//------------------------------// // The Beginning- Part 1 // Story: Her Candidates // by Nyte-Blade //------------------------------// Another busy day at the clubroom during lunchtime, as the club members are working on their part of the school's weekly journal and eating lunch. Inside this journalism clubroom, are nine boys and girls, all of them except for one, were wearing the red and black colors of Cheshire State Westford Academy. The students all wore red blazers and black button-up shirts underneath, and red pants (boys) and skirts (girls). The clubroom in which these people worked, was a classroom with two rectangular tables in the center of the room with a few laptops on top. With a black and white checkerboard floor, the white ceiling had a few holes made for the large lightbulbs that lit up the room, and a vent in which the cool air from the air conditioner would relieve the occasional humidity. There is also a large window with an open, black curtain against the wall, between the storage cabinet on the left, and the Lost-and-Found box on the right side of the window. Near the window, was a large brown and rectangle teacher's desk with a brown cushioned chair, in which the club adviser would sit and grade his students' work. To the left of the room was a green chalkboard embedded against the red wall, and the right side of the room was another large beige desk in which the club president would have his laptop open and do his own work. Trisha Cole, a tomboyish young woman with red hair that barely touched her shoulders and her bangs just above her eyes, held a flash drive in her hand to give to the club president, Jeremy Zaccheo, a dark skinned young man wearing a black flat cap with a big red stripe down the middle that covered his curly hair. "What's on it?" Jeremy asked, sounding slightly annoyed that he had to stop typing away at his laptop. "It's a play-by-play of the basketball game you asked me to do, remember?" Trisha said, holding out the flash drive to him. "Ah, right... damn, I haven't gotten enough sleep lately.." Jeremy said, rubbing his eyes, then taking sip of his coffee from his black and metallic thermos. Jeremy is the hard-working leader of "the crew" as he calls his club members. He'd always push himself to the limit when it came to getting things done on time. He founded the CSW journalism club due to school regulations, but if it weren't for the regulations he initially hated, these valued companions wouldn't be here together. Despite that, he's known for having a chip on his shoulder, but wearing his heart on his sleeve. "Jeremy, I told you to get more sleep. You need to listen to your teachers more often." Mr. Martin said, sitting at the teacher's desk in the room, grading some test papers with his red marker. Mr. Marten Martin is the club's adviser and is considered a member of the crew himself. He's a very tall (6'7) teacher with short, brown hair and sports a bit of a goatee. He's usually a laid back kind of teacher, but he does his job well, since he wants his students to get far in life. "Don't bother. That guy's stubborn as a mule." Megan said, as he efficiently played an MMO at his laptop. Megan Miles, a young man with green hair and sporting a pair of headphones around his neck with an 'M' on both sides, is a kind of person that works hard just like Jeremy. However, he's always known his own limits, and smart enough to pace himself and manage his time. He's the smartest member of the crew and very handy with various types of technology, but has a huge ego, which makes him a bit of a jerk. He's supposed to be in charge of the technology column of the paper, but he regularly prefers to help with club's tech issues. "And who asked you!?" Jeremy snapped. "Calm down, Jeremy! We're just concerned because you never sleep!" Alice told Jeremy as she typed her article on the computer at the table in the middle of the room. Alice Stanfield is a young woman with her long purple hair in pigtails. She loves gothic lolita fashion to the point of being inspired to create her own clothes in that category. She's very good at sewing clothes, and becomes extra enthusiastic when she wants someone to try her clothes on. She's a very nice person,but it can be hard to keep her attention when she goes on about clothes, boys, or her boyfriend. She works on the fashion column of the paper. "Of course I sleep! But I need all of the time i can get to get all of the work done!" Jeremy answered quickly. "Well, you should depend on us more." Mason the really tall young man (taller than his teacher) with red hair said calmly. Mason Takahashi is a really tall (6'4) young man with short, dark red hair, and a member of the school's basketball team. He assists with the club's sports column. He's a soft spoken kind of guy, with everything he says usually being straight to the point. Sometimes, it's hard to tell what he's feeling. "I have a proposal!" Chris proclaimed proudly while glancing at the girls in the room. "Why don't we go on a trip during Spring Break next week?" "A trip? Really? Are you kidding?" Eva said in disbelief, as she ate her lunch with her brother at the middle table. "Sister, why on earth would I kid about that? It's only natural that our boss needs a good vacation to relax his mind! Perhaps I can teach him my skills in picking up the ladies!" Chris said. Chris King, the youngest member of the club, is quite the casanova actually. He's a blonde haired, rich kid with piercing blue eyes. He's good at picking up girls for dates, so one would wonder if he's ever loved anyone for real. He works on the club's Romance column. Evangeline King or "Eva" as she's usually referred to, a young girl with long blonde hair wrapped in a ponytail, is the older sister of Chris. Her brother is slightly taller than her, and as a result, she's always mistaken for the younger sister. People who meet her at first glance have a hard time believing that she's a third year at the school. Because of this, she's got a fiery persona hidden under her somewhat cool and girly demeanor. She's works on the school's Art Column. "Because, you can't just use the family's money like that!" Eva retorted. "I can if i just tell my dad that we're going on official business! Come on, as long as I net a few connections, Dad won't get mad!" Chris happily said. "Isn't that where I come in?" Avu said. Avu Unchou, a young man with short, slightly spiky black hair, and green eyes, is the club's Information Guy. Jeremy brought him on because Avu's information and knowledge about everyone and everything that goes on in the school and beyond is extensive, as if he were a walking news station. If anyone wanted to know anything, they'd have to ask Avu. "Why, of course! You can help me look for potential connections, and my dad won't be mad!" Chris said, flailing his arms about, as if he were waving away any sense of impending trouble. "Look, dude, I appreciate the concern, but if you get in trouble, then I'm gonna end up feeling guilty. And you don't want me to feel guilty." Jeremy said, pointing his pen at Chris. "Trust me, Jeremy. NOTHING WILL GO WRONG." Chris said with emphasis. "Yeah, just do it, boss." Avu said, continually playing on his Nintendo DS. "Did someone say VACATION??" The gang turn their heads to the beige sliding door when they hear it open, seeing the last three of their group walk in with their lunch. One of the three, Mia, ran over to Jeremy and placed her lunch at his desk, earning a slight scowl from him. "What the blue hell are you doing??" Jeremy said, raising an eyebrow. "You haven't ate at all, I know it!" Mia exclaimed. "Anyway, what's this about a vacation? I gotta know!" "Chris over there is babbling about getting us on some stupid trip for spring break." Jeremy answered, then looked away for a moment and said under his breath, "... Wait a minute, that's not the issue here..." Mia Hughes, the cheerful girl of the bunch and the voice of reason. She's a girl with brown hair and braided pigtails and a few freckles on her face. She's also a bit on the chubby side, but she's still cute of course. Despite that, she has a variety of interests regarding anime and manga, especially when it comes to Yaoi. She's in charge of the yaoi column, one she added, much to Jeremy's dismay. "But it is! Now eat up!" Mia grabbed the fork from the plate, forked a chicken nugget and brought it to Jeremy's mouth. "Say AAAAAAHHH~" Jeremy gently moves Mia's hand out of the way, then responds, "Uh, I obviously know how to eat." "She's just trying to help, Jeremy." Mina said. Mina is just as harsh as Megan, but unlike him, she doesn't look down on others as she's giving her bits of brutal honesty. She's a girl with a slightly curly bob cut hairstyle with and wears glasses. Since she's known for her brutal honesty, she's in charge of the Rants Column of the paper, which is the most popular section to read. "Anyway, I'm actually FOR this vacation. We could use the time to relax." Mina said, taking a seat at the table and setting down her plate of food. "OOOOH, I'd like to relax with ya!" Kitsu said excitedly, nudging against her. "Keep dreaming, bucko." Mina shot him down swiftly. Kitsu Madaki, a young Japanese boy with short black hair. A guy that loves to make everyone laugh with simple tricks of the trade and reference jokes, is in charge of the Comedy Column, which is the second most popular part of their weekly paper. He's good at telling jokes, but he spends most of his time playing tricks on his friends or hitting on Mina, whose crush on her is expressed with pride. He's the second youngest of the group next to Avu, whom are both second years. Kitsu also seems to keep his eyes closed almost all the time, like a fox. "Dude, so where do you have in mind?" Kitsu asked. "Ah... err, good question. Japan? Italy? Canada?" Chris pondered, folding his arms and starting to think. "OOH! OOOOOH! I VOTE JAPAN!" Mia excitedly raised her hand as if she were in class. "Me too! And her too!" Kitsu rose his hand, and grabbed Mina's hand, raising it up high. "STOP THAT!" Mina freed herself from Kitsu's playful grasp. "Well, I wouldn't mind going to Japan, but still!" "Wait, don't we need a passport for any of those places?" Trisha asked. "Ah, no. Actually, our school ID's actually acts as a pass port! That's one of the best things about being in Cheshire State Westford Academy!" Alice said, showing her student ID around her neck. "Huh... I see. Haha... Guess there's still stuff I don't know about this school. My old school was nothing like this one after all, but I still don't like all the stupid rules." Trisha replied. Trisha is actually the newest member of the club and newest student of their school since she just transferred in January. The crew members understand that she doesn't know everything about the school, so they all did their best in helping her along until she eventually joined the crew by the end of her second week. "That sounds like something delinquents say. And I have enough problems with those kinds of kids." Mr. Martin sighed, marking an X on one of the papers he's grading. "No, I'm no delinquent. Not like this guy." Trisha said, pointing at Jeremy, who responded with a quick "HEY!". "I'm just not used to such strictness. But at least It should keep my mind off of other stuff. So it's not so bad." "I was just messing with you, I wasn't seriously calling you a delinquent." Mr. Martin said, followed by a giggle. "Anyway, I wanna go to Italy. Mason told me that he and his family's been there before." "Italy's food is amazing. I want you guys to do some sight seeing with me." Mason said with a light smile, as if he were recalling fond memories of his time in Italy. "It doesn't matter." Megan said, still playing his game, rapidly using the mouse and keyboard like a professional. "Megan, just vote. It's not like your character will get killed if you take a second to think." Mr. Martin said. "Uh, actually..." Avu tried to speak up, but Megan answered Martin's question. "Okay, Italy." Megan turned around and said, sounding annoyed. When he looked at his screen, he noticed that his character had taken significant damage. "UUUUUUGH!" "Tried to warn ya... he's playing one of those really tough MMO's you know. He's really awesome at'em, but he's gotta concentrate too." Avu said, spouting his knowledge of the game. "Well of course, let's just try Canada." "Okay... Three votes for Japan, four for Italy... one for Canada..." Chris said, jotting down the votes on a post-it note. "I wanna go to Italy too! I think there might be some cute clothes for me to see there! I gotta do my research!" Alice said before excitedly doing a search on the internet. "Uhh... I dunno actually." Jeremy said, resting his head on his hand. "Depends on what Ruby wants... because she'll wanna go. You guys know how that kid can be." "Oh just surprise her or something! Tell her that she can see ponies at some ranch or something!" Mia suggested. "Horses." Jeremy said. "I thought little girls liked ponies?" Alice said, confused at Jeremy's statement. "Horses, ponies, what's the difference? They all friggin' look alike!" Jeremy said, slowly going into a tangent. "No, Ponies and Horses ARE different. You're just too stupid to see that, unlike me." Megan said, his eyes glued to the screen. "What was that?" Jeremy stood up quickly. "Calm down, guys! Anyway, Jeremy, just pick italy!" "No, pick Japan!" Mia said. "Ugh, Canada then. HOW'S THAT! HAHAHAHA!" Jeremy laughed at them mockingly before sitting back down in his chair. "idiots. Can't force MY hand!" "Okay... two votes for Canada, four for Italy, and three for Japan..." Chris jotted down with his black pen. "I'll go Japan then." Eva said, making it a tie between Italy and Japan. "And now you, mademoiselle, what's your vote?" Chris asked Trisha in a flirtatious and princely tone. "Hmm... How about.........." Trisha trailed off. One Week Later... Spring Break has finally arrived, and the CSW Journalism club have already boarded the King family's private flight. With all twelve members on board, plus Jeremy's ten year old cousin Ruby, they all set off to Italy. Megan sat in his seat closest to the cockpit listening to "Dust in the Wind", while Mr. Martin next to him, watched a movie on the TV screen above his seat. Avu sat on the other side of the plane, watching a cooking show on another TV screen. Kitsu and Eva were at different seats at the back of the plane taking a nap. Alice, Ruby, Jeremy, Mia, Trisha, and Mina, and Mason decided to gather around and chat for a bit. Chris of course, was with his pilot at the cockpit. "Hey, big bro! What's it like in Italy??" Ruby asked, standing in her seat and looking at Jeremy, who sat behind her. "Uhh... I... have no idea. I never went. You're gonna have to ask the big guy over there." Jeremy said, as he sat in between Trisha and Mia. Ruby Shepard, Jeremy's cousin of only ten years of age, is usually considered an honorary member of the crew since she loves to help her "Big Bro" out with his tasks. Jeremy initially didn't want his cousin helping, but the other crew members didn't mind her presence, and he eventually warmed up to accepting her help. Ruby has black, curly hair and dark blue eyes. "Italy's a beautiful place. It's full of life." Mason said in his usual deadpan manner. "Oh second thought... how about no." Jeremy said to Ruby, his eyelids lowered in annoyance. Mason doesn't say much after all. "I don't mind surprises... all I know is that Italy's got good pizza." Trisha said, sitting next to Jeremy. "That's all you care about, huh..." Jeremy said, looking at Trisha with an eyebrow raised up. "Why NOT?? The pizza's YUMMY. I've had Italian style pizza before and... WOW, you'll never want to eat any other kind of pizza again!" Mia went on, licking her lips as she described the food. "I don't know about all of that..." Mina said, sitting behind Trisha. "I think I'll skip out on all the foods there. I don't wanna get fat!" Alice said, worried about fitting into any of the clothes there. meanwhile... "Hey guys, how long till we arrive?" Chris came in, asking his pilot. "Mr. King, sir, you might want to look at this..." The pilot said to Chris, pointing outside the window up ahead. He was pointing at... what's happening outside. "Huh... is it night already? Maybe it's just that we're going to a different time zone." Chris said. "I don't think so... Didn't you and your friends board this plane at only ten AM? It shouldn't be night time this quick even if we're going into another time zone." The pilot said, sounding worried. "Are you sure you're going the right way then? I mean, you're supposed to be the best pilot money my father hired." "I AM going the right way, I promise! It's just... this is strange! IT SHOULDN'T BE NIGHT TIME RIGHT NOW WHERE WE'RE GOING!" The Pilot yelled in a panic, startling Chris. "I'll contact someone and find out just if the time is right. I know I'm old, but I'm not senile yet!" "Okay, okay, calm down..." Chris said softly, hoping his pilot would calm down. "I'm sure there's a reason..." Meanwhile, back in the passenger section... Trisha turned her head to look outside the window and noticed that the skies look like a clear night sky. "It looks really dark outside..." Trisha said. "Dark? It's night time THAT quick?" Jeremy said, looking through the window, confused as to what he's seeing. "Umm... what is that... black... purply stuff, big bro...?" Ruby asked, as she pointed at the floor in front of Jeremy's feet, at what appears to be the night sky actually moving like a mist... "WHA- AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Jeremy screamed, backing up in fear. "WHAT IS THAT?!" "I-I DON'T KNOW!" Mia, just like everyone else, was in a panic. Their screams eventually woke up Eva and Kitsu, and eventually, got Mr. Martin and Megan's attention. "W-w-what the heck is going on?!" Eva woke up startled, hearing everyone panic. "Maybe they told each other horror stories! I wish I had in on THAT!" Kitsu chimed in. "No, dumbass! Look at the floor! there's some stuff leaking in! Some kind of gas or something!" Jeremy snapped. "Ah, what is that stuff!?" Alice instinctively rose her feet to her seat, not wanting to get in contact with the mysterious mist. "I don't think that's a gas..." Megan said, looking at the floor. "Everyone, remain seated! I don't know what's going on, but please, stay in your seats! DO NOT MOVE FROM YOUR SPOT!" Mr. Martin told everyone. At that moment, the plane began shaking very violently, causing everyone to get in their seats, buckle up, and hang on for dear life. Trisha of course, found herself looking closely at the gas, and noticing that it looks just like the night outside, as if she were looking at the stars in the sky. Just what is this strange gas? Why did it look just like the night sky? Before she could begin piecing together this puzzle in her head, she realized that she was getting farther and farther away from Ruby and Mason, who were just in front of her. In one instant, the jet was forcefully divided... "BIG BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ruby screamed for Jeremy. "JEREMY, NO!" Mason shouted, knowing that Jeremy would attempt to save his crew. "RUUUUUUUUUUBYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jeremy desperately unhooked his seatbelt, wanting to get to his friends. "JEREMY, DON'T! YOU'LL DIE!" Trisha grabbed onto Jeremy's hand, saving him from just falling out of the plane. "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO SAVE THEM! I HAVE TO SAVE RUBY! SHE'LL DIE AT THIS RATE!" Jeremy was in a panic, desperate to get to the other half of the plane. Trisha noticed that her seat belt was vanishing as the smoke covered it. Hearing the same thing happen to Eva, Kitsu, Mina, and Mia, everything was beginning to seem hopeless, and their deaths were inevitable. Trisha tightly closed her eyes, bracing for the worst. "We're already falling from this height... we're probably all dead anyway." Trisha thought to herself. [Do you want to Live...?] Huh...? What is that...? Who is... Trisha spoke to the mysterious voice in her head. [Do you want to live?] "Not if I can't save my friends... I don't want to live... if I can't be with my friends." [Your friendship is magic.] "AGH! What... what the hell?" Trisha suddenly opened her eyes, to find herself staring at a light-blue ceiling... "Am... Am I dead...?" Trisha checked out her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the moderately soft feeling pressing against her back and head, which made her realize that she was on top of a bed. She noticed that the bed was a simple one without any railings, and only white sheets. The floors were made of solid wooden planks painted light-blue like the ceiling.The walls were more of a darker shade of blue, with only two windows to let in the sunlight. She also noticed three other beds in the room: one to her left, and two across from her. When she looked at the brown door with blinds on it, she saw something that made her think she was dreaming. "Nope!" a voice came from her left. "WHA!? A... Uhh, what in the... I must be dead... or maybe this is a dream." Trisha said, looking at who was talking to her. "What... is that? A... pony...?" Talking to her, was a cyan colored pony with wings on the side. The pony's mane and tail looked like a spectrum of colors, and there was a mark on the pony's flank that had a cloud firing a rainbow bolt of lightning. In fact, this pony didn't look like the kind of ponies Trisha was used to seeing. This pony looked... cute and easy on the eyes. The muzzle was pretty short, and she's capable of speech! "No, you're not, and this isn't a dream. Me and the Wonderbolts just saved your lives!" The talking cyan pony said. "Saved... but, this... I mean... My friends and I were practically falling to our deaths. How did you SAVE us??" Trisha asked. "We saw you guys falling through the clouds, so we saved you. Instead of asking what I am, you should tell me what YOU are." The talking pony said, sternly. "Uhh, I'm a human. My friends are humans too. Can't you tell?" Trisha answered her question despite still being confused over what's going on. "I never seen a human before." The cyan pony said, looking confused. "And I never heard of a talking pony, yet alone one with a strange color." Trisha retorted. "Anyway, where are the others, and where AM I? Who are you?" "The name's Rainbow Dash! And you're at the Wonderbolt Academy!" The cyan pony proudly introduced herself proudly. It didn't take long to realize that this pony is the tomboy type. "Wonderbolt Academy...? Wait, you said something about these, 'Wonderbolts' saving us... So about my friends..." Trisha remembered. "Relax! They're in the other rooms!" Rainbow said, pointing outside at the door with her hoof. "Ah, then they're okay!?" Trisha said, trying to get out of the bed, but when her feet hit the floor, she suddenly collapsed, as if she forgot how to walk. "What... what's going on!?" "What's wrong??" Rainbow ran over to Trisha to check on her. "I... don't know actually..." Trisha looked at her hands as she was breathing heavily, shaking uncontrollably just like her whole body. "Just... how long were you guys falling for anyway??" Rainbow asked out of curiosity. "I... have no idea..." Trisha said, vividly remembering that horrifying moment when the plane was broken in two. "LET ME GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! UUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" "That voice... Jeremy??" Trisha looked around, trying to figure out where his startling voice came from. "That's one of your friends, huh?" Rainbow said, looking through the door leading to the hallway, and noticing a dark skinned man being restrained by two ponies whom appeared to be security guards. In front of them and blocking the way are two other ponies: A stallion with sky-blue fur and a dark blue mane, and the mare with a yellow coat and yellow and red mane that resembled a blazing fire. Trisha followed Rainbow, crawling to the door to look. "Yeah... that's one of'em. And I figured he'd be like this... he was like that on the plane with me." Trisha said, trying to get on her feet. "Plane? What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked, confused. "You... don't know what a plane is?" Trisha asked, before finally noticing Rainbow's wings. "Okay... well, that explains it..." "No way! I didn't even know what you are. I still don't even know WHO you are!" The cyan mare said, sounding slightly annoyed. "Whoops... forgot about that bit. My name is Trisha Cole." She introduced herself, still feeling curious. "Anyway, can you help me up? I have to go to him." "Sure thing!" Rainbow said. "I'm surprised... so she's got a group of people too, huh? and judging by the wings, I can see how they saved our lives..." Trisha thought to herself. Rainbow helped Trisha back on her feet and the two of them hurried outside the room to get to Jeremy. Once Trisha seen how Jeremy's being restrained by the other Wonderbolts, she knew that she had to get him to calm down. "YOU DAMN HORSES! GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!!!" Jeremy continued his struggle, but the ponies were obviously stronger than him; not that he cared... "Just stop struggling and LISTEN!" One of the security ponies holding him down yelled. "Spitfire, what's going on with this guy?" Rainbow asked. "This idiot's about to jump out of here, going on about 'saving' his friends or something. Me and Soarin' needed security help trying to make him stop, but he's way too stubborn!" Spitfire answered. "Jeremy, these ponies saved our lives, so please, calm down!" Trisha went to Jeremy's side and spoke calmly. "HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN!? RUBY HAS TO BE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE! If she lived, then the rest of the crew lived! I know everyone has to be alive! I HAVE TO SAVE THEM!" Jeremy continued to struggle, fueled with rage and tears in his eyes. "Yeah, but what happened to the others telling you to rely on us more, huh?" Trisha said, trying to console him. "WHAT CAN YOU PEOPLE DO!?" Jeremy said with a swift burst of anger. "Uh, listen... whatever you are. We did just save your life. Instead of struggling like an idiot, just ask for a little help!" Spitfire said. Jeremy fell silent, only slamming his fist into the ground repeatedly, grunting with each impact his fist made into the wooden floor. At the very least, he finally stopped struggling. "Oh yeah, apparently Trisha and her friend are humans. You ever heard of anything like it?" Rainbow asked Spitfire. "No, not me. What about you, Soarin'?" Spitfire asked Soarin'. "Not me." Soarin' replied. Eventually, the two Wonderbolts got their hooves off of Jeremy's back, letting him go. Jeremy got on his feet, breathing heavily, as if he were high on adrenaline. The very moment he stopped and waited for the two ponies behind him to walk ahead of him, he took off running once again, dashing to the door, only to nearly fall out. Rainbow quickly grabbed him by his belt with her mouth and pulled him back in, making him fall onto his backside. "What the blue hell...?" Jeremy said, shocked to see there's nothing but clouds below. "We tried to tell you. If you don't have wings, you're not gonna get very far in this area." Spitfire said to Jeremy, who could only fall onto his back, feeling completely powerless. Trisha, accompanied by the other ponies, walked up to Jeremy. "Let's see the others, okay?" "Damn it all..." Jeremy said under his breath, feeling defeated. "I'm sure the rest of your friends are alive out there somewhere. But being reckless is not the way to go in finding them. And it sure isn't the Wonderbolt way either." Spitfire said to Jeremy. "I have to find them... my friends... Ruby... I have to find them... I have to find her." Jeremy muttered to himself repeatedly like a mantra. "We will find them. I actually have a really good feeling they're alive." Trisha said. "In fact, I think these ponies can tell us what happened." "What, so I get separated from the rest of my friends, plus my cousin, and suddenly I'm supposed to trust talking ponies. Hah... this day just gets better and better..." Jeremy muttered under his breath, giving a stiff giggle. "What's his deal? Why do ya think these humans were falling anyway?" Rainbow asked Spitfire. "That's what we're about to find out. We'll start by asking the two there." Spitfire said, looking at the two humans. While the ponies were talking to each other, Trisha turned to Jeremy, "We really should learn all we can about where we are first. If we went to look for Ruby and the others without knowing, we'd be lost instantly." "Whatever. I gave her mom and dad my word that she'd be safe, and what happened? She's GONE." Jeremy said, taking his cell phone out of his blazer pocket. When he turns it on, he sees there's no signal at all. "Ugh, no bars either... bloody hell..." Jeremy grumbled. "And that's why we need their help. These ponies might know a whole lot more than we do." Trisha said. "When I first joined your crew, you gave me a chance. Give them a chance too." After a heavy sigh, Jeremy replied, "How the hell can you stay so calm, Trish? We just fell... god knows how many feet from the plane, and you're trusting talking... ponies. " "Actually... I'm not really calm at all. It's just that Rainbow Dash is a pretty cool pony." Trisha said, still shaking a little, but put on a brave smile. "Rainbow... Dash...? You mean... the one with the color mane?" Jeremy asked, pointing at the respective pony. "Yeah. She told me that the others are safe." Trisha said. "THEY ARE!?" Jeremy shouted. Before he realized, they were already back in one of the emergency rooms. "Whoa, someone's excited, huh?" Spitfire said, startled for a brief moment. "Where are they? My friends... where are they?" Jeremy said hysterically, who just couldn't wait to see them despite so many unbelievable things happening in one sitting. "Oh, they're in the room over there. You were in there with them, but you ran so fast outside like a maniac, you didn't even notice." Spitfire said to Jeremy. Jeremy and Trisha noticed the door ahead, running up to it. He looked inside to see only Mia, Kitsu, Eva, and Mina, still unconscious. He turned his attention to the ponies to ask, "I'm glad they're safe... but Ruby... she's not here, is she?" "Who's Ruby? You six were the only ones we found falling from the sky!" Rainbow said. "Ruby's my cousin. Along with her, there were about six others, plus a pilot..." Jeremy explained. "So you didn't see them at all?" Trisha asked. "No way! It's as Rainbow Dash said, you six were the only ones we found falling." Spitfire answered. "Damn..." Trisha said under her breath. "So why were you guys falling?" Soarin' asked. "We were in an airplane, going on a trip, but then suddenly some kind of mist, or gas stuff flowed into our plane and sliced it in half." Jeremy summarized. "So some mist attacked you guys? That doesn't sound right..." Spitfire said. "Well, that's the thing... it didn't even look like mist. It looked like I was staring into the night sky or something when i seen it." Trisha explained. "Wait, what did you say!?" Rainbow's eyes widened, as if she heard something serious. "Oh... uh, the mist we saw looked like the night sky." Trisha repeated herself. "No way... it can't be...! I have to tell Twilight! I'll be back in a bit, okay!?" Rainbow said, before flying out of the room in a hurry. "What was that about...?" Jeremy asked. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, who was flying as fast as she could to Ponyville, to tell Twilight about what she just heard... There's no way, but... there's no mistake with that description, right?