GeoSeries: Amethyst

Chapter 11

The New Task at Hoof

The train sped forward towards Canterlot Castle up the mountainside and through the many tunnels that surrounded the area. On board the train were our heroines and Age, and one thing was for sure amongst all of them, they were all clueless as to why they'd been summoned so suddenly by the Princess. "It's just doesn't make any sense…" Twilight said trying to figure it out in her mind. "Why would Princess Celestia summon all of us un-notified?" Her friends all shared in her ignorance, and it had long been the topic of discussion on the ride to Canterlot.

"Maybe Discord is back…" Fluttershy suggested, but everyone shook their head denying it.

"No, we froze him in stone real good. There's no way he's getting out of that." Twilight said toward the yellow pegasus. Applejack spoke up to the group next with her ideas.

"Maybe the Changelings and their Queen have shown back up. After all, even I'd want revenge after a bull ride of a fight like that. They were really whipped around." The cow-pony made a good point, but there was one thing missing from her point that made the difference.

"Applejack…" Twilight began, "As right as you are, Changelings leave a very foul odor in the air; not to mention their black hides. We would've seen them all swarming from Ponyville if that were true." There wasn't even the slightest idea among the group members as to what the situation could be. Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie jumped up and yelled,

"Maybe the Princess is throwing us a PARTY!" But everyone looked at the pink wonder like she was made of jelly. There was no comment to be made, it was impossible with Pinkie. Rarity flicked her mane like she always did before speaking.

"Well whatever the reason is, it has to be important to some extent. And it had better be worth it too, I was in the middle of creating my newest fashion line when we were called." Oh Rarity, such a drama queen, but that's why everypony loved her. She was a good friend, no question, despite her sometimes selfish sounding attitude. Twilight smiled at the amusement her friend provided, but then she turned to the train cart window they were in and saw Rainbow Dash and Age standing together, both looking out the window.

"Hey Age, Rainbow Dash, you two have been awfully quiet this whole train ride. Is there something wrong?" What the unicorn said was true, since stepping onto the train, the two pegasi had not said a word to anyone, not even to each other, and if they had, nopony heard it. The pegasus with the purple mane faced Twilight, and he sighed with anguish.

"I'm sorry Twilight, it's just that…" And he looked to Rainbow Dash, who had turned her own body to face him as well. Then together, they both looked at Twilight, sort of like a well-oiled machine those two were. "Rainbow and I have this uneasy hunch that…whatever this is about, it has something to do with me." The stallion then lowered his head, and Rainbow Dash gave him a pony hug like she always had by placing her neck over his and resting it there. Age returned the gesture, and Twilight stood up and walked over to him.

"Age…you're our friend, I promise you…no matter what this is about, it has nothing to do with you." She tried to reassure him, but it seemed to only work a little.

"I sure hope so Twilight…" He moaned in a very ominous tone, and then put his full effort into returning Rainbow's hug, something he loved when she did it. And then, the train pulled into Canterlot Station, and the doors opened.

(Inside Canterlot Castle)

One of Princess Celestia's pegasus guards with the typical white coat and blue mane lead the group through the main gardens and through the castles doors. It was a number of halls and passages before the main door to the throne room was in front of everypony, but once there, the guard, with his usual stern and serious expression turned to Twilight, for she was the one leading the group through the castle behind the good sir. All the ponies in the group were still on edge about the entire ordeal, after all, who wouldn't be after a blank calling from the Princess? They all knew that they'd all have to play a part in whatever was about to happen, and they were going to be sure that they were all there for one another. The guard turned his face towards Twilight, and all the other ponies faced the guard as well as an act of respect.

"The Princesses are waiting for you inside." The guard said in a deep, mannered voice.

Princesses…? This must be more serious than I thought if both of the Princesses are involved. Thought Twilight to herself after their escort spoke. "Thank you kind sir…we'll see ourselves in." And the guard nodded and walked of.

In front of the door were the two usual guards standing at the doors sides, and Twilight used her magic to swing the door open. She, and the other Mane Six members walked through the door and past the guards with ease, but when Age tried to walked through, the guards' wings flew up and blocked his path like they had done at Princess Celestia's party when Fluttershy tried to walk past them. They gave him nasty glares, as they had been trained to do. The one guard on the right side of the door looked him in the eye and said, "Only authorized ponyel beyond this point…" Age seemed shocked, but didn't bother talking back to a royal guard.

Rainbow Dash saw the small problem and turned around to the guards. "Hey, it's okay you guys, he's with us. The Princess invited him…" Her attempt was notable, but Age stopped her.

"It's okay Rainbow Dash, just go. If I'm not expected, than I guess this means I'm not the source of this problem after all; go ahead, I'll just wait here." The blue pony said to her, to which she sighed in sadness.

"Alright Age, if you say so." And she sprung up into a small flight and flew back over to her friends who were forming up near the steps to the throne.

All of the ponies saw that the Princess was staring out the window of the room, but she had a troubled look on her face. It was almost as if she was mentally preparing to tell all the ponies something that would shock them. They also noticed Princess Luna was standing the corner of the room watching them. Seeing as how it was the corner near the door, she was well away from her sister, but still, the room wasn't that enormous. Celestia sighed and took a deep breath shortly after and turned towards the ponies with confidence in her eyes.

"Greetings my little ponies…" She was about to continue, but she noticed a certain absence among the members of the group. "Where's Age…?" Rainbow Dash trembled at this, for she had been worried about him. Yet, she was the only one who knew that he hadn't been let in, so she had no choice but to tell.

"The guards at the door didn't let him inside. They said he's not authorized to come in." Celestia shook her head.

"Luna, would you…?" And she gestured to Luna to take care of the situation at the door. The Princess then proudly walked over to the door and gave the signal for the guards to stand down and let the big winged pony inside. The guards seemed shocked at first, but followed through with their Princess's wishes.

They lowered their wings and allowed Age passage into the throne room, and once he was through, he got a very warm welcome and greeting from Luna. "Nice to see you again fair Age. I'm must apologize for that misunderstanding at the door. I don't know why they didn't let you through; when we sent out the invitation to Twilight Sparkle and her friends, we expected you come along as well, in fact we were planning on it."

"Thank you Princess Luna…" Age began. "All is forgiven, so long as I have no further troubles to be involved in." Age meant it as a joke, but Luna seemed a little serious when she heard this. She frowned, and when Age noticed, she held her head high.

"Join the others, you need to hear this."

With that, Age walked behind the group and joined Rainbow Dash at her side as Luna walked up to her sister. Celestia then approached the Mane Six and looked very much like her guards, stern and serious. It was then that she gave a final breath to the air, and she spoke. "I have asked you all here because I have a special mission for you…" Normally, they would have been excited, but by her tone, they were all very on edge about this particular assignment. "I need you all to go on a journey to some remote places around Equestria, and search for clues about Prince Amethyst's disappearance." The ponies gasped in pure shock and straight surprise, and Twilight was the first to step up.

"Princess, that's a massive undertaking for us. Are you sure we'd all be able to do it? I mean, we were all barely able to save the day during my brother's wedding!" Her plead was understandable. The Princess nodded her head.

"I understand Twilight, this is a very long and yet still precious quest to take. I probably should've mentioned this sooner, but…" She seemed as if whatever she was about to say was really important, as if she should've said it at the beginning instead of now. All the ponies looked in anticipation at her, and Luna stood her ground at well. Even though Luna knew what the issue was, she still had a hard time believing it herself. "We have been visited by a group of ponies…ponies from the Gaitway." Everyone gasped like somepony grabbed their lungs and squeezed them.

"The Gaitway…?" Twilight breathed out in a huff of shock and fright. "But…that's…that's impossible! Why would anypony from the Gaitway come to Canterlot?" It was an answer everyone wanted to know.

Princess Celestia looked at each other, but before either of them spoke, a unicorn guard from one of Celestia's sides stopped them. "Your Highnesses…!" And the whole room turned to him. "Might I tell this one My Lady…I remember the whole conversation, word for word…?" He asked very formally to his Princesses, even going so far as taking off his helmet and bowing. Like a true gentleman, and acknowledging it as so, the Princesses gave him the floor.

"Very well, come forward…" Luna said and pointed her hoof. The guard came in-between the two alicorns and faced the Mane Six. He nodded to everyone respectfully and spoke.

"It was two days ago when they arrived here in Canterlot…"

(Flashback)

All was still in the Throne Room on this day, for there had been no excitement, good or bad all throughout the hours of the morning. Not that any of the guards had problems with that, the fewer problems to deal with, the better. Princess Celestia was sitting on her throne writing out another letter to somepony, and her two guards stood near the foot of her throne like they always had. Out of the stillness came a knock on the door. The guards all tensed up, and Princess Luna came walking in.

"My Sister, there's a group of ponies here to see you. They don't appear to be…native to these lands." This instantly caught Celestia's attention. The guard on the left got serious and turned to the Princess.

"Shall we be rid of them Your Highness?" But the Princess shook her head.

"No, this could be important." She said to him, and then faced her sister. "Let them in Little Sister." And Luna nodded and exited the room. Princess Celestia walked down the ramp to her throne, and when she walked past the guard on the right, the one telling the tale, he got the Princess's attention with a subtle coughing noise.

"Pardon me Princess, but might we meet them in here instead…? It could be unsafe…" But the Princess only nodded.

"If it will make you more comfortable, fine; I'll have their audience in here." And the alicorn stopped walking and just stood where she was.

Luna arrived shortly after with a group of what looked to be twelve ponies. Every one of them was wearing a gray cloak with a white string holding the front together. The walked in what looked like a V formation, but it was a very wide V. The one in the very center stopped, and all the others stopped behind them. The center pony pulled back their hood, revealing it to be a very old stallion, a unicorn to be exact. He had a short white mane, and a coat almost as gray as his cloak. He then bowed in respect to the Princess as Luna walked up beside her sister and stopped there. Then the olden pony began to speak to them.

"Greetings Princesses of Equestria…we come in the name of Prince Amethyst GeoEron and his legacy…" Luna held in her shock, but Celestia stood her ground.

"Very well then, I bid you welcome to Canterlot. You may continue…" Celestia said to them, and the aged pony continued.

"Thank you Princess; we are from the Prince's home in the Gaitway. We've been traveling for weeks, to come here, and we are here for one sole purpose. That purpose is to bring our beloved Prince home."

"Go on…" Celestia said to the pony.

"Over in the Gaitway, we have received reports of sightings of Prince Amethyst here in Equestria, most recently in Canterlot to be exact. Might you tell us where he is?" But the alicorn had nothing to tell them. It was Luna however that spoke next.

"We bid you our condolences, but we know not of Prince Amethyst in Canterlot. I'm sure you know that my sister and I were friends with him as fillies 1,000 years back, but according to our sources, the Prince perished a long time ago." Luna did her best to remember what Age had told her at the Garden Party. "But…might I ask who reported these sightings?" The stallion held firm.

"We promised to keep their names anonymous. It is a means of safety for them. And yes, we are all quite aware of your past friendship with Amethyst. We would also think that a Princess would know better, after all, an alicorn doesn't perish so easily. Our Prince is out there, we can all feel it. We will bring him home someday. However, who else's word can we trust if not the Princess's? If you say that he isn't here, we shall oblige. Good day your highnesses, take this if you will." And he levitated a scroll out of his satchel with his magic, which burned a dark red for some reason, and gave the scroll to Luna. "Read it when we leave…On the Wings of Amethyst!" He hollered, and suddenly, all the other ponies yelled,

"On the Wings of Amethyst…!"

It must've been the slogan of this little group, possibly even the whole Gaitway. The twelve ponies turned around and left, and the guards walked them out. Princess Luna wasn't sure how to respond to the scroll that they had been given, but neither was eager to find out.

(End of Flashback)

"After that, they all left. There was no trace of them afterwards, almost like they had never been here. If those ponies are from the Gaitway, they are some of the most mysterious ponies I've ever met." The guard finished.

"Thank you…" Celestia said and relieved the guard. The unicorn stepped back to his post and Luna lifted the scroll with magic to Twilight, who opened it and began to read.

My Dear Prince,

We know not where you are, but know that your people and your country miss you terribly. I look forward to the day we can meet hoof to hoof once more. I have already sent word to your friend in the Badlands that the search for you has begun. Sit tight my Prince, and remember, a pony born purple is a pony born royal.

Sincerely,

Time Rift and the White Manes

"Time Rift and the White Manes…? The Badlands…? What is all this?" Twilight asked Celestia after reading it, with all the other ponies listening intently.

Celestia sighed, she knew this was going to happen at some point. "Twilight, the White Manes is a group of Gaitway ponies who formed after Amethyst disappeared. Their society has been kept a secret since it was formed, and they've all made it their sole purpose to bring Amethyst home. They have a hunch that he's still alive. I don't know for sure who Time Rift is, but I can only assume that it's their leader."

"I bet I can assume why they've kept secret, but why do we need to go on this quest?" Twilight asked for her friends. Shockingly, Rainbow Dash flew up and said,

"Yeah, don't you have guards or something that can do this for you?"

"I need you all to do this as an act of security. It will also give you the chance to explore Equestria, I believe few of you have ever really been outside Ponyville. Am I wrong…?" No, she wasn't. "And, you all also possess the Elements of Harmony, so you can always use them if things get rough out there."

"But…" It was Age peeping up from the back of the group. "Why me Princess…? I don't have an Element, what help could I be?"

"I believe that because you seem to have more knowledge on Amethyst than anypony I've known in many years, you could be a vital asset to this quest. Tell me, doesn't that slogan they were saying ring any bells?" Age thought hard on it for a moment, On the Wings of Amethyst…yes! They did remind him of something.

"Yes, it does Princess! It was going to be the Gaitway's oath while the Prince was on the throne. It was determined at his crowning when he became the Prince." Age exclaimed in remembrance. The Princesses, and everypony for that, smiled at his useful info.

"Good, now…" Celestia said to the ponies, "I can only give you a starting point, for sources are so limited. I am sending you all to Sires to find and meet and old friend of Amethyst's." Twilight quaked, did she really just say Sires?

"Princess…Sires is in the Badlands. Actually, Sires is the only known established, settled town in the Badlands by ponies." Twilight complained.

"I know that it's dangerous, but you must seek out Amethyst's old friend. You've already been told that he singled hoofedly founded a dragon reserve, yes…?" They nodded to her. "It's there that you must go, seek out the dragon which calls himself Garble."

"Wait…" Applejack cut in, "Prince Amethyst…of the Gaitway…founded a dragon reserve…in Equestria? Why didn't he create it in his own land?"

"Another time we'll explain that fair Applejack, but we have more important issues." Luna said after Applejack asked her question. Celestia then wrapped everything up,

"I know that all of this seems daunting my little ponies, but believe when I say that I wouldn't entrust you with this task if you weren't up to it. I fear the wrong ponies may be looking into this, so I ask you, can you do this for me…?"

The looks on everypony's faces were uncertain. The Canterlot Wedding, dealing with Nightmare Moon, the buffalo in Appleloosa, stopping Discord, all of it seeming petit compared to this. Age of all the ponies was unsure, there was a hint of fear and intimidation in the air, but nopony would let that stop them. If the Princesses needed them, they'd be there. Twilight stepped forward with a serious smiled on her face.

"You can count on us Princess…" And all her friends cheered behind her. The Princesses smiled.

(A few hours later)

All the ponies were outside the train station ready to board the train to Sires. Even though the Badlands were a very inhospitable place, as long as they had each other, they'd all be fine. Age didn't have time to say goodbye to Gregory and Tine, so he just wished they were okay with him being gone. They all had their satchels on with supplies given to them by the Princess, and once the ready was ready, all the ponies climbed in. By this point, the sky was orange and purple, signaling that night was near, and when the train whistle sounded, they were off. They all put their bags in their designated sleeping quarters on the train, and Age was feeling a little insecure about being the only male on the train, but he'd live with it. After all the basic stuff was out of the way, they all gathered in the main cart to talk.

"I wonder what this is going to lead to. Prince Amethyst has had mystery surrounding him since I first found out about him." Twilight said to her friends. Fluttershy spoke next.

"I just hope all of the animals will be okay with me being gone for so long." Pinkie jumped in the center and yelled,

"This doesn't mean we can throw a party! Let's have a going away party, literally!" But nopony seemed interested.

"Sorry sugar cube, I don't think this is the best time." Applejack said.

"I think we all just need some shut eye." Rainbow Dash said and yawned. "What do you think Age?" And everypony turned to him, not just Rainbow Dash.

"I don't know if I can sleep Rainbow Dash. The White Manes are scaring me for some reason. Sleep probably isn't going to be an option for me tonight." He said in sorrow.

"Leave that to me…" They all heard a voice in the cart, no, it couldn't be? They all looked towards the rear door, and Princess Luna was standing there.

"Luna…" Age said. "What are you doing here?" But the Princess only walked forward with a calm step.

"Prince Amethyst was my closest and dearest friend. I talked it over with my sister, and if there's going to be a quest to find him, I am going along." They all understood, but she spoke with a solemn tone, almost like she had her own doubts about the trip. "Now, everypony go to your bunks, we have a long journey ahead of us."

All of the ponies listened to her and departed for their beds. Twilight climbed into hers in the same cart with the other girls and turned off the light. Age went into his own cart and got into his bed on the ground, it wasn't the best but it was all he needed. Luna then made her horn glow, and dark blue dust materialized from it and drifted over all of the ponies. As the dust touched each one, they instantly fell asleep and began to dream. Once the dust reached Age, he too fell right asleep, no matter how restless it might be. Luna then got down on her own hooves ad tried to get into a comfortable position, ready for whatever this predictably long quest will bring.