//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Where Are the Mane Six? 
// by Creativa-Artly01 
//------------------------------//

The next morning, Shining, Flash, Discord, and Thorax are up with the sun. They have to head out early if they want to do a decent sized search for where Tirek may be located before nightfall. Not long after they headed out, the four were joined by a mysterious figure: one that was definitely not a pony. It took them by surprise. Was this the dreaded creature they were looking for? Alas, no it was not. It was just one of several teenage dragons that was trying to stir up trouble. Shining convinced the dragon to let him and his friends go on their way to which the dragon reluctantly agreed. After all, the dragon had to admit, he didn't want a full out war with the Crystal Empire for attempting to pony nap their prince. 

By mid afternoon, the four stumbled upon a small village. There, they stopped to enjoy some much needed lunch. Not long after they had sat down to eat, they were greeted by a unicorn, who said she was an old friend of Cadence. "Hello, my name is Golden Token," said the unicorn mare, "I'm an old friend of Cadence. She contacted me and told me you needed help finding the centaur known as Tirek." 

"Yes, that's right," replies Shining, "I'm her husband and these are my friends. We are looking for Tirek because he sent my sister and her friends to these different dimensions and we're going after him in order to make him bring them back." 

About a half hour later, the five set out in search of Tirek once again. Not long after that, they approach an old centaur cave carved into the side of the mountain. "We're going the right way," says Thorax as he sniffs the air, "there's a magic residue here, a residue that is signature only to centaurs." 

"Good, that means we're making progress," replies Shining albeit still with a glum look on his face.

"We'll get your sister and her friends back," Golden Token reassures him. Shining hopes she's right. 

The group continues on through the mountainous caves and winding valleys of the area known simply as Centaur Gorge. They walk for hours with Thorax leading the way. As they walk, Golden hums to herself. She hums a song her mother used to sing to her whenever she got scared. Soon, she gets everyone to hum along. Humming, she knows, will keep them both focused and calm as they continue on their journey. After all, she's not a wizard in training for nothing. She has strong magic and a level head, that's why she's a wizard in training. 

Around midnight, the five set up camp on the other side of the Centaur Gorge. Once settled, Shining asks Golden Token to tell them a little bit about herself. 

"Well," says Golden Token, "I've known Cadence since we were foals. When the Crystal Empire disappeared, she came to live with us. At the time, we had no idea that she was a princess of a vanished empire. All we knew was that we were destined to become the best of friends. I'd go with her when she went to babysit your sister, Twilight, Shining Armor. I saw how much she loved and cared about you and your sister just from going to babysit with her. A few years later, Cadence moved in with us, for what we thought to be full time. During that same time, I also began my wizard training with my father. I'm actually the great, great, great, great, great granddaughter of Starswirl the Bearded. Wizardry was in my blood. How my parents hid that from me for so many years, I still have no clue. Cadence helped me through my studies. Through this, I watched her use magic she had learned, although she had no horn, to help fix ponies who were arguing to make them love each other again. I watched her as she ascended and became a princess. I was there for all of it. We were best friends through all of it and still are to this day." 

"Wow!" replies Shining. "I had no idea you and my wife were so close." 

"Well, you do now," replies Golden Token with a tender, mild voice. She then curls up and falls asleep. Shining and Flash soon follow suit and do the same. They're tired from the long journey. Tomorrow, they'll continue their search for Tirek.