Ponyville
Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and Star Swirl all remained in the tent obscuring the space-time rift ever since Twilight and the others left. Exactly what they were waiting for, nopony could say. Perhaps they were hoping against the odds that Twilight's group would reappear quickly. Or maybe they simply didn't know what to do with themselves since the six ponies had left. Whatever the reason, they remained. Starlight Glimmer and Spike had wanted to stay, too, but they'd had duties to tend to at the School of Friendship and Twilight's castle. Discord had opted to leave, saying it was making him anxious to wait.
"I almost wish she hadn't volunteered to go," admitted Celestia.
"What happened to 'I have the utmost confidence in you, Twilight?'" Cadence demanded. She didn't look angry, but she wasn't smiling, either.
"I'm not saying I don't have faith in her, or any of them for that matter. The fact is, when I sent Twilight into danger before, I usually had some knowledge of what she'd be facing. I could prepare her for what lay ahead. This time, nopony knows what's on the other side of that portal."
"I understand, sister," replied Luna. "But we don't know for certain that what lies beyond the void is, in fact, perilous. We need to have faith that Twilight and the others will triumph, as they always have."
"I agree," added Star Swirl. "Twilight has proven to be the most capable pony I've ever known. She will find a way."
Celestia nodded, but her eyes still looked downcast. Luna draped a comforting wing over her sister's shoulder without speaking.
Suddenly, Cadence's voice rang out, knocking the other two alicorns out of their stupor. "Look! Something's coming out!"
Three additional pairs of eyes snapped onto the portal. Celestia sucked in a breath and held it. Within the blue and white spirals, several silhouettes began to take shape. They appeared to be ponies, but they were clustered so close together, they couldn't be counted. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Twilight's head poked out from inside the vortex. She strolled onto the grass, followed by her five best friends. Then, five additional ponies emerged, four mares and one stallion carrying a baby dragon on his back.
"We're back!" exclaimed Pinkie, firing her party cannon into the air once again. "I know we've only been gone a couple of hours, but we're back!"
"Does she always do that?" asked Hitch, brushing confetti off the top of his head.
"Oh, you have no idea," replied Applejack.
Celestia approached Twilight. "You're back!" she exclaimed, before composing herself. "I didn't expect you'd be here so soon. Did you find the source of the time rift?"
"We did, actually," said Twilight, though her reply was a bit more terse than usual. She lit up her horn, popping open her saddlebags, and levitated out a single object. "It was this. In the future."
"The Time Twirler?" asked Star Swirl, looking at the device. "But I thought Clover sent that artifact to another dimension more than a thousand years ago. And it didn't have that kind of power before."
"We actually got it back in this time a while ago," said Twilight, passing the device to him. "We'll need to do some magic scans on it. Besides that, we—"
"Oh. My. Goodness!" exclaimed Sunny, rushing past Twilight. "Are you really Celestia and Luna?! The princesses of the sun and moon?!" She hurriedly bowed, but kept talking. "I'm so excited! I've always wanted to meet you two! I'm Sunny Starscout, and my Dad—"
Twilight cut her off by enveloping her in magic, levitating her off the ground. "Sunny, I love your enthusiasm, but you're gonna need to slow down."
Cadence looked between Twilight's group, and Sunny's. "Are these new friends of yours?" she asked.
"Yes," said Twilight. "They're from the future. She's really interested in...what she calls 'Ancient Equestria,' and wanted to see it up close."
"Plus, I wanted to record a whole bunch of footage for the Pippsqueaks when I get back home!" added Pipp, who was filming everything on her phone. Zipp rolled her eyes. Star Swirl watched Pipp's phone with fascination in his eyes.
"Well, alright, then," said Luna. "What do they want to see?"
"I was thinking we could split up," said Twilight. "As long as one of us is always with them, it should be fine. Sunny, before I give you the tour of Ponyville, would you mind if I had a word with Celestia and Luna?"
"Oh, no. Not at all," replied Sunny.
The group dispersed slowly, with Cadence and Star Swirl staying to guard the portal. Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Sunny all went into the castle, with Sunny gawking at the crystal architecture the whole time. Spike was, naturally, delighted to see his big sister once again. Twilight asked him to show Sunny around the castle, while she led the two alicorns into the Cutie Map room. Once Sunny and Spike were out of earshot, Twilight rounded on Celestia and Luna.
"So," she began, sounding irritated, "when exactly were you going to tell me that I'm going to replace you as the ruler of all Equestria?!"
Luna and Celestia both paled. Clearly, they hadn't expected this line of questioning.
"I'm guessing there were historical records in Sunny's future that led to you discovering that?" asked Celestia, biting her lip nervously.
"Yes," replied Twilight. She levitated Argyle/Sunny's journal out of her saddlebags. "I haven't looked through this yet, but I'm guessing it's going to raise some more questions."
Celestia squirmed a little. Luna took over.
"Twilight, I want to assure you that it was not always my sister's intention to have you take the throne of Equestria," she explained, speaking quickly. "She knew you were destined to be the wielder of the Element of Magic as soon as she saw your Cutie Mark, but we only decided to retire a few months ago."
"Which brings us back to my first question: when were you going to tell me?"
"We were planning to ask you to take over once the current moon had passed," said Celestia. "Ask, not tell."
"And why were you retiring in the first place?" demanded Twilight. "We're alicorns, aren't we immortal?"
"Actually, no. Luna and I only have a thousand year life span because of our connections to the sun and moon. You and Cadence don't have that, so while you'll live longer than most ponies, you won't be alive for thousands of years. Flurry Heart, we're not sure about, given that there has never been a natural born alicorn before."
Twilight sighed, rubbing her face between her forehooves.
"I'm sorry, this is just...this is a lot to take in. I feel like you two dragged me into a test I didn't even know I was being prepared for. I don't hate pop quizzes, in fact, I enjoy them, but some warning would've been nice this time around."
"We apologize, Twilight," said Celestia. "We believed that, since you knew more about friendship than any other pony in Equestria, you could manage the kingdom with the help of your friends. We're sorry if you didn't feel like we adequately prepared you, or if we forced you into something you didn't want."
"I'm not angry, I'm just...I don't know what I am. I'm frustrated." Twilight sighed to herself. "But we'll figure it out. We always do."
Sunny's intense fawning had led Spike all over the crystal castle, barely catching up with the earth pony wherever she went.
"Oh, if only she hadn't taken the Cutie Map room!" exclaimed Sunny, using her phone to take yet another photo of the castle's interior. "But still, this is the sight of the century! This is incredible! I can't believe I'm actually standing in Princess Twilight's castle!"
Spike panted as he ran up to Sunny's side once again. "Could...we slow down...a little bit?" he pleaded in between breaths. "I think...I'm gonna pass out."
Sunny noticed his plight. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she hurriedly apologized, helping Spike to not fall over. "I shouldn't have pushed you that much. You're still a juvenile dragon in this time, and not the big time Royal Advisor you'll be in the future."
Spike suddenly snapped to attention as he heard what she said. "I become what?!" he demanded. "Twilight appoints me as the Royal Advisor?!"
Sunny paled a little. "I probably shouldn't keep letting details about the future slip, should I?" she asked, rhetorically. "I don't want to screw up the timeline or anything."
But Spike wasn't listening to her. He was staring off into the distance, his eyes glazed over. "Royal Advisor," he breathed. "Twilight gives me that much power and work in running Equestria?"
Sunny nodded. "Apparently, you become one of the most successful ambassadors in Equestria's history, stopping wars before they even start. You work alongside Twilight and the others to usher in a new era of peace across not just Equestria, but the entire planet."
"Wow," Spike continued. "I can't believe I get to be a part of that! Isn't Twilight amazing? The way that she gives everypony so much hope?"
"She is, yeah," agreed Sunny. Her ears drooped a little. "She's pretty much everything I imagined when I thought about meeting her."
Suddenly, the clip clop of hooves down the hall alerted them to the approach of Twilight, Celestia, and Luna. Sunny and Spike turned towards the three alicorns.
"We've finished our...discussion," said Twilight. "Sunny, would you like me and Spike to show you the School of Friendship? It's closed for the summer, but you can go inside and see it."
Sunny immediately brightened up. "Absolutely!" she declared, jumping for joy.
Rainbow Dash and Zipp soared high in the skies above Ponyville, beating their wings occasionally to stay aloft. They punched through the clouds, sending white particles dancing across the sky as they went. Rainbow made a quick diving maneuver, placing her in front of Zipp.
"You've definitely got the speed for a Wonderbolt!" Rainbow called behind her. "Not as much as me, of course, but you've clearly got the skills!"
"Oh, you say I'm not as fast as you?!" demanded Zipp. She did a quick barrel roll, managing to nudge Rainbow Dash out of the way. Now in the lead, Zipp took off like an arrow. "Catch me, then, and prove it!"
Rainbow grinned. "This opportunity is so good, I couldn't have planned it better if I'd tried," she said to herself.
The sky-blue pegasus took off, speeding straight ahead and placing her neck and neck with Zipp. The princess immediately responded in kind, pushing herself to her limit. However, as she went, her wingbeats were beginning to slow, and a cone of air was forming around the front of Rainbow's body. Rainbow was flying so fast, her lip was being blown backwards by the force, but she didn't let that stop her. She kept flapping, until there was a sudden explosion of force that nearly knocked Zipp out of the air.
Once she'd regained her senses, Zipp looked. She discovered that a circle of rainbow light had burst out from the point, and a trail of every color was following in Rainbow's wake. Zipp's jaw dropped open from sheer shock. Finally, the kaleidoscope of light faded away, and Rainbow zipped back up to her.
"And that's how you do a Sonic Rainboom!" she said, proudly.
"I don't—I can't even—how?!" Zipp exclaimed.
"A magically charged sonic boom," Rainbow explained. "Thought to be an old mare's tale until I proved it to be true when I was a filly!" She frowned a little. "Okay, I wasn't trying to do it at the time, and it took me years of training before I managed to do it again, but I can do it pretty easily now!"
"Wow!" said Zipp. "I don't think any pegasus in my time would even dare try to pull that off! I don't even think I could do it!"
"Well, in fairness to you, nopony was able to fly for most of your life," said Rainbow. "Like I said, it's extremely difficult to pull off. I only really did it by accident the first time. It's a good thing I did, though. It ended up giving me and all my best friends our Cutie Marks."
Zipp blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"
Rainbow proceeded to tell Zipp the story of her first Rainboom, and how it had led to Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie discovering their Cutie Marks.
"So...you were all connected before you even knew each other existed?" summarized Zipp. Rainbow nodded. "Whoa. I almost wish my group had something like that."
"It is nice, but you don't need it in order to know your friendship is strong. From what you told me about your adventure, you guys have been through a lot together, too."
"Oh, yeah. For sure. My friends know I'll always be there for them, and vice versa."
"That's what we do."
Rainbow and Zipp shared a midair hoof bump.
Pipp followed Rarity into Carousel Boutique, hearing the bell jingle as she closed the door behind her. Taking a quick look around, the pegasus found herself surrounded by beautiful outfits hanging onto ponnequins, inside a modest, yet gorgeous workspace. Many of Rarities' clothes incorporated gemstones for extra shimmer, and Pipp's eyes gleamed at the sites.
"Wow! When you said you were the most fashionable pony in your Equestria, you weren't kidding!" she exclaimed. She flapped her wings, coming over to a set of six dresses on hangers. "These are impressive!"
"Those dresses were the ones my friends wore to their first Grand Galloping Gala!" said Rarity, proudly. "Well, those are replicas. I still get orders for them from time to time. My friends have the originals."
"What's the Grand Galloping Gala?" asked Pipp.
"Oh, darling! The gala is only the most fabulous party to ever be thrown every year in Equestria!" proclaimed Rarity. "A party where only the most elegant of the elegant gather together in Canterlot!" Her wide smile was replaced by an annoyed frown. "And, unfortunately, Prince Blueblood."
"Bad experience?" asked Pipp. Rarity nodded. "Don't worry, I won't ask."
"Thank you, dear. Now, we simply must discuss your impeccable style! Your mane, your tiara, and those gorgeous wings of yours! How do you achieve that effect?!"
"Finally, somepony notices them!" exclaimed Pipp, stretching out her fluffy wings. "It takes a lot of effort to get them to look like this, I'll have you know! I have a strict shampoo ritual to keep them in this shape. I keep telling Zipp if she put in the effort, she could make hers like this, too, and it would look great, but she doesn't care!"
"Oh, I understand that!" replied Rarity. "I've told Rainbow Dash that if she took the tiniest bit of time to care for her mane and tail, she'd be gorgeous, but she never takes my advice! It's aggravating!"
"It seems like we're the only ones with any sense of style in our friend groups. Well, okay, Sunny, Hitch, and Izzy let me style their manes, but I wish Zipp would, too. I know she doesn't care much for style, but I just want to help her shine a little."
"Still, they are our friends, and we love them, no matter our differences," summed up Rarity. "They may not share our passion for fashion, but we can always count on them."
"Definitely," agreed Pipp. She took another look around. "So, where do you get all the gemstones? I can't imagine they're very cheap."
"Oh, that's actually my special talent!" Rarity proceeded to relay the story of how she'd gotten her Cutie Mark. "And so, I can simply cast a spell to detect any gems in the vicinity! They go so wonderfully with my designs, and they always catch ponies' eyes!"
"Wow," breathed Pipp. "We've lost a lot of magical knowledge in my time. Maybe you and the others can teach us some spells."
"That sounds lovely, darling," replied Rarity.
Pinkie Pie happily bounced her way down Ponyville's central street. This was not an unusual sight, as it happened pretty much every day. Ponies were pretty accustomed to it at this point. What they weren't used to was the lilac-colored unicorn bouncing in Pinkie's wake. The citizens of Ponyville could only stare in shock at the sight.
"Dear Celestia, there's two of them," breathed Roseluck.
"Eh, it's not so bad," said Derpy. "It's not like it was when there were dozens of Pinkie's rampaging throughout the town."
Pinkie and Izzy, naturally, were oblivious to the stares they were getting. Instead, Pinkie led the way as they bounced over to Sugar Cube Corner. She pushed open the door, standing aside to let Izzy inside.
"Here we are!" she proclaimed, happily. "This is where I live and work! Two for the price of one!"
"Ooh, nice!" said Izzy. Her eyes swiveled around, taking in everything she could see at the bakery. "I guess I am hungry. I don't have any money, though..."
"Here, have a cupcake!" said Pinkie, passing Izzy one of the sugary treats. "On the house! Anything to help out a friend!"
Izzy's smile grew even wider. She levitated the delicacy upwards, biting into it. As the food hit her tongue, her eyes began to water, most likely from sheer joy.
"This. Is. AMAZING!" she squealed. "This is almost as good as Alphabittle's Wishiehoof cookies!"
"It comes from years of practice, my friend! After all, making ponies smile is my calling in life, and what makes ponies smile more than sugary goodness? Of course, that's not the only thing that helps."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I always tried to bring the unicorns of Bridlewood joy with my crafting, but they just thought I was annoying." Izzy frowned a little. "Maybe I'm just not good at it..."
"Aw, don't feel down!" Pinkie encouraged her. "Sometimes, it's really hard for me, too. I spent a lot of time figuring out how to do it without annoying ponies. And everypony's different, so they require different approaches. Let me show you."
Pinkie led Izzy up to her bedroom on the second floor, before reaching over to the ice cream-shaped banister on the stairs. She pressed down on the top layer, which was revealed to be a switch. Suddenly, a trapdoor opened beneath their hooves, and both ponies fell down, landing on a curved slide that descended deeper. Izzy squealed with joy as they went, before they reached the bottom, and landed with a thump. The two were now in a cavern beneath Sugar Cube Corner, illuminated by three shining disco balls hanging from the ceiling, and filled with filing cabinets and party supplies.
"Wow!" exclaimed Izzy. "What's all this?"
"I managed to convince Mr. and Mrs. Cake to let me install this years ago," replied Pinkie. "This is my secret Party Planning cave." She pulled open one of the cabinet drawers. "Here, I keep lists detailing everything everypony in town likes at their parties, or if they like parties or not, so I can plan ahead for birthdays and other special occasions!"
"How...how'd you learn all this?!" exclaimed Izzy again. "All this stuff would take years just to write down! Are you some kind of genius party pony?!"
"Well, I wouldn't call myself a genius," admitted Pinkie. "To be honest, I found out most of this stuff through trial and error. I had a lot of ponies get kind of annoyed with me when I didn't know their preferences. So I took things up a notch."
Izzy flipped through the files. "You don't have your own name here," she noticed. "Do you not plan parties for yourself?"
"Nah. I used to, but after I got together with my best friends, they always came through for me on my birthday and things like that." Pinkie smiled as she looked off into the distance. "Friends are a great thing to have, aren't they?"
Izzy relaxed. "Yeah, they are."
"Whoa!" exclaimed Hitch, as he took in Fluttershy's massive animal sanctuary. "This place is incredible!"
Fluttershy smiled bashfully. "Thank you, Hitch. I did my best when I was having this place built."
Hitch, Sparky, Applejack, and Fluttershy were currently surrounded by the animal denizens of the sanctuary, led by Angel Bunny. There were all sorts of animals, from otters, to snakes, to Beary. Angel, being Angel, was busy shooting dirty looks at Hitch, but he didn't seem to notice.
"So how'd you learn you could talk to animals, Hitch?" asked Applejack. "Fluttershy's been doing it for longer than any of us have known her. Except Rainbow, of course."
"It was sometime after magic came back to my Equestria," replied the sheriff. "I've always attracted small critters to follow me. A lot of them will listen to what I say. I never knew where it came from, but on the day we discovered the new earth pony magic, I started being able to understand them. I don't think Sunny or anypony ever figured out why it was me, or anything else. I wonder if it's just part of my special talent." He gently stroked Sparky's head, causing the baby dragon to coo gently.
"I wonder if we might be distantly related somehow," pondered Fluttershy. "Then again, as Zephyr proved, the whole gift with animals doesn't automatically run in the family." Her expression turned sour at the thought.
"Zephyr?" asked Hitch.
"Her little brother," replied Applejack. "Not a bad guy, but he's the only pony I know who can turn slacking into a competitive sport."
"Oh, the stories I could tell you about a guy named Sprout," said Hitch. He continued to stroke Sparky, and the baby dragon occasionally swiped at his hoof. "I wish I could understand him, but he's too young. It sure would make being a dragon dad a little easier. At least I know now he'll learn to talk eventually."
"From what you've told us, his breath is a lot more powerful than Spike's was at his age," said Fluttershy. "Spike's breath can't transmute objects. I guess dragon magic changes in the future. Still, he looks happy and healthy. You seem to be doing a really good job with him, Hitch!"
"Thanks. I'm trying my best. I've had a lot of help from the girls, of course. The little guy's breath changes things all the time, he's always wandering off, and he eats everything! It's kinda crazy!"
"Well, you're doing your best, Hitch," said Applejack. "Have you been feeding him any gems?"
Hitch blinked. "Gems? Why would I be feeding him gems? I mean, granted, I've been sorta playing guesswork with his diet, but..."
"Well, in our time, gemstones are a dragon delicacy. Spike loves 'em! Of course, they shouldn't be the only thing his diet consists of, but once in a while, they're a good supplement. I don't know how easy they are to find in your time, but Rarity has loads of extras, and can find them easily! You should definitely ask her for some."
Hitch rubbed his head. "Thanks for that. I just wish I knew everything I needed to know to take care of Sparky. I feel like I've been a bad dragon dad sometimes."
"Are there not other dragons you can ask about how to take care of him?" asked Fluttershy. "Equestria is close to the Dragon Lord in this time. Did relations break down sometime in your future?"
Hitch shrugged. "Nopony's seen dragons in ages. In fact, when I found Sparky's egg washed up on the beach, I didn't even know what it was."
Applejack looked thoughtful. "That doesn't sound good. What could've happened to the dragons?"
Twilight and Spike led Sunny through the corridors of the empty School of Friendship. The orange mare's eyes were wide with wonder at every sight, occasionally pausing to take out her phone and photograph something, or write a quick note in her father's journal. She flipped through books, especially the published edition of Twilight's friendship journal.
"I never thought I'd get to see this place in its prime," she breathed. "Dad dug up so many stories from ponies and other creatures who went here. It's legendary!"
"I'm glad," said Twilight, though she said it quietly. "Did Argyle ever learn why the school shut down? Or when it did?"
"As far as I know, it was years after your rule ended," said Sunny. "It probably had something to do with ponies growing to distrust the other tribes again. It makes sense, with all the paranoia going around. For a while, friendship basically became a thing of the past." Sunny's smile dropped a little. "I'm so sorry, Twilight. I know that facing that future can't be easy for you, given how much you did for the sake of friendship."
"I'm not mad at you, Sunny," Twilight responded. "You did everything you could to bring harmony back to ponykind. Heck, you and your friends succeeded in reuniting the three tribes. It just feels...humbling. And not in a good way."
"What do you mean, Twilight?" asked Spike. "I mean, from what you've told me, there are still ponies that believe in your ideals in Sunny's time. Doesn't that count for something?"
"It does, yes, but look at ponies as a whole. Distrust and fear spread so deeply that ponies lost magic altogether. After everything we worked for, everything we fought to preserve, it hurts to know that will happen in the future. It especially hurts, knowing that my rule wasn't good enough to prevent it. Like I said, I don't blame you, Sunny. I'm glad there will be ponies like you to carry on the good fight, but it makes me wonder: are ponies just so inherently prejudiced against each other that we're just destined to keep making the same mistakes every few generations?"
Twilight lowered her head in grief, and her eyes started to water. Spike hurriedly threw his arms around his big sister's foreleg, and that brought the ghost of a smile onto Twilight's face. Sunny, apparently unsure of what to do, reached out with one leg and patted Twilight on the back to reassure her.
"If...if it's any consolation," Sunny said, "I don't think it was your reign that caused the rift between the tribes to rip open again. From my Dad's research, ponies prospered while you were on the throne. It seems like it was only after you stepped down that things started to get bad. Dad could never figure out exactly what the catalyst was, but apparently, the earth ponies suddenly blamed the unicorns for hurting them. Then, the unicorns claimed the pegasi were plotting against them, and it all just spiraled into a disaster."
"Really? That did it?" Twilight put a hoof against her chin, the way she did when she was deep in thought. "Is it just me, or does that sound kind of...suspicious?"
"Suspicious?" repeated Spike. "You mean...are you thinking somepony made ponies turn against each other?"
"Remember that message from the Unity Crystals? That projection of me said that somepony tried to steal all the magic in Equestria, and she/I was forced to seal it in the crystals. What if that same pony was the one who caused the division in the first place? So they could keep ponies from coming together to fight back?
"Doesn't sound like anybody we know," said Spike, "but that doesn't mean that somepony couldn't do that. It could've been some villain we know nothing about right now."
"Ooh, that reminds me!" Sunny whipped out her father's journal once more. "What can you tell me about the villains you defeated in the past? You know, like Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis?"
That brought a smile back to Twilight's face. It seemed Sunny's hunger for knowledge of Twilight's Equestria would never be sated.
After exploring a bit more, all eleven ponies, plus the two baby dragons, gathered back at the sight of the portal. Star Swirl, Starlight, and Discord were currently back in the castle, running magic tests on the Time Twirler, leaving only Celestia, Luna, and Cadence to see Twilight and the others off.
"So, what did you guys think of ancient Equestria?" asked Pinkie, bouncing up and down eagerly. "Pretty cool, right?"
"Even without electronics, it is a pretty interesting place!" replied Pipp. "So vintage! This is gonna make some great content when I get home!"
"I agree, I think I learned a lot today!" added Hitch. "And I'll be able to use it to help take care of you, Sparky!" Sparky burped purple flames excitedly.
Spike watched the tiny green dragon with fascination. "Was I at all like that when I first hatched?" he asked. "Because, if so, I want to apologize for my behavior."
Twilight giggled a little. "Don't worry, Spike. You were fun to take care of. Besides, Celestia was there to help me when I needed it." After a moment of deliberation, she added, "Yes, you were like that."
Spike groaned, but calmed down when he received a comforting pat on the head from Rarity.
"Ooh! Ooh!" exclaimed Izzy. "Now we have to show you guys what our Equestria is like! Sure, you saw a bit of Maretime Bay, and the inside of the Crystal Brighthouse, but that's just scratching the surface!"
"Do we have time for that?" asked Rainbow. "I know we only took a couple of hours to show you guys everything here, but we stuck to Ponyville. From what you've told us, you guys come from different towns entirely. Could we cover that much ground quickly?"
"Oh, don't worry about covering ground," replied Zipp. "We've got just the thing for that."
Twilight thought for a moment. "I guess I would like to see the differences between our Equestrias. Spike, do you want to come?"
"Oh, heck yeah!" replied the young drake. "I want to explore the future!"
"So then we're all in agreement?" asked Sunny. Everypony else nodded. "Alright. I know exactly what I want to show you guys next!"
"Sounds good to me!" said Applejack.
"We'll watch over the portal from this side, Twilight," said Celestia. "You have nothing to worry about."
"Thanks," replied Twilight. "With all that's going on right now, I could use a break from the stress."
With that, the ten mares, one stallion, and two young dragons turned around, and walked back through the portal. Celestia, Luna, and Cadence watched them leave.
"I suppose it was too much to ask that Twilight wouldn't discover what we were planning by going into the future," said Luna.
Celestia sighed to herself.