Meddling with Fate: Birthrightby Spell WriterChaptersChapter 1: BeginningsChapter 2: PrologueChapter 3 - Before BirthrightChapter 4 - Awakening (Unedited)Chapter 5 - FocusChapter 1: BeginningsIt’s a busy day in Ponyville. Outside, ponies are enjoying the wonderful day Celestia has created. The weather ponies have created a comfortable breeze as the sun just perfectly warms the air. Missing this fantastic day, Twilight Sparkle is inside her castle doing an almost excessive amount of work in her library. Even her number one assistant, Spike, was returning from being out in the town on a market run, a very extended market run. Twilight began humming a tune to herself as she organized and moved mountains and mountains of books something broke her concentration. It only took the simple wrench of the hum of her cutie mark pulsing to break her concentration. “The map!?” She said, dropping everything she was doing to rush to the throne room. To find that the cutie map was indeed pulsing, and waiting for the ones being called to show up as well. At Least normally. The map resonated with her mark placing it alone somewhere in the… “B-badlands? There? Of all places to go alone?!” She shakily stumbles to her throne sitting down to let the nauseous feeling pass. Not even 20 seconds later though, her friends show up with their cutie marks pulsing as well. “What do we got Twilight? All 6 of us?” Rainbow Dash, asking as she looks around at the others, before taking her seat. “Ah hope it’s somewhere simple fer once.” Applejack saying as she walks to her seat. Rarity smiles and walks over to her seat, sitting down and saying, “I do dearly hope it’s something simple as well darling. There’s an exuberant amount of orders I need to get done soon… Actually this may be a nice break from the monotony.” Pinkie, oddly enough is just looking at the map. Finally she breaks he- “You’re going on a solo mission Twilight?” She says with her head tilted, looking worriedly. “A… apparently I’m supposed to go to the badlands. Alone. Though it seems you all have your own missions to go to.” Twilight responds quietly. Fluttershy silently sits down before saying, “Aren’t you scared? Something like this is extremely dangerous isn't it? Twilight looks at Fluttershy about to respond before the map hums showing the others their locations. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash have to go all the way to Yakinstan. Rarity has something to do back in Starlight’s old village. Fluttershy actually has something to do around Dodge City. And, Applejack has something to do in the San Palomino Desert. “Wow… busy day today.” RD comments looking at the map closely looking for any identifying features for the area they have to go to. “The yaks!? Ugh, i have badddd luck going up there.” Says Pinkie, slightly distraught from the implications of this adventure. Rarity speaks next saying, “At least I got some known territory. It must be something simple if it’s just a single pony being sent right?” Twilight thinks to herself while the commotion in the background just escalates. ‘Something just feels off about all this. The map hasn’t ever sent us all at the same time only to go to different places… Maybe Rarity is right though, perhaps it’s just something simple.’ Twilight nods to her own thoughts and pipes up, “Alright girls. We should all go get ready to get going then. Fluttershy, mind if I accompany you on the train ride?” Fluttershy responds happily, “Of course I don’t mind Twilight. When should we leave?” “Uh… 3 hours? There should a train leaving then.” Fluttershy nods, “See you then. Good luck girls.” The mane 6 members give their goodlucks off to each other before leaving the castle going on their ways to get ready for their adventures. Twilight then proceeds to go to her room and sits down. Calming her nerves down a little, but still sweating from her newly created stress. She goes through the motions of Cadence’s breathing technique to keep her nerves in check. ‘Spike… Spike. Need to talk to him, and Celestia, and Cadence…. ‘ She gulps down some nerves and saliva before running out of the room to go find her assistant. Spike at the moment was relaxing in his room. Today being his day off, he was prepared to relax with a nice comic book. Settling down to relax he opens his new Power Ponies Issue 38, fresh print. His excitement pented up… and then Twilight bursts into his room with her rarely seen, but unforgettable. “Slightly freaking out but not to the point of Crazy Twi face.” He slips the comic back into it’s plastic wrapping and looks at her. “What’s wrong Twilight?” Twilight frantically explains everything slightly too fast and frantically to be comprehensible. But, Spike understood enough from just hearing “map, badlands, dead”. “The map is sending you to the badlands?! Alone?!” He bites his lip Twilight simply explains for him to write out some letters… Incase she doesn't come back and of course Spike objects to it. “Twilight, I refuse to make letters like that! You will come back and even if you don’t let me come along I know you will make it. I know it’s selfish but I will not write a letter like that. I refuse.” Twilight looks at him incredulously, but she smiles, “You’re right, send them a letter informing them where I’m going and that I'll be back very soon. I gotta go get ready. Thanks for the pep talk Spike.” She trots out to get ready, still worried a little, but she got some confidence out of that conversation at the very least. She begins packing, making a short list of things she will need to bring. She reads the list out to herself as she packs her saddlebags. “One sleeping bag, Two weeks of provisions, 3 books, a small bag of bits, and a journal plus a quill and an Inkwell to go along with it.” She puts the saddle bag on looking around in it and testing its weight. “Well this is as far as i'm gonna get with this, might as well just get out and start going to the train station” Twilight tells herself as she looks at the supplies, grabbing two canteens with water in them and sliding them into her loaded bags. She takes the time to trot out of the castle, not hearing a frantic Spike looking for her inside. She takes flight and flies off to the train station to meet up with Fluttershy. It would be simple for her to avoid this, but as the Princess of Friendship she has a job to help anypony and anyone that needs help. If the map is calling for her she has a job to see it through, dangerous or otherwise. As the purple alicorn lands at the train station, she's already having second thoughts about this. Still determined, she presses forward and purchases her ticket to join her friend on the long train ride out to Dodge City. As she watches the landscape go by, she sees Spike saying something and waving. She smiles and waves back to him as she goes off on another adventure. While on the train, Twilight idly chats with her friend. “So Fluttershy, are you excited for your solo mission? You may get to see Cherry Jubilee again even.” The yellow mare replies softly, “I guess… I'm more worried about you. Are you gonna be okay?” Twilight stays silent for a moment then replies, “Yes, I'll be just fine. You'll see. I'll be back before you even miss me. Besides, the location is just right near the entrance. Nowhere near the real dangerous territory.” Fluttershy thoughtfully responds, “I could… go with you to the entrance at least, Twilight. It’s the very least I could do for you.” Twilight thinks for a good moment contemplating her options before saying, “Alright. Just promise me you won't ignore cries for help if you hear any beforehoof. I may be a friend, but the mission should come first for this, Fluttershy. We really don't wanna ditch anypony or miss out on something. Else it will end up on our heads and shoulders to carry forever.” Fluttershy nods, “Of course Twilight, but let’s not dwell on that okay? We still have a long train ride ahead of us and frankly… This is my first solo mission ever, I’m kinda nervous.” Fluttershy shifts in her seat smiling but still worried. Twilight smiles and consoles her friend, “You're very capable fluttershy and you know it. So don’t worry and be yourself okay? That's all ponies can ever ask of you, and the map wouldn’t send you out here alone if it didn’t think you could do it. So just remember to believe in yourself. I mean, if you can stand up to a dragon, then I’m sure a couple of ponies will be easy for you.” Fluttershy gives her soft smile, “Thanks Twilight, you always know what somepony needs to hear.” Fluttershy gives Twilight a quick hug and then relaxes. Twilight pulls out a book to read and enjoys the peaceful ride out to Dodge city, relaxing. The train pulls into the station no longer than a hour later, it coming to a soft screeching halt. Twilight and Fluttershy quietly get off and walk into town looking about. The town is in quiet discourse from some issues at the farm, at least according to some ponies in town. Fluttershy looks at Twilight sadly but she puts on a firm face after a moment and trots off with the pony that gave them the information. Now alone, for the first time in a long time, Twilight begins her hike to the crevasse path into the badlands. The winding path into the dangerous lands ahead is no easy feat and one would have a very difficult time walking it. Luckily for Twilight she has had some time to practice with her flying and is able to quickly arrive at the entrance to the crevasse path. A guard is in her way, but upon approach he bows and moves to the side, raising the gate for her. Twilight stares at the entrance into the gorge. The small path is able to fit no more than 2 ponies side by side, and the cliffs are far too high to climb showing their unforgiving nature. Yet still, Twilight presses on and continues on her way. The entrance to the badlands is quiet and peaceful. Though at night it can get cold, she left early enough into the morning to make it to her destination and hopefully find some place to rest at said destination. After a grueling walk she finally arrives at the entrance to the badlands. The barren wasteland, completely made of dust and cacti look at her straight in the face. She pulls out a empty book and makes a simple sketch of the area in front of her. Then she proceeds to pull out her map to see which direction she needs to go. Following her map she arrives at a small clearing, lit up by torches and lined with a thin layer of green grass. The smell of flowers is in the air and the shuffling movement of someone can be heard. A large dual archway is in the center of the clearing, made of stone… Or something more? The archway itself seems dormant but as Twilight approaches, more sigils on the archway light up. One at a time the archway begins to hum to life, sounding older than anything Twi has heard possibly could. The shuffling stops and from behind the archway a young human woman wearing a simple red top appears. Her hair is a dark red and on her back is a large empty wooden box. Its former contents being massive amount of weapons that are clearly seen leaning on some trees behind her. She gives a smile that Twilight just knows is a farce and simply says, “Welcome to the Outrealm Gate! Care to visit another world my friend?” She winks and after a good moment laughs to herself, “Never thought I’d be an anna to say that! Phew! It's a rush ya know?” Twilight just looks at her, semi stunned. Anna, waves her hand in front of the pony’s face, “Hellooooooooo, earth to hero! Wakeeeee uppppppp!” Twilight proceeds to blink, “Huh? What? How is a human here? As an actual human?” She proceeds to look Anna over Twilight then continues on to say, “Not even a human from the world I know. This is insane! How is thi-” Anna proceeds to put a nice finger right in front of Twilight’s muzzle, “Shhhhhh no freaking out, this is a quiet place where I get lots of money. Now! What brought you here today?” Anna walks over to the gate in an over exaggerated way, proceeding to lean on the frame of the portal. Twilight takes a moment to respond before saying, “Uh, I’m Princess Twilight of Equestria, I was sent here by my magical map that sends me and my friends out to help out ponies far and wide with their problems.” Anna thinks for a moment to herself and then responds, “Soooo a normal hero pack huh? Well that will be 2000 bits and a little bit extra. Maybe an apple? Bet you haven't had a good apple in ageeesssss.” Twilight looks at her and simply says, “Huh?” Anna sits down and rustles around her stuff, “You see, simply to say, I’m a businesswoman. In exchange for the equivalent of 2000 bits I will provide you one of each of the following items: A lance, some foreign currency for the world you’re going to, and information about your new quest! Ooooohhh doing merchant stuff is so much funnn! When you're over there say hi to my sister for me okay?” Again after a good moment finally Twilight responds, “Back up, so you're saying you know what my adventure is going to be?” Anna replies, “Yep, pretty much.” Twilight springs on that, “Then tell me! Any information is good!” Anna then says, “Hmmm so you just want information huh? How about for everything in your bags I give you 3 pieces of information and this nice little necklace I wove myself.” She holds out a grass necklace, which quickly solidifies into a brass necklace with a strange insignia on it. It looks like a circle with a cross cutting it into 4 equal sections with a hole in the center of the cross Twilight thinks for a moment, “Everything in my bags? I have some… sentimental stuff in here.” Anna makes a thoughtful pose. “How about you lend me the books then, and I'll just keep one bit of info.” Twilight sighs, “I'd be dumb not to take a chance like this. Will there be food wherever I’m going?” Anna nods and Twilight half heartedly hoofs over her bags, which after being emptied out are returned to her. Anna proceeds to go on, “Alright! My part of the deal, here is the necklace. And your information, simply to say there will be a war going on in the next world over and your help will be necessary to help end it. One way or another. Your princess, queen, whatever made a deal with the big boss on the other side years ago over this and now here we are. There are your two bits of info, no refunds!” Anna proceeds to sit down with the books looking into them. Twilight looks at the portal quietly. “A new world, huh?. I wish my friends were here. But, if even Princess Celestia has involvement in this somehow…I have to do my duty.” Twilight then walks into the portal. And everything went white. Then rainbow And finally black. Author's Note Here we go. The beginning of my newest story. If there is enough positive reception to the story i plan on doing all three paths. The order is Hoshido, Nohr and then Valla. Enjoy the fic and as always, creative criticism is always welcome! Chapter 2: PrologueThe trip lasted an undefinable amount of time, and only one thing was for certain. The portal didn’t really care very much about where it dropped her off. As she landed on the floor of wherever she was like a sack of potatoes. It was dark, it wasn't that the room wasn't lit, it was just that the atmosphere felt heavy. Almost like the cries of many people went unanswered just before they were cut down. It was unnerving. To say the least Twilight picks herself up from the floor of the room, dusting herself off. ‘Where am I?’ She thought to herself after making sure everything was safe and nothing hurt. “So she did hold up her end of the deal then. Good…” Twilight quickly turned around to face the voice behind her. It was a biped wearing a hood. If it weren't for his voice she would think he was a human. Even with a million thoughts racing through her head Twilight still spoke up. “Where am I? And what do you mean a deal? This better not be a trap or something!” “I don’t wish to rush you, but we are on a timetable here. I cannot hold my other half forever. And frankly I'm impatient as it is. So hurry up and run me through, do you need a lance?” Now is when she speaks up. “Wait what?! I don’t kill things! I've never done it once in my life! And I won’t do it to a stranger I just met! That's murder at its core.” The being is quite silent for a moment. Before angrily speaking out. “You are your goddess’ student are you not? Then I am certain you know how to fight. This is bigger than you and you WILL slay me if you know what is good for you!” During his rage, he poised his arm to hit Twilight with his hand. After a cursory glance at his hand, he drops it back to his side and paces around the room. Twilight then says. “I’m sure that we can just figure this out if we-” “Shut up, I'm thinking. This isn’t the first time I’ve been lied to and I am certain it will not be the last. But I do not have another plan for this universe…. Hm….” The creature takes a short glance at Twilight before grinning and creating some items for himself “What are you doing? It looks like alchemy.” asks Twilight “Something of the sort my dear pacifist. I don’t have the same magic I used to. Or at the least roaring is less than useful. Feel free to skewer me at any time, there is a nice selection of lances on the floor.” The entity says Twilight looks around at the discarded lances, picking one up even to get a feel for it. Before dropping it on the floor like a disgusting bag of feces. “Shame, that you live under such a protected rule. I assume she told you nothing about her little dealings with me? How I helped her regain control of her nation and she promised me anything in return. Is it so difficult to just skewer me and get on with your life?” He asks Twilight ponders for a moment “I’d never be able to forgive myself for killing someone. I’m sorry for not killing you?” “Then we must take matters into our own hands now. If it were as easy as killing myself I would have done it by now. But now I guess we must toughen you up” The being laughs greatly and ominously. It was unnerving, to say the least. Twilight takes a few steps bag from the being. “What do you mean by that…?” “You’ll see. And don't try to leave. If you leave the room I cannot guarantee your safety. There are a lot of dangerous things out there.” The being says with a clear smirk Twilight still checks out the door before closing it quickly and leaning against a pillar. “This place is terrible…” “That is certainly what happens when you successfully stop destiny from happening years in advance. But you will come to amend this in the future whether you want to or not.” “You can’t force me to kill you unless you literally control me to do so” Twilight retorts, less than pleased with the current situation. “I doubt my other half would stay asleep if I tried that. No.. you are going to do it of your own volition. And you can help another world in the meantime. Now come over here.” Twilight quickly hides behind the pillar. “No! I don't want any part in your insane schemes! Even if Celestia promised you my help I have no intentions of killing anyone!” The being is completely missing from his spot. Twilight looked around to try and spot him but there was no sign of him. Until he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Shame that you have no choice in the matter, blame your teacher for promising something that you didn't want to participate in. Because if you do not fight, you will die.” With a quick pull of his arm, he throws Twilight to the ground. “Think of it this way, you'll be saving many lives in this other universe. The royal families could use a good war horse.” A loud roar echoes throughout the room an invisible force of magic lifting the young alicorn princess. “Ngh. Let me go!” With a quick burst of magic, she manages to escape her entrapment and exit the room, taking chances with the area outside rather than stay and certainly get entrapped by the situation. The being simply stands there as she exits the double doors, allowing her to escape and exit into the strange world outside. The world outside is a barren wasteland, with few spots of green and much of the land not even connected. Floating islands everywhere with little to no way to cross aside magic or flying. Rushing out of the castle’s front door into the red skyed outside area. Twilight quickly looks behind her to be sure she is not being followed or worse. She then takes a moment to get her bearings of the area before leaving. Flying to another island where she hopes that the monster inside the castle would not follow. Although she has an aching feeling of being watched the entire time, she feels confident in herself enough to survive a day or two while she figures out a way to return home. If not at least get a word home via magic. Landing on the top of a mountainous island, she finds a cliff where she can stay quietly and hopefully focus to get her bearings. ‘I should be safe up here… for now.’ Walking over to a tree she places her bags down and sits down letting her mind finally process things. This was an absolute mistake. Processing everything quickly stressed out the already stressed mare causing her to freak out rather brilliantly and quickly. This ended up requiring her to take quite a few moments to pace around, sweating just as much as she did when the yaks were in town for peace talks. Granted though a war with Equestria is usually considered a stupid decision and frankly she shouldn't have been so worried, but even then war still costs lives, something she never wants on her hooves. “Ok, okay Twilight” She takes a deep gasp as she attempts to calm her nerves. “I can figure this out. I just need to focus and stop freaking out, even if there is a super powerful monster blocking the only place I know I can possibly get out and frankly I have no idea where we are and he even said it was dangerous out here. I'm sure I can figure this out before anything bad happens. Number one thing is to find food and water. To replenish the stocks.” Grabbing her bags, still on edge, she heads down the mountain, looking for any evidence of a river or something with water. Having read in a book once that moss grows closest to water, she walks until she reaches a damp area. Following simple queues from the forest, she eventually makes it to a series of waterfalls which dump into a lake. Which of she is standing near. Large towers placed on either side of the waterfalls connect the three islands. Quickly trotting over to the lakeside, she sits and takes a nice long drink of water before filling up a bottle she brought along. “Berries. There have to be berries of some sort.” Looking along the waterfront and the small treeline to find anything edible. She quickly finds some blueberries which she picks, and after a quick magical scan, scarfs down hungrily. She picks as many as she can fit into her bag before continuing on her path towards the towers. A snapping of a twig alerted her quickly to the beings behind her. Almost translucent beings that are nearly invisible to the naked eye. But, their hostility was quite obvious, and it was not something Twilight wanted to face head on. “Ponyfeathers!” Quickly running to the tower at a speed that would impress many ponies back home she hides inside the large tower. The beings outside only getting closer and closer. ‘I saw archers… if I want to get out of here in one piece, I’m gonna have to get a ton of speed… The very top of the chain of islands should be perfect.’ //-Escape the enemy-// Twilight quickly pulled herself from her hiding spot, arrows raining into the tower with frightening accuracy as she climbed to the top. “Why do you want to kill me?! I'm just trying to get out of here!” Twilight screams out as she heads to the next section of land. The second island is mostly a lake, with little land. And on that little land are two very large beasts of the same nature as what are following her. They seem to be wearing armor, heavy armor. “On the table Twilight.” A familiar voice echoed in her head as she looks there. A small tube of a blood red liquid. “And why would I tru-” A crash downstairs answers for her as she grabs and downs the liquid. She nearly spits it out. “Agh… that was blood!?” “Quickly, outside. Its effects will not last forever.” Said the being “And why are you helping me?” Even as she is speaking she exits the tower. “Because I need you as much as you need me at this moment. And you WILL help me.” “We’ll see.” Twilight simply responds before noticing a small glow on a location. She stands on it and a large power flows through her body. A blast of freezing wind hits the waters nearby, freezing them completely over. A second blast destroys the tower that the beings were climbing up. Causing them to retreat across the lower lake and ascend through the second tower, buying Twilight more time. Slip and sliding on the ice, she quickly makes her way across to the next set of towers. Almost home free she arrives on the third island only to run straight into one of those… Things, riding a pegasus. Quickly avoiding the resulting attack, the being does not stop its assault. Intent on skewering the alicorn at any costs. Finally, a strike that Twilight knows she cannot avoid is directed at her. Feeling something appear under her, she pulls up with her hoof to attempt a block only instead narrowly stabbing the opposing being. Stopping it just before it could slay the princess. Standing there, stunned, Twilight has an intense amount of thoughts circulating through her head. “MOVE TWILIGHT!” That was all she needed, she quickly took her leap off the island. Partially noticing a grave on top of it as she quickly took a nosedive to gain speed and would fly back to the castle… ‘Who’s Corrin…?’ Arriving back at the castle. She takes a deep breath before entering, back into relative safety. “It is time. Are you ready?” “No, but I don’t exactly have a choice. Now do I?” “No, you do not. On the bright side, you’ll come out stronger for it.” A force grabs the mare, transforming her, keeping her coloration but losing her cutie mark, and her voice. The excruciating pain of the transformation forcing her to the blackness of sleep. The being walks over to the unconscious alicorn. Looking at the necklace that Anna gave her. He smiles. “Then to Hoshido, you will go. You are now bound by the fate that my Son/daughter will set out for you as I T̡̪̻̯̭̞̤̻̎̑͡ĥ̨̞̻̲͉̠̪̠̪̱̃ͧͪ̆͝e̝̬̳̔̆ ̴̫̣͓̫̲͓̦ͪ̉̉ͩͤ͡S̖͚̯̓̐̌̂͒̓͟͞ͅị̖̜̥̙̥̌͐͂̏ͨͦḽ̪̗ͪ͒̂͜e̢̼̣̙̖͔̤ͮ̃ͨͮ̓̐͡n̡̟̥͙̙̻̍̾͒͂͒̾̔͆t̰̭͇̪͈͛̊͂̆ͫ̍͟ ̴̥̼͎͍̟̲̱ͪͤD͍̮̻̜͎͈̯͉̆̉ͩ̾̄̆͐͝ͅrͬ͜͏͖̳̺̫̤a̱͙̺ͣ̓́ͧ̾ͫ̓͌̿g̷̪͙̣̙͈̮͍̑͂̔ͧͦ̋ͧ͢o͍̤̖̝͉͇̩̮ͭ̿̈́̄̿̑̊ͨ̒ͅn͋̾̾̊̆͊̈͐҉͕̀,̺͙͔ͫͪͨ̇ͣ̇ ̷̰̲̻̼͚̤̭̈͑́͊͑̔̑͘Ä͇̣̦͕̈̃n̶̯̫̖̟̙̜̪͌̚͘ͅā̡̬̗̮̼̘̻ͨ͌̈ͦͮ͋̎ͪ̕n̶̠̱͉͖͙̟ͭ̈̋ͥͬͯ́́̚͡k͍̖̰̞̤̒̎ͨ͘o͋́͏̯͍̻̺̺s̷͓̝͕͕̝̫̳͛͐́͗̍̓ͮ ̴͕͈̪͛̂̑ͤ̋ͬD̨͙̗̻͉̰̂͗̕͠ė͘҉̗̟̥̜͍̪̻̗̭c̵̡̙̲̄̂̇͊̚r̷͎̟̞̞͔̯ͬ̄̑̎̌ͮ̚e͚̞͂̂̿̌́̊è̹͍̰͗̑͊̌̒̒!͎̹́̒̄̈́ͫͭ͌͆́ͅ It will be done. A slight whoosh and the large alicorn was whisked away. To another world and another time. Author's Note Sorry for the long wait. Here is the 2nd chapter, fully edited. Enjoy. Chapter 3 - Before BirthrightTwilight appeared inside Hoshido’s territory. Well unconscious from the trip that she was forced to undergo. The teleport was primal, unrefined, and battering, as if the magic sending her was told to first compress her, punch all her body several times, and then deposit her in a new world. Compound this from the pain of her transformation, which made her bigger and stronger at the cost of her voice and her precious cutie mark, she would not be waking up anytime soon. Hours passed since she fell into her world, and a small scouting party has entered Hoshidian lands from Nohr. As tensions are only on the rise and formal war has only been recently declared, the Nohrian siblings were well able to sneak their way into the Oriental Kingdom’s land’s as Leo had felt a large magic power appearing in the area. Accompanying him is his sister Elise, and his two brothers, Xander and Corrin. The latter of whom they have snuck out of Nohr for an excursion outside of the subterranean city’s walls. “This is a mistake. Father will punish all of us once we return. How I ever allowed you two to convince me to let Corrin leave only five days before he was set to go to the Northern Fortress defies my own logic.” Xander exclaims, sighing from his mount. Lightly resting his hand over Siegfried’s scabbard. “And in Hoshido no less. Any closer to their field and we will be defenseless against any guards or parties that are nearby.” “Relax brother, we will investigate the magic influence here as father commanded and when we bring back whatever it is he will certainly forgive us. I have a sealing tome here incase we need to make a quick exit and we can only snatch the magic.” Leo says in his “high and mighty” voice. “... uh do you have enough to drain a falcon?” Corrin says, looking over a bush. “Like a real, pure bred, non hoshidian/dark flier falcon. None of that iron horn stuff.” “A falcon?” Leo quickly hops off his mount. Passing Corrin his iron sword. “Catch, Falcons mean Hoshidians.” “Huh?” Corrin narrowly catches the sword. And is barely able to lift it. “Leo I haven't practiced with a sword for almost 2 years now! It’s kinda why father is sending me off remember, although thinking about it sneaking out probably just made it way worse…” “That is what I have been trying to say. This was a bit of a error coming out here. But might as well reap the rewards. True falcons are only supposed to show up during times of troubles, and if she ended up in Hoshidian land, that means they’re getting a serious advantage straight from the divines. Considering this one ended up in Hoshido we must quickly drain it before any Hoshidians appear to reap their rewards from the divines. I will prepare a small perimeter. Corrin, you are with me. I have a bronze sword left over from when we used to practice, even someone who is out of practice can wield one of those with little to no problems.” Tossing the bronze sword to Corrin, the two quickly head off Xander leaving his mount with Leo’s. Leo taking his sword and preparing to work his magic on the comatose Twilight. Of course, Orochi and her close friend Kagero were hot on the heels of the magic signature too. Corrin and Xander running straight into them. Literally. “Oof.” They all exclaimed after a moment. Dropping their various weapons on the floor. Aside Kagero who jumps back and Xander who… well is a walking mountain, even off his horse. “Nohrians!” Exclaimed Kagero “Hoshidians!” Exclaimed Xander “Ow my head” Said Corrin and Orochi Xander and Kagero quickly get into combat positions. The nimble ninja being very hard for the Nohrian prince to hit. (Note: for the purposes of the fight. Consider Xander a Vanguard off his horse) Spryly the ninja constantly jumps around. Throwing her throwing stars left and right with dangerous accuracy. Unfortunately, as it stood, the prince’s armor was more than capable of keeping up after catching his bearings. His dark blade firing out its beams constantly in an attempt to catch his nimble opponent. Meanwhile, the two that fell backwards are scrambling for their weapons… Corrin found his first and did a decisive hit to the unarmed Orochi. Immediately knocking her back. “Shit!” Orochi stumbles backwards. Bleeding from her shoulder. “Kagero I gotta get out of here. I won’t make it much longer.” Of course that momentary distraction of her friend being injured was more than enough of a moment for her to be hit by the blunt force of the beam. Which quickly slams her backwards. Granted it wasn’t enough to force a retreat. But the situation was more than enough. “We must retreat then. But know this we will return with our forces!” Kagero says quickly as they return through the barrier in a rush. “Good hit Corrin. We better head back to the others. We don’t have time on our side.” Xander quickly double steps back and rushes back to the party with Corrin. “We have to go! Now!” “Right. I’ve drained the magic we have to go now. Quickly.” Leo says throwing on his cloak and rushing back to his mount. The small band of royalty quickly run off with their spoils. The Hoshidian Army missing them at the forest, they escape with the book full of Twilight’s leftover magic. The Hoshidian army arrives at Twilight’s grove though. The unconscious alicorn, now Falcon, twitching lightly. The Hoshidian prince, in his red helmet, along with his retainers walk up to Twilight. The prince kneeling down and feeling for a pulse saying. “She’s still alive. Drained, but alive… Damn. We missed the princes and princess… But a natural falcon will turn the tide in our favor even without it’s magic for a couple of decades. Bring the prison transport cage. Line it with some of the furs that we use for camps. We’ll have to make it back to Castle Shirasagi before she wakes up. Although, it seems like that won’t be too much of a problem, we cannot take any chances over that.” The army quickly gets to work. Being as quick as possible to prepare the transport. They then begin the slow movement of Twilight to the transport. Laying her in the soft padding and closing the cage’s door. But not locking it. She wasn’t a prisoner after all and the divines don’t look too nicely on those that abuse their gifts physically, at least when training isn't involved first. The day’s walk went by without any problems. The barrier around Hoshido keeping out almost everything that isn’t one of Nohr’s faceless abominations. Twilight however was having a less than restful sleep. Her battered body refusing to wake up in any shapely time her mind an empty void with only itself for company. Nothing was working properly… and her personal terror showed outside. Her breathing sped up quite a bit and she was twitching much more. But the emptiness of her mind had no light in sight. Even as the soldiers moved her to a stable fit for a king’s warhorse she did not wake up. She was exhausted in more ways than one.The battering she took from the travel to this world, along with the exhaustion of being drained, it was clear that she not only needed a cleric, but also someone to be with her. Luckily the Prince had someone quite in mind for this mission. “We have to bond her to a rider before she wakes. They should be able to calm her down significantly. Hm… someone get both of my sisters. Hinoka has been training to become a pegasus knight for some time now and her bonding ceremony was to be held soon, perhaps our new ally will make a good replacement for the pegasi we lost against the faceless.” Ryoma spoke. The princesses in question were at the moment, not together. For Sakura was busy helping the sick as she has been doing for years now. Even when she was younger, the young priestess always had a knack for being skilled with a rod. As for the older sister, she was busy practicing with her lance. Her original pegasi of choice had been claimed by another, as she was just graduating from her lessons about pegasi riding and combat, she had no real chance at contesting the bonding of the pegasi with the other soldier who also had a relationship with the pegasi in question. Of course, Hinoka didn’t let the soldier leave without a black eye and a broken arm, but with how powerful rods are, he got it fixed up relatively quickly. Of course, neither princess was expecting to be called over to the stables. Ryoma, of course, could not stay at the stables. He had important work to do and life does not slow down for the weary. A soldier telling them what's going on. Sakura, listening intently, says after a moment. “I-I’ll see what I can do I guess… I-I’ve never had a chance to heal a Falcon or Pegasi.” The young priestess enters the stable quickly. Carrying her Rod, she quickly begins working on tending and healing Twilight. Due to her not needing to be immediately healed, the priestess puts much more effort in letting some natural healing occur. In the meanwhile, the more hot-headed princess is standing by the doorway watching the falcon quietly. ‘Strong build, seems to be able to take some punishment… And is a wild falcon. This is almost too perfect… But at the same time, such a strong mount. I wouldn’t have any trouble fighting off faceless. I could find Corrin much much easier with her… Hopefully, she’ll trust me enough through training so we really can work together.’ Having made her decision. The princess sits next to the falcon, who is just sleeping now and opens up the beginning of their link. One that could break if they don’t get along well enough. But hopefully, will flourish into something greater and something much more powerful that any one person could ever hope to be a part of. Nightfall comes shortly afterward. Sakura having to make her way out back to the healing rooms. To assist those that got hurt in the small skirmish between Corrin and Xander. Hinoka, on the other hand, decided to stay behind and watch over her new friend and hopefully long time ally. Tending to the alicorn with some grooming items. “I’ve read legends that Falcons can come in several random colors. But only Sakura ever actually believed in that. She’s quite a nice shade of purple. Very unique… and night time fighting will be a real breeze with her. Although she is a mess. Hopefully, I’ll have some time to wash her off before the ceremony. Then it’s finally training with the actual soldiers.” Of course, a bond is not something such a magically inclined pony, such as Twilight is unable to sense. But at the moment, she just didn’t care. Having someone close by while she was floating through the abyss that was her mind was more than worth having a bond created between the two. She felt safe and secure, something she hasn’t been able to say that she’s felt in quite a hot minute. The small darkness in her mind filling up with information of her new, magically bonded partner. ‘That… thing. Said I would have to fight to live here. This might be a good mutual way of surviving here. While I hate the idea of helping someone kill another living being, I have to survive and make it home. Maybe, just maybe I can use this to my advantage. After I… well, wake up…’ The night traveled by. Hinoka staying with her new friend. Not going too far away from the sleeping alicorn/falcon and simply making sure that Twilight is comfortable. Taking time to brush her and lightly wash off any dirt that she can see. Of course, nighttime does not last forever, day pushing past the protective stars of the night, revealing a brand new day for the two. Twilight silently watching the sleeping princess next to her. Finally awake. Chapter 4 - Awakening (Unedited)Author's Note Phew. That one was hard to write. Warning this is fully unedited. parts and chunks may be pulled out or added. So feel free to hold off on reading this until my comment that my editor has read this is out. Chapter 4 - Awakening (Unedited) Twilight, silently watching Hinoka, takes some time to get a feel for her body. Taking stock in any broken or injured areas. To her surprise, there are none left after the skilled treatment the young priestess had given her. She had already tried the door, to go and try to explore, but alas the door seemed to have some sort of connection with her new link with Hinoka. She wasn’t leaving without permission and therefore decided to just relax and wait for the princess to awaken. ‘What is this world… it’s so bright. Even brighter than Equestria, which is saying something. A couple of friendly humans came in earlier in the day, with fresh fruit, hay, oats. Mostly healthy food that twilight typically would try to snack on when not visiting Celestia or Pinkie. ‘I suppose I'll be eating healthy for a while. Ugh, this stuff is snack food, I’m really gonna have to chow down to get any form of subsistence.’ The out of place alicorn stands up softly and takes a few bites of food from the bags… almost quickly spitting it out. ‘AGHGHGHGH.’ Of course Hinoka shifts in her sleep, only able to hear a weird mixture of coughing and neighing. Twilight quickly restrains her surprised disgust to not wake the princess up. ‘Ewww! Raw hay! Gross! I know humans don’t eat hay, but geeze! This is just disgustinggggg. Healthy, but disgusting. But… unless I want to completely engorge myself on oats. I’ll have to take one for the team here…’ Sighing lightly to herself, she dives into the hay. Mostly washing down the raw stalks with water and oats, which at least taste moderately good. After a short while of eating she feels a soft hand on the back of her neck. Just lightly rubbing her mane. For some reason, Twilight didn’t feel startled at all, in fact the feeling calmed her. Being knowledgeable enough in magical bonding spells she could only figure that the figure doing this was the person she had just been watching over. “Morning sunshine. I’m guessing you just woke up too huh?... or not. I guess falcon’s are straight from the divines, you’ve even tested the door huh? Well we can’t have you escaping whenever you want yet. But maybe after a bit of work and after we trust each other a bit more you’ll be able to come and go as you please. Because I really don’t have a problem with it. It’s more my teacher that’d be upset if I lost you so early on… Although we should get out there soon, my brother is going to be the one introducing us to the squads before Yukimura takes over in teaching you and I the basics!” Of course, Twilight was more than confused by all of this. She had only gotten a small glimpse of what Hinoka was planning for them to do in the future. She knew it was going to be training, but military workings were something she never expected that they’d allow a princess to do. Her primary assumption from the beginning was that Hinoka was being taught privately for self defense. She could have never guessed that the red haired girl was planning on fighting with other soldiers… Much less expect Twilight to fight with her. It took twilight almost all night in the first place to come to terms with the fact that she’d be carrying someone around on her back. But fighting like this must take an absurd amount of coordination between the rider and the mount. ‘This is going to be impossible! The sheer amount of coordination and trust we are going to need is almost impossible to reach in any reasonable amount of time! I can’t do this!’ Of course clouded with doubt she completely missed the fact that Hinoka had already skillfully put the harness and lead on her. ‘Oh. I forgot, I really don’t have a choice in this matter.’ Twilight thought to herself quietly as she was led out of the stable, fairly full with fruit, oats, some hay (It was really gross), and plenty of water. After a few moments she found herself simply following, with the little nudges of the lead being very superficial and probably unnecessary. She was engrossed in the scenery, as the town was absolutely beautiful. The castle had a perfect view of the town proper, right down to the fountain. The trees in bloom and all the humans passing by here and there to get onto business. Eventually, the duo arrive at a clearing which is full of soldiers practicing their form with various weapons. Katana, Yumis, Nagintanas and even a few ninja can be spotted, albeit the latter only very occasionally. The army is not small by any means, but it is certainly smaller than Twilight expected. She is especially surprised to only see a few Sky Knights. Most are flying around and only one is teaching… Granted though, Twilight does not have time to look around very long. As they approach a man leading the repetitions that the swordsmen and swordswoman are doing. ‘Huh… I’d thought that the girl’s brother would be taller. Also is his helmet in the shape of a crab? Or is it a lobster?’ Ryoma, leading the repetitions can be heard yelling in his booming voice, practicing with the soldiers. “One! Two! Three!” At the say of one, the soldiers simultaneously take ready position and swing down. At the say of two, they swing their katana’s in a upwards strike meant to cripple. Finally, at the say of three they return to ready position with a downward strike that could be carried through for a skull splitting hit on an opponent who’s guard was thrown off. The form is very basic, but fantastic for training and not lackluster in practice. “Repeat! One, two, three, one! One, two, three, one!” The soldiers get into a good rhythm, the prince fixing the soldier’s forms. After some time the soldiers are done with 100 repetitions, Ryoma having taken notice of the duo watching the soldiers train. “Everyone at standby position, I have an announcement to make. My sister, High Princess of Hoshido, Hinoka, will be joining the sky knights.” At this, Hinoka moves forward, having removed the lead off of Twilight. Twilight follows compliantly though, not wanting to make a mess of things. Ryoma then continues “As such remember when she is on the training grounds she is still just a soldier like I am. Do not give her special treatment and do not be afraid to spar with her. Although, do not blame me when she knocks you on your ass. That is all for now, you all should practice your sparring. I want to see two on ones and two on twos. Go!” Having watched the whole affair Twilight can't help by think about Shining. Thinking to herself, ‘Hinoka’s brother is pretty serious about his job. He almost reminds me of Shiny, just not as dorky.’ Twilight thinks to herself, internally giggling at the thought. Moving forward with Hinoka to meet Ryoma half way. “Sister, I am glad to see you woke up on time. The servants said you hadn't been seen since last night. Although, looking at your mount, I see what you've been up to.” Ryoma puts a hand on Twilight’s neck and just gives it a pat. The pat raises up quite a bit of dust though. “She still needs a bath, badly. I was going to take her to the river so she could clean off in peace, but we overslept by too many minutes. So uh, who's gonna be my trainer anyways?” Hinoka asks. “Subaki, of course. He's the only sky knight that is actually fully trained and he is Sakura’s retainer, so he can be trusted with training missions.” Ryoma responds, always watching his soldiers whenever he is speaking. “Subaki huh… alright, sounds fair enough I guess. I just want to get flying so I can save Corrin! I… owe it to him at the least.” Hinoka says as she quickly heads off to go with the other sky knights. Twilight following after noticing that Hinoka was already halfway to the secluded area past the tree line. But not before she has a personal thought. ‘There is that name again… Corrin.’ Twilight feels a hand on her neck again, just before she was about to trot off. “I know my sister is a little fiery and impulsive. Take care of her okay? And don't be afraid to throw her off a few times.” The crab helmeted human pats Twilight’s back lightly, before going to train with his soldiers. Twilight then rushes off after Hinoka, catching up quickly. After a few seconds they are underneath all the practicing sky knights. Only around twelve seem to be practicing in the air above, while two are on the ground talking with one another. When Hinoka and Twilight approach the two, both bow at Hinoka before the female leaves on her mount. The remaining male smiles in what Twilight can only explain as “a photo perfect” smile. “Princess! Good to see you finally passed your nagintana test! Only took you six tries right? Well don’t worry about that at all. We will work through this perfectly. So first things first, we gotta get you on your mount’s back. Sounds easy enough right?” “I guess that can’t be too hard. Let's get on with it then.” Hinoka states. Although she doesn’t hide the eagerness and rushing in her voice at all. Hopping on Twilight’s back quickly… She doesn’t last a second as Twilight feels the bond between them get red hot with Hinoka’s scrambled and destructive emotions. The ex pony almost immediately and skillfully throws her rider off. ‘Hot Hot HOTTTT. Geeze, her emotions are more scrambled than Spike’s scrambled eggs!’ In the meanwhile, Subaki is picking Hinoka up from the ground. Who quickly storms over to Twilight. “What the hell! Comon! You know you can trust me, so what was that for?” Twilight just responds with a soft snort. Hinoka getting quite annoyed at her mount. Luckly Subaki steps in momentarily. “Princess Hinoka, I believe I know what your problem is. Your emotions are so explosive that you annoyed your mount by just sitting on her… Guess we’ll have to start with the basics of the basics. Let's go to the river. Your falcon can relax and clean up while we work on your… problems.” The perfectionist smiles, before leading the group away to a beautiful river and waterfall. The area around it is fairly clear with a few scattered trees. But the brush and the shrubbery gives a second degree of privacy. All around by the lake side there are various soldiers of all types, sitting in a meditation position. The silence is palpable and thick, not a single person daring nor wanting to break the silence. Only the occasional lieutenant comes and whispers to his soldiers, informing them that their free time is up. Hinoka begins to whisper immediately. “Meditation? Really? How is this going to help anything? The faster I can get off the ground, the better. I don't want to get even CLOSER to it!” A nearby soldier clears his throat in irritation, which gets the princess to quiet down. As her voice escalated from a whisper to a silent yell. Of course her friend and instructor had no issues with it, just keeping his ten out of ten smile on. Subaki saying in a perfect whisper “This is honestly what you need right now Hinoka. You won't get into the air with such a troubled head and heart. You need to come to terms and temper that want and ambition into something healthy. Then when you ride your falcon you'll be unstoppable… well, except to weapons like the yumi. But that's beyond the point, you need to learn this if you intend to become the sky knight you want to be. You need to learn how to control yourself if you want to save Corrin. So please, Hinoka, I've known you and the royal family for a long time. So just trust me? Please?” Twilight was far too interested in the conversation going on to even remember why she followed them in the first place. Seemingly the two humans either had a history or knew of one another. Twilight listening to see if she can figure out what everyone around is doing. ‘It seems they're using meditation as a sort of therapy for themselves. This place really is much different than Equestria.’ The pony observes Hinoka sitting by the lake after a moment, the human closing her eyes and relaxing. Hinoka spending some time in assisted meditation, as her friend and teacher helps her relax by giving her things to focus on. After a couple of minutes though, he proceeds to meditate himself after giving Twilight a gesture to the waterfall. ‘Oh right, gotta get cleaned off.’ Twilight thinks to herself slightly embarrassed. As silently as she can she flies to the waterfall and just dunks herself into it. Letting the water handle everything as she just stands there and avoids thinking too much. ‘The numbness won’t last forever. I’m due for a major freakout soon unless I calm my nerves. Maybe I’ll try some meditation myself after I get this dust off… I miss everypony. I hope I haven’t been gone too long. It feels like I’ve been here much longer than a couple of days. But I suppose even a couple of days in a completely new universe could be just a couple of hours in mine. I shouldn’t be so worried I guess.’ The alicorn walks back over to Hinoka and Subaki, laying next to Hinoka and relaxing on the ground. ‘Just relax. And breathe.’ The three begin meditation. Relaxing their minds and bodies. The three trying to sort out their own demons that entrap their own minds. They do this until around noon time where Subaki nudges both Hinoka out of her meditation and Twilight out of her sleep. “Lunch time you two. Meditation on an empty stomach is okay, but some food will do you two some good. Hinoka, as you are a sky knight officially now, I think you’re free to use the pegasus stables.” Subaki says with a smile. “So go ahead and show your mount to her new home and enjoy some lunch.” Putting up his hand, Subaki’s mount swoops low. Picking up his rider quickly as the two fly off. The duo perfectly coordinating a very action rich pickup. Hinoka looks at Twilight quietly with a moderately flat face. “When are we going to be able to do that?” ‘When you don't burn my back the moment you sit on me.’ Twilight thinks to herself as she follows Hinoka. After a short walk to the much grander and larger stables, the alicorn finds herself inside a much larger stable than when she first ended up in the new land. It had lining of some sort of animal fur, hay, a sandy area in a corner, plenty of water and a bale of oats, which were sadly closed. ‘Buck, guess it’s raw hay for a while. Ugh. I really regret not using my title at all for some more lavish food back in Equestria…’ Hinoka speaks after a moment “Niceee. This place is almost as big as my room… Let me make you some more tasty feed.” Hinoka goes about mixing the hay with oats continuing to say with a light sigh. “Guess I won’t be flying for a while. So I’ll let you enjoy yourself and fly around freely during practice hours. Just don’t get too used to it! I’ll be flying very soon!” Hinoka says with a fire in her voice. Excited and with a rush behind it. Twilight simply begins eating. Thinking to herself. ‘Yea. This is going to take a while…’ Eight weeks pass. Twilight only seeing her rider Hinoka, Subaki and the army every day. The other pegasi in the stables occasional talk to her as they seem to talk ancient pegasi. Luckily the alicorn was versed in multiple ancient languages allowing her to have very fun conversations with the pegasi that would occasionally talk to her while they were flying around. Jeorge, Subaki’s personal pegasi was oftenly one that she would speak to and today seemed no different. “So why is your name Jeorge anyways?” Twilight asked as the two were flying around “Seems like a very… different name compared to the names you usually hear here in Hoshido.” The pegasi responds simply. “Subaki says its a old folk legend.Jeorge was the name of a man who could only be defined as the perfect shot. His archery skill is legendary and since the title fits well with his mantra of perfection, that is what I was named.” Twilight looks at him, interested and confused. “Weird, seeing how bows are enchanted to hurt fliers more.” Jeorge shrugs leading Twilight back to the river clearing. “I never said it was a good name. Just a legendary one.” The two land. Hinoka having a light smile on her face stretching from a long meditation. Subaki saying simply. “Well Hinoka, I think you’re ready to ride. Now I know you have to choose your first retainer tonight, but we have all day to get you two oriented.” He claps his hands, smiling as he finishes off saying. “Let’s get started!” Chapter 5 - FocusSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 1: BeginningsIt’s a busy day in Ponyville. Outside, ponies are enjoying the wonderful day Celestia has created. The weather ponies have created a comfortable breeze as the sun just perfectly warms the air. Missing this fantastic day, Twilight Sparkle is inside her castle doing an almost excessive amount of work in her library. Even her number one assistant, Spike, was returning from being out in the town on a market run, a very extended market run. Twilight began humming a tune to herself as she organized and moved mountains and mountains of books something broke her concentration. It only took the simple wrench of the hum of her cutie mark pulsing to break her concentration. “The map!?” She said, dropping everything she was doing to rush to the throne room. To find that the cutie map was indeed pulsing, and waiting for the ones being called to show up as well. At Least normally. The map resonated with her mark placing it alone somewhere in the… “B-badlands? There? Of all places to go alone?!” She shakily stumbles to her throne sitting down to let the nauseous feeling pass. Not even 20 seconds later though, her friends show up with their cutie marks pulsing as well. “What do we got Twilight? All 6 of us?” Rainbow Dash, asking as she looks around at the others, before taking her seat. “Ah hope it’s somewhere simple fer once.” Applejack saying as she walks to her seat. Rarity smiles and walks over to her seat, sitting down and saying, “I do dearly hope it’s something simple as well darling. There’s an exuberant amount of orders I need to get done soon… Actually this may be a nice break from the monotony.” Pinkie, oddly enough is just looking at the map. Finally she breaks he- “You’re going on a solo mission Twilight?” She says with her head tilted, looking worriedly. “A… apparently I’m supposed to go to the badlands. Alone. Though it seems you all have your own missions to go to.” Twilight responds quietly. Fluttershy silently sits down before saying, “Aren’t you scared? Something like this is extremely dangerous isn't it? Twilight looks at Fluttershy about to respond before the map hums showing the others their locations. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash have to go all the way to Yakinstan. Rarity has something to do back in Starlight’s old village. Fluttershy actually has something to do around Dodge City. And, Applejack has something to do in the San Palomino Desert. “Wow… busy day today.” RD comments looking at the map closely looking for any identifying features for the area they have to go to. “The yaks!? Ugh, i have badddd luck going up there.” Says Pinkie, slightly distraught from the implications of this adventure. Rarity speaks next saying, “At least I got some known territory. It must be something simple if it’s just a single pony being sent right?” Twilight thinks to herself while the commotion in the background just escalates. ‘Something just feels off about all this. The map hasn’t ever sent us all at the same time only to go to different places… Maybe Rarity is right though, perhaps it’s just something simple.’ Twilight nods to her own thoughts and pipes up, “Alright girls. We should all go get ready to get going then. Fluttershy, mind if I accompany you on the train ride?” Fluttershy responds happily, “Of course I don’t mind Twilight. When should we leave?” “Uh… 3 hours? There should a train leaving then.” Fluttershy nods, “See you then. Good luck girls.” The mane 6 members give their goodlucks off to each other before leaving the castle going on their ways to get ready for their adventures. Twilight then proceeds to go to her room and sits down. Calming her nerves down a little, but still sweating from her newly created stress. She goes through the motions of Cadence’s breathing technique to keep her nerves in check. ‘Spike… Spike. Need to talk to him, and Celestia, and Cadence…. ‘ She gulps down some nerves and saliva before running out of the room to go find her assistant. Spike at the moment was relaxing in his room. Today being his day off, he was prepared to relax with a nice comic book. Settling down to relax he opens his new Power Ponies Issue 38, fresh print. His excitement pented up… and then Twilight bursts into his room with her rarely seen, but unforgettable. “Slightly freaking out but not to the point of Crazy Twi face.” He slips the comic back into it’s plastic wrapping and looks at her. “What’s wrong Twilight?” Twilight frantically explains everything slightly too fast and frantically to be comprehensible. But, Spike understood enough from just hearing “map, badlands, dead”. “The map is sending you to the badlands?! Alone?!” He bites his lip Twilight simply explains for him to write out some letters… Incase she doesn't come back and of course Spike objects to it. “Twilight, I refuse to make letters like that! You will come back and even if you don’t let me come along I know you will make it. I know it’s selfish but I will not write a letter like that. I refuse.” Twilight looks at him incredulously, but she smiles, “You’re right, send them a letter informing them where I’m going and that I'll be back very soon. I gotta go get ready. Thanks for the pep talk Spike.” She trots out to get ready, still worried a little, but she got some confidence out of that conversation at the very least. She begins packing, making a short list of things she will need to bring. She reads the list out to herself as she packs her saddlebags. “One sleeping bag, Two weeks of provisions, 3 books, a small bag of bits, and a journal plus a quill and an Inkwell to go along with it.” She puts the saddle bag on looking around in it and testing its weight. “Well this is as far as i'm gonna get with this, might as well just get out and start going to the train station” Twilight tells herself as she looks at the supplies, grabbing two canteens with water in them and sliding them into her loaded bags. She takes the time to trot out of the castle, not hearing a frantic Spike looking for her inside. She takes flight and flies off to the train station to meet up with Fluttershy. It would be simple for her to avoid this, but as the Princess of Friendship she has a job to help anypony and anyone that needs help. If the map is calling for her she has a job to see it through, dangerous or otherwise. As the purple alicorn lands at the train station, she's already having second thoughts about this. Still determined, she presses forward and purchases her ticket to join her friend on the long train ride out to Dodge City. As she watches the landscape go by, she sees Spike saying something and waving. She smiles and waves back to him as she goes off on another adventure. While on the train, Twilight idly chats with her friend. “So Fluttershy, are you excited for your solo mission? You may get to see Cherry Jubilee again even.” The yellow mare replies softly, “I guess… I'm more worried about you. Are you gonna be okay?” Twilight stays silent for a moment then replies, “Yes, I'll be just fine. You'll see. I'll be back before you even miss me. Besides, the location is just right near the entrance. Nowhere near the real dangerous territory.” Fluttershy thoughtfully responds, “I could… go with you to the entrance at least, Twilight. It’s the very least I could do for you.” Twilight thinks for a good moment contemplating her options before saying, “Alright. Just promise me you won't ignore cries for help if you hear any beforehoof. I may be a friend, but the mission should come first for this, Fluttershy. We really don't wanna ditch anypony or miss out on something. Else it will end up on our heads and shoulders to carry forever.” Fluttershy nods, “Of course Twilight, but let’s not dwell on that okay? We still have a long train ride ahead of us and frankly… This is my first solo mission ever, I’m kinda nervous.” Fluttershy shifts in her seat smiling but still worried. Twilight smiles and consoles her friend, “You're very capable fluttershy and you know it. So don’t worry and be yourself okay? That's all ponies can ever ask of you, and the map wouldn’t send you out here alone if it didn’t think you could do it. So just remember to believe in yourself. I mean, if you can stand up to a dragon, then I’m sure a couple of ponies will be easy for you.” Fluttershy gives her soft smile, “Thanks Twilight, you always know what somepony needs to hear.” Fluttershy gives Twilight a quick hug and then relaxes. Twilight pulls out a book to read and enjoys the peaceful ride out to Dodge city, relaxing. The train pulls into the station no longer than a hour later, it coming to a soft screeching halt. Twilight and Fluttershy quietly get off and walk into town looking about. The town is in quiet discourse from some issues at the farm, at least according to some ponies in town. Fluttershy looks at Twilight sadly but she puts on a firm face after a moment and trots off with the pony that gave them the information. Now alone, for the first time in a long time, Twilight begins her hike to the crevasse path into the badlands. The winding path into the dangerous lands ahead is no easy feat and one would have a very difficult time walking it. Luckily for Twilight she has had some time to practice with her flying and is able to quickly arrive at the entrance to the crevasse path. A guard is in her way, but upon approach he bows and moves to the side, raising the gate for her. Twilight stares at the entrance into the gorge. The small path is able to fit no more than 2 ponies side by side, and the cliffs are far too high to climb showing their unforgiving nature. Yet still, Twilight presses on and continues on her way. The entrance to the badlands is quiet and peaceful. Though at night it can get cold, she left early enough into the morning to make it to her destination and hopefully find some place to rest at said destination. After a grueling walk she finally arrives at the entrance to the badlands. The barren wasteland, completely made of dust and cacti look at her straight in the face. She pulls out a empty book and makes a simple sketch of the area in front of her. Then she proceeds to pull out her map to see which direction she needs to go. Following her map she arrives at a small clearing, lit up by torches and lined with a thin layer of green grass. The smell of flowers is in the air and the shuffling movement of someone can be heard. A large dual archway is in the center of the clearing, made of stone… Or something more? The archway itself seems dormant but as Twilight approaches, more sigils on the archway light up. One at a time the archway begins to hum to life, sounding older than anything Twi has heard possibly could. The shuffling stops and from behind the archway a young human woman wearing a simple red top appears. Her hair is a dark red and on her back is a large empty wooden box. Its former contents being massive amount of weapons that are clearly seen leaning on some trees behind her. She gives a smile that Twilight just knows is a farce and simply says, “Welcome to the Outrealm Gate! Care to visit another world my friend?” She winks and after a good moment laughs to herself, “Never thought I’d be an anna to say that! Phew! It's a rush ya know?” Twilight just looks at her, semi stunned. Anna, waves her hand in front of the pony’s face, “Hellooooooooo, earth to hero! Wakeeeee uppppppp!” Twilight proceeds to blink, “Huh? What? How is a human here? As an actual human?” She proceeds to look Anna over Twilight then continues on to say, “Not even a human from the world I know. This is insane! How is thi-” Anna proceeds to put a nice finger right in front of Twilight’s muzzle, “Shhhhhh no freaking out, this is a quiet place where I get lots of money. Now! What brought you here today?” Anna walks over to the gate in an over exaggerated way, proceeding to lean on the frame of the portal. Twilight takes a moment to respond before saying, “Uh, I’m Princess Twilight of Equestria, I was sent here by my magical map that sends me and my friends out to help out ponies far and wide with their problems.” Anna thinks for a moment to herself and then responds, “Soooo a normal hero pack huh? Well that will be 2000 bits and a little bit extra. Maybe an apple? Bet you haven't had a good apple in ageeesssss.” Twilight looks at her and simply says, “Huh?” Anna sits down and rustles around her stuff, “You see, simply to say, I’m a businesswoman. In exchange for the equivalent of 2000 bits I will provide you one of each of the following items: A lance, some foreign currency for the world you’re going to, and information about your new quest! Ooooohhh doing merchant stuff is so much funnn! When you're over there say hi to my sister for me okay?” Again after a good moment finally Twilight responds, “Back up, so you're saying you know what my adventure is going to be?” Anna replies, “Yep, pretty much.” Twilight springs on that, “Then tell me! Any information is good!” Anna then says, “Hmmm so you just want information huh? How about for everything in your bags I give you 3 pieces of information and this nice little necklace I wove myself.” She holds out a grass necklace, which quickly solidifies into a brass necklace with a strange insignia on it. It looks like a circle with a cross cutting it into 4 equal sections with a hole in the center of the cross Twilight thinks for a moment, “Everything in my bags? I have some… sentimental stuff in here.” Anna makes a thoughtful pose. “How about you lend me the books then, and I'll just keep one bit of info.” Twilight sighs, “I'd be dumb not to take a chance like this. Will there be food wherever I’m going?” Anna nods and Twilight half heartedly hoofs over her bags, which after being emptied out are returned to her. Anna proceeds to go on, “Alright! My part of the deal, here is the necklace. And your information, simply to say there will be a war going on in the next world over and your help will be necessary to help end it. One way or another. Your princess, queen, whatever made a deal with the big boss on the other side years ago over this and now here we are. There are your two bits of info, no refunds!” Anna proceeds to sit down with the books looking into them. Twilight looks at the portal quietly. “A new world, huh?. I wish my friends were here. But, if even Princess Celestia has involvement in this somehow…I have to do my duty.” Twilight then walks into the portal. And everything went white. Then rainbow And finally black. Author's Note Here we go. The beginning of my newest story. If there is enough positive reception to the story i plan on doing all three paths. The order is Hoshido, Nohr and then Valla. Enjoy the fic and as always, creative criticism is always welcome!
Chapter 2: PrologueThe trip lasted an undefinable amount of time, and only one thing was for certain. The portal didn’t really care very much about where it dropped her off. As she landed on the floor of wherever she was like a sack of potatoes. It was dark, it wasn't that the room wasn't lit, it was just that the atmosphere felt heavy. Almost like the cries of many people went unanswered just before they were cut down. It was unnerving. To say the least Twilight picks herself up from the floor of the room, dusting herself off. ‘Where am I?’ She thought to herself after making sure everything was safe and nothing hurt. “So she did hold up her end of the deal then. Good…” Twilight quickly turned around to face the voice behind her. It was a biped wearing a hood. If it weren't for his voice she would think he was a human. Even with a million thoughts racing through her head Twilight still spoke up. “Where am I? And what do you mean a deal? This better not be a trap or something!” “I don’t wish to rush you, but we are on a timetable here. I cannot hold my other half forever. And frankly I'm impatient as it is. So hurry up and run me through, do you need a lance?” Now is when she speaks up. “Wait what?! I don’t kill things! I've never done it once in my life! And I won’t do it to a stranger I just met! That's murder at its core.” The being is quite silent for a moment. Before angrily speaking out. “You are your goddess’ student are you not? Then I am certain you know how to fight. This is bigger than you and you WILL slay me if you know what is good for you!” During his rage, he poised his arm to hit Twilight with his hand. After a cursory glance at his hand, he drops it back to his side and paces around the room. Twilight then says. “I’m sure that we can just figure this out if we-” “Shut up, I'm thinking. This isn’t the first time I’ve been lied to and I am certain it will not be the last. But I do not have another plan for this universe…. Hm….” The creature takes a short glance at Twilight before grinning and creating some items for himself “What are you doing? It looks like alchemy.” asks Twilight “Something of the sort my dear pacifist. I don’t have the same magic I used to. Or at the least roaring is less than useful. Feel free to skewer me at any time, there is a nice selection of lances on the floor.” The entity says Twilight looks around at the discarded lances, picking one up even to get a feel for it. Before dropping it on the floor like a disgusting bag of feces. “Shame, that you live under such a protected rule. I assume she told you nothing about her little dealings with me? How I helped her regain control of her nation and she promised me anything in return. Is it so difficult to just skewer me and get on with your life?” He asks Twilight ponders for a moment “I’d never be able to forgive myself for killing someone. I’m sorry for not killing you?” “Then we must take matters into our own hands now. If it were as easy as killing myself I would have done it by now. But now I guess we must toughen you up” The being laughs greatly and ominously. It was unnerving, to say the least. Twilight takes a few steps bag from the being. “What do you mean by that…?” “You’ll see. And don't try to leave. If you leave the room I cannot guarantee your safety. There are a lot of dangerous things out there.” The being says with a clear smirk Twilight still checks out the door before closing it quickly and leaning against a pillar. “This place is terrible…” “That is certainly what happens when you successfully stop destiny from happening years in advance. But you will come to amend this in the future whether you want to or not.” “You can’t force me to kill you unless you literally control me to do so” Twilight retorts, less than pleased with the current situation. “I doubt my other half would stay asleep if I tried that. No.. you are going to do it of your own volition. And you can help another world in the meantime. Now come over here.” Twilight quickly hides behind the pillar. “No! I don't want any part in your insane schemes! Even if Celestia promised you my help I have no intentions of killing anyone!” The being is completely missing from his spot. Twilight looked around to try and spot him but there was no sign of him. Until he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Shame that you have no choice in the matter, blame your teacher for promising something that you didn't want to participate in. Because if you do not fight, you will die.” With a quick pull of his arm, he throws Twilight to the ground. “Think of it this way, you'll be saving many lives in this other universe. The royal families could use a good war horse.” A loud roar echoes throughout the room an invisible force of magic lifting the young alicorn princess. “Ngh. Let me go!” With a quick burst of magic, she manages to escape her entrapment and exit the room, taking chances with the area outside rather than stay and certainly get entrapped by the situation. The being simply stands there as she exits the double doors, allowing her to escape and exit into the strange world outside. The world outside is a barren wasteland, with few spots of green and much of the land not even connected. Floating islands everywhere with little to no way to cross aside magic or flying. Rushing out of the castle’s front door into the red skyed outside area. Twilight quickly looks behind her to be sure she is not being followed or worse. She then takes a moment to get her bearings of the area before leaving. Flying to another island where she hopes that the monster inside the castle would not follow. Although she has an aching feeling of being watched the entire time, she feels confident in herself enough to survive a day or two while she figures out a way to return home. If not at least get a word home via magic. Landing on the top of a mountainous island, she finds a cliff where she can stay quietly and hopefully focus to get her bearings. ‘I should be safe up here… for now.’ Walking over to a tree she places her bags down and sits down letting her mind finally process things. This was an absolute mistake. Processing everything quickly stressed out the already stressed mare causing her to freak out rather brilliantly and quickly. This ended up requiring her to take quite a few moments to pace around, sweating just as much as she did when the yaks were in town for peace talks. Granted though a war with Equestria is usually considered a stupid decision and frankly she shouldn't have been so worried, but even then war still costs lives, something she never wants on her hooves. “Ok, okay Twilight” She takes a deep gasp as she attempts to calm her nerves. “I can figure this out. I just need to focus and stop freaking out, even if there is a super powerful monster blocking the only place I know I can possibly get out and frankly I have no idea where we are and he even said it was dangerous out here. I'm sure I can figure this out before anything bad happens. Number one thing is to find food and water. To replenish the stocks.” Grabbing her bags, still on edge, she heads down the mountain, looking for any evidence of a river or something with water. Having read in a book once that moss grows closest to water, she walks until she reaches a damp area. Following simple queues from the forest, she eventually makes it to a series of waterfalls which dump into a lake. Which of she is standing near. Large towers placed on either side of the waterfalls connect the three islands. Quickly trotting over to the lakeside, she sits and takes a nice long drink of water before filling up a bottle she brought along. “Berries. There have to be berries of some sort.” Looking along the waterfront and the small treeline to find anything edible. She quickly finds some blueberries which she picks, and after a quick magical scan, scarfs down hungrily. She picks as many as she can fit into her bag before continuing on her path towards the towers. A snapping of a twig alerted her quickly to the beings behind her. Almost translucent beings that are nearly invisible to the naked eye. But, their hostility was quite obvious, and it was not something Twilight wanted to face head on. “Ponyfeathers!” Quickly running to the tower at a speed that would impress many ponies back home she hides inside the large tower. The beings outside only getting closer and closer. ‘I saw archers… if I want to get out of here in one piece, I’m gonna have to get a ton of speed… The very top of the chain of islands should be perfect.’ //-Escape the enemy-// Twilight quickly pulled herself from her hiding spot, arrows raining into the tower with frightening accuracy as she climbed to the top. “Why do you want to kill me?! I'm just trying to get out of here!” Twilight screams out as she heads to the next section of land. The second island is mostly a lake, with little land. And on that little land are two very large beasts of the same nature as what are following her. They seem to be wearing armor, heavy armor. “On the table Twilight.” A familiar voice echoed in her head as she looks there. A small tube of a blood red liquid. “And why would I tru-” A crash downstairs answers for her as she grabs and downs the liquid. She nearly spits it out. “Agh… that was blood!?” “Quickly, outside. Its effects will not last forever.” Said the being “And why are you helping me?” Even as she is speaking she exits the tower. “Because I need you as much as you need me at this moment. And you WILL help me.” “We’ll see.” Twilight simply responds before noticing a small glow on a location. She stands on it and a large power flows through her body. A blast of freezing wind hits the waters nearby, freezing them completely over. A second blast destroys the tower that the beings were climbing up. Causing them to retreat across the lower lake and ascend through the second tower, buying Twilight more time. Slip and sliding on the ice, she quickly makes her way across to the next set of towers. Almost home free she arrives on the third island only to run straight into one of those… Things, riding a pegasus. Quickly avoiding the resulting attack, the being does not stop its assault. Intent on skewering the alicorn at any costs. Finally, a strike that Twilight knows she cannot avoid is directed at her. Feeling something appear under her, she pulls up with her hoof to attempt a block only instead narrowly stabbing the opposing being. Stopping it just before it could slay the princess. Standing there, stunned, Twilight has an intense amount of thoughts circulating through her head. “MOVE TWILIGHT!” That was all she needed, she quickly took her leap off the island. Partially noticing a grave on top of it as she quickly took a nosedive to gain speed and would fly back to the castle… ‘Who’s Corrin…?’ Arriving back at the castle. She takes a deep breath before entering, back into relative safety. “It is time. Are you ready?” “No, but I don’t exactly have a choice. Now do I?” “No, you do not. On the bright side, you’ll come out stronger for it.” A force grabs the mare, transforming her, keeping her coloration but losing her cutie mark, and her voice. The excruciating pain of the transformation forcing her to the blackness of sleep. The being walks over to the unconscious alicorn. Looking at the necklace that Anna gave her. He smiles. “Then to Hoshido, you will go. You are now bound by the fate that my Son/daughter will set out for you as I T̡̪̻̯̭̞̤̻̎̑͡ĥ̨̞̻̲͉̠̪̠̪̱̃ͧͪ̆͝e̝̬̳̔̆ ̴̫̣͓̫̲͓̦ͪ̉̉ͩͤ͡S̖͚̯̓̐̌̂͒̓͟͞ͅị̖̜̥̙̥̌͐͂̏ͨͦḽ̪̗ͪ͒̂͜e̢̼̣̙̖͔̤ͮ̃ͨͮ̓̐͡n̡̟̥͙̙̻̍̾͒͂͒̾̔͆t̰̭͇̪͈͛̊͂̆ͫ̍͟ ̴̥̼͎͍̟̲̱ͪͤD͍̮̻̜͎͈̯͉̆̉ͩ̾̄̆͐͝ͅrͬ͜͏͖̳̺̫̤a̱͙̺ͣ̓́ͧ̾ͫ̓͌̿g̷̪͙̣̙͈̮͍̑͂̔ͧͦ̋ͧ͢o͍̤̖̝͉͇̩̮ͭ̿̈́̄̿̑̊ͨ̒ͅn͋̾̾̊̆͊̈͐҉͕̀,̺͙͔ͫͪͨ̇ͣ̇ ̷̰̲̻̼͚̤̭̈͑́͊͑̔̑͘Ä͇̣̦͕̈̃n̶̯̫̖̟̙̜̪͌̚͘ͅā̡̬̗̮̼̘̻ͨ͌̈ͦͮ͋̎ͪ̕n̶̠̱͉͖͙̟ͭ̈̋ͥͬͯ́́̚͡k͍̖̰̞̤̒̎ͨ͘o͋́͏̯͍̻̺̺s̷͓̝͕͕̝̫̳͛͐́͗̍̓ͮ ̴͕͈̪͛̂̑ͤ̋ͬD̨͙̗̻͉̰̂͗̕͠ė͘҉̗̟̥̜͍̪̻̗̭c̵̡̙̲̄̂̇͊̚r̷͎̟̞̞͔̯ͬ̄̑̎̌ͮ̚e͚̞͂̂̿̌́̊è̹͍̰͗̑͊̌̒̒!͎̹́̒̄̈́ͫͭ͌͆́ͅ It will be done. A slight whoosh and the large alicorn was whisked away. To another world and another time. Author's Note Sorry for the long wait. Here is the 2nd chapter, fully edited. Enjoy.
Chapter 3 - Before BirthrightTwilight appeared inside Hoshido’s territory. Well unconscious from the trip that she was forced to undergo. The teleport was primal, unrefined, and battering, as if the magic sending her was told to first compress her, punch all her body several times, and then deposit her in a new world. Compound this from the pain of her transformation, which made her bigger and stronger at the cost of her voice and her precious cutie mark, she would not be waking up anytime soon. Hours passed since she fell into her world, and a small scouting party has entered Hoshidian lands from Nohr. As tensions are only on the rise and formal war has only been recently declared, the Nohrian siblings were well able to sneak their way into the Oriental Kingdom’s land’s as Leo had felt a large magic power appearing in the area. Accompanying him is his sister Elise, and his two brothers, Xander and Corrin. The latter of whom they have snuck out of Nohr for an excursion outside of the subterranean city’s walls. “This is a mistake. Father will punish all of us once we return. How I ever allowed you two to convince me to let Corrin leave only five days before he was set to go to the Northern Fortress defies my own logic.” Xander exclaims, sighing from his mount. Lightly resting his hand over Siegfried’s scabbard. “And in Hoshido no less. Any closer to their field and we will be defenseless against any guards or parties that are nearby.” “Relax brother, we will investigate the magic influence here as father commanded and when we bring back whatever it is he will certainly forgive us. I have a sealing tome here incase we need to make a quick exit and we can only snatch the magic.” Leo says in his “high and mighty” voice. “... uh do you have enough to drain a falcon?” Corrin says, looking over a bush. “Like a real, pure bred, non hoshidian/dark flier falcon. None of that iron horn stuff.” “A falcon?” Leo quickly hops off his mount. Passing Corrin his iron sword. “Catch, Falcons mean Hoshidians.” “Huh?” Corrin narrowly catches the sword. And is barely able to lift it. “Leo I haven't practiced with a sword for almost 2 years now! It’s kinda why father is sending me off remember, although thinking about it sneaking out probably just made it way worse…” “That is what I have been trying to say. This was a bit of a error coming out here. But might as well reap the rewards. True falcons are only supposed to show up during times of troubles, and if she ended up in Hoshidian land, that means they’re getting a serious advantage straight from the divines. Considering this one ended up in Hoshido we must quickly drain it before any Hoshidians appear to reap their rewards from the divines. I will prepare a small perimeter. Corrin, you are with me. I have a bronze sword left over from when we used to practice, even someone who is out of practice can wield one of those with little to no problems.” Tossing the bronze sword to Corrin, the two quickly head off Xander leaving his mount with Leo’s. Leo taking his sword and preparing to work his magic on the comatose Twilight. Of course, Orochi and her close friend Kagero were hot on the heels of the magic signature too. Corrin and Xander running straight into them. Literally. “Oof.” They all exclaimed after a moment. Dropping their various weapons on the floor. Aside Kagero who jumps back and Xander who… well is a walking mountain, even off his horse. “Nohrians!” Exclaimed Kagero “Hoshidians!” Exclaimed Xander “Ow my head” Said Corrin and Orochi Xander and Kagero quickly get into combat positions. The nimble ninja being very hard for the Nohrian prince to hit. (Note: for the purposes of the fight. Consider Xander a Vanguard off his horse) Spryly the ninja constantly jumps around. Throwing her throwing stars left and right with dangerous accuracy. Unfortunately, as it stood, the prince’s armor was more than capable of keeping up after catching his bearings. His dark blade firing out its beams constantly in an attempt to catch his nimble opponent. Meanwhile, the two that fell backwards are scrambling for their weapons… Corrin found his first and did a decisive hit to the unarmed Orochi. Immediately knocking her back. “Shit!” Orochi stumbles backwards. Bleeding from her shoulder. “Kagero I gotta get out of here. I won’t make it much longer.” Of course that momentary distraction of her friend being injured was more than enough of a moment for her to be hit by the blunt force of the beam. Which quickly slams her backwards. Granted it wasn’t enough to force a retreat. But the situation was more than enough. “We must retreat then. But know this we will return with our forces!” Kagero says quickly as they return through the barrier in a rush. “Good hit Corrin. We better head back to the others. We don’t have time on our side.” Xander quickly double steps back and rushes back to the party with Corrin. “We have to go! Now!” “Right. I’ve drained the magic we have to go now. Quickly.” Leo says throwing on his cloak and rushing back to his mount. The small band of royalty quickly run off with their spoils. The Hoshidian Army missing them at the forest, they escape with the book full of Twilight’s leftover magic. The Hoshidian army arrives at Twilight’s grove though. The unconscious alicorn, now Falcon, twitching lightly. The Hoshidian prince, in his red helmet, along with his retainers walk up to Twilight. The prince kneeling down and feeling for a pulse saying. “She’s still alive. Drained, but alive… Damn. We missed the princes and princess… But a natural falcon will turn the tide in our favor even without it’s magic for a couple of decades. Bring the prison transport cage. Line it with some of the furs that we use for camps. We’ll have to make it back to Castle Shirasagi before she wakes up. Although, it seems like that won’t be too much of a problem, we cannot take any chances over that.” The army quickly gets to work. Being as quick as possible to prepare the transport. They then begin the slow movement of Twilight to the transport. Laying her in the soft padding and closing the cage’s door. But not locking it. She wasn’t a prisoner after all and the divines don’t look too nicely on those that abuse their gifts physically, at least when training isn't involved first. The day’s walk went by without any problems. The barrier around Hoshido keeping out almost everything that isn’t one of Nohr’s faceless abominations. Twilight however was having a less than restful sleep. Her battered body refusing to wake up in any shapely time her mind an empty void with only itself for company. Nothing was working properly… and her personal terror showed outside. Her breathing sped up quite a bit and she was twitching much more. But the emptiness of her mind had no light in sight. Even as the soldiers moved her to a stable fit for a king’s warhorse she did not wake up. She was exhausted in more ways than one.The battering she took from the travel to this world, along with the exhaustion of being drained, it was clear that she not only needed a cleric, but also someone to be with her. Luckily the Prince had someone quite in mind for this mission. “We have to bond her to a rider before she wakes. They should be able to calm her down significantly. Hm… someone get both of my sisters. Hinoka has been training to become a pegasus knight for some time now and her bonding ceremony was to be held soon, perhaps our new ally will make a good replacement for the pegasi we lost against the faceless.” Ryoma spoke. The princesses in question were at the moment, not together. For Sakura was busy helping the sick as she has been doing for years now. Even when she was younger, the young priestess always had a knack for being skilled with a rod. As for the older sister, she was busy practicing with her lance. Her original pegasi of choice had been claimed by another, as she was just graduating from her lessons about pegasi riding and combat, she had no real chance at contesting the bonding of the pegasi with the other soldier who also had a relationship with the pegasi in question. Of course, Hinoka didn’t let the soldier leave without a black eye and a broken arm, but with how powerful rods are, he got it fixed up relatively quickly. Of course, neither princess was expecting to be called over to the stables. Ryoma, of course, could not stay at the stables. He had important work to do and life does not slow down for the weary. A soldier telling them what's going on. Sakura, listening intently, says after a moment. “I-I’ll see what I can do I guess… I-I’ve never had a chance to heal a Falcon or Pegasi.” The young priestess enters the stable quickly. Carrying her Rod, she quickly begins working on tending and healing Twilight. Due to her not needing to be immediately healed, the priestess puts much more effort in letting some natural healing occur. In the meanwhile, the more hot-headed princess is standing by the doorway watching the falcon quietly. ‘Strong build, seems to be able to take some punishment… And is a wild falcon. This is almost too perfect… But at the same time, such a strong mount. I wouldn’t have any trouble fighting off faceless. I could find Corrin much much easier with her… Hopefully, she’ll trust me enough through training so we really can work together.’ Having made her decision. The princess sits next to the falcon, who is just sleeping now and opens up the beginning of their link. One that could break if they don’t get along well enough. But hopefully, will flourish into something greater and something much more powerful that any one person could ever hope to be a part of. Nightfall comes shortly afterward. Sakura having to make her way out back to the healing rooms. To assist those that got hurt in the small skirmish between Corrin and Xander. Hinoka, on the other hand, decided to stay behind and watch over her new friend and hopefully long time ally. Tending to the alicorn with some grooming items. “I’ve read legends that Falcons can come in several random colors. But only Sakura ever actually believed in that. She’s quite a nice shade of purple. Very unique… and night time fighting will be a real breeze with her. Although she is a mess. Hopefully, I’ll have some time to wash her off before the ceremony. Then it’s finally training with the actual soldiers.” Of course, a bond is not something such a magically inclined pony, such as Twilight is unable to sense. But at the moment, she just didn’t care. Having someone close by while she was floating through the abyss that was her mind was more than worth having a bond created between the two. She felt safe and secure, something she hasn’t been able to say that she’s felt in quite a hot minute. The small darkness in her mind filling up with information of her new, magically bonded partner. ‘That… thing. Said I would have to fight to live here. This might be a good mutual way of surviving here. While I hate the idea of helping someone kill another living being, I have to survive and make it home. Maybe, just maybe I can use this to my advantage. After I… well, wake up…’ The night traveled by. Hinoka staying with her new friend. Not going too far away from the sleeping alicorn/falcon and simply making sure that Twilight is comfortable. Taking time to brush her and lightly wash off any dirt that she can see. Of course, nighttime does not last forever, day pushing past the protective stars of the night, revealing a brand new day for the two. Twilight silently watching the sleeping princess next to her. Finally awake.
Chapter 4 - Awakening (Unedited)Author's Note Phew. That one was hard to write. Warning this is fully unedited. parts and chunks may be pulled out or added. So feel free to hold off on reading this until my comment that my editor has read this is out. Chapter 4 - Awakening (Unedited) Twilight, silently watching Hinoka, takes some time to get a feel for her body. Taking stock in any broken or injured areas. To her surprise, there are none left after the skilled treatment the young priestess had given her. She had already tried the door, to go and try to explore, but alas the door seemed to have some sort of connection with her new link with Hinoka. She wasn’t leaving without permission and therefore decided to just relax and wait for the princess to awaken. ‘What is this world… it’s so bright. Even brighter than Equestria, which is saying something. A couple of friendly humans came in earlier in the day, with fresh fruit, hay, oats. Mostly healthy food that twilight typically would try to snack on when not visiting Celestia or Pinkie. ‘I suppose I'll be eating healthy for a while. Ugh, this stuff is snack food, I’m really gonna have to chow down to get any form of subsistence.’ The out of place alicorn stands up softly and takes a few bites of food from the bags… almost quickly spitting it out. ‘AGHGHGHGH.’ Of course Hinoka shifts in her sleep, only able to hear a weird mixture of coughing and neighing. Twilight quickly restrains her surprised disgust to not wake the princess up. ‘Ewww! Raw hay! Gross! I know humans don’t eat hay, but geeze! This is just disgustinggggg. Healthy, but disgusting. But… unless I want to completely engorge myself on oats. I’ll have to take one for the team here…’ Sighing lightly to herself, she dives into the hay. Mostly washing down the raw stalks with water and oats, which at least taste moderately good. After a short while of eating she feels a soft hand on the back of her neck. Just lightly rubbing her mane. For some reason, Twilight didn’t feel startled at all, in fact the feeling calmed her. Being knowledgeable enough in magical bonding spells she could only figure that the figure doing this was the person she had just been watching over. “Morning sunshine. I’m guessing you just woke up too huh?... or not. I guess falcon’s are straight from the divines, you’ve even tested the door huh? Well we can’t have you escaping whenever you want yet. But maybe after a bit of work and after we trust each other a bit more you’ll be able to come and go as you please. Because I really don’t have a problem with it. It’s more my teacher that’d be upset if I lost you so early on… Although we should get out there soon, my brother is going to be the one introducing us to the squads before Yukimura takes over in teaching you and I the basics!” Of course, Twilight was more than confused by all of this. She had only gotten a small glimpse of what Hinoka was planning for them to do in the future. She knew it was going to be training, but military workings were something she never expected that they’d allow a princess to do. Her primary assumption from the beginning was that Hinoka was being taught privately for self defense. She could have never guessed that the red haired girl was planning on fighting with other soldiers… Much less expect Twilight to fight with her. It took twilight almost all night in the first place to come to terms with the fact that she’d be carrying someone around on her back. But fighting like this must take an absurd amount of coordination between the rider and the mount. ‘This is going to be impossible! The sheer amount of coordination and trust we are going to need is almost impossible to reach in any reasonable amount of time! I can’t do this!’ Of course clouded with doubt she completely missed the fact that Hinoka had already skillfully put the harness and lead on her. ‘Oh. I forgot, I really don’t have a choice in this matter.’ Twilight thought to herself quietly as she was led out of the stable, fairly full with fruit, oats, some hay (It was really gross), and plenty of water. After a few moments she found herself simply following, with the little nudges of the lead being very superficial and probably unnecessary. She was engrossed in the scenery, as the town was absolutely beautiful. The castle had a perfect view of the town proper, right down to the fountain. The trees in bloom and all the humans passing by here and there to get onto business. Eventually, the duo arrive at a clearing which is full of soldiers practicing their form with various weapons. Katana, Yumis, Nagintanas and even a few ninja can be spotted, albeit the latter only very occasionally. The army is not small by any means, but it is certainly smaller than Twilight expected. She is especially surprised to only see a few Sky Knights. Most are flying around and only one is teaching… Granted though, Twilight does not have time to look around very long. As they approach a man leading the repetitions that the swordsmen and swordswoman are doing. ‘Huh… I’d thought that the girl’s brother would be taller. Also is his helmet in the shape of a crab? Or is it a lobster?’ Ryoma, leading the repetitions can be heard yelling in his booming voice, practicing with the soldiers. “One! Two! Three!” At the say of one, the soldiers simultaneously take ready position and swing down. At the say of two, they swing their katana’s in a upwards strike meant to cripple. Finally, at the say of three they return to ready position with a downward strike that could be carried through for a skull splitting hit on an opponent who’s guard was thrown off. The form is very basic, but fantastic for training and not lackluster in practice. “Repeat! One, two, three, one! One, two, three, one!” The soldiers get into a good rhythm, the prince fixing the soldier’s forms. After some time the soldiers are done with 100 repetitions, Ryoma having taken notice of the duo watching the soldiers train. “Everyone at standby position, I have an announcement to make. My sister, High Princess of Hoshido, Hinoka, will be joining the sky knights.” At this, Hinoka moves forward, having removed the lead off of Twilight. Twilight follows compliantly though, not wanting to make a mess of things. Ryoma then continues “As such remember when she is on the training grounds she is still just a soldier like I am. Do not give her special treatment and do not be afraid to spar with her. Although, do not blame me when she knocks you on your ass. That is all for now, you all should practice your sparring. I want to see two on ones and two on twos. Go!” Having watched the whole affair Twilight can't help by think about Shining. Thinking to herself, ‘Hinoka’s brother is pretty serious about his job. He almost reminds me of Shiny, just not as dorky.’ Twilight thinks to herself, internally giggling at the thought. Moving forward with Hinoka to meet Ryoma half way. “Sister, I am glad to see you woke up on time. The servants said you hadn't been seen since last night. Although, looking at your mount, I see what you've been up to.” Ryoma puts a hand on Twilight’s neck and just gives it a pat. The pat raises up quite a bit of dust though. “She still needs a bath, badly. I was going to take her to the river so she could clean off in peace, but we overslept by too many minutes. So uh, who's gonna be my trainer anyways?” Hinoka asks. “Subaki, of course. He's the only sky knight that is actually fully trained and he is Sakura’s retainer, so he can be trusted with training missions.” Ryoma responds, always watching his soldiers whenever he is speaking. “Subaki huh… alright, sounds fair enough I guess. I just want to get flying so I can save Corrin! I… owe it to him at the least.” Hinoka says as she quickly heads off to go with the other sky knights. Twilight following after noticing that Hinoka was already halfway to the secluded area past the tree line. But not before she has a personal thought. ‘There is that name again… Corrin.’ Twilight feels a hand on her neck again, just before she was about to trot off. “I know my sister is a little fiery and impulsive. Take care of her okay? And don't be afraid to throw her off a few times.” The crab helmeted human pats Twilight’s back lightly, before going to train with his soldiers. Twilight then rushes off after Hinoka, catching up quickly. After a few seconds they are underneath all the practicing sky knights. Only around twelve seem to be practicing in the air above, while two are on the ground talking with one another. When Hinoka and Twilight approach the two, both bow at Hinoka before the female leaves on her mount. The remaining male smiles in what Twilight can only explain as “a photo perfect” smile. “Princess! Good to see you finally passed your nagintana test! Only took you six tries right? Well don’t worry about that at all. We will work through this perfectly. So first things first, we gotta get you on your mount’s back. Sounds easy enough right?” “I guess that can’t be too hard. Let's get on with it then.” Hinoka states. Although she doesn’t hide the eagerness and rushing in her voice at all. Hopping on Twilight’s back quickly… She doesn’t last a second as Twilight feels the bond between them get red hot with Hinoka’s scrambled and destructive emotions. The ex pony almost immediately and skillfully throws her rider off. ‘Hot Hot HOTTTT. Geeze, her emotions are more scrambled than Spike’s scrambled eggs!’ In the meanwhile, Subaki is picking Hinoka up from the ground. Who quickly storms over to Twilight. “What the hell! Comon! You know you can trust me, so what was that for?” Twilight just responds with a soft snort. Hinoka getting quite annoyed at her mount. Luckly Subaki steps in momentarily. “Princess Hinoka, I believe I know what your problem is. Your emotions are so explosive that you annoyed your mount by just sitting on her… Guess we’ll have to start with the basics of the basics. Let's go to the river. Your falcon can relax and clean up while we work on your… problems.” The perfectionist smiles, before leading the group away to a beautiful river and waterfall. The area around it is fairly clear with a few scattered trees. But the brush and the shrubbery gives a second degree of privacy. All around by the lake side there are various soldiers of all types, sitting in a meditation position. The silence is palpable and thick, not a single person daring nor wanting to break the silence. Only the occasional lieutenant comes and whispers to his soldiers, informing them that their free time is up. Hinoka begins to whisper immediately. “Meditation? Really? How is this going to help anything? The faster I can get off the ground, the better. I don't want to get even CLOSER to it!” A nearby soldier clears his throat in irritation, which gets the princess to quiet down. As her voice escalated from a whisper to a silent yell. Of course her friend and instructor had no issues with it, just keeping his ten out of ten smile on. Subaki saying in a perfect whisper “This is honestly what you need right now Hinoka. You won't get into the air with such a troubled head and heart. You need to come to terms and temper that want and ambition into something healthy. Then when you ride your falcon you'll be unstoppable… well, except to weapons like the yumi. But that's beyond the point, you need to learn this if you intend to become the sky knight you want to be. You need to learn how to control yourself if you want to save Corrin. So please, Hinoka, I've known you and the royal family for a long time. So just trust me? Please?” Twilight was far too interested in the conversation going on to even remember why she followed them in the first place. Seemingly the two humans either had a history or knew of one another. Twilight listening to see if she can figure out what everyone around is doing. ‘It seems they're using meditation as a sort of therapy for themselves. This place really is much different than Equestria.’ The pony observes Hinoka sitting by the lake after a moment, the human closing her eyes and relaxing. Hinoka spending some time in assisted meditation, as her friend and teacher helps her relax by giving her things to focus on. After a couple of minutes though, he proceeds to meditate himself after giving Twilight a gesture to the waterfall. ‘Oh right, gotta get cleaned off.’ Twilight thinks to herself slightly embarrassed. As silently as she can she flies to the waterfall and just dunks herself into it. Letting the water handle everything as she just stands there and avoids thinking too much. ‘The numbness won’t last forever. I’m due for a major freakout soon unless I calm my nerves. Maybe I’ll try some meditation myself after I get this dust off… I miss everypony. I hope I haven’t been gone too long. It feels like I’ve been here much longer than a couple of days. But I suppose even a couple of days in a completely new universe could be just a couple of hours in mine. I shouldn’t be so worried I guess.’ The alicorn walks back over to Hinoka and Subaki, laying next to Hinoka and relaxing on the ground. ‘Just relax. And breathe.’ The three begin meditation. Relaxing their minds and bodies. The three trying to sort out their own demons that entrap their own minds. They do this until around noon time where Subaki nudges both Hinoka out of her meditation and Twilight out of her sleep. “Lunch time you two. Meditation on an empty stomach is okay, but some food will do you two some good. Hinoka, as you are a sky knight officially now, I think you’re free to use the pegasus stables.” Subaki says with a smile. “So go ahead and show your mount to her new home and enjoy some lunch.” Putting up his hand, Subaki’s mount swoops low. Picking up his rider quickly as the two fly off. The duo perfectly coordinating a very action rich pickup. Hinoka looks at Twilight quietly with a moderately flat face. “When are we going to be able to do that?” ‘When you don't burn my back the moment you sit on me.’ Twilight thinks to herself as she follows Hinoka. After a short walk to the much grander and larger stables, the alicorn finds herself inside a much larger stable than when she first ended up in the new land. It had lining of some sort of animal fur, hay, a sandy area in a corner, plenty of water and a bale of oats, which were sadly closed. ‘Buck, guess it’s raw hay for a while. Ugh. I really regret not using my title at all for some more lavish food back in Equestria…’ Hinoka speaks after a moment “Niceee. This place is almost as big as my room… Let me make you some more tasty feed.” Hinoka goes about mixing the hay with oats continuing to say with a light sigh. “Guess I won’t be flying for a while. So I’ll let you enjoy yourself and fly around freely during practice hours. Just don’t get too used to it! I’ll be flying very soon!” Hinoka says with a fire in her voice. Excited and with a rush behind it. Twilight simply begins eating. Thinking to herself. ‘Yea. This is going to take a while…’ Eight weeks pass. Twilight only seeing her rider Hinoka, Subaki and the army every day. The other pegasi in the stables occasional talk to her as they seem to talk ancient pegasi. Luckily the alicorn was versed in multiple ancient languages allowing her to have very fun conversations with the pegasi that would occasionally talk to her while they were flying around. Jeorge, Subaki’s personal pegasi was oftenly one that she would speak to and today seemed no different. “So why is your name Jeorge anyways?” Twilight asked as the two were flying around “Seems like a very… different name compared to the names you usually hear here in Hoshido.” The pegasi responds simply. “Subaki says its a old folk legend.Jeorge was the name of a man who could only be defined as the perfect shot. His archery skill is legendary and since the title fits well with his mantra of perfection, that is what I was named.” Twilight looks at him, interested and confused. “Weird, seeing how bows are enchanted to hurt fliers more.” Jeorge shrugs leading Twilight back to the river clearing. “I never said it was a good name. Just a legendary one.” The two land. Hinoka having a light smile on her face stretching from a long meditation. Subaki saying simply. “Well Hinoka, I think you’re ready to ride. Now I know you have to choose your first retainer tonight, but we have all day to get you two oriented.” He claps his hands, smiling as he finishes off saying. “Let’s get started!”
