The warm sun looms high in the sky over the castle of the Crystal Empire. The castle, carved from a giant crystal, causes the sun’s rays to refract and send prismatic rays to form on the ground below. Crystal ponies move around freely as they work around the castle. At the main entrance, six ponies of different colors enter the castle. Five wearing golden necklaces with different gem symbols fastened to the front and the sixth wearing a matching golden crown on her head with a fuchsia six pointed star on the top.
The six make it to the throne room, where a pink pastel alicorn awaits their arrival. Standing beside her is a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane. When she looks up at the six ponies that enter, she smiles and says, “There’s my girls!” She leaps to land in front of a smiling lavender alicorn.
They begin their game of patty-cake every time they ever meet since they were little fillies, “Sunshine, sunshine,” they both bow and cover their eyes, “ladybugs awake, clap your hooves,” then they hop up and face away from each other to shake their hindquarters “and do a little shake!” They end the playful nursery rhyme and giggle with each other.
“I’ll never get tired of that Twilight!” then she looks in the direction of the five ponies behind her, “and thank you for coming to visit girls!”
“No problem, Princess Cadence,” Twilight Sparkle says, “Although I’m not sure way you also requested we bring our Elements of Harmony along with us. Your letter sounded urgent, but everything outside looks completely normal.”
“Well first, I contacted Princess Celestia and she stated that the Elements of Harmony was the right fix for the problem.”
“Forgive me for interrupting,” a white unicorn with a purple mane steps forward, “But what is the problem in the first place?”
“Rarity’s right” a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail hovers, “If there is a problem we need to know what it is in order to fix it.”
A pink earth pony jumps forward with a poufy mane, “Is there a welcome party for us and you forgot the cake!? That WOULD be a problem! Too bad I forgot my party canon at home!”
“Everythin’ doesn’t have to be about parties Pinkie Pie,” an orange earth pony with a blonde mane and country accent says rolling her eyes at the hyper pony.
“Watch it, Apple Jack,” the cyan Pegasus nudges the orange pony’s Stetson hat, “Don’t tempt her.”
“I hope…whatever the problem is,” a butter colored Pegasus with a light pink mane speaks up, “that it isn’t scary.”
“Don’t worry Fluttershy! If its scary then we can power up the Elements and send that problem packing,” the cyan mare puffs out her chest making herself look courageous.
“Whoa your horses Rainbow Dash,” Apple Jack interjects, “We don’t even know what it IS yet, let the princess finish.”
“Thank you for your determination and enthusiasm girls, but I’ll have Shining Armor explain. He was the one that found it,” Cadence motions her hoof to her husband as he steps forward.
“Ever since you discovered the Crystal Heart months ago,” Shining began, “As a prince and royal guard, I became very determined with what secrets may be located beneath my hooves. First, there was a hidden labyrinth underneath the Canterlot Castle during the wedding and lastly was underneath this very throne room was the passageway to where the Crystal Heart was hidden. All located under our very hooves.”
After the six friends look down at the floor inquisitively, Shining looks at his wife lovingly and continues as he puts his fore leg around her shoulders, “I want our new little family member to grow up in a safe place, after all.”
“I completely understand,” Twilight agrees only to gasp in shock at the news, “WAIT A MINUTE…new little family member…Cadence… is PREGNANT!?” The rest of her friends squeal and grow smiles from ear to ear. “That’s great news!”
“How’s that for surprising my little sister and Future Auntie Twily?”
Twilight Sparkle tackles Shining and Cadence in a loving hug, “I’m so excited for you two, congratulations!”
Pinkie Pie hops up and down in excitement, “I can sense a super-duper Foal Shower Party in the near future!”
Twilight looks back at her brother, “This all sounds like good news, but what’s the problem?”
Shining continues, “Not long ago, I assigned some of my best magically talented unicorn guards to investigate the castle further and was surprised at what they found. Stand back.” He closes his eyes and begins the spell that his sister taught him months ago. His horn starts to glow only to turn a darker color and purple smoke starts to seep out his eyes as he continues the spell. The dark magic transfers to the large column crystal behind the throne and a shadow casts along the floor to reveal an opening to a dark downward spiraling staircase. After the spell was cast, Shining shakes his head to rid his mind of the dark magic only to leave him panting in exhaustion.
Twilight trots over to stand by her brother, he looks at her his a few beads of sweat on his forehead. “Follow me,” he orders as they begin walk down the spiral staircase. At first the girls are hesitant, but with a deep breath they follow. Not long after they start their descent, Shining turns to his sister walking beside him, “Did you get my letter before Cadence’s?”
“Yes, but I can’t believe your bringing it up as small talk,” she rolls her eyes in annoyance.
“Well, you can’t stop your older brother from being a little protective, especially since his sister just became a princess.”
"I don't need protection," she states flat out.
“But, think about all the trouble you and the other Elements of Harmony go through. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Cadence have castle guards. Since you’re a princess you should have protection.”
“My whole time in Ponyville has been just fine with just the girls and me. Why do I need protection?”
“Because you’re a princess.”
“Any other reasons?” she starts putting attitude in her tone.
“As Captain of the Royal Guard, that’s all the reason I need.”
“But we are just fine by ourselves.”
“Umm…excuse me...” Fluttershy tries to get their attention.
“That’s just it, you’re by yourselves!” he continues not hearing her.
“There are six of us! I’m not alone!”
“Twilight?” Rarity tries this time.
“Not all the time! They don’t live with you at the library!” he continues the argument unphased.
“Who needs to guard a library? From book thieves?” she mockingly gasps, “the scoundrels!”
“Twilight?” Even Cadence tries, but to no avail.
“Not to protect the books in the library, but the princess in the library.”
“And I still say NO.”
“TWILIGHT!!!” the girls yell together. The group stops as the walls in the staircase echo her name.
When her name stops bouncing off the walls she looks back at her friends, “What is it?”
“Are we there yet?” Rarity complains.
“Does it look like we are there yet? These stairs go on for a much longer time,” then she glares at her brother, “Unless some over-protective brother wants to arrive there in pain, because he’s being a pain.”
Shining Armor looks at his surroundings and says with a grin, “Actually, we are here.”
“What? But we aren’t at the bottom yet,” ponders Twilight.
He motions his hoof to some random chalk marks on the wall, “These are the marks that my guards left when we found this room.” He looks back at the girls on the staircase with apathetic looks on their faces.
“Umm, Shining Armor, hate to break it to you but, that’s just a wall,” Twilight said as she raises an eyebrow at him.
“That’s what I thought too, but my guard’s investigated this area and their acoustic location spells found a disturbance behind this wall. After further investigation, they found that there is, in fact, an empty space that is as big as an average living room. The reason way we called all of you here is because of the magical energy that they could feel coming from it. Now, every pony back up and give me some space.” He then braced himself, took in a deep breath, and his horn glowed. The wall he was facing started to form a glowing arch entryway and the stone was slowly evaporating away.
“Wow!” Rainbow Dash was impressed, “That is the kind of thing you only read in Daring Do novels: Hidden Passageways!”
They observe the entrance before going inside to make sure it was safe to enter. They were surprised to find that a luminescent blue light was coming out of it. Shining Armor takes a cautious step inside the cavern. He motions to the rest that it is safe. When they all get in they look up because they were curious about what was causing the light.
“Oh! What marvelous crystals are these? They are almost as beautiful as diamonds,” Rarity gasps.
“Aetherium,” Twilight answers in a matter-of-factly tone, “it’s a rare crystal that glows a bright blue hue when it senses any magical aura.”
Suddenly they hear a gasp come out of Fluttershy and they see that she is staring at the other end of the cavern. They see what she is looking at and hold their breaths at what they see. Six pony-shaped stone sculptures, the anxious to terrified looks on the figures faces was enough to make their hair stand on end.
“Why does King Sombra want to hide six statues?” Twilight inquired.
“Maybe he didn’t know where else to put them,” Rarity casually states as they all look at her dumbfounded, “What? Try to imagine something as odd and ghastly as that sitting on either side of the fireplace.”
As they walk closer, with Fluttershy staying in the back of the pack, they notice more features. Five of them were clumped behind the sixth that was standing out front. The one in the front was a Pegasus an Alicorn that it’s horn was broken so only a fourth of the jagged stump was left. They notice that he also had a metal color around its neck and a chain that was bolted to the cavern wall, the chain was stretched tight as far as it could go. Behind him, were five other ponies: two earth ponies, two pegasi, and a unicorn.
“Something happened here,” Twilight faces her brother, “Why would anyone chain a stone sculpture? Just think about how Discord was turned to stone, I bet these ponies were cursed this way.”
Her friends look at the scene in horror as they also reach the same conclusion. Twilight continues, “If they cooperate when we change them back to normal, we can question them and get the full story.”
“Are you sure about that Twily?” her brother asks with a concerned look on his face.
“I’m positive,” she answers, “Okay girls, we are going to try the releasing spell that we used with Discord, hopefully this works.”
The six stand around Twilight in attention, and then she lights up her horn to activate her magic element. They all close their eyes to concentrate as their own element’s magical powers come to life. The magic aura lifts them off the ground as their elements start shooting a neon lights. A rainbow ribbon begins to form connecting the bearers together and then spiraling around Twilight until it finally connects with the element on her crown. Then a prismatic light shines from her crown and engulfs the stone ponies. The stone bodies begin to crack with beams of bright light breaking through.
The stone flies off their bodies like scales and their true colors come out of suspended animation with them taking in deep breaths, filling their lungs with air. The five in the back fall to the floor in pile rubbing their heads and blinking their eyes. The sixth, however, when his stone cast exploded, it demolished the metal collar around his neck. His broken horn was spitting sparks and his eyes were glowing white. When he snaps out of suspended animation he blindly lunges forward, tackling Twilight to the ground yelling, “Noooooooooo! Leave my friends ALONE!”
The entire magical anomaly in the cavern abruptly disappears leaving Twilight to open her eyes to the enraged, snarling alicorn stallion looking down on her, pinning her to the floor. Her friends open their eyes as well and gasp in shock as Twilight lies there helpless. His glowing eyes dim, revealing forest green orbs.
Realization hits him as he stares into Twilight’s voilet eyes as his ears drop to the sides of his face and quickly back-pedals with a massive blush on his face. He also notices the group of ponies standing around her with shocked faces. He looks at his friends behind him, lying on the floor and rubbing their eyes as if waking up from a long nap.
He begins with a stammer and points his hoof at the ground below Twilight, “Wh-what h-h-happened t-to us? King Sombra was standing right there!”
Dry air blows the dusty grains of sand loose from the floor of the Badlands. The little grains swirl around to form miniature dancing dust devils making it the only movement seen in a vast desert. Dark, blood red columns and arches project out of the seemingly flat surface casting lifeless shadows. These shadows are the only form of protection from the intense heat beating down on the black mosaic features hiding beneath it.
The dark mosaic creatures sit restlessly guarding a small red, crescent shaped cone. Ever since the cone appeared in the Badlands, they have been assigned to the duty of watching the lifeless object for any signs of activation. After months of watching and boredom, the cone begins to glow with dark magical aura. The guard’s skinny bodies tense and their big blue, buggy eyes grow wide with excitement and concern.
One of the guards that had larger insect-like wings and curvy horn barked out orders to its subordinates, “Inform the Queen right away,” he hissed, “it has finally awakened!”
After the group returns to the surface of the throne room, Shining Armor closes the entryway to the staircase and then looks at the newfound prisoners released from their dark make-shift dungeon. Being back above ground, they are able to get a better look at the still confused faces of the six stallions.
Shining Armor begins to interrogate the new indigo alicorn with a black mane and broken horn, “Who are you and what were you doing down there?”
The alicorn swallows and tries his best to answer, “I thought I was the first to ask the question down there, and that hasn’t been answered yet,” he crosses his fore legs, “What happened to King Sombra? He was right in front of me before everything went black.”
“King Sombra hasn’t been in power for the past thousand years,” Shining answers back.
“But that’s scientifically improbable!” a gray unicorn with a black and white mane sitting next to the alicorn chimes in, “if it has been a thousand years then why do I look like I haven’t aged a day.”
“Why not just say it’s impossible, Brainiac?” a fuzzy tan three-legged stocky earth pony pokes the unicorn, “Not every pony finds fun in memorizing the entire dictionary.”
The gray unicorn turns to the tri-pedal pony with a glare, “I have a name you know, Fluffy!”
“Guys! Knock it off!” a dark brown earth pony with a black mane and white spot on his forehead cuts between them, “Ya’ll would think that after a thousand year long nap, you wouldn’t be as cranky as a hissin’ rattlesnake.”
“It’s not fair!” the gray unicorn falls to the ground in agony, “my work, my reputation, my portfolio at the university! Does that mean that; all that work was for nothing?”
“Yep,” a crimson orange Pegasus with a yellow mane apathetically chimes in from behind, “Bummer, dude.” That remark causes the roan green Pegasus with random brown splotches covering his body beside him to whack the backside of the orange pegasus’s head. “Ouch! What was that for Bro?” as he rubs the new bump forming behind his ears.
“You’re not helping,” the green Pegasus glares at him.
“Listen up!” Twilight Sparkle cuts in causing the six colts to look at her. “Can you guys, just tell us what happened down there?” The colts look at each other and shrug, “Please? We would like to help you.”
“Well, I was the first one down there,” the alicorn looks at the floor where the staircase was, “King Sombra and his guards chained me up down there.” Then a tan fuzzy pony jumps in.
“The rest of us come looking for him because I saw him disappear with the king after an argument.”
“King Sombra is not known as a very nice king, so we were worried about him,” the gray unicorn adds.
“An’ we find him,” says the dark brown earth pony.
“Then I told you guys to run,” the alicorn tries to start again, “because I knew the king was setting a trap for all of us.”
“Yes… we missed that monologue,” the gray unicorn adds again.
“But, as we get to him--” the green Pegasus starts only to get cut-off by the orange one.
“King Sombra shows up and tries to dish-out an evil spell on us!” a green hoof meets the back of his head again, “Ouch! What? It just gets so exciting at this part; keep doing that and I’ll start to lose brain cells.”
“Too late.”
“Any ways,” the alicorn continues, “I could sense that he was going to cast something fierce on them, so I leapt forward without thinking with some kind of protection spell and here we are.”
“Did your protection spell clashing with his spell cause your horn to break?” Twilight asks.
“Wait, what?” he raises his fore hoof to feel around the top of his head and his pupils shrink to pinpricks, “Where’d it go? How did that happen? Why didn’t I notice it earlier?” he starts hyperventilating.
“That’s not the only thing you lost,” the orange Pegasus adds, “Didn’t you have a cutie-mark before?
The indigo alicorn walks in tight circles with wide eyes, “My cutie-mark too??” then he stops, “Wait, I had a cutie-mark I know it,” he taps his hoof on his chin, “But, why can’t I remember what it was?” He turns to his buddies, “do you guys remember what it was?”
They all take a breath like they are about to say something, but then stop and make weird faces only to tap their own hooves on their chins. The alicorn sighs, “I guess not.”
“But there was…something,” the gray unicorn adds and the rest just nod.
“Perfect,” the alicorn says downcast, “hornless and cutie-mark less.”
“You still got us, right?” the dark brown pony adds and the others nod.
“Your right, I guess,” the alicorn smiles a bit, “Even though it does sound kind of cheesy.”
“So,” Twilight keeps the interview going, “Who are you and what are your names?”
“Oh yeah, right, I may be hornless and cutie-mark less,” he says with a chuckle and a blush, “But, I’m not nameless. My name is Concorde.” He motions the rest of his party to introduce themselves and they go down the line they are in.
“My name is Aristotle,” the charcoal gray unicorn with the black and white striped mane and tail says. He also had goldenrod colored eyes and as well as a matching gold olive branch wreath cutie-mark. “I am known, or at least I was known, as a scholar at the Canterlot University.”
“Hi! My name is Tripod,” said the three-legged, tan colored hefty earth pony with a short mahogany mane and tail. He also had a three-cornered red knot as a cutie-mark stamped on his flank. And he was fuzzy, like really fuzzy. His fur was so dense and plush that it appeared to be standing on end. “Don’t ask me how I lost my leg,” he crosses his fore legs as Pinkie Pie raises her hoof, “and no, I won’t give you a reward if you find it.”
“Awe,” Pinkie puts her hoof down in defeat.
“Any who, my name is Polaris,” the dark brown earth pony continues the introductions. He also had a jet black mane and tail with a red bandana around his neck. Just under his bangs was a pure white diamond-shaped fleck on his forehead. He also had a two white treble clefs as his cutie-mark “my friends call me Pol; ya’ll are welcome to do the same.” (Pronounced Paul)
“And without further ado, dudes and dudettes,” the crimson orange Pegasus starts with an eye roll coming from the green one standing next to him, “My name is Aileron.” His yellow mane that turned to pale orange at the tips almost covered his eyes, and the ends were curled like he had hat hair. He had a yellow windmill cutie-mark. “And I play with fire!” then he ducks his head when the green Pegasus tries to hit him “Ha, Ha! At least I have an upbeat attitude for my destructive habits.”
The roan green pegasus glares at Aileron, then he turns to introduce himself, “Excuse me, My name is Camouflage.” Just like his name implies, his body is covered with different flecks of green and brown and the colors that are intermixed with white hairs leaving his limbs and nose a darker green. His cutie-mark is a green leaf pointing up like the spades in a deck of cards. “Aileron and I are twin brothers,” after some odd looks from the group he adds, “fraternal twins,” then he turns to his brother. “And I may seem like I have a pessimistic attitude, but I am always the one cleaning up your ‘destructive habits’.”
“Well it’s very nice to meet you all,” Twilight greets them all with a smile. Shining Armor, Princess Cadence, and the rest of her five friends introduce themselves to the colts and after some time of introductions Twilight turns to Princess Cadence. With a face of concern she asks, “They all seem like ponies that were in the wrong place at the wrong time, so to speak,” she continues, “so what should they do know? After a thousand years, they must be lost in their new time.”
“Your right, Twilight,” Cadence agrees, “And I think I have an idea for what they should do to get accustomed to this time.”
“And what is that?” Twilight inquires.
“Well, Shining Armor doesn’t want you girls to live alone,” she taps her hoof to her chin, “and they are no doubt looking for a place to stay.”
“What?” Shining Armor protests, “No! I’m not letting a stranger stay with my sister!”
“Shining Armor,” Cadence assures her husband, “Just any other guard is practically a stranger to them, and this way we can take care of two things at once.”
“Wait! They are coming with us back to Ponyville?” Twilight asks as the other girls gasp as they really don’t know what to think about all this.
After some time of debating and compromising, all the girls were assigned with their respective bodyguard. Concorde with Twilight Sparkle, Aristotle with Rarity, Tripod with Pinkie Pie, Polaris with Apple Jack, Aileron with Rainbow Dash, and Camouflage with Fluttershy. With the problem solved at the Crystal Castle, Shining Armor escort them back to the train station.
On the way to the train station, Twilight can’t help but notice that Concorde was showing signs of being very uncomfortable walking down the Crystal Empire’s streets. He would walk to trot in little spurts, curling his tail to try and hide his blank flank, and even rearrange his bangs to try and cover his broken horn. It didn’t help that some crystal ponies would stop to point and whisper to each other.
Once they made it to the train station, Twilight whispered something to Rarity and gave her some bits. Rarity disappeared into the train station’s souvenir store momentarily and returned with a gray fedora hat. Rarity levitated the newly purchased hat and placed it on Concorde’s head, covering his broken horn. “There! Hopefully that should make you feel better; even though it’s simple, it makes you look dashingly handsome,” Rarity compliments her work.
“Thanks Rarity,” Concorde blushes from the compliment.
With that problem solved, the group boards the train and when Concorde looks out the window, he notices Shining Armor on the platform. Shining Armor has a stern look on his face and points a hoof to his eyes and then points his hoof at Concorde, he keeps repeating the hoof motions. He may have just met Shining Armor, but understands what it means and gulps uncomfortably. Then Shining’s face changes rapidly from stern to cheerful and waves his hoof. Concorde turns around and Twilight is standing behind him waving back at her brother.
As the whistle blows and the train leaves the station Concorde slouches in his seat, he thinks to himself, ‘What have I gotten myself into this time?’
The train ride back home to Ponyville, from the Crystal Empire, was (even if Pinkie Pie could chocolate coat it) really uncomfortable. The girls sat on one side of the train car and the guys on the other respective side. Sure, they would try and start conversations, but it would always end in yet another unbearable awkward silence. There were a couple of ponies, however, that just couldn’t handle the silence any longer.
“Awkward silences!” Tripod yells almost triumphantly, then he raises his fore hoof to the sky at some unknown being, “Why do you hate me so?!”
Every pony looks back at him with shocked faces. He smiles sheepishly and shrugs, “Call me silly, but I was just seeing if that would change the mood of the ride a little bit.”
Pinkie Pie lets out a snort and then bursts out laughing, “That’s one interesting way to do it, Silly.”
“You know what else is silly?” asks Tripod.
“What?”
“I heard some pony say you sounded like an owl.”
“Who?”
Tripod blows a raspberry into his hoof and chuckles.
The remainder of the train ride’s atmosphere started to become much more at ease. Pinkie Pie and Tripod kept throwing jokes at each other. The rest of the party just listened in and continued laughing at the bantering duo. Rainbow Dash and Aileron started comparing notes on aerobatic maneuvers. Fluttershy and Camouflage started to converse about the different kinds of animals she kept at her cottage, even though she was too shy to start talking but Camo showed genuine interest since he explain that his special talent was similar to nature.
Apple Jack notices that Polaris is looking out the window. His face has an expression that he is worried about something. She decides to venture into no pony’s land, “What you thinkin’ about there, Polaris?”
“Huh?” he jumps and blankly looks at her from the sound of his name.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya.”
“Oh no problem, I was just thinkin’ of other places and things.”
Concorde over hears the conversion and decides to cut in, “Are you thinking about home; you know, where you came from before the Crystal Empire?”
“Oh! And where are you from?” Twilight asks.
“I’m from Mustangia-.”
“You are a Wild Mustang?!” Rarity dramatically enters the conversation.
“Well ya, I ‘spose,” Polaris shrugs.
“Wow, I’ve only met one mustang from there,” Twilight taps her chin in thought, “I think her name was Ms. Peachbottom.” She looks to Rarity for confirmation.
“Anyways,” Apple Jack cuts in and looks to Polaris in concern, “what you thinkin’ about? You look a little worried.”
“Well, I..I-“ he stammered, “I ran away from home before I stumbled upon the crystal empire.”
“You ran away?!” Apple Jack, Twilight, and Rarity yelled gaining the attention of the rest of the group.
“Why in the hay would you run away from home for?” AJ finally asked.
“Make a long story short; I didn’t want to get in the middle of a stupid feud,” Polaris said with annoyance in his voice only to return looking out the window. “But now, after a thousand years I’m wondering what had become of it and my family.”
“Well, why don’t you and Apple Jack go?” Twilight chimes in.
“What! Why me?” AJ double-takes, “I’ve got to get back to my own family and the farm!”
“According to my brother, these guys are practically on probation and can’t be left alone until they get accustomed to their new time,” Twilight states matter-of-factly.
“Furthermore,” Rarity gets closer to AJ’s ear to whisper, “Polaris is your guardian and you could get to know him better this way, call it ‘bonding,’ if you will.” She gives AJ a wink.
“Fine,” AJ gives in with annoyance.
Over some time, the train finally pulls into Ponyville and they all exit the train and go to their individual homes. They use the rest of the day to settle living arrangements, house rules, and meeting family members. Concorde getting introduced to a talking baby dragon was—let’s just say interesting and leave it at that. Polaris had three more new faces to meet: Applebloom, Granny Smith and Big MacIntosh. The little filly and Granny was no problem; but something about Big MacIntosh being, well…big, and not to mention being a stallion of few words was unnerving. Reading by just facial expressions was tricky enough; especially after just meeting he didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.
The next morning Apple Jack and Polaris got up with an early start and were able to buy a roundtrip one-day ticket to Mustangia. The train starts off on the journey and as they travel, the land changes from the lush forests of Ponyville to the rolling vast tall-grass prairies of Mustangia. The train stops in the Mustangia train station and the two walk into town, Apple Jack looks around and comes to the conclusion that the town of Mustangia looks a whole lot like Appleloosa. Apple Jack turns to Polaris walking beside her, “So, where do we go to first? This is the first time I’ve ever been here.”
Polaris looks around inspecting the wooden buildings lining the street, “Not sure, but something will show up.”
They make their way through the town and he hears the cries of a small voice amongst fits of mischievous laughter, “Hey! Leave me alone! Please stop!” The closer they get, they see that three older colts are picking on a younger gray colt with a tan mane and he is half their size. They are jabbing the whimpering little youngster with spare axe handles as the little one wraps himself around another axe handle on the ground. Another colt can be seen standing off to the side with a smug smile on his face also leaning on his own axe handle; the small one continues to cry, “Please stop! I have to take these new handles to my Ma’s shop.”
Polaris and Apple Jack pass an infirmary with a kind looking nurse hiding behind the wood paneled swing-doors. Polaris gets her attention as he steps on the porch and he tells her in a low voice, “Get three bunks ready.” Then he turns his head to Apple Jack with a stern voice, “Stay put, missy.”
Polaris trots slowly up to the gang picking on the small colt. The one off to the side notices the strange dark brown stallion getting closer and disrespectfully acknowledges him, “Mind your own business newcomer and skedaddle!”
“Don’t ya'll think three older colts against one young’n is unfair?” Polaris plainly explains.
With the older colts attention on Polaris, the little colt struggles to get up with his remaining axe handle in his mouth and scampers to safety underneath Polaris, the bullies notice him gone and try to chase him, “Hey! Get back here twerp!” They back up when they notice Polaris grab the axe handle from the shaking little one.
“I don’t think it’s nice, you pickin’ on young’ns,” he rests the axe handle on the side of his shoulder, “see I don’t like bullies pickin’ on young’ns. Now if you apologize like I know you’re going to; I might convince this young’n that you really didn’t mean it.”
“Shut your yapper! We’ll teach newcomers to not meddle in other ponies business!” the younger colt pushes his three gang members forward, “Sic’em guys! Four colts against a stallion should be fair!”
The three lunge forward Polaris with their axe handles ready to strike, and Polaris whips his own axe handle off his shoulder and around his foreleg as the other end hits the first attacker on the side of the jaw sending him to the ground in pain. The second and third attackers try to get Polaris with his head turned, but he blocks their advances by holding his handle vertical as a shield. He pushes the two while still holding onto his handle and twirls it around his foreleg again and both ends come in contact with the bullies on either side of him; one end hitting the second’s back and the other by hitting the third’s gut and knocking the wind out of him.
With the three lying on the floor in defeat, the fourth blind with rage, lunges forward and tries to hit Polaris with his axe handle. Polaris blocks the attack by holding his up as they hold their handles like fencing swords. After a few blocked strikes from the fourth, Polaris whips the handle around over his head. The fourth tries to block the blow by holding the handle horizontal over his head. Polaris’s strike comes down hard in the middle of the handle, breaking through and landing squarely between the fourth’s ears. The fourth falls to the ground dazed with a solar system spinning around his head.
Polaris inspects his axe handle still in one piece with surprise and then grins, “There’s nothin’ like a nice piece of hickory.” He turns around and gently hoists the little colt onto his back and trots back over to the nurse and Apple Jack still standing there. He looks to the nurse and holds up his fore hoof submissively, “My mistake, four bunks.”
“Hey mister!” the fourth bully shakes the solar system away and struggles to get up, “You’re in trouble now! No pony will believe a newcomer over a few defenseless colts!”
“Not so fast Trouble Maker,” a stallion with a gold star attached to his leather vest walks up, “I just saw what happened; you four were the ones who attacked him first, he just did it in self-defense.” The stallion looks to Polaris, “I’m the sheriff here, and I’ve been waiting to catch this gang in the act for a long time. Their parents will hear from me soon.”
As the sheriff and the nurse take care of the four gang members the little one on Polaris’s back speaks up, “Much obliged mister, for helping me get out of that tight spot.”
“No problem kid, I don’t like bullying as much as any pony else does. Where’s your Ma’s store? We can help you take all these axe handles there,” then he picks up the one that he broke in half, “and help pay for the damages.”
“Thanks again sir!” the little colt smiles, leaps off his back and leads Polaris and Apple Jack over to the town’s general store. They enter the store and see a red mare standing behind the counter, when she sees the little colt in cuts and bruises, she hops over the counter towards him.
“Oh hon!” she scoops her little colt up and inspects him, “What happened? Did you run into the town bullies again on your way back from the shipment yard?”
“Yeah Ma, but I’m fine!” he motions his little hoof to Polaris and Apple Jack in the doorway, “But these two newcomers saved me and helped me bring your new supplies here.”
“Saved ya? Shoot! It was nothin’,” Polaris rubs the back of his head with the broken axe handle, “I’m really sorry I broke your handle ma’am. I’ll pay for the damaged one since I broke it.”
“No charge at all, sir,” she nuzzles her little colt, “I’m just happy to see my little foal without a black eye like last time. You put a mother’s fears to rest. Know what brings a cute couple like yourselves to Mustangia?”
“Oh!” Apple Jack and Polaris cut in, “We aren’t a couple!” They both blush when they notice that they copied each other. Then Apple Jack points her hoof at him “He’s just my guardian, Polaris, and my name’s Apple Jack.”
“My name is Rosemary, and you’ve already met my son, Grizzly. I’m sorry that you had some trouble with the town’s bullies; they always pick on little Grizzles because he looks different from other ponies. He can’t help that he was born with his ancestor’s markings.”
“I thought his markings looked interesting,” Polaris added, “who were your ancestors?”
Apple Jack had another look at Grizzly to better understand the markings that they were talking about; and yes, he did have more primitive markings that she usually saw in history and science books when she was in school. Grizzly’s gray color had a mixture of dark and light hairs and darkened as they reached his legs and nose. The tips of his ears were also a darker color as well as a thin dorsal stripe that ran down his back from the base of his mane to the root of his tail.
“They were the McDun family,” Rosemary responded, “he’s all that’s left of that family after his father pasted away, for I am descendant of the Saddlebred family, and they aren’t as interestingly marked as the McDun’s.”
“Wait,” Polaris puts his hooves up, “a McDun married a Saddlebred?”
“I know right?” she adds, “long ago they were known around these parts as the Saddlebred-McDun Family Feud. The Saddlebred family lived on the east side of the valley and the McDun’s lived on the west side. Funny thing is the whole feud started over the ownership of a prize winnin’ hog.”
“A hog?” Apple Jack asks.
“Yep,” she answers, “You see, my great grandfather, Red Devil, had the pig and Grizzle’s great, great grandfather, Ole Grullo said it was his.”
“And what happened to those families?” Polaris inquires.
“Well,” she looks at the ground with sorrow, “there were a lot of many other fights that the families got into, some fights weren’t as simple as just a stolen pig. One night, a band of Saddlebred brothers were so angry with the McDun’s that they surrounded the family’s farmhouse and set it on fire.”
“What? That’s horrible!” Apple Jack gasped in horror.
“I know,” Rosemary pulls Grizzly into a hug, “Ole Grullo lost five of his sixteen children as well as his wife that was also trapped in the fire. They say that one child was never found and Ole Grullo died not long after due to a broken heart and exhaustion from the violence.”
“That’s just wron—wait,” Apple Jack stops midsentence, “Did you just say sixteen children?”
“Yeah, large families were common back then,” Rosemary answers a slack-jawed AJ.
“Is the house still there?” Polaris asks.
“What’s left of it anyways; it’s not far from here, just on the other side of the valley. But no one ever goes around it,” she leans forward and in a lower voice she says, “Because many say it’s haunted.”
“H-h-h-haunted?” Apple Jack stutters.
“Yeah, sometimes when I wonder by the house," Grizzly speaks up, "I can hear some pony crying.”
“Grizzly! You’re not supposed to go by that house!” his mother scolds, “Even the most friendliest of spirits can be scary to a young’n.”
“Sorry Ma,” he lowers his head, “I was dared by some classmates; I didn’t even step on the porch, I promise.”
“Even so,” she turns her attention to Polaris who seems to be looking out the window, “you’re not thinkin’ about goin’ over to that haunted house are ya?”
“I feel as if it’s callin’ to me,” he states still looking out the window.
“Well…” she puts her hoof to her chin and scans Polaris’s odd behavior and then shrugs, “I won’t stop ya’, some ponies don’t learn unless they find out for themselves.”
Polaris turns his head to Rosemary, “Thanks for your help ma’am,” then he turns to Apple Jack with a smug, inviting grin, “You ready for an adventure AJ?”
“Are you kiddin’?” she tilts her Stetson with determination in her eyes, “If Rainbow Dash ever gets wind that I passed-off somethin’ like this, why, I’ll never hear the end of it!”
The two leave the store and say their goodbyes as Rosemary points them in the direction they need to go. They continue to trot to the outskirts of town and as they reach the edge of town the vast prairie opens to them as its panoramic view consumes their field of vision. The rolling hills and tall grasses waved in the wind creating the illusion of an inland sea of greens and gold. The cumulonimbus clouds above loomed high into the atmosphere, with faint bolts of lightning in the distance.
“I hope we make it before the storm up ahead,” AJ turns to Polaris.
Polaris has also been keeping his eye on the storm and turns his head to AJ, still trotting in tandem together, “That cloud is hundreds of miles off, that storm isn’t even comin’ this direction; I’d be more worried if the wind was blowin’ in my face.”
“Hundreds of miles off?” she looks at him puzzled.
“You bet’cha, here in on the prairie, ponies can misjudge distances when they aren’t used to this much open space.”
“Too much open space is right; I’m really missin’ my apple trees, or any kind of trees for that matter,” she scans the horizon and not far at the top of the hill she sees a small group of trees with a house in the middle of them, “is that where we are going?”
Polaris looks where she is looking, “Yep! That’s it!” He smiles in approval and then his eyes soften as if he is looking past it.
“What’s the matter?” she looks at his sudden change in demeanor, “You have somethin’ to do with that house and the Saddlebred-McDun feud don’t you?”
“Yeah,” he keeps his sights on the house, “I’m from the McDun family and I’m that missin’ child that Rosemary was talkin’ about, I wish I disobeyed him.”
The sun looms overhead in the distant past and sitting in the middle of fields of gold, a dark brown colt with a white spot on his forehead. He is in his early teen years sitting and listening to the sound of blades of grass gently clapping against each other. He closes his eyes and brings a silver harmonica to his lips and blows a tune. The melody, not specific song, flows and bends with the movements of the golden grasses around him as if they were dancing to his tune. The sound of rumbling hooves catches his attention, and when he opens his eyes a group of older colts are standing before him.
“Polly!” the older and biggest of the colts approach him, “How’s your music playing going bro’? If you ran more with us, you’d be able to run faster. Just like practicing with that piece of metal makes faster tunes. A small guy like you, those Saddlebreds won’t even expect somethin’ amiss.”
“I’m not going to run with you guys,” Polly slides his harmonica into his rolled up red bandana around his neck for safe keeping. “Don’t you guys think about the harm your pranks can cause? Those Saddlebreds get awfully mad.”
“You’re just a slow wimp, Polly,” the older colt talks down to the young one and the other brothers behind laugh.
“No, I’m not!” Polly’s face gets red with anger.
Behind him, a small filly pokes her head from the grasses and sneaks up on him, “Boo!” The little colt jumps in surprise.
“Ha ha ha!” the little filly rolls with laughter on the dirt ground, “Oh brother! I sure got you!”
Even the large colts are laughing.
“Yeah, yeah laugh it up,” he turns to her with annoyance and a blush on his face.
“Anyways,” she picks herself up, “Ma wanted me to come get you, and supper is ready.”
“Alright! Ride ON!” the large colts with smiles on their faces run in the direction of home, leaving Polly sitting with his little sister in a cloud of dust.
“Well, we better go if there is a chance to get seconds,” he starts to trot in the direction of the house.
“You shouldn’t listen to them Polly,” she says making him stop and look at her, “I know they all pick on you for playing your harmonica rather than rough-housing with them, but every pony loves your music. I’ve seen Pa come home from a bad day with the Saddlebreds and a smile grows on his face when he hears you play.” She waves her little hoof to motion him to come closer as if to tell him a secret, when he gets close enough she gently kisses him on his white spot on his forehead.
“What was that for?” he wonders.
“Ma says to make a wish upon a star when you want something,” she giggles, “she must make lots of wishes because she kisses you all the time there.”
He blushes and lowers his ears, “Huh, so what did you wish for?”
“I’m not telling you that, then it won’t come true!”
“Thanks sis,” he smiles back at her, “now let’s get going; whatever you wished for, I hope it comes true.”
That night, the joy was brought to an abrupt halt as the house is consumed in flame and screams can be heard from within. In a flash of light and splinters, a large gray stallion with a tan mane barrels through the door carrying a dark brown colt with a black mane on his back. The colt is kicking and screaming as the stallion struggles to keep control of the colt, “Pa! Let me go! I can help you save’em,” the colt cries. The stallion keeps running through the night until he reaches the edge of his property and plops the crying colt off his back and on the frost covered ground.
“Run! Polly run!” the grizzled stallion pushes the now scared colt, “Leave this place! I don’t want my last son to be part of this feud. Things have gotten way out of my control.”
“But Pa!”
“Honor thy father, Polly!” he reaches down with his massive fore hooves and wraps the colt in a crippling yet soft hug and whispers in his ear, “You were never a fighter, your music brings warmth and happiness to every pony you play it to. It brings ponies’ together, dance together, and sing together. Never forget that; music has hidden talents that are often overlooked, it is the embodiment of spirit.”
The colt looks to his father with fear, “but where do I go?”
“Follow the train tracks to the north from a distance and don’t stop until fate stops you.”
“What about you and the family?”
“I want you to start your own adventure with a clean slate, now RIDE ON!” he shouts at the colt with his eyes wild and green, “I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to.”
Polly turns tail and runs north into the night, after the gray stallion sees him go he rushes back to the house to try and put out to the dangerous fire. The little colt ran and ran and ran, his hooves moving in rhythm with his breathing. Puffs of pale fog form around his muzzle as he gallops through the chilly night air with every breath. He gallops as far as he is able to go and slows down to catch his breath. Concern causes him to pause and look back and face the empty space where his homestead used to be, all he sees is an orange haze over the horizon.
He turns his head north and sees the spark of the North Star in the sky. Taking one more deep breath he dashes further into the night fighting back tears in his eyes. Running for longer than he as ever run before; caught up in the thoughts of his family he ignores the growing pain in his gut.
Once they reach the top of the hill a big ranch house comes into view. The once bright house that Polaris knew is now over-grown and run down; moss grows in-between the tattered, burnt shingles, some windows are cracked and broken with charred burns outlining the top, window panes are hanging off their hinges, and the once white siding is now a weathered, worn-out, and lifeless. The musky, mixed with ash smell over powers their nostrils and the sound of meadowlarks drift into silence the closer they get to the house, all that’s left to hear is the sound of window panes tapping in the eerie wind.
Something else catches Pol’s ears; the rattling sound of clicking. He looks down and notices Apple Jack’s knees shaking and her face wears panic in the sight of the horrific house. “You don’t have to go in if you don’t want to, I’m just going in for closure,” he assures her.
“Oh! no, no,” she shakes her head out of her frightened stupor, “I’m supposed to stick to you like tree sap on a pine cone. Besides, I don’t believe in ghost stories; according to Rarity they’re all made up.”
“Well, I guess we’ll find out,” he enters the house with Apple Jack close behind him, trying her best to conceal her growing fear.
The sound of the door slamming behind them makes Apple Jack jump and hide behind Pol. He looks at her behind him, and then the closed door and finally to Apple Jack again, “Don’t believe in ghost stories, huh?” he chuckles to himself, “Element of Honesty at its finest.”
She gives him an angry look, “Hardy, har-har, very funny.”
“I’m sure it was just the wind,” he says trying to debunk the sudden slam of the door.
She opens her mouth to say something until they hear, almost dragging, hoof steps above them, “Can you explain that?” she says through her tightened jaw.
“Mice?” he suggests only to get a dead-pan death-glare from her, “With really big, clumsy paws.”
They hear hoof steps again only they hear it coming in the room next to them. Pol walks slowly into the other room to investigate with Apple Jack following close behind. They enter the living room and find it empty, the walls lined with fine crafted bookcases. The floor had unvarnished, rough planks of wood that creaked with their every hoof step. It mimicked the hoof steps they heard just moments before. He looks around and the knotty pine panel ceiling and walls were charred from the fire years ago. “This must be where the fire burned its strongest.”
Across the room is a stone fireplace and on top he notices a picture frame sitting on the mantel. He walks closer and they both inspect the picture, he grabs the picture frame and looks at it. He uses his hoof to wipe away some of the ash only to reveal a burnt paper that broke with his touch. The only pony he can make out is a gray stallion with a lighter colored mane and tail standing proud on the side. Apple Jack looks closer at the picture in Pol’s hooves. She speaks up, “It looks like part of a family photo, too bad the stallion looks like he’s standing alone.”
“That’s my pa, Ole Grullo McDun,” he says glumly as he places the picture frame back on the mantel. He sits down on his hunches, lowers his head and pulls out a silver harmonica from the rolled-up neckline of his red bandana.
He stares at his reflection in the silver, when he mumbles, “embodiment of ‘spirit’, huh?” He then quietly brings the harmonica to his lips and closes his eyes. He starts with a sound similar to a train whistle and then starts playing a few chords to warm up the reeds. Some of the notes sound as if they bend together making the natural bluesy, folk sound of the harmonica. His hooves open and close behind the harmonica creating a wah-wah sound.
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As Pol continues to play, Apple Jack starts to feel the atmosphere get a little chilly. Even though there is a lingering eerie feeling, there is a sense of longing for peace and happiness in the song. Before she has time to react a white mist begins to form in front of the fireplace. The mist materializes and a shape begins to form the more Pol plays. Towards the middle of his piece the translucent pony appears before them, same stallion as the one in the black and white picture.
Apple Jack is about to gasp, but covers her mouth with her fore hoof to catch herself from interrupting Pol. Then, out of the corner of her eye a translucent mare appears and slowly walks towards the stallion that is towering over Pol. The mare and stallion nuzzle each other as they appear to be listening to the music.
A sudden chill goes throughout Apple Jack’s body as a lucid little filly, about Applebloom’s size, runs through her to join the other features. Once the filly reaches the two, Polaris opens his eyes but continues to play as tears begin to form in his eyes. The filly walks up to Pol and motions him to lean in closer and she plants a kiss on his white fleck on his forehead. The touch was like a dry, ice cube was placed on his forehead. As the song slows down to a close, the filly rejoins the two standing behind her and with a last smile they dematerialize like ash blowing in the wind. The ash-like, mist disappears and the overall atmosphere of the house changes.
The two just sit there in silence and awe at what just transpired. Apple Jack looks up at the burnt picture on the mantel, only to find—an empty frame. The house that was once a cold, eerie is now warm as beams of light shine through the broken windows. The whole building has a feeling that a dark blanket got lifted from it.
“Wow,” AJ quietly exclaims, “What just happened here?”
He turns to AJ, “The house was able to feel alive again and that was all it ever wanted. All I wanted was to bring them, if only for a while, a sense of clarity, joy and peace. When I heard it was haunted, and it was my family, I wanted them to know I was alright.” A smile brightens his face, “They are lead to rest now.”
She just smiles back at him in silence, because no words could explain the closure that Polaris is going through right now.
Polaris and Apple Jack make it back to town and as they pass the general store, they are stopped by a red mare that they met earlier, “Hey! You’re back!” The little gray colt was following behind her in tow.
“Eeyup,” AJ smiles back, “and now we have to get goin’ before we miss our train. She takes off her Stetson in respect, “Thank ya’ kindly for your hospitality ma’am.”
“Don’t mention it missy,” she turns her attention to Polaris, “you feel better?”
“Huh?” he wonders.
“You left kind of suddenly, that I didn’t seem to finish my story about the Saddlebred-McDun Fued. I could sense a mood change in you when I said those names.” He nods and she continues “Just because his name is Red Devil, and was the head of the Saddlebred family; it didn’t mean he was the one behind the fire. He was asleep while it all happened. After the fire and the sad death of Ole Grullo, he was tired of it!”
She stands with a proud pose as she continues again, “He said, ‘No more fighting!’ Then with the proposal of Rio Saddlebred, my father, an actual peace treaty was drawn up and signed by representatives of the two families; even though the feud had ended over a century before. The idea was symbolic: to show that ponies could bury their differences and unite in times of crisis.”
“Really? A Saddlebred did that?” Polaris asked.
“Yeah,” Rosemary answers, “Time has a way of correcting mistakes. You two take care now ya’here?”
Polaris and Apple Jack smile at her as the mare and her little colt walk back towards the store. Rosemary leads the way with Grizzly lovingly following close behind. To Polaris, it was almost symbolistic: Rosemary was definitely related to Red Devil due to her shiny, blood red coat and mane; Grizzly was definitely a descendant of the McDun family due to his primitive, shaggy color and markings. Saddlebred and McDun living in harmony, centered in family honor and love.
His reminiscing is cut short when he hears a not-far-off train whistle and the sound of locomotive axels squealing into activation.
“Oh no!” AJ gasps, “We are going to miss our train!”
He looks at her, “It just because it started, doesn’t mean we can’t catch it!”
“Well then, let’s catch it!” she rears up and cheers, “Yee-haw!”
They gallop and make it to the train station just as the train is taking off with wheels squeaking and steam blasting from the exhaust pipes, Polaris coaches in between rhythmic breaths, “We can still… make it. It hasn’t…reached full… speed yet.”
They are now running right behind the train, just yards from catching the caboose. “You jump first, AJ!” and with that she takes her next chance to make a great bound towards the caboose. Her years of apple-bucking paid off when her hooves met the metal platform, but with not having enough space to stop the momentum of her jump she hits the back door and almost falls off. Quickly, still running in between the tracks, Polaris jumps up to nudge her back on the car. She finally gets control of her hooves and opens the door so Polaris can have enough room to jump and not have the same mishap she almost did. “Let’s go, Polly!” she encourages.
Just then, the train takes off as it shifts gears towards its top speed. Polly was not running fast enough; he needed to run even faster to catch up. “Pol!” she yells as the gap between them grows wider and faster. Polly lowers his head and focuses his attention on his breathing, rather than the claw of exhaustion running along his gut.
He needs to push harder, “Ride ON!” his battle cry rings out and his already moving legs move faster in a blur. His blood rushes like electricity through his legs like pistons in an engine. He closes on the caboose length by length. When he gets within a nose’s length he makes one last hard, spring up over the caboose’s platform and lands in a heap beside AJ’s hooves.
Apple Jack was impressed with how fast he was going, “Wow, you where running about as fast as that Ms. Peachbottom gal ran when she got that pot stuck on her head.”
“Well,” he says as he catches his breath, “us Wild Mustangs are known for long distance running. What else do we do with all that open space?”
Apple Jack helps them up and when they reach the passenger car they find both find a few benches across from each other. After the conductor review their day passes and welcomes them aboard, they lay down on each bench facing each other. After walking and running all day, their legs were barking to be put up. “Ya’know, I’ve never believed in ghosts until I came face to face with one,” AJ breaks the silence, “How about you? Ya’ feel better now that we’ve visited the place?”
“Yeah,” he makes one last stretch before he lays his head on the bench and sighs, “I guess you could say that I’ve got myself a clean slate and new adventures to start with new friends in a new era.”
