Chapter 2: Setting Out
Chapter 2
Setting Out
From the quaint setting of Ponyville, the twinkling magic soared over the land to the distant silhouette of Canterlot Palace high on the mountain.
High above the ground, it shone its light on all that it passed by, signalling its malevolence to all below it.
It arrived at the castle, and passed right through the gilded gates, through the marbled halls, and into the throne room.
Whenever a visitor arrived, the throne room there always carried an air of gentleness, serenity, nobility and reassurance in the light that shone throughout. A feeling that permeated all the ponies who walked through the doors, and basked in the presence of their beloved rulers.
No such thing was to be felt this time.
When the twinkling magic arrived, it entered a room that was as black as night, and dotted with more swirling twinkles of starlit magic.
The magic that had come through the door shone brightly, and deposited both Pete and Big Bad from within itself.
In the swirling lights of the twinkling magic, the glutton's clenched fangs glinted
"Well, here's a fine mess ya got us into," Big Bad growled.
"Me? What'd I do?" Pete fumed.
"Ya brought that little rat an' his friends here! If it wasn't fer you, we'd be livin' it up on easy street right now!"
"I ain't done nuttin' to bring dat little runt here!"
"Ya must o' done somethin'! He always shows up wherever yer fat backside goes!" Big Bad said.
Pete stuffed his tommy gun in the glutton's nose.
"Don't ya go puttin' dis on me, Zeke. I ain't never invited de runt to come here! If I--"
"I assume since you two are intruding in my throne room, you have something to report," came a new voice from deeper within the room.
Deep within the dark shadows at the end of the room, an imposing, silhouetted figure sat on the royal throne, overlooking his two underlings. Despite how the swirling starlight in the room shone in all their brilliance, they only darkened whenever they came near the master of the castle, as though they were swallowed by the very darkness he emanated from his very being. After passing, they regained their lustrous splendor.
Under the gaze of their employer, Pete and Big Bad began to sweat. All that they had to report to him would only result in some sort of horrific punishment, and neither one was willing to tell.
"Uh... Well, ya see, boss... It's dat... De wolf's got somethin' to tell ya," Pete said.
"Me!? Yer the one Mickey's always followin'!"
Big Bad gasped, and covered his mouth, having let slip the infuriating news.
"Mickey. As in Mickey Mouse?" the shadowy figure asked, as he slowly stood up from his throne.
"Ya see, it's like dis: I got dat mirror like ya said, an' used it to come here an' suck up all de magic I could find! Butbutbut-- Who coulda thought dat Mickey was gonna buy de other one!?" Pete quickly said.
"You left the other mirror?" the shadowy figure asked.
"...Uh...Yeah..."
"You did not take the magic from its glass before you left?"
"Heh heh. Yer trouble now, lardo," Big Bad chuckled.
"And what did you do about the issue? Did the so-called Big Bad Wolf return to the store and destroy the other magic mirror, or did he simply contemplate the many ways he would cook the creatures of Equestria?" the figure asked.
Big Bad did not answer right away, but managed to stammer an answer.
"I-I-If it makes ya feel better, I... I can let ya borrow the... uh... the cookbook I wrote for 'em all," he said.
The shadowy figure said nothing. His silence was all the more unnerving, as Pete and Big Bad knew he was looking straight at them from the shadows that surrounded him. He was appraising them, deciding how to deal with them for their calamitous blunder.
"BUT-- We did suck all de juice outta de Tree o' Harmony like ya said! Dat's good enough, ain't it?" Pete blurted out.
"An' we got the other princess too!" Big Bad added.
The twinkling light that had delivered Pete and Big Bad to the throne room drifted around the dark figure, swallowed by his shadows.
"It seems that you have. And what of the mouse?" he asked.
"De thing about dat is--'' Pete began, "We tried usin' yer magic stealin' stuff on him. But--"
"It just didn't work. He probably doesn't have any magic in him," Big Bad finished.
"Quite the contrary," the shadowy figure said, "The mouse and his friends all have a special kind of magic that comes from within. Something that can never be stolen by one even as powerful as myself."
"Den whadda we do about it!? How can we stop somethin' dat even you can't stop!?" Pete said.
"We don't," came the frank reply.
"That's a load o' hog manure!" Big Bad fumed, before covering his own mouth again.
"Your lack of faith disturbs me, wolf," the figure said. "Despite the magic they have, you two are more than capable to take them on with the very same magic you possess."
Pete and Big Bad exchanged glances, and smiled malevolently. It was true. The very magic that Mickey and his pals possessed was the very same that they had. Something that could turn the tide of their struggle if they put it to good use.
"In the meantime," the figure continued. "We will tip the scales in our favor by taking what is most precious to our adversaries..."
With a wave of his hands, the shadowy figure sent off more twinkling lights, which soon burst into tiny bits of stardust, having gone far away to another land, where they would take what Mickey, Donald and Goofy valued the most.
In the town square of Ponyville, the ponies picked up the pieces after the calamity that had befallen their home. Few ponies did this, however, as most of the town's population was gathered around the strange new heroes who had appeared from nowhere.
The ponies marveled at the bizarre countenance of each of the strangers. Nopony had seen anything quite like them. The dog maybe looked a bit like a diamond dog, only more...goofy.
At the moment, Donald was being examined by a whole herd, who examined the strange duck from every angle. Some examined his webbed feet.
"What the--! What are you doing?" Donald protested.
Others examined his feathery tail.
"Hey! Knock that off!"
Others still took a closer look at this ever-flapping bill.
"Alright! Alright! That's enough!" Donald finally said, pushing the crowd away from himself. "I got some questions: what's goin' on here? Where the heck are we? What's up with all the pastel livestock?"
"Dunno. But, they sure are cute," Goofy said, as he ruffled Pinkie's mane with one hand, and held an armful of smiling foals with the other.
"Actually, I have a few questions for you too," Twilight said. Normally, she would have magically summoned a quill and parchment to take notes, but not after hers and the entire town population's magic had been stolen. "First: I'd like to know who you are, and where you came from."
"I guess we do owe an explanation," Mickey said, as he was given an ice pack and a shoulder rub by Spike and Rarity. "First off: the name's Mickey. Mickey Mouse."
"I'm Donald Duck," Donald followed.
"An' I'm Goofy," Goofy finished.
"Well, yeah. But, what about your name?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Huh?"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Twilight Sparkle. And this is the town of Ponyville."
"Pleasure makin' your acquaintance, Miss Sparkle. Anyway," Mickey continued, "The short version of where we came from is that me an' my pals came here from my house in Mouseton. See, we were out lookin' for an anniversary gift for my girlfriend, and of all the luck we got this magic mirror that's apparently a door to this place. Next thing we know, we're walkin' right through the glass, an' we come into this cave where there's this big tree made o' crystals an'--"
The entire town's population gasped, and fell into hushed murmurs.
"What's everyone gettin' all hot and bothered about?" Donald wondered.
"Don't y'all realize where ya were? Ya saw the Tree o' Harmony!" Applejack said.
"Oh. I see. Whut's the Tree o' Harmony?" Goofy asked.
"The Tree of Harmony is only the most important magical occurrence in all of Equestrian history," Twilight said. "It's where the source of our most powerful magical artifacts, and a fountain of magic itself."
"Oh! Oh no!" Mickey said.
"'Oh no,' what?"
"Twilight, I don't know what to tell ya...But, the Tree of Harmony's out o’ commission."
"The Tree of Harmony doesn't work anymore!?" Pinkie suddenly shouted. "But, what about all the magic? What about all the harmony?"
"I don't think it's there anymore. The only thing there when we found it was this," Mickey said, opening his palm to reveal the sparkling magic that guided him and his friends to the town of ponies.
At the sight of it, many of the ponies backed away. Twilight, however, cautiously approached it, and reached her hoof out to touch it.
"What is that?" the young alicorn asked.
"It's what brought us here," Donald explained. "We followed it out of the cave, through the woods, and into town, just before we trashed all those guys."
"A-yup. Jus' like we were told: it took us right where we needed to go," Goofy added.
"Aw, come on, Goofy. It wasn't because we were needed here. It's just some freak coincidence. I'm sure of it," Donald said.
"Pardon me, dear goof, but could you elaborate on that point?" Rarity asked.
"Uh, sure. Jus' gimme a secon' to figger out whut 'ee-laborate' means," the goof said, scratching his head and rubbing his chin.
Mickey sighed, and took over explaining.
"See, when I was buying that mirror for my girlfriend, the old man selling it told me that it had some kind of magic in it. That it was supposed to show you where you need to be in a time of need. When we got it to my house, we saw the Tree o’ Harmony in the glass, and it gave us that little bit o' magic that brought us here."
"Then...you were supposed to come here. You were brought here to save us... Like a real hero..." Fluttershy whispered.
"Yeah! You guys are like something out of a fantasy book," Rainbow Dash added. "A bunch of strangers in a strange land that's been taken over, who trek around punching evil right in its face!"
"Brave knights from a foreign land, doling out justice in the name of the downtrodden ponies and fair maidens," Rarity added.
"A posse o' desperados brandin' the hide o' outlaws like stray cattle," Applejack said.
"A travelling troupe of troublemakers, trampling tyrants and terrors!" Pinkie said. Normally, her speech would have been accompanied by streamers and party horns, but she was barely able to muster a hoofful of confetti.
Twilight felt as if her friends were exaggerating just a little bit, but it certainly rang true. In their greatest time of need, it was not the Elements of Harmony that appeared, but three strangers who arrived to help them.
"Well, if that's the case, then I don't think we should keep you," Twilight said. "If there really is such a grave problem, you all should be out of here as fast as possible."
"That's right. As long as Pete's out there, there's nothin' but trouble waitin' for all of us!" Mickey declared. He turned to face the floating sparkle of magic. "Come on, little feller. Show me an' my pals where to go next."
The sparkle of magic did nothing at first, but soon glowed brighter with a warm, benevolent glow that enveloped the onlookers. Once the light faded, the crowd was awed by the sight of not one cluster of starlit magic, but four.
Three of the lights slowly drifted into different directions. The fourth remained stationary. Spike reached out to touch it, and recoiled when it glowed brighter.
The three moving lights passed by the visitors in the land.
"WAK! Watch it!" Donald shouted, as one of the lights passed over him, and almost carried his hat away.
Goofy laughed uncontrollably when one light drifted through his sleeve and tickled him unmerciful. The goof tumbled and jumped up and down, until he rolled onto his back, and the light came out his pant leg.
Mickey backed away as the light came toward him, until it entered one of his ears, passed behind his eyes (rolling his pupils out of the way), and exited his other ear.
One look at the diverged magic, and Mickey knew exactly what it meant.
"Looks like we're gonna have to split up," he said.
"Split up? But, we always do our best when we're tuh-gether," Goofy said.
"Yeah! We always succeed together. Or destroy a clock tower. Or blow up a tugboat. Or get trapped in a haunted house..." Donald said, before trailing off.
"Okay. So, if you three have to split up, I think somepony who knows the land has to go with you. And as the local princess, I think it's my job to draw first honors," Twilight said.
"And me," Rarity chimed in. "It's always easier with more companions along."
"Count me in," Dash said, stepping next to Goofy. "This goof's gonna need all the help he can get."
"Says you," Pinkie said, also stepping next to Goofy.
"An' I'm truckin' with the duck," Applejack declared.
"And how," Donald said, emphatically shaking the farmpony's hoof.
"Um... excuse me," Fluttershy said, "But, I think I should go too."
"What!? No way, toots. What just happened here is probably a cakewalk compared to what's next," Donald said.
"I know..." Fluttershy said, trembling. "But, it's my duty as the Bearer of Kindness... Please. I want to go with you. I have to."
Donald looked Fluttershy right into her pleading eyes and felt his resolve weakening. Turning away from the pony, he clenched his fists, and crossed his arms.
"Waaaak! It's like saying no to a puppy!" the duck grumbled.
Fluttershy hid behind her mane when she heard Donald grumbling, but was partly delighted to hear that he would allow her to go along.
"So, let's get goin'!" Mickey said.
"Wait a second: there are four lights," Spike said. "Somepony should follow that last one."
Twilight looked at the final light, and noticed that unlike the others, it had not moved at all.
"I don't know. I don't think this one's going anywhere. You should stay here and monitor it, in case anything changes," Twilight said.
"But, what if it starts moving? Can I follow it then?" Spike hopefully asked.
"No, Spike. If it moves, there's no telling where it will end up."
"But, Twilight, it might be important. I can handle it. I even still have my magic."
"What? How can you?"
"Because I was hiding under you when that light took away your magic. It didn't get me. See?" Spike said, welling up a small, green fireball.
As soon as she saw the green flames, Twilight's face lit up.
"Wow! That's a spicy meatball!" Mickey said.
"This is fantastic!" Twilight said. "Spike, you can send a letter to the princesses! They'll be able to help us! Send them a letter telling them what happened here! And tell them how to find us!"
"But--"
"Spike! It's really important that you do this. Please. Do it for me."
"Fine..."
The three other groups all dispersed, following the respective lights that guided them. Spike stayed behind, and looked one last time at the light that had remained in the town square, which blinked mischievously. After a brief slump, Spike returned to his home to write the letter, detailing the incident to the princesses.
Spike had sent his letter some time ago. This was very unlike the princesses. Normally, they would send a response immediately, but this time, they seemed to be procrastinating in the task.
Finally, after what seemed forever, a burst of green embers appeared from Spike's mouth, and took the shape of another scroll. However, there was something off about this one. This time, there was a response written on the outside of it.
Curious, Spike unrolled the paper, and found written on the inside the very same message he had sent, only it was scribbled out with red ink, as though it had been completely disregarded.
Turning the scroll over, Spike found the response quite unsettling:
To whomever it may concern:
The princess Celestia, and the princess Luna are no longer in charge of Equestria. The land now belongs to me, and I shall see to it that it remains so. Do not attempt to contact either former princess. And do not disturb me again.
Nothing was natural about what Spike had just read. Nopony in Canterlot Palace spoke to anypony like that. The young dragon held the paper in his claws, and shuddered quietly as he read the answer once more.
Looking for a signature, all Spike found was a stamp of the same twinkling star that had ravaged the town, and stolen everypony's magic.
Something was definitely wrong. And somepony had to find out what.
"Twilight wants me to stay here," Spike grumbled, "Forget it. Somepony has to help. And I'll be banished if it isn't me!"
With a newfound resolve, the young dragon gathered some supplies from around the library, packed them in a backpack, and set out in the direction of the fourth twinkle of light, ready to face whatever was ahead of him.
When Spike arrived in the town square, a crowd of ponies was still gathered around the final light, marveling at the bizarre anomaly.
"Excuse me. Pardon me. Coming through," Spike said, as he pushed his way through the crowd. He approached the final light, and looked straight at it. "Okay you. I'm on to your game. You were just waiting for the others to leave before you showed me where to go, right?"
The light bobbed up and down, as though to nod.
"So, you knew Twilight wouldn't let me follow you?"
The light bobbed again.
"But, I am supposed to help somehow?"
The light bobbed again.
"I'm not going to be alone, am I?"
The light shook side to side.
"I'm going to meet someone else?"
The light bobbed up and down.
"Can you take me to where I can meet the guys that are going to help me?"
The light drifted away from the fountain square, and stopped to allow Spike to follow.
Spike looked at the light, and took a small step forward. Feeling his resolve to have his hand in saving Equestria solidify, he strode after the light, and slowly began to run after it, until the two were zooming through the town past the various citizens who watched the young dragon trail after the light.
With a storm in his heart and a fire in his soul, Spike knew that he was ready to begin his own magical quest. Until he saw where the light was leading him.
Spike slowed to a halt when he realized the light was leading him to the edge of the Everfree Forest. Could this really be where he was supposed to meet the ones who would help him on his quest?
The light drifted ahead of him and twinkled brightly, urging Spike to follow.
"Okay. This is it. I'm going to trust you on this," Spike said to the light.
After one more deep exhale, he ran forward, into the darkness toward the next step of his quest.
Back in Mickey and Minnie's home, the front door opened, and in walked Minnie Mouse, fresh from her shopping trip for hers and Mickey's anniversary.
"Mickey! Oh, Mickey Mouse!" Minnie sweetly called through the house. "Mickey, where are you?"
"Arf-Arf!"
Pluto came running through the house, and frantically greeted Minnie.
"Hello, Pluto. Can you keep a secret?" Minnie looked around for any listeners, and whispered to Pluto, "I just found the perfect anniversary gift for Mickey. And, I'm going to need your help to keep him from peeking until tomorrow. So, can you make sure that he stays in bed tonight?"
Any other time Pluto would have happily obliged. But, this was no time to bother with anniversary pleasantries. There was an emergency!
"Arf!"
"Good boy," Minnie said. "First thing's first: we need to keep a constant eye on him. So, show me where he is."
Pluto's legs scurried on the carpet, until he took off like a shot down the hall.
"For goodness sake, Pluto! Slow down!"
Slow down!? How could Pluto slow down!? Mickey was missing, and he had no clear way of telling Minnie.
"Arf! Arf! Arf!"
The hound's frantic barking worried Minnie. Pluto only ever barked like that when something was wrong. What if something had happened at the house while she was gone? What if Mickey was hurt because of it!?
Minnie ran through the house, matching Pluto's manic pace, and followed him into the bedroom, where Pluto was barking at the mirror.
"Oh my!" Minnie gasped, when she saw the mirror. "Pluto, is this what you wanted to show me?"
"Yeayeayeayea!" Pluto panted.
"Mickey! Wherever you are, it's gorgeous!"
Minnie fully expected her boyfriend to come out of hiding somewhere, and surprise her, only to be left waiting for him.
Pluto dragged his paw down his face. He would have to make his message more clear.
"Arf-Arf!" Pluto answered.
Minnie looked to Pluto, who jumped into the air, scurried his paws, and when he landed, pointed with his nose directly at the mirror.
"Mickey's there?"
"Yeayeayea!"
"But, that's silly. How would that happen, unless he stepped right through the...glass..."
Minnie was left wordless, when she saw the image of herself and Pluto in her bedroom slowly begin to ripple.
On the mirror's surface, they watched as a twinkling light appeared on the mirror. Soon, a tiny, purple dragon appeared to be walking in place, following the light.
Afterward, Minnie, Pluto, and the bedroom disappeared, and the image on the mirror showed the dragon walking through a forest somewhere.
"Why, Pluto: isn't that the dragon from Epcot?" Minnie asked.
They both watched in silence as the dragon looked around himself, as though bewildered by his strange surroundings.
"Whoever he is, it looks like he's lost."
Pluto didn't know why the mirror was showing him this, but something quite similar had happened to Mickey before he disappeared. Perhaps if he followed suit, he would be able to find his missing pal.
Putting one paw forward, the mirror rippled under the hound's touch.
"Oh!" Minnie gasped. "What was that!?"
Minnie touched a finger to the mirror, and found it rippling under her touch as well.
Minnie retracted her finger, and looked at the small dragon in the mirror, lost and afraid. Her instincts took over, and she found herself wanting to guide the young creature to somewhere safer than where he was.
Her resolve strengthened, Minnie placed her entire palm on the mirror, and pushed forward, seeing her hand disappear into the glass.
Pluto did as she did, and stepped one paw past the magic mirror.
A few more steps, and the two disappeared to the unknown place. Once they had gone, the image in the mirror reverted to the reflection of the room.
There was a twinkling in the room, and one of the lights that had set out from Canterlot Palace appeared from within. It searched up, down and all around the room.
It let out an annoyed little hum, then looked left and right, but found no trace of what was most precious to Mickey Mouse.
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Huh, I would never have thought Spike being similar to the Epcot from Disney. Good catch.
Also, I really love the idea to have Spike go on adventure with Minnie and Ploto.
So far great!
Ooooh, that stranger is going to get his butt whooped when the heroes finds out what he did to the princesses.
We need Figment.
Minnie doesn't get nearly enough screen time, if you ask me, so it's a thrill to see her in action.
Pluto's pretty neat too, I guess.
Still probably the most distinctly "Disney" story I've read here, and I love it.
now this I can't wait to keep reading. when's the next update?
8147059 Tough to say. I usually just wing these updates, with no set deadline for myself. However, I am currently working on the next chapter.
8149870
sweet. can't wait.
Good chapter. Now it looks like Minnie and Pluto will be joining the adventure along with Spike. Excellent!
Keep on going!
Good for Minnie and Spike to get some screen time in this story. With actual magic left in them between the two of them, they'll certainly be more useful than the Mane 6 are
While the Big Bad is hiding behind the scenes, it at least gets rid of one of my earlier peeves, that Pete was apparently showing up right away (well, to be fair you did hint at the real bad guy, but I kind of skimmed over that and didn't realise it), even though the villain shouldn't show up right away. Still, I find the reasoning that Mickey and co.'s magic can't be removed from them because it's special and inside themselves odd, if only because the same could be said of the ponies. I suppose that means they'll have a climatic realisation that the real magic of Friendship has been inside all along or something.
I just started reading this fic today and I am loving it! It's not very often you see a crossover with classic Disney characters. It makes me wonder if Oswald or Daisy will join the adventure at some point, but I guess I'll have to keep on reading and find out. I was kind of expecting the shadowy figure to be Maleficent since she is the most infamous Disney villain out there, but then I read "Him," so I guess the theory is out the window. Chernabog maybe? It does make me wonder if Mickey will be able to use his famous sorcerer's apprentice hat and cast magic spells during the story. I look forward to reading more. Oh and great Epcot reference.
9273341
Good eye. If you look closely, you'll find about a thousand other references like that one peppered through this story.
Oh my god! Yes! Minnie and Spike both need to appear more! Whos the bad guy Pete and Big Bad are talking with? Is it Oswald? Or are you going to blindside us all and it's actually Figment?
9377750
You'll see in a few more chapters. Just a fair warning, it might confuse you a bit.
...That's going to be the easy part, Minnie...getting him to see it? Eheheheh...that's another thing entirely.
Awe….
Yeah Go Minnie!!!
Follow your Motherly Instincts