Spark prepared to buck the door down and chase after Sonnet, but his tail was quickly given a painful jerk by Star Swirl’s magic. “If you go out now, you’ll die!” the unicorn shouted, creating a bubble-like shield around himself and Spark.
Less than a second later, the house crashed into the trees, the branches tearing the house apart. There was a slight rotation of the house as the trees hit it. By the time that the house hit the ground, it was on its side. The house collapsed in on itself as recoil to the impact with the hard ground. Spark blacked out as he bounced within the bubble shield that Star Swirl had cast.
“Spark, wake up.” Star Swirl said, shaking the stallion awake.
Spark, vaguely able to remember the last few moments before he lost consciousness, prayed that it had all been just a dream, but to his dismay, he saw the condition that the house was in and realized that it had all been real.
“Sonnet!” he shouted, jumping straight up, ignoring the sharp pain in his left rear leg. “Where is she?”
“Relax!” Star Swirl commanded in such a voice that it scared Spark into stillness. “If you don’t hold still, you could bleed out.”
“Bleed out?” Spark asked back, turning to look at the unicorn.
He saw a pool of blood below his own back leg, the one that was hurting. A large chard of wood was sticking out of him, just above his hoof. The pain now had an explanation, but he wasn’t sure how the wood had gotten there. “Hadn’t you made a shield?”
“Yes, but I lost focus just after the house hit the ground. For that, I am sorry.” Star Swirl apologized, the intensity in his expression and voice fading away, but he still wasn’t back to his usual cheerful self.
“Where’s Sonnet? I saw her falling outside the house. She couldn’t be far. She’s probably hurt, she needs help.” Spark said erratically.
“Spark…” Star Swirl started, trying to maintain strength in his voice, but finding even that difficult. “If that was Sonnet, she probably didn’t make it…”
“Don’t say that!” Spark shouted. “You cast the spell on her necklace to protect her! She has to be alive!”
“There is no guarantee that my spell was strong enough to protect her from a fall like that.” Star Swirl replied. “I was barely able to keep the shield up long enough to keep the two of us alive; even that could hardly be considered a success.” he gestured toward the piece of wood that he had just pulled out of Spark’s leg.
The blood drained through the open wound with ease until Star Swirl managed to cast a spell to clot the blood enough to put an end to that. Afterward, he tied an old cloth on the wound to keep any dirt out of the sensitive area. Consistently throughout the procedure, he had to use his magic to force his patient to remain still.
“Let me go!” Spark shouted, trying with all of his might to break free from the magical grasp of his temporary doctor. “I have to find Sonnet!”
“I have a preference of treating the living before lending medical attention to the dead.” Star Swirl growled, tightening his grip on the earth pony. “Now, would you kindly shut up and hold still for a few more seconds.”
As soon as Star Swirl finished tightening the knot on the cloth that he’d wrapped around Spark’s leg, the earth pony galloped off at full speed. Each time that his hoof hit the ground, a pulse of pain shot through his entire body, but that didn’t matter, nothing except for Sonnet mattered.
“Sonnet?” Spark cried out as he ran into dense forest. “Where are you?”
Spark quickly came to a sudden halt as he found a splash of crimson covering the grass that made up the forest floor. Horrified, he slowly turned his glance upward as a warm droplet fell upon his forehead. Blood was dripping from a tree branch above him.
There was no sign of Sonnet aside from the blood, which Spark kept telling himself, “It could belong to anypony.” This did nothing to ease his fears though, as now he had no idea where Sonnet even was. Finding her probably wouldn’t have eased his fears either, as she would have surely been in bad condition.
Spark fell to the ground, failing to hold back the tears that had building up since before he had left the house. As he slowly lifted his head from the blades of grass, he saw something that he had previously overlooked. It was a trail of blood leading deeper into the woods. If it was Sonnet, then she was alive and moving. There was hope.
Spark leapt up to his hooves and started in a full speed gallop with the intention of never stopping until he found the most important pony in the world to him. He ran for at least a mile before the trail went cold and despair began to work its way back into his heart. There was a faint cracking sound as a stick broke from an external force. Somepony was nearby. With any luck it would either be Sonnet or somepony who had seen where she had gone to.
“Hello? Is anypony there?” Spark called out, waiting quietly for a response.
“Who are you?” whispered a ghastly sounding voice.
“My name is Spark. I was wondering if you might have seen a mare come by here. She was badly injured.” Spark explained, looking around for the source of the voice, but unable to see anypony.
“I may have seen something, but it was hardly what you described.” the voice replied. It clearly belonged to a stallion, most likely an older one, but aside from that, Spark was clueless. “Did you care for that mare? You seem quite worried for her safety.”
“I love her.” Spark said solemnly. “Did you see her or not.”
“I saw a blue mare being dragged along by two cloaked ponies. I cannot say whether or not she was alive, but I can promise you that those ponies were not pleasant company. They were heading north toward the Frozen North.” the voice replied.
“Where are you? I’d like to thank you properly, face to face I mean.” Spark stated.
“I hardly think that necessary, but I do not wish to seem rude.” Spark could hear the sound of wings flapping and immediately looked up. A gryphon with a dark grey, almost black body and a white face was slowly descending toward the ground.
“Thank you. By the way, where are we?” Spark said gratefully.
“This area is known as the White Tail Woods. I must advise that if you intend to catch up with that mare, you move along quickly.” the gryphon stated, pointing a single claw to his right.
Spark nodded and started walking in the direction that the gryphon had gestured. As he walked, one thing kept crossing his mind again and again. The Frozen North seemed oddly specific of a location, what was to stop the mysterious cloaked ponies from stopping before they got to that location? Either the Gryphon was making assumptions with no basis, or he knew something that he had held back from Spark during their conversation.
As Spark wandered in the direction that he hoped was north, he began to worry about his mentor. He had left Star Swirl behind in his rage. It was getting to be late and they were lost in a completely foreign area, not the best pair of circumstances when put together, especially not since they were both alone. The problem was that Spark had already made so much progress toward finding Sonnet, he couldn’t turn back; he was too close.
Night quickly began to set in and the world became consumed in the endless darkness. Spark kept moving though, nothing would keep him from looking for Sonnet, not even the threat of death itself. She needed him, and he was not one to let a pony down.
“I’m coming for you Sonnet…” he whispered to himself.
He broke into another gallop as soon the pain faded away. Any boost that he could get in catching up to those to ponies was important. However hesitant Spark was to trust the gryphon, it was still his only lead, and he would have to believe it until evidence to the contrary came to light.
Eventually Spark saw a dim light in the distance, and as Spark approached it, it grew more and more brilliant. It was a city, filled with lights and ponies. On the other side of the city was an expanse of water that stretched on into the darkness. Either he was no longer in Equestria, or the gryphon had pointed him in the wrong direction. The only oceanic boarders that Equestria had were on the eastern and western sides.
Which thought was worse was beyond him though. On one hoof, he was so far from home that he would never have any chance of returning, even if he found Sonnet. On the other hoof, the gryphon that had pointed him in the direction of the coast could have been lying to him, and he may have taken Sonnet himself.
“I’ve got to get an answer quickly, maybe somepony in town can tell me something.” Spark said quietly to himself as he slowed down for his entrance to the city.
The lights of the city were a welcomed contrast to the darkness that he had grown accustom to in the White Tail Woods. Once he was out from the cover of the trees, Spark took a moment to look up to the sky. He was no astronomer, but he could usually recognize one or two constellations. Due to the location of Orion’s belt, he was able to recognize that he was going west, not north, just as he had feared.
With limited choices, and a very angry stomach, he reluctantly continued toward the city, hoping to find food and a place to stay for the night. Perhaps his concerns about the gryphon were unfounded and a pony living in the city could shed some light on the whole situation.
Spark walked down the packed streets as he looked for any building that had a sign saying something about lodging. Several ponies had stopped and looked at him; each one seemed to have a certain level of astonishment when looking at him. Some parents had to force their foals to look away. Spark thought nothing of it; after all, he was probably filthy, and probably a bit bloody, especially after wandering in the woods for who knows how long.
A large sign reading “Inn” hung over a bright red door. Spark pushed the door open slowly, causing a little bell to ring, and trotted into the brightly lit room. There were candles lining the walls, creating a light that rivaled that of the sun. To the immediate right of the entrance was a small oak counter with a young pegasus filly standing behind it. She had a bright pink mane and yellow eyes, and her coat was a soft violet.
The filly stared at Spark blankly, her mouth gaped open slightly. He was beginning to suspect that it was more than just mud or blood that was causing him to draw so much attention. Regardless, he needed to get some food and information about the gryphon.
“Excuse me…” Spark started, but was quickly interrupted by the quiet stuttering of the filly.
Before he could continue, a pegasus mare walked into the room from a door located behind the counter. “Lilac, honey, I think that it’s about time that you… go to… bed.” the mare stated, her voice trailing off as her eyes locked with Spark’s. “Now.” she added on, finalizing her statement and removing any possibility for the filly to argue.
There was a silence as the filly left the room and trotted up the stairs, glancing back occasionally at Spark before her mother would cough to remind her of what she was supposed to be doing. Once the filly was far enough away so that she would be unable to eavesdrop, the mare spoke again.
“An earth pony…” she said quietly leaving Spark unsure of how to react. “What brings you to Seaddle?”
The mare clearly had suspicions about Spark’s motives, although he was unsure why. However, he was now aware that it was because he was an earth pony that he was drawing the attention, not blood or dirt. If it had been the latter, the mare surely would have offered help, but instead she showed surprise at his race.
“I’m looking for somepony important to me who was taken. I was directed this way by a gryphon in the forest. He told me that she was being taken north, and directed me here.” Spark explained.
The mare just looked back at him inquisitively, as if trying to make sense of a foreign language that she’d just heard for the first time. “Do you mean Gale?” the mare asked, looking away from Spark and at some papers on the counter.
“If that is his name, I suppose so. I do have a question though, this was to the west of where I started, yet he directed me here and told me to go north.” Spark explained.
The mare, not looking up sighed. “Gale is very kind and looks out for any who get lost in that forest. He sent you here because this is a port town and you might be able to catch a boat to take you north faster.”
Before Spark could respond, there was a quiet tapping on the stairs. The mare’s head immediately shot up and she was about to speak before she caught a glimpse of a large grey hoof instead of the little violet one that she expected.
“Excuse me, miss. I don’t want to be a burden, but I was wondering if you could…” the stallion started as he came into full view. “Spark, I see you found your way out.”
“Star Swirl?” Spark replied, surprised to see that the old stallion had beaten him to the city. “When’d you get here?”
“About half an hour ago.” he answered calmly. “And if I may ask, what took you so long to arrive here?”
“It was hard to make good time with my leg in its current state.” Spark argued. “Plus I had to follow a trail…”
Spark’s voice drifted off when he mentioned the trail. The fact that it was probably Sonnet’s blood was killing him inside. It was his fault that she was sick, his fault that she decided to come by late, and it was his fault that they met Star Swirl in the first place. If it weren’t for his desire to live his dream, neither of them would be in their current predicaments.
“Mr. Swirl,” the mare started, rejoining the conversation. “Do you mind explaining how there is an earth pony standing in my inn?”
“We’re from very far away, a place where earth ponies still exist.” Star Swirl replied calmly.
Now Spark was more confused than ever. A place where earth ponies still exist? There was no doubt left in Spark’s mind, this place definitely wasn’t Equestria. His mind automatically assumed that it could be Saddle Arabia, since their population was made up of horses, not ponies, but the environment wasn’t right at all. Also, there were ponies here, pegasi to be exact, which was another hole in his idea.
Star Swirl gestured to Spark and then toward the stairs. Spark nodded and trotted up the stairs, waiting impatiently for Star Swirl to follow suit. Whatever this place was, Star Swirl knew more than Spark expected him to.
After a few moments, the old unicorn trotted up the stairs, joining up with Spark once again. His face bore a scowl like nothing Spark had ever seen before, making the young earth pony shrink back, hoping to avoid a scolding. Star Swirl shook his head slowly before letting out a long and aggravated sigh.
“You are lucky to be alive.” the unicorn growled. “Do you have any idea what happens to earth ponies around here? They are immediately executed!”
“What?” Spark gasped loudly. “Why?”
“The Constellar ponies don’t want the threat that earth ponies pose. From what I can tell they are the in far north, meaning that if I can find some way to send you back to Equestria, then you should be safe.”
“What’s going on? What do you know?” Spark stomped his hoof to the ground.
“It’s amazing what half an hour of reading can accomplish. Come up to my room and I’ll explain everything once I have a few protection spells up.” Star Swirl stated. “I’m not sure who we can trust.”
Spark agreed with Star Swirl about one thing. Who could he trust? Star Swirl was clearly holding back, and if the answers that Spark was about to get weren’t sufficient, then they were going to have a problem.
They quickly moved through the darkened hall until they reached a wooden door with the number 203 painted on it at about eye level. Star Swirl used his magic to slide a key into the keyhole and turned the doorknob quickly. He silently slid into the room, followed shortly by Spark.
Star Swirl’s horn began to glow a brilliant yellow as he shot small beams of light into the four corners of the room. Spark could have sworn that he had seen them connect once Star Swirl was done, but he couldn’t be sure. Star Swirl nearly collapsed after the protection spells were finished.
“Are you all right?” Spark asked, catching the exhausted unicorn.
“I’m fine.” Star Swirl pushed Spark away and took one last look around the room before speaking again. “Listen very carefully, I will not repeat myself and we will not discuss this further once we leave this room.”
Spark nodded quietly, he needed the explanation. “I’ll listen.”
“This is Equestria, but not the one that you know.” Star Swirl began. “This world lies parallel to our own, at least from my understanding, and this is the first time any creature from one has ventured to the other. As in our Equestria, there were three species of ponies that lived in this nation, but unlike ours, one of those species in now gone, earth ponies.”
“Why? What killed them?” Spark asked, worried for Sonnet. She had been ponynapped, and if whatever killed the earth ponies was still around then it was possible that they would be after her if they weren’t what had taken her in the first place.
“Two hundred years ago the stars rained down from the sky. They were born from the constellation Pegasus, they are Constellar ponies.” Star Swirl began to pace as he ran each of the legends that he had read on the topic through his head to make a semi-coherent story. “The Constellar ponies have a strange magic that no myth has consistently described, the only common factor is that their magic can lead to the death of others. Aside from that strange magic, they are very similar to pegasi, both in form and in weather based abilities.”
Star Swirl paused for a moment, walking over to one of the two beds inside the room. He sat down and put his face in between his hooves for a few seconds before looking up again. It looked to Spark as if he was trying to figure out what to say, which in Spark’s opinion, meant that bad news was sure to follow.
“In this world, the earth ponies had the ability to harness the powers of the elements of nature and bend them to their will. Unlike unicorns, their magic cannot be restricted through the use of a horn brace. Most unicorns were captured and given horn braces, and every earth pony, at least as far as I can tell, was systematically executed.” Star Swirl finished.
“Did you say that earth ponies could use magic here?” Spark asked, dwelling on that one fact. His dream was coming true, which would be the best thing ever if the circumstances surrounding that fact weren’t so awful.
“As far as I can tell from my readings they can.” Star Swirl replied. “I’m not sure if that ability will extend to you, seeing as you are a foreign pony to this world, just as I am.”
“From the sound of it, you’ve done a lot of reading in just… what’d you say, half an hour?” Spark replied, taking a seat on the other bed in the small room.
“Yes, but reading isn’t exactly the most accurate word for it, now that I put some thought to it. I cast a spell that transferred the knowledge stored within several history books into my mind.” Star Swirl explained.
There was a short silence that followed Star Swirl’s statement. This world was parallel to Equestria, but had a form of magic that was either extinct in their home world, or so rare that it had faded into legend. It would be the best thing to ever happen to Spark if it wasn’t for the fact that Sonnet was hurt and lost… or worse.
“We’ve got to go and find Sonnet.” Spark stated.
“You need to rest.” Star Swirl stated, his horn glowing for a second before Spark’s vision began to fade away. The unicorn had cast a spell to sedate and put his companion to sleep.