The Ambassador

It was late in the evening in the magical land of Equestria. The soft glow of Luna's moonlight cast over the sleepy town of Ponyville. Ponies slept idly in their cottages, dreaming peacefully of their fantasies, goals, and desires. In the center of the otherwise plain village, a magnificent crystal tower stood erect. The light from the moon reflected off of every face of its surface. Hoofsteps could be heard echoing throughout the halls.

The ruler of the domain, Princess Twilight Sparkle, paced around her library restlessly. She bit her lip in worry. It had been six months since Bishop had departed.

Bishop was one of nineteen human ambassadors welcomed to Equestria over the course of the last century. He had spent his five years like most of the previous ambassadors: learning as much as he possibly could. Recording Equestrian history and legends, memorizing magical properties, and studying absolutely everything. When his time came, Twilight escorted Bishop to the Badlands, where his spacecraft waited for him.

That night, Bishop returned to Earth. He would be the last human to lay eyes on Equestria ever again.

For without warning, the twentieth ambassador never arrived. The ponies waited days, weeks, months. No new spacecraft was sighted. Twilight was sure that there had to have been some sort of accident. The first ambassadors had stressed that humans were incapable of harnessing magic. They were limited to scientific methods.

However, their technology had guided them through Luna's stars and past Celestia's sun. Surely they would have sent a message explaining their predicament? The humans and Equestrians had a good relationship. Roman, the first official ambassador, had even expressed that he hoped for a time when Equestrians could visit Earth. They had no reason to cut those ties.

Back when the first human arrived, he had caused quite a panic. After establishing terms with him, Twilight discovered that the humans were in the middle of a purging process. They had been riddled with war, famine, poverty, disease, and many more horrible things. The ambassadors were sent to study and discover means of peaceful, prosperous living.

Of course, Celestia had been a generous host. She, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight personally greeted each new arrival upon landing.

Now, there was no one to greet.  There was nothing.

"Twi, what are you doing?" Twilight heard a deep rumbling noise from outside. Spike peeked a large eye in through the window. He had grown a lot over the years. Spike now had wings, and he stood almost as tall as Twilight's castle.

She ruffled her feathers uncomfortably. "Thinking."

Spike rubbed an eye. "You're not still upset about the missing ambassador, are you?"

"Very. Roman was specific about their procedures. They wouldn't just cut off communication with us. Some must have gone wrong." Twilight said, stamping her right back hoof onto the floor.

Indeed he had been. Roman had revealed the humans intended to send precisely 20 ambassadors, each spending 5 years to determine as much as possible about this foreign land. They would report back, and the scholars there would dedicate their time analyzing the research. Most of it, being about magic, would be archived, as the humans would have no use of it. But Roman was thrilled to realize that there was much more to Equestria, enough to fill many weighty tomes.

Spike paused to think. "Have you talked to Cadence or Luna about it?"

Twilight flared her wings in frustration. "Of course I have. Cadence is as clueless as I am, and Luna can't see as far as Earth."

"I'm sorry, Twi," Spike yawned. "But there's nothing we can do about it. The only way to really find out what's going on would be to go to Earth."

Twilight was about to respond, when she stopped and narrowed her eyes in thought.

"You really should go to bed, Twi. You're not gonna be able to do anything half asleep."

Twilight smiled appreciatively. "You're right, Spike. Thank you."

Spike's grin was only partially visible through the window. "No problem. Good night."

Twilight bid Spike good night, and turned to leave. As she walked down the hall to her room, she passed a beautiful crystal monument decorating the center of the foyer. Twilight had hired the most talented of artists to carve out life-size shapes of her closest friends.

It had been heart-wrenching to watch as her friends passed on, while she herself didn't age. The five individual statues posed, each expression filled with joy. Each time Twilight saw their faces, she half expected them to jump down and say hello.

Although blessed (cursed) with long life, Twilight was secretly relieved to learn that Alicorns were not in fact immortal. Celestia had ascended to the sun already. Even though Twilight felt the sting of loss, she knew that just as Celestia rested inside the sun, her friends lived on inside of her.

Twilight often wondered how her friends would have handled the current situation.

Fluttershy, the kind-hearted soul who would do anything for anypony no matter the stakes.

Rainbow Dash, a brave Pegasus loyal to all of her friends, even in times of doubt.

Rarity, who, even though a rather prim Unicorn, would offer everything she had to help a pony in need.

Applejack, the hardworking, trustworthy pony that would always come though if you needed help.

And of course, Pinkie Pie, the eccentric Earth Pony that did everything in her power to ensure everypony's well-being.

All of them had been Twilight's very best friends. And Twilight had a good feeling that they all would have agreed with her. Twilight nestled herself into her bed, already planning her task. Tomorrow, she would put word out for volunteers. Twilight sighed as fatigue washed over her. She had more concerns to deal with now, but she knew it would be worth it in the long run.

If the humans couldn't send an ambassador, then the Equestrians would. It was time to go to Earth.