//------------------------------// // 1 - Arrival // Story: Dream Realm Destroia: Equestria // by RowanSkie //------------------------------// “That isn’t natural!” a pegasus named Rainbow Dash shouted as she and her pony friends struggled to keep the balloon stable where they were in. “Nopony could’ve done that!” “Can’t we go around it?” a unicorn, Rarity, suggested over the roaring of the wind. “TRY TO GO AROUND IT!” Their navigator and leader, Twilight Sparkle, was staring right at the tornado that was obstructing their path. She peered over the edge and looked straight down at the sea, something that their shy pegasus friend Fluttershy hated to do. While their rainbow-maned friend was struggling with the tornado, Twilight decided to tie a rope to her body, to the balloon, and then jumped. “Twilight!” a country-looking earth pony named Applejack shouted as she watched Twilight jump into the eye of the tornado. “Rainbow, Twilight just went into the tornado! Do somethin’!” Rainbow Dash flew and tried to pull Twilight back only to get the whole balloon thrown into chaos and inside the tornado. Two Days Before… (Golden Oaks Library, The Pony Nation of Equestria) Twilight Sparkle was empty. Figuratively empty. She groaned after trying to remember a piece of her dream which she was documenting into a book, much to Spike’s warnings about writing books and how bad it can be. As soon as she remembered what she was about to write, she quickly wrote it down and pasted it on a blank book which had then become her most valuable treasure. She only needed a few pages left before she was to give it to her mentor so that she could check if it was enough. She closed the book and called her faithful assistant, a baby dragon named Spike. “Spike, anything new in Ponyville?” Twilight asked as he walked up to her. “Any letters?” “Hmm.” Spike looked at the closed book and burped out a letter. “Speak of the discord, here’s a letter from Princess Celestia.” “Huh.” They both opened the letter together. As Twilight read the letter, she told his assistant to take a break. It always worked. Dear Twilight Sparkle, I know you are currently busy in your studies in friendship, but can I ask you one simple request? I need you to head towards Horseshoe Bay with your friends. I will be supplying more directions as soon as you arrived. Your mentor, Princess Solar Celestia. PS: The book is needed. Bring it with you. “Solar Celestia,” Twilight repeated. ‘How did Princess Celestia know a character from my dreams? She must’ve seen a part of it when I showed it to her. Sneaky.’ She immediately took her saddlebag with her unicorn magic and packed the book. She took another glance at the letter and left the study room where she wrote the book and headed towards Sugarcube Corner, a bakery where one of her best friends, an earth pony named Pinkamena Diane Pie shortened to Pinkie Pie lived. As soon as she entered, the bakery’s owners, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, noticed the book. “You’re still writing about that?” Mrs. Cake asked as she lended Twilight a slice of cake which she happily ate. “It’s giving me the creeps.” “Why tho?” Twilight asked over the small bites. “It’th just a book.” She gulped. “It’s just a book I‘m writing for Princess Celestia.” Mr. Cake looked at the spine. “It’s not named ‘Universes of the Dream Realm’, right?” Twilight stopped. “How did you know?” The owners looked at each other before they pulled a secret lever from one of the cake stands and gave Twilight a small notebook with the same name. Twilight opened it to find the exact same text she had on her book project. “How did you know it?” Twilight asked as she turned the pages to scan the book. “It’s exactly like mine!” “You see,” Mr. Cake replied. “It’s…” “Mhm?” Twilight waited for the response. “It’s what?” “It’s nothing,” Mrs. Cake replied. “Now, I can hear Pinkie coming down, why don’t you both skedaddle? I’m pretty sure she was the reason you’re here, right?” “How about the cake slice?” Twilight protested. “What can I do about it?” “It’s a sample. You like it, right?” Mr. Cake disappeared into the kitchen as soon as he saw Twilight nod. After Mrs. Cake left as well, Twilight had enough time to think about the events that had just been laid down and stared at the notebook that was in front of her. She read it again. And again. And again. Written by The Stargazer Mrs. Cake The Stargazer? Twilight made note of the name and hid the book underneath the table as Pinkie hopped past her. She quickly rose her head and caught Pinkie right before she left Sugarcube Corner. “Pinkie!” Twilight called. “Call the others, I think we all need a talk.” Today. (???, ???) Twilight Sparkle woke up coughing sand and saltwater out from her mouth. She stood and the first thing she remembered was a tornado. A tornado, a blue hoof tugging on her rope, and a hot air balloon. Five figures, a white one, an orange blur with a brownish blur above it, a pink one, a yellow and pink one, and a bluish one. Her mind readjusted the memory and everything was now clear as the day. She stood and looked around, immediately knowing that they were on a beach since she just coughed sand and water out. Along the shoreline, she noticed the white unicorn pony, Rarity, and Fluttershy. But she couldn’t find the Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie. Realizing that she might’ve lost them forever with no way home, she tried her best not to panic. This was no time to panic. She needed to find the others first and foremost. Then she could panic. Or she could make sure she and the two are fine and they have enough materials for a search, then she could panic. Or maybe she shouldn’t panic at all and try to take things logically… if she knew where she was, that is. The only thing she recognized for the moment is her friends and a bunch of equipment that seemed to be navigational tools from the balloon. “Okay, Twilight, don’t panic,” she told herself as she trotted over the equipment. “Let’s see, there’s my telescope, the book, my sextant, Pinkie’s party cannon, Rarity’s make up kit, and my pony travelling kit. And… This. How did this…get here?” Twilight pulled out a saddlebag which was half-buried and removed the sands covering it. “It looks familiar for some reason…” Twilight shrugged the familiarity and wore the saddlebag and all of the surviving equipment into it, then walked back towards Fluttershy and Rarity. As soon as she took another step, she saw Rarity sit and squint her eyes as the sun was right behind Twilight, giving the lavender unicorn a slightly ticklish feeling. ‘I never felt the sun this ticklish!’ She went toward Rarity and gave the make up kit, immediately filling Rarity with joy. “I thought I lost this!” Rarity hugged Twilight. “But wait! Where are the others!? What happened to the Twinkling Balloon?” “I guess it split into two,” Twilight hypothesized, freeing herself from Rarity’s slightly suffocating hug. “And now, I guess we need to survive for the night. And then we need to find the others using a scrying spell. Then learn where we are right now.” “I think the answer of where we are lies on the landmarks, dear.” Rarity’s eyes landed on a mountain inland as she took notice of the surroundings. “Isn’t that Mount Verley?” “Mount Verley?” Twilight looked on the same mountain. “If that’s Mount Verley, then we must be…” The pair’s eyes landed on the book and then into each other as realization dawned on the both of them, ignoring the third set of eyes. “Dream Realm Destroia?” “Dream Realm Destroia.” Without a moment’s notice, the two finally noticed Fluttershy who was staring at the two unicorn ponies. "Um… What’s going on Twilight?" She asked, unsure of the situation that was at hoof as she shrugged off the sands from her wings. "We're in Dream Realm Destroia, Fluttershy! That's what’s going on!" Twilight replied, nervousness clear in her voice. "B-but Twilight... If that's true then we're..." "We're what dear? You must speak up," Rarity said as she shifted nervously at the her timid friend's reaction. "Well, if that's true, then how are we in Dream Realm Destroia? I thought we can only visit this place by going to sleep?” … … “Are you okay, Twilight?” … and then Twilight Sparkle panicked.