//------------------------------//
// The plains 
// Story: Legend of Rarity: One Pony Band of Time! 
// by lilinuyasha 
//------------------------------//

Link left the Blankflank forest behind and ventured out into the bright sun, shining resiliently across assorted lakes, rivers, plains, and mountains surrounding the area. He took a deep breath. Fresh air. He liked this area a lot. And so, he put on hoof in front of the other and started trotting forward.
Suddenly, a large WHOOSH came out of nowhere and a giant owl appeared in front of him.
“So, the boy without a dragon has matured...” It said.
“Huh? Who are you?” Asked Spike.
“I am many things...but you may call me Owloicious.”
“Huh...” Said Spike, on edge. Link sensed Spike didn’t much care for him...or her. He wasn’t exactly sure.
“You, boy without a dragon...Link, is it? Your journey has just begun.”
“Duh...” Said Spike, under his breath.
“Across the plains are the Equestrial mountains. A group of gem-hunting canines, called Diamond Dogs, have made their living there. The spiritual stone you need next is there. But be weary...Diamond Dogs will not just give up precious gems without cause...You may need to suck a few...er...do a few favors for them.” Said the owl, losing composure at the end.
Spike found a break in the narrative and spoke: “So we need to find these Diamond Dogs, suck a few favors, whatever that means, and then they’ll give us what we need?”
“Yes. Now go, Link, make haste!” Said Owloicious as she flew away, in a nondescript direction.
“That guy creeps me out.” Said Spike. Link sensed a rocky relationship between the two.
Link then turned his attention to the rolling plains in front of him. He looked for the mountains, way off to the west. He started heading in that direction.
Soon enough, he hit a small village. Ponyville, said a local sign. Link trotted in and looked for the entrance to the mountains. He was stopped short by a pink pony, smiling ever so happily at him.
“Hello...” She said. “My name is Pinkie Pie...proprietor of the Happy Mask Shop...Can i interest you in this fox mask?” She said, nearly forcing it in his hands. Link shook his head. “That’s too bad...come back if you change your mind...” She said, giving a creepy laugh as he trotted away.
“Man...what’s her problem?” Asked Spike. As if Link knew. Link located a winding trail to the mountains, guarded by a guard standing guard. Link approached him, attempting to get through.
“Uh uh...” The guard said. “Nopony gets through without the King’s permission. Dangerous things have been happening up there recently...so the royalty closed it off. Sorry kid. Come back with permission.” He said, standing firm.
Link turned around and trotted off the other direction.
“Well...guess we gotta go to Canterlot...” Said Spike. “Gotta get permission from the royalty.” He noted, defeated, as if abandoning all hope. Link nudged him a bit and trotted out of Ponyville, back to the Great Equestrian Plains. Spike dragged his feet a bit, but soon followed Link back out.
Link looked at the fresh, rolling plains again. He soon spotted Canterlot and took off in that direction. Suddenly, he was conscious of the time. Daylight was decreasing rapidly, and he didn’t like being outside after dark. He galloped as fast as he could to the gates. He knew he’d be cutting it close if he made it.

Link soon spotted the outline of Canterlot against the back of the setting sun. Link Pushed even further to make it. He was within a few hundred feet. The gates were rapidly closing. Link approched, jumped for the gates, and barely snuck himself over the drawbridge before the gate shut behind him. Link stopped a bit to catch his breath before continuing on into the bustling nightlife that was Canterlot.

Canterlot was a huge bustling city, the likes of which Link was not accustomed to. Many Ponies lined up each side of the town square, huddling beside shop stalls like angry mobs. One filly’s pet dog ran loose, causing chaos amuck the square. Link stopped, taking in its splendor, when he suddenly felt lighter.

“Hey!” Yelled Spike. “He stole some of your bits!”

Link took off after the pony Spike pointed at. Link was unsure how he managed to slip into his mysterious storage spot, much less why. The Blankflank Forest was such a nice place. Why did people feel the need to pilch here?

Link eventually caught up to the conniving culprit and concocted a crazy, morally questionable plot to exact revenge.

“Hey, man, I didn’t mean it! Take it back!” Said the thief pony. Link gave him a crazy, deranged stare, slowly pulling his sword out from his sheathe. The pony stared at him, scared. Link stomped one hoof and made the thief flinch, causing him to run away. Link gathered up the bits, put them back in his mysterios storage place, and trotted off toward the castle.

“That was a great filler chase scene!” Said Spike. “I’ve never seen a more useless cinematic sequence designed to add words to a story like THAT before!”

Link shrugged him off and continued on toward the castle. Several guards stood by a rail. Link approached them.

“Halt! Who goes there?” One of them asked.

Link stared at them.

“Uh...mute, eh? Regardless, the royalty is not seeing any visitors. Recent threats to the castle prohibit us from allowing newfoals in the castle. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.” Said the other one. Link turned right around and searched for a way around. Several vines lined a wall. Link grabbed ahold, putting all ladder fears aside, and climbed up. He came up on a ledge overlooking the small, petty guard station. Link followed the ledge onward, past the guard station. Once he felt pretty sure he was out of eyeshot, he jumped off the ledge a few hooves down to the ground. He scouted the guards along the castle. He made an assessment and slowly, stealthily, (Despite Spike making constant noises) traveled to the edge of the castle, swimming in the moat. He followed the moat to a small building next to a sleeping colt. Link put his hooves on the edge and pulled himself up.

Link looked around and saw a small bit of light coming from a water path that fed the moat. Link couldn’t make that jump himself. Spike couldn’t help him either. In fact, he wasn’t entirely sure where Spike went. He must have dillydallied and got lost behind him. Link looked around. Several large, hefty crates lined the odd building, some sort of delivery. Link pushed them around as to get a ledge to jump from. Link then Climbed on top of them, got a galloping start, and jumped to the ledge. Soon, he crawled into the hole and found himself inside the castle walls.