Chapters It was a quiet evening in Britian. The wind was minimal and the temperature was perfect. Low humidity, not a cloud in the sky? How could a day like this possibly be ruined? The grass on the hills blew in waves as the slow wind hit it. The moon reflected light throughout the hills. One wouldn't need a light to see where they were going. The crickets chirped their quiet tunes and the lightning bugs blinked their lights, almost in harmony.
Through these hills, a narrow road was made. On this road tonight, a military transport vehicle, probably similar to one you'd see in a Call of Duty video game, was lazily making its way down the road. The engine rumbled quietly under the hood and the lights on the truck were dim. Inside the rear, members of a squad could be seen chatting amongst themselves about various topics. Who shot better today, who will shoot better tomorrow, who got laid first, the list goes on. Behind that truck was a small, white pickup truck. Only two occupied the truck, the passenger talking to the quiet driver.
"I still don't understand why they make us drive so bloody far from London. I think the training facility in our headquarters is just fine for training the new recruits, don't ya think Burns?" the passenger asked the driver, who grunted like he's been asked that question a hundred times already.
"Wallcroft, I'm trying to focus on driving…" the driver said quietly, but "Wallcroft" acts like he didn't hear anything.
"Still can't believe we lost all of our squad…"
Wallcroft shakes his head. The driver nods his head, but notices something in his side view mirror. He checks the mirror and sees something bright falling from the sky. Wallcroft has also noticed this.
"The bloody hell is that thing?"
The driver slams the brakes, causing the pickup to jerk to a halt. The object flies over the two trucks and crashes into the hills a few hundred feet away. The other truck in front of the pickup also stops as the object passes over. The object hits the ground without a large explosion, but a large amount of dirt and grass can be seen kicked up over the hills.
"Burns, get over there. Let's check it out."
The driver, Burns, sighs, but obliges and accelerates, passing the other truck. He carefully maneuvers the truck off the road, right through the wooden fence, and across the grass. He gets the truck on the top of a large hill and stops the vehicle. Down below, it can be seen that a large amount of dirt and grass was kicked up, indicating where the object crashed. Wallcroft and Burns get out of the truck, each wielding a pistol.
"C'mon…" Wallcroft tells Burns.
Both men begin descending down the hill, towards the impact crater. As they approach, something darts from the crater, flying right over their heads. They immediately bring up their weapons in alert, watching the new object fly away, leaving a rainbow-like pattern in its wake. Something else can be seen leaving as well, flying over the two more slowly. They both watch the two objects fly out of visible sight, confused. Something suddenly bolts at Wallcroft. An orange object smashes into Wallcroft's stomach. Wallcroft falls onto the truck, obviously hurt and dazed from the ambush.
Burns can see what smashed into him. An orange horse? With a cowboy hat? He tries to aim his pistol, but the 'horse', using the momentum from the run, spins around on its front leg and kicks Burns off his feet, causing him to fall over onto his front . The orange 'horse' takes off, away from the two and back towards the road, following where the two flying objects were head. Burns gets to his feet, now very confused, but recovers and raises his weapon again. By now the 'horse' is a good distance away, but Burns fires a few shots towards it anyways. One hits it in the leg, but it keeps running, the shot seeming to have not done anything. Wallcroft slowly gets to his feet, holding his head in pain.
"Burns... What the hell was that thing?"
The two can only watch as the orange dot gets farther and farther until it disappears.
"We're gonna need to tell HQ about this."
Summer has always been an active time of year for Ponyville. The fillies were out of school by now and could be heard within their houses, laughing with friends, or out and about with them, having a good time. Older ponies were around too, having places to go and ponies to see. Some were fixing up the outside of their homes, others on their way to buy groceries. Applejack had her apple stand set up in the town square with all sorts of apple goodies, from red delicious apples to apple pies and everything in between. Sugarcube Corner had the sweet smell of cupcakes emanate from the open windows as Pinkie Pie baked a batch for Mr. and Mrs. Cake. And the clouds were being swept away as Rainbow Dash practiced a new stunt she was attempting to learn. The leaves of the trees, especially the library, had a vibrant green color to them. And inside the library, Twilight Sparkle, curled up on her bed, reading yet another book. She wasn’t sure why she liked this particular book so much. It had just caught her eye when looking through the library yesterday. It was an interesting read too, with a lot of eccentric, but gratifying information. She liked it.
“Spike?” she called out to the floor below. “Has my number one assistant found the book I was looking for?”
“I have it right here Twilight,” a male, but child-like voice replied. Up the stairs came a small, purple dragon. He could’ve been no older than six or seven years old. “Why did you want this book anyway Twilight?”
“I’m not quite sure. I think it’s an interesting topic to read about. I just found this book in the library yesterday, when Fluttershy was here looking for a book. I came across it while searching for her book, and brought it up here to read. It talks about alternate universes, universes different from our own. It says there may be different kinds of life in these universes. Some ponies have even claimed to have travelled to these different universes.”
“Twilight, these books are a whole bunch of mumbo-jumbo,” Spike says, rolling his eyes. “There’s no such thing as an alernat, alterna… Different universe.”
“I don’t know Spike. We’ve said that about other books before, but we were wrong,” Twilight said, flipping a page over with her magic.
“But what about that forcefield spell you wanted to learn? You told me you wanted to learn it as soon as you could!” Spike continued, trying to persuade her to get her to do something else.
“I’ll get to it later Spike”, Twillight said, tersely.
Spike just shrugged. It was obvious to him that he wasn’t going to change her mind. Arguing about it wouldn’t do anything, so Spike turned to leave. He takes a few steps forward, but stops. His cheeks puff up, in a way that he seems to need to burp or vomit. Twilight looks up from her book for the first time since breakfast, now a little concerned.
“Spike? You okay? You don’t look too good,” she asked him. His reply was with a loud burp of a green flame. The flame formed into a scroll and landed on the floor, causing Twilight to grin and giggle and Spike to rub the side of his head.
“There seriously needs to be a better way of sending these things…” he sighs, causing Twilight to giggle more. Using her magic, she takes the scroll from the floor, brings it towards her, and opens it. She immediately starts reading it aloud.
“My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. I’m sending you a chariot for Canterlot. I need you and all of your friends here immediately. It’s about the Elements of Harmony. Your teacher, Princess Celestia.” Twilight scratches her head with her hoof at the very vague letter. “What could the Princess want that concerns the Elements…? Spike! Go find Fluttershy and have her find Rainbow Dash! This needs to be done immediately before the chariot gets here!”
Spike turns back towards Twilight. “You can count on me Twilight! Your number one assistant is on the job!” Spike says proudly, turning again and running down the stairs. Twilight rolls her eyes and giggles. She closes the first book and places it on top of the second book. She then hops off the bed and carefully gallops down the stairs. She heads towards the front door, where her pet owl, Owloysius, was clinging onto the doorknob with his feet. He shifted his body over to turn the doorknob and open the door.
“Hey Owloysius. You can watch the house while I’m at Princess Celestia’s castle, right?” Twilight asked her pet.
“Hoo?” he asked.
“Prince- Ugh, I don’t have time for games! Just watch the house!” Twilight groaned, rushing through the open door and closing it with another dose of magic.
“Hoo?”
Twilight dashed through the small town towards the town square.
“Since Spike is getting Fluttershy, who will get Rainbow Dash, I guess I’ll get Applejack first,” Twilight thought to herself.
She got closer to the square and Applejack’s apple stand came into view. The stand had a large, orange umbrella attached to it. Looking at it made Twilight realize the heat and humidity of the day, but just for a brief moment. Luckily for her, Applejack was not in the midst of a sale.
“Hey sugarcube, where’s the fire at?” Applejack asked as Twilight approached. Twilight skid to a halt in front of Applejack’s stand, panting a little bit. The large umbrella shielded some sunlight from Twilight’s head, which helped a bit. She took a large gulp of air, preparing to speak quickly.
“Princess Celestia wants to see us right away! She sent me a letter asking to gather everypony at her castle in Canterlot and that she’s sending a chariot for all of us right now! And she sai-“ Twilight was cutoff however. Applejack had stuck a mackintosh apple in her mouth, with a quizzical expression on her face.
“Easy now Twilight. Slow down a little bit. Applejack can’t follow you with your fast talkin’,” she told Twilight. Twilight bit out of the apple and let it fall into her hoof, swallowing the piece she bit off. The purple mare took another deep breath.
“Okay, I’ll put it simply. Princess Celestia wants to see us right away and is sending a chariot for us to go to her castle.”
Applejack’s expression didn’t get much clearer. She just tilted her head. “You sure ‘bout that Twi?” Twilight responded with a simple nod. Applejack then stepped on something at the foot of her stand. The umbrella retracted and the whole stand folded into a simple cart. There wasn’t a trace of anything apples on it. It was spotless.
“How did-?”
“Oh, Rarity built some contraption for me to make cleaning up easier. She definitely helps being organized easier, y’know? Speaking of Rarity, I suppose I’ll go find her for ya.”
Twilight smiled. “That would be helpful. Thanks Applejack. Meet me back here with Rarity, okay?”
“Got it,” Applejack replied, smiling as well. She got behind the cart and began to push it in the direction of Rarity’s house and store. Twilight turned away and began to gallop towards Sugarcube Corner, at a slower pace than when she was running towards Applejack’s stand. Sugarcube Corner wasn’t too far from here anyways.
She turned a few corners and Sugarcube Corner quickly became visible. A trail of steam was flowing through an open window from the cupcakes, cookies, and various other goodies being baked inside. Twilight quickly made her way towards the store and went through the open store door. She walked inside, the smell of cupcakes quickly overwhelming her. The smell of cupcakes can make anyone’s day. Twilight went up to the counter, ringing the bell that was resting on it. From the kitchen, Pinkie Pie walked in, balancing a tray of pink-frosted cupcakes on her head. She seemed to be balancing the tray rather easily, but was still muttering “Easy…” to herself repeatedly for good measure. She bent down a little and tilted her head slightly towards the counter. The tray slid off her head and came to a rest on the counter.
“Perfect!” she cheered, celebrating her own personal success. She then looked up at Twilight.
“Hey Twilight, what’s up? Have you seen any cupcakes around town? We had a bunch of cupcakes here on the counter this morning, and now they’re all gone!”
Twilight told Pinkie she hadn’t seen the cupcakes and also explained to her the same thing she explained to Applejack. She told Pinkie Pie about Celestia’s letter, about her wanting to see all six of them and about her sending a chariot to take them to Celestia’s castle. Unlike Applejack however, she continues to smile her usually Pinkie Pie smile
“Okie dokie lokie! I’ll just tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake I’ll be going!” she told Twilight, and bounced back into the kitchen. Some chatter could be heard, but what was being said was inaudible to Twilight. Pinkie Pie then bounced out of the kitchen and past Twilight.
“Let’s gooo!” she said bubbly. Twilight giggled to herself and followed Pinkie Pie out of the store.
Twilight walked next to Pinkie Pie as they made their way to the town square again, Pinkie bouncing buoyantly next to the unicorn. They turned a few corners, opposite of what Twilight turned to get to Sugarcube Corner, and found their way back to the town square. Upon the square becoming visible, Pinkie and Twilight could see their friends sitting in the chariot waiting for them. The chariot was being pulled by two of Celestia’s Pegasus guards.
“Come on you two slowpokes! We ain’t got all day!” Rainbow Dash yelled impatiently.
The two ponies quickened their pace a little and got onto the large chariot. As soon as they were on, the guards took a running start and spread their wings open. They lifted themselves and the chariot off the ground and began the journey to Canterlot. The ponies greeted one another as they took off. Twilight told them that Celestia wanted to see them all about the Elements, but wasn’t sure why. The remaining ponies started making crazy stories and theories as to what may have happened to the Elements. These tales and theories were short-lived however as the chariot quickly approached Canterlot and the castle.
The chariot touched down in front of the castle and the guards brought it to a halt at the entrance to Celestia’s residence. The six ponies disembarked from the chariot, and approached the large castle doors, still quietly chatting amongst themselves. As they approached, the large doors opened and revealed the interior of the castle to them. The door led straight to the large lobby, with a set of stairs leading straight ahead, with two more sets diverging to the left and right of the main set. At the top of the first set stood Princess Celestia, as she had when Discord returned. She was slowly pacing, waiting for them. The six ponies quickly made their way inside the castle.
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight called. The Princess stopped pacing and looked towards the ponies, whom had stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “We came as quickly as we could!”
“Thank you girls…” Celestia said.
“What do you need to see us for? Did something happen to the Elements?”
Celestia levitated the box that held the Elements of Harmony inside them in front of them. She opened the box, revealing only one of the Elements inside. The Element of Magic.
“As you can see… The Elements have all disappeared… Except for yours Twilight…” She brought Twilight’s Element forward and placed it on her head. “I’ve received many complaints from all over Equestria. Ponyville, Manehattan, Appleloosa, Canterlot… At first a large majority of the complaints came from just Ponyville, so I believed that some lowly pony was just robbing all of these residents… But more and more came from other towns and cities, in the matter of days. This couldn’t have been the work of just one pony, so I decided to have everything checked over in the castle to make sure nothing was gone… Everything seemed to be in order… Until I checked the Elements…”
The six friends all had disbelieving expressions on their faces.
“So what happened to them?” Twilight asked.
“I have a theory… I had some senior students studying about the stories and possibilities of alternate universes, and they had reported they had found a spell that could open a passage to another universe. Combined, these unicorns attempted to use this spell, but it went awry. The spell caused random objects all over Equestria to disappear, including five of the Elements. Their combined magic was even enough to overcome my magic…”
“So what’re you sayin’ Princess?” Applejack asked.
“I need you to travel to this alternate universe and retrieve the Elements, and maybe retrieve any items you find that may have been lost as well. Twilight, your Element will help you find the other Elements. It will guide you to their location.”
Applejack gave Rainbow Dash five gold coins.
“But how would we get there if no one knows a spell to travel between these… universes?” Rarity then asked. This caused Celestia to sigh.
“I actually know the spell to travel between universes. I didn’t want to hide it from these students because it would probably make them more curious. The spell had less than desired results obviously. They had the correct idea, but performed the magic incorrectly.”
“S-So how would we get back…?” Fluttershy asked, quietly.
“Once the Elements are together again, they should be able to open a passageway back to Equestria.”
The ponies all looked at each other, then nodded simultaneously.
“You can count on us Princess!” Twilight announced proudly and Celestia smiled.
“I knew I could… Now, I suggest you all get some rest for today. You can set off on this journey tomorrow.” Celestia told the six ponies. They all bowed to her, showing their reverence for the Princess. “Twilight, you can keep your Element with you. I have faith it’s in better hooves.”
Twilight bowed to Celestia again and thanked her. As the six friends all turned to leave, all of the ponies thought retrieving the Elements would be as easy as counting to ten.
What they didn’t realize however is that the world they would be entering had just finished a third world war.
Twilight opened the door to her library, the Element of Magic still attached to her head. Celestia’s chariot had already brought the six ponies back to Ponyville, where they said their good-byes in the town square. Twilight walked inside of her home within a tree. She had always liked her home here more than in Canterlot. It was always fairly quiet inside, even when the wind was blowing strong. She looked up at some of the older books on the shelves. Some had torn bindings or pages, even a burnt cover. Twilight pulled that book loose with her magic and brought it close to her so she could read the cover.
“Beginner’s Magic: Simple Spell for Beginners…” Twilight read aloud, and then giggled to herself. This was an old book from the Canterlot library that Spike had burnt when he was just a few months old. She was just reviewing some simple spells one day when Spike, who had been casually sitting on her desk, burped and shot a green flame at her. She reacted quickly and levitated the book in front of her head, burning the cover. The memory always made her giggle a little. A little nostalgia never hurt anyone.
Twilight lifted the book back onto the bookshelf carefully and placed it where it was originally located. Then, she walked further into the library, towards her desk. Her desk was very neatly organized. She had her ink and quills on the left side of her desk, a rolled up scroll resting at the bottom, and plopped right in the middle was an open book. The page opened was bookmarked anyways, just in case. She looked over the spell on the page.
“Forcefield spell…” Twilight murmured to herself. This spell could be useful on her adventures into the new world she would be traveling in. She looked back towards her clock, which read five o’clock in the evening. Twilight could see Owloysius napping on a shelf next to the clock. Another giggle slipped through her mouth. She then turned back to the book and looked over the magical sequence of the spell. This spell looked a bit difficult to Twilight, requiring a meticulous way of performing the magic. She looked back at the clock again. Five o’ one. She could get this done by nine and still get a good night’s sleep. She levitated her Element from her head to just above her book. She was ready.
Twilight spent her night reading Pinkie Pie’s mind accidentally (There wasn’t much to read though), eavesdropping on some late night ponies walking around, and setting one of her quills on fire. Finally though, she had done it. She had created a large forcefield around herself. Its efficiency was tested with Spike (who had woken up from a nap, annoyed) setting it ablaze. The flame bounced off in another direction, leaving Twilight and her shield unharmed. The spell was very exhausting however. Sweat began to perspire from Twilight’s forehead as she struggled to hold control of her spell. When she finally released it, she fell into a sitting position, panting. She was too tired to stand up again and looked over at the clock. Owloysius was now wide away as the clock read eleven o’clock at night. Twilight fell over on her side and almost immediate passed out.
Something with a warm and buttery scent hit Twilight’s nose. She hadn’t had dinner the night before, so the smell immediately caused her stomach to grumble. Pancakes. The purple unicorn opened her eyes and looked around. She was still on the floor where she passed out, except there was a blanket drawn over here and a pillow under her head.
Twilight stood up, her blanket falling over her side and dropping to the ground. She looked towards the table where Spike was happily munching on his own pancakes.
“Morning Twilight!” he said to Twilight cheerfully. “I made you a fresh batch of pancakes! Smothered with syrup, just how you like!”
Twilight walked over to the table and sat in a chair directly across from Spike. She stared at the pancakes hungrily. The three pancakes were, in fact, smothered with syrup and had a small slice of butter melting atop of one of them. They looked delicious. She immediately grabbed the knife resting on the table and sliced through the pancakes twice, cutting them into fourths. She then levitated a fourth of the pancakes and placed them in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. She couldn’t remember the last time she was so eager to eat something besides when she first received the Gala tickets.
Spike hadn’t noticed her uncouth frenzy. He was too busy munching away at his pancakes. Twilight regained her civil mind and took the fork from the table too. She ate the rest of her pancakes well-mannered and before Spike, despite him getting a head start. A glass of orange juice then became noticeable by Twilight. She took the glass and gulped it straight down, allowing anything “stuck” to be washed down. Her original tired state had vanished from the amount of sugar in the syrup. She was ready to take on the day.
Twilight spent the rest of the morning performing her daily grooming necessities, like washing her mane, brushing her teeth, the works. She walked downstairs, where Spike had made a bag for Twilight to bring. The contents consisted of a quill, a scroll, a bottle of ink, a variety of fruits for her travels, her Element, and the forcefield spell.
“Wow Spike, you’ve really outdone yourself this morning! Thank you!” Twilight complimented to her number one assistant and hugged him.
“Ah, it was nothing. Just be careful while you’re out there and come home safe, okay?”
Twilight smiled. She always liked hearing Spike care about her.
“I will, I promise.”
Then there was a gentle knocking at the door. Twilight strolled over the door and opened it. Outside was Fluttershy, standing quietly.
“Hey Fluttershy, what’s up?” Twilight greeted.
“Oh, yes, hello Twilight. I was just here to make sure you were ready. I’m not interrupting anything am I? Perhaps I’ll just leave you alone.”
Twilight laughed. She couldn’t help but always find Fluttershy’s shyness a little funny, but not in a bad sort of way of course.
“Don’t worry about it Fluttershy. I was just about to leave anyway.” The unicorn reassured her friend.
“Ah, well then. I guess we should go. The chariot is actually already here.”
“We should probably hurry then.” Twilight turned her head back inside. “Behave you two! I don’t want my books everywhere when I get back!”
“Just go Twilight! We’ll be fine!” Spike called, already in the process of doing another chore.
Twilight shut the door behind her as she walked out of the library. The day was a bit cloudy, but not enough to stop the Sun from shining. The two mares galloped casually towards the town square at Fluttershy’s “suggestion”. Like yesterday, with the roles of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie reverse, the four ponies were in the chariot, waiting for them. And also like yesterday, Rainbow Dash impatiently yelled, “Come on you two slowpokes! We ain't got all day!”
Twilight and Fluttershy both boarded the chariot. Celestia’s royal guards then took a running start, pulling the chariot, and took off into the air for Canterlot. The ponies once again greeted each other. Each one of the ponies were carrying a bag slung over their sides, all filled with various necessities. Applejack had apples as always, Rarity had some exotic fruits and her brush, Pinkie Pie brought one dozen cupcakes and a hoof-full of streamers, and Fluttershy had a large stock of food for everyone to share if they needed it. Rainbow Dash, thinking ahead, brought a larger-than-normal bag, stuffed with a big tent for them to sleep in when necessary.
The chariot soon approached Celestia’s castle. The six friends, who had being chatting amongst themselves, were now silent as they approached. The Canterlot ponies were still busy however, unaware of the quest they were about to embark on. The royal guards landed the chariot and brought it to a halt. The ponies departed from their seats and thanked the gentlecolts for the transport.
The castle doors opened automatically as the ponies approached and revealed Princess Celestia, in the same place as she had been standing yesterday. Her eyes were closed this time however, and her horn was glowing. She was trying to focus on something, but still seemed to be aware of their presence at the same time.
“Come…” the Princess called. Slowly, the ponies moved forward. “My six little ponies, are you ready for the journey you are about to engage?”
They all said “Yes” simultaneously.
“Are you aware of the fact that even though this is dangerous journey, you will do what it takes to complete your objective?”
Fluttershy hesitated a little, but all the ponies said “Yes” anyways. Twilight thought the Princess was talking to them like it was a military mission. Perhaps because it was similar.
“Then go. Stay safe and retrieve the Elements of Harmony!” Celestia said, louder. Her horn began to glow brighter and a bright, pink light appeared in front of them. It was a portal. Pinkie Pie almost immediately bounced through the portal. Applejack and Rarity cautiously followed, then Fluttershy being forced in by Rainbow Dash. Twilight took the Element of Magic from her bag and placed it on her head. Then, she stepped into the portal, closing her eyes.
As Twilight stepped through, she felt gravity disappear. She felt weightless, like she could fly away like a Pegasus. The feeling was short-lived however, as gravity returned suddenly. Twilight didn’t hit the ground though. She felt wind flying past her face, through her mane, and heard screaming. Screams of terror. She opened her eyes and looked below. Under her, she could see her five friends flailing and screaming as they were plummeting towards land. Rainbow Dash was trying to gain control of flying, but to no avail. They were at least a half mile above ground, and they were headed straight for land, fast. Twilight started to panic. She wasn’t sure what to do besides screaming and flail like the rest of them, but that’s when it hit her.
“The spell! Of course!” she exclaimed. The thought seemed to suddenly kick-start something. The Element of Magic began to glow, and so did Twilight’s eyes. A bright, blinding white shone from them. As if it were an instinct, her horn began to glow as well and pulled the panicking ponies close. Their panic somewhat subsided as Twilight’s magic began to take over her. Her horn glowed purple, and shot out a large burst of magic around them. The magic seemed to solidify and create a bubble around the friends. A forcefield. They continued to fall however, and this caused Fluttershy to continue screaming.
“What in tarnation is she doin’?” Applejack asked, shouting over Fluttershy.
“I have no idea! I’ve never seen any magic like this before! Let’s just hope it saves us!” Rarity shouted back.
The falling seemed to have no effect on Twilight, as she seemed to be floating calmly In the middle of this bubble while everyone else kept falling. The ground got increasingly closer, and quickly. Applejack and Rarity hugged in mid-air, apologizing to each other for the problems they’ve caused each other. Rainbow Dash was able to regain flying control, but wasn’t able to do much now that she was trapped in the forcefield. She had her eyes closed and her front hooves together, saying a prayer to herself, telling herself she’d be okay. Pinkie Pie continued flailing, but was yelling with a loud “WHEEEEEE!” And Fluttershy? Well, she kept screaming and flailing.
The ground got closer and closer by the second. Objects could now be made out on the surface, like large buildings and moving objects. The shield’s speed increased, but it prevented the ponies from feeling the air blasting against them. Within minutes, they were just feet from the surface. They were headed straight for a hilly area. Everyone shut their eyes. This would either be a safe landing or the end for all of them.
Twilight’s forcefield slammed into the ground a few moments later, digging into it and kicking up large amounts of dirt. Twilight seemed to be unfazed by this. Everyone fell to the bottom of the shield, bouncing around as it continued its long slide around the ground. The ponies bounced over and into each other and their bags smacking each other in the head. The shield came to rest at the top of a small hill. The ponies, dizzy from the bouncing, opened their eyes and looked around. They were in one piece.
“WE’RE ALIVE! WE’RE ALIVE!” Rainbow Dash shouted, jumping in glee. Everyone else released a huge sigh of relief. Twilight had prevented the inevitable. The forcefield faded and Twilight fell to the ground, unconscious and fatigued. Her blood vessels pounded furiously from the intense work and exhaustion the spell had caused her. It was almost too much for her. The other ponies, after getting to their hooves again, moved towards their debilitated friend. Fluttershy was on the ground however, still struck with fear after the long fall and the near disaster.
“Poor thing. Must be exhausted after such a magic overload.” Rarity stated.
“Ah wouldn’t be surprised. She saved our flanks, that’s for sure.” Applejack said,
The other ponies nodded in agreement. Pinkie Pie then looked up over the hills and noticed a light growing from behind one of the larger hills.
“Oh! Oh! What’s that?” she asked, bouncing excitedly. From the hill, a large white object appeared. It seemed to be carried on four wheels and had bright, pale yellow lights beaming from the front. The lights were paler that Fluttershy’s shade of yellow. Two doors opened from the sides of it, where two two-legged creatures stepped out. They appeared to be wearing black clothing. This was something the ponies had never seen before.
“Whatever it is, it can’t be good.” Applejack said flatly.
And she was half right.
On the hill about 100 yards away, the white machine sat with its pale yellow lights emanating from the front of it. Next to it, two black-clothed figures stood, inspecting the path of the crash. One seemed to be talking to the other. They didn’t notice the ponies a football field away.
“Wh-What are those things? They look… big…” Fluttershy squeaked.
“I don’t know, but those outfits they’re wearing are hideous!” Rarity exclaimed. “Whatever those things are should learn a thing or two about fashion!”
“They don’t look so tough!” Rainbow Dash said, taking off for them. Applejack stomped on her tail.
“Are yew crazy?!” Applejack asked as if the pegasus was demented. “We have no idea if they’re nice or not! Those things could hurt us!”
“Do you have any better ideas?!” Rainbow Dash retorted.
“We’ll figure it out when we’re not being hunted down! We’ll have to go right past them animals right there. There’s only mountains out here.”
Applejack motioned backwards and the ponies looked back to see a mountain range.
“There should be a safer place for ya’ll to land past those things.”
“I thought the point was to not confront them!” Rainbow said, a bit of irritation in her voice.
“Yer not gonna confront them. Yer gonna fly right over them. Rainbow, take Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy, you take Rarity since she’s probably lighter.”
Rarity was about to say something, but Rainbow Dash quickly got her word in.
“And what’re you going to do? Be the hero?”
“Rainbow, quit arguing! Yer the strongest and fastest! You can get them away from here quick’r than with us walkin’!”
The rainbow pegasus fell silent.
“Go!” Applejack commanded.
The two figures near the white object began to walk forward, still unaware of the ponies present. Twilight was lifted onto Rainbow Dash’s back. Carrying her, Dash ascended a few feet before taking Pinkie Pie in her hooves.
“Night flying is the best time to fly!” Pinkie Pie said, still being able to get a kick out of the situation. “You better not go slowly Dashie!”
“Slowly?!”
Dash bolted. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was having a difficult time carrying Rarity. In her hooves, Fluttershy was only able to increase her height by a few feet.
“I’d be better off walking…” Rarity sighed.
“S-Sorry! I’m still not used to carrying ponies…” Fluttershy responded, obviously a bit upset with herself.
“Fluttershy! Look out! There’s a dragon com-IIING!”
Fluttershy bolted.
Applejack chuckled to herself for a brief moment. The two figures stopped atop another hill, looking towards the sky. They must have noticed Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The farmer adjusted her hat, lowering it, and stomped her hoof along the ground. She pushed off with her hind legs, starting forward on a long sprint. The dry grass and firm ground made for good running, despite her being unfamiliar with the territory.
But wait. Maybe she wouldn’t have to do anything. Maybe she could just sneak around them and they’d find nothing where they crashed! No need for violence!
Unfortunately, this plan would not come through. The two creatures had begun to head back to the white machine they had arrived in, and in a hurry too. Applejack boosted her speed, running faster in order to catch up before they could reach their machine. She was running faster than they could move, but at this distance, she might not make it.
Sweat dripped down the side of Applejack’s face. Should she do this? Is this even necessary? Her mind was running around in her head at a million miles per second. Her blood pressure shot up. She galloped closer and closer to the two creatures and their white machine.
They were just climbing up the hill the machine was perched on. Applejack charged up the hill. The stomping on the ground caused to the two creatures to turn around. Like a jaguar hunting its prey, she lunged at them. Her hooves left the ground and her skull met the first creature’s chest. It stumbled backwards, clutching where the mare had struck and gasping for breath. It fell over soon after.
Applejack spun to the other creature. It reached for something on its waist, but Applejack lunged forward again. It tried to stop her by wrapping its arms around her neck, but she ran straight into its stomach anyways. Its feet slid along the ground a few feet before losing grip from the sudden decline of the hill. Applejack was hauled over the second creature’s body, sliding down the hill on her back. She rolled around at the base of the hill before jumping back to her hooves. A bit dazed, she quickly recollected her surroundings and her thoughts. Above all things, one thing screamed to her:
“RUN! ”
Applejack took off forward in the direction of where her friends had flown off. Her blood pressure was through the roof by then, blood pounding against her skull. A rush of adrenaline now passed through her senses. Sweat poured out from beneath her mane. The reality of the situation had just settled in. Her hooves carried her as fast as-
CRACK CRACK CRACK!
“AGH!” the orange pony yelped. She tripped up, smacking her face in the grass and dirt, rolling around in it. Pain shot through her right hind leg, similar to the time when she got caught on-
CRACK!
Dirt shot up next to her. Applejack quickly rose to her hooves, pain echoing through her leg. She groaned in pain, staggering forward. She spat out the grass in her mouth and forced her legs to walk her forward. She moved away from where the machine and creatures were located, forcing herself to gain more speed.
Throughout this whole ordeal, the farmer’s iconic stetson had stayed glued to her head. It was damp with sweat however and Applejack was anxious to get it off, especially considering it was the “quiet” of night.
“I hope they’re okay…” she muttered to herself, not realizing her mouth had let that escape. Her pace had grown from when she got up the second time, but it had quickly worn away. The orange hooves that had been long-known for their stamina were giving in.
Applejack felt tired. Very tired. She looked back at her hind leg, which was stained with blood and still oozing out. She groaned in pain, her slow walk changing again into a limp. The bottoms of her hooves were coated in a thin layer of dirt and grass from dragging them. She staggered around another hill, which then revealed a wood fence. Beyond the fence was a solid road and on that was a big machine. It was similar to the one from earlier, except it was bigger and green. A tarp was pulled out over the rear of it also. Gathered around the back of it were more of those creatures!
Another blast of adrenaline blew through Applejack. There were at least seven or eight of them. She couldn’t take them all at once! Her mind tried to conjugate a plan, but her legs had a different idea. Self-consciously, she squeezed between the planks of the wood and stumbled towards the machine. Her body crashed into one of the front wheels to stop. None of the creatures noticed her. She turned to go around the front of the truck, but was met by a face full of metal. This metal was stuck off the front and side of the machine.
This collision managed to blur Applejack’s vision. She staggered around the front of the machine and fell on her side. Recollecting herself again, she mustered up enough strength to stand up again. Across the road was another wood fence and a field of tall grass. Perfect. Moving as fast as she could (which wasn’t very quick at all), she forced herself between the fence and tumbled into the tall grass.
The lone mare almost fell again, but luckily didn’t. She probably wouldn’t have been able to get up a fourth time if she had. Her head bent forward, she continued the rigorous task of walking forward. All of her legs ached with pain, the bloody one more so than the others, but she had to press on. She needed to find her friends and quickly.
Applejack walked and walked and walked. It felt like she had been walking for hours. She could collapse on the spot and just pass out. Perhaps a more stealthy approach would’ve suited better. Her head suddenly stopped finding resistance. She slowly lifted her head up, revealing a small grassy plain to her. There were a few dirt roads off to the side, but they were unoccupied. Just ahead were some woods. Huddled around one of the trees were ponies. Her friends!
Loyalty stopped dragging her hooves, forcing herself to trot ahead. Her legs screamed in agony, but she continued on. There was no giving up this close! Applejack’s body wanted to shut down on the spot, but her mind refused. She was less than 50 feet from the fire before it became too much. Her legs stopped moving and she fell straight on her face.
Pinkie Pie touched down on the ground outside an area of woods, Rainbow Dash releasing her hold on the party pony. Pinkie immediately began bouncing around a nearby tree as Dash carefully set down Twilight, who was still knocked out.
“That wasn’t so slow, now was it?” Rainbow Dash boasted, causing Pinkie Pie to giggle.
“Of course it wasn’t, but I’ve seen faster,” she poked back, sticking her tongue out at Rainbow Dash.
“Well I was carrying two ponies! I could’ve went fas-“
Rainbow Dash was cut off by a loud screaming. Both ponies turned to find Fluttershy speeding through the air with Rarity, the source of the screaming, in tow. Both ponies hit the ground, skidding across it for a moment before coming to rest in front of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Rarity stopped screaming, but was replaced by Fluttershy’s hard panting.
“Ohhh… Note to self. Don’t mention dragons around Fluttershy,” Rarity said, her eyes spinning. She shook her head to regain her composure. “Is Twilight still out?”
Rainbow Dash nodded. Fluttershy fell back on to her flank and took in a large breath. Rarity turned to apologize, to which Fluttershy responded by simply waving her hoof, then turned back to Rainbow Dash.
“Wait, wasn’t Pinkie Pie standing next to you just a second ago?” Rarity noted. Rainbow Dash turned, but flinched backwards. Where Pinkie Pie was standing were only her saddle bags.
“Hey! Where’d she go?!” Rainbow asked, somewhat rhetorically.
“I don’t think I’ll ever understand that pony. She’s so eccentric , but I suppose that’s why we all love her, yes?”
Rainbow nodded in agreement, but sighed also. “So now we’re missing Pinkie and Applejack. Knowing Pinkie, she’s probably halfway around the world now…”
“I’m sure she’ll come back soon,” Fluttershy broke in. “I mean, she’s not the type of pony to go out and get in trouble, right?” Both ponies turned towards her, causing her to grin somewhat sheepishly.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. She wouldn’t just run off and leave us hanging!”
“But Applejack is still out there in the… the wilderness .”
“Wilderness? Pah! I’m sure the Everfree Forest is worse than this!” Rainbow Dash answered, trying to fight laughing.
“Well I’m still worried about her. I’m not so sure her idea was such a good one…” Rarity sighed. “I’m also not so sure about where we are… How are we supposed to find the Elements of Harmony when we have no idea where to look?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged and decided to sit down. Rarity began pacing around a tree and Fluttershy stayed quiet. For a few minutes anyway.
“Um… Don’t you think we should help Applejack? I mean, it’s been a little while. Don’t you think she should have been here by now?”
Rarity stopped her pacing. “Perhaps you’re right. We should go back to look for her.”
Rainbow jumped to her hooves. “I knew we shouldn’t have left-!” She was cut off by a thud. The three ponies turned their heads towards where they had come from. On the ground lied Applejack.
Simultaneously, the three cried, “Applejack!” and rushed over to their friend. Rainbow Dash immediately pushed Applejack to her hooves, but Applejack slumped over against her.
“AJ! What happened to you?!” Rainbow asked with heavy concern, motioning her friend forward. With Rainbow as support, Applejack was able to walk ahead with her.
“You look like you’ve been through a really bad nightmare!” Rarity added.
“Ugh, I don’t even-“ Applejack started weakly. “I just need to rest…”
Rainbow guides her forward towards the closest tree. She pushes off Rainbow and practically crashes against the tree, sliding down it. She turns herself so her back rests against the bark of the tree and removes her sticky hat, placing it on her lap.
“So, darling, mind telling us what happened?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy walked over, holding bandages in her snout. Applejack lifted her wounded leg slightly towards Fluttershy, allowing her to bandage it. “Just start from the beginning…”
Applejack sighed and wiped her forehead with a hoof. She began to explain what occurred in the few minutes she was gone as best she could. Her description was a bit fuzzy, but it was enough for the three ponies to understand what mostly happened. By the time she was done, Fluttershy had finished cleaning and bandaging her leg.
“Thanks sugarcube…” Applejack said with Fluttershy nodding in a way to say “You’re welcome.” Applejack sighed again and pressed her head against the tree. Rarity and Rainbow weren’t sure what to say, so a long pause ensued. Applejack spoke up again to break it.
“So where’s Pinkie?”
“HERE I AM!” Pinkie Pie yelped out, appearing from the tree branches upside-down. All the ponies jumped in surprise. Pinkie Pie just smiled from the tree.
“Pinkie- Where did you go? And why are you in a tree?!” Rainbow Dash asked, causing Pinkie to laugh.
“Oh Dashie,” she started, playfully calling Rainbow by her nickname. “I went to figure out where we are! See, I snuck away and walked down the road we crossed and found this information center. I’m not sure why it’s in the middle of nowhere, but I went in anyways to ask for directions. There was only one, like one of those creatures we saw earlier, so I said “HI!”, but then he gasped loudly and fainted. A little disappointed, I decided to just take a map of the area and leave a bit on the counter!”
The ponies were unsure of what to say, so Pinkie Pie continued.
“See? I have a map!” She pulled a map out from, seemingly, nowhere and dropped it. Rainbow Dash grabbed it and read the cover.
“’Welcome to England… Your Essential Map.’ Pinkie, what in the hay is this?”
“It’s exactly what it says!” she replied. “Now to answer your second question, I don’t remember why I’m in this tree. I just am!” She flips over and jumps from the tree, landing next to Rainbow. She takes her saddle bags and puts them on her back again. Rainbow opens up the map completely, dropping her jaw.
“Wow that’s a lot of land…” she sighed.
“However are we ever to cover this area? We don’t even know where to go! Where to start!” Rarity said, somewhat annoyed.
“How about we don’t look and we all just go home?” Fluttershy suggested.
All the ponies turned their heads towards her, who then looked away embarrassed.
“We have to look! We won’t be able to get home if we don’t find the Elements!” Rainbow said.
Fluttershy meeped quietly. Rarity sighed. “But like I said, where? ”
“Maybe we can use Twi’s fancy Element of Magic crown to help us…” Applejack suggested. “It seems to have helped her magic a lot.”
“Maybe…” Rainbow Dash said in thought. “But she’s out cold right now! Her crown is useless if she’s not awake!”
“London?”
“That looks like a big city…”
“That still doesn’t tell us where we are!”
“I think we’re… HERE!” Pinkie pointed to the western side of the land mass, near the mountains.
“How would you know that?” Rainbow asked.
“Well this is the only area with mountains, DUH!”
The rest of the ponies sighed. “So we’re several hundred miles away from this city. Great! It’ll take us days to get there!” Rainbow said, frustrated.
“There just has to be a quicker way of getting there.”
And then there was a flash. All the ponies disappeared from their location near the woods.
All six ponies suddenly appeared on top of a bridge. Most were confused about what just happened. Taking in their surroundings, they noted what they had been transported to. A bridge. A large bridge that looked similar to a castle.
“Wow, the view…!”
“The height…!!”
“Oh, it looks simply marvelous!”
“Reminds me of the time I was in Manehattan…”
“WOOHOO!”
“Where am I?”
The five ponies flinched at the last voice. Looking over, they saw Twilight, conscious and a bit woozy.
“What happened? How long was I out?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. “And why are we on top of a bridge?”
Her friends shrugged. “We’ll explain when we get off this bridge,” Rarity said, motioning towards an open window. The ponies walked across the pathway carefully, take extra caution as to not fall, and made their way to the window. Rainbow Dash assisted Applejack across the bridge, Applejack sporting her hat again. Each pony climbed through the window one at a time. Once through, the ponies did their best to explain the situation to Twilight. It took several minutes, but they were able to describe what happened without any problems. Twilight sat on the floor, thinking to herself.
“The magic in the crown must be able to detect the location of the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow, you said when you had the map, the crown circled the city and teleported us to it, right?
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Then we should find a city map of this ‘London’. The crown might be able to pinpoint the exact location of each Element, which we can then retrieve.”
“I’m on it!” Pinkie said, starting for the stairs, but her tail was stomped on by Twilight.
“Hold on there party pony. We’re not done. We still need to discuss when we’ll act. From what you guys told me, it seems those animals are pretty dangerous. We should only go out at night, when there’s less activity. This city is pretty big and it looks like there should be more activity than there actually is. So we’ll only move around at night, that way it will be harder to be detected.” Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Pinkie, you can go find a map, but be careful. Take Rainbow with you.”
“On it Twilight! Let’s go Dashie!” Pinkie Pie said in a bubbly manner, skipping down the stairs.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Do I have to go with her? I mean, she’s my friend, but-“
“No ‘buts’ Rainbow. She might need you in case you get in to trouble, but I hope you don’t. You two be careful.”
“Careful. Wha- When am I not careful?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“Fair enough,” Rainbow Dash said before flying down the stairs after Pinkie Pie.
“So what are we to do here?” Rarity asked.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait for them and then we’ll plan out something.”
Rarity sighed and sat down, as did the rest of the ponies. They didn’t wait long however as ten minutes later, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash returned through the window with a city map. Twilight and the rest of the group stood to greet them.
“Excellent! Now we just need the- Wait, why did you two come through the window again?”
“Well, you see-“ Rainbow Dash started.
“We walked out the door and away from the bridge, but I guess one of those creatures got scared or really confused and crashed its machine into another machine. We got a map, then came back to go through the door, but there were more animals dressed up as police, so we decided to go through the window instead.”
Twilight connected her hoof with her face. A drop of sweat rolled down Pinkie Pie’s head.
“Sorry?”
“Ugh, now there might be more who will be looking for us. Never mind, let’s just see if this will work.”
Pulling the map away from Pinkie with magic, Twilight opened up the map and placed it flat on the floor. She stood over it for a moment, but nothing happened.
“I don’t understand,” Twilight said, annoyed. “Rainbow, I thought you said-“
“I did!” Rainbow responded quickly. “It happened when I was holding it…”
She stepped forward and placed her hoof on the map. The map and crown began to glow as it had previously. Similar to before, a purple circle was made on the map. Twilight gasped happily.
“It’s working! Fluttershy, you next!”
One by one, each pony stepped up and touched the map. Like the first time, the map was marked with a circle, designating a different area of the city. By the end, the map had five marks. Twilight, pleased with the progress, folds the map up and places it in her saddlebag.
“That should do nicely. We should be able- Wait, where’s my book?”
The ponies exchanged glances with each other.
“What book Twi?” Applejack asked.
“Ugh, a book I took from my library! It’s gone! It had some important spells in it!” Twilight groaned in frustration.
“Calm down Twilight! It’s just a dusty old spell book! I’m sure you could easily get a replacement.”
“I’d have to go to Canterlot to get a replacement.”
“Oh Twilight, I’m sure Princess Celestia would happily send you another book. You are her ‘most faithful student’ after all!” Pinkie said, her toothy grin still tacked to her face. Twilight sighed.
“Since we’re talking about belongings, um, I don’t remember Applejack carrying one saddle bag,” Fluttershy pointed out.
Applejack quickly checked her sides to find that she did in fact have a missing saddle bag. She hit her head against the wall, upset.
“Ah probably dropped it running away from those… things.”
“Alright, alright,” Rarity cut in. “We lost things, but they’re replaceable. What’s not replaceable are those Elements of Harmony. Princess Celestia is counting on us after all!”
Twilight looked out the window.
“We’ll have to do it tomorrow…”
Outside the window, the sun was rising. The ponies looked a bit defeated. They’d have to start their search the following evening.
Up on the hill, Wallcroft rolled over and struggled to his feet.
“Burns!” he called out, searching for his comrade. Wallcroft looked down the hill to find Burns just getting to his feet as well. His pistol, one USP .45, was out and had been fired.
“Did ya get it?” Burns shook his head in reply. “Damn… Do you even know what they thing was?” Another head shake.
The two went to their truck and strolled over to the area where they had seen the “meteor”. They stopped near the end of the dirt trail and exited the vehicle. Carefully inspecting the area, they searched for any clues of what attacked them. Wallcroft threw his arms up in frustration.
“Well, there’s nothing here! No rock or indication of anything going down! Not even a plane!”
“I wouldn’t be so sure… I got something,” Burns said, kneeling down. Wallcroft walked over and Burns held up a book.
“What the hell is that?”
“’Intermediate Spells for Unicorns: Defensive and Combative Spells’. I have no idea.”
“You don’t think those things were…?” Burns shrugged. “This is weird… C’mon, let’s head back. We need to get back to Hereford before tomorrow.”
The two head back to their truck, taking the book with them. They turned around and headed back towards the road, but as Burns drove, something caught Wallcroft’s eye.
“Burns, stop!” he commanded.
Burns slammed the brakes, the truck skidding across the grass to a halt. Wallcroft quickly got out, grabbed something, and ran back. He reentered the truck holding what appeared to be a shoulder bag, but the straps were configured in an odd way. The bag had some blood stained on it.
“We’ll figure it out later. Drive.”
Burns pressed his foot against the accelerator and the truck continued forward towards the road.
Welcome to London.
Author's Note
Totally not a chapter that's a filler segway into my return to this story.
Deployed
“Sergeant Wallcroft, it’s been eighteen hours since you had contact. You can’t expect me to believe you saw what you’re telling?”
In a small conference room, two men sat at opposite ends of a long table. One was in a tidy suit, with some pages of notes spread in front of him. The other was Wallcroft, still stuck in his gear from the previous night’s training. He looked a bit worn out, but not a sensation he wasn’t familiar with.
“I’ve told you everything Burns and I saw. The others didn’t see anything because they were told to stay put. Their stories are… mixed.”
“Sergeant, I don’t know how I’m supposed to tell anyone about this. Local police, MI-6, they’ll all laugh. And considering the location of your contact, they could’ve made it any number of miles away. A search party would be impossible in such a dense area.”
“Sergeant Wallcroft!”
Both people turned their heads to the lone door, then looked back at each other.
“Well you’ll have information soon, I’m sure.”
Wallcroft stood from his chair and quickly exited the room. Outside, another man stood waiting, looking over a thin packet of papers, anxiously. He looked up as Wallcroft closed the door behind him.
“Sergeant, I have two bits for you,” he said, adjusting the spectacles on his face.
“Go on lad, out with it.”
“Alright, well I ran the contaminates on the bags you found. Normally, it takes thirty-six hours, but with the insight you provided, we were able to isolate sections of DNA and they weren’t exact matches, but showed incredible similarities. How on earth did you know this?”
“Forward that information to the investigator inside. What’s the other thing?” he asked, quickly.
“Oh, uh, uh, your squad is requested in London! There have been a number of break-ins within the last few hours at several iconic locations. It’s believed-“
Wallcroft pushed the other guy back against the wall, then ran down the hall.
“I wish you had told me that first!”
