Chapter One: The Journey South.
“Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we? Huh?” Sweetie Belle squeaked over and over again at Rarity.
“NO, Sweetie, and DON’T ask again!” Rarity snapped, her temper getting the best of her after hours of this unbearable torture.
“Now, scat, go do something to kill time. Play with Scootaloo.” She waved her hoof in a ‘shoo’ motion.
“But I don’t WANT to play with Scootaloo!” Sweetie whined. “I-“
“Will sit still like a young lady if you don’t shut up!” Rarity interrupted.
“Fine. I’ll play with Scootaloo. Except I’ll probably be BORED to death, since all she talks about lately is Rainbow Dash!”
“She ALWAYS talks about Rainbow Dash, Sweetiebelle. Now get along. Go.”
Sweetie belle groaned and trudged off down the deck of the ship. Rarity was finally left at peace. She closed her eyes and felt the soft ocean breeze flowing through her mane, the salty sea air washing over her face. She licked her lips to keep them from cracking and to taste the salt. It was simply divine. The whole setting was like a dream from which she wouldn’t want to wake. The ship was a real beauty. It was huge, made of slick wooden boards, decorated with pieces of gold. Its name was carved onto the side: The Hoofantic. The mast was a big, polished log, beautifully decorated with carvings of plantsa nd animals. The strong, white sail flapped in the wind, propelling the boat forward.
Rarity opened her eyes. The never ending blue sea stretched into the distance, its white topped waves lapping at the sides of the boat.
“Hey, Rarity! What’cha up to?” Twilight asked, surprising Rarity and causing her to jump.
“Twilight! You scared me!” Rarity exclaimed, turning in her direction. “I’m just admiring the scenery. Beautiful, isn’t it?” Twilight stared into the distance. Black storm clouds floated in the horizon. ‘Uh, never mind. Are the weather ponies scheduling a storm?”
“I’m not sure, darling. Why don’t you ask Rainbow?” Rarity answered, waving her hoof idly. Her horn glowed with a light blue aura as she magically levitated a cup of iced lemonade towards her. She placed a straw in and daintily took a sip. “Marvelous.”
Knowing that Rarity was not paying attention to her, Twilight trotted over to the mast, where Dash usually hung out. “Rainbow! Rainbow, I have a question for you!” When there was no answer, Twilight charged her horn with magical energy and sent a wave of enchantment pulsing towards Rainbow’s cloud, which was perched at the very top of the mast and waved in the wind like a fluffy white flag.
“WHOA!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, tumbling out of her cloud. She pummeled downwards, and the floor came close before her eyes. At the last second, she spread her wings and…
POW!
Dash bumped into the railings at the side of the deck. Splinters of wood burst out in a miniature cloud, sprinkling her vibrant rainbow mane with light brown specks.
Shaking her head to get rid of the dizziness, she caught sight of Twilight. "Oh, hey Twi. So what's up?"
"Dash, do the weather ponies have a storm scheduled today?" Twilight inquired. A gust of wind came from the sea and blew her mane in different directions.
"Uh, no. Why do you ask?" Rainbow said, brushing some wood chips off her mane. She stared at Twilight quizzically, cocking her head to one side.
"Because there are black storm clouds in the horizon," Twilight answered, and stared back in the direction of the storm. "And they're getting closer!"
Rainbow Dash turned her head in the general direction of Twilight's gaze. She saw the storm clouds, almost as black as Luna's night. Lightning flashed in the middle of the swirl of angry clouds and a few clouds on the outside crackled with electricity.
Dash watched in awe as the storm hungrily swallowed up the fluffy white clouds that came near it, as if it was alive. Maybe it was. "Celestia's mane..."
"So do you know what it is? I mean, you ARE a weather pony." Twilight came a little closer to inspect the railing as she talked. Rainbow’s head had made a small dent in it. She lit her horn again with its magenta glow and mended it with ease, putting the wood back in its rightful place.
“No. This storm must be a wild storm from outside of Ponyville.” Dash started pacing around in a circle, her wings folded down. She paused and looked back at Twilight. “Where are we going, anyway? It was a hotel, right?”
“Yeah, somewhere in Saddle Arabia.” Twilight answered, glancing worriedly back at the approaching clouds. “Um, weren’t clouds that came from outside Ponyville dangerous? You know, unnatural like the things in Everfree Forest?”
Dash nodded, and gulped. Thunder rolled in the distance. She jumped as a drop of cold rain dropped onto her skin, and as another rolled down onto the tip of her snout. “W-we should get inside. I don’t want to stick around with one of those things coming at us.” She gestured back at the storm, which had grew into a monster sized cloud of lightning and thunder.
“Yeah. I mean, look at the size of that thing!” Twilight said, pointing to the barely visible inside of the storm. There was a huge twister spinning in the middle, picking up driftwood and tossing it aside, sending some of the wood spiraling into the ship, which ricochet of the side and splashing into the ocean below.
Twilight jumped up. “Alright! Dash, you go get the others to go inside. Our cabins should be safe enough. I’ll go talk to the captain of this ship, he might know something.” She shouted the orders above the roar of the ocean, which started to become more ferocious. Giant waves smashed against the ship, like a battering ram. Saltwater gushed over the sides of the ship, spraying unsuspecting ponies.
Dash nodded and raced off into the air, a rainbow trailing behind her. “EVERYPONY GET INTO THEIR CABINS! THERE’S A STORM COMING!”Her voice echoed in the sky, and everypony looked up at the cyan pegasus that was hovering above the deck.
Pinkie Pie was the first to react. The pink party pony dashed around the ship with excitement, telling everybody to get under deck and (unsurprisingly) to smile. She pushed everybody down the stairs before they could protest. Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy hurried into the cabins, followed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Rainbow smiled to herself for a job well done.
CRACK! BOOM!
A flash of lightning lit up the area, making Rainbow lose her balance for a few moments. She looked up and saw that the storm had already crept silently up at the ship, and was upon them.
Then there was a horrible smell, like burning hair. Panicking, Rainbow Dash spread her wings and glided down gracefuly onto the now rain-splattered deck. Tumbling a little because the floor was slippery, she examined her wings carefuly. Sure enough, one of her feathers were burned. She winced as she gave her wing an experimental flap. It hurt, but was it broken?
She was lucky that she didn’t feel anything in her rush of panic to land. But now that she knew that she was hurt, she could feel everything. It was almost as if seeing it had triggered her nerves. Sighing, she trotted into her cabin room, which she was sharing with Applejack. She wondered how good Twilight was going.
…
Twilight galloped to the captain’s steering cabin, slipping a few times as she went. She groaned when she tripped for the tenth time, and then ignited her horn to perform a simple drying spell. A path of dry floor appeared in front of her, and she could now walk properly. She looked around from time to time to check the progress of the storm. It was coming closer, its menacing twister notably bigger than before. Saltwater sprayed Twilight, battering her skin. Huge gusts of wind grabbed at the ship and tried to pull it apart, and the wooden boards creaked under the pressure.
She reached the end of the ship and managed, with great difficulty, to climb up the short flight of stairs without being blown away by the gale.
“EVERYPONY GET INTO THEIR CABINS! THERE’S A STORM COMING!”
Twilight whipped around to see a familiar cyan, pony-shaped blob shouting orders at all the surprised ponies on deck. She smiled in satisfaction as a moment of silence passed, and then the panicked sound of hooves and chaotic shouting arose as the alarmed mares and stallions ran for the wooden doors, some slipping on the slick floorboards. Her grin grew even wider as Rainbow Dash darted in last, a faint rainbow trailing behind her. Twilight watched as Rainbow Dash bolted the doors closed from the inside. A few feeble lights flickered to life inside, suggesting that candles were being lit.
Shaking her head to rid put herself back on task, Twilight began again to make her way to the captain’s steering cabin. The storm was even more ferocious than before, and it was almost on top of them. The ship rocked in the waves, and the wind tore at the white flapping sail.
"AAHHH!"
The boat lurched sideways, and then catapulted forward. Twilight was knocked to the ground and slid a few feet down the floor, crashing into the railing. She grunted and stood up on wobbly legs, and everything seemed alright until her front legs slipped and she collided with the floor again. Then she glided over the slippery boards...
And right out the side of the ship.
"AHHH! SOMEPONY! A-ANYPONY! HELP M-ME!!!"
Her shrill voice echoed through the blackness of the storm, which was now right on top of the ship. The wind pushed her this way and that, and the rain soaked the thick wooden planks that made up the railing. Her hooves began to slide. She knew she didn't have much time.
"Oh Celestia, I don't want to die..." The pitch-black waves licked her feet, the sudden cold stinging her hooves. She shivered and tried to pull herself up, but she wouldn't bulge.
"HELP! PLEASE! HELP! I FELL OFF THE BOAT!!!" She screamed again, as a last attempt. She waited, her arms aching and her hooves growing even more tired by the second, for three more minutes. It seemed like an eternity when she finally slipped and fell into the ocean's icy embrace. The cold water swallowed her hungrily, she could feel it rushing over her skin.
There was a tugging sensation from around her stomach.
Her eyes opened, and she could see a thick rope, shaped into a lasso, looped around her waist. Her heart filled with hope as she was being hoisted up to the surface. The glowing golden lights from the cabins were visible now. It was almost like going back home from a battle.
"Twilight! There y'all are! We were wonderin' where ya went, until we heard ya yellin' ta save ya." Applejack's hay colored mane was frazzled, and her red hair ties were missing. Her emerald eyes gleamed in the light, but creases of concern crossed her freckled face. She looked like the best thing in the world, like a diamond in a dirt mine. With a grunt, Applejack hoisted the purple mare onto the ship, and set her down.
Twilight’s vision grew hazy, and the light faded away. The world swirled into a whole tornado of colors. Black spots appeared everywhere, and soon she was in complete blackness. The ground swayed under her, and she felt sick. Then she submerged into unconciousness, trying to cling to the last few specks of light, but of no avail. They winked away, and Twilight Sparkle blacked out.
Twilight swum through the infinite blackness. She was trapped in a void of unconciousness. She searched everywhere for an exit, for a beacon of light, even a small flame. It was so dark, she couldn’t even see her hooves in front of her face. Maybe they weren’t even there.
Maybe she was dead.
“NO!” she cried out. She heard nothing. Maybe there wasn’t any air for the sound waves to travel in.
What if this was a dream? She tried pinching her arm with her hoof, but she couldn’t even locate it. She couldn’t even feel her hoof, anyway.
She didn’t exist.
“Calm down, Twilight. Everything is gonna be fine.” She said, trying to stroke her tail, but of course, not finding it. “It’s just a dream…”
At least she hoped it was.
What had caused her to sink into this… bad dream? Dimension?
Dimension, she concluded. Then an idea struck her.
If she couldn’t exist, then why could she think?
And if she could think, she could do magic, right?
Magic doesn’t need any physical interaction to make it work, such as touching her horn. It all came from the mind. And if she could think, then she must have a brain, right?
Maybe it was just her body that didn’t exist.
“Yes, yes!” Twilight exclaimed into the blackness. Of course, it wasn’t heard. No matter. She focused hard on her inner magic, channeling it through her horn.
Of course, it was a little harder in the void.
A glimmer of magenta glow illuminated the void. Even though the spark was so tiny, Twilight had to squint to keep her eyes from burning. Bigger, she thought.
The spark heeded her command.
Gaining confidence, she focused on creating an exit, or a door. The spark grew bigger, melting a hole in the black wall separating this dimension from reality. Light started streaming in, and she could even make out the colors of her friends worried faces staring down at her.
And Twilight Sparkle woke up.
Author's Note
Sorry, the first chapter is pretty short. But more excitement is coming along!
It's my first fic, so could you tell me if I need to add something? I'm always open for suggestions :)
“Uhhh….” Twilight groaned, clutching her head. “Wh-What happened?”
“It’s alright, Twi. You’re safe now!” Rainbow Dash walked up to her, bringing a cup of hot tea. “This’ll warm you up.”
Twilight accepted the cup but did not drink. She looked around the room, taking in her surroundings. Judging from the hat on the bedpost and a wonderbolts poster on the wall, she was in Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s cabin.
“Oh, you’re better now! Yay!” Came a soft voice from behind Applejack, and the head of a pink-maned pegasus mare poked out. She walked up to Twilight with a smile on her face, and her wings nervously fluttered open and closed.
“Hi, Fluttershy. So what exactly happened after you rescued me?” Twilight asked calmly. She moved a lavender hoof in front of her face, just to make sure she was still there.
“Well, after Applejack tugged you in, we covered you in blankets and put you in this bed!” Pinkie said excitedly, bouncing up and down around the whole cabin. “Then we made some tea for you, but Gummy got into the teapot, so I didn’t tell anypony or else the tea would be wasted, but the good thing is that Gummy makes things taste like snozberries, so then we all had oatmeal, and then we all went up to the captain, and then the captain pony said that we have to stay down in the cabin, and we waited here for a few days, and I made food for everybody, AND----“ She paused to take a breath, when Applejack interuppted her.
“Pink-Pinkie, did you say that Gummy was in the tea?” Applejack asked with a disgusted look on her face.
“Ee-yup! Right-o, Apple-o!” Pinkie said, her cotton candy mane sprung up and down.
Twilight’s face concorted with worry. What did she say? “Pinkie, did you say that we were in here for a few DAYS?!” she said as calmly as she could manage, but her voice quivered.
“Uh-huh!” Pinkie exclaimed, using her fourth wall breaking skills to appear right in front of Twilight’s face. “How’d you know? You must be magic! Oh, wait! You’re a unicorn! Silly me, of course your magic!” Pinkie smiled and appeared next to Rainbow Dash, who jumped back in surprise. “Can you predict the future? Maybe you can help me with my pinkie sense thingy! Ooh, wait, you don’t have pinkie sense, because you’re not Pinkie! I am! Haha, I’m such a silly filly, and-“
“Alright! I get it!” Twilight said loudly over Pinkie’s voice. She couldn’t help but smile at the pink mare’s enthusiasm. “Okay, girls, huddle in!” She said akwardly, since she wasn’t very used to giving orders.
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie obeyed immediately, but Fluttershy and Rarity had a little more trouble. Naturally, Fluttershy was a little squeamish about getting so close, but now that she thought of it, these were her friends. Nodding, she poked her head in through a gap in between Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
Rarity looked at them in disgust, noting the dirt on Applejack's mane and the wood chips still on Rainbow Dash, as well as the stink of seaweed on Twilight. Sighing, she too put her head in and started to listen.
"So we've been here for a few days, right?" Twilight asked, looking around to the faces of the different mares. They nodded their heads, signaling that what she said was correct. "So... wait, what's the date?"
Rainbow Dash moved her head out and pointed at the calendar that was hanging on the wall above the bed. "It's... November Twenty-ninth!" She said, wondering why Twilight had asked.
Twilight looked up in surprise. "T-the twenty n-ni-ninth?!" She stuttered loudly. "No, it... it can't be!"
Rainbow Dash stared. "Better believe it, Twi... why'd you ask, anyway?" She said curiously.
"Girls... W-we were supposed to be at Saddle Arabia TWO DAYS AGO!" Twilight whispered, but said the last three words quite loudly. A silence followed.
"What's the fuss?" Applejack piped up, breaking the silence. "We might be two days tardy, but... wouldn't the storm slow us down, anyway?"
"What's the fuss? WHAT'S THE FUSS?!" Twilight shouted, making her friends recoil. "We were supposed to get to the vacation area on the twenty seventh! And according to the horizon and those stars-" She pointed out the window, first to the sky and to the sea, "The storm didn't slow us down, but sped us along! We're probably WELL past the area now!"
"Uhm... Twilight... please... calm down... if you don't mind..." Fluttershy whispered. "We never... um... knew..."
Twilight's gaze softened, and she took a few deep breaths. The oxygen calmed her in a way. "Ah... alright... I'm sorry, girls."
The other five mares looked at her in a forgiving way. Twilight smiled, she was forgiven.
"Hey, how about you tell me about the past days?
"Well, we rescued you," Pinkie said, jumping down from the ceiling, and Twilight had to hold on to the bed to keep from falling down. "And then we went the the captain pony, but he was all weird and didn't look like himself at all, and then when the storm ended it was SOOOOO foggy, and then there was a WHOLE bunch of islands, and then to celebrate rescuing you I baked cookies, but Gummy got into the batter again, but then it tasted like snozberries, so after we ate the cookies we looked outside and it was still SOOOO foggy, but it felt REALLY funny and sorta strange and mystical and old and stuff, but then my knee got pinchy and you know what THAT means!"
Twilight glanced at Applejack. She was starting to look a pale shade of green. "So, Pinkie, your knee got pinchy? That means that something... uh... NICE is going to happen... right?" She was starting to get nervous. She knew that pinchy knees don't mean anything good.
"Nope! I thought you had a better memory, Twilight! It means something scary is going to hap- oh." Her face fell. "I hope it isn't THAT scary..."
But as she spoke, the entire ship lurched to the side, and everypony was knocked on to the bed. They heard a weird swishing sound outside. "Rainbow! Look outside! What do you see?"
"It's... a really big whirlpool? Wait a minute.... AHHH! A WHIRLPOOL!"
Rainbow fell back as the boat started to spin, and they could feel sharp rocks scratching at the ship. Her stomach did a somersault.
Then she had an idea.
