Legacy Of The Friendship

Having nothing left to take care of aboard the Leviathan, Kerrigan descended down to the ground for the second time during her visit here.

The six ponies were busy trying to convince the townsfolk that the danger was gone and that it was safe to come out, but just as the first few ponies were about to take a step outside their homes, they rushed back inside and sealed the doors the moment they noticed the creature that previously scared the living daylight out of them.

The mane six and Kerrigan spent some time looking at each other. After looking upwards and realizing that no other creature seemed to be joining her, Twilight spoke up, "I thought you said you weren't alone."

"I am for now. The company I was with got...delayed," Kerrigan reluctantly explained and started walking towards the Everfree forest.

Still unable to shake the feeling that it isn't right letting Kerrigan go after the creature alone, Twilight raised her hoof and opened her mouth, ready to say something.

"You know..." Kerrigan interrupted before Twilight could say a word. "While I'm unsure whether you could be of any use to me physically, there is a way I think you could help me out."

The mane six shared a few confused looks between each other before Twilight asked, "What did you have in mind?"

"Advice," Kerrigan instantly replied. "I am new to these lands and unfamiliar with the surroundings...Tell me, is there anything inside that forest that I should be aware of?"

Twilight spent some time thinking. "Well, the Everfree forest is full of all sorts of creatures, both friendly and aggressive...But I'm sure those wouldn't be much of a threat to one such as you."

Kerrigan stood silent.

"One thing though..." Twilight rubbed her chin while speaking. "If you happen to see a patch of small, blue flowers on your way, I'd suggest you steer clear of it."

"Aah, something poisonous, I assume."

"You could say that..."

"Thank you for the warning," Kerrigan thanked the young princess and made her way into the dark forest.

Realizing that there was nothing more to be said or done about the situation, Twilight and her friends got back to trying to convince the ponies to leave their homes.

Lets hope all goes well in there... Twilight thought to herself.

***

Kerrigan didn't hold back, just moments after the small conversation with the mane six, she was already a few steps inside the forest and was already feeling the creepy aura surrounding the place. The Everfree forest felt unnatural even to a being like her...It felt...alive.

She walked fast, but didn't let a single object of interest escape her sights. She was mostly looking for any signs of Amon having passed through here, but so far she hadn't found any. She did find the peculiar blue flowers Twilight warned her about, however. Just as Twilight suggested, she circled around them.

The last thing she needed right now was a handicap, she already wasn't certain about whether it was a good idea to follow Amon alone. He may have still been weak after his awakening, but even while weakened, he could no doubt prove to be a foe too powerful to take on alone.

It was that exact thought that helped Kerrigan press on. It was either that or letting him freely regain full power...and then things would get a whole lot more complicated.

The forest seemed to get darker as she pressed on. All of a sudden, she reached a part of the forest where she couldn't even see past her own nose. She turned around and realized that the way back was also clouded in shadow.

She would have thought that this is just a trick of the forest that Twilight forgot to warn her about, but a certain dark laugh echoing around her convinced her that she had just found what she was looking for.

"Show yourself!" Kerrigan shouted out.

There was no reply, only another laugh, no less wicked than the last one.

"I know you're here, Amon!" She shouted again and turned towards the direction she though she heard the laugh originate from. "Face me!" She turned around after hearing another laugh, instantly noticing a pair of red eyes staring at her from the darkness.

"Amon!" Kerrigan chased after the demon, but as she ran, the distance between her and him didn't seem to be shortening. She stopped running to save her breath. "Your tricks won't save you, Amon!" Kerrigan screamed and hit the ground with a charged kinetic blast around her right arm, igniting the air around her in the process and shedding some light on the darkness.

As the shadow cleared away, so did the red eyes. Kerrigan found herself surrounded by some trees. "Why have you come here, Amon? What are you looking for in a place like this?" Kerrigan yelled at her surroundings.

After a brief moment of silence, Kerrigan got her answer. "Power!" Another echo ringed through her ears.

"Power?" the confused queen of blades asked. "Are you truly so desperate that you have to come to a place like this in search of power?"

Amon laughed at her. "Desperate? Ha ha ha ha!"

Kerrigan kept turning around, trying to spot Amon whenever he said something."

"Haven't you realized yet? Do you truly not feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"The magic!" Amon revealed himself for a short moment.

Kerrigan didn't hesitate to charge at him, but she only ended up attacking the air.

"It's everywhere! Don't even try to deny it! Even you feel it!"

"So this is what it's come to then?" Kerrigan regained her balance after the pointless charge and spoke more calmly. "You've come to steal magic from helpless fairy tale creatures?"

Amon laughed at Kerrigan's attempt to insult him with her sarcastic tone. "Why not? There's magic inside every single object in this land! Every creature! Every building! Every plant!"

Amon paused for a moment. Kerrigan turned towards the location she heard his last word coming from and saw Amon near one of the trees.

"Every tree..." Amon whispered in his dark tone and wrapped his hand around the nearest tree. The tree surged with a red light as soon as Amon grabbed it, after which it turned to ashes. "And these ponies are handing it to me on a silver plate!"

Amon laughed and Kerrigan furiously charged at him again, thus ending up in the same situation as before. By the time Kerrigan opened her eyes, the mist had faded away completely, and she found herself on the same path that led her here.

"Argh!" Kerrigan got up and ran back the way she came from. Continuing chasing after Amon seemed pointless to her at right now.

***

Kerrigan got back to town even quicker than she reached Amon. She was hoping that the ponies could help her find out where Amon had gone. When she got closer to the edge of the town, she noticed that the streets were full of ponies now. Apparently the mane six had succeeded in convincing them that the danger was gone.

Not all of the ponies had left their homes. While Twilight was busy trying to convince another colt to leave his home, Applejack noticed Kerrigan returning. She tapped on Twilight's shoulder and directed her towards the returning visitor.

"Be Right back!" Twilight said to the owner of the house, right before bolting off towards Kerrigan before she could scare all the ponies back into their homes. Naturally, her friends followed her.

"You're back!" Twilight greeted Kerrigan with excitement. "Does this mean you were successful?"

"You could say that."

Kerrigan's reply wiped the smile right off of Twilight's face. "Huh?"

"I did not stop Amon, but I did manage to find out what's he here for," Kerrigan explained.

"Amon? Is that the name of the creature that came here before you?"

"Yes," Kerrigan confirmed. "I've found out that he's here for the magic that your lands hold."

"Magic?" Twilight's eyes widened as she asked. "That almost sounds like Tirek!"

"Who's Tirek?"

"Tirek was an evil creature that also tried to take the magic away from the ponies of Equestria."

"And how did you stop him?" Kerrigan asked in naive hopes of finding a weapon against Amon.

"Well..." Twilight paused. She decided to spare the details and just keep it short. "Lets just say we used a weapon against him that no longer exists."

"I see..." Realizing that the same problem couldn't have the same solution, Kerrigan made a different approach. "We may not be able to defeat Amon the same way, but perhaps there's something about the methods of this enemy of yours that will match the ones of my current enemy...Tell me, how did this Tirek try to achieve his goals?"

Smart move... Twilight thought to herself and gladly proceeded to explain. "In the beginning, he was weak, just like your enemy, from what I heard."

"Indeed."

"While he was weak, he could only feed off of the magic of unicorns, but as he grew in power, he became powerful enough to take the magic of pegasi and earth ponies as well, eventually reaching the point where he could even consume alicorn magic!"

"Alicorn?" Kerrigan repeated. Instead of a verbal reply, Twilight spread her wings and pointed at her horn. "So that's what you're called...and here I was trying to decide whether to call you a winged unicorn or a horned pegasus."

Twilight giggled. A small smirk also showed upon Kerrigan's lips.

"Hmm..." Kerrigan pondered on something. "This doesn't make any sense."

"What do you mean?"

"You said that this Tirek went after living ponies...If so, then how come he's been spending all his time inside that forest?"

"You're right..." Twilight replied after a short pause. "That really doesn't make any sense." Twilight began rubbing her chin.

Both Kerrigan and the mane six were all lost in their thoughts for some time, up until the moment Sarah recalled Amon's exact words.

There's magic inside every single object in this land!

"Wait a minute..."

"You figured it out?" Twilight was all ears.

"He didn't say he was after only pony magic, he said there was magic inside every single object in this land!"

"Huh?" The conjoined voices of the mane six asked.

"Think! Is there some sort of object inside that forest that could hold great magical power?"

"I...I don't know...Are you sure that's exactly what he said?" Twilight asked, unable to solve this riddle.

"Yes! Those were his exact words. Every creature, every building, every plant..." Nothing seemed to strike a chord in Twilight's mind...At least not until Kerrigan added two last words, "Every tree..."

"Every tree..." Twilight seemed to be onto something. "Oh no..." Twilight's face turned pale and her tone was dramatic.

"What's wrong?" Kerrigan asked. Twilight's sudden grim expression gave her a bad feeling in her gut.

"We need to get to the tree of harmony! Now!" Twilight shouted out and began moving towards the woods with her friends on her tail.

"Hold on!" Kerrigan shouted. "What's this so called tree of harmony?"

"I'll explain on the way, right now we need to move! Come on!" Twilight started running. Her friends swiftly followed, and so did Kerrigan after a brief moment of confusion and a loud sigh.

How did i get dragged into this...

***

While running, Kerrigan caught up with the pack leader pony. "So what's this about some tree of harmony?"

"The tree of harmony is the source of one of the most powerful known forms of magic in Equestria - the elements of harmony."

Twilight read Kerrigan's confused expression and decided to explain further, "There are six of these elements - laughter, kindness, loyalty, generosity, honesty and magic. What makes these elements so special is that only true representatives of the element they stand for are able to use their full potential."

"And I'm guessing the six of you are those representatives you speak of?"

"Yes. Using the magic of the elements of harmony, we were able to defeat powerful foes that dared to threaten Equestria, but ultimately we had to return them back to the tree of harmony if balance was to be maintained in Equestria."

Kerrigan tried to maintain a serious attitude, but with all this talk of magic and harmony, and all the talking ponies, it was hard to not laugh. "So you think Amon might be after this tree for the magic it has in it?"

"I sure hope not. Who knows how powerful he would become if he managed to obtain that magic."

This pony seems very serious about this whole tree of harmony thing...perhaps it is something of great power after all... Kerrigan wondered. And If Amon went so far as to cross dimensions just to obtain it...

Twilight noticed the slightly nervous look on Sarah's face.

Kerrigan began thinking of a backup plan in case everything went sour. "You said that these elements of harmony were one of the most powerful forms of magic known to Equestria...does this mean there are other ones? Perhaps even more powerful ones?"

"Well...There is one," Twilight slowly replied. "One more powerful than any other, one that not even Tirek could obtain, even when he was at the top of his strength."

This is getting interesting... "So what is this super powerful form of magic you mean?" Kerrigan asked. Suddenly all serious and even slightly excited.

"Well...It's..." Twilight suddenly stopped near the edge of a cliff and gasped loudly as she stared downwards. Her friends repeated the exact same action as soon as they caught up.

Kerrigan slowly walked up to them and also stared downwards. She could easily see over the heads of the ponies since she was slightly more than twice as tall as they were. At the very center of a cliff she noticed a completely black and withered up tree. It seemed like it was about to turn to ash any second.

The surprised and worried looks on the faces of the ponies said everything...At this point Kerrigan realized they were too late.