The Equinid (Undetermined Prologue)

Ponyville.

Though its name had only become official in the last couple centuries, the settlement was evidently ancient; according to popular Equestrian mythology, Ponyville had been one of the first permanent towns to be settled by the original Equines, who had sailed from parts unknown, landed on the White Coast, and traveled East to Equestria, setting up Canterlot, Cloudsdale, and Ponyville before moving on.

Though few had ever made the trip, those foreign to Celestia's kingdom would hardly know what to do themselves in Ponyville; those handful that had, centuries ago, returned to report the strangeness of the town. It was a good town, the accounts agreed, but strange.

Then again, in the context of Equestria in general, it was hardly strange at all.

Equestria itself was something unique. A kingdom of ponies and some other species mixed in here and there that got along with one another in perfect harmony. The records in Canterlot had the proof; there hadn't been a violent altercation between anypony in over three thousand years. It was peaceful, introverted, sheltered from what lay outside its boundaries by its beloved rulers: Princess Celestia and the recently returned Princess Luna.

However, besides Canterlot and possibly Manehattan, Ponyville had always been the poster child town of Equestria. It was the manifestation of how Equestrians were expected to act; politely, gently, peacefully. It was for this reason that Celestia had sent Twilight Sparkle, her star pupil, to this town in order to find friends.

Twilight Sparkle herself, however, was not in any way harmonious at the moment. She was panicking, as she only had about one hour left to pack, and there were still a multitude of things she hadn't put in her saddlebags yet.

Despite the fact that she had already packed her hairbrush, toothbrush, clothes for formal occasions, and other essentials in a single saddlebag, three more still sat empty, all of them reserved for books.

Twilight had been reading around fifteen different books when she received word of the somewhat sudden arrangement that she was currently packing for.

"Spike? Can you help me here?"

A purple dragon, who had just finished packing his bags, came down the staircase.

"Sure, Twilight; what do you need?"

She levitated a piece of parchment, a list of book titles written on it in front of him.

"That's half of them; if you find all of them and I'm not finished, I may need you to help me find the other ones, too."

"Sure thing, but why can't you ever just read one book at a time, Twilight?"

She simply shook her head in response.

Spike glanced at the list and went to work looking for the books. From his years of experience as Twilight's assistant, he knew that many of the texts she was requesting were of a massive length; about nine hundred to a thousand pages each. However, Spike also knew from his years as Twilight's assistant that she could breeze through all of these books in less than two days, if she devoted all of her attention to it.

The two had found all but one of the books when the library door opened and another pony walked in.

"Are you ready, Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"Almost, Rarity. Don't tell me everypony is waiting outside for us," Twilight responded.

"How I wish that was the case! I was, of course, prepared hours ago. Fluttershy is ready, but still giving her animal-sitter instructions. Pinkie Pie; I have no clue. And Applejack, who hasn't packed her own things, only recently found Rainbow Dash in one of her barns, sleeping in and completely unprepared! It would be nice if some ponies would take into account that their disorganization holds back the rest of us as well! Don't you agree?"

"Here it is!" Twilight exclaimed, having ignored much of Rarity's speech, levitated the final book on her list into her bag. "Now I'm ready."

"Uh, yeah, me too! I was ready a while ago, you know, so I was ready to go whenever," Spike forced nervously.

"Wonderful! We are to meet outside the library, right, darling? I wonder if anypony else is prepared," Rarity said to the two of them.

The three turned to the door, but it opened before they could reach it.

"Hi Twilight and Spike and Rarity! Are all of you ready to go? This trip is going to be super extra fun! I can feel it!" Pinkie Pie bounced into the library, sporting her rainbow-colored umbrella hat and a single, over-packed saddlebag full of random items that nopony would ever pack for a vacation.

"Hey, Pinkie. We were just about to go wait outside for the rest of the group. Was anypony else out there?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin. "Hmmmmm-oh! I passed Fluttershy on my way here, so she should be here soon."

"Which leaves Dash and Applejack," Twilight said more to herself than anypony else.

"The irony! For two fillies who can't stop competing, you'd think they'd be here earlier than any of us!" Rarity complained.

Twilight was slightly surprised at how eager Rarity was to leave, given where they were going.

Princess Celestia had sent Twilight a letter yesterday telling her that she and Luna would be leaving the palace in Canterlot for a few days to attend an important event somewhere outside of Equestria's borders. Celestia had invited Twilight and her friends to stay in the palace during the princesses' absence.

Twilight knew that Celestia did not need to be within Equestria in order to raise the sun, but she was still somewhat nervous, as she could never remember Celestia actually leaving Equestria's boundaries. Twilight checked herself, however. Her mentor's power was not to be underestimated. Should anything go wrong, Twilight didn't doubt that Celestia would be where she was needed in a matter of seconds.

"I'm surprised, Rarity. I didn't think you would be so happy to return to Canterlot after what happened with Prince Blueblood," Twilight regretted bringing up the Princess' nephew as soon as she said his name. She still needed to work on keeping her thoughts and questions to herself; she could come off as insensitive at times.

Thankfully, Rarity simply raised her chin and put on a dignified face. "I will not allow my dreams of a glamorous and high society lifestyle to be trounced by a lout who has no sense of chivalry. I am going to enjoy myself in Canterlot the way a mare truly should. Besides, darling, I can always find somepony else who actually HAS class, even if it may not appear so at first."

They opened the door to find Applejack waiting outside, talking with two ponies amongst the everyday commotion around Ponyville's library, which was actually the hollowed out remains of an ancient tree. Fluttershy was much closer to the library, still uncomfortable with speaking to ponies other than her friends.

As Twilight was about to greet the yellow pegasus, she was interrupted by an unnecessarily loud gasp from Pinkie Pie.

"Twilight! Do you see the ponies Applejack is talking to? I've never met them before! And if I've never met them before that means they're new to Ponyville which means that I have to throw them a welcome party!"

Twilight craned her neck to look beyond Applejack. Her view was mostly obstructed by the farm pony herself, but Twilight did have to admit that the two ponies she was speaking to did look unfamiliar. That, and they seemed to be wearing costumes of some sort.

She shook her head.

"Pinkie, we really don't have time. You can throw them a party when we get back, for now we need to get going."

"I agree. It would be rude to be late when one has received such a prestigious invitation," Rarity added to Twilight's response.

"But Twilight! I could throw a super duper double pony party! It would be so fun and awesome and big and-"

"Hey y'all!" Applejack interrupted Pinkie, trotting up to her friends and no longer talking to the other ponies.

"Hi, Applejack. Who were you talking to over there?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, them?" Applejack turned to look at the two ponies.

"Wha- Now where in tarnation did they run to so fast?" Applejack said, the two stallions absent from their previous positions.

She shrugged. "Anyhow, Ah'd they were just some outta towners. Wearin' funny costumes, and funny manes, and askin' fer directions and whatnot.  Hey, any y'all seen Dash yet?"

When none of them answered, Applejack stomped a hoof on the ground.

"Ah tell ya, sometimes Ah feel like Ah gotta teach that filly the what it really means ta work. She should be here-"

"Any second now!" Rainbow Dash triumphantly cut in as she landed beside her friends.

"You were almost late, Dash," Twilight said flatly, unenthused.

"Heh heh, just in the nick a' time, right?" Dash attempted to get a positive reaction.

"It doesn't matter; Twilight, dear, where is the chariot that will take us to the palace?" Rarity asked.

"It'll be here soon; probably within the next minute."

"Ah see it!" Applejack announced.

A team of four pegasi in the armor of the Equestrian Royal Guard pulled a long, four-wheeled chariot that was pearl white and decorated with intricate patterns of gold.

The team stopped above the library, and carefully descended with the carriage.

Twilight approached them. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends."

The leader of the pegasi looked the six fillies and the small dragon over. "You may board." He said flatly.

The group climbed into the chariot and took their seats; Twilight, Spike, Rarity, and Fluttershy in the front, and Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie in the back.

The pegasi slowly lifted the chariot and started gaining speed in the direction of Canterlot, keeping the chariot as level as possible. Canterlot was a fairly great distance away, but with a team of professionally trained pegasi, it would take no longer than three hours.

Three young fillies who were exploring an open field on the outskirts of town watched the chariot fly off to Canterlot.

"There they go," Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo sighed. "I wish WE could go to the palace and hang out with Rainbow Dash."

"Hey, lookit this!" Apple Bloom said.

She was pointing to a rusty, twisted utensil in the ground.

"Is that a fork?" Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom crouched to look closer, and then stood up and nodded.

Sweetie Belle gave Apple Bloom an inquisitive look. "But what's a fork doing out here in the ground?"

Scootaloo thought for a moment before an idea came to her. She picked up the fork between her two hooves and held it in front of the other two foals.

"I know what we can do next! Cutie Mark Crusaders treasure hunters!"

The view from the chariot at sunset was incredible.

They were heading north, and the Equestrian Basin, which Ponyville sat in one of the corners of, stretched out for at least one hundred miles in any direction. It was a massive grassland, mostly flat, although peppered by some small hills and divided by thin, twisting streams that originated in the mountains.

The basin was, on one side, bordered by the Royal Mountains; tall, light blue, and some snowcapped, this majestic range housed Canterlot, and it was easy to see why. From its location –nestled in the Royal Mountains-, Equestria's capital had a sweeping visage of the land around it. On top of this, scholars and students alike studying astrology at the university in Canterlot had a clear and undisturbed view of the stars. Partly as a result of this, astrology had become the most popular and successful course in the university, and it was at the front of the astrological field, even beyond Equestria's borders.

On the other side, a massive sea of trees that was the Everfree Forest walled the basin in. It was quite possibly the most dangerous thing in Equestria, completely unmapped and filled with strange and alien flora. As for the animals within, they were not so unrecognizable as they were dangerous. A good deal of Manticores and other beasts roamed within, and on top of this, many tales of horror shrouded the forest in mystery, many ponies far too afraid of the woods to so much as set a hoof in it, much less explore it.

While these two features walled in the basin at the east end (save a relatively small railroad cutting between them that led to Stalliongrad and the further east reaches of Equestria), the rest of it bled out into the distance, stretching so far out that the fillies simply could not see any further. However, they knew that Fillydelphia lay out there, unseen but still only about as far from Canterlot as Ponyville. Far west of Fillydelphia, after the stone and sand of the desert replaced the grass and soil of the planes, the small but significant town of Appleloosa existed. Where one to travel south, about halfway between Fillydelphia and Appleloosa, they would find Manehattan, a cosmopolitan city that many celebrities resided in.

Also visible from the chariot was Cloudsdale, the pegasus city built of clouds. It hovered high over the ground, thousands of feet, and was located west of Ponyville, roughly the same distance as Canterlot.

Despit the view, Dash squirmed impatiently in her seat. Technically she was flying, but would much rather be flying alongside it, free to showboat and fly whichever way she pleased. She felt something brush her and looked to her left. Applejack was leaning over Dash's shoulder to get a better view, her ponytail brushing along the pegasus' back and wings.

"Sure is beautiful, ain't it?"

"Uh… sure, whatever you say, AJ."

Rarity, who was seated in front of Applejack, turned her head to face them. "I agree! Tell me, dear; is it always like this when you fly this high?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Simply breathtaking." Rarity turned her head to Twilight, who was seated to her right. "I simply can't wait to arrive!" she said. "I assume you know some wonderful venues that we can visit," she added, smiling.

"Oh yeah! I know a lot of places in Canterlot we can go. They're all pretty fancy, though."

Rarity could hardly contain her glee while Applejack and Dash groaned simultaneously.

"Oh great, are we gonna need to get all dressed up?"

"Ah had enough a all that in Manehattan. Rich, hoity-toity ponies tend ta get on mah nerves."

"Oh, you two are simply dreadful! There's nothing wrong with mingling with the socially elite." Rarity raised her snout upward to make a point.

"Pfft. Whatever," Dash grunted, unconvinced.

Pinkie Pie leaned forward, inserting her head between the other three fillies. "I bet there are some super places to party! We didn't get to go and party anywhere besides the castle last time we were here! I know! Let's go around and make everypony shake it!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Pinkie-"

Pinkie suddenly gasped. "I know! Maybe you can get Celestia to make a decree telling everypony to party!"

"Pinkie." Twilight cut the chattering pony off. She knew Pinkie could go on explaining her elaborate plans for hours; she had done so multiple times in the past. "Let's just relax first, alright? We've partied plenty back in Ponyville, so let's just start off slow in Canterlot."

"Awwww, okaaaayyy."

Fluttershy nodded to Twilight. "You're right, it's been very busy in Ponyville lately."

Now that they thought about it, it had been busy in Ponyville for quite a while. It was quiet and laid back as towns go, but a multitude of problematic events had barraged the town recently, from the Nightmare Moon incident to the parasprite swarm. Although problems had come and gone in the past, they had increased in number since Twilight's arrival in Ponyville. This, added to Twilight's painful fruitless time attempting to research the Pinkie sense, resulted in a running, inside joke that Twilight herself was bad luck.

"Ah hope Big Mac can handle the farm by himself," Applejack commented, casting a glance back in the direction of Ponyville.

"Yeah, and I hope the weather team can keep it together; they're sunk without me!" Dash said, although almost hoping the team would fail in some way so that her point and worth was proven.

"And you're sure that Sweetie Belle will be well looked after at your house, Applejack?" Rarity asked, apprehensive of how her younger sister would handle herself for the vacation.

"Sure as shoot."

"Wonderful. I do worry that ponies who might need a fashionista will be upset that I've left," the white unicorn added, knowing that the Carousel Boutique was the only shop in Ponyville that offered custom dress-making services.

"I'm sure they'll be fine without us. It's not like we can always be there, after all," Twilight said.

"Uh huh, and who knows where we might be needed next!" Pinkie Pie yelled.

"Well, that's not really what I meant…"

"Hey, there it is!" Dash leaned out her side of the chariot, pointing forward.

The fillies in the front row turned their heads back so that they were looking forward once more. The other three in the back craned their necks in order to look around their friends.

What had at first been a light speck on the mountains now came into full view. Even from a distance, it was evident that Canterlot was a gleaming city of white marble, purple stone, and shining gold. The ocher shade of the setting sun shone off the city's walls, towers, and buildings in a dazzling display of just how polished everything was.

From where they sat right now, it was difficult for the fillies to decide whether it was more majestic to enter by the air or by the long, winding path up the mountain that Canterlot hung off the side of.

Soon enough they were closing in on the palace. One of the palace's parapets loomed dangerously close when the guard pulling the chariot suddenly swung left, narrowly avoiding the wall and taking on a new course parallel to it. The guard continued in this way for about five minutes before suddenly climbing. Soaring clear over a smaller wall, he suddenly swung downward, landing effortlessly in an elongated courtyard designed specifically for pegasus-driven chariots to land in and take off from.

The chariot slowed quickly, and as it ground to a halt, another guard approached the carriage.

The mares climbed out of the chariot and trotted to meet him halfway.

He looked them over furtively before focusing in on Twilight.

"Ms. Twilight Sparkle?" he asked.

"That's me."

"And these are your friends?"

She looked at him inquisitively. "Um… yes."

"Very good, miss. This way, please." He turned and started off towards the simple peristyle that surrounded the courtyard on all sides, save the one open for arriving and departing chariots. Twilight beckoned for her friends to follow and they all obeyed, setting off for their rooms.