Lily stumbled out of the shrubbery, adjusting her green wizard hat as she did so. Everything had happened to fast, and even now she had trouble comprehending it. She had attended a con when a woman named Tara had offered her some sort of totem and told her to find Garland, only to be dragged through some sort of portal hours later, the costume she wore seemingly shifting and tightening around her. It was only once she awoke that she realized she had become the goat mage she had been cosplaying; Ralsei. Taking stock of her possessions she had found a small foggy crystal wrapped in her magenta scarf, a dim glow resonating off of it as she held it.
She had woken up in the woods near a mountainside town, a great castle perched just above it. For hours she sat observing the town, perplexed by the society of multicolor ponies. That's when she decided to make her way towards the town, sticking to the shadows. Her fur increased the heat tremendously, much to her dismay. She made her way towards the castle, taking note of an armored figure standing outside and speaking to two ponies far larger than she had seen previously. The two had both wings and horns, yet Lily payed them no mind as she approached the armored figure, recognizing it as the antagonist of a game she had beaten many times over. "Excuse me….sir?"
The armored figure looked down to the goat girl, who held out the crystal, now glowing brightly.
"Would you happen to know a Tara?"
《♤♡◇♧》
Twilight adjusted the black cloak as she strolled through the Ponyville market. She approached a stand carrying vegetables and fruits, the cobalt pegasus stallion behind it smiling at her. "The usual load, Ms. Lavender?"
"Please?" Twilight levitated a small stack of bits to the shopkeeper, noting that the crystal in her breast pocket was now faintly glowing. "Thanks Blur."
Blur nodded, lifting a harness over Twilight's back, who tightened it around her. The pegasus pushed a medium sized cart piled high with produce over to the cloaked mare, connecting it to the harness.
"All set Ms. Lavender. Anything else?"
"I normally wouldn't ask, but I'm quite busy today. Would you be able to pick up a cake from Sugarcube Corner? Chocolate please, with strawberry frosting?"
Blur nodded, motioning for another approaching mare to order. "I sure can, but it'll have to wait until the day is over. Pa would be awfully upset if I bailed on the stand."
Twilight smiled and nodded, beginning her trek back to the cabin. Nearing the edge of the forest, a voice called out to her. "Excuse me!" A unicorn mare of similar size trotted to her, the baby dragon on her back sending a chill down Twilight's spine. "It's pretty dangerous in there, do you need help getting through?"
Twilight scoffed, looking to the version of her native to this world. "No thank you, I'm fine"
"Are you sure? The Everfree Forest is a bit wild-"
"I appreciate the offer, but I've made my way through this forest hundreds of times."
The baby dragon on the unicorn's back piped uo at this. "Hundreds?!"
"Sure have. I live in this forest. I have for years."
Unicorn Twilight's eyes widened, an idea popping into her head. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to guide us through later on, or perhaps teach us how to navigate it?"
"I'll think about it. I'd better get home though. Goodbye Twilight, goodbye Spike."
The unicorn and dragon let out their goodbyes in unison, Princess Twilight noticing the glow out of the breast picket of her cloak once again. She reached into her cloak, grasping Connie's now shining crystal.
She looked back to the unicorn and dragon that were now several dozen feet away.
"Is Spike…?" She looked back to the crystal, it's glow even stronger despite the two being out of sight at thid point. "But he couldn't be…could he?"
《♤♡◇♧》
The pegasus' flying the chariot took off once more, leaving Garland and Lily just outside the rubble of the Castle of the Two Sisters. "Come, my cabin is this way."
The two trekked deeper into the forest, walking in silence for what felt like hours. At long last they came across large wooden cabin, clearly in need of repair. A cart and harness lay outside by the door, which was currently wide open. The two entered, finding Twilight placing groceries into one of the cabins storage freezers.
"Miss Sparkle, I believe I've found ourselves the second confirmed Light Warrior."
Lily stepped forward, holding out the glowing crystal.
Twilight gasped, smiling and bouncing as she did so. "Absolutely wonderful! I happen to have a lead on the third!"
"Oh really?"
Twilight pulled out Connie's crystal, now glowing stronger than ever. "It started after I came across Spike at the edge of the forest."
"Really? And is Spike here?"
"No…? I couldn't bring him back."
"Twilight, come sit in the living room with me. You too Lily." The three made their way to the living room, Garland pouring a cup of tea for each of them.
"The crystal's shine will only be maintained around it's chosen bearer. It's still shining."
"Wait, so-?"
"Twilight, if I didn't know any better, I'd say the crystal has chosen you to be the third Light Warrior."
《♤♡◇♧》
The Keyblade dissapeared from John's hand as the final timberwolf fell lifeless to the ground. For hours him and his sister had scoured the area around the cabin for beasts to fight. Connie had been fighting each one by hand as well, which proved quite a task. The two exchanged glances, as they collapsed tp the ground, exhausted. The air around them heated up, and it wasn't until the two fell that they noticef the area around them darkening. Connie landed on the couch of Garland's cabin, and John on the floor.
Garland stood at the entrance to the kitchen, staring at them. "My apologies. I don't practice teleportation spells often."
Twilight and Lily emerged from the kitchen, each holding a plate of chocolate cake. "Now that everyone is here," Garland began; "I'd like to introduce you all. John has already met Twilight Sparkle and myself, but to keep things in order, I am Garland, and this is my associate Twilight Sparkle. She is to be referred to in public as Ms. Lavender. She is one of four Light Warriors. The other's being John, and Lily." He gestured to the anthropomorphic goat in wizard-like garbs. "Connie is an anomaly. She was brought here despite her unimportance to the grand picture-"
"My sister is plenty important-!"
"-and while she is not a Light Warrior, she will be traveling with us as one temporarily."
Connie raised her hand, and Garland scoffed.
"This is not a schoolhouse girl, you may ask questions freely."
"Uh…where did they get cake?" She asked, gesturing to Twilight and Lily.
"I'm getting to that. In one weeks time we will journey to Canterlot Castle to meet Princess Celestia and formally get the three-" "Ahem." "-er, four of you set in. Afterwards we will begin a search for a most dangerous being, the Nexus of Evil. We will also search for the fourth Light Warrior, hoping they've already found themselves in this world. Cake is in ths kitchen, and you may each have a slice."
The Marsh siblings rushed to the kitchen, leaving Garland to sigh. "These are the children who are meant to save the universe. Utterly brilliant."
《♤♡◇♧》
The week passed quickly, and soon Garland had found himself stepping onto the platform of Canterlot Station, the four warriors behind him following suit. "Welcome to Canterlot, shining capital of Equestria."
The stroll through the train station was a short one, as Garland held out his hands. His gauntlets pulsed a dull orange light, as a rift slowly formed in front of the five. Stepping through, they found themselves at the gates of the castle, shocking the two guard ponies. "I, Garland of the Everfree Forest, seek an audience with Princess Celestia."
"And the five-"
"Will be coming with me."
The two guards glanced at each other, gulping.
"Understood, Sir Garland. You may enter."
The gates of the castle opened, and the Light Warriors stepped through. One of the guards followed behind, leaving the other alone at the gate.
Once inside, another guard swiftly led them to the throne room where Princess Celestia resided. After the initial shock of the four figures behind him, she smiled, not expecting to see her friend so soon. Celestia dismissed the guards; "Equestria's most trusted ally stands in this room. You are all dismissed. I'll be safe." As the last pony left, so too did Celestia's calm demeanor. "Garland, my dearest friend! You've returned to visit so soon?"
"I only wish the terms of my visit weren't nearly as dire."
The princess stood, slowly stepping down the steps in front of her throne, and towards the group. "Oh? You don't often come to me with your problems."
"Our problems." Twilight tore the cloak off with her magic, staring up at her former mentor with tears building in her eyes. "It's been…so long, Princess Celestia." The princess let out a quick breath, analyzing the purple mare.
"She is not of our world, Celestia. Your own Twilight Sparkle is currently in Ponyville, squeeing over tickets last I checked,-" "-I didn't-" "-but that's only the start of it." Garland gestured to the three figures behind him, all of whom stood wide eyed as the large Alicorn gazed upon them.
"What is this, Garland?"
"Princess Twilight Sparkle prophesied millenia ago; Nightmare Moon was just the beginning, for soon followed the Changeling Queen, the God of Chaos, the King of Darkness, and the centaur locked away in the belly of Tartarus. The sudden clutches of conflict Equestria found itself in would bring an even greater threat out of hiding: The Nexus of Evil. It's power would take form in the body of a bipedal winged beast, sucking life from the lands and destroying all who opposed. Four heroes not of our realm would emerge to fight the threat head on; The Light Warriors. Each bearing a crystal, they would defeat the Nexus, restoring the crystals spirit, and rebuilding our home."
Celestia listened closely, her gaze not once leaving Garland. "And these warriors…." She gestured to the three bipedal figures behind him. "…they are the one's you speak of?"
"Two yes, the third Warrior is Twilight herself. We've yet to find the fourth."
"Garland, how long has this been-?"
"Since before the day we met."
《♤♡◇♧》
《-November 2, 1989-》
Leon struggled to keep the books in his arms from falling as he walked through the library of his highschool. Through the rows of books he found a group of twelve hovering around a table. Upon closer inspection one would notice then hovering around sheets of paper, dice, and a box labeled "Dungeons & Dragons".
Leon walked up to a boy his age, with slicked back blond hair and a blue letterman jacket. He tapped the boy's shoulder. "Hey, there ya are Leo! Here's a sheet, get your character ready! We've got a few new additions; Jeffrey, Jimmy, Bill, Tara, and Miles."
The four new boy's threw up peace signs or two fingered salutes, while Tara simply smiled. Leon gave the five a thumbs up, before introducing himself. "Hi there, I'm Leo Kassidy, vice president of the school's D&D club. If your here, you either know the game, or want to know it. Ask Terrance here-" He gestured to the blond boy. "-any questions, and get yourselves set up." Having said that, he sat down at a nearby desk, filling out his character sheet.
"Garland."
《♤♡◇♧》
Celestia's frown was quite evident once Garland revealed his knowledge, but she quickly shook any doubts away. "I don't quite understand why you felt the need to keep this from me…but I will aid in any way I can." In truth, she trusted his judgment. Three thousand years of friendship will do that to a mare after all. Twilight trotted to the princess, looking up to her with tears still in her eyes. "I was the one who insisted we keep it under wraps until the time came. Garland wanted to tell you, but I…."
John spoke next, yet only in the slightest whisper; "I'm so confused." Connie nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, silencing him. Celestia chuckled. "Siblings I assume?"
"Very much so."
"Either way, I understand why it was done. I can only thank you for informing me now."
Lily piped up at last, an uneasy look on her face as she did so. "If I may ask, what leads do we have?"
"None. Now that Nightmare Moon has been defeated, we wait for the Nexus to strike a second time and hope we can cut it off before it manifests into Chaos." Garland replied, turning back to the girl.
"And if we can't?"
"Then we fight against Chaos head on, with Celestia and Luna evacuating the nation. Only once it is defeated will Equestria bother to rebuild."
"You don't seem so confident in our ability to stop the Nexus of Evil, Sir Garland."
"In truth…I'm not."
"I can have an airship ready for you by tomorrow. Until then, you may stay here, using the castle's amenities as you see fit. Garland, the library may have some information beneficial to you all. Twilight…I would like to have a word with you."
《♤♡◇♧》
《♤♡Garland Report #3◇♧》
Twilight spent much of tonight with Princess Celestia as the children and I scoured the royal archives. All we found were documents and studies of magical residue left behind by Nightmare Moon after her banishment. These residues seem to have possessive and bonding properties, latching to a host and slowly working their way into the soul and mana reserves, poisoning one's spirit from within. I'll be smuggling some of these studies out of the library before the warriors awaken tomorrow.
Connie, the girl, seems under the weather. I'll have to see to it that we bring a doctor aboard the ship for the voyage.
Twilight seemed a notch happier when she returned to our quarters. I can only wonder what had transpired in the moments her and the princess shared
《♤♡◇♧》
Celestia let out a sigh as Garland and the children left the throneroom. "Twilight, there's much to talk about." She took a step towards the smaller mare, before wrapping her left wing around her. "What happened? In your world?"
"I don't think I can-"
"I understand, but eventually I will need to know these things, so that we can face this threat accordingly." She gave Twilight a small smile. "Care to join me for cake?"