//------------------------------//
// The Gang's All Here - Or Not! 
// Story: Journey to Zebrica 
// by Victory Dance 
//------------------------------//

	Early in the morning, Princess Celestia awoke. The grand leader of all of Equestria stretched her legs and wings and arose from her bed, turning to look out the window at the tranquil scene of a darkened Canterlot. It was Celestia's job each and every single morning to work together with her sister and raise the sun after the moon was lowered to begin the dawn. This morning, however, there was something else that plagued her mind. Something about the air this morning seemed... amiss. Shaking it off, or attempting to, Celestia left her quarters to begin the day.





Almost one hundred miles away in Ponyville, several minutes later, the sun was beginning to peer over the line of trees in the distance. In a certain well-maintained treehouse, Spike the dragon awoke from his dream and blinked for several seconds, yawning.
"Oog... I'm not normally up this early... Twilight? Did you wake me up?" He sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "Twilight?"Hearing no response, he hopped from his tiny bed and clambered up to the high spot near the window where his friend always slept. "Twi – huh?"
It was empty. And what was far weirder was the fact that it wasn't made. Twilight Sparkle was incredibly meticulous about her bed and wouldn't even eat breakfast until the sheets were perfectly folded and the pillows flawlessly fluffed. But not today. The sheets were wrinkled but not tossed aside... almost as if she had just slipped right out of bed.





A few blocks away in the downtown area, the tenants of the apartment above the Sugar Cube Corner cafe and bake shop were awakening as well.
Cup Cake was the first to wake up. She rolled out of bed and yawned, beginning to ready herself to feed the twins and make breakfast for herself and her husband, Carrot Cake. As she began fixing her hair, however, she paused. Ear twitching, she reached over and nudged Carrot awake.
"Hm, huh, wha?" he groaned sleepily. "Er, what is it, pumpkin?"
"Dear, do you hear that?" Cup Cake muttered.
Carrot listened. "Uhh... no, I don't hear a thing." He shrugged.
Cup Cake gave him a concerned look. "That's just the thing... it's so quiet. No jumping on any beds, no singing, no exercise routine... nothing."
Carrot immediately sat up. "Something is very, very wrong."





Right across the street, Sweetie Belle was stirring in her room in the house next to her older sister's dress shop, the Carousel Boutique. She wasn't stirring as much as she was jolted awake by a sharp pain in her side.
"Reowwr!!!" Opalescence yowled to her and clawed at her again.
Sweetie Belle yelped and pushed the cat off her bed. "Ow! Opal! Why are you in my room?!?"
The cat meowed and pantomimed eating out of a food dish.
"Huh?" Sweetie cocked her head and frowned. "But... doesn't Rarity feed you as soon as she wakes up?" She looked at the clock. "7 A.M.... she's usually woken me up by now...
"Rarityyyyyy???"





A ways away from the town, over in Sweet Apple Acres, another little filly – Apple Bloom – was poking through the halls of the family farmhouse.
"Hey Big Mac?" She said to her older brother, who was in the front room putting on his trademark harness. "You seen AJ around this mornin'?"
Big Mac thought a minute. "Nnnope," he shook his head and said. "Mebbe she's out in th' fields already."
Apple Bloom sighed. "Maybe, but ah don't think so. Ah ain't seen hide nor hair of her all mornin'. Ain't heard her neither."
Big Mac lowered his ears. "That's mighty odd... Didja check in her room?"
The young filly nodded. "Sure did. Nuthin'. Didn' even bother ta make her bed."
"That's..." Big Macintosh put his harness down and looked out the window. "That's mighty darned odd."





Not too far away from the farm, Fluttershy's cottage was unusually quiet. Angel the rabbit could sense that there was something going on. With a mighty kick he broke the door off his sleeping crate and bounded into his owner's bedroom... then her kitchen... then the garden... then the aviary........ nothing.
He sat down in a patch of wild clover, awash in sadness and confusion. Flutters is gone, he thought to himself, and laid down in the clover. How will I be fed? I'll starve to death!





"Twilight? Twilight?!?" Spike left the treehouse after searching all over for his mentor and looked around in the clearing. She hadn't left any notes or anything, and the little dragon was starting to get seriously worried.

"Pinkie Pie? Pinkie?!?" The Cakes had searched all over the house and the shop, and now the babies were starting to get upset.
"She... she doesn't just leave like this..." Carrot muttered. "Something has to be going on here."

"Rarity? Rarity?!?" Sweetie Belle and Opal had nearly trashed the pace in their search. Opal yowled and scratched at the cat food cupboard, but Sweetie ignored her, instead rushing outside to pull up the rosebushes, in the hope that Rarity might be hiding under one.
"Ow! A thorn! Rarityyyyyy, waaahhhhhhh!!!"

"Anythin' in th' North fields?" Granny Smith croaked, seeing Apple Bloom trot back from her search.
"Nothin'," Apple Bloom panted. "An' she ain't in th' Northeast 'r' Northwest ones neither... an' Big Mac already checked the East, West, an' South fields..."
She sank to the ground and started crying. "Why is she gone?"
The two were interrupted by the sight of a white rabbit racing towards them through the trees.
"A VARMINT!" Granny Smith cried. "Lemme get mah shotgun!" She turned, but was stopped by her granddaughter.
"Wait granny, that ain't no varmint! Why it's Angel Bunny, as I live an' breathe!" She patted the little rabbit's head as he caught his breath. "Why in Equestria are ya so far from home, lil' fella?"
Angel began jumping up and down and waving his little paws frantically in the air. Apple Bloom sat and watched, not having a clue what the little animal was doing.
"Well I'll be!" Granny Smith said, coming up behind Apple Bloom. "The lil' varmint says that Flittershy is gone jes' like Applejack!" She squinted. "An'... either he's hungry er constipated. I'll git th' cod-liver oil!" She sprang off, leaving a wide-eyed Apple Bloom with Angel.
The little rabbit stomped his foot on the ground, gestured to Bloom, and scampered off in the direction of Ponyville.
"H-hey... wait up! Are ya tryin' ta git me ta foller ya?" Apple Bloom shouted to him, and he nodded. "Well, if'n it'll help find ma sister... ah'm a-comin'!!!"





"THEY'RE GONE!!!!!!!" The voice raced through all of Canterlot Castle and shook the entire building to its core. It was the Royal Canterlot Voice... but unlike the norm it was not Princess Luna speaking in such a voice. No, this voice was far more powerful and many times more frightening – it belonged to Celestia.
The tall alicorn ruler stormed furiously out of her quarters and turned to a nearby Solar Guard. "GET ME MY GUARD CAPTAIN!!!" she roared.
The guard nearly soiled himself as he nodded shakily and raced off to find Shining Armor. When the captain was brought to her she reverted to her normal voice, but the tone was filled with fury. "Shining, I want the entire castle and the whole city of Canterlot on full lockdown. This is not a drill. Somepony has stolen all six Elements of Harmony." She gave a mighty flap of her wings and Shining raced off with several guards to sound the alarms and secure the city.
Luna sidled up to her older sister. "Sister, what does the elements' disappearance mean? I do not think I have ever seen you in such distress before."
Celestia sighed. "After Twilight gained her wings, I was certain that moving the Elements back to the castle would ensure their safety, even after she moved back to Ponyville. The elements have gone missing only twice... once, when Nightmare Moon destroyed the orbs, and again when Discord stole them. Both times it was known who had taken them... but not once in the fifteen hundred years that I have led Equestria have they just disappeared this way. Those elements were protected with a large number of spells... only a user of incredibly powerful magic could have ever even dreamed of sneaking in and snatching them this way. With the elements gone and such magic on the loose, our nation is in a great deal of danger."
Luna shifted uncomfortably and looked at her sister. "You don't suppose that..."
Celestia nodded sagely. "You go and send a guard to notify Twilight Sparkle. I will summon Discord to be questioned."



	

Apple Bloom and Angel raced into town, the former stumbling after the latter, panting and red-faced. The first thing Apple Bloom noticed when she got into the downtown area was her friend Sweetie Belle, who was seated around several uprooted rose bushes and sobbing. She ran over to her friend, concerned.
"Sweetie Belle! What in th' world are ya doin'?" She nudged the dirt-covered filly to her hooves.
Sweetie wiped her eyes, smearing dirt on her face. "A-Apple Bloom... I can't find Rarity anywhere! She just disappeared without a trace!"
With a gasp, Apple Bloom quickly told her friend about the supposed disappearances of Applejack and Fluttershy, albeit with a lot of help from Angel.
"That's awful... Applejack and Rarity and Fluttershy, missing?" Sweetie Belle shook herself clean and stood up. "We gotta talk to a grownup. Let's ask Twilight."
"Speakin o' Twilight, lookey here! It's Spike!" Apple Bloom pointed to the little dragon, who was running frantically toward them.
When he got there, he spoke to Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie, I gotta talk to Rarity! Where is she?"
The little pony shook her head. "Rarity's missing, Spike. So's Applejack and Fluttershy!"
"Oh no..." Spike put his head in his paws. "But... Twilight's missing too..."
The two ponies, dragon, and rabbit were all three suddenly interrupted by a voice behind them.
"Excuse me, children?" Cup Cake was walking towards them from across the street. "Have you seen Pinkie Pie?" When the three of them shook their heads, she frowned. "Oh dear... she seems to have disappeared. As much of a burden as she is, she's indispensable to the shop, and the babies are simply distraught without her!"
Half an hour later, there was a small crowd in front of Ponyville Town Hall. It consisted of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Cakes, Spike, Big Mac, Granny Smith, and several other ponies who had come to complain about the fact that the nighttime clouds had yet to be cleared on a day that was scheduled to be sunny.
"Calm down, everypony!" Mayor Mare said loudly to the crowd. "It is my duty to inform you all of the dire circumstances we are all in. Recently I was visited by a royal guard who informed me that something very bad has happened in Canterlot... and it has something to do with what has happened here. Either way, I am now declaring this a 'missing ponies' case."





Meanwhile in Canterlot, there was a similar crowd forming in front of Canterlot Castle... but this one was much larger and much more concerned. Within a few hours, word has spread to every furry ear that the sacred Elements of Harmony were missing, and the barely-trustable Discord was being questioned on the matter. Or rather, some ponies had heard "Discord has been accused of stealing the elements" or even "Discord stole the elements". Shortly the form of Celestia stepped onto the balcony in front of the crowd, and the princess spread her wings to ask everypony to be quiet. Although the volume decreased significantly, several voices were heard shouting out in dismay and anger.
"Bring out Discord!"
"What will become of Equestria now that we're unprotected???"
"What has Princess Twilight said of all this?"
"Fluttershy was Discord's reformer! What has she got to say for herself?!?"
Celestia stomped her hoof and the outcries ceased. "Fillies and Gentlecolts, I am afraid I cannot answer your questions about the princess or Fluttershy, as they are not available for comment." When faced with the cries of why not, she gave another stomp. "Because, I am afraid, they and the rest of the Mane Six have disappeared. Due to the circumstances of their disappearances, it is suspected that they have been ponynapped around the same time the Elements of Harmony went missing. The two issues are likely related."
Gasps of horror arose from the ponies, but they remained quiet except for some murmuring that ran through the crowd. Celestia continued. "Word has leaked that Discord is involved in these cases. This is not in any way confirmed fact, although he is a suspect and is being questioned." Before Celestia could speak further a guard came onto the balcony and whispered something to the princess, who hurriedly spread her wings to signal that she was done speaking and went back inside, leaving the crowd confused, frightened, and somewhat beginning to slowly disperse.
One pony in particular was especially confused. The small white unicorn, who went by the name of Splitend, was particularly upset because she had liked Discord. She had heard the story of his reformation and had even met him on several occasions. He seemed perfectly pleasant, albeit very... well, chaotic. I know he used to be so horrible, she thought, flattening her ears. But would he go from totally reformed to stealing the Elements and kidnapping a princess just like that? She shook her head and cleared her starry mane out of her face.
"Are you thinking the same thing I'm thinking, stranger?" A voice behind her made Splitend turn. The voice belonged to a somewhat tall, gray pegasus with black red-tipped hair leaning against a lightpost. He stood up straight and walked toward her. "The name's Hiroticus – call me Hiro," he said, casually extending a hoof.
"Splitend." She took his hoof gingerly and cocked her head. "Anyway... what were you thinking?"
"Well, think about it," Hiro shrugged. "Discord has no reason to both steal the Elements of Harmony and ponynap the Mane Six. And even if he did, there's no reason for him to remain here in Canterlot... especially since he's obviously the only creature in the area who could possibly do something like this." Hiro walked as he spoke, forcing Splitend to trot to keep up with him. "My brother is in the royal guard, I happen to know that those elements are guarded with some seriously powerful magic. No regular unicorn could break in there, not even an alicorn unless they were REALLY powerful."
"What are you saying?" Splitend said, intrigued by his logic.
The pegasus looked back at her. "He's been framed. By who or what... I have no idea. But despite what Celestia may believe, I'm almost certain that our resident draconequus is innocent."
Splitend nodded. "You know what? That is what I was thinking." She upped her speed and soon the two were side-by-side in the rapidly dispersing crowd. "That's really awful... I sure hope he's able to prove his innocence."
Hiro stopped abruptly and shot her a disparaging look. "What makes you think he CAN?" He snorted. "Pretty soon they'll have him under lock and key. Celestia will be using her strongest spells to keep him from escaping until he confesses to a crime he didn't commit... then she'll have him turned back into stone. Or killed." He put his ears back. "And we'll be left six ponies and six elements short."
Splitend shifted uncomfortably. "You really think so?"
"I know so." Hiro's voice was quiet but his tone had a hint of danger in it. "The question is what to do about it."
"Could we... is there anything we can do?" Splitend's eyes went wide and she grimaced. "I don't think there is..."
"Maybe not for you. But I..." he stood up tall. "... plan to do something to figure this all out."
Before Splitend could respond, she was interrupted by another voice, this one coming from a pony who stepped out of what was left of the crowd. The pony was an off-white, a little darker than Splitend, with a short gold-and-brown mane. Her build suggested mare, but she was almost stallion-like in her face and the way she held herself. As she revealed herself, she scoffed at Hiro. "And how do you intend to do that? Much less alone?"
Hiro seemed a bit taken aback at the sudden appearance of the other pegasus. "Excuse me?" he snorted.
Splitend perked up. "Hey... I know you!" she said. "We went to school together. You're Onabe, right?" Onabe nodded, and Splitend smiled big. "It's been a while, good to see you!" She pranced up to her old friend and grinned. "How have you been?"
Onabe shrugged and mustered half a smile. "Alright, I suppose. Anyway," she turned again to Hiro. "It's obvious that Discord is innocent, but I doubt that one pony alone is going to be able to prove that." As she spoke, she got increasingly closer to Hiro until the two were nose-to-nose.
"So," Hiro said coolly. "What do you suggest?"
"Glad you invited me along!" Onabe flapped her wings and laughed.
"..."
"I know, you're speechless that I accepted." Onabe stepped past a wide-eyed Hiro and turned to Splitend. "Whaddaya say, Splits? You up for a little investigation with me and Twinklehooves over here? We need to look further into this and figure out who or what would steal six ponies and the Elements or Harmony, and then frame Discord for it."
The exchange of dialogue had shocked the starry pegasus, but she quickly nodded. "Hey... yeah!"
"It's settled then. Hiro, right?" Onabe turned toward Hiro and he nodded. "Well... let's go!" She turned and began trotting – and then stopped. When she looked back, there was a rather sheepish expression on her face. "So... what now?"
Hiro smirked, but before he could make a snide remark, Splitend piped up.
"I think I know what we need to do first. Follow me, guys... I have a friend who can help us."





Splitend had led her two pony friends all the way to the west end of Canterlot, to a small, pretty apartment complex. She went up to one of the doors and knocked enthusiastically.
"Aver? Hey, Aver! Open up!"
The door opened and a fair-built stallion, also a pegasus, opened the door. The gentle breeze coming from the outdoors managed to ruffle his black mane, and he gave his head a slight shake. When he saw Splitend, he brightened. "Splitend! It's so good to see you!" He moved and gestured for her to come in. "You and your friends come in and sit down, make yourselves comfortable, I'll put the tea on!" His feathers fluttered excitedly. "Gosh, I never get guests..."
Splitend motioned to the other two ponies as she entered the cozy apartment. The three of them stood a bit awkwardly, none of them quite comfortable enough to sit.
"Splitend..." Onabe whispered. "Dis niqqa be gay."
"Actually, he's engaged," Splitend whispered back. "Didn't you see the band around his leg?"
When Aver returned, he smiled at the three ponies as Splitend introduced everyone.
"Guys, this is my friend Aver Credence. Aver, this is Onabe and Hiro."
Aver nodded. "And what brings the three of you to our home?"
"Speaking of which, where is Kinetic Blast?" Splitend queried, referring to Aver's sparkly fianceé.
"Oh, Kinney isn't here at the moment. She's visiting her aunt in Applewood." He settled into a chair, and the three visitors finally sat on the large sofa.
As Splitend informed Aver of the situation, he listened intently. When she said that the three of them had plans to clear Discord's name, he seemed doubly interested.
"Aver, you're a reporter for the Canterlot Gazette, right?" Splitend asked, getting a nod from Aver. "Then that means you're good at getting stories."
"That's a-right!" Aver beamed proudly. "Lemme guess, you want my help in figuring out how to clear the good name of Discord?"
"That's right."
"Fantastic!" Aver clapped his hooves together. "I would be happy to help. And I've already started thinking about it, too." He leaned back in his chair. "You gotta think... who knows the layout of Canterlot Castle, has a good reason to want the Mane Six and Elements out of the way, and is clever enough to frame Discord in order to do so?"
The four of them thought for a second, and Hiro was the first to speak. "Well... the most logical culprit would be Chrysalis."
"That doesn't make any sense," Onabe frowned. "When the Changelings attacked last year, it was the Princess and Shining Armor that defeated them."
"But then you think, the Princess was the Changelings' main attack point in the first place. Getting power by feeding off love... and then defeated by it. They could easily have changed tactics. As a changeling, Chrysalis could even have turned into a tiny bug and slipped into the room where the Elements were held undetected."
Onabe nodded. "True..."
"The question is..." Hiro said with a pensive look. "How are we supposed to convince Celestia to pay a visit to Zebrica to confront the Changelings?"
"Zebrica?" Splitend cocked her head. "What's that?"
Onabe gave her a slightly condescending look and patted her on the back. "You poor damn fool."
"Zebrica is the continent to the west of Equestria," Aver explained. "It's a lot different from here – and that's where the Hive is located; the place where the Changelings live."
"That's far away..." Splitend frowned. "Celestia isn't going to go there."
"So we'll just go there instead."
Three ponies stared in shock at the fourth, who shrugged and twitched her ears.
"Onabe, that's crazy," Hiro said bluntly.
"Well..." Aver raised a hoof. "It would be the only way to clear Discord. And we could rescue the Mane 6 and get the Elements back as well."
"We??" Splitend looked at her friend in shock.
Aver grinned. "Splitsy, you know I love a good adventure story as much as I love a good news story. And this could be both. Why..." He fluttered his wings and wiggled excitedly. "A story like this could get me promoted to Head Editor!"
"So..." Hiro gave the stallion a blank look. "You want to accompany us to a dangerous land to confront a powerful Changeling queen and her horde of minions for the sake of a news story and MAYBE a promotion?"
"Yup!"
Hiro facehoofed, Onabe and Aver hoof-bumped, and Splitend sat and thought. This wasn't just an investigation with some friends on how to get Celestia to pardon Discord anymore. If they all decided to go through with this, it would be a serious journey. It would be dangerous; easily any of them could be killed. These were her friends; could she really take this chance?
And then she thought of the princess, Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight and her five pony friends were the stuff of stories. They had braved manticores, dragons, and parasprites. They had faced Nightmare Moon and King Sombra. They were heroes. And now that they weren't there to save the day... maybe, just maybe, these ponies could be the heroes Equestria deserved.
"Let's do it!" She shouted.
Onabe and Aver cheered, and Hiro shrugged. "Well, at least we have a plan."
Splitend stood and faced her friends. "Well, I guess this is happening, so we need to prepare. Hiro, Onabe, go back to your places and pack. Aver, get ready. We'll all meet back here."
Everypony nodded and agreed, and three out of four ponies left the apartment. Hiro and Onabe, being pegasi, took to the sky immediately. Splitend trotted towards the wooded area on Canterlot Mountain's edge, just past the capital city limits. There were already four ponies involved in this trip, and she knew a fifth who she wanted traveling with them.
	Let's just hope the little guy hasn't skipped town yet...
She made her way through the light trees until she came upon a small cottage. She hadn't seen the thing in years, but she instantly recognized it as the home of her oldest and best friend, an earth pony by the name of Shadow Gazer.
Shadow had been an alicorn once – not part of the royal family, but he had been given wings as a foal by a visiting foreign ambassador as a gift for rescuing said ambassador's cat. A huge gift for a small feat, but he had been honored by all of Canterlot for it. A few years back, however, he had been stripped of both horn and wings by Celestia, as a punishment for the crime of using forbidden magic. It's not like it was Shadow's fault, either. He had been born with a unique ability called "soul gazing", which made him capable of reading minds and seeing pasts to an extent, and creating migraines and nightmares, as well as giving him minor healing powers in the field of brain disorders and injuries. That is, he could heal a headache or a concussion easily, and alleviate things like mental conditions to a degree. Even after being stripped of his magic and flight ability, Shadow had retained the power that had gotten him into trouble in the first place. To hide that fact, he had taken up residence outside the city. It was the reason Splitend hadn't seen her friend for years.
Now she figured this power could easily be an asset to them. Plus there was the added bonus of being able to become reacquainted with Shadow.
As she pondered, she went up to the gnarled door and knocked a few times.
"Splitend?"
She turned, only to see the pale gray pony standing behind her, his face a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"Hey, Shad- oof!!!" At the same time that she began speaking, Shadow Gazer tackled her to the ground and knocked the wind out of her.
"Oh my gosh, Splitend!!! I can't believe it's really you!!!" Shadow squealed.
"Heh, yeah, Shad, it's me," Splitend chuckled. "Oof... please get off me?"
"Sorry," Shadow chuckled and helped her up. "But, this is so great... I haven't seen you in forever. What's up?"
The two went inside as Splitend recounted her tale and the plans she and her friends were making. When she asked Shadow if he could accompany them, he shrank back nervously.
"I... I dunno, Splitend. It sounds awfully dangerous..."
"That's why we need you."
"Are you absolute for 100 percent certain sure that it's Chrysalis, and not Discord?"
Splitend sighed. "We're a hundred percent sure that Discord is innocent, but we'll never know who the real culprit is unless we go find out." She gave Shadow her best pleading look.
The earth pony looked down at the ground, an unsure expression on his face. He brought a hoof up and rubbed his temple, grazing the dark, circular patch of fur where a horn used to be.
"I... I can't let you go without me. If something bad happened, I would feel awful." Shadow looked back up at his bright-eyed friend. "I... I'll do it."
Splitend shouted with delight and squeezed Shadow tight. "Ohhhhh thankyouthankyouthank you!!!!"
"Don't, urgh, mention it."
Half an hour later the two ponies, packed and ready, set off for Aver's apartment with Splitend in the lead. Hiro and Onabe were already there and waiting for her when the two of them arrived. Hiro had a single light saddlebag on his back, and Onabe had on a double bag, one of which seemed to be stuffed with papers.
"Who's this?" they asked in unison.
After the initial introductions, the four ponies waited for Aver to leave. When he came out, he turned to lock the door behind him and it became apparent that a rather pretty-looking pigeon was perched atop his shoulder.
"Who's the bird? And what's Kinetic going to say when she comes home and you're gone?" Splitend remarked to her friend as they all got situated.
"This is Talon. He's my pet, AND the answer to your second question," Aver replied. Before Splitend could ask what he meant, he took a rolled-up scroll from his pouch and tied it securely to the bird's leg. "Go on, Talon!" With a single soft coo, the bird took off into the air.
The group began to move as Aver explained. "He's taking a letter to Kinney explaining our situation. He should meet back up with us in a little bit."
The sun was still rather high in the sky as the five horses headed across the city; it was about two in the afternoon. The streets were deserted. It seemed the news had frightened everypony enough that they had resigned themselves to waiting out the danger at home. It occurred to Splitend that, had they done the same thing, the waiting could easily go on forever.
Or until the changelings strike, she thought with a shudder.
At one point, they found themselves face-to-face with a patrolling guard. He came up to the five of them and eyed them suspiciously.
"Where you going all packed up like this now?" He said.
Splitend, being a terrible liar, stammered for a split second until Onabe came along and saved her flank.
"Party over at my house," she said, plain and simple.
The guard seemed unimpressed. "Staying in Canterlot, right? Due to the recent circumstances, the city is on lockdown. At least until Discord confesses."
"You don't even know he did it!" Splitend blurted out before she could check herself.
The guard snorted. "Well, he's been imprisoned. If that doesn't mean he's been found guilty, I dunno what does!" While Splitend stood, speechless, he faced Onabe again. "You're packed awfully tight for a party at YOUR house, aren't you? Whatcha got in there anyway?" He suddenly opened up her saddle bag and pulled out one of the papers... then proceeded to drop it in shock. Now lying on the ground was a recent issue of Hoofler magazine, conveniently open to a page sporting a rather large photograph of a pink unicorn mare sprawled out with her lady parts as exposed as they get.
Onabe calmly picked the magazine back up, shook it off, and placed it back into her bag. "It's gonna be a FUN party," she said to the guard with a wink, and gave Hiro an affectionate nudge for emphasis. Before the guard could figure out something to say, she rushed the other ponies forward.
"C'mon, let's get outta here," she muttered.
Splitend obliged and the five of them hurried out of sight of the guard. Hiro shuddered. "That was pretty awful, Onabe," he said.
"You shut your whore mouth," Onabe smiled and replied.
Before long they had reached the city's true limits, which was just a bit farther away from the center of the city than Shadow's cottage had been. There they stopped... although they didn't mean to.
"Ow!" Splitend yelped as she bumped into thin air. Shocked, she put up her front hooves and felt the solid, invisible wall in front of her. To her four friends, the sight of her stamping her hooves against the empty space was not unlike watching a mime perform his "invisible box" routine. It wasn't very funny now, however.
"Damn it..." she sighed. "Celestia must have created a barrier around the city as a alternate form of protection. We can't get out!" She hit the point of her horn against the barrier, to no avail. Hiro, easily the biggest pony aming them, kicked the barrier with both hind hooves in an attempt to get through – but ended up crumpling to the ground in pain, moaning that it was like kicking a brick wall. It seemed as though their adventure had been cut short.
Splitend sat down, frustrated, and contemplated this new development. She was suddenly alerted to the sound of rustling bushes. Quickly she got back up and whirled around. The rustling came closer and closer, and Splitend bristled. As her friends heard the noise, they too became alert. If it was a guard, they might have to fight him or make a break for it. In a foresty area like this, that would be hard.
As the rustling grew ever closer, suddenly out from a nearby bush popped nothing more than a small, black and white cat. It was small, almost a kitten, and sported a cute purple collar with a tiny bell on it. The five ponies heaved a collective sigh of relief, and Splitend approached the small cat.
"Here, kitty kitty kitty~" she cooed.
The cat ignored her, and instead astounded them all when it turned and called out in a clear female voice, "Hey, Victory! They're over here, I found 'em!"
"'Kay!" A voice responded, and its owner quickly bounded into view – a young unicorn mare with ligt aqua fur and a freckled face. She straightened her green and brown mane before speaking again. "Gosh... hey!" She gave them all a disheveled grin and motioned to the cat. "Mizu, get back on my back."
"Umm..." Splitend put her ears back. "Who are you?"
"Yeah, are you a guard?" Onabe assumed a battle pose. "Don't think I won't whip out another dirty magazine, cuz I will!"
"Gosh, no!" The mare waved her hoof. "My name's Victory Dance. This," here she pointed to the cat. "is Mizu. We saw you trying to leave-"
"I saw them." Mizu corrected her.
"Right, Mizu saw you going into these trees. We figured you had to leave for some reason or another, but as you can see..." She stepped past Splitend and knocked on the solid nothingness. "This barrier is blocking anypony who wants out."
"Uh huh, we got that already," Hiro shrugged. "What's it to you?"
"I figured I would help you out!" Victory Dance smiled wide at him. "Gee, you're cute!"
"You can help us get out?" Splitend said, ignoring Victory's last comment as much as Hiro was trying to. "That'd be great! But how? I doubt you have a spell that can bypass a barrier like this..."
"Au contraire, my friend," Victory said with a flourish. "I happen to know just the spell for the job. It's literally called the Barrier Bypass charm, and it's gotten me out of a good many tight squeezes!" She grinned and then turned to the wall. What she did next was obvious only to Splitend, being the only other magical creature in the group. Victory closed her eyes and summoned magical energy from deep within herself, focusing it into her horn to be channeled into the barrier. Her horn glowed a bright orange, and when she touchd the tip of it to the barrier it rippled and a large hole was created about the size of a pony. She stepped back, panting, a light sheen of sweat dampening the fur on her face and neck. "There," she huffed.
Gratefully, Splitend and co. slipped through the hole to the other side. Once all six ponies were on the outside of Canterlot, Victory, who had gone through to allow Onabe to pass, smiled.
"I'm glad I was able to help you out," she said. "Good luck on your journey, wherever you're going!" She prepared to slip back through the shrinking hole, when Splitend stopped her.
"Wait, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet!" She said. "I'm Splitend. This is Onabe, Hiro, Shadow Gazer, and Aver Credence." She pointed to each pony in turn as she spoke.
"Nice to meet you, everypony!" Victory beamed.
"Listen..." Splitend began. "Are you... always this good with magic?"
Mizu spoke up from her perch on the little pony's back. "She's the one who enchanted me so I could speak. What does that tell ya?
"Quiet, Mizu," Victory hushed her cat. "I'm not good at a lot of spells, but I try to be the best at the spells I DO know, so... kinda." She shrugged. "Why?"
Splitend looked back at her four pony friends. They were a fivesome already... why not match the numbers of the Mane 6 as well as the mission? Their expressions told her they would be okay with it, so she turned back to Victory Dance.
"Look, we're on a quest to go to Zebrica, confront Queen Chrysalis, rescue Twilight Sparkle and her friends, retrieve the Elements of Harmony, and prove Discord's innocence. You've got strong magic, so we could really use you. You in or out?" She said it all in one breath and rather quickly, so much so that she startled both unicorn and cat.
The cat in question seemed instantly eager. "A quest? Cool!" She jumped off of Victory's back and pranced over to Splitend."Come on, Vic! This sounds cool!"
Splitend was surprised at Mizu's eagerness, and was equally as surprised when Victory smiled and said "I'm game. Let's go!"
"Really? You're not even a little hesitant?" Shadow Gazer said dubiously.
"Hmmmm.... nope!" Victory hopped in a circle around him. "Adventures are fun!"
Mizu let out an excited yowl. "Bitchin'!"
Splitend laughed and nodded. "Well, okay then. I guess this means we're off!" She started down Canterlot Mountain, heading towards the distant sound of the waterfall. If her map was correct, there would be a rocky area at the side of the river that would make the steep pat of the mountain a cinch to traverse.
In this way, the six ponies started off – Splitend in the lead, using her magic to unfurl a map, Victory Dance laughing with Onabe and flirting with Hiro, Shadow chatting with Mizu, and Aver bringing up the rear as he scanned the skies for his trusty pet pigeon. As they clambered cheerfully down the side of the mountain, the thought was in the back of all their minds that this was not going to be an easy journey. But they were a team – they were friends.
And by hook or by crook, they were going to save the SHIT out of Equestria.