The Gems Of Creation: Part 1

Chapter 1-6

“What are you doing? What are YOU doing?! With HIM?!" Thoughts raced through the mind of Cobalt Coral as her beak locked on the lips of Cornfield. Although her eyes were closed and fixated at the moment, she couldn’t help but mentally fight against why she commited to such an act. “Did the acid have some mind-altering effects? Is this why?!” She blanked out, before she begrudgingly accepted what she had done. “No... No, there's no other reason. You kissed him. You ACTUALLY kissed him. VOLUNTARILY!”

Meanwhile, Cornfield just sat there, dumbfounded over the fact that a lady had kissed him. Not on the cheek or on the hoof, but in the mouth. It was a new experience for the both of them. “Am I dreaming?” he thought to himself, “Oh, Luna, I hope I don't wake up to find out I had another wet dream..."

She broke off the kiss, forming a very thin strand of saliva tied between them before it arced downward, and stared into his eyes, almost in as much unbelief as he is. Blushing profusely, she cleared her throat and looked away. "And…” Her pride relied upon an excuse in the moment. “That's... what happens when... you show your... diligent and dependable side... to mares..." It was wishful thinking to hope he bought the moral lesson. However, he’s still looking up to her in shock. "OK! LESSON OVER! I hope you learned something! I certainly did!” She laughed nervously as she brushed her mane with her talons.

“Uhhh… Is this really happening? I-I mean between the death staring us in our muzzles and you...!!!” Stopping himself before he became too hysterical, his body slowly leaned back until he found his hind legs laying on the stone floor. “I...I must sit down for a moment…” He didn’t know how this happened, but it didn’t stop him from smiling with his eyes closed.

Coral sat herself up after recovering enough strength from her perilous brush with death. From a distance, the iron gates opened to unbar the next set of stone doors ahead, revealing the way forward. But, she's not focused on that now. "Well, uh…” She struggled to string two thoughts together. “See, the thing is... I was... the one in the cage, having acid thrown at me, and then there was you... with my life in your hooves..." Lifting her foreleg up, she stared at the palm of her open claws. "That whole thing..." She clenched her beak and furrowed her brow as she banged her clenched claws on the stone bridge. "They made me feel... helpless…”

Not knowing what to say about Coral being in this certain mood, he paused to think of something comforting. “...This has been quite an experience, Coral… It's making us go through some really intense situations.”

“I know… I'm just… Tired of being in situations like that... Being helpless... Trapped…” She hugged her forelegs around herself as her claws tightly clenched her shoulders. "Afraid."

Cornfield looked to the stone door ahead anxiously. He was so used to Coral being hot-headed and focused that he struggled when she opened up her softer side. Besides, he recognized that the temple ruins were hardly the place for a psychiatry session. “Ugh…” he groaned under his breath. “Do you think the heart is within reach now?”

Realizing that she still had a job to do, she dried her eyes and lifted herself off the floor slowly. “Y-yes... I believe so.” She walked towards the doors and looked back at Cornfield, who was still contemplating the previous events. "Coming?"

Snapping out of it, he leapt to his hooves and pranced his way towards her. “Right behind you!”
They both approached the doors, wondering if there’s yet another trial they must face. Thankfully, there was no plaque this time. Coral looked below her and detected a faint shimmering green light emanating from the crack under the door.

"This... Is this it?!” she shouted excitedly. Planting her claws firmly on the door, she pushed the door open with newfound vigor. The light trapped inside escaped through, blinding Coral with its brilliance. Meanwhile, Cornfield was still fawning over the new treasure he received, feeling his hoof on his mouth where he was kissed. He soaked up the feeling with him and was fully distracted from what was ahead.

Squinting until her eyes adjusted from the sight, she let out a slow and steady gasp, marveling what was inside. “Oh...” she uttered. “Oh my gosh...." A light from the ceiling casted down upon a large stone formation in the middle of the room, surrounded by and entangled with flowers and vines of many shapes and sizes. Firmly embedded in the middle of that stone was the fabled Heart of Nature, a large crystal as big as a pony's head and perfectly shaped like a heart to match its name. The sunlight reflected its brilliant green hue all around the room, Coral swore she saw sparkles twinkling around it.

The Heart’s radiant light and visage was enough to even snap Cornfield out of his daydreams, as he slowly approached inside the room alongside his partner. “Hooooly mother of Celestia!” he exclaimed. Coral gingerly walked towards the center. She can feel the green, soft grass between her talons as she stepped closer, gulping down a lump in her throat as she gazed at the reflection of her face on the gemstone.

"This is it… This is The Heart of Nature..." The corners of her beak slowly raise into a wide grin. She’d dreamt about seeing one of the four gems for a long time, and now she’s staring into its mystical glimmer. "We did it... It's so... beautiful..."

“Ha...aha...Hey! We finally got it!” exclaimed Cornfield as he could hardly believe they survived this long to make it as far as to see the gem themselves.

"We did..." A few tears of joy roll down Coral’s cheek as they hit the grass. "We are one step closer to..." She reached out to pull it from the stone, but she hesitated at the last minute. Her claws began to tremor as her mind races. “...What are you doing? Take it. You went through Tartarus and back to get it. Take it. Take it. TAKE IT! REACH OUT AND TAKE IT!” Despite her best efforts, she’s too afraid to move. "Cornfield..." she whispered.

“What's wrong? Is it cursed?”

"No…” Slowly, she put her talons down firmly back on the grass. “It's not cursed... I'm fine. I-I just... Am I doing the right thing?” Zecora's warnings echoed in her head, reminding her that the forest would surely and slowly wither without the Heart. "I want it. I REALLY want it... And yet…” She sharply turned her head to Cornfield, locked on to his face with scared and sorrowful eyes. Her beak hung slightly ajar, unable to say anything for a moment, before asking a very important question. "What do I do?" She leaned her head closer to his and asked again. "For Celestia's sake... What do I do?"

Cornfield stared back into Coral’s eyes. At first, he was getting sick of how Coral was stopping to brood on and on before, during, and after the third trial on things that didn’t matter to him. However, much like how Zecora’s words coursed through Coral’s mind, her request to guide the lost hippogriff in this unforgiving world rang loud in the back of his head. To see Coral plead to him to make the right call, to give her the right choice to make, welled up something deep inside. Right now, however, he was going to give her the push she needed to think for herself and establish her confidence again.

Faking a scoffing sound, he rolled his eyes and smirked at her. “Hey, if you want to go so far as come within inches of death just to turn back now…” he said as he looked her in the eyes. “Well, that's just STUPID! It’s literally WITHIN YOUR GRASP!”

Coral reeled back and stared at him, wondering what she said for him to sound so callous. However, she knew deep down that he was right as her head nodded in agreement. "I know... I should… This is for my country..." She turned back to the gem and lifted her talons once more. "For me."

“I would not touch the gem if I were you.” A familiar voice made Coral gasp as both she and Cornfield turned to face unwelcome company.

“Who said that?” asked Cornfield fearfully.

Her once surprised expression quickly turned into an aggressive one as Coral’s brows lowered to a furrow. “Caballeron,” she whispered.

Blocking their only exit was the infamous Dr. Caballeron, a rugged earth pony stallion with a golden skull cutie mark, a slick black mane and tail, a brown coat, and stubble on his chin. He looked back at Coral with a smug look on his face, while hooded hench-ponies approached from his left and his right, armed with crossbows strapped to the sides of their forelegs. The one on Caballeron’s left was aiming its crossbow squarely at Coral’s head. The other on his right was tugging on a rope, dragging the captured Zecora along with him. The poor zebra was forced against her will to follow with the rope bound around her neck and wrapped around the barrel of the thug to prevent her escape.

"Well, senorita,” said Caballeron “It's good to see you've cleared the way for me to get The Heart of Nature much easier than expected. I admit, you gave me a headache when you took the map before we could, but we managed to catch up just fine."

“Uh oh…” uttered Cornfield as he slowly backed away from Coral a bit.

"Ahh, who is this? Another stallion won over by your charms, eh?" Caballeron let out a hearty, condescending laugh. "Ah, you break many a heart, Cobalt Coral."

“HEY! I'm not just some stallion!” Cornfield puffed out his chest with Coral quietly assessing the situation they were in.

The so-called doctor shook his head with a chuckle and gazed back at Cornfield. "Oh, sure, all stallions think that. But what does SHE do when she's done with them?” He motioned his hoof like he was throwing something behind him. “Trash them. Into the garbage they go. Face it, kid. You are a means to an end and nothing more to her.”

“Oh really, Caballeron? Have you ever even been kissed by a girl?” Cornfield grinned smugly while Coral, surprised by his response, glared at him then groaned and covered her face with her claws.

"I had my share of sexy chicas. She and I are alike. We win with our charms and cunning. Your point?"

“Well…” Cornfield’s eyes darted around to come up with a good answer. “I'll bet she never trusted you either! Ergo, it wasn't REAL! HA!”

Scoffing, Cabelleron waved him off. "Believe what you want, it makes no difference to me. On to business," He turned to Coral, who focused her attentions on him with a growing heart beat "My demands are simple. Step away from The Heart of Nature, and we all go home alive and happy. Refuse, and the zebra fertilizes the plants with her body."

“What should we do, Coral?” said Cornfield, concerned for the zebra’s well-being.
Coral gulped with beads of sweat dripping down her face. She should have taken The Heart when she had the chance. Now, she's stuck with a difficult decision, one that brings more loss of life.

“We can't give up!” she thought to herself. “Not now! And he certainly must not possess such power! I know it's risky now, but giving up that stone would mean even greater risk!”

“What do you plan on doing with the stone, Caballeron?” Cornfield butted in once more.
Coral boldly took a step forward towards Dr. Caballeron. She's trying to show a sly smile, even though she's scared inside.

"Indeed…” she stated with false confidence. “The great Dr. Caballeron from Daring Do's tall tales never stooped to killing another creature before. What made you grow balls?" She sounded tough enough, but her head was repeatedly telling herself to stay strong. “Don't be scared. Don't show fear. Control the situation.”

"It's not for me, amigos,” the doctor clarified. “It's for a client of mine. And he specifically said that, no matter what I do, he'll cover my actions."

“Do something, Coral,” Cornfield whispered in desperation. She glanced around, trying to find anything she could use. Her eyes spotted a statue of the ancient god's top half hanging on the wall above the entryway, right above her antagonist and his thugs. Its wings were spread and forelegs were rearing in pride. Unlike the statues outside, however, it was crumbling and cracked.

Leaning in, she whispered to Cornfield. "Find something here, anything, to make that statue fall on them. I'll work the negotiations. We need to give Zecora a chance to get out of the way.”

“Ok,” he whispered back.

Coral turned her attention back to Cabelleron, who was growing rather impatient. "I want Zecora first,” Coral demanded. “If your intention is to kill, I would like to take her and move aside for you and your band of cutthroats to take the Heart."

"No!” shouted Zecora while being pulled back. “While I do not like this situation, I do fear that we are at an impasse here. Should the Heart fall to somepony's whim, I'd rather it be you than him!" Meanwhile, Cornfield was drifting away from Coral slowly, trying to escape every creature’s notice.

"Rrrgh!” The hooded thug keeping Zecora captive groaned. “All she does is bloody RHYME! Will she do that all the time?" He stood silent over what he just said before putting a crossbow to Zecora’s head. "I'll kill her! I'll kill this striped pain-in-my-ass, you hear me?!"

Coral was starting to fret, worried that the goon’s hair trigger might end Zecora. She needed to put his attention to something else while Cornfield was slinking away, going behind the stone where the heart was kept. "Ok!” Coral shouted back, desperate to be as non-threatening as possible. “Ok! Look, you can have it! I'm making this clear. Let's not get hasty, my dear."

Both thugs were now pointing their bows at Coral. "Don't push me!” the crook shouted back. Stop your rhyming!" Behind the stone, Cornfield saw a broken hammer laying on the grass around loose bricks of masonry. He thought he could remove its head and throw it at the frail statue. However, he decided to wait for the opportune moment when Zecora was safe.

"Hey, ease up! I mean no harm,” Coral snarked back. “I'm just a girl with good looks and charm."

"STOP!"

"Stop what? No need to yell or screech. Is there something wrong with my speech?" The thug was now itching to shoot Coral. Cornfield peeked around the stone, gauging the situation and hoping they don’t end up shooting everypony.

"C'mon, Coral.” Cornfield thought with his hooves trembling. “Get Zecora out of the way!"

"Aww, what's the matter? What did I do?” Coral said as she leaned in to further taunt the crook. “Go ahead and shoot, I dare you."

Unable to control himself, the criminal holding Zecora captive fired a warning shot at Coral. The bolt streaked by her and almost hit The Heart of Nature. "HEY! What are you doing?!" Caballeron shouted out. The henchpony, realizing he was temporarily defenseless, reloaded slowly. Taking her chances, Coral sprinted towards Zecora to pull her away from them, but not before the other henchpony fired a bolt in her direction. It hits its mark as the tip was buried in Coral’s thigh.

"AAUUUUGH!" the hippogriff screeched as she pulled Zecora away further from Cabelleron’s group. "Cornfield! Do it! NOW!"

Cornfield, with the head of the hammer in his hoof, chucked it at the statue with a good "Oooofmph"! Dr. Caballeron watched overhead as the hammerhead hit the statue. Pebbles falling from overhead warned him of incoming danger. He dived out of the way as the remains tumbled off the wall and onto his thugs, crushing them underneath the rubble with a crash.

Coral was relieved to find that both her and Zecora escaped the statue’s destruction, but cursed under her breath when she discovered that Caballeron got out as well. She mustered her strength to walk towards the Heart while he was flat on the grass, but struggled due to the arrow in her side.

"Hurry! Get to the jewel!” shouted Zecora as she pointed her hoof towards the Heart. “Don't be beaten by that fool!"

“I got you, Coral!” shouted the eager colt as he ran to her aid. “Are you alright? I can remove it if you need me to.” Caballeron shook his head and recovered from his dive from death. He glanced back at his knocked-out crew, but look ahead to the see the sacred jewel unguarded. Coral gasped as he's about to make a break for it.

"Don't worry about me!” Coral cried out. “Stop Caballeron!” She's limping slowly towards the Heart, entranced by its brilliant light calling to her.

Cornfield set his sights on Caballeron and galloped in full force to blindside him just before he reached for the jewel. Before the doctor knew it, he was shoved to grass and pinned to the ground by the intrepid young stallion. "Rrgh~!” the vagabond grunted. “You are playing a DANGEROUS game, amigo! You'd risk your life for some traitorous chica that would throw you away as soon as she's done with you?!”

In response, the brave but foolish colt shook his head with absolute refusal. “NO! She's my friend and she believes in what she's doing! And she's not a greedy dirtbag like YOU!”

"I know her better than YOU do, senior. She's strung you along in her many lies! Don't fool yourself!" Before Cornfield knew it, he endured a swift kick in the family jewels with Cabelleron’s left hindhoof. The blow made him stumble off of the doctor and lose his balance.

"OOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!” All he could think to himself while doubling over in pain was “This guy's a bucking asshole!” Before he could recover from this humiliating blow, the dastardly Caballeron forced him down to the ground, pinning Cornfield down between his hind legs as he pulled out a dagger from inside his coat.

"If you want to die for her, then do so!" Cabellaron’s victim screamed at the sight of the dagger about to be thrust into him, but their fight had interrupted when an explosion of light and a sudden yell from Coral startled the bad doctor from finishing the deed.

"KyyyaaaAAAAAAAAAH!" the poor hippogriff screamed.

“Ack!” cried out Cornfield, blinded by the light. “What's happening?”

The power of The Heart surged through Coral’s front legs as she held it in her claws. Currents of energy travel through her entire body as her heartbeat increased in speed. Another flash of green light blinds the room. The hippogriff's eyes adjust from the blinding light, only to find The Heart was gone from her grasp, leaving behind only the indention where it once laid in the rock.

In the confusion, Cornfield leaned forward to shove the bewildered Caballeron aside and run close to Coral. The villain landed on the grass with a thud as he tumbled and lost his grip on the knife. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” her companion shouted.

"Yes, I'm fine…” she responded, facing away from him. “But... The Heart is gone!” She slowly turned to her partner as a glittering light sparkled from her chest. "I touched it, and it's gone!"

“Whoooa…” Cornfield stood in amazement gazing at the shining object. The glare was so strong that he couldn’t make out what it was. “Coral... What's that?”

"It didn't disappear, Coral!” shouted Zecora, still bound in rope and tied to the unconscious body of her captor. “Your courage came through! The gem and its power is now in you!"

"What?” Coral shouted with a confused inflection. “What is she talking about, Cornfield?"

“How should I know?” he responded in a rush. “We need to get out of here NOW!” Before Cabellaron could respond to the events unfolding before him, Cornfield made haste to swipe his dagger off the floor and run to Zecora. Carefully, the colt cut the rope around her neck, liberating the zebra from her bonds. As he threw the rope aside, Coral slowly approached her friends, still wondering what exactly Zecora meant.

The twisted archeologist was none too pleased that the young stallion bested him and his arch-rival got away with The Heart before he did. “You fools!” he shouted angrily. “Get back here with my prize!" A single brick fell from above in front of Cabelleron, making him rear back in surprise. He, alongside of everypony else, glanced upward to find that the flowers and vines were starting to rot. The plants on the ceiling holding up the ancient structure were withering away, too. Soon, it would all come caving down over their heads. Another brick fell and landed by Cornfield to further emphasize this urgent message.

“Gah!” Coral shrieked. “What’s going on?!"

Zecora motioned her hoof towards where they came in. "The Heart was keeping this temple intact!” she rhymed hurriedly. “We must leave and that's a fact!"

As more bricks came down around them, Cornfield let out a sharp yelp and pulled onto Coral’s foreleg with his hooves, desperately getting her to move. “COME ON! RUN! GALLOP AS FAST AS YOU CAN!”

"Ah!” Coral gasped while she yanked her foreleg from him. “Ok! You've made your point, I'm coming with you!” The three climbed over the debris of the statue, still on top of Cabellaron's thugs, and got out of the room with dire speed. They galloped across the bridge over the thorny vines, which were also dying without the power of The Heart.

Breathing heavily and following behind Zecora and Coral, the panicking stallion called out to check up on his partner as they were running. “Coral, are you holding up ok?” he swiftly asked.

"Yes, I am!” she shouted behind her. “But I feel so-"

“No time for feelings! Let's get out of here before we're squished into haycakes!” All three of them shouted as a large chunk of the ceiling collapsed between them, taking out a large section of the bridge and making the way completely impassable on hooves. Cornfield was separated from the group and, to his horror, several bricks underneath him were falling out of the foundation and plummeting into the abyss below. Losing his balance and attempting to back up, he blurted out “Waah!? HELP ME!”

Coral immediately doubled back in distress after hearing her friend call for an S.O.S. "CORNFIELD!" she screamed.

More bricks underneath fell, he was running out of hoofing. In a split second, he decided that he would have to make a leap of faith now, or he would be too far away to make an attempt later. Steeling himself, he quickly braced his legs, held his breath, and ran to jump, leaping forward to reunite with them. His heart sank as he scrambled in the air, unable make it to the other side! “Coral, HAAAYULP!!!”

Coral extended her foreleg out from the edge of the bridge, reaching for him, yearning to catch him. Strangely, in an event that was as mysterious as it was fortunate, her claws changed color to forest green as her digits began to stretch out into vines. The vines extended and surrounded around Cornfield's barrel, somehow catching him and lifting him from certain death. "Wh-... WHAT?!"

"Don't let go and do not fear!” Zecora commanded Coral as she looked over the hippogriff’s shoulder. “The Heart is reacting to save the one you hold dear!”

His heart beating a mile a minute, Cornfield dangled his legs and gulped, gazing down into the darkness below. “Ahh... C-Careful now, Coral!” he pleaded. “Try not to sneeze or anything! Just get me to safety like...anytime soon... I hope…”

"I don't even KNOW how I did this in the first place!" defended Coral as she thought of a way to bring him to safety. “If it reacted to me grabbing him like this, then... Maybe if I think about pulling him my way...” Slowly and carefully, she pulled the poor helpless colt towards her, as her vines shrunk shorter and shorter, before having him above stable hoofing. He reached for the ground, but found that she was still flabbergasted on what exactly happened, and still binding him.

“Uh, you can let go now?”

"Oh! Right…” The vines untangle and drop him down gently before turning back into her usual claws. She stared at her own talons for a few seconds. "That… That was freakish..."

“Yeah, I've just about had enough of Freaksville for one day! Er...no offense or anything!” A violent rumbling surrounded them as more of the temple fell apart. “Gah! I just wanna GO HOME!”

"RIGHT!"

Wasting no more time, the three resumed their escape, making it safely and speedily through the next few rooms. The temple could barely hold itself up for much longer as more loud destruction erupted behind them. For what seemed like eternity, they finally made it to the front hall, where they could see the sunlight pouring from the opened entrance leading out.

“"There it is!” Coral shouted happily. “The exit!"

“Go! Go! Go!” Cornfield cheered on. “We’re almost out!”

Zecora, Coral, and Cornfield passed through the entrance in the nick of time, as the ceiling inside the temple caved in completely. The three fell to the ground exhausted, catching their breath. They turned to survey the wreckage from a distance from which the clouds of dust and dirt settled, baffled to find that, somehow, the temple walls were still standing. The vined beards fell off the statues of the temple's god during the deafening rumbling and shaking of the earth, symbolizing that the Heart's power had completely left its dwelling sanctuary.

"We... we did it,” Coral huffed and inhaled heavily. “We escaped..."

Cornfield rolled onto his back, even more short of breath. “Puff! Huff!... Ok!” he gasped, his voice severely raspy. “I've had about ENOUGH adventures for one week!” He stomped his hoof on the ground next to him. “I want to go home!”

"Yes... You really did pull your weight, though, Cor-!" Hissing, Coral could hardly finish her sentence without pain shooting to her thigh once more. "Ah! I forgot about the arrow in me... I think the adrenaline of escaping alive must have dulled the pain..." She strained to turn her body and face Zecora, who was also breathless from both travelling to the temple against her will and narrowly avoiding death. "Speaking of, where is the Heart, Zecora? You said it was in me," She pointed to herself. “Where in me?”

“Maybe...she means...it's...a part of...you?” Cornfield said between deep gasps of breaths.

Even though she was tired, Zecora couldn’t help but let a strained laugh escape from her lips. "In a sense, but that's not right. The heart is still in plain sight." The wise zebra pointed to Coral's chest. Getting the hint, the hybrid carefully sat on her haunches and looked down towards her body. She discovered she did have the gemstone with her, but it was much smaller than its previous size and grafted into Coral's flesh. Dumbfounded, she tapped the gemstone to see if it was real. Then, she picked at it with her claw to see if it can be pried off. It can't. It's stuck on her chest, where her heart and The Heart were in sync. She stared in disbelief for a moment.

"UuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Coral screamed in fright at the top of her lungs.

Cornfield lifted his head off the grass in reaction. “Wh- Hey! What's wrong?” he asked, startled and confused.

"GET IT OUT! GET IT OOOOOUT!" Coral began to hyperventilate as her breathing increased the beat of her heart. The Heart of Nature responded to her heart rate with a shining glow, making the grass around her grow longer quicker. "What happened to me?!"

The colt with no clue got up from the ground and couldn’t help but just witness in bewilderment as Coral melted down into a blubbering mess. “...Zecora, what's going on?” he said, still watching the grass continuing to grow around her.

"As I've said before, The Heart of Nature governs Everfree,” Zecora explained as she looked to him. “It grows every grass, flower, and tree. Now that power is under Coral's commands, tuning The Heart with her own to fulfill her demands." Shifting back to the hippogriff, she felt empathetic about the changes she would have to get used to. "Of course, she hasn’t learned how to control it fully yet. She'll need time to be used to its power, I bet."

Inching closer to Coral, Cornfield suggested “Maybe you should stay with Zecora for a little while, Coral? At least, until you become more...what was it...in tune”.

"I didn't want THIS, though!” she snapped back. “I thought I'd just have to carry it with me and get the rest of The Gems of Creation! I didn't want to be turned into some FREAK!"

"Slow your lungs, Coral,” Zecora warmly reassured. “Calm your nerves. Treat your new power with the respect it deserves."

“Oh, Celestia, I hope this won't make things awkward at home,” the stallion wished to himself. “So, are you going to help her, Zecora?”

The witch doctor held Coral’s talons on her hoof and rubbed her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "In helping her, I'll do my best,” she agreed. “You go on home and get some rest." Slowly coming to grips with her new reality, the gem hunter tested once more if those strange powers wasn't her imagination. Her free claws wrapped and writhed as vines as green as the trees in the Summer. Sometimes, beautiful flowers would bloom on it. Sometimes, it had razor sharp thorns.

“Alright. Uh, see you soon, Coral?” Here, Cornfield sheepishly backed away as he walked toward the cave leading out of the secluded grounds. Leaving her with “I'll always be there in spirit”.

Hearing that he was attempting to leave, Coral suddenly and completely snapped out of it and reached out for him. “WAIT! You aren't just going to leave me behind, are you?!"

“It’s ok, Coral. Zecora will take care of you, right, Zecora?”

"I am,” bluntly stated the zebra. “That much is true. But she'd be more comfortable with you.” Zecora playfully raised up Coral’s claws that were on her hoof. “You love this hippogriff, right? Would you rather be within her sight?"

Coral blushed as she yanked her claws away and reeled away from her. "H-hey! Don't get the wrong idea! We’re just partners. It's not like... THAT."

“Well…” Cornfield hesitated a little. He didn’t know if we wanted to be in the same hut with someone who was overly emotional. Considering the situation though, he also didn’t mean to abandon her and feel like a jerk afterwards. “If you don't mind, I can join you on the road. Perhaps, there is room in your humble abode?” He planted his hoof squarely on his face. “Oh jeez! Now, I'm doing it!”

"She has that effect on ponies, it seems," Coral rudely pointed out.

“There's plenty of pillows and blankets galore,” offered Zecora before she hesitated to say the next verse of her rhyme. "But only one bed. You'll both sleep on the floor..."

The chipper colt nodded his head. “Ok!” he agreed. “I can deal with sleeping on the floor.”

"R-Right. Sure... Whatever makes you feel better," she said half-heartedly before thinking to herself. “Thank Novo! I'm not going to be alone if this crazy Zebra quack tries anything with me."

“Gee,” Cornfield thought as well. “You could say thanks, Coral. Even one more kiss would be so awesome right now!” He let out a sigh before his head drifted upwards. The evening sun was about to set. Night was coming soon and he knew the dangers of being deep in the forest when it was dark. “Alright,” he said. “Let's go ‘home’.”

"Right. No need to sit around and-” Coral was amazed to find that the grass around her almost reached chest-height as she stood up slowly. “Wow, did I grow all of this grass around me, or what?" She waded through the circle of tall grass she was in to join Cornfield and Zecora, as they began their thankfully uneventful trek through the cave and back to the hut.

The kind zebra opened her front door to allow them both inside as Cornfield helped Coral make the last few steps on her wounded leg. Then, Zecora opened up a few of her cupboards and unraveled out a few blankets and pillows. “Oh, could I maybe trouble you for some hot cocoa, Zecora?” Mr. Colt politely asked.

"Oooooh,” the hippogriff cooed. “Actually, that sounds incredible. Just put some in that giant cauldron of yours and give me a big cup."

After she was done setting up a spot on the floor for her guests to comfortably sleep in, Zecora went to where she stored her medical supplies and took out a potion and a first aid kit. Bringing them both to Coral, she popped the cork off the flask and offered the potion to her. "Coral, drink this instead,” she insisted. “It will help you soothe your head."

Delicately and with hesitation, the suspicious treasure hunter collected the flask from Zecora’s hoof and squinted at its contents. "It's not going to make me projectile vomit like your last one did with Sir Listens-Not over there, right?" she crudely inquired. The witch doctor stared at Cornfield with a single eyebrow raised.

“Ha...hahaha…” he chuckled nervously with a shrug. “I don't know what she means by that, Zecora.” She silently observed him for a few seconds before bringing her attention back to Coral. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment during this time.

Licking off the edges of her beak, Coral prepared to gulp down the mystery concoction in one go. She swigged the flask back as a very bitter taste hits her tongue while the liquid splashed down her throat. Audibly gagging, she coughed with her tongue hanging out. "BLECH!” she wretched. “That's rancid! Can't you make these a TINY bit tastier?" Suddenly, everything in her body goes completely numb, "Whooooa, ok, what did you do to me?"

Cornfield cocked his head to the side, wondering what happened to her, before Zecora called him over. “Cornfield, do me a favor open my first aid,” she said. “We need to tend to the wound that the arrow had made." Zecora stepped towards the arrow and took the time to cautiously but firmly bite and yank it out of her thigh. The wound freshly leaked of her blood, but didn't feel anything other than the initial pull.

"Whoa, ok! That felt weird!"

“Eeeh… are you ok?” asked Cornfield, wincing from the sight of the blood.

"Yeah, it's just... I felt the arrow removed, but there's no pain..."

"Cornfield, when I'm done cleaning her, take the gauze and wrap it around her thigh,” Zecora instructed, pointing to her open kit. “We need to treat this before she's out of her numbing high."

“O...Ok.” he said nervously as he reached inside the kit, obtained the gauze, and approached Coral’s wound. She adjusted her hind legs and swayed her hips in front of him, unsure what to think of what's going on behind her. He began to wrap the gauze around her wound, circulating it thoroughly around her thigh, while also going over recent events in today's exploits. “...Coral?”

"Mmm. I bet you are on VACATION touching my thigh,” Coral teased. “What is it?"

“Normally this would of been a pleasant opportunity, but blood is just gross…” After stating that, his hoof began to tremble. “...We nearly didn't make it back there, did we?”

She stopped her flirtatious joking after she found that, for once, he's serious. She rubbed the back of her head with her talons. "Yeah... More than once. I'm... used to facing the danger all by myself... I never had to worry about who was also in danger around me."

“Yeah but... It was just... TOO CLOSE!” Using his teeth, Cornfield wedged a metal pin to hold the gauze in place and prevented it from coming loose. “I mean, between being chased by blood-thirsty criminals and carnivorous creatures, I almost lost you...because of...me…”

Coral scoffed and looked behind her with her eyebrows raised. "You don't think that, if something happened to YOU, I wouldn't feel guilty? The one pony I show my true face to and he just ups and dies. That would weigh VERY heavy on me..." Putting her head down, she looked away and stared at the floor. "So much so that, if something happened to you, I'd probably go home... Back to Mt. Aris. Never going on another treasure hunt again." After a few seconds passed, a spark of light crossed her mind, causing her head and feathery crests to perk up optimistically. "But, you know what?"

“What?”

"We... make a pretty good team." She turned to Cornfield and smiled a little. "For some backwater pervert, you actually pulled your fair share of weight."

“Hey! That's not me!...” He muttered under his breath “not usually”.

Coral chuckled to herself. “But you know…” She put her palm of her claws to her cheek and blushed a bit. "You did mature a bit since I first met you... Only a little, but you have improved..."

“After all that...only a little?!” Cornfield stared at her in disbelief. After risking life over limb for her, he only received a back-hoofed compliment? He sighed defeatedly.

Coral laughed again, louder than before. "You are fun to tease, you know that?" Suddenly all of her sensation came back to her, including the pain of the arrow being removed from her side. "Ahhn!" she cried out.

"Ah, your pain's returned in full force,” Zecora chimed in. “But, if you didn't take that potion, it would have felt worse.”

“Oh! Sorry!” apologized Cornfield. “I didn't mean to...!”

"You didn't do anything wrong, sir.” Waving it off with her hoof, Zecora attempted to reassure him. “The pain of the procedure caught up with her."

Lifting her hind leg, Coral moved it around to get used to the feeling. "Oooof, I'll need to ask for more potions like that,” she said. “It's better than biting onto a piece of wood..."

Letting out a big yawn, the sleepy stallion rubbed his eyes and shook his head a bit. “Well, I'm starting to feel tired after all that,” stated Cornfield, fighting back another yawn. “I think I'll just rest for the night. We can talk about what to do then, ok?”

"Sure, but... I'm not sharing a blanket with you.” She headed toward the laid out bedding, but stopped to look at him with flirtatious eyes. “You can sleep close to me, if you want, but not... TOO close."

Cornfield blushed, fighting back every male urge to run up and attempt to mount her instantly from her advances. “Uh! Fine by me!” He even sprang some drops of sweat.

Zecora giggled to herself. "I'm sure you two will be alright,” she said while showing them both a knowing smile. “Looks like love is in the air tonight."

Coral’s purple face turned a bright beet red. "D-DON'T JOKE!" she snapped back!

“Hey!” The small stallion blurted out as well, confused from both her and Zecora’s reactions. Eventually, the two adventurers pulled the blankets over them as Zecora put out the lights and tucked herself in her only bed. With a big yawn, Cornfield rolled over to face Coral, while she struggled to get comfortable on the floor. “Goodnight, Coral,” he said with a friendly smile.

Looking back at him, Coral smiled and said “goodnight” to him as well. As her eye slowly closed, her claws glided across her chest and rested on The Heart of Nature, which was glowing faintly underneath the covers. “... Partner." she whispered silently as her mind tuned off to sleep.