New Age of Harmony

by Spirit Chaser

2: Falling Stars

Waking up in the morning after being told that the fate of eternal peace rested surely on whether or not you would survive a long journey to one of the most dangerous places in the entire world wasn't as easy as everypony thought it was. In fact, for Twilight Sparkle, it was downright painful. As soon as she pried her tired eyes open, she had a feeling that the rest of her day was going to be eventful, and not in the Ponyville way where her problems were usually solved within twenty-two minutes. Remembering the agreement that her friends would come to Library when they were ready, Twilight decided she should make sure everything was ready on her end. It may have been morning, but better sooner than later she always said.

Getting out of her bed was harder than she thought, she usually didn’t have to force herself to wake up, what a terrible feeling. She really should be used to this already, but it was probably the only feeling that you never truly get comfortable with. Her wings were no help either, as she gently climbed out of bed, her wings flew open and propelled her onto the ground. Ouch. Celestia told them that this would be their longest journey yet, to her that meant that it would be a long time until she got to step on her beautiful bark floor after waking up. Savouring the stable and safe feeling she received when she took a step, Twilight trotted downstairs for breakfast. Seeing as he wasn’t in his bed, Spike was probably cooking today.

The sizzle of cooking eggs confirmed her suspicions. The sight of fresh orange juice on the table was nothing to the delicious smell coming from the stove with a dragon manning it.

“How are those eggs coming, Spike?” Twilight took in the smell again, though it didn’t help that the fresh morning scent from yesterday was still lingering.

“Almost ready, just give a second. I don’t mean to brag, but it’ll be worth the wait.” Spike spread the eggs around the pan as he flashed an adorable smile.

“That’s good to hear, I have a big day ahead of me.” Twilight sat in front of the table, eagerly awaiting her breakfast.

“I know, you told me all of it when I came back last night, remember?” Spike reminded the purple princess.

“Oh yeah, I did.” Twilight was shocked that Spike was taking the news of her quest so easily considering that he wasn't going with them. Then again, she probably didn't tell him that, instead she showered and went to bed, but she was sure he read in-between the lines that said this was simply too dangerous for him.

“Aaaand here comes perfection,” Spike said as he laid the plate of steaming eggs on the table. Apparently he forgot his promise not to brag. “Careful, those are pretty hot.”

“I know Spike. By the way, thanks for cooking breakfast,” Twilight said as she blew on the eggs.

“No, thank you Twilight.” Spike positively beamed at her.

“You’re welcome...um, for what exactly?” Usually Spike threw her for a loop, but now she was just plain confused.

“For finally giving me this chance.” Spike bounced up and down in excitement.

“Um, the chance to prepare eggs? That’s not exactly new ground for you, unless you think you should cook more often, in that case I agree.”

“No, I mean you letting me go on this epic adventure with you guys. It’ll finally give me a chance to show the world what I’m really made of, you know?” Spike flexed his little muscles.

A swarm of words found themselves inside Twilight’s brain, none of them would be helpful in this situation, but they all had to be said, preferably in a reasonable and intelligent way. “What did you just say?”

Spike’s smile flickered for an instant, before regaining it’s youthful gleam as he said, “You know, our adventure! I know I've gone places with you before, but never like this. I can’t wait, but can we pick something up to eat on the way? We’re out of gems.”

Twilight groaned and rubbed the underside of her horn in frustration. “Look Spike, I don’t really know how to tell you, and I don’t know if you’ll listen, but....”

“Spit it out Twilight, as I’m about to prove, I’m old enough to handle it,” Spike said as he looked up at her with the most adorable eyes in all of Equestria as he waited for the news that followed. Twilight almost couldn't bring herself to break his dragon heart, but unfortunately for him, safety came before feelings.

“You can’t come with us."

This time, Spike’s smile didn't flicker, it was replaced by a frown. He said, “W-what do you mean? Of course I’m coming!”

“No, you’re not, you can’t. I know you've come along in the past—”

“Yeah, when you needed me to carry your bags, but I can do so much more than that, Twilight,” Spike said as he stomped his foot on the wooden floor, resulting in a loud thumping sound. “You know it too, remember in the mirror? It was almost entirely because of me that we got out of there in the first place!”

“You were an advisor,” Twilight said, choking out the words. “You gave me advice and sat in my backpack throughout everything. This won’t be something you can just sit through, Spike. This is something that not even I’m prepared for, and I refuse to let you get hurt because of it.”

Twilight was done with the conversation, but it was evident that Spike wasn't as he said, “It doesn't matter what you think I’m prepared for, it’s nothing to what I can actually do. I saved the Crystal Empire remember? Forget that I could only do it with your help, actually don’t, because it proves what we can do together, like how we can do this together if you’d just let me—”

“No,” Twilight said, her anger reflected in her eyes. “I know how much this means to you, and I understand, I really do, but if, just if you got hurt...no. I’m sorry, Spike.”

Spike stared at his feet in defeat. “I’m sorry too, Twilight.” Before she could even think fast enough to react, her number one assistant ran out the door as fast as his little legs would take him.

“Wait! Spike!” Twilight shouted as she galloped to the door just in time to see Spike running off into the town marketplace. What had she done now? That obviously could've been handled better, but she just needed to make Spike understand that it was his safety at risk. With the way Celestia described it, even her own safety was at risk! But she was required on the journey, Spike wasn't. He would understand later, but it was better to leave him alone with his thoughts for the time being.

Twilight returned to the scrambled eggs on the table, the ones Spike had so generously made for her travel, hoping to tag along in the process. Suddenly, she wasn’t feeling so hungry anymore. With a heavy heart, Twilight cast the extremely useful spell of preservation on the yellow treats and levitated them into a paper bag for later. Now that she thought about it, she would also need to cast the spell on the cupcake from last night.

“Who’s ready for an adventure?!” shouted a voice as it soared past Twilight and assaulted her ears with wind.

“Hey Twilight, am I the first one ready?” Rainbow Dash asked as she set her saddlebags on the table. “That’s cool...that’s cool.”

“Rainbow, it’s still pretty early in the morning, why are you here so soon? How’d you even know I’d be up?”

“Uh,” Rainbow said, shuffling her hooves anxiously. “Well, it didn't take long for the fastest flyer in Equestria to get ready for a little stroll across the country.”

“That really didn't answer how you knew I was up so early, now that I think about, that doesn't exactly answer why you came here so soon.”

“Uhh, hey where’s Spike? I thought the little guy would be here to see us off. Is he at the train station or something?”

The memory of the argument that occurred only a moment earlier became fresh in Twilight’s mind. The words said, the feelings hurt, the emotions running high. Most importantly, the thought that Spike thought she didn't believe in him.

“I-I don’t know. I don’t even know where he is right now,” Twilight said, her voice began to waver. “He wanted to come with us, b-but I said no and we fought a-and....”

Twilight attempted to rub the sadness out of her eyes, but it was extremely ineffective. How could she just refuse him his chance to prove himself like that? Especially considering she knew exactly how he felt; she hated it when Celestia didn't allow her to try certain spells because “she wasn't ready for the arcane power it required.”

“Whoa, I’m sorry Twilight, are you okay? Do you maybe want a wing-hug or something?” Rainbow said, extending one cyan wing.

“No, it’s fine. I think I’ll be okay, thanks anyway. You’re a good friend, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, using her best smile to cut through her sadness.

Rainbow quickly furled her wing and poked at the floor as she said, “Yeah, that’s me. Coolest friend around, that’s what my fan club’s been calling me lately.”

“Well it fits perfectly on you, now have you decided what reading material you’ll be bringing along?”

“What?” Rainbow snorted. “Why would I read ‘Daring Do’ when I can live her? This is my chance to live out all of her awesome adventures for myself. By the time we get back, I’ll be known all across Equestria and beyond!”

“And I thought Rarity was the dramatic one,” Twilight commented, rolling her eyes. “I know you’ll be focused on the dangerous parts, but try to remember that this is still a peaceful mission with a peaceful objective.”

“A peaceful mission with a dangerous journey,” Rainbow narrated in an action voice, rubbing her hooves together. “It already sounds like it could be the tagline for an action novel!”

Ignoring her friend’s love of danger, Twilight levitated the remaining objects into her saddlebags. “Did you want to carry your own Element? I don’t mind holding on to all of them for now, but if something happened to me, then we would lose them all at once.”

Hearing the last couple words, Rainbow stopped her monologue about cool-sounding names for adventure novels. “Hold on, you did not just say that. Twilight, nothing is gonna happen to anypony, especially you.”

“Always with the loyalty,” Twilight said happily, levitating the Element of said trait into Rainbow’s saddlebag. “But just in case, hold on to it. I’ll give the rest to the others when they show up, probably hours from now. You know, the normal time.”

“Heh,” Rainbow chuckled, shrugging. “Well, what do you want to do until then? I could even go look for Spike if you want.”

The terrible feeling resurfaced in Twilight’s heart. “No, bringing him back against his will isn't the way to deal with his problem. Besides, I have to trust that he’ll be able to handle himself while we’re gone, and I do.”

“Cool, but you still haven’t even told me what you guys were fighting about.”

“It’s nothing...so what do you want to do?” Twilight attempted to mimic Rainbow’s hovering but fell flat on her face once again. She really should have anticipated the seemingly endless laughter that came from her colorful friend.

“You still haven’t gotten the hang of that? I was practically born with it. Hey, I could teach you how to do it, you know like a private lesson.”

“You don’t need to mock me,” Twilight scoffed, picking herself up from the cold floor. “I’ll get the hang of it eventually. I think.”

Rainbow looked disappointed as she said, “Alright, but the next time you fall flat on your face, remember my offer.”

“Noted,” Twilight said, trying her best not to look beyond annoyed. “But for now let’s just go over the plan and all supplies you better have in that saddlebag a few more times.”

“Aww c’mon!”

---

After a few hours of going over every little detail in the plan, including going over the places on the map that Twilight outlined just in case, the remaining four Bearers of Harmony arrived soon after the other (at that point, Rainbow Dash’s brain was turned to mush anyway). After a brief recap of everything that was discussed up to that point, because Twilight didn't feel like repeating her two hour monologue, they began the trot to the train station their private train was located at.

“Something feels off, did each of you get somepony to watch over your things? Your houses, your pets, your families?” Twilight asked her friends during their march.

“Of course I did. I simply cannot leave the Boutique unprotected even for a moment,” Rarity scoffed. “My parents offered to watch it while I was gone. They said it would give Sweetie Belle the chance to discover her talent in...dressmaking. My only hope is that they don’t burn all of my orange juice while I’m gone.”

“The Apple family can look after themselves,” Applejack assured them. “The only problem was findin’ somepony to fill in for me on the farm. Applebloom wanted to do it, but she’s still just a little filly. Oh, let’s just get this over with.”

“I left Gummy in charge of baking while I’m gone,” Pinkie chimed in eagerly. “I hope he doesn’t overdo it on the frosting again, last time was so messy!”

“I let a newbie cover me on the weather team, it’ll be hilarious,” Rainbow snickered and looked at the clear sky. “Anyway, I left Tank with Scootaloo, those two really get along.”

“Angel knows the routine for the animals in my cottage, but just in case, I asked Dr. Goodall to check on them from time to time.” Fluttershy quickly glanced behind her, as if making sure her cottage was still there.

Everything was clearly in order, but something still bothered her. Was it Owlowiscious and Spike? No, at this point Owlowiscious spent more time running the library then she did and she didn't need to know where Spike was because she believed in him, right? Of course she did, it was the only way she would get any sleep for the next few nights. Spike would have to return to the library soon anyway, it’s not like he had anywhere else to go, not to mention he wouldn't just abandon Owlowiscious like that. Wherever the little dragon was, she hoped he felt her faith in him, maybe it would help him sleep too.

The thought hadn’t crossed her mind until then, but it was getting more and more difficult to leave Ponyville in order to save Equestria. Marching down the marketplace, she made note of the merchants harmlessly selling their produce. The foals and fillies just getting out of school and hurrying home. The two lovestruck ponies enjoying a nice meal together. They were the only reason she could leave at all, they were the sole reason she needed to create a paradise where those ponies could live the rest of their lives out as happily as possible.

Finally, the train station came into view. Celestia had requested a mass shutdown of all trains in and out of Ponyville until they left so that their private train was always ready for them. Hopefully they weren't causing too much distress for the ponies who really needed to take the train, which was another reason Twilight wanted to leave as soon as possible. As soon as the actual train appeared on the horizon, it was clear that Celestia had spared no expense on their travels.

“Wow,” exclaimed Pinkie. “Not too shiny, not too not shiny, it’s just right!”

The train didn't deserve to simply be called a train. It was black and sleek with a narrow tipped front. Unlike most trains, it appeared to be designed purely for stealth, as it’s sharp front was clearly for speed as the dark color was meant for camouflage. She didn't even think that machinery like that existed in Equestria.

“This train isn't very long,” Twilight observed. “Probably because this one’s for speed and stealth purposes only. Either way, it looks like we’re gonna have two to a coach if we want to be comfortable.”

“This’ll be easy,” Rainbow boasted. “Me and Twilight in one coach, aaand I dunno you guys can sort out the rest. By the way we call the front car!”

The confident Pegasus soared into the front coach, apparently leaving Applejack to decide who sat in the other coaches. “Okay, well Ah guess Ah’ll take one with Flutt—” Applejack would've finished her sentence if not for the intense look Pinkie Pie was giving her. “Pinkie, Ah’ll take one with Pinkie.”

“Really? Whatever you say, Applejack,” Pinkie said scoffing as she bounced into the train, leaving many more questions than answers. The cowpony just sighed and followed her pink friend into the black train.

“That leaves you and I, darling. I hope you don’t mind,” Rarity said, smiling at Fluttershy.

“Not at all,” Fluttershy said cheerfully, returning the smile. “To be honest you probably would've been my first choice anyway.”

“Oh Fluttershy, if there was as Element for being too kind, you would certainly be the bearer!” Rarity giggled, waltzing into the remaining coach as Fluttershy hovered closely behind her.

With that matter quickly solved, Twilight trotted inside the compartment Rainbow claimed. It was no surprise that the train was as nice on the inside as it was on the outside. A grey interior design with seats that looked too comfortable for the eye to detect, with windows that actually gave a wonderful view of the outside world.

“This thing is so awesome!” Rainbow said, gushing at the apparent awesomeness of the train. “But how do we start this thing? It’s not like the other trains.”

It was true, there was nowhere for coal to be shoveled or even proper controls. Only a small opening that lead to who knows where.

“I don’t know, it’s not like it comes with instructions or anythin—”

The rest of the mocking sentence was cut off by the sound of Twilight’s horn activating. She wasn’t trying to cast a spell, was she? What was happening? A feeling of warmth swept from her horn to the rest of her body. Her horn started glowing even brighter as the heat got hotter until a singular ball of magic emitted from the cooling horn.

“What just happened?” Rainbow asked, staring awestruck at the raspberry ball.

“Whatever just occurred, it wasn't my doing. Wait, what did just occur?” Twilight also stared at the magical bolt. For what seemed like the thousandth time in the last few days, a mysterious ball of magic began to expand. This expansion wasn't nearly as dramatic as the others, though. It grew slightly larger, followed by a high-pitched whine and dissolved into a scroll, landing at her hooves.

“A scroll? But I thought only Spike could send and get them,” Rainbow said, poking the scroll once, as if to determine if it was going to explode.

“That’s because he is, well until now,” Twilight commented, unfolding the mysterious letter to read it's mysterious contents.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Enclosed in this scroll is the incantation for a spell that I believe you’ll find useful just in case you don’t have Spike around. It will allow you to send letters through the horns of other ponies such as myself. More importantly, if you’re wondering how to activate the train, simply power it with a certain amount of magic and you’ll be on your way. Put the spell to good use and have a safe journey.

Your mentor,

Princess Celestia.

“It says that there’s a spell in it that’ll allow me to send letters through my horn,” Twilight said intrigued. She scanned the letter for the mentioned spell, but there was nothing else in it.

“Awesome! How does it work?” Rainbow asked excitedly, peering over Twilight's shoulder at the letter.

“I dunno, it says there’s a spell in it, but I don’t see any—oh come on!” Twilight complained as her horn began glowing once again, however this time a section of the letter began to glow along with it. Lines and scribbles made themselves known as they created something on the letter. A large crest formed itself as Twilight’s horn stopped glowing. Finally recognizing what type of magic this was, she placed her hoof in the middle of the bright crest.

A warm feeling invaded her body once more as the energy made it’s way into her brain and settled there. The feeling of understand took over as she processed the new magic. Now that it was no longer needed, Twilight placed the letter with the others in her saddlebag.

“Okay, I didn't understand any of what just happened, so if you could just start from the top....” Rainbow said hopefully, massaging her head.

“It’s a special brand of magic that Princess Celestia used to use when a spell couldn't or shouldn't be taught, it had to be fed directly into the brain through a crest containing the information,” Twilight explained with the accuracy of a dictionary.

“So why doesn't everypony just do it that way instead of going through years of training like you did? Wouldn’t it just be easier to have it put in your brain?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s not that simple. First, if we just transferred magic into somepony's brain without properly training them, the magic could destroy their brain and render them a shell of their former self. It’s so dangerous that it’s rarely used, this must have been a special case. Second, not every spell can just be learned by placing your hoof on a piece of parchment. Most spells must be taught through time, patience and talent.”

“Is the reason you’re so awesome at it because you have all three?” Rainbow half asked, half complemented.

“Yes and no,” Twilight responded, blushing. “My special talent is magic, which means that no matter what I’ll always be great at magic. It’s possible that I could've absorbed the spell without training. Not to brag, of course.”

“Alright, I got it now. Does the letter say anything about getting this train started? We don’t have all day.”

“It says that this train is powered by magic, kinda like Flim and Flam’s machine. I think I just have to stick my horn in this hole, shoot some magic into it and we’re off,” Twilight said confidently, looking at said hole. It was just big enough for the average sized horn.

“Careful, if it was that simple, every train in Equestria would be magic-powered. It would sure cut back on all that pollution stuff,” Rainbow said, trying to fit her hoof in the hole.

“Are you going to power the train with your hoof?” Twilight laughed, stepping forward. “Stand back, this could get...unstable.”

Rainbow Dash hovered a fair distance away from where the magic would be taking place. With that out of the way, Twilight gently inserted her horn into the opening. Luckily, it wasn't so small that she felt like she could get it stuck, on that note, she charged up her horn. At full charge, she released the pent-up bolt into the machine, unsure of where it would lead. Removing her head from the hole, she looked around to see if anything had changed, so far nothing had occurred.

“Is something supposed to happen?” Rainbow asked the question on Twilight’s mind.

“I would say something, but I’m sure I’ll get interrupted by some—”

Just as Twilight predicted, the sound of technology activating drowned out the rest of her statement. Lines that she didn't even notice began to glow bright blue around the opening. The blue light illuminated them as the hum of the tech became the only sound in the room. The gentle sensation of the world tugging at their hooves took over as the train began to move forward. After about a second, the train picked up speed and they were well on their way.

“So that happened,” Rainbow commented, seemingly impressed.

“Yeah,” Twilight said, rubbing her chin. “I guess it did, and now we’re eagerly approaching our destination. The train ride should be about a day or two so get comfortable.” It seemed strange that the compartment for the engine was also a comfortable car for two, but since it was a fancy and private train, it must've been normal.

"I didn't know Equestria had this kind of technology stuff," Rainbow said, feeling the metal wall. "Why is Celestia keeping all the cool stuff for herself?"

"Maybe it's still in it's testing phase, this is probably one of the only finished models," Twilight said, wondering why she was still making excuses for Celestia at this point. She still had her fair share of questions for the Goddess of the Sun.

“Hey, why was this thing unlocked? Shouldn't it have had guards around it or at least been locked?” Rainbow asked, confused.

“I’m sure Celestia unlocked it beforehoof and trusted us to get in it before anypony else did. Also, if not for that letter, I would have had no idea how to get it moving. If somepony did get in before us, they would've been stuck at the station. Even if they knew to power it with their horns, the engine is probably synced to my magic,” Twilight answered confidently.

“Speaking of, Celestia sure likes unicorns,” Rainbow said, frowning. “She invented some sort of instant mail system just for ponies with horns, and she even made an entire train that only they could run.”

“Don’t take any offense to it, Rainbow. It’s just that she's always preferred magic over flight, it kinda impacts the way she does things. It may not be very smart, but she’s Princess Celestia, who’s going to tell her otherwise?”

“You could,” Rainbow suggested. “You’re an awesome princess now, you could probably take over and run Equestria if you wanted to.”

“But I don’t want to,” countered Twilight, feeling heat rush into her face. “And you know that! I want everything to remain the same as it was before any of this. Who even needs these wings or this crown? I only need my horn, that’s all I’ll ever need.” Twilight stared out the window, watching the world blur by.

“Oh, I get it,” Rainbow muttered. “Wings are for losers, it’s cool.”

Realizing what she said, Twilight turned around to face her friend. “Rainbow I didn't mean—”

“It’s fine, Twilight,” Rainbow muttered, looking out her window. Clearly, she was deep in her thoughts.

Knowing that the conversation was over, Twilight returned to the moving land outside. As her stomach lurched from sadness, she wondered what was wrong with her? For somepony with an ultimate understanding of friendship, she sure came into conflict with it a lot. She already learned that being friends with somepony wasn't easy, but surely she could be doing a much better job at it than she was right now. She heard that while she was catching up on her magic lessons, her friends had their fair amount of conflict with each other (she would’ve given anything to be there while new Fluttershy was in town), but somehow everything seemed to resolve itself before things got out of hoof.

It was as if their natural friendships with each other resolved their problems for them, like it did in the mirror world. To a certain decree it worked for her too, but it she wanted to know how to it like they did. Great, will she ever not feel like an outsider among them? Of course they were her best friends, and they would do anything for her and vice versa, but sometimes....

This seemed like a conversation she needed to have with one of them, but obviously Rainbow wasn't the one to do it with. Come to think of it, what were the others doing? They weren't even curious enough to come see what the glowing blue lights were about or to ask questions about the train or anything. It couldn't hurt to check up on them. Twilight got off of her seat and trotted towards the door leading to the other cars.

“Where are you going?” Rainbow asked aggressively, frowning at her.

“I need to talk to one of the girls,” Twilight informed her. “Maybe Fluttershy. Is that going to be a problem with you?”

“First I’m just a loser Pegasus,” Rainbow spat out, flapping her wings. “And now I’m not even a girl? Well what am I to you, Twilight?”

Twilight slapped her forehead with her hoof. She just had all the luck didn't she? “Are you really acting like this, Rainbow Dash? You’re anything but just a loser Pegasus, you’re one of my best friends. Why does any of this matter right now? Why does it matter to you?”

Hearing the proclamation that she was one of Twilight’s best friends, Rainbow lowered her head somberly and half-shouted, “You’re wondering why it matters to me Twilight? Maybe it’s because I—”

This time, Rainbow Dash fell victim to the interruption curse as the sound of explosions and screaming filled the air. Making sure her head was still attached, Twilight surveyed her surroundings. Aside from the large tear in the roof, everything seemed to be fine. Then again there was a large tear in the roof, so probably not.

“Rainbow, are you okay?” Twilight asked her friend as she picked herself off of the ground.

“I’m good,” she said, stretching her wings. “I just got knocked out of the air from whatever that was. Hey, what was that, by the way?”

“I don’t know, but you could fly out of that hole and see,” Twilight suggested, pointing to the large tear in the metal.

“Why don’t you? Afraid to use your dumb wings?” Rainbow sneered.

“Seriously?”

“Sorry,” Rainbow muttered, scratching the back of her head. “I’m on it.”

A streak of rainbow flew straight into the sky. Anxiously waiting for her to return, Twilight glanced around. So far, only the roof had been damaged, but she did wonder if the others were okay. Who knew where whatever it was had struck. Finally, the rainbow landed beside her, looking slightly battered.

“Rainbow!” Twilight shouted out, checking her injuries. “ Are you okay? What happened? Who’s attacking us?”

Ignoring the flood of questions, Rainbow pulled Twilight close. “Twilight! I don’t know what they are! They’re like some weird breed of Starponies or something, but they’re really strong and they shoot stuff, like energy or something. We gotta warn the others, now!”

Starponies? That sounded both impossible and rather interesting at the same time. But Rainbow was right, they needed to get their friends together and figure something out before anypony got hurt. Twilight opened the compartment door with her magic and galloped through with Rainbow close behind. After a second of galloping, Twilight found herself facing the remaining four of her friends, all looking scared.

“Girls, what is going on? It sounds as if the sky is falling!” Rarity panicked.

“We’re being attacked by Starponies!” Twilight informed them.

“Huh?” Was the response from multiple ponies.

“We don’t know, but it sounds like they’re trying to derail us or something,” Rainbow commented, looking out the window.

“What do we do?” Pinkie asked.

“Twilight, I think we’ll need your magic if we wanna drive them away,” Rainbow informed her. “You know what that means?”

She did, it meant she had to fly alongside Rainbow Dash as they fought the Starponies off together. Defensive and offensive magic was nothing new to her, but performing magic while flying, or just flying period was entirely new to her. She had only done something like it once, that was in the mirror world, but she was supported by the magic of friendship then. She didn't know if she could do it by herself. Scratch that, she was sure she couldn't do it by herself.

“I-I can’t Rainbow,” she said to her. “I can hardly fly at all, how can I fly while blasting magic at mysterious space ponies and protecting a moving train? This is way too advanced for me.”

“You can do it because I’ll be there right beside you,” Rainbow responded. “All you have to do is give me some backup.”

“Why can’t we help you?” Applejack asked, poking at the floor. “It would sure make things a hecka lot easier for you.”

“That may be,” Twilight confirmed her statement. “But not only can they fly and you can’t, we can’t risk you falling off the top of the train if we put you up there. I’m sorry girls, but it’s just too dangerous.”

Applejack looked disappointed at being told she couldn't be helpful. “Then what can we do? Watch from the windows?”

“I’m afraid so,” Twilight said sadly, putting her hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine as long as we know you’re safe.” Another explosion signalled that they needed to move, and fast.

“Alright,” Applejack agreed. “Go on, then.” She gave Twilight a playful push and a smile. Twilight gave a smile back and nodded to Rainbow. Together, they galloped to the nearest hole in the roof. Rainbow flew out as easily as she did the first time. Twilight hesitated for a moment, and flew straight through the hole into the sky.

She immediately came back to the realization that flying was much harder than it looks. The same realization she came to every time she tried it. Soaring at her coronation was easy because she was confident in herself and was fueled by the cheers of her fans and subjects. Flying in normal conditions was extremely difficult for her. She tried it at least nine times. Deciding to land on the train before she fell out of the air, Twilight looked to the sky to see what she was dealing with.

Surprisingly, Rainbow wasn't exaggerating. There were three of the mysterious winged ponies in the air, if you could call them ponies. They had black bodies with white stars all over them. Their manes and tails appeared to be made of spectral stardust. Their eyes were the worst offender, they were white with no pupils, no other color, just white.

“Creepy aren't they?” Rainbow commented, landing beside her. “Like I said, they’re really strong and they shoot this energy blast at you. Don’t let it hit you, you saw what it did to the train.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Twilight said, gulping. “They are really creepy though, but I think I can do this.”

“Okay, see you in the sky,” Rainbow assured her, spreading her wings. “And please be careful.” With that she flew directly into a Starpony, sending them both flying high into the air.

She certainly wasn't as proficient in hoof-to-hoof combat as Rainbow, but she made up for it by being great at magic so she decided to start with that. Mentally locking on to the nearest Starpony, Twilight charged up magic in her horn. Flapping her wings as hard as she could, she flew towards the monstrosity. It was a fact that the closer you were, the deadlier the attack, so she decided to get as close as she could in order for her blast to do the most damage.

Apparently it had the same idea as it flew towards her as well. If it unleashed one of the blasts Rainbow was talking about at close range, she might be a goner. They were only thirty feet away from each other, the wind didn't help cool her down. Twenty feet away, if it had a mouth, it sure wasn't using it. Ten feet away, just a little closer. Five feet and....

FIRE!

A large blast of raspberry magic erupted from her horn, hitting the Starpony with full force, knocking them both back. With the explosion and her lack of flying skill handicapping her, she glided back down to the train. One rough landing later, she searched the sky to see what became of her shiny opponent. What she saw instead was Rainbow Dash fighting off her two foes. She seemed to be handling herself well, but it couldn't hurt to help.

Readying herself, Twilight flapped her wings to get herself off the train, but only succeeded in getting a foot or two airborne before she was tackled back onto the metal roof. No doubt her starry enemy had come back for seconds. Feeling herself pinned underneath the weight of the Starpony, she blinked away, reappearing a few feet away from the crumpled heap of stars. Getting the head start on round two, Twilight charged at it.

Her head connected with it’s body and it was launched across the train. Somehow it managed to steady itself on a moving train after being thrown into the air. These things were skilled. Shaking it’s head to clear itself from dizziness, it flew at Twilight, using it’s wings to gain speed. Nearly matching it's speed, Twilight copied it's charge. Realizing too late that it was probably going to win this one, Twilight attempted to perform a u-turn, but instead was greeted by it's head connecting with her side.

Clutching her burning ribs, Twilight rolled around on the top of the train. She reached out and grabbed something so that she wouldn't roll off. Her side was hurting bad and she just wanted to lay there forever, but there was just too much at stake. She steadied herself just in time to see her powerful opponent attempt another charge. Seeing another opportunity to gain the upper hoof, Twilight blinked herself unto the back of the Starpony. Unsure of where to go with this, she panicked and stuck her hooves into it’s eyes.

The eyes felt like regular eyes probably would feel like if she had ever felt eyes before. Apparently she was hurting it because it flew around in a panic, nearly crashing into the side of the train in the process. She needed to steer this thing somewhere so that it didn't get both of them killed. Thankfully, an idea suddenly struck her. Using her wings and the adrenaline of battle, she steered them upwards, towards one of the two Starponies Rainbow was still fighting.

Reaching them faster than expected, Twilight detached herself and allowed it to fly right into it’s friend, knocking them both out of the air with a satisfied smack. Mentally congratulating herself on how well her first real fight was going, Twilight decided to assist Rainbow Dash. Charging up another spell, she flew closer to them.

“Rainbow!” Twilight screamed over the sound of wind and magic. “Get away from it!”

Seemingly hearing her, the Pegasus stopped wrestling with her adversary and bucked it away from her while flying away at high speed. The Starpony was confused for all of a second before it was hit with the force of magic and fell out of the sky. Wiping her forehead, Twilight took several deep breaths.

Rainbow flew over to her and patted her on the back which reminded her of the pain in her side. “Alright, Twilight! I think we did it. Nice flying by the way.”

“Thanks,” Twilight huffed. “It’s, ah, mostly the adrenaline. Ugh, I’m really tired right now and my ribs are killing me.”

“Well, let’s get you back to the train then, hotshot,” Rainbow chuckled, hooking her foreleg around Twilight’s shoulder and gently flew her towards the moving train.

Their friends would be glad to know that they could continue the rest of their journey safely. That is, if nothing else came to attack them. Who and what were those things anyway? She had never heard of ponies with star patterns, or anything with star patterns for that matter. This seemed like a great opportunity to test the letter spell she had gotten. Maybe Celestia could shed some light on what those monsters where.

Speaking of, what happened to them? She hoped they didn't...kill them. That certainly wasn't something she was okay with. King Sombra was a special case, she didn't think anyone knew an artifact with the name “Crystal Heart” was capable of completely tearing a pony apart just because they had a dark heart.

The train was finally in sight. Aside from a little damage here and there, it looked fine and it definitely looked good enough to finish the journey. From here on out, she hoped for a peaceful travel, because she couldn't much more fighting. How was Rainbow Dash able to boast about doing this on a daily basis—what was that sound?

The sound she was referring to was a soft hum, to anyone else, the hum could've been mistaken for anything, even for a type of instrument. She knew better though, she knew the hum of energy when she heard it. Turning her head as far behind her as she could, Twilight witnessed a scene so frightening, it made her nearly stopped her heart. Hovering there with it’s starry wings was her original opponent. She could tell by the way it could hardly open it’s eyes. It was different though, it was glowing a bright and clear white. Madame Pinkie herself couldn't have predicted what came next.

Time seemed to slow to a halt as Twilight disentangled herself from Rainbow Dash. Flapping her purple wings to remain airborne, she pushed Rainbow away her, it didn't matter what direction, as long as it was away from her. With her friend out of harm’s way, Twilight tried to follow, but she was too late.

She froze as the Starpony unleashed it’s charged blast of white energy straight at her. Time didn't unfreeze, the sun didn't shine, her wings didn't flap, nothing mattered as much as the ball of energy heading straight towards her. The last thing she saw before she was blasted out of the sky, was a bright white flash and then...darkness.

Comments

[SPkon107]

I see potential in this story