//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: The Search part 1 // Story: A Whole New World // by Nick the Brony //------------------------------// "Whew, finally. The meetings over. I don't know how you two are able to handle those daily." Twilight sighed. She, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna had just finished a long boring meeting with a bunch of nobles. "I swear sister. They want more and more each meeting." Luna complained. She was never a fan of the nobles, except for Fancy Pants of course. She especially hated Blueblood though, the most greedy stalion she thinks she has ever meet. Celestia patted her sister on the back. "I know it's hard Luna. But it's something we just have to deal with. Maybe in the future they will start to show some generosity." She tried to comfort her little sister. Luna lowered her head. "I doubt that." Though the nobles problems were annoying, that was not on Twilights mind. She wanted permission to borrow some guards, and tell Celestia and Luna what she and her friends had found. But, before Twilight could bring up the subject, Celestia spoke. "So Twilight. Did you find anything in the Everfree forest that might be linked to the magic surge?" Twilight was surprised that Celestia brought it up before she did. "Well, I think we did." Luna was curious, "Well, what did thou find?" "Well." She was trying to come up with a description of Joel. "Have you ever heard of a creature that walks upright, has hair only on it's head, has no hoofs, wear cloths all the time, has claw like things on it's long arms, talk equish, and wear strange things on its feet?" Celestia and Luna thought for a bit. They had never heard of such a creature. They didn't think one could live in Equestria, maybe even the planet. Celestia was the first to respond. "I have never heard of a creature like that before. I'm interested though." Luna was next. "Does thou suppose this creature was the reason for the magic surge? If it is, is it dangerous?" Twilight sat down on the floor and looked up. "Well, I believe so. He took down an entire pack of Timber wolves by himself. They even didn't transform." The princesses were surprised yet impressed by the feat. They had never heard much stories of ponies winning against a Timber Wolf, let alone a pack." "So is it a threat?" Celestia asked. Twilight was nervous about answering that one. She didn't want to seem like a jerk. "Well I have a theory." Luna was even more curious. "Well tell us, were waiting." "Well." Twilight gulped. "I think he is an escaped monster from Tartarus." Celestias and Lunas eyes widened, and their mouths hanged open. "Are you sure Twilight?" Asked Celestia. "Well. All the facts seem to point him to be." Twilight responded. Celestia and Luna just stood there in thought, the something popped up in Celestias mind. "Twilight. Did you recieve the letter I sent to you last week?" She asked. Twilight put a hoof on her chin. "No. Why? Is it important?" She asked franticly. "Yes it is Twilight. It said that now I have a daily patrol of guards that check on the monsters in Tartarus, so that we would be prepared for another attack. It also said you could ask said guards about the status of the monsters. You did give it to Twilight, right Spike." She glared at Spike, who was on Twilights back. "Um...well. I was on a boat when you sent it. It kinda fell in the lake, sorry." He rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously. Celestia sighed. "Well since your here Twilight, lets check on the report. Guard!" Out of nowhere, a unicorn in gold armour came and bowed. "Yes princess." "Please bring me todays report from Tartarus." She said kindly. "As you wish princess." As quickly as he came, he left. After about a minute, he came back with a scroll. "Here you go your majesty." He lowered his head lifting the scroll. "Thank you Swift Hoofs. You may leave now." Celestia said kindly. The guard bowed once more and quickly left. Celestia used her magic to open the scroll and see it's contents. "Lets see." Her eyes scrolled down the surprisingly long paper. It took her about two minutes to get to the bottem. "Well Twilight. According to this, all the monsters are in their cells, which means." She looked at Twilight waiting for an answer. Twilight blushed at her mistake. "Joel is not from Tartarus. Which means he's not a monster." There was an awkward silence in the hall, both Celstia and Luna looking at Twilight with half eyes. Twilight smiled nervously. She wanted to get back to Ponyville now. "Well...um. Joel dosen't know about this misunderstanding, so we can just forget about this. And I head back to Ponyville. Sounds good? Bye." Twilight walked away embarrassed, not wanting to continue the conversation. "Twilight." Celestia had put on her most serious voice today. All Twilight could do was stop and answer. "Yes?" Twilights head fell. "I know you are trying to be cautious, but you know it's not right to judge somepony just because they are different. Remember when you sent me that friendship letter back when you first meet Zecora the zebra. I believe you remember what's on it, don't you?" She asked. Twilights head was even more lower then before. "Yes, I remember. I'm sorry." Twilight said disappointed at herself. How could she forget a friendship leason, as the princess of friendship? "I guess you must punish me for my wrong doing Celestia. Go ahead." She said defeated. "Punish you! Hahahahaha." Celestia started to laugh, which was not common. All Twilight did was look at her confused, her mind trying to compute why Celestia was laughing. "Celestia, what's so funny?" She asked. Celestia soon calmed down and got back into posture. "Twilight, why would I ever punish you. Everypony makes mistakes, even me and Luna. Do you also remember the time when you had your breakdown. I was planning to give you some sort of punishment, but your friends convinced me to not do so. They told me that everypony makes mistakes, and thats true. When you make mistakes, what you can do is learn from them, and try to be better." Celestias words of wisdom brought up Twilights mood. Twilight smiled and gave her former mentor a hug. "You right Celestia, thank you." "It's all right. You are right about one thing though." Celestia let go of Twilight. "It's a good thing Joel doesn't know about your mistake, otherwise, I believe things would get complicated." She chuckled. There was a knock on the door, it was Luna who answered. "Thou may enter." She answered. In came another guard. He bowed and spoke. "Princess, there's an element of harmony that wants to speak with you immediately. Shall we let her in?" "Bring her in." Luna nodded. The guard obeyed and headed to the entrence. There was silenece for a minute, until the faint sound of yelling caught the princesses attention. "TwiliiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" There was a loud crash, and Twilight fell down. She looked around, only to see Rainbow Dash under a broken pot. "Hehe. Sorry for the entrence." Rainbow blushed. "Rainbow, what's the meaning of this?" Twilight looked at her friend angerly. Rainbow quickly got out of the pile and grabbed Twilight. "Bad things have happened! I messed up! He's gone! I don't know where he is! I failed! It's all my fault!" Rainbow was speaking at speeds Pinkie Pie would be impressed at. She then fell down face first, and started to hit the floor with her hoof. "Rainbow, calm down! What happened?" Twilight tried to comfort her friend, strocking her back. "Just read the note." She passed a note to Twilight, and continued her banging. Twilight had to put Rainbow to sleep in order to read the note without noise. Twilight read the note. Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. She read it a second time to make sure she was reading it right. She was. Twilight soon became very dizzy, and fainted. Landing on Rainbow Dash. Celestia and Luna were shocked. Celestia now picked up the letter. However, when she finished it, she stayed calm. "Luna. Send a letter to the elements and Cadence. I'll get a search party ready." Luna didn't even have to ask why, her sisters face said it all. She nodded, and ran to her room. Celestia on the other hoof, went the other direction. After putting Twilight and Rainbow to bed. She knew she had to act fast. Who knows where Joel went off to. ><><><><><><><><>< Meanwhile Joel had found his way towards the Frozen North. Ahead of him where tall, snowy mountains. "Hmm. That looks like a good place to hide. I don't see ponies climbing mountains, and it's probably too windy for pegasi to fly." In his mind, he never wanted to see a pony again. They hurt him, mentally. Joel knew now there was only one way to live, alone. Just like how he has been most of his life. He continued running towards the mountains, and as he came closer, it started to get colder. "Good thing I have some thick cloths packed up." He thought. Later, he noticed something shiny to the east. Curious, and needing of a break. Joel sat on a rock and took out his binoculars. "What the." Joel was speechless. It was a city made of crystal, hence the glow. He got a good look at the city. Weird crystal like ponies wondered the streets. A giant tower at the center of the city stood high into the sky. What caught Joels eyes was the weird heart shaped gem under the tower. It glowed brightly in the sun rays. "This place just gets weirder and weirder." He said taking a bite out of an energy bar. He soon continued walking to the mountains. Not noticing he was being watched. ><><><><><><><><>< Meanwhile "Cadence. Cadence!" Called Shining Armour, nocking on his wife's room. "What is it?" Cadence asked. She was in the middle of having her daily break from duties. She would always read a book on the balcony at this time. Shining opened the door. "Something very serious." His voice full of worry. Cadence ears perked. She closed her book and made her way to her husband. "Oh dear. What is it!" Her face showing concern. Shining passed her a letter. Cadence looked at it in surprise. "It's from auntie Luna." She could tell because of the moon on the seal. She opened the letter and read it aloud. Dear Cadence and Shining Armour I hope this came at the right time. We have important news. A strange being calling himself Joel, is on the run. He ran away after finding out Twilight mistaked him for a creature from Tartarus. He is probably hurt, and would most likely get angry if he is approched by a pony. We don't know if he is dangerous, however it's best to be cautious around him at this time. Twilight claims he took down a pack of Timber Wolves by himself. I have already sent this letter to the elements of harmony. Them, and a search party will search the south. I ask of you to search the north. On the back of this letter is a rough description of what he looks like. We hope we will be able to find him before anypony gets hurt. Good luck. Princess Luna Cadence was surprised, yet exited. She wanted to meet this Joel, and learn more about him. Shining Armour on the other hoof was more serious with the matter. If this Joel really did take out a pack of Timber Wolves, he could be dangerous when angry. He needed to find this creature quickly. Cadence then fliped the letter to see the description. "Lets see. Tall and bipedal. Very little hair, only on it's head. Wears cloths. Claw like things at the end of its long arms. Highly intelligent and strong. Can talk equish. Oh my. What an interesting creature." She had never heard of a creature like this. She was thinking of all the things she could learn. "Ok. I'll get a search party ready. I'll be back later today." He ran towards the barracks. Candence was unamused. She grabbed Shining with her magic, and put him face to face with her. "What do you mean I'll. I'm coming too you know." She said with determination. "You can't go. It's too dangerous." Shining warned. Cadence gave a light chuckle at his statement. "Oh don't worry. I can handle myself. Besides, you might end up in a situation where some talking, or negotiating may be needed. And no offence, I'm the best mare for the job. Plus, the letter said he was hurt. Most likley emotionally. So he might need some love and compasion." Shining considered her testimony. She was right. She could be a graet help. "Ok, you can come. Just be careful." "Don't worry. I'll be fine." She gave him a hug and kiss. She then walked to her room to get prepared. Leaving a blushing prince behind.