Ultimate Sacrifices

NORTHWESTERN ROUTE, 13 DAYS UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD

“We’re finally leaving Manehattan!” Cookie chanted, skipping around the train car in excitement, despite the confused expressions on nearby onlookers.

Lilac rolled her eyes in mock annoyance, smiling at her friend, who finally grew tired of dancing about and sat down beside her. Ever since she had received the letter of acceptance from the Ponyville Academy of Fine Baking, Cookie had been nothing but a flurry of enthusiasm — but then again, Cookie had always been that way.

On the other side of the window beside her, the skyline rolled speedily by, snow-capped rocky mountains and thick green forests flying by as Celestia’s radiant sun shone gloriously at the centre of the bright blue sky. Lilac pressed her muzzle against the warm glass window, soaking in the sunlight. In dark, grey Manehattan, such beautiful sights were non-existent, and she wanted to relish in the moment while she still could. Within the embrace of the mountains ahead, she could just make out the shimmer of the glinting water at the famous Neighagra Falls, sparkling and rippling with constant flowing movements, gushing and gurgling with life, then crashing into the rivers below in a cascade of whiteness.

Simply beautiful.

“Passengers, we will be arriving at Canterlot Station shortly. If this is your final destination, please make sure you have all of your belongings with you. We hope you have a pleasant day.” The P.A. system crackled, as ponies hurried to gather their luggage. Ten minutes later, the train creaked to a slow stop, the doors sliding open as passengers filed out of the train silently. Only two ponies entered the train — two foals about their age: A unicorn colt with a dark green coat and a short black mane and a slightly older unicorn filly with a purple coat and a long pink mane.

They took a seat opposite Lilac and Cookie, shaking off their saddlebags onto the cushioned bench.

“Wait, Twinkle, how long is the trip from Canterlot to Ponyville again?” The colt asked, adjusting his glasses.

“We should be arriving at around 11 am, so only about three hours,” The filly, of whom Lilac guessed was Twinkle, replied.

“Three hours?” The colt exclaimed in reply. “But that’s almost forever! What am I supposed to do for three hours?”

“Oh, quit whining, Yonder,” Twinkle replied, rolling her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll survive.”

Yonder sighed. “Well, it definitely beats staying in Canterlot. I don’t know how much longer I can bear living in that boring old place.”

Twinkle nodded in agreement. “Same.” She looked out of the window, where the train was just about to leave the station. “I just hope the ponies of Ponyville will be welcoming to outsiders like us.”

They glanced at Lilac, who immediately looked away, pretending she hadn’t been staring at them for their entire conversation. To Lilac’s surprise, Twinkle didn’t look too annoyed.

“Are you two headed for Ponyville as well?” Twinkle asked sweetly, while beside her, Yonder shook his head in frustration.

“No,” Yonder replied sarcastically. “They’re headed for the Crystal Empire.” He facehooved at his sister. “Of course they’re going to Ponyville! That’s the only stop that’s left!”

Twinkle sighed. “Sorry about my brother’s sarcasm.” She narrowed her eyes at Yonder. “Usually he just stays silent.”

Yonder returned the gaze, shaking his head. “Tragic. Just tragic.”

Lilac grinned. “Don’t worry about it.” She extended a hoof for Twinkle to shake. “I’m Lilac Fields. And you are…?”

“Twinkle. Twinkle Iridescent.” The unicorn filly replied, shaking Lilac’s hoof politely. “And this —” She motioned towards her younger brother. “— is Yonder Infinity. My brother. Though sometimes I doubt we’re related.”

Lilac smiled. “Nice to meet you ponies,” She replied. “And this is my friend, Cookie Krumbs — wait, where’d she go?” Lilac whirled from left to right, only just noticing the empty seat beside her.

“Over here!” Cookie yelled back from the other end of the carriage, her hooves laden with candies and desserts. She paid the snack vendor what she owed (only two bits — what a bargain!), then shuffled back to her seat with a wide grin.

“Cookie,” Lilac groaned in exasperation, facehooving at her friend, shaking her head. “I thought you’d packed more than enough snacks for the trip… why did you just buy all of this?!”

“Research,” Cookie replied nonchalantly, scarfing down a roll of cider-flavoured taffy. “If I’m going to do well at baking school, I’ve gotta do some extra homework!” She licked her lips. “Mmmm… that would make a great topping for my next cake!”

Lilac smiled. “Whatever you say, Cookie,” she chuckled over the irregular hum of the train’s whirring engine, as the foals continued their long journey to Ponyville, now with two new companions each.

PONYVILLE AIRSPACE (2500 ft. ABOVE GROUND), 13 DAYS UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD

“I still can’t believe Passed Pawn invited me to play in the Equestrian Chess World Cup!” Magnum Knight exclaimed. “Aside from Passed Pawn himself, I’d be the youngest pony to ever do so in Equestrian chess history!”

The wind tore through his cobalt mane, his glasses almost flying off with the wind as the two pegasi foals sat excitedly inside the pegasus-drawn chariot, the drivers’ wings flapping furiously as they soared through the morning-fresh Equestrian air.

Beside him, Crystal gazed out onto the ground below, her brown eyes sparkling as they watched the tiny houses fly by, while ponies the size of ants scuttled to and fro, busy as bees. The wind whipped through her cyan-blue mane, as she gripped the edge of the seat with both hooves, feeling both nervous and excited at the same time — she was probably even more excited than Magnum! For both foals, this was clearly the opportunity of a lifetime.

“…maybe I’ll meet some really cool grandmasters! Maybe I’ll even beat them at chess! Maybe I’ll…” Magnum paused, realising his best friend wasn’t listening. “Uh, Crystal, you okay?”

He watched as Crystal blinked out of her daydream. “Oh…right, yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, rubbing her eyes with her hooves. She grinned. “Guess I just can’t wait to see what the ground is really like!”

Magnum punched her lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s gonna be awesome!”

Fifteen minutes later, Magnum and Crystal were stepping out of the chariot, thanking the pegasi drivers as they whinnied politely and flew away. Here they were. Ponyville.

“Now all we have to do is find Passed Pawn,” Magnum said, pulling out a map of Ponyville from his saddlebag. “That shouldn’t be too hard.” He added, glancing around at his surroundings.

Hmm… Friendship Castle somewhere to the north… That means Sweet Apple Acres to the west, maybe… Magnum pondered, scratching his head with one sky-blue hoof. To my immediate right… Somewhere called Sugarcube Corner? To my immediate left… uh… one overwhelmed pegasi filly skipping around a bush as if she’d never actually seen one before.

“Can you believe it, Magnum?” Crystal exclaimed, making her twenty-sixth round around the rose bush. “We’re finally in Ponyville! On the ground!” She finally stopped, collapsing onto the pavement with dizziness. Magnum laughed and helped her up.

“Come on, Passed Pawn told us he’d meet us at the town hall at 3 pm sharp. That gives us about four hours to roam around. What do you say we go grab some food first?”

Crystal grinned. “Sounds good to me!” She nodded, as the two foals headed into Sugarcube Corner, lugging their heavy saddlebags behind them as they went.

SUGARCUBE CORNER, PONYVILLE, 13 DAYS UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD

Crystal inhaled the remains of her chocolate doughnut, then the rest of her strawberry milkshake. She was so excited about visiting Ponyville that she had completely forgotten how hungry she was.

Meanwhile, Magnum was still nibbling his slice of apple pie, conscientiously studying a notebook filled chock-full with tactics, openings and endgame strategies. Every once in a while he would pull out a pencil, scribble a few moves down onto the pages, then take another bite of his pie.

The pony who served them their lunch, a pink, cheerful earth pony with even pinker curly hair, trotted merrily to their table.

“I was just trying out a new cupcake recipe, and you look like the perfect candidate for a taste test!” She shoved a rainbow-sprinkled cupcake right under Crystal’s muzzle. “It’s on the house!” She reassured.

“Wow, thanks!” Crystal exclaimed, taking a bite of the cupcake, instantly regretting it. Her face turned red, sweat trickling from her forehead. “S-s-spicy!” She panted, trying to douse the flames on her tongue with the last few drops of her milkshake.

“Great! It worked!” The pink pony smiled. “I’ve been working on a hot-sauce infused collection of baked goods for a while. Wait till you try my latest creation: The Sizzling Strudel!” She started to trot back into the kitchen to fetch a piece, but then hesitated and peered over Magnum’s shoulder. “You should really have moved the horsey piece. You missed a really obvious mate in 9.” She then continued to skip back to the kitchen, ignoring Magnum’s expression of shock.

“How — what…?” Magnum stuttered. Behind him, the entrance burst open, as four other foals cantered into the bakery.

“So this is where you’re going to be doing your baking studies?” One of them, a lilac-coated filly, asked her friend.

“Yup!” The other filly replied. “Sugarcube Corner. I can’t believe the one and only Pinkie Pie, world-class baker, is going to be my mentor!”

World-class? Crystal raised an eyebrow. “Uh… are you sure you’re at the right—”

The filly turned to look in her direction. “Oh, don’t worry! This is definitely the right place. I can just smell the doughnuts!” She extended a hoof for Crystal to shake, which she did. “I’m Cookie Krumbs. You must be Crystal Truth, and you must be Magnum Knight!”

“How did you —”

“She’s psychic!” Magnum gasped exaggeratedly.

“Don’t be daft,” Cookie chuckled. “Your names are on the sides of your saddlebags. Anypony could have figured that out.” She gestured towards the other three ponies. “And this is Yonder Infinity, Twinkle Iridescent and Lilac Fields!”

One slightly awkward interchange of ‘hey’s later (and Pinkie Pie’s freshly baked spicy strudel), the six foals were gathered around the table, two pegasi, two unicorns and two earth ponies each getting to know their newfound friends. In less than fifteen minutes, they were already laughing and chattering merrily — as if they had known each other all their lives.

They say friendship is magic, after all. The strongest and most powerful form of magic there is.

…or so they thought.

For this friendship was predestined to be the very catalyst of Equestria’s impending doom.