A/N: What's this? Another chapter? Brace yourselves everyone, this is a long-ass chapter, but the main pony character is being introduced now! Let's see what everyone is up to...
Zackary had managed to salvage a white T-shirt, a leather jacket, a pair of jeans, his black canvass shoes and his wallet containing what was left of the cash that Mr. Satan had given him before heading off to the City. It was a long trek through the demolished suburbs, and there were no places to get food anymore (much to Zackary's disappointment). His trek took him well into the night by the time he reached his destination: the Wing Chun School.
Zackary looked on in sadness at the sight of what was left, which was nothing more than a pile of bricks and concrete. Not even the sign was in one piece, as splinters of it could be found all along the road. A number of emergency workers were surrounding it – paramedics, police officers and firefighters – trying frantically to clear away the rubble, as if looking for something or someone. Zackary looked around some more to see a few bystanders, one who he recognized.
"Charlie!" he called out. The ginger haired man turned around to him with a glum look on his face.
"Zack," he called back. Zackary walked to his side and stared into the mess with him.
"What are they all digging for?" Zackary asked.
"Survivors," Charlie replied simply. "They think that Master Chu is somewhere in that rubble.
Zackary's pupils dilated when he heard this. He saw a group of firefighters and police officers suddenly rush towards what looked like a big slab of concrete.
If Master Chu is in there, then I have to get him out! Zackary thought to himself before suddenly bolting forward towards the slab. A few police officers tried to stop him by trying to stand in his way, but Zackary effortlessly sidestepped them until he reached the concrete slab. He bent over and grabbed the piece of concrete with his hands and, much to his own surprise as well as the emergency team's, threw it off the rubble pile with very little difficulty. There, underneath that pile, splayed out with limbs going in all directions, was his martial arts teacher, Master Chu.
"Master!" Zackary cried out and leaped down to where Master Chu was. The old man was a mess, and an open cut on his forehead slowly seeped out blood. He was however, still conscious, as he opened his eyes slightly to look at Zackary.
"Z-Zackary," Master Chu stammered. "The legend… You must… f-fix the earth with…"
"The Dragonballs, master, yes," Zackary finished for him. "That's why I'm here."
Master Chu gave Zackary a faint smile before continuing. "You… are as clever as ever… Zackary." He then moved his right hand back to his chest, which was clutched around the dragon ball that was on his desk. "Take this one… first…" He wheezed. "Another… is in … Red Center Town… with… and old … friend of mine. It's at the end of a… railway… line. Just… take… the… train… th…" Before he could finish the last word, Master Chu slumped back, his eyes cast toward the heavens, unmoving.
Zackary stood up, a tear falling from each eye, knowing what he needed to do. He turned to one of the stunned police officers.
"Are the train lines still working, officer?" He asked.
Shakily, the officer nodded before replying, " Y-yes, sir. Strangely they're the only things that're still working. Not here in the city though. Out west there should be trains heading inland. The closest working one would have to be-"
"Blacktown," Zackary interrupted suddenly. He didn't know why that came out of his mouth, but apparently it was correct.
"H-how did you know?" the police officer asked. Zackary shrugged before climbing out of the rubble and heading off westwards towards Blacktown.
If I can get there by tonight, I can head to Red Center Town right away, he thought to himself, before breaking into a fast run.
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"Thanks for doing this for us, Pinkie," said Princess Twilight Sparkle. "It means so much to my brother and Princess Cadence that you're able to help them celebrate Flurry's 1st Birthday."
The pink mare known as Pinkie Pie, however, was two busy bouncing off the walls… literally, bouncing off the walls inside Sugarcube Corner with excitement.
"I'mcateringFlurryHeart's1stbirthdayohsweetCelestiathisisthebestdayofmylife!" she exclaimed ecstatically. Twilight could only giggle at Pinkie's antics. She did love a good party, and she was also the first to find out that Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were having a baby.
The doors to Sugarcube Corner opened again, this time an orange mare with a yellow mane wearing a stetson hat walked in. This was Applejack, Twilight's friend from Sweet Apple Acres.
"Well, if the cakes all ready, Pinkie," she said, with a strong southern accent. "I guess we aughta load it up with the ap…" She stopped suddenly and gasped, looking a Twilight's flank.
"What's wrong, Applejack?" Twilight asked before looking down to where Applejack was looking. She two gasped when she realized what had caused her friend to stop suddenly. Her cutie mark, a purple star with six points surrounded by five white stars, was flashing. Twilight immediately realized what this meant.
"The map!" she exclaimed softly before bolting to the door. "Come on everypony, let's get to the castle."
The three of them dropped everything and raced over to the castle, without bothering the check Pinkie's or Applejack's cutie marks. They galloped at full speed right through Ponyville all the way to the Castle of Friendship. It's crystalline tree-like base and tall purple spires stood as tall as ever. That didn't matter to the alicorn and her two earth pony friends, however. They were there for one reason and one reason alone.
Two more of her friends, a white unicorn with a dark blue mane, and a pinkish-purpleish unicorn with a dark purple mane with turquoise highlights, were staring at the laid out map of Equestria when Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Applejack burst through the door.
"Starlight, Rarity," said Twilight. "Did you see where the map was… sending… me?"
Twilight looked all over the map, but she could not find her cutie mark anywhere. She looked back at her flank again to find that it was still flashing. Twilight looked back at the map, befuddled.
"Uh, Twilight," she heard Applejack ask. "Where's the map supposed to be sending you to?"
"Maybe it's a secret spot, that you have to go hunting for, like one of your scavenger hunts," Pinkie Pie suggested.
"I don't understand," Twilight complained. "How can the cutie mark map be summoning me to n-" She was cut off by Starlight, the pinkish-purpleish unicorn, who put a hoof on Twilights mouth. After a couple of seconds, Starlight removed the hoof from her mouth and used it to point directly upwards. Twilight slowly looked up to where Starlight was pointing. To her amazement, there was her cutie mark, hovering some distance above the cutie mark map. Twilight felt her bottom jaw drop to the floor (and was soon followed by Applejack and Pinkie Pie). Her eyes dilated to pinpricks at the sight.
Where in Equestria is that! She thought to herself. It's way to high to be Cloudsdale. Is there a place in Equestria higher than Cloudsdale?
As the five ponies stared in awe at the sight, Twilight heard the hoofsteps of two more ponies, followed by and tomboyish voice that could only belong to a sky blue Pegasus with a rainbow coloured mane and tail, Rainbow Dash. However, she was too dumbstruck by the fact that her cutie mark was hovering in mid air to acknowledge either her or the other pony's presence.
"Hey Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie. We saw you guys run all the way here. What's… going… on?"
"Um, Twilight," came a soft, timid voice. "Why is the cutie mark map summoning you to the sky?"
"I don't know, Fluttershy," Twilight finally responded. "I don't know if it's the sky, or somewhere in outerspace that I'm being summoned to."
"Is the map sending you to the sun or something?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Only one way to find out," Starlight Glimmer's voice suddenly chimed in. Twilight looked to her newfound friend with worry.
"I know, Starlight, but I guess I'm just afraid of where it might take me," Twilight responded. "It doesn't look like any of the others have been summoned, so wherever I'm supposed to go…"
"Well, we have to get to the bottom of this sometime, dear," Rarity suddenly cut in. "I mean, it looks lovely up there, but I don't imagine seeing your cutie mark flashing at you every time you sat down here would be very appealing to you, Twilight."
Twilight sighed before she replied. "You're right, Rarity. We need to figure this out." She turned back to her friends and spotted Rainbow Dash and the yellow Pegasus with a pink mane that covered half her face known as Fluttershy. "Brace yourself, girls," she continued. "I don't know what this will do."
She looked up at her floating cutie mark and tried to focus her magic on it. The moment her horn lit up, however, the room around them suddenly became darker. The seven ponies instinctively huddled together, with Fluttershy whimpering softly. Twilight let her magic down, but that didn't stop whatever was happening with the room.
The map on the table suddenly shrunk into the center of the table until it disappeared entirely. Twilight's cutie mark was still floating above the table, as the room continued to get progressively darker. Suddenly, white lines of light began to whiz past the seven ponies. Billions of them flew by, as if the ponies were watching a whole parade of shooting stars up close. The girls began to 'oohh' and 'aahh' at the spectacle, letting their tensions lower just a tad. Pinkie attempted to catch one with her hoof, and was disappointed when the light simply passed through her hoof, unaffected by the fact that it was there.
The light show suddenly stopped, and the lines became dots in the distance. One particular dot in the center of the table was slowly becoming larger. The larger the dot became, the less white and the more yellow it appeared to be. Twilight could just make out a disorganized line of spheres coming into view as well. The seven of them seemed to pass by three small spheres, a large sphere with a ring shaped object surrounding it, an even bigger sphere that had red and white lines covering it, followed by what appeared to be a line of rocks. The rocks appeared to be heading straight for them. Fluttershy squeaked loudly and all of them ducked as they passed through them.
Beyond that, there were four more spheres, and the second one became the center of focus for the cutie mark map table. They passed a sphere that was completely red before slowing right down and drawing nearer to this second sphere, which was the center of their field of vision. This sphere was mainly blue, but it had patches of green, white, and sand-colour all over it. The cutie mark hovering above finally began to lower until it was right above this sphere. All seven ponies' mouths were agape and their eyes as big as saucers as they gazed in awe at the sight that they were seeing.
Twilight suddenly heard the pitter-patter of her young dragon assistant, Spike, entering the room.
"Hi girls," he said cheerfully. "You're all back so sooowhoah! Twilight! What happened to the map?"
Twilight was still too dumbfounded by what she was seeing. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on one's opinion of Pinkie Pie), Pinkie Pie answered for her.
"We went on a journey through OUTERSPACE," she replied. "You should have been here, Spike. First Twilight's cutie mark starts flashing while we're making cakes, then we run all the way here from Sugarcube Corner because we were making cakes at the time, then Rarity and Starlight were here and we all saw Twilight's cutie mark floating in the air. Then Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy come along and Twilight uses her magic on it and then the whole room goes dark and then we were flying through the stars at SONIC RAINBOOM SPEEDS, and then we slowed right down and we explored a whole new solar system, then we dodged a bunch of asteroids and then finally we landed on this completely different planet that Twilight is apparently being summoned to! Did I mention that we were making cakes before this?" Pinkie finished off her spiel with a wide grin.
Spike looked at Pinkie Pie dumfounded for a moment before once again calling out to Twilight. "Uh… do you need me to take a letter, Twilight?"
"Uh… Yeah," Twilight replied, nodding her head slightly as she answered.
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Dear Princess Celestia,
It's been a while since I have written to you, but it seems I need your help once more.
My responsibilities as the Princess of Friendship have taken me to places all over Equestria to spread the message of Friendship, thanks to the cutie mark map in my new castle, but this time the map is sending me to a place not in Equestria, or even on our world, but on a completely new world altogether. This is a world that I know absolutely nothing about, nor do I have any books or other research material detailing the nature of this new world, and I was hoping that you may be able to shed some light on it.
Of course, being the Princess of all of Equestria, you would also have responsibilities of your own. However, I would appreciate any help you can provide in unveiling the mystery of this new world and in finding a means to travel to it. I look forward to your reply.
"Forever your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle," Twilight finished narrating to Spike as she continued to stare into the image of this new world that that was hovering over the cutie mark map table. It didn't look all that different from their own planet, Equus. Maybe the land masses on the oceans were different shapes and sat in different places, but the general make up of it was the same. She heard Spike's flames send the letter off to Princess Celestia, prompting her to turn back to her friends, who were all now sitting around the table. Twilight trotted over to her seat and plunked her flank down on it anxiously.
"Now we wait," she said, tapping the table with her hooves.
"You know, girls," Rarity began. "I didn't take note of this before, but now that I've had a closer look, this world looks to be in a bit of a shambles, doesn't it?"
Twilight looked up and the floating globe to see that Rarity was right. Cracks forming in the landmasses that went unnoticed to her the first time she looked upon this image were suddenly very noticeable now that her friend Rarity had brought her attention to it. There were also large tidal waves travelling too far inland for how big they were when they were at sea, and cities disappearing into mysterious crevasses that seemingly just appeared underneath them.
Applejack was the first to respond to Rartiy. "I hear ya, Rarity," she said. "Just what the hay is going on in this place?"
"Maybe it has something to do with what Twilight is being summoned there for," Fluttershy suggested.
"Unnatural weather patterns?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Isn't that a Pegasus thing?"
"Yes, Rainbow," Twilight responded, placing a hoof on her chin. "But the cutie mark map has traditionally sent us out to solve friendship problems."
"Still," Spike began. "I don't remember it ever sending just one pony before. Why is it sending Twilight and Twilight only?"
"Why indeed."
All seven ponies and the young dragon turned toward the source of the new voice. Standing there was a white alicorn with a green, pink and blue mane, wearing a golden crown and neclace, with a purple diamond shaped jewel in each. Standing next to her was a being with pieces from different creatures, with the head of a pony, the left paw of a lion, the right claw of an eagle, the right rear claw of a dragon and the left rear hoof of a pony, all attached to a dark red serpent like torso. While Twilight was very surprised to see this mismatched individual, it was the alicorn that she was more interested in.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight called with excitement, hopping out of her throne and bounding cheerfully toward her mentor. "I wasn't expecting you to come in pony! I'm glad you were able to take some time out of your-"
"Actually," Princess Celetsia interrupted. "I was just out on a date with Discord here when I received your letter. We both thought it would be a good idea to come along and see just what you and your friends had discovered."
"Wait," Rainbow Dash suddenly spoke up. "You two are dating, now?"
Discord, the mismatched creature, giggled before replying, "Oh don't sound so surprised, Dashie! I can be quite the gentlecolt when I want to." A monacle and a top hat manifested suddenly on Discord's face and head, prompting a giggle from Princess Celestia.
After a brief moment of confusion, Twilight shook herself back into focus. "So do either of you know anything about this place I'm being summoned to?" she asked.
As both Discord's and Celestia's attention turned to the floating globe over the table, the monacle and top had disappeared and Discord raced over to it gasping.
"Oh, my," he said ecstatically. "I haven't seen this place since a very dear friend of mine threw a meteor at it. That was sixty five million years ago, now! My goodness time flies! He said something about the dinosaurs being rude to him or something, but they're dinosaurs, they don't know-"
"Discord, do you know what this place is?" Starlight Glimmer asked impatiently. Twilight took a step towards him but was stopped by the soft voice of her mentor.
"You don't know where this is, Twilight?" Celestia asked. Twilight turned back to her and shook her head in response. Celestia looked back up at the globe and smiled.
"Twilight," she continued. "This is Planet Earth."
A sudden gasp from Pinkie Pie gave every pony in the room a rude shock.
"Earth?" she queried. "Applejack and I are Earth ponies… are earth ponies actually aliens from this planet?"
"No, Pinkie Pie," Celestia laughed. "The name Earth Pony refers to your ability to mold the land around you, to utilize the resources of the ground, or 'earth' if you will. This is the Planet Earth. It is very similar to our own world in many ways, yet at the same time, very different." She turned back to Twilight before continuing. "It's a very… special part of the universe, Twilight, with a diverse array of life forms, some you are familiar with already, and others like you have never seen before."
"Have you been there, Your Highness?" asked Starlight.
Princess Celestia nodded before responding. "I visited that world over a thousand years ago with my sister, Princess Luna, after we defeated Discord the first time…" she paused and looked up at Discord, who was to distracted with analyzing the floating planet Earth, before continuing. "And a little more recently, there was a battle on that world which resulted in the destruction of a most evil tyrant that I heard about from a very good friend that I made while I was there."
This time Discord decided to weigh in. "You wouldn't happen to be referring to the death of that old fool, Frieza, would you?"
Celestia nodded to Discord before continuing her explanation. "And ever since I heard of that battle and the result of it, I've been sending unicorns with specific gifts to that planet, with the intent of-"
"Wait," Twilight suddenly interrupted. "You've been sending ponies to other planets?"
"No, just Earth," Celestia replied with a calm smile. Twilight on the other hand was on the brink of exploding with excitement.
"Does that mean that you can send me there, too?" she asked.
Discord suddenly appeared in Twilight's field of vision. "She sure can, Twi," he proclaimed, much to Celestia's apparent annoyance.
Twilight turned back to her friends ecstatically, bouncing up and down on her hooves. "Did you hear that everypony?" she said. "I'm going to outer space!"
"Woohoo! We're all going to outer space!" Pinkie cheered, prompting a cheer from the other ponies as well. Discord interrupted that cheer by clearing his throat, grabbing the attention of the excited ponies.
"Sorry to ruin your festivities," he started. "But the cutie mark map specifically only summoned one 'Princess Twilight Sparkle' to head to the Planet Earth in search of a Friendship problem to solve."
The excitement died down suddenly and turned to worry. Twilight herself didn't know how long she could be away for. If anything she's read about what was beyond Equus' atmosphere was true, then she could be away from her friends for a very long time. Then, Spike spoke up.
"It's ok, everypony," he proclaimed. "Twilight won't be all on her own. I'll go with her!"
This took everyone by surprise, even Discord.
"Spike," said Twilight. "The cutie mark-"
"How long have I been your assistant for now, Twi?" Spike asked. "Ever since you hatched me in that entrance exam. We've been together and helping each other for all of my life at least. If you're going to another world on a mission that could take you a really long time, then I should be at your side when you do it."
Twilight couldn't argue with that. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes and she pulled the young dragon into a tight hug.
"Thank you Spike," she said softly. "I'll be more than glad to have you with me."
Rarity suddenly trotted forward with her face in an exaggerated frown and her bottom lip quivering. "Twilight, Spike! Surely you do not intend to leave moi without my Spikey-Wikey?"
Spike then turned around to Rarity and replied. "I'm sorry Rarity, but I have to go. Twilight's been there for me all my life. It wouldn't be right for her to be launched to this strange new world all on her own. But I promise, the moment we've solve the friendship problem, we'll come back. I'll come back for you, Rarity." Spike then planted a kiss on Rarity's cheek, much to Rarity's surprise, before returning to Twilight's side. They all turned to Discord and Celestia, who were both smiling at the sight.
"If you could all follow us outside, we can begin sending Twilight and Spike to the Planet Earth," Celestia said as she began trotting towards the doors, with Discord at her side.
The ponies all followed the Princess of the Sun and her Chaotic date outside of the castle to an open area of grass.
"Well, Discord, since you started all this," Celestia said. "I'll let you do the honors."
"With pleasure, Princess," Discord replied cheekily before clicking his eagle talon. Instantly, a giant purple coloured egg appeard, with gold coloured rings dividing it into thirds, and hovered above the ground.
Rainbow Dash was the first to comment on it. "I was expecting a spaceship to be at least 20% cooler than this."
"Oh," Celestia challenged. "What if I told you that this ship is sentient and could detect obstacles and threats and avoid them all on its own, so Twilight doesn't need to navigate space herself."
Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow before responding. "… 10% cooler?"
"What if I told you that with a simple voiced command, Twilight can have access to any and all information that she needs once she's inside, including books, documentaries, sights of great events, anything," Celestia replied.
Rainbow Dash's jaw hung open for a brief moment. She shut it again before asking, "… 5%..."
Princess Celestia leaned in closer to Rainbow Dash and whispered, "Anything. Even if it had been destroyed in the past."
Rainbow Dash was silent for a few seconds. When she finally spoke, she was excited about it. "Ok, you've convinced me. This is so awesome! I can't believe you get to go to space, Twi!"
"What if Twilight and Spike are traveling through space and then a big scary monster appears?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.
Twilight turned to her friend with a reassuring smile and answered. "Then the ship will take measures ahead of time to avoid it while still heading to Earth."
"Honestly though," Discord interjected. "If there are scary monsters appearing in Twilight's travels, they'll already be on Earth. I mean did you see the state of that-"
"I'm sure that's why Twilight is being summoned there, Discord," Celestia interrupted. She turned back to Twilight before continuing. "I put a few books that will be useful for this particular adventure of yours. Good luck, my dearest student. Your friends and I all look forward to seeing you again when this is all done."
"That reminds me," said Twilight as she suddenly became aware that she had not moved her wings the entire time that they were looking at the floating Earth. "Do you know how long it will take me to get there?"
"Approximately six calendar weeks," Celestia replied. Twilight's eyes shrunk down to pinpricks and her mouth hung open. Her wings that she had been stretching for the past few seconds as she asked her question suddenly flopped to the ground. The other ponies were in a similar state of shock. Discord meanwhile was laughing heartily at the sight, and Celestia herself suppressed a giggle.
"Don't worry, Twilight," Celestia said. "Once you read what I have in there for you, it will be a much quicker trip back home."
Twilight relaxed a bit when she heard this, and a bit more when she felt Spike's little claw on her side. She folded her wings back into her sides and turned back to the ship. As she stared at it intently, a question formed in her mind.
"How do I get on the ship?" she asked.
Discord, who was still wiping the tears of laughter off his face, replied. "Use your magic, Twilight."
Twilight cocked an eyebrow and turned back to the ship. Well, here goes… She focused on trying to engulf the ship with her magic. However, the second her horn began glowing, a spot on the bottom of the ship on the side facing Twilight began to shine brightly. The light from this shining spot extended all the way down to the ground in front of her. When the light faded, it revealed a flight of stairs leading up to a very ordinary looking house door. The other ponies 'oohed' and 'aahhed' at the sight of it.
Twilight looked back to her friends, whom were all waving her goodbye, and waved them back one last time, before taking a nervous gulp and hesitantly trotting up the stairs to the ship. She could feel Spike next to her, and she could tell already that he was just as nervous. As they reached the door, Twilight used her magic to turn the round handle and it opened outwards. Twilight and Spike stepped inside and gazed upon its interior as the ship's door closed behind them.
The walls were lined with bookshelves, which were all covered in books. Twilight's nervousness suddenly disappeared and a wide grin began to form on her face. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers and sparkled at the sight of all these books.
"Isn't it beautiful, Spike?" She said, slowly taking in the sight.
"I wonder which one of these books has instructions about how to get this ship to take us to Earth," said Spike in response.
Suddenly, the huge room started to shake, and Twilight felt her weight being sucked down to the floor.
"I think you just did it, Spike," Twilight managed to say through all of the shaking, which slowly died down to nothing. Twilight suddenly noticed that the ship had no windows. She wished that she could see her friends as they took off. Then she remembered something that Princess Celestia said to Rainbow Dash.
"Voice command," she whispered to herself before trotting to the middle of the room and calling out. "Show me my friends back home!"
The floor began to change and seemingly clear away to look like a window to the ground bellow. Twilight sighed as she saw her friends back on the ground, getting smaller and smaller as the ship got further and further away. She felt her young dragon assistant Spike join her side as a tear dropped from her face onto the floor.
"Bye girls," she muttered. "I promise I'll come home when I'm done."
Zackary: G'day, its me, Zackary. I've finally made it to Red Centre Town, but it doesn't look like I'm the only one looking for those Dragon Balls.
Marron: Hey! Look out!
Didgeri: Oi! Get back here, lady, and hand over that Dragon Ball!
Zackary: Holy Crap! I'd better go see what that's all about! Next time on Dragonball Harmony: Marron and the Two-Star Dragon Ball!