My Little Pony: Dawn Star and the Secrets of Hooveria
By Cera Gwendolynn Gardner (Glow Stick)
Chapter I: The Worst Place Ever
If someone were to ask me what the worst place I had ever been to was, there is no doubt in my mind that I would answer Hooveria. Ooh, Hooveria, you lush and beautiful island off Equestria’s western coast; how you tempt me with your mimicry of a tropical paradise! It was beautiful, indeed, being surrounded by warm sands and water such a clear blue that it was transparent. I tremendously enjoyed dipping my worn-out hooves in the gentle, rippling waves as the cool breeze dried away the light droplets of sweat from the back on my neck. The wind weaving its way through the tall trees and through the strands of my mane and tail were equally delightful. In and of itself, I could not have asked for more from an island resort.
No, the dissatisfaction from this location comes not from the island itself, but from the inhabitants. Well, most of them. You see, this tiny island nation always ruled itself peacefully. The Equestrian Princesses never attempted to claim it under their rule, leaving the natives to govern their islands as they saw fit. The most we Equestrians gained from this was an ideal spot to have a family vacation, while they benefitted from tourism money. It was not as if Equestrian losses were anything grand, though. It was just a small, interesting but unimportant island for many years. They tended to keep to themselves and were very hospitable.
I actually planned a vacation there, once. When I was still just a small pony barely able to lift a pencil with my magic, I dreamed of living in a private resort on such an island. I had no idea how I would make it happen, but it was always my dream. At least until I became of age… I joined the Equestrian military as a Royal Guard pony for the Princesses in Canterlot. The days were long and mostly uneventful, but the pay was decent considering those somewhat frequent disastrous occurrences all across Equestria. I remember the Changeling Invasion clearly.
Before I begin about how this island adventure made me want to avoid and places similar for the rest of my life, I should start off with a little of my back history up to the present. I do not want to bore you, though, so I will keep the history short.
I grew up as a typical Unicorn living in Equestria’s capitol city, Canterlot. My parents were wealthy and placed me in magic school, but I never appreciated it as I do now. I was always behind and never knew the spells other ponies could perform. I excelled in other studies, however. It was not until I was older that I took an interest in magic once more.
For much of my early adult life, I worked as a guard while attending magic classes at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. From my entrance test when I first joined, I hatched a dragon from an egg, much like Princess Twilight and Spike. I remember seeing them around quite often. I missed them when she moved to Ponyville. Anyway, my dragon companion needed a name. I chose Ruby due to her deep cerise scales and orange eyes. She has stayed at my side ever since.
One day during the spring, I was sitting around in my home, reading up on some magic from a spell book Twilight had lent me about two years prior. The spell about fire always gave me difficulty. It was getting late, and my eyes grew heavy as I felt more and more fatigued from the lengthy day at my Castle post. I finished reading through the paragraph of the spell and shut the book. Just as soon as I set the book upon my reading table in my small library, Ruby entered with a scroll clutched in her right claw.
She held her arm out to me, and I took the scroll using my levitation magic. My horn’s blue glow coated the paper as I held it in the air in front of me and flattened it out so that I could read. To my sincere surprise, it was from the Princess! My eyes burst open and my head made a sudden jolt from shock. My eyes were fixated upon the page.
“Are you all right?” Ruby asked. She was so cute back when she was half my height. Not that she is not still cute being taller than I am, of course. Ha! I laugh in the face of Princess Twilight’s grammar books with my double negatives!
“What?” I stumbled, still trying to understand what it was that I was reading, “Oh, yeah.”
With pep in her voice, “Well, what does it say?”
I had just finished reading it full, so I decided to recite it aloud,
“Dear Dawn Star, with Princess Twilight and her friends away on business in Fillydelphia, I must ask for outside assistance in a most pressing matter. A dear friend of mine, a Unicorn named Heart Diamond, has not returned from her vacation. Two weeks ago, she left for a one-week vacation to the island nation of Hooveria, but as I just said, she has yet to return. It is not like her to remain so silent for so long, being a prominent Canterlot socialite.
“Normally, Hooveria is a wonderful place. I have been there many times myself. However, the biggest cause for my disturbance rests in a message I received from the island. It was delivered to me in secret from the Hooverian mail. It was a request for help from a native there. From what little information I have, the elected leader of the islands has begun to turn the nation under her entire rule. I fear something larger may be in store.
“This is why I am asking upon you. Based on your performances on your scores in my academy, and your experiences as my Royal Guard, I trust you to figure out what is happening, if anything at all. My intuition tells me that great danger could be on the rise.
“This will be a secretive mission. I want you and Ruby to pose as tourists on vacation. Try to find out what happened to my friend, and if the leader of the islands could pose a threat to Equestria. With all that seclusion, anything could be possible. Despite this danger, be safe. You have Ruby. If you need help, send a message. -Your Princess, Celestia. Meet me in the throne room.”
“So, we’re going on vacation?” Ruby asked me once I was done.
I kept rereading the message to make sure it was all real. After the fifth time, I was finally sure. Without even responding to Ruby’s inquiry, I raced into my bedroom and began to pack all of my best summer beach clothes- hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen were necessities. Before I left, I strapped my black band around my neck so that it rested over my chest.
“Well?” I asked her, “What are you waiting for? We’ve got a job to do!”
That got her packing, though she only brought cupcakes hidden in her suitcase.
We met the Princess at the Castle that night. She stood tall in her throne room, pacing down the hallway of stained glass windows. The moonlight outside did not reflect enough light from the sun to brighten up the place properly, yet the gentle glowing of the white circle in the sky coated the room in a dim aura that no other time of day could give it. As we approached her, I could see her waving tri-colored hair glimmering in the rays of white light. She heard us coming, but only turned her face toward us as she stood several feet away.
I was wondering why she kept silent, but I soon understood as one of the Royal Guard walked past on his nightly rounds. He was one of Princess Luna’s night guard ponies. I always thought their bat wings were cool. Anyway… When he passed, she began to speak in a soft voice.
“I’m sorry for summoning you two so late into the night, but I need your help.”
I bowed and said, “Of course, Princess.”
“I have an airship prepared to take you to Las Pegasus. From there, a small ship will take you to the Islands of Hooveria. You’ll be seen as a regular tourist.”
I did not say anything in return, but my heart was racing.
“Do you wish to take this mission? You are under no obligation to…,”
I interrupted her, but out of eagerness, “I’d love to, Princess!”
Why would I not want to go? It seemed like fun with just the right amount of risk to keep things interesting.