//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: I Dream of Twilight Sparkle // by Salnalus //------------------------------// Twilight and Spike were in the sky for quite a while. Hot air balloons weren't exactly fast, but at least they got a pretty beautiful bird’s eye view of Equestria from up there. On the way to Saddle Arabia, they looked at high-up views of familiar places. The Everfree Forest, the Ruins in which Nightmare Moon was defeated, Dodge City, Appleoosa, and Ghastly Gorge. But those were just some of the places they saw. It had been long before they had made it to the San Palomino desert, but they were still on the side opposite of where Saddle Arabia was. Luckily for Twilight, she brought some good books to read along the way; Spike however, didn’t have the same pleasure, as he underestimated how long the trip was going to take. So he didn’t bring anything to amuse him other than some snacks. Of course, you know what happens when someone his age get bored on long trips. They start asking questions like, “Are we there yet?”, which got really aggravating after a while. Finally, they had the first sight of Saddle Arabia seen over the side of the basket. The Princess had told Twilight about the age of the buildings, but she didn’t say how beautiful the buildings were. At least, beautiful to the studious unicorn mare. It was astounding. From a distance, it looked like the entire city was made out of gold. Twilight and Spike just stared awestruck as they got ever so closer to the grand beauty of the city. In short time they landed, and as Twilight's hooves and Spike's feet touched sand, it felt hot to the touch. Of course, they were just trying to get used to hot sand after being up in the cold air for so long. Why were they going to Saddle Arabia? Twilight Sparkle had a pretty good reason. It all started like any normal day. It was the weekend and a time for relaxation. Twilight was hitting the books until suddenly Spike felt that familiar feeling in his stomach again. “Hey, Twilight...” Twilight averted her attention from the book she was reading to look down at Spike. “What is it, Spike?” She noticed he was gripping his stomach with his claws. “Are you hungry? Do you have a stomachache? Is it a letter from the Princess?” Spike then belched a letter out of his mouth. Twilight picked it up, and began to read it, surprised about receiving a letter from out of nowhere. Dear Twilight, my most faithful student, I know you have realized by now that you, along with all your friends, have done so much for Equestria. I cannot express in words how your actions have changed it for the better in some occasions. I know this may seem out of nowhere, but I feel you should be rewarded for your efforts. Therefore, I am proposing some vacation time for you to any place in Equestria of your choosing. However, because of a few issues regarding your travel, I am sorry to say that your friends cannot come, and I am deeply sorry for that. However, if you choose to accept, you can at least bring along Spike with you. I am sure he would love to travel with you to wherever you so choose to go. If you accept, I will arrive in Ponyville shortly after you've made your decision. Princess Celestia “Oh my... I didn't think we would ever receive such a reward!” Twilight was simply ecstatic about the reward, if it wasn't noticeable. “Still, it's a shame we can't bring any of our friends. At least I get to bring you, Spike.” “Yeah, at least we get to spend some time together...” Spike rubbed the back of his neck. “Still, I was going to spend the next two days helping out Rarity with her dresses, and other things.” “Spike, would you really do that?” “Well, no.. but if it's for Rarity, then I'd do anything...” Hearts appeared in Spike's eyes. Twilight rolled her eyes while giving a slight chuckle. “Ok, Romeo, it's time to stop thinking about Rarity, and time to start looking for a good vacation spot. Princess Celestia said in her letter that we can choose wherever in Equestria we want to go. Maybe if we look through a few reference guides, we'll be sure to find someplace noteworthy to have our vacation.” Twilight turned away from her number one assistant towards one of the sections of the many bookcases. She carefully organized each and every single book in the library so that, if she ever needed to look through the bookcases, she or Spike could remember where to find what they need easily. Spike did the same, browsing through the vast collection for something that they can use to choose their destination. After about half an hour of searching, Spike was exhausted. He was about to collapse until a sudden squeal from Twilight caught him by surprise. “Spike, I may have found just what we're looking for! Come over here.” Spike groaned, holding his head as he walked over to where Twilight positioned the book on a table. It was a pretty big encyclopedia that indexed many of the places in Equestria. They scanned the pages, looking through to find a suitable location. There were many places in Equestria to consider. One of the first places they considered: Las Pegasus. It was a pretty interesting location, bustling with all sorts of activity, but maybe not something they could get used to. Another location they considered: Manehatten. This city was the closest to Canterlot; not in terms of distance, but in similarity and class. Granted, it was just a city, and not much of a vacation spot. The next place on the list was Horseshoe Bay. It was a nice beach with a calm atmosphere, something the studious mare really liked. That was definitely on the list of recommended spots. Spike pointed out another possible place for them to go, and that was Neighagra Falls. It, like Horseshoe Bay, had a calming atmosphere, but this one seemed to be more relaxing and serene, a really great choice to pick. It was a popular camping spot, and camping was something Twilight and Spike wanted to do for a while now. That was now the choice they were going for, but they decided to keep looking, just in case they found yet another great locale. Then, they found that one location. It didn't seem as impressive as the others, but what caught Twilight's attention was the interest factor of the place. It was located somewhere within the San Palomino Desert, a far distance inward. The name: Saddle Arabia. Twilight had always wondered what a place near or in a desert was like, and that's what got her attention. Reading up on it showed many different things about Saddle Arabia. The one thing that she saw that interested her the most was that it had a library of it's own. She thought that if she went there, she could find some great foreign books and scrolls, so if there was a reason for her going, it was for the literature. As for Spike, there were rare, deliciously exquisite Saddle Arabian gems just calling his name there, figuratively of course. They had to admit, it was an odd location for a vacation spot, seeing as it was all the way across a vast desert. However, despite that, the information said it was still fairly populated, so obviously there must be something there if ponies still live there despite its seemingly desolate location. That's when they made their choice, and Twilight smiled with delight. “It may seem like an odd place for a location, but everything we read about it seemed interesting enough for us to enjoy. I'll get to see what kinds of books and scrolls they could have there, and you can snack off their gems. We both have our reasons to go there! Are you up for a trip to Saddle Arabia?” She looked down at Spike, who seemed to have a smile of his own. “Yep, Saddle Arabia it is! Hmm, I wonder what about those Arabian gems makes them different from the gems we normally get around here.” Spike made his way to a drawer, and opened it up, pulling out a decently-sized Sapphire. “Are they any different than something like this Sapphire? A gem's a gem, after all.” He started sucking on it afterward. “Yeah, well, let's just get ready. But first, we must send a letter to Princess Celestia, telling her that we decided where to go. Are you ready?” With that, Spike had already had a quill and pen out, ready to write whatever Twilight had to say. She cleared her throat, and began to speak. Dear Princess Celestia, Spike and I looked through everything in the library for something we can use to select a good place for that vacation you offered us. First of all, we'd like to say that Spike and I have accepted your offer, and will be glad to take the opportunity! Granted, it's a shame you weren't able to have us bring along Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy for the ride, I'm sure you wanted them to enjoy it as well. Anyway, we have chosen our destination, and are ready for your arrival. We will be waiting in front of the library. Your eager student, Twilight Sparkle Spike rolled up the parchment, and as he breathed flame on the scroll, it magically flew away towards Canterlot.”So, while we wait for the Princess to get here, what do we do?” “I think we should tell our friends about this little vacation of ours. Shall we?” “Yeah, it makes sense. We wouldn't want them wondering where we just suddenly disappeared off to, and have them start worrying about us... especially Pinkie Pie. When she freaks out about anything, you'll definitely want to steer clear of her.” Spike rolled his eyes at the thought. He hopped up onto Twilight's back, and she started walking towards the door. With the purple-pink glow of her horn, the door opened, and they headed their way out. It hadn't been long before Twilight and Spike gathered all five of the other ponies of the bunch together. Twilight went off to get Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy while Spike fetched Rarity and Pinkie Pie. It took a little while for Rarity, since she was a bit busy, and of course, Spike was a bit busy trying not to fawn over her beauty. Either way, they all met outside Twilight's library, the other five wondering what the meeting was about. Applejack was the first to speak. “Alright Twilight, ya got us all here. Now can ya explain what the hay this meeting's about?” “Yeah, Twilight. What is the reason? I was busy doing something!” Rainbow Dash hovered above the ground with her hooves crossed next to Fluttershy, who was staring at her. Twilight, however, gave her a blank stare. “Rainbow Dash, you were sleeping on a cloud. I don't think that qualifies as 'being busy'.” “Oh yeah? Well, uh... oh, nevermind. You got me.” Rarity shook her head in disbelief, then turned to Twilight. “Honestly, what are we here for? If a meeting is taking place, it must be about something important.” “It is, Rarity. I'll explain.” Twilight took a deep breath, and exhaled. “You see, because of the hard work, determination, bravery, and heroism we expressed since the time we defeated Nightmare Moon, we've done all sorts of things to help Equestria as a whole, in some occasions. Now, I have some good news to share, as well as some bad news. The good news is that Princess Celestia sent me a letter explaining that because of this, she is offering me a vacation to the location of my choice!” After hearing that, the other five ponies cheered in their place, obviously happy for the reward they were getting. “But...” When they heard that, they suddenly stopped, and listened closely. “The bad news is that the Princess couldn't arrange for all seven of us to go.” Her ears drooped down, as well as her head. The faces around all of them shifted to one of sadness. They were happy that their best friend was able to have a vacation to anywhere in Equestria she wanted to go, but they would've been happy to go as well. Pinkie was the one who seemed the most upset, as her head was so low, her chin was touching the ground. “I'm so sorry, girls. I'll promise all of you though, I'll be back as soon as I'm done with my vacation, and I'll bring back some souvenirs! I won't be gone long. In fact-” Twilight was cut off by Pinkie, who spotted something large headed their way, to which she pointed at with her hoof. “Hey everypony, look! A big hot air balloon waaaaaaaaaay over there!” As they all looked where Pinkie gestured, they all saw what she indicated. Approaching them was Princess Celestia riding her royal carriage, followed by what seemed to be a hot air balloon. Everypony stared as the two pegasus guards pulled the carriage towards them, stopping as they landed right in front of the group. “Hello, my little ponies.” Celestia said as she came down from her carriage, standing tall in front of the group of seven. She turned to face Twilight with a smile. “So I believe you chose your location. Where would you like to go?” Twilight and Spike looked at each other, and nodded simultaneously before looking back at the Princess. “We choose Saddle Arabia.” She just stared back at Twilight for a few seconds. “Saddle Arabia? Not a very popular choice for a vacation spot. I'm quite surprised, but it's still a great choice. Believe it or not, most of the buildings there are even older than I am. That shows how ancient it is. However, they're usually refurbished every now and then, so even if they are eons old, they still look fairly new.” “Wow, I didn't think a place could be so old, yet so new.” Twilight really did look surprised, even after everything she read in the book about it. Celestia nodded in response. “Yes, but who knows how much it's changed? I don't visit there very often, and therefore don't know much about its history. But seeing as you will be going there, that could be a chance for you to learn something about it. As for it's location being in the desert...” Celestia giggled a bit. “The Saddle Arabians, or at least some of them I have noticed during my times there, blame me for it being so hot over there, considering I move the sun every day. I'm afraid of that, actually. I'm not one hundred percent sure it's true, but you can't be too careful.” The group made their own chuckles and giggles over the joke, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie being the most noticeable. “Really? Ponies blaming the Princess for making their home too hot? Oh, that's rich!” “Yes, Rainbow Dash, I can see why that may be silly," the Celestia agreed, "but like I said, you can't be too careful.” No matter how awkward the situation may have turned, Twilight seemed all the more eager by the trip to Saddle Arabia. “I can't believe I've chosen a place even Princess Celestia doesn't know much about. That makes this trip even more interesting! And I see we're traveling there via hot air balloon.” Everypony looked behind Princess Celestia to the hot air balloon, which had just landed behind her. “Well, this is the only available transportation I could get for you, especially considering you didn't tell me where you were going when you sent me that letter, but even so, it's the only available transportation anyway. There's no trains that stretch as far as the San Palomino Desert, and nopony would dare trek there by hoof.” “Yes, I see.” Twilight walked towards the basket, looking around it. Spike followed close behind, examining it as well. She could see now why the Princess said she couldn't bring the other five ponies along. The basket was particularly cramped, as if it only was made to carry about two ponies. With Spike going, there still wouldn't be enough room to bring another pony, and even if there was, Twilight didn't want to choose between her friends again. It didn't turn out so well the first time. She nodded, and looked back at the other ponies, and smiled. “Well, it looks like this is it, for now. I won't be gone long, so I will see you all soon. One last group hug?” Twilight opened an arm, and all of the ponies approached her and embraced each other in one last hug. Spike even got a part in the hug. Once they all let go of each other, Twilight turned to face the Princess, and hugged her as well. “Goodbye, Princess Celestia. I'll write you about my time in Saddle Arabia when I get back.” The Princess nodded back with a hoof wrapped around her student. “Be safe, and I hope all goes well for you. Have a great time.” After a few more seconds of the hug, Celestia let go, and Twilight walked back to the basket. As she climbed inside, Spike tried to climb inside, but the side of the basket was a bit too big for him. She giggled a bit, and levitated him inside using her magic. She turned back to everypony, and waved a hoof, and so did Spike. “Goodbye everypony.” All of the others waved back as the balloon lifted up into the air. As time went on, the balloon flew away more and more until it was practically nonexistent to the earthbound ponies in Ponyville. With that, Twilight and Spike's trip to Saddle Arabia began.