The Heroes of Harmony Arrive
You don't know how long you've been traveling, all you know is something has been calling you and your five friends to this place. You are a Warrior, and you walk with a Thief named Daryl, a White Mage named Rosa, a Black Mage named Beatrix, a Monk named Marcus, and a Red Mage named Sabrina. The one thing you have in common is that you hold a crystal in your hand. You walk through a small town named Canterlot. The guards look at you and your group as you walk through the town. When you are about to leave the town, one of the guards says, "The king is looking for the prophesied Warriors of Harmony." He looked at your crystals and says, "Th-Those crystals! You must see the king immediately!"
The guards escorted you to the castle, and see you to the king who says, "I am told you hold crystals. Is this true?" All six of you hold up your crystal, and he says "So it is true... the Heroes of Harmony have arrived..."
The king's advisor said, "Your majesty, we cannot be certain these children are the warriors from the prophecy."
The king shook his head and continued, "Yet they bear the crystals. I cannot shake this off as a coincidence. Warriors, might I ask something of you? Please, rescue my daughter Celestia."
The advisor looked back to you and said, "Tirek was once our most noble knight, but he has kidnapped the king's firstborn daughter. He is not the man we once knew anymore."
You nodded and said, "It would be an honor to serve you, your majesty."
The king said, "Thank you kind warrior. I am told you wish to travel north. The bridge was broken long ago. If you succeed in rescuing my daughter, I will have the bridge rebuilt to show you my thanks."
The six of you head out towards the Chaos Shrine, where Tirek was with Celestia. As you approach Tirek, he laughs to himself and says, "The king will have no choice but to give me rule of Canterlot if he values the life of his daughter! Canterlot will be mine!" He turned around and said, "What, some of Solaris's lapdogs? You have bravery, challenging me. But let's see how long that bravery lasts when you are up against the wall with me sword through your heart!"
As Tirek swung his sword at you, you were able to jump back in time. You yell at Beatrix and Sabrina, "Girls, shock and awe!"
They say in union, "On it!" and Sabrina sent out a bolt of electricity at Tirek, his metal armor making the pain even worse.
Beatrix said, "Good job sis, now it's my turn!" she blasted out fire from her wand, burning Tirek's armor, causing him to scream in pain.
Tirek growled and said, "Damn you... Damn you! I will end you!"
Daryl jumped at him yelling, "You'll die trying, you bastard!" and shoved one of his daggers into Tirek's eye.
Rosa stood on the sidelines, but she ran over to Daryl after he had been knocked into a wall, using her magic to heal his injuries.
Marcus punched Tirek as hard as he could, actually putting dents into the metal of his armor. "Boss, I think you should do the honors!"
Marcus held Tirek in a full nelson and you said, "I'm not going to argue. Tirek, you betrayed your kingdom, now you pay the price!" rushing at him you slash your sword across his chest, with Marcus jumping out of the way quickly enough to avoid your sword. As you sheathe your sword, Tirek fell to the ground, dead.
The magic Tirek was using to keep Celestia unconscious had been dispelled with Tirek's death, and she awoke. As all of you rushed to her side, she said, "Did you come to rescue me? My name is Celestia, Princess of Canterlot. Nobody has ever bested Tirek in a fight. You are very courageous, and very powerful. Please, escort me to my father's castle so I may thank you."
You told her, "As you wish, but your safety is thanks enough." and led her back to Canterlot Castle.
The king smiled at his daughter's return, hugging her saying, "Oh thank God you're safe, Celestia! You truly are the Heroes of Harmony! As agreed, the bridge to the north will be rebuilt, and I wish you luck on your quest to return the light to the Crystals of Harmony." he looked over to his daughter, who whispered in his ear and then he said, "Celestia, are you sure?" when his daughter nodded, he said, "Young warrior. When you return from your quest. I hope you will accept my blessing to wed my daughter.
You blush fiercely, and say, "Thank you your Majesty, but I am a simple traveller, I am unworthy of your daughter's hand."
Celestia took your hands in hers' and said, "No, you're more than a traveller, I know it. You were the one who slew Tirek, and while your friends helped, you dealt the final blow. Please, come back safely to me." she put her hands on your cheeks and pulled you into a kiss.
Your friends all made an 'aww' sound, obviously they thought this was romantic. Daryl said, "Boss, if fate didn't bring you here to be with the Princess, I'll eat my bandana."
You pull from the kiss and say, "Very well, my dear. I promise I'll come back safe. And when I do, it would be an honor to wed a woman as beautiful and graceful as you."
Your friends cheered and Daryl reached into his sack and popped a bottle of champagne, to which Beatrix questioned where he got it, and he answered, "They don't call me the Phantom Thief for nothing!"
The others laugh, and the king says, "It will take some time before the bridge is fully repaired, but you are more than welcome to stay in some of the castle's guest rooms. You young warrior... If my daughter allows it, you may share her room, as she is your fiancé."
Celestia smiled and said, "Thank you father, I would be very happy if you would stay in my room."
You blush lightly and say, "I would be glad to my dear." before kissing her again.
Each of your group has a story to tell. Some are filled with excitement, others are more calming. Celestia wanted to know more about you and your friends, so you all decided to retell your stories over a nice lunch. Celestia asked, "So, how did you all meet? It doesn't seem like you all would have known each other very long."
Daryl sipped his wine and chuckled, "I think I'll start with my story. I was a simple boy from Fynn. When I was growing up, times were tough. I didn't have a family to support me, so I resorted to being a petty thief. I learned to pick locks, camouflage, and most importantly, run like hell. If there was something, I could steal it. Eventually, I made a name for myself as a legendary thief, the townspeople started calling me "The Phantom Thief." The name stemmed from the fact that I never left any traces of my existence during the heists. I always left a calling card though, a Joker from a deck of cards. The guards were going crazy trying to catch me. Unfortunately, nothing last forever. They eventually caught me, but our warrior friend stepped in. Why don't you take over from here boss?"
You smiled and said, "I knew Daryl would be put in the dungeons for his crimes. I had a lot of influence with the authorities. Before I found my crystal, I was Fynn's Arena Champion. Just as nobody could catch Daryl, nobody could beat me in the ring. I felt that Daryl was just doing what he needed to do to get by. I told the guards that if they let him go, I would keep an eye on him, and they trusted me enough to release him. After that, Daryl swore to change his ways as thanks. Although he does get in trouble from time to time."
Celestia smiled and said, "That's quite thoughtful of you. What about you Marcus?"
Marcus smiled and looked down. "My story is pretty long, but if you want me to tell it, I'll tell it. I was raised as a fighter. I grew up in the mountain town of Myriad. Many men chose the path of a Monk, as did I. That was many years ago. The training was rigorous. At times I felt that the only way out was quitting or death. But I persevered, I never gave up. After 10 years of training, I finally became a Monk. For a long time, I was the town's Minister of Defense. I kept watch for monsters and suspicious people. When the boss and Daryl arrived, I was worried. They didn't look like the average passing traveller. I was rash, and attacked them. Daryl left some scars on my back, but when they saw my crystal, which I had found when I was only a toddler, they stopped and told me their story. I've always believed in fate, and I knew that my place was with them."
Rosa took her place in telling her and her sisters' story and said, "The three of us are triplets, we never knew our father, and our mother didn't make it through labor."
Celestia's look of interest changed to sadness and she said, "I'm very sorry that happened to you."
Beatrix smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, but we were able to survive on our own. At first we lived in a small orphanage, but we would do odd jobs around town. They weren't the best paying, but we made due. When we were about 10, we started getting interested in magic, and we were all accepted into Palamecia's magic institute. Rosa studied White Magic, while I studied Black Magic. Sabrina on the other hand studied both, taking the path of a Red Mage. Eventually the three of us graduated. We were some of the top students, and on our walk to the graduation ceremony, we found our crystals. We first thought of them as simple gems, and thought we might be able to make some money off them. When we tried to sell them though, your new fiancee stopped us from selling them and explained what they were. For a short time, we thought he was a con-artist trying to get the crystals for himself, but when Marcus and Daryl arrived, we started to believe him. We always knew that our place wasn't being Castle Mages, but we didn't know where we did belong."
Sabrina continued and said, "Yes, and when we met the others, we felt like we had a family. We haven't known each other long, but we're like a big, happy family."
Daryl, who might have had too much wine smirked and said, "Big, and dysfunctional."
Marcus retorted, "True, but we put the 'fun' in dysfunctional."
The group laughed at Marcus's joke, it wasn't often that Marcus said things like that, he was always a tough crowd when it came to humor.
You spent the night with your group and Celestia, watching the stars late at night. You still couldn't believe you were engaged to Celestia, but to be honest, you don't think you could be happier with any other woman. As an Arena Champion, you could have had any woman in Fynn, or even all of Equestria. But that didn't matter, you knew in your heart Celestia was the one for you.
