Chapters CHAPTER 1
The sweeping vista of blue that is Equestria’s skyline erupted in the vibrant colors of a rainbow. This was no ordinary rainbow, as its circular fashion filled the entire sky. Twilight sparkle knew this instantly as a sonic rainboom. Since her friend, Rainbow Dash, had busted the old mare’s tale five years ago, they were not an uncommon site over the grounds of Canterlot. The purple mare turned around, allowing herself to take in the full lavishness of her chambers in the central tower. The linoleum floor was polished so much you could see your teeth shine if you opened your mouth. The room was also filled with lush purples and pinks that made up her curtains and soft bedding. Her crown, positioned carefully upon an ornate nightstand that lay beside her bed, sparkled and gleamed in the light afternoon sun, brought in from a large window on the far side of her room. Brought back to attention by 4 not-so-subtle knocks at her brass door, she strode across the room. The door turned a pale, but beautiful, translucent purple as she used magic to open it. Almost immediately was she trampled by none other than, Pinkie Pie! The other four ponies strode in calmly, or should I say three, as Rainbow Dash fluttered in per usual. As Pinkie started rambling on and on about the latest happenings in Ponyville (Which later turned to an argument with herself about sprinkles.) Rarity piped up, saying ‘’ these drapes you’ve put up are simply adorable! May I ask wherever you got them?’’
What she said was true. There were six in total. One blue, one yellow, one white, one purple, one pink, and one orange. Stitched with great care upon each one was the girls corresponding cutie mark.
‘’Celestia had them made for me’’ There was a break in her sentence as she used magic to roll up 5 of them, and give them to the girls. ‘’A symbol of our eternal friendship!’’
The girls came in to hug her, and Fluttershy spoke ‘’Oh, uh… thanks Twilight. Ill uhm…. Put it in my cabin’’ *Squee*
Twilight could not get over the noise made when they smile. It’s perfectly annoying adorableness kept her waiting and waiting for it. Applejack finally spoke up, after being silent since she first entered the chambers, ‘’Mighty nice room ya got here, Twi.’’
Rainbow Dash was too busy inspecting Twilight’s wings to say anything, but when she wrapped up she looked at Twilight and said, ‘’You need to get out and stretch your wings more, preferably by flight. Whaddya say we go out for a little joy ride?’’
CHAPTER 2
At first, when Twilight stepped onto the balcony With Rainbow dash, she was scared. She had not done much flying prior, and the prospect of being up hundreds of feet in the air, and the potential of entering free fall frightened her beyond all measure. But when she saw Dash lift off the balcony, her confidence was boosted. Rainbow is one of her best friends, and Twilight knew she would never do anything dangerous with her unless she was confident she would be able to help her. Twilight
began at a gentle flutter, slowly lifting off the heavy marble balcony. ‘’Great job Twilight, keep going. Just a little bit higher!’’
She quickened her flaps and lifted another foot off the ground. The other girls were gathered in the doorway, watching with fear and beaming with pride. ’’I-I think I’m getting the hang of this!’’.
She levitated about 20 feet from the balcony before Dash said, ‘’Now let’s try going forwards!’’
Twilight leaned forward, and no sooner did she do that than did she go flying about 5 feet forwards. ‘’Uh, yeah. Wings are pretty sensitive. All you need to do is lean forward about, oh say, half an inch and you’ll be at a steady acceleration.’’
Following her friends instructions, she leaned forward, albeit slightly uncertain. She was amazed by how fast she shot through the air. As she circled her tower, feeling the warm midsummer breeze in her mane, she noticed something on the horizon. It was a small spot of black, anywhere else in Equestria the spot would have gone unnoticed, a lone tree in a field, or a small hut. But here in Canterlot, where pearly whites and blinding golds and bright green dominated the vista, it was as noticeable as a rainbow on a pitch black surface. ‘’Uhmmm, Rainbow Dash? You might want to come see this…’’
As quickly as Dash had come though, the spot disappeared, seemingly camouflaging in the lush greens of the fields surrounding her. ‘’Come on Twi, don’t pull my flight feathers like that! I seriously thought something was up.’’
Twilight was about to voice a retort when she dismissed the spot as a cloud in her vision. ‘’Sorry’’, she said and smiled.
‘’Dont worry about it, Twi’’, Dash spoke, slowly turning around. ‘’We should probably get back to the others. We’ve been away for quite a while’’ Both ponies turned around, and flew back
Roughly a minute later, she returned to the tower, utterly exhausted. ‘’WELL? HOW WAS IT!?’ Pinkie exclaimed, overly excited as usual.
‘’It was fine, Pinkie. Now come on, let’s go see Celestia.’’ The party of six went down the halls in a tight knit group. The move was unnecessary, as the halls gave such a wide panorama, you couldn’t lose view of any of them. The walk from Twilight’s tower to the throne chamber was about 5 minutes, but the party arrived. As they walked through the main doors, into the massive chamber, the stained glass window threw a shattered spectrum of light over the girls.
‘’Ah, so I see they have arrived. Welcome to Canterlot, girls.’’ The six of them broke into smiles at her words. The princess trailed on, but Twilight’s mind was elsewhere. She couldn’t push the thought of the spot from her mind. She saw no purpose in alerting her friends over what was likely nothing, so she resolved to catch the princess on her own.
The princess carried on for quite some time, telling Twilight and her friends of what had been happening within Canterlot. Of course, since Equestria had entered a new age of peace, nothing was particularly interesting. Although Twilight had known all this news beforehand, she feigned interest. But one thing she said caught her attention, and snapped her back to reality quickly. The princess had a scroll delivered to her, and she read it quickly. As she read, her expression changed from that of slight pleasure, to one of curiosity. She cleared her throat, and spoke- ''Girls, it appears as if a.. new portal to Equestria has opened... '' The princess looked back at the letter, as the party cocked their heads, eager to hear more. ''Yes... it opened right off of Canterlot grounds. No one came through it however, scouts report that a mere rock came tumbling out, before the portal disappeared.'' Twilight figured that now would be the best time to bring up the spot.
''Um, princess, I was out flying earlier today, and I saw a black spot in the distance. Do you think that was the portal?'' The princess seemed to ponder this for a while, before making up her mind.
''Yes, Twilight, I think so'' she spoke. Rainbow Dash turned to face Twilight wearing look of sincere apology.
''I guess I shouldnt've brushed ya off like that, Twi... heh, sorry...''
''Dont worry about it, Rainbow.'' Twiligh said, with a smile. They both turned to face the princess once more, upon hearing her clear her throat
''However, girls, this is no light matter. The portal leads to the dimension called 'Earth'. Twilight, you should be familiar with this plane of existence, as you followed Sunset Shimmer there, in order to retrieve your crown.'' The princess took a break in her speech to look Twilight in the eyes. ''I would like to send you on a reconnaissance assignment, to see how and why a portal has been opened. As you know, we destroyed the mirror after the crown incident, so this is especially perplexing.'' The entire time, the girls looked at the princess with interest, and awe
''In that case, princess, I accept your assignment.'' Twilight's voice wavered, she was giddy with fear, and excitement. ''But what about the other girls?''
Applejack spoke up, saying, ''Mah apologies if ah'm comin' off as rude, princess, but ah'v got ta ask, what will we do while Twi is gone?''
Princess Celestia though, and then said, ''You five shall protect the elements. We dont know what is waiting for us on the other side of the portal. You are dismissed.''
The party of six departed from the chamber, feeling conflicted. ''You five should go check on the elements, I need to prepare for the trip.'' The girls began to depart, but not before giving Twilight the biggest hug they could.
They departed in a long exchange of goodbyes, and after all had been said, Twilight began the walk to her chambers.
Twilight landed unceremoniously, face first, into the concrete. ''Buck these legs... I have to get used to them again.. The people walking down the sidewalk gave her strange looks, none of them unbiased. Twilight shakily stood up, adjusting to her newfound limbs. She turned around, and behind the statue, she found not a High School, but a massive metal structure.
She stared in awe at the sight before her. In place of students, there were, what she presumed to be, soldiers. In place of the benches, were cars, and the trees whose shade she enjoyed sitting in, were replace with fencing. She took all this in very briefly though, for she was seized at the arms by two burly men, clad in full body armor. The one to her right demanded, ''And where 'n blazes did you come from?'
'
''Hold off on the questioning, Francesco. Eclipse is going to want answers from her firsthand.'' The one to her left said. The right one, Francesco, his name was revealed to be, grumbled incoherently. ''
Twilight struggled against her captors, but it proved futile. She went slightly limp from the exertion, but demanded, ''Who are you?! Who is Eclipse?!''
''Listen here, little missy, you're in no position ta be askin' questions. So how 'bouts ya jus' be keepin' yer pretty lil' trap shut till we getcha ta Eclipse.'' Not knowing what lie ahead, she let herself get carried away.
After going through a maze of corridors, she arrived in a small room with a desk, and two chairs. She was sat down, and tied onto one of them, and the men left. She waited for what seemed like hours, trying to get her crystal out of her pocket, but she just couldn't reach. Finally, the sound of a door unlocking resounded through the lonely room, A ray of light slowly spread across the room, as a creaking filled Twilight's ears.
''Well, well ,well, who are you?'' A cold, sneering voice spoke. A woman, no older than 25 entered the room. She was beautiful, with jet black hair down to her waist, and rose colored eyes. She was dressed in a white suit, with a flower in her ear. She slowly approached Twilight. ''Well, would you have a look-sy here, we have an Equestrian. Last thing I expected to meet here.''
''Who are you?!'' Twilight shouted, struggling in her bonds.
The woman looked her in the eyes, with an expression of mock shock. ''Why, where are my manners! I, am Eclipse. But you haven't answered MY question yet. No matter. I will send you back to Equestria, under the condition, that you convey my message to your dearest Celestia.'' She sneered. Tell her, that the eclipse, has reached its zenith.
And with that, Twilight faded out.
The preparation Twilight put herself through was primarily mental. Reassuring herself that everything would be fine, over, and over again. However, one of the physical things she had to prepare for, was the pull-our crystal Princess Luna had provided her with. When Twilight was in danger, or ready to leave, she was to use the crystal. She practiced with it several times, each time teleporting her to the elements. She also had with her a small vial of concentrated magic. With this, even without her horn, she would be rendered able to cast basic spells, in the event of an emergency. Her goal would be to find out how the humans made a portal, whether or not they had Equestrian help, and why they constructed the portal in the first place.
After readying herself, Twilight went to meet the princesses in the Canterlot grounds. A teary eyed Cadence charged at her, embracing her immeadiately. ''Be careful, Twilight, okay?'' She pulled her head back to look at Twilight, before embracing her deeply once more.
''Of course I will, of course I will....'' Twilight said, quietly. She saw the other two Alicorns behind her, slightly smiling. Twilight didnt have much time to take this in, however, as she was hugged tightly from the side. She turned her head, to find a white stallion holding her tight. ''Shining.... who told you?''
''Your friends told me, Twily. I just wanted to say-'' He took a pause in the sentence to sniffle. ''- good luck, and be careful out ..
there..'' He shed a tear, and wiped it quickly
Twilight wasted no time, ''Are you, cryi-''
''Liquid pride! It's liquid pride!'' Shining Armour said, indignantly.
''Whatever you say, big brother.'' Twilight turned around, and began to walk towards the two princesses awaiting her. ''Celestia, Luna... I'm ready.'' The two princesses nodded at each other, and their horns began to glow.
''Now Twilight, remember the crystal. Do not let it out of your sight for any reason. Good luck.'' Luna told her.
Celestia was the last to speak. ''Be careful, my most faithful student. Do not lose sight of your goal. We will await your arrival at the conclusion of your mission.
In a blinding flash of light, the princesses lifted off of the ground, their eyes glowing bright as the sun. A jet of focused light shot out of their horns, hitting the ground. A great whirlwind swirled, sucking any loose items into it. Twilight dug her hooves into the ground to avoid being sucked into the massive winds.
Finally, it stopped. The wind, the light, all of it. In its absence, a black rift was in front of her. Twilight turned her head to princess Celestia, and watched as she slowly nodded. Twilight advaned slowly towards the portal, and jumped in.
The last thing she saw of her home plane, was her brothers smile.
