Twilight didn’t worry too much. Rainbow Dash can be lazy when it comes to things that don’t involve flying; Pinkie Pie had the attention span of a Cocker Spaniel, and probably found a pretty butterfly and hopped after it. Had it been somepony like Applejack, maybe she would have been worried. She was just annoyed. She took flight, hovering over the town square to get a bird’s-eye view. She flew over the whole square, flapping her wings only to stop from falling, gliding the rest of the way with her lavender wings stretched out. After twenty minutes of pointless searching, she decided she needed help. She changed her course to Fluttershy’s cottage with a simple tilt of her body.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy sat in her cottage, attentively watching Angel, her rabbit, go on and on with futile charades. Angel was in a state of panic, and thus, was unable to communicate it through charades. Fluttershy was concerned, to say the least. “Um… Angel? I’m so sorry, but, you have to slow down. I can’t understand what you’re trying to tell me. And it seems important. Oh gosh, am I not trying hard enough? Sorry, Angel. Maybe Rarity will be able to figure it out.”
Rarity was supposed to visit, for she had a large order at Carousel, and needed a hoof. Fluttershy was the perfect candidate. Her sewing expertise would prove more than useful. But, Rarity was supposed to be at Fluttershy’s an hour ago. This worried Fluttershy. Rarity desired perfection, and was never late to anything by even a minute. Even if she had to wake up at four in the morning to style her mane, she would if it meant being punctual. That’s when it hit her. “Angel,” she said, “Did something happen to Rarity?” The bunny nodded and sighed in relief. Fluttershy was out the door without another word.
Fluttershy saw Twilight not even a minute after leaving her home. They stopped, hovering in midair.
“Fluttershy,” said Twilight, “I was just looking for you.”
“Same here. I wasn’t expecting to find you so easily.”
Twilight cut right to the chase. “I need your help finding Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. They just kinda disappeared and you can help me do a flyover of Ponyville.”
“Oh, well, uh… I was also looking for somepony. Angel says Rarity is missing and I was supposed to help her with an order.”
“That’s weird. Maybe we’ll find her when we look for Dash and Pinkie.”
“I hope nothing bad happened to them…”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” said Twilight.
“Gee… I hope you’re right. If something happened to them, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“We’d better stick together, just to be safe,” Twilight suggested.
They searched Ponyville for hours on end, with no avail. During the search, Twilight had explained to Fluttershy about the spell, and that she needed the Elements to make it work.
“We should go see Applejack.” Fluttershy recommended, “If she’s alright, we have no need to worry about the others. But if she’s gone, too… something bad happened.”
The fly to Sweet Apple Acres was uneventful. Neither Twilight nor Fluttershy said a word. When they touched down in front of Applejack’s house, they heard blood-curdling screaming from inside. Twilight teleported into the house, there was no time for doors. What she saw made her jaw drop.
Applejack was wrestling… something. And losing. It had no definite shape, just a black blob with five or six protruding tentacles. Applejack was grunting, and trying to fight back. But it was too strong. Applebloom was cowering in the corner, screaming her lungs out; she was the source of the scream they had heard from outside.
Twilight’s shock and confusion paralyzed her. By the time she was able to move, it was too late. Applejack had lost the battle, she was grabbed by the tentacles and absorbed into the creature. The creature retreated through the floor, and was gone like nothing happened. Applebloom sat motionless in the corner. Tears fell from her traumatized face. She finally stood, and threw her front hooves around Twilight in an embrace. Twilight, however, had no way of assuaging the filly’s fears. She pulled Applebloom off of her and sat her down. Before she had a chance to say something, she realized something that filled her heart with dread.
She had left Fluttershy outside.
Her suspicions had been confirmed. There was nopony outside, other than Big Macintosh, who hadn’t heard any of the events that had just happened. Twilight flew off without saying another word. She had to see Princess Celestia.
Twilight flew for an amount of time unknown to her. Her panic was prioritized over sense of time. The royal guards at the gates to the castle were unable to say a word or even comprehend who had flown through the door. A panicked Twilight entered the doors to Celestia’s throne room.
“Celestiayouhavetohelpme *inhale* allofmyfriendswerekidnappedandIneedtheElementsofHarmonyto-”
“Calm down, Twilight,” Princess Celestia interrupted, “Now tell me rationally and slowly what happened.” Twilight explained everything.
“I have an idea, though,” Twilight said, “You used all six Elements of Harmony to banish Nightmare Moon, right? Celestia nodded. “If you could wield the Elements, I could use my spell to make the world peaceful, and my friends will return.”
Celestia nodded again. The two alicorns fled the castle, into the now night sky, almost is if it were a warning to stay away from what was going to happen.
The flight to the Tree of Harmony was a short one. They had both been there before, and the destruction caused by the vines Discord had planted all those years ago made it an obvious landmark. They descended, not wasting any time with landings. The graceful and professional Princess Celestia had abandoned all efforts to be dainty and landed hard on the ground, picking up a cloud of dust. Twilight was worse. She crash-landed into the ground. She was fine, and stood up and brushed herself off.
Hey, Celestia,” Twilight said, “What are we waiting fo…”
Before Twilight could finish her sentence, she looked at the Tree of Harmony, and it silenced her. Where the Elements of Harmony once stood was now a black hole. Not a galaxy-eating super force. Just a hole. That was pitch black. It looked as if it led to another place in the word, like a portal.
“Princess Celestia,” Twilight was so shocked that her habitual method of addressing Celestia returned. “What is that?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” she replied.
Together, they flew into the portal, unsure of where it led, but they knew in their hearts that here was the place they’d find their answers.