Act I: The Broken Soldier
Prelude: The Door
"Alright," Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia and the Element of Magic, looked over several notes then back at a door fixed to the new frame on the wall of her library, "I think I've made all the proper preparations."
"Are ya sure this here door'll work?" Applejack asked after she set down her hammer.
"I hope it does," Twilight answered. "After all, what if Discord escapes again? What about another changeling attack? What if aliens bent on wiping out all life in the universe invade? We can't waste time taking the train, or even a chariot to get to the Elements. On the other hoof, keeping them here would just invite disaster with all the strange things that tend to happen here. This door will make travel instantaneous."
"Ah suppose yer right," AJ conceded.
"Alright, get back," Twilight warned. "This spell uses a lot of energy and backlash is possible."
Taking her warning to heart, Applejack and Spike - who was begrudgingly sitting out of the way the whole time - took cover along the other side of the center table. With her friend and assistant safely out of the way, the lavender mare began gathering mana in her horn. Weaving the spell, a beam of light shot from her horn and struck the door. Bolts of energy lashed about around both the pony and door. Twilight let a smile play across her lips. She could feel the spell working its way into the door and its frame. The first part of the portal spell was almost complete. Next, though, would be the hard part... connecting the door with its counterpart in Canterlot.
Twilight began weaving the connection spell when something strange happened. Another, familiar, energy interfered, an energy she had felt twice before... the Elements of Harmony. A flash of light, and the familiar weight of her tiara settled on her head.
“What in tarnation...” Applejack cried as she was dragged from behind the table. Her own Element appeared, wrapped around her neck as she began floating beside her friend.
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“You guys ready to be amazed?” Rainbow Dash called from her perch high above Scootaloo and Derpy.
“You bet!” Scootaloo called back with enthusiasm only a filly could manage.
“I'm ready too, Flitter!” said Derpy.
“What? That's not Flitter!” Scootaloo scolded, “That's Rainbow Dash!”
“Oooh. Okay!” replied the wall-eyed pegasus with a grin.
Rainbow ignored the misidentification and readied herself for her routine. With a kick, she launched herself off the cloud she was on and proceeded to dazzle her fans below with twists, flips, and other maneuvers that would make a lesser pegasus blackout.
Finally, it was time for the best part... the Sonic Rainboom. The multicolored pegasus rocketed into the sky above the clouds. Once she got to the necessary altitude, she turned and plummeted back toward the ground. She beat her wings as hard as she could until a cone began to form. The pressure built steadily until she felt herself about to break through. With her eyes closed against the wind, she didn't see the flash of light around her neck.
The two pegasi on the ground watched in awe, waiting for the rare spectacle that was about to occur right above them. Their excitement turned to bewilderment when, instead of the prismatic explosion, a flash of white light engulfed the thrill-seeking mare. When the light subsided, the sky was short one pegasus.
“Woohoo!” Derpy cheered, “That was amazing! Way to go, Rainbow Dash!”
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“You really must stop refusing payment for this,” Rarity pleaded with her timid friend. “It makes me feel like I'm using you.”
“Oh, I'm sorry I make you feel that way,” Fluttershy apologized, “but I really enjoy grooming Opalessence. I couldn't ask for payment for something I love to do anyway.”
Rarity sighed, “Of all of us, you stay true to your Element most. I'm so lucky to have a friend like you.”
“Oh no, I'm the lucky one.” Fluttershy looked away from her friend to put away the last of the supplies, “Most ponies are content to take advantage of my timidness, but you girls always stand up for me. You've done so much for me, I should be the one paying you back. That's another reason I can't accept payment from you.”
Fluttershy finished and looked back to Rarity... or at least where she used to be. The butter yellow pegasus looked around in confusion, “Was it something I-eep!” The flash of light startled her as she vanished into thin air.
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Sweat dripped down Pinkie's forehead as she focused on her greatest masterpiece... The Sugar Coma. The ultimate cake of sugary goodness. It was a combination of chocolate fudge, caramel, marzipan, gumdrops, lollipops, jelly beans, and cotton candy... and that was just the first layer. It was truly a work of sugary art. She knew it wouldn't top the Cakes' MMM, but then, baking wasn't really her special talent. Regardless, she was still the third best baker in Ponyville.
She was just about to start with the strawberry flavored frosting when, “Uh-oh, twitchy knee, floppy ear, twitchy knee again, spinning left eye... Mr. Cake, I gotta go!” A flash of light filled the kitchen.
“What was that, Pinkie... huh?” Mr. Cake looked around in confusion. “Where did you go?”
He looked over to her unfinished work. Unfortunately, he stared too long and passed out from high blood-sugar.
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Spike peeked fearfully above the top of the table he was still using as cover. He knew something wasn't right. One moment, Twilight was casting the spell, and everything was going great. The next moment, Twilight and Applejack's Element appeared and they started floating. Then... poof! The others just flashed there, floating beside them, Elements and all.
“T-T-T-Twilight?” Spike stuttered in worry.
As if his voice was a trigger, the Elements released their power to swirl around the six. The energy condensed into a ball of white energy above the purple unicorn. Her eyes shot open, pulsing with pure white energy, and triggered a rainbow beam to shoot from the ball of magic. The prismatic light collided with the door. Almost instantly, the door warped and twisted under the might of the powerful artifacts. The wooden gate ripped open revealing not Canterlot, but an endless expanse of white with a lone figure. Spike watched as the strange spindly thing contorted and shifted. He could have sworn he heard a scream over the roar of magic. Just before the light grew too bright to see, the figure started to twist and contort, taking a shape that looked kinda like a pony. Spike gasped as he heard the drone of magic reach a pitch that he recognized after years spent with Twilight. He took cover fully behind the table and covered his head with his claws.
Mane Street Ponyville was suddenly rocked by an explosion that tore through the side of the Golden Oaks Library, leaving a gaping hole. A crowd started to gather as ponies feared the worst. Inside the hollow tree, the six Element bearers stirred painfully. One by one, they struggled to their hooves and took in the wreckage.
“What the hay just happened?” Rainbow Dash asked groggily.
“I'm not sure,” answered Twilight as Spike helped her steady herself, “but I think our Elements intervened on their own. Is everypony okay?”
“I believe so,” Rarity confirmed.
“Ah'm peachy,” AJ echoed.
“N-no,” Fluttershy whimpered. She had a large chunk of wood lodged in her shoulder.
“Ohmygosh!” Pinkie started panicking, “I'll go get help!” She started to run off, but tripped suddenly. The pink partier turned to glare at the offending obstruction and gasped. “There's somepony here!”
Twilight's ears perked up, “What? Applejack, take Fluttershy to the hospital. We'll be right behind you.”
“Gotcha. Come on, Sugarcube,” Applejack said softly as she helped Fluttershy onto her back.
“Ow,” cried the yellow pegasus, “it hurts.”
“Ah know. Ah'll take it easy,” Applejack assured her friend, as she carried her out as gently as she could.
“Rarity, help me move this,” Twilight called to her friend.
The two unicorns started levitating the shards off the – hopefully – unconscious pony. With a heave, the door was lifted to reveal a midnight-blue, earth pony stallion. He had a black mane and tail with silver streaks, but what was really strange was the fact that even though he was a grown stallion, his flank was entirely bare. It wasn't entirely unheard of for a pony to reach adulthood without finding their special talent, but it was incredibly rare.
“Twilight...” Spike tried getting his surrogate sister's attention.
“He doesn't seem to have any serious injuries,” Twilight observed. “Rarity, help me get him to the hospital.”
“Twilight!” Spike shouted.
“Spike, I don't have time. This pony needs help, now!” Without another word, Twilight and Rarity levitated the mysterious stallion and rushed out the hole in the wall.
Spike watched on, worry written all over his face. “Except he's not a pony...”