Amber Light, that's the name of the unicorn who never had the ability to use any of her unicorn(ly) magic, normally, unicorns are different from the other two where they get to have the ability to control magic as if it was second nature.
Sadly, the same thing doesn't go for this little filly whose dream was to actually use her magic. Despite not being able to cast even the most simple forms of spells she didn't give up. She continued to pursue her dream and learned lots of spells hoping that one day she might cast them by "accident". Everyone in her family was able to cast magic except for her.
Time and time again she tries to cast every spell she knows but to no avail, sometimes she even gets into awkward situations for it. Her own family were supporting her on her journey to discover her magic but her own determination is slowly diminishing.
She came to accept the fact that she'll never be able to cast magic and continued on with her life while being a normal earth pony. As she grew older her classmates were picking on her for not being able to use her horn like every unicorn.
Sure that annoyed her, it's not like she can do anything about it. Until, a certain idea popped into her head. She wanted to learn magic and who other than the bearer of the element of magic can teach her?
Fueled with new-found determination she decided to head over to ponyville where princess Twilight Sparkle resides hoping that she can get her to teach her magic.
She knew that she can't just barge into her door and ask her to teach her magic that easily. But her desperation for magic was growing by time, she couldn't wait around until she got too old to be able to use the full potential of her magic so she took the risk of being denied by the princess and got ready for the day of her departure.
Finally, the day where she leaves her town and head over to ponyville had come, she was patiently waiting for this day for her whole life. She stood in front of the door of her family house as she was saying her Goodbyes to them.
"Everything's Packed?" Asked an old stallion who seemed to be Amber's Father.
"Mhm. I got everything I need for the journey." Replied Amber with a smile on her face.
Just then an old mare came through the door with two little fillies following behind the mare. From the looks of it, the old mare is her mother and the two fillies are her siblings.
"Amber! Wait! You can't go…. Not without giving us a proper goodbye." The old mare said as she smiled to Amber who in turn ran up to her and embraced her in a hug. Soon after, the rest of the family joined in the hug.
"We will miss you sweetie." Her mom said as she hugged her tightly.
"I'll miss you too, Mom, Dad." She said with tears in her eyes. She was going to ponyville on foot which will take a lot of time to arrive there let alone return back to the town.
Amber looked at both of her siblings and smiled before ruffling their manes.
"And I'll miss you guys too." She said, the two fillies gave her another hug.
After a long family-hugging moment, they finally separated from each other. Amber took her bag with help from her father and looked at her family one last time.
"Just make sure you guys take care of yourselves." She said not wanting for her family to get into any trouble.
"We will. You should take care of yourself out there as well." Her father said as he felt a little bit worried about the idea of her leaving the town.
"Oh! And don't forget to send us letters regarding your journey!" Her mother added as she wanted her daughter to tell her everything about her journey once she gets back.
"Don't worry, Ma. I will!" Amber replied to her mother who in turn smiled warmly at her.
She finally bid her family goodbye as she started her journey to ponyville. Half of her was excited while the other half was anxious. She was excited about the fact that she will soon be able to learn magic but what if.. Twilight didn't accept her as her student? Will her entire trip be in vain?
She decided to brush off those negative thoughts and focused on the positive ones not wanting to just kill her hopes the second she starts the journey.
She passed by some houses in her town where she recognized some of the ponies that live there. She decided to wave them goodbye one last time before finally exiting the town.
She was soon met with an average forest outside her town exit, the forest wasn't all that bad, to say that It's good is an understatement. She traversed through the peaceful forest while observing the local life on it. She decided to take a break at one of the forest's clearing to get something to eat to continue on.
As she was eating, Amber noticed the clouds acting a bit different. She quickly understood that it was a sign of bad weather and quickly packed her things and went to find any good spots for cover.
Unfortunately for her, luck wasn't on her side this time as she still didn't get to find any caves or something of sorts. The weather was gradually getting harsher; heavy rain with intense wind dominated the forest as the trees were bent due to the wind's strength.
She managed to find a cave nearby but there was a problem, a large intensive river was standing between her and the cave. She decided to take the risk and jumped into the water ignoring the dangers that lay ahead.
She started swimming with all of her willpower and strength towards the other side pushing against the currents of the raging river. The storm was getting stronger, the winds got more violent and the river's currents got a massive boost.
Amber couldn't continue swimming against the river and with her final strength depleting she allowed the river to carry her tired body. What she didn't expect was that the river was driving her into a waterfall.
She realized that it was too late to do anything and accepted her fate.
"So, this is how I die? That's a shame and I didn't even make it to ponyville… I guess fate had other plans huh?" She tearfully smiled as she closed her eyes ready for her imminent death.
She fell off the waterfall as she propelled to the water below. The speed of the force and her tiredness eventually got to her as she went unconscious inside the water.
Two figures emerged from the forest as they heard the sound of something falling into the water.
"Wait, I think I've seen somepony fall! Quick, we gotta aid them!" A feminine voice said.
Author's Note
Sorry for the short chapter, since it's the first chapter I intended it to be short but don't worry, the others are going to be much longer.
The aftermath of the storm wasn't exactly something pleasing. The once beautiful forest is no more than a tree graveyard, many trees were plucked off from their roots while the others were just bent due to the strong winds.
The condition of the forest deterred lots of animals that inhabited the forest, birds were looking for their children while squirrels were looking for a new place to store their nuts. Other animals had already begun leaving the forest and into another, finding a new place to call "home".
Slowly opening her eyes, Amber saw that she was laying on solid ground. More importantly, a cave. She was pretty confused about it, she was just falling to her death and now she is in solid land in one piece? Well, with a few scratches and injuries but fortunately for her, none of them were deep or life-threatening.
Before she could do anything she started coughing out the water she swallowed when she fell to the bottom of the waterfall.
"Woah, calm down," A feminine voice said. Amber quickly looked at where the voice was coming from only to see a gray pegasus with a black mane.
"W-Who are you?" Amber said in confusion, she still didn't believe the fact that she just survived death.
"The name's Raze, Raze Tunes," Raze replied as she got closer to Amber.
"Uhm, Raze? Where… am I?" Amber asked confused about whether she is in the living world or the afterlife.
"Well, where do you think you are?" Raze asked with a bit of sarcasm as she gestured toward the destroyed forest.
Amber looked at the forest and was horrified to see what happened to it.
" 'To think that such a storm can cause this much destruction. Poor animals,' " She thought to herself while feeling sorry for the animals that lost their homes and family in the storm.
After viewing the forest for a little bit, she finally decided to ask her about what happened to her when fell down the waterfall.
"Can you tell me what happened to me?" Amber asked, curious to know how she survived.
"Well, you woke up, started coughing up water, and initiated a conversation with me, pretty cool isn't it?" Raze joked while earning a deadpanned stare from Amber.
"Alright alright, I was just joking to lighten up the mood y'know? Anyways, I and Riff were looking for a cave to hide from the storm and whaddya know? We heard you fall into the water which was pretty evident thanks to the big splash you made when you fell, we hurried to get you out of there and eventually found a cave," Raze explained to Amber who in turn was more surprised and more confused than before.
But before she could say anything she heard a growl coming from the cave.
"W-What was that?" Amber asked, completely taken off guard by the sudden growl that emitted from the cave, she prayed to Celestia that it was not one of those dangerous bears that live in the forest.
"Ah, that? Don't worry about it," Raze said in a reassuring tone but Amber wasn't having any of it. How could someone be extremely calm when they hear something like this? And especially in a cave?
The sound of the growling was getting louder and louder indicating that whatever creature behind it is getting closer.
"Err, Raze. I think we should run," Amber said, a little nervous about having to meet this creature.
"Why? There's nothing to run from here?" Raze asked, completely oblivious to what Amber was hearing.
The sound of growling came to a stop which made Amber sigh in relief. But to her surprise, a manticore emerged from the cave completely terrifying Amber while Raze held a calm demeanor.
The Manticore started making its way toward the two mares, Amber started to panic and quickly got up despite her tired body preventing her from doing so.
The Manticore itself was menacing, its appearance was of the average Manticore, though, what makes this Manticore so different is the broken right horn.
As it made its way towards the two Amber heard a sigh which came from Raze. She saw how Raze started approaching the Manticore, not intimidated by the appearance.
" 'What is she doing? She is going to get herself killed!' " Amber started to worry for the pony that saved her life but before she could do anything, she was interrupted by the sound of the Manticore growling.
"Didn't find anything there?" Raze asked the Manticore to which the Manticore… nodded? Amber was awestruck at this, how could somepony casually talk with a creature like this?
"Looks like we will have to restock ourselves with food when we reach the Griffonstone, sorry buddy but you'll have to go on a vegetarian diet for now," Raze said which made the Manticore roar in annoyance as to say no.
"Look, what do you expect me to do? We can't find any meat for you to eat around here!" Raze exclaimed to the Manticore who in turn looked at the awestruck Amber.
Raze quickly caught on to what it was planning to do.
"No, you are not allowed to eat her," Raze harshly said which made the Manticore whimper in sadness, Amber hearing this quickly became terrified of the fact that the Manticore wants to eat here.
"Now, be a good boy and sit down until we find some food for you," Raze commanded the Manticore who obeyed the mare's command.
"Sorry, bud. I promise we will get your favorite," Raze sighed as she walked back towards Amber who was confused and genuinely surprised as to what was going on.
"Sorry about him, he gets real moody when he doesn't get to eat," Raze said to Amber who was still surprised at what was going on.
"I-It's a-alright" She said with visible nervousness.
"That's Riff for ya, the moody manti," Raze said while smirking at the Manticore while Amber continued to stare at the hybrid creature.
"So, what should I call you?" Raze said breaking the staring contest which made Amber snapback to reality.
"Well, I'm Amber Light but Amber is fine," she responded to Raze earning a nod from her.
"Say Amber, what were you doing in the forest like normally anypony who go out in the forest got to have these fancy traveling bags," Upon mentioning the bag Amber looked around trying to find the bag that she had before she fell off from the waterfall.
She scanned the cave hoping to find her missing bag only for hope to get shattered instantly, her bag was nowhere to be found in the cave which made her worried.
" 'Okay Amber, your bag is gone, and you are currently in a cave with a strange mare and her beast, better take a deep breath and calm your mind, yes! Yes! That's a good idea! But wait… what if they attack me, will I be able to live? I really hope nothing goes to such an extent' " Amber was thinking for herself while Raze got annoyed from not getting an answer.
"Hello? Equestria to Amber, can you hear me? I repeat can you hear me?" Raze said, trying to gain the attention of Amber who snapped out of her thoughts and replied with embarrassment.
"Yeah, I think I didn't bring a bag with me.. silly me," Amber said with a blush of embarrassment.
"You really are an amateur with stuff like this, huh?" Raze smugly said which made Amber a bit angry at her for those mean words.
"Anyways, we should probably get going, I'll see yah later," Raze said as she got up and packed her stuff.
"Wait, you are leaving me here? Wounded and alone?" Amber asked with a bit of worry, she doesn't have any means of defending herself and her map is gone.
"No offense but, I don't really take strangers with me," Raze said.
"But, I don't know where to go," Amber said sadly, which made Raze think for a moment.
"You know what? Fine, you can tag along with us until we find a village to drop you off at," Upon saying that, Amber immediately perked up.
"Wait, really? Thank you so much!" Amber said thankfully that she will get some help.
"Now come along, we have a long journey ahead of us," Raze gestured to Amber to follow her out of the cave, Riff followed After Raze.
Amber got up with a little bit of difficulty but managed to follow Raze outside the cave.
—-Timeskip—-
Amber, Raze and Riff were traversing through the forest while watching the beautifully-destroyed scenery. The sky was a bit cloudy which made it the perfect weather for journeys like this.
Raze took out her map from the bag and began looking for the nearest town.
"There," She said as she placed her hoofs on a small town which was pretty close to them.
"We will drop you off at Rivermouth," Raze said to Amber who in turn nodded her head.
They continued their journey, Amber decided to ask Raze some questions she had in mind about… well everything.
"Hey, Raze?" Amber called out to Raze finally picking up the courage to ask her.
"What's up?" Raze replied with a bit of curiosity.
"How did you and Riff meet?" She wanted to know how a friendship between a pony and Manticore was possible.
"Hey, what's up with the sudden question?" Raze asked.
"I didn't ask you before since I was so nervous," Amber replied shyly.
"Well, to tell you the truth. I found his egg when I was a little filly, we grew up together and soon became the bestest friends, ain't that right buddy?" She said as she petted the beast.
Amber thought that it was weird for a filly to grow up with a manticore but she decided to not bring that up to her, who knows what the Manticore is going to do.
After walking for a while they came upon a tree that was fairly undamaged unlike the others.
"Heh, that's one lucky tree," Raze commented as she observed the tree.
Amber picked up the sound of a faint screaming getting closer.. and closer… Raze could hear the screaming as well as she looked around for the source, Amber felt something land on her back as she looked to find a squirrel holding a small but sharp tree branch while standing on her back menacingly.
"You shall not continue on your way! Large horned creature!" The squirrel said surprising both of the mares, none of them thought that squirrels were able to talk like them.
"A squirrel that can talk? I've never thought I would be able to witness something as weird as this," Raze said while trying to pet the squirrel who in turn slapped her hooves away.
"Oh yeah? And you are a beast that can talk!" The squirrel replied which made Raze gasp in surprise.
"What did you call me? Oh this ain't going to be pretty for you little guy.." She said as tried to catch the squirrel who jumped off Amber's back and quickly landed on her head.
"You missed!" He said as stabbed the tree branch on her neck waiting to see her fall to the ground dead but instead, she slapped him off her neck like an annoying mosquito.
"That stings alright, but it's not even painful," She said as she stood over him preparing to attack but was quickly stopped by Amber.
"Wait! Are you seriously going to attack a defenseless squirrel?" Amber asked wondering whether Raze was trying to kill him or not.
"He started first! I have to strike back!" Raze pouted which made Amber stare at her deadpanned at her childish act.
"What's your name, little squirrel?" She asked gently to which the squirrel grumpily replied.
"I don't want your help, pony. I'm the greatest squirrel warrior, I'm "Twinklekiss"! The greatest warrior!" The squirrel replied determinedly.
"Aw, that is such a cut– I mean a fearsome name!" Amber quickly corrected herself which made the squirrel kiss his own muscles, while Raze was trying her best to hold back her laugh only for her to burst out laughing confusing the two.
"I'm sorry, but "Twinklekiss" isn't a warrior name!" She said as she went back to laughing while Riff stared at her weirdly.
"You take that back you winged beast!" Twinkle threatened, which made Raze laugh even more.
He was pissed off by Raze's mocking and decided to teach her a lesson, he quickly ran to her and started punching her only for him to do no damage at all which made her laugh even harder.
"Oh my god! He is trying to fight me, this is hilarious," She said as she continued laughing which resulted in the squirrel getting angry and started punching her more only to get the same effect.
—-Another TimeSkip—-
Raze wiped the tears from laughing off her face while sighing.
"This was the first good laugh I had in awhile," Raze said, which made Amber roll her eyes and turn back to the squirrel who glared diggers at Raze.
"So, Twinklekiss. Why did uhm.. attack us?" She asked.
"Probably protecting his princess, Twinklekiss," She mocked while smirking at the squirrel who calmed himself down and answered Amber's question.
"I was given an important task to protect this tree from evil people! Like that mare over there!" He said as he pointed towards Raze who blew a raspberry at him.
"Protect it? From what?" She was curious to know what he is protecting the tree from.
Author's Note
Aaaand, here is a cliffhanger.
