Twilight paced back in forth in front of the library, hoping that the princess would get there in time for...whatever it was she had to be there in time for. Twilight felt like she didn't know as much about the situation as she wanted to, and all this waiting was just making her antsy. She stretched her wings out and examined them, more for a distraction that anything else.
"Twilight, my prized pupil," said the flowing voice of Princess Celestia. Twilight looked up. "I'm glad you were waiting for my arrival. Come quickly! We don't have much time. We could be discovered any minute." The monarch began to trot quickly towards the forest, and Twilight hurried after her, still not sure what was going on. It didn't make sense! Nothing made sense. What was Celestia talking about?
Twilight followed after her mentor, realizing very quickly that Celestia knew exactly where she was going. At least they wouldn't have to look for the signs Twilight tried to remember as she was running away.
It didn't take long for the pair of alicorns to reach the old, crumbling ruins. Celestia wasted no time to enter the building and make for the room that held the giant ring. "Celestia!" Twilight called, "I still don't understand. What's going on? What is that giant ring and who on Equus would...'discover' us?"
The pure white alicorn looked back at her for a second. "That's just the thing, my student. They aren't on Equus." This left Twilight even more perplexed. She followed as her teacher began to speed up. This was starting to seem worse and worse all the time. What had Twilight gotten everypony in to?
They were at a full gallop when they reached the room, and eight hooves screeched against the smooth rock floor as they came to a stop. Twilight observed the ring. "Princess, are those constellations on that ring?"
"Yes, quite observant of you, Twilight. Now, if you give me just a second, I can--" Suddenly, the giant ring lit up to an eery blue color. It seemed that the ring had a slightly small ring inside it that had a bunch of constellations on it. They began to light up more. "It is too late..." Celestia whispered, backing away. "Twilight, come away from there!" She complied to her teachers wishes, watching as a blue wave reached out form the ring, then pulled back, forming what looked like a vertical pool of water.
"What is that?" Twilight asked.
"A magical thing, my student. Do not touch the wave when it comes out from the ring. It will harm you." Suddenly, another metal thing appeared, seeming to just spawn from the ring itself. It looked like there was some sort of camera resting on it, facing the two ponies.
"Celestia, what is that thing? What is going on!?"
"Calm yourself, my student. I believe this is some sort of communication device, though it is not the same as the ones I remember..." The sun princess approached the camera, glancing over at the smaller metal thing the twilight had turned on earlier. A small smile spread over her face.
Twilight didn't understand. First, Celestia had been telling her things could be dangerous, and now she was smiling. She was about to confront the princess on the subject, but stopped when the white pony began to speak to the camera.
"Atlantis, I know it's you. I'd recognize your address anywhere. Though I suppose none of you recognize me. There may be some information on this planet in your...databases, I believe they are called. We are a peaceful people. You need not fear us. Perhaps we can become allies again?" Celestia glanced over at Twilight.
"Princess, what exactly are you doing?" the purple pony asked.
"Introducing myself, my student. You are very lucky that Atlantis is the one who discovered us first. They will be on great help to us now that the galaxy can once again use this ancestral ring."
"Ancestral ring?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, Twilight, this device is known as the ancestral ring, or just the ring to Equestrians. It is used to transport to other worlds... Oh, speaking of which..." She turned to the device. "If you wish for me to send some of my ponies for negotiations with your people, please send through some sort of message." Just then, the blue pool disappeared from the ring.
"...People...?"
"You ask far too many questions, my student. Now, you may wait with me or collect your friends. Hero's are lovely to have at alliance meetings...." Twilight had never seen the Princess like this. She was much more stern that usual. Was she upset with Twilight? And what was all this about an alliance? Hadn't they just formed one with Saddle Arabia?
"Um...okay, Princess Celestia..." She began to trot towards the door.
"Oh, Twilight? Please hurry. From my experience, the Lanteans are not keen on waiting. They will almost certainly request that we send some ambassadors to meet with them on Atlantis." Still quite confused about their situation, twilight galloped off to collect the Element Bearers.
"What is going on?" she asked herself and she weaves between the trees. "What is all that weird stuff, and why does Celestia know what's going on?" She reached the edge of the forest and started collecting the other five ponies that she called her closest friends. She couldn't tell them much, only what she knew herself, but she said that Celestia wanted them in the forest with her. Of course, they would never go against the Princess's wishes, so they gathered back at the edge of the forest.
Twilight trotted up, Elements in hoof. "We had better bring these along, girls. Who knows what Celestia is going to put us up against? And well..." She put on her crown and passed out the necklaces. "They make us look regal, and Celestia seemed to think that was important."
The others gave her confused looks, but Twilight only shrugged. She didn't know much about what she was saying either. She started to lead them through the trees, hoping that the Princess would be able to explain things to them once they got back to the old building.
It took much longer for them to get there than when Celestia and Twilight and gone. The sun princess seemed to have known the route my heart, but the others certainly didn't. Celestia was waiting patiently when they got there. To Twilight, she seemed to have gone back to her normal self. No more strange ominous things. "Ah, my little ponies. You're here."
As if one cue, the...ancestral ring...lit up like Twilight had seen it do before. The blue wave burst forth, and she jumped back, just in case. "It looks like we got here just in time..."
"Yes, it would seem so..." A piece of paper floated out from the ring, and Celestia caught it with her magic, reading aloud.
We would appreciate a meeting between your ambassadors and our people. Please redial the gate for Atlantis and send them through. We await your swift arrival.
Celestia smiled a bit at this, waiting for the ring to shut down again before approaching the smaller metal device that Twilight had turned on. She pressed several buttons with her hooves, making the ring light up again. "Why didn't we just go before it shut off?" Dash asked impatiently.
"The ring only works one way, miss Dash. Now, all of you, enter through the ring. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt. You can ask questions to the beings on the other side. They are probably more aware of the galaxy's current situation than I am."
Bewildered by their princess's statement, the six ponies trotted forward through the ring. They were completely unprepared for anything like this.
Upon reaching the other side, they all felt strange. Only Twilight recognized the feeling. Frowning slightly, she looked down at her fingers.
"Not this again..."