Tonight had been an amazing night in Ponyville. Of course, after one of Pinkie Pie’s parties, how could an evening be anything less that spectacularly fun!? They had everything that you could think of, games, dancing, streamers, punch, and of course, all of their friends. What more could a pony ask for? Alas though, even the best of parties eventually have to come to an end.
“Hey Pinkie! Thanks for another amazing party! It was totally Awe-some!” Rainbow Dash yelled before flying off in the direction of her house. “See ya tomorrow Pinks!”
“I simply must agree with Rainbow Dash. This was exactly what I needed after rushing to get an order finished for Hoity Toity. Of course that being said, I do believe I must call it a night as well. Otherwise, my order for Sapphire Shores will start falling behind as well, and, while I’ve apparently gotten used to cutting in close, I still actually need to go out and find all the gems I need for her ensemble. As Dash said though, thanks again though for a truly delectable evening. We should definitely do this again soon.” Rarity proclaimed.
With that everypony started going their separate ways Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy all giving Pinkie their thanks before making their way back to their homes for the night. It had already gotten pretty late, and Luna’s moon was already high in the sky. A slight breeze started rolling in from the Everfree Forest on their way homes, but nopony thought anything about it. After all, it was just a few gusts of wind periodically. That was, generally, nothing to worry about.
Twilight was the last to make it to the Library as she walked with Fluttershy to her cottage making sure she would be fine for the evening. After all, her cottage was the closest building to the forest, and was entirely possible that something could stray out of the forest that far.
“Ho boy! That was one heck of a party!” Spike said with all the excitement of a small filly receiving a new toy for the first time.
“Yup,” Twilight said with an obvious tone of exhaustion in her voice. “She certainly knows how to throw a super party. Now, however, I am super pooped,” she said leaning down to nuzzle Spike. “Good night Spike,” she said before climbing into her bed and quickly falling asleep.
When the next morning arrived, there was something that was… off. Ponyville was usually bustling with some sort of activity every morning, even with as small as it was. In fact, it was because it was as small as it was that it was bustling. The Market place and Town Square always had somepony or ponies in them either going to Town Hall, or shopping or setting up their merchant booths. This morning however, only flower sister’s flower shop was open along with Ponyville Day Spa, and Golden Harvest’s carrot stand. Even Sugar Cube Corner was still closed, and Twilight knew that Sugar Cube was one of the first places that opened in the morning.
“Hey Twilight!” She heard Rainbow yelling in a somewhat panicked tone. “Do you have any idea what’s going on? Almost the entire weather team is missing and we’re supposed to be preparing a rain storm today. I went to their homes and they were all still sleeping, so maybe I thought that they just simply over slept… but… but…” Dash said almost on the verge of tears, which definitely caught Twilight’s attention. Dash never cried, ever. So if she’s like this, Twilight knew something was up. “No pony is waking up… I tried everything I could think of including making it rain on them and they still won’t wake up. Please… If anything… please for the love of Celestia tell me they aren’t…”
Alright, something was definitely going down, and she now understood why Dash was so upset. In fact, hearing that something might have sucked the life out of Ponyville almost overnight was a daunting thing to realize. “Take me to them,” Twilight said firmly, completely in serious mode now.
Rainbow nodded and led Twilight to Flitter and Storm Chaser’s house. The pair was still very soundly asleep in their now, very wet beds. If Twilight hadn’t known what Rainbow did, this encounter might have been very embarrassing for the two sisters. She looked, and she could see that the two pegasi were still breathing, so them having passed was no longer something that was on the table. Twilight reached a hoof towards them. They still had a pulse. “Was everypony you checked on like this?”
“TWILIGHT!!!” She heard from behind her in Rarity’s shrieking gasp.
“Oh… hey, this isn’t what it…”
“I need you to come to my boutique NOW! I can’t get Sweetie bell to wake up at all and she’s barely breathing!” rarity said in tears.
“Looks like this is affecting more than just pegasi…” Twilight acknowledged. “Rainbow, Go Wait in the Library, I need to go see Sweetie Bell to confirm my suspicions,” She explained as Rainbow nodded and flew off. She then turned to Rarity. “Take me to Sweetie Bell.”
Rarity led Twilight to Sweetie Bell, and her suspicions were in fact confirmed. “Rarity, I need you to go to the Library and advise any ponies that you find along the way that haven’t been affected by whatever this is to come with you. I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m going to do my best to find out,” She told Rarity before teleporting herself to The Town Square. “Listen up everypony, your attention please! I am aware that something is wrong and that ponies are not waking like normal. I need everypony to the Library now so that we can all try to figure out what is going on,” she addressed before Teleporting to the Library.
“Spike! Spiiike!” she hollered. Within seconds he was Downstairs.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to oversleep. I” he continued before being cut off with a hoof.
“I need you to help me find anything you can on sleep effects. Even with all my knowledge there is something going on in Ponyville right now that I can’t Identify,” she relayed as a mass of ponies started piling into the library. Of course, much to Twilight’s dismay, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy were not amongst the ponies in the room, and she instantly feared the worst. In fact, aside from her, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, there were only about twenty or so other ponies that were in the library, and search as they may, they couldn’t find anything that could shed any hope as to what was happening.
Night had fallen, and Twilight could see the winds picking up again. “Alright, I think it’s best that everypony stays here for the night. While I can’t say this place is really any safer than anyplace else, I don’t really think it’s safe for anypony to go outside right now. Whatever caused this could still be out there, and our numbers are low enough… Spike, Take a letter please.”
“Dear Princess Celestia,
Something very weird has occurred in Ponyville. I have no idea what has caused such a thing to occur but almost no pony here in Ponyville had awaken today, and I’m very concerned about what could have happened. We went into everypony's house and they are indeed still breathing, but nothing we can do is waking any of them up.
The only thing that I know of that could have been remotely odd from last night is that the winds were a bit forceful last night and they seem to be at it again tonight. I don't know if they have anything to do with the situation that had occurred with me last night. The only ponies that are still awake right now are spike, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, myself, and a few other ponies from here. I have no idea what is going on. Please help.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle.”
Spike sent the letter and within a matter of minutes Princess Celestia was in the Library. "What's exactly going on?" Celestia asked.
"We don't know," Twilight panicked. "The only things we know is that no pony is waking up on their own, and no matter how hard any of us try we can't get anyone up ourselves either. Heck Rainbow did a sonic rainboom in the streets and not even that woke anypony up."
Princess Celestia walked over to the door and took a sniff of the winds that were blowing outside. Her eyes went wide. There was definitely a magical aura within the winds that blew through the streets. She recognized it. It was a deadly wild magic that had been sealed away long ago in an ancient temple in The Everfree Forest. Someone must have gotten to the temple and released it.
"No one goes outside," Princess Celestia stated firmly. The winds that are blowing outside are called the Nightingale's Feathers. It's a very dangers magic that will lock ponies into a deep sleep and as long as they continue to blow, the ponies locked in its trance will never wake up as long as they continue. Luna and I had sealed it away once in the forbidden temple in the Everfree Forest. Something had to have released it."
"Then we'll just have to go put back!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I'm sorry princess but I'm not going to sit here while all my friends here in Ponyville suffer from not even being able to wake up. I may like a nap, but this is just scary. Not to mention having to be here actually watching your friends not be able to do nothing,"
"That's precisely why I need you, Twilight, and Rarity to be here Rainbow. Right now every pony here in Ponyville is defenseless so Having as many of the element bears together as possible watching over them can provide them with and abundant amount of protection, as will I," Celestia explained as an aura of magic burst from her coating everypony in a faint aura of their own. "This will keep everyone here immune to the effects of the winds for two weeks. That being said, I am going to need a group to go into the forest to seal the temple.” She explained before her eyes came across her sister’s pupil. A bit of good news that she’ll be able to relay to her that she was okay.
“Ice Storm, Luna's spoke of your ice magic, you know how to weaponize it if needed yes?" She asked watching Ice nod. "Good, get a team together and go into the forest and seal the temple. We will make sure everypony here stays safe."
“But… I don’t really know the first thing about what do or where to go…” Ice Storm protested. To be honest, she wasn’t sure that having the weight of everypony’s life on her was something that she could handle. “Are you sure I’m the right pony for the job?”
Celestia moved over to Ice Storm. “I’m positive. I may not know the abilities of everypony else in the room, but I do know yours, and I also know that you aren’t one to give up. I have every bit of faith that you and whatever team you decide to take with you, will succeed. Now, you’ll want to take this,” Celestia said handing her a map. “While I’m not one hundred percent sure where this temple is anymore, I know that it is in this region of the Everfree Forest.” She explained circling the north eastern region of the forest. “It should only take you a couple days to reach that area. After that, I can’t say how long it will take, but you have two weeks to find the temple, and ultimately, save Equestria.” Celestia finished. “You and your team need to be ready by dawn. Time is not luxury we have anymore.”
Author's Note
Note: Luna will not be in the actual story until deeper in the story. Expect her in either Chapter four or Five. This is also going to mostly be an OC Story. All OC's used with permission.
The following morning, Princess Celestia raised the sun from Golden Oaks Library, and Ice Storm was one of the first ponies otherwise to awaken. She looked out to look at the awakening sky that dawn was bringing forth, and the weight of the task had started to sink in. Princess Celestia, the ruler of the Equestria, had just placed the fate of the entire ponydom in her hooves. She looked to the winds that blew through some of the trees outside. The branches swayed and creaked as they gusted around them.
“I guess everything is up to me now. Finding the right ponies, and finding the best way through the forest without losing anypony in the process,” she spoke to herself in a moderately serious tone. “I just hope that this doesn’t end up being a mistake… there are many more qualified than I to undertake something like this…” She finished as glanced around the library. As she did, there were a few ponies that stood out to her.
The first pony that stood out was a blue pegasi, one that was much darker of a blue than her own. She seemed to be very muscular, but that wasn’t what attracted the icy mare to her. No, Ice Storm was more focused on the very heavy plate armor that the mare wore that was held together by scale mail. Each plate was made out of a bright white piece of iron, and it looked as if each one had been outlined in gold. The centerpiece of the armor was a large gold and white breastplate that had a winged shield as the crest in the center, and the pegasi’s wings were covered in a similar armor, but were forged to have what appeared to be blades at the wing crests. This mare looked like she had definitely seen a lot of front-line fighting in her time, and would be somepony worth having on the team. Ice Storm approached the mare.
“Before you ask, I was already planning on coming with you,” The armored mare spoke as she got close. “My little sister… She is… one of the tragedies of this accursed wind so far, and I’m not about to let something like this remain at large. My honor as a Greyhoove will not allow it,” she spoke before looking at the icy mare. “My name is Iron Wing Greyhoove, Night Guardian from the Ponyville watch tower. I am to presume that from what I gathered from what Princess Celestia said last night; you are Ice Storm, and an ice mage yes?” Iron Wing asked, more for conformation than anything.
Ice Storm nodded. “Thank you. I’m not entirely sure what we’re going to face, so I’ll take all the help I can get.”
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure either. I just got transferred here from a small village outside Hoofington not too long ago. I haven’t really had time to learn the area that well yet” Iron Wing stated in a simple tone. “That being said, I am ready to leave whenever you are. Just give the order, and I will follow.”
That comment made Ice a bit more uneasy than before. Did she really want to be the one controlled everything? It was an enormous weight that was placed on her and she could only hope that all the weights didn’t eventually break her. She was of course, but only one mare. How could everypony be so sure that she would have all the answers when she herself was sure that she had any at all? “Alright… get a grip of yourself. Celestia thinks you can do this… and the armored one is willing to follow, so you don’t have anything to worry about. Just get a few more ponies and we’ll be okay…” she thought aloud to herself.
About that time another blue pegasi came over. This one had red shield as his cutie mark with a gold outline and a white start in the center of it. “I would like to join you for this quest as well. While I personally don’t have any pony in particular that I would be fighting for, fighting for everypony who can’t is enough for me,” the stallion said to her in a proud voice extending a hoof. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Storm. I am Alex Knight, run of the mill Ponyville weather Pony.”
“Likewise. As I was telling the mare over there, I can use all the help I can get. This isn’t something that I’m one hundred percent certain about myself, so the more ponies that I have that are willing to help, the better,” Ice Storm explained as she looked around to see another unicorn stirring and seeming to get supplies together. The unicorn seed to have a goldenrod colored coat and just barely a lighter shade of such for his mane and tail. His cutie mark was a golden eight point star with two spots in between each point with the exception of the one closest to his flank. She walked over to him. “Hello, my name is Ice Storm, am I to presume that you are coming as well since you are awake so early?”
“Well, yes. My name is Daylight, and I am a private investigator from Manehatten. I was actually just passing through Ponyville on the way to Las Pegasus in order to work on a few leads out there for a few clients of mine. I must say though, whatever is causing so much of a disturbance as locking ponies in a coma, is worth far more of an investigation than a few petty thefts or attempts at blackmail,” the unicorn responded.
Ice couldn’t really blame him. Of course, it was impossible for her to tell exactly what it was he was capable of. However, if he was some sort of investigator, then perhaps his keep eye would be able to pick up on hints to where the elusive temple was hiding. Of course, having a keen eye would help in just about any situation that they could be in during their travel through the forest. She looked back towards the other two began contemplating how to best handle everything. “Hmm. Alright, Iron Wing, Alex, and Daylight, I’m heading to the crest of the hilltop on the lone path that leads into the forest. I will begin looking over and planning things there. Whenever you have finished getting ready, meet me there,” she stated.
“I am ready to depart now. The more time we waste getting ready is less time we have to get this done,” Iron Wing retorted also making her way towards the door of the Library. “That being said, I agree we should take our planning outside where we have a bit more room to work with…” she said looking around to all of the ponies who were groggily beginning to wake up. “No doubt it will start getting a bit… cramped in here soon,” she finished.
“I am right behind you as well Ms. Storm. I already have everything I need,” Alex said while moving towards the door as well.
“Likewise,” the goldenrod unicorn stated as he now stood in front of her as well.
“Alright then,” Ice stated putting her saddle bags on. “Let’s get moving,” she said leading them out of the library.
The streets of Ponyville were just as eerily quiet as they were the day before. In fact, if anypony didn’t know better, one would have suspected that Ponyville had been completely deserted and was now nothing but a ghost town. “A thought that may be true if we don’t succeed…” Ice muttered under her breath. There were still a few gusts of wind that whenever they blew by, mad Ice Storm, and the rest of the group a bit uneasy. As far as they knew, every gust of wind contained the dangerous winds that could permanently encase ponies in a deep sleep. It wasn’t something that they took lightly too. They may be immune to it for now, but they knew that the ponies that they were on this mission for weren’t.
Once they were at the top of the hill, Ice Storm took the map with the circled region out of her saddle bag and she began to look everything over. “Alright, so, taking a look at this… I believe that the safest route possible is to go through the old Moon Palace first. It's a sturdy place of shelter that is surrounded by a cliff side all the way around. It has multiple layers of security for us, and will give us time to decide what to do next. The area that Celestia circled is rather large, and we will need some extra time to try to figure out the best way of finding something that, for all we know, could look like anything.” She stated.
“Otherwise, it would guide us directly through Froggy Bottom Bog. Unless somepony that I'm not aware of has gotten that Hydra that lives there out, that's not an option. Then of course, if we go the longer way, directly to the west we risk running into the Ursas. Personally, I don't want to go any closer to those things than I have to. Unless anypony else knows a way that I didn’t think of, I think going to the Moon Palace is the best option.” Ice finished.
“That sounds like a solid plan. Although, I don't know much about this Moon Palace. Is it connected with Princess Luna?" Alex asked her.
“To my knowledge, it's actually connected to both princesses. If my memory serves me correctly, it's where Princess Luna and Princess Celestia lived before Luna's banishment. I never did ask Luna why her sister left the Moon Palace, but then again, that was a part of Luna's past that I'd rather not have to make her retell. It was bad enough for her to live through it once and still, a millennium later, be suffering the consequences from it. I would love to go much further into detail about Princess Luna herself and how different she is from everypony's blatantly misconstrued beliefs of her, but that can wait until we are in a safer position and once we've gotten some dirt behind us,” she concluded waiting for everypony else to speak up.
Iron just kind of gave the unicorn a raised eyebrow when she started speaking of the princess. "Well, it looks like you have good knowledge about this place and it´s dangers. Since, as I mentioned in the library, I don´t know that much about this area. So, I will trust you. Also your plan sounds very well thought out. This Moon Palace may be a good landmark. If somepony gets lost we can meet at the palace to regroup. Just one tactical suggestion: I don´t know you’re the extent abilities at all, but I think the strong ponies should protect the front and the back of the group." Iron Wing suggested, trying to keep a tactical advantage. Daylight seemed to agree with the mare on both fronts.
“Speaking of that fact,” Daylight mentioned in reference to what Iron Wing had said. “We should probably inform everypony of what our abilities are and to what extent they are at so that we know what we have…” Daylight started getting caught off by a voice from behind them.
“Wait!!” a rather quick green stallion yelled as he tried to catch up to the group. “Sorry I’m late! I would have been here sooner but well…” the green stallion mentioned thinking back to his family, all of whom currently being affecting by the curse that the winds had placed on them. “I couldn’t really do anything without making sure my family was okay first. I don’t really know how I can be of much help, but I will help in any way that I can,” he finished. “Oh, the name’s Electrobolt, by the way.”
“I completely understand,” Ice sympathized with the earth pony. Of course, she didn’t really have anything of a family to check on other than her mother in Canterlot. If Celestia was here though, she was fairly certain that she was fine. She doubted that Celestia would leave Canterlot completely unattended. She then turned to Iron, Alex and Daylight again. “I agree, we should all explain what our strengths are so that we can play to them effectively. My personal strength is my namesake. As long as it is ice related, I can pretty much do whatever I need to with it. I also know how to materialize it using the water that’s naturally in the air and around us,” she explained.
“Well, as you can all see I am wearing a huge armor. That’s not just for show. I was trained within the Canterlot garrison as a guard. I know military tactics, scouting and combat. But my specialty is my strength. I can lift huge weights into the air because I trained for years on construction sites. Even with this armor on I can fly with full potential, but I am not a fast flier." Iron Wing told them.
“And my special talent is creating light, although I can provide healing as well should the need arise for me to do so. To what extent I cannot say as I have never actually pushed the limits on my healing magic, but as far as a light goes, I can keep a light on for a decent amount of time before I need rest,” Daylight mentioned.
“I'm pretty quick on my hooves myself, and even faster in the air. I can take the back to cover everypony. I've taken my share of licks in the past back when I was just a colt in Fillydelphia.” Alex explained to everypony, getting a nod from the group.
“I'm pretty good on my hooves, and my reflexes aren't all that bad, either but… that’s about everything that I have…” Electrobolt added.
“Hey, don’t worry about anything. After all, having a pony that is light and nimble is an advantage regardless of the situation. This will probably be especially important once we actually find and get to the temple so that’s exactly what we need,” Ice smiled at the stallion trying to encourage him. Looking at everypony else she took on a bit more of a serious tone.
“Alright then. Alex, as you requested, you will be following behind us and watching our flanks. Iron Wing, due to your suggestion earlier I would like you to be in front of me as we march through. Daylight, you will be on my left and Electrobolt on the right. I will take the center since I’m the one with both the compass and the map, and it would be the easiest place for me to be heard from regarding navigation,” she explained, giving everypony the formation that she wanted to move in.
“Oh, and before I forget, we will eventually have to cross a river, and if I remember from speaking with Rarity, there is a sea serpent that lives in the river. As long as we are nice to him, we shouldn’t have any issues crossing though, and we might even be able to convince him to watch our flanks once we’re past. That being said, if unless anypony else has any objections and everypony else is ready, Iron Wing… Take us in.” With there being no other objections, the group started moving towards the forest, and passing through the treeline.
