//------------------------------//
// Where Did You Come From 
// Story: BTS - You Never Walk Alone ft. Mane Six 
// by Blazer 
//------------------------------//

“All right. Run…”
“BANGTAN!”

“Man, it’s good to see everyone in the same room again,” RM began, looking down the line of the members. 

“Yaaaaa… How nostalgic. How long’s it been?” J-Hope asked to nobody in particular.

“Too long. By the way, did you all get the honey I sent you?” Jin asked the group, glancing about.

“Yeah. It was good,” Suga remarked. 

“I put it on toast with peanut butter,” Jungkook reminisced, his eyes sparkling as he recalled the decadent meal. 

“It’s still in my cupboard at home. I’m not sure what to use it for,” Jimin sighed, shrugging helplessly. 

“Wait, you guys got honey? Where’s mine?” V piped up, his eyes scanning the group as if he was going to find his gift sitting somewhere nearby.

“You got some; I gave it to you when we met up last month,” Jin replied, making eye contact with V. “Remember?”

“No, that was a long time ago,” V admitted. Jin’s eyes grew wide before he turned away with a huff. 

“Ai-sh! Seriously! This guy! Forgot I gave it to him in person…” 
“Really?! Sorry hyung. I don’t remember even getting to eating it… Is there any more?”

“Anyways,” RM began again, talking louder than before, “What are we going to be doing today?” 

“If you really can’t find the honey I can ask my grandpa if he has any more,” Jin stated in a low voice. V nodded graciously before turning to the PD expectantly.

Seven sets of eyes locked on to the Producer Director standing behind the middle camera. The PD’s gentle voice floated back to the group in reply.

“Today, you’ll be searching for treasure in the woods.” 


***


“They were clearing Everfree Forest back to its original borders when they hit a stone structure.”
“Could you describe it to me?”
“A raised circular platform. No sigils or any symbology to indicate who or what might’ve created it. There’s only a singular hole in the middle.”
“Curious.”

Princess Celestia stepped into the clearing, politely smiling at the awed earth ponies she was passing. A singular pegasus guard marched stoically beside her, eyes forward. 

“And how old are the maps they were using to reference these ‘original borders?’”
“Unknown, your majesty. Should we requisition the maps?”
“That would be most prudent, captain. The sooner we can pinpoint just what this structure is, the sooner we can determine its purpose and capabilities.”

The Princess took a cursory glance about the deforestation operation. The bark of the stumps were an unnaturally dark color—almost black. Although she remembered these trees as saplings upon her last visit, that was millennia ago. The world was a much wilder, more dangerous place back then. Before the days that magic was carefully regulated by safety councils and officials, leading every pony with a degree in magic and a maniacal power complex to construct a ‘pièce d’ résistance’ in various unremarkable clearings in Everfree Forest.

They arrived at the edge of the new forest line, focusing on the circular tablet that lay before them. The workers had left much of the foliage near the mysterious tablet alone—the thickets surrounding it a stark contrast to the neatly cropped grasses that marked the start of the earth ponies’ domain. 

“Perhaps we should abandon our efforts to reclaim this part of the countryside from the forest. There’s no telling what other relics lie hidden in Everfree’s depths.”
“Permission to speak, your majesty?”
“Granted, Captain.”
“Better we rip off the band-aid and deal with what comes. Tear down or confiscate anything too dangerous while leaving the rest for civilian organizations to preserve.”
“Fair enough,” she mused. 

The two stayed there a while longer, their eyes fixated on the stone tablet. 

“Call my pupil. Perhaps she might be able to pinpoint the origins of this structure.”
“By your will, your majesty.”


***


“AaaAAAGH!” 
“Whoa! J-Hope, you okay?”
“Did you hear that?! Those wings sounded like an airplane!”

J-Hope pulled his arms in close, eyes darting around the tree trunks nearby.

“And to think I almost put my hand on that hercules beetle,” he sighed. 
“What makes you think it’s a ‘him,’ Hobi? It’s rude to assume,” Jimin quipped.
“He might be onto something. Females tend to be bigger when it comes to bugs,” RM chimed in. 

The seven of them followed Jungkook single file through the thick brush. Their youngest member had been given a dangerous-looking machete—which he used to eagerly hack at any nearby shrubbery. Several crew members followed them closely, keeping their bulky cameras trained on the hilarious spectacle that was BTS attempting to traverse mildly difficult terrain in the middle of a Korean summer. 

“At least we haven’t run into any cicadas. Those are really nasty,” Suga mused. 

Jungkook suddenly turned around, holding the machete hilt-first. “My arm’s tired. Someone tag me out.”

“I’ll go,” RM volunteered, taking the bladed tool. “Let your hyung show you how it’s done.”

“He tells that to the gorilla of BTS,” Jimin laughed, smiling at Jungkook. 

“The map says we should be coming up to our first clue,” V mumbled, eyes focused on a topographical map given to him by the crew. It had taken all seven of them putting their heads together, but they managed to triangulate their approximate position thanks to the instructions of the crew. As always, the Run BTS crew proved to put the members in the most bizarre circumstances—there was no telling what kind of know-how would be needed.

“Whups!”

Suga stumbled forward, his fall unnoticed thanks to his position at the back of the line. Glancing back at the trampled grass behind him, he noticed the handle of something sticking out of the ground. From what he could see between the long strands of thick grass growing around it, the elongated stick looked far from natural. A single camera returned to observe a curious Suga pushing aside the trampled underbrush to reveal the culprit for his tumble. 

A shining silver handle protruded from the earth. The end was hollow and caked with dirt filling the empty interior. Intricate plant-like designs swirled around the contoured handle, continuing into the soft dirt beneath. 

“What’s this,” Suga said to himself, his TV instincts reminding him to speak up for the camera. Grasping the end, he began to lever it back and forth, attempting to uproot the mysterious object. A few strong passes was all he needed to remove the handle—revealing a ten-inch wand attached to it. 

“Whoa,” he breathed, admiring the beautiful craftmanship of the strange object. The vines engraved on the sides continued onto a spherical crystal attached to the tip of the silvered shaft. The sun refracted off of the crystal’s surface, scattering auroras like shards of shattered glass. 

“Yoongi! You alright?” 

Jungkook came jogging over, followed by another camera. His eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the strange staff.

“Whoa… Is that real?”
“I don’t know. It was half-buried in the ground here.”

Jungkook turned to the crew, eyes pleading.

“Is it from you guys?” 

After a couple of seconds, Suga shook his head.

“C’mon. They’re not gonna tell us anything.” 

Without another word, they hurried to join the others ahead. As the camera operators jogged after them, they looked at each other with confusion. 

That definitely wasn’t their prop.


***


“It’s quite possible this tablet could be one of many undocumented creations from the Great First Age of Magic,” Twilight explained, picking her hooves up high to avoid tripping on the uneven ground.

“Can’t believe that you were able to make something really cool sound super boring,” Rainbow groaned, flying ahead to see the structure herself.

“I ain’t sure we can be of any help, Twi,” Applejack admitted, skirting around one of the larger stumps left behind.

“I wish we could have waited until morning to visit. I can't see a thing," Rarity whined, gingerly stepping over an abandoned burrow as she followed the group. 

“I’m just glad everyone’s together,” Fluttershy commented, her wings keeping her aloft in order to avoid dealing with the trouble of walking on the difficult terrain below.

“Maybe it’s the top of an ancient triple-layer cake,” Pinkie chirped, hopping from stump to stump playfully. “Dedicated to the wonder that layered cakes bring to the world!”

“Only you would think of a lost civilization that worshipped layered cakes,” Rainbow chuckled, having returned hearing the tail-end of the conversation.

“So, what do you think it is, darling?” Rarity gazed at the nondescript stone structure ahead.

“Like I said earlier, there’s no telling what it could be. Many magical objects and structures were constructed in the Great First Age of Magic,” Twilight stated, levitating a book from her satchel. She flipped through the pages, eyeing a timeline that outlined various time periods of recorded knowledge. 

“So this thing could range from a magical bomb to the world’s largest toaster?” Rainbow asked. 

“Or! A statue dedicated to the creation and consumption of layered cakes!” Pinkie Pie added.


***


“Alright, it should be… There!”

V pointed to the clearing ahead. 

“I think we all saw it from here, Taehyung,” Jin panted as he trudged through the tall grasses. 

“Cartographer Taehyung! Nice job,” RM called from the front, making sure to cut the brush enough to allow the other members an easier time. 

One by one, they moved into the clearing, closely followed by the camera crew. Jungkook was drawn to the mysterious structure in the middle: A nondescript circular stone platform with a single hole in its center. 

“Wow, this looks pretty real.” 
“I think I’ll be the judge of that. It’s probably just fiberglass orrrRRRRRGGGGHHHOooookay, that’s real.” 

Jin stepped back, wringing his hands from his attempt to shift the seemingly immovable platform. Jimin set his hand on the stone and dragged it across, awed by the enigmatic structure. 

“Yaaaa… This is awesome.”
“The rock feels cold even though it’s so hot outside.”
“Waaa… So nice. I could take a nap here.”

Jimin, Suga and Jin settled onto the cool tablet while the others looked to the crew for an update. 

“We found the tablet. We get a second clue, right?”

“Good job. We’ll go ahead and take a quick break first before we continue filming,” the PD called from his retinue. 

“Take ten! We’re back at 23:12!” 
“Thank you, 23:12!”

Assistants streamed from behind the cameras, swarming each member with brushes, combs and spray bottles. Electric hand-fans were distributed among the members along with bottles of water—both of which were graciously accepted. After a couple of minutes, the assistants returned to their places behind the camera to enjoy their own break while the seven members moved to lounge around on the tablet.

“Hey, Yoongi. Come here.”

Suga rolled to his side, eyeing Jungkook with a hint of malice.

“No.”
“Then give me that wand-thing.”

Suga rolled it over to the eager Jungkook.

“Go nuts.”

V crawled over, joining Jungkook near the tablet’s center. “Whatcha got going on there?”

“Just wanted to try something,” Jungkook murmured, balancing the staff on the spherical jewel and placing it onto the hole. The gem proved too large and remained seated atop the tablet rather than disappearing inside. 

“Turn it over like this,” V whispered, placing the staff end onto the hole. The two younger members grinned as it slotted almost perfectly into the stone. 

“Careful. I don’t want it to get stuck and get Suga-hyung mad.”
“Oh, right. Let’s not do this, then.”

V pulled on the wand, finding it completely stuck. 

“Uh oh.”

Without warning, it began to slowly descend into the hole. V and Jungkook watched in shock as the rod lowered itself into the hole, an audible click signaling the wand touching something deep inside the tablet. Immediately, the entire tablet was enveloped in a bright purple glow. 

“What?” 
“Ooh!”
“Eek!” 
“Whoa!”
“Oh crap.”
“Taehyung…!”
“Wha?!”

Both members and crew gazed upon the purple cylinder that formed around the platform, completely trapping the group in an ethereal prison. Runes and sigils of an unknown language decorated the translucent walls, swirling in hypnotic patterns and obscuring everyone’s views of each other.

“What happened?! What’s going on?!”
“Roll cameras! Roll cameras! Everyone quiet!”

The stern words of the PD blanketed the chaos with barely-maintained professionalism. The PD pointed at the group, nodding at them. 

RM hopped off the platform, pressing his hand to the cylinder. He held his hand there, his eyes wide.

“I can’t get out.”

The PD looked up from his display, his worried expression sparking fear in the normally unbothered leader. 

“Is this part of the shoot?” RM asked.

And then the group disappeared.


***


“Ooh! There it is again! Another doozie!”
“I don’t like this, Twi. That’s the second one in a row. We should leave.”

Twilight frowned, turning away from the tablet. “You’re right. She’s never been wrong before.”

“Oop. Too late.”

Rainbow Dash pointed at the tablet—which was now glowing a bright purple. It immediately illuminated the clearing, highlighting everypony’s face with its eerie color. 

“What’s going on?!” 
“Talk to us, Twi!”
“I don’t know what’s happening…! Everypony, get back!”

All six of them turned away just before the tablet groaned audibly—mist exploding from the center of the platform. Within seconds, everything was completely obscured by purple smoke. There was a secondary flash of purple light before the glowing suddenly ceased, leaving the clearing dark once more. 

“E-everypony okay?!” 
“Twilight! Where are you!”
“Cast a light spell, darling! We’ll come to you!”

Focusing briefly, Twilight conjured the purple orb that had illuminated their investigation only seconds ago. Coughing and sputtering, the six mares reunited around the light source. 

“Is everypony here?”
“I think so. Fluttershy, you alright?”
“I-I’m scared, Rainbow…”
“Should we try to leave?”
“Is it bad that I think another doozie could be coming on?”
“Hold on! I think I heard somethin’.”

They all froze at Applejack’s command, all holding a collective breath as they listened carefully. For a moment, all was still. The trees creaked and groaned in the gentle breeze, more and more of the mist being dispersed but still leaving much of the clearing covered.

“Ha-choo!”
“Shh!”

Twilight’s eyes widened in horror as she stared at the tablet behind the fog ahead of her. 

“W-who’s there?! Show yourself!” She cried, her horn aglow with an offensive telekinesis spell ready to fire.

“Wait! We mean no harm!” 

A male voice. Unfamiliar.

“Who are you?! Identify yourself!”

“We’re BTS! You ever heard of BTS?”

“What? What’s that?”

“Oh, crap. They don’t know about us!”
“Just be quiet! I got this!”

More masculine voices. The first voice cleared his throat before continuing.

“All you need to know right now is that we’re not here to hurt anybody!”

“How can we trust you?” 

“We’re victims of circumstance! We were in a forest filming a show when we suddenly found a big stone tablet! Something weird happened and everything’s went dark… And now we’re here!”

Twilight took it all in, her discomfort starting to fall but noted her companions still looked unsure.

“I’m going to clear the fog. Don’t run off, alright?”
“Huh? How are you gonna do that?”
“Just don’t move!”

With a nod to her friends, she whipped up a quick Prestidigitation spell. A large chunk of the fog centered over the tablet was funneled upward, the wind whipping around the figures crowding it—much to their dismay.

“Aaaah!”
“Yiee!” 
“Noo!”
“Get off me!”
“Ai-sh!”
“We’re gonna die!”
“Shh! Quiet!”

Squinting in the low light, Twilight upgraded her Light spell into a Daylight spell, fully illuminating the intruders.

Seven bipedal creatures huddled together on the tablet, some holding each other while others stood with their arms raised. They resembled griffons or dragons in their upright stances and opposable thumbs but lacked any scales or fur—a pale peach color indicating nude skin. They wore strange clothes that covered their bodies—no doubt the replacement for their lack of any protective natural coats. Their faces were flat, lacking any sort of beak or muzzle. 

What are they?!

The one standing in the front slowly stood upright, hands held high. He squinted at Twilight, holding one of his raised hands over his eyes.

“Now that you’ve seen who we are, can you show us who you are?”
“Very well. However, I have a feeling that you’ll be surprised by what you see.”

The creature shrugged.

“It’s been a weird day. I think we can handle it.”

Doubting his words, Twilight moved the daylight spell back, allowing her and her friends to be illuminated.

A chorus of gasps rang out from the huddled creatures. One of them exclaimed something, although it was too quiet to hear.

“What did you say?” Twilight asked. 

There was a pause before the figure in the front spoke again.

“We think you all look very cute.”