Chapter One
Separate Worlds
James slowly walked along the small dirt path going up the mountain, taking his time to enjoy the Colorado scenery. A cool breeze blew against his face. Most of the trees had dropped their load of leaves, and winter was approaching fast. James was an average teen, with a messy mat of copper-brown hair and hazel eyes. As he paused to drink from his canteen, he looked back, almost able to see Colorado Springs. He had lived just outside Colorado Springs all his life, on a horse ranch his parents owned. From the time he began working on the ranch, James gained a love for horses, becoming exceptionally good at drawing them as well as caring for them. For his seventh birthday, his parents gave him a black leather-bound sketchbook. The leather had even been wrinkled on the front to form a running stallion. James closed up his canteen, glancing at the sketchbook he carried. He continued up the trail, remembering all the birthdays he had when his parents brought him to the mountain. It was his favorite spot, and its glorious views always made him happy to come there. At least it had until after his fifteenth birthday.
James and his parents had been on the way home from the mountain. They were going through an intersection when a drunk driver in a Ford F150 came out of nowhere and blindsided them at full speed. Their little Subaru Outback was hit so hard it rolled over three times. When James awoke in the hospital a day later, the doctor had approached him with a pained look on his face. James knew something was wrong, but wasn’t prepared for the news of both his parents’ deaths. With his grandparents not physically or mentally stable enough to care for James, there was some worry about whom James would live with. When they finally released him a week later, he was sent to live with his Aunt Leslie, who also lived in Colorado Springs. Aunt Leslie did her best to make James happy, but had no actual experience in having children. James knew this, and eventually both reached a sort of mutual relationship. On his 16th birthday, Leslie even took James to the mountain spot, where both put a small memorial for his parents. He had visited it every so often when he wasn’t busy with school, and would always come on his birthday.
James stopped walking, having reached the entrance to a clearing. Straight ahead, at the base of an old pine, was the small cross James and Leslie had placed. Some scraggly vines had begun to grow from its base, snaking up the sides like green veins. James walked over to the cross, and, crouching down, placed his hand on it. A cool wind blew in from the north, making fallen leaves dance about. James watched them, when something odd caught his eye. Walking out of the clearing some seven feet, he found a rusted metal spike sticking partway out of the ground, facing opposite of the clearing. Out of sheer curiosity, James grabbed onto of the rusty metal and pulled. When it wouldn’t budge, James didn’t give up. Digging his heels into the dirt, he gave another pull. Being well built from working on the ranch, the metal spike shot out of the ground, with James flying backwards. He tripped over a fallen tree branch, but instead of hitting the ground, he fell through the ground and continued falling, plunging into darkness.
When he awoke, James found himself lying in dirt. A shaft of light was coming from the top of the hole, which was a good fifteen feet up. James sat up, noticing some wooden boards lying next to him. He looked up at the hole, then at the hole’s sides. They were covered with loose dirt and wouldn’t hold his body weight. He wished he had brought his phone to call for help, but he left it at home to charge. Waiting for someone to find him would take forever, and James couldn’t wait that long. He would have to get out on his own. James looked around as his eyes adjusted, seeing a tunnel that went off into darkness, along with small rail tracks that went along the ground into the tunnel. James bent down and picked up the object he had pulled out from the ground: an old, rusty, mining pick axe. He began noticing other various pieces of equipment: lanterns, helmets, picks, buckets, shovels, crates, and so on. It was obvious this was an old mine, abandoned by the mining company. But why would they have left all their belongings, their tools? A sharp pain from his head brought James’ hand to his forehead. Looking at his hand, he found blood on it. Trying to stay calm, he looked around until he found an old, oily rag lying amongst the scattered equipment. He wrapped it around his head, hoping he could at least slow the bleeding. Focusing on getting out again, James picked up one lantern, hearing oil swish around inside. Grabbing a box of matches, James started a match and managed to light the old lamp. If this was a mine, there would likely be another exit in case of a cave in. With this thought in his mind, James grabbed his sketchbook, and, holding the lamp in front of him, proceeded into the darkness.
After what felt like hours of walking, James reached a larger area of the tunnel with more pieces of equipment lying about. It was as if something had made the miners drop everything and leave, but James couldn’t think of what could have been the cause. He sat down on a wooden crate, taking a rest from walking. He snuffed the flame in the lamp to save fuel, since he didn’t know how far the tunnel led. He was plunged into darkness again, but only for a moment. For out of the black shadows came another light, one that was very pale. To James’ amazement, out from around the corner floated a glowing orb of light, bobbing up and down. James couldn’t believe what he saw. He stared at the orb, and the orb floated in its place, like it was waiting for him to do something. After a minute, James got up and slowly walked over to the light. As he got closer, the air began to feel warm and dry, not cold and damp like the rest of the tunnel. He stopped about a foot from the orb, which hadn’t moved from its spot. In natural instinct, he hesitantly reached out to touch the ball of light. The light was warm, almost soothing. The light and warmth increased, blinding James to the point he covered his eyes. James’ last thought was an overcoming feeling of relaxation.
Meanwhile, in Equestria...
“Come on, Spike! We’re going to be late!”
Spike’s eyes fluttered awake, his mind still half asleep. He looked around at the book-filled shelves, lazily looking for the voice that had woken him. Suddenly, a purple unicorn burst into the room, making the little purple and green dragon jump out of his bed.
“Spike, what are you doing? You don’t want to be late for Pinkie Pie’s party, do you?” asked the unicorn. Her horn glowed as she used her magic to lift Spike onto her back.
“I’d never miss one of Pinkie’s parties, Twilight!” remarked the dragon. “Umm...what is it she’s celebrating again?”
“It’s her alligator Gummy’s second birthday, and she wanted us to come like last time,” replied Twilight as she trotted down the library stairs. “She said so in the written invitation she sent.” She used her magic to show Spike the colorful, festive card Derpy the mailmare had given her that morning.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Spike happily replied. “If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late!” Twilight rolled her eyes as they walked out the door. Using her magic to close the door, Twilight and Spike made their way through Ponyville, heading towards Sugarcube Corner. As they got up to the building's front steps, Twilight's horn began to glow furiously.
"Twilight, what are you doing?" Spike asked, worried by the horn's intense glow.
"I'm not doing it, Spike! It's reacting to something powerful, like with Dash's Sonic Rainboom," Twilight replied, also somewhat worried. She could feel magic coursing through her body as she struggled to keep control.
I thought I was past all of this! Twilight thought. Suddenly, as quickly as it started, her horn stopped glowing. Twilight sighed in relief, but deep down she was still concerned. She would have to write to Princess Celestia about this. What could've been so powerful for her magic to flare like that? Twilight's thoughts were interrupted as a pink mare with a poofy pink mane opened the door.
"Hiya, Twilight!" said the mare, smiling widely. "You're just in time! We thought you would be late but I knew you were gonna show up on time 'cause we all know you hate being late!"
"I would never be late for Gummy's birthday, Pinkie Pie!" Twilight replied with a smile. She trotted inside, putting aside what had happened for later. It was a party, and not even a random flare of magic would keep her from enjoying a good time with friends.