The stars. Many strange twinkles in the sky, all shining to the best of their ability. A long time ago, Scootaloo would've thought they were all tiny lights shining through a big piece of construction paper by some sort of unseen force. Then, she started to see them up close, and as it turns out, they were more beautiful then she had believed.

Such childish innocence she had. Shame it had to be ripped apart.

But how? Well, perhaps in order to understand, one must understand that life has many lessons, and that she had to learn them the hard way. The first of them would have to be this; Adventure can arise with each step you take.

And coincidently, the day she learned that was also the day our story began, seven years ago. Back in those days, Ponyville was thriving. Many more ponies have moved in, and the once humble town grew. Not on the surface, but rather underground.

It grew because of the constant work of the diggers, ponies who have found an affinity for digging holes, and eventually tunnels. Some have grown to the size of a small town, and many ponies found jobs in those areas. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, a trio of fillies dedicated to finding their special talent, were among them, and although they found it fun to be playing in the dirt, it really wasn't their special talent. However, they still help out partially because it's enjoyable somehow, and partially because they keep finding shiny objects underground.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle, did you find anything cool?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I found this blue and red coat," Sweetie Belle answered, "You?"

"I found this neat looking pendent," Apple Bloom replied, holding up a tiny pendant which resembled a gold drill.

"And I found a neat pair of goggles!" Scootaloo finished, wearing them.

"How about you try them on?" Sweetie Belle asked.

So, Scootaloo tried them on. Despite the layer of dirt on them, she looked, for lack of a better term, awesome beyond all comparison.

"Hey, maybe we should show this to everypony, and make them feel jealous!" Apple Bloom suggested.

"YAY!" The three shouted and trotted off, completely ignoring the giant metal face looking at them. And the skeleton they looted. And the fact that another skeleton was walking around gesturing wildly in a red cape and orange sunglasses.

…Moving right along…

On the Surface, Rainbow Dash was giving Rarity some ideas about male fashion.

"Look, I'm about 80% sure guys prefer their outfits to look cool," Rainbow Dash replied, "And the style seems to go great with girls too."

"Well, I'm sorry if I can't make it so my fashions are not significantly 'cool' enough, but I'm not focused on them so much," Rarity replied, "Gentlemen prefer simplicity, as it equates to maturity."

"Girls, are you two arguing again?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Playful Banter, Sweetie," Rarity replied, "What is it that I can do for you?"

"We found this stuff while digging, and I think you should give us an opinion," Sweetie Belle turned to her now-clothed friend.

"Aside from the light dirt cover, it is an interesting fashion choice," Rarity replied.

"It's freaking awesome!" Rainbow Dash added, "THIS is the definition of cool!"

"… Perhaps I should take lessons from you," Rarity smirked, satisfied at her joke.

At this moment, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle ran in.

"What's with you ponies?" Rarity asked.

"There's something wrong with the sky!" Applejack pointed upwards.

"It's scaring all the animals!" Fluttershy added.

"And I'm twitching like nuts!" Pinkie Pie added onto that.

"I think we may have to investigate," Twilight replied.

And so, the six ponies, accompanied by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and indeed, the sky was behaving oddly. The clouds were gathering in a spiral pattern, and darkening.

"There's some kind of weird magic that's being generated from the center. There's no telling what could happen, so I recommend we get everypony to the underground levels," Twilight Sparkle theorized.

"Maybe that's a good idea-" Fluttershy began, only to be frightened by a massive thunderclap.

Everypony turned their eyes up, and saw something emerge.

It was massive, and resembled a cockatrice from a distance. However, as it grew closer, it stopped looking like such, instead resembling a massive cockatrice heat with wings, lower legs, and a long tail. It was even more surprising to note that it seemed to be made entirely of metal.

"A GUNMAN!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

The machine, which we'll call a Cockatrice Gunman for simplicity, landed, and opened its eyes. Looking around, it set its slights on Ponyville, and crowed.

"Well, this is gonna be one heck of an adventure!" Scootaloo noted.

And today, we learn one important lesson; Adventure can arise with each step you take.

And the universe is freaking crazy. Just saying…