Chapters The sun shone on the small town of Ponyville, making the normally dull leaves shiny, the grass perfectly cut and it also showed off the way it was taken care of. The sun reflected off of the town's river, freely flowing against the few rocks that there were against the the carefully carved edges. From a small distance away, in Canterlot, Ponyville was bright and colorful, as if it were glowing.
Twilight Sparkle, a lavender unicorn, was in her library, doing research. "Spike, could you--"
"I know, Twilight. You just asked me." he said, then walked over to the carefully carved and decorated bookcase, one of many. He picked out a royal blue book with words on it's cover that read; "The Elements of Harmony; Extended Research". There was no name on it, but Twilight knew that it was possible that many ponies had worked on it over time. As the small dragon started to bring it over to her, she took it out of his purple claws in a magenta aura, and thanked him. Spike waved his claw dismissively as if to say, 'it was no problem, really!' He walked down the stairs, to where he'd normally go. When Twilight didn't need him for something, he would go into a little den the she'd created for him not long ago. Nopony really did know what he was doing there, but Twilight got him a few books when she'd first created it, and she always heard him reading out loud every once in awhile. She flipped to the first page.
The Elements of Harmony; Chapter 1
Everyone always thought there were only six elements, but it was once revealed to the sisters of the sun and moon that there were seven. Princess Celestia didn't understand it, because the seventh element was never heard of. It wasn't with the other elements. She'd heard rumors that there'd been a seventh element, but she never went looking for it because she knew they were most likely just rumors. But they weren't. The seventh element, to this day, was not found. It was hidden away by Equestria's founders, or so the legends say.
Twilight closed the book in a hurry. How could there be another element? she asked herself, starting to panic. Why hasn't anypony found it? Not even Celestia knew about it? What is going on?! she stomped her hoof, then called for Spike. In a moment, he was right in front of her. "Spike, I'm going...out." she said, heading for the door.
As Twilight Sparkle journeyed to the Carousel Boutique, she admired the scenery before her; the shiny, bright green leaves, the dark green grass and the smooth wood on the trees, as well as the sparkle of the river. The reflection of the sun, catching her by suprise as a small beam of light hit her eye. She closed her eye, then rubbed it with her hoof. The suprise went away as she resumed walking, and as she reached the boutique, she knocked. Soon enough, a white unicorn with a neatly curled purple mane answered the door. "He-- Oh, Twilight! It's so nice to see you!" she said, and moved aside, silently offering the unicorn to come in. Twilight entered, turning her head to look at her friend as she walked. Rarity followed close behind her, then stopped in front of Twilight.
"What compelled you to come here?"
"Well, as much as I want this to be just a visit, it might end up being more of a...mission."
"A mission? Well what ever do you mean, darling?"
"Well, I was reading this research book, and it spoke about a seventh element. So, I was going to go try to find it. It said not even Celestia knew about it until soon before the book was made."
"That is probably just a--"
"It isn't a lie. It's a legitimate book about the extended research of the Elements."
"So, what do you want me to do?"
"Come with me."
"On such a journey? But what about my shop? I will get muddy, I bet there are--"
"Please, Rarity? We might find another Element bearer, too!" Upon that statement being made, there was silence. Rarity reluctantly nodded her head. "Alright, Twilight, but I must tell my sister." Rarity turned around, and headed into her boutique's other room. Little did the Element bearers know that this was going to be a long day.
Twilight Sparkle walked along the stone paths of Ponyville, greeting ponies. "Hi, Derpy!" she called out to a grey pegasus, waving to her as she waved back. She saw a brown earth pony with blue eyes and an hour glass as a cutie mark with a pink earth pony and a blonde mane with a rose as her cutie mark. Twilight had never seen these two before. She stopped in her tracks. "Who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose."
"Doctor? Just Doctor? Ponies go around calling you 'the Doctor'? Doctor who?" she questioned, and all they did was grin, then walk away. She turned her head, then rolled her eyes. She continued to a large building that was known as "Sugarcube Corner".
~~~~~~~~
"So, you want me to come with you?!" said a pink earth pony, hopping up and down.
"Yes!"
"Oooh! I'm so nervouscited!"
"You realize that's not a real word...right?" Pinkie Pie just kept hopping up and down in a circle around Twilight. "Ooh! Let's make celebratory cupcakes!" the earth pony cheered, then ran into the kitchen. Twilight simply waited in one of the many pink and white seats as the two ponies she'd seen earlier came in. Twilight figured she'd take their order, and possibly learn more about them. She lifted up a notepad and quill from the ordering counter with her magenta aura, walking over to in front of them. "Hello, how can I help you?" she asked, smiling.
"Twelve chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing, please." said the blonde, with a British accent. Twilight nodded as she wrote it down;
12 choc.
Van icing
Twilight walked into the kitchen with Pinkie as the two earth ponies sat, chatting among themselves. She heard something about something called a 'TARDIS'. Whatever that is. thought Twilight as she entered. "Hey, Pinkie, an order of 12 chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing." stated Twilight.
"Oh, there's another order! Great! You're a natural, Twilight!"
"What do you mean?"
"You were so awesome at taking orders!"
"Oh, it's nothing..."
"You should totally work here!"
"You think so?"
"I know so!"
Twilight smiled, then nodded her head. "Okay, I will!" Pinkie cheered, then walked over to the oven and pulled out some fresh baked cupcakes, and set them down, then began to bake the second batch for the customers. Twilight walked over to the two. "Hi, your order will be here soon." the brown earth pony nodded and thanked her.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle, you probably don't know me, but I just own the library down the path from here.
"Oh, that's nice!" he said, then smiled at the blonde.
"Sorry, didn't I see you two earlier?" asked Twilight, looking at them questioningly.
"Yep, you did!"
"I don't think I got your names..." she said, pondering. She knew they told her their names, she just didn't remember what their names were.
"I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose."
"Nice to meet you, Doctor, and Rose." she smiled warmly as a familiar voice called her name. "Twilight!" the alicorn nodded her head at them and walked into the kitchen. "Are the cupcakes done?"
"Yep!" said Pinkie, pulling them out of the oven, and setting them down next to the first batch. Twilight pondered for a second. Pinkie knows everypony in Ponyville, right? So, maybe she'll know who these two are. thought Twilight. Pinkie had taken out the icing pouches, then squeezed out the icing as it fell perfectly swirled on top of the fluffy brown cupcake's surface, going one by one.
"Hey, Pinkie, you don't happen to know two ponies called 'Rose' and 'The Doctor', do you?"
"Hmm...Nope, never heard of them." she shrugged. She took out a pink and white box, then opened it and set the cupcakes in one by one. Twilight watched her struggle while doing it with her hoof, so Twilight picked them all up at once with her magic and put them in, then closed the box. "Thanks, Twilight." she said, smiling. Twilight smiled back and nodded, then levitated the box out of the kitchen, bringing it to the customers. Rose and the Doctor stood, walking over to the counter. "There you go, have a wonderful day!"
"Thank you. You have a brilliant day too!" called the Doctor as he took the box and put it on his back, then walked out the door side by side with Rose. "So, I guess I should close Sugarcube Corner, right?" asked Pinkie, walking out from the kitchen.
"Well, who's gonna run it if you don't?" asked Twilight, then they both giggled. Pinkie ran up the stairs and grabbed a sign that said "Sorry, we're closed!" and brought it down, then locked the door of Sugarcube Corner, after placing the sign on the inside. "Wait, don't the Cakes run Sugarcube Corner as well?" asked Twilight, after leaving.
"They do, but they're in Canterlot for the Best Baker's Festival. They'll be there for a few more days!" said Pinkie, hopping close behind Twilight as she resumed walking. Twilight muttered an 'oh' and continued walking, as she heard a strange sound; Vworp! Vworp!
What's that? she asked herself. Pinkie stopped next to Twilight as well. It seemed as if the entire town had stopped. As the sound vanished, pony by pony resumed what they were doing as if nothing happened, but the town was whispering things. "Rarity and hopefully everypony else is coming too." said Twilight. "The rest aren't confirmed. You know, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack." Pinkie nodded and continued hopping alongside her friend, heading for their next destination; Sweet Apple Acres.
"So, what yer sayin' is that we go an' find the seventh element? But we don' even know if it actually exists!" said Applejack, stomping her hoof. Is Twilight really askin' me to go on a journey even if ah don't know if it'll be successful? She asked herself, almost outraged.
"Please, Applejack? We could find another element bearer. A new friend!"
"Ah can't believe you actually though I'd do such a thing! Just abandon mah farm?"
"No, there's Big Macintosh! And Granny Smith! And even Applebloom to take care of it...We could save Equestria again...with a new friend. Wasn't it so satisfying to know that you saved so many ponies with friends?"
"It was. But ah already have friends."
"It doesn't hurt to have more than six friends, Applejack."
"Ah suppose you're right. But that doesn't change the fact that ah can't leave mah farm."
"But you've got family that can come over, from Appleoosa. Weren't they going to come over anyway?"
"Yeah, they were gonna come to our farm."
"Then you can come. Please, Applejack? It'd mean a lot to us!" Twilight said, gesturing to Pinkie. "Rarity's coming as well."
"How about the others?"
"They are hopefully coming. I haven't asked everyone yet."
"Ah'll come."
"Really Applejack!? Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" yelled Pinkie, hopping in circles around their orange friend. Applejack just nodded. "Okay, but you have to help me finish collectin' these apples, first."
"We can do that." said Twilight, picking all the apples off of one tree with her magic, dropping them into a cart that was already half full with apples. "Yeah! It'll be so fun!" cheered Pinkie, walking over to a tree and extending her back legs to kick the tree, causing apples to fall into the buckets that were lying around the tree. Twilight took the four apple-filled buckets and dropped them into the cart, as well as picking an entire apple tree once again with her magic. "Wow. This does more than ah ever could durin' Apple Buck Season!" said Applejack, tilting her hat. Twilight and Pinkie smiled at her and continued to harvest the apples from their spots on the trees. Every once in awhile Twilight would turn from her spot of harvesting trees and see that Pinkie had piled up buckets for her to dump into the cart. Soon enough, the cart was full of apples, almost toppling over. "Thank ya kindly for all this help!"
"It's no problem, really, Applejack." said Twilight, after collecting the last of the apples and carefully dumping them on top to make sure nothing dropped out of the cart. "Now, to sort the bad ones." said the orange earth pony, sighing. "Oh, no need for that. I sorted them before I dumped them."
"Really? That's amazin', Twilight!"
"Oh, it's nothing." she said. "How 'bout a nice glass of cold apple cider?" asked the orange earth pony, smiling.
"Sounds great!" said Pinkie, hopping up and down again. Applejack lead her two friends into the home area of the farm, taking the apple cider out of the fridge, and pouring it into mugs. Twilight took the mug in her magic, Pinkie and Applejack took it in their hooves, gulping it down. Twilight drank hers slowly, savoring every drop. When she'd finished, Twilight lead her friends outside, starting towards Rainbow Dash's cloud home in Cloudsdale. They walked down the hill, and went to the outskirts of Ponyville. It was time for the trio to visit the cloud town otherwise known as 'Cloudsdale'.
"All we've gotta do it pick up Rares, Dashie and Fluttershy and we'll be on our way, right?" asked Pinkie Pie, hopping alongside Applejack and Twilight.
"Yep!" The trio continued along the stone roads of Ponyville, journeying from Sweet Apple Acres. They walked in silence, until Pinkie Pie had enough. "You know, you guys should totally try a chimmy changa! They're soooo good!" she continued to ramble on about chimmy changas, and eventually other things. "Did you know that so many words rhyme with bean? Lean, mean..." she continued to speak of words that rhymed with bean. Twilight and Applejack wanted to cover their ears, though it would be rude, so they didn't. Ah can't wait 'till we get there.
"Rainbow Dash!" called Twilight from the ground. She couldn't get onto the clouds, for she didn't have wings. "Rainbow Daaaash!" No answer. "Rainbow DASH!" she called again. Still no answer. "Oh, hold on." Twilight's horn began to glow, a bright pink aura surrounding her. The glow around her and her horn began to fade. "Now I can walk on clouds for about ten minutes." Her horn began to glow again, creating a cloud ladder, She climbed up, and knocked on Rainbow Dash's door.
She heard someone calling her name. No, who was that? She knew who it was, but she couldn't put her hoof on it...Eh, whatever. She never really did hear others when she didn't want to. Twilight always called it selective hearing...Twilight. Twilight. Twilight Sparkle! That's who is calling her. But she wasn't awake. She didn't feel awake...she was drowsy...she was mmm....mmm, what's that word? Dreaming! She was dreaming! "Rainbow Dash." called another voice. It wasn't the same voice as before, though. It was different...it was...hmm... "Rainbow Dash..." she repeated. No sign of anyone. "Rainbow Dasssh...."
"Who's there?" Once again, she knew the voice but didn't know who it belonged to. "Dashhh..." she heard. She didn't see anyone. This didn't make sense. Of course, what fun was there in making sense? Wait, wasn't that something Discord had said?
"Of course, my little pony. Your dreams are conjured of things you have heard or seen before, or something you are afraid of, or not used to, or something you wish to do, as the name suggests...A dream." the voice spoke. It was now clear whom the voice belonged to: Princess Luna, the Princess of the Night.
"Luna, what are you doing here?"
"We are visiting your dream, is that not clear?" she spoke, not unkindly.
"But what are you doing in MY dream?"
"We cannot tell you, but we do have a...message, if you will..."
"What is it?"
"Your friend needs you."
"Is that who that is?" asked Rainbow, gesturing to all around her...because that's where it sounded like the voice was coming from. Everywhere. Anywhere. But it was all just darkness. It was like nopony existed at all except Luna, Twilight and herself. But she knew that wasn't true, because what sense would that make? It was all just darkness, and she wished it would stop. Too dark. But she felt safe, oddly enough, because she was with the Princess of the Night. She felt safe because it was almost as if the darkness wasn't devouring her because she was with Luna, as if she controlled all of the dark, all of the shadows. But she knew that wasn't true. She was afraid of the dark as a filly, but this wasn't the typical filly fear...it was just fear. Fear of the darkness, because she thought it might devour her, it seemed like that's what it wanted to do, but it was just black. It couldn't do anything to her. Her brain knew that, but *she didn't. She was snapped out of her thoughts as the princess spoke again.*
"No, not that friend. Your friend needs you. She holds a secret with her, and she is discovered."
"What does that mean?"
"Rainbow Dash...Wake up."
"What do you mean?"
"Wake up..." the voice whispered.
"Huh?"
"Wake up, Rainbow Dash! Ugh, does that pony do anything except nap?" the voice was different now...it was one of her friends. It was Twilight...Twilight! Rainbow shot up, and rolled off of her couch with a thud. It didn't hurt, though, due to the fluffiness of the cloud floor. She got up, rubbing her head. "Rainbow Dash!" was followed by a few loud knocks. How is Twi knocking on my door? she wondered, then continued groggily to her door. She opened the door to reveal Twilight.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, good."
"Whaddya need, Twi?"
"Well, I was reading a book--"
"No surprise there--"
"and it spoke of the Elements, except there's another Element that nopony knew about."
"So, what do you need from me?"
"Well, I already have the okay from Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity, they're going to come, and I need you and Fluttershy to come as well. So, what do you say?"
"Hm...new adventure with my friends..."
"And possibly finding a new Element bearer!"
"Adventure plus friends plus possible new friend equals awesome!"
"So, that's a yes?"
"Yeah!"
"Good. Now we better hurry up, I wont last on these clouds for much longer." Rainbow picked Twilight up and set her on her own back, then flew down to meet Pinkie and Applejack.
"Rainbow's coming!" They all cheered, then Twilight turned to face them directly. "We need to go get Fluttershy now."
"Fluttershy might be harder to convince, 'cause she doesn't like adventures as much as the rest of us do." spoke Rainbow, continuing to walk beside Twilight.
"Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. I can get really nervouscited about stuff like this!" said Pinkie, hopping up and down as the four ponies continued to walk along the stone roads.
"Pinkie, you know that isn't a real word, right?"
"It is totally a word, Dashie!" Rainbow just shook her head, smiling at the typical silliness of Pinkie Pie.
"I think Rainbow Dash is right this time." reasoned Twilight.
"Thank you...wait...hey!" Twilight giggled sheepishly.
"Uh, I mean..." Pinkie and Applejack giggled with her, causing Rainbow to stare angrily at them, which elicited more giggles from the three. "Sorry Rainbow..." apologized Twilight before bursting into a whole new fit of giggles. Rainbow was fed up with this, so she flew ahead.
"Eggheads," was all that could be heard from the cyan pegasus pony as she flew off.
Fluttershy wasn't normally one to nap. Of course not. She always had responsibilities. But last night Angel kept her up, insisting that he get an extra meal. Around three 'o' clock, he eventually gave up, but Fluttershy couldn't fall asleep. Normally, Angel would sleep on her pillow next to her head, but she'd always fall asleep before him, because he'd snore terribly. When he eventually fell asleep, she wasn't asleep, and she couldn't fall asleep due to his snoring, and she though it would be rather rude to wake him just for her benefit. So, she was finally sleeping, and nopony was going to wake her from her slumber. She was happily trotting along the roads of Ponyville, when the road and the sky slowly started to dissolve into darkness. One by one, each pony was devoured by the dark, along with the environment around them. Fluttershy squeaked in horror, and trembled. She collapsed on whatever was left of the ground and hid her face in her hooves. "Fluttershy, my little pony, do not be afraid. It is only us." Fluttershy raised her head to see nothing of Ponyville left, simply darkness around her, yet it wasn't devouring her as it did with the other ponies. She couldn't see anything except black. "H-hello?" she knew that voice sounded familiar. It was Princess Luna. "Princess?" she squeaked.
"You are correct, Fluttershy."
"B-but what are you doing here?"
"That is the same thing Rainbow Dash said to us."
"Rainbow Dash?"
"We also visited your dream. But this is no matter, time is of the essence."
"What is it, Princess?"
"Please call me Luna."
"Alright, Luna." the Princess' hoof raised to an image that was being conjured in the darkness. It showed a dark grey pony with a green ponytail on the side of her head. Her eyes were dark green, with a bright green flame with a smaller dark green one in the center of it as her cutie mark. "Who's that?"
"You will find out soon enough, my little pony. Wake up."
"Pardon me?"
"Wake up..." she repeated. Fluttershy's eyes shot open. She instantly forgot all she'd seen in her dreams, it was all stored in the back of her mind.
"Fluttershy?" called Rainbow, knocking on the door to her cottage softly. "Fluttershy?"
"She isn't answering." said Twilight.
"Did you give up on me ?" the lavender unicorn paused.
"No."
"Didn't think so. That means we can't give up on Fluttershy." Rainbow continued to knock on the door, trying to get her friend's attention.
She got up and walked around, trying to figure out what to do. The soft knocking sounds were unheard by the yelling voice in her ears. She was wondering who Luna showed her, and why. She was remembering her dream... She tried to conjure up a good image once again of the pony. She did, and she kept wondering. "Who is she, who is she?" she kept asking herself. She felt like that pony was someone important. Important...but who is she? Why is she so important? she repeated to herself, and frowned. "Who are you?" she then heard the knocking, it was louder. Fluttershy was brought out of her trance, as she walked over to the wooden door of her cottage. She opened it to reveal four of her friends: Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. She smiled at them, forgetting about what she was doing just moments before. "Hey, Fluttershy, well, I was reading a book about the Elements of Harmony, you know, extended research and such, and it spoke of a seventh Element. I would like all of my friends to come with me in case we run into trouble or something, and also just for company. So, what do you say?"
"W-what...Twilight? What do you-- oh, I could never...you want me to..."
"Sorry about the suddenness of it all, I just...I'm really curious!"
"But Twilight, I hardly--"
"Please?"
"Well I don't really--"
"Pleaaase?" Fluttershy paused, the lowered her head in defeat.
"Alright, Twilight..." The lavender unicorn captured her in a hug, which took Fluttershy by surprise, and fell over, bringing Twilight with her, though she wasn't phased. Once Fluttershy realized what was going on, she ended up hugging her friend back. Once Twilight released her, she got up. "Now all was have to do is go pick up Rarity."
After picking up Rarity, the six mares first headed to the Crystal Empire. "T-Twilight?" stuttered Fluttershy, causing Twilight to look at her concernedly.
"Yes, Fluttershy?"
"I saw somepony in my dream...she was dark grey with a ponytail sort of on the side of her face... I don't know who she is."
"Neither do I, I've never--"
"Uuuugh! Twilight! Why did you make us go by hoof?" whined Pinkie.
"Hold on, Pinks. I got this." said Rainbow Dash. She scooped her pink friend up and began to fly ahead with her, reaching the train station. "Well, if Rainbow gets to fly there, I can teleport the rest of us there. I don't think I can do it alone..." Rarity walked over to her friend, and put her horn over the lavender unicorn's horn. Twilight's horn glowed magenta, while her friend's horn glowed light blue as their magic combined, teleporting the rest of them to the train station's platform. Applejack went past the two unicorns, and smiling graciously at them before getting inside the train cart. Pinkie Pie followed after Applejack, and she smiled as well. Eventually, only Twilight and Fluttershy were left. "Who do you think it was?"
"I have no idea..."
"Fluttershy, Twilight! What're you guys doing?" called Rainbow, peeking her head out of the train cart.
"We were about to come in." said Twilight, grabbing Fluttershy's hoof and pulling her inside the train. The two mares found all their friends inside, sitting on the cushion of the couches.
"That'll be four bits,"
"But yesterday it was two bits."
"It's four bits today. Take it or leave it." The cashier said, shoving the lettuce in the mare's face.
"Fine." grumbled the grey unicorn, a strand of her green hair falling in her face. She levitated her bits out of her bag, and took the lettuce, replacing the missing bits. She huffed, causing the stray strand of hair to fall back into place. As she walked away, she secretly reclaimed two of her bits by levitating them by the cashier's face. The cashier noticed, and ran for the unicorn. She broke into a sprint, opening her saddlebag and putting the bits inside, closing it with a green aura around her horn and around the saddlebag's latch. She was pushing past the busy ponies of Canterlot, making her way to her small house. The cashier screamed at her as she ran. "Emerald Blaze, you little trouble maker you!"
"You're the one who changed the price!" she called back, a smile on her face. She ran into her house and locked the door behind her. This was followed by insistent knocking. "Emerald..."
"Ms Bee..." she said, mocking her. The earth pony known as Ms Bee gave up, and walked back to her stand. Emerald sighed in relief, her back flattened against the door as she fell down to a sitting position. "Another day, two extra bits." she levitated the bits out of her bag and looked at them, smiling.
"Next stop, the Crystal Empire!" called a voice. The six mares nodded, as the saw the train nearing the Empire. Pinkie 'wow'd in amazement, staring out the window. Fluttershy was still sitting next to Twilight, her gaze held on her hooves. She didn't know what her dream meant. Was it a vision? Who was that pony? Why did Luna show me? She started to fiddle with her hooves, absentmindedly. She accidentally hit Twilight, causing her to flinch. Twilight looked over at the butter yellow pegasus, and began to wonder the same thing her friend was. So, who do ya think Fluttershy saw in her dream? as she expected, no response from herself. Look at you, Twilight, talking to yourself...well, I suppose it's just thinking. Oh, whatever. she waved her hoof dismissively at herself, then giggled. Fluttershy glanced at her friend, then decided she had other things to worry about.
Emerald Blaze was out and about again, avoiding that particular section of vendors. She was walking by a fountain when she saw a particularly strange looking stone statue. It just seemed out of the ordinary. She walked over to it, and blinked. It had moved. The hoof was extended towards her neck. She didn't run or scream, she simply circled around the fountain. As she returned to the side that the statue was on, and it had vanished. Huh, she shrugged, continuing along Canterlot. She came across a park, and it was just ahead of her. She was by an alleyway, and inside the alleyway she saw the statue again. It had wings. She lit her horn with a green flame that represented her cutie mark, and walked into the alleyway. She examined the statue and pieced it together. So, it moves when I blink...Or when I look away at all. In the end, she'd decided it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. It didn't happen often, but sometimes it did. She ended up walking to the park, when she felt like there was something behind her. She turned around to see the same statue, the hoof once again dangerously close to her neck. She took a few steps backward, staring wide-eyed at it. This can't be my imagination...Why would my imagination make up a creature like this?
The train halted, causing the six mares to jolt. They all gasped in surprise, but didn't fall off of their seats. One by one, they got up and filed out of the train to reveal the Crystal Empire in front of them. Twilight lead her friends off of the train station's platform, and began to walk down the familiar crystal path, being greeted by several crystal ponies. As they reached the castle, they were halted in front of the guards that were at the entrance. "State your name, rank and intentions."
"Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack," she said, gesturing to each of her friends as she spoke their names, "the Elements of Harmony, and we wish to see Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and her husband, Prince Shining Armor." The guards removed their spears from their places, and the castle doors opened, revealing the ever-present inside of the Crystal Castle. The six ponies were told to wait where they were for the Princess and the Prince.
Two guards lead the Prince and the Princess down the stairs of the Crystal Castle, then left the room as requested by Cadance. "Twilight!"
"Cadance!"
"Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" they chanted in unison while performing the movements for the hoofshake. Cadance gave Twilight a hug, then let her return to her spot by her friends. She cleared her throat, beginning to speak. "It seems...that we've come across something of much importance. I was reading a book on the further research of the Elements of Harmony, and the book spoke of a seventh Element. I gathered my friends here today to visit you, and preform any necessary searches of the Crystal Empire for the seventh artifact. The book stated that not even Princess Celestia herself knew much about it, and always thought them to be simple rumors. The book also states that said Element was never found, possibly hidden away by Equestria's founders. Of course, we planned to visit here to get your okay on the matter. We were not going to search without you knowing."
"First of all, Twilight, don't be so formal! I'm your sister! And second of all, how do you even know what this book says is true?"
"The book is official. No doubts about it. It is possible many ponies worked on it over the years, so there's no name on it, but we know for sure it's official."
"I don't think it'd be here, but search if you must. I'll help." she said, then moved aside to let Shining Armor greet his sister.
"Twily!"
"Shining!" she grinned, and hugged him. She pulled away, and looked at him. "So, you heard about the matter at hoof, right?"
"Yes, and I'd be willing to help you and Cadance any way I can. Do the princesses know about this?"
"Not yet. I figured it best to visit Canterlot...later in our searches if we're gonna find the Element. What better place to look for an Element than here, right?" He looked at her in confusion, but then shrugged it off.
"Guards!" called Cadance, and in an instant, the guards came in the door and awaited their orders. "Prepare the Crystal Empire for a search. The Element bearers are going to search for another Element that was spoken of in a book done on the further research on the Elements." The two guards that entered simply nodded, and rushed out of the room at once. Whatever Cadance or Shining ordered, they would attend to as soon as they could, if not instantly. They truly honored their Prince and Princess, albeit Cadance not wishing to have to be treated so formally. She eventually decided there wasn't a thing she could do, so she played along. Eventually she got used to it, and she didn't mind it so much anymore. Shining was the same way. He was just a normal unicorn, until his sister became an Element bearer. Then he started getting a bit of popularity, and at first, he was enjoying it. Then he realized he wasn't able to go anywhere without being bombarded by the paparazzi. Then, he married Cadance, and things went way over the top. Now he couldn't leave the castle, though that wasn't to say he disliked being in the castle. He was happy that he had ponies who would take care of things he normally would by himself when he was just a regular stallion, like get his own food. He also appreciated the ponies who helped him, so he was as nice to them as he could manage while still being casual about it. By this point, he was friends with most of the staff members that worked in the castle. Sometimes, he'd call someone into his room with an excuse, then get them to talk normally with him as if it was just one if his old college friends, and he liked doing that. It made him feel like a normal pony again. "So, we should get to work." said Twilight, and lead her friends out the door. One by one passed by her, then as they did she walked out herself. Cadance and Shining followed behind the six mares, and met ten guards by the door of the castle. "Is this enough guards, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" The guards also insisted that they call her by her full name. She kept telling them they didn't have to, but eventually she gave in. "Yes, these are fine." she said, and nodded her head at him, telling him silently that he can return to his post. He nodded back, and walked away. Cadance raised her hoof, then the guards trotted out of the castle. Shining, Cadance and the six mares followed behind them. Cadance told them to split up while Shining and Cadance would look in places only the Prince and the Princess were fit to see. The Elements of Harmony were directed to wait in front of the castle doors and be reported to by the guards if they found anything. Twilight had protested, but Cadance told her that if they were to find anything, they had to have someone to report to. She agreed reluctantly, and sat with her friends by the castle door. Ugh, I hope this doesn't take too long. Eventually, the ten guards came back and told the six that they found nothing. Twilight sighed heavily, and thanked them as she dismissed them. "Well, what do we do now?"
"We go to Canterlot, ah guess." suggested Applejack.
"And tell Celestia?"
"Perhaps we should search for the Element first, darling." Rarity reasoned.
"Why would we do that?"
"Because we can tell the Princess either way, but I just though perhaps if we searched first, and found it, it would be easier than going to the castle, telling her, returning to the base of Canterlot then searching, then once again returning to the castle to report to her and tell her if we found it or not." Twilight paused, then nodded.
"I guess you're right. To Canterlot!"
Whiiiirr....Whirrr... It was sort of like a wheezing sound. She'd heard it before, but never as... loud. It faded softly. Emerald Blaze walked along the hard cement, her eyes trailing on the ground in front of her as it disappeared under her hooves. With a quiet, yet posh city like Canterlot, one didn't often hear noises. That kind of city was a Manehattan city. But as she walked by, with each tiny second, she realized it even more that that could not just simply be shrugged off as a city noise. She trotted beside an alley, spotting a dark blue box just barely hidden from her sight by the shadows. She heard the door creak as it opened slowly. She ducked out of sight just as she spotted a brown hoof. "An alley?" spoke a stallion's voice. "This is new."
"Normally we land in sight, yeah? Now nopony'll be able to see us." said a mares voice as it grew closer.
"S'pose she did that on purpose." She? Is there another pony with them? That wouldn't make much sense. Emerald Blaze began to walk past the alleyway casually, hoping to discover this duo's names. She whistled, attempting to seem casual. She stopped mid-walk right in front of the two, finding that the stallion was a light brown with a dark brown mane, and an hourglass cutie mark. His eyes were a deep blue, which she would never say out loud that she found rather attractive. The mare was light pink, her blonde mane just barely keeping out of her eyes, with a rose as her cutie mark. "What are you two doing inside a tiny blue box?" the mare looked at the stallion next to her, their eyes meeting with a glint in their eye that was not unlike Emerald's. "Traveling." was all they responded.
"What do you mean?" they stayed silent. "So, what is it with that blue box?" she tried again. No luck. The sun had officially gone down, so Emerald lit her horn with a small green flame. Her horn's flare went out soon. "Shoot." she muttered, trying to re-light it. "This never happens..." When her horn's light flickered, she saw the flustered faces of the two ponies in front of her. The stallion was saying something...she attempted to make out what he was saying. "Don't blink, don't blink, don't blink..." Emerald twirled around, still trying to light her horn. The light died off as quickly as it lit, and the last thing she saw was the face of a stone statue.
"Canterlot is quieter than usual," remarked Rarity, "Even if it is not particularly noisy most of the time." Her friends had established a buddy system; Pinkie Pie thought it would be fun, Rainbow thought of it as lame, Fluttershy, like always, didn't mind, and Applejack just agreed, as well as Rarity. Twilight walked with Rarity, Fluttershy followed Rainbow and Applejack lead Pinkie.
"I simply don't see why we must wa--" Rarity stopped herself when she heard a distant whirring sound. "What in Equestria is that?"
"I have no idea, but it sounds exciting! Let's go!" Twilight grabbed Rarity's hoof and pulled her as she rushed toward the sound which was fading. It wasn't fading because she was getting further away, it was fading because it was stopping. She saw a green tail whip around the corner of an alley, then a whispering voice, whose words she couldn't hear. The two unicorns walked into the alley, and saw nothing but litter. Rarity eyed a blue color at the back of the alley, which seemed to be making a silent noise. She reached out to touch it, and felt a handle. She opened whatever it was that owned the handle, and she saw the inside of what couldn't possibly be a tiny blue box..."What... but... It's... It's... It's..."
"Bigger..." said Twilight.
"On the inside!" they yelled in unison. Twilight galloped inside, and began staring at the console in amazement, leaving Rarity in the doorway of the small box, mouth agape. "This isn't technically scientifically possible, but if this somehow works, there could be more things that are... are..."
"Bigger on the inside..." said Rarity, almost inaudibly.
"Yes! That! Oh, and look at this beautiful craftsmanship! It's like all the bigger was just sort of crammed on the inside..."
"Bigger..."
"Or maybe...smaller on the outside?"
"On the..."
"Ooh! I bet nobody has said that before!"
"Inside..." Rarity squeaked in amazement, before fainting, the upper half of her body hanging over the steps of the outside of the confusingly smaller-on-the-outside box.
"What if I could figure out how to pilot it?!" yelled Twilight happily, sorting through wires. She stopped mid-sort when she heard an angry humming sound that sounded like it was coming from the machine. "Are you..." Twilight began to stroke the console. "Alive? Oh, don't be silly, Twi. This is a machine! It can't possibly be alive..." The blue box hummed again. "Alright, alright. I guess you're alive. But...how? How, how how how? It doesn't say that this is possible in any of my books! Oh... Ohhhh...." said Twilight. "Somepony has to own you! Rari--" Twilight galloped over to Rarity in concern as soon as she'd whipped around. She pulled her into the blue box, but as soon as she did, she regretted it. The doors swung closed, and the noise that the two mares had galloped to began to start up again, louder and clearer. The machine began to rumble and shake, and Twilight fell, causing her head to hit the floor of the...whatever this box was called. It had a name, right? The last thing she felt was an intense pain on her head before she blacked out.
Twilight's eyes opened hesitantly, the impact of the hard floor on her skull making her just want to go unconscious again. She got up after a few minutes of struggling to regain control of her limbs. She eyed Rarity, whom was on the other side of the box by a doorway. She was fidgeting and had a few bruises, and...was that a small cut? Yes, it was, Twilight had decided. She walked over to her friend and helped her up after waking her. "Wh-where are we?" Rarity asked groggily, trying to recover from the initial shock.
"I don't know yet, but we better find out." Twilight trotted over to the blue doors of the machine after helping Rarity up. She opened them up, but as soon as she did so, a laser flew into the box and hit the ceiling. Twilight immediately closed the doors, as she heard more lasers and what sounded like hooves pound against the door. Twilight walked over to the console, and eyed a button. 'TARDIS Cloister Bell'. She turned her head in confusion. 'TARDIS'? Is that your name? She thought she heard something from the machine, a faint 'hum', but she told herself that this machine wasn't alive, even though she knew she couldn't deny it anyways.
"Hello?!" a voice came from the other side of the door. It belonged to a stallion. "Blimey...It's locked. But why would the TARDIS lock me out?"
"Doctor, there's someone in there. I saw the door open, so it isn't locked..." said a female voice.
"Let me in! This is my machine." Twilight opened the door slowly. "Who are you?" he raised his eyebrow. Another laser flew in. "Forget introductions!" The stallion grabbed a pink mare's hoof, and bolted in before pushing the door closed. "Okay, introductions now. I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose."
"I'm Twilight Sparkle, and that's my friend, Rarity." The unicorn gestured to Rarity. "Oh, I have so many questions, first off--"
"How did you find my box, and how did you get in?"
"Well, the doors were open and we sort of walked in."
"Didn't your parents teach you not to walk into bigger-on-the-inside boxes without permission?" the stallion now identified as the Doctor scoffed.
"Well, you didn't expect us to just bypass a box that had a bigger inside than outside, did you?" Rarity spoke, her voice sounding as if he was being completely unreasonable--and he was, in a way. He was used to it, so he didn't understand. "Now think, if you were in our shoes, would you just naturally waltz past a blue box that was bigger on the inside?" He ignored her, or didn't hear her.
"We sort of need help, too." said the lavender mare, and the Doctor looked at her. "In Canterlot--surely you know of it--we were searching for the seventh Element of Harmony."
"There are only six." And why are youlooking for it? he wondered.
"No, that's where everypony is wrong. We know it exists. We're looking for it, and we hadn't found it in the Empire--"
"You mean the Crystal Empire?"
"Yes! Now would you stop interrupting me? So, we didn't find it, but we know it's in Equestria somewhere...we just don't know where."
"We as in you and Rarity?"
"Well, sort of, yes. We have four other friends--Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack."
"Oh, you're the Elements' bearers. That's why you're looking."
"Yes."
"Wait, so if there's another Element, there's gotta be another Element bearer, yeah?" asked Rose, finally speaking up.
"Well, yeah, I guess." said Twilight, shrugging. "So, will you help us?"
The Doctor and Rose exchanged glances.
"Where the hay am I?" Emerald asked to no one in particular, finding herself on a sidewalk. She saw a newspaper stand, and looked at a newspaper. "1983?! I was in 2014 just a second ago! This can't be right, this needs to be a prank! Yes, very funny!" she said furiously, looking around for any hint of somepony playing a prank on her. All she got was strange glances from strangers. "Please let this be a joke..." she whispered, her ears drooping. "Can somepony help me?" Nopony even blinked. "Please?" She sat down, defeated.
The Doctor threw down a lever. "So, Canterlot?" he asked.
"Well, it seemed logical." Twilight said.
"Mm, I bet it did." he said. He pushed a button, as the machine rumbled.
"What's it doing?"
"She's getting ready to travel."
"To where?"
"Canterlot!" the TARDIS shook violently as all four ponies clung to parts of the TARDIS--the railings, and the console.
Rarity and Twilight screamed.
"Alright, so, where do we look?" pondered Twilight, trotting along the stone roads of Canterlot once again.
"Everywhere." stated the Doctor bluntly. The Doctor spotted something...He bent over, and stuck his hoof in it. It was ashes, as if someone had been trying to start a fire. "Ash."
"What do you think it's from?" asked Twilight, looking at it. The ash was sort of spread about, like somepony had been shuffling around in it.
"Someone was here." He narrowed his eyes. Someone was definitely here, but who, and most importantly, what were they doing?
"So, you said that your name was the Doctor, right?"
"Yep."
"Doctor who?"
"Just the Doctor."
"What, ponies go around calling you 'the Doctor'?"
"Yep." As Twilight had talked, the Doctor's blunt responses showed her, 'shut up, I'm being important'. She wasn't sure if this stallion was a genius, or just incredibly arrogant.
He had been inspecting the ash as Rarity and Rose engaged in conversation. "Who is he?"
Rarity questioned the pink mare. All she did was blink.
"You heard him."
"T-the Doctor? Why I hardly think that's a proper name for a--"
"Aha!" She was cut off by the Doctor's yell."This isn't...huh."
"What?" Rose asked him.
"This isn't ash..."
"Please, please help me..." Emerald pleaded, but her tiny voice wouldn't be able to get enough attention for any ponies passing by, and none could help.
No one would be able to.
"Then what is it?" Rarity interjected.
"It's residue of time displacement. Ponies taken from time, put in ones they don't belong. This almost never happens, only when the aliens who do it are weak. The only aliens that can do this and have come into contact with equines before are..."
"The Weeping Angels?" Emerald read aloud, her green magical aura surrounding her horn and a newspaper. "Weeping statues known as 'the Weeping Angels' being spotted everywhere. Bystanders report, 'here one second and gone the next'. Local celebrity, Sally Sparrow reports, 'Don't go near them. But, if you do, by some chance, have a run-in with the Angels, remember this...'."
"Don't blink. Don't even blink. If you do...you're dead."
"W-eell, you couldn't possibly-" Rarity tried.
"You can't? Then you're dead."
"Doctor!" Rose warned. She rested her hoof on his shoulder, and he stopped. Rarity's eyes had widened and her willingness to do what she was about to do receded visibly.
"Sorry." He mumbled. But, as far as he was concerned, there was no time for apologies.
Rarity was half considering staying in the TARDIS and letting the smart ones figure everything out. After all, Twilight had her book smarts, this "Doctor" character seemed to have quite a bit of knowledge, and the pink mare seemed to know a lot about the situation at hoof. Some may have misinterpreted that Rarity felt left out, but she wanted to be. For if this got messy, she didn't want any part of it.
Little did she know, she had no choice.
After reading the newspaper, Emerald flashed back--an angel statue in the city of Canterlot, how it'd moved so eerily, in the way that was basically impossible. Every time you looked away, it moved. Even a blink could send you to your death, as the unicorn soon realized. But she didn't die. She was sent back in time! Sent back in time to live to death in a time that wasn't her own. That was absolutely terrifying to think about, but she couldn't keep her poor mind off of it. How would she get back home? What about her friends? She didn't belong here! But those two ponies! The stallion and the mare! He'd said, "Don't blink." But how did they escape? That box...it did have a bit of a strange glow to it, in a way.
So what? How could the two even fit inside? How did they in he first place? She looked around hopefully, thinking maybe she would see them. As bad as it sounds, she also hoped they'd suffered the same fate as she did. They seemed like they'd known what they were doing.
"I want to go home."
Twilight didn't feel like the stallion was trustworthy at all, especially once you considered what he'd said to Rarity. She had been scared already. He wasn't helping. They all trekked the small way they had to to the blue box, which Rarity still hadn't gotten used to, and they entered.
"See the Angels always send you back about, hm, 31 years or so, so if...hmm. That'd be 1983. So anypony who's sent there and looks confused, ask them some question that would be weird to any pony who hadn't been sent back in time." Said the Doctor, getting ready to fly the TARDIS to 1983, to the old Canterlot.
Rarity and Twilight grabbed on to the railings.
The Doctor and Rose were already holding on.
Everypony screamed.
The TARDIS' loud whirring sound caught a few passerby ponies' attention, but others ignored it. It then faded into a more distorted version of itself, and the inside rumbled and shook uncontrollably, causing the ponies inside to screech.
"What the hell is happening?!" Yelled Rose.
"Please tell me there is a button you can press to fix this!" Screamed Twilight at the Doctor, who was just shuffling around the console pressing buttons, pulling levers and flicking switches. The TARDIS stopped rumbling.
"Are we there?" Panted Twilight, not used to the bumpy rides the TARDIS could bring.
"No." said the Doctor, flatly.
"Why not?!"
"That time is full of time distortions, apparently. The readings are all over the place, I can't tell."
Twilight groaned. This was a huge setback. How would they get there? But this pony was smart. He'd find a way.
Right?
