Destiny Is Magic

by ColdGoldLazarus


E1 Ch1: Arrival

Episode 1: Strange Mares in a Strange Place (part 1)

Chapter 1: Arrival


Rainbow Dash stared at the volcano. It towered over her, looking both incredibly close and impossibly far away. If Twilight was here, she’d probably say something about ‘optical illusions’ or some other stupid egghead mumbo-jumbo like that. Whatever the purple unicorn might have said, though, it didn’t change the fact that Rainbow Dash had never seen a volcano in person before, and had no intention of passing up the chance now. It was more interesting than the telescope on the cliffs behind her, at any rate.

She stood on a beach, a sloping expanse of golden sand unbroken by any hoofprints. The sun was shining directly overhead, quickly drying her damp form, but she knew it wouldn’t be fast enough. Her wings were sticky, residue from the salty ocean messing up her feathers, and until she was dried off and had an opportunity to preen herself, she didn’t want to risk flying. She hated not being able to fly. It was like the time she’d injured herself and had to stay at the hospital…

Wait, the hospital was also when she’d read her first Daring-Do novel, and hadn’t her favorite intrepid explorer been similarly disabled throughout? Yet even without flight, hadn’t she managed to brave a temple full of ridiculously awesome traps, outwit the powerful Ahuizotl, and save the world?

Rainbow Dash didn’t need her wings just to take a quick peek at a volcano, so she set off, feeling reasonably pleased with her situation.


My Little Pony
My Little Pony
Ah ah ah aaah…
My Little Pony
I used to wonder what friendship could be
My Little Pony
Until you all shared it’s magic with me
Big adventure!
Tons of fun!
A beautiful heart,
Faithful and strong!
Sharing kindness is an easy feat
And magic makes it all complete!
Yeah, my little pony
Do you know you’re all my very best friends?


Rarity was less than pleased with the situation. She had woken up on a jungle-side beach, half-soaked and with no memory to explain where she was or how she got here. She soon, though, found that she was at one end of a wide bay, and further observation revealed that there was a crude-looking settlement near the back, furthest from the open ocean. It wasn’t ideal, but it was civilization, so she’d begun heading that direction.

But she was still far from happy, as the past half-hour of walking had given her ample opportunity to discover just how bad a state she was in. Her fur was dripping wet, the salt from the ocean making her delicate form itch all over, while her mane was coated in sand and nowhere near the careful style she had maintained so well over the years. At least she hadn’t been wearing a dress when she arrived; that would have been simply ruined!

…Although maybe she wouldn’t be so cold at the moment.

“No!” She shook her head at the thought. While she understood practicality perhaps better than most other ponies expected her to, she still wasn’t prepared to debase one of her works of art in such a permanent manner. Maybe if it was something she could fix later… but even then it wouldn’t be as good as before, most likely.

She stopped to ponder just how much dress abuse she could tolerate when a far off screech, sounding like some sort of predatory bird, shook her out of her stupor. “Ah, the point is moot anyway, Rarity.” She decided, chuckling, before realizing she was talking to herself, and shortly after that revelation, proceeded to have a full-on panic attack.


Twilight calmly released the strange crablike creature from her telekinetic grip, storing the notes she’d been able to make from observation alone into a mental filing cabinet for later scrutiny. The crab waddled away, walking straight into the surf and disappearing under the water.

The purple unicorn stood on a tiny beach, less than thirty paces long, which was encircled by looming icy cliffs that extended out several yards into the ocean. The sun was setting over the waters, turning the sky a beautiful coral shade, but with it had come a drop in temperature. Considering that she was still wet, as the tall cliffs had blocked her from the sun’s drying warmth, perhaps she should have gotten moving earlier. But she’d seen the strange biomechanical crab and just had to take a closer look!

There was a path cut into the cliff, looking like it had been carved by a since-dried up stream. It was her only exit, so on the unicorn moved, though not without wincing at the feel of the hard stone on hooves that were used to the library’s smooth wood floors.

She missed home.


Pinkie Pie had hardly given any thought to Ponyville yet, as she was too busy having fun exploring this new and wonderful place. Everything was so alien -only minutes ago, she’d seen a pair of giant, half-robotic hummingbirds flit overhead- and there was a distinct lack of Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, or Twilight by her side, but she didn’t worry. The party pony was always open to new experiences, and saw the different environment as a good excuse to kick back and have some fun, while there was a gut feeling, a sense of rightness with the world, telling her that her friends were safe from harm for now.

Maybe she was a teensy bit worried now that the sun had gone down and some dark storm clouds had rolled in, but it was still a minor concern as she frolicked among the trees, swinging from vines, hollering at the top of her lungs from the sheer joy of being alive.

Yes, she was doing just fine right up until the bear attacked.


Applejack ducked a swipe of the monster’s insectoid left claw, pivoting on her front legs to buck the creature right in its glowing yellow eyes. Its stinger tail came down, but she’d already jumped out of the way.

The farm pony wasn’t one to run away, and she really doubted she was fast enough to outpace the unnaturally swift scorpion-creature, but she needed time to think of a plan. Fending off another claw, she turned tail and retreated, her mind struggling to ignore just how quickly the monster was catching up. “C’mon, think, Applejack.” She muttered to herself. “Yer buckin’ ain’t hurtin it much, and its stinger cain’t pierce that darn shell of it’s.” Indeed, one of the first things she’d tried was to trick it into stabbing itself, but whatever that shell was made of, it was tough.

And it was also way faster than something of its size had any right to be. Somehow, while she’d pondered its seeming lack of weakness, the creature had managed to wind up in front of her, and she leaped to the side barely in time to avoid a quick snap of its mandibles.

The fight was not helped at all by the fact that it had been long past dark now, and evidently this thing had night vision much better than hers. Even late nights spent applebucking hadn’t prepared her for the darkness that the moonless sky held. While she hadn’t given it much thought even before the creature attacked, even the stars seemed dimmer, more blurry, as though some force had drawn a thin veil between the sky and earth.

Upon hindsight, she pondered while crawling awkwardly under the creature’s gross insect underbelly, wandering into the desert like she had perhaps wasn’t the best idea. At least it had been cooler by the sea, and there was some water, if extremely salty water, and she had no doubts that the beach was clear of these giant scorpions or similar monsters. Admittedly, she’d thought she’d seen a town out there, but by the time it had turned out to be a mirage she was well past the point of returning. So stubbornly, she’d continued to trek on, making good use of the stamina that came from a lifetime of hard honest work, even after the sun had set.

But then the creature she now fought had burst out of a dune ahead, and the past few minutes? Past hour? Had passed in a blur of hastily aimed kicks and barely-ducked swipes. The creature’s glowing red eyes were the only real illumination she had to go by, and dozens of times already she’d just barely missed taking blows that would have ended her life for sure.

Wait a moment. Red eyes? Hadn’t they been yellow before she ran? With a sinking feeling, the cowgirl backed off enough to risk a glance behind her. Sure enough, there was a pair of yellow pinpricks shining out from the top of a nearby dune, heading her way fast. Looking back ahead, she saw red.

That was when the storm that had been developing to the south finally broke, with a distant flash of lightning and a thunderous boom.


Fluttershy flinched as a huge cascade of thunder rolled through the cramped tunnel she’d been crawling through. She’d been hesitant to venture into the darkness, but the other options –sharp and uneven rocky boulders, or a freezing, sheet-grey sea- had been even less inviting. The yellow Pegasus had awoken during sunset to find heavy grey storm clouds forming ominously above, and in the end decided that shelter was the first priority.

But now she realized how lost she was, unconsciously ceasing the endless forward march, err, crawl she’d forced herself on, as the despair settled in. She had no idea where she was, how she got there. She was scared and alone in a strange, frightening place, and there was no sign that her friends knew where she was. If they had, she felt confident they’d have found her by now.

Then the second-guessing and self-doubt began to creep in. Maybe she should have taken the high road, so that she’d be more visible to potential rescuers. What if there were monsters down in these tunnels with her? Maybe her friends had given up trying to find her.

Maybe they hadn’t even tried in the first place.

Tears streaming down her cheeks and dampening the earth under her hooves, she resumed the miserable crawl, wishing desperately that this was just a nightmare… and somehow knowing it wasn’t.


So, first chapter. This isn't the best example of my writing, as this story is more to get an idea out of my head while getting me back into the habit of writing on a regular basis again. I have bigger and better (and more original, or at least as original as a fanfic can be) stories on the way, but until then, I hope you enjoy this one!