Chapter one: A big surprise
Princess Twilight Sparkle looked around her room and nodded in satisfaction. Everything was in its proper place, her quills and ink pots arranged in small rows along the edge of her desk, her bed made, her books stacked in alphabetical order, and her regalia polished to perfection and sitting directly in the center of her head right behind her horn. Now it was time to wake up Spike. She walked to the door of the joined room and braced herself for the storm. She opened the door. The stench of corn chips and sweaty feet blasted directly in her face. She gasped, horrified by the sight she beheld.
Comic books and half eaten gems littered the floor, old pizza and hay fries sat on the book shelves, and pictures of Rarity pretty much papered the walls. In the middle of this disgusting sea of teenage boy-ness sat a king size bed with a lanky dragon sleeping, limbs splayed across the fine silk sheets. Twilight sighed.
She had tried the aging spell on Spike because, well, he was only a few years younger than Twilight and he was always complaining about how Everypony called him a baby. Now he looked his age Everypony saw him as he really was. Twilight started picking up his room with her magic.
“Sometimes I feel more like his mother than his sister.” She grumbled. Spike stirred and flopped over. One eye opened and he saw the alicorn putting his things away.
“Oh hey Twi! What are you doing up this early?” Spike Mumbled sleepily.
“Spike its noon.” Twilight stated bluntly.
“Oh.” The teen dragon said sheepishly. He sat up in bed and stretched. “So, any perilous adventures today?” Spike yawned swinging his arms down.
“You forgot!?” exclaimed Twilight. “Were going to check on the tree of harmony, didn’t I mark it on your calendar?” Twilight couldn’t believe he had forgot one of the most important roles given to her and her friends.
“Um no offence Twi, but I don’t think anypony looks at the calendar you gave them.” Said Spike matter-of-factly. Twilight just rolled her eyes.
“Ok then, send a letter to each of our friends. Tell them to meet us here in half an hour. Oh and tell the guards that there will be no court today.” Twilight said. Now it was Spikes turn to roll his eyes.
“Ok mom!” he said to Twilight.
“I’m not your mom and you know that!” Twilight fumed stamping her front hoof. She absolutely hated it when somepony said something false. Spike leaned away from the livid alicorn and put his hands up in a gesture of peace.
“Ok, geez! I didn’t know that would bother you so much!” he said. He walked over to his desk and brushed off some old chip bags and a half eaten burrito. He grabbed some parchment and his pencil and began writing the letters.
“Finally!” Twilight muttered as she walked out the door towards the kitchen to make them some lunch.
40 minutes later
Twilight and her friends reached the gorge. They started down the stone stairs, Fluttershy with some apprehension and a small squeak. When they reached the bottom of the canyon it was almost pitch black. The only light was the bright glowing of Twilight and Rarity’s horns, and the faint light of the tree of harmony.
The crystal tree still dazzled the six ponies as they stared up at the sparkling branches and the six Elements of Harmony.
“Um, girls?” Fluttershy said quietly. The other didn’t seem to hear her. “Girls?” She said again this time gently poking Applejack in the side. They still didn’t answer. Twilight’s horn was now glowing with her analysis spell. “GIRLS!” Shouted the demure Pegasus. This time Everypony gave her their full attention. Fluttershy pointed at a now stirring mound of indigo fur. The ponies waited. A head popped up, then the pony stood stretching. She hadn’t noticed that she had and audience yet. She was an Indigo Bat-pony with a short scraggily dark purple mane. Wrapped around her waist was a large white bandage. Just then her eyelids opened revealing bright blue eyes.
It was then she saw the six ponies standing In front of the tree she had been napping behind. Her pupils shrank and she tensed herself. Then she jumped. The Elements all hit the dirt, except Rainbow Dash who flew higher. The Bat-pony sailed over their heads and landed behind them. Unfortunately for her she landed on a rather sharp stone. She winced but it didn’t stop her. She began running to the other side of the large gorge. The six ponies behind her began to stand. When they saw her running away, of course they followed her.
After a couple minutes running they had almost caught up with the terrified Bat-pony. Then she disappeared. The ponies screeched to a halt and looked around for what caused the pony to escape. It was Applejack who finally saw it.
“Hey ya’ll, I think I found it!” They all crowded around the farm mare. She was pointing at a small hole in the ground. It was small enough to be overlooked but just big enough for a very thin pony to fit through. And the Bat-pony had looked like she lived on nuts and berries. Twilight used her magic to carve the hole so it was big enough for them to fit through. When they had slipped down the hole they found that the small cave they were in branched off in several different directions. Twilight began looking franticly from one tunnel to the next.
“Hey, what are those little red marks?” asked Pinkie.
“What red…….” Twilight trailed off as she saw what the party pony was looking at.
“Poor dear! She must have cut herself on a rock or something!” said Rarity.
“Well what are we waiting for?” asked Dash as she rocketed down the tunnel with the hoof prints. The five remaining ponies looked at each other and ran after the headstrong Pegasus.
They rounded a corner and came to a dead end. Standing in front of the wall of rock was the indigo Bat-pony. She turned and saw the six ponies from before. She closed her eyes and sighed in defeat. She laid down on the ground and put her head down on her hooves. Fluttershy walked over to her and patted her back.
“Uh what happened to your wings?” asked Rainbow. Rarity flinched at her bluntness.
“What are you doing in the everfree forest?” asked Pinkie.
“Where are ya’ll from?” asked Applejack.
“Who are you?” asked Twilight. The Bat-pony held up her hooves against the onslaught of questions.
“Oh this is awkward,” Sighed the mare. “And a very long story.”
“Well we have plenty of time.” Said Rainbow Dash crossing her front hooves. Her friends all started glaring at her. “What?” she said defensively.
“Rainbow, that was very rude! She doesn’t have to tell us!” chastised Fluttershy. Rainbow chuckled weakly and shrugged.
“Hmm, where to begin?” The Bat-pony pondered. “Well I guess it all started when I was a small filly.” She began.
“I never knew my biological parents. The ponies at the orphanage told me they didn’t know why they abandoned me. But even when I was small I knew. It was because of what I was. Bat-ponies or Thestrals are born to normal ponies. You don’t have to have one as a parent. Just as an ancestor. It’s sort of a hereditary thing. Well I knew that’s why they didn’t want me. I was the outsider at the orphanage, the freak, the punching bag. But then one day everything seemed to clear up for me. I was adopted by a young, rich, earthpony couple who couldn’t have foals. They said they were from Manehattan.”
“Now when I was born one of my wings wasn’t fully developed. The bones where to small and the webbing was too thin. The doctors told my adoptive parents that I would never fly. They never told me. I just thought that I was special, well more special.” The indigo pony bared her fangs when she said that.
“Well anyway, I always dreamed of flying. Literally! Almost every night I dreamt of flying, feeling the wind in my mane, feeling free and happy. Unfortunately I always had to wake up. And have to go to school, where the only reason nopony teased me was because my parents were rich. I only had one friend, she wasn’t a filly. She was all grown up, she was more of an idol really. Once a week she would put me on her back and fly around town. One day she held me up on one of her hooves. Despite the hoof on my belly it felt like I was really flying. But my friend was too busy looking at me, I guess I just looked to cute with my eyes closed and my little hooves stuck out in front of me like I was SuperStallion or something.”
“Well she wasn’t looking where she was going, and….. Well….. S-she” The Thestral started choking up. Twilight conjured up a handkerchief and gave it to the Thestral. She blew her nose and handed it back. “Thanks.”
“S-she flew into a storm cloud. She dropped me before I could get shocked. I tried to open my wings and glide to the ground but the webbing in my undeveloped wing tore in the wind. I crashed down on my good wing. The last thing I remember before I blacked out was the crack of my wing bones and my friend’s screams of pain. She didn’t survive. I was in a coma for her funeral. And after I came home everything changed. My parents didn’t talk to me. I had to make my own meals. And my mom stopped coming to kiss me at night. They abandoned me when I needed them most. Just like my real parents. I was only eleven.”
“I knew they didn’t love me anymore. So I grabbed a scarf and my dad’s hunting Knife, and ran away. I travelled for about two weeks then I came upon this forest. After I had explored a bit I decided to stay. All the cloth stuff in that old castle somehow survived, so I stay in one of the old bedrooms and I tear up curtains and stuff when I need to change the bandages on my wings. And food wise it’s not so bad! There are some overgrown berry bushes in that castles garden, and if those aren’t enough there’s a couple of zap apple trees near the edge of the forest. I dry and store some of the berries and apples for winter. So yeah I’ve lived here ever since that day. I hope that answered all your questions.” She finished her story with a smile.
“Wow, ya’ll was only eleven!?” asked Applejack. The Thestral nodded.
“You and your friend, it kind of sounds like Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo!” Said Pinkie.
“Who’s Scootaloo?” asked the Bat-pony.
“She’s kind of like my sister.” Said Rainbow. “Anyway I can’t even imagine not being able to fly!”
“Well I’ve never flown, and I never will. I’m used to it.” said the indigo pony.
“Do you want to come with us to Ponyville?” asked Twilight.
“No thank you. I’m happy here.” She yawned. “Um I don’t want to be rude, but you woke me from my nap. When you live in the wild you need lots of rest.”
“We’re sorry dear, I for one know the importance of beauty sleep. Would you like us to escort you to the castle?”
“Sure! Hmm I guess that were friends now right?” asked the Thestral. The six other ponies nodded. “Wow, I haven’t had a friend in like ten years!” She exclaimed.
The Bat-pony led them from the gorge into the decaying castle. Then she entered a room with a full moon painted on the door.
“This must have been Princess Luna’s room!” exclaimed Twilight excitedly.
“Yes that’s why I chose this room.” Said the indigo pony, climbing onto the bed. “Well come visit me! It was nice talking to normal ponies for once.”
“What do you mean normal ponies?” asked Rainbow.
“Well the only creatures hear are Timber wolfs, Manticores, the occasional Hydra, and that Zebra.” The Bat-pony said.
“Well we’d best be going, I still have to feed the bunnies, and Harry needs a massage.” Said Fluttershy.
“Yeah Fluttershy’s right, but you never told us your name.” said Twilight.
“Azure, just call me Azure.” Said Azure and she curled up and closed her eyes. Twilight and her friends caught the hint and left the castle, Azure’s story still ringing in their ears.