One Prologue Later...

by Brass Polish

1 Vale of Warriors

Spike was pickling some gemstones.

“Kinda funny how gemstones have to age for a while in the first place, and now they gotta age a bit more in this jar,” he chuckled to himself as he dropped some diamonds into the brine.

And no sooner had he screwed on the lid that the jar was sitting in the fridge.

“Okay. That’s my snack for Vale of Warriors ready for next week,” he grinned to himself.

“Who?” hooted an annoying voice.

Spike looked up to see Owlowiscious perched in top of the fridge.

“Vale of Warriors,” said Spike. “And it’s no someone. It’s a brand new comic series from Fengust.”

“Who?” hooted Owlowiscious.

Spike sighed. “Fengust isn’t someone. It’s a place. It’s where august roosters live.”

“What?” hooted Owlowiscious.

“August roosters,” groaned Spike impatiently. “They’re like griffons, but instead of half bird half wild cat, they’re half bird half deer. Now if you’re done asking me stupid questions, I gotta rewrite Twilight’s checklist for our trip to Canterlot next week… for the billionth time.”

He waddled out of the kitchen… then immediately rushed back in.

“DID YOU JUST SAY WHAT?!”

Further north, someone else was being pestered by a comic fan hyped for Vale of Warriors’ debut in Equestria.

“But it’s cheaper if you split a room,” insisted Updraft.

“Why don’t you get your stepsister to go halvsies on a hotel room?” suggested Lightning Dust huffily. “She’d be more likely to find enchanted comic books exciting. We both know how much she loves sending ponies into interactive challenges.”

“Oh, come on! She’s learned her lesson,” insisted Updraft. “That’s kinda why she’s not so interested in being sucked into a comic story.”

Lightning Dust huffed. “She can dish it out, but she can’t take it.”

“You said you were over it!” snapped Updraft.

“You’re not making it easy by badgering me to take time off and fly off to Canterlot with you in the middle of everything I have to do,” said Lightning.

“Come on. You took half a week off last moon to see your buddy Miss Pommel in that new clothing store.”

“I keep telling you, her name is Coco. Get it into your head,” grumbled Lightning Dust. “And that’s different. She’s like my only Manehattan friend. I don’t know anypony in Canterlot.”

“What about Cinnamon Chai?”

Lightning Dust scoffed. “I hardly know her. Plus, I can’t tell if her accent’s fake or not.”

“Please, Dusty?” pleased Updraft. “I’m your friend too, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. But I see you pretty much every day. You being in Canterlot is no excuse for me to drop everything and go there.”

“Oh, fine!” barked Updraft, turning tail and unfurling her wings. “You don’t have to drop what you’re doing… which is nothing!”

This wasn’t quite true. Lightning Dust was Loch Azure’s weather captain, meaning she had lots of responsibilities. And after hers and Spitfire’s knighting ceremony, she was determined to make good on the vow she made on her knighthood. But as time went by, she was sure she was in over her head. Frostaceans’ claws were as fast as light, and if any living thing tried to pass over the moat King Sombra made, they would be knocked backwards. Unicorn and alicorn magic was no match for a frostacean’s speed. The only way a pegasus could go fast enough to make it across was to perform a Sonic Rainboom, and even then, the claws would still make contact. And it was difficult and hazardous to get up that much speed in the arctic north. There was too much wind resistance in the snowy wasteland to gain a good enough momentum. And since Windigoes resided above the clouds, trying to get a good start from a high altitude wasn’t possible without being overcome with blinding rage and resentment. Not to mention the severe snowfall that followed when the Windigoes were agitated by an interloper. So if it looked like Lightning Dust was doing nothing in particular standing in the middle of the lake, it was because she was pondering how to free Amber Aldis from the glacier without anyone being pummelled by the long, quick reach of the frostaceans. The only thing that could pass over the moat without getting a crabby punch was something inanimate, like a scooter, or a tent, or food, or kindling, or a comic book, or…

“Okay, Updraft,” said Lightning Dust the following week. “I’ll split a room with you.”

“Really? Wow!” exclaimed Updraft gleefully. “What changed your mind?”

The whistle of the approaching train kept Lightning from explaining her plan, as she had to rush to the booking office to buy a ticket.

It was a day before Vale of Warriors was to be released in the House of Enchanted Comics, but there was already a line.

“What was the point of splitting a hotel room if you’re gonna sleep out on the sidewalk?” grumbled Lightning Dust.

“Hey, at least you get to sleep in a bed,” frowned Updraft. “And we’re still splitting the cost.”

“If you want me to buy you a lawn chair,” said Lightning, “I’m not splitting the cost.”

“You don’t have to get me a chair,” said Updraft. “You can get me a cloud.”

“Oh. Good idea,” grinned Lightning Dust. “Be right back.”

In less than a minute, Updraft had a soft, fluffy mattress to spend the chilly night out in the streets of the capitol.

“Better hope it doesn’t drift off and lift you into the sky overnight,” joked Lightning Dust. “Or you’ll lose your spot in line.”

Updraft hadn’t lost her place in line, but she awoke to find no one in line behind her.

“Really?” she yawned. “I’m the last one? That’s not good. They might sell out by the time I get to the front of the line.”

Miraculously, Updraft was able to buy the last copy of Vale of Warriors before they sold out. She rushed to the hotel room to tell Lightning Dust about her stroke of luck.

“That’s pretty cool,” grinned Lightning. “It’s like they knew how many ponies wanted to get the first look at Fengust comics.”

Updraft parked herself on the bed and cracked the book open.

“Oh, I didn’t tell why I wanted to come with you yet,” said Lightning Dust. “I’ll need to borrow that book for a bit.”

“Not now,” said Updraft promptly. “I just got this.”

“But I’ve got this great idea,” insisted Lightning Dust.

“Well you shoulda told me it earlier. It’s too late now. I’m reading this, and if you don’t want me to join you, you can leave me alone.”

Lightning Dust watched Updraft reading her comic for a few seconds.

“Is that an enchanted comic?” she asked. “Shouldn’t you have been sucked into it?”

Updraft groaned. “It starts like a normal comic. Then the last page has the incantation to suck you in so you can finish the story as one of the characters. I’ll get to that once I get through the comic panels. And you better not take this comic while I’m in here. You can use this book for whatever you want when I’m done.”

And she went on reading. But Lightning Dust, so proud of herself for her idea and confidence that it would work, didn’t want to wait.

“You know what? I saw Spike in line, and at the donut store. He’ll lend me his book,” she said. “He knows Amber. He’ll help me.”

And she rushed out of the room, leaving Updraft to discover that aside from having an enchanted last page with a written incantation and an exit word, this was no normal comic book.

Very rarely did somepony who wasn’t a student at the School for Gifted Unicorns go barging onto campus grounds, but there weren’t as many ponies about on weekends, so Lightning Dust’s entrance went unnoticed. She had learned from Rainbow Dash that Twilight used to have her own room at the top of the observatory tower when she was Princess Celestia’s student. She figured she and Spike might be staying in there during their visit to Canterlot, and found her guess must be right when she saw the little purple dragon rushing down the spiral staircase.

“Hey, Spike!” she called, flying up to him. “What’s up?”

“Oh. Hi Lightning Dust,” said Spike, surprised. “I’m just going to the donut shop. I was supposed to be snacking on some gemstones I pickled back home, but I grabbed a jar of pickled eggs by mistake.”

“I saw you in line for that enchanted comic from Fengust,” said Lightning Dust.

“Well, it’s not really an enchanted comic from Fengust,” said Spike. “It was translated and enchanted by the publishers from the House of…”

“Okay, okay,” said Lightning impatiently. “Anyway, you were in front of my friend. You got one, I take it?”

“Yeah. Why?” asked Spike. “Did I get the last one so your friend couldn’t get one?”

“No, no,” said Lightning Dust quickly. “She got one too, but she won’t let me use it.”

“Does she read faster than you?” asked Spike. “I know what that’s like. Twilight can finish a whole book before I’m even done with the list of chapters.”

“I don’t want to read it,” Lightning Dust waved her hoof.

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Then what do you want it for?”

“I wanna try and get Amber Aldis off that glacier with it,” said Lightning Dust with a grin.

Spike cottoned onto the idea at once.

“Could that work?” he asked excitedly. “Do you think she’ll be able to go over the moat if she’s inside an enchanted comic?”

“We’ll need a fishing rod,” said Lightning Dust. “And your comic, obviously. You in?”

“This is great,” beamed Spike. “Twilight’s upstairs right now with all her friends from school. Amber’s pretty much the only one missing. Imagine how she’d feel if Amber joined them all at the Tasty Treat tonight.”

“Huh. That’d be a pretty cool surprise,” agreed Lightning Dust. “Okay. You go get your comic and I’ll go get a fishing rod. We’ll meet up at…”

“Wait,” said Spike. “I’ll need your help if I’m gonna sneak back into the observatory. You can fly me up to the window so I can jump in, get it, and get out without her noticing.”

Lightning Dust nodded and let Spike mount her before ascending to the bedroom window. The window was open, and from outside, they could hear Twilight and Moondancer laughing at Minuette’s and Twinkleshine’s anecdote about the time Lemon Hearts got challenged to a duel by the class hamster. There was nothing to stop Spike from leaping into the room, grabbing his copy of Vale of Warriors from his basket, and jumping out onto Lightning’s back.

Spike’s and Lightning Dust’s excitement grew and grew as they acquired a fishing pole and traveled north. They were certain that this idea would work. The only time Spike felt any kind of concern was when Lightning Dust asked him how exactly enchanted comics worked.

“Did you think this through, Lightning?” he asked.

“Well, I kinda get the general idea,” insisted Lightning Dust. “Ponies get sucked inside the book and turn into a character and have to act out their part of the rest of the story before it sends them back.”

“That’s right,” said Spike. “The last page of the book is blank, accept for some tiny writing.”

“Is that the incantation?” asked Lightning Dust.

“Yeah. They’re all the same one, though,” said Spike. “Take a closer look to…”

“Don’t say it now!” boomed Lightning Dust.

“Oops. Sorry,” said Spike, clamping the book against his chest. “That wouldn’t have been good. I haven’t even read any of it yet. I wouldn’t know any of the characters or places or the mission.”

“That, and if we both got sucked in right here right now,” said Lightning Dust, “who knows where the book would end up landing when we were done?”

“But there’s a safe word for if you want to leave before you’re finished the story,” said Spike. “It’s on the back of the enchanted page.”

“Are the safe words not the same for every comic?” asked Lightning Dust.

“No. They always have to be something that had nothing to do with the story so you don’t have to say it while you’re in the adventure.”

“Why are the incantations the same but the safe words different?” asked Lightning Dust.

“Well, actually, the incantations start with something about being able to come back to reality after you’ve defeated the main villain of the story,” explained Spike.

“Updraft did say comic books are more complicated than ponies think,” Lightning Dust rolled her eyes.

Being stuck in a snowy wasteland was taking its toll on Amber Aldis. Twice a week, someone from either Clopley Hill or the Crystal Empire would turn up at the moat and toss provisions to her. She was never short on food or firewood. But she was unable to keep time when the sun was obscured by the arctic clouds. She never knew when the next delivery or another visitor would come. Twilight and Starlight were the most frequent visitors, but they didn’t often stay long. They always said they would return, but whether they had a specific date in mind or not, Amber couldn’t keep track. Having so little company was making her a little tetchy. One thing that kept her morale was being able to use magic once again. Without the Venomodo’s poison, there was nothing to stop her from levitating objects, which she did constantly just to remind herself that she could. Whenever Twilight, Starlight, or somepony with supplies arrived, they could often see things floating through one of the foggy windows of Amber’s shelter. But by now, even the thrill of using her renewed magical abilities was wearing thin. The fact that her magic could not be used beyond the moat without coming into contact with a Frostacean’s claw was getting more and more demoralising.

Amber hadn’t forgotten the vow Lightning Dust had made at the knighting ceremony, but she hadn’t seen Lightning since then. She often asked about her when her friends visited, and all they could tell her was Lightning hadn’t come up with anything yet. So to see her appear from the misty window was thrilling.

“Lightning! You’re back!” she cried, bursting out of her shelter.

“Hi Amber!” called Spike.

“Oh, hit Spike!” Amber beamed. “Well? Have you thought of way to get me outta this wasteland?”

“I think we have,” grinned Lightning Dust. “Show her, Spike.”

It wasn’t that windy, but Spike still had to hold onto his copy of Vale of Warriors tightly as he showed it to Amber.

“An enchanted comic!” boomed Amber. “Yes! The Frostaceans won’t see me if I’m inside that! Have you got a string or something?!”

Lightning Dust showed her the fishing pole.

“Oh! Be careful when you put the hook in!” warned Amber. “If you damage the enchanted page, the spell might not work!”

So when Spike grabbed the fishing hook and the book, he avoided piercing the last page and the back cover.

“Okay. We’ll cast the book over the moat, and you say the incantation,” said Lightning Dust. “When you get sucked in, we’ll reel it in.”

“Do it quickly!” said Amber. “We don’t want the book to fall into the moat and get caught on something!”

“Right,” nodded Lighting Dust, taking the book from Spike.

“And go around that way before you cast it!” Amber advised. “It’ll go downwind that way!”

So Lightning and Spike walked around to the other side of the moat. Amber was bouncing when they reached the spot where the wind worked to their advantage.

“After you get sucked in,” said Spike, “wait about five minutes before you say the safe word. We should have it over the moat by then.”

Lightning Dust took a firm grip on the fishing pole, and Spike raised the enchanted comic over his head.

“Ready?”

“Ready!” Amber cried ecstatically.

Spike threw the book over the moat, and Amber caught in. She instantly opened it to the partially blank page with the spell on it. Even though they were a long way from the book now, Spike and Lightning Dust stood well back in case they were within range of the page’s suction.

“You can return to the spot where you began when Prince Boxpok is defeated,” she recited quickly. “Take a closer look…”

“Wait! You gotta check what the safe word is!” called Spike.

“To join the adventure in this book,” Amber finished, not hearing a word Spike said.

She instantly tried to dive into the book, but the white light had not yet appeared, and they both hit the snowy ground. The white light erupted from the enchanted page, and Amber was quickly sucked in. The light vanished; Amber was nowhere in sight.

Author's Note:

Partially inspired by the Red Dwarf episode "Backwards".