//------------------------------// // Volt Cloud: Part Two // Story: Pathfinder: An Equestrian Tale // by Mossbender //------------------------------// Willow's mind was going over everything he had done so far since he arrived while on his way over to the crystal tree. He bought apples from Applejack, was blasted by a cannon, watched a rather embarrassing race between Volt Cloud and Rainbow Dash, saved Rarity from having to explain her situation to the authorities and finally, he prevented Swiftwing from gouging out one of Fluttershy's pet's eyeballs. So much had happened already and he hadn't even been in town for five hours. It was just one thing after the other. Ugh... I'm exhausted... but I need to find some information about that villain, he thought. I just hope that I'll be able to find something... He felt Swiftwing begin to peck him again and he remembered that she probably still had not eaten yet. "Alright Swiftwing, you can go, but you have to go to the forest okay? Meet me at the crystal tree when you are finished." Swiftwing screeched in return and she flew off. There was nothing more scary than a hungry hawk, well, except for that creature they were after. It didn't take him very long to reach the crystal tree, he only had to make a few turns and there it was at the end of the street. As Willow approached the tree though, he was amazed at how much better it looked closer up. The tree towered over the rest of the buildings in Ponyville, and Twilight's home wasn't just a tree, it was a tree with a palace built right into it. Its crystalline shell sparkled in the daylight. The only tree that Willow felt could possibly be compared to it was the Tree of Visions, but even then the Tree of Visions didn't have a palace built into it. He didn't hesitate to knock on the doors and he waited patiently for somepony to answer. On the other side of the door Willow was able to hear the faint sound of something thumping against the floor when the door suddenly opened, revealing a... small dragon? Ponyville had a dragon as a resident? "Uh... good afternoon sir, how may I help you?" the dragon asked. He had light purple scales with a light green almost greyish underbelly and eyes that looked like the colour of green pistachios. His spikes were a slightly darker green than his eyes and what looked like his ears were a light lime green colour. "You're... you're a dragon!" Willow exclaimed, dumbfounded by this discovery. "You live here? With Princess Twilight?" "Of course I'm a dragon! What were you expecting? A donkey?" the dragon asked. "And yes, I do live here with Twilight. I'm Spike, her loyal assistant. No task is too big or too small for me. Anyway, what brings you here stranger?" Willow realized he was still staring at the little guy and quickly shook his head. "I'm here to find some information. Twilight invited me herself when we were on the train here to stop by later after she had dealt with some personal business. Is she here Spike?" Spike crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. "Oh is that so? Twilight never mentioned that somepony new was stopping by today. What's your name stranger? What type of information are you looking for exactly?" he asked. Willow was able to sense the caution in the little dragon's voice, which meant that he obviously didn't trust him. "My name is Willow Seeker. I come from a small village in the White Tail Woods," Willow replied. "I'm here because I'm trying to track down a strange creature. I'll ask again Spike, is her highness here and available?" "Willow Seeker huh? So what if Twilight was here? Why are you-" "Spike! Who is that at the door?" a voice asked from somewhere within the tree, interrupting Spike. Spike took another look at Willow before turning around. "There's somepony here asking for you Twilight. Apparently the both of you met on the train? He's wearing a cloak and is carrying some bags." "Oh! Spike, that's Willow! I'm sorry I forgot to tell you, but I did invite him to stop by in the afternoon," Twilight replied and she appeared next to Spike at the door. "Hello Willow, it's wonderful to see you again. Please come in." She stepped to the side, allowing Willow to walk inside before Spike closed the door behind them. "Say, where is Swiftwing Willow? Isn't she usually with you?" "Ah, she's out hunting currently. You might see her after I leave," Willow replied. The three of them walked down the short hall until Twilight stopped at a passage on their left that contained a set of spiralling stairs at the end of it. Further down the hall Willow was able to see what looked like a throne room, but what was interesting about it were the symbols that were inscribed into each throne. They looked very similar to some cutie marks that he had seen earlier. "If you would please follow me Willow, the temporary library is just on the next level," Twilight said. She trotted over to the stairs and quickly began to climb them, soon followed by Spike and then Willow. The climb didn't take too long and Willow stepped off of the stairs and found himself in another hall along with Spike and Twilight. "Over here Willow, I believe that this is the place you are looking for." Twilight waited for Willow to walk over before she pushed the door open and they went inside. The room was rather bare for a library, having only a few tables and chairs, along with some unopened boxes. The only source of light was coming through a large window on the opposite side of the room, but what concerned the most Willow were the lack of books. Only a few were on the shelves, and even those ones weren't in great condition. He was slowly becoming less and less confident that he would find something here. "I know it may not look like much now Willow, but we are currently in the process of recollecting as many books as we can because of the incident that occurred three weeks ago," Twilight said. "Tirek obliterated Ponyville's library... along with most of my own personal belongings and some books that will never be recovered. I don't know if you saw the poor tree, but it's currently being made into a memorial, in honour of all the lost knowledge, memories, and the tree itself." "I... I've only heard very little about that day your highness," Willow replied. "Tirek fortunately didn't make it to us in White Tail Village because of the Council, but I've heard terrible things... terrible things that he committed. I didn't see the tree, but I'll try to visit it before I leave Ponyville." Twilight smiled weakly at him. "That would mean a lot to me Willow, but let's move on to what you need. You are welcome to look through as many books as you want and when you've decided that you are done, I'll walk you to the palace entrance. If you need anything, Spike and I will just be over here unpacking these boxes." Willow nodded and watched as Twilight and Spike walked over to the boxes and began to open them. Not wanting to waste any time, he immediately went over to the books and began placing all of them on a nearby table. After he had removed them all, he had about a dozen books that were in various conditions on the table in front of him. I seriously hope I can find something, Willow thought. Any weaknesses, the thing's history, there just has to be something. If I can't find anything I don't know where I would start looking next. He started looking at the front of each book, but most of them were just not what he was looking for. Out of the twelve there, only two stood out. One was called Creatures of Equestria and the other one was called Creatures of the World, which Willow assumed wouldn't be as specific when talking about the types of creatures. Alright Creatures of Equestria, don't fail me now. He opened the book and began to flip through it, but he didn't see any sign of that creature. Pegasi... Unicorns... Earth... Dogs... Dragons... bah! There is nothing in here that talkabout that magical creature! There isn't even a picture of it! Perhaps it came from somewhere else... somewhere dark maybe? He closed the book with a huff which caused Twilight to look over at him. "Is everything alright over there Willow? Have you found anything?" she asked and Willow shook his head. "Not yet your highness... but there is still a book I haven't looked through yet," Willow replied. "I hope I can find something in there." "I hope you find what you are looking for as well Willow, but if you don't mind me asking, how was your morning tour of Ponyville? What do you think of our town?" "My morning? It was pretty eventful your highness. I met quite a few of the townsfolk and had lunch at the Ponyville Cafè. This town... it's really quite something compared to my own village." "Did you run into Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked and Willow laughed. "Run into? More like got blasted by her cannon! Yes I did meet her, but it didn't last very long," Willow replied. "Blasted by a cannon? Ugh, the party cannon... what the hay Pinkie Pie," Twilight said and brought a hoof to her face. "I swear, that girl is going to be the end of us all someday. Anyway, it's nice to know that the town has left a mostly good first impression on you, I'll let you get back to reading now Willow." Willow nodded and moved on to the next book, hoping that he would have more luck in this one than the other one. However, this was not the case as he flipped the pages. Zebra... Griffons... Thetapedes... Saddle Arabia... nothing. There is absolutely nothing in this book either! Argh! he thought and closed the book. He leaned back on the chair and sighed, frustrated that he was unable to find one single description or picture of the creature. "Nothing in there either?" Twilight asked, noticing that the book in front of Willow was closed and he shook his head. "Nope, nothing at all," he replied. He got up from his chair and began to put the books back where he found them since it would have been rude if he didn't. "I'm sorry we didn't have what you are looking for Willow," Twilight said as she walked over to him. "But... I know of a place that you'll probably have better luck in." "And what place is that?" Willow asked. Hope was returning to him once more. "Why Canterlot of course! I lived there for most of my life and the library there is just filled with knowledge of the past. There's even a Star Swirl section! I have a very good feeling that you'll find what you are looking for there Willow." "Hmm... Canterlot eh? That does sound like an ideal place to go to next," Willow said as he put the last book away. "Yes, I think I just might go there. Thank you for your time Princess Twilight, it was a pleasure being here." "And it was a pleasure to have you here Willow," Twilight replied. "Spike, keep on unpacking those boxes while I bring Willow to the front entrance." "Sure thing Twilight," Spike replied. "See ya Willow, it was nice meeting you." "And it was nice meeting you as well Spike. Shall we go now your highness?" Willow asked and Twilight nodded. "Yes, let's get you outside Willow." The two walked alongside each other out of the library and down the steps and before they knew it, they had already arrived at the palace doors. Twilight pushed the right door open and they were greeted by a sky filled with dark storm clouds. "Huh, I didn't know the Pegasi had planned a storm today. I guess they wanted to surprise us, but that's rather odd for them to do," Twilight said and she turned to face Willow. "Good luck out there Willow, perhaps our paths will cross again in the future." "Thank you for having me your highness, it was an honour being here," Willow replied and he bowed his head before exiting the palace. Twilight looked at him one last time and closed the door behind him, leaving Willow on his own. He heard a screech from above and looked up to find that Swiftwing was perched on the balcony. "Swiftwing! It's great to see you again girl!" Willow exclaimed and she glided down and landed on his back. "Did you find something to eat?" Swiftwing screeched in return and Willow smiled. "Really? That big? Sheesh! You sure were hungry girl, but guess what? We're going to the big city next. Canterlot!" He began to make his way back towards the train station when he came across a crowd of ponies that had gathered in the open area. Curious to find out what was going on, he spotted Applejack from earlier next to her hay cart that was still filled with hay and quickly made his way over to her. "Hey Applejack, what is going on here?" he asked. Applejack turned to face him and was surprised when she recognized who he was. "Howdy Willow, fancy seein you here too," she said. "Ah can't blame ya though, a lot of pony folk decided to come and watch the race." "Race? Wait... are you saying that there are Pegasi wanting to race in this weather?" "Yup. The race is between Rainbow Dash and somepony called Volt Cloud. Apparently he lost a race earlier today and has demanded a rematch with her," Applejack replied. "I have a feeling that this will not end well," Willow said and Applejack nodded. "Same here Willow, same here." "Oh dear, we aren't late are we?" a voice behind them asked and they turned around to see three familiar faces. "Pinkie Pie! Rarity! Fluttershy! Ya'll made it!" Applejack exclaimed. "And right on time too, it looks like the race is just about to start." "Oh I can't wait for Dashie to beat that other Pegasus!" Pinkie Pie excitedly exclaimed and then her eyes fell upon Willow. A smile slowly stretched across her face. "Willow! You're here too? Oh this is going to be so much fun!" "Yeah... fun," Willow replied and he went behind Applejack. "Please don't let her near me, she blasted me with a cannon earlier!" "I said I was sorry silly! Besides, you look fine and smell like cake! After this race I'm going to throw you an apology party, how does that sound Willow?" "Uh..." "Excellent! I knew you would agree with me!" Suddenly somepony blew on a whistle, causing everypony to become silent. "Alright everypony, the rematch between Rainbow Dash and Volt Cloud is about to begin," they heard a pony say. The referee turned to face the two Pegasi that were pumped up and ready to fly. "I want to see a clean race between the two of you. Once the magical blast explodes above, that'll be the signal to begin. Understand?" "Understood," Volt Cloud and Rainbiw Dash said in unison. "I can't believe you decided to challenge me again after I kicked your rear last time Volt," Rainbow said and snickered. "Ready for it to be kicked again?" "I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you Rainbow," Volt replied. "We are racing in my weather now, you don't stand a chance." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes just as the referee's horn began to glow and he shot a magical blast into the air. He stepped out of the way as the two of them watched the blast go up and then it soundly exploded. The two of them flew off of the ground so fast it caused a lot of manes to blow in each pony's face. "Oh there she goes! Kick his rear Rainbow!" Pinkie shouted. "Show him what you are made of!" The crowd watched as the two of them raced in the clouds above. Soon enough, Volt had begun to pull ahead, much to everypony's surprise. It was no wonder his name was Volt, he went through and around the storm clouds with ease, while Rainbow Dash tried her best to keep up, not wanting to be electrocuted. "Ha... not so great when it's stormy huh Rainbow?" Volt whispered to himself. "It's time for a little humiliation and payback." He flew above one of the clouds and waited patiently for Rainbow Dash to pass underneath. The cloud he had chosen to use was very unstable, which meant that it would deliver a much, much bigger shock than the others. At last, he saw that Rainbow was just about to pass underneath him and he jumped and slammed down on the cloud as hard as he could. Instead of shooting a bolt of lightning like Volt had expected though, the cloud suddenly became electrified, shocking Volt instead. He didn't even have any time to react and the cloud continued to shock him. When it had at last finished, Volt blacked out, causing him to stumble about until he fell off the edge of the cloud. "Is that... Volt?" Rarity asked and the crowd decided to take a closer look. In the distance down the hill, they saw that it was indeed Volt, but he wasn't flying anymore. He was falling, and Rainbow Dash hadn't even noticed yet. "He's gonna be flatter than a pancake if we don't get to him in time!" Applejack exclaimed. "We gotta find a way over there, and fast!" Willow watched as the crowd tried to come up with a solution when his eyes fell upon Applejack's hay cart. It was one of those pull-it-yourself carts, but it had four wheels which was good enough for Willow. In the next second he quickly galloped over to the cart and began to push on it with as much strength as he could muster. It moved slowly at first, but it soon began to gain momentum and he jumped up on top of it before it moved any faster. "Um... Applejack? Your hay cart is gone," Fluttershy said. Applejack and the others spun around to find that the cart was indeed gone and was just about to go down the hill. What surprised them the most was that Willow was with the hay cart as well. "Willow! That ain't yours to take!" Applejack yelled. "Sorry! I need to borrow it Applejack! Volt's life is in jeopardy!" Willow yelled back and the cart began to speed down the hill. "This is gonna be close... I hope I timed it right! Go Swiftwing! I don't want you to get hurt!" Swiftwing didn't hesitate to fly away and flew off to seek shelter while her master did this insane plan of his. As Willow watched Volt tumble through the sky, he also had to worry about the ponies walking on the street. Since the cart didn't really have a turning device, he had to just yell as loud as he could. "Everypony out of the way! Speeding cart coming through!" he yelled. His heart was racing as he came closer and closer to Volt who was rapidly approaching the ground. Ponies in front of him yelled and screamed as they dodged the cart, lucky to have not been run over. "What are you doing you crazy donkey!?" one of them yelled. Suddenly it began to rain heavily, hindering Willow's vision as the sky rumbled above. "Great, just great! How can this possibly get any worse!?" Willow yelled. A bolt of lightning then struck the back of the cart, sending him tumbling into the hay and causing the cart to catch fire. The cart had begun to swerve and tilt as the ground became more uneven. He picked himself up and looked ahead of him to find that the street was about to end and turn into grass. Willow suddenly felt something thump behind him and turned around to find that Volt had landed safely in the cart. He did not look very good though. His mane was staticky and smoking and a scar streaked across his right eye. Volt was breathing though and Willow sighed in relief. "Ugh, thank goodness! Now all I need to do is stop this... aw horse apples!" he exclaimed. The cart didn't have any brakes to stop it, leaving Willow to try and think of something else. The cart suddenly bumped as they left the dirt street and went onto the grass. It didn't help that the cart was on fire still, but fortunately the rain was keeping it at bay. "Ow... my head..." Willow heard a voice say behind him and he turned around to find that Volt had woken up. "You... what... what happened? Did I win the race?" "You took quite the tumble Volt, it looks like you were struck by lightning up there," Willow replied. The cart suddenly hit a rock at a strange angle, causing both of them to bounce in the cart as a wheel cracked and it turned towards the buildings in Ponyville. "But right now, I have to stop this thing!" The grass had caused the cart to slow down, but they were still going fast enough to crash. Willow realized that there was no way he was going to stop this thing and that they were going to crash into one of the buildings. "Alright Volt, I'm going to ask a question and you have to answer it. Do you trust me?" "Wha? I don't understand..." Volt replied and Willow rolled his eyes. "We have to bail! Jump Volt! Jump!" Willow yelled. He grabbed Volt and dragged him over to the edge. "Do it if you want to live!" Volt didn't need to be told again and he jumped off of the cart. He glided for a bit when his wings suddenly gave out and he collapsed to the ground and rolled to a stop. Willow had followed him right after and he hit the ground. Hard. He fortunately landed on his side but he felt a sharp pain. One of his ribs had been broken. The cart continued to speed towards the buildings and Willow watched it crash, causing it to explode from the abuse it had endured. The flaming pieces were quickly doused by the rain, but now there was a large smoking hole in one of the buildings. His head fell on the ground and he coughed, which caused some pain to shoot through him and he just laid there. His ears pricked up and out of the corner of his eye he saw Volt limping towards him. "You... I remember you... you saved me," Volt said. "I... I could have died. If you don't already know my name is Volt Cloud stranger, but how... how can I possibly repay you?" He helped Willow stand on his hooves and he watched Willow cough again. "My- my name is Willow. You can help me by bringing me over to the- the train station... so I can go to Canterlot..." Each breath Willow took caused pain to shoot through his chest and he clenched his teeth because of it. He suddenly heard a screech in the distance and weakly smiled as Swiftwing appeared before him. "H- hey girl, I'm glad you're safe... are you ready to go to Canterlot?" Swiftwing remained silent and proceeded to land on his back, meaning that she was ready to go whenever he was. "Hey... did you say you were going to Canterlot? Can I-" Volt was interrupted by the sound of other ponies fast approaching their position, and they didn't sound too happy. "We- we should probably get going... or else we're going to be stuck here to try and explain this mess," Willow said. He again felt pain shoot through his chest and grunted because of it. "About that... is it okay if I go with you to Canterlot Willow?" Volt asked. "I feel that after this stunt they wouldn't want to see me again, as in, as long as they are still alive." "Yes... I don't care, let's just get to the train station so we can get out of here!" Volt and Willow began to walk towards the train station as fast as their injuries would allow, hoping that they would be able to reach it in time. As they walked away, the ponies that had followed the cart watched as Willow and Volt disappeared in front of the building that had a gaping hole in it. "Look! That crazy pony damaged somepony's property and is just walking away!" one yelled. "They won't get away with this! Who's with me!?" The group cheered in response at the pony, all except for Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash who had joined them when she was told what had happened after she had finished the race. "Well... ah no longer have a hay cart... but Willow... he's either crazy lucky or just plain idiotic. Ah am gonna have to go with both on this one," Applejack said. "I didn't even notice that Volt had electrocuted himself... sure he is a cocky moron but I would have done something to help him," Rainbow said. "We know you would have Rainbow," Rarity said. "But I believe it will be for the best that they leave. Those ponies did not look very happy." "Aww! Now I can't throw Willow an apology party! It was going to be super awesome and everything!" Pinkie exclaimed. "We should probably tell Twilight what has happened here," Fluttershy said. "She should know that Willow in the end saved somepony, even if he dealt property damage in the process. He is most certainly not a bad pony." The others nodded in agreement and they turned around and began to make their way over to Twilight's home. "Th- three tickets to Canterlot please, and please hurry," Willow said to the pony at the ticket booth. He and Volt had just arrived at the train station and the afternoon train to Canterlot was just about to leave. "Three tickets eh? That'll be thirty bits," the pony replied. Willow didn't hesitate to bring out his bag of rapidly decreasing bits and counted out thirty bits exactly. "There, thirty bits, can we ha- have our tickets now please?" "Of course! Here you go," the pony replied and Willow grabbed the tickets from him. The ticket system in Ponyville was much faster than the ticket system back at White Tail Station. "Come on Willow, let's get onto the train before that mob catches up to us!" Volt exclaimed and Willow nodded in agreement. They boarded the train as fast as they could, although Willow experienced some difficulty with the steps because of his broken rib. "Here are our tickets Conductor, can you get the train moving please? Now?" Willow asked. His heart was racing as he heard the sound of the mob of ponies getting steadily closer. "That's not up to you to decide sir, but I'm afraid you're right. If we don't leave now we'll be late getting to Canterlot because of this blasted weather!" the Conductor exclaimed. He took off his hat and waved it outside before pressing a button and putting the hat back on. The doors hissed shut and the train slowly started to move, allowing Volt and Willow to finally sigh in relief. They quickly found an empty car and Swiftwing flew up and perched on the bar as they sat down. Everything was soaking wet, but the two ponies didn't care and they smiled, glad that they were able to leave Ponyville in time. "Would you look at that... we actually made it to the train on time despite our injuries!" Volt happily exclaimed. Willow took a moment to look at the window and smiled as the train sped away from Ponyville. In the distance he was able to see the group of ponies that were after them standing on the station's platform. "Yeah... and now we are on our way to Canterlot," Willow replied. "We were fortunate that the train hadn't left yet, otherwise we would be in some extremely hot water with the town right now." "No kidding... all of this excitement has made me rather tired so I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up if you need me or when we arrive in Canterlot Willow my fr- friend." "Don't worry... I will," Willow replied and he yawned. His eyelids had suddenly grown heavy and the pain in his chest slowly became a dull throb. The last thing he saw before he fell asleep was Swiftwing perched on the bars above him. "Twilight! Twilight! I just received a letter from Celestia that is addressed to you!" Spike shouted. Twilight looked up from the book she was reading while she was on her throne and saw Spike rush into the throne room. "We haven't had a letter from her in days! I wonder what the letter says?" "Well, we can only find out if we open it silly," Twilight replied and Spike held out the letter for her. Twilight's horn began to glow a light purplish-pink colour and she levitated the scroll over to her. Just as she was about to open it, the palace doors suddenly opened, revealing her friends. "Applejack! Rainbow! What is everypony doing here?" She dropped the scroll as the five mares quickly trotted over to the throne room and they each found a spot in front of Twilight. "We all just saw something you would not believe Twilight," Rarity said. "You definitely should have been there." "What? Should have been where now? What happened?" Twilight asked. "Was somepony hurt by this sudden awful weather we're having?" "Yes Twilight," Fluttershy said. "You see, Rainbow and another Pegasus were having a race..." "I can see where this is going," Twilight said. "You were racing in this weather Rainbow and the other Pegasus was injured, wasn't he? Or was it a she?" "It was a he Twilight," Rainbow replied. "He was electrocuted in the sky and he plummeted towards the ground-" "And then Willow saved him!" Pinkie shouted, interrupting Rainbow Dash. "He took Applejack's hay cart and just zoomed away!" "Yeah he took ma hay cart, now ah need to get a new one, but yes, he did save the Pegasus just like Pinkie said. A life is more valuable than a hay cart any day of the week." Applejack said. "Wait a minute... do all of you know who Willow is?" Twilight asked and they all nodded. They each then began to tell their tale about how they met Willow. Twilight was actively listening, interested to know more about what this pony was like around others. They all had positive things to say about him. Rarity told her how he had saved her rear by paying for her food without a second thought since she had forgotten her bits. Applejack talked about how he seemed like an ordinary traveller, but was actually quite nice to talk to. Fluttershy goes on to say how Willow prevented his pet from injuring her own. Rainbow didn't have much to say, but after having watched him barely save another life, he was good in her books. Pinkie was the last one to talk and she told Twilight that Willow could certainly fly far. "Wow... it sounds like Willow didn't even realize all of the nice acts he was committing while he was here..." Twilight said after having listened to all of them. "I wonder if he is on his way to Canterlot now." "Oh he is Twilight, and it's a good thing too," Applejack said. "Ma cart he 'borrowed' crashed into a building, creating a hole in it. Not to mention that there were many ponies he almost ran over with the cart, so you can probably see why they were ticked off." Spike yawned and he stretched his arms. "Can we get to Celestia's letter now Twilight?" he asked. "I really want to see what she wrote." "Oh right! I had almost forgotten," Twilight said. Her horn began to glow again and she levitated the dropped scroll towards her and opened it. Her eyes quickly went side to side across the scroll, her face growing more concerned as she did. "So? What does it say Twilight?" Spike asked. "Anything interesting?" "Oh, it was interesting alright Spike, in fact, an important historical event just occurred some time ago apparently," she replied. "Go and pack our bags Spike, it looks like we'll be taking the next train to Canterlot." "What? How come? Why are we needed?" Spike asked. Twilight sighed and rose from her throne. "Because Spike, an artifact of ancient power has just been found and it is being transported to Canterlot as we speak. Go, I'll tell you more when we arrive." "Should we come along for this as well Twilight?" Rarity asked and Twilight shook her head. "No, not this time girls, it'll just be Spike and I making this trip." "Hey Twilight! You might bump into Willow while you are there! Say hi to him for me!" Pinkie exclaimed and Twilight laughed. It looked like she would be seeing Willow again sooner than she had expected. Meanwhile at Canterlot Castle, Celestia was pacing back and forth in the throne room. Her mind was racing as she thought about what the archaeologist had told her. Her sister, Luna, was also present and she was worried about the way that Celestia was behaving. "Celestia... you must relax, you are worrying too much about the discovery of this artifact," Luna said, trying to calm her sister down. "What is so special about it anyway? I do not believe I have heard you mention it before." Celestia stopped briefly and sighed. "Long ago Luna during your banishment, a group of ponies known as the Scholars of Lore came to me, saying that they had discovered something of great importance that could possibly change the face of Equestria as we know it," she said. "What they had found was a text depicting a device, a device capable of creating portals to alternate realms. Ever since that day I have sent teams to try and find this device, and now, it seems they have done it at last." "Why do you want this device so badly sister? What would you possibly do with it?" Luna asked. "I... I do not want to use the device at all Luna, I want to protect it, prevent it from falling into the wrong clutches, but we have a minor problem," Celestia replied. "The team found the device deep within the country of the Griffons. I do not know why it was there, but the discovery has drawn the attention of King Proud Feather. He has sent an ambassador along with the archaeology team to discuss what shall become of the device." "Typical... the Griffons are a noble race, but their past is filled with conflict and power-hungry leaders. I hope that we will come to the right decision sister," Luna said. Beyond the windows of the throne room, a pony watched from the other side, hovering high above the ground and listening to every word the sister's spoke. "So... they have found a device capable of travelling across dimensions... it seems like I must make some changes to my plan," the pony said. His eyes glowed red and he quickly floated back into a wall of shadows before reappearing in his original form. "Ugh... the form of a pony is definitely... not my style. I prefer stealing their very soul than being one of them, but it'll all be over soon..." He held the necklace that he had placed around his neck and squeezed it tightly. "Soon... those ponies will bow down to my will... or they will die... but first... I must wait for the arrival of this 'artifact'." Shadows swirled around him once more and he reappeared as the form of the pony who's soul he had stolen. "Soon..."