Chapter 1
"The Peach Garden Oath"
When Twilight Sparkle came to, the first two things she noticed were that she was in a deep, thick forest, filled with gnarled roots and the twisting trunks of tall trees, and that there was an uncomfortable weight pressing down on the top of her head.
With both hooves, Twilight lifted the mysterious burden off of her head as though it were a particularly heavy hat and brought it into her sight. It turned out to be Spike, still curled up in a sleep that had turned somewhat more fitful than when last Twilight had seen him.
She gently shook her companion and whispered "Spike."
The young dragon began to stir and to mumble. "You shall not have…my Rarity…Sir Francis Draco. On my honor…as a gentleman…and a dragon…I challenge you…to a duel…"
Another shake from Twilight dragged Spike fully from his slumber.
"Huh?" Spike murmured as he regained his bearings. "Why did you take me out here?"
Twilight sighed gloomily. "It was kind of an accident."
She proceeded to recount to Spike the whole story of last night's events. When she had finished, a look of confusion and disappointment ran across Spike's face.
"Wait," he began. "You mean I slept through the whole interdimensional travel thing? Aw man, that would have been so cool! I bet it was like…" here he began making odd noises and wiggling his arms wildly in front of himself.
"Stop it, Spike!" Twilight shouted reproachfully. "Do you understand how serious this is?"
There was an edge in Twilight's voice that Spike was unfamiliar with. His whoops and waves ground to a halt.
A look of panic crossed Twilight's face. She dashed from tree to tree, calling out to her friends, while Spike struggled to keep up.
"Hello? Anypony? Applejack? Pinkie? Fluttershy?"
Where were they? What had happened to them?
No response came from out of the choking tangle of the trees. Twilight was wearing herself out; she came to a halt and collapsed onto the ground, tears flowing forth from her eyes. Spike cautiously approached the sobbing figure.
"This is terrible, Spike," she finally said when she had gathered herself more fully. "And it's all my fault."
Spike spoke deliberately and gently. "Don't talk like that, Twilight. You couldn't have known what would happen when you broke that mirror; and if you did get us into this, then you'll just be the one to get us out, right?"
Though her eyes were not yet dry, Twilight Sparkle managed a smile. "Right."
"We made it through all right. The others have to be out there. We just need to find them is all."
Twilight reflected on this. Finding her friends, huh? She had never minded adventure novels too much; perhaps this was a chance to live out her own.
"Besides," Spike continued, "maybe this won't be such a bad place after all. It'll kind of be like a vacation."
Twilight laughed. "Let's just find our way out of this forest, okay?"
It had taken a good several minutes, but Twilight Sparkle and Spike had reached a clearing. Now, life seemed just as bright as the forest had been dark, for up ahead, the smoke of a camp could be clearly discerned. Crowded around a small fire was a troop of several creatures which Twilight had never seen in any of her zoological books. The noses looked familiar, but aside from that…
These speculations were secondary to the excitement that shot through the pony. Finally, some helping hands! Finding her friends would be that much faster with these animals on her side.
Twilight broke out into a run, Spike tumbling along beside her, shouting out her felicitations.
"Hello! Hello! Wait for me! One second!"
The men of the camp couldn't help but notice such a loud approach. One by one, they rose up as the two grew nearer to their midst.
Her pace wound down and brought her to the middle of the encampment. Every eye was on her, bulging in curiosity.
Twilight cleared her throat. "Greetings. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my trusty assistant Spike. We're kind of a long way from home right now, but we're pretty sure that some of our friends are here too. Could you maybe spare a little time to help a poor lost pony find them?" She shot them her best "filly in distress" look and waited for a reply.
The men stared open-mouthed at Twilight Sparkle. The silence was uncomfortable for her. Finally, one of the humans turned to another and said, "A talking pony with a horn, Master Cheng Yuanzhi!"
The fellow he had addressed was the tallest and most muscular of the bunch. An untamed bristle of a mustache sat on his upper lip, and by his side on the ground was a humongous club.
Cheng Yuanzhi walked around the fire to meet Twilight Sparkle and Spike. He loomed over the two as he spoke.
"A talking pony with a horn! A baby dragon! Surely this is one of those 'miracles' the Great Sage always talks about!"
A cheer rose up through the ranks of the tiny band, and Cheng Yuanzhi knelt down to Twilight's level, laying a hand on her mane. Twilight gave a friendly smile in return.
Quickly, Yuanzhi turned back to his men and barked out his orders. "Grab the dragon and pile wood on the fire! We shall offer these two up as a sacrifice to the glory of the heavens, and blessings shall rain down upon us!"
His gaze returned to a visibly shaken Twilight. "A…a…a sacrifice?" she stuttered weakly.
Yuanzhi smiled at her. "Do not fear, oh spirit in the shape of a horned pony with the gift of tongues! The purifying fires shall return you and the spirit in the shape of a dragon to the heavens where you belong."
Twilight glanced nervously to her left. The other men of the band had indeed grabbed Spike, and they were trying to force their struggling captive into a sack.
Twilight Sparkle reared up and smashed Yuanzhi with all of her might, sending him sprawling dangerously close to the fire. Wheeling around, she leveled her horn at the crowd gathered around Spike. A concussive blast rocketed from the tip and sent the men tumbling, shaking Spike free from their grasp.
Meanwhile, Yuanzhi had scrambled around the fire and picked up his club. With a weapon in his hand, his countenance became more fearsome.
"We don't want to be your sacrifices!" Twilight shouted at him.
"Oh, poor, misguided spirit, do not fear! We shall weather your test!"
And with that, Cheng Yuanzhi leapt into the air, landing on the other side of the fire in front of Twilight, his club swung back in preparation for a massive blow. The blow did not come, however, for Spike, having leapt to his feet, jumped on Yuanzhi's back and, anchoring himself with the claws on his feet, began to beat him with his little fists. Dropping his club, Yuanzhi groped behind him to remove the source of the irritation.
Twilight knew an opening when she saw one. With careful attention, she levitated the heavy club off of the ground and into the air. She just had to get it over the brigand's head and let it drop.
Suddenly, a shot of pain ran through Twilight's side. One of the men she had scattered with her bolt of energy had returned to the fray, and he had bashed at her with the blunt end of his spear. The surprise was just enough to break her concentration. The uncontrolled club hovered in the air for just a moment longer and dropped to the ground uselessly. Another blow was enough to knock Twilight off her feet. The cutthroat stood next to the prone pony, the business end of his spear now pointed at her.
A sudden sching of steel, and he stood next to her no more, instead sinking lifeless to the ground. In his place was a new man dressed in armor of a delicate make, accentuated throughout by green cloth. He was kneeling, and in his hands were twin swords, extended out to his sides from the mighty blow he had struck against Twilight's assailant. He did not appear to be young, but his face bore none of the wrinkles and blemishes typical of age.
Another sching and the entire gaggle of bandits on Twilight's left collapsed. A new man had dealt this blow, one even more muscular and hairy than Cheng Yuanzhi. His clothes, though simpler than the first man's, were also green. He carried a voulge with blades on both ends.
A tremendous blow to the back of Cheng Yuanzhi's head caused the brigand to sink to his knees. Spike slowed the hammering of his fists, dropped from Yuanzhi's back and looked up at the third arrival. If the second man had been heavier and hairier, then this man was far, far taller, almost a giant. A lengthy beard cascaded from his chin and he, too, wore a robe of green. In his hand was a stout spear with a crescent-shaped blade at its head. Most remarkably, he stood within the roaring blaze of the bandits' campfire and yet was not burned; it was as if the honor and conviction that shone through his mighty bearing repulsed the very flames from him.
The kneeling man in green rose to his feet and pointed one of his swords at the throat of Cheng Yuanzhi.
"Begone, scoundrel!" he declared with authority. "Your actions are an insult to the glory of the Han!"
Cheng Yuanzhi took the hint. Rising to his feet, he turned around to run but nearly bumped into the imposing bearded man behind him. Startled, he weaved around him and ran off into the nearby forest, screaming and waving his arms in the air.
Sheathing his two swords, the first man addressed his companions. "Guan Yu, Zhang Fei: remember that the innocent and the helpless must always be protected, even when they are not human."
A nod of assent came from the bearded warrior. "Yes, Lord Liu Bei."
He turned to Twilight Sparkle and lifted her back onto her feet. Twilight was hesitant at first to give her rescuer any expression of her gratitude; she had seen how well opening her mouth went just a few moments ago. However, something about this Liu Bei put her at ease; his features were broad and kindly and his eyes looked at her with concern and care shining in them, not judgment. His whole figure seemed to radiate a compassion that could overcome even the barriers of origin and species. She let a low whisper escape her lips. "Thanks."
Liu Bei was taken aback. He turned to his burly companion.
"It can talk, Zhang Fei? What do you make of this?"
Zhang Fei lumbered over and looked the worried Twilight over from head to hoof.
"A talking horse, huh?" he said, squinting. "And with a horn, too?" Here he paused to think.
"That's weird," Fei finally declared, turning away.
Liu Bei's face was serious as he faced away from Twilight for a moment. "Such prodigies speak ill of the Han's possession of the mandate of heaven." Turning back to the mare, he smiled gently. "Might we be of further service to you?"
Twilight's relief was palpable. However, it was to remain short-lived, as she soon heard a violent coughing that belonged unmistakably to Spike.
She rushed over to the side of the dragon, who was being held up by the bearded warrior. He sounded as if his lungs were going to give out at any moment.
"Spike! They didn't hurt you, did they?" Twilight fretted.
Her answer soon came as a small note came out of Spike's mouth in a burst of fire, smacking the bearded warrior in the face. It plopped to the ground right in front of Twilight.
With a timid, embarrassed smile, she picked it up. "It's for me," she explained to the annoyed warrior before her. With that, she ran off to a remote part of the field.
A letter from Princess Celestia! Then there was still some hope of getting back! If a message could travel this far, then why couldn't a pony?
Twilight Sparkle eagerly unrolled the tiny scroll and scanned it carefully.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I know what has happened. The Mirror of Infinite Worlds has been broken. It was always foretold that this day would come, but I did not expect that it would arrive at this hour, nor did I realize that this would be the result of the mirror's destruction. The fates of Earth and Equestria, of humans and ponies, have always been intertwined. Now, both of our worlds have been plunged into darkness, and many of your friends and acquaintances have been cruelly spirited away with you into this unknown world. Be that as it may, there is still hope. There was a prophecy I was taught as a child: "When the lands of the humans in the east are whole again, so shall Equestria be made whole." I did not fully understand what it meant until now. There is a power that flows through the land of the humans, and if this land is united once again, then its magic should be strong enough to bridge the gap between our dimensions. Twilight, you must work to restore harmony to the humans. I know that this will not be easy, but I have no fear. My faith in you is absolute. I am sorry, but I cannot write to you again; it has taken all of my strength to send this message to you. I and the ponies who have remained behind await the day of your return. Remember, no matter what horrors you face, that there is no magic stronger than friendship.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
The words of the note lifted one weight from Twilight Sparkle's mind only to add another. There was a chance that she could return home…but it appeared that she would be in this scary new world for a long time.
Meanwhile, the bearded warrior had maintained his interest in Spike. "Lord Liu Bei! Master Zhang Fei! We are in the presence of a dragon!" he shouted. Laying his weapon before the puzzled Spike, he prostrated himself and began to orate. "Magnificent creature, I, Guan Yu, place my weapon, the Blue Dragon, before you to show my sympathy and my humility. Your race is renowned not just for might, but for wisdom, and though you are young, you have surely seen many more moons than I have. Therefore, I humbly beseech you for a pearl of knowledge that might serve me on the path of the warrior."
Spike was confused, but his response was quick.
"I shall bestow my wisdom on you," he said in the most mystical tone he could muster, "so long as you complete the task I give."
"What must I do?"
"You have to teach me how to grow an awesome beard and moustache like yours. Seriously, I've even tried magic and it didn't make anything as awesome as that!"
The warrior sat up in embarrassment and stroked his long beard while Zhang Fei, who had been listening in on the conversation, laughed heartily. Fei walked over and scooped Spike up onto his shoulder.
"This dragon ain't half bad, you know that?" he laughed.
If there had been any tension amongst the green-clad three, it was gone now. Twilight Sparkle knew that this was her chance to plead her case. From her spot in the open field she walked back to the encampment and approached the man who had saved her.
"I'm sorry, Lord…Liu Bei, was it? I don't know anything about this land of yours. I'm a long way from home and it's a long story. Suffice it to say, do you think you could find it in your heart to…"
"You need my aid?" Liu Bei interpolated. "My friends and I were hoping to visit the nearby peach garden. If you would not mind joining us on our journey, I am sure you would have enough time to explain your troubles to us. You may rest assured that when there is a good cause, my swords will always be at its service."
As Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei made preparations to leave, Twilight felt as if a cloud had passed from over her. There was light on the way ahead, and it seemed that it would lead home.
It took the whole of the trip to the peach garden to get Liu Bei to understand her situation. The different ways in which their worlds worked produced no small amount of confusion. By the time Liu Bei was reclining against a peach tree deep within the heart of the grove, however, he had understood well enough.
"It is a way home you seek, then?" he said, his brow furrowed. "And such a way will only appear when the land is united?" It almost appeared as if he were being haunted by a dark specter.
Twilight nodded in affirmation. "That's right. You know this place better than I do; I mean, you've lived here all your life. Please tell me: what can I do to unite this land?"
Liu Bei stood up and began to pace.
"Restoring the empire to harmony will not be an easy task. The Han has ruled for a long time, but with the rebellion of the Yellow Turban sect, the illusion of its control has been shattered. An age of chaos is in store, and it will not be pleasant."
Bei turned back to face Twilight Sparkle, an expectant look across his face.
"I will tell you a secret. I have traveled across the empire and seen nothing but savagery. The poor are oppressed and downtrodden, and their labors serve only to enrich the warlords that exploit them. I have long dreamed of what a land of benevolence might look like. A land ruled by me…" Here his voice trailed off.
Guan Yu's attention was not diverted, and he leapt to his feet. "Do you mean to say that you intend to take over this land?"
Liu Bei looked almost sheepish. "It has weighed heavily on my heart for a long time. I know that I have no kingdom of my own, that I am a mere wanderer."
Rapidly, Liu Bei gestured towards the purple pony by his side. "But now Lady Twilight Sparkle has come, bearing the message that the land must be unified. I cannot help but believe that this is the sign I have been waiting for. I cannot let her down any more than I can let myself down."
Liu Bei knelt down next to the surprised Twilight Sparkle. "Lady Twilight, if you will stand by me, I promise that I shall create a new era of unity and kindness for your sake and for the sake of the people."
Twilight could feel an overwhelming power flowing from the humble man before her, a power she knew well, one that she had felt herself when her friends had stood by her side and faced the evils of Nightmare Moon, the parasprites, Discord…her friends. What had become of them? A sudden sadness clutched her heart even as the sincerity of her newfound companion warmed her like the sun.
The moment was interrupted by the looming figure of Guan Yu.
"My lord," he began deliberately. "When I first became your follower, it was because of the love you bore for the people. Now, in seeing the full extent of your vision, I see the full extent of your love. Truly, I am honored to serve by your side, and nothing pleases me more than to say that, at this moment, you are no longer simply my lord; you are my brother." A slight wetness played at the corner of Guan Yu's eye as he thrust forth his crescent blade in salute.
Liu Bei stood and, drawing one of his own blades, crossed it with Guan Yu's. "Your faith in me is the greatest strength I could hope to have."
Zhang Fei hoisted himself up from the tree he had been sitting under. "You're gonna need more than two people to pull off something like this…brother."
Soon Zhang Fei's voulge had joined the weapons of his companions in salute.
Twilight Sparkle stared at the spectacle. It was true that she did not yet know these men very well; and yet, here she could see all she needed to know of them. Their friendship had been forged out of her sight, but it was as strong as any she had ever known. And she, too, had been offered a place within it.
She slowly sauntered up to the group, her old bookish meekness getting the better of her for the moment. "Mr. Liu…" she began, but her tongue seemed to trip over itself. Actions, she decided, would speak louder than words. Concentrating her telekinetic power, she plucked a ripe peach from the branches of one of the trees and floated it over so that it perched gently on the edges of the three blades. She blushed, hoping that she had made herself clear. Liu Bei's smile in return informed her that she had.
Spike had clambered over by this point. "Hey, I want in on this, too!" he whined, jumping up and down to reach the crossed weapons far above him.
Zhang Fei laughed and ran over to his pack. He returned with a large bone from a long-ago-devoured hunk of meat. He handed Spike the bone with all the decorum he would have shown an emperor receiving a scepter, then scooped the young dragon up and placed him on his shoulders so that, when the circle was reformed, everyone could reach into the middle.
Liu Bei surveyed the group around him. "If this is our fate," he intoned, "then let us swear an oath."
"When saying the names Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike, although these names are all different, yet we have come together as siblings. From this day forward, we shall join forces for a common purpose: to save the troubled and to aid the endangered. We shall avenge the nation above, and pacify the citizenry below. We seek not to be born on the same day, in the same month and in the same year. We merely hope to die on the same day, in the same month and in the same year. May the Gods of Heaven and Earth attest to what is in our hearts. If we should ever do anything to betray our friendship, may heaven and the people of the earth both strike us dead."
It had taken all of Twilight Sparkle's strength to overcome the nervous confusion that had gripped her. Liu Bei had spoken eloquently, but as the meaning of his words unfolded itself, Twilight Sparkle's heart dropped. Before, she had felt safe in the company of these warriors who had shone forth with compassion and understanding for her. Now, as their leader spoke of death as if it was his friend, as if death had any place in friendship…Twilight had known that there was an hour in which she would cease to exist, but that hour seemed to be drawing too close for comfort. And yet, could she abandon this man, who had snatched her life back from the jaws of that very same death he spoke of now, and who had placed all of his strength in her hooves without hesitation when he had learned of her plight?
"They may have weird ways of showing it," Twilight thought silently to herself, "but friendship is friendship no matter where you are."
A wind had picked up. The blossoms of the peach trees that had lain dormant on the ground now whipped around in an agitated frenzy as if ghosts were throwing them back and forth in an occult battle of pleasure. This did not last; soon they sank back to the silence of the cold dirt.
Zuo Ci breathed deeply.
The air around his mountain retreat was blessed not just by its closeness to the heavens, but its closeness to the living earth as well. The trees that sprang up in verdant glory, the streams that babbled with cool, quenching water; all of these impregnated the air with their Oneness. As air filled the lungs of Zuo Ci, so did piety fill his mind.
Today, however, he could not help but cough after his breath. Even in a place such as this, the illness that infected the land, that had caused the unholy Yellow Turbans to sprout like weeds amongst a bountiful harvest, could still be felt. He felt it deep within his own body as well. What chi could he draw from a world such as this? Only that which had been polluted and disordered.
Another breath lead into a sigh, and Zuo Ci returned to the cave he had painstakingly carved. A puny trout was cooking over an equally tiny fire. Lao Tzu himself had written that frying a small fish was as difficult as governing the whole of the empire; Ci was just happy that he had mastered one of those tasks.
The magic he had been blessed with all these years was falling apart with the land itself. An old frame like his did not have long to comfort itself and prepare for its return to the great unity.
The sudden sound of hooves on stone announced the arrival of an unknown figure, but Zuo Ci was not surprised. Just minutes before he had felt out the aura of this being as it made its way up the side of the mountain. The aura had none of the imperfections that anger and violent purpose lent; more intriguingly, it had been strong, and detecting it had almost been like looking into the sun. Zuo Ci had thus decided to permit the ascent, and he could see that he was not unrewarded.
The creature before him was strange and new, like a horse but with hair that tossed black stripes across a white base. Her golden jewelry seemed to glint of its own accord.
"I am sorry I have only a simple fish and a dirt floor to offer you, friend," he started, "but you may help yourself to all you like. Might I ask what would bring you to visit a useless old hermit on such a high mountain?"
"Though you may play the anchorite, your magic shines with endless light," responded Zecora.
"Perhaps at one time it did. Perhaps it still does now," Zuo Ci chortled gently. "The heavens have decided to abandon this land, and me with it."
"The fate which tosses you about, has cast me from my homeland out," Zecora replied with sympathy.
"And you had perhaps hoped that I would show you a path back? I am afraid such wisdom is beyond a fool like me."
Zuo Ci tried to turn away, but Zecora dashed forth and caught his gaze in hers. The force in her eyes was almost a spell in itself. For the first time in a long time, a twinge of awe pricked Zuo Ci.
"I did not come for selfish ends, but came as one that heaven sends," the zebra enunciated. "I know the work I am to do; I must restore your strength to you!"
"But," sputtered the overborn Zuo Ci, "with the land in chaos…"
"To bring the land to unity, the ponies shall become the key!" shouted Zecora in cryptic ecstasy.
Unexpectedly calm, Zecora turned away, and Zuo Ci felt as if he had just weathered a storm. When she turned to speak to him again, it was with a milder tone.
"The might of two combined as one, shall bring the rising of the sun."
With that, Zecora found a comfortable spot and arrayed herself for sleep. Equanimity returned to Ci as he watched his company drift off into the world of dreams. So he would have a houseguest for a while?
He looked back at the quickly blackening fish. Perhaps, he thought, there were still some small things he could do for the sake of the people.