It was just another lazy summer afternoon in Ponyville. Celestia's sun had been baking the earth the past couple of days, making it quite uncomfortable for everypony. Even with the heat wave going on, there was still work to do. Applejack had to harvest the fire apples, a special variety that only grows under the sun's rays. These were the most exhausting to harvest, though, as the heat that makes them grow also tires out those who try to harvest them. Her friends were also hard at work. Rarity was busy designing a dress made especially for the heat, Pinkie Pie was helping the Cakes make ice cream, and Fluttershy took her animals to the lake to cool down.
Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, had nothing to do. Summer is vacation for the Pegasi, which is why there are no clouds. She was just under a tree for shade. There was nothing exciting for her to do. Even if there was, it was too hot. Then she got an idea. Her friend, Twilight Sparkle, ran the Ponyville library. Dash knew that Twilight kept the library cool using her magic. Having made up her mind, she made her way to the library.
Twilight and Spike were fixing up the books as usual, due in part to her rabid research. Spike didn't mind helping his friend, as long as she kept the library cool. As they were about to finish up, Rainbow Dash stormed in, distracting the two of them.
"Hey what's up!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. What brings you to my place?" said Twiight.
"Well you know, it's hot outside and it's like twenty percent cooler in here," said Rainbow Dash.
"Well you're welcome to stay here. Spike and I were just finishing on categorizing all the books," said Twilight, "Aren't you on vacation?"
"Yeah, and it's so boring. It's too hot to do anything. I can't even fly for ten seconds before my wings get all sweaty," said Rainbow Dash.
"Wow, that sounds really hot. Do you want anything to drink?" said Twilight.
"Yeah, sure. Some cold water would be cool," said Rainbow Dash. As Twilight went to get Rainbow Dash a glass of water, a flame came out from Spike's mouth. It was a message from Princess Celestia.
"A message from Princess Celestia? What does it say?" said Twilight.
"It says, 'Dear Twilight, I have some urgent news and I need you and your friends to come as soon as possible. This is important. I'll give you the rest of the details when you arrive,'" said Spike.
"Well I guess we have to get going. Rainbow Dash, you're coming with me," said Rainbow Dash.
"What? But it's hot outside!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Dash, the princess has something important to tell us. We can't let her down," said Twilight.
"Fine. But I'm not flying there. I don't want to end up all sweaty in front of the princess," said Rainbow Dash.
"Don't worry, we'll take the train. But first we have to get everybody else," said Twilight. Rainbow Dash nodded and then the three of them went off to get the rest of the 6.
They arrived to Sweet Apple Acres where they saw Big Macintosh in the front gate. He looked like he was waiting for somepony.
"Hey Big Macintosh! What's up?" said Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, hey Rainbow Dash. Nothing much, just waiting for Applebloom. She promised to get me one of them fried potatoes from town," said Big Macintosh.
"Oh that's cool," said Rainbow Dash.
"Big Macintosh, do you know where Applejack is? We need her to come with us for something important," said Twilight.
"Oh, she's over there by the fire apple orchard," said Big Macintosh.
"Ok, thanks," said Twilight. They went over to the orchard and saw Applejack bucking some fire apples. Even in this heat, Applejack keeps on working.
"Hey Applejack! Get over here!" said Rainbow Dash. Twilight gave her a look of disappointment, "What?"
"Now what the hay do you want?" said Applejack annoyed by Rainbow Dash's command, "Don't y'all see I'm busy?"
"I'm sorry Applejack. Rainbow Dash was just being Rainbow Dash. The princess has asked us to go to Canterlot for something important," said Twilight.
"Somethin' important? Like what?" said Applejack.
"She said she will tell us in person," said Twilight.
"Alright, might as well tell Big Macintosh to harvest the rest of the apples. He's probably still waiting for Applebloom," said Applejack.
The three ponies and the baby dragon made their way across Ponyville and picked up the others. Soon they boarded the train on their way to Canterlot.
"What kind of important business does the princess have with us?" asked Rarity.
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I bet it's gonna be like a big gigantic pretzel in our honor!" said Pinkie Pie.
"I don't think it has anything to do with pretzels, sugarcube," said Applejack.
"Hopefully it has nothing to do with monsters," said Fluttershy.
"Don't worry, Princess Celestia will make sure we're safe. You can count on that," said Twilight.
"Yeah, like the time she made us stop her possessed sister, or the time when we had to stop King Sombra from taking over the Crystal Empire," said Rainbow Dash with a hint of irony in her voice. Just the mention of these incidents made Fluttershy hide under her seat. Twilight saw that her friend's morale was falling and she had to say something about it.
"Look, we may have been put through tough situations. But the princess knows our capabilities. She knows we can handle any problem. That's why she holds us in high esteem. We can't let her down," said Twilight. Her friends looked at each other and what were once faces of worry were now faces of courage. They were not afraid anymore.
The train soon arrived to the Canterlot station. The mane 6 walked over to Canterlot Castle, where in the main room was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The mane 6 bowed down in front of them. The eldest princess was the first to talk.
"I'm so glad you came. There is a dire situation that needs attention," said Celestia.
"What is this situation, Princess Celestia?" said Twilight. Princess Celestia gave her a sorrowful look.
"It would be better if I showed you," said Celestia as she took the mane 6 to the hall of harmony. It was here where the elements of harmony are kept in safety. Celestia, using her magic, opened the safe where the elements were kept. To everyone's horror, they were missing
"What happened to the elements of harmony?" said Twilight.
"Some sort of space-time anomaly formed in this room. This anomaly took the elements of harmony like a vacuum. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to retrieve them in time and they disappeared," said Celestia.
"Princess Celestia, Equestria is defenseless without them. What are we going to do?" said Twilight.
"That is precisely what I called you in for. I need you to bring them back," said Celestia.
"But how do we get them back?" said Rainbow Dash.
"Well I have good news and bad news. The good news is the anomaly that took the elements works like a bridge or a gateway to another universe," said Celestia.
"And what's the bad news?" said Rainbow Dash.
"The bad news is that I don't know if there's a way back. I sent a couple of guards to scout it out. So far, none of them have come back. I'm not sure if they never found a way back or got killed," said Celestia. The mane 6 were now more afraid than ever.
"Princess Celestia, you're practically trying to get us killed," said Applejack.
"Look I'm sorry for this but If those elements aren't recovered, Equestria will be attacked by our enemies. We need them. If it makes you feel better, I will send somepony with you to help out," said Celestia.
"And who is this 'somepony'?" said Rainbow Dash. Celestia looked to a door that opened. There was a silhouette of a pony inside. When the pony came out, it was quite obvious who it was.
"Trixie?" said Twilight.
"Yes, It is I, Trixie," said Trixie.
"Why Trixie? She is such a ruffian, not to mention she turned my mane green!" said Rarity. Trixie was annoyed at her remark.
"Well, Trixie came up to me when the Saddle Arabian delegates left. She said she was sorry for causing alot of trouble. I told her it was okay but she had to help me out here in the castle," said Celestia.
"My magic has got stronger since the last time we met Twilight, but don't worry. The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't care too much about petty rivalries. After all, we're friends right?" said Trixie.
"We'll see about that. You're gonna have to show us if we could trust you and call you friend," said Rainbow Dash.
"Great, that seems acceptable," said Trixie. Celestia and Luna then used their combined magic to open up the rift. It was quite an anomaly alright, a combination of both light and darkness.
"You know what you must do," said Celestia, " Go, and retrieve the elements," Twilight nodded and then she and her friends walked into the rift. Then the rift closed in Equestria. The only way was forward, into an unknown world.
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Jose Mendez knew he was in deep shit. He knew that working for the Reynosa Cartel was a bad idea. But he had no choice as his family was killed in front of him. He could remember every little detail in that fateful day.
Three years ago
Jose was driving around town with his family. He noticed there was a suspicious looking truck following him.
"Jose, are you seeing what I'm seeing? That truck has been following us for a while," said Rosario, his wife.
"Don't worry, I'll check out what's going," said Jose as he stopped his car. The truck stopped behind them.Two figures came out and were carrying guns with them. Jose approached them. Knowing they had guns he wanted to be extra cautious.
"Hey muchachos, can I help you with something?" said Jose.
"Stop acting stupid, you fucking rata. You told the Cortez huh?" said the armed man.
"The Cortez? No I don't even know anyone from the Cortez cartel," said Jose.
"Oh, you don't know anyone from the Cortez, huh? I'll make sure you remember," said the armed man as he pointed to his partner, "get his family and put them on the wall,"
"No, don't do anything to them you fucking cabron!" said Jose.
"Maybe now you'll remember puto. Miguel, shoot them," said the armed man. Miguel obliged and shot Rosario and Jose's son. The gunshots were loud as they were fast and killed the two targets. Blood ran through the concrete. Jose could not imagine what had just happened. Then the armed man turned to him, face to face.
"Now do you remember?" he said as he put a gun next to Jose's skull. Jose knew that if he said he didn't know, he would kill him on the spot.
"Ok, I do remember. Yes, I told them," said Jose out of desperation.
"Good. That's all we wanted to hear. Now you're going to show us where the Cortez are," said the armed man,"you work for us now, you understand that pendejo?"
Jose nodded in agreement and was taken inside their truck.
Present Time
Jose's memory soon faded away as he was being chased into an alley. He could hear footsteps after him. He was starting to get tired and knew that he couldn't run forever. He had to find a way to lose them. As he ran out into the street, he saw a truck that was about to leave. He ran into the trailer and put himself in one of the boxes inside. The truck was now moving. He was relieved to having lost his attackers. As he was trying to stretch, his foot felt something. Then he heard a voice.
"Oww! What gives?" said the voice.
"Who is that?" said Jose as he pulled out his flashlight. As his flashlight turned on, he was shocked at what he was seeing, "Qué es eso,what is that?" He was looking at an orange pony with red hair.
"Are you talking about me?" said the pony.
"You can talk?" said Jose.
"Yes, I can. Jeez why is everyone so freaked out about that?" said the pony.
"Because animals don't talk," said Jose.
"I'm not any animal, I'm a unicorn," said the pony.
"Ok...I think I'm really losing it now," said Jose," maybe I might even be going insane,"
"Think what you want but I really am here," said the pony.
"Well, uhh what should I call you then? Caballito?" said Jose.
"What? No, my name is Sunset Shimmer. But just call me Sunset," said Sunset Shimmer.
"Ok...Sunset. Nice name I guess," said Jose with a weird facial expression.
"It's whatevers. By the way, where are we?" she said.
"You're in Ciudad Juárez," said Jose.
"And where in Equestria is that?" said Sunset Shimmer.
"Equestria? I've never heard of that place. You're in México," said Jose.
"May-hee-co?? What a weird name for a country," said Sunset Shimmer. Jose listened to her reply but he was just looking outside. He seriously hoped they didn't find out where he was.
"You have problems, right?" said Sunset Shimmer.
"You have no idea," said Jose.
