~l~
Avalon is a place of mystery and wonder. It is an island, the Island of all islands, and as much alive as you and me. It is where it wants to be, and is seen only by those who search for it in spirit. But it is in terrible danger.
Hundreds of years ago, an amulet was created, molded by unicorn horns and Pegasus wings, and earth pony hooves, from the most precious of metals and jewels. It was formed of four parts, the Hearts of Jade, Ruby, Sapphire, and Diamond, forming what was known as the Jewel of Avalon. The magic it held was meant to attract the island of wonder, to make it appear to ponies of olden times.
But, like all things of great power, there were those who saw nothing of the potential for peace, but of their own lust for destruction.
A pirate lord known as Bulzabad Blacksteel was the first to dare steal the jewel. For a hundred years, blood painted the oceans red in an attempt to bring back the Hearts, a war which cost countless creatures' lives in a struggle that would never seem to end. Then, without a trace, Blacksteel disappeared into the ocean blue, never to be seen again. Some have said that the pirate angered Avalon and was punished; others say he conquered Avalon and was destroyed by his own insane power.
Whatever the truth might be, one thing is for certain: whether it be evil or good, Avalon lives to this very day, and like all living creatures, it will call for help when the need might be.
Avalon is calling, and now six young heroes have been found…six, who might find a way to bring peace to the ancient island, or become victims of an evil scourge…
The roar of cerulean waves was deafening as they crested upon the beach, drawing up to a foamy white before crashing down onto the glittering plane of golden sand, sending an odd crab scurrying for cover. Unrestricted winds whipped the waters into a frenzy, scattering loose debris, bits of shell, and dead leaves effortlessly down the shoreline.
An amber sky streaked with lavender hues and wispy violet clouds, that's what the Pegasus saw as her sand-encrusted eyes finally opened. She watched the clouds drift lazily overhead, taking deep breaths of the heavy, salty sea air. The warmth of the sun-baked beach was inviting, so much so that she found herself unable to move. A sudden wave was more than enough encouragement.
Rainbow sputtered and choked as the water swept over her face. She quickly scrambled away, falling to her haunches on the sand when she was out of the ocean's reach.
"Where am I?" she coughed, spitting bitter seawater from her mouth, "Hey, wh-? Twilight?"
The young mare spun. There was only endless ocean to her back and a looming forest to her front. Just moments ago, she could have sworn she was asleep in her bed! Her voice choked as she called out louder, growing frightened: "Applejack! Fluttershy! Rarity! Come on, guys! Girls? Can anyone-"
A sudden whisper of wind and something thudded to the sand behind her. It was a seagull, much smaller than the blue mare, with rusty eyes and a dangerous yellow beak. Rainbow laughed nervously.
"Oh, uh, hey!" She played with her hooves, backing away a cautious step as the bird suddenly took a few strides towards her. "Well, you can see I'm not dead. See? Totally alive and all, yeah! So um, if you'll just let me go on my way so I can find my friends-"
"Squawk!" was her answer. Three more large birds joined the first, all with beaks gleaming in the sunlight and piercing orange eyes. They forced the Pegasus back a few more steps.
"Didn't think so," she frowned. Thinking quickly with logic she was surprised she came up with, she leapt to her hooves excitedly as she pointed at the ocean, "Oh! Hey, look over there!"
The birds cocked their heads, turning to stare stupidly at the water. The leader realized the trick immediately and squawked with anger, slapping his cronies across the head with his wings. Sure enough, the larger cyan-furred Pegasus had turned and was running as fast as her hooves could carry her for the safety of the forest, certainly not willing to find out if those beaks were as sharp as they looked.
Just at the thought, one scratched Rainbow's leg, and with a squeak of pain, she cringed and managed to trip over her foot, plopping on her side in the sand. The four hungry and brave birds closed in quickly, knocking each other aside, each wanting a piece of the delicious and filling-looking mare.
Rainbow quickly held her breath, suddenly flapping her strong wings, disoriented and suddenly wondering why she hadn't flown in the first place, but the blast of sand as the seagulls flapped their messy wings made her sputter and swoop away. They speedily pursued, sloppy wings seeming better than they looked as two of the birds nabbed the mare on the sides, she yelped again, "Gah! Cut it out, stupids!" she kicked a hoof out and managed to knock one clean to the ground, watching it plop in the sand.
As a gull successfully nabbed her by the tail once more, the panicked mare grabbed the first thing her hoof could reach as she touched back down: a piece of a broken seashell. The bird flung its talons out and raked Rainbow's back fiercely, where the leader snatched her by the arm. The Pegasus squeaked in pain as the sharp beak cut into her skin again, but she was ready. She grabbed the gull boss by the neck with a hoof, throwing the bird's balance off before whipping the seashell shard into the creature's bronze eye.
The seagull let out a shrill cry of pain, beating the mare across the head with powerful wings as he leapt away. The four other gulls were too stunned to act before Rainbow found herself a piece of driftwood and- brandishing it like a baseball bat- thwacked them hard across the heads, legs, and backs.
With a wild, irritated battle-cry, the Pegasus charged into the panicked flurry of white feathers, swinging and whacking left and right until the birds squawked and shrieked in defeat, taking off for the safety of the open sky, anywhere to get away from the crazy wood-wielding pony.
"Yeah, you better run!" Rainbow shouted, throwing her driftwood piece at the fleeing leader, "You come around me again and I'll take your other eye!"
The leader turned in midflight, glaring evilly with his single eye before disappearing into the soft lavender sky. Somehow, the mare knew it wouldn't be the last time she met that vicious birds.
Rainbow fell to her knees in the sand, breathing heavily of the salty sea air. Despite the talk, she knew she was lucky to be mostly unharmed. But yet, it had all seemed so strange, Rainbow was pondering the actions she took fighting off a random flock of birds after waking up in an impossible situation. It was unexplainable by her conscious mind.
Still shaking a bit from her encounter and situation, the Pegasus took the short trip to the edge of the forest and grabbed up the longest, toughest leaf she could find. She wrapped it tightly around her hind hoof, where it was stinging a bit from a particularly sharp poke.
"I bet Fluttershy would be proud of me thinking of this," she giggled to herself.
The mare spat sand from her whiskers and sighed, staring out past the golden shelf of sand to the glittering blue ocean beyond, which stretched till it met the dying orange globe that was the sun. Whispers of deep orange met with tender violet of the afternoon sky overhead. On any other day it would have been beautiful. The soft orange, melding with the crisp blue, and the pink where the sunlight was fading into the sky…
Rainbow closed her eyes and laughed. "I can't believe I'm thinking of stuff like that, in a time like this!"
A sigh escaped her lips as the gravity of the situation took hold. Here she was, on a beach, or an island, in the middle of nowhere, with no one in sight, and no clue how she got here.
"I don't care where I am," she said to herself, "I'm finding my friends, and I'm finding out what's going on."
The air was beginning to cool with onset of night. Confused, tired, and hungry, Rainbow was forced to seek shelter in the forest. It was no use searching aimlessly in the darkness, and she knew it.
She swallowed her fear as she stared into the looming woods before her, finally deciding to do what an earth pony might do naturally. With a bit of pain from her peculiarly aching leg, she made her way into a tree and hid in a hollow near the top, keeping close watch on the beach. Snuggled into a little pile of rabbit's ear moss, she prepared for a long night.
As the golden disc of the sun faded to dark orange and red, leaving a cold shadow to sweep across the foreboding and mysterious land, Rainbow never caught a glimpse of her friends or any other animal, for that matter. More from exhaustion than will, she found herself falling asleep.
Her last few thoughts were confusion, wonder, and images of soft blue eyes staring back at her, before the soft roars of the ocean lulled the rainbow mare to sleep.
"I'll…find you…"
