After the Purifcation of Luna, Discord's defeat and reform and the (sorta) successful defense of Canterlot, many ponies across the land believe that their country is entering a golden age of happiness, prosperity and success. Truly, it seems to the ponies that everything is at peace and always will be.

They could not be more wrong.

Inside Canterlot Castle, Luna is tossing and turning in a nightmare, perhaps a premonition. A powerful darkness is descending upon Equestria, as various faces form in the darkness. Some new, some terrifyingly familiar to her. As a final face forms out of the darkness, she looks close...and all she sees are two closed eyes. They open as the face begins widely grinning, and bright light seeps out-

Luna wakes up. She's in her room, laying in her bed. A few seconds pass before she jumps right out of it and rushes to the balcony, flying out into the rising sun.

Equestria is facing a new Dark Age. Magic and ponies are starting to go wild across the country and villains are starting to return. Whether being released from their ancient prisons, or having spent years in hiding, preparing to strike.

Deep within the Everfree Forest, in a dark cavern, a creature is skittering through the cave. A torch is lit and the shadow of a large spider is seen. It crawls deeper into the darkness, lighting more torches as it goes along. As it reaches the end, it pulls out a map with the label "Canterlot Museum" and a big red X in the Main Hall. The spider begins chuckling, before descending into a full blown mad laugh that echoes through the cave.

Or perhaps simply just beginning, turning against their home and country. Going down the path of villainy all for their own reasons. Whether because of hatred...

In the middle of the Neighvada Desert, a tribe of buffalo are resting at their camp. Suddenly, one of them hears a noise coming from the Chief's teepee. Four of them approach it, and a single pony clad in a black Stetson and jacket charges out, catching the four by surprise. Several buffalo surround the stallion, armed and ready to fight. The stallion merely pulls out a golden feather and puts it in his cap. One of the four around the tipi screams at the others to get him, but before they can a thick dust devil forms around him. As the storm clears, the stallion is gone, vanishing in the desert.

...power and greed....

Somewhere in Baltimare, a stallion in a mining cap is working diligently on something. He scribbles diligently, drawing faster and faster, harder and harder. Eventually, the pencil snaps, causing the stallion to grunt in frustration before walking off, revealing the picture. It's a half-finished sketch of Canterlot and its mountain, falling as large explosions emerge from its base. The stallion returns, and resumes his frantic drawing.

...fear...

At the top of a tall Manehattan building, a mare is talking with a friend of hers. The friend soon leaves and the mare heads to the other side of the room. She trots to a telescope sticking out of the window, looking through. She stays their for a moment, before shivering. She then backed away from the telescope before turning around to approach a large bird cage. Inside is a large crow with oddly red eyes. The crow soon begins pecking at the cage floor as the mare pulls out a bag of bird feed and pours it in. After finishing, she walks away and pulls out a blueprint with a picture on it. The picture is of a large golem with axes for hands.

....wanting to watch the world burn....

In the alleys of Manehattan, a couple is walking along, taking a shortcut back home. One of them hears something, and turns towards it. Nothing. They continue walking along, but somepony is following them. They turn a corner, and freeze. They then scream in horror as whatever they see charges at them. It abruptly cuts off, and they are seen laying limp on the ground, a grin forcibly spread across their face. The thing vanishes, laughing like a madmare.

...obsession...

On a hidden island off the Equestrian Coast, a mysterious mare with a white mane and grey fur is leaning over a book, the shadows covering her flank. The book reads, "To travel into the Dream Hallway, inscribe this sigil onto a piece of paper, place it under your pillow and fill it with magic before going to bed." The mare grins before walking over to a nearby bed. She grabs a piece of paper and, watching the book, carefully inscribes the sigil in the book before filling it with a burst of magic, placing it under her pillow and going to bed. A few minutes pass, a black mass of smoke comes off her, and the sound of a shaking door echoes from within the cloud.

...naivety...

A young unicorn foal with a blue mane, silver fur, and golden eyes is sitting in her room, reading a book titled "The Collective Unconciousness: The Deepest Dream." She is entirely caught up within the book, her face stuffed into it. After a while, she appears to nod at a page in the book before her horn begins glowing an eerie yellow. As her horn glows, the shadows in the room seem to get longer, with several of them gaining golden eyes similar to the fillies. The foal opens her eyes, which are glowing brightly. She flinches in surprise, the spell deactivating as the shadows vanish. However, the spell has left is mark on the foal, a cutie mark of the book with golden eyes on it. The foal, grinning widely, rushes out of the room. However, her shadow seems to extend, two golden eyes appearing on it, along with a grinning mouth.

....or revenge....

Deep within the Badlands, somepony wearing a black cloak was wandering in the dust. She looked forward, and saw what appeared to be a cave. Pulling out a map, there was a cave marked with an X on it. Grinning, she charged into the cavern. Much later, she comes across a oasis filled with dark blue water that seemed to be glowing. In the middle was an island with a single blue and purple flower growing on it, with a red center. Reaching out with her magic, a large and unnerving grin begins to spread across her face.

Darkness unlike any seen before is descending upon Equestria. And to truly push it back into the depths below, the Mane 6 must face this darkness and Twilight.....

Must face her own....

Author's Note

A trailer for my future story.