//------------------------------// // The Quest Begins // Story: The Trotzamore Stratagem // by The Rarispy //------------------------------// The Ponyville Express puffed into the quaint town once more as our six heroes exited onto the station. Twilight was staring down at the ground as she moved, whilst the others appeared to be staring ahead in deep thought. After a while of walking, Applejack finally woke up. “Well, since nopony else is gonna ask, where do we start lookin’ for these Gemstones of Passion anyhow?” “Yeah, they could be anywhere!” Rainbow chimed in. “Then we have to start searching every nook and cranny in Equestria!” Pinkie declared. She took off, examining under rocks, lifting things up, and peering inside trees. “Nope, not there! Nope! No gems here! Where are you? Ooh! Here’s some gems!” She emerged from a hollow stump grasping an assortment of brightly colored nuts. “Oh, wait… these are just acorns.” She was alerted by the sound of chattering and a tug of her tail, and looked down to see two angry squirrels. “Hee-hee, sorry,” she apologized as she dropped the acorns back in the stump. “Well…” Twilight uttered. “I guess the first thing we should do is concentrate like Princess Celestia said and try to figure out where they are. Ready, guys?” She held out her hooves, and the other five joined her as they locked hooves in a tight circle. “Ready!” “Ready!” “Ready, darling!” “Ready.” “Ready, Freddie!” They all shut their eyes and focused hard. Finally, both Twilight and Rarity’s horns started to glow, and all six of them flashed glowing red eyes open. I see it… The whole of Equestria. Every town, every city, every landmark… it’s all there in front of my eyes. “Ooh, look! It’s a game of Connect the Dots!” “I reckon those dots are the Gemstones!” “You’re right!” Finally, they broke the spell and landed at the ground in a scene of vertigo. “Oh, man… what a rush,” said Rainbow. “That was COOL!” exclaimed Pinkie. “Let’s do that again!” “I’d rather not,” replied Rarity, rubbing her head. “I think I’ve received a bit of a migraine from doing that.” Twilight pulled a scroll from her satchel containing a map of Equestria, and started to mark dots all over it. “Okay, so there was one here… And one here… And one here…” “Y’all sure you can recall that many red dots?” Applejack inquired. “Oh, don’t worry. I have a good memory when it comes to these things. I used to love to do memory games when I was a foal.” Rainbow scoffed. “Egghead…” “Alright, that should do it!” Twilight picked up the map with her magic and studied it. “Hmm.” “What is it?” asked Fluttershy. “Well, if I wrote this down correctly, then… three of the Gemstones are actually right here in Ponyville.” “Ya don’t say.” “She’s right,” said Fluttershy, closing her eyes. “I think… I can sense them nearby.” “Well, this is getting easier by the minute! That’s three of them practically in the bag already!” Twilight pondered for a few moments. “Alright. Let’s split up and search for them in pairs of two so we can find them and get moving elsewhere as quickly as possible.” “Uh… actually, Twilight?” Applejack raised her hoof. “Ah know findin’ the gems is important and all, but do ya think I can stop by and see Caramel and my family?” Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Ah just wanna make sure they know where ah’m goin’, since this is gonna be a long quest and all.” “That should be fine.” “Thanks, Twilight! I’ll be back in two shakes! …Well, maybe three!” She ran off down the road that led to Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow looked on with a concerned expression. “Okay, so if we split up a—” “Um… hey, you know what?” Rainbow interrupted. “Maybe I should go with her, just to make sure she’s okay.” “Huh?” Twilight said, looking up. “What do you mean?” asked Rarity. “Why wouldn’t she be okay?” “Well, because—Because—” She made a loud grunt. “Look, I just—I’ve just gotta follow her, okay!?” With that, she sped off after Applejack. “That was really strange,” said Fluttershy. “What do you think she meant by ‘make sure she’s okay’?” Rarity perked up in realization. “You don’t think she’s… jealous, do you?” “Hmmm…” Fluttershy and Twilight both responded. “Jealous of what?” asked Pinkie. “Her hat? It is a pretty cool hat.” “Hey Rarity, I just realized something,” said Twilight. “Aren’t you going to need to find somepony to take care of Sweetie Belle while we’re gone?” “Hmm, now that you mention it, you’re right. Oh, but I’m sure my good friend Golden Harvest can look after her… as long as she and Berryshine aren’t busy, that is. And I can still look for the gem on the way.” “So can I,” added Fluttershy. “Great!” shouted Pinkie. She wrapped her hoof around Twilight’s neck and pulled her close, much to Twilight’s surprise. “And me and Twilight can stay here and work on the maps together like the bestest, best friends we are!” “Um… Pinkie?” Twilight nudged herself away and sidestepped several inches. “Actually, why don’t you look for the other gem while I stay here and do the maps?” “Oh.” Pinkie’s ears drooped, and she looked disappointed. “Are—are you sure you don’t need any help?” “Of course, I’ll be fine.” “Oh… okay.” As Pinkie walked away, Fluttershy and Rarity went off to look for the gems themselves. “Um, Rarity?” Fluttershy whispered. “Yes, darling?” “Um, I was just wondering, but… did you notice anything weird about Twilight’s eyes?” “Not particularly. Why?” “Well I don’t know, it’s just… for a second, I could’ve sworn they looked gray.” Applejack was walking away from her barn, and through the apple orchards. As she walked along, she heard the sound of a twig snap. “Hmm?” She whipped her head around. “Hello? Anypony there?” Not a single sound followed in response. “…Hmm. Mighty strange.” She continued walking. As she passed by a bush, it rustled until Rainbow Dash’s head peered out of it. Once she could see that Applejack was out of earshot, she quickly darted into the branches of a tree. She continued this way, darting from tree to bush until she finally spotted, from up in a tree, Applejack’s boyfriend. “There’s the two-timing jerk!” she whispered to herself. Caramel stood in front of the maroon-roofed gazebo waiting for his sweetheart. He smoothed out his hair and nudged up his blue cap as Applejack approached. “Hey there, sunshine,” he greeted lovingly. “Awww, how ‘yam doing’, my pudding’ peach?” They nuzzled each other’s noses, a gesture which made Rainbow stick her tongue out. “You’re lucky you’re a charmer Caramel, or I’d have to put a stop to this right now.” Fluttershy walked along the town streets, looking high and low for the gem. Oh, dear. These streets are so big, the gem could be anywhere… She looked all around her. The street was filled with plenty of cheery-looking ponies, going about their daily business. She sighed. I wish I wasn’t so shy… Oh, wait! That spell! Maybe I can use it! She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and concentrated. A flash of realization seemed to hit her in the face. “Oh! I see it now!” She opened her eyes again, only to see everypony in the street staring at her. She smiled with a squeak and ran down the road where her instinct was leading her to. Letting the sense guide her through the street, she noticed all the colored tent homes and quickly realized where she was. “Huh? But this is… the Carnival District. But this is where— OOF!” She bumped into something while concentrating. When she shook her head and came to, she finally saw that her sense had led her to… “…where Rarity lives.” Elsewhere, Rarity found herself opening the front door of the Golden Oaks Library. “Oh, dear. Perhaps I should’ve asked Twilight to come with me. She might’ve known where a small gem was in her own house. Hello!” she called out. “Spike? Are you home?” But the house remained still and quiet. I guess he isn’t. Rarity opened the door all the way and stepped inside. Now, where would Twilight, or Spike, keep a gem in this hou—Oh, no! Frantically, she dashed upstairs and over to Spike’s bed. Turning it upside down, Spike’s blanket fell out, as did several pieces and shards of various gems. “Oh, this simply isn’t good. What if Spike…” She gulped. “…ate it already?” But then she put a hoof to her forehead. “No… wait, it’s—it’s still here. But where…?” Finally, she turned around, as if someone had pointed her in that direction, and gazed upon Spike’s large sapphire. “Oh, no.” Pinkie Pie hummed happily as she skipped down the road, eventually reaching her home and workplace, Sugarcube Corner. “HIYA!” she yelled as she opened the door, ringing the bell. “Oh! Afternoon, Pinkie Pie!” greeted Carrot Cake. “How was your trip to Canterlot?” asked Cup Cake. “Ooh! It was just awesome, Mr. and Mrs. Cake! We got over there and the Princess was all, ‘Twilight, I need your help!’” She mimicked Celestia in a bizarre, gruff voice. “So then Discord showed up and he was all, “Hey girls, what’s up?” So now he wants to go to this cool, pink flower field called Trotzamore so he can control Equestria and make everypony’s hearts full of chaos… or something like that, so me and Twilight and our other friends have to go on a magical journey across Equestria to find all the Gemstones of Passion so we can save Equestria from Discord and have super-happy fun times again!” She wheezed heavily after finishing her ramble. But then she was chipper again as she added, “Oh, by the way, can I have a few days off?” Mr. and Mrs. Cake both looked stunned. Mr. Cake opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t come up with anything. “Uh—s-sure, Pinkie, whatever you need,” Mrs. Cake finally stammered. “Great!” She started marching up to her room. “I gotta go say goodbye to Gummy and start getting ready!” After she left, the two of them turned to each other, still trying to regain her composure. “She’s an odd one, that Pinkie,” Mr. Cake finally said. “Oh hey, guess what else?” Pinkie Pie suddenly popped up from behind the counter, making Mr. Cake jump back. “Can I tell you guys a little secret?” She whispered something into both of their ears. “We know dearie,” said Mrs. Cake. “You’ve already ‘confessed’ your secret to us over twelve times.” “I know, but this time, I think the prophecies are finally coming true! It’s all so fresh, and I couldn’t be any happier!” She cartwheeled back into her room with a big smile on her face. “She certainly seems happy about it,” said Mr. Cake. “Yes… I’m just really worried.” “Why’s that, pumpkin?” “Because… could you imagine how much it would break her heart, if—if Twilight doesn’t love her back?”