Just one small typo in the description!

'simple research trip s(?) soon'

Image: http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/295/561/d99

Hats to you sir GOOD WORK INDEED

Splendid opening.  

Very good.

/

moustaches.

Well Holy Sweetness, someone wrote a story about the earth? AND it's a gooder too!

Impressed. I am all kinds of it.

And ... it's a Quest!

Looks good so far.

I cried a river now I expect you to swim in it!

*Ahem*

Sorry. I am rather enjoying this concept as well as the pacing.

Have a well deserved !

Deserves a lot more views. And likes. And favs.

>>11746361174636 Well hopefully I can get this on EqD and get just that. I'm currently editing as per the pre-readers' advice.

Hey, SomeKindaSpy here...

HOLY DAMN. Nicely done.

>>12304061230406 Heheh, thanks. I just got word back from EqD's prereaders. There's still one more batch of grammar editing that needs to be done (and done right, or it'll be permanently rejected), but storywise they seem to really like it and hope to see it published on the site. Things are looking promising!

Looks interesting! I'll have to check this out later.

Hey! Good job on the EqD feature! I hope it brings you more views than it did mine.

Okay, that sounded bitter. I'm not. This is a damn good story!

Actually I wanted to comment on that picture in the title box. It looks amazing! I feel like I can just jump right in there!

Compliments to the artist!

We stand guard over the gates that contain the corrupting blight. This is our duty and our curse. There are those above who have forgotten...but WE remeber.

In peace, vigilance.

In war, victory.

In death, sacrifice.

THIS is what it means to be a Grey Warden!

I bet God is an other who went out on his own to create his own world by himself without destractions from any other others. He was one of the more powerful others and spent a full six days writting our world befor exhausting himself in the seventh. He then created the four horsemen of the apockalyps. Why? Because he had actually writen time out into predetermined sequence of events and he knew there eould mostlikly be a time when his third race,made after the flawed elementals, and also after the uncreative angels, humanity. He gave them free will. So much did thys possese that they both surpased his highest hopes and deepest fears. They continued to bring him sadness and joy and as the end neared he felt ever more dread for when his horsemen would be needed. But above all he was filled with love for man had succeded in reaching the unspoken desteny he had wanted for them. They found their own goals without the others needing to actually assign it to them. They had achieved freedom. The horsemen were never needed acept in ocasional clashes with other elementals and special occasions.and whhere other others had found threats they could not unwrite. So the horsemen.

Yeah, for some reason I think this little journey is going to take more then a week there Twi

Cont.

Became a transdemensional qaurtet of world clenserss and abbomination slayers when needed. The other dubed God stayed at the edge of his selfmade realm, guiding when needed and keeping a distant watch over his three sentiant creations. Gods fellows would sometimes try to interact but his reputation for being "distant, strict, and allways filled with a subtle sadness" spread and he was left alone more so then many others.

Edit: sorry for the long post but I get carried away with random wourld ideas and also am typing this from lame phone. Anyway I'll wait and see if I like where this story goes. So far its not bad but I'm not sure if I REALLY like it or not. We'll see.

seems interesting. Shall read and for now i will watch

That was an amazing opening. This....is going to be awesome!

And so the adventure begins.

I wonder if Pinkie could make a good bard.

DO YOU????

No.

Keep up the good work! Oh and I saw this in EQD, if you're wondering.

Excelent work! Looking forward to more.

That prologue should be the opening for a FIM movie.

Good show.

>>13178411317841 Pinkie as a bard? Funny you should say that...

artifacts, not artefacts.

And so......The journey begins.

Image: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xeOzo0Axgj0/TO3i2aqnHqI/AAAAAAAABnw/znZmWFPCm28/s1600/img-dl_the_journey_begins.jpg

>>13231621323162 Cheers for the comment, but was the hugeass picture really necessary? It's a nice pic and all, bit wasn't there a smaller version?

>>13212461321246 Actually both are acceptable. But since I'm in England I use British-English spelling, which spells it with an 'e'.

>>13235881323588 Picture to big? That's a first. As far as I know there isn't, but, if you would like me to find a smaller version and re-post I will be happy do so.

And thus the adventure begins.

Looking forward to seeing how this little quest turns out.

Wut? This was... A MOOSE!? OMG! I call epics on this!

Ooh, I love it when a story I had forgotten about updates. It's like a birthday present. And a very good one at that

Please sir, may I have some more? [/dickens]

Also- MOOSE!

What an interesting chapter. :)

I love the way you narrate this and the previous chapters. It's very well told, as well as shown.

I like that even though it's clearly an epic story, it feels like an episode of the show.

Congrats on putting a song in a fanfiction. It's the first time I see that, and it works really well. It would be interesting to see someone making that into an actual song.

I'm guessing it's Starswirl the Bearded who Princess Celestia was going to get.

"Along with this, each pony had packed their own supplies that they knew would prove useful, such as Applejack’s coils of rope"

  Ain't forgetin' that again.

Suddenly I get good memories of hiking with my friends in Scouts at the Alps. Your story's quality is more than outstanding! Well done!

Wow, I reached 100 favourites on one story! Thanks to all who did, and congrats to ApplebuckApprentice: You're my 100th follower! Have a cookie or something.

Ooohohooo Im getting those "Lord of the rings" scale adventure vibes here!

Image: http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/218/c/d/the_pony__an_unexpected_journeigh_by_galaxyart-d5a0ptn.png

Except  its all of them...and, you know, not just Twilight wearing a cloack (cause cloacks are cool)

So, Vamponies? And mysterious old ladies, gems that grant unlimited power, 6 adventurers and a potential cataclysmic event? High Fantasy adventure at its finest!

"Oh shi-"

At first, I thought they were Nazguls.

I'm loving the Middle-Earth vibe in this. It's not a rip-off, more of a wink in Tolkien's direction.

Butterbeer. Hah! Couldn't resist, could you?

I'm enjoying this very much. Well-written and well-characterized!

>>>It’s a pretty simple trek, straight up north along the river. If we keep a good pace, we can make up through the woods and to the base of Neighagra Falls…”

“Neighagra Falls?!” Rarity squealed, "NEIGHARGA FALLS!!!!   SLOOOOOOOWWWWLY I TURNED!!  STEP BY STEP!!! INCH BY INCH!!!"  

(now, who gets the ref?)  

Twilight you dropped your damned bag.

Well. Talk about breaking the 4th wall. Honestly wasn't expecting you to take it that far. Worked quite well though.

Um...Hi Rowanoak <waves nervously> you wouldn't happen to be related to Pinkie Pie by any chance would you?

Small error found:

"Satisfied that all her friends were fast asleep, Twilight Gently eased the door closed, grabbed her cloak from where she and her friends had heaped them by the door, and headed out."

Oh, how I love me some adventure. Also is it me or does those blight remind anyone of the Heartless?

Hey, I bumped into you on Hamstead Heath and you told me about this story, and I've finally got around to reading it (sorries!) and... wow, this is really good!

After trying and failing to get into dozens of other 5 star stories this one has gripped me in it's first three chapters. Great stuff!

Good job mate, applause are in order.

>>>As any hiker would have agreed, there was little in the world more miserable than walking through the pouring rain,>>>

Gene Kelly would beg to disagree...

>>>Rainbow nodded “Besides, it’s just a couple hours from here to Neighagra Falls, and we can chill all we like once we get there.”

“S’cuse me, but did I hear right that yer heading to Neighagra Falls?”>>>

(Oh you are SO asking for this)

*Alondro has spied evil creatures to exterminate*  I may not know what they are yet, but there's one sure and fast rule about dealing with monsters.  Hit em hard.  If they're still moving, hit em harder.  If that don't work, go SSJ4 and slap em with a Spirit Bomb.  

W-what? I- No! You can't just- Why would you- Ugh. Fine. Do a cliffhanger, why don't you. Anyways, the story's great, looking forward to more.

Camp close by night, keep watch by day,

For wooden ones with amber eyes.

Sounds like a timberwolf.

Keep up the great work.

>>>Monstrous beasts with friendly face,

Fangs that in the waters stir.>>>

Knew instantly it was a kelpie.  Interestingly, it the opposite of the legend here.  The beautiful mare turns into a deformed humanoid, instead of the beautiful woman becoming a demonic horse.   A clever touch.

I think this story should definitely get more thumbs up and comments. The characters are well written, the adventure is entertaining, and the action scenes well paced. I look forward for the next part.

>>16424241642424 Huh, I can't say I've heard that version of the legend. Most versions I read involve the kelpie resembling a horse and tricking humans to ride on their back, when they will dive into the water and drown the human, before devouring them.

But hey, if the version you've heard makes my story sound more intelligent, then more power to ya!

>>16438931643893 Well, if you know anyone who'd be interested in this kind of story, do send them my way.

>>16440881644088  There are several variations.  Wikipedia (as usual) has a good overview.  There is also the similar creature the each uisge, which behaves in a similar manner.

Interestingly, a common trait of both is that they devour everything of the victim save the liver, which floats to the water's surface, thus proving that even horrible demonic monsters cannot stand the taste of liver.  

Kelpie eh? Reminds me of the Rusalka, who are water spirits of young women who usually had been murdered by their lovers by drowning and as revenge lure men into the water into their deaths.

The idea that the kelpie was actually a vengeful spirit of a young murdered mare is interesting, no?

>>16501161650116 Heh, not the direction I was going for, but yeah,that's actually a pretty neat idea. Feel free to do a spinoff fic of your own detailing such a story, if you want

>>16508581650858

Or you could use it to expand upon your "Tears of Gaia" universe.

Beautiful backstory, pretty good explanation, nigh-perfect grammar.  Whoopee!

Hmm...says something about the amount of free time ponies have, doesn't it?

Hmm. Is there gonna be a character named Mariel? You know...Like, the one from Terramort? Son of the Bellmaker? The poem...Redwall.

>>16835731683573 Heheh, gold star for noticing it! I confess, as LOTR-ish as this fic seems to be, the Redwall books are also a major inspiration.

We just hit the 4000 views marker! It's not a huge accomplishment but it feels like some sort of milestone, so huzzah, and thank you to all my loyal readers!!

A SWEET chapter.  

Alt. Title: Cry Baby Cry

Love the nod to the trolls in The Hobbit. And I can't wait to find out what Starswirl is doing there!

ERMAHGERD STARSWOHRL!

Dat chapter with the Timberwolves was Brilliant, I loved it =D

AND STARSWIRL YAY!!!

WHAT A TWIST!

I was right to assume it was Starswirl the Bearded. He's finally revealed. :)

"Suddenly, everything seemed much more peaceful and calm, with less of that feeling of tension in the air. The sky above was just the same as back in Ponyville. The trees, as foreign and strange as they felt, seemed less intimidating. And even the orange, glowing eyes that peered at her through the thick branches… Wait, what?!"

You SERIOUSLY scared the crap put of me there. I don't know how that was possible. I was totally caught off-guard as you painted a nice picture of a peaceful forest, and then out of the blue, I read "orange glowing eyes", and I was pretty much the same as Fluttershy, "wait, what?!"

I don't know how that happened, but I really got frightened as I read it.

Well, all I can say is, good job on your writing, and please don't ever do that again. (lol)

I finally watched The Hobbit, and the first scene with the trolls reminded me A LOT of your Diamond Dogs scene.

Care to explain?

>>18215161821516 Yeah, I have previously, and will continue to, reference Tolkien ALOT throughout this story. And why not? The guy is one of my favourite authors of all time!

>>18219131821913 He must be very good. I may check him out soon. After watching the movie, I now want to read/watch all LOTR books/movies.

Oh God...this won't end well.

You are using Enochian?

OO

>>18456021845602 Bonus points if you can translate it.

Also, expect a few more fantasy/mystical languages and alphabets to crop up. Just wait until we reach Burzkala and Cervidas and suchlike.

*reads the glyphs*  TO ANYPONY ATTEMPTING TO STEAL THE TEARS: DO YOU LIKE...MMMMM... BANANAS?  -Trollestia

"Tharos requiescit intus parcite lacrimis sunt tua"

I think I translated that right, not sure.

"Tharos rests inside spare your tears."

Not sure if right.

>>18495081849508 A for effort and a pretty close guess, but not quite...

Oh, and by the way, a very happy Hearths Warming Day to all my readers out there. Make it a good one!

>>18504241850424

Argh so close, curse you google translate!

And Happy Hearths Warming!

I invisioned Starswirl having the voice of Patrick Stuat XD

>>18712131871213 Wow, great minds do think alike it seems. I originally thought of Sir Ian Mckellen, but I don't wana make the Starswirl/Gandalf parallels too blatant.

Humm.

Terah rests within spare your tears?

>>19084261908426 Just wait and see. The next chapter may explain things.

Ha! Who else can say they have an old world elder dragon in their debt? You lucked out with that one 'Shy.

Oh gosh.  I would not have recommended taking off like that on the wings of a dragon for everyone to see.  Especially if I knew I was being followed.

This is going to be good.

>>19313381931338 I'm not sure exactly how well they'll be able to keep up, though!

>>19325101932510

It would also appear that they're in a completely different realm now.  That would make them especially difficult to follow.  But I just know it's not going to be that easy.

Hehe, I see Skyrim! Just thought I'd let you know, though. "Open" is BEX, not BEK, and Night is Vulon, not Volun. So I translate Tharos' chant as "By the sun and nightsun (Moon), open the doorway!"

>>19335671933567 You, sir, are awesome.

Ah, a side realm for hiding things!

Much like the many little god-realms in "Kekkaishi".

I loved this chapter, but the feels

Shuma Gorath on cosmic steroids dang!

Not Tharos!  

What about the others!?

So sad...

But Tharos' death won't be in vain. The 4 ponies shall retrieve and free their 3 friends, buck the Blight followers' rump for what they did, and bring the Tear safely to Canterlot, I'm sure.