Prologue: A Trip To Rogueport
“...But I have enough bits!...Oh, whatever.” Twilight rolled her eyes as she trotted out of the shop. “Not enough money due to conversion rate...what a load.” She sighed in annoyance.
“We’re overseas, Twilight. What did you expect to happen, that the entire world would have the same rate?”
“...Spike, don’t point out holes in my logic. Next thing I know you’ll be shouting 'Objection!' and pointing at people.” Twilight retorted.
Spike crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “Uh, sure, Twilight. Whatever you say.” Spike reached into his pocket to take out his wallet to see if they could turn around and pay with some of his bits, but he realized that his wallet was missing. “Twilight, I think I left my wallet on the dock. If it’s alright with you, I’m gonna go look for it.”
“Fine by me.” Twilight said absentmindedly, thinking about the shopkeeper. “I think I’ll go haggle with the shopkeeper, try to haggle.” Spike thought about saying something against that, but he knew Twilight wouldn’t listen. He headed down to the dock alone.
Spike went through the arch connecting the town to the dock. It was a rather friendly place---sailors were packing up cargo, some were arriving with it, some were exporting it. Many seagulls perched on the outermost portion of the dock. The sun shined brilliantly on the town, making it a little hot but nonetheless a pleasant sight.
“Oh, there’s my wallet.” Spike looked over behind one of the big cargo boxes, seeing a leather wallet. “Lemme just walk over there and reach it…” He bent down to grab his wallet. He picked it up and inspected it. “Yep...this is mine. Or is it? Lemme check…” He opened it to inspect it some more.
“Hey, you!” came a voice from behind Spike. “What’s that you’re carrying?” Spike already didn’t like the sound of the voice he was hearing. “Oh, this…It’s nothing. I’ll just, uh, put it away now.” He put it in his pockets and turned around.
The ponies didn’t look too friendly. They were a darkish brown, and they even had goatees. They basically screamed “EVIL!”
“I’ll make my leave now.” Spike tried to sidestep them and uncorner himself. The presumed leader of the ponies, a black unicorn with red eyes, stepped in front of him.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You’re not from around here… Tell me, why’d you come here?” The unicorn said smugly.
“Uh...well...why’d you come here?” Spike asked almost immediately, as if he couldn’t think of an answer under the sudden pressure.
“We live around here. There’s only a few dragons… So you must have come here for a reason.” The unicorn chuckled. “The name’s Lord Arachnos! And these are… just henchponies, really. Call them Grunt, call them Bob, I don’t care!”
Spike put on a cheesy, nervous grin. “Great...I’ll go with ‘Bob’. Anyway, Arachnos, Bob, also Bob, it was nice meeting you, but um…”
“Grab him!” Lord Arachnos ordered.
The two henchponies leaped forward and subdued Spike by the arms. “As you command, Lord Arachnos!”
“Heeeey, guys!” Spike struggled under the weight of the two of them. “I-I don’t have anything, really! Hey, someone help!”
“Spike?” A familiar voice rang out.
Oh, thank goodness! “TWILIGHT! OVER HERE!” Spike yelled.
Twilight quickly trotted over to Arachnos and the two henchponies. “Hey!” Her voice suddenly turned a lot more angry. “What exactly is going on here?!”
“You must be new around here, miss!” Lord Arachnos chuckled. “Keep him subdued. I’ve got this! Since I suppose you’re going to try to release your… dragon… I suppose I’ll have to show you the might of Lord Arachnos! Get ready!”
Twilight charged up a bolt before firing it at “Also Bob”, who was sent flying into the crates behind him. She glared at Bob, charging up another bolt.
Bob glanced at Lord Arachnos, who muttered, “Fine, retreat. Not my problem. It’s HER problem.” Bob ran away, while Lord Arachnos turned to Twilight. “They’re just incompetent henchponies! I, on the other hand…” He charged at Twilight in a predictable line.
Twilight easily sidestepped before blasting him. “We could’ve just talked this out! Who are you, anyway?” She shouted.
Lord Arachnos stepped back from the blast, but recovered. “I am the almighty Lord Arachnos! Servant to the Cha - “ He froze. “... An army! And… wait, you look familiar.” He sized her up. “Yeah, my leader described you in perfect detail! Cutie Mark and all!”
Twilight tilted her head, confused. “Leader? Who is your ‘leader’?” She asked, putting particular emphasis on leader.
“Like I’d tell you! But I can tell you that she’d wipe you out in an instant!” Lord Arachnos didn’t attack. “By the way, don’t think this is over! I’m just saving my energy for my real objective! I'll get revenge in some really creative way!” He ran past Twilight, slowing down and starting into the city. She turned around and shot him in the back before running over to Spike. Lord Arachnos yelped and started running into town until he was out of sight.
“Thanks, Twilight.” Spike said, glad he was safe. He felt his pockets. “Aw, man, he still got my wallet. What do you think they were after, Twilight?”
Twilight thought for a few seconds before shaking her head. “I have no idea. Let’s go check on Princess Cadance, I remember her saying something about meeting her at 3:30.” Spike nodded and got back up, He and Twilight trotted off towards the town square.
“Twilight, we’ve been here for 10 minutes. Why do you think she’s late?” Spike tapped his foot impatiently.
Twilight was starting to work up a sweat. What if something happened to Princess Cadance? She thought. Oh no, this is bad! This is bad. Bad, bad, bad… After a few seconds, she calmed down, exhaling. “I’m sure she’s fine, Spike.” She tried to steady herself and stop her trembling.
One of Cadance’s crystal guards rushed into the town square. He spotted Twilight and ran to her. “Princess Cadance has gone missing!”
“Gee, that was sudden.” Spike said to himself.
Twilight had a much more dramatic response. “WHHHAATT?! What happened? When was she last seen? WHY ARE YOU SO INCOMPETENT?!” Twilight kept asking questions, getting angrier and angrier, but also more worried with each passing second.
Surprisingly, the guard didn’t even flinch. “She bought a map from a merchant, and then said she had to relieve herself. We agreed on a place to meet, but she has not returned!”
Twilight growled. “Well, where did she buy the map from?!”
“Just a merchant! In a cloak! I was with her, so she was not kidnapped by said merchant at the time!” The guard was actually getting nervous, stepping back.
“Grr...Where WAS this merchant?! It’s our only lead!” She seemed to be trying as hard as she could to put up her angry mask, but really she was even more worried---Princess Cadance had chosen her to accompany her to Rogueport, and losing her was A.) not going to look good on her track record and B.) depriving Equestria of one princess. There was also the fact that she had no idea what kind of trouble Cadance was in and she could be hurt or killed, but she was so panicked that she could barely think.
The guard’s expression hardened. “We will search the city for her. I will guide you to where the merchant was.”
Twilight exhaled deeply. “Alright. Let’s go.”
The guard led her through the town square, stopping at an empty stand. He seemed surprised. “The merchant is gone…” He cursed. “Perhaps the merchant was the culprit after all.”
Spike gulped. “Well, this is bad...Twilight, what do you think?”
Twilight was on the verge of hyperventilating, eyes darting back and forth. She suddenly thought of another possibility. “...Sir, do you know what the map is for?”
The guard thought. “Not exactly… The merchant and Cadance both mentioned ‘The Crystal Stars’, but that was all I understood of their discussion. I have not even heard of such artifacts.”
Twilight stopped sweating and hyperventilating. “Alright, good...Spike, come with me. We have to head to the nearest library.”
“Twilight, this is not the time for reading…” Spike said, a little exasperated.
Twilight shook her head. “No, I’ve heard of the Crystal Stars! I just...need to find out a little more about them, is all.” She ran to the other side of town, with Spike close behind her. “Twilight, next time tell me before you’re about to run!”
The guard followed quietly. Before Twilight could get very far, though, she ended up slipping on something. Spike ran over to it and picked up.
“...Hey, it’s a map! How utterly convenient.” He muttered under his breath. He handed the map to the guard while Twilight recovered, getting back on her hooves. “Does this look familiar?”
The guard nodded. “This is the map Princess Cadance bought. Take a close look. Perhaps she headed to a certain destination there.”
Spike squinted at the map, trying to find where they were, finding the town in the middle of everything. “Well, there we are...and the closest place to there is some sort of flower place. Maybe Cadance went there, she seems to like flowers and stuff. Do you know how we would get there?” He asked the guard.
The guard shook his head. “I am not familiar with the area. Unfortunately, I cannot provide assistance. I will stay in the town and look for clues.”
Spike nodded. “Got it. Twilight, let’s try and ask around.” Twilight had completely recovered. “Wait, I hadn’t been listening. Tell me about it when we get over to the inn.” They both, in a change of pace, carefully walked over to the inn.
“...And that’s what we’re trying to do.” Spike briefly explained. Twilight nodded. “Right. Well, let’s go ask about it.” She walked out the door to the inn, going to the nearest shop that wasn’t the one she got kicked out of, due to the fact the streets were surprisingly empty. She opened it and looked around.
The shop didn’t seem to have a set inventory. On the walls and on some racks were some coats--overcoats, winter coats, etc. At the front of the shop was a jewelry case, with some rather high prices, although considering almost all of it was gone, it seemed to be selling rather well. There were also badges in the same case. Some were shaped differently, colored differently, lit up…
“Oh, Twilight! This one is shaped like a comet! Can we get it?” Twilight thought for a few seconds before sighing. “I see no harm.” She rang the silver bell, which looked like it belonged in a restaurant, and waited for service.
A few minutes later, Fluttershy peeked her head up from the counter, then emerging when she saw who it was. “Oh, hi, Twilight! I didn’t know you were in Rogueport too.”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah. I was accompanying Princess Cadance.” She was about to have another panic attack, but curbed it by lightly stomping the floor. “Anyway, there are two things. First, I want...that badge.” She said, as Spike pointed to the fiery red one shaped like a comet. “Second, do you know how I can get here?” She pointed her hoof to the flowery looking field on the map Spike had given to her.
“First, that’ll be 50 Rogueport bits, which, if you’re wondering, is 461 Ponyville bits.”
Twilight sighed, taking out her wallet and paying the bits. She looked in it afterwards and found it was empty. “Spike, when we find your wallet, I’m taking that much out.” She took the badge Fluttershy provided and gave it to Spike, who pinned it on his chest.
Fluttershy thought. “As for that… That’s Petalburg. You want to go northeast from Rogueport. It’s pretty far, though…”
“ Do you think you could lead us there?” Twilight asked. “I’m not very familiar with the landscape…”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Sorry, Twilight, but I have a job now. I don’t want to get fired.”
Twilight sighed. “I understand. Come on, Spike, let’s go.” After adjusting the badge, Twilight headed out the door, with Spike following.
“Northwest of Rogueport...huh.” Twilight muttered to herself. “This is gonna be a long walk...she might not even be there. But it’s our best shot.” Twilight trotted out of the main square with Spike, towards the northeast exit…
End of chapter!
Author's Note
Well, this is my first collab with a friend! I think it turned out pretty well. Yeah, you'll notice this is different from the normal story of Thousand-Year Door pretty quickly. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it.
Chapter 1: The Dragon's Hold
Twilight stopped, catching her breath. “This looks like it did on the map…”
Sure enough, it did. There were various houses around the town, each one constructed of a fine wood. No house was without a patch or bush of flowers. While the majority of flowers were pink, there were a few of different colors such as blue and dark red. A river flowed near the entrance to the town, but occasionally, blue fish with sharp teeth could be seen on the surface. The air was fresh and clean, filled with a sweet scent.
“So this is Petalburg,” Spike mused. “This looks like a place Fluttershy would love.”
Twilight looked around. “I wonder if there’s somepony to talk to.” Then she spotted an orange Earth Pony in the distance with a familiar hat. “Hey, is that…” She dashed towards the orange pony, Spike following.
The orange pony’s straw hat kept the sun out of her eyes as she carried a basket full of green apples in her mouth. When she saw Twilight, she turned towards her quickly, knocking a few apples out of the basket. “Hey, Twilight! That you?” She asked, although with the basket in her mouth, it sounded almost incomprehensible.
Twilight dashed to the Earth Pony. “Applejack!”
Spike ran beside her. “Man, it’s good to see a familiar face…”
Applejack lowered the basket in her mouth down to the ground, and turned to the side to spit something, facing Twilight once she did. “What r’y’all doin’ here? Some kinda fancy study?”
Twilight giggled. “Sort of… Cadance, Spike and I went to Rogueport for a meeting about the economy system. Though, really, I was just a backup representative… But Cadance went missing. A guard of hers said she had bought a map, and we found one. The closest town to Rogueport was this one. What are you doing here, Applejack?” She paused a moment to catch her breath.
Applejack heard somepony yelling something, presumably at her. “I’LL HAVE ‘EM OVER N A SECON’!” She yelled back. “Apple Honey struck an apple goldmine, and me and a few family members came down to help ‘er. I reckon she’ll share…though obviously that ain’t the only reason. Ain’t like she’s a stranger.”
Twilight nodded. “Well, have you seen Cadance around? I don’t want to lose her…”
Applejack shook her head. “Ain’t possible, Twi. Sorry. Before y’all ask…” She picked up the basket in her mouth again and ran over to the far house, dropping off the apples, where a pony’s hoof could be faintly seen bringing the basket in. She ran back over to Twilight after that. “Ain’t no way to go past this here village. Cockatrice infestation that’s keepin’ anypony from leavin’ through the exit on the right side a town.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. She had been turned into stone by a cockatrice before, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. “Why would a cockatrice - or several of them - be here, though? Don’t they live in forests?”
“Ahm just as confused as you are, Twilight, this ain’t a natural habitat. Those Cockatrices are really impedin’ our progress.” Applejack responded. “We ain’t got any way to stop ‘em, either.”
Twilight sighed. “I wish Fluttershy was here. Her Stare could probably get rid of them.”
Spike thought. “Well, maybe we should explore the town. Ask around. That sort of stuff.”
However, before any of them could move, a large shadow blotted over the town. Twilight looked up to see the greyish-black underbelly of a dragon. It seemed particularly agitated, roaring loudly and constantly. Its wings were 20 feet in diameter, four times the size of that of a normal pony. As soon as it had appeared, it had gone, flying out of sight of everybody, into the white clouds…
Spike yelped and cowered, hiding behind his hands. Twilight backed away. “What was THAT?! Well, it was a dragon, but… You get what I mean!”
“Oh, THAT thing? Pssh, ain’t nothin’ to worry bout. That’s just the dragon.” She replied, as if she had seen a slight drizzle appear when there was no rain forcasted.
Spike got up, but he still seemed afraid. “And you’re not even worried about it? It could torch the town or something!”
Even by simply flying over the town, it had caused chaos. Ponies were running around, screaming… including some guards standing near gates at the far end of the town.
Applejack stepped backwards a few feet and turned to face the gate, recognizing the sound of it creaking open and clucking everywhere. “Now that’s sumthin’ we should be worried about!” Applejack motioned for them to get out of town amidst the ensuing chaos. Twilight and Spike followed Applejack to the entrance of town, running out as fast as they could.
After a few minutes, Twilight panted. “That was sudden… What happened to the residents?”
“We ‘ave a shelter for things like that. I reckon everyone got in safe...’course we usually have more time to prepare n what not, but I reckon everypony’s safe.” Applejack responded, once again awfully nonchalant, like this was an everyday occurrence.
“Then we should go back in,” Twilight said. She turned around and immediately gasped, for several statues that were once ponies stood around the town, each one with a frightened expression. A lone cockatrice was pecking at the ground.
“Git outta ‘ere!” Applejack kicked at the cockatrice while it wasn’t looking, sending it flying. Injured, it hobbled out of the town. Now that she had seen the full extent of what could happen, she was beginning to become frightened.
“Uh, Twi...there any way t’ reverse this?” She asked, trotting over to a random statue, and inspecting it from every angle, as if she expected to find a magic button.
“Only the cockatrices… cockatri? Whatever, only they can reverse it.” Twilight looked around. “And they’re not here anymore… They must have some sort of hideout, or something.”
Applejack gritted her teeth in anger. She picked up an apple off the ground and bit into it so hard it burst, spitting out the core. “Well, let’s hogtie us some Cockawhatevers and send ‘em to the hoosegow!”
Twilight nodded. “Looks like they’re not at the city gates anymore. Let’s go find their hideout.” She started off towards the city exit, ignoring the two stone guards. Applejack ran along with Twilight, Spike on her back because he didn’t feel like running.
End of chapter!
Author's Note
This was just a breather chapter to set up what's to come. And yes, Applejack is Koops's replacement. :P
