow Dash pushed her way through the crowd until she was standing in front of the merchant. “I’m Rainbow Dash!” “Well Rainbow Dash, do you have the 400 bits for this fruit?” Rainbow looked down at the money in her bag and counted out 400 bits. “Here you go! Now give me that fruit!” “Of course, my most enthusiastic customer!” Rainbow snatched the fruit and ran away; all the while the greedy merchant counted his money. Rainbow kept running until she couldn't’ see Ponyville anymore. She looked over her shoulder just to make sure no one had followed her then jumped into a bush. “Oh, this is so cool! Eternal youth! Well, here goes.” Rainbow bit into the fruit, but dropped it immediately. “Yuck! That tasted awful!” Rainbow looked at the rest of the fruit curiously. “I probably should’ve asked if I had to eat the whole fruit. What if I don’t get eternal youth from just one bite?” She bit her lip, then picked up the fruit, and grudgingly ate the rest of it. “So cool! Eternal youth! Woohoo!” Rainbow flew into the sky and started doing loop-de-loops. “Wait, I should probably go tell the others! They’ll be so jealous!” She flew back to Ponyville, and went to the Golden Oaks Library. As was tradition with her, she flew through the small window by the stairs leading up to Twilight’s bedroom. Twilight didn’t even look up from her work when the glass shattered, nor when Rainbow Dash crashed into a bookcase sending all the book flying off the shelves. “Hello, Rainbow Dash.” “Heh, sorry about that Twilight!” Said Rainbow Dash as she poked her head through the pile of books covering her. Twilight was used to it, so she didn’t bother scolding her for it. “So, Twilight, I thought I’d let you know, I have eternal youth!” Twilight was still deep in thought, and didn’t respond. “I said,” Rainbow flew right under nose, “I have eternal youth!” “Rainbow Dash! I heard you the first time! But eternal youth isn’t real, even the Princesses will grow old and die one day. What makes you think you won’t?” “I bought this crazy fruit from a merchant in Ponyville. He said it makes you stay young forever!” “Merchants will usually lie to take your money, Rainbow. But I’ll humor you: what did the fruit look like?” “It was shaped like a cone, it was red, and it had these weird black swirls all over it!” “I’ve never heard of a fruit like that before, but I’m sure I have something here that will identify it.” Rainbow Dash sighed and flew over to a chair in the corner. When Twilight started searching through her books for something, it was going to take a LONG time. It took her 3 1/2 hours to come back to Rainbow Dash. “So? What was that weird fruit I ate? I bet it did give me eternal youth, didn’t it?” Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry Rainbow. I couldn’t find anything about it. You’re going to have to talk to Celestia about this.” “Alright, well, thanks for trying anyway, Twilight.” Rainbow flew out of the broken window, and raced towards Canterlot. It didn’t take the speedy pegasus long before she landed in front of Canterlot castle. She raced up the steps, and burst into the throne room, panting. “Rainbow Dash! Whatever is the meaning of this?” Asked Luna. “I....have....to....tell....” “Catch your breath first, then speak.” Said Celestia. Rainbow paced the room for a few moments, before speaking. “Princesses, I ate a red, cone-shaped fruit with black swirl marks on the skin. Do you know what it is? I asked Twilight and she told me to come to you.” Luna shrugged, but Celestia’s eyes grew big. “What did you say was on the fruit’s skin?” “Black swirl marks, your highness.” Celestia jumped off of her throne, and ran straight past Rainbow into the hallway. “Follow me!” She called out. Rainbow instinctively followed the Princess as she took her through the castle’s many hallways and stairways. Finally, they reached a dark room in the back of the castle. Celestia opened the door, and used her horn as a torch to light the room. “Rainbow Dash, come look at this drawing on the end of the room.” Rainbow followed her to the other side of the room where, behind a table filled with alchemical equipment, was a drawing of various round objects. “This is the room where I have done all my research on the Sea Devil and his fruits.” “The Sea Devil?” “Yes, let me explain. The Sea Devil is the King of the Seas, so to speak. However, he is cruel, and sinks any ship in his way. “A long time ago, he came to Equestria, and I had to fight him. He left eventually, but I followed him to the alternate universe where he lives - The Milky Way. “It is here I discovered what this man really was. He was an explorer who travelled across the entire ocean on his planet. He had gone to strange lands, and gathered strange commodities, including fruit. “This fruit terrified the crewman, and they requested the captain get rid of it. Of course, this man was known as the Sea Devil, so, just like the actual Devil we hear about in fairy tales, he cruelly ignored his crewman’s concerns. As it would turn out, though, he should’ve listened. “Eventually, the man’s ship, The Flying Dutchman, arrived back in his native port in a small island off of the coast of England. There, he buried his loot, and gave three of each of the fruits he had to his crewman. He told them that they were going to a French port in the Caribbean where the men would do one of three things: give away the fruit, sell the fruit, or eat the fruit. “Many of the men sold their fruits, but some of the more superstitious ones gave them away; to appease the gods, or something like that. “However, two men decided to eat the fruits. They had lost all of their money on gambling while in port, and were hungry yet unable to purchase any food. After consuming the fruits, the men decided to go for a swim. “The men found out that the fruits their captain had found took away your ability to swim forever. The men drowned, and when the captain found him, he gathered up the remaining fruits and stowed them under the ship. He told the men to NEVER eat them unless they wanted to wind up like the other two. “But since some of the fruit had been sold already, some people not of the crew ate the fruits.The captain had found over 100 fruits in the strange land he went to. Not, only 15 remained on board. “It didn’t take long for rumors to circulate about who it was who found the fruits and brought them to the West. People knew who it was, a man so cruel that his true name was rarely spoken - Davy Jones. This captain was the Sea Devil, and because he brought the fruits over to the modern world, they were appropriately named Devil Fruits.” Celestia turned back to the chart. “Now that you know the story, we need to figure out which fruit it was that you ate.” She scanned the chart carefully, the pointed at one of the pictures. “Here, this is the one you ate.” Rainbow looked to where Celestia was pointing, and sure enough, that was the fruit she ate. “The....Sickle-Sickle Fruit?” “That’s correct. Oh! Silly me! I forgot to mention something! Each one of the Devil Fruits gives you one of the powers of the Sea Devil. The fruit is named after the power, hence, the Sickle Sickle Fruit!” “Sweet! So, what is my power?” “You can create gusts of wind in the form of sharp scythes; allowing you to cut down wood, stone, even metal with wind!” “Awww, yeah! I’m gonna go try this out right now!” Rainbow started flying out the door, but Celestia stopped her. “Wait! Remember this: with your new Devil Fruit powers, you can no longer swim, and if you come into contact with water at all, you will be weakened. So much so, that you will become limp and helpless; unable to move until some pony comes to your rescue. That said, be careful, Rainbow Dash.” “Got it, Princess!” Rainbow flew out the door, and Celestia closed the door behind her. “This is bad. If Rainbow Dash ate a Devil Fruit, that means that there must be others around, as well. He must have come back! The Sea Devil has returned to Equestria!” Rainbow Dash decided to fly far away from Canterlot and into the woods to see what she could do with her new powers. She landed in an open space inside the forest. She faced a tree and stood up on her hind legs. “Celestia said my Devil Fruit power is to be able to create gusts of winds that cut stuff. So, since I flapped my wings flying here and nothing happened, I’ll try waving my legs instead!” Rainbow Dash was spot on. After she waved her front legs in a slashing motion, two gusts of winds in the form of rounded blades appeared! They raced towards the tree and cut it apart instantly! “Ah, yeah! This is sick! So maybe the fruit didn’t give me eternal youth, but this is way cool!” She cut down 6 more trees as practice before deciding to head back to Ponyville. Now that she knew what the fruit actually did to her, her friends HAD to know. When she arrived back in Ponyville, there was a commotion in the marketplace again. Rainbow flew over to see what was happening, and her mouth dropped open. The same merchant from earlier had found 3 more Devil Fruits and he was selling them all! “Come one, come all! Behold, the legendary fruits of eternal youth!” The merchant had no idea what he was selling! “Oh, no! I have to let the Princess know! If more ponies accidentally eat these fruits, things could get bad quick!” Rainbow Dash raced back to Canterlot. She flew through the castle doors, into the throne room, where Luna sat. “Princess Luna! Where’s your sister? I must see her!” “She’s upstairs in her research room. The one about the Satan Vegetables...” Rainbow ignored the Princess’ obvious sarcasm, and flew upstairs to the room she was in earlier that day. She burst in the room, panting. “Your....highness....we....have....a....problem....” “I am aware, Rainbow Dash.” Said Celestia. She was staring at the chart on the wall. “What? How could you know already? That merchant who sold me my fruit is selling 3 more!” Celestia turned to face Rainbow Dash. “No, not that. That is news to me, but it’s nothing compared to what’s happened. You see, 7 more Devil Fruits have been eaten. The worst part is, three of them were eaten by Diamond Tiara and her friend, Silver Spoon.” “So? They’re just kids, they can’t hurt anypony, can they?” “No, you don’t understand. Silver Spoon ate one, then went swimming an hour later. Her body washed up on shore half an hour ago.” “Oh, no! What happened to Diamond Tiara?” Celestia’s expression became grim, and she walked towards a chair in the corner and sat down. Rainbow seated herself in the one across from her. “When you eat a Devil Fruit, one of the ‘demon servants’ of the Sea Devil enters your body. It is this demon that grants you the powers of the fruit. However, no two demons are ‘close’, shall we say. In some societies, gods are viewed as having friends and foes among each other. The Sea Devil’s servants all hate each other. So, if you consume two fruits, the demons will fight each other inside your body. In the end, they will tear you apart; killing you just to get at each other.” “Diamond Tiara....she’s dead, too?” Celestia nodded. “Yes, she is. The Devil Fruits may seem like a great thing, but they kill ponies and Davy Jones’ race, too. They are a deadly virus that must be contained. Unfortunately, I have no idea how many of the fruits are here. It’s possible Davy Jones just unloaded some of the fruits here as revenge on me for what I did to him years ago.” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but Celestia cut her off. “I know what you’re about to ask, and I’m afraid I won’t answer it. That’s my past, and no pony’s business but my own. What you need to concern yourself with is helping Equestria. Assemble the other Elements and track down all of the Devil Fruits. I’ll give you a list of them with a picture so you can’t miss them.” Celestia got up and walked to her desk where she pulled a scroll out. She handed it to Rainbow Dash before sitting down again. “You must get ALL of the fruits if we are to stop any more deaths. You have already eaten the Sickle Sickle Fruit, so you can cross that off your list. But there are over 100 Devil Fruits, and who knows how many are here. Search everywhere until you’ve found every last one.” Celestia stood up and walked back to her desk. “This is another mission only you and your friends can accomplish, Rainbow Dash. Just like the last tasks I’ve given you, this one will affect the survival of Equestria. I beg you, don’t fail me.” Rainbow Dash stood up and smirked. “You can’ count on us, your highness! We won’t let you down!” “I have faith in you. Good luck.” Rainbow flew out the door again for the second time that day, leaving the Princess alone with her thoughts. “You’ll need luck for this one. An immeasurable amount of luck.”
Chapter 2: The Adventure BeginsRainbow Dash flew back to Ponyville as quickly as she could. After all, the faster she got to Ponyville, the faster she could get all her friends and save more innocent ponies from dying. She decided to pick up Applejack, first. So the speedy pegasus raced across the lush fields of green outside Ponyville towards the apple orchards of her friend’s farm. Rainbow landed on the dirt path outside Sweet Apple Acres, and ran up the farmhouse’s front door; where she proceeded to pound on it with her all might. “APPLEJACK! GET OUT HERE, NOW!” She stopped hitting the door a few moments before Applejack opened it. “For crying out loud, Rainbow! You don’t have to break down my door or scream at the top of your lungs to get my attention!” “Sorry, Applejack! But this is urgent! Princess Celestia asked me to get all of the Elements of Harmony together; we have a mission!” Applejack didn’t even respond. She closed the door, then opened it again a few minutes later. She had gotten her saddlebags and lucky stetson hat. “Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Since Applejack was an earth pony and couldn't’ fly, the duo had to run back to Ponyville to fetch the others. When they arrived, they split up. Applejack ran to Sugarcube Corner to get Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow dashed to the Golden Oaks Library to get Twilight. “Hey! Egghead! Open your door!” Said Rainbow, as she pounded on the already-feeble wooden door. “C’mon, Rainbow! Why do you always do this to everypony's door?” Said Spike as he opened the door for Rainbow Dash. “Where’s Twilight? We have to go on a mission for Princess Celestia!” Spike’s ears perked up. “A mission for the Princess? I’m coming, too!” “Sure! The more the merrier!” Spike ran upstairs to wake up Twilight. She had been doing some research into the Devil Fruits, and slept in. “Twilight! Get up! Rainbow Dash is here!” The pile of blankets began to rapidly stir, until Twilight’s head poked out of them. “Huh? What’s going on, Spike?” “Hurry up, Twilight! Get your saddlebags, and whatever else you may need! We’re going on a mission that came from the Princess herself!” “What?! Why didn’t you wake me sooner?!” Said Twilight as she jumped out of bed and began to gather her belongings. “Well, maybe because Rainbow Dash just got here a few moments ago? Honestly, Twilight, you need to stop working so hard; these crashes are-” “No time to criticize me now, Spike! It’s time to go!” Twilight grabbed the baby in her teeth and threw him on her back. She ran downstairs, then out the door with Rainbow Dash. “Alright, so where’s everypony else?” “Applejack went to get Pinkie Pie. So we’ll wait here for them, then go get Rarity, and Fluttershy on our way out of Ponyville.” It wasn’t long before Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all came running towards them. “Oh, you got Rarity already, too!” Said Twilight. “Yeah, she was at Sugarcube Corner already; she just had to get her stuff.” Said Applejack. “Great! Not we just have to get Fluttershy!” Said Rainbow Dash. The group hurried to the outskirts of Ponyville; where the secluded Fluttershy made her home. They arrived outside her house in no time, and Rainbow Dash knocked on her door. “Hey, Fluttershy! Get your saddlebags, and get out here!” The timid yellow mare poked her head out the door a few minutes after Rainbow stopped knocking. “Um, hey, guys. What’s going on?” “Princess Celestia has given us an important mission, and she asked me to get all you guys together to do it!” “Oh, that IS important!” Fluttershy emerged from her house, and the group, now fully assembled, walked to the road outside her house. “OK, so this is what Princess Celestia told me. Basically, there are these things called Devil Fruits which appeared in Equestria not too long ago. If you eat one, you gain a power of the Sea Devil. But if you do, you lose the ability to swim, forever.” “Oh, that’s what that was! I remember the town crier was announcing little Silver Spoon drowned, the poor dear.” Said Rarity. “Did he mention Diamond Tiara?” “Yes, but he wasn’t specific about how she died.” “Well, she ate two Devil Fruits. When you eat a Devil Fruit, one of the Sea Demons, servants of the Sea Devil, enters your body. The demon grants you it’s power in exchange for living in your body. However, no two Sea Demons get along, so if you eat a second one, the two demons will fight inside your body; tearing you apart to get at each other’s throats.” “Now I see; so that’s how Diamond Tiara died.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, so the Princess wants us to find all of the Devil Fruits in Equestria so she can get rid of them. This way, nopony else has to die.” “Wait, Rainbow, how are we supposed to find them if we don't’ know what they look like?” Asked Twilight. “The Princess thought of that, and gave me this.” Rainbow pulled the chart out of her saddlebag and spread it across the ground. “These are all the Devil Fruits in existence. Each with an image, name, and description of their powers.” “Hey, Rainbow, why does this one have an ‘X’ over it?” Said Applejack, pointing at the Sickle-Sickle Fruit. “Uh, well, I kind of ate that one.....” “What?! Ya’ll ate one of these Devil Fruits?! What were you thinking?!” “Calm down! The merchant who sold it to me said it gave you eternal youth! I didn’t know what it really was until Princess Celestia told me!” “Fine, but we gotta swear, as a group, that we won’t eat Devil Fruits, too.” Said Applejack, putting her hoof over the chart. “I swear.” Said the other 4, putting their hooves together with Applejack’s. “That was fun! We should go looking for these Devil Fruit thingies now!” Said Pinkie Pie. “Yeah, we should. Question is, where do we start? We don’t have a good starting point, and it’s possible other ponies have eaten these fruits, and that would make us have to find THEM instead of the fruit!” Said Twilight. Everypony’s eyes grew big, and they looked at Rainbow Dash. “Well, sugarcube? What are we supposed to do if that happens? We don’t have the authority to arrest anypony!” “Princess Celestia didn’t tell me what to do if somepony ate one. I don’t know what to do....” The ponies sat down to think of an idea, but Spike came up with the most obvious one. “Twilight, write a message to Princess Celestia and I’ll send it to her. She’ll tell us what she wants us to do.” “Of course! I can’t believe we didn’t think of it sooner!” Twilight whipped a quill and parchment from her saddlebags, and began to write the message. Dear Princess Celestia, Rainbow Dash has told the rest of us about the situation regarding the Devil Fruits. We understand we are to bring all of them back to you for whatever purpose you have in mind for them. However, we had one question: what if we find somepony who ate one? Do you want us to drag him or her back with us? Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle She rolled up the letter and gave it to Spike. Who, in turn, sent it to Celestia using his green fire breath. “Now, all we have to do is wait.” Wait they did: for a few seconds! A response was returned just 5 seconds after Spike sent the message! “That was fast.” Said Fluttershy. “She must have been expecting us to ask questions, so she wrote several messages answering our questions!” Said Twilight as she unrolled the letter. Dear Twilight, I knew this may be a problem, and since it’s possible that EVERY Devil Fruit has been consumed by somepony, I had a plan for this. When someone or somepony eats a Devil Fruit, the the powers are yours until the day you die. At which point, the fruit is reincarnated in the world, somewhere. Since it would be impossible for you girls to take many prisoners with you, you have no other choice: you have to slay any pony who possesses a Devil Fruit ability, then find the fruit in the world. This includes children, I’m afraid. The authorities are aware of the situation, and anypony with a Devil Fruit ability you are not authorized to kill without intervention from any settlement’s police force. I have already sent warnings to all other settlements in Equestria; warning ponies not to eat the fruits. There will also be a Royal Guard squad stationed in each town, with a large box. Every time you stop by in one of the settlements, drop your fruits into the box, to lighten your load. I know this is hard for you to do, but I have confidence in my star pupil and her friends. Good luck, Twilight. Princess Celestia Twilight laid the letter down, stood up, and walked a short distance away from her friends. “Well? What’d she say, Twilight?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “She....she wants us.... to....” “To what? What does she want us to do?” Twilight turned to face her friends again; tears in her eyes. “She wants us to kill anypony who has a Devil Fruit ability, because that will make the fruit reappear in the world somewhere!” Her friends all gasped. “What?....She....she.... wants us....to kill....children?” Asked Rarity. “I’m afraid, so. When a pony who has Devil Fruit powers dies, the fruit reincarnates itself somewhere in the world. She said she needs the fruits, not the ponies who ate them.” “This is grim, to say the least. But we have to understand that Princess Celestia wouldn’t ask us to commit murder if it wasn’t important to Equestria as a whole!” Said Applejack. “I know, it makes sense, but to kill kids....” Said Rainbow Dash. “The longer we wait, the bigger chance somepony eats a Devil Fruit and we have to kill them. So let’s figure out where we want to start walking from, then just go.” Her friends nodded, and Twilight rolled out a map from her saddlebag. “We need to make sure we cover EVERY LAST INCH of Equestria to find these fruits. They could be literally anywhere, that’s why I think we should start from the NW entrance to Ponyville, then follow the path to Tall Tale and Vanhoover; searching everywhere along the way.” Said Twilight. “I agree. If we go that way, then we can loop north, and go through the Frozen North and the Crystal Kingdom, as well. Then go back South towards Neighagra Falls and Manehattan.” Said Rarity. “Well, then it’s settled. Let’s get going, gang.” Said Applejack. Twilight rolled the map up and put it back in her saddlebag The group went back into town, then out the NW entrance as planned. “This is it, guys! The start of our adventure!” Said Spike. “It sure is, Spike.” Said Applejack. “Hey, I got an idea! Let’s sing to pass the time!” Said Pinkie. The girls and Spike agreed, and they started to sing one of Pinkie’s favorite songs, “The Night of Dancing Hooves.” “....and then he took hold of her hoof, and they danced the night away!” The ponies and Spike sang. Twilight had decided not to sing, and paid attention to where they were walking instead. If she had chose to sing, she wouldn't’ have seen the strange object. “Girls! Stop!” Everyone stopped singing and looked at Twilight. “What’s wrong? Is there mud?” Said Rarity. “No, look at this.” Twilight bent down and showed them a very light engraving in the dirt: a small round object with swirl patterns! “A Devil Fruit!” Said Rainbow Dash. Twilight nodded. “Somepony must’ve picked it up. This isn’t good; we'll have to keep an eye open for a pony with Devil Fruit powers just in case they ate it.” The group continued on it’s way; only this time, they weren’t singing. They passed a sign that pointed along the path. It said: ‘Unicorn Range’ “Hey! My father used to take me here when I was younger!” Said Rarity. “Mine too!” Said Twilight. The others looked confused. “Um, what is the Unicorn Range?” Asked Fluttershy. “It’s a place full of unicorns! There’s settlements, only with unicorns! Even the grass and hay you eat here has been magically enchanted by the unicorns! It’s fantastic, darling!” Said Rarity. “Sounds....great...” Said Rainbow Dash. “It’s better than great, I can assure you!” Said Rarity. “I think it’s possible the Devil Fruit that was taken from the ground could’ve been eaten by a unicorn; that might also still be here.” Said Twilight. “Well, while we’re here, can we visit some old friends of my family? They live in a small village just up the path from here.” Asked Rarity. “I guess so. While you’re visiting your friends, the rest of us can search for the Devil Fruit; or it’s user.” Said Twilight. “Sounds good to me.” Said Rainbow Dash. The group started walking towards the small village, which Rarity informed them was called ‘Shining Hope’; named for the torches used in the city. “You see girls, this small village was once involved in a brutal war with one of the other villages. With war, comes battles, and with battles, comes death. So there finally came a battle one day that resulted in the deaths of 90 unicorns on both sides. Both cities had been ravaged in the fighting, and when night came, the villages had no lighting at all. The candles had been melted down and the wax used to make molds for weapons. “So a brave young foal ventured into the night and gathered the horns from the dead unicorns. Using his own magic, he found a way to turn them into ‘candles’ that permanently generate light!” “Wow, that sounds....gross.” Said Fluttershy. “Yeah, why would a foal think of something like that? That’s sick!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Oh, calm down, you two! It’s just as story, I doubt it’s true.” Said Twilight. Rarity snickered, and the others looked at her strangely. “Hey, AJ, I think she might be telling the truth.” Whispered Rainbow Dash. “Pay her no mind. No foal in their right mind would do something so nasty.” Rainbow nodded and leaned away. They walked in silence for another hour, until night descended on the ponies. “Hurry, girls!” Said Twilight. The group ran down the path as quick as they could. Even so, it took half an hour before the ponies reached the outskirts of what they thought was the town. They could see two lights on either side of the path ahead, and they dashed for it. Pinkie was running so fast, she tripped on her own hooves and started to roll. When she stopped, she was looking straight at a glowing unicorn horn in a glass box. “EEEEK!” She screamed, backing away. “What is it, Pinkie?” Asked Twilight. “It’s a horn! Not on a pony’s head!” They all looked at the horn, and dropped their mouths; all except Rarity. “Told you it was true.” She said, swaggering into town. The others shook their heads in disbelief and followed her into town. “The inn is right over here, if I remember correctly.” “You’ve been here before?” Asked Fluttershy. “Oh, yes. My father took me here every summer and every other winter.” Rarity looked up at a sign hanging on a building she stopped in front of. It had two hooves holding glasses of strong cider, clinking them together. “This is it.” She said, and walked inside. Her friends followed her, and Applejack closed the door behind them. “Woah.” They all said when they saw the interior. The whole room was like that of an old tavern. Wooden walls built from whole logs, and small paintings were scattered here and there. There were tables built from a single tree stump, and the chairs were made similarly: half of a stump. There was a bar with a keeper at the end of the room, and Rarity was walking towards him. “Hello, Horace! It’s been far too long!” The keeper looked up from the glass he was cleaning. “Rarity? Is that you?” “It is!” Rarity walked around the bar, and hugged the barkeep. “Wow! I haven’t seen you around these parts for.....” “7 years, Horace.” She said, breaking the hug. “Right! Speaking of which, how’s your dad? That was the last time I saw him, too.” “He’s fine. He’s living in Manehattan with my mother, now.” “Well, it’s a shame he couldn’t tag along, but seeing you again is good, too!” “Likewise! But, Horace, my friends and I need a room. We’ve been walking and running to get here all day, and we’re exhausted!” “Of course! You’re all welcome to stay here as long as you like! Free of charge, too!” “Really? Thank you so much, Horace!” Rarity hugged the barkeeper again. “Alright, now! One hug wasn’t enough for you?” Rarity broke the hug, and Horace gave her a set of keys. “Right, so this one opens the first door, upstairs on your left. This one opens the room directly across from that one. Both rooms have only one double bed, I’m afraid. So two of you are going to have to sleep on the floor, or in the bathtub.” “Why can’t you just give us a third room?” “I would if I could, but I only have three rooms, and the third is occupied right now.” “Well, thank you, anyway!” Said Rarity as she took the keys from him. She walked towards the stairs, and her friends followed her up. “Well, girls, we’re going to have to split up. Who’s going to bunk with who?” “I’ll bunk with you, Rarity.” Said Applejack. “Me, too.” Said Rainbow Dash. “Me three!” Said Spike. “Very well; that’s settled then. Here’s your key, Twilight. Sleep well.” Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked into their room and gazed at the bed. “One of us is going to sleeping in the tub, and that’s not me.” Said Rarity. “Why not? That’s not fair to count yourself out of sleeping the tub!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Ah, but you see, I got the rooms for us, for FREE. I will be sleeping in the bed.” Rarity didn’t even wait for their response. She changed into her nightgown, and jumped in the bed. “Good night, girls!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash just looked at each other. “Well, I reckon I’ll take the tub. I’m tired, and I don’t feel like arguing over this.” Applejack grabbed a throw pillow on an armchair in the corner, and walked into the bathroom; closing the door behind her. Spike shrugged, and curled up at the end of the bed beside Rarity. “Good night, Dash!” Said Applejack from inside the bathroom. Rainbow Dash was stunned that Applejack didn’t take the bed, but shrugged it off as nothing. She crawled into bed beside Rarity. “Good night, AJ.” In the other room, however, the situation hadn’t been resolved yet. “I can’t sleep in the tub! My horn will break rubbing against the cold, hard porcelain!” “Well I can’t sleep in the tub, my hair will get frizzy!” “Pinkie, your hair already IS frizzy!” “No, it’s not! It’s natural!” “No, it’s frizzy!” Fluttershy watched the back and forth argument in torment. Finally, she couldn't’ take anymore. “GIRLS! Enough! I’ll take the bathtub!” Fluttershy grabbed the throw pillow that was in their room’s armchair, and stormed off to the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her; not even telling the others ‘good night’. Pinkie and Twilight looked at each other in utter disbelief. “I’ve only seen Fluttershy act like that when she was dealing with the dragon.” Said Twilight. “I know. Well, I’m just gonna go to bed not...” “Right behind you.” The two mares crawled into the bed and, eventually, fell asleep. Twilight awoke the next morning to the sound of clinking glasses, shouts, and laughter downstairs. “Oh, that’s right, we decided to get a room in TAVERN.” Twilight groaned, then rolled out of bed. She groggily walked to the bathroom and started knocking. “Fluttershy? I need to use the bathroom.” No response. Twilight started knocking again. “Fluttershy, get up!” Finally, Twilight opened the door, and saw the empty tub. She looked over to the bed, and saw Pinkie had gotten up already as well. Twilight used the facilities, washed her hooves, and walked downstairs. Everyone was already up and helping themselves to a delicious-looking breakfast. “Good morning, egghead!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Yeah, good morning, Twilight!” Said Spike, as he downed a whole glass of apple juice. “Good morning, girls, Spike. Was that you guys making all that noise earlier?” “Yeah! That Horace knows some great jokes!” Twilight took a seat at the table where an empty plate and silverware was already waiting for her. “So, did he cook all of this?” “Sure did! Didn’t even charge us for it, and said that he would open the tavern an hour later to give us time to eat!” Said Applejack. Twilight put some food on her plate and started to eat. She wanted to discuss the Devil Fruit, but she was so hungry. “Where are we going to search first?” Asked Fluttershy. “Well, I’m going to stay here and catch up with Horace. But you girls will need some directions.” Said Rarity, getting up from the table. She walked over to the wall where a map was nailed to it. “Horace? Is it fine with you if I take this map down for a better look?” “Sure! Just put it back on the wall when you’re done!” “Thank you, Horace darling!” Rarity pulled the nail out, and took the map to a table next to theirs. Everyone except Twilight stood up and walked over. “This village is quite small,and you shouldn’t get lost, but you need to know what everything is.” Rarity pointed at a series of buildings on the map. “These are the homes, the businesses are down this lane to the left of that, and the third road is the one we’re on. This is where the historic things are, such as this tavern.” Everyone nodded, and Rarity took the map back to the wall, and nailed it up, again, then she walked into the kitchen. “Just in case you get any leads, I thought that might be useful to you.” Said Rarity, sitting down at the table with Twilight. “Um, do you think it would be a good idea to split up?” Asked Fluttershy. “I’m game!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Alright, then, I’ll be a team captain, and Fluttershy will be the other. Go ahead Fluttershy, pick first.” Said Applejack. “OK, I’ll take Rainbow Dash, I mean, if that’s OK with you.” “Not a problem at all, Fluttershy; I got Twilight.” “I want Pinkie Pie.” “YAY!” Said Pinkie, hugging Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. “I get you then, Spike.” Said Applejack. Spike shook his head. “I’m going to stay here with Rarity.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Suit yourself, lover boy.” Applejack looked at Fluttershy and her group. “Alright, you girls should go on ahead and get started without us. I'll wait here for Twilight to finish eating.” “Shouldn’t we, um, check areas that only we check?” “Oh, yeah! Didn’t think about that! Fluttershy, you gals go check the the businesses. Twilight and I will hit the historic area here.” “OK, where do you want to meet up? If you want to do that....” “Hmm, let’s come back here in 2 hours and go over what we found.” “OK then, we’ll be going now.” Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash walked out the door; closing it behind them. Applejack sat down at the table with Twilight. “I hope this pans out and we find the fruit, Twilight. I...don’t want...to...” “I know Applejack. It’s going to be OK. We’ll find the fruit, not a user.” Twilight wiped her mouth, and stood up. “Coming?” “Of course!” Twilight started walking then stopped. “Horace? Rarity? Do you want us to help you clean the dishes?” Horace poked his head out from the kitchen. “Nah, you girls have something important to do from the Princess. Rarity told me, it’s fine. Besides, Spike here will do just that.” “OK, then! Bye Horace! Tell Rarity we said bye, too!” “See ya, girls!” Twilight and Applejack walked outside; closing the door behind them. “Alright, let’s see.” Said Applejack, scanning the buildings on the lane. She spotted a small building with a rounded, blue roof. The doors were blue with black lines running from the top to the bottom, and the door knob was a hoof. “That place looks like a good a place to start as any! Let’s go!” Twilight followed Applejack inside the building. The inside was just as wacky as the outside. The walls were colored pink, with red zig-zag stripes running along them. Statues of unicorns with plaques on them were scattered all over the room. There was a counter with various figurines and other memorabilia on it at the end of the room. Was this supposed to be a gift shop? “Hey, Twilight, are we in a gift shop?” “Yes, but also a museum, I think.” “Right you are, my young unicorn!” Twilight and Applejack turned to see a unicorn stallion cleaning one of the statues behind the door. “Excuse me, sir?” Said Twilight. “You are in a museum. This is the museum of our village’s proud military history.” He stopped cleaning the statue and approached AJ and Twilight. “So, how can you help you two, today?” “We’ve been sent here by Princess Celestia to look for Devil Fruits. Do you happen to know anything about them?” “Oh! Do you mean that fruit Bright Horn found the other day? The weird one with swirl marks on it?” “Yes! There are a lot of them, but we have to get them all! Where does this ‘Bright Horn’ live?” Asked Twilight. “He lives with his family in two house.” “He lives in two house? Can you be a bit more specific, sir?” “You’re new here, so let me explain how the address system works, here. There are three roads with buildings on them. The first building is called one, then the one across the street is called two, then you go back across and you get three. See? It’s just a simple numbering system.” “OK, thank you, sir!” Said Twilight as they rushed out of the building. “We have to find the others! If this unicorn ate the fruit, we’ll need Rainbow Dash if we want to beat him, or her!” Said Applejack. “I agree! Let’s go find them!” Twilight and Applejack ran down the street and turned the corner onto the business lane. They saw a mare cleaning the front stoop of her business and stopped to ask her where their friends were. “Oh, the newcomers? They’re over at Oliver’s. That’s the building to the right, three buildings down.” “Thank ya kindly, ma’am!” The two towards Oliver’s. They stopped outside to catch their breaths, then walked in. True to the mare’s word, their friends were inside talking to the owner “So let me get this straight, you walk every morning and night, but you didn’t see anypony pick up a strange fruit with swirl patterns on it?” The store owner shook his head. “Sorry, miss. Haven’t seen anypony with a fruit like that.” Rainbow groaned, and turned to walk away. “Oh, Twilight, Applejack! What are you guys doing here?” “We found out who has the fruit! We got their address and name!” Said Twilight. Rainbow Dash’s eyes grew big. “What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go!” The ponies all ran out of the store, and down the road. They turned into the neighborhood, and started scanning for two house. “There it is!” Squealed Pinkie. Twilight led the way up the stairs, and started knocking on the door. After a few knocks, a blue mare opened the door. “Hello! How can I help you?” She said in a cheery voice. “Do you have a child named ‘Bright Horn’?” Asked Twilight. “Yes, do you need to speak to him?” “Yes, urgently.” “Come on in, then.” The ponies followed the blue mare into the house. “Please, sit down. I’ll call him down.” They sat down in the living room while the blue mare, presumably Bright Horn’s mother,called him down from upstairs. “Bright Horn! There are some ponies here to see you!” Within moment, the blue stallion came running down the stairs. “Who is it, ma?” “I don’t know, they’re waiting for you in the den.” Bright Horn walked into the den where Twilight and her friends were waiting. “Hello, Bright Horn. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. We’ve been sent here by Princess Celestia to look for something called ‘Devil Fruits’. We’ve heard you may have one?” “Are you talking about that fruit I found the other day? The one with swirls on it?” “Yes! Do you still have it?” “Umm....sort of....” Twilight gasped. Was he about to say what she thought he was going to say? “What do you mean by ‘sort of’?” “Well, I ate it.” Twilight and her friends all hung their heads. Bright Horn noticed, and interjected. “What’s wrong?” Twilight looked at him with a somber look. “The fruit you ate is a Devil Fruit. The Princess asked us to bring ALL of the fruits to her. When somepony who consumed a fruit dies, the fruit reappears in the world. I’m sorry Bright Horn, but by order of Princess Celestia herself, I condemn you to death.” Bright Horn looked confused, and started to back up. Twilight and her friends stood up and started walking towards him. “Please! What’d I do wrong?!” Twilight gazed at the stallion. He must have been 15 or 16 at the most. He was so young, but she knew what had to be done. “You ate the fruit, and we need it, I’m afraid. I don’t want to kill you, but we have to. Now please, follow us outside so we don’t make a mess of your mother’s home.” The stallion didn’t move, so Applejack and Rainbow Dash grabbed him, covering his mouth, and dragged him outside. Muffled cries for help could be heard as Twilight and her friends took the young stallion to his front lawn. “Rainbow Dash? I think you're best suited to do this. Having a Devil Fruit power of your own, and all.” Rainbow nodded. “I can take him on. Applejack, let him go.” Applejack let go of the stallion, and melded in with the rest of her friends. The stallion gazed helplessly up at Rainbow Dash. “Please...I don’t want to die....” “I’m sorry....” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves, then swung them outward. Two wind scythes appeared and struck the ground. But that’s it! They struck the ground! The stallion was gone! “What the...” Said Rainbow Dash. “You’re not going to kill me!” Said the young stallion. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash was knocked over. “Ow! How did that happen?” Twilight took out the chart again, and looked it over. “Rainbow Dash! He’s eaten the Clear-Clear Fruit! It lets him turn invisible at will!” Rainbow stood up, rubbing her rump. “Invisible, huh? I may not be able to see him, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be hurt!” Rainbow flew up in the air about 5 feet, and started chucking wind scythes everywhere. The lawn was gravely injured because of her efforts, but the stallion remained unharmed. “You can’t see me! How are you supposed to fight me?” The stallion’s mother appeared on the front stoop, her mouth agape. “What’s going on? Where’s Bright Horn?” “Ma’am, we’re on official business from Princess Celestia herself. Just go back inside your house!” The mare looked upset, but she obeyed Twilight and ran back inside her house, closing the door behind her. Rainbow was still creating and throwing wind scythes; all in vain. The stallion was still avoiding her attacks, and now, he was laughing. “Are you kidding me? You still haven’t even grazed me yet! I would never question the Princess, but I think you guys were the wrong ponies to send!” Rainbow Dash grew angry at his remark. “Enough!” Rainbow Dash started creating and throwing wind scythes at double the rate she was doing before! All the grass on the front lawn was eviscerated, and the dirt underneath was coming up in huge chunks the size of a hoof! Rainbow Dash grew tired after a couple minutes, and gently flew back down. She laid her head on the dirt, and passed out. “Rainbow Dash? Are you OK?” Said Fluttershy running to her friend's’ side. The others stood by, at the ready. With Rainbow Dash no longer capable of fighting, they would be the young stallion’s next target. “Look sharp, everypony!” said Twilight, “He’s sure to come after us, now!” They huddled together, but it wasn’t necessary. The stallion appeared to them; covered in cuts. Rainbow Dash’s rage-filled attacks had gotten him! The stallion tried to utter something, but instead, fell over on his side. Fluttershy rushed over to him and put her hoof on his neck. “He’s dead. Rainbow severed his carotid artery.” Normally what would have been a joyous occasion, victory over your opponent in battle, was not warranted. They had killed a young stallion, a boy, really. But they had to, even if they didn’t like want to. “Come on girls. Let’s get back to the tavern and get Rarity and Spike. we need to leave town before somepony calls for the authorities.” Said Twilight. Her friends nodded, and Applejack and Fluttershy picked up Rainbow Dash. They trudged back to the tavern, and somberly walked through the door. Spike and Rarity had prepared a lunch for them, and were standing by the food; smiling. “Hey, Twilight! Look what Rarity and I cooked up for you guys! With a little help from the old guy, of course!” That’s when they noticed Rainbow Dash. “Oh, no! What happened to her?” Asked Rarity. “Don’t worry, she just wore herself out. Look Rarity, I know this meal looks good an’ all, but we gotta skip town, now.” Said Applejack. “Whatever do you mean?” “We killed the first Devil Fruit user. We need to leave in case the guard come after us.” Said Twilight. Rarity understood immediately. Her and Spike went upstairs to gather their things, then came back down as quick as they left. “Very well, then. We should be going.” The girls quietly left the tavern and started walking down the road. They had come into town from the SE, so they took the NW road into town, out. They walked until light turned to dark; at which point they laid down inside some bushes to get some rest. “This is all we get, girls. I’m sorry we don’t get to sleep in the nice beds of the tavern, but...” Said Twilight. “It’s alright. We knew what we were getting ourselves into when we first started this journey. Now, let’s get some shuteye, Twilight.” Said Applejack. “Yeah, it’s no biggie.” Said Rainbow Dash. “Honestly, I’ve slept like this outside with my newborn chicks, before.” Said Fluttershy. Twilight smiled knowing her friends understand their dilemma, and she gradually closed her eyes and went to sleep, too.
Chapter 3: Arrival at Tall LanternWhen dawn approached, Spike and the ponies groggily got up, and stretched. “Let’s put off breakfast, for now.” Said Applejack. “I agree, we need to get moving as quickly as we can.” Said Twilight. Rainbow groaned, but got up with the others, and they started walking. “Hey, Twilight, I had a question.” Said Rainbow. “Sure, what is it?” “Well, you know how Celestia said she wanted us to kill those that already Devil Fruit powers, right?” “Right.” “Then how come I haven’t been killed yet?” Everyone stopped walking, and sat in silence for a few moments. It’s true: how come she hadn’t been killed yet? “I....I don’t know....” Said Twilight. “Well, you’re our friend, and we know you would never use those powers of yours for evil.” Said Applejack. “Yeah, we trust you.” Said Fluttershy. Rainbow groaned, and turned away. “What about the young stallion we killed? He was innocent, and probably would’ve just used his powers for peeping!” “That’s true....” Said Rarity. “So why did we kill him? Just because Celestia said to?” “Well, yeah. We don’t blindly follow the Princess, of course, but we listen to what she says and make sure it is the right thing to do.” Said Twilight. “But isn’t it possible there’s another way to stop them from using their powers if that’s the goal? What if Princess Celestia just petrified them in stone? She did it with Discord, why not the ponies with Devil Fruits?” Everyone hung their heads. She was right, they didn’t have to kill them, and they needed to remind the Princess that they didn’t. Twilight pulled out her quill and paper, and began writing. Dear Princess Celestia, My friends and I have just come up with a wonderful idea! Instead of killing those that have Devil Fruit powers, you could petrify them in stone the same way you did with Discord! No blood would be shed, and the ponies would be stopped from using their powers! Please let me know what you think of this. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle Twilight put her quill away, and handed the letter to Spike. “Send this to Celestia. Let’s see what she says.” “I’m on it.” Said Spike, as he sent the letter to the Princess with his breath. “So, do we wait here, or continue on?” Asked Rarity. “Let’s just...wait here, for now.” Said Twilight. Rarity nodded and sat down. Everyone was quiet for the short duration it took. Again, a response was delivered in only a few seconds. “This is impossible! How could she have written a response so quickly?” Said Rainbow Dash. Twilight opened the letter and read it’s contents: Dear Twilight, I was aware of this possibility, and noted it. However, being petrified in stone is the same as death. They will be alive, but unresponsive to anypony. There is no reason for such a thing, which is why I told you it would be better to just kill those who possess Devil Fruit abilities then manually hunt down the fruits. As I said in my last letter, I know this is difficult for you, but I have faith in you. Princess Celestia Twilight looked up from the letter. “She said....that it doesn’t matter. Just...kill them anyway....” “That doesn’t sound like the Princess! We know she would sacrifice herself before letting any of her subjects take any punishment!” Said Applejack. “Yeah, it is strange....” Said Fluttershy. “I don’t think so....I think the Princess is actually meaning what she says....” Everyone turned and looked at Spike. “You think she’s being honest with us?” Asked Applejack. Spike nodded. “This is her writing! I’ve seen dozens of letters written by her, and I can tell you for a fact she’s written these past two letters.” “Well, what do we do?” Asked Rarity. “I...don’t know. From what she’s told us to do, we have to kill every Devil Fruit user....including Rainbow Dash....” Rainbow started to back away. “But, for the first time in my life, I’m not going to listen to what Celestia says.” Everyone’s eyes grew big. “You’re going to do what now?” Asked Applejack. “You heard me. We’ve shown Princess Celestia an alternative to killing the users, and she denies it. Her mind is corrupted, and I’m not going to do what she says.” Twilight looked at Rainbow. “I can understand Princess Celestia’s fear of the Devil Fruits and the potential for chaos and danger they present. But there must be a way to stop this crisis without slaughtering everypony who’s a user.” Rainbow smiled. “Thanks, Twilight. I never thought you’d choose me over your life-long mentor.” “Normally, I would. But something’s not right. Celestia would NEVER say these things unless something was wrong.” “So, are we ready to get going?” Asked Rarity. “Yeah, let’s go.” Said Twilight. The group started walking again; only this time, they felt better about their mission. They were going to find a purer way to complete Celestia’s task. While they were walking down the path, Fluttershy noticed a raven in the trees above their heads. “Guys, there’s a raven in the trees, there.” Everyone stopped and looked at the raven. “Uh, Fluttershy? What’s the big deal about a raven?” Asked Applejack. “Ravens aren’t native to the Unicorn Range.” “Well, it could be somepony’s escaped pet. It’s not really important to our mission right now, Fluttershy.” Said Twilight. “Oh, yeah, I’m sorry...” The group continued on down the path; stopping now and then for a short break. On one of those breaks, Fluttershy noticed the raven had followed them. It was sitting in a tree above them. “Hey, guys, the raven is...right above us...” Twilight and the others looked up. Sure enough, the raven was there. “Uh, Rarity? When you visited that village we passed when you were younger, did you ever hear any legends about this raven?” Asked Applejack. “No, but there was a true story about a young foal that left Ponyville with his pet raven to live in the Unicorn Range. The foal was about 7 or 8 at the time, and this story took place almost 30 years ago. I don’t think his pet raven would be alive anymore.” “Yeah, that wouldn’t make any sense. It’s just a stupid legend.” Said Rainbow Dash. Everyone nodded in agreement. Everyone except Fluttershy. “What’s wrong, Fluttershy? You don’t think it’s true, do you?” Asked Applejack. “It’s possible, I mean, I’ve heard of some animals that have lived for hundreds of years!” “Those are just legends too, Fluttershy!” Said Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy nervously dug her hoof in the dirt. “Yeah, I guess so...” Twilight stood up. “Come on, girls. We’d better get going.” Her friends stood up, and they started walking down the path again. While they were walking, Pinkie stumbled and fell. “Ya’ll all right, Pinkie?” Asked Applejack, as she helped her friend up. “Yeah, I’m OK! But that fall really hurt my bottom!” She said, rubbing her rear. “Pinkie, you didn’t trip on a rock; at least not a normal one, anyway, look..” Said Twilight, as she picked the object up. Everyone gasped when they saw it - a rounded crystal with a glow coming from inside. “It looks like there’s a small glowing rock inside of it!” Said Rainbow Dash. “Oh, I bet it’s valuable! We should sell it at the next town we pass by!” Said Rarity. Rarity reached out to take it from Twilight, when a pony leaped from from the bushes on the side of the road. He grabbed the crystal from Twilight before Rarity could, then landed a few feet away from the stunned ponies. “Wh- who are you?” Asked Twilight. The pony had his back to them, and he kept it that way before speaking. “That is no concern of yours, at least at the moment. My master has instructed me to bring you to him.” Twilight and her friends looked confused. “Why? Who is this master of yours?” “No questions, please. Now, follow me, closely please.” The pony didn’t walk down the path, he walked back into the bushes on the side of the road. The friends all looked at each other with questioning looks, but decided it would be better to follow the pony. After all, it’s possible he knew where a Devil Fruit or two could be. The mystery pony led them through thick brush and brambles right into a swamp in the center of the forest. In the middle of the swamp, was a small island with a hut on it. “My master waits for you there. Take this to him.” The strange pony kept his back to Twilight and her friends, but gave her the strange crystal. Twilight shrugged off the pony’s strange behavior, and led her friends into the hut. “Hello?” She said nervously, as she opened the door. “You must be the ones who found my crystal. It’s good you did, I was starting to think no pony would ever pick it up.” Said a muffled voice. Twilight looked around the room for where the voice could be coming from, but couldn’t identify the source. Finally, she figured it out. There was a fireplace in the corner, and just after the voice stopped, it began to move! The bricks rearranged themselves until an opening was revealed; along with a pony clad in brown robes and a raven sitting on his shoulder! The same one from earlier! “Hehehe, sorry about that! I was just in the back when I heard my apprentice had brought you here.” He walked to the other side of the room where a well-worn armchair was located, and he sat down in it. “Now, if you would be so kind, could you bring my crystal to me?” Twilight gulped, and nervously walked over to the strange pony. As she did, she looked around at the inside of the house. It looked a lot like Zecora’s - he had strange bottles of this and that sitting on shelves scattered throughout the house. However, unlike Zecora’s house, he had bones of ponies on the shelves! Including a large collection of skulls! Twilight gulped again as she reached the strange pony, and gave him the crystal. He noticed her nervousness and laughed. “Don’t be nervous, child. I know my house doesn’t look very hospitable, but I assure you I am harmless!” He bent over the side of his chair, and pulled a stick out from under it. The stick had an indent at the top where he placed the crystal. It fit perfectly, and was held snugly in place by small, protruding sticks that came from the trunk of the stick. The pony laughed again, and waved his now-fixed staff around. When he was done, he leaned it against the corner closest to him. He stood up, and walked over to a table in the opposite corner of where his chair was. It had all kinds of alchemical-like materials on it; Twilight noticed it looked similar to her own set. “If I may be so bold sir, I have a set like that at my home back in Ponyville.” She said. The pony turned around and laughed again. “Do you, now? It’s not often I meet another pony interested in alchemy! Tell me, what kind of potions do you brew?” “Well, I am expec-” The pony’s eyes grew big, and he laughed again. “Sorry for interrupting you, dear. But I forgot to tell you my name! That must come first! My name is Airendale, but most know me by my title - The Swamp Monk!” “Nice to meet you, Mr. Airendale. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends: Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Spike!” Airendale nodded at each pony and Spike in turn. “It’s nice to meet you all. Now, Twilight, you were just telling me about your speciality brews?” Airendale walked back to his chair and sat down. “Well, actually sir, that was just small talk for the moment. I need to ask you something.” “Go ahead, ask away.” “Have you ever seen one of these before?” Twilight rolled out the chart and held it up for Airendale to see. He scanned each image carefully, but shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’ve never see these one of strange fruits, before. Tell me, what do they do?” “Well, if you consume one, you gain a certain power, but lose your ability to swim. Rainbow Dash ate the Sickle Sickle Fruit, for example. Go on Rainbow, show him your powers.” “Twilight? Can I have a sheet of paper?’ “Sure.” Twilight reached into her bag and handed Rainbow a piece of paper. “Stand back, everypony.” Everyone in the room took a few steps away from Rainbow Dash. Rainbow breathed in deeply, then tossed the paper into the air. She quickly swung her arms in an X pattern in front of her. Two wind scythes appeared and tore the paper into small pieces which gently floated down to the floor. “Magnificent! There are other fruits like this one?” Asked Airendale. “Oh, yes! 149 others, and each grants a unique power.” Said Twilight. “Interesting, I will keep an eye out for them. What is your interest in the fruits, if I may ask?” “Princess Celestia has tasked us to recover all of the fruits and bring them to her. For what reason, she didn’t tell us.” “Well, I don’t know where any are specifically, but I think I might know where one is generally.” “Where?!” Asked Rainbow Dash. “The townspeople up the road from here were riled up a couple nights ago. Apparently, one of the citizens had found something, I don’t what, but it’s possible it was one of the Devil Fruits. They say he found, whatever it was, at Raven Shrine.” “Where is Raven Shrine?” Asked Twilight. Airendale laughed again. “This swamp is Raven Shrine! They call it that, I assume, because of my pet here.” He gestured to the raven still sitting quietly on his shoulder. “Arrigo here is always flying around the outside of the forest. So naturally, one day, some travellers scared him back into the forest. Now, ravens aren’t natural here, so I suppose they were curious. Anyway, they followed him into the forest, all the way to his favorite spot - a rock in the center of the swamp.” Airendale stopped talking, and pet Arrigo. “I guess they thought it was an actual shrine to something, but it’s not really important. What is important is that you girls make it to that town I told you about. It’s called Tall Lantern; named for the ironically 12-foot tall pole with a lantern on top they have in the center of town. My apprentice will guide you there.” “Thank you so much, Mr. Airendale!” Said Twilight, as she and her friends started to leave. “Wait! I forgot to tell you about the town’s special law.” “What special law?” Asked Spike. “If you touch the lantern or the pole I told you about, the punishment is banishment from the town; which will hinder your search!” “Oh, thank you for remembering that! It would’ve been awful if we accidentally bumped into or touched the pole without knowing.” Said Rarity. “You’re welcome, young lady. Now, good luck!” Twilight and her friends walked outside where the apprentice was waiting for them. “I am supposed to escort you to Tall Lantern. Please follow closely.” “Of course, after you.” Said Rainbow Dash, in a sarcastic tone. Applejack hit Rainbow on the head. “Ow! What was that for?!” “You know what that was for, sugarcube. Not, let’s go; and no more funny business with the guide.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath, but she walked along with the rest of her friends. The return trip to the road was easier this time, since the brush and brambles had been moved the first time they went through. They arrived at the road where the mysterious apprentice had first appeared, and he led them up the road in the direction they were originally heading. “Why do we need a guide if this was the only way we could go, anyway?” Asked Twilight. The apprentice pointed further up the road. “That is why you needed a guide.” The ponies all looked to see an intersection with three different roads. There was no sign to tell what was down each road. “I see...” Said Twilight. The apprentice pointed to the road on the far left. “This road is the right way you need to go.” “What would happen if we went down one of the other roads?” Asked Rarity. “The middle road takes you to bandit territory. The road on the far right takes you to the edge of Unicorn Range near a forest filled with dangerous plants and animals. Now, this is where I leave you.” The ponies were so surprised at how cool he could be! Even though he was just describing the dangers of each path, he showed no emotion in doing so! The apprentice walked back down the road towards Raven Shrine; leaving the 6 ponies all alone on the road. “Well, you heard him, girls. We take this road, here. Let’s go!” Said Twilight. “Right!” Said Rainbow Dash. Twilight and her friends followed the road until nightfall, but the town still wasn’t in sight. “This sure has taken a while....” Said Fluttershy. “What if that creepy apprentice lied to us?” Asked Applejack. “Why would he lie to us? Besides, he never said how long we would walk for! We never asked!” Said Twilight. “I guess that makes sense. But this is still a long walk, and I’m exhausted!” Said Rarity. “Is it OK if we, um, take a break?” Asked Fluttershy. “We have time to spare. Besides, we don’t even know if there’s a Devil Fruit in this town!” Said Twilight. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike didn’t even comment. They were already asleep! “I guess that image gives you their answer!” Said Rarity, laying down beside them. “Well, goodnight, Twilight.” Said Fluttershy, laying down beside Rarity. “Yeah, goodnight.” Twilight didn’t lay down with her friends. Instead, she walked off the road into the grass, where she chose to lay down at. She gazed at the stars, thinking about what Rainbow Dash had said. ‘I...WE, can’t really kill her, can we? We need all the fruits, but there must be a better of getting them!’ Twilight kept thinking about it until her body and mind could stand no more, and she fell asleep. The next morning, the ponies all got up, yawned, and stretched. “Hey guys? Where’s Twilight?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “Oh, dear! She IS missing!” Said Rarity. Everyone started to call out for her. “Calm down, everypony! I’m right here!” Everyone turned to see Twilight stand up from the grass and walk over to them. “Ya’ll had us worried, Twilight! Why were you sleeping over there?” Asked Applejack. “Oh, you know, I....I wanted to look at the stars, that’s all....” “That ain’t no big deal! C’mon, let’s go!” Twilight smiled, and followed her friends down the road. After only a few minutes of walking, a small village appeared on the horizon. “Look, girls! That must be Tall Lantern!” Said Rarity. “YAY!” Squealed Pinkie. The ponies broke into a run and hurried into town. However, when they arrived, they wished they hadn’t hurried. “What’s wrong with everypony?” Asked Rainbow Dash. “I have no idea....” Replied Twilight. The residents looked awful. They wore black and grey rags and their ribs were exposed! They all gave the ponies and unnerving stare. “They look like they’re starving, but look at all the energy they have! It’s definitely more than they should have, anyway...” Said Applejack. “It’s very strange....” Said Fluttershy. One of the residents walked by Fluttershy and bumped her on purpose. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” He yelled. “I...I’m so sorry...I....” Said Fluttershy, backing away. “Oh, look! You scuffed up my shirt! You better pay for the drycleaning!” The stranger started encroaching on Fluttershy; who had started to cry. “Back up, bub! You bumped HER, and you know it!” Said Rainbow Dash, jumping in front of the stranger. “Heh? Who are you supposed to be?” “I’m her friend! Now back off!” “I don’t think so!” The stranger started to pull a knife from under his rags, but Rainbow was too quick for him. She swung her arms, and two wind scythes appeared. The scythes cut into the stranger’s muscle tissue, and forced him to drop the knife. “Gah! What are you?!” The stranger crawled into the nearby store to get away from Rainbow. All the commotion had attracted the attention of the villagers, and Twilight had noticed. “Guys, let’s get out of here!” She whispered. Everyone nodded, except Rainbow Dash, who was soaking in all the attention. “Wow! You’re so strong!” Said one of the foals, as Applejack dragged Rainbow away. “I’ll give you my autograph later, kid!” They kept running until the crowd was no longer in sight, then they ducked into a darkened alleyway. “We need to find an inn! I don’t want to sleep outside again!” Said Rarity. “I agree; but we don’t know where anything is in this town!” Said Twilight. “I can figure it out; let me go, and you girls stay here. I’ll come back when I find the inn!” Said Applejack. “OK! We’ll wait here for you, AJ!” Said Rainbow. Applejack, smiled, nodded, then ran from the alleyway. Twilight sighed, and slid down against the wall until she was sitting on the ground. “This is bad! These ponies already look like trouble, and we had to go and beat up one of them! Who knows what’ll happen when we show our faces to them, again!” “Oh, come on, Twilight! They’re dressed in ragged clothes, they’re constantly trying to get into fights, and they gave us the stink eye when we walked into town! Isn’t it obvious? They’re poor; and have probably been neglected by the Princesses!” Said Spike. “The Princess would never neglect any of her subjects!” Said Twilight. “Face it, Twi - Princess Celestia hasn’t helped these ponies at all....” “But....” Twilight just moaned, and covered her face with her hooves. “It’s OK, Twilight. Princess Celestia can’t take care of all of Equestria.” Said Fluttershy, kneeling by her friend. “It’s just not like her, though! This town is just like the letters she’s been sending! She’s not herself.....” “I know what you mean; those letters still have me thinking about her, too.” Said Spike. “Why would she tell us to kill ponies, and neglect this town? What’s wrong with her?” Asked Twilight. “Now hold on, Twilight! There must be a good reason for what she’s told us! We agreed on that!” Said Rarity. “I’m starting to doubt that, Rarity.” Everyone was quiet for the rest of the time until Applejack came back half an hour later. “Hey, ya’ll! I found the inn!” “Oh, good! Let’s get going! I could really use a bath when we get there....” Said Rarity. They followed Applejack down the street, around two corners, and halfway down another street where they arrived at ‘The Mooing Pony’. “‘The Mooing Pony’? What kind of a name is that?” Asked Rainbow. They all shrugged, and walked inside. Unlike the tavern in the last town they passed, ‘The Mooing Pony’ didn’t have several tables or a bar, even. The red walls were peeling and the paintings that were once there had been removed, judging by the light spots on certain areas of the walls. There was just a counter, a cash register, and a mare sitting behind them. “Can I help you?” She asked, as Twilight and her friends approached. “Yes, we need a room or two for all 7 of us.” Said Twilight. “Our rooms hold four, so you’ll have to get two rooms. That’ll be twenty bits for the night.” Twilight paid the mare, then was given two keys. “First two rooms on the right.” She said pointing upstairs. Twilight nodded, then led her friends upstairs. “Same grouping as last time?” Asked Applejack. “It doesn’t make any difference to me.” Said Rainbow Dash. Everyone nodded, and split off into the same grouping from last time - Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike in one room, and Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie in the other. “Let’s unpack and go back out; I want to investigate the possibility of a Devil Fruit being here.” Said Twilight. “Sure, Twi.” Said Applejack, as she walked into her room with the others and closed the door. Twilight closed the door to her room as well, and began unpacking. “What kind of Devil Fruit do you think we’ll come by next?” Asked Fluttershy. “It’s always a surprise, and that’s what makes hunting for them so much fun!” Said Pinkie. “Anyone of them could be next, and some of them look very dangerous.” Said Twilight. “You looked at all of them already?” Asked Fluttershy. Twilight nodded. “I wanted to know as much about them as I could: what they looked like, their abilities, that kind of thing; just in case we lost the chart.” “Oh! That could happen! I never thought about it until now....” “Yeah, which is why I’m worried.” Said Twilight, as she opened up her saddlebag and laid the chart out on the bed. “There are three types of Devil Fruits: Paramecia, Zoan and Logia. By far, Logia are the most powerful, so thankfully, they’re the rarest and we won’t have to deal with them as much. But because they're so powerful, I'm not sure if Rainbow Dash can stand up to some pony using one..." “What kind of Devil Fruit does Rainbow have?” Asked Fluttershy. “She has a Paramecia fruit. That class of fruit changes your body and basically gives you a ‘superpower’ like a comic book hero.” “OK, what do the Logia do?” “They let you control, and turn your body into, an element of nature: fire, ice, water, that kind of thing. Because of that, Logia are so powerful; especially if they are near naturally-occurring weather conditions like that of their Devil Fruit.” “And the Zoan? What do they do?” “The Zoan class let’s you transform into an animal. For example, the Giraffe-Giraffe Fruit let’s you turn into a full giraffe and a giraffe hybrid.” “Oh! That’s my favorite kind of Devil Fruit!” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m sure, Fluttershy.” They finished the rest of their unpacking in silence, then walked outside to meet up with the rest of their friends. Applejack and the others were already there, and Applejack looked upset. “What took ya’ll so long? Come on, we gotta look for that Devil Fruit!” “We’re still not sure if there even is one here, though.” Said Spike. “Exactly! So let’s keep a low profile about the fruit possibility while we’re here, OK? These ponies don’t look very friendly, and if we start asking questions about something they may think is none of our business, well.....” “Alright, Twi, we’ll go on a look and hear basis. We won’t talk to anypony.” Said Applejack. Twilight smiled. “Thanks, I know it’ll take longer this way, but...” “I understand, now let’s split up and find that fruit!”
