You are brought into the royal hall of Canterlot, after following an urgent message from Princess Celestia herself. The palace wasn't in chaos, but it seemed like there was an air of worry going around. Princess Celestia stands before you in front of her throne, giving you each a look over, before she spoke. "My faithful subjects." She began. "I have gathered you here today, because I have a special task for you to carry out. Lately, a dark power has been tormenting some of the more magically inclined unicorns, myself and my sister included. I believe I know the cause, and the reason." She began walking before you. "I fear that an ancient evil has been awakened, one that has long thought to have been banished. I've summoned you here because you are to be the ones to find it, and stop it before it can unleash whatever sinister plans it has in store for Equestria."
Brave Cape stands amongst the others and approaches the Princess. Brave "And what exactly would that evil be, Your Royalty?"
"As surprising as this may seem, my little ponies, I do not know." Celestia said, the concern evident in her voice. "I only know it is a being of terror, that existed long before Equestria, and even before the times of Discord. Ancient texts and scrolls dating back that far are few, and far between, and the ones in our possession are too damaged to make out entirely. But the scrolls foretell a prophecy of six legendary ponies, who could stand up to this terror in times of crisis. At first, I had thought it to be my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends. But if I have interpreted the prophecies correctly, then the legendary ponies do not wield the Elements of Harmony. "As to where this evil is," She continued. "I will let my General in charge of finding it tell you that." An Earth Pony stepped forward. He looked kind of scrawny, but his purple eyes shone with brilliance. He had a coat of crimson, and his mane and tail were both a deep red. His cutie mark was a chess symbol. The symbol for the "king" in chess. "I am General Crimson Star." He said. "I am in charge of the unit that was dispatched to find the source of this evil. My scouts tell me that the evil being is somewhere in the ancient Forest of Kuwabara, but my soldiers dare not go in. They are brave ponies, but even they know the rumors surrounding the forest. I suspect you'll want whatever information you can glean on our enemy, and your mission. I am at liberty to answer all your questions."
"My forces will lead you to the forest as soon as you are all ready to go. But don't expect them to help. As I've said, they know the rumors."
Edge yawned and figured out he was on a chair and noticed he was inside that fancy tower he had seen Edge stood up and looked at the group and walked over to them and over heard there conversation. "So we are going to Forrest of Kuwubara! Amazing adventure! Cool! Sounds like i'll be going with this group," he laughed he squeezed into the group smiling.
Edge looked at the pony who had given him a bad look "Hey! Come on! Im not that bad I can probably kill you in a second!" Edge said laughing, "Im joking but my skills are pretty good!". He walked over to his seat and plopped himself onto the chair looking at the group.
Brave hesitated, but... There was no point in hesitating. He posed his question: "What... Rumours? There may be truth in them, terrifying as they may be."
Crimson straightened himself. "The forest of Kuwabara has rumors of...changing...creatures that go inside of it. Some become fearful creatures, growing to three times their size, and becoming much more aggressive. Others die, and are brought back to life as shadows using forbidden magics. One stallion stated that there was a menacing metal monstrosity that would take an innocent creature into itself, and lumber away." Crimson sighed. "My soldiers are superstitious enough to give some credence to the rumors. I disregard them, myself. Some of the feats described are impossible, even with the most powerful magics. Nevertheless, the ponies of the local village believe them well enough, and they have my troops believing it, too. So you can expect no military support from the Celestian Guard."
Snow gulped, she was a bit worryed about that last part. If the runors were true, that meant her *gulp* alter ego might be dragged out, and that would ruin the mission.
Brave "I agree with Ecliptic. Even though we may dismiss half of them as false, there may be some danger in that forest of magic nature, something that is keeping anypony from entering and disrupting any intrusions to whatever's grandmaster plan this ancient entity has created. There must be some sort of defense or dispelling..."
"I shall take you there when you are all ready." Crimson announced. "For now, get some rest. It's a pretty long journey. Make sure you also grab whatever supplies you need while you're here."
Brave *sigh* After Crimson dismissed his question, Brave Cape got back to the room Celestia had reserved for him while they were preparing for said mission. Everypony had his or hers room, and they were in fact pretty big and fancy. Guess it was fair, considering what they were going to pass through. He grabbed the book he was reading, and his trusty short blade, and everything else he needed to establish the most basic camp possible. Then he passed through the kitchen to get food and water, and he was ready, standing at the castle's gate.
