Within the depths of the Everfree Forest, a brown stallion nervously hurried toward a mysterious destination. A storm was approaching on the horizon, sending brisk gusts of wind whirling through the branches hanging overhead. He stopped in his tracks, briefly looked around to make sure no one was watching, and took a piece of parchment out of his bag.
He carefully unfolded the paper and set it on the ground. It was unsigned, and was written in a barely legible scrawl. The message itself was fairly simple, giving nothing but a time to arrive and a set of directions. He honestly would have ignored it if it weren't for the fact that the destination was in the heart of the Everfree Forest.
Double checking the directions to map sure he was on the right path, he folded the paper back up and put it in his saddlebag. The destination was only a few hundred feet down the path; certainly he could make it before the storm hit.
As he continued along the path, an awesome sight struck his eyes. Up ahead, a large manor house towered above what must have been the least maintained gardens in all of Equestria. Vines crawled up the facade of the building, creating an unsettling atmosphere to the place. Leading up to it was a rickety wooden bridge, providing the sole pathway to the manor over a slowly rising creek.
He carefully tested the bridge. Amazingly, despite its age, it was still supporting his weight. Cautiously he inched his way over the bridge, the deck creaking under the weight of his girth.
As he approached the end of the bridge, he heard a sound which he hadn't heard since he had left Ponyville. In the woods behind him, the familiar sound of hoof steps approached. Curious, he turned around to see a familiar lavender mare nearing his location, her head buried in a notebook.
"This should be the place, according to the letter. But why would I be directed to the middle of the Everfree forest?" She trotted over the bridge without hesitation, too caught up in her thinking to realize the apparent danger of the situation.
"Excuse me, miss." Startled, she dropped her notebook to the ground. "Oh my, I am so sorry! I didn't realize that you didn't see me."
Twilight chuckled. "No need to apologize. I just sometimes get so caught up in things, and I was just wondering why anyone would send me to this part of the Everfree Forest. You see, earlier today, I got a letter in the-" she cut herself off and took a few over cautious steps back from him.
"Wait. You got a letter too?" Time Turner reached into his bag and pulled out his letter. Twilight came back over to him and gave the letter a careful look.
"Yes, yes I did . . . Time Turner, according to this. I haven't seen you around town. Are you new in town?"
"No, not particularly. You're probably newer in town than me, Twilight."
Upon hearing her name, she gasp a small gasp. "H-how do you know my name?"
Time Turner rolled his eyes. "You really don't know how well known you are."
Slightly offended, she readied a response, only to be interrupted by a nearby roar of thunder. "We really should head indoors. We don't want to her caught in this kind of weather." Time Turner nodded in agreement and followed her to the front door of the ominous manor.
Thankfully, the door was already unlocked. The pair walked into the foyer, which was lit up by a massive crystal chandelier. Some pony had recently been in here, since the furniture was all dusted and the chandelier was free of any cobwebs. Toward the rear of the room, an archway led into what appeared to be a dining room.
Time Turner set his saddlebag down on a chair by the door. Taking in the scenery, he sat down on a nearby sofa and kicked his hooves up. Across the room, Twilight was examining a set encyclopedias, carefully rearranging them into alphabetical order.
Two curved staircases led up to the second story of the house, shielded from the rest of the room by a wrought-iron banister. Near Twilight, an antique grandfather clock ticked away at the seconds, the pendulum swinging back and forth hypnotically.
A few minutes passed by before anything else happened. The void felt awkward in the massive room, but Time Turner couldn't think of anything to discuss with the princess. He let out a sigh of relief when the door opened and a small crowd of stuffy looking ponies. The older stallion he recognized as Filthy Rich, but the other two were completely unfamiliar to him.
One of the unfamiliar ponies was a brown unicorn with thick-rimmed glasses and an argyle sweater. From what he could tell from their current conversation, he was apparently a journalist for a travel magazine. The other unfamiliar mare had a white coat and a cherry white mane, a perfect compliment to her cutie mark, a pair of cherries.
The newest guests settled in the corner of the room between him and Twilight. She hardly seemed to notice that anything had happened and continued to sift through the encyclopedia volumes. Bored, Time Turner got to his feet and went to the dining room.
The dining room was ornate in design. In the center of the room, a table with fourteen chairs around it was set with fine china and ornately decorated silverware. Off to one side, a swing door led to what he could only presume was the kitchen. Wall lamps ran down either side of the room, illuminating the room in an incandescent light.
At each spot, he noticed a small name card. His name was near the middle on the right side of the table, while the spots to either side of him were reserved for Granny Smith and Cherry Jubilee. He figured that must have been the unfamiliar mare out in the foyer.
From what he could work out, most of the places were reserved for residents of Ponyville, though the name of Trenderhoof didn't ring a bell with him. Strangely enough, the spot at the head of the table wasn't reserved, though. Before he could come up with an explanation, his thought process was interrupted by another posse of ponies coming through the door.
A blur of pink whirled past the doors, closely followed by Rarity, Fluttershy, and Granny Smith. It was a miracle she made it in the door; he knew Granny was tough, but for a mare her age to make it all the way out here was impressive. Exhausted, she collapsed on the sofa he had been sitting on earlier.
The pink blur crashed into Twilight, knocking her into the bookshelf and sending the whole collection tumbling to the ground. As the dust settled, it became quite clear that the blur was Pinkie Pie. "Hiya, Twilight! Did you get a super-duper mysterious letter too?"
A dazed Twilight nodded in response as everypony else rushed to her aid. She wasn't hurt, but a few chuckles spread around the group as they cleared the mess. Even Fluttershy couldn't help but let out a snicker.
The cleanup effort was interrupted by an unexpected rumble. The storm that had been mere miles away half an hour ago was slowly encroaching the manor, darkening the already dim evening sky. Soon enough, the place would probably be drowned in the endless torrent of rain.
As the last of the books was returned to the shelves, another small party entered the manor. The party was led by Lyra Heartstrings, closely followed by two contrasting pegasi, Thunderlane and Bulk Biceps. Water dripped off their coats, leaving a trail of small puddles in their wake.
Lyra shivered as she sat down on a chair near the staircase. Snot dripped from her nose as she grabbed a nearby blanket to warm herself up. Thunderlane and Bulk Biceps had made out a lot better; not surprising, considering that pegasi were naturally designed to hold up better to the elements.
The hands on the clock continued to inch closer to six o'clock. Outside, the weather had gradually turned from a light trickle into a heavy downpour. All through the room, everyone but Time Turner were happily socializing, conversing on diverse topics such as business strategies or why they had been invited here.
The minute hand finally struck the hour as a final pony bolted in the door, slamming it behind her. Cheerilee was breathing heavily, soaked by the downpour outside.
" This isn't good guys. The bridge out front has washed away, so we're probably trapped here until a search party comes looking for us."
The chatter in the room suddenly stopped. The weight of the message hit everypony hard. Not only did they not know why they were there, they had no way of leaving. Rarity took it worse than the others; the moment she heard the news, she immediately fainted onto a nearby couch.
A voice called from back in the kitchen. "Hey guys, look what I found! There's a whole meal prepared for us in the kitchen! Who wants daffodil salad?" Pinkie had somehow managed to work her way to the kitchen without being seen, and was carrying out a few trays loaded with entrees. Seeing no better option, the party headed to the table and sat down.
*************
Dinner had started uneventfully other than the usual playful antics of Pinkie Pie. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, everypony was more than happy to strike up a conversation. The topics varied; Bulk Biceps and Thunderlane were having a boisterous conversation about their Equestria Games accomplishments, while Rarity and Trenderhoof were going off about how gorgeous the decor was.
Uncomfortably sandwiched between two seasoned farmers, Time Turner absentmindedly twirled his fork in his salad. Something was off about this whole situation, though he couldn't quite place his finger on what it was. Across the table, Twilight scribbled some notes on her napkin.
Unexpectedly, the room was filled with the sound of a record needle dropping. The conversation in the room died down, only to be interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.
"Hello, my little ponies! I'm delighted to see that you could all make it. I'm your host for this evening; don't bother asking my name, It'll be revealed soon enough.
"Moving on, I'm dreadfully sorry about the unfortunate circumstances of this evening. Trapped in a house in the middle of the Everfree Forest, all this time with no way to escape; it must be terrible! Don't worry though, I've made arrangements for you. Upstairs, you will each find a room with your name on it, perfectly suited to you. Yes, that includes a spare chemistry set for you, Twilight." Twilight sheepishly smiled as heads turned toward her.
"Now for some personal notes. The lounge is equipped with billiards tables if you get bored during the night. Individual rooms are not equipped with bathrooms, but they are located at the far ends of the upstairs hallway. And Pinkie Pie, despite the color, the pillows on your bed are not made of frosting. Do not eat them." Light laughter filled the air, except for a confused Pinkie.
The recording faded to static, the only sound in the room other than the drumming of rain. No one moved except for Time Turner, who was writing down notes on a napkin.
Breaking the silence, Twilight addressed the party. "I think we all know what we do now. It's time to settle in for a long night."
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To be continued . . .