Around a table sat eleven ponies, enjoying tea, eating sweet treats, and most importantly, talking amongst themselves. On one side sat the Elements, and on the other side sat the new generation.
“So… you’re telling me that the three tribes basically hated each other, and everyone lived in fear and paranoia of each other?” A baffled Twilight asked.
“Yup! That is until our friend Sunny here showed them the true power of friendship!” Izzy replied, sipping on her tea. The Elements looked at one another, a swirl of emotions filling them.
“So everything we worked so hard to achieve is gone, just like that,” Twilight sighed. Fluttershy placed her hooves on the unicorn’s shoulder.
“I'm sure we tried everything we could.”
“Yeah Twilight! I’m sure it’s not your fault anyways,” Rainbow added on.
“But it is! I was, well, still am, the Princess of Friendship. I was supposed to show everypony just how wonderful it is to be friends with everyone. But I failed…” Twilight sulked.
“Twilight dear, I am sure you did a wonderful job ruling, don’t dwell on it too much. Just be glad that these five are there to spread friendship once again,” Rarity gave her a smile.
“Yeah! And isn’t this like, a bazillion moons later? How are we supposed to help?” Pinkie rubbed her chin.
“Pinkie, a bazillion isn’t a number,” Applejack chuckled, followed by the other elements. The New Generation looked at them as they consoled the princess, noticing how different their generation is. Not that long ago, the three tribes wouldn’t even speak a word to one another. To see these very different ponies comfort Twilight was refreshing.
“I’m sure you tried your hardest Princess Twilight!” Sunny decided to add in. “My dad told me you were a wonderful ruler who spread friendship throughout Equestria. Although I’m not sure he was alive during your rule,” Sunny giggled.
“Sunny always talked about you, Princess. She said you were a kind ruler who loved everypony, so if she says so, I’m sure it's true,” Hitch added. The Princess smiled slightly.
“Thank you everypony. Also, you don’t have to talk to me Princess. Just Twilight is fine.” With Twilight calming down, the air was filled with a more positive vibe.
“So y’all are the new lights of friendship, huh,” Applejack looked at the five.
“That’s us, although, we haven’t been together for that long to be honest,” Sunny said sheepishly. “We only just recently reunited the tribes, and then I got both wings and a horn!” She flared her wings out.
“So you became an alicorn by uniting the tribes. That’s awesome!” Rainbow flew above her, observing her wings. “You know how to fly yet?”
Sunny shook her head. “No not yet. I haven’t really gotten around to it yet.”
“Didn’t you hear her dear? She only just recently got them,” Rarity commented, “it’s probably a similar case to when Twilight got her wings.”
“Wait, you weren’t originally an alicorn?” Pipp scratched her head. “I was told that you were always an alicorn.”
“Nope! I was originally a unicorn,” Twilight pointed at her horn, “but then when I completed Starswirl’s spell I became an alicorn.” The Elements nodded, recalling their friend's transformation. It was quite the shock.
“That’s so awesome! You’re just like Sunny,” Izzy beamed.
“Didn’t Sunny get both wings and a horn though?” Zipp mentioned.
“She did mention that,” Applejack scratched her chin.
“So you’re telling me that you were originally an earth pony?” Twilight stood up from her chair, earning her a nod from Sunny. “That’s crazy! You’d be the first earth pony, I know of, that became an alicorn. Cadence was a pegasus and I was a unicorn. I think Celestia and Luna were born alicorns. That’s an amazing feat!”
“Who are Celestia and Luna?” Izzy asked, tilting her head.
“Well they were the rulers of Equestria for thousands of moons. Celestia raised the sun, and Luna the moon,” Twilight answered.
“Never heard of them,” Izzy shrugged.
“Neither have we,” Pipp chirped, hooking her arm around Zipp. “They sound important though.”
“Well, duh!” Pinkie popped up behind the pair. “They are like, super duper important! They ruled Equestria for who knows how many moons.”
“Wh- Huh? How did she get behind us?” Zipp was baffled.
“Don’t mind her sugarcube, it’s just Pinkie things,” Applejack chuckled, the other elements humming in agreement.
“Oooookay…” Zipp just decided to accept it.
“So what else do you guys do? I know you defend Equestria and spread friendship and all, but what else do you do?” Sunny asked.
“Well when we’re not saving the world from villains, we just live normal lives,” Twilight shrugged.
“I’m the most awesome of course,” Rainbow interrupted. “I’m a Wonderbolt!” The New Generation were just staring at her.
“Uhhhh… What's a Wonderbolt?” Izzy smiled.
Rainbow eyes went wide. “W-What? How do you not know about the legendary Wonderbolts?”
“Maybe because they’re like a gazillion moons in the future silly,” Pinkie chirped.
“Well that makes a bit of sense.” Rainbow said as she rubbed her chin. “Well, the Wonderbolts are an amazing awesome crew of pegasi. They perform daring tricks, spinning around and having kicks!”
“Wow they sound like quite the crew. I take it you’re a good flyer then?” Hitch assumed.
“Only the best of the best!” Rainbow placed her hoof on her chest proudly.
Applejack rolled her eyes, “Real humble Rainbow.”
“I know,” the rainbow pegasus smirked.
Twilight raised her hoof. “Moving right on, I’m the ruler of Equestria.”
“Ruler of Equestria? Like all of Equestria?” Izzy asked, tilting her head.
“Yup, all of Equestria. Why?” Twilight replied.
“Well it’s just that kind of odd to hear that. Our Equestria has been split up for who knows how long.” Izzy recalled the separation and fear of their home. It didn’t sound anything like Twilight’s Equestria.
“Ah yes, that makes sense. I’m sure you all will unite them fully again,” Twilight nodded, a hopeful smile appearing on her face.
“That’s for sure!” Izzy pulled Sunny and Pipp into a side hug.
“For sure!” Hitch crossed his arms and nodded.
“We’ll make sure it happens, Twilight,” Zipp concluded.
“How about you, Applejack and Pinkie? What do you two do?” Hitch looked at the earth ponies, interested in their work.
“Well I’m a farmer,” Applejack spoke first.
“I work at a bakery, but I also plan lots and lots of fun parties!” Pinkie said quickly after.
“Do earth ponies have any magic?” A curious Sunny asked.
“They in fact do. Earth ponies have a magical connection to the ground, allowing them to grow crops in even the most barren places. They also have a connection to animals,” Twilight stated.
“So that’s why there were three crystals,” Sunny mumbled.
“What are these crystals you’re talking about, dear?” Rarity asked.
“Well, we thought in order to reunite the tribes and get our magic back that we’d have to combine these crystals that represented each tribe. But when we put them together, nothing happened. But after the three tribes came together again, they magically came together. That’s how I got these” Sunny explained, pointing to her horn and wings.
“It was probably the magic of friendship. We all know how powerful that is,” Twilight said, smiling as she looked at all her friends. They all smiled back, nodding in agreement.
“Wait a minute… Did you say get your magic back.” Rarity pointed out.
“No one had magic. Peagasai couldn’t fly and unicorns couldn’t use magic.. I don’t really know how it affected the earth ponies though,” Sunny answered, stroking her chin.
“They probably affected the least. Earth ponies were always resourceful of the land anyways,” Twilight concluded.
“That makes sense,” Sunny said, nodding. Everyone hummed in agreement, understanding that earth ponies don’t really have any outstanding magical abilities like the other two tribes.
“So how about you Fluttershy? What do you do?” A curious Hitch asked.
“I take care of animals,” The soft-spoken mare answered.
“So you’re a vet?” Hitch continued.
“I work at an animal sanctuary where we take care of creatures in need,” Fluttershy explained.
“I take it animals like you?” Hitch asked.
“Oh yes they are very fond of me.” Fluttershy pointed at her flank where the three butterflies sat. “I got my cutie mark when I figured out I could communicate with animals.”
Izzy’s eyes went wide. “You can talk to animals?”
“Oh yes. They tell me all kinds of things and I enjoy their company,” Fluttershy smiled.
“That’s awesome! You’re kind of like Hitch ” Sunny looked at her childhood friend, “except he can’t really talk to them, they just seem to gather around him.”
“For some odd reason they seem to like me,” Hitch shrugged.
“Maybe you’re kinda like Fluttershy?” Rainbow suggested.
“I’ll try talking to them when I get back,” Hitch half-jokingly said.
“Yeah that would be hilarious to watch,” Zipp smirked.
“So what about you five?” Twilight scanned the new generation, “What do you guys do?”
“I sold smoothies in Maritime Bae!” Sunny answered.
“And I’m the sheriff there,” Hitch was smiling proudly. Sunny rolled her eyes.
“Whatever you say Mr. Sheriff.”
“You two seem close,” Rarity pointed out.
“We’re childhood friends,” Sunny hugged him.
“Yup, someone’s gotta keep an eye out on Sunny the troublemaker,” Hitch smirked, giving her a noogie.
“Hey stop that!” Sunny playfully tried to break out of the head lock.
“Awww you two are so cute!” Pinkie cooed. The two stopped, realizing what they were doing in front of everyone. Realizing what they were doing in front of everyone, they bolted up and sat up straight. Hitch forced out a cough while Sunny sat there in silence.
“Aw shucks look what you did Pinkie,” Applejack smirked as the pair’s face reddened.
“We aren’t like that,” Sunny mumbled. Hitch silently nodded.
“I always thought you two were a little suspicious,” Izzy said playfully, squinting at the two. “No wonder Hitch chased after you…”
“Oh c’mon not you too Izzy,” Sunny groaned, hiding behind her hooves.
“Sorry darling, we’re just having fun,” Rarity suppressed a giggle. The others were smiling and nodding, pretending to feel bad for the two. Sunny sighed, wishing to just disappear.
“So are you two related?” Rainbow examined Zipp and Pipp. “I mean your names do sound the same.”
“We’re sisters,” Zipp answered.
“Royal ones at that,” Pipp chimed in, “at least, I think we still are.”
“You two are royalty?” Rarity suddenly perked up.
“We’re the princesses of the pegsai tribe,” Pipp happily answered.
“At least I think we still are. A lot happened so we don’t really know,” Zipp shrugged.
“What exactly happened?” Rarity’s eyebrow raised.
“Well let’s just say that ponies don’t really like being lied to… by their leaders…” Zipp laughed while Pipp wore a grouchy face.
“And who’s fault is it that they found out we couldn’t fly!”
Zipp rolled her eyes. “Pipp, no need to be so petty.”
“Wait so you guys faked flying? How?” Rainbow was baffled.
“You’d be amazed of what wires and proper lighting could do,” Zipp smirked.
“That’s awesome!” Rainbow praised.
“Zipp is pretty awesome,” Izzy beamed, “She did let us out of our prison cell.”
“You were in prison? With who? For what?” Twilight asked in concern.
“Well Sunny and I adventured to Zephyr Heights, the pegasus capital, trying to gather clues on how to get our magic back,” Izzy started, “but then we were captured by some guards. They put a tennis ball on my horn for some reason.”
“A tennis ball? On your horn?” Twilight looked confused.
“We thought it stopped them from using magic,” Zipp shrugged.
“Then we were questioned and put in a jail cell. It didn’t really feel like a jail cell though. There was a massage chair and even a comfy bed!” Izzy recalled the room.
“Well we didn’t really have a need for a dungeon so we had to improvise,” Pipp grinned sheepishly.
“Yeah we don’t normally get prisoners,” Zipp added.
“And then Zipp freed us and even came up with a plan to get the crystal from her mothers crown! What a fun day it was,” Izzy concluded.
“Now that I think about it, I remember seeing your cutie mark on the stained glass, Twilight,” Izzy recalled. The purple six pointed star stood out to her.
“My cutie mark on stained glass? The only place that has that is the throne room in Canterlot,” Twilight pondered.
“Canterlot? Where is that exactly?” Sunny asked.
“It’s right in the center of Equestria,” Twilight said, pulling out a map of their Equestria. The New Generation examined the map, trying to find differences from their own. There were a lot of places they didn’t even know of.
“Wow…” Hitch whistled, “your Equestria is a lot bigger than ours.”
“We don’t really hear stories of anywhere else besides Bridlewood, Zephyr Heights, and Maritime Bay to be honest,” Sunny scanned all the other places. Griffonstone, The Crystal Empire, Appaloosa, and Ponyville were a few that caught her eye.
“I really want to explore some of these places!” Izzy’s eyes were glued to The Crystal Empire.
“One day, Izzy, one day.” Sunny placed her hoof on Izzy’s shoulder, a hopeful smile on her face.
“Someplace catch your eye?” Twilight asked Izzy, noticing her stare.
“This ‘Crystal Empire Place’ sounds fun! There’s like a gazillion crystals in Bridlewood.”
“The Crystal Empire is just dazzling darling,” Rarity praised, recalling her experiences there. “The ponies there are sparkling and there are beautiful crystals scattered about.”
“That sounds fabulous,” Pipp squealed.
“It’s a very beautiful place. Maybe we can take you there to see it,” Twilight smiled.
“Please!” Pipp and Izzy pleaded in unison, causing laughter to erupt and fill the room.
“Izzy, what did you do in Bridlewood? I never really asked,” Sunny questioned her friend.
“Well I didn’t really do anything,” Izzy thought back to her past, “most unicorns in Bridlewood didn’t. We kind of just relaxed in town, scavenging food from the forest when needed.”
“Sounds boring~” Pinkie commented.
“It was,” Izzy nodded, “but I was a bit different from everypony there. I made a lot of things, like friendship bracelets, arts and crafts, you name it!” Izzy stated proudly.
“Quite the creative gal, aren’t ya?” Applejack chuckled.
“You should see her house. It's gorgeous~” Pipp sang
“Maybe one day,” Twilight said.
“I’d love to see your abode,” Rarity chimed in. The other four Elements hummed in agreement.
“I’d love to have you all over. I have a tea set and everything. We didn’t get to try it last time because we were on a mission!” Izzy chirped.
“We’ll use it once we get back,” Sunny grinned.
“Yay!” Izzy cheered, a beaming smile on her face.
As introductions were finished, the sun was already setting. The ponies decided that they would continue their talks another time, concluding this session. The Elements returned to their respective houses while Twilight showed the New Generation to their rooms. Things were just getting started.