The sun had set as we continued the walk through the desert of eternal sand. The wind had begun to get brisk. It chilled me through my coat, seeping to the bone. I shivered and shook, my teeth slightly chattered. I never felt cold like this before, or not at all, even. So what I heard about the desert was true. It was dry and hot during the day, and cool at night. But the wind was not like winter wind. It was dry and harsh.
"W-when are we going to stop? It's getting kind of cold." Rarity asked. Great. She may have been in love with Twilight, but her complaining self certainly did not leave. Twilight nuzzled into Rarity as they walked even closer together than before.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll keep you warm." Twilight and Rarity giggled softly. I wish I could know that kind of happiness. It seemed sweet and innocent, but maturity was another part it. Love was a huge thing, and two of my best friends overpowered it, taking it to their own hearts. They matured through their feelings and became one, basically through fighting for what they believed was right.
"Fluttershy, you're awfully quiet. Is somethin' wrong?" Apple Jack asked, walking next to me. The butterflies fluttered in my stomach and I felt the warmth flush in my cheeks. I was blushing, and I was nervous about Apple Jack. I knew I liked her, but I also felt she liked Rainbow. I fell on my words like I always did, and tried to keep it normal.
"I'm okay. I just have n-nothing to talk about, that's all."
"Come on. I'm one of your best friends. You can tell me anything if something is bothering you. Well, besides missing home." I gasped and swept my head to the side. I couldn't come up with a lie. That would be bad. But I also couldn't tell her the truth. No…not yet. I looked ahead and saw feint lights. They weren't stars.
"Girls, look!" I said softly. Apple Jack gave me a concerned look, but ran to the top of the hill where all of us stopped behind Lightning. She only talked once, and it was to me. Other than that, while all of us were walking, tired out, she just stared on and continued walking without a single complaint. Lightning didn't even pant.
We gasped at the lights across small houses. It was a small town, without a doubt. But before we even took a hoof forward, Lightning put one hoof out, blocking us.
"I think I should go ahead."
"I'll go with you." I said quickly. Every pony including Spike looked at me surprised, because I would never want to walk into some strange town past some desert. I gulped, but I pumped up some confidence. I had to get away from Apple Jack, or else she'd drive my heart and emotions crazy.
"Fine, but-"
"Stop where you are!" A colt voice interrupted her. The dust around us began making circles, and flew into the air. Colts with green and brown clothing surrounded us, with metal objects in hoof. Some flying contraptions that certainly weren't balloons hovered above us loudly, and made loud humming noises. All eight of us backed into each other and looked around. Lightning had her teeth gritted.
"Damn…" I heard her curse. Spike shivered uncontrollably.
"Who are these ponies?" He asked nervously. Lightning scoffed.
"Must be some militia. But we can't take them on. There's too many. But didn't you say no pony has gotten past that desert?"
"We told you our princess left us a letter stating that we would be entering another world through the desert."
"I've been through other worlds before. There would have been a portal."
"So maybe this is a different part of Equestria. And it is way more advanced."
"It's not that, Spike," Twilight started. "We are in a different world."
"Who are you?" Rainbow Dash asked. The ground rumbled, and it even surprised the colts that surrounded us. That was when I noticed there were mares in this militia as well. Suddenly a huge, worm popped out of the ground. It turned to us with thousands of sharp teeth, but no eyes.
"What the heck is that?" Rarity asked surprised. Lightning ran up to the monster.
"It's our first enemy." We all ran up to her and the battle started. I didn't want to fight, so I stood in the back. Lightning concentrated the magic in her horn and sent a burning rock to the worm's mouth. It went in and the brown, rough creature howled. It made a made a dive into the earth, sending multiple ponies into the air. The monster kept going until it was gone. The ground no longer trembled. Rainbow caught the ponies, and the flying contraption with spinning blades hit the ground. A colt with a blond mane and a black coat with sunglasses walked out. His blond mane was spiky and short. His cutie mark was that of a…knife? But it was shaped far more differently.
"Hello, fellow ponies and…dragon?" The colt cleared his throat. "Sorry about surrounding you like that. We have a lot to talk about."
"Cutting to the chase, huh? What kind of welcome is that?" Lightning asked sarcastically. The colt did not take kindly to the sarcasm and raised his hoof. The colts and mares raised their metal objects and they seemed to be aiming directly at us.
"Welcome to Fort Sands. This is where the idea of magic and friendship is changed completely. You'll see why when we imprison you right…now." At least twenty colts came and cuffed us, pushing us face down into the dirt. Lightning and Rainbow fought for a few seconds. But stopped when they realized they could do nothing. They were rather harsh with me, and I sighed. I knew something bad was going to happen. And what a welcome. We were prisoners, and we never even got to say hi.