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         Crusaders of Harmony: Tales of Pure Heart         
                       -by joelicus-                       
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              Chapter 1: Hi! I'm Pure Heart!               
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Chapter 1: Hi! I'm Pure Heart!
In the Vale Forest close to Canterlot, there was a building, hidden between the trees and pines, hidden from plain sight. Following a dirt road deep into the forest, a small temple could be found. It had a small exterior wall with a single fence entrance. The temple seemed made of rock bricks, with a big base and a single cylindrical tower that took to an observatory.
Entering the fence, there were a few nuns and monks doing their chores, all wearing their distinctive white robes with the symbol of harmony in their chest, a circle with petals, each a different color, each with a meaning yet to be learned for these followers. The ponies tended the yard, flowers and grass to keep the temple always in pristine condition.
Once entering the double wooden doors, the first scene is a large room, filled with lines of benches, big and rectangular windows on the sides, 10 marble pillars on each side holding the structure, and at the end and full center was the stand, where the lecture table was, where the pony chosen would speak or read to those on the benches. And behind it is a circular floor filled with patterns, made of ceramic-colored tiles.
And finally in the center of it, lied over her belly and hooves, was a young-looking earth pony mare, of pure white fur and green mint hair, wearing her respective priest robes, white as her fur and with a small pattern in red in the borders, and the very symbol of harmony on the chest. She seemed to be practicing for something.
"Hi! I am Pure-" she stopped. "No, um. Hello!- Ugh, no... 'Hey~' UGH! What am I thinking?" The mare seemed troubled, practicing on what could be a presentation and already lacking on the start.
Soon, Agora heard a noise and opened her soft blue eyes to see one unicorn mare enter the room from one of the many side doors that took to the rest of the temple. This mare, shaved in the head and covered of symbols and tattoos wherever you could see in her white body, that being her hooves and head, saw the other priestess struggling. With her cold and unshaken face, she walked to the mare.
"Is anything wrong, Mother Pure Heart?" said the tattooed mare with an unexpressive but respectful tone.
"No, everything is fine, Canvas," Pure Heart said, a bit exasperated.
"I can tell you are not. Is it about the meeting with those heretics of the Church of Celestia?" Priestess Canvas said with a bit of disgust on the last part.
Pure Hear sighed and stood up. "Canvas, you know what I said about calling them that," she said with a motherly tone.
Priestess Canvas would look down. "Sorry, Mother Pure Heart."
"And no need for the title. You know I don't force you."
"And you know I will keep doing it no matter what," Priestess Canvas said with a smirk, a rare sigh on her face.
Pure Hear walked around the room, walking to the reading table and leaning on her rear legs to stand straight, and looked over the empty room except for them two and the guarding nun in the entrance, who wouldn't talk or interrupt unless necessary.
"This talk could be the chance we have to be left alone, to stop being harassed and grow as a religion. And I am worried I will fail. Cross Heart is not one who likes failure, and being the leader of the Church of Celestia, she has complete decision," said Pure Heart with a hint of worry.
Priestess Canvas looked at her high priestess with a calculating glare. "Cross Heart and her cult are just a bunch of freaks. I am sure you will succeed, Mother Pure Heart; you always do."
Pure Heart sighed. "I can't even start my stupid talk."
"Be yourself. If you try to talk and move as someone you aren't, you will only make them think you are a liar. And even if you fail, we sisters and brothers and Harmony herself will keep on fighting for you," said Priestess Canvas with a determinate face, enhanced by the markings all over her face.
Pure Heart looked at her priestess with a smile. "I know Canvas. No matter what, you won't leave me alone, and neither will I leave any of you behind."
Priestess Canvas nodded. "I will leave you now, Mother Pure Heart. If you need me, you know how to call me." Canvas bowed before turning and walking away.
Pure Heart waited for the priestess to leave, and when the mare went through a door, she retook her four-leg standing position. Soon, a voice in her head would speak with a soft noise but with a strong aura.
"She is still as loyal as always."
Pure Hear nodded. "Yes... Anyway, I should keep practicing."
At Manehattan, where the main temple from the Church of Celestia resides, Pure Heart reached with two of her followers, her closest priests, more specifically. Priestess Canvas on her right; And on her left, Priestess Flash Spark, a pegasus mare with orange fur and Dark Teal hair, wearing her own black robes and a pair of sunglasses, a smug smile on her face.
They stood in front of the temple, way bigger and more well-built than theirs, showing the monetary power of the religion. It was in the middle of the city, taking up a whole street block.
"Hah~ They seem to try to compensate something, huh?~" said Priestess Flash Spark with a mocking tone, fixing the sunglasses on her face and looking at the other two to see their reaction.
Pure Heart's lips slightly went upwards before going down, while Priestess Canvas was as serious and cold as before.
"Sister, this is not the time." Said Priestess Canvas
"Come on, Canvy!~ You know it's true! They try to force their power over us with stupid and powerless shows as this stupid building!" Flash Spark said excitedly.
"I told you many times not to call me that." Said Priestess Canvas, wrinkling her snout in annoyance.
"Sisters, please. Not the time. You know your job; simply keep an eye out in case anything happens. Canvas, you have the teleportation spell ready?" Pure Heart said with a bit of nervousness.
"Yes, Mother Pure Heart. If anything happens, we will be back at the temple in a blink," said Priestess Canvas, returning to her serious and professional demeanor.
"Bah~ If anything happens, that stupid Cross Heart will eat a fiery hoof-"
Priestess Canvas interrupts Flash Spark, "Shush, she is coming."
Just in time, the massive doors would open, and a big group of followers, monks and nuns, dozens of them appeared walking down the stairs, only to give way to another mare, the leader of the Church of Harmony, Cross Heart, a Unicorn mare with dusky purple fur and crimson mane and eyes, wearing a whole black high priest robe on her, and wearing a golden diadem on her head to hold her hair. She looked around her 30s, with almost invisible wrinkles under her eyes.
Cross Heart looked at the three mares from the top stairs with a cold and unsettling glare. "So, you finally came. What kind of madness could make you come here to talk after all our conflict?" said Cross Heart with a mature and deep tone, as if she had everything under control.
Pure Heart looked at Cross Heart with a serious glare, the light of the sun shining over her and her priests, while Cross Heart and her followers were covered by the shadow of her own temple.
"Is it really madness, wanting to reach peace for my followers' protection?" Pure Heart said with a slightly defiant but respectful tone.
Cross Heart snorted and walked down the stairs to face Pure Heart face-to-face, being slightly taller. "You are just a coward, Pure Heart. Not like I can't blame you. How foolish of you, thinking your little cult could face the wrath of Celestia's followers."
Pure Heart put a frown on her face. "Don't think for a moment you ever scared us. This is just simple and plain politics. And it is better we go on with this."
Cross Heart didn't have shame showing her face of hate and annoyance to Pure Heart, her red crimson eyes glaring daggers of poison to the high priest. But she had an image to maintain and turned to walk into the temple.
"Don't take long." Cross Heart said with a grave tone, almost threatening.
Priestess Canvas turned to Pure Heart. "You got this, Mother Pure Heart."
"We got your sides!~" Flash Spark said with her sunglasses shining against the sun and a wide smile.
With a deep breath, Pure Heart walked into the temple.
Once inside, Pure Heart took the center of the temple, surrounded by hundreds of ponies, nuns, monks and priests, including the very Cross Heart, who looked down at her from her balcony. Pure Heart was supposed to make a talk to try to ease the tensions between their religions with a peaceful and explanatory tone.
Priestess Canvas and Flash Spark stood by the sides of Pure Heart, but at a distance to give her the space of the stand.
"Ok, Pure Heart. You got this." Pure Heart said to herself while taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.
The followers of Celestia look at Pure Heart with different glares; some are neutral; a few more curious, cover more their faces with the hoods to look from behind, so no one saw their interest; a greater number than Pure Heart would have liked, looked at her angry or annoyed, as they only saw her as a heretic.
Pure Heart took a deep breath and started as herself, with a smile. "Hi everypony! I'm Pure Heart! Head Priestess of the Crusaders of Harmony!"
Instantly, a knife flew and landed next to her as the nuns and priestesses took out many sharp-edged weapons.
Pure Heart looked at them with a sigh, more than used to these hostilities. "Can't I first make my talk before starting the fight?"
The followers looked between them, questioning it deeply, but slowly they sat down and took the weapons under the robes.
"Right," Pure Heart continued. "As I said, I am the head of the Crusaders, a group vowed to protect the innocents, maintain stability in Harmony, and fight evil beings across Equestria and maybe the world. But I know how many things you heard from me."
Pure Heart walked forward to be closer to the followers. "I know you heard I am a heretic because I don't consider Celestia a true Goddess... It's true."
The followers gasped and raised their weapons again.
"But, but! It doesn't mean I take down her job. You see, have you ever heard of Harmony?"
The nuns and monks looked between them in questioning and curious glares.
Pure Heart put on a poker face and rolled her eyes. "The Elements of Harmony?"
The ponies now perked up and started nodding and confirming they knew.
"Oh yeah!"
"Yes, I know them."
"Heard of them."
Pure Heart sighed. "So, as the name says, the Elements of Harmony are powered, oh surprise, by Harmony. But, what is harmony? Who created it?"
A mare nun raised her hoof. "Celestia?"
"Nope!~ Nothing created Harmony as a thing, because Harmony is someone."
The followers looked at Pure Heart in confusion.
"I know, but listen. In my studies and experience, I have found and spoken with this Harmony. She is the true goddess of stability and peace. Anypony can find it if they search long and well enough. We, as the Crusaders, are not a group that searches to conflict with you. We only want our space, peace, and respect to practice our religion as we like, as we respect yours. Our ideas may be different, but even Celestia knows of something all beings want. Respect."
The followers started looking more calm and looked at Pure Heart more warmed.
"This conflict, created by your stupid and arrogant leader," Pure Heart pointed at Cross Heart, "Is nothing more than a conflict of interests. That is why I came here, with the opportunity of making not a friendship, but a truce. Come on, you all want peace, and simply go on by the day. I must admit, of course we fought back, but can you blame us?"
Some followers nodded and hummed in acceptance and confirmation.
"So, I offer you all Peace... So, what do you say?~"
Then, another knife flew next to her.

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            Chapter 2: A day in the Crusaders.             
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Chapter 2: A day in the Crusaders.
12:30
With a flash of dark magic, Pure Heart, Flash Spark and Priestess Canvas appeared in the temple center. Pure Heart was covered in cuts in her robes and flesh, some blood dripping from her thighs and hooves, and a cut on her cheek.
Pure Heart sighed, a bit sad and disappointed. "Well, at least we tried. What did I do wrong?"
"Nothing, Mother Pure Heart. Your talk was perfect." Priestess Canvas said serious.
Pure Heart looked at her with an 'I don't believe you' face, while Flash Spark took off her glasses, showing her green eyes.
Priestess Canvas sighed. "Maybe insulting their leader and speaking of our religion instead of maybe arguing a peace treaty was part of the error."
"Ow, I knew it. I am a horrible speaker!" Pure Heart said more hurt in her feelings than by the wounds in her body.
"No, no, boss! It is their problem. You talk fantastic!~" Flash Spark tried to support her emotionally.
"Maybe trying to talk to them as your friends instead of important ponies is not the best course of action." Priestess Canvas said monotonously and insensibly.
Pure Heart whined and fell to the ground in a ball. Flash Spark looked at Canvas, her green eyes turning to yellow. "Canvas! You are not helping!" She said, before having to rub her eyes frantically and put her sunglasses back on.
Soon, other nuns and monks heard the sounds of their high priest's wailing, and soon a unicorn nun in the uniform of a nurse arrived. "What happened here?! Pure Heart?! What happened to you?!"
The nurse, known as Priestess Nurse Shine, jumped over Pure Heart and used her horn with healing magic to almost instantly close her cut wounds, but still Pure Heart was wailing like a baby.
"What's wrong with her?" Nurse Shine asked confused
"Ugh, the talk went bad, and we all know Pure Heart's feelings are made of paper." Flash Spark said with a bit of annoyance.
"Hey! Sniff. That is not true! I am just sad I couldn't achieve peace!" Pure Heart said, raising a defensive hoof.
Priestess Canvas, as the seemingly more mature one, took the turn of talking. "The Church of Celestia denied any peace negotiations."
"Aw, oh no." Nurse Shine said worried and looked at Pure Heart worried and patted her head. "It's ok, Pure Heart. I'm sure one day they will see to reasoning."
"After 200 years trying?" Pure Heart said angry and stood up. "Maybe they are right. Maybe there is no other end but to massacre them all! Bathe us in their sinner blood! Dance upon their corpses and eat their flesh in front of their followers and families! And so, purify this world of those wrecked-!"
"Ejem" Interrupted a voice in Pure Heart's mind.
Pure Heart stopped and looked around the shocked priestesses and followers. "Um... or we could... not to, if you want~" She said in a nervous tone.
The followers, especially those already with a year in the religion, knew of Pure Heart's antics and simply simultaneously decided it was a fit, and everypony returned to their chores.
The Priestesses stood there one next to the other, not really knowing what to do or say to break the tension. Luckily, another earth pony priestess arrived, one wearing the same white robes, but this one wore a porcelain mask that covered all her face, leaving it in a permanent neutral expression. The priestess walked to Pure Heart and bowed down.
"Ah, Silent Whisper. Just in time. What is it?" Pure Heart said, smiling and returning to her normal tone.
"My Priest, a new recruit arrived in your absence." A Silent Whisper said softly behind her mask, still with her head down.
Pure Heart rolled her eyes at the Priest's respect. She patted her head as a signal of calming down, and Silent Whisper stood up straight.
"Everypony, go do your chores. Canvas and Flash Spark, you can have rest, and it means you can be as gay as you want." Pure Heart said before walking away.
Priestess Canvas and Flash Spark perked up, and they started blushing, especially Canvas.
"Mother Pure Heart! Stop it already! I have no feelings for Sister Flash!" She said it in anger.
"Yeah! That is so not cool, Pure Heart!" Flash Spark pouts and walks away with Priestess Canvas.
Pure Heart walked through the halls of the temple until reaching her office/bedroom. Inside, a pegasus mare, gray fur and silver hair, stood there, wearing the Church of Celestia's nun robes. She gasped the moment she saw Pure Heart, but still she held onto her solar symbol on her necklace.
Pure Heart, always the most friendly, closed the door and stood there to give the mare her space. "Hello! You must be our new want-to-be recruit."
The mare nodded slowly. "Yes. My name is Veil Whisper. I want to hide and escape the Church."
"And why would you want to escape the Church?" Pure Heart asked, waking slowly around her.
"They made... they tried to force me into something horrible." Veil Whisper said, shuddering a bit.
"Something horrible? Can I know what it was?" Pure Heart said, walking past her and standing in front of a table.
"I-I don't... I can't say it." Veil Whisper said, trembling.
Pure Heart stopped herself and closed her eyes to sense into Veil Whisper's soul. "Seems something personal... Ok, I can take you in. But it also means you must break every tie with the church."
Veil Whisper turned slightly scared. "All ties? But the church was my life since I got memory."
"Yes. Even if I respect that religion, it doesn't mean I accept it inside my walls. You see, a buckball player can't bring buckball into, I don't know, archery, right? Incompatible. So are religions." Pure Heart said, walking to Veil Whisper. "So you can either break yourself from it... or take your time. But with doubts, you won't reach far into my teachings."
Veil Whisper felt the pressure of the decision. As much as she wanted to leave the Church, it has been her life since a filly. "I... I think I need to go." She turns to leave.
"And what will happen with your brother?" Pure Heart said it out of nowhere.
Veil Whisper stopped, and her eyes widen. Her knees slightly trembled, and she turned slowly at Pure Heart. "How did you-?"
"The tattoo on your wrist." Pure Heart said, pointing to Veil's wrist, which had a tattoo of a shattered heart. "In the Church, siblings wear that tattoo. I should know; I was there."
Veil Whisper quickly hid it inside her robes in anger. "It is true; you really are a nosy mare."
Pure Heart slowly put on a softer tone and glare. "Look, Veil, I know you have doubts. You are not the first deserter I have dealt with. Surely some of my nuns and monks may help you with entering. But you seem to come for reasons completely different from what we are searching. You want us to save your brother. But as much as I would like to, I cannot do anything."
Veil Whisper looked down with some sadness and seemed to slouch a bit.
Pure Heart shook her head and turned to her desk. "We search for peace and fight back the evil in us and this world. You search to save your family, although totally understandable-"
"My brother is dead." Veil Whisper cut her off.
Pure Heart stopped herself and looked down at the table with a slight shock and wide eyes. "Huh... what was it?"
Veil Whisper shook and teared up. "Because I made a prank to Cross Heart... and the priestess simply..." Veil Whisper broke in tears. "She didn't even give him a chance to speak before using her horn. My brother." The mare fell to her knees and grabbed the solar symbol on her necklace. "Is this what Celestia wanted for my brother? To take the blame from my childish plays?"
Pure Heart turned to her with a sad face. "No... It's what they wanted. They use her name to do horrible actions."
The pegasus mare grabbed her necklace and, with fury, pulled it out and threw it away, tears still falling from her eyes. Pure Hear slowly sat next to her and embraced her into her hooves. The instant the mare was enveloped, she felt an unnatural but still peaceful sensation run through her body.
"It wasn't your fault." Pure Heart said softly.
Veil Whisper shook slightly. "How can I tell that to myself?"
Pure Heart pulled slightly so they could see each other's eyes. And to Veil's shock and surprise, Pure Heart's eyes shone in pure white, and a soft smile was on her face. The eyes were like two glowing gems where she could see something beyond natural, something pure.
"I know you will. Why don't we start again?~ Tell me your name, your real name, not the one that church forced on you." Pure Heart said with a slightly echoing voice and with a soft motherly tone.
Veil Whisper looked at her with a somewhat peaceful manner until her defenses simply vanished. "My name is Lilac Breeze."
18:50
On the training grounds underneath the temple, priestesses Flash Spark and Canvas were training their abilities. Flash Spark was using her wings to propel her and hitting various moving objectives, that were from punching bags, wood and some made of iron, while Priestess Canvas was doing her training in her mind, meditating.
Flash Spark finished her round and put a towel over her neck and drank from a bottle, walking to Priestess Canvas.
"So, when will you really train?~" Flash Sparked teased her friend.
Priestess Canvas on the other hoof ignored her comment and continued her meditation. "Training the mind is as important as training the body. Those who focus on only one are wasting half of their potential, sister."
Flash Spark looked at her in a bored look and opened her bottle and poured the contents over Priestess Canvas' shaved head.
"I just see you being lazy~" Flash Spark smirked with a toothy grin.
Priestess Canvas opened her eyes growled, and suddenly her body marks and tattoos glowed in purple and made a shockwave that sent Flash Spark flying back, but thanks to her agility, she landed safely.
"Oh, Canvy is actually going to move?~ When was the last time, you old hag?" Flash Spark teased.
Priestess Canvas growled, and her tattoos shined brighter and teleported to Flash Spark to start exchanging hooves, standing on their rear legs and making fast and furious barrages. Flash Spark was no novice, and with her incredible speed, she started avoiding and blocking her physical attacks, walking backwards on the training room to keep distance.
"You are as slow as always; Canvy~ can't follow my rhythm!"
Flash Spark made a quick combo of kicks at blinding speed on Priestess Canvas' left side, hitting from her leg to her head, leaving red marks on her white fur.
Priestess Canvas answered by powering her hooves with her magic and throwing quick jabs and straight punches, hitting Flash Spark with small shockwaves and sending her back, scraping her hooves along the floor.
Flash Spark smirked and flies forward besides the small space and placates Priestess Canvas and collides her against a punching bag and starts throwing full speed combos with her hooves, hitting over her torso, legs and face, and even if Priestess Canvas tried to attack she would deviate, block or evade them and throw her harder punches.
After several hits, Priestess Canvas got enough of it and teleported out of the way exactly behind her in a blink. Priestess Canvas growled and with her horn shot a barrage of purple magic at blank point distance, and even with her Speed, Flash Spark received most of them, sending her rolling on the ground and giving Priestess Canvas the opportunity to jump over Flash Spark.
"Is that all you got, you insufferable child?!" Priestess Canvas said furious.
Flash Spark chuckled and took off her sunglasses. "Oh, Canvy~ you wouldn't really hurt old good Flashy, right?"
Canvas growled, and the tattoos on her right hoof glew up, and she delivered a punch, making a loud smack on Flash Spark's face and making it bleed and send some teeth flying off her snout.
Flash Spark was shocked, passing her tongue through the new gaps in her mouth and the taste of iron. She slowly looked up with a surprised face, as if not expecting her friend to actually hit her that hard, almost a hurt expression, but that quickly changed to an angered one; her eyes glowed yellow, and she put her sunglasses back on.
"Ok, you overdid it." Flash Spark said before her body started sparking and a sudden charge of electricity came out of her and shot a ray on Priestess Canvas, sending her flying backwards and against a wall.
Priestess Canvas growled as the residual energy made her body shake and tremble involuntarily. Once the electricity dissipated, she stood up, and so did Flash Spark. Both of them started having their own auras growing, Priestess Canvas's purple magic and Flash Spark's electric, and slowly a fiery one added.
"Em, girls?" Said a third voice from the door.
Both priestesses stopped to turn to the door and see Pure Heart there, looking at them both a bit worried. They immediately dropped their auras and looked ashamed.
"Mother Pure Heart, this wasn't-" Priestess Canvas tried to excuse herself, but Pure Heart raised her hoof to stop her talking.
"Dinner is ready. Bandage up and shower before going to the table." Pure Heart said before turning around and leaving the training room.
Both priestesses looked at each other in shame and anger. "Look what you did." Priestess Canvas said accusingly.
"Me?! I just wanted a small sparring, and you go hard on me! What is wrong with you?!" Flash Spark said in fury.
"You have no right to-" Canvas is once more cut by the loud voice of Pure Heart in their minds.
"STOP ARGUING!"
The priestesses flinched, and Priestess Canvas left the room, while Flash Spark grabbed her fallen teeth before leaving too.
23:15
Priestess Nurse Shine was on the medical wing of the temple, taking care of a few hurt nuns and some other ill. She dealt with Priestess Canvas and Flash Spark, especially the latter, as she had to put her teeth back in place with her magic. But now she had only a small problem in the form of a little filly.
On a bed was a small unicorn filly, her name's Bliss, mint-colored fur and her hair a mix of green and yellow stripes. Next to her was another filly, this one a pegasus named Joy, and exactly equal to Bliss, marking them as twin sisters. Both wore the apprentice robes, which were a simple white tunic without any headwear.
Bliss one day felt sick and instantly fell unconscious, her sister brought her here in fear and panic for her sister.
"How is the little Bliss doing?~" Nurse Shine asked in a cheerful tone, walking to the bed.
Joy was laid next to her sister and looks up with her light blue eyes. "She is still hot, Miss Shine. She hasn't gotten any better." She said, in her young and high-pitched voice, worried by her sister.
"Hum, that can't be right. I gave her the medicine this morning. It has been 3 days." Nurse Shine used her horn to scan Bliss' body for any trail of an illness, and nothing came out. "That's weird."
"Miss Shine, my sister is going to get better, right?" Joy asked with puppy eyes, almost tears appearing on them.
Nurse Shine gave her a small smile and a rubbed her mane. "Do not worry, dear; I will do everything to make your sister wake up again. I just need you to leave us a moment, ok? Can you do that for your sister?"
Joy wasn't very sure of leaving her sister's side, but she trusted the priest, and her methods always worked. With a sigh, she nodded her head. "I'll be in my quarters." She turned to her sister Bliss and kissed her cheek before leaving the medical wing.
Once she was gone, Nurse Shine quickly grabbed the bed's handle and rolled it towards another room of the medical wing, hidden from most nuns. A door that took to another darker room filled with candles and statues.
"Priestess Canvas is occupied now; I need somepony who can read curses." Nurse Shine said, in a bit of panic.
"Until you finally bring her. You took your time." Said a soft voice in the room, and the same mare with the porcelain mask appeared from the shadows like a ghost.
"Silent Whisper? How did you-"
"I felt that filly's curse some days ago. I was waiting for you to notice." Silent Whisper said, muffled by her mask and in a soft, meticulous tone.
"What? Why didn't you say anything?! She has been in coma for three days!" Nurse Shine said, angry and baffled by such information.
"Like our great Mother Pure Heart," she made a small gesture as a prayer when she said that name. "I am only there when my help is needed, but I let others learn from their mistakes, on their time."
"Ugh! Anyway! I need your help! She must be exorcised."
"Here you go." Silent Whisper gave her the Exorcise Manual Book, by Pure Heart.
Nurse Shine went through the pages, reading what kind of possession could be until reaching something that related. "It's a supernatural being. It's Sleep Paralysis Oppression Curse: 'A ghost that maintains the victim in an eternal "sleep" where the victim feels everything around it, sounds, touch and even hunger and pain, but it's in constant paralysis, until the victim gives into madness and the ghost takes control.' Dammit, I should have known."
Nurse Shine went around the room, opening various named boards with ingredients. She picked up some white lilies and put them next to Bliss' head, as it has supernatural properties of attracting spirits. Then she grabbed a blue potion that she used her magic on, chanting, 'Heal her from all Evil, cure all Sickness', and then poured it over the body.
Meanwhile, Silent Whisper readied her weapon, a spear with a long blade tip she had leaned on the wall, and pointed it at Bliss, as if waiting for something to happen.
Once all was ready, Nurse Shine started reading the chanting. "Spirit of the Death, Supernatural being from beyond this world, you are not welcomed in this plane and body! I command you to give this filly, Bliss, back to us and return to the void where you came from!"
Soon, the potion she poured started glowing, and the body started shaking; the light blue eyes of Bliss opened wide, and she seemed to start choking and trying to breathe.
"You are an error of nature, a loosened end from our Harmony's peace, a ghost who couldn't stay dead! Thus, I force you out of here, of this world and send you to the beyond, where you deserve to be! Come out of this body, you fiend!"
Bliss started shaking, and she looked like she was going to die out of asphyxia, as her neck bulged and bulged as if a ball of something was growing on her throat, even making her look more purplish because of the lack of air.
"I, the follower and priestess of Harmony, have the power to expel you! Listen to my voice and words, obey my command and leave! By the power of Harmony and Pure Heart, you are banished! You hear me?! BANISHED!"
Almost instantly, a black cloud came out of Bliss' mouth, forming a monstrous being over the filly, flying over the ponies. "You fools! You have no power over m- Achk!"
The ghost is silenced as Silent Whisper's spear went through him side to side.
"No! Impossible! I am a spirit! No weapon can hurt me!" The dark smoke said angry, trying to break free from the blade.
"But a holy and blessed weapon can, fiend. Die forever." Silent Whisper said softly before pulling out and, at blinding speed, swinging her spear upwards and cutting the ghost in half, and like that, explode in a black mist and disappear in the air.
Little Bliss could finally breathe and cough up, holding her chest, and Nurse Shine came to her and held the little filly on her hooves. "Bliss, are you ok? Can you hear me?"
"Yes. Cough. I can hear you and everything... Wow, that was crazy. I am never visiting abandoned buildings in the forest again. What took you so long?" Bliss said slowly, breathing normally.
"Well, it seems your sister forgot to tell me that detail, it seems." Nurse Shine said with a scolding face. Surely the filly did it for her fear of being grounded. "Anyway, Silent Whisper, take Bliss back to her quarters and put them both into a toilet cleaning chore as punishment."
Silent Whisper grabbed the filly, scooped her up in a hoof, and walked out of the exorcism room. Bliss, despise her gruesome punishment, stayed silent, knowing better than to defy the priest's orders.
Nurse Shine sighed and looked into her calendar. "And we are just on Monday... Sigh, great."

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            Chapter 3: Conflict of Priestesses.            
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Chapter 3: Conflict of Priestesses.
Pure Heart, all her priestesses and her followers were all reunited in the main room. They were doing their weekly sermon as it was Wednesday, and Pure Heart always did sermons on Wednesday, the reason nopony ever understood.
"My sisters, remember to never hate anypony or creature, no matter where their origin comes from. We are all sons and daughters of Harmony, and as such, we all have our stories, from the biggest dragon to the smallest of flies. Judge a pony for their actions, not their story, as some may search for forgiveness from actions of their past, some may be blamed wrongly." Pure Heart said while reading her book, Studies of Harmony, which served as education literature, even if it wasn't finished.
The nuns, monks and priestesses silently listened to their head priest, all in their seats and in praying positions; others simply looked at Pure Heart, and the priestesses made sure all was in order, especially Priestess Canvas, as she was the strictest of them all.
"Now, please, I would like our newest member to walk up front. Everypony please say hello to Lilac Breeze." Pure Heart said, signaling at the mare up front.
Lilac Breeze, now in initiate robes having left her old church clothes, was clapped and welcomed while Pure Heart signaled her to stand up and walk to the stand. And even though she felt nervous, she eventually stood up and walked next to Pure Heart.
"Please, dear, present yourself." Pure Heart said calmly.
Lilac Breeze took a deep breath and looked at the group of followers; it could be a hundred for all she knows. "Hello everypony, I'm Lilac Breeze, and I joined after escaping the Church of Celestia."
That made some followers gasp and widen their eyes, but still, they stood in silence. Pure Heart smiled and signaled her to continue.
"I came here because of the horrible treatment of the church. The teachings and the ponies in charge were simply horrible; I couldn't follow them." She took a moment to sniff as she was filled with sadness and memories. "My brother was a victim of the church when he defended me, and nopony ever remembered him, despise being loyal to the church."
The followers looked at Lilac Breeze with sadness, and a small group were very touched by her words, putting hooves on their chests.
"I would search for vengeance... but I know it is not the way; Mother Pure Heart taught me so. I now only search for peace, to live a real life, and finally be with real good ponies. I hope you all can accept me." Lilac Breeze finished with a melancholic glare on the ground.
But instead of hate, glares or whispers, she was showered with claps of hooves, greetings and cheers for her bravery. She was filled with a sentiment she couldn't even describe: Joy. A few of the followers walked to her and hugged her tightly, telling her they were also from the church and that they would help her in everything.
But the happiness ended when the nun from the entrance, the mare who always stood, entered in a hurry. "The church! The church is coming!"
Everypony stopped and looked at the mare. Pure Heat looked at her with a serious glare. "How many?"
"It's Cross Heart and a large group. I activated the magic barrier."
Pure Heart nodded and turned to her priestesses. "Start defensive measures!"
The priestesses started mobilizing the followers. The initiates were put in the back of the temple, as they weren't trained. The monks and Nuns opened the armories and armed themselves with all kinds of weapons, from blades to hammers, bows, crossbows, spears and maces. The priestesses grabbed their combat gears and prepared themselves; as the most powerful of the Crusaders, they were to make an example.
The Crusaders mobilized, and here is where their name would come to meaning.
Outside, Cross Heart arrived in her carriage while her followers were outside walking. She was with her usual scowled, angry face, and her robes more showoff as ever, with a long dark cape added to her black priest robes.
"My priest, we arrived." Said the voice of a follower outside as the door opened.
Cross Heart stood up and walked out, the dark robes waving around her and her gold diadem shining on the light on her head. She walked to the temple in the middle of the forest, the walls high and the temple higher, that tower reaching above the trees.
Cross Heart walked between her followers, all sorted like an army in two rectangle formations. Once she got closer, she then saw a dim blue light on the way and stopped. She raised her hoof and poked the barrier, reacting to her touch with a small wave across all the bubble barrier.
Just in time, above the walls appeared little Bliss and Joy, with their childish voices. "Hewoo!~"
Cross Heart looked up in annoyance. "Let us pass."
Bliss and Joy looked between them before turning to the high priest. "We can't!"
Cross Heart scrunched her eyes in annoyance. "Put this barrier down this instant, you insolent fools! It is I, Cross Heart, who is speaking to you!"
The fillies chuckled slightly, so she didn't hear them. "Who?!" They chuckle behind their hooves.
Cross Heart growled and grumbled and reached to her necklace gem and slammed it on the barrier, and almost instantly it shattered and seemed to be absorbed by the gem.
Bliss and Joy yelped in surprise and jumped down behind the wall, where all the crusaders were hiding and armed behind the gates. "They broke the barrier!"
Pure Heart looked up in annoyance. "It will take a more direct approach, it seems."
Cross Heart walked forward with her followers and with annoyance, but then Pure Heart appeared over the wall. "Hold On!"
Cross Heart stopped, and so did her followers. "You! You have something that belongs to me!"
"I have no idea what you are talking about! Leave now, Cross Heart! This is a breach of our deal to not attack each other's churches!"
"You insolent! Give me back, my follower, Veil Whisper!"
Pure Heart looked at her in annoyance and clenched her jaws. "I know no one with that name!"
"You think you can lie to my methods?!" Cross Heart put out a device like a compass that beeped every second. "This is connected to every mark of control my deepest followers have in them! This one is Veil Whisper's and has signaled to here! So give her back!"
Pure Heart looked at Cross Heart with anger and disgust. "She deserted! She is now part of the crusaders! She passed all my initiation tests and is now one of us! You control her no more! She doesn't even use that name!"
"Is that so?! Because as long as that mark is in her body, law says she is of my property! Now give it back!"
"Or what?! You will attack us?! You know you cannot win against us! Its blood spilled in vain!" Pure Heart said with her eyes glowing white from her power.
Some of Cross Heart's followers seemed to get nervous when seeing Pure Heart's eyes, as they all well knew her power was terrible. But Cross Heart was unfazed.
"Us? Oh no, I will bring this to Equestrian authorities! The royal guard will come here! And if you fight them off, the princesses will come too! You want to become the number one enemy of Equestria?!"
Pure Heart deeply thought in her mind, trying to find a solution to this. She would never let Cross Heart get Lilac Breeze back, not in a thousand years. But she needed to get over this law thing before she broke politics. Pure Heart hated politics for these reasons.
Then, a familiar voice sounded at the back of her head. "Do the logical thing."
Pure Heart thought and then sent a mental message to Priestess Nurse Shine. "Shine, go to Lilac Breeze and find a mark or anything in her body, in or out. Quickly!"
Nurse Shine, who was between the troops, nodded and ran back into the temple.
Pure Heart turned to Cross Heart. "You want to bring the royal guard? Go on, then; I'll be waiting." She said, squinting her eyes defiantly.
Nurse Shine ran into the room where the initiates were hidden. "Lilac! We need you!"
The initiate pegasus mare stepped out of the group. "What is happening, Priestess Nurse Shine?"
"The church has come for you! They found you with some kind of radar. Something about a mark."
Lilac Breeze's eyes widened, and her iris shrunken to small points. "Oh no. It can't be. I forgot."
Nurse Shine grabbed her by the shoulders. "We need to remove that mark! Where is it?!"
Lilac Breeze started tearing up. "No please. Not again. It hurt so much."
Nurse Shine looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"
Pure Heart stood there on the wall, still exchanging glares with Cross Heart. "Why do you still do this? Wasn't all this year's any different?! Why can't you just stop being a pain to everypony?!"
Cross Heart looked up at her, annoyed. "I do what I must to maintain my power and my religion on top! Any sacrifice is meaningless to us!"
"Why is she so important?! Surely you have hundreds who can replace her!"
"No, insolent child. She is irreplaceable! She has something important to me! Something I can't lose."
Then, the mind link with Nurse Shine activated again. Pure Heart, we have a problem.
Inside the Temple.
"It's in her womb."
"What?!" Pure Heart said in the mind link.
"It's a magic rune carved in her womb. I found a scar hidden with illusory magic across her lower belly. I can feel the magic inside."
"Sick bastard. Can you remove it?"
"I can. But it won't be pretty." Nurse Shine turned to Lilac Breeze, who was tearing up, looking at her scar in fear.
"Please, no." Lilac Breeze said with fear.
Nurse Shine kneeled in front of her. "Lilac, please. We need to take it out. We can sleep you before-"
"No!" She said it in panic. "You can't sleep me. The rune was made to turn invisible when I sleep. That way... you can only take it off while I am awake... and make it painful."
Nurse Shine looked at her in horror, but still shook her head to calm herself. "We need to take it out. Otherwise, the princesses will take you away."
"No please!" Lilac Breeze said in panic, covering her scar.
"Lilac, look at me." Nurse Shine said, grabbing her face. "I want this as little as you do. But this is your life we are speaking about. It is a painful sacrifice you will have to take, but it's a step forward. We all have to make a sacrifice in our lives. They are painful, but pain is temporary."
Lilac Breeze shook in fear and tears up. "I can't... it hurt so much the first time. This wasn't made for me; who am I kidding! I can't escape the church! No one like me can!"
Nurse Shine saw her panic decreasing in madness. "Pure Heart. I will need some more time."
Pure Heart grumbled hearing the message and looked down, seeing the royal guards had already arrived from Canterlot. They were quick, as the temple was close to the capital city.
"Pure Heart! By order of the princesses, let the high priestess return her follower, as dictated in the royal law of The Church of Celestia!" Said the captain of the royal guard.
Pure Heart had no idea what to do. She needed more time, so she did the most logical plan she always did in this kind of situation. Be an idiot.
"Huh? Sorry?" Pure Heart said asking silly.
"That you must let us in to retrieve the deserter!" The royal guard said again, angry.
"Um, sorry, I can't hear you!" Pure Heart said loudly and winked at her followers behind the wall, who looked at her with concern and shook their heads, not really trusting in their leader.
"What are you talking about?! Let us in this instant!" The captain guard said angrier.
"Sorry! I can't hear you! There is a barrier in the way!"
"What?! There is no barrier!"
"Yes, there is!" Pure Heart turned to the gate's nun. "Fix it fast!" She hushes.
"I'm trying." The nun said, trying to reactivate the gem of the barrier device.
"Enough, Miss Pure Heart! We are entering!" The royal guards started moving to the gate.
"Hey! Wait!" Pure Hear jumped in front of the gate. "You shall not pass without first answering my riddle!"
The guards looked at her confused. "Riddle?"
"What... What does a house wear?! Hah! You couldn't possibly kno-!"
"Ad-dress." Said a random guard.
Pure Heart looked at them in confusion at how fast they got it. "Um... NO! It is not-"
"Enough!" The guard walked past her and tried to open the gate, and it's obviously closed.
Pure Heart then suddenly flew over the wall without any wings, which confused the royal guard. "What the-"
Pure Heart landed on the grass. "Prepare phase two of the defense!"
Back in the temple, Nurse Shine continued her talking with Lilac Breeze. "Look, I know it scares you. I can't even begin to comprehend how this scares you or even how it hurts. I don't want to do it, but you must trust me."
Still, Lilac Breeze was still shaken by the fear and aversion to the idea. "Please.... I can't... I can't trust you."
Nurse Shine was both losing time and her patient. She needed a way to extract the rune and convince Lilac to do it. Then, a memory of an experience of hers; the time when she had to pass this very test. "If you can't trust me... trust in Harmony."
Lilac stopped shaking and turned to the priestess in confusion. "Harmony?"
"I know it sounds rare and almost crazy, but I assure you, this is the test Harmony has for you; to show your true devotion to achieve her."
Lilac looked down in fear. "You must be lying, like the church, like everypony else... you just want to hurt me."
Nurse Shine looked at her sympathetic. "I know it's weird... but it's true. It happened to me too. When I started with the crusaders, I was as hesitant and doubtful as you. But I assure you, Harmony is real, and it won't let you die here."
Lilac looked at her a bit more reassured, but still doubtful. "What was your test?"
Nurse Shine looked down in melancholy and sighs. "My desire was to save ponies. I became a real nurse to heal and save lives... but one day I had to face my worst fear, something I couldn't accept... I had to leave someone die."
Lilac took this in curiosity and looked up at Nurse Shine. "Who was it?"
Nurse Shine sat next to her against the wall, looking up with a sad smile. "It was my mother."
Lilac's eyebrows went up and turned to the priest. Staying silent, expecting her to continue the story.
"When I had been in the Crusaders for 2 years, when I was a mere nun, I was given the opportunity, to try to heal my mother. I have seen Pure Heart cure ponies before from all kinds of illnesses, so I wanted to try with her. She had scoliosis and was close to total failure; she couldn't move, walk, or even talk. So I took her here for Pure Heart to heal her." Nurse Shine took a moment to take a shaky breath. "But when I looked into her eyes, hoping for my mom to live a full life... she told me no."
Lilac's eyes widened as she turned to Nurse Shine, seeing the sadness in her eyes. "No? Why?"
Nurse Shine sighed. "Pure Heart said she couldn't heal her, as her destiny already marked. 'She was close to going with Harmony,' she said. 'You cannot force her to live,' she said. I got furious, more angry I have ever been. I was so angry, so powerless, I could only think of attacking Pure Heart right there."
Lilac looked at her in shock. "Attack Pure Heart? I always heard she was a monster of combat and power, almost invincible."
"You haven't heard wrong. She started using her priestly power, and stared, shoving me around. Against walls, against floor, squeezed and slammed. I was powerless then, but I kept standing up. My body hurt like hell, but I still continued, refusing to let my mother die like that. I fought with strength, strength I didn't even know I had. But Pure Heart wasn't angry; she was pitying me, concerned and sad for me, despise attacking her, despise all the swears, the threats I screamed at her... she simply didn't crush me."
Lilac started imagining that scene in her head, finding it quite dramatic. "And what happened in the end?"
"Well... something I would have never foreseen. Once I was at the brink of death; I didn't have more blood to bleed or strength left; my mother, out of nowhere, stood up." Nurse Shine looked forward as if she were seeing that scene once again. "It was impossible, yet there she was, standing and walking at me, as if something gave her the strength to do so. She couldn't talk because of the illness having blocked all vocal functions. So she simply went to me and wrapped my body around her. And even if she couldn't speak, she could still smile at me proudly."
Lilac looked at her with a shine in her eyes, not really understanding how something like that was possible.
"I understood. Harmony gave her the last of her strength to hug me one last time, all the energy she had left. And after that, she fell, dead on my hooves. I couldn't believe it, anything of what was happening; my anger and fury were then exchanged by a sharp pain, one I have never felt in my life. I was broken, depressed and hurt in all ways; the feelings in my heart were beyond any of the physical pain I had."
Lilac looked at her, now with sadness and even a small tear in her eye.
"But then, Pure Heart came to me and put a hoof on my shoulder." Nurse Shine said while doing the same with Lilac. "She looked at me, not angry nor sad, but with a smile. She wasn't happy about my loss, nothing like that. She looked down at me and said, 'Loss is the greatest of masters, and pain is the best of partners in our lives. The more we lose and suffer, the stronger we become, if we are capable of overcoming it, of course.'"
Lilac heard that and felt much more relaxed, and then looked at Nurse Shine with a neutral face.
"I know you are afraid, angry and confused. I know you don't want the pain. But think of the benefit: Your Freedom. Isn't that what you wanted?" Nurse Shine said with a smile.
Overcome by this new teaching, even if she in the deep felt still scared, slowly a feeling of bravery came over her, and she nodded her head. "Ok... I'll do it. I won't let Cross Heart win; not anymore! Furthermore, I prefer to suffer a bit if that can give me my liberation and break my chains!" Lilac Breeze said with new determination.
Nurse Shine smiled and then grabbed her scalpel and turned to the other initiates. "Hold her still, please."
Outside the temple, the priestesses and nuns were having a fight with the royal guard, but not any kind of fight. It was the most random fight Cross Heart ever saw. The nuns and priestesses made the royal guards deviate from their objective with all kinds of games. Rope jump, conga, rock paper scissors (with the literal objects, as they don't have hands.), catch, put the tail on the pony, arm wrestling, I spy, and so on, all to make them lose time.
"Hah! Checkmate!" Pure Heart said putting the piece in a D8, causing the loss of the Royal Guard Captain.
The captain was at a loss, looking at the chest table, and in anger, threw it away.
Cross Heart has had enough and used her horn to envelope all the nuns and priestesses and slam them against the ground. All the nuns groaned and yelled as they were pushed against the grass; not even Canvas could break from her magic. "Guards! Enter immediately right now!"
The guards, when seeing this, started standing up and going to the entrance of the temple.
"Hey! No! You cheater!" Pure Heart used her power to break off the magic and moved at inhumane speed in front of the guards. "You cannot enter without a royal order from the princesses! I don't like politics, but I signed a paper once that said that this temple is protected by the law."
The guards looked at her in confusion. "Why didn't you say so at the beginning!?" The captain said in fury.
"To make you lose time! Now shoo! And don't return until you have said permit!" Pure Heart said, waving her hoof. Then she used her power, her eyes turning white, to free all her followers from Cross Heart's magic.
But, the gates opened, and Nurse Shine and a limping Lilac Breeze came out. They walked in between the guards and towards Cross Heart.
Cross Heart smiled widely and evilly. "Ah! Veil Whisper! Finally, you returned! Enough of this nonsense! You will be happily received back for all your brothers and sisters-"
But Cross Heart dropped a piece of pink flesh on her hooves, one that had a rune burnt into it. Upon seeing it, Cross Heart was shocked and almost terrified, looking at Lilac Breeze to see a new scar on her belly, made after the surgery, as Nurse Shine accelerated the regeneration with her priestly power.
"No... Impossible. Impossible!" Cross Heart walked to Lilac Breeze and faces her inches apart. "How could you take that off?! The pain should have been terrible and agonizing! You aren't that strong! You are a weak and pitiful mare! YOU-"
But then, Lilac Breeze slapped really hard across Cross Heart's face, making everypony widen their eyes in shock and surprise. Flash Spark even whistled happily.
Cross Heart herself slowly turned to Lilac, and her face contorted to one of Fury and Madness. "You INSOLENT, BASTARD CUNT!" She charged her horn and shot at Lilac, only for Priestess Canvas to teleport and protect her with her own purple magic shield.
Soon, all of Pure Heart's priestesses appeared in the way to face Cross Heart. "Your follower is fully free. Leave now. There is nothing for you left here." Priestess Canvas said seriously as Flash Spark next to her charged her electricity.
Cross Heart stepped back and looked at them all in fury. "You all will pay. All of you, Heretics! Good for nothing! You all will pay, with your blood and those close to you! You will regret the day you all dared to face me and stop me from my goals!" She then looked directly at Pure Heart. "And you, daughter of the devil himself, you will see how I destroy your religion, piece by piece, until there is nothing left to reconstruct! You should have died back then and saved us the time and problems!"
And like that, she turned and walked to her carriage, and so did her followers. She entered the wagon and was pulled as the Church of Celestia walked away. The royal guard, seeing their mission was a failure, shrugged their shoulders and left to go back to Canterlot.
Lilac Breeze looked back at the nuns and monks, priestesses and her friends. She was then wrapped in small hugs by Golly and Joy and patted on the back by Nurse Shine.
Pure Heart walked forward with a smile. "It seems you changed the turn of battle. Great job, Lilac Breeze. Surely we all learned something from all this, right?" She said, looking around.
The crusaders looked at her in deep thought until Flash Spark spoke. "Yeah!~ You are a terrible strategist!"
The nuns and monks started chuckling, and soon they laughed at Pure Heart for all the weird things she did to defend them all.
Pure Heart looks around in confusion. "Hey! I am not that bad! Nurse Shine, my plan was perfect, right?!" She said it in shock.
Nurse Shine and Lilac Breeze looked between them, smiling, and started laughing and joining the others. Pure Heart looked at them all and groaned. "Oh, fuck you all! I am going to meditate! Go back to work!"

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                    Chapter 4: Training                    
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Chapter 4: Training
Pure Heart, Priestess Canvas and Flash Spark were on the training grounds with Lilac Breeze, a week later from her liberation from the church. She was now in nun robes; she just added the headwear of her choice, hers being a hair comb with white cloth decoration, having gone up in rank as she has worked hard and has experienced enough trauma to be given a fast rank up. Now she would need to learn to fight and combat technique.
"Wait." Lilac Breeze said, holding the wooden stick on her hooves. "Why do we need to fight? Aren't we nuns and all good and peaceful?"
Pure Heart chuckled. "To other ponies we are. But we don't fight against ponies... normally."
Priestess Canvas walked in with her serious face. "As followers of Harmony, we are to fight forces beyond your comprehension. Monsters, Beasts, Ghosts, Demons, all of that kind."
"Demons?" Lilac Breeze said surprised and scared. "As in... Tartarus demons?"
"Of course not!~" Flash Spark said stepping in and putting her hoof around Lilac Breeze. "These are from Hell. It's like Tartarus but way cooler.~" She said, smirking.
Lilac Breeze was now in shock and feeling fear. "And if I don't want to?"
"The demons will sense harmony in you. You are already an objective for them. We don't do this because we want to. It's for your safety." Priestess Canvas said coldly and unsympathetic.
Lilac Breeze was now shaking in fear, imagining creatures of horror wanting to eat her, skin her alive or rip her apart like a broken toy.
Pure Heart stepped in and stood in front of Lilac Breeze. "Hey, don't let these two mess with you. It is not as horrible as it sounds! We will train you and give you cool powers to fight!" She said, putting her hoof around her.
"Cool powers? Like the ones the priestesses use? Wait, right! How the hell do you have those powers?! Priestess Flash Spark uses rays-"
"And Fire!" Flash Spark said, igniting her hoof out of nowhere in a bright orange fire.
Lilac Breeze winked, surprised that just occurred out of nowhere. "Right. Rays and Fire-"
"It's actually Fire and Lightning-"
"Ya, ya! I got it! And Priestess Canvas has dark magic or something?" Lilac Breeze said, pointing at the bald mare.
"Actually, my power is that I have proficiency in all kinds of magic, due to my biology as unicorn and due to that I was indeed a student from Celestia's School for gifted unicorns, but I was kicked out for indeed doing dark magic, and my passion was to study all kind of magic and powers in this world, specialy those related to rituals and alternatives to normal magic." Priestess Canvas said in her normal monotonous voice.
"Right. And why dark magic?"
"Because... it's bewitching." Priestess Canvas said with some lick on her tone.
Lilac Breeze looked at her confused; she had never heard that word before, but Flash Spark moved in to clarify. "She means it's cool~."
"R-Right... and you?" Lilac Breeze asked Pure Heart.
"I actually have a powerful one. I have many abilities, like using magic without a horn, sensing souls, and I can calm ponies with a mere touch." She said touching Lilac Breeze with her hoof and a full-on feeling of calmness overpowers her and relaxes. "But my main power of combat is Telekinesis."
"Telekinesis?" Lilac said, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that controlling things with your mi-woooaaahhh!" Lilac Breeze screamed, surprised, as she was suddenly lifted in the air by an invisible force and put upside down. "Hey!"
Pure Heart and Flash Spark chuckled, while Priestess Canvas simply put her lips upwards a bit in an attempt of a smirk. Pure Heart slowly lets her down softly.
Once in the ground, she shook the feeling away and started wondering. "Wait, it means I will have these powers too?" Lilac said slightly excited.
"Oh no. Um, these powers are only achieved when you become priest. And for that, you will need a lot of years of training, study and experience. Only a few have these kinds of power. And before you ask, no, we don't have a choice in what our powers will be, but they normally fit us well." Pure Heart explained in a teacher tone, like tutoring her, which was exactly what she was doing.
"So, what do I have?" She asked, wondering about her weapons.
"That stick. And be thankful we give you something." Priestess Canvas said coldly.
"And what am I supposed to do with a stick?" Lilac said with the long, thick wooden stick on her hooves.
Flash Spark then grabbed another stick and bonked Lilac on the head, making her yowl in pain.
"OW! What was that for?!" Lilac said, rubbing her head.
"So you start remembering, an attack could come from anywhere, anytime, by anyone!" Flash Spark said with a smile and her sunglasses.
"That doesn't make any sen- Ow!" Lilac Breeze is hit in the head again now by a random nun.
"Pay attention, newbie!" The nun giggled before returning to her training.
Pure Heart chuckled behind her hoof before speaking. "Yeah, it's not easy to be a nun in the Crusaders. I mean, we don't have the name because it's cool-"
"Which it is!~" Flash Spark said, interrupting.
"But because we are an organization of protectors. I mean, we told you when we started, remember?"
"Yeah, but I thought you simply 'fought' in a metaphorical way against the desires of ponies or their sins." Lilac Breeze said, hissing in pain.
"We do." Then Canvas hit her side with another stick. "But that alone would be boring."
"And so, you need to learn not only to fight, but also to start your advanced studies with this." Pure Heart said while showing her a book with the title 'Study of Harmony, by Pure Heart'.
"Isn't that the book you haven't finished?" Lilac Breeze said, confused.
"Yes. But I have been working on it over 100 years! It has much weigh-"
"Wait, wait, 100 years?" Lilac Breeze said, confused, before another random nun hit her with a stick again on her other side.
"Ok, maybe 150 years, but I don't like to brag-"
"But.... How old are you?! Was this started by your grandpa or grandmother?!" Lilac said, rubbing her side.
"No, I did. I started, over 200 years old."
Lilac Breeze was in shock, and her right eyelid trembled in confusion. "HOW?!"
"That is study for another day. Now, prepare for your training!" Pure Heart declared before she herself tried to hit her with a long stick.
But in her last momentary reaction, Lilac Breeze rose her stick to block it, closing her eyes and expecting a blow, but she felt the hit on her own stick, meaning she blocked it successfully.
"Good! You are learning!~"
Lilac Breeze was put through an extensive training, one she didn't expect a nun or even anything but a soldier would have. From mere physical conditioning, running, push-ups and sit-ups to even parkour.
"Huff! Ugh! I haven't done exercise ever in my life!" Lilac Breeze said, running around the temple yard, sweating and breathing heavily, wearing the training attire, which was a tighter and more elastic version of the nun robes, with Flash Spark running next to her with no problem at all.
"What? Doing exercise is the best! You unleash your energy and get a good physique! How didn't the church train you?" Flash Spark said while hopping in the air, keeping speed with her.
"They say self-improvement for egoist reasons is sin; only it's ok when it is for the greater good. That's why hobbies are prohibited; they distract us from our duties." Lilac Breeze said while panting.
Flash Spark looks at her surprised and pushes up her sunglasses to show her teal-colored eyes. "What in Harmony's name?! That church is really a cult! Personally, I would break Cross Heart's face if she ever even thought of making me stop!" She was annoyed by that information, and her eyes turned yellow and she quickly put her sunglasses back.
Lilac Breeze had to stop and walked as she was already tired. Flash Spark stopped and ran back to her. "Hey! I didn't tell you to stop!"
Lilac Breeze took quick, big breaths. "Please! Just give me a break!"
"Oh no, you won't!" Flash Spark blew her whistle. Priestess Canvas, who was meditating next to the field, used her purple magic and invoked a purplish transparent pack of Timberwolves to start chasing Lilac Breeze.
"WHAT?!" Lilac said in shock.
"And believe me, they can hurt you!" Flash Spark said, winking at her, putting her sunglasses on, and starting to run.
Lilac Breeze started running behind her in panic as the pack went after her.
The slightly scratched and wounded Lilac Breeze was now in her Harmony studies, a copy of the book in front of her, while Pure Heart lectured her.
"The reason of our religion and our studies is to reach closer to Harmony and be able to be one with her, both in life and the afterlife, so our souls can reunite with her once more. As she is our creator, and we are her creations, we do her bidding but also our own independence-"
But she was interrupted by Lilac raising her hoof.
"Yes newbie?"
"So, Harmony is the goddess of life?" Lilac asked confused.
"Um, no, not exactly. She is more than a goddess; she is a being that has the job of maintaining stability and control over our world. That includes living beings, but it doesn't mean she did it all."
"So there are other gods who do her job or something?"
"Well, em, that is a bit advanced, but in short, yes." Pure Heart said a bit uncomfortable. "So, as I was saying-"
"So, Celestia may be one of these gods?" Lilac said in curiosity.
Pure Heart's eye trembled a bit, but she took a deep breath. "That is for later studies. Now if we could continue-"
"So Celestia is the goddess of sun-?"
"Ok, that's it!" Pure Heart used her power to shut her snout and put a chain around it tightly. "I know I said having doubts is important, but right now we are in class! And so, you sit and listen!" Pure Heart said she was losing her patience.
Lilac Breeze looked at her in fear and surprise, having never seen Pure Heart like that. She whined like a dog and put puppy eyes as a sign of sorry.
Pure Heart slowly calmed down and sighed, undoing the bindings from her snout. "Sorry, Lilac, it is just you are being awfully stubborn."
"Ok. I'm sorry, Pure Heart; I'm just a bit curious. It's all new to me."
"I know, I know. But maybe listen to my full talk and ask later. It's a bit of an educational tip, ok? Don't take it as I am angry or annoyed."
"Ok, miss Pure Heart!" Lilac said with a smile.
"Ok... so, as I was saying-"
"But is Harmony really a female?"
Instantly, she was tackled into the ground and beaten with Pure Heart's telekinesis.
Lilac Breeze, now hurt and with various bruises all over her fur, was now walking to her last training off of the day, that being battle training and combat technique. She was told she would train with ponies of her level and capacity and a master who would correct her.
She arrived in the training room, all with a tatami floor over it. In the center was the master, or mistress in this case, Priestess Silent Whisper, seated in the middle of the room, her porcelain mask still in her face as always.
"Hello Lilac. Enter. Your training is to begin now." Silent Whisper said softly from behind her mask.
Lilac entered limping and walks to the priest. "Hey, could I simply take this training off? I am really, really beaten up." Lilac Breeze pleaded while whining in pain.
But Silent Whisper simply grabbed two combat sticks and tossed one to her hooves. "You are to train with your new partners, and be sure, they are more dangerous than they look."
Soon, a pair of small fillies entered the room with their own smaller combat sticks. The two fillies entered with a smile and hopped to Lilac Breeze.
"Hi Miss Lily!~"
"So good you are here with us!~"
Bliss and Joy said, standing on the tatami, the twin fillies were standing across the room with the kimonos on.
"Wait, you two?" Lilac Breeze said, confused. "But you are too young and small!"
"Hey! Don't underestimate us! We have been training a good year in here!" Bliss said offended.
"But I thought training was for nuns and priests only!" Lilac Breeze said, rubbing her head in deep thought.
"Ya! But we have been here long enough, and Pure Heart allowed us to start earlier! And normally we aid the newbies." Joy said in her cheerful and childish voice.
"Ugh! You must be joking. I won't fight against fillies!" Lilac said, turning to Silent Whisper.
"You will, unless you want to fight me instead." Silent Whisper said, annoyed and holding her stick firmly. "The difference is that I could kill you in training by a slip-up." She said, changing her tone to a more harsh and deeper, despise still being soft.
Lilac Breeze gulped in fear and sighed. She stood on her rear hooves to hold the stick. "Ok, I'll go easy on you, girls. I promise I won't be harsh-"
Then, both Bliss and Joy started using their sticks at full speed and strength. Joy hit her legs, and Bliss smacked her head repeatedly, soon joined by Joy and being smacked twice a time.
"Ow, Ow, OW! Girls, stop!" Lilac said, covering her head with her hooves.
"Sorry miss! Pure Heart said we should go hard on you!" Bliss said, moving her sick fast to beat her.
"We are paid with more play time and less work!" Joy said moving her stick faster.
"Ow! Damn it!" Lilac Breeze said as her already existing wounds were beaten again.
Priestess Nurse Shine tended Lilac Breeze's wounds, using her magic and medical supplies to do it. Lilac Breeze was laid on the bed covered in bandages, smelling the various creams and lotions she was covered with.
"So, I see your day went well!" Nurse Shine said, looking at her.
Lilac Breeze had a tired and hurt face; her eyes slightly moved to look at the priest. "I hate you all so much now. How is this supposed to be a normal day?" She said it almost in a whisper.
"Oh, don't be a crybaby.~ You will get over it eventually! Every nun starts like you. Some even ended worse than you." Nurse Shine said, grabbing her snout and shaking it as if she were a foal.
"Why can't you heal me with your priestly power? You did it when you opened my belly last time." Lilac Breeze pleads from the bed.
"Oh, silly Lilac.~ That was a case of life and death, an experience no pony should live. I used my powers so you could live. But now, you don't require it, as pain is part of the training. I am not a healing machine who can heal everypony for anything; it is simply not natural, and that goes against our religion." Nurse Shine explained, walking around to other patients in others beds.
Lilac Breeze groaned and looked at the side, but her neck popped a bit, making her groan. Nurse Shine walked to her to put her neck straight. "Don't do that."
"I just feel angry." Lilac Breeze admitted, tired.
"Angry? Angry off what?" Nurse Shine said curiously with an eyebrow raised.
"Of everything. My life, my decisions, my weakness... me in general. I am useless, I was told in the church, and as much as I wanted to not believe it and worked so hard to not be a weight... I failed. I was not born to be great. I am... a looser." But then she is smacked in the face by Nurse Shine's hoof, making a loud clop that runs across the face. "OW! What the buck?!"
"Don't ever say any of that again!" Nurse Shine said angry, pointing at her. "You are not useless! You are learning, a mere novice in all of this! Failing is almost obligatory for you! Better said, if I never saw you fail, I would say you are doing it wrong!"
"But I can't fail in everything! I can't feel better with me if I do everything wrong! I am weak!" Lilac Breeze said back in anger too.
"Of course you are weak! You think everypony who is strong started strong?! I was just a nurse, and it didn't matter how much I tried; I never became a doctor, yet now I am the one and only nurse of the Crusaders, with the power of healing almost anything! I was never any good in sports or exercise, yet I did what you did, and worse, much worse! I have fought, bled, been broken and almost died many times! Yet I am not perfect! You see me whining!? I was weak at the beginning, but did I give up?! No! Neither of them did!" Nurse Shine pointed at the other nuns of the medical wing, who looked at Lilac Breeze with pity of receiving such scolding, while others looked comfortable she was being taught like this… "So neither should you! Anything that the cursed church taught you is wrong! You are much better than you think."
Lilac Breeze looked at Nurse Shine with surprise and a bit of shame; she laid back and sighs, relaxing her muscles at last. "I'm sorry..."
"Don't be sorry; be better. That is the way to go." Nurse Shine said. "You will be healed in a day, and I hope I see you training again after that." She said before turning to other patients.
Lilac Breeze lay there, in silence and deep thought, looking at the ceiling and having nothing else to do but meditate, like Pure Heart had taught her.
Days later.
Lilac Breeze was in the combat room, training alone with the combat stick. Her body was bruised and wounded again, but after having healed, the training was not less severe. But after her thoughts, after meditating that day in the medical wing, she had a clear mindset. She wasn't going to be weak. That meant doing extra training.
Lilac Breeze dropped her stick as it slipped away because of the blood on her hooves. She pants and looks down at the stick and tries to grab it, but it slips from her hooves because of the blood. She cursed and fell to her knees.
Soon, Pure Heart appeared and walked to her stick. Grabs it and gives it to Lilac Breeze. "You are going a bit over the limit, aren't you?" Pure Heart said with a smile.
Lilac Breeze panted and took the stick into her bloody hooves and held herself against it. "Sorry, I made a mess." She said, looking at her blood that dripped in the tatami.
"Don't worry. As long as it is because you are working hard." Pure Heart said, looking at her with a smile, but then changed to a concerned face. "Still, I can sense you are worried."
Lilac Breeze was no stranger to Pure Heart reading her mind, or her feelings; after all, it was known she never had a limit to entering ponies' private minds. "I am not worried; I'm just-" She cut herself to think on her words before letting out a sigh. "Mother Pure Heart, am I really that valuable? I mean, the priestess, the nuns, the monks. They all seem so special, with great stories, lives, and experiences... I am nothing compared to them. I am just... a joke." Lilac Breeze said, looking down.
Pure Heart looked at her with a small motherly smile. "Ah, that. Yeah, you are not the first one to feel like that. I guess your past as part of the church is making you doubt, isn't it?" She said it with a friendly tone.
"No, I know the church doesn't define me. I mean, I am nothing special. I am not good at anything besides following orders. And even that, I have doubts about myself. I don't want to fail; I am an adult, I have 27 years, and I am acting like I am 5, and the others make me feel like I am not doing enough." Lilac Breeze looked around the empty training room, the light of the sunset entering through the windows. "Why did you let me in?"
Pure Heart sighed and walked to the side to grab a combat stick. "I'll answer you, after a quick fight~" She said with a smile and spun it quickly on her hooves as she stands on her rear legs, her tunic waving with the air.
Lilac Breeze looked at Pure Heart in shock and quickly tried to grab her own stick. "Fight?! But I-I don't even know-"
But she was cut by a swing of Pure Heart's stick that she blocks with the stick, but it's sent backwards. Pure Heart smiled and charged to continue to swing simple and basic attacks. Lilac Breeze tried to block her however she could, swinging her stick wildly to try to block her.
In a bad movement, Pure Heart broke through her defense and smacked the tip of the stick on her belly like a spear, leaving her without breath and falling to the ground. "Hoofwork, hoofwork! Focus on how you balance your weight!" She pulled Lilac up to her rear hooves. "Again!"
Lilac Barely had time to react when Pure Heart kept slowly swinging her combat stick towards her, and she blocked it with whatever position she could put the stick on her hooves. After a few swings, Pure Heart made a swing on Lilac's side that collided due to a wrong defensive blockade with her stick.
Lilac Breeze fell to her side, grabbing her attacked part and groaning in pain. She has never been hit this hard, at least not in something that wasn't a punishment or torture. "Stand Up." Pure Heart said pulling her up. "Is this really all you can do?"
Lilac Breeze stepped back from her and grabbed her combat stick. "Yes, please, I can't do this anymore!"
But still, Pure Heart continued swinging, this time too fast that she hit her several times in her belly, face and back, sending her to the ground again. "Come on! You didn't want my reason why you're still here?! You want to know if you are really useless?!"
Lilac Breeze was beaten, and she coughed up blood, which dripped from her lips while she was with her eyes half closed in pain and by losing consciousness.
Pure Heart lifted her up, and she stumbles on her hooves. "Is this really all you can fight for the knowledge you seek?"
Lilac Breeze stood barely on her hooves, trembling and dripping blood from her mouth.
"So... is this what your brother died for? Pathetic." Pure Heart said boldly.
Hearing those words, Lilac Breeze looked up at Pure Hear in shock, not really believing she just said that. "W-What?"
"You heard me. Did your brother really die for this? He must be rolling on his grave, really disappointed and feeling ashamed he died for you. Ashamed of surely calling you his sister."
Lilac Breeze looked at her, and a sensation of fury filled her veins and body, as if her body heated up in fire. "Don't you dare speak of my brother like that... or I swear to Celestia-"
"What? What will you do? Cry out how useless you are? Maybe you should have been killed by your brother instead. Surely he was a harder worker than you."
Then, Lilac Breeze shook in anger, tears of fury coming out of her eyes, grabbed the combat stick, and starts going ballistic. All her pain and soreness gone as she started swinging the stick at full speed, attacking Pure Heart with the fury of the humiliation and disrespect she just received.
Pure Heart smiled and started blocking her attacks with incredible precision, but she was now fully defensive, letting Lilac Breeze do her flurry of attacks as long as she could hold. Lilac Breeze continues swinging, moving the stick like a bat, each strike sounding like a loud whip hitting Pure Heart's defense. Her flurry goes for minutes and minutes on end, moving all around the training room and screaming unintelligibly curses and threats to the high priest. She continues on and on until both sticks break in half, and by the inertia, Lilac Breeze falls forward on the tatami on her hooves and knees; her body trembled and shook as she sobs and cries.
Pure Heart looked down on her with a smile still in her face. Lilac Breeze looks up at Pure Heart's face with even more anger. "You are enjoying this, don't you?!" She said it loudly.
"No. Actually, I am surprised. Your will is stronger than I thought. And you have your feelings in the right place, your brother; you loved him very much, and I am sure he did so. Sorry for what I said; I knew I did a good choice letting you in." Pure Heart said before turning to walk away.
Lilac Breeze pulled herself on her front hooves to scream at Pure Heart. "Why did you let me in?! To humiliate me?!" She said, thinking all this was just a long, cruel joke because she was from the church.
But Pure Heart stopped and turned to her now with a serious face. "Because you wanted to join. You don't need anything special to become a Crusader... but I knew you had something special, something more than most followers. You will go far; even if you don't believe it."
Then her eyes turned pure white, and Lilac Breeze feels herself being pulled up to her hooves, and her wounds on her hooves and face slowly close and heal, and her blood is reabsorbed in her body. Lilac Breeze looked at Pure Heart in shock.
"But I do." Is the last Pure Heart said before leaving the room.
Lilac Breeze was confused for many reasons. First her words, on how she was indeed special, but even then that wasn't the reason she was accepted, making her wonder what she saw in her. Also, discovering Pure Heart has more powers than she firstly said so. And lastly, that voice... she never heard that voice, but it was like she heard it before, maybe in another life. Or is it just coincidence?
In any way, she dropped on the ground tired.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
Chapter 5: The Flash of Lightning, Immortalized on a Canvas.
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Chapter 5: The Flash of Lightning, Immortalized on a Canvas.
Flash Spark and Priestess Canvas were sent on a mission by Pure Heart. The high priestess detected a source of new magic in a town north of Equestria. The source and nature of such power were still a mystery, and in case it was dangerous, the priests were sent as a contingency force.
Flash Spark was happily walking with her black personalized robes of priest, and looking around with a smile through her sunglasses. Meanwhile, Priestess Canvas was following the trail of the magic with her horn, focused and serious all the way, and ignoring anything that wasn't a priority.
But then Flash Spark got next to her and licked her ear, making her shiver and push away. "SISTER FLASH! That is highly inappropriate! What are you doing?!" She said angry and annoyed.
"Come ooon~ I am bored. Why can't we just teleport there with your magic?!" Flash Spark said, groaning.
"I told you, we don't know what we are dealing with now! Thus, we need to approach with caution and preparation!" Priestess Canvas said serious and grumbled before closing her eyes and continuing her way.
But Flash Spark groaned again. "And how long will it take us?" She said it with a bored tone.
"3 days of walking." Priestess Canvas said concentrated.
"3 DAYS?! Oh, hell naw! We are speeding this up!"
Flash Spark then spread her wings and grabbed Priestess Canvas with all 4 wings from the torso and started lifting her up in the air.
"What in Harmony's name?! Sister Flash, put me down!" Priestess Canvas said in anger.
"NU HU! I can take us there faster!" Flash Spark said before starts speeding and using her strong wings to go over the road and the forest in the way.
"Idiot! You cannot take me with you like this! I weigh too much for you!" Priestess Canvas said, looking down at how the floor gets further away from her hooves.
"Don't worry!~ I have been training my wings a lot! These cuties can withstand you easily! Even more than you can withstand me! HE HE!~" Flash Spark made the remark with a mocking tone.
Both mares flew over the forest that was in their way, and for various minutes they went unbothered, until then a rush of wind hit them face-on.
"Woah! This wind is weird! There aren't any clouds, and I can't remember the weather teams putting wind here!" Flash Spark said having problems to maintain stability.
"Ugh! This is not normal wind! I can sense the magic here! This is made to stop us! Great job, stupid! Whatever we are searching now knows we are here!" Priestess Canvas said angry again, and her legs waved on the air in an attempt to keep straight. "Put us down!"
"No need! Just use your magic to put this wind away!" Flash Spark said, groaning as she had to do more strength with her wings.
"It doesn't work like that!"
"Just do it!" Flash Spark said annoyed.
Priestess Canvas groaned in fury and used her magic; the runes all along her bald head glowed in purple and sent a shockwave of magic in the air. Suddenly the wind stopped.
"Great job! See?! I could count on you!" She stabilized and keeps flying. "What did you do?"
"I sucked up all magic around us, so the wind disappeared." Canvas explained looking up at Flash Spark.
"Ah, I see." They continued flying for some minutes until Flash Spark's eyes widened instantly. "YOU WHAT?!"
"I absorbed all magic around us." Canvas said again. "Why are you so shocked?"
"No! You... NOOOO!" Suddenly, her flying magic as pegasus deactivated, and they plummeted to towards the ground under them.
Flash Spark screamed in fear, while Priestess Canvas looked annoyed at the ground coming closer. Just when they were about to reach the ground, Priestess Canvas used her magic to create a portal in their way, passing through it, turning themselves in energy, and coming out through another portal. That portal was pointing horizontal, meaning all the energy they made falling was now sending them along the floor. But that also meant they were thrown into the ground, rolling various meters, or maybe a hundred of them, and hitting trees, bushes and rocks in the way before stopping by the floor's friction.
Canvas slowly pushed herself up; some of her fur in her hooves and shoulders was peeled off, and her body hurt due to various collisions with the bushes. She was bleeding in various parts, but they were mere superficial wounds. She looked around to see where Flash Spark was, but she found nopony.
"Sister Flash?" Priestess Canvas said tired and softly. "Flash... where are you?" She said, in a bit more worry.
She walked a bit around the place, looking behind every tree and plant, until she heard a groan behind a rock. She stumbled towards it and looked behind, seeing Flash Spark laid on the ground with similar wounds as her, but she also added her broken sunglasses, that somehow still held together by the snout bridge, and one of her wings bent in various points, making it look horrible.
Priestess Canvas leaned on the rock and spoke with a grumble. "I told you... you are an idiot."
It was a dark night. Priestess Canvas created a fire with her magic, and she and Flash Spark sat next to it. They were still wounded, their robes ragged and broken in various parts as they didn't bring any healing supplies, but Canvas used some of the cloths to cover the more severe wounds on them and her magic to keep Flash's wing in place to stop it from moving.
Flash Spark looked at her broken sunglasses; the glass shattered and the bridge bent. Her teal-colored eyes looked at it hurt and sad, while Priestess Canvas looked at her with annoyance. "Why are you sad? They are just some sunglasses. You have many of them."
Flash Spark moved her eyes up and turned to Canvas. "You know they are more than just sunglasses."
Canvas huffed and rolled her eyes. "You give them too much importance."
"Canvas, we spoke of this before. Stop." Flash Spark said more harsh than usual, different from her laid-back personality.
Priestess Canvas sighed and looked at the fire in front of her in silence. Flash Spark did the same, and both of them watched and listened to the crackling fire. But after some moments, Flash Spark had to look away, hissing and rubbing her eyes that turned yellow, as if something had hurt them.
Canvas looked at her with a somewhat cold concern, but she never acknowledged it. "We will need to go by hoof. Your antic has separated us from the main road, and it will take time I detect the strange magic again."
"You only care for the mission, do you?" Flash Spark said grumpy. "Create me new sunglasses."
"Flash, you know I can't create those sunglasses. Only Pure Heart can. Mine wouldn't even affect you."
"Well, at least try something!" Flash Spark said, now angrier.
"I told you I can't! Are you deaf?!" Priestess Canvas answered back, annoyed.
"UGH! So much magic, yet you are useless for me!" Flash Spark said before walking away.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Priestess Canvas uses her magic and pulls her back close.
"Let me go, you Horse!" Flash Spark said, using her lightning rays, hitting Priestess Canvas, but the flash of it seems to burn her eyes, and she covers them in pain.
Priestess Canvas was struck by the lightning, not expecting it and falling to the ground, shaking for some seconds before the electricity is dissipated. "FLASH! Stop being an idiot and listen!"
"No! You just want to hurt me and force me to your plans!" Flash Spark said with her iris so small she almost looked like she had pure white eyes, and the white was in bloodshot.
Canvas groaned and used her magic to turn the fire off. That way, Flash Spark's eyes dilated again in the pure darkness, and she calmed down. She rubs her eyes, which turn back to a teal color, and her tension wears off.
"Canvas... I... I'm sorry." Flash Spark said softly and ashamed.
"No need. I know it wasn't your doing." Canvas stood up, hurt again, and walked to Flash Spark to touch her to know where she was. "Just... we need to find something before the sun rises."
Canvas slowly made a soft purple light from her body marks to give herself some vision, and even with that soft light, Flash Spark's eyes already shrunk half their size and turned orange. Then, Priestess Canvas started creating different objects, like blindfolds, sunglasses, helmets, goggles, and masks. But all seemed to have little to no effect.
"Damn it.... Damn it." Flash Spark said, scared and nervous, something Canvas rarely has seen her like.
"Flash, stop making me more nervous." Priestess Canvas said annoyed.
"It's no use. I am going to become mad with the sun." Flash Spark started hyperventilating. "I cannot do this. I need to return!" She stood up and tried to fly, but her broken wing was still restricted by Canva's magic.
"Flash, stop! We are over a day from the temple. It is impossible for you to fly. So calm down, now!" Canvas said, serious and angry.
"What can I do?! Oh Harmony, I knew I had to bring more glasses! I am an idiot! Why do I always do this!?" Flash Spark grabbed her head and started sobbing and crying in anxiety.
Priestess Canvas looked at this in real concern and fear; seeing her priestess sister, no, her friend like this, was heartbreaking. She needed to do something to help her survive the adventure. Then, an idea struck her, and she used her magic without a second thought and shot a spell on Flash Spark's eyes and herself's.
Both mares screamed in pain, and Flash Spark held her eyes, just before looking at Priestess Canvas. "What is wrong with yo-" She cut herself when her eyes weren't hurting. Better said, she was seeing the pitch darkness instead of her sensible vision. She waved a hoof in front of her eyes to see if she could see, and indeed all this was happening. "Wow, Canvas, you did it! You fixed my vision! Now we can kick ass really hard now!"
But Canvas was groaning and covering her eyes in her hoof. Flash Spark walked to her and looked into her eyes, seeing her teal-colored eyes were now into Priestess Canva's face.
"What?! Canvas! What did you-" Then she perked up, grabbed her knife from inside her robes, and ignited fire in her hooves to see her reflection in the blade. And indeed, she had the black eyes of Priestess Canvas.
Priestess Canvas, when seeing the fire, hissed and covered her eyes. "Damn it, Flash! Turn that off!" She said it in pain.
Quickly, Flash Spark turned her fire off and turned to Canvas. "Canvy. Why?"
"So you can continue the mission. If it is really that painful... let me share the pain for you." Priestess Canvas said, rubbing her, or better said, Flash's eyes.
"No, canvas! That is so stupid! Change them back! You don't know what you are doing!" Flash Spark said in shock and fear for her friend.
"No! I need you at full capacity. Please, trust me... I can handle it. I am more than used to pain." Canvas said, reassuring but still in pain as her new vision was too much. She could see almost everything, from the tiniest off lights. She wondered how it would be in the day, not like she really wanted to know.
Flash Spark shook her head in concern. "You are mad, Canvas. Please, it is not worth it."
"Silence... now we need to sleep. Get ready for tomorrow morning." Priestess Canvas said laying on the ground on her side.
Flash Spark looked at Priestess Canvas with preoccupation and sighed. She moves to her and lies behind her, hugging and spooning her.
"Really?" Priestess Canvas said like this wasn't at all the first time.
"Shut up, I am cold." Flash Spark said, pushing herself on Priestess Canva's back.
Priestess Canvas shook her head, but instead of pushing her away, she even presses herself against Flash Spark and puts Flash's hooves around her before closing her eyes to sleep.
The next morning, Flash Spark woke up in the early lights by the screams of Priestess Canvas. She was rolling and pressing her face on the ground and covering her eyes. "Canvas!" Flash Spark ran to her and covers her eyes in her arms to calm the burning.
"I-I can't see! It burns!" Priestess Canvas said in desperation and agony. Almost crying, which Flash Spark never saw before in their relationship.
"Hey, hey! I'm here! I'm here." Flash Spark said, calming her down, speaking softly. "Calm down, and keep your eyes closed." Flash Spark moved her arms off Priestess Canvas' eyes and pulled her up and guided her to walk out of the forest and search for a closed and dark place.
"My Harmony... how can you hold this? This is a torture." Priestess Canvas said as her eyes burned and felt like melting from the sunlight, sensing Flash Spark's senses' level of sensibility.
"I get used to. Doesn't mean I don't scream in the inside." Flash Spark said, still pulling her towards anywhere where there could be darkness. Meanwhile, she could finally see things without her sunglasses, a feeling she hasn't felt in a long, long time, not since she touched Harmony and became priestess.
After several minutes, that felt like endless for Priestess Canvas, Flash Spark found a cave. She quickly pulled the unicorn priestess into the cave and as deep as she could into the darkness. Once deep in the hole of the cave, Priestess Canvas could finally uncover her eyes, that were a burning orange color and bloodshot. Flash Spark moves in the way of the light at the end of the cave and looks into Priestess Canva's eyes.
"Buck, Canvas, take my eyes off you, I told you I can hold it." Flash Spark said, desperate for her friend to listen and stop this torture of herself.
"No, Flash, ugh." Priestess Canvas left all her cold personality and educated manners behind. "I told you, you are more important."
"How am I important?! I have a broken wing, I can't even use magic like you! Please, we need your capacity!" Flash Spark pleaded with all her forces, wanting her friend to stop this nonsense.
But Priestess Canvas was being stubborn, shaking her head in anger. "Shut up! If I say you are more important, then it is so! Listen to your superior sister!" Priestess Canvas said, pointing at her and covering her eyes in pain. "We need to continue. Whatever that magical thing is, it is closer. It came to us."
Pure Heart started using her magic with her eyes closed to sense the magic around them After some seconds, she opened them up in shock, having sensed the strange magic all around them. The cave. "Oh no."
"Oh no? What do you-" But Flash Spark didn't have time before she was teleported outside the cave, just in time before the cave closed like mouth with Priestess Canvas still inside. "What?! CANVAS!"
The cave grew eyes, and it moved up as a gargantuan-sized snake-like creature. It had the skin made of rock, and had cracks all along itself, with a red glow of magic coming from it, and it's eyes that looked to Flash Spark were a pure fiery red, showing its demonic nature.
Flash Spark stood there, looking at the demonic rock snake, known as Lithoviperan, raising to the size of a 7-floor building, and yet it wasn't completely straight. Quickly, Flash Spark turned her head, as the serpent tried to use its petrifying gaze, as it tried to immobilize the priestess.
Seeing no effect of his attack, the Lithoviperan attacked with its massive mouth, although toothless, it was a sure death being crushed between rocks. Flash Spark quickly sped up and avoided the attack thanks to her speed.
"Oh buck, Oh buck! What do I do?! This thing is too powerful!" Flash Spark panted quickly while moving at incredible speed around the serpent.
The Lithoviperan moved it's tail, that was some meters behind, and tried to whip at the running Flash Spark. The priestess, quickly jumped over the tail, making a good 4-5 meter tall jump. The size of this one was huge. These creatures had the ability to grow by consuming magic around them. The longer it stays here, the bigger it could become.
"Damn it! I need to do something! These creatures are weak to pure magic, and attacking through the cracks! But without my wing, I can't fly up there." Flash Spark keeps running at huge speed as the serpent tried to bite her again, making a huge dent in the forest's grass. "What would Canvas do?"
Inside the giant serpent, Priestess Canvas coughed up as the interior of the monster was being filled up with dark smoke from the igniting rock. The red light blinded her eyes, burning more as they were Flash's. She tries to use her magic, but it was quickly absorbed by the Lithoviperan. She was getting without oxygen, power and blinded, and fairly desperate.
"I... I can't... give up." Priestess coughs up. "I won't die here. Flash..." She thinks of Flash Spark, her friend, out there, surely fighting. Flash Spark was not ready or capable of fighting this creature. But faith and hope is the last she would lose, not even in death. "Flash... I... trust in you." She said before falling, barely breathing.
Flash Spark continued avoiding the Lithoviperan, using her sword to attack on the lower parts of the serpent, hitting between the cracks and joints of the rocks, but even with her strength and speed, the serpent was unfazed by her. "Damn it, why can't you die easier?!"
The Lithoviperan snarled and whipped its tail, trying to hit Flash Spark, who, even with a single working wing, could still jump and move at huge speed; not for anything, she was the fastest priestess of the Crusaders. But speed wasn't enough if her enemy was unbreakable, and slowly she was getting bigger while sucking Priestess Canvas' magic.
Flash Spark then decided to try searching for a place that gives her advantage. She ran at blinding speed while the giant rock serpent followed her. While she was faster, she couldn't underestimate the monster, who followed behind, destroying the forest in its way.
After several minutes, Flash Spark found the mountain they were originally going. She went to a mountain wall and waited for the Lithoviperan. Just in time, the huge creature arrived, moving in a slithering motion and charging at the priestess, ready to slam its head and the mare on the wall. And just at the last moment, Flash Spark jumped and impulsed herself with her wings and the wall, jumping over the serpent's head, and it slammed into the wall, making a crater and cracking its snout, letting out a huge screech of pain.
Once above the monster, Flash Spark pushed her sword inside a rock joint in the head and tries to make enough strength to break it. But in mere seconds, the serpent noticed her and shook its head to push her off it. Flash Spark held onto her sword, defiant against the serpent's ravage, but in a moment, a metal clank is heard, and the sword splits in two.
Flash's world became slow-motion, seeing the sword, a sword she earned and gained from her previous master, broken in her hooves. That sword meant more to her than anything else in her life, the memory of her master. "Stormstride" She whispered before she was slammed by the serpent's rocky tail, sending her through the air and slamming with trees in the way, mangling her body and landing on the ground, bloody and with her body broken.
There, Flash Spark lay silent and still, her breath shallow and blood pouring off her mouth. She wanted to move, but she couldn't; she wanted to fight without any strength. The Lithoviperan slowly slithered towards the priestess, two for the prize of one; this could make him more powerful than ever and be a menace to Equestria.
Flash Spark's world became dark as the huge maw came down to her.
Flash Spark woke up in a dark, infinite void. She gasped and looked around. This was clearly not the living world; it wasn't the first time she was set to ethereal planes, but this one was new. Dark, cold, empty and silent, almost like a prison.
"Where am I?" Flash Spark said, her voice echoing through the place. "Am I... Am I dead at last?" She said it with a hint of fear.
"Almost." Said a deep and masculine voice, one Flash Spark knew.
She turned to see her old master, the priest previous to her, Stormstride. He was a stallion pegasus, his fur dark like a stormy cloud; his mane and tail an electric blue, looking like a ray in the night; his eyes blue like a clear sky, and his cutie mark, a sword going through a lightning bolt, symbolizing his talent for combat and speed.
"Master." Flash Spark said in shock. "Impossible. You should be one with Harmony after your sacrifice. This must be a hallucination." She was in utter denial.
"Guess who was the one who brought me here again, one last time. You are about to die, in a pathetic, weak and almost joking way." Stormstride said coldly, criticizing her display of combat.
Flash Spark felt hurt, pathetic and small. She slowly kneeled down in the void. "Yes... you are right. Canvas and I... we are going to die, all because of me... if I had been patient... all for some stupid laughs." Flash Spark doubted her knowledge and even if she really learned from her past.
Flash Spark remembered her old days as a punk, a mischievous mare, who would always get what she wanted by force, all to have fun with herself and her gang. Robbing, beating and humiliating others just for some laughs. She hurt lots of people for the most stupid reasons. When Pure Heart found her, about to give everything up and make her 'Last Flight', she was shown an alternative. She could laugh and live, even with the guilt, if she redirected her abilities for something better than just herself. And after a decade in the Crusaders, she thought she was over the joke. Of course, she would pun and laugh and prank, but never wanting to hurt anypony. Now she and Canvas were going to die, and who knows how many others, just to get a laugh.
Stormstride then grabbed her by the mane and pulled her up painfully, just like he did in the past. "Stand up, idiot, I am not here to sermon you. You are smart enough to know what mistake you made. I came here to guide you. First, use your powers, you always forget you have your magic too, and second, focus on the cracks of it's neck, it is more vulnerable there, cut it's head off." He said like a coach, instead of being a philosophical moment, typical Stormstride, always directed to action before even thinking.
"But... Master, I am dying; I cannot fight with my broken body." Flash Spark said pleadingly.
"And who said you were going to die now? This was just a message, so you don't fail once you are saved. Stop whining, stop crying, and focus on your speed and power. Understood, rookie?!" Stormstride said in a sergeant-like mode.
Flash Spark was surprised, but she trusted her master above all. "Yes sir!"
Stormstride nodded and walked towards a ball of light that was behind him, and he was absorbed. Then, the ball took the form of a pony and, with bright eyes, looked at Flash Spark. Rise, priestess.
Flash Spark woke up again, and she saw the open mouth of the Lithoviperan, going towards her. How was she going to be saved? By who? There was nobody there who could save her. Or so she thought, because she forgot of the other important pony in that place, who jumped out the mouth of the giant serpent towards her. The shaved head, the tattoos, the thin and almost malnourished body. Priestess Canvas came out with a scream of anger, determined to save her friend, and used her magic to teleport them both away from the beast, just when the serpent slammed its rock snout shut on the ground.
Appearing in another place of the forest, Priestess Canvas had used all her remaining magic, the one not still absorbed by the Lithoviperan, and mustered dark forces to heal Flash Spark instantly. The pegasus body twisted back in place, with a painful crunch that snapped the surrounding air. After healing her with that dangerous spell, Priestess Canvas collapsed on the grass of the forest. Her body trembled, weak and on its bones. Dark magic didn't come free in her; it took her life force and soul to feed the magic.
Flash Spark sits up, covered in her own blood, but completely fixed. She turned to Priestess Canvas, Flash's eyes still in her, burning because of the light, her skeletal body, and magic barely enough to keep her breathing. "Canvas..." She said in shock and moved to grab her in her hooves. "No."
From afar, the Lithoviperan slithered through the forest and appeared in front of the priestesses. It snarled with its huge size, growing after absorbing most of Priestess Canvas' magic. Flash Spark looked at it, with anger, annoyance and murderous feelings filling her soul. She wasn't supposed to give in to such desires and instincts, but she didn't care at the moment.
"Nopony... No creature... no demon! Hurts! My! CANVAS!" Flash Spark ignited up her powers of Fire and Lightning, making her mane and tail turn fire, her orange fur turn a golden glow, and her eyes crackling with electricity. She flew up in the sky with her healed wings and shot a massive ray of pure electricity at the serpent, striking it with incredible strength and creaking the serpent all over the body.
The Lithoviperan screeched in pain and used its demonic ability, called Infernal Surge, and sent a demonic shockwave all around himself. All life instantly evaporated around it, except Canvas, who still had a magical barrier around her, a natural defense she had as a last resource when she was at death's gates. The shockwave went up, even the birds disintegrated in the air, and when it reached Flash Spark, she received the power of the attack face on, and her body burned with demonic fire, her robes burned and disintegrated, exposing all her body and her cutie mark of a flame with a lightning, but her body was stronger, and she could resist the attack almost untouched.
Flash Spark looked around at the destruction of the attack and felt her anger flare up even more. Anyone who had such low care for the surrounding lives deserved no respect or mercy from her. "You will pay for that!" She let out a rage scream and started attacking the Lithoviperan, using her supersonic speed to hit the serpent in various places, her power having given her otherworldly strength, and cracking all the stone body of the monster.
The rock serpent screeched more and waved its tail at full speed in the air, destroying the dead trees all around them. Flash Spark avoided it with ease and used her lightning again, striking all along the back of the serpent, cracking the rock more and more, making it look more like gravel. In a moment, the rock tail hit Flash Spark square in the head, which would have turned any normal pony into a mass of meat, blood and broken bones. But Flash Spark stood there, her harmony power making her extra resilient and only making her head have a breach and bleed out, staining her mane and forehead.
Flash Spark growled and shot a huge storm of fire from her hooves and rained hellfire over the Lithoviperan, but obviously made no effect on a rock serpent demon. But then she remembered her broken sword blade, still nailed on the serpent's head, was still intact. She had the best of ideas; pushing that blade deeper into the head could hit the demon's brain, if it had one. It was risky, but she had to try. But first, she wanted to make this demon regret ever being born, ever stepping or sliding on Equestria.
Flash Spark moved like a ray, with supersonic speed, hitting various places with her hooves, with strength to break the deeper stone, and making the Lithoviperan screech and snarl in pain all over. Flash Spark then flew up in the sky, reaching the clouds, and looked down to the serpent. Without her precise eyes, she couldn't have a clear view of the monster from that height. But she had faith, and she needed nothing more. She spread her wings and went into her most powerful physical attack. "Harmony's Power! Lightning Dash!" Flash Spark screamed at the top of her lungs as she charged her electricity around her in a ball of power, and in the middle of the day, a ray and a lightning of immense power and sound could be seen in the distance, falling at light speed to the ground. For ponies away from the place, they looked confused at how lightning appeared if there was no storm forecast from Cloudsdale.
The attack landed directly on the blade above the serpent's head; a blinding yellow light covered the forest. Flash Spark's rear leg pushed the blade into the creature's brain, and the power of the lightning shook the creature and, in a mere second, destroyed it and turned the Lithoviperan into gravel, dust and broken rock.
After the end of the fight, Flash Spark panted, taking dry and slow breaths, trying to regain her oxygen, as the attack used up all her energy and took the air from her lungs. After a minute or two of rest, she walked to Priestess Canvas' body, which lay completely still on the scorched ground. Her harmony power wasn't normal magic, and she couldn't control it beyond herself, so she couldn't share it with Priestess Canvas. Priestess Canvas needed a source of magic, and now. If she flew the unicorn at huge speed, she could be destroyed by the wind; she was too fragile. And even if she held, who said she could take Priestess Canvas just in time before she died completely? Flash Spark panicked.
"What can I do?! Oh Harmony, oh BUCK! Canvas! Please don't die on me!" Flash Spark said desperate, shaking the skeletal mare.
But Priestess Canvas was immobile; her heartbeat was almost unnoticeable, and her breath, coldly, hit Flash Spark's face. She started pressing hard on Canvas' chest, trying to reanimate her through CPR. She pumped her heart faster and faster, tears falling from her eyes. "Come on, come ON! PLEASE! CANVAS! DON'T DIE ON ME!" She slams her hooves on her chest in desperation. But nothing; Canvas was still and cold.
Flash Spark simply gave up; her friend gave everything to save her, and she couldn't save her back. She was gone, dead, all because of her inability to fight and stop joking. Was this really a victory? She protected Equestria at the cost of her friend. She could only think that this was unfair. If it was someone who deserved to die, was it her? She made the mistakes; she made the wrong decisions. Then why is she alive? Why does Harmony punish others because of her actions?
There was only a last thing she could do before her friend was completely gone. "Canvas... I'm so, so sorry... I was an idiot, and I couldn't hear you, despite you screaming at me to listen." Flash Spark trembles and shudders, tears falling across her cheeks. "You have been my best friend for so long. Despise being so lonely, so hateful of everypony, you showed me to smile." Flash Spark hiccups and covers her snout. "I know, you told me to be strong in front of loss. I lost many; we both did... I just... I was never brave enough with you. I wanted to tell you, you are more than that!" Flash Spark gets her bravery out. "I'm sorry I never could tell you how much I loved you... and not only as friends."
Flash Spark then leaned to look at Canva's face. "I love you, Priestess Canvas. I love you with all my heart, and I wish you noticed it. Please, let me do this, just once." Flash Spark leans closer and closes her eyes and connects her lips with the dying Canvas' ones, a shock of electricity cursing through the both of them.
Then, a pink aura covered them both, and Canvas slightly glowed in this pink magic aura while Flash Spark kissed her still. Canvas's magic ignited back with lots of power. Soon, Flash Spark realizes this as she opens her eyes and steps back when seeing Priestess Canvas levitating and finally lower on her hooves and looking much healthier. Priestess Canvas opens her eyes, or rather Flash's eyes, and looks around in shock. "What?"
Flash Spark's eyes widen, and he looks down at Priestess Canvas in surprise, and blushing like a tomato. "Canvas?! What?! I thought you were dying!"
"I was... what happened?" Priestess Canvas coughed up. "By the way... I hate your eyes." Priestess Canvas charges her horn and swaps eyes again, returning to her real black eyes, and Flash Spark feels the burning sensation of her original super sensible eyes back again.
Flash Spark groaned and looked away. "Damn it... well, then everything returned to normal."
Priestess Canvas looks around the combat zone. "What the heck happened here? And the Lithoviperan?"
"Dead, I killed it after you healed me. I simply went all out and actually defeated him... I am such the best hunter~" Flash Spark said with a smile.
"You alone? Wow. Those things are strong. I guess I judged you wrongly regarding your combat capabilities. I thank you for saving my life, sister Flash Spark." Priestess Canvas said, more relaxed and returning to her super polite talking. "By the way, how did you heal me? You cannot use magic like me."
Flash Spark blushes instantly and looks around. "Em, uh... when I killed the demon... it got your powers back?~" Flash Spark lied to hide what truly happened.
Priestess Canvas looks at her in confusion. "Indeed? Well, I guess that is to be noted in the monster's book. Never happened before, though. Well, we better go back to the temple and get you new sunglasses." Priestess Canvas said in a neutral tone.
"Yes, please... my eyes burn." Flash Spark said, rubbing her eyes, that were pure reed and bloodshot.
Priestess Canvas had an idea to speed this up. "Hey, maybe we can take a dark rift. It is highly corruptible and dangerous, and we could be trapped a millennium for a second, but it can take us instantly back. Want to try?" She said, dropping her politeness slightly.
Flash Spark looked at her confused and then smiled. "Absolutely! Whatever, to avoid the sun! Lead the way!"
Priestess Canvas uses her horn and opens a black rift in the air, and they both move to enter it. Meanwhile, they entered. Flash Spark has her thoughts in her head. "Thanks Harmony for letting me save her. And to hide my feelings from her. I hope it takes more time for her to discover it."
Meanwhile, in Priestess Canvas' mind. "Poor idiot, she thinks I don't know... it was so sweet~ And I want more from you, Flash Spark~" Just before the riff closes behind them.

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                 Chapter 5: The Lost Soul                  
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Chapter 5: The Lost Soul
Pure Heart and her nuns and priestesses traveled through Equestria towards a town in the east of Equestria, Amberleaf. The town had suffered a horrible storm that Cloudsdale couldn't control. The Wonderbolts could reach in time to save the town from more pain, but the damage was done. Hearing that, Pure Heart knew it was time to be charitable again, and with her followers went to help.
Upon arrival, after a few days in train, they saw the state of the town. Mud, water and destruction were around the place. The town folks were doing whatever they could to save their houses and despise the clouds having been taken out and the sun glowing over them; the sight was depressive. The wonderbolts seemed to have stayed and helped as much as they could, and so were ponies from nearby.
Pure Heart and her followers walked forward, pulling carriages. Once close, they caught the attention of the ponies and wonderbolts, and the leader of the squad flew down to acknowledge them. A certain rainbow haired pegasus. "Well, you are unexpected. Have you come to make more publicity of your religion while these ponies suffer?" Rainbow Dash asked, annoyed. She has had her encounters with Pure Heart and the Crusaders of Harmony, and due to her loyalty to Celestia she wasn't entirely great with them, but neither she was angry nor hated them.
"Hello to you too, apostle Rainbow Dash~," Pure Heart said slightly sarcasticly as she knew the Mane 6 hated being called that, despite that's how the crusaders see them as, apostles of Harmony. "We've come to help indeed, which makes publicity on its own. But we genuinely came to aid these poor ponies."
Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes in doubt, but she couldn't simply say no to help; what kind of image would that give? "Fine, but you better work hard; we are working day and night here!" She said serious.
Pure Heart nodded, and the nuns and priestesses started dividing into groups. Priestess Nurse Shine walked to the town folks with the carriages. "I know how hard it is what you suffered. We came just prepared." The nuns open the carriages to show a huge amount of food, blankets, medical kits and warm clothing.
The town folks saw this with bright and hopeful eyes; some even started crying in desperation. They started thanking them with all their hearts, especially those who had their hungry foals in hooves. It seemed the equestrian government was slow in aiding these ponies. The blankets were quickly given to all the families, and the food, like pies, hayburgers, daisies' sandwiches, and a lot of sugary pastries, was given, so they could regain energy and happiness. Meanwhile, Nurse Shine started using the med kits to heal or treat whoever needed it.
Rainbow Dash saw this with amazed and guilt eyes, because she couldn't help these ponies as much as the Crusaders did now. Maybe she was wrong in her thoughts after all.
Meanwhile, the rest of the nuns, led by Flash Spark and Priestess Canvas, used their powers and magic to help to take the debris out of the way, while Canvas did it in huge quantities and Flash Spark did it at huge speed. In a moment, Flash Spark stopped next to Rainbow with a mocking smile. "What is it, apostle Rainbow Dash? Too fast for you?~"
Rainbow quickly changed to an annoyed and angry face and turned to the Priestess. "Oh, it is on!" She said before whistle to the other wonderbolts and speed up their cleaning of the town. Flash Spark did the same with the nuns and continues the fast cleansing of the debris.
Pure Heart watches this from afar and chuckles while shaking her head. "Ah, Flash and her methods never stop surprising me." She stays looking until she senses a weird presence nearby. She perks up and looks around, until her eyes lock on the forest near the town. There her pure eyes felt a presence, of something watching her, that quickly hid again.
Pure Heart, surprised by this, quickly looked around, seeing everypony entertained and walked to the forest to see what that thing was.
Walking into the forest, Pure Heart looked around this natural and beautiful place. Endless trees of green leaves, strong oak and deep roots. This place was barely touched by the storm, showing it was more, something magical. The sun entered through the tops, bathing slightly the earth pony.
On her way around, some more appearances of this creature were made around her. She followed them without a fear; she was purely calm and confident nothing would happen. The slight chances she had of seeing this being were mere moments, where she saw a leg hiding behind a tree or a blur of the figure before hiding behind a bush.
She was amused, and this creature gave no bad vibe or energy. She continued until, in a moment, she saw the creature standing with her back to her. It was a pegasus mare, completely white from mane to fur and feathers. She seemed to watch nothing in particular.
"Hey!~ I can see your playfulness, and surely you want to play, but I am occupied, so, maybe leave this catch game for lat-"
Her voice and smile were cut when putting a hoof on the mare's shoulder, and she slowly turned. To Pure Heart's horror, this mare's face was many things but any good. Her eyes were two sunken and eyeless sockets, her nose dripped a black liquid, and her mouth hanged open. No teeth, no tongue, just blackness inside.
Pure Heart looked at her in shock and stepped back. But she had no time as the mare let out a horrible screech and jumped on Pure Heart, black tentacle tendrils coming out her mouth and wrapping around the priestess' head. Pure Heart pulled her back with her hooves. "Hey! What are you doing?! What happened to you?!"
The mare continues wrapping those tendrils around and now her mouth has widened impossibly open and started wrapping Pure Heart's head inside her mouth. Pure Heart groaned in pain, and her eyes glowed white as she charged power in her telekinesis and instantly exploded the mare's head, making her jump back and fall headless.
Pure Heart quickly gasped and looked at the body in shock. "What the? What in Harmony's name is this?" She said panting, but suddenly her mind spoke to her.
"Pure Heart, you have fallen into a trap. Run fast, dear chosen. The evil wants to take you with it.
At that moment, more sounds came around Pure Heart, and more ponies of that kind appeared. Dozens of them, of all races and ages, sharing the same pure white body and black features in their eyes, noses and mouths. Pure Heart saw this and tried to levitate, but she suddenly felt the sun being blocked and her powers going away too, as if somepony pressed the off button. "What?! Oh, come on!"
She sees the ponies charging with the same tentacles coming out of their mouths. Pure Heart simply turned and ran, jumping over some of them and into the thick forest. She looked around, making sure she wasn't ambushed, and good thing she did, because in her way, more or those pale ponies appeared jumping at her and trying to tackle them down. With her powers, she would defeat them all easily, but she was handicapped in that department.
Pure Heart kept running while the monster ponies made echoing moans, screeches and gurgling choking noises behind her. After minutes of running, she soon reached a deeper and more dark part of the forest, and in a moment, she was grabbed and pulled behind a tree. She yelled, but a hoof was put on her snout. "Shut." Said a whispering voice from a darkened figure.
The pale ponies ran past their hiding spot, making the sound of a hundred of them screaming and wailing loudly, until the noise was gone, and so were they. Pure Heart felt the hoof being pulled out of her snout. "Thanks. I may have been a goner."
The figure walked into the forest, ignoring Pure Heart. "Follow me. And make no noise." Said the other pony, a unicorn mare, by the figure of her body. Pure Heart did as said and walked behind her with soft steps. Passing through what seemed like a bubble of magic, Pure Heart felt her powers returning.
Once inside, the mare turned and pulled the hood off, showing it was Cross Heart, her rival from the Church of Celestia. Pure Heart looked at her in shock. "You?! What are you doing here?!" Pure Heart said confused.
Cross Heart huffed, the older mare looking annoyed. "I should be the one asking you that question. What the heck are you doing here?"
"Well, I felt something in the forest. I was helping around the town because of the storm, and then-"
Cross Heart scrunched her face. "You really thought that storm was natural?" She asked with a condescending tone. "You are naive."
Pure Heart looked at her in more confusion until she realized. "Oh no, a supernatural being? Oh heck, why can't I have a day without strange things hurting ponies?" She said she was tired and angry.
"You seem to be a magnet of these, or the other way around. In either way, this one is dangerous, and your help could come in handy."
"Huh? You? My help? Are you a changeling?" Pure Heart reached her hoof at her.
Cross Heart slapped her hoof aside. "Don't be an idiot. I need your help as much as I hate it. This creature doesn't benefit any of us. And you can make sure a being that takes out our powers is one very powerful."
Pure Heart rubbed her hoof with annoyance. "What is it?"
"No idea. It can either be a demon, a lich, a spirit of the forest. Who knows?" Cross Heart said with a neutral angry tone.
"So, what is the plan?"
"I tried all I could, from violence to rituals. Nothing worked. So it must have a link in the forest. We have to find it. Or, well, you have to."
"Me? Ugh, you are being a lazy horse again. Why me?" Pure Heart said annoyed and offended.
"Because you are the pure one who can detect any evil, even without your powers. You are a perfect radar."
"Or your perfect bait." Pure Heart said back with anger.
"I assure you, I'd LOVE to see you in pieces. But if I want to come out of here alive, I need you. Believe me, the moment I don't need you anymore, I will kick you out of my presence with all my will and might." Cross Heart said with controlled anger, but her eye twitched in annoyance.
Both mares looked at each other with cold and threatening eyes, showing no compassion, friendship, unity or respect. The idea that both killed each other right there was a probability. But after some seconds of silence, Pure Heart relaxed down and sighs. "Fine. I'll help, only this time. But once this is done, this never happened."
Cross Heart calmed down too and nods. "Agreed."
Pure Heart nodded and took this moment inside the magic bubble and used her power, and an armor, shining like the sun, appeared all around her like if it were being created at that moment. Her robes now hid inside this fully plated armor, and so she shook her hoof, and a sword appeared on her hoof, as if it were a trick of magic. "Ready."
Cross Heart looked at her with annoyance. "Showoff."
Minutes later, both high priestess walked through the forest, trying to avoid all the pale ponies rummaging the place. Their sounds and screeches helped them, hiding and staying silent. They had some encounters while Cross Heart guided her towards the source of this power.
Meanwhile, Pure Heart looked at her and the surroundings with confusion. "What happened to them?"
"Who?" Cross Heart said, confused and unworried.
"Those pale ponies. Looks like they are suffering." Pure Heart said worried.
"Those are lost souls. Their personalities and memories are gone. They are just husks, no life, no purpose, only serving like a puppet." Cross Heart said coldly and uncaringly for the ponies.
Pure Heart looked at her with anger and annoyance. "You really don't care, do you?"
"Different from you, I only care for those who live. These are gone, Pure Heart. There is no salvation for them. Death is the only way out for them now."
"But maybe we could-"
"Even if we destroyed the source of this power, their souls are completely gone. Their bodies will stand still until they starve. Better grow a pair and continue with your life." Cross Heart didn't have time for these things and continued without a glance back at Pure Heart.
Pure Heart by her part was feeling bad. Not capable of saving ponies was the worst feeling she had ever and still felt. She hated these horrible destinies that only a monster could male for innocent ponies. She gulped down and continued walking.
After what felt like an hour, they arrived at the center of the forest, finding a huge black tree, rooted to the ground and all trees around it completely dead and dry, as if the black tree was feeding off their life. They also found bodies of ponies; surely those uncapable of transforming only their bones were visible, a show of how they would end if they were ever trapped.
Pure Heart and Cross Heart looked at the tree with calculating eyes. "So, what is the plan?" Asked Pure Heart.
"I have none. We are going in blind." Cross Heart responded without even looking at her.
"Randomization, I like that plan." Pure Heart said, preparing her sword and walking out, but Cross Heart pulled her back into the bushes.
"Idiot running in without a pan is not a plan. We need to see how it works. Maybe find a weak point."
"Oh, come on, I can take on it. I have faced worse than a tree."
"You don't have your powers. Who knows what happens if that thing absorbs you?"
"I know, that is why I am going to cut it with my sword. I may not have my powers, but I am still tough."
"Ugh, you idi-" Cross Heart stopped herself when she heard a rustling. She crouched and saw one of those pale ponies walking to the tree erratically. Once close, the tree's branches grabbed it with vines, and the trunk opened with a wide vertical mouth and pushed the pale pony inside and closed shut.
Both priestesses looked at it in shock, knowing getting close was a bad idea now, but Pure Heart had an idea. "You have explosives?"
"No, I don't. But I heard tree resin is flammable, even explosive."
"I like when we think alike." Pure Heart, said with a smile.
Pure Heart and Cross Heart went away and started using their weapons to open the trees. Pure Heart with her sword and Cross Heart with her daggers. They tried to get as many as possible without alerting the pale ponies. After around an hour, they got a glob of resin. Cross Heart took out a jar and put it all inside.
"Good, it must be enough to ignite that tree." Cross Heart said with a serious tone.
"Cross. We have company." Pure Heart said, pointing her sword away.
Cross Heart turned and saw a horde of pale ponies going towards them, screeching and screaming. "The tree must have felt us."
"Then it is time to kick ass and pray. And I am all out of ass." Pure Heart, said with a serious face.
Cross Heart looked at her in confusion for that comment, but she wouldn't say anything. Both of them charge at the pale ponies with incredible dexterity.
Pure Heart goes the first and her sword spins on the base of her hoof, impossibly natural, and she runs to cut down the first pale ponies coming. Her sword cut through the neck of the first pony, and quickly sidestepped to cut the next's, and so the next came behind.
Cross Heart opened her black robes and exposed dozens of daggers and started throwing them to the ponies, into their tentacle mouths, and jumping over Pure Heart to make an epic trampoline jump, and throwing three daggers in one go.
"Hey! Those were mine!" Pure Heart said, slashing the next two pale ponies, while Cross Heart fought with a dagger in each hoof and stabbing the ponies.
"You got 7 so far, I got 13! You are a bit slow!" Cross Heart mocked her.
Pure Heart growled and quickly sped forward, spinning her sword at impossible speed and cutting several ponies in various pieces and beheading them in seconds. Cross Heart sees that and growls too and grabs many of the thrown daggers and re-throws them to the ponies, taking several of them all in one go. Between the two, the road towards the black tree was filling with bodies.
Between the two, high priestesses, even without powers, were a menace to these pale ponies. Stabbing, cutting and smashing ponies at huge super pony speed. Cross Heart was moving faster as she was taking more than Pure Heart. "46! You have 30!"
Pure Heart growled and reared her sword, and with a swing, she threw her sword spinning and perpendicular to the floor. Like that, her blade cut through several heads until nailing against a tree, and around 50 ponies fell dead in front of them all, stopping the horde of all them.
Pure Heart was panting, and Cross Heart looked in shock at the sheer brutality. Cross Heart slowly turned with a scoff. "Wow. You were supposed to be the pacifist one?"
"Shut up, or you could be next on my blade's way." Pure Heart walks to the sword and retrieves the sword back.
Pure Heart held onto the resin jar and started running forward with the other high priestess. Both mares continued running and running back to the black tree. In the way, more and more pale ponies came in the way. They easily cut them out of the way, even if they were being wounded by their hooves or tentacles. Pure Heart gritted her teeth as she was being bathed in the black blood, her white fur and green mane slowly turning dark.
Soon they reached back to the black tree, and saw it fully opened like a monster, roots and veins coming out from everywhere to attack it. Pure Heart and Cross Heart cut through them, but they were fast even for them, and quickly they were trapped on those tendrils, being puled up and by the limps pulled.
"AAGH! Pure Heart! You better do one of your miracles!" Cross Heart said, grunting in pain and biting on a vein trapping her hoof.
Pure Heart did the same and looked at the tree and slowly calmed down, taking a slow breath. "Give me the resin."
"What for?" Cross Heart said confused.
"I'll jump in its mouth and light it from inside, maybe burning myself too." Pure Heart said serious.
Cross Heart looks at her in shock, but quickly shakes her head. "Sure. All yours." She said without hesitation, giving her the jar of resin and an extra dagger.
Pure Heart takes it and looks at her with a neutral face. "I hate you too." Pure Heart said before putting the sword on her mouth and spinning to cut the tendrils holding her and starts running towards the black tree. Roots, veins and pale ponies charged at her, but she jumped through all of them, and without hesitation she jumped into the tree's mouth.
Once inside, she felt all the dark magic, the souls trapped inside that place. Pain, sadness, hopelessness and no destiny but oblivion. But she opened the jar and threw the glob of resin in the air, and with her sword and a dagger she took from Cross Heart, she slammed them together to make a spark, instantly filling her vision in red.
It had been maybe 30 minutes. Cross Heart stood in front of the burning black tree. The pale ponies fell to the ground without life. The black tree itself screamed unnatural gurgling sounds, but now only the sound of the crackling fire is heard around the air. Cross Heart looked at it with a calmed face, not worried or saddened by Pure Heart's sacrifice.
She had her powers back, her wounds quickly healing up, but she couldn't know the same for Pure Heart. "Well. Whatever destiny decides, Pure Heart." She turned and walked away.
*Hours later*
The tree and the forest were silent. The fire was gone hours ago. The rest of the crusaders found the hints and trails here. Priestesses Canvas, Flash Spark, Silent Whisper and Nurse Shine stood in front of the tree with shocked faces and worried eyes, except Silent Whisper due to the mask.
"She is there?" Nurse Shine asked in shock.
"Is not the first time Mother Pure Heart has done something stupid. I can still feel the dark magic around, and all the bodies. She is in there." Priestess Canvas said.
"Then, do we take her out?" Flash Spark asks confusedly, adjusting her sunglasses.
"No. You know the protocol. Let her come out on her own. She never wants help in these situations." Silent Whisper said softly behind her mask.
The priestesses waited for more minutes, until movement was heard from inside the charcoal tree. Then, a black hoof comes out, breaking some wood out of the way. Pained groans came out as the scorched black pony came out from the tree. The pony, who was totally unrecognizable, walked out with painful breaths and groans.
Her hair and fur were all gone, her skin black and red blood from the opened wounds. Her eyes disappeared, and some parts of her bones and skull are exposed. But quickly, her body started regenerating at a fast speed, the scorched skin slowly gained back the white color, and fur started growing back over it. In less than a minute, Pure Heart has healed completely again. She stood in front of the priestesses and looked side to side before smiling. "Hey girls! Want to have some drinks?~ I'm starving!" She said it with a happy tone, as if she was more than used to this.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
     Chapter 6: Bliss & Joy vs. CMC: Attorneys at Law      
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Chapter 6: Bliss & Joy vs. CMC: Attorneys at Law
Pure Heart was confused. Well, more than confused, as she read the letter in front of her, as if she had just witnessed a really bad joke—or an uncomfortable one instead. She had read the legal paper in front of her, issued by Ponyville's mayor, Mayor Mare, in the name of the so-called Cutie Mark Crusaders, where she had been accused of... Copyright Infringement?
"Em, Canvas. Tell me this is a joke," Pure Heart said to the priestess, the one who had given her the paper.
"I wish it were like that, Mother Pure Heart. But I revised it letter by letter and even for magic incantations. It is completely real," the tattooed bald mare said with her professional neutral tone, standing next to Flash Spark.
Pure Heart was in worried confusion. Who were these crusaders, and what even was Copyright? She had been here for over 200 years, but she hadn't exactly been one to learn of modernity so quickly.
"Well, surely it's just a children's prank or something modern. It doesn't concern me," Pure Heart said, trying to wave it off.
"It is not, High Priestess Pure Heart," said Flash Spark, who even took off her sunglasses to show the severity of this. "This Copyright is a lawsuit that could lead us to problems with authorities. Even if it's for the slightest and stupidest thing, the law, and especially the lawyers, will do anything to get profit from this. And you know we have lots of money."
Pure Heart slowly turned with wide eyes. "Oh, come on. I haven't bled for centuries just so some group of fillies can simply sue us over a simple name coincidence. Besides, I created this group even before their parents existed!" Pure Heart said, annoyed.
"But did you patent the name?" Priestess Canvas asked seriously.
"I did what?" Pure Heart said, the word being alien to her.
"Patented. Like, made sure only we could use that word?" Flash Spark said quickly, putting her sunglasses back over her burning eyes.
"What? Why would I do that? I am not the first one to use the word ‘crusade’ or ‘crusader’ at all! Why would I be sued for this?!" Pure Heart said, growing more annoyed.
"Because we are the only ones using it formally," Priestess Canvas said neutrally.
Pure Heart couldn't believe her eyes, ears, or even her own tongue. This was absurd, stupid, and clearly immature—to mess with an institution as important as theirs just over a word. "Then what do we do?"
"We can either fight in court or pay a bill to use the name," said Flash Spark calmly.
"Fine, pay them, whatever. Just end this pointless problem," Pure Heart said dismissively.
"That is not advisable, High Priestess. The bill isn’t cheap," Flash Spark explained, worried.
"Oh, come on, what's the worst it would cost?" Pure Heart said, waving a hoof.
"10 thousand," Priestess Canvas said bluntly.
Pure Heart choked on her own saliva, taking moments to cough and spit it out. "10 THOUSAND?! WHAT THE FU— Very Family Friendly Words about how the CMC are great ponies —THOSE fillies think they are?!" She turned red, her neck veiny—something weird coming from the all-patient and calm Pure Heart, who hadn't even flinched at literal demons.
Flash Spark and Priestess Canvas had moved far back while Pure Heart was having her tantrum. "So, fighting it is?" Flash Spark asked in a meek voice.
"Of course we'll fight! We will call upon the mightiest of lawyers! They will defend our Harmony from this tyranny—"
"You know a lawyer is even far more expensive than that 10,000-bit bill, right?" Priestess Canvas said bluntly again.
"Oh, for F**k’s SAKE! Then what is the purpose of this?!" Pure Heart said, desperate.
"Take our money," both Priestess Canvas and Flash Spark said in unison, unsurprised that it had come to this.
Pure Heart put her hooves on her head in despair and sat on the ground of the temple. "What do we do? We cannot have another problem with the law. We are already quite between the wall and the blade because of Cross Heart’s problems!"
"Maybe we could defend ourselves," Flash Spark suggested.
"Great thinking, idiot. I guess you know about law and order from those stupid series you've been watching, haven't you?" Priestess Canvas said, neutrally mocking her partner, even putting on a bored face.
"Hey! First off, Better Call Trots is a great series! And second... you are right. We are screwed," Flash Spark answered back.
"UUGH! Now who will help us?!" Pure Heart almost wept. She wasn't bothered by being tortured, hurt, or even killed repeatedly for the sake of her followers. But when law entered—a force she had no say in or control over—and it even affected her followers, she was in despair.
Then the blinds of the huge windows closed, and darkness covered the room.
"Are you asking for justice?~"
"Is your life in despair?~"
"Are you ready to solve problems?!"
"And fix them double?!"
A pair of young voices came from above, and suddenly, lights appeared, moving around the temple hall as if it were a show. Then, from the sides, a pair of small figures appeared, striking poses of epicness—and of questionable health for their spines.
"We are what you need!"
"We are your saviors!"
"We!"
"ARE!"
The blinds opened back up, revealing the figures of Bliss and Joy, the youngest crusader fillies.
"The Creative, Original Organization of Little FILLIES! Or COOL FILLIES for you!" they said in unison, their proud smirks and egos as big as the temple itself.
The three priestesses looked at the fillies in shock; between the entrance, the presentation, and the convenience of their problem, they seemed almost wonderful. Except for one thing.
"You two aren’t even eight, and you want to fight in court?" Flash Spark asked, confused.
"Well, it is time to make the nuns work to regain the money. I hope the strip club still hires," Priestess Canvas said while walking away, but Pure Heart used her telekinesis to drag her back.
"Wait. This may work," Pure Heart said in deep thought.
"What?!" Flash Spark and Priestess Canvas said, confused and shocked.
"Yeah, who else could defend us from stupid kids better than our smarter kids?!"
"The CMC could have a professional lawyer of their own!" Flash Spark argued, angry.
"You said lawyers cost a lot. How the heck could they pay for one?" Pure Heart countered.
Flash Spark was about to answer, but Priestess Canvas silenced her with her purple magic. "Actually, that is a great idea."
Priestess Canvas sighed. "If this fails, YOU will be in the striptease club, Mother Pure Heart."
"Do not worry, High Priestess!" Bliss said in a calming tone.
"We will put those fillies to shame in the name of HARMONY!" Joy added, excited and sure of themselves.
Pure Heart sighed but smiled proudly at them. "Give them all the power of our might!"
The two fillies smacked hooves together and ran out of the temple, ready to defend their religion and their friends.
Meanwhile, the priestesses stood there, looking at the door silently, just as Priestess Silent Whisper entered—wearing sexy lingerie and long striped socks, yet still with her porcelain mask.
"So, are we going to the strip club?"
"Not yet, Sister Whisper," Canvas said in her neutral tone.
"Oh." Silent Whisper looked down at herself, then backed up. "What a bummer."
It had been a bright day in Ponyville, and the usual had been happening on the streets; the ponies had gone around the markets to buy things or had been speaking with their friends. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, however, had been at the town hall with the three little fillies, who had been dressed in suits made by Rarity, the only one happy in the situation for showing her designs. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had been waiting outside with smirks on their faces, fixing their ties.
"This will be so easy to make money! That way, we could pay for more reforms for the clubhouse! Scoots, you are a genius!" Sweetie Belle had said with a smile.
"Thanks. It was a long research, but this thing about copyright is quite powerful! Besides, who dares to copy our name?!" Scootaloo had said with a smile.
"Um, girls, are you sure about this? I mean, suing somepony is not as easy as you think. Besides, you are ruining their day with this, especially a group like the Crusaders," Rainbow Dash had said, worried and uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, Rainbow Dash! I know the Crusaders are too archaic and old to even know what copyright is! Surely they won't come and—PUM! Money for the treehouse!" Apple Bloom had said excitedly.
The Mane 6 had looked at them in shock and confusion, and then Applejack had spoken. "I don't know. Are you sure that's how it works, lil' sis? I'm no lawyer, but I don't think you can win like that. Besides, y'all could make that money with honest work, like everypony!"
"Pfft, It's all okay, Applejack! I assure you they won't even come here," Apple Bloom had said confidently.
Then, the entrance of the town hall had opened pair to pair, and the couple of fillies in white robes had entered the building with smirks on their faces, their mint and ocean blue manes swinging almost at the same time. Bliss and Joy had walked to them and had stood slightly smaller than them.
"Hah! You three are the ones wanting to defy the glory of our church?" Bliss had said with a smirk.
"This must be a joke! Three fillies sued our temple and our dear Pure Heart!? Unbelievable!" Joy had said with a shake of her head and an annoyed expression.
The CMC had looked at the fillies in shock. "Who are you?" Sweetie Belle had asked.
The fillies had smiled at each other. "We are Bliss!"
"And Joy!"
"From the Crusaders of Harmony!"
"And we came to face you in court!"
"For you have challenged our peace!"
"Now we are going to break your butt!"
The two fillies had said with glee, power, and determination, making their extravagant poses.
The CMC had looked at the duo with confusion, worry, and even fear on Sweetie Belle's part. But Apple Bloom had taken a deep breath and had turned to her friends, determined. "Um, come on, girls! They can't be that bad! They are a pair of fillies; we are three! Say it with me!"
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: ATTORNEYS AT LAW! YAY!" They had said it in unison and had hoofed each other at the same time.
At court, the room was filled with only a few ponies: the Mane 6 on one side, Lyra and Bonbon, Derpy and Dr. Hooves, Miss Cheerilee—who wasn’t at all surprised by her students' antics—Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and Mayor Mare as the judge.
"The session of the Cutie Mark Crusaders against the Crusaders of Harmony has now begun!" She slammed the hammer on the pedestal. "Where are your lawyers?"
"We will defend ourselves!" the CMC said, tightening their ties.
"We will too! We are giving them a chance at winning," Bliss and Joy said calmly.
Mayor Mare sighed. "It’s going to be one of those… Fine, may the prosecutor begin their declaration."
"Well, Mayor Mare—" Apple Bloom started.
"It's ‘Your Honor,’" Mayor Mare corrected her.
"Huh? You became royalty? When?" Apple Bloom asked innocently.
"No, it’s not… ugh, whatever, just continue," Mayor Mare said, trying to make this quick.
"Well, Your Majesty, this CULT of ponies is using our name illegally, as we were the first to use the word ‘Crusader,’ and as this document proves." Apple Bloom took out a paper from a folder. "We have patented the use of the word ‘Crusader’ as a persona, group, or title name in Equestria, which they are violating right now!"
"OBJECTION!" Bliss said instantly and stood straight. "The name ‘Crusaders of Harmony’ is way older than the formation of these fillies' pajama club or whatever; thus, it doesn't apply to us, as our group was founded over 200 years ago. This means it's not a direct infraction, since you patented it much later! And patents can't be used to claim names older than a decade!"
"UGH!" Apple Bloom felt the power of her words, making her step back and clutch her chest. "I-Impossible!"
Mayor Mare looked at the others with wide eyes. "Seems accurate. Maybe this will end sooner than I thought."
"HOLD ON!" Sweetie Belle pushed Apple Bloom out of the way. "Actually, the law does say that a name can't be claimed if it's over a decade old! But it also states in the next article that if the name is still in active use, its age is overruled! Since they are still functioning, they are still violating copyright!"
"OW!" Bliss felt a pain in her body and fell to the ground. "Damn Ace Attorney references! Why does it hurt?"
"Hm, that seems correct. Maybe this case is more one-sided than I thought," Mayor Mare said, placing a hoof on her chin.
Rarity, in the back, smiled. "Go, Sweetie! You have this in the bag!"
"OBJECTION!" Joy’s voice broke through the room. "Hmph, haha! Good try! But the thing is, you are wrong!"
"What?!" Sweetie Belle said in confusion.
"Yes! Because while we are active in the present day, we have something you haven’t considered—Historical Defense!"
"Historical Defense? What is that?" Mayor Mare asked, confused.
"Hmph! You just made that up!" Sweetie Belle said angrily.
"Nu-uh! Because the law you cited only applies to modern companies, ones with less than a century of existence!"
"Huh?!" Sweetie Belle was shocked and frantically looked through her papers. "Oh no!"
"Exactly! Thus, as the Ministry of History and Defense against the destruction of antiques states, you cannot challenge us since we are over a century old, and we pose no threat to the life, stability, or peace of the nation! Thus, your argument: IT’S INVALID! HUZZAH!"
"OW!" Sweetie Belle was pushed back by the sheer force of Joy’s words. "Oh no! She got me!"
"Hm, seems like some filly did her homework. In that case, I believe we have a clear winner. The Crusaders of Harmony are in—!"
"NOT SO FAST!" Scootaloo suddenly interrupted.
"Huh?! Hah?!" The room erupted in confusion as the little pegasus—
"I AM NO CHICKEN! IT’S A DISABILITY!" she grumbled before turning to the filly nun. "You! You just dug your own grave!~"
"Impossible. You have nothing against us!"
"But you said that law didn’t apply to antiques that don’t pose a hazard to the nation… but that’s not your case! Your cult, group, or whatever kind of psychos you are, are indeed a threat to Equestria! You destabilize our peace and constantly cause problems everywhere!"
Joy looked at her in shock. "That’s not true! We bring peace!"
"Peace? I have proof against that! OBSERVE!" Scootaloo dropped pictures in front of Mayor Mare. One showed a nun from the Church of Celestia, another depicted a mountainous region burned and scorched black, and the last one displayed a forest filled with bodies of strange creatures.
"What is this?" Mayor Mare asked in confusion.
"Proofs that these ponies aren't pacifist at all! The kidnapping of a member of the Church of Celestia, Veil Whisper, and harming her to keep illegal hold of her! Fighting against royal guards! That mountain was a place of nature until a duo of your priestesses appeared, and after something, the place was destroyed, and all animals and plants in the area were scorched to oblivion! We know because ponies close to the place saw the lights, and later, the mares left the place! And the bodies were found near the recent town where a horrible storm struck them. Many ponies went missing after that, and then these bodies were found in the forest next to it, and that happened just after the Crusaders of Harmony appeared in the place! And yes, those ponies were the missing ponies of the town!"
Gasps filled the town hall, and Joy was looking nervous. "Hey, that's taken out of context!"
"But it shows that they are indeed affecting the nation and its stability; thus, the Copyright still affects them!"
"WAAAH!" Joy felt herself being pushed to the ground next to her twin sister. "Oh no, what do we do?"
"I don't know. This wasn't in our plans."
"Wow... these condemnations could open to much more cases... but as this is only about copyright. Well, it indeed violates the only defense left they have. Well, I guess the decision is clear."
Scootaloo made a 'buck yeah' gesture, while Rainbow looked at her proudly.
"Thus, The Crusaders of Harmony are deemed guilt-"
The doors of the room opened suddenly. "NOT SO FAST!" It appeared what seemed like a green mare, with natural clothes made of plants and leaves, walking into the middle of the hall.
"Huh? Who are you?" Scootaloo asked, confused.
"Ma'am, we are having a court here." Mayor Mare said, annoyed and wanting this all to finish.
"I know. I came in defense of the Crusaders of Harmony as a witness!" The green mare said seriously.
"What?!" The CMC said, shocked.
"Indeed, I know the truth of all those accusations! And I can defend each allegation, showing the Crusaders indeed made all that for peace in Equestria!"
"Hmm... fine, step up and say what you know." Mayor Mare said.
Bliss and Joy looked up and saw the mare who wanted to defend them. "Who is she?" "I have no idea."
The green mare stood in the middle of the room. "I can tell, as a witness of all those accusations, as I was in each of them, the Crusaders are innocent!" She said it seriously. "Firstly, in the case of Veil Whisper, she herself was the one who left the Church of Celestia and sought refuge with the Crusaders of Harmony. If it wasn't for Pure Heart and the Crusaders, she would have been punished severely!"
"Ugh!" Scootaloo received the pain of the words. "Still doesn't excuse the scorched mountain!"
"Hmph~ The mountain was home to a horrible rocky serpent demon! As surely you can see in the picture, the only remnants in the place were a bunch of rocks forming a long body! That was a demon that the two priestesses fought, almost dying to protect all ponies passing there!"
Mayor Mare looked at the picture and hummed. "Indeed, it's in the picture. It would also explain the disappearances of previous days."
"Ow!" Scootaloo stood still, straight and defiant. "Well, but they still killed innocent ponies, whose families were worried about them!"
"Good try." The green mare said with a smirk. "But those ponies were already dead!"
"Huh?!" All the ponies in the town hall were confused.
"Indeed. Actually, the storm and the kidnappings were caused by a spirit! A Tree of the Phantoms! A being who sent the storm to the town and used the lost ponies as vessels, taking their souls and using their bodies to try to hunt none other than High Priestess Pure Heart! Those ponies weren't even alive anymore! In the picture, you can see the burned tree in the middle!"
Mayor Mare looked at the picture and hummed again. "Indeed."
Scootaloo looked nervous. "No way."
"Thus, all these accusations are false, out of context, and defamation! Thus, the Crusaders are still inside the legality of copyright and are innocent!"
"WAAAHHH!" Scootaloo fell on her back by the power of the green mare's voice. "N-n-nooooo!"
"Well, taking this new information, and because we all are tired, I deem the Crusaders of Harmony, innocent." Mayor Mare slammed her hammer and stood up. "Now, please, don't bother me for a month."
The ponies in the room stood up too, walking out of the town hall. Diamond Tiara threw a raspberry at the CMC before going away.
The trio of fillies lay on the ground in confusion. "H-how?" Apple Bloom said in shock.
"W-we lost." Sweetie Belle said with resentment.
"Our clubhouse." Scootaloo said tired.
Meanwhile, Joy and Bliss walked to the green mare. "Wow, thank you so much, miss." Bliss said happily.
"But why? Who even are you?" Joy asked in confusion.
The green mare smiled at them. "A friend of your dear Pure Heart. She sent me to aid you two."
"Well, you just saved the Crusaders' money. Thank you a lot." Bliss said, putting her hoof over her heart.
"No problem. But maybe you can do some more good." The green mare said, looking at the Mane 6 surrounding the sad CMC.
The twin nuns looked at them and walked over. "Hey girls, nice fight there." Joy said softly and with a smile.
But the fillies looked at them with annoyance, sniffing the sadness away. "What? You want to mock us? Laugh at us? Go ahead; we don't care anymore." Apple Bloom said in a sad/angry tone.
"None of that. Why did you even do all this for? What did we do to you?" Bliss asked in confusion.
Sweetie Belle sighed. "We just wanted money to improve our clubhouse. The woods were starting to rot, and soon it could have broken down and left us without our place of games."
The twins looked at them with neutral faces, and then they started laughing, sneering, and chuckling at that.
Scootaloo saw this and stood up in anger. "Really?! You asked for it!" She lunged to punch her; not even Rainbow Dash could have acted fast enough. But Joy easily stopped her hoof with her own several times without even looking.
"Hey, hey!~ We were not mocking you. If you really had that problem, why didn’t you ask for help? We could have easily aided you in the construction of your clubhouse," Joy said, holding Scootaloo's hoof.
"Huh? Why?" Apple Bloom asked, confused.
"We always did charity, and we normally couldn't help with adults' problems. But we could help you with your thing," Bliss said, pulling Scootaloo's hoof down.
"Really? You will help us?" Sweetie Belle asked with a wide smile.
"Yeah, why didn’t both Crusaders work together instead of fighting? It could have been... wholesome, wouldn’t it?" Joy said with a soft, friendly smile.
The CMC turned to each other, and Scootaloo easily stood up and offered a hoof. "Only if you chanted with us!"
The twins rolled their eyes and chuckled. "Fine."
The five fillies made a circle and together chanted, "CRUSADERS UNITED: RECONSTRUCTION WORK! YAY!" And together they turned to walk out of the town hall.
In a moment, Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo. "Hey, Scots, I was still surprised. Where did you get those pictures and information? We barely even knew the laws."
"Uh, well, I found them at the clubhouse with some notes on the information. I didn’t think it through, but help was help."
Sweetie Belle shrugged, and all the team ran out of the town hall.
Meanwhile, in the distance, Cross Heart was looking through some binoculars, and she growled. "Damn fillies. They only had one job... Damn it. You won this time too, Pure Heart. But one day, even your allies won’t help you." She threw the binoculars and walked away.
At the temple of the Crusaders, Pure Heart was meditating in her office. She lay on the floor, with a smile and taking deep breaths. In an instant, the green mare appeared behind her in complete silence, but Pure Heart felt her presence, and her smile widened. "You sly fly. You know, mortals knocked on doors."
The green mare rolled her eyes. "Your job is done, your money is safe, and your girls were having fun. You owed me one."
Pure Heart opened her eyes and turned her head to her. "You didn’t need to, but you did still... Was the world of gods okay?"
"Well, like always. Some wanted some chaos to happen, I had to hold them all back. It was stressful," the green mare said with a calm tone.
Pure Heart chuckled. "You are free to go, Mother Nature. Thanks, like always."
Mother Nature smiled and closed her eyes as her body glowed and turned into a bunch of leaves that flew out the window with a nonexistent air. Pure Heart smirked and returned to her silent prayer and meditation.