Corners of the Earth

by raven618

Chapter 1: The Greatest Adventure

“Ow, watch it!” Sunset scolded.

Twilight backed up, desperately trying to pick up her dropped books, “I’m so sorry, Sunset. I was thinking about what the Professor said and- “

“Shut up! And stay out of my way.” With that, she steamed off.

Twilight stayed where she was. Sunset Shimmer was one of the strongest sorcerers at Starswirl’s and she had no trouble letting the rest of the students know that. Twilight especially had received many warnings from the golden-haired girl.

She jumped when she felt someone touch her shoulder, but it was only her fellow Half-Elf and roommate, Lyra. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you.” Twilight said as she picked herself up. “Are, are you planning on going?”

“Hm, going where?”

“On Professor Celestia’s expedition.” Twilight specified as the two walked through the ornate halls of Starswirl’s Wizarding School.

“Oh that. Yeah, I probably will, it sounds like it could be fun. Why, you can’t decide if you want to go?”

“Pretty much. I have straight grades in her class, so I’m not in any need of extra credit. The Professor said she received the summons from the royal council, which means that this is really important. Add that to the fact that they asked Celestia the Wise, one of the leading authorities on magical anomalies, and it is safe to infer that whatever it is this investigation is investigating is highly complex and advanced. Therefore, it is unlikely that I, a young wizard in training, would have anything useful to add to the expedition.”

Lyra nodded slowly, “So what you are saying is that you don’t need to go, right?” Twilight nodded in affirmation. “But you still haven’t answered my question; do you want to go?”

Twilight kept her gaze pointed downward, “Yes, and no. I want to go, and help the Professor with whatever it is. But at the same time, I think she’s mad at me.”

“Mad at you? What makes you think that?”

“You heard her. ‘Some of you have retreated into your studies and shut out the world.’ You know she was talking about me.”

“Yes, that does describe you,” Lyra conceded as the two of them entered the dining hall, “But it also describes Moondancer, Star Bright, Sugarcoat, Sunset and a whole slew of other Elves. And even if she was talking just about you, doesn’t that mean you of all people have to go.” Twilight looked at her in confusion, “Celestia set up this whole expedition so that people like you would get a chance to go out into the world and experience it yourself, instead of just reading about it in books.”

“But books can take you anywhere!” Twilight exclaimed as she selected a salad for herself, “The Goliath Pass, Vanihiem, even the sunken city of Seaquestria. A good book can take you anywhere.”

“Maybe,” Lyra said as she too got her lunch, “but that experience can only be enhanced by actually going to those places. If I described the taste of this blueberry pastry to you, would you be satisfied just by my description, or would you want to eat one for yourself?”

“Naturally I’d want to eat one.” She said, taking a bite out of her own pastry. “Oh wow, that really is good.”

“Then isn’t it natural that after reading a description of a place, for you to want to experience it for yourself?”

“I guess.”

“Besides, she’s not asking you to travel to the Dwarven Mountains or The Outlands. It’s just a week in Greenvale, and I’ll be right there with you.”

Twilight ate a bite of her leafy salad. Lyra was right, she had been craving to visit the far-off lands that she had read about so many times. To feel the hot wind of The Outlands on her skin, to hear the calls of creatures from the forest at night, to taste the clear waters of the Long River. “Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll go on the expedition. And I’m going to make a checklist, so that you don’t forget anything.”

“What? When have I ever forgotten something?”

“Well…”

“Don’t answer that.”

[Party formed: Twilight Sparkle, Lyra Heartstrings]

And so, the next morning…

The early morning sun illuminated a small train of horse-drawn carriages outside Starswirl’s main entrance. A sizable group of students already stood by, some wearing their school robes while others were wearing more casual attire. Most of them were conversing with each other as their luggage was loaded up.

“How did we get stuck with this job?” Twilight asked as she tied off a stack of suitcases.

“By showing up first.” Lyra answered as she carried a genuine trunk over to the third carriage. “Carriages leave at seven, students should be ready to leave by six-thirty. And you brought us down at *yawn* five-fifty.”

“I had to account for travel-time, bathroom breaks, and any form of unexpected obstacles that could have been blocking our path.” Lyra just laughed and the two of them continued loading luggage. After a few minutes, Professor Celestia came out and began a head count.

“Sunny Flare?”

“Here.”

“Rare Find?”

“Here.”

“Trixie?”

…

“Apparently running l- “

“The Great and Powerful TRIXIE has arrived!” sauntering out of the school was a silver haired Star-Elf wearing a flashy purple cape over an expensive light blue robe. On her head sat a matching pointy purple hat. A huge trunk levitated behind her. This was Trixie Lulamoon, the hottest blooded Elf at Starswirl’s. “I trust my carriage is ready?”

“Miss Lulamoon, you will be sharing a carriage with your fellow students, just like everyone else.” Celestia informed her.

Trixie scoffed before flicking her hair with one hand, “Very well, it will give the common folk more time to bask in my beauty. You,” she pointed at Twilight, “Make sure my bag is well cared for.” She snapped her fingers, canceling her cantrip and causing the trunk to fall towards Twilight.

[Twilight makes a Strength saving throw: Failure]

The trunk proved to be far heavier than she predicted and floored her beneath its weight. Her classmates stood by and snickered, save Lyra who lifted the trunk off her.

“Well, you’re not getting any tips.” Trixie said.

“Everyone is present.” Professor Celestia announced. “If no one needs to use the restroom, will everyone please climb aboard a carriage. Only six students per carriage though!”

The young wizards all began climbing into the wagons. Twilight and Lyra found themselves in one of the carriages closer to the back of the caravan. They were surprised to find the Wood-Elf, Moondancer already seated in it. Twilight sat next to her, while Lyra took the window seat across from her. The two Half-Elves were followed by two more Elves, another Wood-Elf with lightish red hair, and a Sun-Elf with golden yellow hair. They sat together on the same seat as Lyra. The caravan was about to leave before Minuette, a silver haired Star-Elf pocked her head in.

“Can I join you?” She asked. Twilight scooted over to make more room for her. She eagerly hopped in and sat down. With a lurch, the caravan moved out.
= = =
The group sat in silence for most of the trip. Twilight watched the green, flower dotted hills slowly give way to forest. The dappled sunlight dancing through the window was fascinated to her.

“First time in the Greenwood?” The Wood-Elf said, a playful smirk on her face.

“First time out of Moon City more like.” She admitted.

“Hehe, I’m Twinkleshine by the way.” She gestured to the girl sitting next to her, “This is my best friend, Lemon Hearts.”

“You’re Twilight Sparkle, right?” Lemon Hearts asked. “Twilight Velvet’s daughter?”

“Yeah.” She said, quietly moving her hair to cover up her ears. Unlike normal Elves, whose ears stuck out away from their heads, her's lay flat against her head, a testament to her mixed parentage.

“I’m Twilight’s roommate, Lyra.” Lyra said, drawing the conversation away from her friend. “I’m from Star City, how about you two?”

“We both grew up in Sun City.” Twinkleshine explained, “But I have to say, I prefer the more natural style of Moon City to the hard, geometrics of Sun City.” She looked over at Moondancer, “What about you?”

The red-haired Elf was reading a book and looked like she hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation. “I- I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“We wanted to know where you were from.”

“I grew up in Autumnsdale.” She said before putting her head back into the book, more out of embarrassment than disinterest.

“That’s nice. What about you…”

“Minuette. I’m from Star City as well. I want to become a mugician.”

There was a bit of confused silence from the other passengers, finally Twilight asked the question, “What is a mugician?”

“A music magician. I want to play truly magical music. When I was little, a traveling group of performers stopped in our town, and their music really was magical. Flowers bloomed, water danced around, tiny fireworks went off. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I want to be able to do that kind of magic.”

“You might be able to if you stayed in class for once.” Twinkleshine said, sarcastically.

“Hey! It’s not my fault I leave before the Professors are done talking. If they say, ‘class is over’ then that should mean the class is over, not ‘I’m going to say something very important now’.”

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle a little at the other girl’s outburst. The rest of the trip went by in relative quiet. Until the caravan arrived in Greenvale. The population was mostly Humans, with a few Halflings and Gnomes scattered about. The buildings looked to be made of brick, plaster and wood. Many had straw thatched roofs. The caravan traveled over the cobblestones until it stopped in front of a homely looking building labeled ‘The Cider Barrel’.

The students received a number of looks from the local peoples, not hostile looks, but more of curiosity.

“May I have your attention!” A short, portly woman with red hair wearing an apron stood next to Celestia. “My name is Cupcake. I want to welcome you all to Greenvale. You will be staying in The Cider Barrel while you are here. We have made up six rooms for you all, so you’ll have to share, three to a room.”

“And no co-ed rooms.” Celestia said, firmly. A few of the guys groaned.

Twilight looked at Lyra, who only had to nod to let her know that she would stay with her. As for their other roommate…

[Ask Minuette. She's a little too hyper for me, but I'm sure Lyra would love to know more about her theory on mixing music and magic]

[Ask Moondancer. I've sat next to her in class before, she's a smart student and she loves books. That and she hugged me yesterday.]

[Leave it to chance. I think it may be better if we just trust Celestia to assign us a roommate. Talking to people is hard.]

Author's Note:

Voting Link.
If you feel Twilight should ask one of the other characters introduced, say so in the comments. If it gets enough likes, that may be the final outcome.