Chapter 1
"Hurry, Spike, we're going to be late!!!" Twilight huffed rooting through her library, clearly frustrated. "The wisdom seminar I have to attend with the Princesses is only in half an hour!!! Where is 'Winds of Wisdom?'" She frantically looked from book to book, furiously saying "no" for every book she glanced at.
Spike walked into the room, scratching his head. "The Winds of what?" Twilight groaned.
"Winds of WISDOM, Spike," she replied, not looking up from her task at hoof. Spike chuckled and walked over to a shelf, pulling out a book.
"You mean this one?" he asked, waving it for her to see.
Twilight looked up. When she saw the book, she started grinning like mad. Then she broke out into laughter, rolling around on the floor. "Of COURSE it was under the 'psychology' section! Boy do I feel stupid!!" she exclaimed, calming herself down. Spike rolled his eyes as Twilight took the book away from him. "Come on, now!" she said, motioning towards the door and kneeling.
Spike then climbed onto her back, and then the two were off.
The seminar was led by a pony named Red Feather, who gave the speech. It seemed a little bit...odd. It felt like it wasn't even real wisdom. The Princesses seemed to know it, too. They didn't say a thing, though.
Spike wasn't listening at all, and he even fell asleep in the middle of it. Twilight glanced down and gave him a nudge. "Spike, wake up," she hissed. He jolted up and looked around. When he saw Twilight's face, he gave her a sheepish look, then tried to pat attention again.
"And that, my fellow ponies, is the great way to gain knowledge of the deeper self. Once you do, you will feel more wise, more powerful, and more loving," concluded Red Feather. She said the word loving with an edgy bite to it.
A round of applause sounded right afterward, and Red Feather held up her hooves and soaked it all in. The only ones not clapping were the four Princesses in the back. "If there is anything about that speech that could of been wise, it would of been not to say anything at all," Luna mentioned as they left the Ponyville seminar building.
"Agreed," replied Twilight. "I felt like nothing she said was true at all. If anything, it sounded...evil." Cadance and Celestia nodded in agreement.
"Well, Twilight, you best be on your way to Fluttershy's," Cadance said, interrupting the mood. "You don't want to miss tea time."
Twilight smiled at her step sister, and started off in another direction. "Already on it," she replied. "Goodbye!! "The others waved to her as she went down the path to Fluttershy's.
"You know," Celestia said, "Equestria does seem to be missing something, but it definitely isn't that so-called wisdom." The others nodded in agreement, then walked off in silence.
The weather outside was very nice, especially enjoyable if you're having tea time with one of your all time best friends.
Which was exactly what Twilight was doing until they were interrupted.
She and Fluttershy were having a very nice conversation when they were interrupted by a bright light from the sky slowly descended to the west, like a graceful falling star. They were alarmed by this, but at the same time very curious. When it finally settled, Twilight estimated how far it landed from them. Then, they made the decision to investigate.
As they were on their way, Twilight was bursting with excitement. "Do you think it would let me do research on it? Oooh, maybe it could talk!!! Wouldn't that be cool, Fluttershy? Especially if it spoke our language?" While she was chatting, Fluttershy had her own questions.
"Is it hurtful? Does it eat animals? What if it is an animal? That would be so cool!!"
As they were still talking to themselves, they approached the place where the light landed. There was a scorched ring of plants, and a burning cross etched into the soil. There were also tracks of some kind leading off to the left. "C'mon, Flutters," said Twilight, "Whatever it is, it couldn't of gotten far." Then they followed the tracks.
They followed them through a meadow, which was bursting with wildlife. The birds sang as they flew over the two friends, the field mice chattered excitedly, and the grass let out sighs as the breeze went by. The smell of sweet grass was strong, and it was satisfying. A bunny hopped up onto Fluttershy's back, snuggling into her mane. "Awww, wook at yoo!! Aren't you just a cootie wootie poo!" Fluttershy exclaimed in a baby voice, petting the rabbit.
Then Twilight butted in. "Ahem," she said, clearing her throat. Fluttershy jumped slightly, then turned and gave her a sheepish smile while blushing profusely.
"Sorry," she muttered. "I got carried away." Twilight just smiled at her and nudged her on.
The tracks led to a small lake that was surrounded with trees. On all sides it sloped down at a steep angle, and it was another major hub of all kinds of wildlife.
The lake softly lapped onto the shores while the trees rustled as the wind blew through their leaves. The smell of wildflowers was overwhelming, as they lined the shore.
Fluttershy was in her own paradise. Her eyes were shining with excitement.
The tracks led on right up to a rock protruding from the lake's shores. The creature they had been tracking was in a sitting position on the rock, but it was nothing they had been expecting. When the two friends saw Him, they gasped.
They were not ready for this.