Not many people are familiar with the tale of the Village Within The Sands, its one of those tales that can drive a pony mad and greedy. Not me though, ever since I was a filly I dreamed of finding the lost riches of Equestria, not for greed, not for power, and certainly not for wealth. I wanted to travel for the adventure! I have a house in Ponyville, a nice village with even nicer residents. So i spend my time in that house when i’m not out on a crazy adventure. It’s in this house where my adventure began.
It’s a hot Sunday, I willingly make my way out of bed to get a cup of cider. I suddenly hear a loud knock on the door, I slowly walk to the door, thinking it’s the mail pony with her usual drop off of the newspaper, but to my surprise its my young companion Serafina, she’s an earth pony. Her deep blue eyes stare at me with excitement, I can’t help but look at her beautiful tan coat, she is probably the best companion i’ve ever had. She used to live in Canterlot but moved to Ponyville, she is smart, a good navigator, and most of all loyal. She runs in with excitement, looking for a place to sit. she finds a place to sit in my main room.
She pulls out a book and slowly flips through the pages, she stops at a page and tells me in a frantic voice “Read that page, read it now and i guarantee you will be amazed!”
I read the page slowly and carefully, the page talks about the fabled Village Within The Sands! The story dates back many centuries, being one of the oldest legends ever written. It tells of a village deep within the sands of the Equestrian Desert, the village was a thriving community given to the villagers by the “Sand God”. The village had enough resources to provide life for centuries, but one day the village disappeared without a trace. Ponies say that the village simply got lost in time, others say that the “Sand God” was angered by the greediness of the villagers, deciding not to help travelers when they needed supplies. According to legend if anypony were to stumble across the lost village, they are promised the untold riches of it!
Serafina looks at me waiting for my reaction, I turn, look her in the eyes, and say with ease in my voice “I guess its time for another adventure!”
She trots around happy as can be, she looks at me with her beautiful blue eyes and says cheerfully “I can’t wait for this one!”
Little did she know was that this was the most dangerous, and possibly the last, adventure we would see each other in.
It’s Monday now, and everypony is out and about, but I am looking for information regarding The Village Within The Sands. I decide to check the local library to which a nice pony by the name of Twilight Sparkle, she helped me look at some more books over the village. The village is, according to legend, still somewhere in the center of the Equestrian Desert! I hurry home to write about my new findings in my journal that i keep to write about my adventures. Serafina doesn’t seem to be around so i trot into town to buy more apples from Applejack. There is quite a long line so i wait for a few minutes until I am interrupted by a young pony. His coat is pure white, blood red eyes, and an orange/yellow mane! I am amazed by his appearance, he looks at me with a blank expression on his face. He does this for a minute or two just studying me as if he has seen me before.
I start to get nervous, i can feel myself sweating so i yell out “WHO ARE YOU!’ With a blank expression still on his face he smiles.
He looks at me and calmly asks “You’re Phoenix right?”
I am surprised he knows its me so I answer “Why yes, yes I am.”
He proceeds to tell me that he has a dream, the very same one i had when I was just a filly! He wants to become a treasure hunter, the best in all of equestria, I can tell this pony wants to follow his dreams so I ask him if he wants to be my second companion. He looks at me with his eyes tearing up, i can tell how happy he is, and he gives me a huge hug!
We both walk back to my Ponyville house, he tells me more about himself. His name is Torch, and his parents were both murdered by an unknown killer, he has lived his life in an orphanage, he was bullied by the other kids, he was never adopted because of his strange fiery colors, he wanted to be a treasure hunter because he has heard of me, and he is happy that I took him in. Torch has had a terrible life, and I warned him many times that it might get worse. He doesn't seem to care at all, happily walking into my house and sitting down on my couch. I proceed to tell him about the new adventure we are going to embark on.
Serafina finally comes to my house, she has brought everything we need, water, turbans, guns, and last but not least a map of the Equestrian Desert. Serafina packs the stuff we need into bags, while I carefully look over the map.
Torch is looking at guns when he tells me “Phoenix, i’ve.......i’ve never shot a gun before.”
I’m not surprised, how would an orphan know how to shoot a gun. I tell him “Torch we only carry guns to protect ourselves from other ponies or creatures we encounter, we probably won’t need to use them.” He looks at me with an understanding face, but still says nothing.
I study the map, and it’s confusing a bunch of trails crossing into each other, but i noticed one small mistake, its in the left hand corner of the map, its torn.....
I think i just found the location of the Village!
