It was a peaceful, cool afternoon. Pipp’s salon, Mane Melody, was mostly empty at the time, besides three ponies. Pipp giggled happily as she approached Jazz who was sitting on a seat drinking one of Sunny’s smoothies. She was clearly enjoying her drink, she loved Sunny’s smoothies. No other smoothie tasted as good as years in her opinion.

“I totally have an idea for our dance routine next week for the anniversary of...” Pipp smiled, then sung. “Maaane Melodyyy!”

Jazz stopped slurping and looked at her friend with awe, “That’s great Pipp!” She exclaimed, “Can I see?”

Pipp grinned cheerfully, “Well, it needs some refining before I show anyone so... you’ll see it tomorrow!”

”C’mon Pipp, you can trust me, I won’t laugh if it’s kinda...” She paused, “not what you were going for...” Jazz smiled, knowing she would never do a thing to hurt Pipp.

Pipp smiled gleefully, “I know! But I want it to be a surprise! You’re gonna love it, Jazzy!”

”I’m sure I will! You’re so great at making stuff, Pipp!” Jazz smiled before the doors slammed open, apparently hitting someone as it did, as the victim exclaimed in pain. Pipp looked at the source of the noise in shock to see it was a familiar unicorn who had slammed the doors open.

“Oh! Izzy! You need something?” Pipp asked, worried by how quickly the doors opened. Was there something going on? Was it an emergency?

Izzy pranced around with excitement after kicking the doors closed. Pipp noticed the door’s victim was Rocky, he looked very unamused as he held his hoof in his muzzle. “Oh, hello Rockstarry!” Exclaimed Izzy as she waved at Rocky as he glared at her, he had a glance at his hoof in shock before running to the room at the back.

“What’s up with him?” Asked Izzy as she levitated an object in a sparkly pink cloth.

Pipp looked towards the back room, “Well... heh... not the first time you hit him with a door- he’ll be fine, just a bloodied-nostril- anyway- what’s up?”

Jazz and Pipp looked at the cloth in wonder as they questioned what it was. “What is that?” Jazz asked quietly.

”Something I’m so excited to show you, Pipp!” Izzy could not contain her excitement any longer! She just had to show them what she had. She carefully put the mysterious object on the floor with a huge grin. Pipp made a dramatic gasp as she watched Izzy undo the cloth, revealing a very ancient looking object.

Izzy revealed a large clamshell seemingly made of wood. The paint looked heavily worn away and damaged, making it look a few hundred years old. Also, there were odd markings, resembling dinosaur looking creatures resembling raptors. And raptor-like prints all around. At the top were three stones embedded in the middle three sections of the clamshell. Purple in the middle, aquamarine and yellow on either side of the purple.

The whole thing looked like it had seen better days.

”Ancient artefact you and Sunny found?” Jazz guessed, kinda confused by it. “I like it, I think it will look amazing when you restore it... if that’s what you’re gonna do?

”Nope and nope! I found it all on my own! We should open it!” Izzy squealed, jumping up and down. “It might have- no- it absolutely will have magic!” She exclaimed with joy.

”Uh...” Pipp had an unsure feeling in her gut, “I dunno- I think we should check with Sunny in case it isn’t some sort of... I dunno- magical device that’s sealing some evil?”

Izzy shook her head, she was internally shocked. There was no way this was holding in a villain. She noticed Pipp and Jazz’s worried glances as they looked at it.

“No... it won’t, Pipp- totally wont-“ Izzy grinned, “Cross my heart, hope for rye, stick glitter in my eye!”

It took Pipp a while to realise what Izzy was talking about. “Oh! Well... if you say so...”

“Ummm, Pippy... what did Izzy mean by-“

”Oh! it’s a thing... a promise thing, the ancient pony Pinkie Pie had a silly one, so Izzy made her own!”

”Oh, well, I suppose that makes sense...”

”So...” Izzy gained a wide grin, “Shall we open it?”

She knew it had to be open! It would change their lives, but she must not act too suspicious. For now, everything was going according to plan! But she had to still be more than just medium sneaky.

”Uh... sure!” Pipp shrugged. She still felt nervous about this. It didn’t feel right! But Izzy did promise it wasn’t sealing some sort of evil. Perhaps it is just some jewellery. Some old, but precious jewellery! She smiled slowly as she imagined opening the box and gaining a nice diamond necklace.

Jazz wasn’t sure either. What if Izzy was wrong about it? She did promise, but the gems. There wasn’t something normal about them, but she couldn’t pinpoint what. Perhaps it would spurt out some magic, maybe it was an old weapon!

”Hey, maybe we should open it outside?” Jazz asked.

Pipp hugged her close, “C’mon Jazzy! It’s just gonna be some treasure! Like jewellery! Or rare gems! Or even rare artefacts!”

”What if there’s a curse put on it and whoever opens-“ Jazz worried. She was the most worried out of the three. There was no way this would end well, she thought. She remained calm, trying to assure herself that it could just be a basic chest from the old times.

Izzy looked at the two ponies in front of her. “So who’s gonna open it?”

”You should,” Jazz nodded, “You found it, after all, so it’s fair that you do it.”

”Hmm...” Izzy noted. She didn’t exactly want to be the one to open it, it was far too special for her to open it. She felt Jazz should, she hadn’t been in the spotlight as much as her and Pipp. “Nah, you should, Jay-jay!” She informed, trying to hide her excitement.

Pipe sighed, disappointed, as Izzy stuffed the clam in Jazz’s hooves as she at on her rump. Pipe scoffed, ”I suppose she caaan... well- at least I can record it being opened-“ She grabbed out her phone, ready to film. This was not going to do the livestream, she was going to film it and upload it with commentary later.

”O-ok-“ Jazz was visibly nervous, she was not sure about it at all! But Pipp and Izzy seemed pretty keen on it. Pipp was on her right, filming with a lit smile. Izzy was on her right. Wide grin, giggling with hooves in her cheeks in an adorable way. It made Jazz feel a bit better as she put her hoof on the lid. She slowly lifted it.

As it was opened, the three mares were greeted by a blinding light to the face. They closed their eyes as soon as the yellow, purple and aquamarine light hit. All sound was gone as it happened. It happened so fast!

Rocky rushed out, ice pack on his head and blood-soaked napkin on his nostrils. “I saw a flash of light from the back- room?” He questioned as he looked around at the empty salon. No mares or magic clam box. Just him, in the salon alone, no trace or hint of the mares being there at the moment. “Guys?”

Pipp woke up, laid on her back. She gasped in shock as she saw a large scaly creature fly over from above. Fear filled her as she got up and grabbed her phone from the ground. It was still filming everything, but there was no internet connection. It took a while for Pipp to process that she didn’t know where she was.

“Wha- where am I?” Pipp asked, voice shaking in fear, as she looked around at the steep walls of a mountain she didn’t recognise. It can’t have been the same one Zephyr Heights was on. This mountain was more of a grey. She started to breathe heavily as she panicked, heart racing as she stepped back.

There was something not right about this. She had that feeling in the gut as she breathed heavily. She and Izzy were going to have a big chat when she got back- wait- Izzy can’t have known the box would have teleported her, right? Well, she can’t be that far from home, in fact if she turned right around then she might see it in the distance and simply fly over.

Pipp then turned around to see a vast forest stretching to the horizon. Her heart beat rapidly as she frantically looked into the distance. She was wrong! No sign of any towns anywhere! Forest went as far as the eye could see.

“Where the heck am I?” She asked herself before coming to full panic and realisation. “I’m lost! This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening!” She screeched as she desperately went into the contacts of her phone. Enough sweat soaked through her fur to create sweat drops.

She immediately went to Zipp’s name and pressed it to call her. “Pick up- please pick up!” Pipp shouted, tears forming into her eyes. “Plea- AAAH!” Pipp shrieked as it immediately disconnected.

She felt fear as she started to shake, “I can’t be lost! Izzy!? Jazz?! Where are they!? They were with me-” She said, recalling the fact those two were standing right next to her as Jazz opened the box!

“Where am I? Where are they? Where’s the way home!?” She founded hard to breath, “What do I do!? What do I do!?”

Pipp started to hyperventilate as she huddled in a fetus position on the hard, rocky surface. “Why me?” She sniffled.

Pipp’s hooves shook as she tapped another contact in her list. This time, Queen Haven. “Ple-please pick up-“ Pipp wheezed, now crying completely. Nothing, it simply disconnected, causing Pipp to cry out loud in pain and fear.

”Hey! I heard something over here!” A voice shouted. Pipp didn’t recognise it, but she had a feeling it was not coming from someone nice.

“Yeah- maybe a leviter or slayel spy- let’s beat ‘em up when we see them,” The other voice sounded cruel and cold.

Pipp panted, breathing heavily. There were people looking for her! They didn’t sound nice at all. Going up wasn’t an option, so she opened her wings with hope. She jumped up, flapping her wings, only to flop back on the ground.

“What!?” She yelped as she looked at her wings. She jumped back up, flapping her wings again, harder. Loudly, she squealed as she fell onto the ground. Her wings weren’t working.

”My wings! Magic isn’t working!? Why!? What’s happening!?” She shouted loudly, voice cracking, before making a horrified expression when she heard the voices again.

”Over here!” The grouchy one shouted.

”Must be below that edge!” Another one shouted.

”This is bad-this is bad-“ Pipp could hardly breathe. She decided to give it one last chance. Once again, her wings were opened, and she started flapping them as she jumped. Unfortunately, she was too close to the edge of the cliff, meaning she fell off as soon as she landed.

“No!” She exclaimed as she fell down towards the forest below, desperately flapping her useless wings.

Tears came from her eyes as she fell to her doom. Pipp closed them as she accepted her fate, unknown to her was a flying creature about to snatch her up. It was scaly and had two dragon wings. The back legs were chubbier than the front legs. It had spines all across its back. Also, it had no visible neck, but it had a long tail with thin spines at the end.

Its colours were a combo of deep reds with a white belly.

Izzy was on the ground, face planted. She got up with a grin. “It worked guys!” She exclaimed happily, unaware the two weren’t with her at all. She sat up and took on the view.

The ground was paved with cobblestone and the building looked from the old days that Sunny spoke about. Tall stone buildings decorated with jewels! Crystals and strange plants decorated the buildings and pathways.

She had a huge smile on her face as she walked up to a gold railing that gave her a huge overview of the city.

“Wow guys, it’s like a mix of Zephyr Heights, Canterlot and Bridlewood!” She shouted loudly as she admired the view. “I wonder what kind of creatures live here,” She wondered, unaware that they were all inside hiding from ‘the creature that appeared in a burst of light’

”Oh my goodness!” Izzy screamed, “There is a castle! We should totally go there and say hello!” She then stopped when she noticed no one was responding to her.

“Guys?” She turned around and saw no living thing. She only giggled and shrugged. “Oh, I get it! We are playing hide and seek! I’ll find you!” She ran around, giggling to herself.

Izzy ran around happily but soon slowed down confused, “Wait... where is everyone?” She wondered. “Hey... this town is empty- and-“ then she sighed.

“You guys aren’t playing hide and seek, are you? The box separated us and now... I’m alone...” She looked up, “Pipp... Jazz... I hope you’re okay... wherever you are...”

Then she shrugged, “They gotta be okay, they just gotta...”

She slowly walked, looking around. “Pipp? Jazz? You aren’t too far away, are you? I’m sorry!” She sighed, “I just wanted-“ She managed to say before she ended up falling from a bridge, onto the pavement below. The bridge had a rail missing and Izzy didn’t notice.

Izzy screamed in pain as she landed on the paved ground. “Oh!” She teared, “M-my leg!” She whimpered, “I-Izzy not okay!” She cried.

“P-Pipp!? Jazz!? Can you hear me!?” Izzy shouted as she tried to get up, exclaiming in pain when her injured hoof hit the ground.

Jazz was on her stomach, laying in a puddle of mud, unaware of the cold, dirty water soaking through her fur. She slowly opened her eyes to see green, she gasped in shock and confusion as she lifted her head.

Looking all around her, she only saw ferns and tall rainforest trees. Water dripped from the plants. Sounds of hissing and birds filled the area as she looked around with her eyes. Wide open in shock, like her mouth.

Then she looked down tho see her soaked belly and legs. Hoof was on the clam box. “What happened?” She wondered, trying to ignore the fact she was dirty.

“Did the box transport me somewhere?” She asked no one. She tried to ignore the fact that she was all wet and dirty, she had far worse things to worry about at the moment. Soon enough, she sat on her rump and took her phone from her sash.

Jazz quickly opened up ‘Hoofle Maps’ to find out where she was and how to get home. Water dripped from her hooves and belly as she desperately waited for the app to load.

When it finally loaded, the arrow glitched around. The arrow dashed around the screen as the map glitched out, flickering and darting around a blank screen before freezing. “Uh- I think the app is broken-“ She told herself before a pop-up appeared. “Location not found?” She was horrified, but mostly confused.

”O-okay, i’ll just need to reload,” Jazz nervously responded as sweat ran down her face. She pressed the reload button... The pop-pup was soon to return. “N-no- c-c’mon-“ She quietly begged as she radically tapped the reload button.

Her chest went up and down rapidly as she stared at the screen. No matter how many times she tapped the screen, she had the same results. “Okay, i’ll try again later, maybe I’ll have more luck when I get closer to a town. Maybe the box sent me here... maybe it can send me back!” She wondered to herself.

Like back at the salon, she sat there with the clam in one hoof and the other forehoof on top. She took a deep breath, prepared for the bright flash of light to blind her. As she slowly opened it, she closed her eyes, prepared...

“Here we go...” She was slightly nervous. But she proceeded to feel nothing. To her dismay.

“H-huh?” She questioned as she looked at the clam, ears drooping. “It-It didn’t work?” Her voice cracked like she was going to cry. A defeated sigh came from her mouth as she closed the box.

“Does this forest have any locals? I suppose some locals might know how to use the box and fix it... or give me directions to-“ She started to sweat as her heart raced.

”B-but what if they aren’t friendly!? What if there isn’t anyone for miles?- what if they don’t know to get to?-“ She looked down at the clam, nervously digging her hoof into the mud. “If I- W-what if-“ She worried before she exclaimed in despair, “What am I going to do!?” She cried out loud, her eyes watered slightly, but she wiped them away. Using a clean part of her leg.

Jazz got up, looking ahead. ”I suppose if Pipp and Izzy were sent here like me, they’d be looking for a local town... But what if they weren’t- But if they were, I might cross paths with them- but what if I don’t- wait- no- what- we must- but-“

Jazz started to look around and pace, trying to think of what to do. “What if- the locals might- no- but- nope- If-“ She then stopped next to the clam box with a groan, “C’mon Jazz! This may be your only chance to find them and get home!”

After a pause with her just staring at it, she grabbed the box in her foreleg. Unaware that the gems were now all dulled, grey, colourless stones, unlike how they appeared in the salon. She walked ahead, slowly. She listened to the sounds, scared as ferns brushed against her.

Her heart was beating rapidly as she looked around her for any dangers. There was a sense of unfamiliarity within her as she nervously moved through the damp rainforest.

Jazz moved through some thick trees and greenery and found herself standing on a cliff, overlooking more rainforest stretching over the horizon. It looked vast, like it would take days to go through it all.

The wind blew against her softly as she hopelessly looked into the distance.

“Where is this place?” She whispered to herself, “I never knew there was a rainforest in Equestria! What do I do now!?”. She asked as she looked at the trees down the cliff, it was a high drop. Then she looked into the distance. “Pipp!? Izzy!? Are you out there!?” She called out, hoping someone would hear her.

Author's Note

This chapter will act like the promo. I’m not going to upload the next one until I have written more chapters

So I guess... tell me what you think so far, I’m excited for this one