Chapter Five
“Huh? What just happened? Where am I?” The Charr, Drub, scanned his new surroundings, despite his confusion, his training started kicking in. Now in a lower voice, he called out. “Dahgar... Dahgar, are you there?” Confused, hungry, and angry at his foolishness, Drub checked to make sure everything was still as it should be with himself.
“Damn it. Okay, get ahold of yourself. I wen’t through that... thing, and somehow ended up elsewhere.” Drub knew there was a name for that kind of magic, but because his warband’s legionnaire banned the study, and practice, of magic Drub was severely under-informed as to what happened. He looked around trying to try and recognize where he was.
“Alright, so... This looks like a jungle. So, that would mean... Maguuma? Damn it all, this is not good. But, I am a charr Warrior, I will get out of this.” Drub heard some rustling nearby and he quickly got his bow out and notched an arrow. He pointed it at the area where he heard the noise, and waited.
“Hello? Is somepony there? Who is it, stalking around here?” With that, Drub let fly his arrow, not wanting any witnesses that he was there.
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“I heard a noise off the road a ways, and went to see what may have caused it. I called out, asking if somepony was around, when suddenly a small spear found me, but missed, and imbedded itself in the tree! I was shocked, and started galloping for my life, unafraid of being mocked.” Zecora explains to her friends what had happened. “Another small spear shot past me as I got back onto the road, I took time to look behind me and the shock made me loose my load that I was carrying. It was huge, easily the size of Celestia, and it stood on its hind legs. It used its front legs to shoot the spears, it snarled as it got down on all fours and took after me. Flee, is what I did, I didn’t think I would make it back to Ponyville. However, I knew the forest much better than that thing. I went off the road and started running through the woods in fear towards Ponyville. Finally I made it, safely, and came here.”
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Drub stopped chasing the tiny creature. He thought it was a human when he shot at it, but upon getting a good look at it he realized that it looked much more like a zebra, he had heard about them from Dahgars father. He chased after it anyways, as he realized just how hungry he was. Drub cursed himself for missing both shots, and decided to get on all fours and chase after it. Few things can outrun a Charr who is running at full speed. Unfortunately for him, this zebra was smarter than his average prey, as it weaved throughout the jungle, Drub saw a clearing up ahead and sped up. He was about to chase after the zebra, until he saw what was in the clearing. An entire town, Drub stopped, not wanting to be seen just yet. Instead he was content to stay there and watch the town, to see if he could find out who the inhabitants were. Then, he saw them. More creatures, similar to the small zebra, but different. They looked more like horses, and they were going about the town like it was theirs.
Drub’s eyes widen at the sight. “By the titans... This town is... It’s inhabited entirely by, by these small horses? These little ponies? So that mean’s they are sentient, which also means my prey was...” Drub curses his bad luck, realizing that his prey will most likely tell the other creatures what happened, and that his hope of going unnoticed in this strange place is now gone. “No one back home is going to believe this...”
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Rarity stares at Zecora as she finishes her story. “Darling! That must have been terrible!” Applejack and Fluttershy agree with her, whereas Pinkie Pie is laughing hysterically at the creature that Zecora described, somehow finding it incredibly funny, and secretly decides to throw Zecora a “I survived an encounter with a monster” party in the near future. Rainbow Dash is just staring out the window in the direction of the Everfree Forest angrily. “Whatever that thing was, I am going to make it pay. No one, or thing, attacks my friends and gets away with it!” She says as she starts to take off out of the door, but she comes to a jolting stop, as a mouth clamps down on her tail.
“Woah their nelly! Ye don’t know what your going againsht! From what Zecora deshcribed I don’ shink you can take it yershelf” Applejack lets go of Rainbow Dashes tail. “But don’t worry Rainbow Dash. We will find that thing, and make sure it don’t hurt anypony.”
Rainbow Dash lets out a sigh as she lands on the ground. “I guess your right. We need Twilight Sparkle to be here. She could help us.” Rainbow Dash looks at Spike, as did the other ponies.
Munching down on a sapphire that Mrs. Cake had given him, Spike looks up at all of the ponies. “What?”
“Spike, we need you to write a letter to Twilight Sparkle. If she is with Princess Celestia, then when you send it, she’ll get it and give it to Twilight.” Rarity explains.
“Oh, of course.” Spike takes out a piece of paper and quill, which he dips in some nearby ink. “So, what should I write?”
“Tell her that some sort of monster attacked Zecora, and we need Twilight Sparkle to come home as soon as she can.” Rarity starts.
Rainbow Dash steps in front of Rarity as she finished what Rarity started. “Yeah! And that whatever it is needs to be stopped, so that it doesn’t hurt anypony else!”
Spike, finishing the letter, breaths some green fire on it, causing the paper to disappear. “There, now we just have to wait.”
Pinkie Pie, having lost interest in the conversation walks to Applebloom. “Sorry that your party got interrupted like this Applebloom! Although I wish it weren't so I think you should leave. I’ll send you with some cupcakes!”
Big Mac, agreeing with the pink pony, wakes up Granny Smith. “Whu? Is the party over?” She asks.
“Eeyup. We’re gonna get goin’. C’mon Granny, c’mon Applebloom. Let’s get back tah Sweet Apple Acres. Ye can help me buck some of the apples that ‘ave ripened Applebloom.” Big Mac says, patting the filly on her head, wrinkling up her new hat.
“Alright Big Mac. Lets go.”
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Twilight Sparkle wakes up, after having a good three or so hours of sleep, she wasn’t sure. Princess Celestia is, once again, standing over her.
“Good, you’re awake. We need to talk about why I asked you here now.” Celestia says, as she takes a seat next to Twilight Sparkle, who squirms in the bed until she is sitting upright.
“Of course Princess.”
“As you know from my letter, there have been a series of magical anomalies appearing all over Equestria, and the bordering nations. However, it is more than that. While I cannot explain in full to you, the short end of the story is that these anomalies are a form of portal. They send anypony who walks into the same area as the anomaly to another world, and anything on that world who walks through an anomaly ends up here, on Equestria.”
Twilight Sparkle, listening intently to Celestia, takes this moment to put in her thoughts. “Oh my... So, these portals... Are they one way only? How did they start? Why do you need me to handle this, why not Luna or the Royal Guard?”
Celestia looks down at her favored student with a smile. She has always known she chose her for a reason, and her inquisitiveness was only one of those many reasons. “They are one way, however there are many of them all over both Equestria and the other world they are appearing on. So many that sometimes, they have appeared right next to each other, which is the only way one could come back here quickly. I do not know exactly how they started. Although I have a few personal theories, I am only a goddess on Equestria, not this other world, and so I do not know what goes on there. I want you to handle this because you and your friends are the wielders of the Elements of Harmony. I trust you all completely. Luna is too busy trying to reintegrate herself with society, she can’t go around scaring people all day. As for the Royal Guard, while I trust them in a fight, they are not very good when it comes to figuring out why things happen. They tend to buck first and ask questions later.”
“I see... So, when do you want me to get started?” Twilight asks Celestia, as she starts to get out of bed and quickly groom herself.
Celestia, using her magic, levitates a letter over to Twilight. “About that, I got this letter from Spike. It states that your zebra friend, Zecora, was attacked by some kind of monster. I believe it may be from the other world that these portals link Equestria to. They request that you come to them immediately. I can teleport you back using my magic, however. I know you and your friends are not trained fighters. If this thing is indeed a monster, I want you to have help, so I am going to send you with four of the Royal Guard. They will follow your command and protect you whenever you are in danger.” As Celestia says that, two Earth Ponies, a Pegasus Pony, and a Unicorn, all wearing the signature armor of the Royal Guard come up behind Celestia and give a slight bow to Twilight Sparkle.
The Pegasus trots up to Twilight Sparkle and introduces herself. “Greetings. I am Captain Swiftflight, the Earth Pony without his helmet on is my second in command, Full Trust. The other Earth Pony is private Summer Darling and the Unicorn is Private Regal Mask. Celestia has ordered us to follow your word, and so we shall. Our lives are yours Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight Sparkle, looking at the four Royal Guard, and then up at Princess Celestia. “ I don’t know what to say. Thank you Princess Celestia. And thank you Captain Swiftflight.”
“I will teleport you five to Ponyville now, if you are ready.” Celestia says, lowering her horn and pointing it at all five ponies.
“We are.” They all say.
“Good luck, my little ponies. I expect a report on your progress whenever you have have found something of importance and have the time.” With that, Princess Celestia’s horn glows a bright yellow. As the color moves from her horn to all five ponies, a bright flash occurs as all five ponies are teleported out of the castle, to Ponyville.