The Crimson Crusade

by PonyThunder

Chapter 1 ~ Cutie Calls

The early morning sun rose slowly, peering out from above rolling green hills, casting long shadows that cascaded across the landscape surrounding Ponyville. A soft, pleasant breeze meandered through waves of swaying grass and treetops, bringing with it the crisp feeling of an entirely new day.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo trotted alongside the dirt pathway they always took on the way to Ms. Cheerilee's schoolhouse early in the morning. Part of them wished they would be allowed to sleep in, but in truth they all enjoyed their early morning trot together. It reminded them of the times before they knew each other, before they were friends, and how much they'd grown together.

The school bell rang from a distance, signaling their tardiness, and their trots quickly turned to gallops. A few minutes later, they bursting through the door of the schoolhouse, tumbling into class, and were met with giggles from their classmates. And a glare from Ms. Cheerilee.

"Arriving late again?" Ms. Cheerilee said with a slight hint of seriousness.

"Sorry Ms. Cheerilee," they said in monotone unison, as if they were used to this song and dance, and quickly sat down at their desks.

"Right then," she continued, "today's lesson will be about the geography of the lands that surround Ponyville. As many of you surely know, there are lands all around Ponyville filled with different creatures, cultures, and customs. Can anypony name some place outside of Ponyville?"

A brief silence filled the air, until a random student gave an answer. "Uh, Canterlot?"

"Yes..." Cheerilee replied, "can anyone name some place a little further outside Ponyville?"

"Mount Aris?" replied Sweetie Belle. Ever since they had the opportunity to see it, she couldn't stop thinking about going back.

"Good answer. Anypony else?"

Another student answered. "Seaquestria?"

"Also good. Any more?"

"The Dragonlands?"

"Thank you," Cheerilee continued. "But can anyone name something even further?"

The class was silent.

"Alright," she said with a smile. "Then that's where we'll begin learning." She pulled down a chart that was rolled up above the blackboard, clicking it into place. In its center were all the locations that were familiar to most the students, but surrounding it was a vast display of all the lands that surrounded them, many of which seemed exotic and unfamiliar.

The class awed in unison.

"Let's begin with the west." Cheerilee pointed to an area none of the students were familiar with. In fact, it was unlikely that anyone in Equestria was knowledgeable of it unless they were of a considerably studious nature. "This land is known as The Highlands, due to its high altitude and steep cliff sides. Does anyone know what kind of creatures live there?"

"Griffons?" Scootaloo replied.

"Good guess, but Griffons mainly live in Griffonstone, which is far east from here. But the creatures that live here do posses the power of flight."

"Pegasi?" Another student replied, feeling embarrassed a moment after realizing that probably wasn't the case, being that several were seated next to her.

"No pegasi," said Cheerilee. "But they are similar."

The class was silent for a while longer.

"So...what are they?" A student from the back asked.

"A little-known pony race called the Lirin."

"Aren't those called Kirins?" asked Apple Bloom. "My sis was tellin' me about 'em just the other day."

Cheerilee seemed surprised one of her students knew about the Kirins. "No, but they do share a similar name. In fact, Lirins are somewhat of an opposite to Kirins."

Apple Bloom raised a hoof in confusion. "But...Kirins already have opposites. When they get mad, they transform into Niriks."

"That is true," said Cheerilee. "And to make the matter even more confusing, the Lirin can also transform. When they do, they take upon the name of Niril. All in all, there are Kirins, Niriks, Lirins, and Nirils."

The class giggled, and a student in back asked another question. "What makes Lirins turn into Nirils?"

"Like the Kirin, Lirin transform when their emotions are altered. But unlike the Kirin who transform when angered, Lirins transform when they are overcome with great sadness." The class was silent, and Cheerilee paused before continuing. "When a Lirin transforms, the transformation is almost always irreversible, since it is much more difficult to overcome sadness than say, a brief bout of anger."

The air remained silent for several more moments. Their school lessons weren't usually so somber.

Cheerilee continued. "As far as looks go, the Lirin are proud and elegant, much like the Kirin. They have deep blue horns, with stripes that wind all the way to their tops. They have manes like lions, long twisting tails, and hardened thin shells that go along their backs to the tips of their noses."

"What about the Niril?"

"The Niril are seldom seen, actually," Cheerilee replied flatly. "Most of what I know about the Lirin comes from textbook descriptions, and from knowledge of their sister species, the Kirin. No one truly knows what the Niril look like." Cheerilee was silent for a few moments. "Moving onward, let's learn more about the homelands of another group of transforming creatures -- the Hippogriffs..."

Suddenly, the cutie marks of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle began glowing in the middle of class.

“Excuse me, Ms. Cheerilee?” inquired Apple Bloom. “May we be excused?”

Cheerilee turned around from the blackboard. “And for what reason have you interrupted the class?”

Apple Bloom shifted her flank out from underneath the desk, proudly displaying her pulsating cutie mark.

Cheerilee smiled. “Yes, you may go.”

“And us?” said Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo pointed at her's as well.

“Yes, you too,” Cheerilee sighed.

The three of them scurried out of class, thankful for the opportunity to leave early and excited for what the map had in store for them.

“Does anypony else have sudden important friendship duties to attend to?” asked Cheerilee.

Nopony answered.

---

Excited hoofsteps echoed off crystalline walls as Twilight trotted around the cutie map and the crusaders. "The map summoned you to go there?" She exclaimed.

Applejack seemed un-amused. "Now don't you go thinkin' that just 'cause the map summoned you to travel outside of Equestria means you just get to get up and go there."

"But sis!" Apple Bloom blurted out. "Look at my cutie mark! Are you sayin' the cutie map doesn't know what it's doin'?"

"No," she replied stubbornly, realizing her sister had a valid point. "I'm just sayin' that...well...somepony has to go with y'all. For Celestia's sake, it's dangerous outside our borders." She looked to Twilight for validation. "Right, Twilight?"

Twilight was across the room reading through an old book.

Applejack raised her voice. "Twilight!"

"Oh! Yes. Very dangerous. Hey, did you know that the Lirin and Kirin once used to live together, long before even the time of the Pillars of Equestria?"

"Whoa, really?" said Sweetie Belle.

"That's like, forever," Scootaloo added.

Applejack gave Twilight an angry look, then sighed. "Look, I know this is exciting and all, but...Rarity, Rainbow Dash, back me up on this. We can't just let these three go alone...can we?"

Rainbow dash was lounging on her chair, hooves up on the map. "They'll be fine."

"Normally I'd be against such a thing," replied Rarity, "but I'm confident my Sweetie Belle can handle herself."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Really now? You, of all ponies, think this ain't a big deal?"

"It's the cutie map, darling," she replied while messing with her mane. "When has it ever wronged us? Something tells me they'll end up fine eventually."

"Eventually? Twilight...can't we just go along with them?"

Twilight sighed. "Yes, but only so far. I think I know part of the reason the map selected them, specifically." She turned to a page in the book she'd been flipping through. On it was a drawing depicting a stone barrier of sorts. "It says here that the path to the Highlands is blocked by a narrow passage through a tunnel high up in the mountains. So high, in fact, that not even a pegasus could fly above their peaks."

"Pfft, I'd like to give that a shot," said Rainbow Dash.

"It says here," Twilight continued, "that many have tried and all have failed. Only few returned."

Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment. "Maybe that means...most of them made it?"

"Or maybe not," Twilight replied flatly.

"What is it about this barrier that means we can't go along?" asked Applejack, asking the important questions.

"The writings aren't, well, entirely clear," said Twilight, "but the gist of what it says is that only a creature of youth can withstand the test required for entrance."

"Youth?" said Rarity, offended.

"Test?" said Rainbow Dash, perturbed.

"Withstand?" said Applejack, worried.

"Yes," said Twilight. "But the details aren't clear. What intrigues me is why the map called them all the way out to a place nopony has set hoof in ages, for something as simple as a friendship problem."

"Simple friendship problem? You mean like that time the cutie map called us to overthrow Starlight's village and free dozens of ponies from her equality regime?" said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight sighed. "Good point. Well, in that case, I suppose we should get prepared for travel. I still have lots of reading to do on the Lirin before we embark, as well. In the mean time, you three should get packed for the journey ahead. It's going to be a long one."

The crusaders trotted off hastily with anxious and excited thoughts running through their minds, knowing that this was going to be bigger than anything they'd ever experienced before.

Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were about to do the same until Twilight stopped them. "Wait, there's one more page in this book you should see."

"What is it, darling?" said Rarity.

"It's about the Lirin," she replied. "I wasn't sure if the timing was right to show them this." She pointed towards a tattered page with a diagram showing the transformation of Lirin to Nirils. Next to it was another depiction that showed a young pony on the left, an old one on the right, and a smudge between the two.

"What's on the other page?" said Applejack.

"That's the thing," Twilight replied. "It's missing. You can see it has been torn out. It looks like the final depiction is missing."

"I don't get it," said Rainbow Dash.

"Neither do I", Twilight said with a sigh, "and I'm worried about when I do."

---

The stars of the night twinkled in the sky as Apple Bloom lay awake in her bed, thinking about what tomorrow's beginning of adventure may hold. She knew a good night's rest would be necessary (Applejack told her at least four times), but she still tossed and turned, shifting sleeping positions until even the crickets stopped chirping. Despite having courage, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread for the unknown. Her whole life had been spent in and around Ponyville, aside from a few moments of excitement here or there, of course. She opened her eyes and sprawled out, staring at the ceiling and ruminating about the days when all that mattered was finding her cutie mark. They already seemed so distant, and she almost found herself wishing she was still in them.

Life was going by so fast.

Comments

[Miller Minus]

Hey, this looks pretty neat. I love adventure shit like this. And it looks like you aren't wasting any time getting into it.

Excited to see where this goes.

[PonyThunder]

9406086
Thanks, your support is appreciated! I've always wanted to write a proper adventure story, but most of what I do ends up being one-shots. I put a fair amount of planning into this one in hopes that it turns out right. Expect chapters coming out over the next week or so.

[Relagen]

This seems like an intriguing concept. Let's see where it goes

[raven618]

A brief silence filled the air, until a random student gave an answer. "Uh, Canterlot?"

I can just imagine the camera cutting away to Cheerilee with Canterlot clearly visible out the window.

As for the rest, definitely looking like a fun read. I always like seeing what people think/hope lies beyond Equestria's borders.