The Elements of Chaos

by Mossbender

The Hunt Begins

Eldon and Twilight quickly looked at each other, surprised at Celestia's words. They were both speechless until Twilight finally spoke, breaking the silence.

"C- Celestia? Me? I thought that you would take him under your wing. Giving ponies lessons is one thing, but having an official student? I... I..."

"Twilight Sparkle, I've guided you and watched you grow into the strong Alicorn you are today," Celestia said. "I believe you to be more than capable of taking on this task and besides, you will not be alone."

Eldon turned to face Twilight and hesitated before he slowly knelt before her. It felt awkward, and having four legs did not make it any easier.

"I... I know that you and I have our differences Twilight, but I would be honored to be your student." Eldon chose his next words carefully. "You said it yourself before, I am unstable. A dangerous force that could ultimately be turned against all of you if not kept in check." He stood up and gently put one hoof on her shoulder. "But I believe, and I'm sure the others do as well, that you can take on this task, and I promise you that I'll try my best."

Twilight looked at Celestia and then back at Eldon. Of course she would love to have a student, somepony that was willing to follow in her hoofsteps. But this felt much too sudden. Eldon was right though, he is dangerous, the prophecy had already foretold of that.

If she wanted to save Equestria though, she had no choice but to accept and trust Celestia's guidance, seeing that Eldon had already done so with ease. In fact, Twilight had heard the eagerness in his words, even though he contained his excitement and she smiled at the thought.

"I..." Twilight coughed. She realized that she was slouched and straightened herself. "I, Twilight Sparkle, agree to take Eldon underneath my wing as my personal student. I will see to it that he receives proper instruction like I did."

A look of relief came across Eldon's face which quickly turned into a warm smile. "You won't regret this Twilight. Thank you."

Twilight simply nodded in return. "It's for the good of Equestria." She turned to face Celestia. "What should we do next Celestia?"

All eyes fell on Celestia as they waited for a response. They didn't have to wait long however before she spoke again. "I am pleased that the two of you are setting your differences aside in order to accomplish this arrangement. However, I wish for you to begin training Eldon as soon as possible Twilight since his... power... could prove to be most beneficial in the journey ahead."

Celestia rose from the throne and walked over to a nearby window. The group moved out of the way as she passed. "Now that has been settled, it is time to discuss what Star Swirl said at the Tree of Harmony. If this being... this chaos incarnate, is as powerful as Star Swirl says he is, then we mustn't waste time searching for the map pieces that will lead us to him."

"Fortunately, it comes to our attention that you have a map that shows where the pieces are Eldon, is that correct?" Luna asked.

Eldon nodded. "Yes your highness, I do have a map of what I believe are the locations of each piece stored away in my mind. If it wasn't for the seventh element, I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Can I say something?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Why and how is Star Swirl still alive in the first place?"

Celestia quickly turned away from the window and locked eyes with Luna. Both of them nodded. "Because... that is our doing," Celestia said. "When we finally toppled Discord from the throne all those years ago and imprisoned Tirek years after that, we discovered that he was dying and was in fact far older than what he appeared. It was he who sent us to find the Elements of Harmony. Luna and I couldn't bear to see him depart, so we did the impossible. We preserved him in time, an eternal slumber so to say. Luna and I both contributed some of our life force so that he could live and return to us in a time of peril."

"Wow... that must have taken some extreme magic skills!" Rainbow said. "But if you are the ones who put him to sleep... then wouldn't you know where he currently is?"

Luna sighed and shook her head. "We created the map and hid the pieces before we hid Star Swirl away young Rainbow Dash. We kept one piece for ourselves which we have already given to Eldon, but in this very room, Celestia and I erased all memory of hiding the other pieces and Star Swirl's location as a precaution so that enemies who were still aware of his existence would not be able to retrieve any information from us. Unfortunately it's an inconvenience for all of you, but I believe that with this new map, you should have no problem finding the pieces."

Celestia walked back to the throne and took her place at Luna's side. "Eldon, before you leave on your quest, I want to briefly talk about the seventh element that you referred to earlier. I can feel it's power now. There is no doubt that your trip to the tree has somehow awakened it after being apart from its fellow elements for so long, but what I am curious about is what it stands for. Do you have any ideas Eldon?"

Eldon quickly shook his head. "Unfortunately I have absolutely no idea, but Star Swirl did have a theory that it is somehow able to make the other elements stronger, which in turn makes itself stronger, if that means anything to you. His signal was cut short though so he didn't really have time to explain."

Celestia closed her eyes, searching her memory for anything that could be of use, but was unable to find anything relevant. "I'm afraid I don't know myself, but perhaps you will discover it on your own in due time. Perhaps Star Swirl was referring to the fact that they are together again?"

Eldon quickly glanced down at the gem around his neck to see that it was glowing its usual white. It would be best if I didn't tell them anything else about the Changeling incident, I don't want to stress them out even further... I just have to remember to stay calm and collected. "I think that would be most likely Celesta, but still..."

"Excuse me? Can ah say somethin?" Applejack asked and all eyes fell on her. "Shouldn't we get goin now? The early bird gets the worm if you know what I'm sayin."

Celestia gave her a warm smile. "Of course my dear Applejack, all of you should set out to look for the pieces as soon as—"

"No!" Twilight shouted, interrupting Celestia and stamping her hoof on the red carpet. "We can't begin our quest yet! What about the Crystal Empire? What about Cadance? I can't just wander Equestria looking for pieces of paper knowing that her very life hangs by a thread!"

The room went silent. Everyone had been so caught up with the discovery of the new element and Star Swirl that they had briefly forgotten about Cadance and the Crystal Empire. It was still underneath Changeling control, something that they all deeply resented.

Celestia let out a long sigh, keeping her anger towards Chrysalis and Changelings in check. "Twilight... I understand how you are feeling... and I promise you that we will liberate the Crystal Empire in due time, but—"

"Hold up everyone," Eldon said, interrupting Celestia again. "The map... I remember the map showing where one of the pieces are hidden and it's..." He squeezed his eyes shut and the map of Equestria slowly appeared in his mind, showing a faint blue dot marked where the Crystal Empire was located. A smile came across his face and he slowly opened his eyes. "...In the Crystal Empire! Isn't that convienient?"

"So that means we can get a map piece AND liberate the Crystal Empire at the same time!" Pinkie shouted with glee. "That's like having two cupcakes instead of one!" She finished off by performing a spin, a big smile stretched across her face.

Celestia chuckled at the display before her when she spoke again. "While I do like your enthusiasm Pinkie Pie, I think we'll only be able to have one and a half cupcakes."

"What do you mean by only one and a half cupcakes?" Eldon asked. "This would be the perfect opportunity to strike back at the Changelings and obtain the map piece in the process!"

Celestia looked at the group, all of them eager to hear her respond to Eldon's question. Little did they know that they would be going to the Crystal Empire because of Eldon's news, but they wouldn't be going with an army at their backs. No... a plan had already formulated in her mind, and she had no doubt whatsoever that they would agree to it.

"Because Eldon, a full scale assault against the city would surely bring about Cadance's demise," Celestia replied. "I am no fool and the Changelings know this, that is why all of you should undergo a search and rescue mission to bring Cadance back. You will not be alone for this as I will be sending our most elite group of ponies with you. The S.P.O.F."

The group gasped at the mention of the S.P.O.F except for Eldon who was puzzled as by what it meant.

"The SPOF?" Eldon asked. "What in the world does that mean?"

"It only means the best group of ponies there is in all of Equestria!" Spike bragged, only to receive a look that could kill from Rainbow Dash. "Ahem, I- I mean just behind the Wonderbolts of course." Rainbow Dash smiled at him and she looked away. Spike subtly moved his claw in a circle next to his head behind her back.

"Eldon, SPOF stands for Special Pony Operations Force," Luna explained. "They are a group of elite soldiers that specialize in combat and combat tactics, but most importantly infiltration, which would no doubt be of utmost importance in this mission."

"The mission will be dangerous everypony and you will be putting your lives in extreme danger, much to our dismay," Celestia said. "But if you are successful — which I'm sure you will be — then we will have removed the one advantage the Changelings have against us currently, which is holding Cadance as a hostage, as well as hopefully obtain a map piece which will bring us one step closer to Star Swirl. The question now is if you decide whether or not to go."

Eldon had already decided what he would do a few minutes ago and stepped forward. "My purpose for being here is to help in the fight against whatever evil threatens this land. My answer is yes your highness, I will go on this mission."

Spike took a few steps forward and hopped onto Eldon's back, much to Eldon's surprise. "If Eldon is going then I'm going too!" His voice was filled with confidence. "I've saved the Crystal Empire before and I'll do it again, even if we are only rescuing Cadance at first."

"I suppose I will go as well," Rarity said. "After all, wherever Spike goes, trouble always seems to follow him! So I guess you can say... what was it again... ah yes, count me in!"

After Rarity had spoken, the rest of the group quickly followed suit except for Twilight, leaving her to be the last one to make a decision.

"Why are you hesitating Twilight?" Eldon asked. "Remember, this is Cadance's life and the future of Equestria we are talking about here! You've been through much worse than what we are about to do. I know we can do this... and we can only do this if we are together."

Eldon was right. Twilight knew that Eldon was right, but what was stopping her? Was it fear? Was it the fact that they might not come back from this alive? She shook her head, removing such thoughts from her mind.

"It's... nothing." Twilight smiled at him. "You're right Eldon, only by sticking together can we overcome any obstacle or challenge. I am going with all of you as well."

E ldon nodded and turned to face Celestia. "There's your answer your highness. We are all in this together. What should we do next though? Should we catch the next train to the Crystal Empire?"

Celestia quickly shook her head in response. "No Eldon, all trains to the Crystal Empire have been suspended until further notice. Besides, I do not believe you'll get very far if you were to use the front entrance."

Eldon suddenly felt embarrassed, realizing that he had just asked a ridiculously stupid question and directed his gaze towards the ground. "O- of course, how silly of me. I had almost forgotten that the trains to the Crystal Empire would be put on hold."

Celestia laughed softly before she spoke again. "It's quite alright Eldon, I'll have another mode of transportation prepared for all of you within the hour. Search the castle for any supplies that you require and Luna and I will meet all of you at the castle entrance when you're done here, is that clear?"

"Of course Celestia," Twilight said. "I promise you that we won't take long at all."

"Excellent," Celestia replied. "Come Luna, let us see if we can find somepony willing to take our special rescue force North." Luna nodded in agreement and the group parted to make a path for the royal sisters. The group watched the sisters leave and the door closed behind the sisters with a thud before they made a group huddle.

"Okay everypony, we only have a short amount of time so I'll make this quick," Twilight said. "I'm going to separate us into groups so we can get what we need as fast as we can. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, you're both in charge of getting whatever food you can find."

Rainbow Dash and Applejack both nodded. "I'm sure we can do that without a fuss Twi," Applejack replied and looked at Rainbow Dash. "Right Rainbow?"

"Oh yeah for sure!" Rainbow said. "Honestly, how hard can it be? Come on AJ, let's go find some grub." Applejack and Rainbow Dash quickly left the throne room, reducing the group's size to six.

"Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, I don't want us to be bored on our trip to the Crystal Empire, so how about you find us some sort of activities, like board games?" Twilight asked. "Get it? Board games? Ah never mind, just do your best to find some activities. Try the castles rec room, there's bound to be something there."

"Ooo you can count on us!" Pinkie squeeled. "Come on Fluttershy! Let's go and get some games games games!"

"Y- yes Pinkie, I'm right behind you," Fluttershy replied and slowly walked alongside the bouncing Pinkie Pie. "I hope we can find some quiet games..."

As soon as they had left as well, Twilight turned to face Rarity. "Alright Rarity, you know about clothing better than the rest of us, and since we are going North I want you to find us some winter clothing. I'm sure you'll be able to throw something together."

"Why, I would be happy to darling," Rarity replied and her horn glowed, adjusting her mane ever so slightly. "I shall do my best, although I think I might need some assistance..."

At the end of her sentence Spike suddenly perked up on Eldon's back. "Oh! I'll help you Rarity!" He jumped off Eldon's back, much to Eldon's relief and stood next to Rarity. "After you madam!"

"Oh Spike, you are such the, er, gentledragon," Rarity replied. "Let's be off shall we?" Rarity made her way towards the exit with Spike closely following alongside her. It wasn't long until at last Eldon and Twilight were the last two in the throne room.

"So what will our job be?" Eldon asked. "Because to be honest, I'm not sure what else there is left to do."

"We get to do the best job of all," Twilight replied. "We are going to the library! Celestia wants us to begin your teachings right away, and there are some very good books in the library that will most definitely help you."

I've read plenty of books back home, Eldon thought.I hope that learning magic isn't as hard as learning physics though. "Of course Twilight, although you'll have to lead the way since I don't really know where the library is."

"Just follow me Eldon, I pretty much grew up in this place so I know it like the back of my hoof," Twilight replied. "Let's go! Time is running out and we have books to gather!"

Twilight suddenly began to gallop towards the door with Eldon just barely being able to follow her in time. "Hey! Wait up!" Eldon shouted. He followed her through the throne room entrance and down the hall that was to the right of the throne room.

---

"If you don't mind Eldon, I'm just going to take your bag for a few minutes," Twilight said. Eldon watched her horn glow and felt a tug on his body as the bag of holding untied itself from his back and hovered next to Twilight.

"Uh yeah, anytime Twilight," Eldon replied, although he was slightly annoyed that she couldn't have just asked beforehand. It didn't take them very long to reach the library. When they went inside, Eldon was amazed at what he saw.

Shelves filled with books and scrolls laid before them, more than he could count. He breathed deeply through his nose, inhaling the mustiness of old and new texts alike, but what caught his attention was the library's centrepiece. A beautifully crafted hourglass, taller than himself! He watched the sand trickle through the small gap between the top and bottom and noticed that the top part was about to run out of sand.

"Oh! Watch this Eldon," Twilight said and gestured towards the hourglass. "Once all of the hourglass's sand fills the bottom from the top, it does something very magical. The enchantment on the hourglass is actually one of Star Swirl's own spells too! Look!"

They watched together as the final grain of sand passed through the gap and the hourglass gave off a pulse of blue light. Suddenly the books and scrolls on the shelves began to levitate and fly around the room as if they were alive.

"Wow..." Eldon looked around the room in awe. He felt as if he were inside a dream. "You were right Twilight, this is pretty magical!"

Twilight laughed, something that Eldon hadn't heard from her in a while. Did she laugh before? Eldon couldn't quite remember, but he was pretty sure she had at some point during the time he had been here.

"Would I ever lie to you Eldon?" Twilight asked. "Although you might want to shield your eyes for this next part." She turned away from the hourglass and shielded her eyes, with Eldon copying her shortly after. The hourglass suddenly gave off a flash of white light which slowly dissipated after.

When Eldon felt it was okay to look again, he uncovered his eyes to find that everything had returned to its original position, the only difference being the hourglass which now had the top section full of sand.

"Alright, let's get to work," Twilight said. "I'll be searching for the books you'll need and you can just browse for anything that catches your eye, okay?" Eldon nodded as Twilight disappeared down one of the rows, leaving him alone.

I wonder what this library has to offer, Eldon thought. After all, as the saying goes, knowledge is power. He walked past the hourglass and down one of the many rows, the light getting weaker the further he went down. Fortunately the rows didn't extend too far. He stopped at a random bookshelf and began to browse. He noticed that everything was very, VERY dusty. Jeez, when was the last time anyone has been down here? Eldon transformed back into his human form and took one of the books that had caught his eye off of the shelf.

"Alicorns," he said out loud, reading the title of the book and quickly flipped it open to the first page, only to find that it was blank. He didn't think anything of it however and flipped to the next page, only to find it was blank as well. What the hell? Is this whole book blank? He quickly flipped through the rest of the book, only to find nothing before he carefully placed it back on the shelf. Strange... are all the books and scrolls in this section blank?

Eldon went to grab a scroll, only to have it suddenly disintegrate as soon as he touched it. He quickly looked down both sides of the row and quickly brushed the remains away. I hope nobody is going to miss that... he thought. The cycle continued as he progressed further down the row. Any book he picked up was blank, and any scroll he dared to touch just crumbled away. What is going on here!? The library can't be that old... can it?

He had just about given up and was about to leave when two books caught his attention that were just lying on the floor. Oh please don't be another blank book... he thought and carefully picked both of them up.

The first book had a cover that consisted of no title, but was simply black and white, with white being on the left side and black being on the right. The second book however was called Alicorn Magic... the same title as the other blank ones he found.

Wanting to be sure though, he opened it up and was surprised to find an entry in it. Hello what is this we have here? He began to read the entry, but before he did so he briefly wondered how Twilight was doing... how long had he been in this row for?

Entry one. These 'Alicorns' have made me cautious because of their very presence. Why is it that after so many years they suddenly choose to show up now? Indeed they defeated Discord and restored peace to the land, but they required my help in order to do so. It was I who told them where to find the Elements of Harmony since most ponies had forgotten about them these past few centuries. It's strange though, they were able to wield the elements with just the two of them instead of the six of us it required all those years ago.

They also appear to have a special connection with the sun and the moon respectively. It used to take a whole team of Unicorns to control each celestial body, but Celestia is able to raise and lower the sun with ease, which is the same with Luna who controls the moon. Their magic is what has made me the most curious about them however and it is unlike your standard Unicorn magic, thus I have deemed it as 'Alicorn magic'. I do not currently know how one can go about obtaining this type of magic unless you are already an Alicorn, so further studies on the princesses are required.

It was at this point in the entry that Eldon finally realized that the writing belonged to Merlin and he continued to read, eager to learn more.

Oh yes, I had almost forgotten. After the sisters turned Discord into stone, the ponies of Equestria immediately pronounced the two sisters as their new rulers, even though we currently had a successful united government that had held strong for all these years. Their castle where I am currently writing this was built in the Everfree Forest near the Tree of Harmony rather quickly, but I am getting off topic.

The other day I witnessed a mare get into an accident and surely would have died from her injuries, but Celestia interfered and was able to somehow revive the mare with some sort of healing spell unlike the ones that Unicorns use. Ever since I saw Celestia's healing spell, I've been calling it 'Miraculo Sana', better known as 'Miracle Heal'. The mare she healed was back up on her hooves in no time and bounced around like an energetic little filly afterwards. Although I have yet to see the princesses perform different kinds of unique spells, I shall write again once I obtain some more information, and hopefully I would not have died by then. End of entry one. Star Swirl.

Eldon flipped through the rest of the book, hoping to find any other entries but was disappointed when there were none to be found. Interesting... so Merlin was interested, or perhaps still is interested in Alicorn magic. I think I'll continue his research for him. After all, I will be travelling with an Alicorn, who is also my teacher, so maybe I can get some answers from her.

He decided that he would read the other book later and began to make his way out of the row to see how Twilight was doing. His eyes quickly adjusted to the change in light until he exited the row at last.

"Eldon!" a voice cried and he turned to see Twilight galloping towards him. "Where have you been!? I've been looking all over for you for the last forty five minutes! What in Equestria have you been up to?"

"Forty five minutes!?" Eldon reeled back in surprise. "But I was just in the row behind me looking at some books! See it's—" He had turned around to find that the row had vanished without a trace, leaving only a solid wall in its place. "Right here..."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Come on Eldon! We don't have time for this! Here, put those books you found into the bag so we can leave. I found many books that you'll definitely need but I'll tell you about them later. Hurry!"

Eldon quickly deposited the two books he found into the bag of holding before he transformed back into a Unicorn. He grabbed the hovering bag with his mouth and tossed it onto his back. "Alright, let's go and meet the others." He and Twilight both galloped out of the library and made their way towards the castle's entrance as fast as they could.

---

"See! I told you I knew where it was!" Rainbow Dash announced triumphantly. "And you thought we were lost!"

"That's cause we ended up talkin to that Kiwi girl a while back and askin fer directions!" Applejack replied, quickly becoming frustrated. The two friends stood just outside of the door that led to the kitchen. It had taken them half an hour to reach a room that should only have taken five minutes to reach at the most, just because Rainbow kept on insisting that she knew where they were going.

"Come on AJ, lighten up! We got here in one piece right? Let's just go in there, grab whatever we need, throw it into a bag, and meet up with the others," Rainbow said. "Are you with me?"

"Yeah ah am, let's just get this over with," Applejack replied and she pushed the kitchen door open, allowing Rainbow Dash in first before following her inside as well. They were greeted by a sudden rush of warmth and the smell of freshly baked bread once they were inside, causing both of their stomachs to growl.

"Mmm... is it lunch time yet?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Because I could really eat something right now... I should have brought some donuts with me..."

"Ah know the feeling Rainbow," Applejack replied. "But remember, we gotta job to do and the job always comes first. Now let's see here... what should we bring with us..." Applejack grabbed a nearby brown linen sack and began to browse the various cupboards. "Flour... flour... baking soda... wheat... holy hay! Is there anything in here that doesn't involve baking bread?"

"I don't know A- Applejack," Rainbow replied, but Applejack was able to tell that something was wrong with Rainbow's voice. It was as if she suddenly crammed something into her mouth... something such as...

"Rainbow! You didn't just eat that loaf of bread did you?" Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash turned around to show her that she didn't have anything, but Applejack wasn't dumb and noticed the crumbs on Rainbow's coat and the ground. "Bah! Rainbow! You know better then to take stuff that ain't yours fer takin!"

"What? Celestia personally said we could take whatever we needed for the journey ahead," Rainbow calmly replied. "To be honest I don't see why you are making such a big deal about it. Here, I found this while eating the bread." Rainbow scooped up an apple and tossed it towards Applejack, only to have it smack her on the temple.

"Ya know, ya could have just walked on over and put it in the bag," Applejack said, apparently not caring that she was just hit with an apple. "Just sayin."

"Oh, so is it okay if I do it again?" Rainbow asked, now intent on making Applejack mad just for fun. "Because I don't mind throwing food at you."

"Ah wouldn't push yer luck girl," Applejack replied and tilted her hat back. "Ain't nopony alive that can beat me in a fair fight. Let's just get the food and go." She turned around and began sliding various fruits off of the counter and into the bag when she felt yet another apple hit her, except this time it knocked her hat off.

She heard Rainbow Dash laughing her head off as her hat floated to the ground. "Ah warned ya..." Applejack said and she turned around and threw an Apple at Rainbow, bonking her on the nose.

"Ouch! Oh ho ho! Get ready to be beat!" Rainbow shouted. She galloped over to the fridge and opened it, quickly finding a carton of eggs and tossing it behind her.

"Incoming!" Applejack shouted and grabbed a pan and held it with her teeth. The egg carton opened and eggs began to rain down on her, but she was ready. With a few swings of the pan, she successfully repelled a couple of eggs while the others splattered around her.

"Vhat is going on!?" a french sounding voice cried and the chef appeared from one of the side doors and saw Applejack and Rainbow. "Vhy are both of you peasants in moi kitchen!?"

Applejack picked up her hat from the floor and flipped it back onto her head. "Hang on mister, we can explain everything..." she began to say when the chef suddenly yelled in horror.

"Ze bread ze bread! Vhere is ze bread!?" the chef shouted. He looked at the both of them and noticed that there were breadcrumbs on Rainbow Dash's coat and pointed a hoof at her. "Thief! Villain! Destroyer of bread! Gluttonous-" He was interrupted when Rainbow threw an egg and it splattered all over his chest. The chef watched in horror and disgust as the egg dripped down his clothing. "Stupide! Stupide! Stupide! You vill pay dearly for insulting moi honour! Have at zee!"

The chef grabbed a rolling pin and the two friends prepared themselves for a fight they didn't want to be a part of.

---

"Oh no, these just won't do at all!" Rarity cried as she stared at the pile of winter clothing before her. She and Spike had easily found the winter clothing in one of the many wardrobes scattered throughout the castle, but they... weren't exactly what Rarity had in mind. "These dirty old things look like they haven't been used in ages! Just look at them Spike! They are so... so tacky and old!"

"I don't see what's wrong with them," Spike replied and picked up one of the coats, only to have a moth lazily fly out of it. "Yeesh... but I could be wrong, what do you suppose we should do Rarity?"

Rarity had already begun pacing around the pile, ideas zipping through her mind as she thought of a plan. "Well... first they'll need to be properly cleaned," she said. "After that, I'll have to sew any rips back together... as well as make some visual improvements here and there."

"So how can I be of assistance today Rarity?" Spike asked. "Help sew? Hold stuff for you? Clean? Hold stuff for you?"

"I know just the job you will be perfect for Spike!" Rarity exclaimed. "You'll be in charge of pest control! Of course it's heartbreaking to remove these, er, lovely creatures, but they'll have to find homes elsewhere."

"I'm on it Rarity! No job is too big or too gross for Spike the dragon!" Spike exclaimed. "Hero of the Crystal Empire! Saviour of the Equestria Games. Watcher of-"

"Yes Spike I'm well aware of your achievements," Rarity said, cutting Spike off. "But I do need you to hurry, we only have so much time at our disposal remember?"

"Oh, er, yeah, of course Rarity," Spike said, doing his best to hide his embarrassment. He poked the pile with a claw, expecting something to jump out but nothing did. Breathing a sigh of relief he lifted up the first coat, only to find a not so pretty sight underneath. The creature began to stir from the exposure to the light and began to uncurl. "Uh, Rarity..." Spike slowly began to back away as the creature raised its head and body until it towered over them. "I think we have a problem!"

"AHHHH!" Rarity screamed in terror and disgust. "What in Equestria is that thing? How long has it been living there for!?" The brown and rather slimy creature blinked its eight eyes, looking down at the pony and the... small reptile thing. Its eyes narrowed and the creature's pincers clacked together furiously, obviously not pleased that it had been woken up.

"Get behind me Rarity!" Spike shouted. "I don't care what that thing is, but it's not going to hurt you as long as I'm still breathing!" Spike held up his hands which he had clenched into fists and beckoned the creature to make the first move.

Spike expected the creature to attack him immediately, but was surprised when it spoke instead. "One among you will die in the end..." it hissed. "And it will be their own choice to do ssso..." The creature didn't give Spike anytime to think and lunged at him, determined to make the small reptile pay for disturbing him.

---

"This might be fun! Oh! And so will this, and this. and this..." Pinkie said. She and Fluttershy were in the castle's rec room looking for activities to bring, however Fluttershy was content to sit in a nearby chair and let Pinkie do the work since she didn't want to get in the way.

"Oh! Fluttershy! What do you think of this?" Pinkie asked and held up the item she was talking about. "Do you think this would be fun?"

Fluttershy looked at the object and then at Pinkie Pie. "Um... Pinkie... that's a flower pot... with a flower in it still," she quietly replied. "I don't think that would keep the attention of the others for very long."

"Ah ha! You're right! I like you're thinking kid!" Pinkie replied and put the flowerpot back where she got it.

"I'm actually a year older than you," Fluttershy said for what felt like the hundredth time. She hoped that Pinkie would actually remember some day and quickly changed the topic. "How is everything going Pinkie? What have you been able to find so far?"

"Everything is going great Fluttershy!" Pinkie exclaimed. "So far I've found Discord and Ladders, Ponopoly, Battleponies, and my personal favourite, Candyland! Although I was a teensy bit sad that the game didn't come with actual candy..."

"Do you think we have enough games now?" Fluttershy asked. "Because I do, and I really want to meet up with the others because it is very cold in here, but it's okay if you want to stay still, I'll understand."

"Oh not just yet Fluttershy," Pinkie replied. "There are still so many more games to find! There are still-" She stopped when she saw her yellow friend begin to shiver, but continued to remain sitting on the wooden chair. Did she really need to find more games? She shook her head at her own question. No, Fluttershy was more important than the games and needed to get to a warmer place, and fast. "On second thought, I think we do have enough games Fluttershy. Come on! Let's go and find the others because I'm sure they miss us as much as we miss them!"

Fluttershy looked at her overly energetic pink friend and gave her the warmest smile she could muster. "Th- thank you Pinkie, I'll be right behind you," she said and slid off of her chair. Pinkie Pie smiled back at her and hopped out of the room, the games she found in a saddlebag that she had found as well in the rec room. Fluttershy left the room shortly after, wondering how everypony else was doing while she and Pinkie made their way towards the castle's entrance.

---

Eldon and Twilight had just reached the castle's entrance where Celestia and Luna had been waiting patiently. "Celestia! We're not late are we?" Twilight asked. "We were just in the library and Eldon went missing and..."

"You made it with minutes to spare Twilight," Celestia replied. "Although it's not like I would have been furious if you were late, I just said to be here in an hour if you were able to."

Twilight stopped mid sentence, registering what Celestia had just said. "Oh, well then, I guess we'll just have to wait for the others now, right?" she asked and turned to Eldon. "Sorry for kind of yelling at you earlier Eldon, it's just that I have a problem with being late and not on time."

Eldon shrugged in response. "Eh, it's no big deal Twilight. I'm used to being yelled at a lot for stupid things I do so there really isn't any need to apologize," he said and smiled. "Besides, now that you'll be teaching me, I think I'm going to be yelled at quite a bit."

"Speaking of waiting for the others," Luna said, interrupting the conversation between Eldon and Twilight. "Isn't that Rainbow Dash and Applejack?"

They all watched as the two mares stumbled out of the hall, Applejack dragging a brown sack behind her. What surprised them though was the fact that they were both covered in some sort of white powder. "Applejack! Rainbow!" Twilight exclaimed. "What in Equestria happened to the both of you?"

"Now that's... that's a long story," Rainbow Dash replied and Applejack nodded in agreement. "It all started with us wandering the castle halls when-"

"Hey! It's Pinkie and Fluttershy!" Eldon exclaimed. He was right when they turned their heads and watched the two exit the hall directly opposite of the one that Rainbow and Applejack came from.

"Hi everypony! Hi Applejack and- AHHH! Ghosts!" Pinkie shouted and readied herself for a fight. "Get behind me Fluttershy! I'll handle this!"

Applejack dropped the bag onto the floor and held up a hoof. "Wait just a minute Pinkie! We ain't ghosts!" she exclaimed. Pinkie ignored her however and kept walking slowly towards them until she was just mere inches away, and she began to laugh.

"Uh, Pinkie? They aren't ghosts..." Twilight said. "It just looks like they are covered in flour I think."

"Huh? What now?" Pinkie asked, also confused as to why the ghosts hadn't disappeared yet. She wiped a hoof across Applejack's nose to discover that she had wiped white powder off and a huge smile stretched across her face. "Applejack! Rainbow! You're not ghosts!" She quickly hugged both of them afterwards, only to be partially covered in the flour as well when the hug ended.

"So Pinkie, Fluttershy, were you successful in finding anything?" Twilight asked, relieved that Pinkie had finally figured out that Applejack and Rainbow were not ghosts.

"Oh yes Twilight, we most definitely were," Fluttershy replied. "We found four games I believe. Discord and Ladders, which by the way probably needs a name change, Ponopoly, Battleponies, and..."

"CANDYLAND!" Pinkie Pie shouted at the top of her lungs, finishing Fluttershy's sentence. "I can't wait to play it!"

Twilight did a quick head count to find that they were missing two members of their group still. "Hey, has anypony seen Rarity or Spike?" she asked. "They are already five minutes late, I wonder what's keeping them?"

"Maybe Hearts and Hooves day came early for them," Rainbow said and she snickered at the thought.

"Rainbow! I'm pretty sure that is NOT what they've been up to at all," Twilight said. "And speaking of what somepony has been up to, what happened to you and Applejack? I believe you were just about to tell us when you were interrupted."

Rainbow and Applejack both looked at each other and chuckled. "I think I'll let Applejack handle this one actually," Rainbow said. "It... it was quite the experience."

"To make a long story short Twilight," Applejack said. "Rainbow and I got into a food fight... along with the chef."

"No way... not Chef Pain Baguette!" Eldon exclaimed. "Man, I wish I was there to have witnessed it!"

Applejack shook her head in disagreement. "Not really Eldon, the chef went to attack us with a rolling pin because somepony decided to eat his bread without askin fer permission first," she said and quickly glanced at Rainbow. "But fortunately he didn't put up much of a fight, in fact he just gave up after 'bout a minute."

"And what happened after that?" Eldon asked. "Did he cry? Did he apologize?"

"Actually, he just gave us some food and sent us on our way, but not before dumping flour on our heads and taunting us all the way down the hall," Rainbow replied. "But yeah that's our story."

Eldon's face dropped in disappointment. "Oh... ah well it doesn't matter, what matters now is that Rarity and Spike get here and what the heck is THAT!?" he finished his sentence with a yell.

Everyone looked in the direction that he was looking in to find a large shadowy blob at the top of the stairs, but when it stepped into the light all they saw was a pair of purple feet and a large stack of clothing.

"Sorry for being late everypony," a familiar voice said and something stepped out from behind the pile of clothing, revealing none other than Rarity. "But Spike and I ran into some rather... unfortunate delays."

"Rarity! Spike! It's good to see both of you again, but why were you late?" Twilight asked. "Here, let me get that for you Spike." Twilight's horn glowed, enveloping the clothing and bringing them towards her. "Do you have anything I can put these in Celestia?"

"Of course, just wait one moment," Celestia replied and her horn began to glow. A minute later a rather large suitcase appeared and Twilight put the clothes inside of it. "Goodness... I don't know how Discord is able to do that without losing any energy."

"It's a rather unique trait to have," Luna said. "However I'm afraid that if any Unicorn was able to do that, then Equestria's economy would be thrown into chaos."

That's neat to know, Eldon thought. If even an Alicorn as powerful as Celestia has a hard time making stuff out of thin air, then that explains exactly what Luna said. If we could just make anything we wanted out of thin air at anytime, then that would make for a rather dull life since something as simple as their currency could be easily replicated, unless they invented a spell that detected fraud, but still...

"Agh, my back... thanks for the help Twilight," Spike said. "After fighting that thing and carrying those clothes, I could definitely use a nap." He and Rarity climbed down the stairs and walked over to join them.

"Wait, did you say fighting?" Twilight asked. "Fighting what? How could you have possibly gotten into a fight if you were simply looking for clothes?"

"I can explain that," Rarity said. "When we found the clothing, something was already, well, inhabiting them. When we woke it up, it spoke to us, saying that one of us would die... and that it would be by their own choice to do so."

"What did the creature look like?" Celestia asked, suddenly concerned about the words that the creature spoke.

"It had a long and brown body that was somewhat shiny, eight eyes, pincers of death, a tail like that of a scorpion and legs! So many legs..." Spike replied.

"Interesting... I'm surprised the old creature is still alive," Luna said. "And it has been hiding in our very castle all these years!"

"Wait... you know that disgusting creature!?" Rarity exclaimed in surprise. "It tried to kill us!"

Luna and Celestia quickly looked at each other before looking back at Rarity. "In a way, yes," Celestia replied. "His name is Skorex, a Thetapede from the land that Scorpan and Tirek came from."

"Why in the world is a, a Thetapede sleeping in the castle's emergency winter clothing wardrobe?" Rarity asked.

"Skorex was a gift from Scorpan to Star Swirl many years ago when the two became friends, in fact it was just after the events with Discord but before we sealed Star Swirl away," Luna explained. "Scorpan told us that some Thetapedes have the unique ability to predict the future, but the words he spoke has left Celestia and I both a little disturbed."

Strange, Merlin never brought up anything about a pet or a companion, Eldon thought. Only that he had an apprentice for a little while. "Where is Skorex now Rarity?"

Rarity shook her head. "I don't know where he is now Eldon," she replied. "My brave little Spike here used his flame breath and it escaped through one of the windows."

"Then Skorex is gone for now," Celestia said. "And I'm sure that will not be the last we see of him, but I believe we have stayed idle for far too long. Come everypony, your transportation awaits at the Canterlot Docks. Take whatever you have found and we shall be off."

The group quickly checked to make sure they had everything they needed. Applejack picked up her bag of food. Pinkie bounced up and down, shaking her saddlebag and being delighted to hear the sound of the board games. Rarity levitated the suitcase over to her and closed it before giving it to Spike to carry. Twilight checked inside the bag of holding on Eldon's back and nodded, content that the books were there still.

"We are ready Celestia," Twilight said.

"Very well then," Celestia replied. "Follow us."

The group followed Celestia and Luna outside the castle and down the steps, turning onto the street that led towards the train station. When the station came into view, they quickly made a sharp right down a different street, one that Eldon had not been down before. "The Canterlot Docks is where we recieve our goods from other countries," Twilight whispered to Eldon. "Our largest trade partner is the Griffon Kingdom currently, but there are others as well."

Eldon nodded just as the Canterlot Docks came into view, and it was an amazing sight to behold. The Canterlot flag rippled in the breeze in the center of the docks, with a beautifully carved statue of Celestia and Luna in front of it. There were three wooden docks that extended outwards into the air, all of them the same length and width. The dock in the middle had a large airship at the very end of it and Eldon was able to make out the ponies on board moving about, each performing various tasks.

The group stopped just before the middle dock and Celestia and Luna turned to face them "That airship up ahead is your transportation to the Crystal Empire," Celestia said. "Once all of you are on board, there will be no stopping until you arrive. Are you still wishing to proceed?"

"Yes!" the group said in unison and Celestia nodded.

"Very well, let us proceed then," she said. "The captain will surely want to meet his new passengers."

The trip down the wooden dock was short and Eldon was impressed that it didn't utter a single creak as they walked on it. "So how old is all of this?" he asked out loud.

"The Canterlot Docks were built some time after the first defeat of Nightmare Moon and the relocation of the castle," Celestia replied. "I dedicated them to Luna to remember her by, but they have been recently updated since she has returned. That statue you saw for example was built two years ago."

"Wow... so this dock is about a thousand years old!" Eldon exclaimed and Celestia nodded.

"Yes... almost a thousand years," Celestia replied, doing her best to repress her memories of the dark times. "It has been kept in peak condition by many generations of ponies, allowing it to be the way it is today. Ah! Here we are."

As the group approached the airship, Eldon took the time to get a good look at it. The ship itself was actually very large, with the stern just touching the left dock and the bow just touching the right. A pole extended upwards a little past the center of the ship with a crow's nest at the top of it. To either side of the crow's nest were two massive balloons which obviously kept the ship afloat. Near the stern of the ship he could see two propellers that most likely allowed the ship to move forward, their blades looking like they could cut through a tree with ease. The final thing he noticed were the smaller boats that lined the side of the airship, each accompanied by a propeller and a set of what looked to be retractable wings. He concluded that they were probably the lifeboats if the airship was to go down at any point.

The ponies on the ship stopped what they were doing and knelt in respect as the princesses and the others came to a stop before it. "That will do," Luna said and the ponies immediately got back to work. A pony suddenly came forward to greet them, and it was an Earth Pony at that. His coat was the colour of ash grey and his eye colour was a rich sky blue. His face had what Eldon assumed was a brown goatee and he also wore a white hat with a black visor. A pair of golden wings was adorned on the front of his hat. The last thing Eldon noticed was the pony's cutie mark, which was a pair of white wings. "Avast ye ponies!" he cried. "I be- ahem, sorry, that type of speech really isn't my style. I am Neighhab, Captain and owner of this beautiful ship you see behind me, The Shooting Star. Are you the ones we have been expecting?"

"Yes Neighhab, these are the ponies I was talking about earlier," Celestia replied. "They'll be accompanying you on your trip."

"Ah, so you are the ones we'll be taking to the Crystal Empire then," Neighhab said. "It's quite a mess over there currently, I don't know whether you are brave, or just simply stu- I mean, we will be taking a detour there rather than our normal route, so expect the trip to last a day at the least."

"A day is fine with us," Twilight replied. "Just as long as we get there in one piece."

Neighhab chuckled lightly at her sentence. "Don't fret Princess Twilight, I have the hardiest and most loyal crew members in all of Equestria! We'll be just fine," he said. "Now without further ado, would you like to come aboard? We have your rooms prepared and ready to use."

"Don't mind if I do!" Rainbow exclaimed and flew over them and landed on the ship. "Wow... I can't wait to check out the rest of this place!"

Neighhab stepped to the side to let the others on the ship and Eldon was just about to join them when he felt a hoof on his shoulder. "Eldon, I have to tell you something," Celestia said and Eldon quickly turned around. She removed her hoof from his shoulder before she continued. "I just want to wish you good luck on the mission Eldon and whatever you do, do not try to draw attention to yourself. I do not doubt that Twilight will begin to teach you on the way there, so if you do learn anything, try to abstain from using it unless it is absolutely necessary. Oh and another thing, the Captain knows that you aren't really a pony, and it is up to him to notify the rest of the crew."

"Wait, since when did you..." Eldon began to say but quickly thought better of it. "Nevermind, so I can be my true self then?"

"That is correct Eldon, there won't be any need for a disguise on your way there, but it's up to you," Celestia replied. "Go now, the others are waiting for you."

Eldon nodded and turned around, but before he began to make his way onto the ship he looked behind him. "Thank you Celestia and Luna... for everything," he said. "I hope this isn't the last time we will see each other... but I do truly appreciate what you have done for me since I've arrived here."

He walked onto the ship to join the others and they stood there looking over the side at the royal sisters, getting ready to say their goodbyes. A speaker suddenly crackled to life and they heard Neighhab's voice ring out across the ship. "Good afternoon everypony, this is your Captain speaking," he said. "We are departing the Canterlot docks now, our next stop will be Outpost Sierra, aka the Crystal Empire, hope you packed some warm clothing!" Eldon looked to his left and right to see that Neighhab was nowhere to be found, but when he looked behind him he saw Neighhab through a window in what he assumed was the bridge.

Inside the bridge, Neighhab turned to his trusty friend and first mate. "You know the drill Silver Eye, let's show these newcomers what The Shooting Star is capable of!" he shouted. Silver Eye silently nodded and pressed the ignition button, causing the engines in the bowels of the ship to roar to life.

Outside, the group suddenly felt the ship begin to move as the propellers came to life. "Bye Celestia! Bye Luna!" Twilight shouted and waved at them, the others except Eldon doing the exact same.

Celestia and Luna waved at them in return. "Good luck everypony!" Celestia shouted. "Cadance's future rests on your shoulders!" The two sisters continued to wave and watched as the airship pulled away from the docks until it at last gained enough altitude and disappeared into the clouds above.

"Do you think they'll be able to succeed?" Luna asked and Celestia nodded.

"Of course I do dear sister, I have absolute confidence in their abilities," Celestia replied. "Now we must begin our preparations for our eventual assault on the Crystal Empire."

"Sister, do you think we should have told them that he'll be on board?"

"No Luna, I think they'll be in for quite the surprise," Celestia said and the two sisters began to make their way back to the castle, hoping deep in their hearts that the mission will be successful.

Across the Horizon, links to YouTube

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Will Discord be appearing in this story? Is he the "God of Chaos"? Will Rainbow Dash be beating anybody up in this story?

[Mossbender]

4983376 1. Yes 2. It's explained in the story 3. Of course!

Read the story and the answers shall be yours

[Mossbender]

4995131 Yeah beta, I was invited at the last minute by a couple of friends and went on Friday, I wish I could have stayed for the whole weekend though! It was definitely one of the most fun and best days I've ever had. How was your time there by the way?

[Mossbender]

Holy hay! 500+ single views on chapter one! It has been a while now but that's awesome! =D