The Town of Friendship

The next morning, Rose, Twilight, and the Apple sisters arose bright and early. The dull light of the morning sun passed through the myriads of clouds Lilly had called upon for that day. It was completely diluted, and Twilight, who had never really seen the sun or blue skies, wished with all her heart for a better day. She just hoped Lilly was in a good mood and had not ordered any storms for Equestria. If that happens, we’re screwed, she told herself, walking in the forest in the rain? Not a particularly compelling combination.

She went outside of the small cave that Applejack and Apple Bloom called home and went over a mental checklist. She and Rose still had everything they had managed to scrounge up at the brothel, and with the Apples added to their small team, they could ensure a bounty of food for the rest of the trip. It comforted Twilight to know that there were other ponies out there searching for the Town of Friendship, and the fact that they brought food with them only made them more vital.

But she was continuing to question if they were true friends or not. As somepony whose only experience with friendship had been small conversations with Rose, she didn’t know how good friends were supposed to behave. They seem sincere, she told herself, but what if they aren’t? What if they’re spies from Queen Lilly sent to sabotage our trip? What if the guard I had sex with broke his promise and told her? She made a note to keep her suspicions on high alert. She trusted Applejack and her sister, but it had been a shaky start to their relationship. After all, they had met with Rose trying to swipe their apples!

As soon as the other ponies were ready, the group set off north. Twilight had no idea where they were going, but she felt a sense of direction that she never had before. It was like some unseen hoof was gently nudging them on the correct path, and she trusted it. Her heart made split-second decisions, and she just acquiesced to them. Even though, at times, her mind screamed to stop and think it all through, she continued following where this voice or force or whatever told her to go.

Two days quickly passed, and the group was making good time towards the edge of the forest. It was tiring, and many times they needed to stop and rest or check for injuries, but they bravely pressed on. Each pony was desperate to make it to the nearly mythical town and find what awaited them there. But as desperate as she was, Twilight still retained the knowledge that the town may not exist at all.

Even so, she had a backup plan, which she discussed in great detail with the others. If the town was found to be a complete legend, they would travel westward to the Luna Ocean and the old town of Vanhoover. There, they would find the necessary materials to build a small boat and travel the sea, searching for answers. They wouldn’t give up until they found exactly what they were looking for.

“Some creature in the world has to know something about friendship,” she reasoned, “according to Rose here, Equestria was founded on friendship, and Celestia and Luna pioneered it. You could argue that they were the progenitors of all relationships between ponies. Logically speaking, if ponies can be friends and share relationships, then other creatures must be able to as well. We’re going to find friendship, whether it’s in this ‘town’ or not.”

She was pleased to see that everypony agreed with her, so they pushed forward. Through the thorns and vines of the forest, they marched, obediently letting Twilight guide them towards an uncertain destiny. They walked under towering trees, past beautiful blooms and buds that nopony had ever seen before, and over gently flowing streams. They crossed the Manes River, which at one time, had been one of the most important modes of transport in Equestria. Now, it lay almost dormant of life, its rapidly flowing water beckoning for the barges and boats that used to traverse it.

When they reached the opposite bank, they noticed that the thick foliage was beginning to thin out. The forest was receding, and beautiful open land appeared in front of them. The rolling hills of Equestria hadn’t changed a bit, and were still green as ever, thanks to the rain that constantly fell there. Twilight’s mouth was open in awe, and she wondered how it ever came to be that these hills were created. The beauty and majesty in front of her was enough to make her stop, and the rest of the ponies crammed in behind her.

“Hey!” Applejack exclaimed sharply, “what the hay are you-“

She stopped when she got out from behind Twilight and saw the picturesque scene in front of her. Even though the clouds were dull and grey, everypony could tell that this was an amazing sight. The verdant meadow stretched out before them, ending at a horizon that, everypony felt, was a metaphor for their very own future. They didn’t know where they were going, but some spark of hope told them to reach the end of that meadow. Twilight, especially, felt a strong urging from within, telling her to gallop to what lay there.

She was about to tell them to keep going, when suddenly a humongous rainbow streak shot across the sky. Since it was almost always raining in Equestria, but there wasn’t any sun, rainbows were extremely rare, and the ponies made numerous noises of awe and wonder at the colorful sight. “Man…I thought rainbows arced across the sky,” Rose said, “that one’s kinda…streakin’.”

“YOU’LL NEVER GET ME ALIVE!” The ponies suddenly heard a rough, yet somehow feminine voice scream, “AND I’LL NEVER HAVE SEX WITH ANY OF YOU AGAIN!”

“GET BACK HERE, RAINBOW DASH!” A masculine voice responded angrily, “WE WERE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING!”

“YEAH, THEN YOU DECIDED TO CROSS A LINE!” The female responded.

The ponies all looked up and, suddenly, the rainbow streak came right at them. “EVERYPONY DUCK!” Twilight shouted, and they all did so. The pony causing the streak landed hard and skidded to a stop right in front of them all. “What the buck are you all doing out here?!” She shouted in a panic, “it’s dangerous! We’ve gotta get the hay back in the forest! He’s coming!”

“Who?!” Twilight asked.

“Stone Way,” the blue, rainbow maned Pegasus responded, “the Captain of the Royal Guard!”