Sciros

by Sapphire Rose 12

Chapter 3: The Search

Soarin looked all around to find a sign of any of Rainbow Dash's friends. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walked by his side. But, he couldn't help feeling saddened as he looked at them. They were so different then they were back home. Rainbow Dash didn't even look at Fluttershy or Soarin. She just held a firm gaze on the ground and hovered above them slightly. Fluttershy didn't look delighted or nervous as usual. She just looked she had given up hope on ever being safe in the future.

Soarin wondered greatly what the cause of this alternate universe was. Was a villain undefeated? Did it come from a magical mistake or naturally happen from nature? He didn't know and he knew Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy wouldn't want to talk about it.

But distantly from his thoughts, he thought he saw somepony familiar. He payed closer attention and he found that it was none other than Applejack. She was hauling in a barrel of apples on Sweet Apple Acres. She still wore the tan hat, but she also wore a camouflage button-up shirt and pants to go along with it.

Soarin rushed over to her. "Hello there!"

Applejack looked at him, as if she was annoyed to be distracted from her work. "What can I help you with?"

"Surely you recognize Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy," Soarin assumed. "I'm Soarin."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you girls again. Nice to meet you, Soarin." The way she had said it prompted Soarin to knew she was being sarcastic and didn't really like Rainbow or Fluttershy in this universe.

"We were hoping you could come along with us," Soarin explained. "I wanted to do some exploring and I thought you would be another great pony to give me a tour around Sciros."

"Don't have time," Applejack lied.

Applejack started to rush back inside, but Soarin quickly flew in front of her.

"Wait," Soarin urged. "At least, give me a chance."

Applejack sighed and turned to look at all three of them. "You want me to give you a tour of Sciros? I'll admit I'm not a very good tour guide. But, I guess I can try."

Applejack joined the three of them, but she didn't look very happy about it.

"Now, onto the others!" Soarin said.

He looked around for the rest of Rainbow Dash's friends. He'd seen Twilight earlier, but no traces of Rarity or Pinkie Pie yet.

"Excuse me sir, you don't happen to know the way to the orphanage, do you? I've got some deliveries to make to the fillies and colts."

Soarin recognized the voice. It belonged to Rarity. "No, I don't know my way to the orphanage unfortunately. But, I bet we can help you figure it out! Why don't you join us?"

"Thank you very much," Rarity replied. "I needed the help, but I'm usually too afraid to ask..." She trailed off and got distant, but came back to reality with a quick shake of her head.

Despite Rarity's positive attitude towards others, she didn't smile or look fashionable. In fact, her mane was very messy as if she was constantly frazzled. She wore a black jumpsuit.

"Now, we just have Pinkie Pie and Twilight to find," Soarin said to himself.

Pinkie Pie wouldn't be a sight to miss. He just had to look for the outrageously curly hair and the bouncing pink pony through town.

Then, he saw Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie looked very toned down, but somewhat like herself. Her mane was still curly and she still smiled, but she had lost her bounce and she reminded him more of a kind pony who loved to make others smile, but didn't act over-the-top. She wore a black jumpsuit as well, but it tended to look more cheery on Pinkie Pie than it did on Rarity.

"Excuse us!" Soarin said, rushing up to her.

"Hi there," Pinkie Pie said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Soarin," he said. "And this is Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack."

Pinkie Pie's expression immediately changed and her tone dropped to match her frown. "Hey, girls."

Soarin wanted to shrug it off, but he couldn't help but ask why they didn't feel happy around each other.

"We just didn't click," Applejack claimed. "That's all there is to it."

Soarin felt the urge to pry for more information, but stopped himself. "Let's go find Twilight," he said finally.

"What do you need Twilight for?" Rainbow Dash asked, clearly unhappy. "She's too interested in those books of hers. Do you really need her for this tour?"

Soarin wanted to say 'This is more than a tour', but he didn't. Instead, he said, "She'll be a great tour guide. She needs some social time anyway."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, but gave in.

Soarin looked to see Twilight sitting by the fountain, reading a book.

"Hey, Twilight," Soarin said, as he came up to her.

Twilight looked up from her book to find the girls by his side and lost interest. "Hi, Soarin," she replied returning to her book.

"Would you like to help give me a tour of Sciros?" Soarin asked.

Twilight looked up. "Give you a tour? I'd love to show some of my knowledge of this place."

Twilight joined them, but kept her book with her and read as they walked.

Soarin had a secret plan to get the girls to be friends, but he didn't tell them that.

"Now, I'd like to get to know why this happened," Soarin said.

The girls all looked at each other.

"It's nothing really," Rarity said. "It's not much of a story to tell."

"Are you sure?" Soarin asked her.

"We're pretty sure," Applejack said.

Soarin knew the girls were hiding what had happened. Had it scarred them? Had it done damage to them more than anypony could imagine? Soarin would never know. The girls clearly didn't want to tell him the story.

"It's a lot more than nothing," said a familiar voice. "In fact, I think this world suits them better anyway."

Author's Note:

And that's the end of this chapter!

Comment on who you think the mysterious pony is at the end of the chapter! Is it a villain that was defeated in Equestria, but not in Sciros? Or is it someone new? What do you think?

Comments

[Whisper Dawn]

Actually, my first thought was that it was that pony who sent Soarin here!! But.... something tells me I'm wrong. Can't wait to find out though, great story!!👍