Tempting Fate

by The Specialist

Into the Wilderness

Note to Readers: Thanks so much for reading this! Chap 2 is out and ready for examination. I hope you enjoy it!
Also, I will be going over chapter one, changing some stuff and fixing mistakes.

*Somewhere in the Everfree*

Andrew glimpsed the slowly darkening sky through the thick canopy of the forest. He had trekked through the lush and verdant undergrowth all morning and afternoon, his faithful lab trailing close behind. He had paused only to rest his aching muscles and eat a quick lunch. Dead tired did not even begin to describe how he felt.

At first attempting to use his compass to chart a path, he quickly discovered - to his dismay - that it no matter the orientation, the compass needle refused to align itself. The possibilities and implications presented by the lack of a magnetic field was enormous. Andrew was dazed at the thought of it all. How was the planet protected from solar wind of the sun? Without it, the ozone layer should have been stripped from the planet, or never even developed at all. Which in turn, meant that life shouldn't have developed as well....Logically, none of this was possible. But empirical evidence suggests otherwise. But....

Andrew's brain automatically commenced an emergency thought shutdown algorithm before he could spiral down into the depths of madness. Running his hand through his hair, Andrew decided that he simply would assume everything was Earth-like unless he found proof otherwise. Illogical? Perhaps. Necessary to maintain sanity? Absolutely.

Heedless of his scientific and philosophical musings that he entertained himself with, his stomach - the pretentious bastard - growled loudly at him. His swift glare was met with an even louder complaint. He had walked steadily for the better part of six hours after lunch with a heavy pack that he was unused to lugging around everwhere. Necessary as the pack was, it was a major drain on his stamina and willpower. "Dammit Captain, I'm a friggin engineer, not a donkey! he muttered under his breath. He quickly regretted that action, he was short enough on breath as it was. No point wasting energy needlessly when he didn't even know when he would reach his destination.

Or if he would reach his destination -any destination, for that matter.

However - while his overall situation was dire, he was wasn't dead yet, and he needed to find some sort of shelter to pitch his tent in for the night. Andrew forged ahead relentlessly, and quickly came to a small clearing. With a small sigh he dropped his pack and belt pouches on what appeared to be a soft carpet of pine needles.

Andrew was glad for the familiar flora and fauna, he didn't think he would be able to trek through the forest of say, Pandora, so easily. Andrew couldn't remember if there were man eating plants in that universe, but he did remember the fauna. He shuddered for a moment at the thought. God help me if I run into anything like those monsters over here.

Once again, after gathering his wits -and berating himself for allowing his thoughts to get sidetracked- he concentrated on pitching his camp. Quickly pitching his small tent, he gathered what wooden debris he could find -there was plenty of it around in the form of fallen branches and sticks - he managed to get a roaring fire going just before sundown. He was glad he got the fire up in time, he couldn't afford to waste any precious battery power by using a flashlight.

As he heated his meal over the flames, he idly stroked Crazy's back as he tried his best to not think about any long term plans. There was no way to tell what the next day would bring for him, and the less he thought about it, the better he would function. Crazy, being a simple dog, had no thoughts about the next day whatsoever. She was simply content to rest and revel in the attention of her master and friend. Crazy nudged Andrew's other hand, craving attention. Andrew glanced at his lifelong companion, a small smile blossoming on his face for a brief moment.

Whatever happened, whatever his fate may be, whatever misfortunes might befall him...he wasn't alone. He had his faithful companion with him. Someone to live for, other than himself. A friend.

Suddenly the world didn't seem like such a dark place.

................................

The sweet aroma of cooked meat drifted into the forest. Many miles from the campsite, dozens of creatures awakened from their slumber. To their magically enhanced senses, the air was saturated the sticky scent of blood and fresh meat. Sleep could wait. There was prey to be had.

The hunt was on.

................................

*Ponyville, Equestria *

"SPIKE! Are you DONE yet?"

"Coming Twilight! Hold your horse's!

Spike scampered down the stairs, arms laden with books and scrolls. He found Twilight in the common room, pacing restlessly back and forth. Before her levitated - lo and behold- a checklist and quill. Twilight grimaced slightly, eyes relentlessly scanning the page for mistakes, errors and unchecked items. She found none. Against what most would consider "common sense," that fact only seemed to increase her anxiety. There wasn't a more fervent supporter of "Sparkle's Law" in all of Ponyville.

"Spike! Are the food, scrolls, and clothes packed?" Spike rolled his eyes at this.

"Yeah, as well as the extra food, ink, and quills you asked for," he pointed out.

Twlight's eyes narrowed at the sarcasm. Spike raised his forelimbs in surrender.

"Alright I'll double check! Just give me a sec..." he said as he climbed the stairs. Yet again.

"Crazy OCD ponies..." he muttered under his breath.

"What'd you say Spike?!" Spike decided a fast escape was in order.

"Nothing! You must have imagined it!" Spike doubled his pace and quickly disappeared from view as he finally reached the 2nd story.

Twilight grinned the moment Spike stepped out of sight. In point of fact, she didn't hear anything at all, but she had known Spike all his life. It was easy to guess that he was complaining and respond accordingly. She was sorry to run him this ragged, especially so early in the morning, but she had no choice unless she wanted to be late for her expedition into the Everfree. Needless to say, Twilight didn't even consider being late an option.

Her grin was quickly replaced by a frown as she scanned her checklist once again. As far as she could tell, everything seemed to be in order. As she-finally!- laid her checklist down, she her thoughts turned back to the letter she had received from the Princess herself merely two days ago.....

To my Twilight, my Faithful Student,

As you may already know, when Nightmare Moon first rose against me, the finest library in Equestria, the Royal Library 'Libraria Alexandria', burned in our old castle. Much knowledge, history, and artifacts, were lost on the conflagration that engulfed nearly the entire castle. However, it has come to my attention that, in fact, Nightmare Moon hid caches of books from the library in magically protected vaults, intending to remove and restore them once she established herself as ruler of Equestria in my place. The spells used to protect the vaults were very powerful, and have likely managed to keep their contents safe for the last thousand years. Those books may still be there, and represent a great deal of knowledge and history that could be recovered for the good of all of Equestria.

As my faithful student and librarian, I would charge you to retrieve those books from their resting places and rightfully return them to their proper place in the Canterlot Royal Archives. If you accept this mission, your escort to to the ruins of the old castle will arrive in two days, at daybreak. Do not worry about locating and breaking the enchantments, your escort will be more than capable of doing so for you.

Twilight, will you, for the greater good of all of Equestria, undertake this mission in the name of your Princess and mentor?

Princess Celestia

P.S. When you return to deliver the books to the Canterlot Royal Archives, I would be more than happy to accompany you to Pony Joe's. My treat.

Twilight smiled as she remembered the post script. Princess Celestia knew her too well; how could she refuse an offer like that?

................................

It was nearly daybreak. Spike and Twilight piled all of Twlight's "necessities," for a possibly lengthy stay at the ruins, outside the library and were impatiently awaiting the arrival of her escort.

"Hey Twlight...." Spike coughed to clear his throat. Twilight immediately caught the note of worry in his tone.

"Spike? What's wrong?" she gently questioned.

"Well, I know this mission is important to the Princess and all... but do you have to go around putting yourself in danger all the time?"

Twilight was taken aback and at the same time, touched by his concern. Spike had never voiced any concerns for her previous quests for Celestia. She reminded herself that, however old he acted sometimes, he was still a child. And children sometime needed someone to comfort their fears.

"Spike, you know as well as I do that the Princess would never send me to do something unless the situation called for it. Besides, this mission is hardly dangerous, I am to be escorted by the Royal Guard themselves!" she stated cheerfully. She actually was glad for their presence actually. Going into the Everfree was dangerous enough in a group, going alone even more so.

Spike turned away, unable to refute the logic in her statements and somewhat mollified. He gave a long sigh. "Well I suppose you'll be fine, just come back safe and sound alright?" he replied as his gaze scanned the sky.

At that, Twilight gave him a wonderfully reassuring smile.

"Of course Spike," she said as she nuzzled him closely. "You know me, I'm always careful."

Spike's only response was a snort. The moment was over.

Twlight felt a twinge of annoyance at this. Children could also be infuriating at times, she reflected.

During the conversation, the sky had been slowly growing lighter. In a sudden flash, the sun rose over the horizon with a flash of light, illuminating Ponyville with its rays of warmth and light.

"Hey Twilight! I think they're here!" Twilight followed Spike's Spike gaze as he shielded his eyes from the sun. Sure enough, she spotted several dots on the horizon, steadily flying closer from the direction of Canterlot.

Twilight turned to Spike.

"Well Spike, I left a list of chores - Spike made a disgusted sound, cutting her off. She glared at him, and he subsided.

"Ahem, like I was saying....." she cast a warning look at Spike who grinned but remained silent. " I have left list of chores and other things things I need done while I am away on the night table. I am not sure how long the mission will take, but regardless, I expect you to maintain the library in tip-top shape even in my absence. Is that understood? she finished as she eyed him.

Spike nodded his assent.

Pleased, Twlight gave him a beaming smile. Spike could have sworn that she nearly glowed for the moment (not an impossibility, he noted) "Excellent." she said as she turned away...and then turned back around, a new thought striking her. She sighed. "As long as you get everything done and maintain the library...you can take a break until I return."

At this Spike jumped into the air and pumped his fist. "Yes!" Twilight's response was interrupted by the arrival of the royal escort, as two chariots lightly thumped into the ground, catching her attention. She turned to face them...and was completely stunned by what she saw.

"Princess Luna! She gasped as she and Spike prostrated herself before the midnight blue alicorn.

"PLEASE R-*ahem* Please rise, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike. There is no need to observe royal formalities while outside of Canterlot." Princess Luna explained as they rose. Twilight immediately noted the modernity of the princess's dialogue compared to her previous antiquity. She has improved significantly from when I last saw her. Twilight couldn't help but feel pleased, after all, she was one of the people responsible for that improvement.

"Of course Princess, Twilight responded. Princess Luna looked away.

"Please Miss Sparkle, I would much prefer to be called Luna during this expedition...I have yet to actually fully resume my full duties as Princess of the Night at this time, I do not deserve the title." Twilight felt a pang of sadness at this.She still hasn't gotten over her actions as Nightmare Moon Twilight realized. I bet she hardly interacts with anyone other than Princess Celestia right now. She must not have a lot of friends at the palace... Then, Twilight finally realized why Celestia sent Luna long with her escort. And now she has to return to the one place where she is reminded of her actions, and undo enchantments she herself placed as Nightmare Moon... Twilight resolved to do her best to extend the Magic of Friendship to her while she still could. While she made some progress already, that wasn't nearly enough; she barely had a chance to actually talk to her during Nightmare Night.

"I would be happy to Prin- Luna." Twilight blushed at her hasty self-correction. Luna, for her part, pretended not to notice. "However, there is one condition." Luna's ears perked at this, she couldn't remember the last time anyone had tried laid a limitation on her (other than her sister of course.)

"In return, you must call me Twilight." Twilight looked at Luna expectantly.

"I accept your condition...Twilight. Now, would you please step into the chariot of your choice?" She hesitated for a moment. "Twilight, would it not be too presumptuous of me to request you ride with me on the royal chariot?" Luna indicated which one was the royal chariot with a pointed hoof.

At this, Twilight grinned. "Of course not Luna, I would be honored to do so!"

Luna looked visibly relieved at this. "Excellent!" she said while telekinetically grabbing Twilight's luggage and storing them on the other chariot. "Come! I believe we have much to talk about during our journey."

Twilight gave Spike one last hug and looked him in the eye.

"I'll be back soon, alright?" Spike nodded in agreement as he returned the hug.

"It's a promise I'll hold you too, Twilight." he said as they released each other

Twlight clambered onto the chariot and soon enough, the royal guardponies - Luna's Royal Nights (haha get it?) instead of the expected Solar Knights - quickly took to the air and began their journey to the ruins of the Castle of Two Sister's. But as they approached the Everfree forest, Twilight just couldn't shake the feeling that something big was going to happen. Don't be so paranoid Twilight!, she panned to herself. With Luna here, what could possibly go wrong?

You would think that such a devoted follower to Sparkle's Law would know better than to even think something like that.

Comments

[THAT_1GUY89]

love it.

[HIEfan]

A truley great fic so far, i just can't wait to see what will happen next.

[totallynotabrony]

Want more please

[The Specialist]

554967
Oh the irony of just me finished reading your latest story update haha. I'm sorry for the delay guys, I haven't given up on the story, but I am getting killed by college right now. Between studying for exams and hwk, I can barely get 6 hours sleep these days. But don't worry, this story is still alive!

[RedShirt047]

a> run update.exe

[totallynotabrony]

More?

[Adeen Dragon]

Its been a year

[WorldWalker128]

"Untouched by technology"
So I'm assuming then, that this takes place in the past before Luna's banishment? No wait, you'd have to even go further back than that. Perhaps to before the Alicorns were even born.
If they have a Steam Engine, that's technology. (rewinding further back) If they can forge armors and weapons, that's technology. (rewinding a little more) If they can ROAST FOOD ON AN OPEN FIRE, that's a form of it as well, because a campfire is an artificial construction, even if the materials used to start the fire are natural as Flint and Steel don't usually strike one another in nature and start a fire, and sticks don't rub one another fast enough in nature to start one either.
Still, nitpick aside, I do intend to read it.

[Talipedsnake780]

Kind of curious which Pandora he was referring to, avatar or borderlands?