//------------------------------// // A Whole New World // Story: Autumn // by Domaldo //------------------------------// Throne room, Canterlot Castle Everypony from Ponyville had gathered in the throne room, waiting for their heroes to arrive. Soon the trumpet sound was heard as the royal guard opened the giant doors of the massive room. The Elements of Harmony walked in, their heads held high and very proud of their recent victory over the Lord of Chaos. As they neared the throne itself, Princess Celestia stood above them and announced to the big crowd of ponies as well as the elements. “We are gathered here today, to once again honor the heroism of these six friends, who stood up to the villain Discord, and saved Equestria from eternal chaos!” Everypony started cheering the six mares. As the crowd died down, Princess Celestia pulled some curtains away to reveal a new window, depicting the defeat of the draconequus with the mane six using the magic of friendship to seal him in stone. The crowd went wild again, throwing confetti into the air, some jumping in joy, while others clapped their hooves into the ground. With everypony distracted, including the Elements they were thanking for saving the land again, nopony noticed the thunder that rang out in the everfree. Celestia herself didn’t see it, even though it was right outside her window, but she felt it, she knew something was coming. Concern grazed her features for no more than a second, and that second is all it took for her most faithful student to know that something was bothering her. “Um, Princess Celestia, are you ok? You looked worried for a moment,” she whispered lowly to not attract the attention of the crowd, but loud enough for her friends to notice. “It’s quite alright my little ponies, nothing we can’t solve in the morning, for now rest and enjoy, something tells me you might need it tomorrow,” she said reassuringly. Celestia didn’t know what happened exactly, only that something new came to her land. Twilight, trusting her mentor, decided to do as she was told and tried to have a moment of peace from the chaotic events that happened prior to this celebration. Everfree Forest, Afternoon “GAH!” *pant* “AH!” *pant* “Ah” *wheeze* “ah… huh?” … !!! Um, where am I? … Looks like a forest, a very odd forest but a forest nonetheless. … Why am I in a forest? … wait a second, I don’t remember falling asleep in a forest. What DO I remember then? Hmm, ok, there was a convention; my friend Mike and I attended said convention, we saw a lot of people in costumes, he bought me something… That’s right! The amulet! I stood up as quick as a bunny and looked to my chest, and I noticed I was still wearing it. I thought about throwing it away, but the moment it left my chest I felt, well, a little less safe. It was a weird feeling, especially since I was pretty sure I was here because of the damn thing. My memory was still very fuzzy; I could barely remember what’d happened. Only one thing stuck with me, that it all went horribly wrong in the end. I looked around, as only plants, trees and weirdness greeted me. There was no clear path to anywhere; it looked like I was just dropped here from the sky! Why was this happening? This was so bizarre. I began to walk, hoping to find someone that could help me. “Hello?” I called out, but silence was the only response. “Is anybody out here?” I tried once more. “CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME?!” I yelled. “HELLOOOOOO!!!” I tried one more time, a little more irritated. … Nothing, I was, indeed, alone. I needed to find someone before dark, who knows what sort of animals go through these woods, even if I’m somewhat familiar with camping, I went to a place I knew and this forest looked like NOTHING I’d ever seen in my life. I searched for what felt like ages, still finding nothing, no tracks, no clues, nothing. I checked my pockets and pulled out my phone, not bothering to see if I had lost something. Turning it on I was disappointed, and somewhat scared, as it told me there was no signal wherever I was. So not only was I lost somewhere in these mysterious woods, but I was also unable to contact anyone that could help me. It was near dawn that I decided to let go of my search of an exit, I needed a place to camp for the night, so I gathered some sticks lying around here and there, garbed some dead leafs, and made a simple pile in a small clearing I found while I was searching. Trying to remember how to start a fire from scratch was surprisingly easy, and oddly enough lighting it worked almost instantly… weird, very few times did I go out camping with my father as a child. Using the free time on my hands, I looked through the rest of my belongings despite how little I had originally on me. My house keys where next to useless, no point in them if the locks they opened weren’t close by. I still had my wallet, and what little money it had left as well as some personal mementos. My car keys where gone, I must have dropped them… Hold on, what did actually happen? What if someone drugged me and stole my car? After I find a town or a city, I should report this to the police; see if they can find something because I sure can’t with the information I have. “Ok, tomorrow I’m going to see if I can find sings of civilization, shouldn’t be too hard considering how even the land is,” I muttered to myself as the small campfire roared in front of me. I needed some rest, the night was already on me and I didn’t want to spend more time talking to myself. I went to the campfire to try and extinguish it, until I noticed how dark it REALLY was. The clearing I was in didn’t have anything flammable around my campfire to begin with, and I myself removed any dead branch or leaf that might trigger a forest fire, so it was relatively safe to leave it there. That and the fact I was now terrified of the dark that surrounded me, I was pretty sure that if I got rid of my campfire I wouldn’t be able to see anything! It wasn’t normal, it wasn’t right, where the hell was I? A question for tomorrow, right now I needed to rest. I kept the amulet on, something telling me I might need it, plus it felt good to wear it. Ponyville’s Library The mane six could be seen inside the library, all of them huddled together listening to their unicorn friend Twilight Sparkle. “We defeated Discord, and I believe I speak for everypony that it was exhausting.” All present agreed, even the baby dragon among them. “And you all saw Princess Celestia’s concern, right?” “Yeah, what was that about? I thought Discord was the only ruffian we had to take care of,” exclaimed Rarity, getting some positive responses from the group, well almost all of them. “But his chocolate raiiiin, ooohoohohooo it was soo DELICIOUS!” Everypony stared at the energetic pony, fawning over precipitating dairy products. This was until she noticed them, and added, “still a big meanie, no matter how delicious it was,” she said with her smile adorning her face. “Well, if the Princess herself told us not to worry ‘bout it, ah think we oughta listen to ‘er,” said Applejack, confident in the princess’s judgment, “besides, she told ya that we’ll deal with it in the mornin’.” “I guess you are right, if she thinks we can let this go for one night, we will listen to her,” Twilight finished, getting nods of approval in return. “Um, Twilight, I was, erm, wondering if I, um, could sleep here tonight, if you don’t mind,” the shy pegasus asked her friend. “Of course you can, but why? What’s wrong with your house?” “Did Discord do something permanent to it before we stoned him?!” The other pegasus in the room asked, angered by the thought itself. “Oh dear no, my house is quite alright, it’s just that, um…” Fluttershy tried to vocalize her thoughts, but every time she opened her mouth, she closed it, unsure of how to explain. “Aw c’mon Fluttershy? What are you scared off now? The dark?” Spike said as he opened the door to the outside, trying to explain that it was perfectly fine. It wasn’t perfectly fine. It was dark, really dark. It was so dark nopony in the room could see a thing past the door. Even the dragon himself took a step back when he looked outside, before shutting the door immediately. “Ah think ah speak fer everypony here when ah ask, can we all sleep ‘ere?” Applejack said, concern evident in her voice. “Uhuh,” everypony present said in unison, even the dragon who lived there. Too tired to argue, understand or deal with the strange situation before them, everypony picked a spot, took a pillow and a blanket, and went to sleep.