//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Search Begins // Story: Across The Pond // by Aurora Aura //------------------------------// Spike was cruelly awoken by the unrelenting rays of the sun glaring down on his face through the crack in the curtains. Which, given that he had moved his small bed across the room to fix being woken up at dawn he figured it was a fair guess that it was probably past lunch time. The baby dragon’s belly told him it was time to get up. It may not yet be lunch time but a hungry stomach cares little for the time of day. Spike slid off the bed and pulled himself to his feet before lazily walking down the stairs and into the kitchen below. The well equipped kitchen seemed emptier than usual to Spike. Which struck him as off as Twilight had always made sure they had nothing superfluous laying about. Spike shrugged off this feeling and went for the fridge. After reaching into the great silver monolith and looking over the various cheeses and cream he settled for taking the milk out. Spike walked over to the counter and looked around, after snapping his head to look behind him in a futile attempt to catch someone watching him who wasn’t there he lifted the milk and began to drink deeply from the pitcher. After a brief moment there was a knock at the door. Spike nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden noise that echoed throughout the library, causing the pitcher of milk to fall to the floor. As the white liquid spread over the wooden floor Spike raced to their linen closet and pulled out several towels and threw them over the kitchen floor. “Be right there!” Spike called out as he made sure all the milk was being soaked up. However his words did nothing quite the knocking on the front door. Spike figured that if it was someone that would have been upset with the mess they probably would have let themselves in by now so he took his chances and went to answer the front door. When Spike opened the front door he was face to legs with two imposing royal pegasus guards of Celestia’s court. They towered over Spike in the golden armor that somehow managed to be even more impressive in the sunlight as it glinted off the armor and reflected outward like only crystals should. Their armor was free of any imperfections and had very obviously been shine earlier that morning. “Hello sirs,” Spike greeted, sounding worried. “Is everything alright?” “Spike, Princess Celestia has requested we bring you and the Elements of Harmony to Canterlot as soon as possible,” One of the guards told him. “Why didn’t she send a letter then?” Spike asked. “We were not informed on the specifics, but Princess Celestia’s tone made it sound urgant,” the same guard explained. “The Princess also said we should tell all of you that it concerns Twilight Sparkle,” the second guard added. Spike’s eyes widened at the realization Twilight had never sent a letter saying she would extend her stay in Canterlot. Spike had assumed she would, and indeed had, extend her stay. Suddenly very worried about his friend Spike ran past the two guards, slamming the door behind him. “Well what are you waiting for?” Spike called as he sprinted for the train station. “ Let’s go!” The two guards shared a look before flying over to spike and picking him up. One guard took lead with the one carrying Spike close behind as they flew up into the sky and over the town. The old roads of Ponyville snaked and curved in what most would regard as little more than a disorganized mess. The didn’t fly long though, just a few blocks to the town square where an aerial cart was waiting. As soon as they landed one of the guards opened the door to the cart while the other went to strap himself into the pulling system of the cart. Spike walked into the cart and was greeted with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. All of whom took to interrogating the poor baby dragon about exactly what was going on. Spike, of course, couldn’t answer their questions and the four mares let him be. The ride to Canterlot would normally have been quick but with how urgent the guards had made the situation sound it filled all of them with a sense of foreboding. They spent most of the trip in a silence that gnawed at their insides and hung in the air, seeping into their every pore like a poison. When the cart landed in Canterlot the four mares and one dragon were swiftly ushered to the throne room of the Princess herself. Once they arrived at their destination they were instructed to wait outside before the guards walked away. A certain pink coated party pony was already sitting outside the door to the throne room and watching as the group approached. “Hey Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash called out. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?” “No,” Pinkie Pie somberly stated. “I was honestly hoping one of you would.” “I’m sure the Princess knows,” Rarity said in an attempt to console her friends. Rarity was about to continue when the large oak double doors were enveloped by a golden light and then opened up and an aging sand coated unicorn stallion walked out and down the hall. The mares and Spike walked into the throne room and up to Princess Celestia’s throne. The double doors closed as soon as they had walked in enough to allow it and Celestia walked down to meet them face to face with a decently sized box beside her. Princess Celestia stood well above anypony else in height and the way she usually carried herself definitely added to her imposing stature. Her mane flowed despite there not being a single open window to allow any sort of breeze to roll through and the look on her face managed to be both stern and soft. She seemed exhausted but before any of them could ask her their questions she spoke. “I’m sure you are all very worried about Twilight,” Celestia started. “And you should be. I don’t expect many of you will understand this but Twilight and I are, what scholars call, magically attuned to one another, so to speak. This means I can feel her presence and Twilight can feel mine. It’s the sort of thing that develops between a magic student and their teacher after having constant exposure to their personal aura. It isn’t exact and usually only acts as a sort of compass to one another but as the years go one I’ve learned to get a rough distance as well.” “So you know where Twilight is?” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “Sort of,” Celestia told her. “But this is where it gets complicated. I believe she has somehow found herself on her way to the very dangerous land of Tamriel.” “I’ve never heard of such a place,” Rarity said, sounding confused. “I’ve gone through great lengths to ensure you haven’t,” Celestia admitted, using her magic to pull the first item out of her box. It was a large and ancient looking piece of parchment and held it up to the group, revealing a map. On the map was labeled Equestia and it’s various cities and landmarks. To the west of Equestria was a landmass labeled Tamriel. There were other continents labeled that were unfamiliar to the six individuals sitting before Princess Celestia but those places weren’t harboring their friend. “I don’t understand Princess,” Applejack said. “Why ain’t this Tamriel on any of the other maps ah’ve seen? Why would you want to hide a whole nation?” “Simply because it isn’t a whole nation. It’s inhabitants are as divided as ponies once were. They have had a long and violent past and while it took a while I was able to work out a deal that kept the bulk of them from migrating to Equestria.” “So Twilight is going to this dangerous place,” Rainbow Dash started. “And nopony else is supposed to know about this. So we’re going to help her escape?” “Sort of. It’s possible she might not even need to escape but I’d like to avoid contact with as much of Tamriel as possible. So I’m sending you five to pick Twilight up through airship. It won’t be fast but it’ll be safe,” Princess Celestia told them. “ You’ll also be taking the Elements of Harmony should you need them.” “Just the five,” Spike asked, sounding hurt. “Why can’t I go? I can help. And besides how will you send messages back and forth if I’m not there?” “Tamriel,” Celestia started, seeming unsure how to continue. After a moment of consideration Celestia continued with “Tamriel has a history with dragons Spike. Having you there could get somepony hurt or someone might try to hurt you.” “I’ll just talk to them. If I haven’t done anything wrong they’ll stop right?” Spike said. “Besides you didn’t answer my question about the messages.” “I’ll be sending Philomena. She has extraordinary stamina and is quite smart. So long as you all stay on a predictable path she should be able to carry messages back and forth between us. It might take longer but it will be safer for you Spike,” Celestia told him. “And I’m afraid to say that some might consider being a dragon wrong enough.” “So how will we find Twilight once we get there?” asked Rarity. Celestia’s horn lit up in a golden aura as she pulled out another object from the box beside her. What stood before them was large and bulky compass that had a string attached to it for putting it around somepony’s neck. “This is enchanted with the magical attunement I share with Twilight and will always point you in her direction.” “So we use this to find Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked as she reached out for the compass and put it around her neck. “I’ll be sending several guards who have volunteered for this treacherous journey to accompany you on the airship,” Celestia told them. “It will leave as soon as you’re ready.” “What about our family?” Rarity asked. “Or businesses?” Applejack added. “Mah family’s farm won't be able to round up this last harvest without me.” “The animals are going to need help with getting ready for winter,” Fluttershy said, finally speaking up. “I should really stay.” “I’ll personally see to it that everything is well in hoof. Applejack I’ll send help to your farm in Ponyville and personally compensate the workers,” Celestia assured. “If there is no other questions I advice you all to head back to Ponyville and get everything sorted. The airship will be by Ponyville as soon as it’s ready to take all of you there.” The five mares shared a nervous look but knew they couldn’t turn down something like this. If it was as dangerous as Celestia thought then they would do whatever they had to do in order to get Twilight back. Determination set in and five gave acknowledgement to the princess and left her to go back and gather whatever supplies they thought they might need. Spike did not join them, instead he stayed behind with the Princess. “So what will I do Princess,” Spike morosely asked. “You’ll have the very important job of keeping me company in these troubling times Spike,” Celestia told him. “It’ll be the most difficult job Spike, I really need you here.” Spike nodded, accepting what the Princess had told him though he didn’t much like it. Several hours passed and the sun was beginning its descent over the horizon. The five mares had gathered on the outskirts of Ponyville as they were instructed on their way out of the castle. They watched as the imposing airship lowered itself towards the ground and put out a drawbridge leading from the deck to the dirt in front of them. Before any of them could start walking up an unusually tall stallion guard walked down to them. Unlike the guards that had come to Ponyville before this guard’s armor was covered in various cuts, scrapes, and dents from where it was used. It also appeared to have never once been polished. When the guard spoke it was in a gravelly voice that stood out even more giving the guard’s young face. “There will be time for proper introductions later but for now all you need to know is my name is Captain Rain Step,” he introduced. “This ship is called the Dawnbreeze. She isn’t especially fast but we’ll get there in one piece. There aren’t many rules, just stay out of the way of any working crew member and don’t get into trouble and everything should be fine.” Captain Rain Step seemed rather curt to the girls but none addressed their grievance with him. They said their goodbyes to their respective families and Spike, who had returned to Ponyville to grab what he needed and was going to be taking a train back to canterlot to stay at the castle. Once they were satisfied with that they boarded the ship and piled their stuff on the deck. Once aboard Rainbow Dash took the compass to the helm of the boat and told the mare behind the wheel the direction they needed to go in. When the brow was pulled back onto the ship it began to rise again. Once it loomed over the small town it started in the direction Rainbow Dash had pointed out. The group of mares had gathered on the deck to watch as Ponyville faded into the night as they rode into the sunset. They sat there watching as the eastern skyline turn to a clear, purple tinged gray while the ball of ruby fire fell behind them leaving only threads of light that dyed the sky and permeated the clouds. First orange, then red, then a dark blue, flowing through the sky until all the remained of the moment had melted away into darkness and a sequin-silver stared sky.