My Little Pony: The Thousand Year Door - Chapter 1 Part 1

Summary: Princess Twilight Sparkle gets a mysterious map from her mentor, Princess Celestia, telling about an ancient treasure. When Twilight goes to check it out, she finds Princess Celestia has gone missing, so she meets up with seven new friends and stops a large threat to Equestria to find her and the treasure. This story takes place in an AU.

CHAPTER 1: CASTLE AND DRAGONSHY

Princess Twilight Sparkle and her new companion, Applejack, emerged from the pipe to Petal Meadows, where they were greeted by a beautiful meadow. "Well, here we are!" AJ spoke up. "The Petal Meadows, where ponyfolk says the Element of Kindness hides. Yee-haw! Let's go, Twilight!"

The girls immediately trotted forth. They soon stopped dead in their tracks when they heard a loud roar. The princess and earth pony looked up as a huge shadow loomed over them and away. "What in tarnation was THAT?!" Applejack questioned with surprise in her voice. She looked to her left and called out to Twi, "Wait, is that a... Whoa Nelly! Twilight! Look!"

Twilight looked in AJ's direction and saw a red dragon fly to a blue castle. "Incredible...!" She said.

"Ah've never seen anythin' that huge before! It looked purty scary too."

"That's strange. Professor Cheerilee said that this place was peaceful..."

"Ah know! This is crazy! We just started, and there's already stuff goin' on! Let's get goin'!"

AJ and Twilight passed by some rocks, three of them being slightly different. The one in the middle was shaped like a pedestal, one of the two larger rocks had a moon shaped hole on it and the other had a sun shaped hole. Twilight paused and pondered about those rocks for a second. Seeing as how they did nothing and she didn't have anything in her possession to do anything to them, she figured she would have to deal with them later. As she and her cohort trekked on, they found a Close Call badge, which Twilight equipped, they found some extra bits so Twilight would have some more money since that griffon stole half of it, and they came across what looked like a dead end. There was a gap in the middle of the path with a river in it. The two figured there used to be a bridge there. The princess figured there must be something they could find to get across besides teleporting (that could get tiring after awhile, even for Twilight). Applejack poked around some bushes and found a switch. She pressed down on it and a red bridge came into place. Twilight commented on AJ's good find and they crossed the bridge. They passed a gate that took them to a lovely village, where they were greeted by a pink unicorn with colorful pastel hair and a strawberry cutie mark. "Welcome travelers!"

"Good day to you! What is this place?" Asked Twilight.

"Where are you? Why, this is the village of Petalburg!" The unicorn placed her right forehoof on her left foreleg and looked away shyly. "Sorry, but it's been forever since we had visitors here. We're a rather remote place."

The alicorn and earth ponies cocked their heads in confusion and curiosity.

This unicorn, named Holly Dash, explained, "Yep, once that dragon, Hooktail, was spotted flying around here... Well, to put it this way, it didn't help tourism. Ponies just stopped coming here."

Applejack stepped up, "Dragon? Hooktail? Hey, Twilight, that must've been that humongous thing we saw earlier! So anyways, ma'am, have you heard of these Relics of Friendship known as the Elements of Harmony and the Crystal Heart? We're lookin' for 'em. It's very important!"

Holly Dash thought for a second and told them that she didn't know about them. Then she suggested they speak with the town's mayor, Granny Smith. "The mayor lives in that pink house up ahead. You should go check it out." She said.

"Granny Smith's here? In a pink house?" AJ asked. "Well, it should be easy to find."

Twilight nodded and thanked Holly Dash for her help. She and AJ moved forward. On the way, they bought a few items from the shop and Applejack told Twilight about her smart and wise grandmother. They reached another area of Petalburg and spotted a pink house. "That must be the place!" AJ commented.

"Let's go inside."

Twilight Sparkle knocked on the red door and a "HUH?" was heard from the other side.

"Ooh, Ah must tell ya, Twi. Mah Granny Smith's been rather forgetful as of late. Ah wonder if she still remembers me..."

Applejack opened the door to her granny's house and the duo approached her.

Twilight started off the conversation with the light green, elderly pony. "Excuse me? Mayor... Granny Smith?"

"Hmm? Whuzzat? Somepony there? Who is it? WHO?! What do ya want from me?"

"I-I'm-"

"Ah know! Yer thieves! Here to rob a defenseless old mare! Despicable!"

"What?! No!"

"Naw, go on, do what ya will, but as you can see, there ain't nuttin' to steal here. Oh, Ah guess Ah have some bits... Take it, ya fiends! But leave them photos of me and mah grandfoals. Can't do without those memories..."

Applejack finally corrected the mare, saying loud and clear that they were not thieves.

"What? Not thieves, ya say?" Asked Granny Smith as AJ and Twi shook their heads in response.

"Well then, what's yer story? Wait, you youngsters looking for them Relics of Friendship?"

The lavender pony nodded.

"Well, why didn't ya say so before? So, the Elements of Harmony and Crystal Heart yer looking for... What'd Ah hear 'bout them dern things again?"

The mayor pondered for a second, then explained to the ponies, "Aha! Got it! Hooktail! That dragon, Hooktail's got what ya want! They say it's this enormous and ornery dragon that eats ponyfolk. You know it, right?"

"Of course!" Twilight responded.

"We may have heard the name." Said AJ.

"Well, this here Hooktail's brutal fly-by snackings have us all on pins and needles." Said the old mare. She then asked, "Are you reckless fools... Ah mean, gallant heroines off to fight it off?"

"You got it!" the other two ponies replied.

"This DOES sound promisin'!" Granny beamed. "Why, if you can git rid of Hooktail, we'll shower you with gratitude and rewards."

The heroines smiled. Applejack's grandma thought she heard them say something, so she questioned, "What's that Ah hear? Y'all won't accept no reward?"

Twilight and AJ were confused. They didn't say anything about that. That's when the former replied with, "Uh... I guess not."

"Such an unselfish mare! Yer noble, indeed..." The senile mare then asked the princess what her name was.

She introduced herself, but Granny heard something else. "Twinkle Star? That be a fine name. Well now, Twinkle..."

Before Granny could continue, the two corrected her.

"It's "Twilight Sparkle"."

"The name is "Twilight Sparkle"."

The elder mare thought they spouted off with a compliment about her eyebrows, which she thanked them, then told them to listen up. She told them to find the secret pipe near the village that would gain them access to the castle. To use the pipe, they needed stone keys, objects located in a place called "Shhwonk Fortress". The princess and country student nodded, indicating that they got the message.

The ponies said their goodbyes and Twilight and AJ left the house. Once they did, three giggling fillies approached them. "Hey! Applejack! Applejack!" One called out.

"Why, Apple Bloom! Howdy! Never thought I'd see you, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo here!"

Apple Bloom, the yellow earth filly with a red mane wearing a pink bow, said to her older sister, "It's us, the wandering cutie mark hunters, the Cutie Mark Crusaders*!"

Then came Sweetie Belle, the white unicorn filly with a pink and lavender mane. She said, "This village is famous for the clear water, clean air, and..."

"That big, bad Hooktail!" Said Scootaloo, the orange pegasus filly with pink-purple hair. "We can't wait to see it!"

Applejack chuckled nervously about that Hooktail comment. "Well, you three stay safe, okay? I don't want you three gettin' in trouble, y'hear?"

"Will do, sis! See ya later!" And with that, they trio left.

Applejack explained to her new friend about her little sister and her friends a bit as they got to the village gatekeeper, Forsythia, a bluish-purple unicorn with a lime-green mane**.

Twilight got Forsythia's attention and Forsythia said, "An old stronghold called Shhwonk Fortress lies ahead. A stone pony lives there. At least, it MIGHT live there. My job is to guard the gate to keep it out."

"Mayor Granny Smith said we could go. We need to get there anyhow." Said AJ.

"Is that so? Well, if she said it was okay, I'll let you pass by. Just be careful!"

Forsythia used her light blue colored magic and opened the gate for the ponies. As she did, a voice was heard from behind. "Umm... Excuse me!" The two were about to leave when the voice got louder, getting their attention. "Uh... I beg your pardon! PLEASE! Wait a moment!"

Twi and Applejack turned and saw a light yellow pegasus pony with a short pink mane. Her left eye was halfway shut and she had a brown bandage on her nose, indicating that she recently got into a fight and lost. "Sorry for yelling like that... I was panicking." She dug her left hoof at the ground a bit, trying to think. "Um... How do I begin?"

"I-I'm... F-Fluttershy." She spoke shyly. "I heard you're going to Hooktail's castle. So, anyway, I... I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?" Questioned Twilight, though she didn't get a response from this new pony. Just a long, awkward silence. "Well?"

"Well... Ummmm..." Fluttershy gave up on what she was going to say. "Oh, just... Just forget it. Never mind. Ignore me. Good... G-Goodbye."

Fluttershy ran off, leaving Twilight and AJ confused. They shrugged it off and moved on towards the fortress. They trotted along the gray path, finding an item that could take down some tough enemies in one fell swoop along the way. They entered the small purpleish-gray part of Shhwonk Fortress. It was empty, save for a couple of pedestals with rocks resembling pony skulls sitting on them. They were clefts. The two headed for the exit, but it was locked. There appeared to be no way to open it, until Twilight figured that the only way through was to get rid of the clefts. The rock monsters hopped off their posts and ran to Twilight. She briefly explained to her friend about the clefts and how they were impervious to fire and most magic spells. Luckily, she used that item she found on the way here on them, stopping them dead in their tracks and defeating them. That did it! The metal bars lifted up from their place and the lavender princess and her orange friend exited. The path they trotted on went from gray to pink as they entered another part of the ancient castle. It was the same as the last one, except it was pink and had two spiky enemies resting on the pedestals. The way to get out of this one was the same as before. Take out the bad guys. These enemies, Twilight explained, were also fire and magic proof. Good thing she bought another one of those one-hit-and-they're-dead items! She used it and they were gone, which opened the exit.

Twilight Sparkle and Applejack left the second part of Shhwonk Fortress and entered the next, which was greenish-yellow in color. This area looked different, as there were no pedestals with tough enemies on them. Instead, there sat a statue of a pony's head at the end of the area. There were no signs of stone keys, so it looked as though the two had to do something with this statue. They neared it and the place shook, startling them. The pony bust suddenly opened its eyes. "Mmmm hmmm hoo ha ha! You're the first contestants I've seen in a while." It said with a gruff voice.

"Contestants?" Asked AJ.

"If you've come all the way here to Shhwonk Fortress, you must want stone keys. And if THAT'S the case, you must compete against me. If you win, I'll let you through to where the stone keys rest. However, if you lose, you will suffer a terrible fate. And by "terrible", I mean awful."

"Okay then! We'll take you on." Said Twilight.

The bust spun around once and said, "Mmmm hmmm hoo ha ha! You're in for it now!"

Suddenly, the whole place turned into a flashy game show room, complete with Twilight and AJ standing on a podium with a buzzer in front of them and the bust statue now wore a red bowtie with white polka-dots. It spoke into the microphone in front of it, "Hey HEY, fillies and germs! Welcome, everypony, to the 65th Super Fun Quirk Quiz!"

"So that's he meant when he called us contestants..." AJ whispered to the lavender alicorn.

"Perk up those ears! If you correctly answer five of the following questions, you win! But get three of them wrong, and you'll suffer an unusual and cruel punishment!"

A sound played as the statue got ready to ask the first question. "What's hidden in this place?"

Twilight hit the buzzer and answered. "Stone Keys!"

"Is that your REAL answer? Are you suuuuuuuuure?"

"Yes!"

The sound for a correct answer played and the bust spun around again. "AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! That's...correct!"

The heroines could tell THIS guy was a sore loser.

Question two was asked. "What is the name of the mayor of Petalburg?"

Applejack pressed the buzzer. "Granny Smith!"

Another answer was right, which upset the statue more. The third question was asked. "Where is the Element of Kindness?"

"Hooktail Castle!" Twi and AJ answered in unison. They were on a roll! But then again, these questions were easy.

"We're not done yet, folks!" Said the bust. "Question four! How can one get from Petal Meadows to Rogueport?"

"Go through a pipe!" Twilight answered.

"AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! Right again!" The bust angrily shouted. 4 questions down, 1 to go.

"Are you ready for the diabolical question five?"

The duo nodded and the question was asked. "Which of the four creatures don't have hooves?"

Out of the four choices, Changelings, Parasprites, Breezies, and Pegasi, parasprites was the right answer and Twilight and AJ won!

Shhwonk Fortress reverted back to normal and the salty statue granted the ponies access to below where the keys lied. They went down the pipe and were greeted by a dark, cold, cramped and stinky sewer-like place. There were two doors to go through. Twilight chose the one in front of them. As they trotted along the way, they spotted a couple of changelings and Twilight picked up and equipped a Multibounce badge. They soon found the sun stone. It was shaped less like the actual sun and more like Princess Celestia's cutie mark. After picking it up, the two had to deal with some changelings that dropped in unexpectedly. They soon defeated the creatures and got away with their first stone.

Next was the moon stone, which had to be on the other side. Twilight and AJ found the moon stone, shaped more like Princess Luna's cutie mark, and dealt with another small set of changelings. They were about to leave Shhwock Fortress with the keys but a gold cheangeling stopped them in their tracks.

It hissed at them and said, "Hey, you suspicious types!"

Twilight gasped. "A golden changeling!"

"This is our place and coming here is rude, rude, RUDE! Sorry, suckers! If you wanted a warm welcome, then that's too bad! Now I will feed off your love for everything you hold dear!"

The pony duo were in another fight. Twilight quickly explained to her pal about this super-rare type of changeling as they tried to take it down.

After a couple of hits, the changeling summoned an enormous horde of normal changelings! It was two against Celestia knows how many.

"Whoo doggies! What do we do now, Twi? There's so many!"

"If we just focus on the gold changeling and take it down, the horde should dissapear along with it."

"Ya really think that'll work?"

"By my calculations, it should."

Applejack and Twilight charged at the leading changeling and bucked at it, knocking any other changeling out of the way. Twilight's idea worked, and the changelings were gone. The duo high-hoofed and exited the fortress.

They traveled all the way back to Petalburg and towards Hooktail Castle, but they were stopped by a familiar yellow pegasus mare. "Ummm... Excuse me..."

"Fluttershy?" Asked the alicorn.

"You're... You're Twilight Sparkle, right? The Princess of Friendship? Look, I... uh... See, the thing is, I've been waiting here hoping to speak with you. I have to ask you something, and you can say no, but I'm going to throw it out there."

Twilight and Applejack approached the timid mare as the earth pony said, "Well, then, spit it out, girl!"

"Ummm... See... I was wondering... Would you..." Fluttershy finally mustered up the courage and yelled out, "OH, PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU TO FIGHT HOOKTAIL! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU!"

The two were surprised.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and returned her voice to normal. "Sorry about that. See... My brother, Zephyr Breeze***, went to fight Hooktail long ago. ...But he never came back."

Twilight cocked her head as Fluttershy explained. "I miss him, of course... I miss him badly. But this isn't just about avenging him. Actually, no... That's not true. Revenge is a big part of it, I guess. But the truth is, I want to finish what Zephyr started. For his sake. For everypony's sake."

Fluttershy turned her head to her right and her mane covered her face. "I... Oh, this is embarrassing... You see, everypony always says I'm a crybaby... A weakling who can hardly fly. But if I can defeat Hooktail... Well, then I won't be those things. I'll be strong, like Zephyr."

The desparate pegasus faced Twilight again. "I know it will be dangerous, but I still want to go! Please, Twilight!"

She looked at the duo with sad, puppy-eyes. The princess pony and country pony talked with each other for a minute, trying to make a desicion. In the end, Twilight accepted and Fluttershy could go with her.

Fluttershy beamed with happiness, thanking Twilight Sparkle.

Fluttershy joined Twilight Sparkle's team!

Twilight, Applejack, and their new partner were about to head for the castle, when a soft voice similar to Fluttershy's called out her name.

They turned around and saw another yellow pegasus mare, though her coat was slightly darker than Fluttershy's and she had moderate cerise hair and eyes. She showed some concern in her face.

"Oh my... Um... Hi, mother... Did you overhear all that?"

Well, part of it. Fluttershy... I thought I heard you say you're going to fight Hooktail. You're... not serious, are you? I mean, you're not exactly cut out for that... It'll eat you up!"

"I know. But I want to be tougher, so I must do this..."

"No you don't, Fluttershy. I mean, going off to such a dangerous place? It's... dumb. So what if you're timid? And somewhat of a crybaby? I don't care about all that. I just want you to be yourself. So, please don't go..."

Fluttershy knew her mother was very concerned and worried about her. She knew she didn't want to lose both her children. But Fluttershy was going with two brave ponies to help her out, so she made up her mind. This upset the older pegasus mare. She hadn't realized just how much her daughter was so determined and headstrong about this. She accepted defeat and stormed off.

Fluttershy regretted upsetting her mother like that. "I-I'm sorry, mom... I promise, I'll come back to you and dad a stronger pony." She turned to her two new friends. "Um, I guess that's that. Let's go." And with that, the trio set off for Hooktail Castle.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the wait. I actually had this chapter written up for a while, but I was nervous about uploading it. I'm splitting the chapters into at least two parts. Once again, I feel like this doesn't look so good. But I want to keep writing, because it's fun at the same time. Some chapters are probably going to be easier to write than others, trust me ('cause right now, I can't 100% trust myself).

*Now remember: This is an Alternate Universe story. Just because the CMC got their cutie marks in the show now doesn't mean they did here.

**Forsythia is a blind bag pony. I kinda figured I could toss some of those gals in to spice up this story a little.

***Man, I feel awkward putting that in. But just so you know, Zephyr isn't a freeloader in this story. And you might think "Why not just put Fluttershy's dad in Koopley's place instead?" Because he fits in that spot less than Zeph does.