The Hero of Harmony

Chapters

A Donkey from another Dimension
A World of Kindness
Courage of the Heart

A Donkey from another Dimension

Thistle rubbed his aching eyes. It took a while for his vision to adjust, but once it did, he almost wished that it hadn’t. The yellow and green coated donkey had been transported to a strange room that was like nothing he had ever seen before. It was tall, round, and completely demolished. Part of the roof had caved in, creating a mountain of rubble with thick tree roots poking out in odd places. The windows were smashed, and the floor itself could barely be made out, as the hard surface was hidden beneath shatters of glass, teared pieces of tapestry, and sharp purple shards.

“W...where is this place?” The donkey peered around nauseously. “I wonder, did this used to be… a castle?”

He directed his attention to the centre of the room, where a huge crystal platform was emitting weak sparks of light in all directions. Thistle approached it cautiously, and upon closer inspection concluded this to be a table, but none like any he had seen in the past. The surface was flashing various shades of purple, pink, blue, orange, yellow and white, and it was crafted in such a way that it displayed three dimensional scenery of towns, trees, and mountains. Unlike the rest of the room, the table actually seemed to be in tact aside from a few piles of ash here and there, and of course, the strange sparks, which made the donkey decide against reaching out and touching its surface.

Surrounding the flashing table was what appeared to be the ravaged remains of six tall thrones, and possibly one smaller throne. Curiously, most of them were somehow in a worse state than the room itself. The most recognisable throne was scorched and jagged, with a strange pink symbol of some sort weakly glowing above the seat. The rest were terribly damaged, coated in ash with pieces missing and bold scratch marks across their exterior. Just like the first, all but one had it's own symbol. However, none of the other symbols were glowing; some were in pieces and detached from the throne itself, and they were all incredibly difficult to make out.

The most unrecognisable seat looked as though it had been completely incinerated, and then hacked in half by a giant almighty claw. There was no symbol at all, probably because the top of the throne was nothing but a crumbled mess upon the floor behind the main frame, which had been slashed horizontally and stained a filthy shade of grey. Beside it, a shorter seat had received a similar treatment and been reduced to a mere heap of stone and shards.

“I wonder what happened here.” The donkey whispered to himself as he explored the room. “Wait a second… who summoned me?”

Thistle gazed around frantically, searching for any sign that he wasn’t alone, but the room appeared to completely be deserted. Turning his attention to the castle entrance, Thistle noticed that one side of the door - although closed - had come off its hinges and was merely propping itself up against the other. It had monstrous dark marks across its golden frame.

Thistle gathered all of his courage and boldly approached the door. Those marks looked almost threatening; like they were warning him not to open it. He could only imagine the horror that lay on the other side; it would either be a destroyed and deserted wasteland like the inside of the castle, or it would be a world of peril and despair, with its inhabitants suffering at the hands of a dangerous enemy; an enemy that he was no doubt expected to defeat.

Taking a deep breathe, the small donkey trotted forwards, crushing the glass shards beneath his tough, sturdy hooves. He gradually picked up speed, and lowered his head ready to force the door from its frame. His long ears lowered themselves in preparation, and his striped tail swished about furiously behind him. Thistle came closer and closer, charging toward that which was going to lead to either his destiny, or his demise. He had almost reached his target, when suddenly…

*thud*

Thistle stopped in his tracks. His ears pricked up and he froze for a second, before turning his head to determine the origin of the sudden noise. It seemed to have come from the crystal table, or one of the thrones; but the room looked as empty as it was before. Even so, Thistle left the door and retraced his steps, on the off-chance that there was something he had previously missed.

“Who’s there?” He stomped impatiently, “show yourself!”

There was no reply.

Keeping his ears pricked and his eyes peeled, Thistle decided to take a closer look at the remains of the thrones. He circled the area counterclockwise, and studied the symbols upon each one.

The first throne he came to had a chunk missing from the top, and displayed only two red dots which were dented at the bottom. Thistle rummaged through the rubble beneath his feet, but concluded that the rest of the symbol was buried deep among the shards. He could have taken the time to dig it out, but the bewildered little donkey had no idea how long that would take, nor how long he actually had to fulfill his mission - once he discovered what that mission actually was.

And so, Thistle moved on to the next throne, which was so heavily damaged and unrecognisable that he almost considered bypassing it completely. It was the throne which was sliced in half and almost completely black, accompanied by the smaller pile of remains. He tried in vain to rub away the ash, before taking a closer look at the crumbled mess on the floor behind the base. At first glance, it seemed no different from the other heaps of ruins scattered around the room, but then, something caught Thistle’s eye. This pile was sparkling, just a little, and tiny fractures of purple were hidden within it. The donkey shuffled the crumbled mess around, expecting something to be revealed underneath, but to no avail.

He then moved on to the next throne, which was a little better off, but far from intact. Instead, odd pieces were missing here and there, and the main frame was merely balancing upon the seat in a desperate fashion. Thistle dared not touch it; one tiny tap, and the whole thing would probably come tumbling down. The symbol on this throne was unusual. It consisted of a streak of three primary colours, which were in the shape of a lightning bolt. The streak derived from a jagged hole in the seat, indicating that once again, part of the symbol was missing.

Finally, Thistle came to the throne with the glowing pink symbol. Upon closer inspection, he recognised that it was made up of three identical shapes. This throne was wonky, and had patches of black and grey around it's frame, but it was by far the most intact. After taking a second to inspect the seat, Thistle’s eyes were drawn to the weak glow above him. After giving the area a quick dust with his hoof, he soon realised that the symbol portrayed three butterflies. He took a moment to inspect them, and suddenly found himself mesmerised by their beauty, and unable to look away.

As Thistle gazed upon the butterfly pattern, it suddenly began to emit a more vibrant light, which grew gradually brighter the longer he stared. Thistle felt himself being enveloped in this light, and soon it was all he could see, aside from the three pretty butterflies who had now began flapping their wings and leaving their base one by one. Thistle suddenly felt his mind gradually falling into a trance-like state, and his fears melted away while his body became weightless so that he could join them in their flight. Whilst the butterflies circled his drifting body, Thistle still couldn’t take his eyes off their delicate wings. He had never felt so content, so relaxed, and so free, as he was gently carried away beyond his control.

Meanwhile, back inside the throne room, the butterfly symbol struggled to glow for a few more seconds, before stopping completely. Then, a few small clouds of black smoke began to appear from beneath the table, and out came a small purple dragon, coughing and spluttering uncontrollably. He grasped in his claws a thick book with a tattered yellow and green cover. Its spine was damaged and bent, and the pages inside were torn so badly that they were poking out in places.

“That was… *cough* close!” the dragon choked, rubbing the tears from his eyes as he struggled to his feet.

Spike forced his aching body onto the butterfly throne, and stared at the symbol with large eyes full of concern and dread.

He sobbed a little before shifting his gaze to the book clasped tightly in his arms.

“A…. donkey?” He wept, “I ask for a hero, and you send me… a donkey?”

A World of Kindness

Thistle dreamily opened his eyes, before rising to his feet and surveying his surroundings. The world that lay before him was comparable to a paradise. He was standing in an open field, rich with beautiful flowers and dandelion clocks. Delicate long grass swayed around his ankles, and butterflies, dragonflies, and honey bees danced above it peacefully. Over in the distance, trees of various shapes and sizes were silhouetted by a rising golden sun.

“Is that a forest?” The donkey tilted his head and squinted but he couldn’t quite tell from so far away. He glanced around for a more specific landmark, but in every other direction there was nothing but grass for miles.

Thistle gave an annoyed sigh and began charging across the field, hoping with all his heart that he was heading in the right direction. He still had no idea what he was looking for, but it gave him a little relief to discover that the trees were in fact a forest, and a magnificent one at that.

At the forest entrance, a colourful stone pathway was surrounded by two beautiful rose bushes. Branches above them swayed gently in the breeze with the sun sparkling through their leaves. As Thistle approached, he noticed a variety of animals inhabited these bushes, and many were coming out to greet him. Tiny bunnies and baby hedgehogs, scaly lizards and chirping birds, all gazed up at him with beady eyes and some even reached out their paws to shake his hoof as he passed them by.

“It’s… nice to meet you.” Thistle had never met such friendly creatures before, but it made him feel rather warm and content inside.

“There doesn’t seem to be a thing wrong with this place.” He muttered to himself whilst exchanging greetings with a long haired bunny, “Perhaps I shouldn’t be here after all.”

Then suddenly, Thistle’s long ears pricked up as they managed to catch an unusual sound. It was almost completely drowned out by the happy chirping of the birds, but Thistle had a very keen sense of hearing.

“Hold on a second there.” Thistle silenced the animals, and focused his attention in the direction of the sound.

He soon decided that the noise could best be described as a faint wailing, followed by sniveling, and it was coming from further on down the path. Someone was crying; which meant that they most likely needed help.

“I must go, friends.” Thistle gave the small animals a gracious bow, “someone needs me.”

The creatures waved goodbye and watched as the young donkey trotted off, following his ears.

The forest only became more magnificent the deeper Thistle ventured inside. The trees sprouted all kinds of fruit, most of which he had never even seen before. Squirrels raced along the branches, as though wishing to accompany him on his journey, and more and more butterflies appeared and fluttered around him. The scent of pollen filled the air, combined with that of roses, lilies’, lavender, and other alluring aroma. There was so much tempting him to stop and admire the scenery, smell the beautiful flowers, and greet the cute wildlife, but Thistle raced on. The noise gradually became louder and louder.

The scenic path eventually came to a close, and the young donkey found himself in a small open area with long grass. It was had to make out his surroundings at first, as hundreds of butterflies obscured his vision, but once they had subsided Thistle was presented with the most gorgeous sight that he had ever laid his eyes upon.

A large crystal blue lake almost formed a perfect circle in the grass before him. It was complete with giant lily pads and petals, and the sun reflected off its surface, making it sparkle elegantly. Strong reeds surrounded the exterior of the lake in a tidy manner, and colourful fish could be seen swimming around within it. However, it was not the lake itself that had caught the attention of the donkey. No, it was the beautiful mare who rested upon the largest lily pad in its very center.

Her coat was pale shade of buttercup yellow, complimented by a soft pink mane that flowed beside her, matching her long, delicate tail. She had cute feathered wings either side of her body, and there was a mark upon her rump which resembled three butterflies; just like the symbol upon the throne. Her large, saddened eyes were the exact same colour as the water beneath her, and they were filled with tears which streamed heavily down her flushed cheeks.

The mare timidly lifted her head, and for a moment, everything was silent. The two stared into each other’s eyes, and Thistle felt a sudden warmth fill his body, his mind, and his heart. After a few seconds, he took a deep breathe, putting an end to his hesitation, and approached her. The mare suddenly looked afraid, and wiped her eyes before hiding the majority of her face behind her mane.

“Please excuse me, mysterious beauty of the lake.” Thistle addressed her, “I have been following the sound of your tears. It so greatly pains me to see such an attractive young lady in despair.”

The pegasus said nothing, but peeked out at him from behind her hair.

“If there is anything I can do to assist you...” Thistle continued as he steadily trotted forwards, “I would be more than happy to oblige.”

After a few more silent seconds, the mare seemed to realise that Thistle meant her no harm, and she slowly began to reveal herself. She sniffed a little more, and tried to dry her sore eyes before attempting to communicate.

“Th…there’s nothing… anypony… can do.” She stuttered, before bursting into tears once more.

Thistle thought for a moment,

“Perhaps not.” He replied, “but I, Sweetheart, am not a pony.”

As he approached the edge of the lake, Thistle readied his hind legs and aimed, preparing to jump onto the nearest lily pad and get closer to the mare. He took a step backwards, wiggled his rump a little, and then leaped. It was a perfect landing, until the lily pad couldn’t hold his stocky figure, and sank into the lake taking him with it.

Clumsily, the donkey tried to recover by treading water and swimming over to the pegasus, pretending that this was his plan all along.

“W... what seems to be the problem?” He asked when he finally reached her lily pad.

The pony took a minute to gather herself before answering.

“Everything.”

“Everything?” Thistle tried to reach a hoof out to comfort her, but he was reluctant to try and lift himself onto another lily pad. “Why don’t we start with the castle, do you know anything about that?”

“C….castle?!” The poor pony gasped and started hyperventilating, “how do you… know about… the… castle?” She shuffled away from him fearfully.

Thistle lowered his tone,

“Poor thing, you’ve obviously been through a lot.” He spoke softly, “you don’t need to be afraid any more darling. I’m a hero you see. I get summoned to solve problems like this - it’s my job.”

The mare glared at him in disbelief, and so he continued.

“My name is Thistle. And today, I was summoned to the remains of a castle that had clearly suffered through some terrible act of destruction.”

At those words, the pegasus began breathing heavily once more. Thistle decided to diverse the subject a little, in an attempt to calm her down.

“One of the thrones had this exact symbol upon it.” He pointed at the butterflies upon her rump, “that symbol pulled me in, and I ended up here. Please, beautiful pegasus of the forest, please tell me all you can. The very fate of your world may depend upon it.”

“I…. it… there’s nothing….” She panted, “It’s too late.”

Thistle reached out a little more, and finally managed to brush her mane in a comforting manner.

“Please.” He asked, gazing deeply into her eyes. “At least give me your name.”

Whether it was a result his gentle hoof, his soft tone of voice, or his honest expression was a mystery, but this time Thistle actually seemed to get through to her.

“F…Fluttershy.” Mumbled the mare, then inhaled deeply and began to speak at a rapid speed, as though she had to get it all out before changing her mind or bursting into tears once more.

“And it was all my fault. That monster was angry with me. He asked me to help him, but I wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t complete the tasks well enough, or quick enough. I couldn’t find the books he wanted, I couldn’t stay airborne for as long as he wanted, I couldn’t even remember all of the names of the great leaders of Equestria!”

“Monster? Books? Eq…uestria?” Thistle had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

“I made him so mad.” Fluttershy continued, “That he attacked me, and then he attacked my friends, and destroyed the castle! He said he was going to take over Equestia because of me, because I was too weak and incompetent.”

“That’s…. hold on…” Thistle was somehow even more clueless now than before. “A monster destroyed your world, because you couldn’t find him some books?”

Fluttershy started crying again, and nodded.

“Are you…. Are you sure that’s what happened?” Thistle asked skeptically, which only bought on louder tears.

“Alright, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry, beautiful Fluttershy.” He tapped her gently, “could you perhaps, if it is not too much trouble, try to recall what this ‘monster’ looked like?”

Fluttershy took another deep breathe,

“It… it was huge” she answered, “and terrifying, enormous, teeth smashing, sharp scale having, horn wearing, smoke snorting…”

“So it was a dragon?” Thistle tried to get his head around the situation as best he could.

Fluttershy nodded,

“The biggest, fiercest dragon I have ever seen…. although he did have a skeleton skull for a head…”

“A… skull?” The donkey had never heard of a creature like that.

“Mmmhmm.” Fluttershy shuddered as she recalled the monster, “and he was shrouded in shadow, with a hundred staring eyes... and he was surrounded by crowds of ponies who were shouting, and taunting, and heckling me for failing miserably at each and every task he presented me with….”

“I…. see.” Thistle scratched his ear, he really didn’t ‘see’ at all, but he wanted to help nonetheless. “Well it sounds to me like this monster was being rather unreasonable. After all, who throws a chaotic hissy fit over not being able to find a book?”

Fluttershy seemed unusually surprised by those words,

“Do you by any chance know of any way we can get back to the castle?” Thistle asked her,

Fluttershy shook her head,

“I don’t even know where this place is.” She sobbed hopelessly, “I’m completely useless without my friends.”

Thistle thought for a moment, then chimed up.

“Oh Miss Fluttershy, I very much doubt that is true. However, even if you do believe such nonsense, I think you will find that you are in fact with a friend at this very moment.”

After a small pause, the timid pegasus lifted her head once more. Despite her cheeks being wet with tears, Thistle could tell that she was blushing.

“M… maybe there is a way out.” She agreed at last, meekly forcing an uncertain smile.

“That’s the spirit.” Thistle smiled, “let’s find it… together.” He reached out a hoof, in hopes that she would take it.

Fluttershy gulped nervously, but eventually returned his gesture. She began to climb off the lily pad, and lowered herself into the water to join her new friend. She took a better look at Thistle whilst he smiled gently back at her. She concluded that he was unmistakably a donkey, but he was unlike any donkey she had ever seen before. His coat was patterned with strange markings. The ones upon his main body were ring-shaped, but he had green stripes around his tail.

In an attempt to relax his companion, Thistle started splashing a little and making light ripples in the water, revealing his large brown hooves. Fluttershy noticed a vine-like pattern surrounding each one, and began to wander how Thistle came to have them; but she was too shy to ask him. The two of them then spent a moment watching the sun flickering upon the surface of the lake, and admiring the pretty butterflies dancing overhead. Even in her current state of despair, Fluttershy could not deny the beauty of the world she had been transported to. She hoped with all her heart that her friends had been as lucky.

Once the pair decided to leave the lake, they followed the path back into the forest. Thistle was hoping that the portal home would be somewhere near the area where he had first arrived.

“Miss Fluttershy, do you not recognise this place at all?” He asked his companion as they admired the wildlife and scenery.

“N…no.” Fluttershy replied, “well, the plants look similar to those in Equestria, as do the animals, and especially the butterflies.”

“Oh yes I was meaning to ask you about that.” Thistle continued, “why is it that you have that symbol?”

“Oh, you mean my cutie mark?” Fluttershy glanced at the three butterflies on her flank. It didn't make sense to her that Thistle had never seen a cutie mark before, but she decided to be polite and answer him as though it wasn't a big deal.

"Where I'm from, all ponies have them." She explained "they are a representation of our personality, and a sign of who we are. Back home, I dedicated my life to taking care of all kinds of creatures. I discovered that I have a special way of communicating with animals, and it turned out that’s what I was supposed to do.”

“My word.” The donkey replied, “I’ve never heard anything quite like that before. Tell me sweet Fluttershy, is it usually possible for ponies to travel inside their cutie marks?”

That question provoked a bashful chuckle from Fluttershy,

“Oh no,” She replied, “Although… I did see all of my friends being sucked into the cutie marks on their thrones…” She suddenly remembered the horrific events that occurred at the castle. “Although, that could be something to do with… the elements.”

Thistle put a hoof on her shoulder when he noticed her voice beginning to shake,

“The… elements?” he asked,

“Y…yes.” Fluttershy smiled gratefully at him for the gesture, “you see…”

“Shhhh!” Suddenly, Thistle silenced her. His ears pricked up and he glanced around frantically.

He could hear another noise. This one was like thunder, and it was getting louder and louder with each passing second. Soon, the ground beneath their feet started shaking, and animals began hiding and running for their lives.

A huge shadowy figure was approaching them from over the horizon. Thistle and Fluttershy froze in their tracks as it drew closer, now roaring and snarling ferociously. Clouds of fog surrounded it’s gigantic frame, and huge spikes could be seen spouting from its head, blocking the sunlight. After a brief hesitation, the two turned to run, but the creature was approaching at an increasing speed, and once he reached them, his overall appearance terrified Thistle to no end.

He was dark, humongous and scaly, with a skull for a head, and a giant open mouth filled with sharp jagged teeth. His main body was covered with a hundred eyes, and a crowd of angry ponies could be made out among the smoke. They were shouting, they were taunting, and they were heckling.

“You’re pathetic, cowering in fear like that! But you’re not fast enough to run away! You can’t do anything right!” They bellowed, booing and growling in rage.

Thistle couldn’t believe his eyes as he stared up at the monster who was almost twenty times his height. Fluttershy whimpered behind him, shaking uncontrollably.

Courage of the Heart

Thistle had never felt such an odd mixture of deep fear, and total confusion. The dark beast towered above them, shrouded in smoke. A row of jagged fangs hung from the jaw of its skull; they were dripping with saliva. Each of the eyeballs upon the creature’s otherwise muscular body, was focused hard upon its target in an intimidating manner. Blood red veins pumped from below the surface of its long, slender front legs. Its hind legs were hard to see, due to the thick shadow and crowds of ghost-like ponies surrounding them, but an enormous spiked tail was swiping around menacingly through the smoke.

The ponies accompanying the monster seemed furious for some reason. They were pushing and shoving one another in an attempt to assert themselves to the front of the group. Then, they scowled angrily at Thistle, and shouted abuse at him.

“You can’t do anything right! You’re small, and weak, and pathetic!” They bellowed,

The monster lifted its front legs and roared, almost as though it was agreeing with them. A trio of unicorn near the front then spoke out in unison from among the insults.

“You let your world die.” They shouted together “And now this world will die too, because of you!”

“W…what is…” Thistle could barely speak, so he turned to the terrified mare cowering behind him, “…this is the… monster?” he asked her.

Fluttershy didn’t answer. She was lying down, covering her face with her hooves and trembling in fear. Something about her terrified state gave Thistle a tiny spark of courage. It wasn’t enough to free himself of his own fears; but it was enough to motivate him to try and do something. He wanted to protect her.

“Listen here Sir.” The donkey tried to sound bold as he addressed the beast, but his voice trembled, as did his knees. “You have no business in this land. Be gone!”

The monster opened its skull mouth and leaned closer to the donkey, snarling in his face in a patronizing manner. The shadow ponies laughed at Thistle’s pathetic attempt,

“You’re no hero!” They taunted him, “you’re shaking in fear! There’s nothing you can do! You pathetic little steed!”

Thistle gritted his teeth, contemplating his next move. He wondered, should he charge at the monster? Perhaps striking its eyes would cause it some pain, then he could start taking out the shadow ponies one by…. No. They far outnumbered him. He most likely wouldn’t even make it to the beasts’ body before being trampled or swiped by a giant claw. That would leave Fluttershy vulnerable …there was nothing he could do.

He looked back at the whimpering yellow pegasus.

“Miss Fluttershy, no matter what happens, I will protect you.” He stated firmly, and then stood as boldly as he could, then turned back to face the creature of nightmares.

The beast gave a loud cry, preparing for attack. It then stretched his back, revealing scaly dark wings coated by sharp spikes which stuck out in all directions. Then, it lifted one of it's muscular front legs and pointed a deadly claw at the small donkey who stood before him. The ghost ponies spoke.

“You have one chance to save this world - but you will fail.” They cackled menacingly, “and when you do, this land will be destroyed along with all of it's living creatures.”

Surprisingly, those words made Fluttershy lift her head, although she still seemed as terrified as before. Thistle was confused; the monster was giving him a chance? It had to be a trick.

“I shan’t fail.” He replied as calmly as he could, “Tell me what I must do, to save this beautiful world.”

The beast snorted, and a trail of smoke flowed from its nostrils. They swirled around Thistle’s hooves, before progressing into the forest behind him. The army of ghost-ponies began stomping together, and suddenly the monster opened its claws, revealing a cloud of black smoke with a strange image inside. It showed a purple peach-shaped fruit, with dark sinister markings upon its skin. As Thistle looked closer, he was surprised to find that the markings actually portrayed butterflies; but butterflies with torn, spiked wings and curved, pointed antenna.

“This fruit is what we desire.” The ponies told him. “If you bring it to us, this world will be spared, but if you fail, we will demolish it, and it will be all your fault.”

“What… a fruit?” Thistle didn’t completely believe them, he was expecting to have to battle the monster, or defeat the army, or carry out some other near-impossible mission.

“I see.” He replied uncertainly, “so, where can I find this fruit that you seek?”

The ponies laughed,

“If you’re too stupid to figure that out, you don’t stand a chance.”

Thistle gave an annoyed growl, and thought for a moment. It was then he noticed the smoke swirling around his feet, and trailing into the forest.

“Come on Fluttershy.” He turned to the pegasus, who appeared to be frozen with fear.

Thistle lowered his body, and lifted her onto his back, and the two of them headed off into the forest, following the smoke that was conveniently showing them the way.

At first, everything seemed as it was before; the same rose bushes grew along the stone pathway, the tree branches swayed gently in the breeze, and the animals approached to greet them from all directions. However, the dark foggy trail was beginning to expand, and it soon started to affect the wildlife. The leaves upon the plants began to droop, followed by the beautiful flower heads and branches. The long grass could barely be seen as the area was gradually blanketed in shadow, and tiny squeaks and coughs could be heard coming from the surrounding plants.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy suddenly gazed around, and without warning rolled herself off Thistle’s back.

The donkey stopped in his tracks,

“What is it?” He asked, and turned to find Fluttershy lowering her wings to the ground.

Mice, bunnies, squirrels and hedgehogs climbed aboard the pegasus’ soft feathers and onto her back. A few lizards gripped onto her sides, and small insects climbed into her tail and mane.

“I’m sorry, please, can we wait just a second?” Fluttershy pleaded. “I just can’t leave them.”

Thistle, touched by her kindness, gave a sweet smile before lowering his own body and allowing more animals to climb aboard. Oddly enough, the smog seemed to subside a little as he did so.

They proceeded at a slightly slower speed, allowing more creatures to join along the way, and making sure to not leave any of them behind. Thistle noticed patches missing from the shadow trail, and it suddenly became noticeably thinner as they progressed. Nevertheless, they continued to follow it, and soon came to a magnificent waterfall surrounded by cliffs coated with ivy.

The smoky trail lead vertically up the craggy rocks, and eventually ended with a dark cloud surrounding a familiar object.

“The fruit!” Thistle announced, “Miss Fluttershy! Look! All we have to do is get up there!”

The Pegasus face dropped,

“Y... yes.” She gulped nervously, “all we have to do… is get up… there.”

“This shall be as easy as a piece of cake!” Thistle grinned; he wasn’t very good at metaphors. “After all, you can fly!”

Fluttershy gasped,

“I… I can fly but…” She mumbled, “it… it just looks so dark and… scary. What if it’s dangerous? What if it’s cursed?”

Thistle rubbed his chin,

“Hm, that could very well be.” He answered, “Never the less, we must retrieve it if we are to save this world.”

Noticing that the mare was too afraid to leave the ground, he gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

“Have no fear, fair Fluttershy. I shall be the one to retrieve that fruit!”

“Oh… no… you can’t climb up there! It’s too dangero…” Fluttershy started to say, but Thistle was already climbing.

After some effort, the donkey managed to hoist himself onto a large rock at the base of the waterfall. He then grabbed hold of a creeping vine using his mouth, and tried to use it for balance as he lifted his body and stood on his hind legs, stretching to reach the next protruding area. When he had a firm grip on the surface, he lifted his right hind leg and against the edge of the platform, before kicking off it and leaping, grabbing hold of an unstable, pointed rock a little higher up. Fluttershy watched anxiously as Thistle attempted to walk up the cliff face, using another vine to pull himself up

“Easssy does it…” The donkey told himself, as he eventually managed to balance on the rock, which shook uncontrollably under his weight.

Keeping hold of the vine, Thistle then eyed another suitable platform. This one was coated in shadow, and it was difficult to make out the edge. Even so, Thistle didn’t think twice about attempting to reach it. He crouched, before kicking off the rock he was standing on, sending it falling down the waterfall. Taking a giant leap toward the shadowy area, Thistle reached his hooves out towards it and frantically tried to grab hold. He succeeded, but only just, as his entire body was now dangling from a huge chunk of rock. Once again, the donkey pushed both his hind legs against the surface, and clenched the vine tightly between his teeth as he began to climb up.

However, with one scrape of his bulky hooves, the edge of the chunk began to crumble away; it was not as strong as it seemed. Thistle tried desperately to hoist himself up, but instead found himself eroding the rock, causing the platform to gradually fall.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy covered her eyes, then turned to her animal friends,

“I’m sorry little ones,” She said, lowering her wings to set them down onto the foggy ground, “but I have to go and help Thistle.”

The animals panicked and squeaked, but to their surprise, once Fluttershy’s wings reached the ground, the smoke subsided.

Fluttershy stood at the base of the waterfall, and gulped fearfully as she watched her new friend dangling from the giant shadowy rock. She then flapped her wings as quickly as she could, and began to fly upwards.

When the rock began to tilt, Thistle struggled to hold on as its surface was now breaking away with no support beneath it. He felt his hoof slipping, and tried to struggle frantically for any place to grip to prevent himself from falling. It was no good, and the minute he let go, the entire rock came falling down after him. Expecting to be crushed, Thistle closed his eyes, when suddenly he was pulled out of its path in mid-air by Fluttershy.

“M…Miss Fluttershy… you… saved me.” He panted,

The pegasus didn’t answer, it was taking every ounce of strength she had to lift his stocky figure. She flapped her wings rapidly, but they soon began to descend. They hit the ground with a slight thud, but it was fairly painless. Fluttershy landed on Thistle’s back, and blushed as she climbed off him. After a quick rest, she then began flapping again as she flew up the dark trail to collect the fruit.

Thistle and the animals cheered Fluttershy on, while the pegasus tried to fly wide to avoid the shadow as much as possible. This became increasingly difficult, as the dark fog suddenly seemed drawn to her. Thistle also noticed the smoke around his feet becoming thicker, and once again lowered his body, allowing the animals to clamber upon it.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake beneath his hooves, and Thistle turned to see a familiar dark, skull-headed creature approaching from the distance. He decided not to cry out to Fluttershy; she was so close to reaching the fruit, he didn’t want to startle the Pegasus and cause her to lose her concentration.

However, Fluttershy was having problems of her own. The closer she got to the fruit, the more she could hear sounds of taunting and mockery addressing her among the smoke.

“You can’t do it! You’re too weak! You can barely fly!” The voices teased.

Fluttershy recognised them instantly; they were the shadow ponies who accompanied the terrifying monster. Her heart began to pound as she noticed thousands of eyes appearing in the fog clouds, focusing hard upon her every movement.

“You don’t have the strength to make it!” The voices continued, “you’re just a weak little pony”

Fluttershy shook her head to try and drown them out. She could see the fruit a mere three feet away from her grasp. She reached out to it, while the shadow ponies called to her.

“A weak little pony… who is responsible for destroying Equestria!” They cackled evilly,

Wiping a tear from her eye, Fluttershy struggled to continue.

“And now all of your friends are gone… because of you!”

At those words, the pegasus limbs dropped inches away from the fruit. She started to cry, as memories of her friends being devoured by their elements filled her anxious mind.

The voices proceeded to laugh, while her wings grew heavy and her body started to descend. They were right; she couldn’t do it. The shadow engulfed her entire body, causing her to lose control and become weak and helpless. She couldn’t see the rocks any more, let alone the fruit. The eyeballs circled her, taking pleasure in her hopeless state, and she suddenly felt extremely dizzy.

Then, Fluttershy heard another voice; a very different, and very comforting voice.

“You can do it Fluttershy!” Thistle called from the ground, while the animals cheered her on. “You’re doing fantastically, fair angel of the skies!”

The fog around her seemed to disparage a little, and Fluttershy stared down at Thistle, blushing at his choice of words. He was right; she was doing well, she had almost gotten the fruit all by herself. She regained her balance, and reached out among the smoke; she had to do this, her animal friends were depending on her.

Strangely enough, the voices of the phantom ponies gradually became weaker, and the fog began to drift away. Once she was finally able to see the purple fruit, Fluttershy stretched her hooves, and flapped her wings to hoist herself towards it. Then, she grabbed it and held it close to her chest. The pegasus closed her eyes tightly, expecting some kind of dark magic to sprout from its butterfly markings, but for a moment, nothing happened.

“Oh courageous Fluttershy!” Thistle’s face beamed up at her from the ground below, “You have succeeded!”

“I…. I have….” Fluttershy opened her eyes, and smiled down at him as the smoke surrounding her began to fade.

Then, there was another roar, but this one was somewhat different to before. It was more like a cry of pain, and it was coming from down the path. The entire area began to tremble as though it was suffering the effects of a miniature earthquake.

“Fluttershy! Throw me the fruit!” Thistle called to his friend,

The pegasus complied, although she wasn’t the best at throwing and instead ended up dropping it near the base of the waterfall. Luckily, Thistle managed to dive and catch it just before it hit the floor. The donkey then followed the trail of smoke as it began to disappear, and headed towards the gigantic scaled beast who appeared to be roaring in pain near the forest entrance.

He found the monster in a devastating state, crouching upon its thick hind legs and holding its vulgar skull head in its front claws, scratching the bone while it shook from side to side beneath them. The crowd of phantom ponies watched horrified, as the creatures’ long tail swiped at them, causing them to disappear in groups at a time along with the smoke surrounding them.

Thistle wasn’t sure what to do, so he stood and watched as a giant hole suddenly appeared beneath the beasts’ body and began sucking it in. The monster struggled with all its might to pull itself from the void, but it was no use. Soon, all of the phantom ponies had been devoured, along with the beast's hind legs and tail. The hundred eyes upon its body began to dart around anxiously, and it clawed the ground manically, giving frantic cries of despair.

Thistle noticed that the forest was now completely restored to its original state; free from the blanket of fog which previously shrouded its terrain. He then heard light hoof steps, and turned to see that Fluttershy had joined him. The tired pegasus stood weakly beside the donkey, and watched wide-eyed as the monster’s upper body sank into the dark void.

As the last of the eyeballs upon the creatures’ chest began to sink, Thistle noticed a single tear fall from one of them. Then the skull head let out a final cry, and reached its front claw out towards them as best it could. Thistle gazed at the beast, then looked at the fruit which was grasped tightly in his hoof. He lifted it to his mouth and took hold of the stem, then, he charged forwards.

“Thistle… what are you….” Fluttershy called after her friend, who was racing toward the monster.

Thistle stopped meters away from the black void, and held out the fruit for the beast to take. All that was left of the monster now was the top of its roaring skull, and a single front leg which it swung in all directions. Thistle stayed calm, and stretched his neck to angle the fruit. Then, he let it fall into the palms of the monster.

The second the fruit touched the beast’s scaly flesh, there was a blinding light. Thistle closed his eyes tightly, as he, Fluttershy, and the monster were enveloped within it. When the light faded, the monster was no more, and in its place three pink butterflies fluttered delicately before them.

Fluttershy’s mouth fell open, and soon she found herself drawn to the beautiful creatures. She stood beside Thistle, and for a moment neither of them said anything.

“Do you… think that was a good idea?” Fluttershy asked hesitantly.

“He said he desired the fruit.” Replied Thistle, “in order for this world to be spared - that was the deal.”

After gathering themselves, the two smiled at each other, and the butterflies circled them, gradually picking up speed. Soon, their bodies were surrounded by a sparkling silver whirlwind. Thistle felt himself becoming lighter as he began to float in the breeze, he took hold of Fluttershy’s hoof, and started to once again drift into a dreamlike state.

The two used the last of their energy to wave goodbye to the animals who were watching and waving from the forest entrance. Then, there was another flash of blinding light, and they appeared back in the throne room.