The Journey: Farland's Secretby Rainbow CyderChaptersPrologueA Strange New WorldCelestia's OrdersPrologue"A journey begins with a single step" Jason sat at his desk, tapping his fingers while glancing at the clock every couple of seconds, puckering his lips in annoyance. A loud bell echoed through the classroom as the clock finally struck 2:55. Jason grabbed his backpack, sidestepping his classmates and bolted out the door making his way to his locker. Once he had cleared his locker, he rushed outside the school and slowed down to a walking pace, trying to be inconspicuous as possible, glancing around every so often to check his surroundings, he finally made it to the front gate of the school, Jason hung a right and took off running. The sun glimmered off the tall building that propelled out of the ground like great red wood trees. People scurried about while Jason slowed down; not even winded thanks to his time spent on his school’s track team. He strolled along taking in the mixture of scents made by the restaurants that littered the street; his favorite thing to do while walking in this part of town. So many different scents that he enjoyed, ranging from the freshly made pizzas, to the garlic knots and the donuts; memories would pop into his head as each aroma entranced his senses. Jason chose to walk down this path every day even though it made his journey home longer than it should be, but no one would be waiting for him. The young man made his way along the sidewalk and into an alleyway. He suddenly stopped when he noticed a silhouette of a figure standing before him. He turned around and noticed two more silhouettes standing in the direction where he just came from. Sweat began to form on his brow and a sinking feeling formed in his stomach. “Heya Jason.” The lone figure said. “I have to hand it to you; giving us the slip at school took skill and guts. But seeing as we now found you, there is no use in running anymore.” “Hey now, I don’t want any trouble from you guys. What do you guys want from me now,” Jason replied. “Well, for starters, we want your wallet and your backpack. Since of course, you made a fool out of me the other day." “A fool? Oh shit, Tony.” Jason was surprised, how did Tony, one of the leaders of the schools notorious school gangs (if you can even call them a gang) was standing before him find him here in the city. Yesterday, Jason had accidentally spilled his lunch all over Tony, and of course Tony acted like it was an act of war against him. Jason was lucky, since a security guard had seen the whole thing and allowed Jason to leave while preventing Tony’s aggression to get out of hand. “Yeah, your little security guard friend isn’t here to help ya now. Now give me your wallet and your stuff, otherwise it won’t be so good for your health at all.” A twinkle simmered from Tony’s smile. “Hey Tony, can’t you let it go man? It was an accident after all. Let’s just tal-“ “Ain’t gonna happen pal,” Tony cut in and produced a blade from his jacket. “Whoa, hey man” Jason held up his hands and backed away slowly, then stopped realizing that the two figures behind him also produced two blades as well. Jason was trying to think of a way out of this and noticed a ramp to his left. Making a mental path in his head, he took off running. Jason ran up the ramp, jumped onto a dumpster and jumped down behind Tony; Jason broke the fall with a roll and took off running again. “Get him!” Tony shouted at his underlings. The three followed Jason out of the alleyway and into the street. Sidestepping everybody that got in his way, Jason put distance between him and his pursuers and was looking for a place to hide, while Tony and his underlings were pushing people out of their way, slowing the three down. Jason turned the corner and put some more distance between him and Tony. He caught sight of a store out of the corner of his eye and made his way over and ducked inside, making sure he wasn’t seen. The bell on the door clanged and an old lady came to attention. Adjusting her glasses she smiled. “Oh, hello and welcome to Faith’s Flowers. My name is Faith” She said “We have a special today for Tulips and for the Lilly’s too; it’s buy one get one free.” She gave another old, wrinkly smile to the young man standing in front of her. “Hello.” Jason said stepping out of sight of the windows and into a row of flowers. The old lady noticed he was hiding from something. “Hey there young man, what are you hiding from?” Sneaking a peak outside and seeing it was all clear. “A gang from my high school” He replied. “Accidentally spilled lunch on their leader and he and two others cornered me in an alleyway and I escaped, trying to find a place to hide. Think you could help me?” The old lady couldn’t understand why kids these days would find violence in the littlest of incidents. “I’ll help you, don’t worry about them. Come have a seat in the back room and I’ll deal with them no problem.” No later had the door shut to the back room that the front door opened, Tony filling its space. A few seconds later he was gone, chasing the false lead that the old lady had given him. Saying that the coast was clear, but he should stay put for a while, she let him out of the room. Jason looked around the flower store and came upon a bouquet of red roses and said “How much for this bouquet of roses?” “Roses?” She thought for a moment “Well since it seems that you have had a rough day, they are on the house.” “Really? I mean you have alre-“ She cut him off. “Don’t worry about it, really. Just make sure they are put to good use. Deal?” “Deal” he said. “Thank you so much for everything you have done. Have a good evening” With that he left, shooting a smile that the Old lady who gracefully returned the gesture. “You too, and be careful with your troubles.” The young man hurried along the now packed street as it was now rush hour. Deciding that it would be easier to ride the bus home than walking, he made his way to the nearest bus stop. The bus came to a stop in front of him and he got on, paid for the rise and found a seat, making sure not to smash the flowers with his backpack. Jason rode the bus for a few stops and glanced at his watch. Talking to his flowers he muttered under his breath. “I was hoping to get you to your new home, but I guess that it’ll have to be tomorrow.” Jason smiled and got off the bus at the new stop and made his way to his apartment complex. Once inside his own apartment, flipping on the lights he eyed the room. Ripped and water damaged wallpaper hung on the wall, brown carpet filled the space, a couch fill the left wall and a lone door stood in front of Jason on the opposite wall. The apartment was less than stellar and Jason could afford a more luxurious apartment if he so chose too, but he was saving up his money to move out of the city and get on with his life. “Home sweet home” Jason closed the door and swung his backpack onto the couch, holding the flowers in his hands he opened the other door and entered the kitchen. Acquiring a vase, he filled it with water, set the roses in it and with a smile of satisfaction he set the vase down on the counter and entered his bedroom. Two mattresses sat on the floor on top of each other, a nightstand stood to the side with a picture atop it. Sitting down on his bed, he set his head into the palms of his hands and then ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a long drawn out sigh. “What a day” Looking up he took a picture off the nightstand, studying the details of the picture. “You guys would of loved to hear the adventures that I had today” He set the picture back down and opened the drawer and leaned over, grabbed a leather back book titled “The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” and began reading, losing himself in the fantasies of another world, another adventure, another life. Jason walked down the street with his backpack; carrying the vase of flowers beside him. He made his way to a pair of gates, which he opened and stepped through. He made his way along the path and found the spot he was looking for. He knelt down and placed the vase of flowers before the two tombstones and produced a small plastic bag with a letter in it from his backpack. He took it out of the bag and began reading it. Half an hour later Jason walked through the same gate that he had entered and closed it behind him, then walked down to the bus stop at the corner of the cemetery. Every weekend he would make this trip; it was a way of holding on to the past, even though he knew he should move forward. He always wanted to go to other places than this damn city he was in. He wanted to meet new people, see different sights, and explore the world. It was his dream, and he had almost saved up enough to do so. Half an hour later Jason exited the bus and walked towards downtown. Abandoned buildings towered to the sky on both sides of Jason; he was walking in the bad side of town, that is, if you can say this town had a bad side to it. The streets were empty except for a handful of homeless people scattered around the front of the buildings. One of them walked towards Jason holding out his hand and asked for change. “Sorry, I don’t have any money on me” Jason said, shrugging and quickly walked past him. Jason walked past a huge abandoned hotel and noticed three other teens in jackets spray-painting the walls. Jason noticed one of them saw him as he walked by; it was one of the underlings from yesterday. The underling turned to the other two and all three looked his way. Jason quickly looked the other way and started to walk even faster as the three followed him. Jason stepped into an alleyway to try to put something between the three underlings that were following him. He made his way down the alleyway and into the adjacent one before having to stop. One of the underlings stood in front of him. “Dammit, not this shit again”. The other two underlings quickly closed the distance behind him, and surprised Jason when they grabbed him and held him in place. Jason struggling to get free asked “what do you want?” “You.” The underling in front of him said. He clinched his fist and punched Jason in the stomach. The other two began to drag him back to the abandoned hotel. Jason struggled again and was met with a hit in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. Jason awoke, he tried to move his arms and legs, but couldn’t. Feeling lightheaded he looked at himself; he was tied to the chair arms at his sides. These guys obviously didn’t take the hint from movies that arms should be tied behind the chair. He looked around the room, his backpack and wallet was lying on the table in front of him; his items scattered around the table along with others that weren’t his. The door opened with a bang and none other than Tony walked through. “Well well well.” He said “Glad you are finally awake.” He smiled as he walked over to the table and sat down, picking up a spray can and using it on his hair and set it back down. He took out a comb and styled his hair like they did in Grease. “You didn’t think you can get away that easily now, could you? Giving us the slip yesterday was pretty good if I do say so myself. But it was all for naught since you are here now. “ Jason just stared at Tony as he gloated. Tony walked around the room telling in detail what he was going to do to Jason from his defiance. As Tony turned around Jason reached into his pocket and produced a lighter, and lit it, trying to burn the rope. The door opened again and two more of Tony’s underlings walked in and stood behind the table. They started packing Jason’s and apparently Tony’s stuff into the backpack. “…everything that you own on you is now mine, you got that Jason.” The rope began to burn as Tony continued to talk. The smell of smoke filled the room and Tony looked over as Jason. Jason quickly put the light back into his pocket and Tony walked over. “You wouldn’t be trying to escape now, would ya Jason?” he said with a smile. “Anyways” he turned towards the two underlings. “You two, go get a gas can, pronto.” The two followed orders and left the room. As Tony watched them leave the room, Jason had broken the rope and freed himself. Tony turned back to Jason. “So, do you like fir-” Tony was cut off by a punch to the stomach from a now free Jason. “How the..” He trailed off as Jason pushed him over the table. Jason grabbed his wallet and backpack on the table and took off towards the door. The door to the room opened as Jason reached it. Two underlings stood in the doorway holding two gas cans each. Jason crashed into both of them and the two fell over, gas spilling everywhere. Tony then pointed to the underling closest to Jason. “You. Get him,” then pointed to the other. “and you get the other guys and tell them to get up here.” The minion closest to Jason got up and went towards him and stopped, Jason was holding a lit lighter in his hand with a stream of gas flowing towards him. The underling was standing in a pile of gas as Jason knelt down and lit it ablaze. The fire flowed towards the underling, but the underling was already running out of the puddle the direction opposite of Jason. Fire filled the hallway as tony emerged from the room; he stared over the fire at Jason. “Go around to the next hallway and get him.“ he said. Jason began running towards the door at the end of the hallway and opened it. Awesome Jason thought he looked over at the sign; it read Floor 25, Not awesome. He heard footsteps below and looked down; more underlings were coming up a few floors below him. He decided it was best to go up, and possible find another stair case and lose his pursuers. Jason made it to the top of the Hotel, he was running down a long hallway trying to find another stair case; he opened a door at the end. “Damn it, again” he said out loud. He couldn’t seem to find a door that could lead to a possible exit, but what was worse was that smoke was now filling the hotel. He didn’t have much time, he needed to find an exit, and soon. Otherwise he would be set blaze, along with the building. “There he is” he heard a voice say behind him, Jason took off running again down another hallway. He noticed that it was a dead end expect for one door at the end of the hallway. Jason hoped that it would lead to his freedom from this place, and Tony. He ran and felt the air get cooler, the air was getting cleaner, and a light was shining below the door. He rammed into the door and it opened without any resistance. Jason covered his face as he was blinded by the bright sun. A Strange New WorldJason was blinded by the sight of the bright sun beaming against his face, he brought his hands to his face trying to shield is eyes. The warm air blew against him, clothes flapping in the wind. Jason had no idea where he was and he didn’t care. Opening his eyes again, this time successful, Jason noticed a big blue circle surrounded by green getting bigger and bigger. “What the?” he thought aloud. As the navy blue circle got closer Jason closed his eyes, the warm air suddenly turning cold as he hit the circle. Jason opened his eye again and stared off into the dark blue void. Stunned from going to the now freezing surroundings from the warm air, he let his body be suspended in the blue void. Several seconds later he was brought back from the shock by the urgent need to breath. He held his throat as he tried to gasp for air, bubbles floating upwards as they escaped his lungs. He instantly propelled his body upwards. His head broke the surface, taking in the crisp cool air. Wiping the water from his face, he looked around for the shortest way to the shore. Spotting his route, he gathered his strength and pulled himself to shore. Once a good distance from the water, Jason propped himself up against a tree and his soggy backpack next to him. He leaned his head back to rest and noticed a dark figure in the sky before being blocked out by the leaves of the tree. Leaning forward again, he looked towards the sky and noticed a black rectangle before having to cover his face from the blaring sun. Once he was able to shield his eyes from the sun, Jason saw the rectangle again. Bewilderment spread across his face as it simply disappeared from existence. Sighing, he leaned back against the tree and stared over the pond he had just fallen into. Noticing the trees on the other side of the lake had a simplistic view. He looked up at the tree above him and it too had a simplistic view, even up close. Everything around Jason seemed texture-less. Holding his hands in front of him he studied them; they had the same simplicity as the trees around him did. They also seemed to bit squarer and blockier too, he moved his eyes up his arms and noticed that all of his hair on his hands and arms were gone too; there was also a faint outline around him that he didn’t notice before. It was a shade darker in some places while others were lighter than his skin tone. He looked up at the trees and the lake; they too had an outline around them, everything he saw did. Jason studied his hands and arms some more, then studied the rest of his body, as he suspected, his clothes were also simplistic, but yet they had the same feel to them as they always had. Jason panicked at his new appearance and quickly stood up, a loud crack echoed over the pond as Jason hit his head on a low lying branch. He slid back down the tree and his consciousness faded from him. Jason lurched awake. He rubbed the top of his head. “What a weird dream.” he said, shaking his head. He looked out across the pond; an orange glow was casted upon everything in sight, the trees swayed in the light breeze, the pond lay still in front of him. It was a beautiful sight to Jason but an unwelcome one. “You got to be kidding me.” he said, throwing his hands in the air and slapping them down on his knees. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as a howl echoed through the air. Jason picked himself up and surveyed his surroundings; a light cool breeze blew against his face. The evening was approaching and Jason knew he needed to find shelter, or at the very least a tree he could climb, but first he needed to quench his thirst. Jason bent down next to the pound’s edge and cupped his hands, and drew some water to his face. The water felt silky and cool against his skin, Jason drew some more water and drank it. He then got up, picked up his backpack by the tree and made his way into the forest. The Sun had set and Jason sat along a branch in a tree. It was harder to climb than he though, since most of the trees had nothing to grab onto, except for a few slits here and there, to pull himself up. It wasn’t the best place that he could find, but it was better than being on the ground and being attacked by God knows what. Jason looked up at the obsidian sky and the stars sparkled like street lights in the distance, but still no clouds. Jason continued to stargaze for the better half of an hour, until he heard a howl and rustling in the bushes around him. A figure on four legs walked towards the tree, its eyes glowed yellow in the darkness. Sniffing around it circled the tree that Jason had taken shelter in. sniffing up the tree it spotted Jason and snarled. Jason swung his legs up and stood up on the branch, trying to get out of reach of the figure, which he assumed to be a wolf. The wolf like figure jumped up on the tree and swung its paw at him. Jason saw the paw in the moon light and it looked as if it was made out of wood. The figure swung again. Yes, it was made out of wood. Jason eyes widened at the sight of the wooden figure below him. “Wood, what creature could possibly be made out of wood?” He said in confusion. The figure swung again and hit the branch, knocking Jason off balance. Jason struggled to require his balance once again and fell. He landed on his stomach and quickly got to his feet, when the backpack hit the ground next to him, an assortment of items spewed from the backpack which scattered across the ground . A spray can rolled to Jason’s feet and taped his shoe. Jason saw it and was about to kick it away when he formed an idea in his head. “If these creatures are wood, then they might not like fire very much.” He though. He picked the can up as he reached into his pocket and produced a lighter, hoping it still worked from being in the water, it sparked. “Uh, come on.” Jason murmured as he tried the lighter a few more times. The wolf like figure was now in front of him, growling at him. Jason could now see its face, it had a wolf like face pieced together with sticks and twigs, while its eye continued to glow yellow. Jason took off running trying to get the lighter to light, while the wooden wolf followed close behind him. Jason dodged low hanging branches and roots that stuck out of the ground, trying to outrun the wooden wolf creature. He heaved himself over dead trees and slide behind a tree stopping. Jason was still trying to get the lighter to work. “Come on, come on, come on!” he could hear the sniffing of the creature getting louder and louder, Jason knew he didn’t have much time, a few seconds later he would either be dinner or have to take of running again. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep running, his time on track certainly helped, but he still couldn’t run forever. Jason tried the lighter one last time; it finally produced a beautiful, fierce flame. Jason ducked as a wooden paw tried to claw him. Jason rolled to the side and held up the spray can and lighter as the sound of cracked wood filled the air. Jason looked at the spot where he once been, a paw print was engraved into the splintered wood. “Unbelievable.” Jason said “That would have broken a few of my ribs for sure. How does this creature have that much power?” He turned to the wooden wolf creature and stared into its yellow eyes. Jason aimed the spray can at the creature and held the light up. An orange glow erupted in front of Jason and a screech echoed through the forest. Jason knelt down and picked a plastic bag that contained a letter off of the forest floor. He eyed it for any damage, seeing that it was unharmed he folded it and slid it into his pocket. He quickly picked up the rest of the items lying across the forest floor. Once everything was packed, he swung the backpack onto his back and stood up. Another howl filled the air, then another. Jason quickly started moving again, one wooden wolf creature was enough for tonight. Jason ran along the forest, a few hours had passed and Jason had not seen a single wooden wolf since his first encounter. He needed to rest, and could see that the trees were starting to clear; he thought that he should almost be out of the forest. He sat down deciding it would be the best if he rested for a few minutes. He almost regretted sitting down as he felt a breath on the back of his neck. He slowly turned around and 3 pairs of glowing yellow eyes were staring at him; he took off running again. A few minutes later he jumped over a fence and ran through a field of trees, looking back he noticed that the wolves had stopped at the fence and retreated back into the forest. He slowed down to a slow walk, and looked up at the trees. Apples, but not just any apples, rainbow apples filled the trees. Jason gazed with his mouth agape at the sigh. He had never seen anything like it in his life. He walked down the row of rainbow apple trees and looked at all the fruit. His stomach grumbled at the sight and he remembered that he had not eaten anything for some time. He decided to try one. He found a good rainbow apple tree he was able to climb and pulled himself up into the tree. He grabbed one; a little shock hit his hand as he did. He eyed the apple and then took a bite. He took another, and then again; stuffing his face with the fruit. It was the most delicious thing that he had ever eaten in his life. He grabbed another on and stuffed it into his mouth. He had eaten almost six apples before he heard a voice. “What’n tarnation do you think yer doin’? Stop eating mah Zapapples!” The tree rocked and the apple fell from the tree, as did Jason. Jason got to his feet and was face to face with the creature that just knocked him out of the tree. It was orange, with a cowboy hat, blonde hair, freckles and emerald eyes. It looked like a she, and she looked like a pony. She turned around as Jason just stared at her. “What. The. He-oof” Jason felt pain radiate from his chest and heard a crack, she had just kicked him in the chest. Jason was pushed back against the apple tree with force, hitting his head. He then fell to the ground; he heard one last thing before everything went black. “Don’t ya eat mah Zapapp- wait a second, what are ya?” Celestia's OrdersCelestia sat in her golden throne in the far corner of the room. Blue banners hung on the wall behind her and two waterfalls flowed into their own ponds from the second step of her throne. Huge pillars held up the ceiling; spaced at intervals along the walls of the room. A long red carpet ran the length of the room from the door to her throne. Luna walked along the red carpet towards Celestia. The room was empty besides the two sisters. “Sister, how art thou feeling?” Luna said, stopping in front of the throne. “I am doing fine, Luna, thank you for asking. Though I do fell my power weakening, day by day I struggle more and more to move the heavens. I fear as to what will happen if I am not cured. I do not have much time left, my dear sister; I fear I might have a year and a half at most.” A look of uneasiness and shock flooded Luna’s face at the sound of her sister soon departing this world. “Hast Twilight Sparkle found a cure for you yet?” she said, nervously. “I am afraid she has not, my dear sister, and I am afraid that she might not find one either. As you know it is a rather rare sickness; there are no records of it ever existing, at least not here in Equestria.” Celestia said looking over at her blue stained glass window of the heavens and the planet below them. “Should I help Twilight Sparkle search for a cure? “I must ask you not to tell Twilight Sparkle this. She is under enough stress working night and day trying to find a cure. I would not want her to worry any more than she already is.” Celestia paused for a moment and continued. “Though, I do have another task to ask of you.” “Anything you wish, my sister.” Luna said, bowing. “I want you to start searching for anypony that can handle a sword and shield. If Twilight Sparkle does find a cure, I feel that it will not be an easy task to obtain the ingredients. Though if she does not, I am certain we will still need to obtain a force to protect Equestria.” “A force? But sister, what about the Royal guard? They can protect Canterlot and have thou forgotten Shining Armors protection spell?” “Yes, I know Luna, they can protect Canterlot. But we need to protect Equestria as a whole, and not just the capital city. I can sense something out there, lurking at the edge of our kingdom; waiting for my power to grow weaker. I’m sure you have felt it too.” Celestia said, turning towards the open window. “Now, there isn’t much time. Being immortal, a year and a half is not a lot of time to us. You have your task.” “As you wish, my sister” Luna said, bowing to her sister. Celestia got up and walked down the two large steps on her thrown towards Luna. Celestia wrapped her hoof around Luna, pulling Luna into her. Luna hugged Celestia back and then turned around and started towards the door, hiding the mixture of emotions on her face. Once Luna was out of the room Celestia walked over to the open window. Looking out over the vast valley below; she could see Ponyville and far past that she could see the faint outline of Appleloosa. She could also see mountains towering in the vast beyond and the sun rising even beyond them. She smiled as she stared out over her kingdom then worry washed over her face. * * * Twilight Sparkle hovered a book in front of her face, reading each page as fast as she could, books towered high around the room. She finished her book and levitated it to the nearest tower of books and set it atop. The tower of books swayed back and forth and crumbled to the ground on top of her. She signed, shook the books off of her then stacked them into a couple of towers to prevent a second collapse. “I wish spike was here.” She said looking around the book filled room. Spike was back in Ponyville running the library. Twilight had wanted him to come with her, but he had to stay since he was the only one willing to run the library while she was away. As far as she knew, he was the only one that was able to run it besides her; he knew the place forwards and backwards. Spike was smart in his own right; he had offered to search the library back in Ponyville while Twilight searched the Canterlot library while sending reports every other day telling of his finding. So far his reports had nothing of value. Twilight turned to get another book from the shelf and hit another tower of books; sending it to the floor. Twilight took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled; bursting into flames was not a good idea in a library. She was getting restless, she need to recharge her batteries. Then a brilliant idea hit her. She could kill two cockatrice with one stone; see Zecora in the Everfree forest and see Spike while she was visiting Ponyville. An hour later Twilight appeared on the train platform, saddle pack in tow. She had received permission from Princess Celestia herself, who thought that Twilight paying Zacora a visit was “A wonderful idea”, to go to Ponyville. Twilight could hear the train’s horn as she looked down the track. When the toot of the horn subsided Twiight heard hoof steps coming up behind her. She turned around and was surprised at the sight of the pony that towered over her, it was Luna. “Hello Princess Luna.” She said, bowing. “Greetings Twilight Sparkle.” She noticed the saddle pack that Twilight had. “Where art thou going to? Shouldn’th you be in the Library partaking in research for a cure?” “Well, you see, I am going to pay Zecora a visit. Since none of the books so far have had nothing on cures or illnesses that affect immortal being. I thought that paying her a visit would possible give us a new lead to follow.” she said. “What are you doing out here on the platform, Princess?” “Ah, can you giveth Zecora my regards and I am on my way to Cloudsdale. I have business I need to attend to. After that I will be visiting Ponyville.” The train had pulled into the station and was restocking the coal for the journey to Ponville. “I shouldn’t keep thee waiting, Twilight Sparkle. May our paths meet in Ponyville” Luna gave a little bow, as did Twilight. “Goodbye Luna.” “Farewell Twilight Sparkle.” Princess Luna said, spreading her wings. She took off and flew into the afternoon sky. Twilight watched her fly off; once Luna was out of sight Twilight turned towards the train. She entered the passenger car and sat down, and began to stare out the window as the train rolled out of the station; watching Canterlot slowly shrink into the distance. * * * Ponyville seem like any other normal town in Equestria; ponies hurried a long doing their daily chores without a care in the world. Twilight loved this peaceful little town; it had brought so much joy into her life. “Home sweet home.” Twilight said as she stepped off the train and onto the platform. She made her way onto the path that lead into town and made her way to the library, she had decided to stop by and surprise spike, then head to Zecoras. A few minutes later she had arrived at the library. She knocked on the door a few times, not wanting to let herself in even though she lived there; she wanted to surprise Spike after all. A minute went by and no answer. “Hmmm, that’s strange. Spike should have come to see who it is by now. Well maybe he is just asleep. That little dragon loves his sleep.” She giggled and unlocked the door and let herself in. “Spiiikkkeee.” She called. No answer. She called his name again and again only silence answered her back. She went upstairs and checked the bedroom; Spike was nowhere to be found. “hmm, Spike is probably out at Rarity’s again helping her out. That silly dragon, he doesn’t give up.” She laughed and made her way out of the library, locking the door behind her. Twilight had made her way to Rarity’s boutique when she noticed Lyra trotting towards her from the boutique. “Hey Lyra,” she said. “What’s the rush?” “Oh, hello Twilight it’s nice to see you again. Um, well, you see I need a dress made for a special occasion and I was going to see if rarity could do it for me. But she isn’t there, strange thing on a work day like today. So now I have to either-“ “Hold on a second, she isn’t there?” “Uh, oh yes, that’s what I said. She isn’t there. Throws such a wrench into my plans, you know. Now I need to either come back later or travel to Canterlot to find someone who can make me a dress; you of all people know how much time that would take. If you are looking for her, maybe you can tell her I have some things I want her to do for me?” “I see.” Twilight said, rubbing her hoof against her chin. “Well, I am looking for her. If I find her I’ll let her know that you have work for her.” “Oh thank you, thank you Twilight. You’re such a big help. Well I shouldn’t keep you anymore. It would only be hurting both of us. Goodbye and nice seeing you again.” Twilight nodded and Lyra trotted off into town. Twilight started back into town thinking to herself where Spike and Rarity could be. Maybe Pinkie Pie threw a party and invited her friends? That would make sense. Then I should go and see Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Brilliant idea she thought and made her way to Sugarcube Coner. “Oh hello Twilight, so nice of you to drop by,” Mrs. Cake greeted Twilight. “Would you like to try some new caramel cookies that we just made? They’re so chewy and delicious and on the hoouussee. Go ahead and try one.” “Oh, thank you Mrs. Cake.” Twilight reached out her hoof, took a cookie and ate it. “Delicious.” “So Hun, what can I do for you? Aren’t you supposed to be doing something in Canterlot for Princess Celestia?” “Uh, yeah, I came to Ponyville to see Zecora and ask her a few questions for my research. But that’s not why I am here. I came to see Pinkie Pie. Would you happen to know where she is?” “Oh, sorry Hun, I don’t know where she is. She didn’t come into work today. Maybe she’s hosting a party at Applejacks since I haven’t heard anything party related in town. You know how she is dear.” “Oh yes Mrs. Cake, I do. Well thank you for the cookie, it was delicious.” Twilight smiled. “I better go check with Applejack if she has seen Pinkie pie. Have a good day.” “Have a good day Hun, and if you do see Pinkie Pie tell her to warn me next time she throws a party, will you? I hate worry about that pink pony” she said, smiling. “Yes Mrs. Cake, I’ll tell her.” Twilight turned and walked out the door and into the town. Twilight walked through the town and made her way to Sweet apple Acres, thoughts races through her head. This is weird, first Spike is missing, Rarity isn’t at her boutique, and now Pinkie pie is, well Pinkie Pie. Whatpony knows what she could be doing. I just hope Applejack knows what’s going on, and I sure hope she’s not missing either. After a while Twilight had made it to the road that lead out of town and to the farm. She made a left around a building and onto the road. In that instance she was struck by a creature with enough force to knock her and the saddle pack he carried to the ground, items flew through the air and landed around Twilight. “ahh, Crap. SORRY! I mean…” yelled the creature as it rolled on the ground and back to its feet. The creature held its chest and sprinted away from five other ponies and a green and purple dragon. “Heyya Twilight, You okay?” said an orange pony, helping twilight to her feet. “Boy am I glad to see you AJ. What just ran into me and where are Rarity, Spike, and Pinkie Pie?” Before AJ could answer her question she heard a voice behind her. “We’re right here, silly goosy woosy.” Pinkie Pie said, with her while Rarity and Spike were picking up Twilgiht’s saddle pack and stuffing the items back inside. “Oh goodness, I have been looking all over for you guys, thought something might have happened you to.” “Well sweetie, something did happen to us.” Said Rarity. “Yeah, some big, strange creature that AJ caught happened.” Concurred Spike. “Yeah, Yeah, this is nice and all, but he’s getting awaaaayy” interrupted a rainbow named mare, throwing her legs ups in the direction of the creature in the distance. “I...um… agreed with Rainbow Dash. He seems to be getting way, so we should chase him. Well... If you ponys want to... that is.” Fluttershy said, quietly. “Don’tcha worry about him. He can’t get far.” Aj said. “What is going on here?” Questioned Twilight, clearly annoyed. “Here Sugercube” AJ help twilight get her saddle pack back on. “Well tell you later, first we need to recapture our escaped friend.” The six ponies and a dragon took off running towards the escaped creature.
Prologue"A journey begins with a single step" Jason sat at his desk, tapping his fingers while glancing at the clock every couple of seconds, puckering his lips in annoyance. A loud bell echoed through the classroom as the clock finally struck 2:55. Jason grabbed his backpack, sidestepping his classmates and bolted out the door making his way to his locker. Once he had cleared his locker, he rushed outside the school and slowed down to a walking pace, trying to be inconspicuous as possible, glancing around every so often to check his surroundings, he finally made it to the front gate of the school, Jason hung a right and took off running. The sun glimmered off the tall building that propelled out of the ground like great red wood trees. People scurried about while Jason slowed down; not even winded thanks to his time spent on his school’s track team. He strolled along taking in the mixture of scents made by the restaurants that littered the street; his favorite thing to do while walking in this part of town. So many different scents that he enjoyed, ranging from the freshly made pizzas, to the garlic knots and the donuts; memories would pop into his head as each aroma entranced his senses. Jason chose to walk down this path every day even though it made his journey home longer than it should be, but no one would be waiting for him. The young man made his way along the sidewalk and into an alleyway. He suddenly stopped when he noticed a silhouette of a figure standing before him. He turned around and noticed two more silhouettes standing in the direction where he just came from. Sweat began to form on his brow and a sinking feeling formed in his stomach. “Heya Jason.” The lone figure said. “I have to hand it to you; giving us the slip at school took skill and guts. But seeing as we now found you, there is no use in running anymore.” “Hey now, I don’t want any trouble from you guys. What do you guys want from me now,” Jason replied. “Well, for starters, we want your wallet and your backpack. Since of course, you made a fool out of me the other day." “A fool? Oh shit, Tony.” Jason was surprised, how did Tony, one of the leaders of the schools notorious school gangs (if you can even call them a gang) was standing before him find him here in the city. Yesterday, Jason had accidentally spilled his lunch all over Tony, and of course Tony acted like it was an act of war against him. Jason was lucky, since a security guard had seen the whole thing and allowed Jason to leave while preventing Tony’s aggression to get out of hand. “Yeah, your little security guard friend isn’t here to help ya now. Now give me your wallet and your stuff, otherwise it won’t be so good for your health at all.” A twinkle simmered from Tony’s smile. “Hey Tony, can’t you let it go man? It was an accident after all. Let’s just tal-“ “Ain’t gonna happen pal,” Tony cut in and produced a blade from his jacket. “Whoa, hey man” Jason held up his hands and backed away slowly, then stopped realizing that the two figures behind him also produced two blades as well. Jason was trying to think of a way out of this and noticed a ramp to his left. Making a mental path in his head, he took off running. Jason ran up the ramp, jumped onto a dumpster and jumped down behind Tony; Jason broke the fall with a roll and took off running again. “Get him!” Tony shouted at his underlings. The three followed Jason out of the alleyway and into the street. Sidestepping everybody that got in his way, Jason put distance between him and his pursuers and was looking for a place to hide, while Tony and his underlings were pushing people out of their way, slowing the three down. Jason turned the corner and put some more distance between him and Tony. He caught sight of a store out of the corner of his eye and made his way over and ducked inside, making sure he wasn’t seen. The bell on the door clanged and an old lady came to attention. Adjusting her glasses she smiled. “Oh, hello and welcome to Faith’s Flowers. My name is Faith” She said “We have a special today for Tulips and for the Lilly’s too; it’s buy one get one free.” She gave another old, wrinkly smile to the young man standing in front of her. “Hello.” Jason said stepping out of sight of the windows and into a row of flowers. The old lady noticed he was hiding from something. “Hey there young man, what are you hiding from?” Sneaking a peak outside and seeing it was all clear. “A gang from my high school” He replied. “Accidentally spilled lunch on their leader and he and two others cornered me in an alleyway and I escaped, trying to find a place to hide. Think you could help me?” The old lady couldn’t understand why kids these days would find violence in the littlest of incidents. “I’ll help you, don’t worry about them. Come have a seat in the back room and I’ll deal with them no problem.” No later had the door shut to the back room that the front door opened, Tony filling its space. A few seconds later he was gone, chasing the false lead that the old lady had given him. Saying that the coast was clear, but he should stay put for a while, she let him out of the room. Jason looked around the flower store and came upon a bouquet of red roses and said “How much for this bouquet of roses?” “Roses?” She thought for a moment “Well since it seems that you have had a rough day, they are on the house.” “Really? I mean you have alre-“ She cut him off. “Don’t worry about it, really. Just make sure they are put to good use. Deal?” “Deal” he said. “Thank you so much for everything you have done. Have a good evening” With that he left, shooting a smile that the Old lady who gracefully returned the gesture. “You too, and be careful with your troubles.” The young man hurried along the now packed street as it was now rush hour. Deciding that it would be easier to ride the bus home than walking, he made his way to the nearest bus stop. The bus came to a stop in front of him and he got on, paid for the rise and found a seat, making sure not to smash the flowers with his backpack. Jason rode the bus for a few stops and glanced at his watch. Talking to his flowers he muttered under his breath. “I was hoping to get you to your new home, but I guess that it’ll have to be tomorrow.” Jason smiled and got off the bus at the new stop and made his way to his apartment complex. Once inside his own apartment, flipping on the lights he eyed the room. Ripped and water damaged wallpaper hung on the wall, brown carpet filled the space, a couch fill the left wall and a lone door stood in front of Jason on the opposite wall. The apartment was less than stellar and Jason could afford a more luxurious apartment if he so chose too, but he was saving up his money to move out of the city and get on with his life. “Home sweet home” Jason closed the door and swung his backpack onto the couch, holding the flowers in his hands he opened the other door and entered the kitchen. Acquiring a vase, he filled it with water, set the roses in it and with a smile of satisfaction he set the vase down on the counter and entered his bedroom. Two mattresses sat on the floor on top of each other, a nightstand stood to the side with a picture atop it. Sitting down on his bed, he set his head into the palms of his hands and then ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a long drawn out sigh. “What a day” Looking up he took a picture off the nightstand, studying the details of the picture. “You guys would of loved to hear the adventures that I had today” He set the picture back down and opened the drawer and leaned over, grabbed a leather back book titled “The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” and began reading, losing himself in the fantasies of another world, another adventure, another life. Jason walked down the street with his backpack; carrying the vase of flowers beside him. He made his way to a pair of gates, which he opened and stepped through. He made his way along the path and found the spot he was looking for. He knelt down and placed the vase of flowers before the two tombstones and produced a small plastic bag with a letter in it from his backpack. He took it out of the bag and began reading it. Half an hour later Jason walked through the same gate that he had entered and closed it behind him, then walked down to the bus stop at the corner of the cemetery. Every weekend he would make this trip; it was a way of holding on to the past, even though he knew he should move forward. He always wanted to go to other places than this damn city he was in. He wanted to meet new people, see different sights, and explore the world. It was his dream, and he had almost saved up enough to do so. Half an hour later Jason exited the bus and walked towards downtown. Abandoned buildings towered to the sky on both sides of Jason; he was walking in the bad side of town, that is, if you can say this town had a bad side to it. The streets were empty except for a handful of homeless people scattered around the front of the buildings. One of them walked towards Jason holding out his hand and asked for change. “Sorry, I don’t have any money on me” Jason said, shrugging and quickly walked past him. Jason walked past a huge abandoned hotel and noticed three other teens in jackets spray-painting the walls. Jason noticed one of them saw him as he walked by; it was one of the underlings from yesterday. The underling turned to the other two and all three looked his way. Jason quickly looked the other way and started to walk even faster as the three followed him. Jason stepped into an alleyway to try to put something between the three underlings that were following him. He made his way down the alleyway and into the adjacent one before having to stop. One of the underlings stood in front of him. “Dammit, not this shit again”. The other two underlings quickly closed the distance behind him, and surprised Jason when they grabbed him and held him in place. Jason struggling to get free asked “what do you want?” “You.” The underling in front of him said. He clinched his fist and punched Jason in the stomach. The other two began to drag him back to the abandoned hotel. Jason struggled again and was met with a hit in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. Jason awoke, he tried to move his arms and legs, but couldn’t. Feeling lightheaded he looked at himself; he was tied to the chair arms at his sides. These guys obviously didn’t take the hint from movies that arms should be tied behind the chair. He looked around the room, his backpack and wallet was lying on the table in front of him; his items scattered around the table along with others that weren’t his. The door opened with a bang and none other than Tony walked through. “Well well well.” He said “Glad you are finally awake.” He smiled as he walked over to the table and sat down, picking up a spray can and using it on his hair and set it back down. He took out a comb and styled his hair like they did in Grease. “You didn’t think you can get away that easily now, could you? Giving us the slip yesterday was pretty good if I do say so myself. But it was all for naught since you are here now. “ Jason just stared at Tony as he gloated. Tony walked around the room telling in detail what he was going to do to Jason from his defiance. As Tony turned around Jason reached into his pocket and produced a lighter, and lit it, trying to burn the rope. The door opened again and two more of Tony’s underlings walked in and stood behind the table. They started packing Jason’s and apparently Tony’s stuff into the backpack. “…everything that you own on you is now mine, you got that Jason.” The rope began to burn as Tony continued to talk. The smell of smoke filled the room and Tony looked over as Jason. Jason quickly put the light back into his pocket and Tony walked over. “You wouldn’t be trying to escape now, would ya Jason?” he said with a smile. “Anyways” he turned towards the two underlings. “You two, go get a gas can, pronto.” The two followed orders and left the room. As Tony watched them leave the room, Jason had broken the rope and freed himself. Tony turned back to Jason. “So, do you like fir-” Tony was cut off by a punch to the stomach from a now free Jason. “How the..” He trailed off as Jason pushed him over the table. Jason grabbed his wallet and backpack on the table and took off towards the door. The door to the room opened as Jason reached it. Two underlings stood in the doorway holding two gas cans each. Jason crashed into both of them and the two fell over, gas spilling everywhere. Tony then pointed to the underling closest to Jason. “You. Get him,” then pointed to the other. “and you get the other guys and tell them to get up here.” The minion closest to Jason got up and went towards him and stopped, Jason was holding a lit lighter in his hand with a stream of gas flowing towards him. The underling was standing in a pile of gas as Jason knelt down and lit it ablaze. The fire flowed towards the underling, but the underling was already running out of the puddle the direction opposite of Jason. Fire filled the hallway as tony emerged from the room; he stared over the fire at Jason. “Go around to the next hallway and get him.“ he said. Jason began running towards the door at the end of the hallway and opened it. Awesome Jason thought he looked over at the sign; it read Floor 25, Not awesome. He heard footsteps below and looked down; more underlings were coming up a few floors below him. He decided it was best to go up, and possible find another stair case and lose his pursuers. Jason made it to the top of the Hotel, he was running down a long hallway trying to find another stair case; he opened a door at the end. “Damn it, again” he said out loud. He couldn’t seem to find a door that could lead to a possible exit, but what was worse was that smoke was now filling the hotel. He didn’t have much time, he needed to find an exit, and soon. Otherwise he would be set blaze, along with the building. “There he is” he heard a voice say behind him, Jason took off running again down another hallway. He noticed that it was a dead end expect for one door at the end of the hallway. Jason hoped that it would lead to his freedom from this place, and Tony. He ran and felt the air get cooler, the air was getting cleaner, and a light was shining below the door. He rammed into the door and it opened without any resistance. Jason covered his face as he was blinded by the bright sun.
A Strange New WorldJason was blinded by the sight of the bright sun beaming against his face, he brought his hands to his face trying to shield is eyes. The warm air blew against him, clothes flapping in the wind. Jason had no idea where he was and he didn’t care. Opening his eyes again, this time successful, Jason noticed a big blue circle surrounded by green getting bigger and bigger. “What the?” he thought aloud. As the navy blue circle got closer Jason closed his eyes, the warm air suddenly turning cold as he hit the circle. Jason opened his eye again and stared off into the dark blue void. Stunned from going to the now freezing surroundings from the warm air, he let his body be suspended in the blue void. Several seconds later he was brought back from the shock by the urgent need to breath. He held his throat as he tried to gasp for air, bubbles floating upwards as they escaped his lungs. He instantly propelled his body upwards. His head broke the surface, taking in the crisp cool air. Wiping the water from his face, he looked around for the shortest way to the shore. Spotting his route, he gathered his strength and pulled himself to shore. Once a good distance from the water, Jason propped himself up against a tree and his soggy backpack next to him. He leaned his head back to rest and noticed a dark figure in the sky before being blocked out by the leaves of the tree. Leaning forward again, he looked towards the sky and noticed a black rectangle before having to cover his face from the blaring sun. Once he was able to shield his eyes from the sun, Jason saw the rectangle again. Bewilderment spread across his face as it simply disappeared from existence. Sighing, he leaned back against the tree and stared over the pond he had just fallen into. Noticing the trees on the other side of the lake had a simplistic view. He looked up at the tree above him and it too had a simplistic view, even up close. Everything around Jason seemed texture-less. Holding his hands in front of him he studied them; they had the same simplicity as the trees around him did. They also seemed to bit squarer and blockier too, he moved his eyes up his arms and noticed that all of his hair on his hands and arms were gone too; there was also a faint outline around him that he didn’t notice before. It was a shade darker in some places while others were lighter than his skin tone. He looked up at the trees and the lake; they too had an outline around them, everything he saw did. Jason studied his hands and arms some more, then studied the rest of his body, as he suspected, his clothes were also simplistic, but yet they had the same feel to them as they always had. Jason panicked at his new appearance and quickly stood up, a loud crack echoed over the pond as Jason hit his head on a low lying branch. He slid back down the tree and his consciousness faded from him. Jason lurched awake. He rubbed the top of his head. “What a weird dream.” he said, shaking his head. He looked out across the pond; an orange glow was casted upon everything in sight, the trees swayed in the light breeze, the pond lay still in front of him. It was a beautiful sight to Jason but an unwelcome one. “You got to be kidding me.” he said, throwing his hands in the air and slapping them down on his knees. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as a howl echoed through the air. Jason picked himself up and surveyed his surroundings; a light cool breeze blew against his face. The evening was approaching and Jason knew he needed to find shelter, or at the very least a tree he could climb, but first he needed to quench his thirst. Jason bent down next to the pound’s edge and cupped his hands, and drew some water to his face. The water felt silky and cool against his skin, Jason drew some more water and drank it. He then got up, picked up his backpack by the tree and made his way into the forest. The Sun had set and Jason sat along a branch in a tree. It was harder to climb than he though, since most of the trees had nothing to grab onto, except for a few slits here and there, to pull himself up. It wasn’t the best place that he could find, but it was better than being on the ground and being attacked by God knows what. Jason looked up at the obsidian sky and the stars sparkled like street lights in the distance, but still no clouds. Jason continued to stargaze for the better half of an hour, until he heard a howl and rustling in the bushes around him. A figure on four legs walked towards the tree, its eyes glowed yellow in the darkness. Sniffing around it circled the tree that Jason had taken shelter in. sniffing up the tree it spotted Jason and snarled. Jason swung his legs up and stood up on the branch, trying to get out of reach of the figure, which he assumed to be a wolf. The wolf like figure jumped up on the tree and swung its paw at him. Jason saw the paw in the moon light and it looked as if it was made out of wood. The figure swung again. Yes, it was made out of wood. Jason eyes widened at the sight of the wooden figure below him. “Wood, what creature could possibly be made out of wood?” He said in confusion. The figure swung again and hit the branch, knocking Jason off balance. Jason struggled to require his balance once again and fell. He landed on his stomach and quickly got to his feet, when the backpack hit the ground next to him, an assortment of items spewed from the backpack which scattered across the ground . A spray can rolled to Jason’s feet and taped his shoe. Jason saw it and was about to kick it away when he formed an idea in his head. “If these creatures are wood, then they might not like fire very much.” He though. He picked the can up as he reached into his pocket and produced a lighter, hoping it still worked from being in the water, it sparked. “Uh, come on.” Jason murmured as he tried the lighter a few more times. The wolf like figure was now in front of him, growling at him. Jason could now see its face, it had a wolf like face pieced together with sticks and twigs, while its eye continued to glow yellow. Jason took off running trying to get the lighter to light, while the wooden wolf followed close behind him. Jason dodged low hanging branches and roots that stuck out of the ground, trying to outrun the wooden wolf creature. He heaved himself over dead trees and slide behind a tree stopping. Jason was still trying to get the lighter to work. “Come on, come on, come on!” he could hear the sniffing of the creature getting louder and louder, Jason knew he didn’t have much time, a few seconds later he would either be dinner or have to take of running again. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep running, his time on track certainly helped, but he still couldn’t run forever. Jason tried the lighter one last time; it finally produced a beautiful, fierce flame. Jason ducked as a wooden paw tried to claw him. Jason rolled to the side and held up the spray can and lighter as the sound of cracked wood filled the air. Jason looked at the spot where he once been, a paw print was engraved into the splintered wood. “Unbelievable.” Jason said “That would have broken a few of my ribs for sure. How does this creature have that much power?” He turned to the wooden wolf creature and stared into its yellow eyes. Jason aimed the spray can at the creature and held the light up. An orange glow erupted in front of Jason and a screech echoed through the forest. Jason knelt down and picked a plastic bag that contained a letter off of the forest floor. He eyed it for any damage, seeing that it was unharmed he folded it and slid it into his pocket. He quickly picked up the rest of the items lying across the forest floor. Once everything was packed, he swung the backpack onto his back and stood up. Another howl filled the air, then another. Jason quickly started moving again, one wooden wolf creature was enough for tonight. Jason ran along the forest, a few hours had passed and Jason had not seen a single wooden wolf since his first encounter. He needed to rest, and could see that the trees were starting to clear; he thought that he should almost be out of the forest. He sat down deciding it would be the best if he rested for a few minutes. He almost regretted sitting down as he felt a breath on the back of his neck. He slowly turned around and 3 pairs of glowing yellow eyes were staring at him; he took off running again. A few minutes later he jumped over a fence and ran through a field of trees, looking back he noticed that the wolves had stopped at the fence and retreated back into the forest. He slowed down to a slow walk, and looked up at the trees. Apples, but not just any apples, rainbow apples filled the trees. Jason gazed with his mouth agape at the sigh. He had never seen anything like it in his life. He walked down the row of rainbow apple trees and looked at all the fruit. His stomach grumbled at the sight and he remembered that he had not eaten anything for some time. He decided to try one. He found a good rainbow apple tree he was able to climb and pulled himself up into the tree. He grabbed one; a little shock hit his hand as he did. He eyed the apple and then took a bite. He took another, and then again; stuffing his face with the fruit. It was the most delicious thing that he had ever eaten in his life. He grabbed another on and stuffed it into his mouth. He had eaten almost six apples before he heard a voice. “What’n tarnation do you think yer doin’? Stop eating mah Zapapples!” The tree rocked and the apple fell from the tree, as did Jason. Jason got to his feet and was face to face with the creature that just knocked him out of the tree. It was orange, with a cowboy hat, blonde hair, freckles and emerald eyes. It looked like a she, and she looked like a pony. She turned around as Jason just stared at her. “What. The. He-oof” Jason felt pain radiate from his chest and heard a crack, she had just kicked him in the chest. Jason was pushed back against the apple tree with force, hitting his head. He then fell to the ground; he heard one last thing before everything went black. “Don’t ya eat mah Zapapp- wait a second, what are ya?”
Celestia's OrdersCelestia sat in her golden throne in the far corner of the room. Blue banners hung on the wall behind her and two waterfalls flowed into their own ponds from the second step of her throne. Huge pillars held up the ceiling; spaced at intervals along the walls of the room. A long red carpet ran the length of the room from the door to her throne. Luna walked along the red carpet towards Celestia. The room was empty besides the two sisters. “Sister, how art thou feeling?” Luna said, stopping in front of the throne. “I am doing fine, Luna, thank you for asking. Though I do fell my power weakening, day by day I struggle more and more to move the heavens. I fear as to what will happen if I am not cured. I do not have much time left, my dear sister; I fear I might have a year and a half at most.” A look of uneasiness and shock flooded Luna’s face at the sound of her sister soon departing this world. “Hast Twilight Sparkle found a cure for you yet?” she said, nervously. “I am afraid she has not, my dear sister, and I am afraid that she might not find one either. As you know it is a rather rare sickness; there are no records of it ever existing, at least not here in Equestria.” Celestia said looking over at her blue stained glass window of the heavens and the planet below them. “Should I help Twilight Sparkle search for a cure? “I must ask you not to tell Twilight Sparkle this. She is under enough stress working night and day trying to find a cure. I would not want her to worry any more than she already is.” Celestia paused for a moment and continued. “Though, I do have another task to ask of you.” “Anything you wish, my sister.” Luna said, bowing. “I want you to start searching for anypony that can handle a sword and shield. If Twilight Sparkle does find a cure, I feel that it will not be an easy task to obtain the ingredients. Though if she does not, I am certain we will still need to obtain a force to protect Equestria.” “A force? But sister, what about the Royal guard? They can protect Canterlot and have thou forgotten Shining Armors protection spell?” “Yes, I know Luna, they can protect Canterlot. But we need to protect Equestria as a whole, and not just the capital city. I can sense something out there, lurking at the edge of our kingdom; waiting for my power to grow weaker. I’m sure you have felt it too.” Celestia said, turning towards the open window. “Now, there isn’t much time. Being immortal, a year and a half is not a lot of time to us. You have your task.” “As you wish, my sister” Luna said, bowing to her sister. Celestia got up and walked down the two large steps on her thrown towards Luna. Celestia wrapped her hoof around Luna, pulling Luna into her. Luna hugged Celestia back and then turned around and started towards the door, hiding the mixture of emotions on her face. Once Luna was out of the room Celestia walked over to the open window. Looking out over the vast valley below; she could see Ponyville and far past that she could see the faint outline of Appleloosa. She could also see mountains towering in the vast beyond and the sun rising even beyond them. She smiled as she stared out over her kingdom then worry washed over her face. * * * Twilight Sparkle hovered a book in front of her face, reading each page as fast as she could, books towered high around the room. She finished her book and levitated it to the nearest tower of books and set it atop. The tower of books swayed back and forth and crumbled to the ground on top of her. She signed, shook the books off of her then stacked them into a couple of towers to prevent a second collapse. “I wish spike was here.” She said looking around the book filled room. Spike was back in Ponyville running the library. Twilight had wanted him to come with her, but he had to stay since he was the only one willing to run the library while she was away. As far as she knew, he was the only one that was able to run it besides her; he knew the place forwards and backwards. Spike was smart in his own right; he had offered to search the library back in Ponyville while Twilight searched the Canterlot library while sending reports every other day telling of his finding. So far his reports had nothing of value. Twilight turned to get another book from the shelf and hit another tower of books; sending it to the floor. Twilight took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled; bursting into flames was not a good idea in a library. She was getting restless, she need to recharge her batteries. Then a brilliant idea hit her. She could kill two cockatrice with one stone; see Zecora in the Everfree forest and see Spike while she was visiting Ponyville. An hour later Twilight appeared on the train platform, saddle pack in tow. She had received permission from Princess Celestia herself, who thought that Twilight paying Zacora a visit was “A wonderful idea”, to go to Ponyville. Twilight could hear the train’s horn as she looked down the track. When the toot of the horn subsided Twiight heard hoof steps coming up behind her. She turned around and was surprised at the sight of the pony that towered over her, it was Luna. “Hello Princess Luna.” She said, bowing. “Greetings Twilight Sparkle.” She noticed the saddle pack that Twilight had. “Where art thou going to? Shouldn’th you be in the Library partaking in research for a cure?” “Well, you see, I am going to pay Zecora a visit. Since none of the books so far have had nothing on cures or illnesses that affect immortal being. I thought that paying her a visit would possible give us a new lead to follow.” she said. “What are you doing out here on the platform, Princess?” “Ah, can you giveth Zecora my regards and I am on my way to Cloudsdale. I have business I need to attend to. After that I will be visiting Ponyville.” The train had pulled into the station and was restocking the coal for the journey to Ponville. “I shouldn’t keep thee waiting, Twilight Sparkle. May our paths meet in Ponyville” Luna gave a little bow, as did Twilight. “Goodbye Luna.” “Farewell Twilight Sparkle.” Princess Luna said, spreading her wings. She took off and flew into the afternoon sky. Twilight watched her fly off; once Luna was out of sight Twilight turned towards the train. She entered the passenger car and sat down, and began to stare out the window as the train rolled out of the station; watching Canterlot slowly shrink into the distance. * * * Ponyville seem like any other normal town in Equestria; ponies hurried a long doing their daily chores without a care in the world. Twilight loved this peaceful little town; it had brought so much joy into her life. “Home sweet home.” Twilight said as she stepped off the train and onto the platform. She made her way onto the path that lead into town and made her way to the library, she had decided to stop by and surprise spike, then head to Zecoras. A few minutes later she had arrived at the library. She knocked on the door a few times, not wanting to let herself in even though she lived there; she wanted to surprise Spike after all. A minute went by and no answer. “Hmmm, that’s strange. Spike should have come to see who it is by now. Well maybe he is just asleep. That little dragon loves his sleep.” She giggled and unlocked the door and let herself in. “Spiiikkkeee.” She called. No answer. She called his name again and again only silence answered her back. She went upstairs and checked the bedroom; Spike was nowhere to be found. “hmm, Spike is probably out at Rarity’s again helping her out. That silly dragon, he doesn’t give up.” She laughed and made her way out of the library, locking the door behind her. Twilight had made her way to Rarity’s boutique when she noticed Lyra trotting towards her from the boutique. “Hey Lyra,” she said. “What’s the rush?” “Oh, hello Twilight it’s nice to see you again. Um, well, you see I need a dress made for a special occasion and I was going to see if rarity could do it for me. But she isn’t there, strange thing on a work day like today. So now I have to either-“ “Hold on a second, she isn’t there?” “Uh, oh yes, that’s what I said. She isn’t there. Throws such a wrench into my plans, you know. Now I need to either come back later or travel to Canterlot to find someone who can make me a dress; you of all people know how much time that would take. If you are looking for her, maybe you can tell her I have some things I want her to do for me?” “I see.” Twilight said, rubbing her hoof against her chin. “Well, I am looking for her. If I find her I’ll let her know that you have work for her.” “Oh thank you, thank you Twilight. You’re such a big help. Well I shouldn’t keep you anymore. It would only be hurting both of us. Goodbye and nice seeing you again.” Twilight nodded and Lyra trotted off into town. Twilight started back into town thinking to herself where Spike and Rarity could be. Maybe Pinkie Pie threw a party and invited her friends? That would make sense. Then I should go and see Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Brilliant idea she thought and made her way to Sugarcube Coner. “Oh hello Twilight, so nice of you to drop by,” Mrs. Cake greeted Twilight. “Would you like to try some new caramel cookies that we just made? They’re so chewy and delicious and on the hoouussee. Go ahead and try one.” “Oh, thank you Mrs. Cake.” Twilight reached out her hoof, took a cookie and ate it. “Delicious.” “So Hun, what can I do for you? Aren’t you supposed to be doing something in Canterlot for Princess Celestia?” “Uh, yeah, I came to Ponyville to see Zecora and ask her a few questions for my research. But that’s not why I am here. I came to see Pinkie Pie. Would you happen to know where she is?” “Oh, sorry Hun, I don’t know where she is. She didn’t come into work today. Maybe she’s hosting a party at Applejacks since I haven’t heard anything party related in town. You know how she is dear.” “Oh yes Mrs. Cake, I do. Well thank you for the cookie, it was delicious.” Twilight smiled. “I better go check with Applejack if she has seen Pinkie pie. Have a good day.” “Have a good day Hun, and if you do see Pinkie Pie tell her to warn me next time she throws a party, will you? I hate worry about that pink pony” she said, smiling. “Yes Mrs. Cake, I’ll tell her.” Twilight turned and walked out the door and into the town. Twilight walked through the town and made her way to Sweet apple Acres, thoughts races through her head. This is weird, first Spike is missing, Rarity isn’t at her boutique, and now Pinkie pie is, well Pinkie Pie. Whatpony knows what she could be doing. I just hope Applejack knows what’s going on, and I sure hope she’s not missing either. After a while Twilight had made it to the road that lead out of town and to the farm. She made a left around a building and onto the road. In that instance she was struck by a creature with enough force to knock her and the saddle pack he carried to the ground, items flew through the air and landed around Twilight. “ahh, Crap. SORRY! I mean…” yelled the creature as it rolled on the ground and back to its feet. The creature held its chest and sprinted away from five other ponies and a green and purple dragon. “Heyya Twilight, You okay?” said an orange pony, helping twilight to her feet. “Boy am I glad to see you AJ. What just ran into me and where are Rarity, Spike, and Pinkie Pie?” Before AJ could answer her question she heard a voice behind her. “We’re right here, silly goosy woosy.” Pinkie Pie said, with her while Rarity and Spike were picking up Twilgiht’s saddle pack and stuffing the items back inside. “Oh goodness, I have been looking all over for you guys, thought something might have happened you to.” “Well sweetie, something did happen to us.” Said Rarity. “Yeah, some big, strange creature that AJ caught happened.” Concurred Spike. “Yeah, Yeah, this is nice and all, but he’s getting awaaaayy” interrupted a rainbow named mare, throwing her legs ups in the direction of the creature in the distance. “I...um… agreed with Rainbow Dash. He seems to be getting way, so we should chase him. Well... If you ponys want to... that is.” Fluttershy said, quietly. “Don’tcha worry about him. He can’t get far.” Aj said. “What is going on here?” Questioned Twilight, clearly annoyed. “Here Sugercube” AJ help twilight get her saddle pack back on. “Well tell you later, first we need to recapture our escaped friend.” The six ponies and a dragon took off running towards the escaped creature.
