Corruption In Equestria (Terraria X MLP)by DennisDashChaptersThe MirrorGreetingsNegotiationsThe RideSplit upDiscoveryThe Letter.The MirrorGarrett fidgeted once again in impatience and Katelyn glared daggers at him. "Listen, Garrett I know you want to get out of here after what happened," "Good, so let me go," he shot back, being harsher than he meant to. The nurse raised her eyebrows at him, and he quickly had to remind himself that she had compete access to him when he needed to be healed. and she had some very sharp instruments. "Sorry, Katelyn," He sighed. "I just need to get away from all these reminders-" "I get it Garrett, honestly I do," Katelyn cut in with a sympathetic smile. "Thanks," "But if you don't keep still, I will stab you in the eye with a dirty syringe," Garrett gulped and kept as still as he possibly could while Katelyn finished her examination. "Well, everything checks out," She said as Garrett hopped off the table. "And all these monster attacks don't detract from my god-like beauty, right?" Garrett joked. Garrett was tall, and had brown messy hair, and brown eyes. He was fit, he walked everywhere and fought monsters all day, so he never had to worry about eating too much. He pulled on his armor and grabbed his weapon. "Whatever helps you sleep at night," Katelyn replied. but did say anything beyond that, and her silence was a hint for Garrett to be on his way. Garrett waved at a few of his housemates, but only a few waved back. Others pretended they didn't see him. He left the tower and breathed in the fresh air of the forest around him. The tower he lived in was originally a building for Garrett and his guide, Colin. But soon, as he amassed more wealth and gained strength, he gained the attention of others who would offer their services, and if Garrett was to be completely honest, their companionship. Protecting his land from the Corruption was trying on his mind, and some honest friends he could count on kept him sane. Which is why this rejection hurt all the more. He kept walking, the trees thinning out and a few familiar caves where he had picked clean for materials signaled him coming to the end of pure land. He should have turned back. Strong enemies were ahead, and at this point he was woefully unprepared. He didn't care. He kept walking, the sun getting dimmer and dimmer in the sky. Soon the air became thicker and stank of decay, and the normally healthy green grass turned a pale shade of purple, and looked dead and weak. The tree's bark became black and rotted. He pulled his Murmasa, a long, slim, deep blue blade that glowed with power. His armor was gold. with a red gem in the center of his chest. His helmet had a small wing on each side of his head. He walked onwards, keeping alert for any monsters nearby. Suddenly he felt a low rumble from his left, and turned to see the gaping maw of a World Feeder, a giant worm, with large green eyes along the length of its body, and two large curved teeth on its head. The monster caught him around the waist, and the worm's momentum knocked him off his feet and sent him into a pit. As he fell he tried to thrust the sword into the World Eater's body, scoring a hit before he crashed into the ground. The world feeder wiggled its way off of him and burrowed into the ground beside Garrett. and he got up, looking around for any other monsters lurking about. The World Feeder surfaced again, this time from the wall behind him, slamming into his back, and tearing the pack he wore to store items. A glowing mirror fell from the pack, and caught the World Feeders attention. It bit into the mirror, cracking the glass. Garrett used the monster's distraction and savagely stabbed the World Feeder's head, further damaging the mirror. The monster let out a gurgle before dying. Garrett caught his breath, before noticing the mirror. "Oh no..." he said, holding the mirror and looking at the cracked glass. The mirror started to shake heat up, blue smoke rising from in between the cracks. "What the-" Suddenly the mirror lit up the cavern with a blinding light, and Garrett felt his body rapidly heat up. He felt the familiar feeling that came with teleportation magic, but amplified. His body felt like it was being stretched in all directions, and he could no longer see the cave, only pure white light. He felt solid ground form beneath him, and his vision cleared to show him staring at the sky. He tried to move but couldn't muster the energy. His vision started to fade, the trees blurring. He saw a figure fly over him. Was that... a flying horse? No, it couldn't be... And then his vision went dark. GreetingsGarrett followed the yellow pegasus through the town she was running through, making sure she didn't see him, and keeping his sword sheathed. The ponies in the town stared, though the large sword strapped to his back kept them from asking questions. Garrett didn't notice, his mind was still preoccupied on where he was, and how the Corruption had managed to get here. The only explanation he could manage was that he had some corrupt seeds that had managed to infect the terrain. And damn it he felt horrible about it. He was supposed to destroy the Corruption, not bring it to an entirely new world! He didn't know much about this new world, only that it wasn't Terraria, and that there were many more settlements and less monsters. He also knew if anybody figured out he had brought the Corruption here, they wouldn't be too pleased. He followed her a bit longer until he saw where she was going. It looked like a tree house, if the tree was huge and made of crystal, and the house was a castle cradled in the branches of said crystal tree. "Wow!" he said, admiring the imposing building, before following the pegasus inside. He quickly hid behind a large crystal column when he saw five other ponies sitting around a table. He could hear the pegasus start telling them what happened. "I went into the forest, and t-there were t-thorns, and a b-bad smell, and purple grass!" She shouted. Garrett peeked around the column and saw the five other ponies. One other pony had wings, and had light blue fur and a rainbow mane and tail. Another had white fur, a purple, curly mane and tail, and a horn. Two others seemed normal, not having wings or horns. One was pink all over, with a puffy mane and tail. and another had orange fur, with blond ponytails for her mane and tail. The 5th one was the strangest, possessing wings and a horn, with lavender fur and a straight purple mane and tail, with a pink streak running through both. "And then a monster came out!" She finished, the others gathering around her and sitting her down into a seat. "Woah, woah, slow down Fluttershy, what are you talking about a monster?" The purple one asked, levitating a glass of water from the other room for Fluttershy. "Yeah, and purple trees?" The blue one asked, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, are you sure you didn't just doze off and have a nightmare?" "I'm sure!" Fluttershy insisted. "The monster had golden skin, and a big blue sword, and it talked!" She said, wrapping her own wings around herself. "Fluttershy, don't that sound just a bit crazy?" The orange one doubted. "I mean shoot, I bet Twilight know every darn monster in Equestria, and I bet there ain't one with golden skin," "Applejack has a point, Fluttershy, I've read about a lot of monsters, but never a one with golden skin," Twilight agreed. Garrett decided this was enough, they had to be informed about the Corruption if they wanted any chance of survival. He walked out from behind the column, holding his hand up in a sign of surrender. "Jeez, I knew I was ugly, but I never thought I looked like a monster," he joked. Fluttershy whirled around and screamed. "That's the monster!" she ran and hid behind Twilight, who glared at Garrett. Her friends rallied around her. "I'm not a monster, in fact where I come from, you guys are the freaks," he snapped, getting tired of being called a monster. He knew they probably didn't know better, but still. "Freaks?" The white one asked, heavily offended. "I'll have you know you, you cretin-" She started. Garrett held out his hand. "Can it," He pointed at Fluttershy. "She took my Hellstone bar, I just want it back," "Well you wont get far with that attitude," The pink one said. "You gotta be nice to ponies if you want something, say please, and thank you," "Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy peeped out from behind Twilight. "I don't think you want to make the monster with the giant sword mad..." She trailed off. Garrett slapped his forehead. "For the last time, I'm not a monster!" he shouted. "This isn't golden skin, it's armor!" He said, pulling off his helmet. "Wow, armor made of pure gold!" The white one said in awe, temporarily forgetting her anger at Garrett. "Yeah, no touching," Garrett said. "Just who, or what are you?" Twilight asked. "I'm Garrett, I'm a human," he said, folding his arms. "And you're in trouble," he added. "That sounds like a threat," The blue one said, stepping forward. "Back off, chicken wings," he said. "Not a threat, a warning," "A warning about what?" Twilight asked, watching Garrett, ready to take action. "Its a long story," Garrett said, intentionally avoiding the question "Give us the short version," she replied. Garrett sighed. "I'm not from here," he started. "I'm from a world called Terraria, and long story short, there's an infection there," He said, "Called Corruption," "And Corruption is what Fluttershy saw in the forest, isn't it..." Twilight said. "Yes," Garrett replied quietly, the reality finally hitting him. "But wait, if you and the Corruption are from the same world, and your here..." Twilight started. Garrett winced, hoping they wouldn't find out. "Then you brought here, this is your fault!" the blue one yelled, glaring at him. "It was an accident! I don't know how it happened, one of my relics got damaged, and..." he trailed off. "Its still here, though," Applejack said. "Listen, the point is, I'm here to help fix this," Garrett said. "Yeah, so far you helping is terrorizing our friend," the blue one said. Garrett grit his teeth. He didn't have to deal with this! He could solve the problem on his own. "I'm outta here," Garrett snarled, before storming out the doors, and out into the night. NegotiationsGarrett walked in the direction he thought was the Corruption. He could do this on his own! No sweat! Of course, he'd need a reliable supplier of purification powder. Plus a place to live. Plus some food, water and other essentials. Okay this would be harder than he thought. He sat down on a bench and said "Just how am I gonna pull this off?" "I could help with that," Somebody said. Garrett turned to see Twilight next to him. "Jeez!" He shouted. "How did you get there?!" "Teleportation," she said nonchalantly. "What do you want?" he snapped. "I want to help you, and I know you want to help us," "Your friend didn't sound so sure as you do," "Don't mind Rainbow Dash, she can be a bit..." she trailed off, looking for the word. "Obnoxious?" Garrett offered. "The point is, I know how we can stop this Corruption," "Oh really? How?" Garrett asked, suddenly interested. "I have friends in high places," "How high?" "The rulers of Equestria," she said, a small blush on her face. "Wow, that's pretty high," Garrett said, impressed. "Exactly. Now, if we can show what happened..." she said. "Then they'll know I brought it here, and I'll be thrown in jail," he retorted, panic creeping up into his voice. "Not if they realize it was an accident!" she assured him. "So what do you say? Is it a plan?" she asked. Garrett didn't need to think it over, he needed their help. "Its a plan, on one condition," he said. "What?" she asked, starting to get nervous. "This is MY mission. That means no meddling, and all purification runs go how I command them to," he said. "Garrett, I don't know if I can do that, after all, this is their land, so they would want to-" "Those are my terms," Garrett cut her off. "Wow, you are really a pain," Twilight growled. "That's the price you pay for a hero," Garrett retorted. Twilight mulled over the options in her head. "Fine, you've got a deal," she said, shaking his hand. Garrett felt a spark of hope. He knew that his fight with Corruption on his world would last as long as he lived, he would never stamp it out, just keep it under control. After all, he was just a man. He knew there would be much bloodshed, with all of these civilians. Monsters would make mincemeat of them, and he wasn't counting out himself being among the number of dead. However there still was that small spark, and with that, new determination. "I hope your ready Twilight," Garrett said. "This is gonna be a war against the Corruption," "This is my home Garrett," she replied. "If this is a war, it's one I'm determined to win," Author's Note WOW. That was a wall of dialogue... The RideAs the seven of them sat in the train car, Garrett realized just how nice it was to just ride somewhere. He always walked around Terraria, and while it kept him fit, it was tiring. He was also able to feel the wind on his body. He always kept his armor on because he never knew when another monster attack could occur. Now he kept his armor in his newly repaired backpack, courtesy of Rarity (After an apology from Garrett.) The pack could hold things much heavier or larger than him, and still remained the same size, and weight. He never wondered why. All he knew was he had ever since he could remember, and he always chalked it up to Terraria magic, which saved him a lot of headaches when using magical items. He still had many of his items, including his broken mirror, which Twilight had examined, and couldn't get it to do much other than smoke and spark. Her friends were nice enough, but mainly tried to avoid him, and he did the same. The closest things he had to a friend was Twilight, and he more considered it an alliance more than anything. Then there was... Pinkie Pie. He reminded him suspiciously of somebody back home, same demeanor, but while he bought wares from her, and as was the case with all who lived in his tower, they ate food together, he didn't really have to interact with her. Now, as he was trapped on this train, she was constantly grabbing things from his bag. "Ooh, whats this?" she would ask "Its a grappling hook," "Ooh whats this?" "Its a Phoenix Blaster, please don't touch it," he said, grabbing the handgun from her hooves, the weapon colored like fire, with a small attachment under the barrel. "Ooh, whats this?" "THAT'S A BOMB!" Needless to say, he wasn't exactly in a good mood. "Are we there yet?" he asked once again, polishing his armor and weapons. "Between you and Rarity, I'm just about ready to buck you two out the train window!" Applejack said, glaring at them both. Garrett got up and paced around the train car "I've never gone so long without some action." "I could kick you in the head, would that be enough action for you?" Rainbow Dash snapped. Twilight looked up from her book. "Enough, okay?" She slammed the book shut. "I get it, your all cooped up and ready to get out," She got up and faced the group. "We still haven't figured out how we're going to break this to Princess Celestia," Garrett sat down. "Easy; Listen, there's a Corruption, its spreading, we're all gonna die if we can't stop it," "Oh yeah, that's a fantastic way, if we want to cause national panic!" she shouted. "Twilight, there's always the chance they've already heard about it," Rarity cut in. "I know if I saw something as dirty, horrible and rotten-" "You'd smash the mirror you were looking at?" Garrett said, grinning widely. Rarity gave him the dirtiest look she could muster before continuing. "I would notify authorities, or somepony with some kind of power," "I wish we could just rely on that, but we need a backup plan, in case it hasn't spread that far yet," Twilight said, secretly hoping that was the case. "It has, trust me," Garrett said grimly. Twilight sat back down trying to focus on her book. Suddenly a scream echoed through the train car, causing everybody to turn towards Fluttershy who was looking through the window. Garrett looked through the window as well and what he saw sent fear through his entire body. Corruption. Lots of it. It stretched ahead and to the sides of the train. "How?" Twilight simply asked. Garrett equipped his armor quickly. "I don't know. Corruption spreads fast, but not this fast," He grabbed his Phoenix Blaster, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. "Then how in the name of Equestria could it have gone so darn far?" Applejack demanded. "I said I don't know!" Garrett yelled, his nerves on edge. "We're surrounded on all sides," he said. Suddenly a deep rumbling could be felt throughout the train car. "Uh oh..." He said softly. A muffled roar could be heard. The tremors grew stronger. Fluttershy screamed again"Garrett, whats going on?!" "Everybody brace for impact!" Garrett screamed, pulling Pinkie Pie down, who was busy laughing at the effect the tremors had on her voice. The sound of tearing metal echoed around them, and the felt the car derail and spin. Suddenly Garrett was on the left wall of the car, and Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight fell from the right side at the train fell on its side, sliding for a bit before coming to a stop. Everybody groaned. "Is everypony alright?" Twilight asked. Everybody said yes, and tried to get up. As they climbed through the at the front of the car, it dawned on them just how much trouble they were in. "We've got to keep moving," Garrett said. "Its too dangerous," Twilight said. "We should wait for another train," Garrett turned to face the group. "Why? So that train can get destroyed too?" "What was that thing that attacked our train?" Fluttershy asked, inching ever so slowly towards Garrett and his weapons. Pinkie Pie bounced along, as if their ride wasn't just trashed. "It made my voice sound funny!" "It was the Eater of Worlds," Garrett said. They all stared at him. Rainbow took to the air. "That thing just destroyed a train!" The roar sounded again. "Its back!" Fluttershy cried. Garrett drew his sword. "Run!" Fluttershy didn't need to be told twice, she sped off along with Rarity to the cover of a nearby train car. "You can't be serious!" Applejack looked around panicked. "That thing'll chew you up and spit you out!" "Listen to me, I've never needed any help, and I'm sure as shit not going to start now!" He yelled. The tremors got more and more violent with each passing second. The enormous worm surfaced, a the beast was longer than the train, and had large green eyes lining the its body, its head with large, jagged teeth that snapped at Garrett. He ran to the side as the worm crashed and burrowed next to him. Garrett slashed and stabbed at the Eater of World's body, creating large, spurting gashes in the monster. Garrett tried to predict where the Eater would leap from the ground. "Beneath you!" Rarity called out. "I can use my magic to search the ground, hes going to come up beneath you!" "Oh man-" Garrett screamed as the worm scooped him up in its jaws, its teeth grinding his armor. As it arced in the air, Garrett began to fall. He was dead, he would either die on impact with the ground, or the Eater of Worlds would crush him and kill him. As he fell, he saw the Eater above him, then, as he felt a sudden impact to his side, a blue sky. Garrett looked around, and saw Rainbow Dash holding onto his arm, then letting him down. Garrett just stared. She saved his life. Nobody ever did that for him before. "Thank me later!" she yelled. "Now, go kill that overgrown fish bait!" Garrett nodded, and as the worm charged toward him, he grabbed the bomb Pinkie Pie had been messing with. He lobbed it at the Eater of Worlds, and watched as it blew its head clean off, bits of monster raining down. He heard cheering along with cries of "This is so gross!" Garrett wasn't done yet. He knew every part of the monsters body could regenerate and service as an extra head. He charged up with the blade, and wailed on the monster, destroying it with boundless fury. Everybody else stared as Garrett worked his way from head to tail of the beast, hacking and slashing. As he sliced through the last bit of Eater, he collapsed to his knees, panting. He felt strangely better. "Remind me never to tick you off," Twilight said jokingly. Garrett looked up and smiled. He got to his feet, and grabbed a healing potion and drank the whole thing in one gulp. It was sweet and bubbly. It warmed his insides, and he could feel his wounds closing, his bones mending. He let out a sigh of pleasure as the drink worked its magic. The others stared. "H-how did you..." Twilight gasped, her jaw dropping further and further. Garrett laughed. "Healing potions. I feel good as new," He looked at himself, his armor dented, scraped and torn, and covered in monster guts. "I could use a shower though," "I second that!" Rarity exclaimed. They all looked at each other, letting the sheer magnitude of today's events sink in. And the laughed, they laughed and laughed, and kept laughing while the followed the train tracks to Canterlot. Split upStaring up at the sky, Garrett was losing his patience. His anxiety levels were already through the roof from being surrounded by corruption, his armor critically damaged. "Are we close to Canterlot yet?" Applejack called out to their eyes in the sky. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had flown above tree levels to try and get their bearings. "I can hardly see 10 feet ahead of me!" Rainbow shouted back. Fluttershy squinted and tried to see through the smog that was in the air. "This is awful," she lamented. "It's like, some kind of perfectly engineered pollutant!" They both landed. "Well if it makes you feel any better, animals seem to know how bad this place is. They steer clear of it," Garrett said. "What would happen if the Corruption overtook your world completely?" Twilight asked. "What would happen to the animals then?" Garrett thought about it for a few seconds. "I... don't know," he said. "I hope I never have to find out," Everybody else nodded solemnly. Suddenly Pinkie Pie let out a small cough. "Is everything alright dear?" Rarity asked. "Yeah, I think so," said the pink pony. "I feel like I ate a piece of bad candy though..." Applejack and Rainbow Dash let out small coughs as well. Garrett's blood ran cold. He pulled Twilight away from the others. "We have to get out of here, fast," he said quietly. Twilight rolled her eyes. "No! Seriously!?" "I'm serious!" He snapped. "This air, its not good for you guys. You all are used to clean air with little pollution," Twilight looked worried. "This air... It wont kill us, right?" Garrett looked at Twilight and her friends. "I- I'm not sure..." He said, intentionally not looking at Twilight. "Garrett," she said forcefully. "You have a few hours, at best, I'm- I'm really sorry," Garrett said sadly. Twilight was gripped with fear. "Maybe your princess sent out a search party for us," he offered weakly. "Look around us!" she shouted, causing her friends to turn towards their conversation. "Do you honestly think they'll find us in time?" "Um, you guys?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "I-is everything alright?" Garret sighed and pressed the palms of his hands on his closed eyes. "Yeah, Fluttershy," he lied. "Everything's fine," Garrett turned to Twilight. "I have a plan," he said. "Lets hear it," Rainbow Dash said, hovering over them. "Alright," Garrett sighed. "I say, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Twilight should fly off and look for any help. The rest of us can keep walking and follow the tracks to Canterlot," "Uh, what happens if we find help?" Fluttershy asked. Garrett reched into his backpack and pulled out handfuls of glow sticks. "We'll lay a trail of these, if air team gets help, they can follow these to find us," "What if we can't find help?" Rainbow asked. "Follow the trail anyways, so we can stick together," Garrett replied. "This plan don't sound too sturdy," Applejack said. "Well its the only one we've got," said Garrett. "Who's in?" They all shrugged, and raised their hooves. "Great. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, your with me. Lets move," He said, leading them down the tracks, every few feet laying down a glow stick. "Okay girls, lets try and fan out, but don't go too far," She said, taking off from the ground. "I'll light up my horn, make sure you can see the light, if you can't, you've strayed too far. Stay in place and call out for help," "Sounds like a plan Twilight!" Rainbow said. They all went on their way, the dim sun setting behind them. DiscoveryFluttershy was humming softly as she walked along the path she took when gathering berries. As she walked, the sun seemed to grow dimmer, though the trees blocked out the sun effectively enough it could not be noticed. Suddenly pain shot through Fluttershy's front left leg. "OW!" she yelled, looking down at what had hurt her. Thorns. Sharp, purple, strange looking thorns, which were wrapped around her leg. She carefully pulled herself free from the thorns and looked around to see where they came from. "This path is usually clear, I wonder why thorns are here now?" she wondered. She quickly forgot about the incident and continued picking berries, until she suddenly smelled something foul. It was overpowering, the smell. It smelled like a combination of rotten fruit, milk, and animal carcass. She was about to turn around when something glowing from the trees ahead caught her eye. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she hesitantly walked into the trees, the smell getting stronger and stronger. She quickly noticed a change in the forest, the grass looked different, the trees seemed to look more dead and weak. She found the object that had caught her attention. It was a bar of some kind. It was gray, with small spots of glowing orange dotted all around it. It was hot to the touch, but she was able to put it in the basket. "If Twilight has time I might ask her to look at this," she decided. "You know, you shouldn't take things that don't belong to you," A voice echoed from her right. Fluttershy whirled around to see... something leering at her from the cover of the trees. It was tall, about twice her height. It's skin seemed to be pure gold, and it stood on two legs. What held Fluttershy's attention. however, was the large sword it carried. "W-what are y-you?" she squeaked, slowly backing away. "I could ask you the same question," It replied. walking towards her, sword still drawn. Fluttershy grabbed around and found a rock about the size of her hoof, and lobbed it at the creature. It simply laughed as it bounced off its golden skin. "Seriously, I'm gonna need that back," It said. Fluttershy turned and galloped away, screaming at the top of her lungs. Garrett sighed, now following her trail. "Great," he said as he ran after the screaming pegasus, wondering how he was going to deal with any angry villagers with torches and pitchforks. The Letter.Spike sat staring at the map, his fear growing by each passing second. He stared at the six icons on the map. moving, thankfully, but slowly. He started to get nervous when the marks stopped. He got worried when they seemed to scatter. Now his anxiety levels were climbing higher with each second. He wasn't sure he trusted that Garrett character. He looked like how Twilight did when she went through that mirror. Come to think of it, while Rarity was repairing Garrett's backpack, he mentioned him coming here by a mirror as well. Spike was pulled out of his thoughts by the familiar feeling in his stomach that signaled an incoming letter. He burped out the letter, adorned with Celestia's seal, and opened it. It seemed to be written hastily, the handwriting only slightly messier than what usually came through, and it only contained a simple message: "Twilight you must come quick. Very Important." Spike grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, writing a reply that read: "This is Spike. Twilight and the others left by train to go to meet you." He rolled it up, and set it alight with his fire breath. Soon a reply came through. Spike read it and his heart dropped into his stomach. It was messier than the last letter. "THAT TRACK IS DANGEROUS, OVERRUN, WILL SEND HELP. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT LEAVE PONYVILLE." Spike was shaking in fear. Twilight was in danger?! Spike was also scared about Celestia telling him to not leave Ponyville. What was so dangerous beyond here? Twilight never told him much, not wanting to scare him, despite his claims he was brave enough. He looked at the map again, and what he saw terrified him to no end. Spike knew they were still alive because their marks had kept moving. Now the marks were still.
The MirrorGarrett fidgeted once again in impatience and Katelyn glared daggers at him. "Listen, Garrett I know you want to get out of here after what happened," "Good, so let me go," he shot back, being harsher than he meant to. The nurse raised her eyebrows at him, and he quickly had to remind himself that she had compete access to him when he needed to be healed. and she had some very sharp instruments. "Sorry, Katelyn," He sighed. "I just need to get away from all these reminders-" "I get it Garrett, honestly I do," Katelyn cut in with a sympathetic smile. "Thanks," "But if you don't keep still, I will stab you in the eye with a dirty syringe," Garrett gulped and kept as still as he possibly could while Katelyn finished her examination. "Well, everything checks out," She said as Garrett hopped off the table. "And all these monster attacks don't detract from my god-like beauty, right?" Garrett joked. Garrett was tall, and had brown messy hair, and brown eyes. He was fit, he walked everywhere and fought monsters all day, so he never had to worry about eating too much. He pulled on his armor and grabbed his weapon. "Whatever helps you sleep at night," Katelyn replied. but did say anything beyond that, and her silence was a hint for Garrett to be on his way. Garrett waved at a few of his housemates, but only a few waved back. Others pretended they didn't see him. He left the tower and breathed in the fresh air of the forest around him. The tower he lived in was originally a building for Garrett and his guide, Colin. But soon, as he amassed more wealth and gained strength, he gained the attention of others who would offer their services, and if Garrett was to be completely honest, their companionship. Protecting his land from the Corruption was trying on his mind, and some honest friends he could count on kept him sane. Which is why this rejection hurt all the more. He kept walking, the trees thinning out and a few familiar caves where he had picked clean for materials signaled him coming to the end of pure land. He should have turned back. Strong enemies were ahead, and at this point he was woefully unprepared. He didn't care. He kept walking, the sun getting dimmer and dimmer in the sky. Soon the air became thicker and stank of decay, and the normally healthy green grass turned a pale shade of purple, and looked dead and weak. The tree's bark became black and rotted. He pulled his Murmasa, a long, slim, deep blue blade that glowed with power. His armor was gold. with a red gem in the center of his chest. His helmet had a small wing on each side of his head. He walked onwards, keeping alert for any monsters nearby. Suddenly he felt a low rumble from his left, and turned to see the gaping maw of a World Feeder, a giant worm, with large green eyes along the length of its body, and two large curved teeth on its head. The monster caught him around the waist, and the worm's momentum knocked him off his feet and sent him into a pit. As he fell he tried to thrust the sword into the World Eater's body, scoring a hit before he crashed into the ground. The world feeder wiggled its way off of him and burrowed into the ground beside Garrett. and he got up, looking around for any other monsters lurking about. The World Feeder surfaced again, this time from the wall behind him, slamming into his back, and tearing the pack he wore to store items. A glowing mirror fell from the pack, and caught the World Feeders attention. It bit into the mirror, cracking the glass. Garrett used the monster's distraction and savagely stabbed the World Feeder's head, further damaging the mirror. The monster let out a gurgle before dying. Garrett caught his breath, before noticing the mirror. "Oh no..." he said, holding the mirror and looking at the cracked glass. The mirror started to shake heat up, blue smoke rising from in between the cracks. "What the-" Suddenly the mirror lit up the cavern with a blinding light, and Garrett felt his body rapidly heat up. He felt the familiar feeling that came with teleportation magic, but amplified. His body felt like it was being stretched in all directions, and he could no longer see the cave, only pure white light. He felt solid ground form beneath him, and his vision cleared to show him staring at the sky. He tried to move but couldn't muster the energy. His vision started to fade, the trees blurring. He saw a figure fly over him. Was that... a flying horse? No, it couldn't be... And then his vision went dark.
GreetingsGarrett followed the yellow pegasus through the town she was running through, making sure she didn't see him, and keeping his sword sheathed. The ponies in the town stared, though the large sword strapped to his back kept them from asking questions. Garrett didn't notice, his mind was still preoccupied on where he was, and how the Corruption had managed to get here. The only explanation he could manage was that he had some corrupt seeds that had managed to infect the terrain. And damn it he felt horrible about it. He was supposed to destroy the Corruption, not bring it to an entirely new world! He didn't know much about this new world, only that it wasn't Terraria, and that there were many more settlements and less monsters. He also knew if anybody figured out he had brought the Corruption here, they wouldn't be too pleased. He followed her a bit longer until he saw where she was going. It looked like a tree house, if the tree was huge and made of crystal, and the house was a castle cradled in the branches of said crystal tree. "Wow!" he said, admiring the imposing building, before following the pegasus inside. He quickly hid behind a large crystal column when he saw five other ponies sitting around a table. He could hear the pegasus start telling them what happened. "I went into the forest, and t-there were t-thorns, and a b-bad smell, and purple grass!" She shouted. Garrett peeked around the column and saw the five other ponies. One other pony had wings, and had light blue fur and a rainbow mane and tail. Another had white fur, a purple, curly mane and tail, and a horn. Two others seemed normal, not having wings or horns. One was pink all over, with a puffy mane and tail. and another had orange fur, with blond ponytails for her mane and tail. The 5th one was the strangest, possessing wings and a horn, with lavender fur and a straight purple mane and tail, with a pink streak running through both. "And then a monster came out!" She finished, the others gathering around her and sitting her down into a seat. "Woah, woah, slow down Fluttershy, what are you talking about a monster?" The purple one asked, levitating a glass of water from the other room for Fluttershy. "Yeah, and purple trees?" The blue one asked, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, are you sure you didn't just doze off and have a nightmare?" "I'm sure!" Fluttershy insisted. "The monster had golden skin, and a big blue sword, and it talked!" She said, wrapping her own wings around herself. "Fluttershy, don't that sound just a bit crazy?" The orange one doubted. "I mean shoot, I bet Twilight know every darn monster in Equestria, and I bet there ain't one with golden skin," "Applejack has a point, Fluttershy, I've read about a lot of monsters, but never a one with golden skin," Twilight agreed. Garrett decided this was enough, they had to be informed about the Corruption if they wanted any chance of survival. He walked out from behind the column, holding his hand up in a sign of surrender. "Jeez, I knew I was ugly, but I never thought I looked like a monster," he joked. Fluttershy whirled around and screamed. "That's the monster!" she ran and hid behind Twilight, who glared at Garrett. Her friends rallied around her. "I'm not a monster, in fact where I come from, you guys are the freaks," he snapped, getting tired of being called a monster. He knew they probably didn't know better, but still. "Freaks?" The white one asked, heavily offended. "I'll have you know you, you cretin-" She started. Garrett held out his hand. "Can it," He pointed at Fluttershy. "She took my Hellstone bar, I just want it back," "Well you wont get far with that attitude," The pink one said. "You gotta be nice to ponies if you want something, say please, and thank you," "Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy peeped out from behind Twilight. "I don't think you want to make the monster with the giant sword mad..." She trailed off. Garrett slapped his forehead. "For the last time, I'm not a monster!" he shouted. "This isn't golden skin, it's armor!" He said, pulling off his helmet. "Wow, armor made of pure gold!" The white one said in awe, temporarily forgetting her anger at Garrett. "Yeah, no touching," Garrett said. "Just who, or what are you?" Twilight asked. "I'm Garrett, I'm a human," he said, folding his arms. "And you're in trouble," he added. "That sounds like a threat," The blue one said, stepping forward. "Back off, chicken wings," he said. "Not a threat, a warning," "A warning about what?" Twilight asked, watching Garrett, ready to take action. "Its a long story," Garrett said, intentionally avoiding the question "Give us the short version," she replied. Garrett sighed. "I'm not from here," he started. "I'm from a world called Terraria, and long story short, there's an infection there," He said, "Called Corruption," "And Corruption is what Fluttershy saw in the forest, isn't it..." Twilight said. "Yes," Garrett replied quietly, the reality finally hitting him. "But wait, if you and the Corruption are from the same world, and your here..." Twilight started. Garrett winced, hoping they wouldn't find out. "Then you brought here, this is your fault!" the blue one yelled, glaring at him. "It was an accident! I don't know how it happened, one of my relics got damaged, and..." he trailed off. "Its still here, though," Applejack said. "Listen, the point is, I'm here to help fix this," Garrett said. "Yeah, so far you helping is terrorizing our friend," the blue one said. Garrett grit his teeth. He didn't have to deal with this! He could solve the problem on his own. "I'm outta here," Garrett snarled, before storming out the doors, and out into the night.
NegotiationsGarrett walked in the direction he thought was the Corruption. He could do this on his own! No sweat! Of course, he'd need a reliable supplier of purification powder. Plus a place to live. Plus some food, water and other essentials. Okay this would be harder than he thought. He sat down on a bench and said "Just how am I gonna pull this off?" "I could help with that," Somebody said. Garrett turned to see Twilight next to him. "Jeez!" He shouted. "How did you get there?!" "Teleportation," she said nonchalantly. "What do you want?" he snapped. "I want to help you, and I know you want to help us," "Your friend didn't sound so sure as you do," "Don't mind Rainbow Dash, she can be a bit..." she trailed off, looking for the word. "Obnoxious?" Garrett offered. "The point is, I know how we can stop this Corruption," "Oh really? How?" Garrett asked, suddenly interested. "I have friends in high places," "How high?" "The rulers of Equestria," she said, a small blush on her face. "Wow, that's pretty high," Garrett said, impressed. "Exactly. Now, if we can show what happened..." she said. "Then they'll know I brought it here, and I'll be thrown in jail," he retorted, panic creeping up into his voice. "Not if they realize it was an accident!" she assured him. "So what do you say? Is it a plan?" she asked. Garrett didn't need to think it over, he needed their help. "Its a plan, on one condition," he said. "What?" she asked, starting to get nervous. "This is MY mission. That means no meddling, and all purification runs go how I command them to," he said. "Garrett, I don't know if I can do that, after all, this is their land, so they would want to-" "Those are my terms," Garrett cut her off. "Wow, you are really a pain," Twilight growled. "That's the price you pay for a hero," Garrett retorted. Twilight mulled over the options in her head. "Fine, you've got a deal," she said, shaking his hand. Garrett felt a spark of hope. He knew that his fight with Corruption on his world would last as long as he lived, he would never stamp it out, just keep it under control. After all, he was just a man. He knew there would be much bloodshed, with all of these civilians. Monsters would make mincemeat of them, and he wasn't counting out himself being among the number of dead. However there still was that small spark, and with that, new determination. "I hope your ready Twilight," Garrett said. "This is gonna be a war against the Corruption," "This is my home Garrett," she replied. "If this is a war, it's one I'm determined to win," Author's Note WOW. That was a wall of dialogue...
The RideAs the seven of them sat in the train car, Garrett realized just how nice it was to just ride somewhere. He always walked around Terraria, and while it kept him fit, it was tiring. He was also able to feel the wind on his body. He always kept his armor on because he never knew when another monster attack could occur. Now he kept his armor in his newly repaired backpack, courtesy of Rarity (After an apology from Garrett.) The pack could hold things much heavier or larger than him, and still remained the same size, and weight. He never wondered why. All he knew was he had ever since he could remember, and he always chalked it up to Terraria magic, which saved him a lot of headaches when using magical items. He still had many of his items, including his broken mirror, which Twilight had examined, and couldn't get it to do much other than smoke and spark. Her friends were nice enough, but mainly tried to avoid him, and he did the same. The closest things he had to a friend was Twilight, and he more considered it an alliance more than anything. Then there was... Pinkie Pie. He reminded him suspiciously of somebody back home, same demeanor, but while he bought wares from her, and as was the case with all who lived in his tower, they ate food together, he didn't really have to interact with her. Now, as he was trapped on this train, she was constantly grabbing things from his bag. "Ooh, whats this?" she would ask "Its a grappling hook," "Ooh whats this?" "Its a Phoenix Blaster, please don't touch it," he said, grabbing the handgun from her hooves, the weapon colored like fire, with a small attachment under the barrel. "Ooh, whats this?" "THAT'S A BOMB!" Needless to say, he wasn't exactly in a good mood. "Are we there yet?" he asked once again, polishing his armor and weapons. "Between you and Rarity, I'm just about ready to buck you two out the train window!" Applejack said, glaring at them both. Garrett got up and paced around the train car "I've never gone so long without some action." "I could kick you in the head, would that be enough action for you?" Rainbow Dash snapped. Twilight looked up from her book. "Enough, okay?" She slammed the book shut. "I get it, your all cooped up and ready to get out," She got up and faced the group. "We still haven't figured out how we're going to break this to Princess Celestia," Garrett sat down. "Easy; Listen, there's a Corruption, its spreading, we're all gonna die if we can't stop it," "Oh yeah, that's a fantastic way, if we want to cause national panic!" she shouted. "Twilight, there's always the chance they've already heard about it," Rarity cut in. "I know if I saw something as dirty, horrible and rotten-" "You'd smash the mirror you were looking at?" Garrett said, grinning widely. Rarity gave him the dirtiest look she could muster before continuing. "I would notify authorities, or somepony with some kind of power," "I wish we could just rely on that, but we need a backup plan, in case it hasn't spread that far yet," Twilight said, secretly hoping that was the case. "It has, trust me," Garrett said grimly. Twilight sat back down trying to focus on her book. Suddenly a scream echoed through the train car, causing everybody to turn towards Fluttershy who was looking through the window. Garrett looked through the window as well and what he saw sent fear through his entire body. Corruption. Lots of it. It stretched ahead and to the sides of the train. "How?" Twilight simply asked. Garrett equipped his armor quickly. "I don't know. Corruption spreads fast, but not this fast," He grabbed his Phoenix Blaster, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. "Then how in the name of Equestria could it have gone so darn far?" Applejack demanded. "I said I don't know!" Garrett yelled, his nerves on edge. "We're surrounded on all sides," he said. Suddenly a deep rumbling could be felt throughout the train car. "Uh oh..." He said softly. A muffled roar could be heard. The tremors grew stronger. Fluttershy screamed again"Garrett, whats going on?!" "Everybody brace for impact!" Garrett screamed, pulling Pinkie Pie down, who was busy laughing at the effect the tremors had on her voice. The sound of tearing metal echoed around them, and the felt the car derail and spin. Suddenly Garrett was on the left wall of the car, and Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight fell from the right side at the train fell on its side, sliding for a bit before coming to a stop. Everybody groaned. "Is everypony alright?" Twilight asked. Everybody said yes, and tried to get up. As they climbed through the at the front of the car, it dawned on them just how much trouble they were in. "We've got to keep moving," Garrett said. "Its too dangerous," Twilight said. "We should wait for another train," Garrett turned to face the group. "Why? So that train can get destroyed too?" "What was that thing that attacked our train?" Fluttershy asked, inching ever so slowly towards Garrett and his weapons. Pinkie Pie bounced along, as if their ride wasn't just trashed. "It made my voice sound funny!" "It was the Eater of Worlds," Garrett said. They all stared at him. Rainbow took to the air. "That thing just destroyed a train!" The roar sounded again. "Its back!" Fluttershy cried. Garrett drew his sword. "Run!" Fluttershy didn't need to be told twice, she sped off along with Rarity to the cover of a nearby train car. "You can't be serious!" Applejack looked around panicked. "That thing'll chew you up and spit you out!" "Listen to me, I've never needed any help, and I'm sure as shit not going to start now!" He yelled. The tremors got more and more violent with each passing second. The enormous worm surfaced, a the beast was longer than the train, and had large green eyes lining the its body, its head with large, jagged teeth that snapped at Garrett. He ran to the side as the worm crashed and burrowed next to him. Garrett slashed and stabbed at the Eater of World's body, creating large, spurting gashes in the monster. Garrett tried to predict where the Eater would leap from the ground. "Beneath you!" Rarity called out. "I can use my magic to search the ground, hes going to come up beneath you!" "Oh man-" Garrett screamed as the worm scooped him up in its jaws, its teeth grinding his armor. As it arced in the air, Garrett began to fall. He was dead, he would either die on impact with the ground, or the Eater of Worlds would crush him and kill him. As he fell, he saw the Eater above him, then, as he felt a sudden impact to his side, a blue sky. Garrett looked around, and saw Rainbow Dash holding onto his arm, then letting him down. Garrett just stared. She saved his life. Nobody ever did that for him before. "Thank me later!" she yelled. "Now, go kill that overgrown fish bait!" Garrett nodded, and as the worm charged toward him, he grabbed the bomb Pinkie Pie had been messing with. He lobbed it at the Eater of Worlds, and watched as it blew its head clean off, bits of monster raining down. He heard cheering along with cries of "This is so gross!" Garrett wasn't done yet. He knew every part of the monsters body could regenerate and service as an extra head. He charged up with the blade, and wailed on the monster, destroying it with boundless fury. Everybody else stared as Garrett worked his way from head to tail of the beast, hacking and slashing. As he sliced through the last bit of Eater, he collapsed to his knees, panting. He felt strangely better. "Remind me never to tick you off," Twilight said jokingly. Garrett looked up and smiled. He got to his feet, and grabbed a healing potion and drank the whole thing in one gulp. It was sweet and bubbly. It warmed his insides, and he could feel his wounds closing, his bones mending. He let out a sigh of pleasure as the drink worked its magic. The others stared. "H-how did you..." Twilight gasped, her jaw dropping further and further. Garrett laughed. "Healing potions. I feel good as new," He looked at himself, his armor dented, scraped and torn, and covered in monster guts. "I could use a shower though," "I second that!" Rarity exclaimed. They all looked at each other, letting the sheer magnitude of today's events sink in. And the laughed, they laughed and laughed, and kept laughing while the followed the train tracks to Canterlot.
Split upStaring up at the sky, Garrett was losing his patience. His anxiety levels were already through the roof from being surrounded by corruption, his armor critically damaged. "Are we close to Canterlot yet?" Applejack called out to their eyes in the sky. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had flown above tree levels to try and get their bearings. "I can hardly see 10 feet ahead of me!" Rainbow shouted back. Fluttershy squinted and tried to see through the smog that was in the air. "This is awful," she lamented. "It's like, some kind of perfectly engineered pollutant!" They both landed. "Well if it makes you feel any better, animals seem to know how bad this place is. They steer clear of it," Garrett said. "What would happen if the Corruption overtook your world completely?" Twilight asked. "What would happen to the animals then?" Garrett thought about it for a few seconds. "I... don't know," he said. "I hope I never have to find out," Everybody else nodded solemnly. Suddenly Pinkie Pie let out a small cough. "Is everything alright dear?" Rarity asked. "Yeah, I think so," said the pink pony. "I feel like I ate a piece of bad candy though..." Applejack and Rainbow Dash let out small coughs as well. Garrett's blood ran cold. He pulled Twilight away from the others. "We have to get out of here, fast," he said quietly. Twilight rolled her eyes. "No! Seriously!?" "I'm serious!" He snapped. "This air, its not good for you guys. You all are used to clean air with little pollution," Twilight looked worried. "This air... It wont kill us, right?" Garrett looked at Twilight and her friends. "I- I'm not sure..." He said, intentionally not looking at Twilight. "Garrett," she said forcefully. "You have a few hours, at best, I'm- I'm really sorry," Garrett said sadly. Twilight was gripped with fear. "Maybe your princess sent out a search party for us," he offered weakly. "Look around us!" she shouted, causing her friends to turn towards their conversation. "Do you honestly think they'll find us in time?" "Um, you guys?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "I-is everything alright?" Garret sighed and pressed the palms of his hands on his closed eyes. "Yeah, Fluttershy," he lied. "Everything's fine," Garrett turned to Twilight. "I have a plan," he said. "Lets hear it," Rainbow Dash said, hovering over them. "Alright," Garrett sighed. "I say, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Twilight should fly off and look for any help. The rest of us can keep walking and follow the tracks to Canterlot," "Uh, what happens if we find help?" Fluttershy asked. Garrett reched into his backpack and pulled out handfuls of glow sticks. "We'll lay a trail of these, if air team gets help, they can follow these to find us," "What if we can't find help?" Rainbow asked. "Follow the trail anyways, so we can stick together," Garrett replied. "This plan don't sound too sturdy," Applejack said. "Well its the only one we've got," said Garrett. "Who's in?" They all shrugged, and raised their hooves. "Great. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, your with me. Lets move," He said, leading them down the tracks, every few feet laying down a glow stick. "Okay girls, lets try and fan out, but don't go too far," She said, taking off from the ground. "I'll light up my horn, make sure you can see the light, if you can't, you've strayed too far. Stay in place and call out for help," "Sounds like a plan Twilight!" Rainbow said. They all went on their way, the dim sun setting behind them.
DiscoveryFluttershy was humming softly as she walked along the path she took when gathering berries. As she walked, the sun seemed to grow dimmer, though the trees blocked out the sun effectively enough it could not be noticed. Suddenly pain shot through Fluttershy's front left leg. "OW!" she yelled, looking down at what had hurt her. Thorns. Sharp, purple, strange looking thorns, which were wrapped around her leg. She carefully pulled herself free from the thorns and looked around to see where they came from. "This path is usually clear, I wonder why thorns are here now?" she wondered. She quickly forgot about the incident and continued picking berries, until she suddenly smelled something foul. It was overpowering, the smell. It smelled like a combination of rotten fruit, milk, and animal carcass. She was about to turn around when something glowing from the trees ahead caught her eye. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she hesitantly walked into the trees, the smell getting stronger and stronger. She quickly noticed a change in the forest, the grass looked different, the trees seemed to look more dead and weak. She found the object that had caught her attention. It was a bar of some kind. It was gray, with small spots of glowing orange dotted all around it. It was hot to the touch, but she was able to put it in the basket. "If Twilight has time I might ask her to look at this," she decided. "You know, you shouldn't take things that don't belong to you," A voice echoed from her right. Fluttershy whirled around to see... something leering at her from the cover of the trees. It was tall, about twice her height. It's skin seemed to be pure gold, and it stood on two legs. What held Fluttershy's attention. however, was the large sword it carried. "W-what are y-you?" she squeaked, slowly backing away. "I could ask you the same question," It replied. walking towards her, sword still drawn. Fluttershy grabbed around and found a rock about the size of her hoof, and lobbed it at the creature. It simply laughed as it bounced off its golden skin. "Seriously, I'm gonna need that back," It said. Fluttershy turned and galloped away, screaming at the top of her lungs. Garrett sighed, now following her trail. "Great," he said as he ran after the screaming pegasus, wondering how he was going to deal with any angry villagers with torches and pitchforks.
The Letter.Spike sat staring at the map, his fear growing by each passing second. He stared at the six icons on the map. moving, thankfully, but slowly. He started to get nervous when the marks stopped. He got worried when they seemed to scatter. Now his anxiety levels were climbing higher with each second. He wasn't sure he trusted that Garrett character. He looked like how Twilight did when she went through that mirror. Come to think of it, while Rarity was repairing Garrett's backpack, he mentioned him coming here by a mirror as well. Spike was pulled out of his thoughts by the familiar feeling in his stomach that signaled an incoming letter. He burped out the letter, adorned with Celestia's seal, and opened it. It seemed to be written hastily, the handwriting only slightly messier than what usually came through, and it only contained a simple message: "Twilight you must come quick. Very Important." Spike grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, writing a reply that read: "This is Spike. Twilight and the others left by train to go to meet you." He rolled it up, and set it alight with his fire breath. Soon a reply came through. Spike read it and his heart dropped into his stomach. It was messier than the last letter. "THAT TRACK IS DANGEROUS, OVERRUN, WILL SEND HELP. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT LEAVE PONYVILLE." Spike was shaking in fear. Twilight was in danger?! Spike was also scared about Celestia telling him to not leave Ponyville. What was so dangerous beyond here? Twilight never told him much, not wanting to scare him, despite his claims he was brave enough. He looked at the map again, and what he saw terrified him to no end. Spike knew they were still alive because their marks had kept moving. Now the marks were still.
