//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: The Journey Home // Story: A Sparkle's Little Dusk II: The Shining Path // by Mister E-Nonymous //------------------------------// Chapter 12: The Journey Home Dusk awoke from his forced slumber. He looked around and saw that he and the girls were in a crate. He was the only one awake. He walked over towards Nyx, and tried waking her up. "Nyx? Nyx! Wake up!" Dusk said, trying to wake Nyx up. Nyx was starting to wake up. She mumbled, "...Five more minutes..." Dusk got nervous, and bit his lip. He then shouted, in the Royal Canterlot Voice, "WAKE UP, GIRLS!!" That made all four of the girls wake up. "AAAAHH!!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Mah ears!" The four of them had their ears covered. Then the looked around. Apple Bloom looked around and asked, "Where are we?" "Who put us in a crate?" Scootaloo asked. "Apple Bloom, can you get us out?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Ah'll try," said Apple Bloom. She then walked towards one side, and bucked the side of the crate, making the side of it fall over with some nails from the top coming down with the side. Then they all walked out of the crate and noticed that they were in a jungle. "Where are we?" asked Scootaloo. "This isn't the Everfree Forest," said Nyx. "I know, because the Everfree was gloomy." "It looks more like a jungle," said Dusk. "Be careful, girls. This place is very dangerous to those who aren't experienced. I never been in a jungle, but I know for a fact that some jungles are known for having lions, tigers and bears." "Oh my!" Sweetie Belle said, shaking. They all huddled together. "What are we going to do?" Scootaloo asked. "How are we gonna get back home from here?" "I'll go fly up to see where we are," Dusk said. He then started flapping his wings, and headed straight up. He looked around to see if there was some place to go. He then came back down and said, "I think we're in the Forbidden Jungle." "THE FORBIDDEN JUNGLE?!" asked the girls. "We need to get out of here," said Nyx, but then they were surrounded by cats. A tiger, a panther, a cheetah, a lynx, and a fluffy little white cat. The girls were scared by the cats and stood beside Dusk. "What do we do?!" asked Sweetie Belle. "We're gonna die!" Apple Bloom shouted. Then, five nets came down from the sky, and landed on all five cats. They all roared and hissed, trying to get out of the nets. "C'mon! This way!" came the voice of a mare. The girls looked towards the voice and saw a silhouette of a pegasus with a pith helmet hovering in the direction they were looking. They then started running towards the silhouette. But before they could get a good look at her, the mare then started flying away from them as she called out, "Follow me. I'll get you foals someplace safe." Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, at the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight was told about what happened to Dusk and Nyx. And she took it like any parent would if their children were taken. Crying, worried if they'll be safe. ... Just kidding. "RAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGH!!!" Twilight shouted, then burst into her rage shift. Her coat turned white, her eyes turned red, and her mane, tail and the feathers on her wings turned into fire. She then got into Shining Armor's face and shouted, "Why?! Why would anypony just go into the Crystal Palace and take my foals?!" "Twylie," Shining said, trying to calm her down, "we tried our best to stop the foalnappers, but we lost them when we saw them all on an unmarked train." Twilight was very angry. She then rushed upstairs, leaving behind fiery hoof prints and then came back down, flying, leaving a fiery trail in mid air. Spike and Shining Armor were shocked by Twilight's rage shift effects. Especially when she left a mid air fire trail with nothing there keeping the flame up. "I have never seen Twilight do that before," said Spike. "Must be a part of her alicorn magic," Shining said. Spike then grabbed a fire extinguisher, and put out the flames. "Where do you think she's going?" Spike asked. Shining just shrugged his shoulders. "Hopefully, Twylie knows what she's doing," Shining said. "Let's hope for the best that she finds those foals." Dusk, Nyx and the Crusaders followed the mare through the jungle, which eventually led to a hut. The five of them saw the pony who led them out of danger go inside the hut. They eventually went inside and saw the pony who led them out of danger. Dusk, Nyx, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were jaw dropped at their rescuer. They all shouted, "Daring Do?!" "That's right," said Daring Do. "All of the books you've read about me are all based on true events." "Then how does A.K. Yearling write about you?" Scootaloo asked. "Does she follow you around?" "No she doesn't," said Daring Do. She then took off her vest and pith helmet, and had on a completely different outfit. That made all five of them confused. Scootaloo then said, "Still doesn't clear anything up." "A.K. Yearling is just a cover name," she said. "I do the adventures, and then I write the stories, and then I sell them to the publisher as A.K. Yearling." She then removed the outfit, and went back to Daring Do. "Now, for my question, what are all of you doing out in the middle of the jungle?" "Miss Daring Do, my name is Dusk Shine," Dusk said. "Dusk Shine? The first male alicorn in Equestria?" Daring Do asked. "I heard of you. I still can't believe it." She then took a look at Nyx. "You must be Nyx. The supposed Nightmare Moon reincarnation from an alternate Equestria." "You heard about that?" Nyx asked. "Don't worry," said Daring Do. "I'll escort you all to your homes. Where do you all live?" "In Ponyville," said Apple Bloom. "Mah Granny basically found the town." "Alright," said Daring Do. "I better get you little ponies back to your families. I'll be happy to personally escort you to your homes. As long as you keep my inspiration for my books a secret. The only ones who also know my secret are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony." "Seriously?!" asked the Crusaders. "Well, that explains why Rainbow Dash was on the cover of the book that just came out," said Scootaloo. That made Daring Do laugh. "Alright," said Daring Do. She then put her A.K. Yearling disguise back on. "Let's go." Shining Armor, Spike, Velvet, Night Light, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were watching Twilight race through the sky, leaving behind a fire trail, going back and forth in different directions. "I never seen Twilight this upset before," Rarity said. "She's really mad," said Shining Armor. "If you had foals of your own, how would you feel if somepony took them away from you?" "Yeah, I guess I'd be pretty upset if I had a foal taken from me," said Rainbow Dash. "I'm going up to talk to her." Rainbow Dash was about to fly up to Twilight, but Applejack bit on her tail, preventing her from going up. She said with a mouthful, "Not when she's like that, sugarcube." "We should let her burn herself out," said Shining Armor. "Sooner or later, she'll calm down." "But she's an alicorn," said Spike. "Her magic is more powerful now, we don't know how long it'll last. It might take days for her to cool down." "Well, I'm going to cool her down," said Rainbow Dash. She then got her tail out of Applejack's bite, and flew off. But she headed in the opposite direction of where Twilight was heading." "Rainbow Dash!" Shining Armor called out. "You're going the wrong way!" They looked where Rainbow Dash was heading, and saw that she went into the Ponyville Weather Factory. "The weather factory? Why would she go there?" Fluttershy widened her eyes and said, "I think I know why." Twilight was still flying across the sky. But as she came back over Ponyville, she was dosed by a small bit of rain. She then fell down to the ground, screaming. But Rainbow Dash caught her. "Cool off, Twi," Rainbow Dash said, carrying Twilight down to the ground. That made Twilight angry. Rainbow chuckled and said, "Sorry, couldn't resist." "Rainbow Dash, why did you stop me?!" Twilight snapped. "I was looking for Dusk, Nyx and their friends!" "You were leaving fire trails across the sky!" Rainbow Dash said. Twilight looked around and saw the trails she left behind. Twilight sighed and said, "I'm sorry. But I'm just really worried about Dusk and Nyx." They were already on the ground. Twilight's parents and Shining Armor walked up to Twilight. "It's okay, Twilight," Velvet said. "You're not the first worried parent that has his or her foals separated from them." "Like the time Shining Armor stumbled upon that train to Neighagra Falls, and we had to get on the next train there to get him," said Night Light. "Or when you wandered into the royal library in the castle," Velvet added. "I'm sure that they'll show up. Perhaps there's somepony who can help them get home." Then the sound of the Friendship Express came in and stopped at the station. Twilight then said, "I don't think that anypony would be able to help Nyx. Whoever took them probably wanted Nyx dead... or hurt.. or worse... I'm just..." she was cut off by a voice from behind. "Hey, anypony over there lost some foals?!" The Mane 6, Spike, Night Light, Velvet and Shining Armor looked towards the voice and saw A.K. Yearling, Dusk, Nyx and the Cutie Mark Crusaders all running towards them. "Mom!" Dusk called out. "Twilight!" Nyx called out as well. The Mane 6 then ran over to the five foals. A.K. Yearling smiled that she got the five foals back home. "Dar... I mean, A.K. Yearling?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You found them?" "Yep," said A.K. Yearling. "I saw them come out of a crate in the Forbidden Jungle, and I thought I'd go and help them get back home." Night Light, Velvet and Shining Armor walked up to them. Velvet then got a good look at A.K. Yearling and said, "Your face looks familiar." "It... It does?" A.K. Yearling asked. Then she got a good look at Velvet. Then she looked at Velvet's Cutie Mark. She then asked, "Twilight Velvet? Wow. I haven't seen you since we graduated from college." "I don't remember you from college," said Velvet. "I'm sorry. You just look like somepony I know." A.K. Yearling looked around and then said, "Perhaps we should discuss this in private." "To the library," said Twilight. Then they all headed towards the Golden Oaks Library. As soon as they all got in, A.K. Yearling locked the door, and blinded all of the windows. As soon as it was clear, she then revealed herself as Daring Do. "Daring Do?!" Velvet, Night Light and Shining Armor exclaimed. "So... all those adventures in the books... that was you?" Velvet asked. That made Daring Do nod. "I just thought that the pony on the cover was just a coincidence to your appearance from when we were younger." "Yeah," said Daring Do. "I went off as a daring, adventuring treasure hunter. I donate the things that I found to the museum, but the pay isn't that much. That's why I got into writing my adventures into a book. At first, I thought I'd put in my real name for the author, but if I did that, then other ponies would risk their lives and go on dangerous quests. So, I decided to go to the publisher as a completely different pony. A.K. Yearling." "Daring Do, thank you for bringing back the kids," Twilight said. "But, that still doesn't explain who would foalnap them in the first place." "I'll try to find some leads to those ponies," said Daring Do. "But right now, I gotta get back to my hut. I gotta start on my next adventure." She then got back in her A.K. Yearling outfit, and then went out. "This... was an interesting day," said Shining Armor. "Well, I might as well get on the next train to the Crystal Empire. It's a good thing I brought back all the stuff the foals brought." "Thank you for that, Shining," said Twilight. "See you all next time," said Shining Armor. He then left, following Daring Do towards the train station. Twilight looked towards the foals and said, "You five must've had a hard journey. How about we all go out for dinner?" "Yeah!" said Dusk, Nyx and the Crusaders. Then all of the ponies in the Library headed towards a restaurant so they would be having dinner.