“Wait a second. That’s it!”
Twilight Sparkle had done it. She knew how to fix everything. Her friend’s cutie marks, their destinies, even finishing Starswirl the Bearded’s last spell. All of her heartache and distress had melted away once her friends destinies were righted, and catchy musical numbers didn’t hurt.
“I understand now. I know how to fix the spell!”
Twilight and her friends ran to the library, the entire time those final words going through her mind. Inside, she found the dreaded book that had started all of this mess. No, she couldn’t call it dreaded, as much as she’d liked too. It had opened up so many new possibilities, new spells, even history about her favorite historical figure that she’d never known before.
This book had brought both headaches and heartaches, but the outcome was worth it. A goal tasked by her teacher, mentor, and role model. A mission first thought impossible, but now that she understood it was more than she’d ever hoped for. To finish one of Starswirl’s spells where nopony else could?
She was giddy with excitement. Or maybe she was still coming down from her musical high, either case plausible.
She closed her eyes, concentrating on the words that she needed.
“All of us together, together we are friends. With the marks of our destinies made one there is magic without end.”
She placed the final period, although a tad more forceful than she’d intended, and returned the book. Around her, her friends all smiled and beamed with joy. Those smiles, however, quickly turned to shocked expressions as Twilight’s Element began to glow. It pulsated, putting out a wave of magic that seemed to ignite all of the Elements.
Was this part of the spell? Had I done something wrong?
Then, one by one, each of the Elements shot forth a beam of concentrated magic at her. She wanted to scream along with the shocked expressions of her friends, but she found no voice. The magic she was experiencing was overwhelming. More than she’d ever felt thrown her way. It was both enlightening and frightening.
Quickly, the light around her began growing more and more intense. She closed her eyes, in fear she’d go blind, as the magic kept on increasing. She could barely hear the audible gasps from her friends.
Finally, with a single flash, it was all over.
Fluttershy was the first to speak.
“W-what happened?”
Pinkie Pie let out a loud gasp, and soon her friends followed suit.
Where their friend once stood was now only a scorch mark, oddly in the shape of her cutie mark.
Princess Celestia stood in the eather, a frown upon her face.
Something was not right. She knew her student would complete the spell. She knew she would have many questions. She knew that Twilight would come here, and finally embrace her destiny.
And yet, Celestia stood alone. Her student nowhere to be seen. She’d sensed the magic, the Elements activating, the world righting itself after destinies being corrected.
This all left one important question, then.
“Where are you, Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight gasped, catching her breath as she tried to regain her footing. Blinking profusely, she realized that no, her eyes weren’t closed, it was really just that dark. Dark wasn’t even the right word for it. It was… black. Empty, void of anything. No lights, no objects, no nothing.
She tried to talk, but found her voice mute. She tapped her forehoof, and no sound came from it. She spun around in circles, but could not find her bearings. There was just nothing. She was standing on nothing. She could hear nothing.
Her mind raced with thoughts.
What had the Elements done to her? Where was she? What had become of her friends? Does the Princess know what happened?
Another second passed by. She tried to light her horn, but no magic came. She could feel it there, but it was as if it just did… nothing.
The emptiness continued for another few seconds. Or was it minutes? She couldn’t tell how time was progressing. She could count down from ten, but it didn’t feel like ten seconds had gone by.
Clunk, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRR.
Twilight spun in place, the sound coming from behind her. The only sound for that matter, not even her hooves clip clopping on the ground made the slightest bit of noise. This was also the first bit of light she’d seen; a perfect rectangle was cut into the darkness, a doorway she dared venture, and clean, nearly artificial white light shone through it.
And then a figure stepped through. It was tall, bipedal with a rather dull grey, or maybe blue, suit. It carried with it a briefcase, the edges weathered and torn.
“Ah, sorry about the wait. I had other matters of business to attend to, I’m sure you understand.”
Twilight tried to speak again, but no words came.
“I’ve been rather busy as of late, and I assure you this will only take up a small bit of your time. Well, relatively speaking, of course.”
Twilight raised a brow.
The figure smiled. “I’ve had a keen eye on you and your, adventures, and have brought you out to run you through a… test. There is a big market for such skilled individuals as yourself.”
Twilight opened her mouth to retaliate.
“Fret not, I’ve taken the liberty to make the decision for you, so that your biases wouldn’t get in the way. After all, the right mare in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.”
Twilight’s right ear twitched. She could hear something off in the distance. It was… metal clanking.
The figured checked his left wrist, a silver watch upon it. “Oh dear, it looks as though our time is almost up. I shall be watching you, to ensure that my investment will…” he hesitated, “pay out.”
The sound became louder, and Twilight recognized it as the click of a train going down the tracks. She could also feel the faint vibrations under her hooves, as if she were on the train itself.
“Well, this is my stop. I’ll be seeing you again, Miss Sparkle.”
Twilight shot it a look. It knew her name?
The figure stepped through the rectangle light, and slowly it closed back off, once again throwing her into darkness.
No, there was a light ahead of her, becoming increasingly closer, like she were traveling through a tunnel.
Hooonk HOOOOOOOOOONK!
The light approached faster and faster. Twilight braced herself for impact. Was the train speeding towards her, or was she-
