• Published 6th Nov 2014
  • 776 Views, 10 Comments

Legacy: The New Adventure - nx9100



50 years after the Princesses reigned over Equestria, a young pony will set of on a quest to free his people and restore harmony to all....

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Ch II: Ponyville

...BOOTING SOFTWARE
...ACCESSING DATATRACKS
...EXISTING FILE FOUND
...DO YOU WISH TO OPEN? Y_
...LOADING
...READY...BEGIN RECORDING...

So, we made it to the orchard. Seems like a nice place and all, but Star still looks worried, and that makes me nervous! I think he’s afraid that the lizard ship might come back during the night!

Celestia, am I tired! Apple Core had us marching all day to get here! I know we made it alright, but I still think he’s a bully! I wish Star was in charge!

Can’t stay awake any longer, time to sleep….

...END RECORD_
...SAVE FILE_
...SAVE COMPLETED
...POWERING OFF...

He was walking down a street, in the middle of a small town. Ponies all around him, going about their business. Up ahead, a large tree stood, taller than the buildings around it, with a door built into its base, windows on the trunk. As he approached, the door opened, and a purple-colored mare stepped out. She smiled at him, and then beckoned him to follow her as she turned and walked back inside. Then, there was white...

He opened his eyes, straining against the morning sun that was shining in his face. What a strange dream, he thought to himself. I wonder who that pony was? Never seen her before... His thoughts were interrupted by the shouts of others around him, and his suddenly realized Melody was missing. Alarmed, he scrambled out of the thicket…

...and right into Sparky Hooves.

"Whoa there buddy!" she laughed, as he caught his breath. "What’s the matter? Have a nightmare or some’en?" Star froze, and looked around, coming fully awake. The other ponies were wandering around the orchard, gathering apples, putting out fires, or enjoying breakfast, with no sense of urgency whatsoever. If there was trouble, wouldn’t they be acting more frantic?

"Where's Melody?" he asked.

"Down by the river with the others," she replied, pointing a hoof off to the side, "just getting herself cleaned up. She's fine, don’t worry." Sparky studied Gaze with her eyes, giving him a once-over. "Matter oh fact; ya could use a bath yourself!" And with another laugh, she turned and wandered away. Star just sighed. At least all was well, for the moment. Looking himself over and spotting the patches of dirt mixed into his grey coat, he decided a bath in the river was probably a good idea. A rumble in his stomach, however, convinced him otherwise.

"Hey Sparky!" he called after her. "Hold on a second!"

She stopped and turned back to him. "What's up?"

He trotted up next to her. “Mind if I join you for breakfast?”

“Not at all,” she said with a chuckle. “Come on, let’s grab some apples!” She led him over to a nearby tree, where another pony had already made a pile of apples waiting to be eaten. They each picked one from the pile, moved to another tree, and sat down in the shade.

“So,” he said between bites, “has Apple Core been bossing everypony around yet this morning?”

Sparky frowned. “Not yet. Haven’t seen ‘em.” Finishing her apple, she tossed the core away. “Why?” she asked, “Ya gonna knock some sense into him?”

“I thought that was your department.”

She snorted. “Very funny. But I don’t think-“ she broke off, as a familiar green pony came marching up to them, a determined look on his face, his two companions shadowing him.

“Speak of the devil,” she muttered, standing up to face the newcomers, “and he shall appear.” She forced a smile on her face. “Morning, Fearless Leader,” she greeted him, voice full of sarcasm.

With a roll of his eyes, he turned to Star. “Listen, we need to talk about what happened yesterday.”

Star slowly stood up, and it wasn’t lost on the others that he stood almost a half a head taller than Apple Core. “About what?” he asked.

Core stood his ground, trying not to tilt his chin up to look Star in the eye. “I just wanted to make sure you remember who the leader of this group is.”

“Like we could ferget,” muttered Sparky, gaining her an angry glance from Apple Core.

“I’m talking about your actions on the way here,” Core said to Star. “You don’t tell me what to do or where to go. I’m the only one who knew the way here. I’m the Leader.” A smirk formed on his face. “You got it?”

Sparky watched Star’s reaction, hoping he would get angry and simply deck the obnoxious colt. But Star’s face remained neutral, and he took a few moments before replying.

“I only said what I thought was right,” he told the other, his voice firm. “Something just felt wrong. Like a feeling of danger.”

“Well, next time you have a ‘feeling’ or something, just keep it to yourself, ok?” Core asked, in a degrading tone. “I know you just want to help, but I’m the leader, got it?” And smugly lifting his chin, he moved past the two, grabbed an apple, and walked away, his companions trailing behind.

Star watched them go, and then noticed the angry glare Sparky was giving him. “What?”

“Ya just gonna sit there at take that from him?” she demanded. “Yer older and a better leader! Stand up to ‘em!”

He lowered his head. “Why should I? His mother made him the leader. Besides,” he looked away, “I have enough to worry about with Sweet Melody, without going around and challenging everypony I disagree with.”

Sparky sighed. “Fine. But I’ve been talk’en with the others.” She gave him a stern look. “Some don’t think we should be follow’in Apple Core. That he’s just too young, immature and, well,” she glanced back at the green colt, “he’s just a bully!”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. He’s the one in charge, so we follow him. After all,” he waved a hoof around the area, “he did manage to get us here.”

“Yeah, but I still don’t trust him to make the right choices,” she said. “His family pride controls him, not his brain. He’ll lead us into trouble eventfully, ya just watch!”

“Enough!” he snapped, startling her and drawing the attention of a few nearby ponies. “I’m not going to challenge Apple Core, got it?”

He could see the hurt on her face, a bit of tears forming in her eyes. Finally, she stood up. “Fine! Have it your way!” Turning away from him, she stomped off into the apple trees.

Star sighed again, and started off towards the river Sparky mentioned, to check on Melody. As he walked, his thoughts kept going back to the dream, and the unknown pony. He'd never seen a village like that one. Ever since the Invasion, their herd had always lived in simple, quickly built huts, a life forced on them as the constant attacks by the lizards forced them to move every few months. It was only in the past dozen years that they were finally able to live in peace.

At least, until now.

But that place… that place looked like a real village, or possibly even a town! The kind of place his grandmothers’ used to talk about. Where entire generations of ponies lived in harmony, unafraid of alien lizards coming for them in the middle of the night.

The sound of laughing brought his attention back into focus, and he watched two young colts enter the orchard. Both of their coats were dripping wet, and mud clung to their hooves.

"Which way to the river?" he asked them. They pointed, and he set off, following the muddy trail the others had left through the trees. After a few minutes of walking, he started to hear the sound of the water flowing nearby. Changing from a slow walk to a brisk trot, he moved through the trees, and suddenly found himself at the edge of the river.

Crystal blue water greeted him, slowly flowing downstream, with the occasional leaf or twig floating by. Scanning the area with his eyes, Star noticed three other ponies relaxing in the shallow water along the river bank. The only problem was his sister was nowhere to be seen.

"Has anypony seen Sweet Melody?" he asked, walking up to the edge of the river. One mare turned and pointed upstream.

"Thought I saw her go that way,” she replied, the others nodding in agreement.

Star frowned. “And no one went with her? She just wandered off on her own?” he asked, slight anger in his voice.

The mare gave him an annoyed look. “Hey, it’s not our job to fowlsit everypony,” she replied. “She wants to wander off, that’s her problem. Apple Core said to stay close to the camp, and if your sister can’t listen, who are we to stop her?” One of the others snickered.

"Thanks a lot," he replied sarcastically, and headed off along the river bank in the direction she pointed in. After a few minutes and no sign of Melody, he started to get worried.

"Melody!" he called, "Sweet Melody! Where are you?!" Worried now, he started to run faster down the riverbank, following what he hoped was her trail. "MELODY!" he cried out.

"Over here!"

He stopped in his tracks, nearly tripping in the dirt. Her voice came from the trees to the left. Taking off into a sprint, he ran into the trees. "Melody!" There was a large trunk in his path, and he curved around it-

-and nearly ran Melody over!

"Mel!" he cried, picking himself off the ground, having tripped trying to avoid crashing into her. "What in the name of Celestia are you doin-" his voice broke off, and he finally noticed that Melody wasn't facing him at all, but was staring at the clearing in front of her. As he took in the sight, he realized it wasn't a normal clearing in the forest, but a street or road, with old empty buildings on each side.

"What is it Star?" she asked, breaking the silence that had descended upon them, her eyes wandering over the scene before her. Just beyond the trees, a few buildings followed the edge of the river, leading to what appeared to be a large, clearing, with the occasional lamp post marking the corners.

"I don't know," he replied. "Mel, what are you doing out here? You know better than to wander off on your own!"

"I'm sorry," she replied, turning to him and lowering her head, "I was heading to the river to clean up, when this cute old owl appeared.” She started hopping on two legs, waving her hooves around in a circle. “It was flying around and around, and hooting at me! I started following it,” she glanced back at the empty buildings, “and I ended up here. What is this place?"

"Haven't got a clue," he admitted, “some old town, perhaps.” Getting a blank stare from Mel, he realized that, except in a few pictures, she’d never seen a real town in her life. For that matter, nether had he!

One thing he did know: this place had been abandoned for years! One could tell by how the forest was slowly growing into the village, vines crawling their way up the walls of the crumbling homes and shops. He found himself torn between exploring, and going back to the others.

"Let's go see!" said Melody, making the choice for him. She started down the road…

"Hold on," he reached out and grabbed her tail, making her squeak out in protest. "Don't rush in, it might not be safe." He looked around the sky. And no trees to hide us from view, he thought.

"Well, then you go first," she said, yanking her tail free from his grip. Star started forward, his head on a swivel as he tried to watch all directions at once, and led her slowly out of the safety of the trees, and into the open. Together, they slowly wandered down the dirt and grass covered street, watching as the occasional breeze moved open window shutters and swung doors on rusty hinges. Every house and shop featured broken windows, collapsed roofs, and crumbling walls. He wondered how long the town had been empty.

"This is spooky," whispered Melody, as they crept down the road, "do you think there are ghosts?"

"There's no such thing as ghosts," replied Star sternly, "you know that." Looking ahead, he saw the clearing at the center of the town, and what looked to be the remains of a large, round building. A broken red-roofed dome sat atop the pile of debris, with broken glass and wooden railings lying all around it.

"I dunno," she said, looking into a broken window frame, "looks haunted to me!" Turning to the left, they moved further down another street, when he suddenly realized this was starting to look familiar. Almost like had been here before…

“Whooo!” came a noise from above the siblings. Looking up, they both saw an owl flying above them far overhead. Melody started jumping up and down in excitement.

“I take it that’s the owl you were following?” Star asked her, while watching it circle down in their direction.

“Yes!” she cried, still hopping around. “He came back!” They both watched, and the owl dove gently down in their direction, before swooping back up, coming in to land on the roof of a nearby shop. Leading the way, Melody trotted over to look at it, Star slowly following.

“I think he likes us!” she decided, still watching the owl. Moving up beside her, Star couldn’t help but wonder about this little creature. The more he watched it, the more he felt it was studying them, following him with its eyes.

Suddenly, with a flap of its wings, the owl took off, heading down one of the side streets.

“Hey!” cried Melody, “Come back!” She took off after it, with Star running close behind her.

“Mel!” he called, pulling up alongside, “what are you doing?”

“Following him!” she replied, and started laughing as she ran. He couldn’t help but smile, as it had been days since he’d seen her laugh like that.

The owl led them past rows of empty houses, all just as neglected at the first ones they had found. And yet, all familiar to him somehow. He was starting to wonder about this place, when Melody suddenly came to a halt.

“Hey, where’d he go?” she said, looking around in all directions, trying in vain to spot their winged friend. Having stopped himself, Star also looked around for him.

“I guess he took off somewhere,” he said, putting a hoof over her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be back.” He looked around the street, trying to decide which way to go.

A breeze blew through the air, carrying a handful of leaves past his face, blowing through his and Melody’s manes. Star turned, watching the leaves as they floated along, and around a corner. Without thinking, he started walking along in their direction.

Melody, noticing his movement, trotted after him. “Where are you going?” she asked.

“Don’t know,” he replied, “just had a feeling to head this way.” She gave her brother a weird look, but followed him anyway.


They turned the corner, still following the wind, and he froze, catching Melody off guard.

"What's the matter?" she asked. But he didn't answer. He couldn't move, talk, or do anything except stare at the site in front of them. This wasn't possible!

Was it?

There, standing before them, branches still covered in the same green leaves from his dream, as the wind blew past him, around its trunk, and through the open windows.

It was the tree house.