//------------------------------// // Part 1 // Story: Where the Earth and Sun Cross // by Para125 //------------------------------// Where the Earth and Sun Cross By Para125 Editor and Chief: Ponylicking808 Prologue “Soon… but not yet…” said Celestia as she protested. “Then how do you expect her to really grow to her full potential?” explained a voice back. “But she already learned so much! Can’t we wait for her to learn more about who she is first?” Celestia reasoned. “You’ve been stalling this for far too long, Celestia… If you don’t send her soon, then you remember how Luna got out of control…” “Yes I do. Fine then, I’ll go and explain this to Twilight tomorrow.” Celestia replied. “I’ll make preparations for her arrival… Good bye then…” Silence and thoughts overwhelmed Celestia as she awoke from her bed in a veil of moonlight. “Sister? Sister are you alright?” Yelled a voice from the balcony. “Yes Luna… I’m fine.” “I hope you know I saw that dream you just had. Should I call Cadence for assistance?” “No don’t be troubled… I can do this on my own. I’ll be gone for now. You know how long the trip can be. I’ll just make an impromptu visit to Ponyville.” “Okay.” said Luna as she laughed to herself. “What’s so funny?” questioned Celestia. “Well I… I just remembered your first time going to train with him.” Replied Princess Luna as she prepared to take off into the night again. “Hey at least I went to train!” said Celestia as she blushed looking down at the floor. “Surree, you just take care now sister, don’t get caught up in anything again.” said Luna before she left. “Yeah… not this time…” mumbled Celestia. “It’s been so long.” Celestia said as she looked toward the stars. She stared as she tried to keep back all of her memories she wished she had forgotten. “Well no helping that now.” Celestia said sluggishly. She stumbled up, grabbed a scroll, and immediately began to write. Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle, I know it is unexpected, and I do not wish to alarm you. But I will be arriving at Ponyville tomorrow as early as I can. Do not prepare. Do not notify anypony. This will be of upmost importance. I understand you may be busy at the time, but please listen to me. You will have to leave Ponyville for quite sometime. I know you will understand my reasoning. Please forgive me if I have caused any disturbances. Sincerely, Princess Celestia “Thank you…” whispered the voice from Celestia’s dream.“ My pleasure…” replied Celestia as she sighed and prepared herself for another journey. Chapter 1 “Wake up, Twilight! Hurry!” yelled Spike. “Spike…? What are you doing up so early?” I asked. “It’s Celestia! She wrote a letter explaining everything!” Spike said as he threw a scroll at my face. “Ow! C’mon, Spike!” “Sorry, Twilight…” I got up out of bed and grabbed the note Princess Celestia had written for me. “What could’ve made her write something so early in the morning?” I questioned myself. Slowly I opened the letter and read its contents. “Oh my… Spike! Spike we need to make sure she’s welcomed properly! Oh my gosh I don’t know what she’s even coming for“ “Twilight! Calm down. Just breathe and come downstairs.” “Okay spike… But all my preparation equipment is upstairs and-“ “Good morning, Twilight!” said Celestia as she stood proudly in the library. “Oh my, Celestia!” as we bowed to each other. “Celestia what are you doing here so early? And what do you mean I’ll be going? I don’t understand what’s happening, Princess.” “Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything on the way there.” “On the way to where?!” I exclaimed, still confused at my situation. “Twilight… Just trust me. Okay?” “Okay… I will.” I said as I calmed my nerves. “Alright.” said Celestia interrupting my train of thought. “Just get into the bubble outside.” Celestia explained. “What?” “The bubble. It’s right here.” Celestia led me outside and pointed to a magical bubble I had never seen before. “Just… step into it?” “Yes, like this.” Celestia said. I watched as she smoothly merged into the floating bubble. “Well… okay” I thought to myself as I followed her movements. As soon as we were both inside the bubble, it shot up into the air and flew faster through the sky than even Rainbow Dash ever has. “Wow, I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before.” I said to Celestia. “I know, Twilight… and again I’m sorry for being such a burden but… This is something that you have to do. And I’m sure you have a lot of questions, so ask them now before we arrive.” “Okay, well who’ll take care of my house and Spike when I’m gone?” “He knows enough now, he can handle himself and your house.” “Okay… Well now where are we going?” “To meet a very special pony.” “Why? I’m in a giant bubble speeding through the skies past everything I’ve ever known, you need to answer me more clearly Princess…” “Okay you’re right I’m sorry, Twilight. But right now we’re heading straight for the Hidden Isles. An-“ “Wait a minute, the Hidden Isles? Those were only written and recorded from old Pony legends; we have no proof of it existing! And even if it was real, wouldn’t there be a magical spell protecting it from any intruders?” “Yes.” replied Celestia “We’re going to meet a very important Pony over there. He protects those Isles, and trust me, it’s a very real place.” “Then what’s so important about us going there?” “No, Twilight it’s important that YOU go there. And don’t worry, you’ll see what’s so important when you get there.” “… What’s this ponies name?” “His honorary name is Prince Terra. Although I am not too sure what his birth name is…” “Prince? So he’s like… a male alicorn?” “Very much so my young, Twilight. His duty is to train all new and growing alicorns to help them reach their full potential. And that is why you must go to him.” “I feel like I’ve read about some pony like that before.” “Maybe you have, but only in the oldest of recorded books is he ever mentioned, and is still only referred to as a legend. He is the protector of our planet, and only leaves his home when every pony is in great peril.” explained Celestia “That seems reasonable.” I said. “I just feel like there needs to be a more bare explanation. It’s as if though I have something unanswered.” I continued. “Just wait and enjoy the view Twilight… You should get some rest, the trip will be very long.” replied Celestia. “Ok, I sure hope you’re right.” I said. Just then I looked through the clear surface of the bubble, towards the orange rising sky and slowly drifted to sleep. Chapter 2 “Twilight? Twilight we’ve just about made it there.” A hazy voice said to me. “Huh? What’s going on?” I slowly stumbled back onto my feet. “Where is it, Princess?” “Right in front of us, you have to open your eyes first.” As soon as I heard Princess Celestia’s voice, I looked up and saw an island so large it could basically be considered a continent. “Gosh Princess, that looks a bit too big to be an Island…” I stated. I noticed everything. It was remarkably bigger than Equestria I know that much. But one of the two Islands seemed to be divided into three parts. With the north western side of the island being a dense forest biome, separated from the middle part of the island by a large mountain range. The southeastern side of the island was also separated from the middle by a large mountain range. This side of the Island on the other hand had all kinds of biomes; it seemed to be as though Rarity had control of the weather again. The middle strip of the island seemed to be the most beautiful yet most simplistic part. Just a flat field with two rivers running along the edges seeming to separate it from the mountain ranges surrounding it. “Well I hope you enjoy it. You’ll be here for a while.” said Celestia interrupting my admiration of the island. “Hey what’s that island off the coast?” I asked as I noticed it. “Terra didn’t actually tell me in a straight forward way, maybe he’ll tell you, Twilight.” “Yeah, if we even get along.” Suddenly the speeding bubble started to slow down through the sky in the upper atmosphere above the island. “So did you enjoy your ride Twilight?” “I have no idea, I just slept through the whole journey. What about you, Princess?” I asked as I looked up at her with a smile. “I don’t know either. I slept too!” Celestia responded as we both chuckled. As we floated gently down to the island, I saw that the mountain ranges were much bigger than I had previously calculated in my head with the mountains being hundreds of miles above the ground. “Just don’t be nervous, Twilight. Okay?” “Okay, Princess, I’ve got this under control.” I replied trying to keep my hooves from shaking. We touched the ground just as the sun began to touch the seemingly endless horizon. I was about to touch the grass right before Celestia pulled me back into the bubble. “What’s going on, Princess?” I asked with a confused look on my face “I just want to let you know that… um… well the grass is really nice so don’t eat too much okay?” Celestia said as she was trying to hold something back. “Uh are you okay, Princess? You don’t seem right.” “It’s okay, Twilight, I just… I don’t want to rush in okay?” “Perfectly understandable, Princess!” I responded. We both stepped onto the grass and felt a slow cool breeze roll from the mountains that were miles away. On the other hand the, Princess was right, I couldn’t help but take a couple mouthfuls of grass before looking around. An old log cabin with a chimney stood proudly in front of us, coupled by a large tree. A sweet smell of cooking food came from within the house. Soon Celestia took the lead and began to walk up the porch leading to the front entrance of the house and I followed. We were both nervous as we sat in front of a large oak wood door, being much taller than even Celestia. “Where is he, Princess? Wasn’t he expecting us to be here?” “I know exactly what he’s doing, Twilight. Can’t you hear him singing?” Celestia replied. I listened carefully to a faint voice singing in another language, the voice coming from the other side of the old cabin. “He sounds… really amazing actually…” I muttered softly. “I know…” Celestia commented with a little smirk on her face. “Terra! You know we’re here! C’mon we don’t have all day!” Celestia yelled with a big grin, as though they were old friends. A gleeful laugh came as you could hear a pony, a big one in fact, slowly lumber over towards the door we stood at. “Good god, Celestia it’s been far too long since I’ve heard your voice in real life!” Said the ominous pony. I watched in amazement as the door opened slowly in front of us, only to see a male alicorn tower above us. He stood a good foot above Celestia (including horn length). As my eyes adjusted to the brightly lit interior of the house, I looked up and saw both Celestia and this new pony both lock onto each other’s eyes with the grandest smiles I could ever imagine. Prince Terra had a flawless brown coat and a smoky black mane. His cutie mark was a symbol of our planet, guarded by two crossed swords. His hooves gleamed with their natural crystal material. The two royal alicorns continued to gleam at each other for a couple more seconds before I decided to make myself noticed. “Ahem…” I coughed. “Oh! Um, Terra, this is Princess Twilight. Princess Twilight this is Prince Terra.” said Celestia as she got on all four of her legs to bow down. I followed as Celestia did and then I said, “It’s a great honor to meet you, Prince Terra.” “Well it’s very nice to acquaint myself with you as well, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” His calm voice replied. Celestia and I both got up and looked at each other. “Well I really must be going then.” Celestia said reluctantly. “Whoah whoah whoah, c’mon. You mean you don’t want to eat dinner with us?” interrupted Prince Terra. “No… I really must be going back to Equestria. Besides, I never got to eat dinner with my parents did I?” responded Celestia. “Well… then I mean I guess.” replied Terra. “So should I get the… Sky Zoomer 5000 up and running again?” said Terra as he laughed at himself. “Terra! I called it that once! I can’t believe you even remembered that!” Celestia said as she turned her head and blushed. “Okay you’re right, forgive me, Celestia. I’ll see you soon then.” “You too, Terra.” I watched as Celestia embraced Terra and rested her head gently on his body for a couple seconds before she slowly returned back into the bubble and flew slowly away back the way we came. “So, Prince Terra, where should we begin?” I said as I watched him slowly stare at Celestia departing with a disappointed look in his face. “Oh well… I should probably show you around first.” He said as he trotted back into his log cabin. I slowly entered and stepped onto the old wooden flooring, and hear the wood creak with every step. We walk through a bright hallway and into his living room. The hallway and living room are lined with pictures and him of all his previous students, but notably none of Celestia or Luna. His living room is brightly lit with hoof-made furniture decorating every part of his house. There were also endless passageways of doors, but I wasn’t too sure where any of them went. We walked into the connected kitchen where he had been preparing a meal for three. “I know it’s not anything big… but I love what I have.” He stated proudly. “I’d expect more for a legendary hero such as yourself but… it is really nice.” I replied. We walked out side next to the tree looming over his cabin. “My favorite student and I planted this tree to teach her about patients. It’s around nine hundred and fifty years old give or take a hundred years.” He said as he slowly admired its beauty. “Hey, Terra? What’s that scribbled on the side?” I asked as I pointed to a scribble on the side of the tree. “Oh don’t worry, that was from a training accident.” As he made sure I didn’t touch it. “Okay let’s go eat some dinner then.” He said as he smiled at me and began to return to his house again. We both sat on his chairs made for alicorns and began to eat. “So what’s it like living by yourself here all of the time?” I said trying to spark a conversation. “It does get pretty lonely, trust me. However I can handle it, it’s very relaxing having this whole place to myself.” “So can you explain to me what the other parts of this island are like?” “Well I’m sure you’ve noticed that I lived in the very center, and if you look out the window it’s just a field. The heavily forested area to the northwest is just where I get materials from, and the bi-polar southeastern side of the islands is where I experiment with weather and land. But heed my warning; never go to either of these two sides without me. It’s far too dangerous for new alicorns to go alone.” He said getting slightly serious at the ending. “Well you can trust me, Prince, I can handle everything!” I happily replied. “Well this should go swimmingly then. I’m gonna head up to bed early tonight, Twilight. We got a big day ahead of us. You can stay up, just be prepared.” “Sure thing, and hey which room do I sleep in?” “The one right across from mine, here follow me.” I put my dishes in the sink as I followed him up the flight of stairs in the living room. We walked into a dark hallway until he opened a door and said “Here make yourself at home. Just don’t come into my room, understood?” “Sure thing, Prince.” “Thanks. Goodnight then, Twilight.” He said as he quickly shut the door behind him. “Wow” I thought to myself. “He’s not very talkative. It must just be from the bubble ride he conjured up for us.” As I sat on my bed, I was remarked at how greatly he had prepared this room for me. Pictures of ponies performing magic lined the walls next to a small bookshelf filled with books I had well… already read. Some scrapbooks sat idly in the corners of the bookshelf and I concluded that I should look at them later. I lay back onto the bed I was sitting on top of and looked carefully at the ceiling. Scribbled very lightly in the corner were the words “Celestia was here :)” I giggled to my self. Well at least I know where Celestia’s room was when she trained here. I put the lights out with a little bit of magic, and slowly fell asleep to the soft embrace of Luna’s light. Chapter 3 I woke up to the sound of waves crashing on the sand with Terra’s face right in front of mine. “Ahhhh!” I screamed “Good morning.” “Where… Where are we?” I asked. “We’re at the beach.” “I see that, but why are we at the beach?” “For your training of course dear, Twilight.” “Oh, okay. Then what are we doing?” I asked with excitement. “We’re going to be working on your physical and combat strength.” “I thought I was coming here to work on magic.” “ Yes you are. However if you really want to fulfill your true potential in magic your body must be able to handle all the magic surging through out your body.” “So basically for me to muster up more power my body needs more strength so it can handle more?” “Yes. Then after this part of the training you will be able run faster, fly faster, hit harder, and more importantly you body will be able to handle more.” He explained to me. “Alright. Let’s get this show on the road.” I said with excitement, not knowing what was ahead of me. Then everyday after that I would wake up in another random place with him right in front of me and he would train me past my physical boundaries to the point where I couldn’t even crawl, and each day getting increasingly strenuous. After one week of training and him carrying me back to the little log cabin; my physical, mental, and emotional drive started to break down. “AHHH! Why am I even doing this! This is getting me nowhere!” I screamed to myself in my room “Twilight, come downstairs for dinner.” Terra said from the kitchen. “(sigh) Coming…” I replied. I came out of my room and walked to the kitchen with a sour look on my face. “What’s wrong?” Terra asked me. “Oh, nothing in particular.” I replied. We both sat at his nicely set kitchen table. He took a minute to thank the food as usual and we began to eat. “Hey Terra?” I asked. “Yes?” “Can I talk to you about something kind of serious?” “You know… maybe later, Twilight. I’m very tired, and I know you are too.” “Oh… Sure thing, Terra” I said with disappointment. I looked up to see his face, I saw him thinking about it but he never said anything. We ended dinner a slight bit more quietly than usual, but I started to head up the stairs before I heard Terra. “Wait Twilight.” Terra said, “Yes?” “Let’s have that talk.” “Okay.” I replied. We walk over to the living room and I sat on the couch across from Terra. It was very quiet for a while. “So how was your day?” Terra asked me. “I don’t know. How do you think my day was?” I responded. “You know why you’re here, and you know why I am here.” “I know but you’re making me do all these things that aren’t even helping me improve my physical performance or…” “Enough.” He interrupted. He looked out the window and mumbled, “Good there’s still a lot of light out.” To himself, “Follow me.” He said. “Okay.” I replied nervously. I followed him outside where he teleported us to the mountains. “Watch me. This is what I want you to learn.” He stated. I watched him spread his wings as his horn glowed faintly. All of a sudden I saw a mountain from the other side of the valley begin to float towards us. “You will know true focus.” He said and then I observed as the mountain began to compress until it was the size of merely a pebble. “Catch this!” He shouted at me. Immediately after he shouted to me, he dropped it and I focused all the energy I had on that one pebble, but I couldn’t levitate it for the life of me. I watched it fall as though it were playing in slow motion and the second it hit the ground a huge crater formed from that one measly pebble. “No matter how you look at it, that pebble is a mountain.” He said calmly “How is that-?” I struggled to ask under my heavy breath. “You should know what I did.” He said as he picked up the pebble lifted it high into the air and turned it back into a mountain. “This is true power that can only be achieved through the hard training of both body and mind.” He stated wisely as he put the mountain back where it began. “How… how did you do that?” I asked in astonishment. “I just told you. Through very hard training of both the body and the mind; no need to be surprised you possess the potential to wield this kind of power.” He told me. “I have that kind of power?” “No not right now, but you do have the potential to have that kind of power and even more.” He said. “More?” I asked. “A lot more. Now c’mon, I’ll show you more things tomorrow. We need to rest first though.” He came closer to me and we again teleported back to his cozy little log cabin. “Night Twilight.” “Night Terra…” I softly whispered as he tucked me back into bed. The next day I woke up on a boat in the middle of the sea with Terra’s face right in front of mine yet again. “Okay why are we on a boat?” I asked while I stretched. “To catch some fish.” He replied. “Ponies don’t eat fish.” “I eat fish.” “(sigh) Fine then it’s not like I know where we are any way.” So we waited on a boat in the middle of the ocean for hours on end. “How long is this going to take?” I screamed losing my patience. “As long as it takes.” He replied. “Are there even any fish in this ocean?” I said. “Haha! Nope.” “Then why are we even out here?!” “So I can show you this.” He stood up. “What are you doing?” I said. “You’ll see.” He said with a little grin on his face. After that I felt this strange rumbling beneath my hooves and the boat with us started to float. “What are you doing?!” I yelled. “Look under the boat.” He said. “This is also true power.” He continued. I saw the ocean split completely in two all the way down to the bottom and it split beyond the horizon. “How do you do all these things?” I questioned in awe. “Well I’ve only shown you two things, but no matter what I show you the answer will always be the same. Through hard training of both body and mind will you be able to wield this kind of power.” He said, and even though he’s shown me all these amazing things I get the feeling that he can perform even more amazing feats. The very next day I woke up in an empty field with Terra right in front of my face again. “Good morning, Twilight.” He said. “Good morning.” I replied. “So what are you showing me today?” I continued. “Look to the west.” He said. “Seems like a storm is coming.” I said. “Exactly.” “But what does a storm have to do with what you’re going to show me today?” “Just be patient dear, Twilight and believe in the power you have in those wings.” He said. So we waited until the storm was completely covering us and it was one of the worst storms I have ever seen and there was not a speck of blue to be seen in the sky. “Now watch.” He said as he gradually extended his wings until a shadow was casted over me. “These are the true wings of an alicorn.” He pronounced, and with a single flap of his wings he shot into air and within an instant he created a sonic rainboom as he cleared the skies of every cloud. All I could do was watch in pure amazement as I saw the massive storm dissipate into nothing. “Do you now understand the true power of an alicorn?” He asked me, all I could do was nod with my jaw touching the ground below me. “Well you shouldn’t. That power is not the true power of an alicorn and now that you are an alicorn you can achieve power far greater than this.” He turned away expecting me to follow him. “Are you ready to go yet Princess Twilight? It’s a beautiful day to train but I think you can rest today.” I said nothing in return. “Twilight? Heellllooooo? Twilight?” He urged me to respond. I just store at the sky. “You know, Prince Terra… Every princess must see just how far they can go…” “What are you suggesting, Twilight?” He questioned as he started to eat some corn he stored in his food bag. “This is what I’m suggesting!” I dug my hooves into the ground, extended my wings, and focused. “Don’t screw up.” He commented as he continued to nibble on his food. I felt only energy rushing through my body as I looked up and envisioned myself going faster than even Terra and Rainbow Dash. “I’ll show you focus!” I let the energy in my wings unleash and before I knew it, I was hundreds of feet in the air. “Focus… Focus…” I thought to my self. Suddenly, as I was about to hit my maximum velocity… my left wing cramped. I couldn’t help but spiral left towards the southern side of the island. I heard Terra call for me right before I blacked out, “Twilight! I can find you! But first, you must find yourself!” He shouted to me. Just then, I slowly closed my eyes and prepared for the worst.