Here come the elephants

by Centurion9289

Chapter One: An Unexpected Meeting

Chapter One - An Unexpected Meeting

The day brightens nicely and the birds sing as always in Ponyville. And Twilight Sparkle paces around in her library with a pencil behind her ear and a floating notepad before her. Around her are stacked piles of books, maps laid out across the floor, compasses, and scrolls. She looks down at the map, eyes narrowing in deep focus. Her head rises and her face brightens briefly and with her magic she pulls out the pencil to jot down notes. Then a loud slam startles Twilight as Spike walks back into the library with a paper bag in one hand.

“Hey, Twilight! I’m back!”

Losing her focus, she loses control of her magic momentarily and the notepad and pencil fly across the room. The pencil in particular flies toward Spike. His eyes widen and he lets out a small scream and shields himself with his arms. The pencil hits its target on the mark. To Spike’s relief, it didn’t hit him. It hit the paper bag in his hand and stuck it right into the wall next to the door. He pulls out the pencil and opens the bag checking inside. He lets out a sigh of relief as he pulls out some cookies.

“Whew! That was close!”

Spike looked at the state of the library recalling one of Twilight’s obsessive research studies. He cocks one of his eyes in confusion as he approaches Twilight.

“Again? Twilight, I thought you said you couldn’t find anything in your books about the keys or the chest?”

With a proud smile, Twilight walks to Spike and magically pulls the pencil out from his hand and places it behind her ear.

“I did, Spike. But I figured since Princess Celestia mentioned the possibility of information from the ancient castle of the Everfree Forest, there may be other ancient locations that I may have overlooked!”

Spike eyes one of the large maps spread out across the floor with several pins placed in different locations.

“Uh, like...”

Twilight places her hoof onto the map and bends her head down scanning the map and the different pins.

“The Crystal Empire! Considering it came back after a thousand years, there’s probably tons of valuable information in the library! There may be books on ancient cities and kingdoms from those time periods! We can visit the Library while we’re there for the Equestria Games.”

Spike walks to the table in the center and places his bag down and pulls out a cookie. As he eats it he watches Twilight flying all over the place using her magic to pull up her maps and books placing them in saddle-bags.

“Well, that does sound like a good idea...”
“Good? It’s perfect! Just imagine, forgotten lands in Equestria or even beyond!”
“Uh, yeah but Twilight...”
“I know the games don’t start for a good long while, but it’s just so exciting!”
“Twilight...”
“Maybe we could make for an early trip? The sooner we get started...”
“TWILIGHT!!!”

Startled out of her rant, Twilight drops everything she was carrying with her hooves and her magic. After everything has fallen down, Spike walks over to pick up some of the books and maps.

“Look, I know you want to find those keys but it’s not going to do any good to freak out about them. And I don’t want to see you bummed and tired out after traveling all over Equestria and not finding anything. Don’t get me wrong, if anypony can find the keys it’s you Twilight. Just try to take it easy, ok?”

Spike looks up at Twilight with pleading eyes. Twilight hovers down onto the floor and looks down at one of her maps. She eyes all of the pins across the map and realizes that Spike is right. It won’t do her any good to build up too much hope that any of her leads could be right. If she only knew exactly where to find them, it would save her the trouble of researching and traveling. Remembering the stress of not finding anything specific in her own library before being sent to Everfree, she could not imagine how disappointed she would be if she travelled to every library only to find nothing. Not to mention remembering how she gets when she obsesses herself with something. It is a good thing that Spike is here, she thought to herself. He truly has lived up to his title as Number One Assistant. She looks to her Number One Assistant with an appreciative smile.

“Thanks, Spike.”
“No problem, Twilight! And hey, maybe something will come up when you least expect it!”
“I’m sure you’re right, Spike! If living in Ponyville has taught me anything it’s that you never know what’s going to happen!”

Twilight places one of her wings on Spike’s head, roughing up what would be a mane if he was a pony. Spike couldn’t help but laugh a little and soon Twilight laughed lightly.

“Hehehe! Stop it! Your feathers tickle!”

Suddenly Spike’s face contorts with widened eyes and his head reels back. Then a loud belch with green fire bursts from his mouth. Twilight shields herself with her wing, as the fire was a little close. But when she notices the scroll on the ground, she levitates it, opens it and reads aloud.

My Dearest Twilight,

I have a very special request for you. Please arrive with your friends at the edge of Everfree Forest as soon as possible. It is of the utmost importance.

Your faithful friend,

Princess Celestia

Faithful friend. Twilight was still having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that she was no longer a student of Princess Celestia. But it was nice to know that just because the Princess was no longer her mentor did not mean that they would no longer be friends. Spike cocks his eye and walks to Twilight trying to get a look at the letter.

“Is that it?”
“That’s all there is.”
“Seems kind of rushed. Maybe it’s some kind of emergency?”
“Or it could be a lead to the keys! There’s not enough from this letter to know for sure but we have no time to lose.”

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By midday, Twilight Sparkle and her friends are gathered not far from the Everfree Forest. Twilight Sparkle is pacing back and forth as Spike follows along not too far behind her with his arms behind his back. Pinkie Pie bounces in pace with a big smile on her face while Rainbow Dash lies on the ground tapping her hoof and looking around at the sky in anticipation. Fluttershy sits patiently as Rarity brushes her mane and Applejack stands by looking around. They had been waiting for quite some time. Finally Applejack speaks up.

“So somepony want to tell me why we’re all gathered up here in the first place?”

Rainbow Dash rises to her hooves and raises her wings.

“Yeah, there wasn’t really a lot to go on with that shady letter.”

Rarity breaks from brushing her mane with widened eyes and a mouth agape.

“Rainbow Dash, this is Princess Celestia we are talking about! True, the letter was rather vague but I am positive that it will be a matter of utmost significance!”

Pinkie bounces in with a loud yell.

“YEAH!!! Maybe it’s going to be a surprise party! Or a secret gift exchange! Oooh! Maybe she has a vacation planned for us! This is so exciting!”

Fluttershy shifts her left foreleg behind her other foreleg nervously.

“Or maybe something dangerous has happened and she needs our help. Although, I don’t really know what good we can do now that we don’t have the Elements of Harmony.”
Applejack walked to Fluttershy with a smile and determined look.

“We may not bear the Elements anymore but that doesn’t mean we can’t take on whatever comes our way!”

Rainbow Dash flies down and hoof-bumps with Applejack.

“Aaaww yeah!”

Twilight stops pacing and looks to her friends smiling fondly. It was true, even without the Elements she and her friends were a force to be reckoned with. Together, they could face anything. Suddenly the sound of wings flapping comes near and Twilight and her friends turn to see Princess Celestia carried down in her chariot by her Royal Guard. Twilight’s friends bow as Princess Celestia’s chariot lands right in front of them. Princess Celestia wastes no time hovering down from from her seat onto the ground and walks to Twilight.

“Twilight, it is good to see you again! But now is not the time for pleasantries. There is an urgent matter at hoof.”

Twilight looks up to Celestia with eyes of concern and uncertainty.

“What’s going on? Is there a lead to the keys?”
“The news I bring are in no way related to the chest or the keys that open it. One of the Watchtowers on the borders south from Equestria has been attacked.”

All of the girls along with Spike gasp in unison. Some of them step back or raise a foreleg in disbelief. Fear is especially present in Fluttershy.

“A-attacked? By what?”

Celestia turns toward Fluttershy with worry visible in her face.

“I am not sure myself. Though my Royal Guards stationed there have returned safely, they are too afraid to speak of anything that had happened. Only one of them was willing to say anything. His name is Alaris. He is the Sentinel of the Southern Watchtower near the Macintosh Hills.”

Applejack buries herself in deep thought before looking up to Celestia.

“South of Macintosh Hills...isn’t that not too far from the Badlands we travelled to when Chrysalis captured my sister?”

Rarity steps forward with a fierceness in her eyes.

“And mine as well!”

Rainbow Dash hovers up as though ready to take off.

“And Scootaloo! Did that creepy Queen and her Changelings escape?! Because if she shows her sorry muzzle again...”

Princess Celestia raises a reassuring hoof in the air.

“While Queen Chrysalis would be a likely threat, I strongly believe that she and her Changelings had nothing to do with this particular attack.”

Twilight cocks an eye in confusion.

“What makes you say that?”
“If they had escaped, they would have taken on pony disguises and gone on to infiltrate us, take prisoners, and attack just as they did before. But the reports say nothing that would match a Changeling attack.”
“What exactly did happen?”

Celestia turned her eyes to the ground with grim thoughts in her mind. She shut her eyes and breathed in deeply.

“That is exactly why I have called upon you, Princess Twilight Sparkle. You and your friends must investigate the scene and find out exactly what Equestria is up against. If we do not know soon, we may find ourselves at war with a new and dangerous enemy.”

Spike placed his claws to his face nervously beginning to shiver with fear.

“W-w-war?”

Rarity had her hoof over her mouth and her eyes had widened. She gasps and faints with her hoof now raised to her head. Applejack moved to Rarity’s side in time to catch her and took off her hat to fan her. Twilight Sparkle’s ears drooped and her face grimaced. True, Changelings had invaded, shadow spirits targeted Ponyville, Sombra had threatened to reconquer the Crystal Empire, and Discord’s seeds attacked from the Everfree Forest but most of those conflicts were settled in a relatively short amount of time and in most cases they did last for very long. But the idea of being at war, of being in a lingering conflict with a deadly enemy was terrifying enough. Such a thing has not happened in a very long time, probably not since before the Reign of Discord. Princess Celestia placed her hoof under Twilight’s lowered face and raises her chin up so they can see each other. Celestia smiles warmly to comfort Twilight.

“Though war is my greatest fear, it is my deepest hope that it will not come to that. Not only will you be sent to learn who or what attacked the Watchtower but it is also in your mission to reason with them and learn about them. As a Princess, you will represent Equestria and you will show to them that we are a nation of peace, friendship, and harmony.”
Twilight finds herself smiling and looks down to the side in thought. While the thought of war was scary, she was thankful to be reminded that Equestria was not a military nation. They were better than that and were more than willing to try and make peace instead of war. Twilight’s eyes turn up to meet the Princess‘ and she nods confidently.

“We won’t let you down. You can count on us, Princess Celestia!”

Suddenly Pinkie Pie bounces down next to Twilight waving her forelegs in the air.

“Wait a minute! What if these guys don’t want to make peace and hold hooves? What if they’re all tough and mean and angry and not nice? I mean, we can be tough and angry too but what if we needed to use the Elements of Harmony against them and we really can’t do that anymore and if the bad guys knew that we would be in big trouble!”

Princess Celestia still smiles and lowers her head to Pinkie Pie and Twilight.

“True but for now let’s keep that between us, shall we?”

Applejack steps up to Twilight’s other side with her hat back on her head. She almost seems angry.

“With respect your highness, I may not be in touch with my Element anymore but I am still in touch with my sense of honesty.”

Twilight almost seems shocked that Applejack would be this bold to Princess Celestia herself! Princess Celestia however does not react to Applejack and still carries her warm smile on her face. Then Applejack’s face softens and she places her hat over her chest.

“Although, I do understand what you’re saying. I suppose that could be something kept from common knowledge. So long as I don't have to be the one to lie about it!”

Princess Celestia laughs lightly.

“It is good to see that losing touch with your Element has not made you lose touch with who you are. Remember this, all of you.”

Each of the girls, including a recovered Rarity, stand proud and nod firmly. Twilight turns to her friends.

“Alright girls. First we need to pack things up and be ready to leave as soon as possible. There’s no telling how long we’ll be gone but we have to be ready for anything!”

From behind Twilight, Princess Celestia’s voice fills the air once more.

“There is something else I need to ask, Twilight.”

Twilight turns around slightly surprised but listens intently.

“Anything!”
“From one of your friendship lessons, you wrote of a zebra by the name of Zecora?”

Twilight is slightly confused, unsure of where Celestia is going with this.

“Yes? What about her?”
“I strongly suggest that you bring Zecora with you on this mission.”

Twilight’s confusion had transformed into curiosity.

“Zecora? But why would we need to bring Zecora?”
“From what you had told me, the six of you had quite some trials when you first ventured into the Badlands. And Zecora knows the dangers of the wilds in Everfree and possibly beyond. With Zecora to guide you, you could make it to your destination much sooner.”

Rarity steps between Twilight and Pinkie chiming in.

“I have to agree on this, Twilight. I for one would very much enjoy not having to deal with trolls, giant spiders, vicious wildlife, or tasteless ruffians again! What if daresay we ran into a giant and monstrous dragon along the way? (No offense, Spikey-Wikey.) It would do us some good to have a guide who knows her way around such dangerous things.”

Pinkie Pie jumps up smiling wildly as confetti flies and a party horn blows loudly.

“Yeah! Maybe with her help, we can find a nice forest village, stay at a cozy cabin, ride some barrels, and have the road trip of a lifetime! Maybe we can find cool souvenirs along the way! Sounds a lot nicer than a war that could affect the whole world! Not to mention having a not-evil enchantress join on a team in a quest is always a big plus!”

Applejack turns to them smiling.

“Zecora may not be that social and in some ways is still mysterious but she does mean well and I’m sure she’d be willing to help.”

Princess Celestia smiles with satisfaction.

“Then it is settled!”

Celestia turns her head to her chariot and levitates a small pack from it to Twilight.

“Once you go to Zecora, tell her everything I have told you. This is for her to use. It has the most updated maps of the territories outside of Equestria.”

Then a small letter floats out from the bag. Though Celestia’s voice is still gentle and soothing, it seems to sound slightly firmer.

“This letter is for Zecora and for Zecora alone. Once she agrees to join, send me a letter immediately.”

Twilight looks at the pack and the letter, then up at Celestia with understanding. She uses her magic to take hold of the letter placing it into the pack. Then she places it onto her back, tying it around her firmly. Celestia looks down at Twilight proudly. Twilight smiles back confidently.

“Understood.”

Celestia lowers her head around Twilight placing a foreleg around her. They embrace not as teacher and student but as friends. When they break, Celestia returns to the chariot and as it takes off she turns to Twilight and her friends waving.

“Good luck on your journey, my little ponies!”

Twilight and her friends smile and wave back saying their good-byes. Once Celestia is out of sight, Twilight Sparkle and her company turn to the Everfree Forest and begin marching inside.

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Author's Note:

Well, here's the first chapter! For whoever is reading this, I hope you're enjoying it! And I hope you're looking forward to what's to come next!