//------------------------------// // Journey through the Desert // Story: Heroines of Equestria // by Princess Angelica //------------------------------// Journey through the Desert With a new route ahead of them, the Space Star Sisters were on their way to search for the meteorite. They had walked for hours in the forest, following what can be seen in their path. After emerging from the forest, they had stopped towards a nearby cliff. “Hmph, I’m not sure about that.” Angelica shuddered, as she quickly checked how steep the cliff really was. “Well, I suppose this is it.” Seraphina confirmed, nonchalantly stepping towards nearby the edge. “I know, let’s see how far we can go!” Katherine exclaimed, rushing towards the edge and jumped down far below. “Last one there is a sore loser!” Persephone called, exactly following suite. As Persephone and Katherine both plummeted down, Angelica and Seraphina remained on the cliff. They took one look below, before bracing themselves. Suddenly, Seraphina took one step towards the edge. “I do believe this is our only chance.” Seraphina declared, preparing to jump down. “How is that possible?” Angelica enquired, feeling worried about the thought of falling down. “You just spread your wings when you’re in the air.” Seraphina stated, as she plummeted down to join her sisters. Angelica had slowly headed towards the edge, trying to reassure herself. She was just about to jump off, when suddenly her hoof slipped. She found herself sliding from the cliff. “Yikes!” Angelica screamed, plummeting towards far down below. Angelica had descended rapidly, as she felt her mane and tail trailing away in the wind. She steadied herself for the worst, as gravity draggged her down towards the ground. But it was then until she remembered something that she had learned. “Just spread my wings when I’m in the air.” Angelica reminded herself, as she gradually did exactly that. Suddenly, Angelica continued to fall, this time with reduced speed. Her wings were spread out wide, as she slowly descended below towards the ground. After falling for several minutes, she lowered onto the ground with a gentle step. “Phew, almost as good as one of my landings.” Angelica sighed, as she folded her wings and then looked around. “Are you well, Angie?” Seraphina asked, suddenly appearing in her sister’s presence. Beside her, Persephone and Katherine also appeared, checking up on their sister. They slowly approached Angelica, and were relieved to find her. Angelica suddenly realised where they were. “Anyway, where are we now?” Angelica queried, paying attention to the surrounding location. By now, the environment looked very different. It was a rather dry landscape with sandy terrain. There were few plants, each were decaying from lack of moisture. They were surrounded by large rocks, each were sharp and jagged. The atmosphere was extremely warm, complete with a sudden rise of temperature. “We’re in the desert, of course.” Persephone answered, before urging her sister to move on. “Come on, we still have work to do!” Katherine ordered, rushing further ahead of her sisters. The Space Star Sisters continued to move on, eager to prepare for everything in their path. They had migrated across the landscape, determined to get to the next destination. It was until they came across a steep ravine. “We walked far for this?” Angelica stammered, not believing her own eyes. As they were pondering their next step, they had noticed something else. It looked like a wooden bridge, suspending over the ravine as if connecting the two landscapes. Knowing this as an advantage, they soon rushed towards it. “Hey, there’s a bridge we can walk on!” Katherine suggested, putting her hoof onto nearby the edge of the bridge. “Let’s get on with it!” Persephone commanded, quickly following after her sister. Soon they got onto the bridge, walking as slowly as they could. They were all huddled together, moving into a straight line. However, they were unaware of the bridge that was starting to fall. “I don’t think this is a good idea.” Angelica warned, noticing their weight was causing this sudden fault. Eventually, the bridge had snapped with ropes and planks tumbling down below. The Space Star Sisters plummeted into the ravine. Afterwards, they had landed onto the deepest part. “Thanks a lot, now we’ll never get out of here.” Katherine bemoaned, regretting the unnecessary decision they had made. “Hey, you started it!” Persephone argued, trying to blame her sister for causing this problem. “You know we don’t have time for this!” Seraphina scolded, telling them off for making such a fuss. Pondering what to do next, the Space Star Sisters looked around the hallway. They were trying to look for a way out of there. It was until then Angelica suddenly blurted out. “Look, I can see a way out!” Angelica exclaimed, noticing a strange thing at the far end of the hallway. “What is it now, Angie?” Seraphina questioned, noticing her sister wandering off. “Just follow me!” Angelica cried out, eager to find out whatever it was that she saw. Angelica’s sisters did as they were told, knowing that this was the only option. As she ran through the hallway, they followed behind her. They soon reached towards their sister as they approached a nearby doorway. “Hey, I can see something!” Angelica called, noticing something else in the other side of the doorway as she carefully peeked over a corner. Angelica realised it was another creature. It was a dragon, with pink skin, feathered wings, orange claws, blue eyes, red horns, purple belly and a green mark on her head. She was pacing around a group of large crystals, each of which were illuminating with a sparkling glow. “Crystals, is there anything they can’t do?” the dragon stated, wrapping her tail around the one that was behind her. Knowing what to do next, Angelica decided to go through the doorway. She stepped into the other side. Her sisters looked on, each with a look of concern. “Angie, what are you doing?” Seraphina demanded, attempting to stop her sister. But Angelica did not listen. Instead, she slowly walked towards the dragon as confident as possible. As she got close enough, she soon stopped in the exact position. “Ahem.” Angelica said, clearing her throat. “Oh, my!” the dragon cried, turning her head to see who was behind her. “Hi, I’m Angelica!” Angelica announced, introducing herself to the newcomer. “Well, that’s Jasmine at your service!” the dragon replied, as she carefully approached Angelica. “Angie, what’s with you?” Seraphina enquired, as she and her sisters entered the other side of the doorway. “So, what brings you here?” Jasmine asked, with her eyes fixed onto the Space Star Sisters. “Oh, I’m Seraphina and these are Persephone and Katherine.” Seraphina responded, introducing herself and her sisters. “Very well, what have you been up to? Jasmine asked, being curious about the ponies’ presence. “We’ve been busy searching for a meteorite!” Angelica answered, briefly describing the purpose of their journey so far. “Ah, I see what you mean.” Jasmine confirmed, understanding the whole idea. “Could you at least get us out of this place?” Katherine lectured, wanting to get this over with. “Why, certainly if you must. Just follow me!” Jasmine ordered, as she rapidly slammed against a nearby boulder that revealed a hidden doorway, where she walked inside with the ponies following her. Soon, Jasmine and the ponies entered another hallway. They all walked pass the elongated walls as they quickly moved on. Finally, they had reached towards the outdoor exit. “Here we go, just how you like it!” Jasmine declared, as she stepped in towards the open environment. “Well, at least we’re outside again.” Persephone confirmed, breathing into the atmosphere. “Now, about the meteorite. I do believe that it went somewhere in that direction.” Jasmine instructed, pointing her tail towards a rugged location surrounded by hills. “Okay, thanks for your help!” Angelica cheered, as she and her sisters departed for their journey. The ponies continued their journey. They were determined to reach their destination, no matter the outcome. It was like they were always prepared for anything that gets in their way. “I wonder if there are any crystals around?” Jasmine questioned, prancing around the desert. Meanwhile, the Space Star Sisters migrated towards the rough landscape. They travelled deeper as they went pass the steep hills. However, Angelica stopped to look around the environment. “What’s the matter, Angie?” Seraphina asked, concerned about her sister’s sudden reaction. “Did ever you realised you were being watched?” Angelica shuddered, quickly looking behind her shoulder. Unknown to them, a mysterious creature had sneaked among the hills. It moved from one place to another, never staying still. Suddenly, it stared at them and crouched down. “I think there’s something hidden around there!” Angelica murmured, trying to convince her sisters. “Hey, there’s nothing here.” Persephone sighed, not understanding this incident. “I don’t see anything.” Katherine scoffed, ignoring what was happening. The creature silently waited for them to stay still. As they stood where they were, it turned its head to face them. It snarled with anticipation. “Now, how many times have we got to tell you this?” Seraphina questioned, trying to reassure her sister. “But it’s true, there is something around there!” Angelica protested, encouraging her sisters to believe her. Suddenly, the creature quickly emerged from its hiding place and finally revealed itself. It was a werewolf, with brown fur, yellow eyes, orange stripes and a red tail. The ponies were just in time to notice. “Watch out!” Angelica cried, quickly jumping out of the way. “We have to stop him!” Seraphina yelled, immediately aiming her horn at the werewolf. Seraphina launched a laser beam towards the werewolf. However, the werewolf swiftly avoided the magic spell. Having failed, Seraphina grumbled with frustration. “He’s getting away!” Persephone shouted, trying to aim her horn. “Let’s do this!” Katherine ordered, preparing to charge. The werewolf successful dodged every spell casted straight towards him. However, they finally surrounded him with their horns. Finding himself cornered, he whimpered desperately with puppy dog eyes. “Excuse me, but I’m feeling rather peckish so could you please be extra nice to me?” the werewolf pleaded, begging for sympathy. “But you tried to attack us!” Seraphina rebuked, in a stern tone. “Sorry about that. Anyway, the name’s Ragnarok.” the werewolf apologised, introducing himself as well. “Well, I’m Angelica, and these are Seraphina, Persephone and Katherine!” Angelica consoled, as she and her sisters began to stay further away. “Uh, I guess you’re going somewhere.” Ragnarok remarked, wanting to know more about the ponies’ presence. “That’s right, we’ve been searching for a meteorite!” Angelica replied, explaining their purpose and briefly describing their journey so far. “Wow, now that sure is wicked!” Ragnarok exclaimed, suddenly feeling rather excited. “Maybe you can tell us where it is.” Seraphina suggested, wanting to know the whereabouts of the meteorite. “Yeah, it’s just over there somewhere.” Ragnarok responded, pointing his front paw towards a less dense area of the desert. “Thanks for your help!” Angelica confirmed, following her sisters as they began to depart. As they had left, Ragnarok just stood there as he slowly lifted his head upwards and howled loudly. “Well, that was fun!” Angelica chirped, walking further ahead pass her sisters. “I know, but we need to find the meteorite!” Seraphina reminded, encouraging Angelica to stay on the path. The ponies prepared themselves for another journey. They were always eager to face whatever stands in their way. It was like everything was waiting for them.