Chapter 2
Rainbow Dash, being far and away the fastest of the five, got there first, and drew back in shock at what she saw. An entire side of the large tree that housed Ponyville's library had been blown out, the thick trunk curled back and charred black by the force of whatever sort of explosion had just occurred. Small bits of book paper were drifting down through the air like snowflakes, an oddly calming feature amid the signs of so much violence. Fluttershy came flapping up beside Dash, glancing up just in time for a charred piece of parchment to alight on her nose. “Oh,” she said softly, “Twilight... is going to be sad to see so many books destroyed.”
“Twilight...” Dash whispered. “Twilight!” She flew through the hole into the library, coughing at the paper dust and smoke. The force of the explosion seemed to have blown every book in the library off its shelf- they covered the floor, lying in heaps and piles. Spinning briefly in a circle, Rainbow Dash bent down onto the pile right beneath her and began digging, hurling books and pieces of books in all directions. Fluttershy, breezing in through the hole, gasped; she was momentarily transfixed in shock by the sight of the destruction. “C'mon!” Dash snapped over her shoulder at her. “Help me!” The butter-yellow pegasus awoke from her trance and quickly began shifting books beside her sky-blue compatriot.
Meanwhile, the three landlocked ponies were running through the town square at top speed; even Pinkie Pie had foregone her usual hopping gait. A blur of yellow and bright red came streaking perpendicular to their advance before pulling alongside Applejack, who was leading the way. “Applejack, what happened? What's wrong?” Apple Bloom asked, panting from the exertion of keeping up with the bigger, longer-legged ponies.
“There's been an accident! We think Twilight might be hurt!” Applejack told her younger sister, barely sparing a glance down at her before turning her head back to the front. They were almost at the library... and sure enough, it was smoking and wounded from obvious damage. The four ponies skidded to a halt, catching their breaths in the middle of the town square.
Rarity stepped forward and lifted her head. “This damage all came from magic- I can feel it. Oh, dear, oh, dear, this is terrible!”
Applejack led the rest of the way through the door and into the chaos of the ruined library. By now, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had exposed a few spots of the floor, albeit by hurling books in every direction and creating bigger piles around those spots. “I haven't found Twilight yet!” Dash cried at them as they entered. She put her hooves to her face. “Oh gosh, what if she's...”
“Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh-”
“Pinkie!” Applejack snapped at the pink earth pony. “Cool it! Let's all just calm down and act rational-like. We're never gonna find Twilight-”
“If there's anything to find!” Rainbow Dash cried.
“We're never gonna find Twilight if we all start runnin' 'round like headless chickens! We need to act methodical-like!”
“If I may,” Rarity stepped forward, “We'll clear the floor much better if we concentrate on moving the books to the edges, near the shelves. It would also help to stack them neatly, as opposed to tossing them on top of each other again.”
“Okay!” said Applejack, stomping her front hoof into the ground. “You heard Rarity! Let's do this neatly, and we'll find Twilight in no time!”
Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Apple Bloom waded through the books and began to remove them from the middle of the room. Applejack and Apple Bloom worked together, handing off to each other in a miniature convoy. Pinkie Pie could take several books at a time due to her freakish skill at balancing on her back legs. Rarity cleared dozens of books in a sweep with her magic. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash continued to sort where they were, now more neatly. Slowly, the floor began to appear.
A pile of books near Pinkie Pie suddenly stirred. Everypony looked up; Rainbow Dash flew over and began tearing off books, once more not caring where they landed. Suddenly, Spike's head popped up between tattered volumes. The little dragon burst from the books around him, then rubbed his head. “Owww.... what happened?”
The ponies tried to hide their disappointment. “Spike, what did you see happen?” Dash demanded. “Did you see what happened to Twilight Sparkle?”
“Are you all right, Spike?” Fluttershy asked, landing next to him and looking him over. “That seems like a nasty bump on your head.”
“I think I'll be fine,” said Spike, though he was wincing as he touched the growing bruise. “All I remember was turning around to watch Twilight teleport, then I noticed this huge bloom of light- something was definitely wrong. I was running down the stairs when... boom!” He flung his arms apart, pantomiming the explosion he'd been caught up in. “I must have been hit by a dictionary or something.”
Suddenly, another pile of books, this one much larger, began to shift. Distinctly feminine groaning came from beneath the jumbled volumes. Everypony rushed over to the source of the noise, their spirits rising brilliantly. Finally, to their great relief, Twilight Sparkle rose to her feet amid the books, trembling a little but looking no worse for wear at first glance.
The six other ponies rushed to her, jostling with each other to be the first to nuzzle her close.
“You're okay!” Rainbow Dash cried, wrapping her front hooves around Twilight's neck. “I'm so... I mean, this is awesome!”
“You gave us quite a scare, sugarcube,” said Applejack.
“Do you feel all right?” Fluttershy asked.
“Girls, girls, I'm fine,” said Twilight, backing away to get some space. “I'm a little shook up, but I feel okay.”
“What happened?” Pinkie Pie asked. “We saw a huge explosion!”
“I was trying to teleport back to the park,” said Twilight. She began to shake out her legs one by one, making sure nothing felt wrong. “Then I felt this huge surge of energy- the lubricant!”
“Come again?” Rarity asked.
“I came back here to get some teleportation lubricant- I wanted to get it for you, Rarity, to help you with your teleporting practice. I guess...” she thought again. “I unscrewed it to smell it, to see if it was still good. I guess I forgot to put the top back on all the way before I teleported. Teleportation lubricant is a powerful conductor of magical energy, especially the specific energy used for jumping through space. I guess my teleporting energy carried through into the tube. There must have been an enormous magical energy charge!” Her eyes widened. “Wow. In hindsight, I'm really lucky to still be in one piece.”
“It sounds scary!” said Apple Bloom.
“Don't worry! I'm all right, Apple Bloom!”
“All the same, it sounds like a very near thing,” Rarity pointed out. “Twilight, dearest, you needn't have bothered on my account. I told you, I've got no use for teleporting.”
“But I wanted to do it, Rarity. You're my friend, and I wanted to help.” She smiled. “But I guess I should have been more careful.” Then she looked around the library, for the first time taking in the extent of the damage. “Yikes, it's going to take a lot of work to clean up this mess.”
“Well, the important thing is that you're all right,” Rarity said. “We can worry about the mess after the Plowpony's Day festivities are done; no sense interrupting our day off. Now come on, we can probably still get back in time for the OH MY GOODNESS!!”
“What? What's wrong?” Twilight asked. Rarity had backed away in shock, her eyes fixed on Twilight's head.
Rarity's face was severe. She glanced around the library, her eyes settling on a mirror hanging on the wall. She used her magic to pick it up and float it in front of Twilight. “Well, darling... see for yourself.”
Twilight scrutinized her reflection. Everything looked normal. Her face wasn't cut or bruised, her eyes weren't bloodshot, her horn- “Aaaah!!” she cried.
The tip of her horn was black.
“Let me see that!” she yelled, using her magic to take control of the mirror herself. She motioned it closer to her face- “Ow!” A sharp pain shot up her horn, making her wince away from the others; she cut off her magic, and the mirror dropped to the ground and shattered.
“Twilight? What's wrong?” Apple Bloom said, looking up at her. “I thought you said you were fine?”
“I... I thought I was, but my horn... it hurts,” Twilight said. “And the tip of it is... black.”
The little pony's eyes widened as she stared at the tip of the lavender unicorn's horn. “What's wrong with your horn?”
Twilight tried to put on a reassuring expression, but she couldn't keep the fear from creeping over her face. “I don't know.”
Apple Bloom turned tail and ran out the door.
“Apple Bloom!” Applejack called after her, running to the door and yelling through the square. “Apple Bloom, get back here!”
“She's probably just scared,” said Twilight.
“Well shouldn't she be?” said Fluttershy, now sounding quite scared herself. “You have no idea what's wrong with your horn, Twilight?”
Twilight Sparkle shook her head. “No, I've never seen anything like this before.” She wasn't being quite honest. She had a small idea of what could be wrong with her horn, but she saw no reason to alarm any of her friends just yet. Or to start panicking myself, she thought. It could just be a bruise... even though horns were hard and didn't bruise. “But I'll bet it's in one of these books around here. If we could just clean the library up, organize all the books, and sort out the ones about illnesses and diseases, I'm sure we could find at least one book that will tell us what we need to know.” She swung her head back around to the mess spreading before her. “Now, you've already started piling the books around the edges, but we have to go through and pick out all the medical and magical books, and separate them out. Then we have to put the rest of the books together- ow!” she winced. She'd begun to lift some of the books off the floor with her magic, but another sharp pain in her horn had caused her to break off the spell and drop them again.
“Darling, don't strain yourself!” Rarity said. “Whatever's happened to you is clearly being made worse when you use your magic. You just sit back and take it easy; we'll handle the clean-up.”
“I agree with Rarity,” said Applejack. “No need to make whatever's wrong with you worse.”
“Well,” Twilight hesitated, “okay...”
“Right, then,” said Rarity, looking about at the other ponies, “let's organize ourselves. Applejack, you go to that section,” she looked toward her left, “and Pinkie Pie, you go with her; the two of you can work together. Rainbow Dash, you and Fluttershy go straight ahead; the two of you will also work together. I'll move to the right; my magic can do the work of two ponies. Now, chop chop! Let's hurry!” She clopped her hooves together. She turned back to Twilight Sparkle, a sympathetic look on her face. “Twilight, don't worry your head about any of this. We'll clean up this mess and find out what's wrong with you in a jiffy!”
“Can I help you, Rarity?” Spike asked.
“Well of course you can, Spike!” the white unicorn said with a smile. She trotted through the books to her selected station. “Come over here and help me sort through the books as I levitate them. I'll bet you know this library almost as well as Twilight.”
“Er... sort of,” Spike said weakly.
With a smile, Rarity's horn lit up, and more than a dozen books floated into the air. In truth, the white unicorn's insides were roiling in a storm of guilt. Twilight appeared to have been seriously hurt- and she'd been hurt trying to help Rarity. I told her I didn't need her help! Rarity thought, only half-listening as Spike attempted to pick out the medical books from those she had levitated. Oh, Twilight Sparkle, why did you have to be so generous? Generosity is my job! And why couldn't I have just learned to teleport the first time?! This catastrophe could have been avoided! A burst of disgusted energy surged through her horn, charging the books she was levitating and sending them scattering in all directions; Spike had to dodge a few that shot his way. The other ponies glanced up towards her. Rarity gave them a smile. “Sorry! Just... wasn't paying attention. Carry on!” She looked away from them and returned to sorting the books, a heavy oily feeling in the pit of her heart.
“Rarity?” Twilight's voice was right behind her.
This time, Rarity finished setting the books down in their neat piles before turning around. “Is something wrong, darling? Are you feeling any worse?”
Twilight looked gently at her. “Rarity, it's not your fault.”
“I don't... oh, Twilight, don't worry, I wasn't thinking anything of the sort,” she lied.
“Please, Rarity... I was the one who wasn't careful. Don't blame yourself.”
“Twilight Sparkle, I said to sit tight and relax. I do not see you sitting tight, and I certainly don't see you relaxing! Go get a pillow and some root beer, if you must! You're going to strain yourself!” Rarity shooed her away with her hoof. Twilight laughed, and finally retreated. Rarity allowed herself to feel a little better, then returned to her work.
They had mostly cleared the library floor over the span of twenty minutes. All the medical books and magical books had been piled in the center; the other books were stacked along the edge of the floor, below the empty bookshelves. Twilight was impressed at the work they'd been able to do; under Rarity's gentle direction, her five friends had sorted everything on the library floor into neat order. They had even made a pile for the damaged or destroyed books, near the foot of the stairs. Twilight's heart was heavy at the sight; books being damaged always pained her. But she had more pressing things to worry about. “Great work, girls! Now we just need to start consulting these books.” She walked over to the stacks in the middle. “Now, here we-”
Suddenly, the door to the library burst open. Apple Bloom ran in, then stopped, then looked back over her shoulder. “In here, come on!” The little filly cast excited eyes on Twilight. “Don't worry, Twilight, I brought help!” She looked over her shoulder again. “C'mon, Zecora, she's in here!”
“Zecora?” Twilight echoed.
As if on cue, Zecora the zebra crossed the threshold of the library. She was wearing her traveling cloak, as she usually did during her journeys into Ponyville from her home in the Everfree Forest. The hood was thrown back, though, making her black-and-white-striped neck and head clearly visible, along with the black and white mane that she kept cut in a high mohawk; rings of gold surrounded her neck, and large gold earrings dangled from her ears.
“I have been quite patient,” Zecora said in her strange rhyming speech, “now let me see the patient.” She strode softly up to Twilight Sparkle and began to examine her carefully. Twilight could feel her piercing turquoise eyes staring at her- staring through her, looking deep into her. She suppressed a shiver. Though they'd all learned that Zecora wasn't evil, she could still be a bit unsettling, especially at close quarters.
“Heyyyyy, you can't rhyme 'patient' with 'patient'!” Rainbow Dash suddenly cried. Nopony paid attention to her.
Zecora's gaze at last settled on Twilight's horn, which she scrutinized at very close quarters- bringing her left eye within an inch of the blunt, blackened tip. She gently raised a hoof and tapped the tip of the horn. Twilight flinched at the shot of pain- it was like a sore, several days old.
Finally, Zecora drew back. She had a sad look on her face. “My guess was correct, so bemoan your lot. Twilight Sparkle, you've got a bad case of Horn Rot.”
Twilight drew in a breath sharply. “I was afraid of that.”
Rarity's eyes widened. “Oh... oh my goodness gracious, what are we going to do?! Not that! Not that!” She was so overcome by shock that she briefly fell to the ground in a faint, though she was on her hooves again in a moment. She hastened to Twilight Sparkle's side and nuzzled her in the cheek. “Oh, Twilight, darling... I'm... I'm sure we can find a cure!”
“Okay, hold up a second! What is Horn Rot?” Applejack asked. “Is that some kind o' unicorn thing?”
“Very much so,” Rarity said.
“It's a disease that only unicorns are susceptible to,” Twilight said. She walked over to the pile of medical and magical books in the center of the library. “Now that I know what I'm looking for, I should be able to find the right book...” She started to use magic, but she stopped before she caused herself any more pain. Sitting back, she used her hooves to nudge books off their stacks until she found a suitable volume: it was a thick book bound in dark blue leather, titled Pony Problems A to Z. Placing it on the ground, she nudged it open with her left hoof and began flipping through the pages, coming to the first third of the book, then finding the 'H' section. Several dozen pages of flipping brought her to the entry she sought. “Rarity, could you please levitate this so everypony can see it?”
With a nod, Rarity's horn shimmered, causing the dark blue book to float into the air. The other ponies clustered around it, nudging against each other to try and get a closer view. “Hey, I can't see back here!” Dash cried. “Somepony read it aloud, will you?”
“Ooo! Ooo! I'll do it! Let me do it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, raising her hoof in the air.
“But I wanted to do it!” Apple Bloom said.
“Yeah, but I said it first!”
“Well, I'm younger, so I should go first!”
“Nuh-uh! Oldest always goes first!”
“Look! Pinkie! Just read it!” Twilight shouted. There was an edge to her voice that brooked no argument.
Pinkie Pie nodded. “A-he-he-he-hem,” she cleared her throat dramatically. Then, finally, she began to read: “Horn Rot, also known as Unicorn's Blight, is an affliction that befalls unicorns, either through exposure to strange magics or through the improper application of their own magical power. It occurs specifically when the magical circuit that runs down the unicorn's spine is overwhelmed with an influx of etheric energy, of such intensity that the cells through which the circuit runs begin to burst and die. This deadening begins and is most concentrated in the unicorn's horn, which is the focal point of the magical circuit. For cures, see Potions, Section 27C.” Pinkie Pie blinked a few times, then turned to Twilight. “Okay, so what does that mean?”
“It means my horn absorbed an enormous amount of magical energy- more than it could cope with,” said the lavender unicorn. She nudged the floating book aside and turned to face all of her friends. “When the teleportation lubricant was exposed to the energy of my teleporting spell, it caused that energy to be extremely amplified. When unicorns use magic, they also open their magical circuits to an influx of magic from their environment; it's part of the give-and-take of magic. In this case, my magical circuit absorbed all the excess energy from the overpowered teleporting spell, and it was too much for my body to handle. The cells in my horn were overwhelmed, and now they're starting to die.”
“Die?” Rainbow Dash cried. “But you look fine! How can just one part of you die?”
“It's like what happens to hooves and noses when they get frostbite,” said Twilight. This last example seemed to clarify things immensely, as the whole group put on new expressions of concern.
“So your horn is dyin'?” Apple Bloom asked. “That's awful! What are you gonna do about it?”
“Not to worry, Apple Bloom,” Twilight said, smiling to try and cheer the little filly up. “There's a potion that cures Horn Rot without fail. The recipe should be in another one of my books, and the ingredients aren't too terribly hard to find. We just need to let it brew for three weeks-”
“Three weeks?!” Applejack exclaimed.
“It's got a lot of magic in it,” Twilight said. “It needs all that time to draw in enough energy. But if I just take it easy until then-”
Zecora shook her head. “Of your endurance ability, I wouldn't boast. This Horn Rot is strong- you've got two weeks, two and a half at most.”
Twilight Sparkle gasped. “A-are you sure? What makes you say that?!”
Zecora merely nodded. Rarity fainted again.
“So... what happens after two weeks?” Fluttershy asked, almost in a whisper. She was afraid of the answer.
Twilight bowed her head. “Best case scenario, my horn falls off- and I won't be able to do magic anymore.”
Fluttershy gasped.
Rainbow Dash swallowed hard. “And... the worst case scenario?”
Twilight averted her gaze; in fact, she turned her whole body, refusing to look at them. She was fighting hard to keep from showing her own fear. Fluttershy squeaked and closed her eyes tightly.
“No... n-no!” Dash landed and stomped her hoof against the ground. “I... I don't believe there's no faster cure! There's gotta be! There has to be!”
“Yeah, there's gotta be somethin' we can do!” Apple Bloom said. “Twilight can't... she just can't...” The little yellow pony was on the verge of tears. Applejack sidled up to her sister and leaned into her.
“There is in fact a faster track,” Zecora said.
“What is it?” Pinkie Pie asked.
The zebra didn't answer immediately. She broke away from the assembled ponies and began to wander the edges of the library, peering through the stacks of books piled beside her. She stopped at one stack and reached into it, plucking out a green book with her teeth and flinging it through the air. It skidded to a stop on the floor next to the ponies. Twilight saw that it was the same book, Super Naturals, that had held the cure for the poison joke that had afflicted them in their first meeting with Zecora.
“If you want a fast cure, there's just one to get,” she said, nudging the book open. “You must eat the flower of the Beneviolet.”
The book opened onto a page dominated by the illustration of a flowering plant. It had a thin stem and long, narrow leaves. At the top of the stem was a single flower with five broad petals, arranged in a star shape. The flower petals were medium purple. The scrap of soil drawn beneath the leaves seemed to be rocky.
“I wanna read this time!” Apple Bloom said before anypony could object. She wiped away the tears that had started to form in her large orange eyes and nudged her way over to the book. Rarity again levitated the book into the air so that everyone could have a better view of it. “The Beneviolet is a small flowerin' plant that grows in the high mountain valleys of the Archback Mountains. It belongs to the very small family of magi... magi... magivascular plants, or plants whose special roots allow them to absorb magical energy as well as water from the surroundin' environment. The Archback Mountains that are the Beneviolet's only habitat run along what is thought to be a strong lay line, infusin' the soil with enormous magical power, which the plants absorb. This energy is collected in their five-pointed flowers, where it mixes with the plant's chemical defenses against parasites. These two factors combine to make the Beneviolet a powerful healin' plant, able to cure many illnesses, especially those of a dege... degenerative magical nature.” Apple Bloom finished the entry in much higher spirits than she had begun it. She turned to Zecora. “So if Twilight eats this flower, it'll cure her Horn Rot?”
“A Beneviolet is powerful stuff- just one flower, one time will be enough.”
“Hooray!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, jumping for joy. “Now we just gotta go get it!”
Rainbow Dash's face grew doubtful. “That... might be a problem.”
“What problem?” Pinkie Pie said. “It seems open-and-shut, just like a book!”
“Welllll...” the sky-blue pegasus began slowly, “do any of you ponies know where the Archback Mountains are?”
“Do you?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“They're not far away, are they?” Fluttershy asked.
Dash flapped her wings and was airborne again, gliding to the door of the library. “Come with me,” she said with a turn towards them.
They followed her back through Ponyville, through a small crowd that had gathered around the damaged library. Stares and whispers ran through the assembled ponies as the six fillies came out; the gossip intensified when the onlookers saw Zecora. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were able to pass through them without much shoving, but they picked up a small entourage that followed them to the outskirts of the town. They soon saw where Dash was leading them: at the north entrance to Ponyville, moored by a small raised platform, was the town balloon. It was decorated with banners and streamers, in anticipation of its participation in that night's fireworks display; for now, however, it was empty, and Rainbow Dash ushered her friends toward it. “We're going up; come on.”
“Fluttershy, could you fly up on your own with Dash?” Twilight asked. “That way there will be enough room for Zecora and Apple Bloom.”
“Okay,” said the butter-yellow pegasus softly.
The non-flying ponies climbed into the balloon's basket, shut the door, and started the burner. Untying the tether, they rose slowly into the air, flanked on either side by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. They followed Dash's lead, going as high as she was going, until they were far above Ponyville, chilled by the cold air of the upper altitude. Ponyville was a brilliant patchwork of houses beneath them; to the southwest, they could see the rolling fields and neatly arranged apple trees of the Apple Family's farm. Dead west was the dense green curtain of the Everfree Forest, drawn like a blanket over the surrounding terrain. The forest stretched for miles and miles until it ran against the base of a long range of mountains, spiking higher and higher into the sky as they stretched away to the north and the south.
“Okay!” Dash said. “We're high enough. You'll be able to see them from here.”
“So, wait,” Applejack called over to her, “are those the Archback Mountains?” She pointed a hoof at the mountain range standing in front of them. “Shucks, Rainbow, that'll be an easy trip! I don't know why you-”
“No,” Dash said. “Those are the Drackenridge Mountains.” She pointed her hoof in front of her, angled upward. “Those are the Archback Mountains.”
The ponies assembled in the balloon tried to follow her hoof. She was pointing slightly up... past the mountains that took up so much of their view. Twilight increased the heat of the burner, causing the balloon to go slightly higher. They rose up... and there, past the Drackenridge Mountains, they could see them- barely see them. They were a ragged haze far in the distance, a purple shadow at the farthest range of sight. A long line of mountains stretched away almost parallel to the Drackenridge Mountains.
“Those are the Archback Mountains?” Rarity exclaimed.
“Yep,” said Rainbow Dash.
“That's... outside the borders of Equestria,” said Twilight Sparkle.
“Yep,” said Rainbow Dash.
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Man, if Horn Rot is that dangerous, you'd think it would make sense for hospitals to keep a supply of the cure in stock, wouldn't you?
At Chapter 2 I can see that Rarity is not only going to learn, but is going to need the teleportation spell by the end. Most likely at some chokepoint of danger she will teleport them all out of danger.
Calling it now.
4244480 i would suspect that it might not be a common enough occurrence for it to really be necessary. also it probably very rarely gets bad enough that you don't have time to brew the potion needed. the only reason it got this bad this quickly would be Twilight's power level mixed with the "lube"
4244480 Also, there's a possibility of it "going bad" after too long, and the ingredients are probably at least slightly rare, so probably not a good idea to have to go get the ingredients every few weeks/months.
4248526
4244480
And that's disregarding the stability of it. Twilight mentioned that the 'lube' can be dangerous when it expires. Who knows what the potion could do eh?
4244480
What I have learned from MLP:FiM so far:
-Never question Logic
-Never try to think of better solutions, even if they are obvious
-Never look at clopfic.
Thats about it.
Horn Rot, eh? Well, it seems the adventure shall begin.
4246070 Still, the implication here is that there is none or this stuff ready to go in all of Equestria. Surely there would be at least a miniscule amount of demand to keep some on hand for someone who just can't wait for the stuff to be prepared. One dose worth in Canterlot General Hospital or some such thing.
If it doesn't conflict with the author's worldbuilding, having this particular potion involve an ingredient from the unicorn to be cured would have rendered this objection moot.
This is gonna be a continuous thing, isn't it? *sighs*
Er, whoopsie. Guessing this is gonna be continuous as well.
Oh, you're not Twilight. Darn it. *piles books back on top of Spike*
That's just a little mean, dont'cha think?
Well, at last one of them showed some compassion. Thank you for caring, Best Pony.
Zecora, stop trying to be Kanye West. Only he's allowed to rhyme the same word together.
LOL, Cheers, Rainbow.
Way to dodge the question, Zecora.
This is a very clever word. I like it!
Should this be ley line?
Considering the age of this story, I'll forgive you for this, but in case you didn't know, Everfree is actually located east of Ponyville.
Excellent! I love me a great world-building story!
So, the no-doubt-recurring grammar gripes, rampant LUS and excessive "passive voice" aside, this is shaping up to be a very well-written story. I have every confidence that I will enjoy myself. You pacing is pretty good so far: you haven't lingered on anything for too long, yet neither have you rushed into this adventure. It's flowing well and it's maintaining my interest.
Total occurrences of "the lavender unicorn" so far: 6
Total occurrences of "the white unicorn" so far: 3
Total occurrences of "the butter-yellow pegasus" so far: 3
4245155 I called this as soon as I read about Twi trying to teach her.
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw3596_medium.jpg
4256392 Ha! I learned all of that years ago from video games! I also learned that its okay to beat the crap out of animals and enslave them to beat the crap out of more animals as long as it's in the name of science! Gotta catch 'em all!
This Rainbow Dash, I can already tell, is rather off from my averaged meta-perception of her. And yet, I am very fond of this Rainbow Dash.
*reads first paragraph*
*checks season four finale*
*gets up*
WHAT THE F*CK?
Holy shit, your predicted season 4.
4256392 But I like clopfic :[
Poor Spike. They didn't even bother to question if he was in the library, and then only Fluttershy bothers to check if he was hurt. I wouldn't be surprised if the girls stepped over a charred pegasus corpse on their way through the breach in the library. After all, if it's not Twilight Sparkle, it's not important, right?
5551329
Is that a charmander with a meltagun?
I have no regrets continuing into chapter 2. I like your style!
Worldbuilding, an epic quest, and an adventure that lays beyond the horizon! This is what great epic fantasies are all about!
I love the idea of horn rot and how it's affects ponies. I also like how this makes sense that they wouldn't have the cure on standby in ponyville. There aren't that many powerful unicorns in town to make this a problem that needs help. I can imagine Canterlot has a lot of it, but not in a small town. I also love the use of Zecora here, a good explainer and a presence I hadn't seen in almost a year now.
Sooooo, it makes me wonder. How would have this gone if we had say, Starlight or Trixie there? Or would it eveen affect Twilight when she is in Alicorn form. Would the journey have been nessecary, reliing on Starlight to teleport to Canterlot and back? Also, what would've happened had Shining Armor been there. So many forum posts ask about the later seasons in terms of how it applies to things like Fallout Equestria and such...but, those are usually in the future or deal with things that wouldn't really be applied (See Immortal Game) but this? This involves a few things that could be directly affected by the later stories.