CHAPTER 1-7

“Ouch!”

Woken up by a familiar voice, Cornfield eyes slowly opened with a yawn. Normally, he’s the type of pony to sleep in but, after all the excitement, he wanted to make sure his friend was ok. He glanced over to the bedding where his temple raiding partner, Cobalt Coral, slept beside him. It was crumpled up and found empty. Looking around inside the hut of Zecora, who was gracious enough to let them stay for the night, he found that the zebra was gone, too.

“Ouch!”

The colt’s ears perked up from noise coming from outside. Concerned, he unraveled the blankets off of him and walked outside. In the clearing in front of the hut, he could see Zecora meditating, upside-down, with her body balance on a bamboo pole. Coral, on the other hoof, was straining to balance small stones above her head with the tips of her green, vine-stretched claws. One of the rocks dangled out of balance and fell on her head. "OUCH!" she cried out.

“Uh, good morning, girls,” greeted Cornfield, unbeknownst to what was happening. His well-intended politeness broke the hippogriff’s concentration as she swiftly glanced over from the broken silence. Her derailed train of mind led to her vines restoring into claws and the rest of the rocks toppled over and hit her head, one by one.

"Ouch! Ow! Mmmmgh!" uttered the pained creature.

"Focus,” commanded Zecora, who found her center and kept her balance throughout. “If you cannot protect yourself from what's above, how can you protect the ones you love?"

“Oh!” The young stallion reeled back after seeing his friend bonked on the head repeatedly, as she rubbed the bumps on her head with her claws. “Sorry, Coral!” he apologized. Sore in more ways than one that he broke her concentration and deciding it would be fun to freak him out, her claws transformed back into vines, wrapped around his torso, and pulled him closer. His hooves dragged across the dirt in protest. “WAAAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” shouted Cornfield as he hoped to himself he was still dreaming.

When he's close enough, she untangles her vines from him as they turned back to normal. "Well, look who finally got up!" sneered Coral, condescendingly.

Cocking his head slightly, Cornfield rubbed the back of his neck with his hoof. “Huh? I thought I woke up early today. What time is it?”

"Oh, don't get me wrong, you did.” She inched a little closer to the confused colt. "But, I was up HOURS before you were.” Bending her head down, she put her beak next to his ear. "Zecora has me on this harsh training course where I have to practice with my new found abilities,” she whispered quietly. “She's nuts!"

"We still have more we need to do today,” interrupted Zecora from her bamboo pole. “And yes, I hear every word you say."

"Crap,” the flustered bird-horse begrudgingly uttered under her breath, loud enough for Cornfield to pick up.

“Oh,” he said. “Alright, then. Well, from the sound of things, it's not going so well.”

Zecora adjusted her body to fall off the pole and stuck the landing with all four hooves. She got in between the two as Coral backed up to allow the zebra some space to talk to Cornfield. "She's not learning, because change is something she's not willing to embrace.” She turned towards the hippogriff with a knowing smile. “Or, do we need to go and put The Heart of Nature in its rightful place?"

The haughty hippogriff scoffed with a flick of her talons. "And give it to that creep, Caballeron? No way."

“Ah, well, good luck to you, Coral!” Cornfield stated quickly before moving on to a more important topic. “But, where's my breakfast? I'm famished after yesterday!”

Tapping her hoof to her chin, an idea sparked in the witch doctor’s mind. "What fruit would you like immediately?" she asked. "Coral will grow us a healthy fruit tree."

Zecora’s helpless guinea pig raised an eyebrow as she turned to her mentor. "Wait, what?" she questioned hesitantly.

“Oooooh!” said the easily excitable colt, hopping up and down on the idea. “I'd love a peach! Do it Coral! Do it! Do it! Do it!”

"Wait, back up,” Her eyes rapidly shifted back and forth between Cornfield and Zecora in utter confusion. “What?!"

The zebra, completely serious on what she said, entered her hut. After a few minutes of digging around, she came back out with a peach pit between her teeth. Spitting back out to her hoof, she presented it Coral almost forcefully. "Plant the seed and attune your heart,” she commanded. “Then, food and you won't be far apart. Place your claws on the mound where it will grow, focus your thoughts, and let your blood flow."

Eagerly, Cornfield cantered to Zecora’s side and gave his ruin-raiding buddy the biggest grin. “Come on, Coral!” he cheered “You can do it!”

Coral backed away slowly, getting a little creeped out. "Y-you both must be insane,” she said. I can't do that!" Despite her efforts, the witch doctor inched closer.

"You can because you have the Heart in you, though,” chimed Zecora. “Remember. The more your heart beats, the faster it will grow. But don't overdo it, or you might suffer greatly.” She was practically shoving it into Coral’s face. “Now demonstrate its power to me.”

“I believe in you, Coral...to make breakfast!” Cornfield added with his hoof in the air.

Growling in annoyance, Coral swiped the pit off of Zecora's hoof and looked at it sitting on her palm. She turned to her irritating stallion sidekick with a huff. "You are lucky I'm hungry, too, or I'd tell you to forage the woods on your own." she grumbled.

Cornfield let out a small disingenuous chuckle. “Haha...Oh, Coral. You kidder, you...haha.”

Finding an empty patch of land near the hut, she dug up loose soil with her claws and planted the pit on the ground. Then, she placed both her claws on the mound where she buried it and tried to concentrate. “This is stupid,” her thoughts raced through her mind. “Tune my heart to make this blasted tree grow? ...Fine. I’ll play along. Let's see, now... What to think about to make my heart grow?” She fantasized herself surrounded by jewels and gems of all shapes and sizes. They were falling from the sky in a pile in her happy place while she laughed to herself. The Heart on her chest shimmered a bit.

“Ooooooo....” said Cornfield as he watched the light on her chest grow ever so slightly.

"Hmm, not bad, but what about...." She thought back to the time she was in iron cage at the temple. Her heart was beating a mile a minute in the thick of the action, but simply thinking about it only increased her heart rate a little bit. The Heart shined a little more, regardless.

“Hey, Zecora?” the concerned colt turned to Zecora. “Is she gonna be like this...forever?”

"Shhhh…” The zebra put her hoof to her mouth as she watched Coral closely. “She needs to find what will make her Heart pound. Let her focus on the mound...."

Huffing with his snout scrunched up, he mumbled “Don't shush me, you equine reject outcast.” under his breath.

"I heard that, too. Strange thing to say. Aren't you living outside of Ponyville alone, anyway?"

Stumbling from the response to the point where he almost fell on his face, he strained to sit back up with a lump in his throat. With an audible gulp, he thought “How the buck did she hear me!?”

Trying her best to ignore the comments from the peanut gallery, Coral tried to find something more exciting than she previously imagined before. “No!” she exclaimed in her head. “It's not enough. The excitement is there, but the only reason I was so elated was when I got out and-” In her recollection, she pictured Cornfield’s face as she ascended in the cage. Her brows furrowed in disgust. "No. What are you doing? Him? You're honestly thinking about him? The way he stared at you like a creep? The way he humiliated you in public? The way he walked into danger? The way he...” The harsh expression on her face gradually softened as her beak quivered. “...Saved you from danger?" The light on her chest was shining more brilliantly.

“Whoa, look at that thing glow!” the object of Coral’s affection pointed out. “I wonder what’s on her mind?”

"All right, that's enough!” Zecora shouted out to the hippogriff. “It should grow quick. What you were thinking did the trick."

Still lost within her thoughts, Coral didn't listen as her claws dug slightly into the mound, trying to hold back her emotions. "The way he bravely fought the cragadile?” she thought. “The way he distracted the timberwolves? The way he saved you from the cage..?"

“Uhhh… Coral?” Cornfield slowly snuck up behind her shoulder to see if she was feeling alright. He was close enough to see a couple tears roll down her cheek.

"The way you... kissed him..." she whispered to herself. The curious colt stood silently beside her as The Heart shone on very brightly. A slight tremble growled underneath earth. The vibrations snapped Coral out from her trip down memory lane before she peeked down to see a sprout pop out of the ground between her talons. Then, in a matter of seconds, the sprout violently grew into a full-sized peach tree. Resulting in the duo being thrown over from the mere force of its growth, they tumbled like ragdolls until they rolled to a complete stop around Zecora. The zebra stared in the sky in awe as the peach tree grew to an astronomical size. It's probably the largest in all of Equestria, let alone the largest in the Forest.

Peaches ripen and fall off, hitting the ground around them. Dazed, flat on his stomach, and not sure what just happened, this colt shakily lifted himself off the grass before a peach conked him on the noggin. He rubbed his head and asked “Uh, what? Did it work?”

The world couldn’t stop spinning for the poor hippogriff beside him as she shook her head to straighten out her sight. Her pupils shrunk as she gazed towards the treetops. "Uuuuh, too well, I think..."

Realizing what happened, he joined her in marveling at her handiwork. “Wha-WHAT! But how...! I've never seen a tree like this before! It's...SPECTACULAR!!!" His stomach growling at the sight of the peaches strewn about around him, he couldn’t help but lower his head to take a bite off of one on the ground. “Bucking delicious! YUM!”

Zecora, relieved but annoyed at Coral for not heeding her wishes, approached her with a stern expression. "Indeed, it is a spectacle.” she begun to rhyme. “But I told you to be more respectful. The more you abuse the Heart at such a length, the more you weaken your OWN heart's strength."

Choking upon hearing this important bit of news that really should have been explained earlier, Cornfield spat out a chunk of peach. “Ah, what!? You mean she could...!”

"All power comes at a cost. Abuse it too much, and your life is lost.” The zebra pointed towards the shining gem on her pupil’s chest. “That's why I'm training you so rough. I'm building your heart to know what's enough."

The nervous hippogriff gulped at the very thought of dying by using the gemstone she sought to possess. She knew that The Gems held great power from the rumors, but never considered there to be a heavy price to using them. "T-then, maybe I shouldn't use this power anymore.”

"In theory, you shouldn't. But, the time must come one day. You would not earn the remaining gems any other way."

"Are you saying that I have to learn all this if I need to succeed in finding the rest of The Gems of Creation?"

The wise teacher nodded her head until a certain overprotective stallion butted in on matters. “But why is that, Zecora?” he asked, running up to hopefully comfort his special some-creature by being at her side. “If these powers could kill her, why would we even train her in the first place to give her the temptation?”

"The Heart of Nature is needed to clear the Mind of Water's trial. That's why I want her here a while. Her temptation to misuse their powers may be great but, when the time comes to use it, she mustn't hesitate."

Cornfield looked to Coral, who glanced back at him. She only tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders before facing her current mentor, as if there was nothing more to add. “Alright,” her sidekick agreed. “Well, we could use a break, anyway. We'll come up with a plan on what to do next later. Besides, if what Zecora said is true, then Caballeron can't get it, too. Ah- Oh, buck.” He reactively planted a hoof square on his forehead.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" asked the hippogriff.

“I just… hate how the rhyming catches on so easily.”

Boggled, she recalled what he had previously said. A silly grin stretched across her face as she pieced it together. "HA!" she laughed. “I told you! She has that effect on ponies.”

“Haha... I wonder if it's on purpose?”

The zebra was unamused by their jeering, but she kept her retorts to herself when the towering hybrid approached her. “There's something about all this that's really bugging me about you, Zecora,” The tall hippogriff stated. "Let's be realistic for minute. Ever since I came here, you knew exactly what I was after and the consequences of what would happen if I had taken The Heart of Nature." Boldly, she even brought a single claw pointing at Zecora’s snout. "Now, here you are, training me and knowing EXACTLY what I would do with this power and where to go next." Proceeding to put her face up to Zecora’s snout, she went eye to eye with her teacher. "How? How do you know all of this? The gems, the powers, and everything in between?"

Sensing a little hostility coming from his friend, the earth pony backed up a bit to try and not get between her and Zecora. “Look, ladies, I'm just glad we're all on the same side now. Coral, she’s trying to help you. Sure, her methods are quirky, but she is always right in the end.”

"No. This isn't quirkiness,” Coral sneered at Cornfield. “Quirkiness is her constant rhyming. What she's doing is knowing a lot more than I do.” Focusing back on Zecora, she went beak-to-snout to further demand answers. “I'm not training with you, Zecora, unless you tell me why. Why do you know SO much about this?"

“...Uh, I'll just leave you girls to discuss these serious matters,” the sheepish colt uttered meekly before gathering 3 ripe juicy peaches and rushing inside Zecora’s hut, slamming the door behind him. His cowardice caused Coral’s head to turn away from the zebra’s in reaction.

"Wait, Cornfield!” She raised her claws out at the hut in vain. “Ugh... Never mind... He's always the first to escape when the going gets rough."

The witch doctor couldn’t help but chuckle at flustered hippogriff. While her student rolled her eyes and huffed, Zecora gently placed her hoof on Coral’s side to comfort her. “The reason I know is simple and true,” she explained. “My earliest ancestor went on the same journey as you."

Her eyes lit up as she stared back at the zebra in disbelief. "...What!?"

"Come with me, and you will see.” Coral followed her back to the hut as Zecora kindly held the door open for her. Inside, they both found Cornfield stuffing his face with peaches and laying on his bedding.

“Oh boy!” he said chipperly. “These peaches are bucking sweet! You really should try some yourself!” He offered the two of them his last untouched peaches, before slowly taking it back. “...Unless that means it's actually a part of you…” The more the young colt realized it, the more he suddenly realized how unnerving that concept could be. “Ah! Hey I'm not eating ‘her’?! Am I?!”

Kindly declining the offer, Zecora trotted to an old, dusty chest, while Coral approached her excitable friend with a chortle. "I think that's as close to ‘eating’ me as you are ever going to get, Corn," she grinned.

“I just hope I'm not eating what may have been a ventricular portion of your heart, Coral.” Slowly losing his appetite, he put the half-eaten fruit on the floor to dispose of it later. “That would be gross, irregardless.”

"My, look at you using big words,” said the hippogriff with a hint of foal-talking. "But, no. I think what you are eating is the magic from The Heart of Nature. My heart is the one that powers it."

With that patronizing tone, Cornfield proceeded to defy her objection. “Well! Aren't we condescending this morning? I'm not some foal, you know!” Getting off the covers and out of his literal comfort zone, he stood up to her in justified defiance. “And, after what we've been through, I'd hope you actually would have noticed it!”

Opening the chest, the kind zebra pulled out a bundle of important-looking scrolls. She turned only to find her guests had become heated and, with a huff, decided to wait on the sidelines until it blew over. Coral, upon hearing her partner getting provoked, shrugged and sighed. “It depends on the situation, really. Sometimes, you act like a real stallion and turn out to be reliable. Sometimes, you act like a little filly and your immaturity makes you pitiful. It's a hard read with you."

“Oh sure. Blame it on the situation. ‘It's not my fault. It's not your fault’,” he mocked with a whiny feminine voice. “What's the matter? Can't take ownership of your actions now? I mean, the situation didn't bring us here now, did it?”

Scoffing irritatedly, she pointed her claw right in his face. “You think I don't realize that it's my fault that I'm in this mess and I've dragged you along with me? I certainly know you just want to go home and do whatever it is you do on your spare time.” She shuddered at the thought of what that might be. Using another claw on the same appendage, Coral formed a gesture like she was pinching the air. “I'm just saying that you can stand to be a little more mature, instead of flip-flopping between the two.”

“I do not flip-flop! I'm just progressing! That's what mom told me!”

"There. Right there. You did it again."

“B-b-but it's true! I'm getting better!”

At this point, Coral felt this conversation was going nowhere. "Yeah? You think yourself as more mature?” She leaned in close and fluttered her eyelashes. “Prove it. Right now."

“O-Ok… well…” The colt gave it some thought until he asked himself why she was being so difficult. They both knew the answer to how he’s grown, even if she doesn’t want to admit it. Sticking his nose in the air, he turned his back on her. “How about I don't have to prove anything? Because a real stallion wouldn't give up on a lady and save her life in the process. He spun around. “And that's exactly what I did! Several times!” He pointed back at her with a smug grin on his face. “So HAH!”

It wasn’t a comforting thought that she had to be the damsel in distress during these past scenarios. The treasure hunter had plenty of adventures of her own without him and usually got out just fine. Yet, her expression lightened up as she smiled sweetly to his immature, but nonetheless correct response. She wouldn’t have survived without him, even though she saved his life a couple times, too. Through fate or dumb luck, they were compatible to take on anything that came their way together. As a result, her claws transformed into vines and the tips stroked his cheek gently. "Well played, Cornfield. Actions DO speak louder than words after all."

“Huh.” The vines felt smooth on Cornfield’s skin and smelled of grass. “...I don't know how I feel about you being half-hippo, half-pony,... and half-plant.”

"I'm half bird, you simpleton." said Coral, retracting the vines and turning her talons back to normal. Bringing them to her face, she stared into them with deep contemplation. "Still, you are right. This is a rather unsettling appearance, especially with these vines and the gem fused to my flesh.” Picking at the gem with a natural claw, she attempted to pry it off again. It wouldn’t budge. “I certainly hope that this isn't permanent."

Before he could say anything, his ears perked at the sound of Zecora stifling a laugh. “Hey! Did you just chuckle?” the stallion inquired.

"Ah, forgive me,” the zebra confessed. “I don't mean to pry. But you two are funny together, I won't lie." With one of her forelegs grasped around several scrolls, she approached Coral and dropped them in front of her. "Their text is a bit faded, and the paper is old, but it holds the abilities of the gems as foretold.” Guiding her on what to read first, the striped equine unraveled the first scroll on the floor for all to view. "Take your time to read them during the day. A little bit of knowledge goes a long way.”

The hippogriff skimmed the text before deciding it would be a good idea to jot down the more important bits of knowledge she might need in the future. “Corn, get me my saddle bags, please,” she requested.

“Gotcha.” Dragging the bags over, he thrust them to her side; she laid on the floor to comfortably peruse what’s on the scroll. “Anything ring a bell, mah lady?”

"Don't call me that,” Coral groaned, opening her bags and procuring a notebook and a pencil.

“Well, I just thought I'd practice being a ‘mature stallion’ as you wanted.”

“If you want to go full-blown Canterlot gentlecolt, you may call me ‘your majesty’. Otherwise, ‘Coral’ will suffice for now."

“Fine… Hmph!” The whims of females continued to baffle the poor pony of the opposite sex, as he sat across from the scroll with a pout.

The studious explorer resumed reading the texts of the scroll carefully, jotting down notes as she went along. She noted how Zecora had done a great job translating the ancient zebra texts to New Ponish. "Let's see. It’s said here that Zecora’s earliest grandfather witnessed how the Earth ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns fought over each other, long before they were united under one banner. The old coot sought to take the gems and lead everypony himself after their needless arguing."

“Hmmm…” hummed Cornfield, getting interested in the story. “A zebra planning on leading the future of Equestria? I wonder what that would of been like…”

"He hated how they'd always yell and fight,” explained the witch doctor as she joined them in sitting around the pile of scrolls. “He thought by bringing all four gems together, he'd shed some light."

"I heard that if you got the 4 together, you'd become a creature of great power.” Coral added. “One to make your wildest dreams come true..."

“Well...she certainly has a portion of that power.” the young colt laughed, drawing attention to the jewel raider’s chest. “She should be able to reach anywhere her claws don't belong now! Haha!”

Coral sneered a knowing grin at him. "While it’d certainly make pickpocketing and picking locks a little easier, don't give me ideas, Cornfield.”

“I don't have to. You're the thief here!”

"...Right,” the intrigued hippogriff read on. “Your ancestor had The Heart of Nature, The Mind of Water, and The Eye of Fire. He was on his way to get the Breath of Life, but..." Something was off. The story ended abruptly with a conclusion she didn’t expect. Perplexed on where the gaping hole in the chain of events might be, she unraveled a few more scrolls for an explanation. A quick analysis only gave more insight on the gems he already collected, nothing else. Silence filled the room as Coral struggled to finish the scroll aloud. "He...put them all back…?" Her talons, once relaxed, curled slowly but sharply, scratching the wooden floor of the hut. "Why? Why did he just... have all that power in his hooves and just... give it up?"

“...Wait a minute…” Both mares turned their attention to the only stallion who spoke up amidst his partner’s musings. “He was able to remove the Heart? And all the other gems, too?”

Zecora nodded her head. "There are some ways to give up your ability.” she informed with a warming smile. “One such method is to give it up willingly. Take it to where you got it before. Place your claw on the indent and it will be placed once more." Her positive expression faded, facing Coral with her eyes half-open. "The other is... not something you should do. If you die, at any time, it will escape from you. Then, your killer will claim it from the attack. So, it's wise to keep your head down and watch your back."

Cornfield choked a bit at the possibilities of how her grandfather lost his gems. “...And your saying he had given these up at will or-”

"He wasn't killed,” the zebra quickly interrupted with her hoof, gesturing to relax. “The gems returned to their rightful place. Then, he returned with his kind: the zebra race."

He sighed a breath of relief. “Whew! Sooo... This is certainly a mystery!”

“Did he think he couldn't handle having that much power?” Coral asked quietly, mulling over the tale in her head. “I don't think there's a downside to being this super-strong demigod and changing the world with what you have."

“...Coral…” Although he didn’t really give time to question her motives until now, that statement made her tagger-on very suspicious. Just how power-hungry was this hippogriff?

"I mean, he had a WAR to stop, right? He wouldn’t be wrong to do it...” Hiding her eyes from the judging gazes of the company of the room, the suspicious bird-mare hybrid focused in the scroll. “At least, that's what I'd do."

“Yeah, but…” Cornfield raised an eyebrow, staring incredulously. “Don't you think a villain might of said what you just said? You know what kind of pony becomes a demigod? Either a really good one...or...”

“I do not know the reasons why,” Zecora interrupted once more, “but you must forgive me if I pry. Do you believe that he was wrong? Should he have taken it all along?"

Not really knowing the right answer, Coral’s head hung solemnly in silence. She didn’t know the circumstances of Zecora’s ancestor at the time. She only knew of her own on why she started her journey. Her talons drifted towards her saddlebag.

“Zecora… Is it possible we could gather the gems and give it to a museum or somewhere safe like the Elements of Harmony?” the naive colt asked. His ears received the sounds of his hippogriff friend rummaging through her bag and pulling out an item he never seen with her yet. “...Huh?”

"It's possible, but..." the Zecora stopped herself, joining in on Cornfield’s curiosity on what Coral was clutching onto. Walking up for a better look, they deduced that the object was a golden clamshell with a valuable diamond ordaining the top. Much like a real clam, she pried the shell open and then stared longingly inside it with her brows shuttered. She didn’t even notice the present company standing up to peak over her shoulders from both sides. They discovered that it was more than a clamshell, but a locket containing a photograph of four hippogriffs inside it.

Quickly piecing it all together, the empathetic zebra gasped. "Ohhhh, I see.... That’s why you are on this quest..." she said as she gingerly placed her hoof on Coral's shoulder. “To right a great loss... I should have guessed..."

“Huh?” Cornfield muttered as he scratched his ear. “Try that again?” Carefully, the dismayed damsel handed her precious heirloom to the stallion as Zecora comforted her. The picture has a mare and stallion hippogriff. The mare was a sea-blue beauty with a kelp green mane, while the stallion was a red soldier with a purple plumage. In the middle below the two of them were a colt and filly. The colt had his mother’s colors, but lighter. The daughter who sported her father’s colors were also lighter, but reversed as well. The filly looks like… “Huh...is this your family or some-” Before he could finish, something clicked in his mind. “OH!” His ears perked up before slowly drooping. “..Sorry…”

A moment of honorable silence passed for the respect of the hippogriff family and their last remaining member.

Extending her claws out, Coral gestured for the clamshell back. Humbly, her friend closed it and gave it back. "If you had lost... everything to the wages of war... you would make that decision to take that power, too." A few tears escaped as she hugged the clamshell to her chest, above The Heart of Nature, dimming in color from the agony plaguing her beating heart. “You don't need to worry about me doing anything like killing or enslaving..." Finding it difficult to let go of it, she struggled to place it in the security of her saddlebags. "I've seen enough death to know it does no creature any favors."

“I still don't know. This is probably going to get rougher…” Cornfield mulled over the idea of scouring through all of Equestria and beyond to find them. “Do we really need to find every single one?! The Heart of Nature was challenging enough…”

The treasure hunter said nothing in response; she only considered the circumstances if she progressed with her rash and foolhardy plans. Obviously, she needed to toughen up more for the road ahead. The Heart on her chest was going to be a literal target for Caballeron or whatever mercenaries hired from the mysterious benefactor he spoke of in the temple. But, if finding all the gems meant protecting her race from any more massacres, she would play to win.

Standing up with her head held high, Coral turned to Zecora with her claws on her chest.
"Zecora, I want you to train me,” she requested. “If what you said is true, he’ll probably try to rip this gem out of me by force to get to The Mind of Water. Your training will not only give me the opportunity to use this newfound power to defend myself, but show me the path to the next gem." She extended her claws out to her teacher to offer a hoof-to-claw shake. "So, I'll leave it to you to teach me."

Without missing a beat, Zecora put her hoof in the hippogriff’s grasp as she shook it gently. She made eye contact with her towering student with faithful confidence. “I believe the fates have orchestrated your events the way they should,” she chimed as she rhymed. “After hearing your tale, I trust that you’ll work towards the greater good.” Mutually, they let go of each other’s forelegs.

“And I'll do whatever I can to help!” offered Cornfield enthusiastically with his hoof in the air. Surprised by his response, Coral gave her attention to the colt. She thought he wanted nothing more than to go home. Now he wants to be part of her journey? Does he truly know what he’s getting into?

"Ok. But you gotta understand," his partner cautioned. "I'm a girl with nothing to lose and I'm in this for the long run. I'm not about to turn around because you got cold hooves. So, if you want to go home…” She whispered quietly “Maybe forget about me...” and, with the possibility of him leaving her life open, she said aloud “Now's your chance".

“I...well...umm…” The young stallion scratched his chin in thought. Home did sound appealing; his comfortable bed was waiting for him over at his humble cottage. But, what was he going to do if Coral left? Stalk the mares of Ponyville? Take pictures in secret? Live alone in his house with nopony to be with? He had survived multiple life-threatening situations in the span of one day, and he would happily do it all over again if it meant that he had a beautiful mare to be right beside him, even if she’s technically a half-mare, than to be alone for one more day. “...You know what? I'm in!”

The hippogriff squawked in disbelief. "You aren't leaving me!? No matter what? Like you said, it's gonna get tougher!"

“So that means I know what I signed up for!”

"Is there nopony better than him at the moment, or is he simply better than nopony?” she asked her herself in her mind while brushing her mane back with her claws. “He DID come through in the end, though, and he’s proven to be reliable enough." She inched closer and leaned her head down, almost going nose-to-beak with a smirk on her face. "All right. Just remember, though: You asked for it." she said sweetly.

“Don't worry! I told you! You need me!” he remarked back, almost desperate for her not to change her mind. “Remember how I saved you? So, I can't leave you alone on this dangerous quest. And I don't go down without a fight!”

"All right, all right,” Coral gestured him to simmer down. “Cool it. I do remember what you did to help.” Her cheeks gained a bit of redness as she longingly sighed. “I really do…” The Heart’s magnificent shine grew just a bit brighter.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading thus far. Let me know on the comments below what you think and how we may improve.