Village of Ur

Author's Note:

For the remainder of this story, I'll be using both NES and 3-D versions of the soundtrack, depending on the location as Twilight and her friends travel with this world's Warriors of Light (except for some character moments for the ponies). For scenes back in Equestria, however, just whatever track I find most fitting, period.

Somewhere on a field near a small village surrounded by mountains, a flash of light appeared bringing the two ponies Twilight Sparkle and Applejack into this new world.

As soon as Twilight opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was her friend Applejack, struggling to get back on her hooves.

"Applejack! Are you alright?"

"Ah... Ah think so, Twi," the cowgirl replied. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," said Twilight, "but I think we're definitely a few heads short again!"

Sure enough, Spike and the other ponies were nowhere to be seen.

Feeling worried, Twilight called out, "Spike, where are you?!"

"Spike!" Applejack called. "Rainbow! Pinkie Pie!"

"Rarity! Where are you?"

"Rainbow Dash!!" No answer. As Applejack looked around, she then noticed Twilight's current state. "Uh, Twilight...?"

"Yeah?" she asked, turning to the cowgirl's voice. From the look on her friend's face, she could tell right away what the problem was. "Let me guess: my wings and my horn are missing... again..."

"Eeyup," said Applejack, calmly.

Twilight's expression turned to one of annoyance. "Figures..."

They returned to calling out to their friends and after wandering around and looking all over, found the entrance to a cave on their left. Wondering if Spike one of the other ponies was transported on his own and found himself inside, the ponies went into the cave.

Altar Cave

As they stepped in the cave, Twilight and Applejack resumed calling for their missing friends.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight called out. "Pinkie!"

"Rarity! Spike! Where are y'all?"

Seeing as they didn't get a reply from either of their friends, the ponies grew worried and went down the stairs. Once they reached the second floor, they heard the sound of a young male screaming as if he was falling down a pit. They rushed over to the source and sure enough, there was a hole in the ground, surrounded by skeletal remains. Not wanting a poor youth in any further danger, the two ponies jumped down the hole and encountered a young boy of 14 with long silver hair tied behind the back of his head and violet eyes struggling to get back on his feet. He wore light purple turtleneck covered by a dark violet sweatshirt and a sienna vest, along with brown gloves, long light gray pants, black knee-high boots, and carries a light brown belt bag.

"You alright there, sugarcube?"

"Yeah, I... I think so," said the young lad. As he turned to look at who the voices belonged to, he flinched and almost fell on his behind. "W-Wait a minute! Y-You're talking ponies!!"

Finally, someone actually calls us ponies... both girls thought.

"Yes, that's correct. But you don't need to worry; we won't hurt you," Twilight reassured the teenager.

"Y-You sure?"

The purple pony nodded. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Applejack."

"...Interesting names," said the boy. "Mine's Luneth."

"What exactly are you doing here, Luneth?"

"I'm here 'cause that big earthquake opened up this cave, and I thought this was my chance... my calling."

"Yer... callin'?" said the cowgirl as she tilted her head.

"A calling for adventure, of course!"

"That's pretty reckless, going in a place like this just because you want adventure! What if--" Twilight stopped in the middle of her lecture, realizing who this boy reminded her of and why they came in the first place.

"Oh, no! Our friends!!"

"Your friends?" Luneth inquired. "So there are more of you?"

Twilight nodded. "There are three more ponies and our friend, Spike."

"Who's 'Spike?'"

"You haven't seen a purple dragon anywhere in this cave, have you?"

"No... No, I haven't. Is it dangerous?"

"No," the girls replied in unison.

"Why not?"

"Because that dragon and the 'Spike' we're looking for are one and the same! He's one my friends!"

"Friend?! You're friends with a dragon?"

"Mm-hmm," said Applejack. "Ah've known the little guy ever since he and Twilight came to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration. He won't do ya any harm."

The boy took about six minutes registering the information in his head: two--or rather, five--talking ponies and a dragon? And a little dragon, at that. Shaking his head, Luneth sighed. "All right... Let's go find your friends and get outta here."

"Right," said the girls.

The ponies helped Luneth back up on his feet; after reassuring them he can still walk, he went on forward, only to be attacked by a group of goblins.

"Uh-oh!" said Applejack.

"Looks like he'll need some help!" said Twilight.

The three did battle with the monsters, Luneth unsheathing his sword as the two ponies went into their battle stances.

Twilight made the first move as she rammed into one goblin's chest with her head. Luneth then struck another with his sword three times, defeating the monster. Applejack then attempted to kick one with her hind legs, but the goblin jumped sideways, dodging the assault.

The goblin that Twilight attacked returned the favor by punching her in the muzzle.

"Ow!" the purple pony exclaimed, rubbing her sore spot. She turned and glared the little creature and charged her head into its chest again in retaliation. This time, the goblin disappeared, signifying its defeat. The last goblin chose to attack Luneth, ramming the boy with his shoulder, almost knocking him down.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." he answered, leering at the snickering goblin. Charging at the goblin, Luneth slashed it twice and defeated it, ending the battle in our heroes' favor.

"We won!" Luneth shouted.

"YEE-HAW!!!"

*music fades out*

"Hoo-wee! Ah ain't fought these things in a long time!"

"Let's celebrate later, A.J. We have to find our friends and get out."

That sentence brought Applejack back to reality. "Oh... Heh heh... Sorry, Twi. Just got excited and all..."

"I know. But we still need to move on. And if they aren't here... then we'll just leave and explore the outside area."

"Speakin' of that," said the orange earth pony. "Luneth, what's outside this cave again?"

"That'd be my hometown, Ur..." he replied. The boy sighed.

"What is it?"

"Uh... Never mind that, let's move on," he said.

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other, wondering what sort of trouble he'd gotten in. On the way they found two treasure chests six feet apart from each other. One contained a potion, and the other had a leather shield. Moving on, the trio found a strange rock. Pushing it, they opened a wall that blocked the way to the next floor. Ascending the stairs, they opened a few treasure chests sitting at the end of two narrow passages.

Then they fought against new monsters: one was a Carbuncle: a gemstone-shaped creature with an eye, and a plant-like being known as an Eye Fang. Though slightly stronger than the goblins they'd met, these monsters were still no match for our heroes.

Panting, the trio kept carrying on until Luneth noticed something on their right.

"What's that...?" he asked. The ponies looked where he was pointing and trotted toward it. They found it to be a beautiful spring gushing with fresh water. The boy joined the two and was relieved, for he was suddenly thirsty and sought to quench his thirst.

When they drank the spring water, their wounds had completely healed. Feeling refreshed the three resumed their trek through the cave and entered a mysterious chamber.

"Whoa, nelly..." said Applejack.

"What is this place? It somehow feels... familiar. No. Something similar..."

Just up ahead, our heroes could see something glowing in the distance. Before they could approach it, a form of evil energy appeared, surrounding the group. It then backed away 3 feet from them, taking the shape of a giant Land Turtle. The creature swung its foreleg at Luneth and observed the ponies with an evil glare. Not wanting to be the turtle's next meal, the girls took up their battle stances. Applejack ran up to it and gave it a good bucking. Although her strength was lessened, the earth pony's attack succeeded in pushing the reptile near the edge of the platform. Twilight bit the beast's tail, causing it to howl in pain.

The purple pony held on for her life, not wanting to let go. Luneth recovered and charged at the Land Turtle, landing 5 blows with his sword. Although the large reptile was formidable, it still fell to our heroes' attacks and was defeated.

As the three danced in victory, they noticed the object glimmering in the distance and resumed their walk toward it. As they reached it, they realized they were standing in an altar housing a large green crystal.

"You have been chosen," said a mysterious voice, alerting our heroes to its presence. They looked all around the chamber, but there was not a single soul to be seen: neither human, pony, nor dragon.

"Wh-Who's that?! Who's there?!" Luneth exclaimed.

"Where are you?!" Twilight shouted.

"Warrior from the land of darkness... Equines from another world... You have been chosen as the bringers of hope..."

The three looked around again, until their eyes stopped at the Crystal in front of them.

"Is.. Is it this crystal? Is that what's talking to us?" asked the youth.

"You are correct, Luneth..."

The boy exclaimed. How did this thing know my name? he thought.

"Darkness is threatening to engulf this world... and yours as well..."

The ponies gasped.

"Oh, no. Not again...!" said Twilight, holding her hoof in front of her muzzle.

"When light is lost, the equilibrium will be no more."

"Hold on, there!" said Applejack. "What in the hay are ya talkin' about?"

"There are others who share Luneth's destiny. Seek them out... And there are others like you as well, Applejack..."

"Huh? It... it knows mah name!"

"Forget about that! When you said there were others like her, do you mean to say there are more ponies?!" Twilight said, her eyes shimmering with hope.

"That is correct. Once you find them, I will bestow upon you our last light... our last hope. Now go!"

At that moment, a flash of light consumed the three heroes before they could protest. Opening their eyes, they found themselves outside the cave and back on the surface.

"What was that?" asked Luneth.

"I dunno, sugarcube," said Applejack. "But it ain't the first time me and Twilight met a talkin' crystal. In fact, that's how we got here in the first place."

Luneth looked to the girls and wondered what they meant.

"We'll tell you later," said Twilight who then spotted a village in a short distance from the cave. "Right now, let's go to that village over there." Why didn't we just go there before?! she thought, scolding herself. Wait a minute... That's the same village we saw saw at the Chamber of Crystals! What is wrong with me?

"That's my hometown," Luneth answered. "Come on!"

They then proceeded to the small town of Ur, Luneth's home.

Once they set hoof in town, the ponies took in the sights as they had seen a most peaceful village. There were butterflies fluttering about near some flowers. The villagers saw our heroes and looked cautiously at the two ponies, particularly Twilight. Feeling nervous, the purple pony tried to ignore their stares and whispers.

"Spike?" said Twilight. "Rainbow? Pinkie? Rarity?"

"Excuse me," said Luneth as he went into a house on the left from near the entrance.

"Wait. Luneth!" the purple pony said. "Where are you going?"

They followed him into the building but were quickly denied access due to them not being human.

An exasperated Twilight groaned.

"Consarn it!" yelled Applejack slamming the ground with her hoof.

*music fades out*

Just as they turned to explore the village, they saw the townspeople staring at them in shock. One woman held her hand over her heart as her eyes widened.

Twilight chuckled while Applejack displayed a nervous grin. "Um... Hi?"

"Oh... dear...!" the woman said in fright. "Th-Th-There's... more t-talking ponies?!"

"'More'?" the mares said in unison.

"Y-Y-Yes... I-It seems to be protective of one of the children living here..."

Just then, they heard sounds of mocking laughter, whimpering, and an angry snort. The ponies went ahead to the source of the sounds; Luneth emerged from the house and saw the commotion as well. He and the two equines saw three bullies harassing a young brown-haired, freckled teenage boy at whose side stood a familiar blue pegasus pony--who would have still been a pegasus had she not lost her wings upon arrival.

As for the poor youth she protected, he wore a yellow shirt covered by a long green coat, a white mantle, and a yellow scarf; he also wore fingerless gloves, black pants, and brown knee-high boots.

"Oh, yeah? Ghosts don't exist? Then go there yourselves and prove it!" said one of the bullies.

"Ha!" scoffed another bully. "You don't have the guts!"

"Oh, yeah! Why don't you stop harassing this kid and go there yourselves if you're so big and tough!"

"Last time I checked, we don't take orders from stupid horses!" one of the bullies mocked.

"I'm warning you..." Rainbow Dash growled.

"Hey, Arc. What's going on?" Luneth called. "And... is that a blue, rainbow-haired pony with you?"

As they heard his voice, the bullies turned around, seeing Luneth along with Twilight and Applejack who narrowed their eyes at the four youths, disapproving of their behavior. Their bravado gone, the bullies quickly left Arc and Rainbow Dash alone.

"Huh?" said Rainbow, noticing her friends. "Twilight! A.J.!"

"Rainbow!" said Twilight. The three friends trotted towards each other and embraced in a group hug.

"What are you doin' here?" asked Applejack.

"When we went into the portal, I think I may have conked out; the next thing I knew, I woke up here in this place," Rainbow stated.

"So this is one of the pony friends you mentioned," Luneth observed.

"Yep," said Twilight. "Let me introduce you to..."

"The one... The only... Rainbow Dash: best flyer in all Equestria! And soon to be the next captain of the Wonderbolts!" the cyan pony boasted, holding her head up high.

The mares sighed. No matter where they went, their blue friend still had that same ego.

"'Wonderbolts?'" Luneth questioned.

"Oh, that's right," Rainbow said, chuckling nervously. "Nobody knows about 'em here... Heh heh... Not even that old guy."

"Are you talking about Elder Topapa?"

"Yeah..."

"Is that whose house you went into?" asked Twilight.

Luneth nodded. "He told me that... I was chosen by the Crystals. That I was destined to save the world. I even told him about you two. He looked at me like I was confused, but then Elder Dahn came into the room and told him I was being followed by a purple pony and an orange one with a hat."

"Gee... Who could those be?" the blue pony smirked, giving a knowing look to her friends, which they shared.

"Well, anyway, we're so glad to see you Rainbow Dash," said Twilight. The purple pony turned to Luneth's friend. "Arc, was it?"

The boy, tearing up, ran away.

"Hey, wait, Arc! You don't have to run away from us!" said Luneth.

"Come back here!" said Applejack. "We won't hurt ya!"

As he went to the center of the village, Arc lamented his weakness, wishing he were stronger. He vowed to do prove it, even without his friend's help. And so he left the village and headed south...

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