//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Heading to Rogueport // Story: Paper Spike and the Thousand Year Door // by Sakunyan //------------------------------// Chapter One: Heading to Rogueport "So, Twilight, does the letter say anything else?" The unicorn shook her head as she folded up the letter and put it back into her side-saddle. "No.... that's all it says. She didn't mention where to meet her when we got here. I was hoping she would just be at the docks...." Twilight Sparkle and Spike had just reached Rogueport, a foreign city, and were scouting for their friend. Rarity had sent the two a request to meet them in this town and after a long journey on a rather unpleasant boat, they couldn't seem to spot out their companion. "Maybe there's a city center we could go to... or an inn! She's probably at some kind of inn!" Spike laughed, thinking of the unicorn fondly. "Of course she would be inside somewhere. She wouldn't want to get her hooves dirty waiting outside...." This wouldn't normally be a problem except for the fact that Rogueport didn't appear to be the cleanest of cities. Many of the pony-folk walking around appeared dirty and rough. Twilight assumed this was because they were working in the docks and figured it would be best if they passed through into the central area of town. "We should probably just keep walking and hopefully we'll find her along the way. I'm sure we'll find her eventually." A stallion in a musty smelling cloak brushed by her. As she looked back at him, she noticed he wore a shady grin. She immediately checked her bag for any missing possessions. "Spike, I don't like this town.... Why would Rarity want to meet us here? It's so unlike her!" "Oh, calm down, Twilight. I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason for her wanting to meet us here. She'll probably explain it when we find her!" Twilight nodded her head, still worried. "Well, at least for the time being, it would probably be best if you-" A frenzy of footsteps and yelling interrupted Twilight as a hoard of ponies suddenly appeared in front of the two. Many of the bystanders moved to the side, watching the crowd with curiosity. "Give it up, blank-flank, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into! It will be easier for everypony if you just hand it over now!" "I'll never give it to you! It's my sister's and you can't have it!" Twilight and Spike were shocked to find in front of them a few familiar faces. First of all, closest to them, they noticed Sweetie Belle, the sister of Rarity. In front, though, was a stranger sight. The two recognized them as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, two of Sweetie Belle's classmates as well as Cheerilee's students, surrounded by many fierce looking stallions who appeared to all be in uniform. "Come on, Sweetie Belle, I'll give you one more chance. I'm sure you don't even have a use for such an item as that! Besides that; didn't we already explain how this little trade is going to work?" Diamond Tiara glared, her underling by her side smirking evilly. Sweetie Belle glared back angrily. "I already told you; you can't have it! Rarity said to never give it away if her life depended on it! Out of all the ponies especially, I would never give it to you!" Sweetie Belle internally wished her friends were with her. Scootaloo was a lot tougher than her when it came to these situations and Apple Bloom seemed to have better comebacks. She was worried that she couldn't think her way out of the situation. That's when she noticed behind her two faces she recognized. "Twilight! Spike!" In a rush, she galloped over to them and hid behind Twilight's legs. "Now just try to get it, Tiara!" The young filly stuck her tongue out at her nemesis as Twilight looked down in confusion. "Sweetie Belle? What are you doing here? What's going on?" "I'll tell you what's going on! Sweetie Belle has something that I want and if she just gave it to me like I told her to, everything would go a lot easier for her! And besides that, I have something she wants in return." Diamond Tiara grinned menacingly at the filly as she took a step forward, her action copied by the ponies surrounding her. Sweetie Belle shifted on her hooves uncomfortably. "Twilight, Spike, you have to help me! Do something!" Twilight looked at the crowd of tough looking ponies. Spike gulped, worried. "Uhh, Twilight, have any ideas?" Spike inched closer to Twilight's side as the group proceeded forward towards the three. Twilight looked around nervously. "I... uhh..." "Minions, charge them! Don't let that filly get away!" Within an instant, the group of stallions charged the group and tackled them to the ground. The three struggled underneath the weight to get away, but they were strong. Spike managed to get a hold of one of Twilight's hooves. Suddenly hit with an idea, Twilight scrambled to find Sweetie Belle as well, linking one arm to hers when she did. "Hold on, you two, brace yourselves!" After a second and a bright flash, the three were teleported to the base of some stairs, landing in a heap away from the riot. Twilight quickly stood up and ushered them on. "Hurry, let's go before they noticed we've escaped!" Diamond Tiara scanned the commotion as she stood beside Silver Spoon. After a minute of the continuous riot, her brow creased into a glare. "Stop, you idiots!" The stallions stood up, bruised due to the previous events, and looked around in a daze. Diamond Tiara glared and ground her teeth together. "I can't believe it! They got away!" She looked to the top of the stairs to see if they were still there. After finding nothing, she stomped a hoof childishly and turned to the crowd, who was now at her attention. "We need to go after them and get that Element, you hear? If we don't, Daddy will be very angry with you all. Verrrry angry." The stallions gulped anxiously as they nodded to the young filly. "Now. Silver Spoon." "Yes, ma'am, what do you require?" "We need to report back to Daddy about this little mishap. I think I know of a place we could ambush them, easily. First, though, we need to make sure that they get there." Silver Spoon nodded to her friend as Diamond Tiara whispered the orders into her ear. "You got that, Silver?" "Of course, Diamond!" She smiled at her friend as she giggled. Diamond Tiara nodded as she pointed Silver Spoon on her way. "Good. That means I just have to deal with you idiots now, don't I?" The stallions shook with fear as they awaited the punishment as appointed by their boss. She smiled as she conjured the horrible punishment in her mind. "You all won't mess up on me after this...." Twilight, Spike, and Sweetie Belle stood panting heavily after their long bit of running. They had reached the center of town by now which, to Twilight's dismay, was just as every bit disgusting as the docks were. She swore there seemed to be more criminal looking ponies here than the previous area. After noticing a noose hung in the center of town, she shuddered. "Oh, Spike, I really don't like this place." She frowned as she turned back to the two, ushering them to a seemingly secluded area beside a wall. After they reached the wall, she turned to Sweetie Belle. "Alright Sweetie Belle, you have a lot of explaining to do. What's going on? What were those ponies after? Where is Rarity??" Sweetie Belle sighed. There was a look of sorrow and fear in her eyes. "Rarity is.... I.... she's......" Sweetie Belle shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. "Rarity is being held hostage by Diamond Tiara and her father because they want her Element of Generosity!" Twilight was taken aback. She shook her head and scratched an ear. "I'm sorry, what was that? I don't think I heard you right, dear." Sweetie Belle glared, beginning to yell in frustration. "It's true! They want to gather the Elements of Harmony for some sort of plan that they have, I think they said a door? Anyways, they found Rarity while the two of us were visiting here for a project Rarity was working on and then they kidnapped her! I was holding onto the Element for her so they didn't get a hold of it, but they have her now and I don't know what to do! All I know is that she said to keep a hold of it and never let anyone keep it that would use it for something bad! I don't know what to do, Twilight!" Sweetie Belle was looking quite desperate now. Twilight was still trying to comprehend the situation as she noticed a side bag on Sweetie Belle with a faint glimmer coming from the inside. Spike, who stood beside the two, felt his heart drop to his stomach as he pictured his beloved Rarity trapped away somewhere, away from him, hoping for a savior. He would save her. He determined that as soon as he heard she was in trouble. "Sweetie Belle... Don't worry, I'll make sure we get Rarity back. I don't know what's going on, but....." Twilight reached into her own side bag and pulled out the letter Rarity had sent them earlier. "Rarity sent me this about a week and a half ago. She wanted me to meet her here because of some 'legendary door' she had heard about. She requested that I bring my own Element, but I don't have it right now. Princess Celestia has been keeping a hold of it for me. I don't know if this has anything to do with why Filthy Rich wanted Rarity's Element, but it might be a start." She scanned the letter for any clues, but nothing new seemed to pop up. Frustrated, she folded it back up and placed it back into its storage place. She sighed and stroked Sweetie Belle's mane with one hoof. "I promise you, she'll be fine. For now, though, let's get off of the streets and find a safer place to stay. I don't trust the looks of this city." Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement and huddled closer to the unicorn. "We can head to where we were staying earlier..... Rarity and I were staying with Cheerilee while we were in town. Cheerilee's here hosting some classes for the ponies of Rogueport and is staying in a room on the other side of town. Maybe she could help us with this, too." Sighing, tears began to well in Sweetie Belle's eyes. "I just want my sister back, Twilight." Twilight frowned and continued to stroke the filly's mane. "We will get her back. I promise you. I will personally make sure she is alright." Sweetie Belle looked up and Twilight smiled reassuringly, even if she was still confused as to why Filthy Rich had done what he did. He never seemed like a bad pony so it confused her as to why he would hold another pony for ransom. Getting the Elements involved only made it all more confusing. She wished that Celestia could be there to help her, but knew for the time being, she was on her own. Until, of course, she reached Cheerilee and sought out her advice. "Alright Sweetie Belle.... lead the way, I'm not sure how to navigate through this town." Sweetie Belle nodded and the three headed through a scattered crowd of smelly, unsettling looking ponies. Twilight kept the two young ones close to her as the moved along the path. Her nerves spiked with worry as a shady looking stallion approached her. "Hey, sweetheart... got anything good there?" A horrible stench wafted off of the pony, making him seem like he hadn't showered in weeks. By the looks of his mane, that was possible. Twilight pushed Sweetie Belle and Spike behind her. "Uhh... no, nothing here. I'm just an ordinary mare passing by. No need to bother me for anything!" Twilight laughed nervously as she pushed the two along, trying to get them to quicken the pace. The stallion snickered. "Nonsense... I see you've got plenty right here." With that, he smacked her flank harshly. In a blind rage, Twilight turned around and shot a magic beam at the ponies legs, causing him to stumble as he began to run away. "You better not come back, you... you.... grrr!" Twilight spat furiously as the stallion ran away laughing. Spike rushed over to her side bag and began digging through it. "Twilight, that pony stole half of your bits!" Twilight's mouth dropped open in astonishment. Her eye twitched as her face contorted into an expression of anger. "Are you kidding me? Argh! I hate, hate, hate this town!" She stomped the ground as the anger built up inside of her. She shook her head to shake off her nerves until they could at least reach a safe area. "No, no, I have to keep on task. Let's keep moving until we reach Cheerilee's. Then, I at least know I'm not going to get mugged!" Twilight yelled the last part loudly back towards the direction the pony had fled. Still growling and muttering angrily to herself, Twilight ushered the group as they marched on. "Are we almost there, Sweetie Belle?" Sweetie Belle nodded and pointed out a door with a boarded up window on the building's wall. Although it looked dilapidated, she sighed in relief. "Oh, thank Celestia!" Still huddled together, the three travelers approached the door a bit cautiously, as if uncertain that it was the right place. Lifting one hoof, Twilight Sparkle attempted to swallow her worries and knocked on the door loudly.