Chapter One: What Really Happened
The Pony: An Unexpected Journey
Chapter One
A voice of an elder Pony is heard within the darkness.
“My dear Spike.” A flame is seen with the elder pony, carrying a match and walking through a hallway in Twilight End. “You asked me once; if I had told you everything there was to know about my adventures. And while I can honestly say I have told you the truth, I may not have told you all of it.”
The elder Pony opened a battered old chest slowly, revealing a sword in it, inside its sheath. She slowly moves a hoof towards it to touch it. Before her hoof made contact, she quickly pulled away as she gained control of herself. As she did, he revealed a small red book with his magic and quickly sat down, noticing a picture of what looked like a younger version of herself.
“I am old now, Spike. I am not the same Pony as I once was.” The Pony pulled out a quill, dabbed it in ink with her magic and began writing into the book. “I think it’s about time for you to know what really happened. It began a long time ago in a land far across the east, the like of which you will not find today.”
The city of Cloudsdale was seen, in the winter. The snow came down on the city softly, seeing many of the Pegasus’s wandering through the streets, trading at the many stalls of the bazaars and markets. A Pegasus was at on his throne in the castle of Middle-Earth Cloudsdale. His daughter approaches him with her friend, Fluttershy beside her.
“Rainbow Dash’s father ruled with utter surety, never doubting her house would endure, for his line lay secure in the lives of his daughter and his daughter’s friend. Ahhh, Spike, Cloudsdale; built high in the sky among the clouds themselves, the beauty of this sky city was legend.” The elder Pony spoke over the memory.
In the room nearby was a pit of gold and gems. The many Pegasi within the room, smith’s pound mallets with their wings to craft different kinds of swords and weaponry, as Pegasi within the gold pit glanced around searching. One gem caught the eye of one particular Pegasus. It was covered in rock, but the glow seeped through the small crack. As the Pegasus peeled at it, it slowly revealed a bright glowing gem. The PonyStone.
“Its wealth lay in the sky, in precious gems hewed from clouds, and in great seams of gold, running like rivers through clouds. The skill of the Pegasi was unmatchable, fashioning objects of great beauty out of diamonds, crystal, emerald and sapphire. Even they delved deeper, down into the clouds. And that is where they found it. The heart of the city. The Ponystone. Rainbow Dash’s father named it the Queen’s Jewel. He took it as a sign, a sign that his right to rule was divine. All who would pay homage to his, even the great Princess, Celestia.” The voice spoke again over the memory.
The vision of The Ponystone being placed on a pedestal on Rainbow’s father’s throne; as he sat on his throne, flanked by his daughter, her friend and other guards. Celestia and her guards approach them slowly.
“But the years of peace and plenty did not last. Slowly, the days turned sour, and watchful nights closed in upon them. Her father’s love for gold had grown too fierce. A sickness had begun to grow within him; it was a sickness of the mind. And where sickness thrives, bad things follow.”
A shadow swallowed Cloudsdale. The father of Rainbow Dash looked through his gold, looking corrupted with greed. Rainbow looks at him from a distance and then retreats into the shadow.
Later that day, a kite of a dragon was hanging over the sky city; a great wind blew against the city, causing various clouds around to pan out. Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane, a fellow Pegasus, rush to the battlements looking for any signs of danger.
“The noise they heard was like a hurricane, and the sound came from the north. The wind was followed by a dry, hot wind.”
“Thunder, sound the alarm! Call out the guard, do it now!” Rainbow Dash glanced at Thunderlane. She looked slightly worried in the eyes.
“What is it Miss Dash?” He said softly, looking out into the distance, hearing the roar get closer. As the shadow approached, Rainbow’s face grew more worried.
“Dragon. DRAGON!!” A blazing fire came over towards them, as a large figure of a Dragon flew towards them. Rainbow Dash quickly pulled Thunder down behind cover next to her, before they could be burned.
“It was a fire drake; it came from the north end of Equestria. Smaug had come.” The elder pony described over the memory.
As the fire reached the town, many of the cloud houses burned away quickly. The kite of the dragon was burnt to ashes instantly along with some of the smaller cloud houses and the path. Ponies screamed and flew away quickly, some managed to escape. While some others, were not so lucky. The blazing flame destroyed everything in its path. A little filly watched the doll that was given to her by her mother, burn away into ashes. As it did she was crying.
“Such wanton death was delivered that day, for this city of Pegasi was nothing to Smaug; his eye was set on another prize, the gold and gems within the palace of Cloudsdale.”
As Rainbow Dash and her father stand by the gates with many other guards behind them, preparing to fight the Dragon on its way.
“Stand firmly!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, hearing the loud roaring getting closer. When the Dragon came, it bursts its way through the gates, killing Pegasi from all directions from breathing fire and trampling on them. Rainbow Dash dodges the large foot of the Dragon quickly before she is trampled on. Her father quickly runs to his throne and obtains The Ponystone. He tripped up and dropped it into the pit of gold; it began burying itself into it.
“No!!” Her father exclaimed, dropping it and quickly trying to reach for it. Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed her father and dragged him away.
“Cloudsdale was lost, for a Dragon will guard his plunder as long as he lives.” As the Pegasi flew away from Cloudsdale. As they flew, they saw the Alicorn’s upon the hills next to them, leading them was Celestia herself, with her sister Luna by her side.
“Help us! Help us!” Rainbow Dash yelled over to them, Luna nudged Celestia and after a few seconds, Celestia and her kin turned away and walked. “Run for your lives, help us!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Celestia would not risk the lives of her own kin against the Dragon. No help came from the Alicorn’s that day, and no day after that.” The voice spoke over the memory softly.
Rainbow Dash glared at the retreating Alicorn’s in anger. As the Pegasi sat hopeless and homeless, Rainbow Dash who was at the front, looked out into the Equestrian land as her ponies come to aid her.
“Robbed of their homeland, the Pegasi of Cloudsdale wandered off into the vast wilderness of Equestria, a once mighty race brought low.”
Later, as Rainbow Dash worked hard in the smith with sweat coming down her face, she rapidly smacked the blade she was crafting with brute force using her wings out of anger.
“The young Pegasus mare, took work where she could find it, laboring in the villages, but she always remembered the fire and smoke beneath the moon, the trees were like blazing scorches of fire, for she had seen a Dragon in the sky, and her home-city turned into cloud ash. She never forgave and never forgot.”
As the memory faded from her head, Twilight is seen writing in her book the very words she spoke.
“That, my dear Spike, is where I come in. For quite by chance, and will of a Unicorn, fate decided I would become a part of this tale. It began, well it began as you might expect, in this hole. There lived a Unicorn. Not a nasty, dirty, decaying house; this was a Unicorn-hole and that Spike, means great food, warmth, relaxation and all the other comforts of a home.
Spike walked out of the house, eating a gem and collecting the mail from the mailbox. When Spike returns, Twilight was laughing to herself quietly while writing the book. When Spike approached her she quickly quietened down. She turned and collected the mail.
“Thank you Spike.” As Twilight placed the mail on the desk, Spike gently grabbed the picture of the younger Twilight in his claws.
“What’s this?” Spike asked, looking at the picture. Twilight quickly took the picture from him with her magic.
“Keep your sticky claws off of this. It’s not ready yet.” Twilight gently placed it in her book, neatening it up.
“Ready for what?” Spike replied instantly.
“Reading.” Twilight looked over towards the mail as Spike was looking through some old objects of Twilight’s. “What in all of Equestria are these?”
“Replies to the party invitations, Twilight.”
“Good gracious, is it today!?”
“They said they’re all coming. Except for the Ponyville-Sparkle’s; they are demanding you ask them in person.”
Twilight looked at Spike in shock. “Are they indeed? Over my dead body.”
“They’d probably find that quite agreeable! They seem to think you have rooms overfilling with gold.” Spike chuckled with a smile.
“I’ll have you know it’s just one chest and it’s hardly overfilling! And it smells old!” Twilight started hiding her things quickly so Spike didn't have a chance to get a good look at them.
“What in all of Equestria are you doing?” At those words from Spike, Twilight stopped and had a moment of silence.
“Lobeila-Ponyville Sparkle. She had all my spoons stuffed in her saddlebag. Hah! Dreadful mare; make sure you keep an eye on her after when I’m…when I’m…I’m.”
“What?” Spike asked curiously. Again there was a silence that filled the air.
“Nothing. Nothing.” Twilight looked down slightly, talking with a soft tone.
“You know, someponies are beginning to wonder about you, Twi. They think you’re becoming odd.” Spike seemed concerned about Twilight, looking at her.
“Odd? Hmm?” She glanced over her shoulder, before rotating around.
“Unsociable, Twi.”
“Unsociable? Me? Nonsense! Be a good baby Dragon and put this sign on the gate.” Twilight passed Spike the sign with her magic, as he caught it in his grip, looking at it oddly and then carried it outside. The sign said ‘NO ADMITTANCE EXCEPT ON PARTY BUSINESS.’ Twilight comes outside, stretching as Spike placed the sign up.
“You think he’ll come?” Asked Spike softly.
“Think who will come?” Twilight looked at him.
“Star Swirl.”
“Ah, he wouldn't miss a chance! He’ll give us quite a show, just wait and see.” Twilight optimistically commented.
“Okay sounds good. Right, I’m off.” Spike said, opening the gate and preparing to go down the windy path.
“Off to where?” Twilight leaned against the gate, looking at the Dragon.
“The Everfree, I’m going to surprise him.” Spike began running down the path towards the Everfree.
“Go on then, and don’t be late back!” Twilight called over to him. “He doesn't approve of being late. Back when I was younger, I was always on time. I was entirely respectable. And nothing unexpected ever happened.”
