Ten Years Later

by MrAlbum321

1: The Pony on the Hill

A pony stood on the hill overlooking Equestria.

He saw its denizens across the length and breadth of the land prepare for the seasonal festival of the Summer Sun Celebration. He also special preparations in a small village named Ponyville. He also saw the reason for the extra attention to detail: Equestria's rulers were en-route to the town.

The pony on the hill cast a small spell. He overheard various tidbits of gossip:

"-I swear, the Princesses love going to Ponyville-"
"-got a lover somewhere there. I'd bet your-"
"-dark secret?! Has to be a consp-"
"-The Elements of Harmony are there, don't'cha-"
"-That Princess Celestia and her hand-picked students-"

The pony listened to a few more smatterings of gossip. As he listened, a wolf-like creature materialized in front of the pony.

"You need to tell them the truth," the creature told the pony.

The pony sighed. "I know," he said. "I will need their help in the coming years."

"Do you want me to-" the wolf-thing asked.

"No!" the pony said. "I… I need to do this on my own."

The wolf nodded, and walked out of the pony's way. The pony unfurled his Pegasus wings and rocketed off in the direction of Ponyville. The canine watched the pony fly.

"Godspeed," the lupine creature whispered. "I pray that you find what you seek… and that you take it with the grace of your reality, Polaris."

The wolf vanished into the earth.

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Down in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle concentrated on her spell. She was focused on a giant party cracker on Mane Street by holding back the firing mechanism while her friend, Rainbow Dash, stuffed it with confetti.

When Rainbow Dash mashed the last of the specks of glittery paper into the device, she gave a signal to Twilight. She set the firing mechanism in place as gently as she could, giving a sigh of relief as it clicked into place without a misfire.

Twilight looked down the rest of Mane Street.

"So much left to do," she thought out loud. "If only I had a better idea on how to get it done."

"A little sore at Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight as Rainbow flew down and landed by Twilight.

Twilight sighed and started to walk down the street. She put up various decorations using her magic as she walked. "I… I don't mean to be upset," Twilight said, "but Rarity offered to help today. And she hasn't shown up yet."

Rainbow Dash gave a meaningful look at Rarity's boutique and house. "She's probably at Sweetie Belle's bedside," Rainbow said. "Her sister's accident hit her hard. What would you do if someone in your family went into a coma?"

Twilight stopped. "Look, Dash, I know," Twilight said. "That doesn't make it any less-"

Rarity burst out of her house. She ran up to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, her breath ragged, her face flushed. "S-sorry, Sweetie," Rarity sputtered, "she, she woke up, had to-"

Rainbow Dash put a hoof on Rarity's mouth. "OK, slow down, Rarity," Twilight said. "Catch your breath."

Rarity took several deep breaths for a minute, and then said, "Sweetie Belle woke up this morning!" A smile beamed out of Rarity's face. "The doctor said that she's still weak, and her hind legs look paralyzed, but she was talking, and awake!"

"That's amazing, Rarity!" Twilight said. "I, I guess I should apologize for-"

"Apology accepted!" Rarity proclaimed. She turned to Mane Street. "Oh, my GOODNESS! We're going to need to do this over, at least the party cracker is in its proper place…."

Rarity took off down the street, rearranging decorations and putting new ones up. Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged a knowing smile between each other. The two of them did their best to keep pace with Rarity as she trotted down Mane Street, moving like a hurricane of ribbon. Within an hour, the entire street was decorated.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash collapsed on a park bench, out of breath. Rarity looked unfazed by the intensity of their work.

"I'll be with Sweetie Belle if you need me!" Rarity said. She dashed into her house.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash took a moment to catch their breath. "So…" Rainbow Dash breathed, "guess that's that."

"Yeah," Twilight gasped.

"Excuse me," a voice from behind said, "may I have a moment?"

Twilight and Rainbow Dash turned to face the stranger, and gasped.

A pony with a thick black coat and a mane that sparkled like the stars at night when it shifted stood there. But that was not what surprised Twilight and Rainbow Dash: it was the fact that the stranger had the wings of a Pegasus and the horn of a unicorn.

"Um… h-hello," Twilight said. She got off the bench and curtsied. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. What is it that I can help you with?"

"My name is Polaris," the stranger said. He made a polite bow before speaking again: "I am here to speak with the Princesses, Celestia and Luna. There is a… personal matter that I need to consult with them on."

"Well, they aren't here yet," Rainbow Dash said. She hovered off the bench with her Pegasus wings. "I'm Rainbow Dash, by the way." She offered her hoof to Polaris. The two of them shook hooves.

"Charmed," Polaris said, then turned back to Twilight. "When do you expect them to arrive?" he asked.

"This evening at the very least," Twilight said. "The best time to talk to them would be tomorrow morning, after the Princess Celestia raises the sun at dawn."

Polaris seemed taken aback. "Wait," he said, "your rulers… they control the sun and moon?"

"Um, yeah," Rainbow Dash said. "They've done that for years."

Polaris turned away, a thoughtful look on his face. "Well… thank you," Polaris said after an uncomfortable minute. "I will be staying at one of the hotels down the street if you need me."

Polaris bowed slightly, and walked off.

Rainbow Dash landed by Twilight. "Oookay, that was weird," she said.

"Yes, it-"

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Without warning, the world around Twilight disappeared. Startled, she tried to move, only to find that the ground had vanished. She cast a light spell, only to reveal darkness all around her. She searched the environment for anything familiar, but found only the void.

Wha-what's going on?! Twilight thought.

She tried to cast a true-seeing spell, only to find her magic blocked somehow. Her light spell winked out of existence. Her heart pounded as she flailed her legs around, trying to find something solid to stand on.

Then, something grabbed her right hind hoof. She startled, her coat clammy with fear and the touch of the thing that began to pull her in a specific direction. She continued to fight, but more strange tendrils captured her other hooves, confining her. She screamed over and over again, fighting the unseen rope-like appendages that pulled her to a place she couldn't see.

What in the world is going on?! Twilight thought. This... this just, this makes no sense! What kind of spell is this?! Is it a spell?! A creature?! WHAT IS IT?!

As the things pulled Twilight toward their destination, Twilight began to sob. "Help!" she wailed. "Please, someone help me!"

There was no answer.

Twilight cried, and thought of her friends. "If only I could see them!" she wailed.

A light appeared in the darkness. As soon as the light appeared, the things that had a hold on Twilight's hooves threw her towards the glow. Stunned at this, she almost didn't notice colliding with the source of the light: a small, glowing ball of purple color. She managed to grab the orb, however, and she brought it to her face to get a better look at it.

It felt warm, like the comforting heat of the fireplace. She sighed as the warmth and the light calmed her agitated mind. The ball was round and otherwise uninteresting. Twilight found herself smiling, somehow. She held the ball against her chest, letting it warm her body.

"Well, this is still strange," Twilight said to herself, "but it isn't so scary now-"

A bright flash of purple light came from the orb, and the nightmare ended as fast as it began. Twilight fell onto some floor in what looked like the back room of some building. Twilight recognized the woodwork; she was in one of the local shops of Ponyville. She tried to get up, only to find her hooves bound together and her mouth muzzled. She flailed around for a minute, but the bonds held her tight.

Okay, Twilight thought, at least I know where I am… or at least I think I do. I just need to get someone's-

Twilight then noticed a tiny but noticeable purple glow. Wait, is that- Twilight thought as she threw her head forward. A golden tiara fell off her head, a purple star crystal set into the peak of the crown.

My Element! Twilight thought. She tried to levitate the tiara back onto her head, but found her magic still blocked. Must be some kind of energy lock on my horn, Twilight thought. She maneuvered her horn so that she could poke it between the bindings on her hooves and her body. She rubbed her horn on the bindings, and sure enough, pieces of some poultice of strange-looking flowers and plants began to flake off. She worked at it until the stuff was finally off her horn.

Great, now that that's off, I should be able to use magic again! Twilight thought. She tried to levitate the tiara on the floor, and was elated to find success. She used her magic to undo her other bonds and stood up. She saw a window, went up to it and looked out.

The sky was an eerie blood-red color. The alley the window opened onto was empty. What worried Twilight the most was the lack of sound. As Twilight opened the window and threaded her body through it, the sounds she made echoed loudly in the environment. She quickly cast a silencing spell and ran to the shadow of a nearby wall.

This is beyond creepy! Twilight thought. I need to find my friends. They can help me figure out where we are and what's going on... if they're even here.

As Twilight thought of her friends, her Element of Harmony glowed again. Wait, that's it! Twilight thought. My Element can locate the other Elements! If they ended up here like me, then they probably have their elements on their bodies as well!

Twilight focused on her friends, closing her eyes, breathing evenly. As she did so, her Element shone with increasing intensity. Eventually, it built up to a blinding flash that engulfed Twilight. When the flash dissipated, Twilight was gone.