//------------------------------// // 2 - Homecoming // Story: It Came from the Stars // by JackRipper //------------------------------// Dear Twilight Sparkle, I am pleased to inform you that I have personally selected you as the lead researcher and excavator of the meteorite that crash landed in the Everfree Forest yesterday night. The point of impact has been traced back to the center of the forest, which means that investigating said crash site will not be easy. You will have all the resources of the academy at your disposal and will receive a large stipend for your efforts. I want you to arrive in Ponyville as soon as possible; relay information back to me every chance you have. Take care, my faithful student, for nothing good has ever come out of that forest. Sincerely, Princess Celestia Nothing good has ever come out of that forest. Twilight blinked as she reread the last sentence of the letter. What was that supposed to mean? The Everfree Forest didn’t have a large body count associated with it, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous. Did that somehow correlate with the crash? If it was Princess Celestia’s goal to keep her guessing, she was doing a damn good job so far. “Come on, Princess,” Twilight grumbled as she shoved the letter back into her saddlebag. “What am I supposed to be cautious of in the first place?” “Annoyed again?” Spike smirked at her. “It’s not like she wouldn’t tell you anything she didn’t already know. Maybe it’s just, like, a princess thing or something.” She shrugged. “I’m surprised she chose me for the job in the first place. Princess Celestia has never let me do anything dangerous before. I swear, it’s like she’s my mother or something.” “I think Velvet would probably disagree with you on that, Twilight,” he replied. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Oh ha-ha, Spike. Do me a favor and send a letter to Princess Celestia when we arrive.” She turned on her side, facing the carriage window. “I’m going to try to get some sleep.” “Didn’t you just have a cup of coffee?” “Shut up.” After a couple hours of just laying there with her eyes closed (she’d never admit Spike was right), the jolt of the carriage signaled their arrival in Ponyville. The carriage compartment filled with green light as a scrap of parchment dissolved in a plume of smoke. Twilight yawned as she glanced over at Spike with a curious look. “I wrote the letter just before we landed. I figured you’d want to get out of this stuffy thing as soon as possible.” “Thank you, Spike.” “Sure thing, Princess.” He mock saluted. “As if.” He shut the door behind them as they exited the carriage. Twilight gave a thankful nod to the pair of pegasi guards piloting it as they took off toward Canterlot once more. Spike took the time to stand and stretch. “So, where to now, Twilight?” “Well, let’s see…” Twilight spun around, ignoring the suspicious glances of onlookers who had witnessed them land; the one with the mulberry mane looked particularly irritated. “We need to speak to Miss Mayor Mare at Ponyville’s town hall to discuss living arrangements. We’ll probably be sticking around for a little while, so I need to know where we’ll be staying.” “Isn’t that something Princess Celestia could have done?” Twilight gave him a familiar, annoyed look. “She called it a learning experience, whatever that’s supposed to mean.” The town hall was an easy find; it was next to the town’s library, which was apparently a living tree in the heart of Ponyville. Twilight could spend all day dissecting the number of enchantments it took to keep it alive, but she didn’t have all day. Twilight put on her most professional smile as she trotted up to the front desk. “Hello ma’am. I’m looking for Miss Mayor Mare. Is she available?” The mare at the front desk didn’t smile back, willing the energy to put her newspaper down and peer over at Twilight from behind her glasses. “She’s busy. Sorry.” She didn’t sound so sorry. Twilight’s smile twitched. “I was deployed here by Princess Celestia herself on a very important mission.” Twilight shoved the letter in the mare’s face to emphasize her point. “So I would appreciate it if you lead me to her.” “...” “Immediately.” The mare raised an eyebrow as she scanned the contents of the letter, letting out a low sigh as she sagged her shoulders. “Fine, but I was telling the truth, y’know. She’s being chewed out by some ponies already.” “Chewed out?” Twilight glanced back at Spike, who only offered a shrug in response. “Yeah.” She stood up, ushering them to follow behind her. It was quiet, save for the voices at the end of the hall growing louder. “Good luck with that. All I know is that it’s not my problem.” “Not like you’d care either way,” Twilight mumbled under her breath. The mare quickly shuffled back toward the front desk as Twilight stared at Mayor Mare’s office door, the voices behind it were frantic and angry. She sighed, opened the door, and walked inside. “Whaddya mean ya can’t find ‘em?” “Miss Applejack, please be reasonable—” “Reasonable?! My sister is missing!” “Surely somepony must have saw them?” “As I said, we can put out an alert—” “It’s already been a whole day!” Twilight was only one hoof in the door and she already regretted walking in. Three mares surrounded a pony who Twilight assumed was Mayor Mare, each looking more irate than the last. The one Mayor Mare called ‘Applejack’ adjusted her Stetson hat. “Yer not listenin’ to us. We told ya we already got a pretty good idea of where they are. They gotta be somewhere in that Celestia-damned forest.” “The poor dears must be so hungry and lost,” the unicorn mare said, nervously fiddling with her hair. “Can’t you send in a search party to look for them?” “The guards are already searching for Rainbow Dash’s friend: Fluttershy, who disappeared this morning as well,” Mayor Mare snapped. “We’re understaffed as is, and we can’t divide what little resources we have left.” Rainbow Dash seemed appalled by this response. “Fluttershy’s gone too?! Rarity, did you know about this?” “I-I… Sweet Celestia.” Rarity held a hoof to her head, struggling to stand as she leaned against the wall for support. “Ahem.” Twilight cleared her throat, closing the door behind her. “S-sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak to Mayor Mare?” The room was silent, the tension thick enough to cut. Twilight struggled to maintain eye contact as Rainbow Dash flew over to her. “And what do you want? We’re kinda busy trying to find our sisters here!” “Chill out,” Spike said, taking his place next to Twilight. “We just got here, cut us some slack.” “I… are you a dragon?” “Geez, what gave it away?” Twilight rolled her eyes, walking past the two with an unamused expression, facing Mayor Mare. “Look, you’ve already received a letter from Princess Celestia, right? I’ll be staying in Ponyville temporarily. Can you please assist me with my housing situation?” “Wait, did Princess Celestia send you?” There was a glint of hope in Rarity’s eyes. “Is… is there any way you could help us?” Mayor Mare bit her lip. “I’d offer to let you stay in the town’s library, but it’s still undergoing some renovations for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. I’m not sure where else—” “She can stay with me,” Rarity replied, now uncomfortably close to Twilight. Twilight gave her a nervous chuckle. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude or anything—” Spike bolted over and pressed a claw against Twilight’s lips. “We’ll take the offer.” “Wonderful, darling,” Rarity purred, grazing her hoof against Spike’s chin. He melted like putty in her hoof. Twilight gave him an annoyed glare, but her anger instantly fizzled out as the Mayor Mare’s office door slammed open. Slam! A massive earth pony stood in the doorway, ragged and panting for breath. His eyes frantically darted between the mares inside the office before landing on Applejack. He spat out something from his mouth directly onto the floor. “I just found this in the orchard, near the forest!” Twilight could hear the mares gasp, one of them screamed. She couldn’t tell which one; she could only stare in horror at the object that had been so ungracefully spat onto the ground. In the dim light coming through the office windows, she could see it so vividly: a bloody, battered red bow.