Chapter 1-Finale:

Cobalt Coral, after her cooling and relaxing bath, continued her training with Zecora, who taught her as much as she could in the ways of The Heart of Nature. The zebra’s methods combined with a lack of time was grueling, but the hippogriff endured. Her control of the vines and growth of plants were not perfect, but she learned enough that she could hold her own without her guiding mentor. Inside her teacher’s hut, the gem thief was lying on the floor, going over the scrolls that provided to her about the gems and writing them down on a seperate notebook to take along.

"Hmm,” the treasure hunter thought to herself. “The powers of the Mind of Water are interesting, and the Eye of Fire has a lot of potential, too... Shame there isn't any information on the Breath of Life…” Her mind drifted. Though her focus was more towards her next move on her journey, she couldn’t help but think of her missing partner, Cornfield. "...Where even is that idiot...? I thought he knew the Everfree Forest like the back of his hoof. He can't be lost, can he?” Thinking back before her training, she wondered what would happen if the rowdy colt caught her bathing rather than Zecora. She couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “If he wanted a show... It'd be REALLY funny to tease him."

“Still… he has been gone for a while…” After jotting down the last sentences on her notes, she stood up and called out to the striped alchemist. "Sorry, Zecora. I'll be right back. Cornfield hasn't returned and I need to make sure he isn't eaten on his way over to town or something." Picturing Cornfield in a Serpent’s or Hydra’s mouth shouting “HAAAYULP!”, she couldn’t help but snicker. Still, she hoped deep down that he was ok. After Zecora wished her a safe return, she left the hut and walked down the dirt pathway out of the forest to Ponyville.

Meanwhile, the stallion in question wasn’t battling a creature, but rather inside his own cottage, battling his inner demons. It didn't matter that he was unable to locate Coral himself. He HAD to return home, where he could be alone and fully realize what transpired just recently. Cornfield slammed the door shut and sat down into a upright fetal position on the floor. The saddle bag he carried was also thrown in a random corner. Here he was again, alone and in pain. This time, however, it wasn't a terrible embarrassment or broken heart. It was the death of a pony he could of helped and the arrival of a new, more dangerous foe.

"I can't believe that guy KILLED him!” his mind cried out. “He left him for dead… No… I left him for dead! It was my fault!” He rocked back and forth as he tried to convince himself that he was in the right. “I... I'm responsible?! But... If I hadn't shown up...? No...I made the right move...but-” Tears flowed on his face, letting out a defeated sob. “But, why do I feel so terrible!? Will I really be blamed for this?”

On the edge of the Everfree Forest, Coral navigated through the maze of trees and explored outside the clearing. On her way through, she didn't find hide or hair of Cornfield. “Hmm.... well, if he followed the path I was in, nothing could have happened to him,” she convinced herself. Her eyelids lowered in annoyance. “He better not be at the bowling alley ogling mares again.” After a quick ponder on where to start looking in town, she spread her wings and took to the air, flying towards Cornfield's hut.

The poor colt sniffled back home. “I-I hope nopony finds out about this,” he hoped to himself.“But what will I tell Coral? I pray she's safe…” He shook his head and slapped his forehead with both of his hooves, trying to psyche himself up. “I gotta get over this and make sure Coral is not in any danger!” he growled out loud. Slowly standing up, he tried to shake off what was plaguing his mind, only to angrily stomp up and down. “Ugh...I STILL CAN’T GET THAT IMAGE OUT OF MY HEAD! Lord Whirlwind. I'll never forget this…”

A sudden knock on the door spooked the burdened earth pony as a voice called out from the other side. "Hey, anypony home? I got a delivery of embarrassing personal items here for a Mr. Cornfield and you need to sign for them!"

“UGH!” he cried out in shock. “THAT MUST BE MY ISSUE OF ‘NURSE REDHOT VOL. 32’… hey wait… C-C-Coral, is that you?”

"No, Cornfield, it's the mayor, here to give you the ceremonial key to Ponyville. Yes, it's Coral. Are you ok in there? What was that about a nurse?"

“CORAL!” Wasting no time, he swung open the door and jumped to Coral, bear hugging her. She could feel him squeezing the air out of her like a deflated balloon.

“ACK!” she squawked. “O-Ok… Could you step back…?” she strained to utter the last word “PLEASE!”

After reliving her of the pressure on her lungs, Coral coughed a bit before Cornfield questioned her. “Where in Equestria were you? Did Zecora find you?”

"Yeah, she did.” She pushed his forelegs off herself. “Not that I NEEDED to be found, but-" She stopped herself after a quick glance at his face, witnessing that his cheeks were soaked and his expression was unusually sullen. "Ok, change of topic. Where were YOU? You look like you just saw something... awful."

“I...uh…” His mouth gawked open as he scrambled in his mind what to say next. “Should I tell her?” he questioned himself. “Will she understand? Perhaps it's for the best if I..." There was a moment in which he held his foreleg and let out a loud groan, the kind from a hurt soul. “It's nothing. I, uh, went to find you and I...that Alpha Timberwolf found me and hurt me, but I got away. No big deal. He's gone now.”

Coral’s eyes widened with growing concern. She knew too well that those creatures were no joke. "Where exactly is the wound?”

“Uh. My left knee. But it's ok. Let's go back to Zecora.”

Her worries began to fade as she studied him closely. "He's applying pressure to it,” she informed herself. “He's walking fine. If it was a small injury, he wouldn't be crying. He's handled worse." Standing firm, she looked down on him with a piercing scowl. "You'd make a pretty crappy salespony, Cornfield. Because I’m not buying your story.”

“What?! Look, I just want to go back to Zecora's first, OK!” Coral couldn’t help but stumble back a bit from his reaction. "Better we talk about it as a group,” he thought. “And even then I hope she'll just let it slip from her memory."

Coral couldn’t help but stare suspiciously before putting her beak in the air, scoffing at him. "Fine, if we must go back, then that's up to you."

“I get you don't believe me, but please, it's for the best you trust me.” Instinctively, Cornfield put his hoof in his mane and frazzled it in frustration. "Like Caballeron trusted me?” he chastised himself. “AAAGH!"

“Right. Just remember something.”

“What, Coral?!”

"When we made up and I came clean, we made a promise to not lie or hide secrets from each other. I'm many things. A deceiver, aliar, a thief, I am all that and more." Slowly, she reached for The Heart gleaming on her chest and then covered it with her claws, closing her eyes. "But, when I made that promise to you, I swore I would keep it. I hope that you will do the same." With the flick of the tail, she turned around and walked away slowly.

“Ah...” The young colt reminded himself this promise. It was more towards her and her tricks, but he did remember the same secrets he had to hide as well. This hidden information was no different. “Oh, Coral ...I'm sorry but, when we get to Zecora's, I'll explain, ok?”

Coral stopped dead in her tracks, assured to finally get a clear answer from him. "Fine. I trust you!” she shouted back. “Just know that I didn't mean to pry, because I wanted to make what wasn't my business mine by force. I'm not trying to coerce you to doing something you didn't want to do. I just..." She hesitated as The Heart begun to shine. She whispered the end of the sentence, "You know, I... care... about you..."

Although he wasn’t close enough to hear her true intentions, it didn’t stop Cornfield from noticing the respect that his friend gave to him the time he needed. He nodded his head once and forced a smile. “I understand. Let's go back to Zecora’s. She needs to hear this, too.” His ears perked up with him shouting “Oh” as he double backed inside his house. Not wanting to keep Coral waiting, he rushed in, grabbed his saddle bag, and ran out, nearly forgetting to close the door, he galloped to join her by her side. “I have some pictures...” he stated simply and bluntly.

The treasure hunter let out a flirtatious chuckle. “If they are of the mares you like, I don't want to see them,” she teased.

“Coral…” An eyebrow raised slightly on the hippogriff’s face. She expected him to act embarrassed, not stern. “This is serious,” he said, focusing on the path ahead to the forest. “No more jokes until after we talk to Zecora, ok?”

"Goodness, you actually do sound serious… All right, I'll stop."

“Good, then keep up.”

Had it been anypony else commanding her, her pride would have her protest. However, when she stared at his face, though it was soaked with tears, she witnessed a newfound determination brewing inside of him. She couldn't help but question if this was the same stallion she met before. Her heartbeat increased, growing the grass around where she stepped. His serious side was turning out to be a turn on for her. She blushed as she looked away.

It was as if nary a moment passed when they reached Zecora’s hut, traveling as a pack. The kind zebra greeted them as soon as they opened the door, while she's cooking a sweet-smelling potion in her pot. "Oh, there you are!” she laughed, secretly relieved that she wouldn’t be permanently down two guests. “See? I didn't know what you were worried for. Finally, you two are together once more."

“Yeah…” the emotionally-drained pony hesitantly agreed. “Are we going to start training again?”

"Well, Coral will have to really try to perfect her flower blooming. Why?”

"Yeah, well, I don't know if I'm in the mood to train with a clouded conscience,” the student in question objected and pointed at her parallel partner. “Perhaps good ol' Cornfield can elaborate?"

“Ugh…” he muttered, not expecting to be put on the spot so soon. “Zecora, can you make us some tea first?”

"I think I can make us all a pot today,” agreed the good alchemist as she walked to her cupboard of various herbal mixes. “Black, green, or earl grey?

"Oh, I don't care which,” said Coral as she looked at the colt for his response. “Cornfield?"

“Anything that'll help me relax, please,” he requested.

Zecora put a kettle of water on an iron stove and turned the heat on. She threw her own special brew of tea leaves in before going back to stirring her cauldron. "Your path will be dangerous, so I'm mixing both of you a vial of my best healing brew,” she rhymed. “It might be my last mix, after all, since The Heart of Nature is in Coral."

“That's appreciated.”

"Yeeeeah, about that…” Coral said as she brushed her claws through her mane nervously. “Ummm.... How long do you have until the Everfree Forest withers?"

"A season, give or take a few days,” the zebra said bluntly. “Unless, the Heart is back where it lays."

“Huh... What'll happen after that?” Cornfield asked curiously.

"The animals will migrate and find a new place to stay. I suppose with no herbs for medicine, I'll also be on my way.” Zecora’s voice started to tremble a bit mid-rhyme, sad that she had to possibly leave her home and friends behind. “The trees will be dry, and land will be clear. There won't be a single flower, plant, or creature around here."

What a heart-rending answer. Quite literally, considering the fact that Coral forced The Heart of Nature away from the forest. She felt a tinge of guilt, as she never intended to take this zebra's livelihood away from her as well. “But, does that mean the animals might overrun Ponyville?” her partner questioned, worried about the other ponies in town.

"Oh, the possibility is certainly there. They might turn to Ponyville when they can't go anywhere.” Aware that the two of her guests exchanged worried glances at each other, Zecora waved her hoof to try and ease their fears. “I'll talk to Twilight. Tell her about the land. Tell her about your circumstances. I'm sure she'll understand. It's better with Coral in the long run. Better than that scoundrel, Caballeron."

“Agh!” Cornfield shouted with his ears perked up as high as they could go, before slumping his head down with a pained groan. His cry startled Coral, as she flinched from the outburst. However, seeing the poor stallion in pain, she carefully approached closer and placed her talons gingerly on his shoulder.

"Cornfield...?" she whispered to him with a comforting tone. Feeling him tense up, the house hung in silence for what seemed like the entire day. There were no further complaints from the treasure hunter, however. She knew the signs of inner turmoil well enough to know something was eating him up inside.

“Caballeron…” he finally uttered with his voice shaking. “...He's dead.”

Jerking her claws away, the hippogriff stumbled back in shock. “W-What?!?” Zecora’s head turned toward him with her jaw hanging, almost dropping the tea cups. “D-do you mean back at the ruins when it collapsed? ...I know him. He probably escaped. I know his type. They tend to die hard."

“NO!” Cornfield shouted to shake her out of her ruminations. “He's dead… he’s dead... because, I... REFUSED to help him! Breathing heavily, he hung his head to the floor. “So… it's my fault…” he whispered.

"Ok, Cornfield. It's time to talk." Coral stepped to put herself in front of him and, with his chin in her grip, gently lifted his head to encourage contact with her sparkling sea-blue eyes. "What happened when you were in Ponyville?"

“Well…You see....I...Er-” He struggled to put two words together in regards of the grim details. He pulled away from his partner’s grasp and turned to Zecora. “Do you know anypony by the name of… um... Lord Whirlwind?” he asked.

"No,” the striped host answered. “That name escapes me. Care to share who he might be?"

“... Lord Whirlwind?” Coral whispered, staring at the floor in contemplation. The name was new to her as well, but it also sounded familiar in a sense.

“All I have are photos,” stated Cornfield as he reached into his saddle bag and carefully held his camera out for all to see.

"Are the photos in your camera developed?"

“Oh well, it's an instant camera. We just open this compartment and-” Fiddling with the bottom of the camera, the lid flied open and erupted a bunch of photos in the air before descending onto the floor. “Oops!” In the mix, unsurprisingly, were plenty of pictures of mares. The focus was on their buttocks, tails high in the air and docks underneath, with the shooter struggling to zoom in on their more intimate folds. Interestingly, there was also a up-close photo of an angry grey pony. Her eyes blaring green with the shimmer of limes.

Seeing more than enough of the photos, Coral jerked her field of view away with her face turning red in both embarrassment and anger. It took every inch of willpower to not slam his debaucherous face to the ground. "Oh, Cornfield, you pervert! I was kidding when I said you had photos of other girls! What is wrong with you?!"

“OH BUCK! I meant to put those away!” He scrambled to grab the photos from the floor, using his body to censor them from prying eyes. “DON'T LOOK!” Clutching his pictures in his forelegs, he aligned and shuffled them neatly. Trying to keep them turned over as to hide their contents. Coral and Zecora snuck to his side as he approached the zebra’s table to find the card he’s looking for. “Ok, hold on.” He began to flip through each one carefully, rejecting each picture meant for his personal album. “No...No...No...No...No...No…”

“If I find that I'm one of the mares in your pictures, you'll feel the sting of my thorns," the hippogriff seethed, still disgusted from his private interests. And yet, part of her thought about what it meant if she was. “Of course, if it was JUST pictures of me, it wouldn't be as big an issue. Heh. Actually, it’d be a littler flattering. But, nope, I'd be just flavor-of-the-day mixed in with the rest of those whores. And to think I shown pity to him!”

“Heeeey... I would never-” The stallion cut his excuse short when he finally found the photo he was looking for in the stack. “Oh! This is it.” He pulled out a picture of Caballeron and the mysterious figure, formed from the liquid on the grass, and put it on the table for all to see. Stealthily, he shoved the rest of his pictures back into his camera and the camera in his bag, whispering holding the final straggler. “Ah, she’s definitely a keeper.”

Coral peered closely at the picture, squinting at the shadow in the potion's haze. Then, her eyes widened as her pupils shrunk. Terrible memories flooded her mind as her whole body quivered uncontrollably. "A.... A-ah... N-... N-no..." Her tongue was failing her. She tried in desperation to get all her thoughts and words together, but it all came out in fragments. "N-n.... no... it... cannot... it..." Swiping the photo off the table, her eyes could not look away from the unmistakable jaggedness of the Storm King’s crown. She stumbled back, falling on her haunches with the photo firmly grasp in her claws. Her breathing became sporadic as the gem on her chest dimmed.

“What is it, Coral?!” The young colt panicked, not knowing what to do. Thankfully, Zecora was able to come to her aid after she let out a worried gasp.

The good witch doctor did nothing yet but observe and ready a diagnosis. “Short, panicked breathing, fear in her eyes, her mind is no doubt replaying how her family dies. I had my doubts before, but I know what's deep inside her. She's suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder!"

Cornfield braced himself from this bit of news. He knew that she had her share of troubles, but he didn’t think a creature as snarky and cocky would allow her worst memories to pull her down to this level. “And I thought Caballeron's death was traumatic!”

"Th- that's... but he's....He's supposed to be DEAD!!!" Throughout her life, this particular hippogriff learned that the Storm King was a buffoon. He had no business being in power, considering how childish he could be when seemingly no one was watching. However, that didn’t mean his army was toothless. Their brutality, which he and his commanders fully utilized, conquered lands and slaughtered untold numbers. His crown and lightning bolt symbol was a stabbing reminder of that power. A shriek similar to an eagle’s cry forced itself out of her beak as she wailed in agony.

“Shh…” Zecora quietly whispered as she stroked the suffering hippogriff’s neck. “Shhhh... It's ok. We want to know what this is all about. Coral, breath in deep. In and out... In... and out..."

Trying her best to follow along Zecora's instructions, the nerve-wrecked avian took long deep breaths in between her whimpering. After several long exhales, her heart rate decreased enough to communicate clearly, though she couldn’t stop herself from crying. Cornfield inched closer to try and comfort her, but also respected her space.

"T-That figure…” she said as she gasped for air. “That's the Storm King! B-but how? He was... shattered when he turned into a statue. He's dead!"

“What!?” exclaimed Cornfield. “That's crazy! The Storm King was huge! But, this guy sounded… small. I’d guess he’s not even as old as me.”

"He... He’s not? H-he's got his crown... but..." Finally realizing that she had crumbled the photo in her fit of anguish, she slowly picked herself up and unravelled the photo in her trembling talons. She peered once more to make out the shape of the shadow, trying to pay no mind to the crown on its head. After double and triple checking that her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, she confirmed the young photographer’s claims as she handed it back to him. “It's not him... He's very similar looking... but it's not him..."

“Storm King and Lord Whirlwind... Do you think they may be related?”

"He might, or he might be one of his commanders who overtook the empty throne… Lord Whirlwind, is it? And he’s working with Caballeron?"

Cornfield hung his head despairingly. “Was… Actually, it was Lord Whirlwind that murdered him.”

Replacing the dark clouds of her own life, Coral feared the future of Equestria. "When you kill one of your subordinates for not living up to your expectations, I’m sure that automatically makes you a tyrant. Not that we needed another murderous monkey willing to fill in the Storm King's pawsteps…”

Both her and her earth pony friend turned their heads towards the direction of Zecora forcefully clearing her throat. "I don't mean to pry, but how did he die?"

Hesitating to respond but desperate to get it off his chest, he sat down on the floor to prepare his story. “W-well......it goes like this…” The afternoon sun was making its descent downwards, as Cornfield explained how he saw Caballeron at the station, followed him to his meeting with Lord Whirlwind, overheard him saying why he failed and the hippogriff that foiled him, and the moment the liquid blew up on Caballeron. “Then, he was just lying there...on his side.” He paused as he replayed his dying moments in his head. “...Pleading for me to help him… as he bled to death...ugh...”

All Coral could simply add to this new development was a simple hum of understanding. Zecora, however, was more proactive in pressing further. "And even after he would beg and plead, you simply turned tail and let him bleed?" she questioned with a judgemental tone in her voice. “You should have brought him straight to me. I would have made his survival a guarantee.”

It was Cornfield’s turn to cry as tears pooled around his eyes and dripped to the floor. His head hung low defeatedly, as he tried his best to compose himself and explain his reasons. “I...I…” he muttered, unable to talk. The room fell silent as his chest spasmed a bit from trying to hold back.

"Hey, Zecora."

Zecora turned her attention to Coral, who was looking rather crossed while she watched Cornfield crying. "How's the view from the self-righteous soapbox you're on?" the haughty hippogriff asked sarcastically.

The crying colt lifted his head expectantly after his friend announced she had his back. She gave a small, knowing smile back at him. “...I-I couldn't trust him!” he continued with more confidence. “What if he went after us!?”

“Even if he did,” Zecora interrupted with a disciplinary attitude, “The right thing to do would be-”

The smile on Coral’s beak immediately became a scowl directed towards her teacher. "Yeah, ok, with all due respect, Zecora, shut UP."

Almost not believing what her student just said, Zecora was shocked silent after being reality checked and mate. Meanwhile, Cornfield had a twinkle in his eye as he inched closer to his object of affection. “Coral, you understand, don't you?” He wished deep inside that she would.

"Apparently, more than Zecora." She sauntered her way over to his side, and planted her talons on his back. Then, she faced the zebra, not willing to give her an inch on the argument. "Zecora, let's stop pretending this is a moral choice issue and look at the facts. One, he threatened to kill Cornfield. Two, he threatened to kill me. Oh, and before I forget, three, he threatened to kill YOU.” She lightly scratched her friend’s back, trying to loosen him up. For all it’s worth, it felt soothing. “I know his type perfectly. He tried to play his cards so he came out on top and use everypony else as a stepping stone. Instead, he died a rogue's death, with not a friend to help him because he backstabbed them all."

Her talons could feel the muscles loosen up as he felt more relaxed after hearing a second opinion. “Thank you, Coral. I feel better about it now.” He looked over his shoulder to her eyes as they exchanged smiles. “To tell you the truth, I asked myself what you would of done in that situation...”

Zecora huffed a bit, but also found their friendship budding to be endearing. “It's a good thing you changed your ways before he was gone. One could easily see you dying in the same position he was on," she said to Coral. Angry that the zebra wouldn’t learn to drop it already, the hippogriff shot daggers from her eyes at her direction. "But I concede. You are right. He was a crook who would stab us in the night. Perhaps Cornfield's choice was, indeed, wise, if he didn't mean ill in your eyes.”

Cornfield contemplated what happened today. “You know, between his death, you crying, me crying… This has been quite a day in itself…” At that point, he remembered that he needed something relaxing. “Hey! Where's the tea?!”

As if on cue, the teapot’s spout began to whistle and the top rattled about. "Oh! Of course, how silly of me! Let me go and get your tea!" Zecora went to the stove, poured piping hot tea for her guests, and placed the wooden tea cups on the table.

Thanking her, they both took a cup and sat by the fire bubbling the cauldron in the middle of the room. The young colt was the first to take a sip, only for him to recoil and spit out what little scalding liquid was on his tongue. “GAH!” he yelled. “IT'S HOT!”

Chuckling, Coral nudged him playfully, almost causing him to spill more hot tea on his lap and burning more delicate areas. "Hehehehe, you idiot," she teased. “How are you feeling? Better about your decision?"

“Yeah…” Before taking another sip, he blew on the tea until the surface was cool enough. “But it still weighs heavy on me. I didn't see him die, but I could tell he did.”

She solemnly gave a piercing look at him drinking his tea for a few seconds before trying to get him to brush it off. "Heh. Don't let it get to you. You were being smart and not giving him the chance to double-cross you." She followed Cornfield’s example to cool her beverage before taking a sip herself. "By the way... I need to know. What was it that really made Lord Whirlwind flip his lid like that?"

“He didn't tell Whirlwind you stole the map from before and, learning this, he got REALLY angry with Caballeron.” He took another sip. “It sounds like he's got his own gang, too. That low-down crook was intimidated by the threat they posed.”

"... A gang?” She put her tea down before showing Cornfield a dead-serious expression. He saw it through the corner of his eye and obliged with his face to hers. "Cornfield. He doesn’t have a gang. If that guy is serious… He might have an army of the Storm King's soldiers to back him up..."

“Aw. NOT AGAIN! How many times does some evil being wants to either destroy, enslave, or conquer us?!” He complained.”

“Beats me. Equestria sure is a magnet for megalomaniacs. My homeland got invaded only once. Your country, on the other hoof? It’s got aspiring tyrants constantly coming out of the woodwork.”

Suddenly, the mentioning of her home caused another bit of Caballeron’s conversation to strike his mind. “OH YEAH! I found out where the Time of Water is!”

"Err, what? The…” She cocked her head to the side. “Time of Water?” Her crests perked up as she mentally deciphered what he was trying to say. “Oh! You mean the Mind of Water, right? Yeah, I know where that is, too. It's near my country, Mount Aris. The map points towards it."

“Oh, you knew?”

“Yes. All of the hippogriffs that live in Seaquestria know about it. It’s what introduced me to The Gems of Creation in the first place.” Clutching the warm homemade brew in her claws again, she was about to take a sip, but hesitated. “How… did you come to know that it was in Mount Aris? I don’t think I shown you the old map in full detail. Just where The Heart of Nature lied.” Satisfied with her question, she took another long sip of tea.

“Oh, Caballeron said it was so close to Mt. Aris, but Lord Whirlwind said that he needed The Heart of Nature to get it.”

A terrifying thought shocked Coral as she spat out her tea and dropped her cup, its steaming contents spilled on the floor. Scooching himself away from the mess, he cowered away from the angry hybrid as she shot him the meanest glare he’s ever seen in his life! “CORNFIELD!” she squawked!

“...S-Something wrong?!” he muttered quiveringly.

She placed her claws on both of his shoulders and shook him to and fro mercilessly. “Why didn't you say anything SOONER?!"

“W-w-w-what's-s-s-s-s y-y-y-y-your p-p-p-p-problem!?” his words reverberated from being rattled like a foal and his new toy. Then, she pulled him close where he was practically nose-to-beak with her. The helpless colt flashbacked to when he’d get caught taking “lucrative photos” and getting a back-hoof to the face.

"He knows I'm a hippogriff, Cornfield! If Lord Whirlwind is from the Storm Kingdom, he's going to take whatever army that's left and tear Mount Aris apart looking for me and The Heart of Nature!”

Zecora, understanding what the reckless bird was planning to do next, gathered some bottles to contain her healing mixture. “And,” Coral continued, “I want you to follow along on this one, the reason my homeland was taken over so fast was because the Storm Kingdom is to Mount Aris's immediate LEFT. It's practically a stone's throw away!"

She let the poor, dizzy stallion go as she scrambled onto her claws and rushed to her bags to pack as quickly as she could. Cornfield struggled getting back up, saying “Ahh… If this is what a relationship’s about, I don’t think I’m ready for commitment in this lifetime.” Dusting himself off, he got on his hooves. “Why would he proceed to attack Mount Aris?” he questioned. “Does he even know that you’re there?”

"Catch up, Cornfield!” she snapped back from across the hut. “Ponies live in Equestria, griffons live in Griffinstone, and hippogriffs live in Mount Aris. Even if I’m not there, it will be the first place he’ll look and I don't know what he plans to do there."

“Then why even go to Mount Aris if they're going to attack it?” he yelled to try and snap her out of a rash decision. She responded by stretching her vines, wrapping them around his barrel, and pulling him forcefully along the ground towards her. Fear built up in him as he was dragged literally through the dirt to her murderous grimace.

"If it comes down to it, Cornfield,” she rasped in a deathly low tone, “I would rather DIE than let that upstart lord bring upon another tragedy like the Storm King's first invasion."

The vines squeezing this stomach tight, all her poor sidekick could squeak out was a simple “ok”. He inhaled sharply after she unraveled her vines and continued packing.

"I'm sorry, Zecora, but I have no time for more training,” Coral called out to her mentor.
“I will have to learn how to make blossoms as I go on my trip."

“I understand your urgency, but don't do anything too hasty,” warned the zebra while she was in the middle of filling, corking, and labelling a couple flasks. “Remember that The Heart unlocks the Mind's way through. Without the Heart, there's not much Whirlwind can do."

"While I wish we can share your patience, Zecora, if Whirlwind is so eager to kill Caballeron for failing to get the heart, that just tells me he's willing to kill as many hippogriffs as it takes before he finds me." After filling and strapping her bags to herself, she gazed down at her talons as they turn green and jut out sharp thorns. “I'll just need to make sure that I'm the first hippogriff he sees. And when I wrap my vines around his neck and puncture the arteries in his throat with my thorns, I will be the last."

Coral’s digits return to normal as Zecora approached her and Cornfield with 4 potions, 2 for each. Both of the intrepid adventurers added the doctor’s boon to their respective inventories. "Take caution to your anger, Coral,” she warned the ferocious creature. “Do not let the Heart's wrath unwind. An eye for an eye will make Equestria go blind."

“Better heed her advice, Coral,” her plucky partner chimed in. “We can't abuse the power or it could consume you. That's the whole point, remember?”

"I’m flattered that you would worry about me,” the hippogriff said. “But, if I have to use it to fight for my home, I will." After a few glances around the room to make sure she wasn’t missing anything, she looked at her friend who was raring to go. Not just because he was young, he wanted the opportunity to prove his worth. “Ready to roll, then?”

“Ok!” Being a gentlecolt, he ran to the door and opened it for her, gesturing to go through. “After you!”

"Thank you, kind sir!” Carefully navigating through the room and out the door, they turned towards the path towards Ponyville and sped to a gallop together. Cornfield was following right behind her with Zecora coming out to wish them the best.

"Farewell, dear friends!” the witch doctor shouted as she waved behind them. “Be safe out there! Coral, remember! Your anger, beware!”

Her visitors now gone, the zebra returned inside her hut, with something bothering her in the back of her mind. “If danger is bringing its ugly head near, it may be for Equestria’s leaders to hear.” Within deeper contemplation, she figured that it was too premature to call it in. After all, the laws that govern the safety of the land’s inhabitants may not tolerate a sexual deviant and a vigilante thief. “Alas, help may not come as quickly as I desire. I’ll meditate on what I should do to avoid unneeded ire.”

Zecora’s words echoed in Coral’s ears as she left. She wondered if her emotional instincts would hinder more than help her on her journey. This slowed her to the point for the trailing pony to catch up.

“Hey! Aren't you in a hurry?” he yelled slowing his pace beside her. “Come on!”

"I am! I am!" she reassured as she kept his pace.

“But how should we get to Mount Aris so quickly? The train?”

"The train seems like the best option. It will take us to Kludgetown where we can take a ferry to cross the sea. I’m not carrying you while I'm flying the entire way!"

Coral followed the resident of Ponyville as he guided her out of the forest and across town, finally having reached the train station. Incidentally, this was where Caballeron had tried to buy a ticket from before. “Hey, this is-” but Cornfield was cut mid sentence as she wasted no time to make her way to the teller’s window.

"Excuse me!” she addressed the teller on the other side, trying to catch her breath. “We need to tickets to Mount Aris and I'm willing to pay any price for it!"

The teller looked at her, curious as to why she was in a hurry, but continued his work. "Sorry, Miss,” he answered back. “There are no trains going to Mount Aris. The tracks are busted from Appleloosa to Kludgetown."

"What?! NO!” Unable to control her temper, she slammed a clenched fist on the wall next to the window, startling the poor stallion on the other side. It stung upon impact, but the pain was completely overshadowed by rage. “Novo and Skystar, WHY NOW?"

“Oh, yeah, that's right!” Cornfield remembered. “Caballeron was here demanding the… same… thing.” Even though she wasn’t looking directly at him, he could still feel the red-hot fury emanating from her. He swallowed before letting out a nervous chuckle and tried looking away as she confronted him, sweating bullets.

"Once again! YOU withhold the most crucial bit of information until the very last minute!" The voice of her wise mentor chimed in, seeing herself yelling at her cowering friend. She took a deep breath to cool herself off before opening her saddle bags and pulling out her map and her trusty pencil. "You're just lucky I have a knack of finding a way out of jam."

“That was scary!” the colt thought as he place a hoof on his chest and sighed. “For a second there, I thought she was gonna bite my head off.” He watched as she placed the map on the floor, then traced a line eastward from Ponyville on the aptly-named “Friendship Express” to Baltimare, and finally traced a dotted line through the sea, along the coast of the continent, southward towards Mount Aris. “We’re swimming through the sea?” he naively asked.

“Get a clue, genius! We're taking a boat.” Coral rolled up the map, placed it and her pencil in her bags, and turned to the teller. “Two tickets to Baltimare.”

"That'll be 16 bits for the both of you," the teller informed.

“16 bits?!” exclaimed Cornfield as he gently pushed his date to let him be beside her. “Just to go to Baltimare?”

"We've increased the price because there's a farmer's market festival going on in Baltimare. There's increased traffic and we need to cover the cost of maintenance.”

“Hey, buddy!” pestered the rowdy colt. “It's not our fault they hold a festival and your trains are ill-equipped for it. How about 10 bits?”

Without warning, Coral placed a shining gem on the counter. "How about I give you a diamond if we can speed this along?” she offered the teller, who was clearly taken back at how a rare stone was shoved in reach of his hooves.

“Yeah! Come on buddy,” taunted the young photographer. “What are you gonna say to the nice sexy lady?”

Without thinking twice, the teller scooped up the diamond, hid it away, and gave them their tickets. "Train arrives in 15 minutes,” he blurted out quickly, grinning ear-to-ear. “Have a nice day! And thank you for riding the ‘Friendship Express. Your transport to other fun-loving Equines something-something-yadda-yadda’.” The two travellers obtained their individual tickets. Happy to get her way, the alluring hippogriff trotted towards a nearby bench to take a seat, purposefully leaving space for her tag-along as she casually motioned him to sit next to her.

He obliged as he sat close to her. “So,” he said still wary of her temper. “What should we do once we get to the city?”

"Certainly not any pleasantries,” she answered bluntly. “I'm going straight to the docks and getting a boat to Mount Aris."

“I knew that!” he was quick to state back with an insincere chuckle. “What do you think I am? Some kind of idiot?”

"Heh. Not as dumb as the teller. I hope he enjoys his chunk of cubic zirconia."

“Hah! Yeah, I knew that was no diamond!”

Coral sharply jabbed the blabbermouth in his side with her elbow. “Not so loud, dumbass.”

“Ow!” Cornfield exclaimed, rubbing where she might have bruised a rib. “Oh, sorry...” An awkward silence hangs over for a few seconds. “Ummm... What is cubic sir-corn-uh?”

"Zir-con-i-a,” she spelled out slowly. “It's a synthetic made through apprenticeship spells. It looks like a diamond, but it's practically worthless."

“Oh…” Another awkward silence passes over as Cornfield started fidgeting. “So… are we gonna rent a boat?”

"If everything goes according to my plan. If not, I'll use REAL gems instead.” As she gave more thought about what exactly those monkeys might do, especially when they get to her homeland, she grew more concerned for the poor fool she was dragging along. “Cornfield, I want to ask you something..." shifting her focus on said individual.

“Oh...?”

"Well, I’m actually giving you more of a choice.” She leaned her head closer as she looked into the colt’s eyes with a worried expression pouring over her. “I'm not going to lie to you… Um, intentionally, I mean... If this is as bad as I think it's going to get, you are going to be in serious danger. I know you said you wanted to tag along, but-"

“I've almost seen one pony die,” he interrupted. “Not to mention survived those trials in that ruin containing The Heart of Nature. After going through those, I think I have the confidence to take on anything.” Putting on his best winning smile, he uttered a phrase that would be famous last words for a lot of creatures. “What could possibly go wrong?”

She paused, taking what he said as seriously as she could. "... I don't know, and it's the fear of the unknown that scares me the most."

“If we keep our wits and your emotions in check, we should do fine!” Wanting to make a rebuke but thought better of it, Coral leaned back on the bench and closed her eyes, waiting for the train to come soon. “It hasn't been too long since you were in heat, has it?”

Her eyes shot open bloodshot as she wretched her body away from him. "W-WHAT?! What kinda question is that?!”

Panicking, Cornfield scrambled off of the bench and stood up on his hind legs trying to explain her as he’s sweating profusely. “I-I just meant that...if we're out there and your.. you know... Feminine nature starts… I just want to be sure-”

“Y-You!” she stammered, red as a beet. “Here I am, worried of you and your well-being, and your mind is focused on when the right moment would be to stick your dick in me?!"

“SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! No! No!” He reeled back, waving his hooves at her frantically and trying to defuse the scene. “Nothing like that I swear!” He leaned in closed with an anxious grin to whisper to her. “It's just...I've heard about mares getting really irritable when they don't get ‘some’ during their cycle. And… was kinda wondering how it is with birds- I mean, hybirds- I MEAN, HIPPOGRIFFS! ...uh...Th-that's all!”

She sat there, unable to believe what she just heard. Her jaw hanged before she pinched her beak in utter annoyance with a exasperated sigh. "... You're lucky you're dependable in a pinch, or I'd be tying you to the tracks right now.”

The thought of becoming a damsel-in-distress by a damsel who BRINGS distress was a disturbing image. He hesitated to answer before thinking it was a joke. “...Oh. Hahaha! You're so funny, Coral! I really thought you meant it for a second...”

She sighed again and quickly emptied her mind with a deep breath. "Because of your resolve to come with me no matter what, I choose to tolerate your perverted gutter mind for the duration of this trip. I just hope you are ready to leave Ponyville behind.”

Inching a little closer, he whispered again, “So, does that mean it was... recent? The last time...?”

She said nothing. Instead, Cornfield was faced with an expressionless femme fatale, sitting completely still, as vines sprouted from her claws. When the thorns thrusted out from the embedding plant flesh, they made a sharp, piercing sound. The fool slowly realized he pressed his luck too far as he slowly and carefully went back to his seat. “Aaaanyway….”

"Yeah. That's right. Drop the subject," Coral commanded as her claws reverted back. “And I wasn’t kidding about tying you to the tracks.” Looking down, her talons reached to feel The Heart of Nature grafted onto her chest. After glancing at Cornfield, then back to her gem, she thought to herself "This is going to be a looooong journey..."

Author's Note

Thank you for reading this entire first part, if you've read from start to finish. Make sure to catch Part 2 soon!