//------------------------------// // Welcome to the Downside // Story: My Little Pony: The Pyres of Friendship // by Scribe of the Nightwings //------------------------------// The first thing that Twilight Sparkle noticed when she woke up was the sun. It was not the presence of the sun that confused her, rather it was the sheer intensity of it. Sure, Ponyville had the occasional heatwave, but never to the point where she felt like she was inside an oven. Twilight opened her eyes more, only to realize that she wasn’t in the small village that she grew to love. The alicorn was in fact in the middle of a giant desert. Sand stretched far into the vast horizon without a single spec of life, with the closest thing being the occasional dead shrub or tumbleweed dotted across the wasteland. Twilight’s mind went to full-on panic mode when she finally realized the unfamiliar environment. She was about to stand up to further analyze her surroundings when she noticed the second thing since she woke up. Pain shot through her entire body the moment she tried to move a muscle. The mare looked down to see that her forelegs were covered in light cuts and bruises. Though the cuts didn’t appear serious, small amounts of blood still trickled from her wounds. The mare’s stomach began to grumble loudly, and she winced at the incoming stomach pangs. She moved her jaw to discover that her tongue was near dry as a bone and she barely had no sweat on her body despite the outstanding heat. By her own diagnosis, Twilight was suffering from extreme starvation and dehydration. The alicorn was injured, starving, dehydrated and alone in an environment that was completely alien to her. That’s when the questions started to race in her mind. Where was she? What happened to her? How did she end up here? Was she alone? Were her friends okay? Twilight was desperate to find the answers to these questions, but there was little she could do. In her weaken state, she had no energy to cast any magic or even move five inches in front of her. What was worse was that she was starting to lose consciousness again, and with nopony around and her atrocious condition, she probably wouldn’t wake up again. However, Twilight Sparkle wasn’t the pony to just give up and perish. She had a duty to her friends and the other princesses to find a way out of this predicament and find out what the hay was going on. Alas, all of the determination in Equestria her slowly-failing body. The alicorn collapsed onto the ground again and slowly shut her eyes. It would take something less than a miracle to see her friends again. Musical Cue And a miracle, she received. No soon did she close her eyes, Twilight’s ears twitched as she heard something rumble in the distance. She tried to turn her head to the origin of the noise, but her head was too weak to even move. Luckily, it was long before the source of the sound pulled up right in front of her. Upon first glance, it appeared to be a wagon of some sort, similar to Trixie’s show wagon. The only thing that puzzled her was there didn’t appear to be any harnesses in the front of it for any pony to pull it. So how exactly did it even move? The purple mare didn’t have time to figure that out before she noticed the door to the wagon open. Three figures of varying sizes exited the wagon and began to approach her. Twilight was rather startled by the figures, not knowing if they were intending to help or hurt her. When the trio was finally before her, she could only stare up at them helplessly. The were all wearing strange robes and had masks covering their faces. Thankfully, the figures didn’t attack her right away and began to speak. Only problem was that they were conversing in a language that was completely unknown to her. Realizing that a language barrier would immense problems in any future negotiations, the alicorn had to work fast. Using every last bit of the energy she had left, Twilight cast a translation spell that she had recently mastered. She only had to hear a few sentences of the language, and she would be able to hear and speak it fluently. “You told us we would finding someone alive. Not some…creature.” Twilight heard the largest of the figures with the horned-mask say, confirming that the spell was successful. The smallest figure with the narrow mask then responded. “Hey, I said we might find someone alive here, just not today! And never said that we wouldn’t find a purple, winged-horse…thing. Don’t give me that look! I know you’re giving me a look under that mask!” Twilight was still confused about what exactly they were arguing about, but they were then interrupted by the third of the trio, wearing a tall, vertical mask. “What exactly should we do? It looks like it’s barely alive.” he said in a calm tone. The was a pause between the three of them before the large figure approached her. “Stand aside,” she spoke in a firm voice. “I will send her to a better place.” The implications of that scared the daylights out of the alicorn and suddenly found the urge to speak up. “N-No! Please don’t hurt me!” Twilight managed to speak up, albeit in a rough, dry voices. Thankfully, it was enough to stop the horned figure from her impending attack. All of them did a double-take to confirm what they just heard. “It…She spoke. And she seems to totally understand us.” the middle figure said. He stepped a bit closer and stared at the injured mare for a minute. It appeared that he was in deep thought. Finally, he turned to his compatriots and asked them a question. “Do you…think she could be the one?” The horned masked woman let out tired grunt. “Hmph, highly doubtful. Even still, look at her condition. She’s beyond our help and we beyond her.” She then turned around and made her way back to the wagon. The small figure then gave the alicorn a final look over. “Broken, shaking, starving, and probably diseased…yeah, good luck there, chum! Have fun playing vet!” The small figure then scampered past the large figure and into the wagon. The masked woman then looked back to the remaining figure. “The day grows dim. You have best an hour.” She then made her way into the wagon. The figure nodded and turned back to Twilight. He crouched down to her level and held up his hands. Twilight flinched away from this action, only to look back to see that he was removing the straps behind his mask. When he removed his mask, Twilight was meet with a rather familiar sight. The figure appeared to a human, similar to the humans from the dimension of Canterlot High. The human was dark-skinned and had red, scruffy hair. Along with the blue and orange robes that his compatriots also wore, he had a blue headband wrapped around his head. “Calm down, my friend. I know you must be frightened, but please allow me to help you.” After listening to his sincere voice and seeing his smiling face, Twilight finally let her guard down. The man reached into his robes and pulled out a water flask. When he unscrewed the cap and offered it to her, the mare guzzled the water down like it was the last on the planet. While she was quenching her thirst, the man brought out some bandages and began to tend to the mare’s wounds. While she winced at the pain, Twilight knew that he needed to stop the bleeding on her forelegs. When he finished the bandaging, the man finally pulled out some berries and offered them to the alicorn. After giving them a few experimental sniffs, she ate the berries and the hunger pangs so went away. Over the course of half an hour, the man nursed the alicorn back to moderate health. Twilight shakily got back on her hooves and looked to the robbed man. “Thank you,” she told him with a small smile. “I appreciate the help.” The man returned the smile fully. “Glad I could be of help.” He then held out his hand towards her that reminded her how humans greeted each in their dimension. “The name’s Hedwyn.” He introduced himself. While she was still a bit weak, the mare still was able to raise a hoof to shake his hand. “I’m Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. You’ll have to forgive me, but I’m kinda not from around here.” It was obvious that she wasn’t in Equestria anymore, given how there were humans walking around and speaking a completely different language. Hedwyn gave a light chuckle to her response. “I’ve gathered that.” He then stood up and gestured towards the wagon. “I know you must be confused about a lot of thinks right now, but it would probably be a good idea to come back to our wagon for the night. I would be glad to explain some things in there.” Twilight looked around to confirm that night was slowly descending across the land. The alicorn saw no sign of ill intent from the human and gave him a solid nod. Thus, Twilight entered the strange wagon with her savior. The inside of the wagon was in a rather disheveled state, though it was nothing a good hour of cleaning couldn’t fix. She also noticed that there was a sigil in the middle of the room, with the same colors as the robes Hedwyn wore. The alicorn saw the masked woman and masked creature tending to some ancient-looking books in the back of the room, which immediately peaked her interest. Hedwyn stepped forward to greet his compatriots. “I’m back.” “And with a guest.” The large one stated, obviously referring to the purple mare. She then began to loosen her mask. When she removed it, Twilight was almost taken aback at what she saw. It turns out that the horns on her mask were not just ornamental, as long, curvy horns were actually protruding from the sides of her head, adding to the woman’s already imposing stature. Other than the strange horns, the woman was no different from any other human. She had a pale complexion with long, flowing blonde hair with a side braid added to it. “You may call me Jodariel.” she introduced herself. The woman was studying the alicorn with her ice-blue eyes, almost if she was determining a threat. Twilight’s attention was taken away from Jodariel when the small figure moved right in front of her. “And as for myself!” the creature said as he began to remove his own mask, though he was having a more difficult time doing so. Jodariel let out a annoyed sigh and assisted the creature by yanking the mask off his face, revealing that the creature was in fact a gray dog. “YEOOOUCH,” the canine howled. “I told you to quit doing that!” The woman was rather indifferent to the dog’s protest, so he simply huffed and turned back to Twilight and donning a charming demeanor. “Ahem. As I was saying, you may regard me as Rukey Greentail!” Twilight tilted her head at Rukey, rather fascinated by the creature’s ability to talk. “Wow, I’ve never met a dog that could talk! Especially one with such…interesting facial hair.” she said, referring to the curvy mustache located on Rukey’s upper lip. Rukey seemed to have taken offense at what the alicorn just said. “DOG?! Who are you calling a dog?! I happen to a Cur, for your information! Ever seen a dog grow such a fantastic mustache?!” he asked, twirling his mustache for emphasis. When Twilight shook her head, the Cur huffed in satisfaction. “That’s what I thought! Anyway, where you from, sister? Last I checked, I don’t see purple horses with horns and wings trotting around here in the Downside.” Twilight almost forgot that she had yet to introduce herself to Hedwyn’s compatriots. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I come from a land called Equestria.” Jodariel and Rukey had dubious looks at the mention of her home, but Twilight was determined to convince them. “Look, I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s true! This wouldn’t be the first time I found myself in a different world than my own!” “No one is doubting you here,” Hedwyn reassured her. “just tell us how exactly you ended up here.” Twilight let out a brief sigh. “I…I…” she stuttered. When she tried to retrace the steps of how she ended up in this foreign land, it felt like her mind hit a brick wall. Try as she might, she couldn’t remember a single thing before she initially woke up in the desert outside save for one tiny detail. “I can’t remember. The last thing that comes up is waking up a bit before you guys showed up to save me. Although, I think I also remember a bright flash? I don’t know.” The mare bowed her head, somewhat ashamed of her brief amnesia. Rukey then put in some of his own insight. “Well, I suppose that rules out the possibility that she was tossed down here from the Commonwealth. I certain don’t remember a bright flash when they threw me down here.” Twilight perked up when she heard the unfamiliar nomenclature. “The Commonwealth? Is that the name of the land that we’re in right now? And what do you mean when you said they ‘threw you down here’?” The trio looked among each other before Jodariel decided to speak up. “The land that which we speak of is called the Commonwealth. A country risen from the ashes of a fallen empire, founded on the principles of mercy and kinship, whose exact meaning has…changed throughout the centuries.” Rukey let out a small snicker at that last part, but immediately quieted down when Jodariel shot him an annoyed look. “However,” she continued. “This is not the Commonwealth. This land is known as the Downside. A virtually inhospitable wasteland where the Commonwealth exiles all of their criminal and enemies for the rest of their lives with no hope of return.” The alicorn was slowly taking in what the woman had told her. “So, all three of you are…criminals?” Twilight slowly took a few steps back in newfound cautious. However, Hedwyn was quick to reassure her of any fears that she was developing. “What we did before being exiled here matters little now. We are all equal nothings here. Just know that we have no intension of harming you or harming anybody else, unless provoked.” The purple mare began to lowered guard, seeing no ill-intent or deceit in the man’s voice. Jodariel then pulled Hedwyn aside while still keeping a sideways glace on the mare. “Can she do it?” she asked in a hushed tone. “Hope so,” he answered. “haven’t had the chance to ask her yet.” “What? Then what are were waiting for?!” Rukey exclaimed and quickly went back over in front of Twilight. “Heya sister! Nice meeting you and all, but me and my pals have important question for you, you know how to read or what?” If there was one question Twilight Sparkle never expected to hear, it would be her ability to read. The mare was almost famous for her love of books and knowledge and had even wrote a book herself along with the help of her friend, albeit with a few complications afterwards. Nevertheless, Twilight had a hard time remembering a time where books weren’t apart of her life. “Of…of course I know how to read! I’ve been reading books all my life. Why, don’t you three know how to read?” The Cur gave an awkward scratch behind his head while Jodariel looked away from her. “This may come to a shock to you,” Hedwyn began. “but when the Commonwealth was established, literacy was completely banned. All books were burned, and anyone found were any newly printed books were sentences to exile. The ability to read has been lost, save for the select few that defy the law of the land.” Twilight was in absolute shock at what she had just been told. It was almost like she was having a hard time believing what she’d heard with her own ears. “W-W-WHAT?!” she exclaimed. “How could they just do that?! Didn’t they realize the importance of writing down knowledge?! How does a society even function like that?! And how could they just…burn books? That’s just-“ “Easy, sister!” Rukey calmed the mare down before they were all overwhelmed by her unending questions. “I know that all of this is a bit to take in, but luckily me and my associates have some nice material just for the likes of you!” “Reader.” Twilight then looked over to Jodariel. “You still live thanks to us. We only ask for something modest in exchange. Open one of those books back there and tell us what it says.” “Sorry to put you on the spot like this, my friend. But we have a good feeling that the contents of those books might help with both of our problems.” Hedwyn explained. While Twilight failed to see how a book would even begin to help her in getting back to Equestria, she also found no other reason not to comply. The purple mare made her way to the other side of the room where a single book laid upon a pedestal. The tome was covered in worn, tanned leather. In the middle was a symbol that could best be described as a misshapen star. Twilight used her magic to pick up the tome and open it to its first page. The pages were ink black with the text in shiny, gold coloring. The page on the right displayed a masked figure pointing to the same symbol on the front of the book, only this time it was outlined with eight different stars. Twilight began reading the text on the left page. FOREWORD A Formal Welcome Undersigned by the Eight Scribes You, dear Reader, are an exile of the Downside, such as we, the eight who wrote this Book of Rites. That you possess it, and have capacity to glean its words, is testament enough to your potential. Thus we reveal a path from this forsaken place, to freedom! A homecoming in glory. The stars themselves shall be your guide. Ere the turning of the year's first solstice, seek the nearest longitude beneath the brightest of eight as they align as shown. Arrive as a triumvirate, clad in the raiments of the Rites, bearing this Book. Oblige the voice that tells you more. When Twilight finished reading the page, one word stood out to her: freedom. The mare didn’t know whether it meant freedom from the Downside or freedom from this world to her own, but a spark of hope did start in her heart. If what this book said was true, then it meant that she could return to Equestria and reunite with her friends again. However, it looked like the path to this freedom would be a long and complicated one. Twilight’s attention was taken away from the book when Hedwyn walked up to her. “Well, friend? What does it say…?” The alicorn was about to answer him when she suddenly felt faint. Her vision became blurry and her legs were getting weak. Before she could ask for assistance, Twilight passed out.