Twilight Sparkle burst through the palace doors, and galloped towards her teacher.
"Princess..." she said, while catching her breath. "You called for me?"
The royal princess looked down, and sighed. "Yes, Twilight. Thank you for coming on such short notice. I'm afraid to inform you that the time has come for me to make a difficult decision. A decision so important, it could decide the future of not only Equestria, but even the entire world."
Twilight's eyes widened. "But surely-"
Celestia raised her hoof to silence her pupil. "Yes, Twilight. I have made my decision. You know what to do."
"Isn't there anything else we could do?"
Celestia looked at Twilight, and smiled sadly. "I wish there was. But no, we have no other choice. Do you agree to the great task to which I have given you?"
Twilight hung her head. She always knew that this day may come; she just hoped that it wouldn't.
"Yes, Princess. I start on the preparations needed immediately."
***
"PARTY!!!!!"
Adara was thrown back as her friends all charged through her front door.
"Hi guys," she said, smiling as her friends all squeezed into her hallway.
"Hi? Hi!? Is that all we get? Adara, you're finally sixteen! You should be happier than just 'hi'!" Lacey said, giving her a huge smile.
Adara laughed before saying, "Hey guys."
Lacey shook her head and rolled her eyes, laughing. They both walked into the main room, as all her other friends - Skylar, Liz, Sophie, Heidi, Effie and Garnet greeted her with 'happy birthday Adara' and hugs. This is what Adara loved about her friends - the fact that they all cared. Cared enough to come all the way over to her house when they could be on holiday or just lying around on this lovely summer's day, cared enough to care about her life and other stuff, cared enough to be there for her when she needed them. She knew that these were her true friends - Twilight had Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity; she had these guys.
"You know when you shouted out 'party' when you walked in you really reminded me of Pinkie Pie." Adara said, handing Lacey a drink.
"Pinkie Pie?" her friend asked, with a worried look on her face.
"Yes, she is a character from My Little Pony."
Her friends sighed and a few facepalmed. Only one of her six close friends liked My Little Pony - Skylar - and even she was a closeted Pegasister. All the others resented the programme, and, whenever it was brought up, did their best to insure Adara knew that fact.
"Hey! It's my birthday - be nice," Adara said, looking at everyone of them in turn. She knew that bringing it up would annoy them, and they knew that she loved to bring it up.
"Anyway," Liz said, trying to change the subject. "Presents. A birthday's not a birthday without gifts."
***
"So that's what's going to happen. Everything is already in place. Are there any questions?"
Twilight was standing in the middle of the library, surrounded by her friends.
Applejack raised her hoof. "Err, ah got one. Why now? I mean, why d'we have teh do this now? Ain't there any other opinions?"
"Applejack, I wish there was, but the Princess said it herself - there is no other choice." She sighed and looked away. "Celestia told me about this years ago, but assured me that the chances of it happening in my lifetime were minute. But of course still possible." She turned back to her friends. "Celestia wouldn't use this route unless we had no other option. We must do this or Equestria will perish."
The ponies looked at each other, worried, then turned to Twilight.
"When?" they all asked.
"Tomorrow, by the latest."
***
Adara grabbed a present from on top of the pile. She examined the wrapping for a card to determine who the giver was. But nothing.
"Who's is this?" she asked looking at her friends. They all shrugged, and Adara looked at the wrapping once more. It looked familiar, but she knew she had never seen anything like it before. She was intrigued - was one of her friends just not owning up to getting her this gift, or did someone else put this here? She carefully opened the gift, which revealed a small box. She pulled the lid off and gasped as she saw the small figurine of a pony in there.
This wasn't a normal figurine, however. This was special. As she touched it, she felt a light spark, not unlike a static shock, but completely painless. She didn't understand why she was feeling this way, nor what this object was in front of her.
Adara stared at it, until Skylar went over to see it for herself. "Hey, it's Twilight!" Adara looked at it - it was a perfect replica of the purple unicorn, but it didn't really explain what was going on.
"There's something different about it though. It's not just a normal toy. It's...it's...it feels like it giving off its own energy."
Skylar took the box from Adara and examined it herself. "You're right. There's something different," she said, handing it back.
Skylar picked up the purple pony, for a closer look. Adara checked in the box for a note, but again nothing. Skylar examined 'Twilight' and handed it around for all her friends to examine themselves.
Adara watched as her friends in turn looked at the pony and pass it on with a confused look on their face. When it got back to her, she put the box down on the floor and took it. As soon as she touched it, the pony grew hot, and Adara dropped the pony in alarm.
"What the-" she started, when she saw the pony start to vibrate and glow. Suddenly, a huge bright light engulfed them. The last thing Adara remembered was the overwhelming feeling of fear and confusion.