Dragon Quest 9 1/2: New Starry Skiesby SwordoathChaptersArrivalPonyvilleCelestia SterlingCopiesArrival A resounding crash echoed throughout the Everfree forest. A dimly glowing pile of metal lay on it's side, having smashed though several trees. Rather, it was not a pile of scrap- no, it was a train. The Starflight Express had crashed to the ground once again, leaving a trail of destruction in it's wake. Moments ago it had been soaring above the Protocrate, until beams of black energy struck it down from its radiant path and forced it to crash. The rear door opened, falling listlessly of the hinges, and three figures emerged. "What the flap was that?!" Exlaimed Stella, the diva fairy of the group. Her pink wings fluttered quickly as she paced through the air, arms and legs flailing. "What just happened!? We were in the air one second and plummeting like a mountain the next!" "Och, I dunno. Shut yer flapper a sec, will ya?" Said the burly man who stepped out, Sterling, the captain of the Starflight Express. "Och, oh, what'd they do te ya...?" He said sadly, taking in the damage to his beloved Starflight. The third figure stepped out in silence, brushing off his fencing frock and cavalier hat. This was the semi-mortal, Rylan, savior of the Protocrate, Observatory, and Realm of the Almighty. Though, he'd not done so alone- his companions had aided him in combat, but couldn't have followed him on the Starflight. Stella had been his record keeper and pep talker, and Sterling had helped him escape the Goretress and taught him to drive the sky-soaring train. Survaying his surroundings, Rylan noted the strange forms of plantlife- unlike any he'd seen in the Protocrate. He turned to Sterling, who was still standing in stunned silence over the demolished Starflight. "Old girl's never been banged-up this bad... gonna take some time to fix. Even then, poor thing's empty. No benevolessence." The old driver said. "Benevolessence? Rylan and I got that covered, right?" Stella asked him, to which he nodded in reply. "Right. We'll try to figure out where we are, you try and fix it up." "Right then. You two best be off. It's gonna take me a while." Responded Sterling. So Stella returned to faye form and followed Rylan into the unknown woods. No monsteres appear for quite some time- The two began to wonder whether this was a safe zone, until a wolf made of leaves and wood jumped out. Rylan drew his Inferno Sword, using it to send a cloud of fire at the beast. It did damage, but not enough to destroy the wolf. The wolf jumped and bit at him, sinking it's teeth into his battler's bracers. Rylan did not sustain much damage, and took the opportunity to slash horizontally across the wolf, cleanly cutting through and causing it to fall apart into a pile of sticks. Rylan found a few strange looking, think golden coins, but they did not look like the gold used in the protocrate, or mini-medals. He stowed them in the bag anyway, figuring them to be a potential alchemical ingredient. "That was weird. I've never seen monsters that don't vanish when you defeat them," Stella noted. Rylan noticed this too, but forged on into the forest anyways. Eventually he came to a narrow pass between two cliffs. A large, chimera-like creature stood between them, licking it's paws with a think, pink tongue. It didn't run away or otherwise react to his presence, initially, though stopped licking it's paw when he approached. It was too large to go around without bothering, but seemed like a formidable foe, one on one. Having no other option, Rylan drew his sword and readied his power shield. The beast quickly got up on it's legs, and gave a loud, intimidating shout. Rylan was not deterred, however, and used the fire fource on himself, giving his siloette a slightly red tinged aura. The beast batted at him with a paw, but missed. Rylan slashed at the beast twice in quick sucession, only suceeding in giving it a scrape across the cheek. It reared up on it's hind legs and swung it's paw at Rylan again, suceeding in hitting him hard, dealing a massive amount of damage to him. Rylan knew this was a mismatched fight, even as he healed himself with the power sheild. He couldn't sustain damage like that very well. If he were a paladin or warrior, it would be a different story, but his current voation was all about boosting allies. Luckily, he still had a trick up his sleeve. Drawing back from the beast, he focused his mind on the scroll in his pocket- a borrowed copy of Paladin's Primer- and unleashed the Solar Flair on the attacking monster. The magical attack was incredibly effective, and the beast staggered back. Rylan drew back his sword to unleash a final strike to end the battle, but was stopped mid-stroke by a female voice. "No! Stop!" Shouted someone behind the monster. A yellow figure rose above it- a horse? With wings? And why was the mane pink? Rylan had seen many creatures in his journies- Trigertaurs, giant spiders, literal demons, fallen Celestrians, even an embodiment of a cursed sickness- but this was new to him. "Uh, Rylan?" Stella whispered. "You see the flying pony too, right? I'm not off my chair, am I?" He nodded, stepping away from the beasts- though not letting down his guard. "Oh," said the winged pony, condoling the beast. "Did the big bad monster hurt you? Let me see," she looked at the beasts face and dialated pupils. "Oh my, it really did hurt you, didn't it? Well don't worry. I'll take care of that meanie." The pony turned to Rylan, staring angrily at him. "What do you have to say for yourself, hurting another innocent creature like that?" Rylan had stood up to the curse of a hundred year old demon witch, but the stare of this oddity of an equine still managed to make his courage falter slightly. He did feel slightly remorseful for the damage he'd caused, momentarily. "Hey! Protocrate-to-Rylan! What the flap are you doing?" Stella demanded. "Y-you can talk?" Said the surprised bird-pony. "You can see me?!" Said the equally astounded fairy. "Grooah..." groaned the monster, walking away from the fight. Rylan returned his sword and shield to their places, slung across his back. No experience for him for that battle. And now the yellow horse was confused as well as mad. "W-who are you two?" Said the pony. "Why were you attacking the Mr. Manticore?" Another monster to add to the list noted Rylan. "Mr. Manticore? That thing's your pet?" Stella said, exasperated. "Again, with the mortals having monsters for pets...?" Rylan began explaining to the pony about how the monster- the Maniticore had been blocking off the pass, and the only way past would be to make it move, as he couldn't reason with it, being a monster. "Well, what were you doing in the Everfree Forest anyways?" She asked. "Your not from it, are you?" "Well, uh, you see," Stella started. "We didn't even mean to be here. Sorta an accident, really." Rylan explained that he and Stella had gotten lost, disoriented by a flash of light, and had been wandering the forest in search of a way out. "Well I could show you out." The pony smiled at the pair. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't catch your names." "I'm Stella, stunningly beautiful stewardess of the Starflight Express!" Stella struck what she believed to be a model pose. Being met with confused silence, Stella continued, "and this is Rylan." "Pleased to meet you, Rylan and Stella. My name is FlutterShy. This way, I'll show you to town." "Hey, Rylan," Stella whispered. "is it just you, or is something not right here? I mean, she seems nice, but... there aren't exactly taking horses in the Protocrate, right?" Rylan nodded to her, and followed the two-colored flying pony. He agreed on the fact that he was no longer in the Protocrate apparently, nor the realm of the Almighty, or even the now-lost Observatory. Perhaps he'd stumbled upon a new realm to be explored? Whatever the case, the black beams of energy that had brought him here were all to familiar, and needed to be further investigated upon. Ponyville"Here we are!" Said FlutterShy. She'd sucessfully led the duo out of the forest and to Ponyville, describing the town and ponies in general, and was escorting them to her friend Twilight's home. "So this is Ponyville?" Stella said, flying high above Rylan to take a better look. "Huh. Looks a bit boring if you ask me." "Oh no, lots of stuff happens in ponyville. Just last week, my friend Twilight was crowned a princess!" The pegasus said. "A princess? Wow. What'd she do? Save the king?" Stella asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "'Save a king?' Nononono, she solved an mystery of magic that nopony before had. It was really amazing!" Stella turned away from the beaming pony, and rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh." She then turned to Rylan, whispering to him, "Am I the only one who thinks the ponies are giving us weird looks?" Rylan shook his head. The ponies had been staring at them as they walked through the town. He supposed it was understandable- it would be akin to seeing a fully-fledged Celestrian walking through Stornway- an absolutely unheard of oddity, not at all part of a normal day. The group came upon a large tree, caved with windows and balconies that reminded Rylan of The World Tree, while at the same time reminiscent of it's holding, the Observatory. FlutterShy walked up to the door, giving it a couple knocks, and waited for a moment as a small purple lizard opened it. Immediately on guard, Rylan brought up his shield, anticipating an attack. When none came, he peered around the edge, and was greeted with a stare from both the lizard and the pony. "Uh... Hi, FlutterShy," the lizard spoke. "I'm guessing you want Twilight...?" The pony nodded, and Rylan lowered the shield, now knowing he wasn't in danger. "Twilight's that princess you were talking about before, right?" Stella asked, and FlutterShy nodded. "Why is she living in an old tree? Shouldn't she be living the life of lavishness up in some castle?" "Twilight lives here because she runs the library," the pony explained. "And the nearest castle is really, really too far for her to stay in contact with me and her other friends." The door reopened, this time revealing a light-purple pony, with similarly colored hair. This one had not only wings, but a crown as well. An Alicorn, if Rylan remembered correctly from FlutterShy's short lesson on the pony types. "Hello FlutterShy. Spike said you found some interesting animals in- oh! Oh, wow!" She exclaimed. "Hey! Who're you calling animals!?" Stella pouted angrily. "Oh goodness! They talk! Please, please come in!" The Alicorn gestured the trio inside her home, into a room lined entirely with bookshelves. "This is amazing, really amazing! We've never seen your kind in Equestria before- not once! We can be the first to document your-" She was cut short by Stella, who yelled, in annoyance, "Hey! Excuse me for being a bit frontward, but neither of us are your little science projects! We just wanted to get home, right Rylan?" Rylan nodded, then turned to the pony, who he determined to be Twilight, and explained their situation. Mostly she just nodded and asked the occational short question, taking down a quick note with a magically levitated quill and parchment. When he finished, she rolled up the paper and set it on an escritorial desk. "So you two- a fairy and a part Celestrian- crash landed your sky train here when it was shot down?" She surmised. "Yes! Thats what we've been flapping talking about!" Stella said, sitting atop a wooden horse head bust. "We gotta find out what that light was all about. Back in our world, they led to a huge fiasco with magic fruit and a really, really neglected Celestrian prisoner, not to mention a huge arial battle atop a dragon! Rylan here, he had to sort it all out. But now the those lights brought us here, and we don't know who brought us down or why." "Is it possible it was the same pony- uh, Celestrian as before?" Rylan shook his head, explaining about Corvus's reunion with his lover. There was little chance he'd do this again. "Okay then... this is really something we should let Princess Celestia know about. We should head over as soon as we can. FlutterShy, do you think you can round up the others? Tell them to bring their elements." Twilight requested of her friend, then turning to Stella and Rylan. "You two, you stay around here. I need to write a letter to the Princess." "A letter? That'll take ages to get there," Stella pointed out. "Why bother?" "Don't worry. I can get it there faster than you think." Twilight said. "In the meantime, feel free to take a look at the library books." Celestia? Doesn't the Alicorn mean Celestria? Wondered Rylan briefly. Rylan set down another book as he heard the door open. Two ponies walked in, one with a hat, a dark orange coat, and light yellow mane coloration, while the other was sky blue with wings, and a multicolored mane. "Twi, we got FlutterShy's-" called the more normal pony, stopping when she saw Rylan and Stella, who gave a little wave. "What in tarnation-?" "I'm Stella, this is Rylan," the fairy interrupted, rising from the desk she sat on. "I guess you're the purple pony's friends?" Slightly taken aback by the fact the new creatures could speak, the orange one went silent. The pegasus, however, asked another question. "What are you two, and what are you doing in the library?" "Big story," Stella said before Rylan could delve into a lengthy explanation. "Maybe when everyone's here." Not long after came a knock at the door, which the orange pony opened, not taking her eyes off of the odd pair. "Hiya!" a pony comprised of several varying hues of pink walked in. "Ooh, I like your wings!" She said to Stella. "Oh thanks, it takes forever to- Wait, your not freaked under by us?" Stella said, eyes widening a bit. "Nope! I think you two are cool! Hey, can I see this?" The pony was already holding Rylan's power shield, somehow taken right from his arm. he motioned for her to return it, which she did, but only after examining it from every angle. FlutterShy and another pony walked in almost immediately after, this mare snow-white with a curled, wine purple mane. It also had a horn, signifying the fact it was a unicorn. "Oh, well hello darlings. FlutterShy here-" she stopped short when she saw Rylan. "Oh my! Wherever did you get such exqusit attire? It simply ravishing, darling!" She said, eying his hat and fencing jacket. "That's it? You're not gonna freak out about who's wearing it either?" Stella said, hands on her diminutive hips. The unicorn caught eye of her dress and reacted in a similar manner as to Rylan's appearance. "I explained things to her on the way'" FlutterShy said. "Oh terribly sorry. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Rarity, pleased to make your aquaintance." The unicorn curtsied, and Rylan bowed in return. "I trust that you are Rylan, yes? And this is your companion, Stella?" "Yup! Stunning stewardess of the Starflight Express!" Stella struck a pose, at which everyone stared at uncomfortably. "... Really? Still nothing?" "Well, I ain't know nothin' bout no StarFlight Express," said the orange mare. "But mah name's AppleJack. Pleased to meet yah!" Rylan went for a handshake, but realized the pony had none. So he bumped his fist instead. A new "party trick" as he liked to call them. The most colorful pony went high up toward the ceiling, and exclaimed, "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria and soon-to-be Wonder Bolt!" The other ponies were sent into a titter of giggles and comments, while Stella grumbled softly, "Why did they like her introduction better than mine...?" "My name's Pinkamina, but you guys can call me Pinkie Pie!" Said the poofy-haired pink pony in a cheerful tone. Rylan was reminded of Patty, from the inn at Stornway. Of course came the barrage of questions- "What are you? Where are you from? Can I see your hat? Do you like cake?" Most of which were answered without problem. Soon Twilight descended the staircase. "Girls! It's great to see you." She said. "I suppose your all wondering why I called you here." Celestia Celestia Upon the completion of Rylan's detailed recollection of events, the ponies were silent. He'd told them more of his home- the Observatory, the Protocrate, the Realm of the Almighty- and explained how he got to their world as best he could, ending the tale when he met FlutterShy after the Manticore assault. Twilight and FlutterShy, having heard the tale once before, simply nodded and asked little questions. The others gave exclamations of disbelief, gasps of horror, sighs of relief, and other reactions with similar effects. "Ah... Ah can't say I ever heard a story like that." AppleJack spoke first. "It sounds to me like you've done some awesome stuff!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "But what was that light?" Rarity asked Stella. "First time around, when Rylan here lost his wings and halo, it was Corvus. This time... well, neither of us know much. It wasn't Corvus, we can rule him out. There isn't really anyone else we know who could do it, or would do it, 'cept some members of the Gittish Empire, but they're long gone." Stella said, floating above Rylan's head. "You know anyone who could?" "I can't think of anypony," Twilight said. "As far was I know, there isn't even anypony who knows about that Protocrate place." "Didn't you write to that princess of yours? What was her name? Celestaria? "Celestia," corrected Twilight. "And yes, I did. I haven't gotten a reply yet, but I'm sure that soon-" A white flash came from upstairs, along with the sound of hoofsteps. A larger, ivory alicon descended the steps, a four-toned mane streaming from behind her. She wore golden shoes and jewelry, and stood slightly taller than Rylan. The ponies all bowed and curtsied to the obvious royalty. "Twilight Sparkle," she said. "How wonderful it is to see you and your friends again. I'm sorry, but where is this 'Celestrian' you were talking about?" The smaller alicorn bowed to her apparent elder, and gestured towards the otherworldly pair. Rylan gave a salute, and Stella, caught off guard by the pony's sudden appearance, faltered slightly in mimicking the motion. "Ah, it is wonderful to meet you in person, Rylan." The alicorn smiled at him. "I trust you know who I am?" Rylan felt a presence almost identical to one he'd felt once before, in front of the world tree. He almost called the princess Celestria, as opposed to her true name. "Hey! What am I? Diced liver?" Stella interrupted. The Princess chuckled. "Of course. How could I neglect his companion? It is a pleasure to meet you, Stella. Now, I understand you were brought down in the forest by beams of dark energy?" Rylan nodded, explaining the similarity to those that had brought him to the protocrate as a stripped Celestrian. "I see. This is certainly a problem necessary of investigation." Said Celestia. "Twilight, I'd like for you and your friends to check around Ponyville, then investigate the crystal empire for any signs of activity by our old enemies." "But princess Celestia, they're gone. We defeated them all." Rainbow Dash reminded her. "Evil is never truly defeated. It is only pushed away, temporarily conquered by good." The princess said ominously. "Please, if you'll excuse me, I have other important matter to attend to." The princess was enveloped in a golden light, then vanished into fading sparks of magic. "Hmph! She didn't even give us a proper goodbye!" Stella grumbled. "Some manners she has!" Ignoring the faye, the six ponies in the room put on strange golden necklaces, each set with a differently colored and shaped gemstone, matching the marks on their flanks, excluding Twilight, who wore her gem as a tiara. The six left the library, Rylan and Stella following soon after. "Hey? What's with the jewelry?" Stella asked, floating in front of Twilight. "Not that I don't appreciate accessorizing, but now's really not the time to be flashy!" "These are the elements of harmony," The alicorn explained as they walked. "They're the best defense against evil we have in Ponyville," Pinkie Pie continued. "They're super powerful when we work together!" "Hey, speaking of together," Stella said. "We should probably get Old Fatguts in on this. He's not gonna want to be left outta this." "'Old Fatguts?" FlutterShy asked. "Is that the Sterling man you were talking about?" "Hm? Oh yeah," Stella said, paying little attention. "It's just a kickname." "You mean nickname." Twilight said. "Yeah. that's what I said!" As they entered the dark wood, the ponies clustered together more tightly, even the pegasus returning to the proximity. They seemed more afraid of the forest than the people of Stornway were of the Wight Knight. A howl came from their left. Five wolves, made of twigs and tree limbs, burst forth onto the path. The ponies cowered back a bit, least of all the orange one. Rylan drew his sword, and charged himself with fire fource. The orange pony kicked stones at the wolves, piercing one's throat and essentially destroying it. Rylan hacked horizontally across the second wolf, cleanly cutting it in half. The third wolf had circled around and approached Pinkie Pie, only to be stopped by the paralyzing glare of FlutterShy. Rainbow Dash rapidly ascended and slammed into the stunned wolf, like a bolt of the rainbow. Another wolf pounced at the multicolored mare, only to be shot into the distance by a literal cannon by Pinkie Pie. The fifth wolf had been waiting for an opportunity, seizing the chance by bounding through the group at Twilight. The alicorn magically teleported behind the wolf, which turned around in a snarl. Before Rylan could react and end the wolf's life, Rarity stepped in, slinging a handful of jaggedly cut gemstones at the wolf, shearing off it's limbs. The four other wolves had been dealt with in the time it took him to deal with one. Despite their obvious fear of the creatures here, they can fight back well enough, he observed, slinging his sword across his back again. The orange one defended her friends selflessly. She was akin to a warrior, or perhaps a paladin. The way FlutterShy stared down the wolf attacking her friend showed her dominance over the animals. A ranger, no doubt. And the multicolored pony's fighting style only reassured his thoughts on her being a martial artist. The alicorn was obviously the most skilled in magic, likely as a mage. Rarity, while also capable of magic, was more detailed and elegant in her mode of attack. A Luminary. As for Pinkie Pie... difficult to pinpoint. Earlier, when she'd lifted his shield without his notice, he'd anticipated a thief. Further revelation of her skills, however, seemed to pertain towards entertainment, as a minstrel. He needed further observation before any definite decisions, but he was getting an idea of their styles of fighting. He wondered if they already knew, but from what he'd learned of the ponies, they didn't really do too much fighting. He'd have to ask them later. Celestia closed the door behind her as she walked into a brightly lit room, illuminated by a bright pool in the shape of a star, situated in the center. The room was otherwise empty, as the purpose it served required little other than the pool. Celestia softly chanted a spell, invoking an old friend of hers. "Hello, Celestia. It's been some time." Spoke a voice. A figure began to rise from the pool- a young woman, with ivory skin and blonde hair. She wore a dress of white silk and a single lavender ribbon, trailing across her shoulders and arms. "It is good to see you again as well, Celestria." The Princess of the Sun greeted. "I'm afraid I have some troubling news. You are familiar with your Celestrian, Rylan, yes?" "Ah." The goddess smiled. "My champion. How is it you know of him?" "He and his companions are in my realm. I fear the worst." "You don't think father...?" Celestria gasped softly. "I'm afraid it may be true. That is why I sent out both my student- my champion- and her friends along with him in search of those He returns to us. If we are able to prevent them from gaining control, we may just yet prevent Him from causing the total erase." "You have done as I would have. I can only hope they can overcome the obstacles that His recreations throw at them." The goddess said, voice filled with worry. "You have nothing to fear. I am sure that the girls, alongside Rylan, will be able to surpass and rise above any challenge thrown at them." Celestia reassured her. "Together, there is nothing they cannot accomplish." "We can only hope." Sterling"Heeey! Old Fatguts!" Stella called to her superior. "I told ya not ta call me-" the aged conductor said, stopping when he saw the motley crew approaching him. "Eh, wot's wiv the horses?" "Excuse me? I am a pony, not a horse." Rarity corrected him. After staring with a gaping mouth for a few moments, Sterling turned to Rylan. "Ya best get explainin' boy." An hour later, Rylan finished his explanation and introductions, the occational detail had to be supplimemted by one of the others. Sterling stood tall, hands on his hips. "Well, that's good enough fer me. Nice t'meet ya, girls." The six replied with various other pleasantries. "You know, I'd love to study the spells you used to make the train fly," Twilight said. "It would be a major advancement for us." "Eh, sorry, but that'll be a no," Sterling said. "Not suppose t' go showin' her off. It's pretty rare for anyone t' even see her if they're mortal." "Oh," she said, slightly saddened by the refusal. "That's alright." "Hey, Mr. Sterling? Will we get to ride the train?" Pinkie asked, popping out of the open back door. "How'd ya'- no, not fer a while at any rate." Said the flabbergasted conductor, picking Pinkie up by the back and tossing her roughly out of the Starflight. "I'm really not suppose ta let anyone on if they're not a Celestrian." "Please?" Pinkie said, in the train again. "What the- No!" Sterling said, dragging her out again. "Listen 'ere, yer not gonna get to ride her at all if ya keep me from fixin' her up! Rylan, jus' go find out what knocked us down so it can't go doin' it again. Awright?" Rylan nodded in response. "Good. You all get goin' about yer business then." "But Mr. FatGuts," Pinkie piped up again. "What about the creatures of the forest? They could attack you if you stay out here." "Firs' of all, my name's Sterling, not FatGuts," he corrected the pony gently, aiming an icy glare at Stella. "An' second, i think I can hold my own against any beastie that comes my way." He flexed a muscle to emphasize his point. "You won't get hungry? Or what if it starts to rain? What if a Dragon-" Pinkie was stopped mid-sentence when he closed a hand around her mouth. "Don' worry. I'll be fine. You all get goin'." The conductor returned to the inside of his train without another word. "Well that was cold, even for old FatGuts," Stella said as the group continued deeper into the forest. "He's not usually that terse, then?" Rarity asked the faery. "He must be upset about his train," Twilight observed. "It seemed to mean a lot to him." "Still does, by the way he talked about it." Applejack recounted. "Well yeah," Stella said, eyes rolling. "It's his pride and rejoice." Copies"Eep!" Stella squealed. Rylan had his sword in hand by the time she flew to his side. "I... there was a spider on me," She blushed, embarrassed. Seeing the slight grin spread across his and Rainbow's faces, she pouted angrily. "Hey! It was a huge spider!" "Sure it was," Rainbow said, vainly attempting to hold back her laughter, before noticing the same spider on her muzzle. "Ah! Gettitoff!" This time the whole group laughed as the frightened mare scrambled at her face with her hooves. They'd continued deeper into the woods to investigate the area for further disturbances, but as of yet had come across none. Twilight only wanted to check one more area before they'd return to Ponyville for the night. Some sort of ruined castle, as she'd described it. It had been overrun by plants and worn down by the uncontrolled weather. "Ah, here it is!" Twilight exclaimed as the group crossed over a rather rickety wooden bridge. "Looks... familiar." Stella said. "Deja two, right Rylan?" He nodded in agreement. The castle was very much reminiscent of Brigadoom, the lost kingdom. If it were raining and had healslimes wandering about, he could almost imagine it was. As it was, the crumbling ruin was equally eerie, if not quite as intimidating as the long abandoned land. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna used to rule from here, a long time ago," Twilight lectured as they neared the vegetation-covered towers. "They abandoned it when Luna was banished, and relocated to Canterlot." "So they just left their posh castle to turn to dust?" Stella said, appalled. "Why would she go and do that?" "The battle between the two kinda ruined most of the building," Twilight explained as they passed through the outlaying arches. "There was little reason to stay after that." "In other words, they trashed their home and moved on." Rainbow surmised, earning a glare from the alicorn. "What?" "They didn't 'trash' the castle, it was destroyed in their fight for the throne. And the structural damage was so severe that it would've been more costly to rebuild than to relocate to Canterlot." Meanwhile, Rylan took the opportunity to scout the area out. Something about it felt... unnatural. as if the air itself was uneasy. His hand subconsciously drifted to the hilt of his sword as he ventured into the main hall. A clip of a hoof on stone sounded behind him. Rylan spun around, drawing his sword, and was confronted with... Pinkie? "Whatcha doin'?" She asked him. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He was just being paranoid. The similar look of the ruin had brought back his wariness of Brigadoom. He had nothing to worry about. At least, that's what he thought until the rest of the ponies came in- along with Pinkie Pie, again. "Huh? Am I seeing doubled?" Stella said, rubbing her eyes as if to rid them of the twin. The first Pinkie laughed nervously, and backed into a corner with her eyes narrowed. Momentarily, they flashed green. Rylan, confused by this strange event, looked back and forth between the two. "Oh no," The second Pinkie said. "Did we miss one from the mirror hole?" "Don' worry Pinkie," AppleJack reassured, advancing on the first. "We'll get her." Twilight and Rainbow did the same, soon backing the copy into a corner. The copy gave a harsh chittering sound, as if laughing. A bright flash of green light surged from it's body, and when it faded, a shiny black creature with solidly blue eyes stood on all four hole-riddled hooves. Two transparent wings reminiscent of an insect's sprang from it's back, and a twisted horn jutted out from it's forehead. "That's... that's a-" FlutterShy stammered. "Changeling!" Rainbow finished. The changeling burst between Twilight and AppleJack, skidding to a stop before Rylan. Rylan's hand immediately flew to the sword slung across his back. He slashed out at the changeling, but missed by an entire foot as it easily sidestepped him. It was too fast to strike at normally, a fact that became apparent as it slammed into him before he could block. It turned to FlutterShy, and advanced on the cowering yellow mare. Rylan took a deep breath, and murmured the words of the decelerate spell, one of his first. The magic letter spiraled around him in two rings, and the spell flew forth, slowing the creature's movements and making it more sluggish with it's reactions. Rarity, having taken note of his actions, threw bricks and rubble from the crumbling wall at the creature, further damaging it. The Changeling hissed and flew high into the air to escape through a window, only to be blocked by Rainbow Dash, who bashed the hybrid creature to the ground with both hooves. As it struggled to rise back to it's naturally decimated hooves, it looked up into Pinkie's confetti cannon, which blew the creature across the room to AppleJack. The cowpony didn't even let it stop moving before kicking it airborne with her hind legs, where Twilight blasted it with a bolt of purple magic. The Changeling came to a stop in front of Rylan once more, barely conscious, it's shell cracked, scorched, and bloodied. It looked up at him one last time. He swung once. The changeling vanished into purple mist, as all monsters he'd met had before. "Where... did it go?" Rarity asked, walking up next to him. Stella piped up to offer an explanation. "When monsters die, their essence disperses into near nothing. Usually they reform later in less inhabited places." "So it's... dead?" FlutterShy squeaked. "Hmm... Never really thought about it," Stella said, a hand on her chin. "I don't think so. They always come back, in some form." "So they're like Phoenixes?" the yellow pegasus asked. "What's a 'feenicks'?" "That's not important now," Twilight interrupted. "Changelings aren't suppose to be here. we thought we'd sent them all to the badlands, after my brother's wedding, but apparently not. We need to look into this further. Right girls? And, uh, Rylan?" "Right!" The group agreed simultaneously.
Arrival A resounding crash echoed throughout the Everfree forest. A dimly glowing pile of metal lay on it's side, having smashed though several trees. Rather, it was not a pile of scrap- no, it was a train. The Starflight Express had crashed to the ground once again, leaving a trail of destruction in it's wake. Moments ago it had been soaring above the Protocrate, until beams of black energy struck it down from its radiant path and forced it to crash. The rear door opened, falling listlessly of the hinges, and three figures emerged. "What the flap was that?!" Exlaimed Stella, the diva fairy of the group. Her pink wings fluttered quickly as she paced through the air, arms and legs flailing. "What just happened!? We were in the air one second and plummeting like a mountain the next!" "Och, I dunno. Shut yer flapper a sec, will ya?" Said the burly man who stepped out, Sterling, the captain of the Starflight Express. "Och, oh, what'd they do te ya...?" He said sadly, taking in the damage to his beloved Starflight. The third figure stepped out in silence, brushing off his fencing frock and cavalier hat. This was the semi-mortal, Rylan, savior of the Protocrate, Observatory, and Realm of the Almighty. Though, he'd not done so alone- his companions had aided him in combat, but couldn't have followed him on the Starflight. Stella had been his record keeper and pep talker, and Sterling had helped him escape the Goretress and taught him to drive the sky-soaring train. Survaying his surroundings, Rylan noted the strange forms of plantlife- unlike any he'd seen in the Protocrate. He turned to Sterling, who was still standing in stunned silence over the demolished Starflight. "Old girl's never been banged-up this bad... gonna take some time to fix. Even then, poor thing's empty. No benevolessence." The old driver said. "Benevolessence? Rylan and I got that covered, right?" Stella asked him, to which he nodded in reply. "Right. We'll try to figure out where we are, you try and fix it up." "Right then. You two best be off. It's gonna take me a while." Responded Sterling. So Stella returned to faye form and followed Rylan into the unknown woods. No monsteres appear for quite some time- The two began to wonder whether this was a safe zone, until a wolf made of leaves and wood jumped out. Rylan drew his Inferno Sword, using it to send a cloud of fire at the beast. It did damage, but not enough to destroy the wolf. The wolf jumped and bit at him, sinking it's teeth into his battler's bracers. Rylan did not sustain much damage, and took the opportunity to slash horizontally across the wolf, cleanly cutting through and causing it to fall apart into a pile of sticks. Rylan found a few strange looking, think golden coins, but they did not look like the gold used in the protocrate, or mini-medals. He stowed them in the bag anyway, figuring them to be a potential alchemical ingredient. "That was weird. I've never seen monsters that don't vanish when you defeat them," Stella noted. Rylan noticed this too, but forged on into the forest anyways. Eventually he came to a narrow pass between two cliffs. A large, chimera-like creature stood between them, licking it's paws with a think, pink tongue. It didn't run away or otherwise react to his presence, initially, though stopped licking it's paw when he approached. It was too large to go around without bothering, but seemed like a formidable foe, one on one. Having no other option, Rylan drew his sword and readied his power shield. The beast quickly got up on it's legs, and gave a loud, intimidating shout. Rylan was not deterred, however, and used the fire fource on himself, giving his siloette a slightly red tinged aura. The beast batted at him with a paw, but missed. Rylan slashed at the beast twice in quick sucession, only suceeding in giving it a scrape across the cheek. It reared up on it's hind legs and swung it's paw at Rylan again, suceeding in hitting him hard, dealing a massive amount of damage to him. Rylan knew this was a mismatched fight, even as he healed himself with the power sheild. He couldn't sustain damage like that very well. If he were a paladin or warrior, it would be a different story, but his current voation was all about boosting allies. Luckily, he still had a trick up his sleeve. Drawing back from the beast, he focused his mind on the scroll in his pocket- a borrowed copy of Paladin's Primer- and unleashed the Solar Flair on the attacking monster. The magical attack was incredibly effective, and the beast staggered back. Rylan drew back his sword to unleash a final strike to end the battle, but was stopped mid-stroke by a female voice. "No! Stop!" Shouted someone behind the monster. A yellow figure rose above it- a horse? With wings? And why was the mane pink? Rylan had seen many creatures in his journies- Trigertaurs, giant spiders, literal demons, fallen Celestrians, even an embodiment of a cursed sickness- but this was new to him. "Uh, Rylan?" Stella whispered. "You see the flying pony too, right? I'm not off my chair, am I?" He nodded, stepping away from the beasts- though not letting down his guard. "Oh," said the winged pony, condoling the beast. "Did the big bad monster hurt you? Let me see," she looked at the beasts face and dialated pupils. "Oh my, it really did hurt you, didn't it? Well don't worry. I'll take care of that meanie." The pony turned to Rylan, staring angrily at him. "What do you have to say for yourself, hurting another innocent creature like that?" Rylan had stood up to the curse of a hundred year old demon witch, but the stare of this oddity of an equine still managed to make his courage falter slightly. He did feel slightly remorseful for the damage he'd caused, momentarily. "Hey! Protocrate-to-Rylan! What the flap are you doing?" Stella demanded. "Y-you can talk?" Said the surprised bird-pony. "You can see me?!" Said the equally astounded fairy. "Grooah..." groaned the monster, walking away from the fight. Rylan returned his sword and shield to their places, slung across his back. No experience for him for that battle. And now the yellow horse was confused as well as mad. "W-who are you two?" Said the pony. "Why were you attacking the Mr. Manticore?" Another monster to add to the list noted Rylan. "Mr. Manticore? That thing's your pet?" Stella said, exasperated. "Again, with the mortals having monsters for pets...?" Rylan began explaining to the pony about how the monster- the Maniticore had been blocking off the pass, and the only way past would be to make it move, as he couldn't reason with it, being a monster. "Well, what were you doing in the Everfree Forest anyways?" She asked. "Your not from it, are you?" "Well, uh, you see," Stella started. "We didn't even mean to be here. Sorta an accident, really." Rylan explained that he and Stella had gotten lost, disoriented by a flash of light, and had been wandering the forest in search of a way out. "Well I could show you out." The pony smiled at the pair. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't catch your names." "I'm Stella, stunningly beautiful stewardess of the Starflight Express!" Stella struck what she believed to be a model pose. Being met with confused silence, Stella continued, "and this is Rylan." "Pleased to meet you, Rylan and Stella. My name is FlutterShy. This way, I'll show you to town." "Hey, Rylan," Stella whispered. "is it just you, or is something not right here? I mean, she seems nice, but... there aren't exactly taking horses in the Protocrate, right?" Rylan nodded to her, and followed the two-colored flying pony. He agreed on the fact that he was no longer in the Protocrate apparently, nor the realm of the Almighty, or even the now-lost Observatory. Perhaps he'd stumbled upon a new realm to be explored? Whatever the case, the black beams of energy that had brought him here were all to familiar, and needed to be further investigated upon.
Ponyville"Here we are!" Said FlutterShy. She'd sucessfully led the duo out of the forest and to Ponyville, describing the town and ponies in general, and was escorting them to her friend Twilight's home. "So this is Ponyville?" Stella said, flying high above Rylan to take a better look. "Huh. Looks a bit boring if you ask me." "Oh no, lots of stuff happens in ponyville. Just last week, my friend Twilight was crowned a princess!" The pegasus said. "A princess? Wow. What'd she do? Save the king?" Stella asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "'Save a king?' Nononono, she solved an mystery of magic that nopony before had. It was really amazing!" Stella turned away from the beaming pony, and rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh." She then turned to Rylan, whispering to him, "Am I the only one who thinks the ponies are giving us weird looks?" Rylan shook his head. The ponies had been staring at them as they walked through the town. He supposed it was understandable- it would be akin to seeing a fully-fledged Celestrian walking through Stornway- an absolutely unheard of oddity, not at all part of a normal day. The group came upon a large tree, caved with windows and balconies that reminded Rylan of The World Tree, while at the same time reminiscent of it's holding, the Observatory. FlutterShy walked up to the door, giving it a couple knocks, and waited for a moment as a small purple lizard opened it. Immediately on guard, Rylan brought up his shield, anticipating an attack. When none came, he peered around the edge, and was greeted with a stare from both the lizard and the pony. "Uh... Hi, FlutterShy," the lizard spoke. "I'm guessing you want Twilight...?" The pony nodded, and Rylan lowered the shield, now knowing he wasn't in danger. "Twilight's that princess you were talking about before, right?" Stella asked, and FlutterShy nodded. "Why is she living in an old tree? Shouldn't she be living the life of lavishness up in some castle?" "Twilight lives here because she runs the library," the pony explained. "And the nearest castle is really, really too far for her to stay in contact with me and her other friends." The door reopened, this time revealing a light-purple pony, with similarly colored hair. This one had not only wings, but a crown as well. An Alicorn, if Rylan remembered correctly from FlutterShy's short lesson on the pony types. "Hello FlutterShy. Spike said you found some interesting animals in- oh! Oh, wow!" She exclaimed. "Hey! Who're you calling animals!?" Stella pouted angrily. "Oh goodness! They talk! Please, please come in!" The Alicorn gestured the trio inside her home, into a room lined entirely with bookshelves. "This is amazing, really amazing! We've never seen your kind in Equestria before- not once! We can be the first to document your-" She was cut short by Stella, who yelled, in annoyance, "Hey! Excuse me for being a bit frontward, but neither of us are your little science projects! We just wanted to get home, right Rylan?" Rylan nodded, then turned to the pony, who he determined to be Twilight, and explained their situation. Mostly she just nodded and asked the occational short question, taking down a quick note with a magically levitated quill and parchment. When he finished, she rolled up the paper and set it on an escritorial desk. "So you two- a fairy and a part Celestrian- crash landed your sky train here when it was shot down?" She surmised. "Yes! Thats what we've been flapping talking about!" Stella said, sitting atop a wooden horse head bust. "We gotta find out what that light was all about. Back in our world, they led to a huge fiasco with magic fruit and a really, really neglected Celestrian prisoner, not to mention a huge arial battle atop a dragon! Rylan here, he had to sort it all out. But now the those lights brought us here, and we don't know who brought us down or why." "Is it possible it was the same pony- uh, Celestrian as before?" Rylan shook his head, explaining about Corvus's reunion with his lover. There was little chance he'd do this again. "Okay then... this is really something we should let Princess Celestia know about. We should head over as soon as we can. FlutterShy, do you think you can round up the others? Tell them to bring their elements." Twilight requested of her friend, then turning to Stella and Rylan. "You two, you stay around here. I need to write a letter to the Princess." "A letter? That'll take ages to get there," Stella pointed out. "Why bother?" "Don't worry. I can get it there faster than you think." Twilight said. "In the meantime, feel free to take a look at the library books." Celestia? Doesn't the Alicorn mean Celestria? Wondered Rylan briefly. Rylan set down another book as he heard the door open. Two ponies walked in, one with a hat, a dark orange coat, and light yellow mane coloration, while the other was sky blue with wings, and a multicolored mane. "Twi, we got FlutterShy's-" called the more normal pony, stopping when she saw Rylan and Stella, who gave a little wave. "What in tarnation-?" "I'm Stella, this is Rylan," the fairy interrupted, rising from the desk she sat on. "I guess you're the purple pony's friends?" Slightly taken aback by the fact the new creatures could speak, the orange one went silent. The pegasus, however, asked another question. "What are you two, and what are you doing in the library?" "Big story," Stella said before Rylan could delve into a lengthy explanation. "Maybe when everyone's here." Not long after came a knock at the door, which the orange pony opened, not taking her eyes off of the odd pair. "Hiya!" a pony comprised of several varying hues of pink walked in. "Ooh, I like your wings!" She said to Stella. "Oh thanks, it takes forever to- Wait, your not freaked under by us?" Stella said, eyes widening a bit. "Nope! I think you two are cool! Hey, can I see this?" The pony was already holding Rylan's power shield, somehow taken right from his arm. he motioned for her to return it, which she did, but only after examining it from every angle. FlutterShy and another pony walked in almost immediately after, this mare snow-white with a curled, wine purple mane. It also had a horn, signifying the fact it was a unicorn. "Oh, well hello darlings. FlutterShy here-" she stopped short when she saw Rylan. "Oh my! Wherever did you get such exqusit attire? It simply ravishing, darling!" She said, eying his hat and fencing jacket. "That's it? You're not gonna freak out about who's wearing it either?" Stella said, hands on her diminutive hips. The unicorn caught eye of her dress and reacted in a similar manner as to Rylan's appearance. "I explained things to her on the way'" FlutterShy said. "Oh terribly sorry. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Rarity, pleased to make your aquaintance." The unicorn curtsied, and Rylan bowed in return. "I trust that you are Rylan, yes? And this is your companion, Stella?" "Yup! Stunning stewardess of the Starflight Express!" Stella struck a pose, at which everyone stared at uncomfortably. "... Really? Still nothing?" "Well, I ain't know nothin' bout no StarFlight Express," said the orange mare. "But mah name's AppleJack. Pleased to meet yah!" Rylan went for a handshake, but realized the pony had none. So he bumped his fist instead. A new "party trick" as he liked to call them. The most colorful pony went high up toward the ceiling, and exclaimed, "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria and soon-to-be Wonder Bolt!" The other ponies were sent into a titter of giggles and comments, while Stella grumbled softly, "Why did they like her introduction better than mine...?" "My name's Pinkamina, but you guys can call me Pinkie Pie!" Said the poofy-haired pink pony in a cheerful tone. Rylan was reminded of Patty, from the inn at Stornway. Of course came the barrage of questions- "What are you? Where are you from? Can I see your hat? Do you like cake?" Most of which were answered without problem. Soon Twilight descended the staircase. "Girls! It's great to see you." She said. "I suppose your all wondering why I called you here."
Celestia Celestia Upon the completion of Rylan's detailed recollection of events, the ponies were silent. He'd told them more of his home- the Observatory, the Protocrate, the Realm of the Almighty- and explained how he got to their world as best he could, ending the tale when he met FlutterShy after the Manticore assault. Twilight and FlutterShy, having heard the tale once before, simply nodded and asked little questions. The others gave exclamations of disbelief, gasps of horror, sighs of relief, and other reactions with similar effects. "Ah... Ah can't say I ever heard a story like that." AppleJack spoke first. "It sounds to me like you've done some awesome stuff!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "But what was that light?" Rarity asked Stella. "First time around, when Rylan here lost his wings and halo, it was Corvus. This time... well, neither of us know much. It wasn't Corvus, we can rule him out. There isn't really anyone else we know who could do it, or would do it, 'cept some members of the Gittish Empire, but they're long gone." Stella said, floating above Rylan's head. "You know anyone who could?" "I can't think of anypony," Twilight said. "As far was I know, there isn't even anypony who knows about that Protocrate place." "Didn't you write to that princess of yours? What was her name? Celestaria? "Celestia," corrected Twilight. "And yes, I did. I haven't gotten a reply yet, but I'm sure that soon-" A white flash came from upstairs, along with the sound of hoofsteps. A larger, ivory alicon descended the steps, a four-toned mane streaming from behind her. She wore golden shoes and jewelry, and stood slightly taller than Rylan. The ponies all bowed and curtsied to the obvious royalty. "Twilight Sparkle," she said. "How wonderful it is to see you and your friends again. I'm sorry, but where is this 'Celestrian' you were talking about?" The smaller alicorn bowed to her apparent elder, and gestured towards the otherworldly pair. Rylan gave a salute, and Stella, caught off guard by the pony's sudden appearance, faltered slightly in mimicking the motion. "Ah, it is wonderful to meet you in person, Rylan." The alicorn smiled at him. "I trust you know who I am?" Rylan felt a presence almost identical to one he'd felt once before, in front of the world tree. He almost called the princess Celestria, as opposed to her true name. "Hey! What am I? Diced liver?" Stella interrupted. The Princess chuckled. "Of course. How could I neglect his companion? It is a pleasure to meet you, Stella. Now, I understand you were brought down in the forest by beams of dark energy?" Rylan nodded, explaining the similarity to those that had brought him to the protocrate as a stripped Celestrian. "I see. This is certainly a problem necessary of investigation." Said Celestia. "Twilight, I'd like for you and your friends to check around Ponyville, then investigate the crystal empire for any signs of activity by our old enemies." "But princess Celestia, they're gone. We defeated them all." Rainbow Dash reminded her. "Evil is never truly defeated. It is only pushed away, temporarily conquered by good." The princess said ominously. "Please, if you'll excuse me, I have other important matter to attend to." The princess was enveloped in a golden light, then vanished into fading sparks of magic. "Hmph! She didn't even give us a proper goodbye!" Stella grumbled. "Some manners she has!" Ignoring the faye, the six ponies in the room put on strange golden necklaces, each set with a differently colored and shaped gemstone, matching the marks on their flanks, excluding Twilight, who wore her gem as a tiara. The six left the library, Rylan and Stella following soon after. "Hey? What's with the jewelry?" Stella asked, floating in front of Twilight. "Not that I don't appreciate accessorizing, but now's really not the time to be flashy!" "These are the elements of harmony," The alicorn explained as they walked. "They're the best defense against evil we have in Ponyville," Pinkie Pie continued. "They're super powerful when we work together!" "Hey, speaking of together," Stella said. "We should probably get Old Fatguts in on this. He's not gonna want to be left outta this." "'Old Fatguts?" FlutterShy asked. "Is that the Sterling man you were talking about?" "Hm? Oh yeah," Stella said, paying little attention. "It's just a kickname." "You mean nickname." Twilight said. "Yeah. that's what I said!" As they entered the dark wood, the ponies clustered together more tightly, even the pegasus returning to the proximity. They seemed more afraid of the forest than the people of Stornway were of the Wight Knight. A howl came from their left. Five wolves, made of twigs and tree limbs, burst forth onto the path. The ponies cowered back a bit, least of all the orange one. Rylan drew his sword, and charged himself with fire fource. The orange pony kicked stones at the wolves, piercing one's throat and essentially destroying it. Rylan hacked horizontally across the second wolf, cleanly cutting it in half. The third wolf had circled around and approached Pinkie Pie, only to be stopped by the paralyzing glare of FlutterShy. Rainbow Dash rapidly ascended and slammed into the stunned wolf, like a bolt of the rainbow. Another wolf pounced at the multicolored mare, only to be shot into the distance by a literal cannon by Pinkie Pie. The fifth wolf had been waiting for an opportunity, seizing the chance by bounding through the group at Twilight. The alicorn magically teleported behind the wolf, which turned around in a snarl. Before Rylan could react and end the wolf's life, Rarity stepped in, slinging a handful of jaggedly cut gemstones at the wolf, shearing off it's limbs. The four other wolves had been dealt with in the time it took him to deal with one. Despite their obvious fear of the creatures here, they can fight back well enough, he observed, slinging his sword across his back again. The orange one defended her friends selflessly. She was akin to a warrior, or perhaps a paladin. The way FlutterShy stared down the wolf attacking her friend showed her dominance over the animals. A ranger, no doubt. And the multicolored pony's fighting style only reassured his thoughts on her being a martial artist. The alicorn was obviously the most skilled in magic, likely as a mage. Rarity, while also capable of magic, was more detailed and elegant in her mode of attack. A Luminary. As for Pinkie Pie... difficult to pinpoint. Earlier, when she'd lifted his shield without his notice, he'd anticipated a thief. Further revelation of her skills, however, seemed to pertain towards entertainment, as a minstrel. He needed further observation before any definite decisions, but he was getting an idea of their styles of fighting. He wondered if they already knew, but from what he'd learned of the ponies, they didn't really do too much fighting. He'd have to ask them later. Celestia closed the door behind her as she walked into a brightly lit room, illuminated by a bright pool in the shape of a star, situated in the center. The room was otherwise empty, as the purpose it served required little other than the pool. Celestia softly chanted a spell, invoking an old friend of hers. "Hello, Celestia. It's been some time." Spoke a voice. A figure began to rise from the pool- a young woman, with ivory skin and blonde hair. She wore a dress of white silk and a single lavender ribbon, trailing across her shoulders and arms. "It is good to see you again as well, Celestria." The Princess of the Sun greeted. "I'm afraid I have some troubling news. You are familiar with your Celestrian, Rylan, yes?" "Ah." The goddess smiled. "My champion. How is it you know of him?" "He and his companions are in my realm. I fear the worst." "You don't think father...?" Celestria gasped softly. "I'm afraid it may be true. That is why I sent out both my student- my champion- and her friends along with him in search of those He returns to us. If we are able to prevent them from gaining control, we may just yet prevent Him from causing the total erase." "You have done as I would have. I can only hope they can overcome the obstacles that His recreations throw at them." The goddess said, voice filled with worry. "You have nothing to fear. I am sure that the girls, alongside Rylan, will be able to surpass and rise above any challenge thrown at them." Celestia reassured her. "Together, there is nothing they cannot accomplish." "We can only hope."
Sterling"Heeey! Old Fatguts!" Stella called to her superior. "I told ya not ta call me-" the aged conductor said, stopping when he saw the motley crew approaching him. "Eh, wot's wiv the horses?" "Excuse me? I am a pony, not a horse." Rarity corrected him. After staring with a gaping mouth for a few moments, Sterling turned to Rylan. "Ya best get explainin' boy." An hour later, Rylan finished his explanation and introductions, the occational detail had to be supplimemted by one of the others. Sterling stood tall, hands on his hips. "Well, that's good enough fer me. Nice t'meet ya, girls." The six replied with various other pleasantries. "You know, I'd love to study the spells you used to make the train fly," Twilight said. "It would be a major advancement for us." "Eh, sorry, but that'll be a no," Sterling said. "Not suppose t' go showin' her off. It's pretty rare for anyone t' even see her if they're mortal." "Oh," she said, slightly saddened by the refusal. "That's alright." "Hey, Mr. Sterling? Will we get to ride the train?" Pinkie asked, popping out of the open back door. "How'd ya'- no, not fer a while at any rate." Said the flabbergasted conductor, picking Pinkie up by the back and tossing her roughly out of the Starflight. "I'm really not suppose ta let anyone on if they're not a Celestrian." "Please?" Pinkie said, in the train again. "What the- No!" Sterling said, dragging her out again. "Listen 'ere, yer not gonna get to ride her at all if ya keep me from fixin' her up! Rylan, jus' go find out what knocked us down so it can't go doin' it again. Awright?" Rylan nodded in response. "Good. You all get goin' about yer business then." "But Mr. FatGuts," Pinkie piped up again. "What about the creatures of the forest? They could attack you if you stay out here." "Firs' of all, my name's Sterling, not FatGuts," he corrected the pony gently, aiming an icy glare at Stella. "An' second, i think I can hold my own against any beastie that comes my way." He flexed a muscle to emphasize his point. "You won't get hungry? Or what if it starts to rain? What if a Dragon-" Pinkie was stopped mid-sentence when he closed a hand around her mouth. "Don' worry. I'll be fine. You all get goin'." The conductor returned to the inside of his train without another word. "Well that was cold, even for old FatGuts," Stella said as the group continued deeper into the forest. "He's not usually that terse, then?" Rarity asked the faery. "He must be upset about his train," Twilight observed. "It seemed to mean a lot to him." "Still does, by the way he talked about it." Applejack recounted. "Well yeah," Stella said, eyes rolling. "It's his pride and rejoice."
Copies"Eep!" Stella squealed. Rylan had his sword in hand by the time she flew to his side. "I... there was a spider on me," She blushed, embarrassed. Seeing the slight grin spread across his and Rainbow's faces, she pouted angrily. "Hey! It was a huge spider!" "Sure it was," Rainbow said, vainly attempting to hold back her laughter, before noticing the same spider on her muzzle. "Ah! Gettitoff!" This time the whole group laughed as the frightened mare scrambled at her face with her hooves. They'd continued deeper into the woods to investigate the area for further disturbances, but as of yet had come across none. Twilight only wanted to check one more area before they'd return to Ponyville for the night. Some sort of ruined castle, as she'd described it. It had been overrun by plants and worn down by the uncontrolled weather. "Ah, here it is!" Twilight exclaimed as the group crossed over a rather rickety wooden bridge. "Looks... familiar." Stella said. "Deja two, right Rylan?" He nodded in agreement. The castle was very much reminiscent of Brigadoom, the lost kingdom. If it were raining and had healslimes wandering about, he could almost imagine it was. As it was, the crumbling ruin was equally eerie, if not quite as intimidating as the long abandoned land. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna used to rule from here, a long time ago," Twilight lectured as they neared the vegetation-covered towers. "They abandoned it when Luna was banished, and relocated to Canterlot." "So they just left their posh castle to turn to dust?" Stella said, appalled. "Why would she go and do that?" "The battle between the two kinda ruined most of the building," Twilight explained as they passed through the outlaying arches. "There was little reason to stay after that." "In other words, they trashed their home and moved on." Rainbow surmised, earning a glare from the alicorn. "What?" "They didn't 'trash' the castle, it was destroyed in their fight for the throne. And the structural damage was so severe that it would've been more costly to rebuild than to relocate to Canterlot." Meanwhile, Rylan took the opportunity to scout the area out. Something about it felt... unnatural. as if the air itself was uneasy. His hand subconsciously drifted to the hilt of his sword as he ventured into the main hall. A clip of a hoof on stone sounded behind him. Rylan spun around, drawing his sword, and was confronted with... Pinkie? "Whatcha doin'?" She asked him. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He was just being paranoid. The similar look of the ruin had brought back his wariness of Brigadoom. He had nothing to worry about. At least, that's what he thought until the rest of the ponies came in- along with Pinkie Pie, again. "Huh? Am I seeing doubled?" Stella said, rubbing her eyes as if to rid them of the twin. The first Pinkie laughed nervously, and backed into a corner with her eyes narrowed. Momentarily, they flashed green. Rylan, confused by this strange event, looked back and forth between the two. "Oh no," The second Pinkie said. "Did we miss one from the mirror hole?" "Don' worry Pinkie," AppleJack reassured, advancing on the first. "We'll get her." Twilight and Rainbow did the same, soon backing the copy into a corner. The copy gave a harsh chittering sound, as if laughing. A bright flash of green light surged from it's body, and when it faded, a shiny black creature with solidly blue eyes stood on all four hole-riddled hooves. Two transparent wings reminiscent of an insect's sprang from it's back, and a twisted horn jutted out from it's forehead. "That's... that's a-" FlutterShy stammered. "Changeling!" Rainbow finished. The changeling burst between Twilight and AppleJack, skidding to a stop before Rylan. Rylan's hand immediately flew to the sword slung across his back. He slashed out at the changeling, but missed by an entire foot as it easily sidestepped him. It was too fast to strike at normally, a fact that became apparent as it slammed into him before he could block. It turned to FlutterShy, and advanced on the cowering yellow mare. Rylan took a deep breath, and murmured the words of the decelerate spell, one of his first. The magic letter spiraled around him in two rings, and the spell flew forth, slowing the creature's movements and making it more sluggish with it's reactions. Rarity, having taken note of his actions, threw bricks and rubble from the crumbling wall at the creature, further damaging it. The Changeling hissed and flew high into the air to escape through a window, only to be blocked by Rainbow Dash, who bashed the hybrid creature to the ground with both hooves. As it struggled to rise back to it's naturally decimated hooves, it looked up into Pinkie's confetti cannon, which blew the creature across the room to AppleJack. The cowpony didn't even let it stop moving before kicking it airborne with her hind legs, where Twilight blasted it with a bolt of purple magic. The Changeling came to a stop in front of Rylan once more, barely conscious, it's shell cracked, scorched, and bloodied. It looked up at him one last time. He swung once. The changeling vanished into purple mist, as all monsters he'd met had before. "Where... did it go?" Rarity asked, walking up next to him. Stella piped up to offer an explanation. "When monsters die, their essence disperses into near nothing. Usually they reform later in less inhabited places." "So it's... dead?" FlutterShy squeaked. "Hmm... Never really thought about it," Stella said, a hand on her chin. "I don't think so. They always come back, in some form." "So they're like Phoenixes?" the yellow pegasus asked. "What's a 'feenicks'?" "That's not important now," Twilight interrupted. "Changelings aren't suppose to be here. we thought we'd sent them all to the badlands, after my brother's wedding, but apparently not. We need to look into this further. Right girls? And, uh, Rylan?" "Right!" The group agreed simultaneously.
