//------------------------------// // Found On The Roadside // Story: Quarter Miles // by L_Wolf //------------------------------// ~{Chapter One}~ ~Ponyville - Equestria~ Sweetie Belle and Starbloom had borrowed one of the spell books from Twilight's library and headed off to a quiet place to study it. Starbloom had long since learned she was limited to just telekinetic spells. But she told Sweetie she would help her learn different types of magic. Today Sweetie said she learn to teleport so Starbloom got a book on teleportation spells. "Alright Sweetie, let's try this one it looks simple." She said showing her a page with a basic teleporting spell on it. "Think you can handle this?" "I don't know, but I'll sure enough give it a try!" Sweetie said beaming brightly as she read the spell over a few times before concentrating on her magic. Her horn lighting up and sparking before she disappeared, just to reappear in the same spot. Starbloom tilted her head watching the display. "Well.... I think that worked... kind of." She said scratching her head with a hoof. "You teleported, you didn't go anywhere but it was teleporting." Sweetie panted and smiled looking up at Starbloom. "Really? I did? Wohoo!" She yelled while she jumped up and down a few times. "I did it! I did it! That was really hard though, I'm surprised your mom can teleport as good as she does." She said after she calmed down smiling at Starbloom. "Yea, teleporting magic is pretty draining. Maybe portal magic might be easier." She said looking through the book and finding a basic portal spell. She read it over tilting her head a few times. "This might work. If you want to give it a try." "Portal magic? I don't think I've seen a pony use that kind of spell before." Sweetie said as she looked at the spell, she read it a few times tilting her head. "It looks easier then teleporting magic, wonder why it's not used more often. Says we need to make a door to hold the portal itself." "That shouldn't be to hard. Should be enough stuff here to make the basic frame." Starbloom said using her magic to gather up some stones and starts to stack them up in a door frame shape. Sweetie using her own magic to help build the frame. It wasn't long before they had the frame built looking it over smiling and nodding. "That should do, what do you think Sweetie, will that work for the spell?" She said looking at the frame then at Sweetie. Sweetie looked it over and smiling after checking the spell in the book. "Yea I think this will work perfect." She said grinning, she got a piece of chalk from her saddle bag and started to draw the runes copying them from the book on the frame. "Now, if I got this right a portal should open from here, to Rarity's place. She's going to be so surprised!" Starbloom and Sweetie giggled softly at the idea of surprising Rarity. "Okay, now I just need to case the spell itself." Sweetie said pointing her horn at the frame and started to concentrate on her magic, the runes started to shimmer one by one as the magic took hold. But one of the joints on the frame slipped causing the rune to change and the portal flared bright sucking both Starbloom and Sweetie in before either had a chance to react. The frame itself then collapsed in on itself. ~{Nevada - Earth}~ Sweetie woke up slowly after the portal spit her out. She moved to her hooves slowly looking around finding herself alone. "S.. Starbloom?" She called out softly moving slowly trying to find her friend. At first glance it looked like she was in a desert, she could hear an odd rumble every so often nearby. "Starbloom!" She yelled out starting to feel panic build inside her. Starbloom sat up nearby shaking sand off her head looking around seeing Sweetie nearby. "Sweetie?" She said softly coughing a little. She blinked when Sweetie turned and pounced her. "Ack! What's the matter?" She yelped at the sudden pouncing. "I thought... I thought it was here by myself..." Sweetie said letting go and got off her looking down at Starbloom helping her to get up. "I don't where we are. This doesn't look anything like Ponyville or any place it either." She said and Starbloom nodded getting her first good look around the area. "I know, this place looks like a desert," she said moving around finding her saddle bag she used her magic to look through it. "Oh no... no no no no!" She said panic raising in her voice causing Sweetie to look over at her. "What? What's the matter?" Sweetie said going over to her. "The spell book, it's gone, I thought for sure I put it in my book after you put the runes on the frame." She said biting her bottom lip. "With out it, I don't know if we can create the portal to get back... quick let's see if we can find your saddle bag, maybe I put it in your bag instead." Both Sweetie and Starbloom started to search for Sweetie's saddle bag finding it, they looked inside but didn't find the book. "No.. this is bad Sweetie, very bad." Starbloom said flopping down sighing hanging her head. Sweetie reached over and patted Starbloom's shoulder. "We'll find a way home, don't worry. If we can find a town maybe we can find a book that has the spell in it." She said smiling at Starbloom. Starbloom smiled back at Sweetie nodding. "Hey, that's right maybe we can find another copy of the book and get home." She said getting to her hooves. Both looking around slowly blinking slowly. "Hey Sweetie.... do you know which way to go?" Sweetie gave a faint shrug shaking her head abit looking around herself, wriggling her ears abit. "I keep hearing this faint rumble sound... maybe we should go see what it is?" She said looking over at Starbloom. Starbloom nodded at her abit. "Yea I keep hearing that to, it's a strange sound." She said looking in the direction it was coming from. Both of them started to walk towards the sound, slowly getting use to walking on the shifting sands. The suddenly came face to face with something, different. "What is this stuff?" Sweetie asked putting her hoof on the tarry black surface of an asphalt road looking at it stretching through the desert. "It's like a road, but nothing I've seen before. It's hard kind of like the stone walkways in Canterlot." "I don't know Sweetie, but if it is a road we should be careful crossing it. We don't know what kind of creatures travel down it." Starbloom said, and as if on cue a car came racing down the road. A dark gray colored American Muscle car. "S.. Starbloom! What is that things!?" Sweetie asked fear gripping her and kept her from moving standing on the edge of the road watching as the car came at her. "Sweetie! Get out of the way!" She said watching, seeing Sweetie frozen in place she reacted to keep Sweetie from getting hurt. She released a blast of kinetic energy into the car coming directly at Sweetie, the force of her magic caused the muscle car off the road, sending up a blast of dust and sand. Starbloom jumped onto the road next to Sweetie and pushed her off the road snapping her out of the shock. "Sweetie! Sweetie are you okay?" She asked nudging her friend, she then heard something else and looked over at the cars. She saw a tall figure making it's way over to where she and Sweetie was. She moved and stood protectively in front of her friend her crystals lighting up. When she saw the tall creature come over and look down at her and Sweetie she blinked, it was nothing she had seen before. "S.. stay away from us.. I don't want to have to hurt you!" she threatened. The tall creature just looked down at her, an amused smirk crossing his face at the threat, "Hurt me? You have got to be kidding." He said as he crouched down looking at Sweetie then at Starbloom, "Did you cause my car to crash?" he asked tilting his head. Starbloom looked him over, he was a big guy, well muscled, with no hair. He would look pretty threatening but she could pick up a gentleness to him and his gruff tone of voice. "I... I had to, it was going to hit my friend and I had to protect her." Starbloom said, still being defensive as she watched him carefully. "I see," He said looking the two over again, any other day he might of found it strange talking to what looked like to small ponies, both weird pretty weird in color. But he did just have an accident on a deserted road. "Look, I wasn't trying to hurt your friend, but she was standing the street." "She didn't know that, we're new here." Starbloom said looking back at Sweetie who was still pretty shaken from what had happen before looking back at the tall person. "W.. where are we? Who are you.... what are you?" Starbloom asked her headband stopped glowing as she relaxed abit. He looked at the two before sighing shaking head. He moved and picked up Sweetie before Starbloom could stop him. "Hey! Put her down!" She yelled jumping up and down trying to stop him. "Put her down!" She yelled again following him as he walked over to his car. He put Sweetie in the back seat leaving the door open, "Get in, I'll answer your questions. After we get someplace safe, and out of this heat." He said, Starbloom staring up at him before jumping in after Sweetie and settling down next to her. "Alright... but don't try any funny stuff mister." She said watching him. "I wouldn't dream of it, and my name is Dominic, you can call me Dom." He said starting the car up he got back up on the road and started to drive down the road again.