The Start of a New Adventure
It was a nice sunny day, just the kind of day the unicorn named Celestia, pupil of Princess Twilight, preferred. Lots of things one could do on a day like that. However, for some reason, Celestia was reading in a grassy spot in Canterlot, in the Canterlot gardens near one of the ponds. She couldn't help it, it was just a reading kind of day to her, and, her teacher had really gotten her into reading lately. But, that wasn't the only reason she was out there today. The Magical Masterpiece Celebration was that night, and, she wanted to study in order to prepare for her teacher's special night. She wanted to try her hand at Inventing or finding new magic, and, so, she had decided to read to figure out what to do for the celebration in as short a time as she had, since she had been putting it off for so long.
...But, in the process, she had found something she hadn't expected; A story about two ancient sister-like princesses, who ruled over the land in harmony, one with the power of love, the other with the power of magic. Both loved the other like sisters very much. However, one day, the one with the power of love claimed that she wasn't getting enough credit, that the other one, with the power of magic, was ironically more loved and treasured than she, due to her magic constantly advancing and improving life in Equestria. The Princess with the power over Magic tried to reason with her, saying that if she was so unloved, then why did she let her brother marry the princess of love. However, the princess of love, her heart feeling too broken, and enraged, transformed into a wicked mare of desire. Left with no other choice, the princess of magic used the power of the Elements of Harmony to lock her sister in the special crystal heart, and then sealed the heart away, so that it could not be used against the citizens of Equestria.
"-And, Harmony has been maintained in Equestria ever since..." Celestia muttered to herself, before looking thoughtful. "Huh. The Elements of Harmony. Haven't I heard of those things somewhere...?"
Humming in thought, she magically tucked her book back into one of her saddlebags, and proceeded to start heading back toward her tower-
...But, unfortuantely, she was accosted-well, maybe accosted wasn't the right word. More like, 'had her way blocked'-by two unicorn mares. One of them started to speak. "Hey, Celestia, are you-?"
"No."
"But, you didn't even let me finis-!"
"Starstruck, I have better things to do right now than go to parties. First, I've got to research, and possibly warn the princess of an upcoming catastrophe! Then, I've got to figure out what I'm going to contribute to the Magical Masterpiece celebration. So, I'm sorry, but, no, I can't. At least, not this time. Maybe another time? Anyway, I've got to go talk to Garble, so, seeya!" She quickly brushed past the two of them, continuing on her way. She heard a jab at her that she believed had to do with her social skills, but, she ignored it. Starstruck probably didn't mean it anyway. She was just upset with Celestia.
Not that Celestia had time to think about that anyway, really. She had to do as much research as she could before she told the princess anything.
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"C'mon, Tia, this is a waste of time!" The red, orange, and yellow baby dragon said. Garble was very vocal about these things at times, but, that didn't mean he wasn't at least a semi-capable assistant, it was just, he could get on one's nerves at time. Not that Tia minded that much. She had gotten used to her adoptive younger brother's quirks from a young age. Still, he could get on one's nerves at time's especially now. "The Dark Hearted Mare is just an old filly's tale, that's all! I can't believe you're getting this worked up about it."
Tia rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah? Which would you rather I get worked about, Garble, this, or my Magical Masterpiece project, which I currently don't have?"
"Oh. Yeah, that's right." He huffed a bit, snorting smoke out of his nostrils. "Okay, I guess you have a point. You either get worked up over something you can't really control, or, something you're seriously lagging behind on. Your choice, I guess."
"Awwww, thanks, Garble, your approval means the world to me. Now, lets see..." Tia was in the midst of reading one of the books she had chosen for research, when- "...Garble?"
"Yeah, Tia?"
"This *is* the thousandth Magical Masterpiece Celebration, isn't it...?"
"...Yeah, you're right. But, what of it?"
"I gotta get my research to Princess Twilight now! Garble, take a letter."
Garble sighed, getting out a pen and parchment. "I was afraid you're going to say that..."
"Yeah, yeah, ha ha ha." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, 'Dear Princess Twilight, I wrote to you with the regret that I have to inform you of what's coming today. For you see, I've done some research, and, I've found out that on today, the thousandth Magical Masterpiece Celebration, there's a prophecy stating that the Dark Heart Mare's prison seal will crack open, and, deliver unto Ponykind a revenge which has not been seen in millenia, by my reckoning. I hope you will use this opportunity to potentially postpone the celebration, so that we can prepare for this eventuality with the powerful might of Ponykind's magic, your magic, my highness. Your Faithful Student, Celestia.'"
With that, Garble breathed out a purple flame, which seemed to disintegrate the paper, but, in reality, it just sent the letter to the Princess. "There. Though, you probably shouldn't get your hopes up. After all, she's a pretty busy pony, and, I doubt there's an old mare's tale out there that the princess doesn't know, considering how much she reads, which you probably should realize by now. Infact, I bet you five bits that she doesn't respond exactly the way you want to."
Tia chuckled. "You're on, Garble."
After a few minutes, Garble belched up a letter from the princess. Reading through it, he chuckled. "You're not going to like it. ...Also, you owe me five bits."
Indeed, as he read the contents of the letter, Tia didn't like it.
"She thinks I need to what?! But, she- ...Well, I mean, of course she gets out, she's the princess. But, she's the one who got *me* into reading! And, now she wants me to go up way north? There's nothing up there!"
"And, what does she need for you to stop in Ponyville for first?"
"...Oh! I heard there's a train station there now. Soooo...I guess we'll get to Ponyville via pegasus chariot, and, then head up north via train. ...But, why Ponyville? She says she wants me to check on certain ponies, but, that can't be right, can't it? ...Are we putting together a team?"
"Well, it does say, 'You should probably make some friends along the way.'"
"Riigggghhhhttttt...Okay, then, I guess we'll assemble a team, for some reason, and then head up North. You ready for this, Garble?"
"Eh, guess I can make some time into my busy schedule."
Tia smirked and chuckled. "That's what I thought."