The Chronicles of Daniel Ridge: The Age of Equestria

Six ponies stood in the center of a large antechamber, each holding another's hoof to form a circle. Small rays of light pierced through cracks in the stone walls, the only sound the slight drip-drip of water on the rock. In the center of the ponies, a pedestal, and a single green book resting atop it. On the cover, The word "D'ni", in large gold cursive.

After a small command from the leader, two horns grew bright in the dark room, washing the x in a mixture of blue and silver hues. A minute passed- then five minutes, ten minutes - an hour passed in complete silence. Throughout the spell each of them seemed to be struggling - their faces taught, muscles stiffened. A bead of sweat slid down one's left cheek. A small wind that should not have been there gathered around them, blowing through and opening the book, the pages flapping until they suddenly stopped on a single page.  It began to glow, until it was a blinding ball of magic - and then, just as suddenly, the magic disappeared.  Four of the ponies,  exhausted, collapsed onto the floor, panting heavily. The leader remained standing, with only large breaths to show her effort, her silver horn dimming.

"Did it work?" an auburn mare said between gasps.

"Yes" The leader answered, trotting up to the book. "The link has been made.  Now, we can have our champion."

"But Milady, how will we find them? They could appear anywhere in Equestria."

"You know of the legends, Ginger Snap. If such a creature were to arrive, we would come to know of it eventually."

"And if they're not willing?" a sea-blue unicorn said, adjusting his glasses.

"Then we kill them" The silver unicorn answered, then added with a giggle "Or you could make them willing, I'm sure. You do so love to experiment."

"Indeed, Milady." He bowed, a wicked grin playing on his lips. "I will prepare."

"Good. Tic, Tac, you will help him as always."

"Of course, your Majesty" two Pegatwins said in unison.

The silver mare turned back to the pedestal and smiled. Her time was coming. Soon, Equestria would be hers. And she knew just where to start her conquest.

Canterlot.

Daniel had been reading in silence at the counter when the shop door opened and his dad came in, the sound of the heavy rain pouring through the entrance for a moment as it shut behind him. He was dripping wet, with a luggage sack trolling behind him, and a travel pack on his back. His large red jacket streamed droplets that drop-dripped on the hardwood floor. His khaki pants were completely soaked and now sporting a sad shade of sodden soil.  His old army boots were coming apart at the seams, as if they resented his muddy socks, which sloshed as he walked over. And his favorite Canucks baseball cap, which Daniel swore was no longer a hat and more a piece of fabric the old man wrapped around his head every morning. And yet, even though he was such a mess, his dad's smile could not have been larger.

"Daniel!" He cried, pulling him into a bear hug "I'm so glad to see you again."

"Hey Dad" Daniel replied, returning the embrace "How was your flight?"

"The flight? Fine, fine" he said, shrugging "Customs was a bugger to get though, as usual. You know how it is with them."

"Considering what you brought last time, I think they are justified in being cautious."

"Hey, I told you that I didn't know about the snake, or that it was female, or that it was actually a mother that gave birth to live young."

"Yeah, well neither did they, until they opened the bag."

This time, it was his dad's turn to grunt.

Daniel's dad was an anthropologist, and most of his time was spent travelling around the globe, discovering more and more evidence to prove the existence of an ancient civilization that thrived in chasms below the surface of the Earth. This left Daniel back at the house and run the small bookstore that occupied the first floor, "Ridge's Leatherbacks". Though Daniel would often find himself lacking proper company, when his dad returned with all his discoveries and stories of the places he had been, the time alone had been worth it. As per the usual, his dad brought some souvenirs back this time as well.

"So other than a rolling rhombus of ripe reptiles, what else have you brought back?"

Daniel's Dad laughed  and grinned mischievously "None of those scandrals this time, fortunately, but something even better" then held up a hand "you'll see, you're going to love this one especially."

Daniel cocked an eyebrow quizzically, but relented,  offering his dad the only seat. He took it, letting the luggage fall to the floor with a thud, and swinging the backpack onto the desk. He opened it up and made a show of rummaging around in it, until Daniel could wait no longer.

"Dad, enough teasing - show me already."

"Alright, alright" he replied, pulling out his hand and revealing his prized possession. Daniel reached out for it and his dad handed it gently over to him with a knowing smile. As Daniel took it, for a second he thought it glowed a little in their hands, but a quick glance at his father showed that the old man had seen nothing. Daniel looked back down at the treasure the anthropologist had procured.

It was a book. A large, heavy book with rough leather bindings, like a crocodile's scales. The centuries it had survived through had taken a heavy toll upon it; spots of diluted greys and ink blotches, and strange scratches all over, as if something had clawed at it. The Title of the book  shown dimly in the light - 'Equestria', in small, gold cursive.  Daniel turned it sideways to read the spine, and he gasped. In small, almost unreadable letters, was the name 'A. Ridge'. Daniel looked up at his dad in shock.

"Yes, I thought you might like that. Unfortunately it seems that no one has written in it, but the novelty of coincidence felt too tasty for me to  leave it behind."

And it was true - flipping through the pages, there was no sign of use. Though there was inkstains on the cover, there was no indication of penmanship at all.

"Oh, but there was one odd page I found in the back - had some sort of black square on it - here, let me show you." Daniel's dad took the book back and scanned  quickly through until he stopped at a page.

"Ah yes, here it -" and he stopped midsentence. Neither moved or spoke. For though there was a rectangle on the page, it was not black.

The rectangle shimmered in the light, like evening light playing on the lapping waves of a quiet lake. Inside of it, to both of their unfiltered shock and awe, was an image - but at the same time, not an image. It was like a video - inside the rectangle there was a picture of a clearing in a forest;  then the rectangle would shimmer, and the image of a small pond took its place. Then it would shimmer again, and another image was shown, and then after that another. It seemed to cycle through an infinite amount of landscapes, never the same, and yet every one of them similar. Daniel gulped slightly and glanced up at his dad, who had also glanced at him.

"Dad, what-"

"I don't know, Daniel. It wasn't like this before" his dad raised a hand to his lips in wonder.

"What do you mean?"

"It was just as I said - black, like someone drenched the page with ink. I had thought it odd that the other pages had shown no damage, but I didn't imagine anything like this..." as he said this, Daniel's dad reached out, nearing the strange image.

"Wait, dad, you shouldn't touch-"

But it was too late. As soon as his fingers touched the image, the old man began to glow. As the glow surrounded him, his body seemed to shimmer just like the images in the book.

"Dad!" Daniel reached out to grab him, but his hands passed through him - he was like a mirage, like he wasn't real. Daniel's dad looked at him in horror, but he managed to say a few words , though they were warped in different pitches.

"I love you" and with that, his father vanished, his body collapsing into little lights that fell like golden sand that dimmed out into nothingness on the floor.