The Beginning
Dear Princess Celestia,
We thought we had won. The Elements worked; they hit their target. Discord didn’t turn to stone like he did last time, however. Instead, he disappeared. We thought that, since he had been turned to stone so many times, his body had just had too much, and he just vanished, along with his evil.
We were wrong.
A month has passed since our defeat of Discord, and his signs have come back. We are once again plagued by cotton candy clouds and chocolate rain. Pinkie Pie seems to be enjoying herself, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash have their hooves full, what with the continual drizzle and its effect on the crops. I have tried casting spells again but none are working, as I expected.
Discord has not shown up yet, but I expect him to any day now. We need the Elements of Harmony in order to defeat him when he does. My friends and I will be coming to Canterlot later today to get them. Please have them waiting for us. I fear we have no time to waste.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
Princess Celestia looked over the letter once, twice, three times before the message really sunk in. Discord was back, but, for some reason, he was only targeting Ponyville right now. Why, she asked herself as she made her way to the Hall of the Elements. She stuck her horn in the key hole to open the massive double doors. She walked over to the case and opened it. She gasped as she looked inside.
All the Elements were there, but the stones that were set in each were cracked. They were useless now. Celestia dropped the case as she wept. Wept for her little ponies. Wept for Equestria. Wept for the era of doom that was sure to come.
She sat up straight. No, she told herself. I must not appear weak. My ponies need me to be strong. She walked out of the room, carrying the case with her, closing the doors behind her. It was too late when she noticed the shadow that stalked her. She looked up at the caster of the shadow and let out a blood curdling scream.
Twilight and her friends got off the train and quickly made their way to the castle. In the entrance hall, Princess Luna was waiting for them, a somber expression on her face.
“Ah, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said sadly. “Something terrible has happened. Please come with me.”
Twilight and the others shared a look before following the Princess of the Night. Luna led them into the Hall of the Elements. There was blood everywhere. In the center of the room lay Princess Celestia, her head resting next to one of her wings, separated from her body.
Twilight let out a glass shattering scream at the sight of her mentor lying there, her usually pristine white coat soaked with her own blood, her eyes unseeing. Twilight draped her body over that of her Princess, crying rivers.
Applejack, her own eyes brimming with tears, walked over to her friend and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Ah’m sorry, sugar cube.” She looked up at Princess Luna. “What about the Elements?”
Luna silently pointed her head at the case that had spilled out on the floor. Rainbow Dash flew over to the strewn Elements and picked up her own. “It’s cracked,” she said as she examined it.
“Yes,” Luna replied. “They all are, and, because of that, they cannot be used. Discord will have to be stopped by other means.”
“What other means, Princess?” Rarity spoke up above Twilight’s sobs.
“We will have to fight him head on, but right now we are not powerful enough, even with the help of the six of you.” Luna walked over to a still crying Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle.” The lavender mare looked up. “We know this is hard for you, but I must request a mission of you and your friends.”
Twilight wipes her eyes with a hoof. “Yes, Princess?”
“We need you to go back to Ponyville and research the forbidden tomes for combat magic. We know it is against your nature, but it must be done to help us defeat Discord. We will still want your weekly letters. Send them the same way but it will now be us who receives them.” She turned her gaze to the other five ponies in the room. “All of you will also have to work hard to train yourselves. This is a matter of life and death. Stick close to each other. If you have to, all stay in the same house. We do not want Discord to sink his manipulative claws into any of you. Now go, our little ponies. Go and prepare for what is to come.”
With one last longing look at her old mentor, Twilight turned and galloped out of the hall, her friends close behind.
“Twilight,” Applejack asked as they boarded the train. The lavender unicorn had been eerily silent as they made their way through the streets of Canterlot. “What’s on your mind, sugar cube?”
Twilight looked up at her friend, tears in her eyes. “The Princess. She always seemed so strong. I guess I never thought that she would actually die. I don’t know what to do.”
“We have ta do what Princess Luna asked of us. We have ta get ready ta battle Discord.”
“I know that, but I just feel lost without Princess Celestia.”
“Ah know, sugar cube, but we have ta look ahead. We can’t let anything hold us back.”
“OK,” Twilight sighed resignedly. “Let’s go.” She steps onto the train.
Princess Luna watched the girls go and then looked upon the body of her sister. “What are we going to do without you?” She asked her sister. “We were never born to rule, that was always you. Mother always taught you the ways of ruling.” Tears started streaming down her face. She wiped them away and replaced them with a hard look. “No, we are going to be a great ruler. We will help throw Discord into the depths of Tartarus if it’s the last thing we do.”