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Fall From Grace

Minuette looked at the night sky above her head with disappointment. "I don't understand. The buffalo legends said this area was highly spiritual," she said as she scanned the desert around her for any signs of... well anything. Instead she was faced with emptiness and sand.

"Soooo, does that mean we're done here? Because I'm really starting to get hungry," a pegasus stallion with a gray coat and lighter gray mane asked, his voice filled with disinterest. He was sitting in a large white van several yards from where Minuette was staring at the landscape.

"Just give me a second Steam Bolt," the unicorn replied, annoyed. "Honestly, if you were just gonna complain the whole time why did you even apply to be my assistant?" Minuette asked, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her journal from the back of the van.

Steam Bolt glared at the mare. "First off, I told you to just call me Bolt. Hearing my full name from anypony, but my mom is weird. And second, I applied, because your job offer mentioned traveling. If I knew we wouldn't be going further than Appleoosa I'd have just gotten a job on campus," the pegasus explained, mumbling the last bit.

"Well you're here, so there's no point in griping about it now," Minuette said as she started flipping through her notes.

"Oh, I'll gripe," Bolt said. "I have the right to. You basically lied to me," he continued, glancing at the mare's journal over her shoulder. "What is that anyway?" He asked, pointing at what looked to him like a really complex connect the dots. "Are those stars?" he asked, puzzled.

"I think so, but they've only been seen by the local buffalo tribes and this isn't tonights sky," Minuette explained not looking up from her notes.

"You sure? They look the same to me," Bolt said looking up into the sky.

Minuette sighed in frustration. "Yeah sure. It's not like this is your first prank right?" she asked rhetorically, as a light began to appear from above her. "Cut it out," she said annoyed with the pegasus' antics. When Bolt didn't answer she looked up at him. The first thing she noticed was her assistant staring open mouthed at the sky. She followed his gaze and her eyes widened at the brilliant light show in the sky.

"Does that normally happen around here?" Bolt asked, awestruck.

"No," Minuette replied as she dove into the back of the van and pulled out what looked like a camcorder. She turned it on and pointed it at the aurora. The screen displayed several readings telling Minuette that this wasn't a normal aurora. "We need to get closer," she said to Bolt, who nodded dumbly and jumped into the driver's seat.

Bolt quickly started the car and hit the gas as soon as Minuette was in, barely giving her time to close the door. Minuette kept her camcorder pointed at the aurora as they got closer. She saw the energies in the cloud of colors drastically change as they got closer.

Without warning a tornado like cloud sprang from the aurora and created a large dust cloud when it touched down. Minuette felt the van start to turn at this point and looked to her side at Bolt.

"Don't turn!" she shouted.

"Screw that!" Bolt shouted back. Minuette grabbed at the steering wheel and yanked it back towards the whirlwind.

Steam Bolt fought for control. "Stop! We're gonna hit something!" he warned as he struggled with the mare.

"There's nothing out here to hit!" Minuette replied angrily as they entered the cloud. Seconds later the pair saw a pony shaped figure rise up from the ground and Bolt hit the breaks hard. However it was too late. With a dull thud the van collided with the pony and sent them skidding several feet across the sand.

///////////////////////

Twilight squinted as she flew through the universe to an unknown destination. Then, almost as soon as her journey had begun, it ended. Twilight landed in an unceremonious heap with a grunt. "Where has mother sent me?" she groaned as she picked herself up, brushing off the clothes she wore under her armor. All the mare could see was the dust and sand the Bifrost had kicked up when it had dropped her. Just as she was about to take a step a pair of lights appeared through the swirling dust and she could just barely hear a low rumble. Twilight's eyes widened as a large dark shape began to appear. "Stop foul creature!" She shouted, barely audible over the wind, and held up a hand.

The creature seemed not to hear her and Twilight made to fly out if the way, jumping into the air only to fall back to the earth. Before she could move again the strange creature collided with her sending her back several yards.

Twilight groaned in pain as the creature stopped and the lights brightened. The wind began to die down and she heard panicked voices. "Holy crap we hit somepony," a masculine voice said, the scrambling of feet getting closer.

"Just get the first aid kit. We weren't going that fast they should be fine," a mare replied, noticeably calmer.

Twilight tried to sit up, but a hand pushed against her. "Don't move," the made from before said.

Twilight glared at the unicorn. "I do not take orders from the likes of you," she said angrily as she shoved the pony's hand away and sat up.

The unicorn looked baffled. "I wasn't trying to order you around, I just wanted to make sure you didn't have a concussion," she explained as the stallion, a pegasus came back with a small metal box.

"She seems fine to me," the stallion said, smiling and giving Twilight a once over. "I'm Steam Bolt, by the way. You can just call me Bolt though," he said introducing himself, trying to be suave.

"You really don't know how to flirt do you?" the Minuette said before Twilight could reply.

Bolt glared at the mare. "At least I introduced myself, miss mannerless," he replied, as Twilight seemed to notice something was missing and started searching the area.

"Where is my hammer? Mjolnir!" she called out as if to lost friend.

Minuette and Bolt were surprised at the outburst. "I'm Minuette," she said holding out a hand. "What exactly are you looking for?" she asked confused.

Twilight turned towards the desert, ignoring Minuette, searching for any sign of her weapon. "Where am I?" she asked, in a demanding tone.

Minuette gave Twilight a strange look. "Well we're about fifty miles from Appleoosa," she answered.

Twilight gave her a confused glare. "I meant what realm is this," she said forcefully.

"Not sure what you mean by realm, but this is Equestria, if that's what you mean," Bolt said stepping closer to the mare.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh. This is Midgard," she said, disappointedly, putting a hand on her aching forehead. She could tell something felt off but was unsure what.

Minuette gave Twilight an expectant look. "What's your name?" She asked after Twilight failed to introduce herself.

Twilight gave her a confused look. "You don't know of me?" She asked, almost shocked. Minuette shook her head. "I am Twilight Sparkle Celstiamaiden. Does that mean nothing to you?" She asked.

"No," Bolt said bluntly. Minuette smacked him on the back of the head. "Hey!" he shouted, annoyed.

"Be nice," she told him. "So Twilight," she said turning back to the mare," can I call you Twilight?" she asked.

Twilight nodded. "That will suffice, though most ponies of your standing call me mistress,"she stated.

Minuette quirked an eyebrow. "Right, so, Twilight, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing out here?" the unicorn asked.

"I was banished here," she said simply.

Bolt took a step away from the mare. "I think that warrants an explanation," he said, growing nervous.

Twilight glared at him. "If you must know, my mother banished me to this realm, for insubordination. At least that's how she would put it. She simply lacked the will to do what was needed and I did," Twilight explained angrily.

Bolt and Minuette stared at her open mouthed as he pushed Minuette away to talk quietly. "This looks like some kind of gang thing," Bolt whispered, fearful of the stranger.

Minuette gave him a flat look. "Right and how many gangs do you know of that speak like they're from the ninteenth century?" Minuette asked sarcastically.

"I'm just saying theres something weird about this," he argued.

"I'll agree on that, but Twilight doesn't strike me as dangerous," Minuette pointed out. "Besides, she may have a concussion because of us, the least we could do is give her a ride back to town so she can call her mom."

"You mean because of you. I was trying to move away from the storm," Bolt said. Minuette glared at him, looking at the ground, embarrassed. "Ugh, fine let's take her home with us," he conceded. Minuette wasn't paying attention though.

"What is this? she asked quietly staring at the sand. Bolt turned his head to the ground as well. The area they were standing on was covered in what looked like a maze except there didn't seem to be a way out. "I need to get this on camera," Minutes said as she raced to her van.

Bolt stared in shock as the mare started darting around the large circle, videotaping the whole thing. Minuette then noticed Twilight staring out into the distance as though searching for something and walked back over to Twilight. "Umm, hey do you need a place to spend the night?" She asked.

Twilight looked at the mare, turning away from the desert. She almost didn't seem to notice the two ponies whispering behind her. Twilight considered the offer. "I suppose what lodgings you posses will have to suffice," she replied. "Where are we going?"

Minuette seemed a little taken aback. "Umm... I have a place in Appleoosa," she said as Twilight got to her feet.

"And in which direction are we walking?" she asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

Bolt chuckled at this. "We aren't walking, we have the van," he said tilting his head in the vehicle's direction.

Twilight looked at the van, regarding it with interest. "What manner if transportation is this?" she asked curiously.

Minuette and Bolt shared a look. "Umm, well we ride in it," Minuette explained, unsure how to answer the question.

Twilight nodded. "Very well. Let us be off," she said in a slightly commanding tone.

Minuette opened the sliding door in the back and Twilight climbed in hesitantly. "Your van is rather cluttered," she observed from the many bags stacked in the back.

"That's Minuette's fault. She doesn't like unpacking in case of emergencies," Bolt said as he climbed in the drivers seat and started the engine, quickly followed by Minuette in the passengers seat.

Twilight seemed intrigued by how the van worked and asked many questions on the way back to Appleoosa.

//////////////////////////

Blossomforth winced as a healer put a salve on her shoulder to prevent what looked like frostbite. Spike and Raindrops were getting a similar treatment. They had tried to insist with the healers that these treatments were unnecessary, but their complaints were ignored. "This could have been avoided if The All-Mother had arrived sooner," Raindrops commented.

Spike nodded his head in agreement. "I wonder how she knew where we were," he inquired.

"I told a guard to inform her," a voice said as the doors across the room opened and Shining Armor strode in, a shocked look on his face. "Shining, what's wrong?" Spike asked, pushing the healer away from himself.

The alicorn looked at the other warriors in the room. "Mother has banished Twilight," he said, almost as though he himself didn't believe it.

Spike's eyes went wide. "Why? We are at war, we need her," the dragon said, trying to wrap his head around this. Blossom forth was speechless and Raindrops simply looked at the ground.

"It's what she deserves," the yellow pegasus said angrily.

The group looked at her in shock. "Raindrops, you can't mean that," Blossomforth tried to reason.

"Well I do," she said, not meeting the eyes of her friends.

Spike looked like he was ready to attack the offending pegasus. "How can you say that after all we've been through with her? After all she's done for us?" he asked angrily.

"Done for us? She never saw us as anything other than tools and you know it," Raindrops defended herself.

Spike was visibly shaking with anger. "Blossomforth, tell me you don't agree with this," he said looking to the mare who didn't seem able to meet his eyes. "Shining Armor?" Spike asked, looking to the alicorn for support.

Shining regarded the dragon for a moment. "Mother's decision may have been ill timed what with Frostmourne declaring war on us, but Twilight should have heeded her orders to leave the situation be," the stallion said looking Spike in the eye.

"She always thought she was smarter than the rest of us," Raindrops spoke, her voice low.

"She meant to protect her home," Spike defended.

"My sister should have been paying more attention to mother," Shining said laying a hand on Spike's shoulder to calm him. The others gave him quizzical looks. "Leave us," the alicorn said to the healers, who left the room hastily. Once they were alone Shining continued. "The All-Mother has seemed rather tired as of late and I believe the Solar Sleep is upon us," he informed them.

Spike and the pegasi in the room looked shocked. "Why did she not inform any pony of this?" Blossomforth asked curiously.

"More than likely to avoid a panic," Shining explained.

"But Twilight didn't know," Spike countered.

Raindrops scoffed. "She has seen what Celestia is like before the sleep more than once. She should have been able to see the signs," the mare argued.

Spike was about to fight back when Shining interrupted them. "It matters little now," he said, ending the argument. "For now we must prepare as best we can," he said, trying to motivate his friends.

"We would be more prepared with Twilight," Spike said walking past Shining Armor and out of the room.

//////////////////////

"And this will be your room while you're here," Minuette said as she finished giving Twilight a tour of the house she was renting.

Twilight inspected the barren room with disinterest. "This will do for now," Twilight said as she charged a small amount if energy to her horn to close the door and... nothing. Twilight glared at Minuette as she tried again.

"Is something wrong?" Minuette asked, not liking the look Twilight was giving her.

"What manner of trickery is this? Why is my magic not working?" she asked Minuette angrily.

Minuette was baffled at the question. "Umm... because you aren't a unicorn," she said unsure.

This seemed to make Twilight even angrier. "I know that. I am an alicorn. Now what manner of spell has been cast upon me?" Twilight shouted.

Minuette looked genuinely afraid now. "Those are just a myth. You don't have a horn or wings," she said, watching as Twilight's eyes widened in shock.

"I need a mirror," she stated.

"Ummm... the bathroom is down the hall on the left," the unicorn said as Twilight pushed past her. "Third door," she called as Steam Bolt came out from his room further down the hall.

"What the hay are you two doing out here?" he asked annoyed. Minuette just shrugged as she walked to the bathroom to check on Twilight, the pegasus close behind.

"Oh nonono! This can not be!" Twilight yelled in a panic as she felt at her forehead and back as though searching for something. "Why have you done this to me mother?" she asked as she sat in defeat.

"What did I miss?" Bolt asked bewildered.

"Same thing I did," Minuette told him, as she watched Twilight start to cry. Whatever had been done to her had finally gotten to her.

Author's Note:

Well this was a bitch to post and format on a tablet, but here we are again. We are now introducing Minuette and my oc Steam Bolt. I kinda based him off myself in some aspects. Anyways if you didn't see the blog post I am now in the market for proofreaders. You can volunteer here or at the blog post. I will also accept applicants foe Iron Made, but this story is the priority. Stay tuned.