"Friends, loved ones, we are here today in honor of the late Granny Smith. She lived a long, prosperous life...."
The minister droned on as the audience silently sobbed. It's been an entire day since Granny Smith passed, and the Apple family had taken it pretty hard. Things weren't exactly the same at Sweet Apple Acres. Ever since Granny Smith peacefully died in her sleep, the Apple kids were deeply depressed. Apple Bloom took it the hardest out of all of them. She hadn't spoken for days when it happened. Her efficiency on the fields had slowed, too. As much as others tried to cheer her up those few days, Apple Bloom just couldn't bring herself to accept the death of her grandmother. But, after a while, Applejack finally moved on. Although she isn't quite completely better, she still knows Granny Smith is in a better place now.
Sobs continued to fill the atmosphere as members of the Apple family and their closest friends honored the life that Granny Smith lived. In the front row sat the Mane 6, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Applejack and Apple Bloom's friends comforted them as they shed tears. It was rough for them, too, as they had all shared the feelings the Apple family had. Sure, they didn't know Granny Smith as well as the Apple family did, but it was still depressing to see them like this. Pinkie Pie's hair even went straight from the melancholy mood.
"....And now a few words from two of Granny Smith's grandchildren: Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh.
The minister made way for the yellow pony and her older brother at the podium as they prepared their speech. Apple Bloom fumbled with her note cards before finding the first one.
"Granny Smith was the best darn relative and guardian we could ask for. Her stories always entertained us, she would always share her wisdom with us about buckin' apples, and she was always there when we needed her," Apple Bloom started.
"Eeyup," Big Mac continued. "But most of all, she was the most loving and caring grandmother there was."
"Granny Smith...," Apple Bloom started to tear up a bit, "...always made us smile one way or another....Ah remember when ah was just a filly and ah was helpin' Granny Smith harvest some zap apples. It was the very first time ah had such a great responsibility. Ah was kinda embarrassed at first, but then she told mah classmates and me the story of the foundin' of Ponyville." Apple Bloom's eyes became even more watery.
Just as she was about to continue, though, Big Mac burst into tears. Apple Bloom comforted him.
"It's alright, Big Mac," she said reassuringly. "Everything will be okay."
"I know," Big Mac sobbed. Apple Bloom handed him a tissue, and pretty soon, she started crying, too.
"Granny Smith lived a long life. She was funny and wise." Apple Bloom struggled to fight back the tears as she continued the speech. "She changed the lives of many and even played a part in the history of Ponyville. Without her, none of us would be where we are today. Granny Smith was one of the greatest ponies Big Mac and ah have ever known."
"Eeyup."
Apple Bloom and Big Mac finished their speech and let the minister back on the stage. Several other ponies presented their eulogies, and after the service ended, everypony headed to the feast.
The place was packed with Apple kin and their closest friends. At one table sat Applejack and Apple Bloom with the other two former Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Man, I'm really sorry this happened guys," Sweetie Belle chimed in after a moment of silence at the table.
"Don't fret, girls," Applejack told them. "Granny Smith lived a wonderful life. That's all that matters."
"Yeah, I know. But you guys just seemed so miserable since Granny Smith passed. Apple Bloom was especially hurt."
Apple Bloom blushed a little.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Scootaloo answered, taking a bite from her meal. "I mean, you isolated yourself from every pony else for an entire week, and when we actually got you to hang out with us, you hardly said a word."
"Well, I guess I just wasn't feeling it. That's all."
"For an entire week?" Scootaloo reminded her.
"Oh, right."
Fluttershy timidly approached the table with an empty bowl on her back.
"Um...sorry to interrupt, but...we're out of food," she told them.
"Well, weren't Big Mac and Pinkie Pie supposed to be making sure we don't run out?" Applejack inquired.
"Yes, but...we're out of refills. Pinkie Pie ate them all. Please don't yell at me." Fluttershy retracted nervously out of fear of being accused.
"What?" Applejack boomed in surprise. She got up from her seat. "If y'all will excuse me, I need to speak with a certain pink pony." She left the table and entered the barn.
"Oh, no. Now I'm afraid Pinkie will be angry with me," Fluttershy fretted as she flew off after the farm pony.
The service finally ended, and as everypony left, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle headed to the woods behind Sweet Apple Acres. In the midst of all the trees, they found their old clubhouse.
"It's been a long time since we've been here," Sweetie Belle commented.
"Well, we hardly ever came here after getting our cutie marks," Apple Bloom reminded them. "Plus, we've hardly seen each other after finishing school."
"True. I haven't gotten time to myself since joining the Wonderbolts. Rainbow Dash has been workin' us harder lately for the Summer Sun Celebration."
"And I've been on the road for my latest tour," Sweetie Belle told the other two.
"Oh, yeah. ah think ah went to one of your concerts recently," Apple Bloom chimed in.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Well, after ah gathered all the bits to actually afford a ticket."
"Money really has been hard to come by at the farm hasn't it?" Scootaloo asked.
"Uh-huh. Ah even had to work extra hours to make ends meet. And now that Granny Smith's gone, things sure are gon' be tougher."
"Well, you have been running that place all by yourself. It must be really difficult to get things done without any help."
"Don't worry about me. Ah've been runnin' this place for a while now, so ah'm pretty used to this kinda stuff."
"Are you sure?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Things can happen unexpectedly. What if you can't keep the store open for much longer this time?"
"Well, ah always have the farm to look forward to if things go wrong."
"If you say so."
"So, anyway...," Scootaloo chimed in. She waited until she had their attention. "Wanna check out the old treehouse before heading back?"
"Sure, why not?" Apple Bloom responded.
"I guess," Sweetie Belle replied. "I have about half an hour before heading back to Applewood. Neon Lights expects to see me in the studio tomorrow, and I need the rest I can get."
The three of them entered the dilapidated structure and reminisced about the crazy ideas that spawned from this childhood hangout.
Princess Twilight Sparkle paced back and forth with a concerned look on her face. She mumbled something to herself, so deep in thought that she hardly noticed Spike enter the room with a pile of books.
"Uh, I have the books you wanted me to bring you."
Twilight levitated the books one by one in her direction. She eyed each cover, hoping one of them was a title she'd find useful.
"No...no...no!" Twilight exclaimed. "None of these are what I'm looking for!"
"Um...."
Twilight looked in Spike's direction.
"What is it, Spike?" He could tell Twilight was starting to get a bit ticked off at this point.
"Well, I was just wondering...exactly what are you looking for?"
"I've already told you a million times, I need something that'll help me find out what's been going on lately with these unusual magic outages throughout Equestria."
"Magic outages?" Spike inquired.
"Strange things have been going on lately. Unicorns have been unable to use their magic for some reason."
"No pony here seems to have lost their magic," Spike pointed out. "Are you sure it's not a coincidence?"
"It can't be a coincidence, Spike. It's happened almost everywhere in Equestria." She turned away from Spike to look through the bookshelves of the castle's library for anything that could help. "Well, at least everywhere but Ponyville, apparently." She continued looking through the shelves, she finally found something that peeked her interest.
"Hmmm...Magical Conundrums and Disasters." Twilight opened the book, suddenly interested in what was inside. She started reading aloud:
A unicorn or alicorn can often experience a loss of power. Sometimes, it may be temporary, but sometimes it may last for longer periods of time. The longest period of time one can lose their magic is about two months.
Sometimes, such loss of magic could occur to an entire population. Such widespread loss of magic may result from a number of factors, including, but not limited to:
"Interruption in the magical network?" Twilight commented. "I don't think I've heard of that." She flipped the pages in search of some other mention of magical networks. "That's odd. There's no other mention of it in here."
She set the book back on the shelf and searched the nonfiction section under 'M', hoping she'd find something on magical networks.
"That's odd. There seems to be nothing here on magical networks." She then turned to Spike. "Spike, I'll need you to take a letter."
Spike pulled out a quill pen and piece of parchment from the nearest desk. "Alright. I'm ready."
"Dear Princess Celestia...." Twilight thought for a moment what to write. After deciding on what to tell Celestia, she continued. "I was recently doing some research on the recent power outages throughout Equestria when I came across something about magical networks. I'm hoping that maybe you can shed some light on the subject. Your Faithful Student, Princess Twilight Sparkle."
Spike rolled up the parchment and sent it off to the princess with his magic fire breath.
"Alright. The letter has been sent." But instead of the relieved expression Spike had hoped for, Twilight still paced across the floor, anticipating some sort of response soon. "Uh, are you alright, Twi?"
"Of course I'm not, Spike!" Twilight blurted out. "What if this 'magical network' thing ends up destroying Equestria as we know it? Oh boy. This is so nerve-racking."
Just then, Spike let out a belch followed by a burst of flames and a letter from none other than Princess Celestia. Twilight levitated it in a hurry and opened it. Her eyes rapidly shifted from left to right, reading the message and even mumbling.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Throughout recent years, ponies have come up with convenient ways to use their magic from greater distances. This made it easier for unicorns and alicorns to perform tasks from another location and communicate with other ponies. I hope this answers your question on magical networks.
As for your concern with the interferences in the magical network, I'm thinking the Elements of Harmony will be able to solve this problem. You'll need to contact your friends in order to find out who's behind all these magic outages. Good luck in your endeavors, and hopefully, you'll be able to save the day once again.
Yours Truly,
Princess Celestia
"The Elements of Harmony?" Twilight said in complete shock. She flipped the parchment, wondering if there was something she had missed. "But I don't understand. The Elements of Harmony are what created this castle in the first place? Exactly how are we supposed to use them?"
"Well, even without the Elements, we'll at least be able to find Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy easily," Spike explained. "They still live in Ponyville, after all."
"In that case, if we wanna find them, we better get started right away." Twilight got her saddlebag and headed out the door with Spike right behind her.
Sugarcube Corner was as busy as always. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were busy taking orders while Pinkie and Twist served everypony at the café tables. Sitting at one café table were Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Babs Seed. They were all eating some pie and talking about their own lives.
"So, things have been goin' great at the hair salon," Babs told the others. "Business has been really boomin' for the past several months."
"Well, lucky you," Apple Bloom retorted. "Ah can hardly get anypony into mah hardware store."
"You know, I could help," Scootaloo suggested. "Rainbow Dash said we need to renovate the Wonderbolts' training facility."
"Ah already told ya that ah'll be fine," Apple Bloom retorted.
"You really gotta let us help you, Bloom. You say that you don't need any help, but you sometimes need to let others help you."
"Other ponies keep tellin' me that, but ah've always been fine. Plus, ah've been able to pull mahself outta financial situations before."
"Look, I'm just trying to help. That's all."
While Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were deep in their discussion, Babs noticed that she was almost out of napkins. Knowing that the other two wouldn't notice her absence from the table any time soon, she left to get some more napkins.
Moments later, Twilight and Spike entered the bakery, looking around for somepony. They finally found Pinkie Pie in the middle of the crowd and pulled her out.
"Hey, Twilight!" Pinkie cried out. "How's it going? It's been, like, a veeery long time since we've talked."
"What're you talking about, Pinkie? We saw each other last Tuesday, remember?"
"I know, but it still feels like forever. I mean with Rarity and Rainbow Dash gone, things haven't been the same. Without the whole group, it just gets boring. Rainbow Dash always knew how to liven things up, and Rarity--"
"Um...Pinkie?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. You were saying, Twilight?"
After finally getting a chance to speak, Twilight told her about the situation. She told her about the interruption in the magical network and the outages throughout Equestria.
"So, whaddya say? Should we team up for old time's sake?"
Pinkie thought about it for a moment.
"Well...," Pinkie Pie jocularly pondered, "I was planning on reorganizing all my party decorations...."
"Pinkie!" Twilight was a bit annoyed.
"I'm just kidding. I'll just tell the Cakes and then we'll be on our way." Pinkie hopped back inside Sugarcube Corner, and was shortly ambushed by Twist soon after.
"Pinkie Pie! I need your help!" Twist cried out. "There's this group of ponies that are causing a riot in the back."
"Can't talk right now, Twist. I need to help Twilight get to the bottom of magical outages going on all over Equestria." Pinkie Pie ran over to the counter to tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake about the situation.
Twist was a bit intrigued. "Magical outages?" she asked after Pinkie finished speaking with the Cakes. "I've been reading about those in the newspaper. For some strange reason, they haven't hit Ponyville yet."
"Yep, that's right." Pinkie was hardly paying any attention to what Twist had to say; she was too busy packing her saddlebag with cupcakes and party favors.
"I really find that strange, however, that Ponyville wasn't the first to get hit with these outages."
"Uh-huh." Pinkie was now struggling to bring her party cannon downstairs without disturbing any of the customers.
"Don't you find that weird? I remember when stuff like this was a regular thing in Ponyville."
"That is true." Pinkie finally managed to get her party cannon downstairs, unfortunately with disturbing several customers.
"So, I was just wondering if...maybe I could...join you guys on your mission."
Pinkie Pie stopped in her tracks before exiting the bakery.
"What?" Pinkie boomed. "Are you crazy? It's too dangerous! You could get hurt or lost or..." Pinkie struggled to find another bad thing about the situation. "...or hurt!"
"Aw, c'mon. Why not? Spike has gone on adventures with you, and he was only a baby dragon at the time."
"Yeah, but he was Twilight's assistant, so at least he had somepony to protect him."
"I'm technically your assistant," Twist retorted. "Plus, I have you to protect me if something happens."
Pinkie gave her a glare, and after a while sighed.
"Look, I just don't want you that close to the action. I'm gonna need someone to help out at Sugarcube Corner and eventually take my place," she explained. "I've been hoping you would be the one to do so."
Twist looked almost hurt by this. Was this really what Pinkie thought of her? Did Pinkie really see a replacement in her? Her eyes teared up a little bit.
"Now don't start crying on me," Pinkie Pie said, suddenly starting to feel guilty. "You know I think of you highly. I...I just...." Pinkie was at a loss for words. "Sorry, Twist. You just can't go."
Pinkie exited through the front door, seeing Twilight and Spike still waiting.
"You ready to go?" Twilight asked.
"Yep. I'm all packed."
"All right. Now let's get Applejack and Fluttershy, and then we'll be on our way to get Rainbow Dash and Rarity and defeat whatever is causing these magical outages."
Spike and Twilight trotted off, and Pinkie, after looking back at Sugarcube Corner and worrying about Twist, followed.
Back inside, Twist was still a bit hurt by what had just happened. She needed to find a way to prove to Pinkie Pie--no, to everypony--that she could actually help. But exactly how could she? If only she could help Pinkie and her friends. And then it hit her.
She could find whatever was causing the magical outages.
"Hey, Twist," Babs called. "We're out of napkins. Think you can..."
But before she could finish her sentence, Twist ran off.
"Can't talk right now," Twist told her. "I gotta find where the magical outages are coming from." She galloped up the stairs to Pinkie's room. A confused Babs followed her upstairs.
"What're you talking about? Exactly how do you expect to find this source? Do you even know where to begin?"
Twist thought about that for a moment. That thought hadn't really occurred to her. How was she going to find the root of the problem? She had no idea where Pinkie and the others would be headed after getting the gang back together.
"I dunno," was the only reply she could come up with before returning to finding some useful items in Pinkie's room. "I just figured I would ask ponies from other cities about what happened."
"That sounds like a smart idea, but wouldn't that take forever? Especially when you're doing it alone?"
"What are you trying to say? That I can't do it alone?"
"Not what you plan on doing? You're gonna need some help...and I'll be the one to help you."
Twist was taken by surprise.
"Really? You would do that?"
"Of course I would," Babs reaffirmed.
"And so would we," said a voice from the doorway. Babs and Twist faced the same direction and saw Scootaloo and Apple Bloom standing in the doorway.
"How long were you guys standing there?" Twist inquired.
"Long enough to hear your plans," Apple Bloom answered. "And we decided that we should come along, too."
Twist now felt quite joyful that she wouldn't be alone.
"Well, then let's do this!"
The other three cheered at once and joined Twist in looking for supplies. It would be a long journey, but they were ready.
Fluttershy opened the front door of her cottage and found three mares and a baby dragon at the doorsteps.
"Oh, hey there everypony. How are you?"
"Fluttershy, we need your help," Twilight explained. "There's a threat in Equestria and we need to stop it. Apparently, we need the Elements of Harmony, although I'm not sure how to retrieve them. But I do know that we at least need all six bearers. So whaddya say? Are you in?"
"Oh...I dunno. I still need to take care of the animals. Who knows how long it'll take?"
"Can't you just get somepony to watch them for you?"
"Well, I guess I can ask Tree Hugger," Fluttershy considered. "All right. I'll do it."
"Great! Now, let's go find Rarity and Rainbow Dash."
Twilight turned to her saddlebag, but barely any magic came from her horn and therefore barely moving the flap.
"What the...?"
Twilight tried harder to open her saddlebag, but no matter how much magic she tried producing, no matter how much she strained, she just couldn't open it.
"Is there something wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked.
"Yeah, it seems that my magic is barely working anymore," Twilight answered.
"Y'all...y'all don't think that maybe these magical outages started to hit Ponyville, do you?" Applejack suggested.
The others took this into consideration and suddenly had panicky looks on their faces.
"Oh no!" Pinkie exclaimed. "What're we gonna do now? Now, we don't have any magic or the Elements of Harmony! Plus, I left Sugarcube Corner with so much work to do. What if I forgot to take something out of the oven? What if I forgot to tell Twist something? What if I forgot to refill Gummy's bowl?"
"Pinkie! Calm down!" Twilight reassured. "I'm sure everything's fine at Sugarcube Corner. And besides, as long as we have each other, we'll be fine."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said an ominous voice.
"Who said that?" Spike stuttered, hiding behind Twilight's tail.
A dark shadow passed by, startling everypony there. At first, they thought nothing of it. Until another shadow passed. The group huddled together for protection. Then, all of a sudden, one of the shadows rushed in and attacked.
