//------------------------------// // Scouting and Discovery // Story: Remnants of Glory // by TheMajorTechie //------------------------------// I really can't stop thinking about how dangerously unstable these buildings are. I mean, we just set up our new camp in the most intact building we could find- Canterlot Castle, but still, it's scary just thinking about it. I feel like I should go a bit further down the track, maybe we'd find a better kept town, anything that seems like it could support daily life. I'm tired of having to be this all-important "leader" of our group, all I want is to live a normal life, or at least as close to one as possible. ~~~{Canterlot Train Station}~~~ It is now morning. I took Jewel with me, since I likely may need some help. Unlike the trip to here, Canterlot, this time, it's only the two of us. Earlier today, I had fixed another engine for the use of the rest of my group, and so that I could take a train to the closest town to here; Ponyville. ~~~ Once again, I went through the usual routine. I started the fire, being sure that there was enough fuel, of course. I then made sure that the water injector was at an acceptable pressure, and started up the steam pressure monitoring system I had installed. Within a few minutes, we were off and running, the hulking boiler happily steaming away. Since I had packed light, and with only Jewel and I on board, we only had to take the main engine itself, but just in case, I also brought a single car with me. You never know what you may find yourself sleeping in when you're in the apocalypse. Looking outside, I could tell that this particular area fared far better than any other settlements that I had been to so far. In the distance, I saw a large apple orchard, it's fruit gleaming a bright red that stood out against the leaves of each tree. My mouth watered at the thought of being able to eat something that was actually fresh, and I could tell that Jewel could also see what I saw, as she was practically drooling a waterfall. ~~~{Ponyville}~~~ I can't believe what I'm seeing here. Ponyville, while being one of the smallest towns I've ever seen, seemed to have once bustled with activity. There were all sorts of shops lining the streets, boutiques, restaurants, you name it. In the middle of it all stood a large oak tree. Now, this wasn't a normal oak tree, it was pretty apparent that the thing had once been used as a library. As I entered, I also noticed that it had a second floor, seemingly used as a bedroom of sorts. Personally, I think that whoever owned the library back then was probably well liked in the town. As I lay on the scruffy old mattress by the window, I heard a knocking on the door. Jewel had been reading some "comic books" that she found in a bin nearby, so I knew that it couldn't be her. I opened the door, expecting to face some sort of monster. This place is a border town of the Everfree Forest, anyways. To my surprise, I opened the door to find... nothing. I was just about to close the door when I saw something in the corner of my eye, a "splash of color" if I had to describe it. It only appeared briefly, and at first I thought it had been something blowing in the wind. Instead, somehow, moments after I first saw it, it happened again. "Jewel?" I shouted back inside, "can you come over here for a second?" Jewel stumbled down the stairs, still holding the book. "Do you see anything out of the ordinary?" I asked. Jewel put down the comic and looked where I was looking. "No, why? Did you see something?" she said after looking around. I hesitated for a moment before replying. "Yeah, I saw this - this... thing in the corner of my eye. I have absolutely no idea what it could be, but it seemed to be part of the surroundings..." Jewel blinked a few times as she processed what I was saying. "So..." she replied, "you're saying that you saw some sort of "scenery modification"?" I nodded. Jewel looked back outside. "Oh," she exclaimed in awe, "Oh... wow..." I quickly stuck my head back out the door to see what she was looking at. For some reason, all of a sudden, the entire place was... different... There were ponies everywhere, bakeries, flower shops, and pretty much everything else seemed to burst with activity. Suddenly, the library around us disintegrated, leaving nothing but a simple fountain in it's place. In the distance, above all of the rooftops, tall crystalline spires rose above the town. A pink earth pony with an incredibly poofy mane and tail skipped past, evidently happy about something. I reached out to ask her about what was going on, only to have her pass straight through me. Jewel continued to look around, dazzled by absolutely everything. "So this was what you were talking about..." she said, "that flash of color, that... that utter feeling of just being there, it was this..." Somehow, though the ponies themselves didn't seem to physically exist, everything else seemed 100% real. I smelled fresh pastries from a nearby bakery, heard the various mumbles of ponies walking by, felt the ground tremble with the sheer energy that this... "vision" had been projecting. Finally, I decided to go see the "palace" for myself. I took Jewel's hoof, and headed towards the building. ~~~ I... I have no words for what I'm seeing here. This place, this beautiful palace of crystal, it was all real... I could literally walk straight up the stairs, open the doors, and go inside. I figured that I should do just that, since nopony else seemed to actually notice us nor see us. We quickly slipped inside the palace, and found one of the biggest rooms of the entire place. This room was evidently some sort of throne room, so obviously, this town was some sort of kingdom, possibly even separate from the rest of Equestria. Six thrones circled a round central table, with one of them having a smaller throne next to it. Apparently, whoever ruled from here had a lot of advisers. I jumped back in surprise as I heard the door open once more. For some reason, a mare and a young dragon entered the room. That's when I realized something: the mare was an alicorn. Suddenly, I heard the mare and dragon gasp in surprise. I quickly ran and hid behind one of the thrones in fear that it was me that they saw. Luckily, Jewel pointed out that it had been another mare that I somehow hadn't noticed, who was sitting on one of the thrones. They had what seemed to be some sort of passive-aggressive conversation, when the one on the throne lifted up some sort of scroll, and hit it with a beam from her horn. I could literally feel the action going on around me, the weird bubble thing was creating what seemed like a miniature whirlwind around the table, when suddenly, the mare on the throne, who had been cackling wickedly, got sucked in. Evidently, the alicorn and the dragon seemed to be rather confused, at least, until the dragon touched the scroll that was left behind. The two suddenly were pulled into the exact same "bubble" that had sucked in the other mare and then all went quiet. All around us, the scenery began to fade back to it's original, dull tone. The entire palace vanished from sight, leaving us strangely, with just the table.