//------------------------------//
// The New Mission 
// Story: The New Era for Equus 
// by Robert Emerald Fountain 
//------------------------------//

Sixteen years later…

Flurry Heart had just been crowned the new ruler over all of Equus after Twilight had died from cancer. Previously, she had become the Crystal Empire’s new ruler when Cadence retired. Cadence had died nine years after retiring when she caught a bacterial infection. After Twilight had died, both Ryder and Mickey were given a sad message that led them to bring their groups with them to Equus.

**

Dear Allies,

Aunt Twilight developed cancer two months after Humdinger was put in jail. She has been on medications to treat it for 14 years and she had surgery to remove the cells three months ago. However, the doctors did not realize that the cancer had gotten close to reaching her other organs. She started feeling sick recently and was told that the cancer had reached her heart and she had very little time left to live. I have already been the ruler of the Crystal Empire for fifteen years after my mother retired, but then nine years after retiring, she died from a bacterial infection. Aunt Twilight’s last wish was for me to unite Equestria and the Crystal Empire into a single nation. I request all of you to be present at the memorial.

Signed,

Flurry Heart

**

At the service, all of the allies stood behind Flurry Heart and were dressed formally. They each shared their own memories from their time with Twilight as soldiers and rescue responders. As the ceremony was brought to its close, the allies gave a salute as Twilight’s casket was placed in a mausoleum built for all of the princesses. After the ceremony ended, everyone left in silence and the allies boarded their ships to return home.

Two weeks later; The Young Six had just finished a set of training exercises to keep their space skills in top condition when the bell rang at the door to their barracks. The postal service pegasus had a single scroll for them from Flurry Heart.

**

Dear Young Six,

I request your presence in Canterlot for a new mission that will test all of your skills in space exploration.

Signed,

Queen Flurry Heart

**

The six immediately boarded a train to Canterlot after dressing in their finest uniforms. Arriving in the throne room, they knelt before Flurry Heart on the carpet.

“You may rise.”, said Flurry.

“Your Highness, you said in your letter to us that you had a new mission for us.”, said Sandbar.

“That is correct, Sandbar.”, replied Flurry.

“May we hear it?”, asked Smolder.

“Right this way, please.”, said Flurry as she led the Young Six to a conference room in the palace.

Once everyone was seated, Flurry started a power-point to explain the new mission.

“As you all know, Aunt Twilight and my mom split up an accessible portion of the universe into seven sections when the space exploration campaign started before we got involved with Disney and the PAW Patrol. However, only two of the sections were fully mapped out. The campaign was put on hold due to budget cuts, but we have recently been able to raise enough for you to restart and finish it. The two sections that we mapped successfully were where the Paw Patrol and the Disney Fleet were based, so they were able to help with those areas. Each of the remaining five sections has a space station, so you will go to each one and then split up. Sandbar, you will monitor your friends’ progress from each space station as they split up to map 20% of each section. Once a section is fully mapped out, you will regroup and travel to the next space station. After all five sections are charted, you will return home to Equus so the information can be added to the star-charts.”, she said.

Once the presentation was finished, everyone accepted and Flurry explained how they would reach the space stations.

“You will use the Harmony to reach the space stations and then each of you will take your personal ship in order to map out the sections. Sandbar, you will not need to use your ship too much since you will monitor your friends’ progress. So, you will be in the communications area on each space station while your friends are exploring so you can keep contact with them.”, she explained.

After receiving the specifications for their new mission, the Young Six began gearing up. Yona, Smolder, Silverstream, Ocellus, and Gallus loaded their ships on to the Harmony and then they started waiting for the right weather conditions to launch. They opted to send the Harmony into space ahead of time so it could be stocked for their mission in order to avoid complications. This meant they would board by using a shuttle when the time was right.

Two weeks later; the weather was optimal for the shuttle to be launched to meet up with the Harmony. The Young Six got into their space suits and proceeded to board their shuttle. Once the hatch was sealed, everyone started getting seated and strapped in. Once the countdown began, they all braced for the intense shaking they would feel. 

The engines were ignited and the shuttle left the pad in only seconds. Once they had cleared the atmosphere, the shuttle was switched to auto-pilot to dock on the space station where the Harmony was. After moving from the shuttle to the Harmony, the Young Six got seated to start their mission. The docking clamps were released, and the Harmony was set in motion to the first destination: Sector 3. The PAW Patrol had helped with mapping Sector 1 and the Disney Fleet had helped to map out Sector 2, so the Young Six would be mapping sectors 3 through 7. 

Upon arriving at the Sector 3 space station, the Harmony was docked and Sandbar headed to the communication wing. Everyone else boarded their personal ships and set off to begin their mapping mission.