The Equinid (Undetermined Prologue)

The six fillies sat quietly around a campfire.

There were millions of things they could be talking about, millions of thoughts crossing their minds, millions of questions they needed answered; but none of them felt like talking.

It was easy to see that each was deep within their own heads; Twilight was looking at nothing in particular; Dash was stretching her wings and legs unconsciously; Applejack was tapping one hoof with the other; Pinkie was drawing shapes in the dirt with a hoof; Rarity was stroking and grooming her mane; and Fluttershy simply stared at the ground.

Suddenly, the purple unicorn spoke.

"Remember- remember when we all used to just go out on, you know, normal camping trips?"

The others snapped out of the trance and began to ponder her question.

"Heh, yeah, and when we used to have normal sleepovers?" Dash added.

"And normal parties!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"An' normal adventures?" Applejack contributed.

"Oh, and normal jobs." Fluttershy said.

They all smiled, feelings of nostalgia, feelings of pure, innocent joy that they could only remember washed over them, and filled them with a warm sensation.

"And normal lives." Rarity said.

The fillies' faces gradually became more serious.

Twilight nodded and shrugged. "We can't do any of that anymore; at least, well, especially not here." She glanced at her surroundings.

They fell into another silence, until Pinkie started fidgeting.

"Eye roll, tail twitch, hoof shake!" She announced.

Dash rested her chin on her hooves nonchalantly. "Yeah, I know Pinkie; I can feel 'em too."

Rarity shuddered. "It is a bit eerie, isn't it?"

Applejack turned her head to the dark forest around them, but her eyes were focused beyond it, on a place that she couldn't see. "Could be a billion miles away. Never restin' gaze."

"Is that what you're callin' it now?" Dash teased Applejack, nudging her.

"We gotta come up with somethin' ta call it." Applejack replied.

"Honestly, must they bother us so often?" Rarity remarked.

Twilight rubbed her eyes. "They're not really bothering us."

"Oh, well, um, not to say you're wrong, which isn't what I'm saying, but they do make me uncomfortable when I know they're there." Fluttershy said.

"But you know what I mean. They can't really do anything to us." Twilight answered.

Dash sat up straight, puffed out her chest and crossed her forelegs in a show of bravado. "Yeah, and I don't care what they see me do or when they're watchin' me! Not like I care what they think of me!"

Applejack chuckled, at which Dash blushed, slightly embarrassed. She quickly started reaching behind herself for something.

"Besides, what are they gonna accomplish by just watching? They makin' some kinda plan?" She said over her shoulder.

"We all know how their plans go, darling." Rarity said with smirk.

"Yeah! I wouldn't hire them to plan a party, that's for sure!" Pinkie said, laughing.

The six young mares giggled.

"They're probably too busy fighting with each other to focus on us, anyway!" Twilight said, prompting another round of laughter from the group.

"But they got us here." Dash sighed.

Twilight shook her head. "Not entirely; sure, they wanted us here, but we made the choice, Dash. Maybe we didn't know what the risks were at the time, but we put ourselves here, not them. I think it's better that way, anyway."

Dash sat back up, having retrieved the item she sought.

It was a small metal cylinder, with miniscule windows of glass revealing an inner chamber. She flicked a switch on it, and the entire forest clearing was illuminated by a bright green light.

"I just can't get over how cool these things are, y'know?" She said.

Applejack put a hoof on Dash's. "Sorry Dash, but… but could ya put that away fer now? It's just… Ah can't think too much. There's already more'n enough ta think about in this place."

Dash grumbled to herself, but put it away nonetheless. "Yeah, yeah. 'Put that away; Ah don't trust them funny little gadgets.'" Dash said in a poor imitation of Applejack's accent.

Applejack simply smiled and wrapped both of her forelegs around Dash's neck.

"Ya know, we ain't got much here, but at least we all still got each other." The farm pony smiled.

The rest of the fillies drew in around the two in a group hug.

"Yeah," Dash said, "wouldn't let you guys go for anything."

"I couldn't throw a party without all of you!" Pinkie squeaked.

"Who do you all think inspires my designs?" Rarity cooed.

"I don't think I would know anypony without all of you." Fluttershy said quietly.

"I've learned more from you than anything books could teach me." Twilight finished.

Although the six fillies had had group hugs before, this was the first one they had since they had left Ponyville for the first time. They had all learned, experienced, and lived through more than they could ever hope to recall. It was all too true to say that without one another, they would all be either miserable or dead. More importantly, they all knew this. They appreciated each other more than they could describe, and although they had met a multitude of new friends and allies that they cared for just as much, there was still something special when it was just the six of them spending time together.

In unison, they all dispersed and sat back down, feeling far more relaxed and calm than before.

"Oh! And we still have everyone back at the houses!" Pinkie shouted.

Dash nodded. "Uh huh. At least the whole caravan's here. No offense, but I might go crazy if I was stuck here with just you guys." She smiled.

"No offense taken, Dash. And it is good to have everyone here, you're right. But still… this place just feels lonely. Maybe it's just because, in my head, I know that there's nopony anywhere besides us." Twilight replied.

"Ah know what ya mean. It's like bein' on an island in the middle a nowhere."

"Yeah; it is kinda boring flying around here when there's only trees, rocks, and rivers everywhere." Dash said.

"And there are so few animals here." Fluttershy agreed.

"Certainly nothing we're used. I'll never pray for silence again; only now do I realize how much I miss the sound of loud ponies chatting outside of my boutique." Rarity sighed.

For a while, they sat quietly and contemplatively once more.

"Ya think we'll ever leave, Twilight?" Dash asked.

Twilight furrowed her brow in thought, and then slowly began to nod. "We'll leave, I'm sure of that. It's just how long it will take, and where we'll end up."

"Oh my, but we can't stay here for too long. What about everypony that needs our help?" Fluttershy asked.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten everything, Fluttershy. You know that Maxwell and Louis can help us with that once we get out." Twilight reassured her.

"They would know how to get out of here." The timid pony squeaked in response.

"I bet you're right; but they probably wouldn't even tell us," Dash said with a hint of irritation.

"I'm sure their reasons are valid, Dash," Twilight remarked.

"Yeah, but still," The pegasus muttered.

There was a rustling in the bushes. The group of mares stared intently in the direction of the noise, but relaxed once a familiar dragon entered the clearing.

"Hey Spike, what's going on?" Twilight asked her assistant.

"Oh, everypony was talking about what we should do next, so they sent me here to get you guys. Hope I'm not interrupting some sort of 'girl time'," he jokingly added a gag to the end of the sentence.

"Oh no, Spike; it's fine. Right?" Twilight said, turning to her friends. They all stood up from the logs they were sitting on and nodded to her.

"Alright, let's go."