Elements; Thousand Years Coming

Rainbow Dash barreled into the library, nearly knocking several books over. In the library were Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle, all of whom looked right at her. Spike, however seemed to be out.

"Hey, Dash. Can it wait? I'm looking into the earthquake from earlier."

"Twilight, that wasn't -"

"It's strange, though. We haven't had a natural earthquake like that in around three hundred years!"

"But it wasn't -"

"After all, the tectonic plates settled down around then. So the earthquakes should have sto-"

"TWILIGHT!"

Twilight fell quiet.

"That wasn't an earthquake."

"What makes you think that?"

"Earthquakes don't move clouds."

She stared at the distant town. Two of her friends had started it no more than 15 years ago. 10 years after the infamous Nightmare Night. Ever since, she always had a weird sense of what was to come. Yet now, more then ever, she felt it screaming at her.

"Hey. How are you?"

"..."

"You're unusually quiet."

"..."

"Funny you would say that."

"..."

"Well, I'm the quiet one. She's usually -"

"We need to get to Ponyville."

"Huh?"

"Heh. I guess they would like us to visit them soon."

"Not soon."

She turned towards them, an unusual fire in her eyes.

"NOW!"

"Yeah, I just thought it was an unusually large gust of wind, or some prankster. It wasn't until Scootaloo asked me about the earthquake that I realized it happened."

"That sounds crazy, but so does a natural earthquake. I'm not even -"

They all stopped as a letter materialized in front of them. Twilight lifted it up and opened it, reading it out loud.

"Twilight

"I'm sure that you are already aware and likely looking into the earthquake from earlier. You should be informed that it wasn't just Equestria that felt it. Several world leaders, some as old as I am, have come to discuss this. There will be a guard carriage to bring you here in two hours. If you need more time than that, let me know when you get here, and you can use the royal archives.

Your faithful teacher,

Princess Celestia"

As Twilight started to panic, Rarity couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them from the shadows.

She slowly trotted through the alley of Ponyville, taking in the dripping water as she walked by the puddles. She could only imagine how the town would be in ten years, one hundred years, heck, even a thousand years, if it'll last that long!

"A thousand years...is she really..."

*CRASH!*

A loud sound from nearby snapped her out of her daydream. Her first instinct was to check if anyone was hurt, unaware of how deadly it could be here.

He didn't have a particular destination in mind, just a calming walk through town. For some odd reason, he was always amused by how gravity even affected small things, like drops of water.

"EEEEEEEEEEE!"

He was snapped out of his trance by a scream. A desperate scream.

His wife's scream.

Twilight was panicked. She didn't have enough time for a full analysis of the earthquake, and they were half way to Canterlot! She needed to hurry!

Dash was bored. If she was on her own, she would have made it to Canterlot well before now. Then again, she wouldn't even consider presenting anything to Celestia on her own.

Fluttershy was entranced. The birds outside of the window were so beautiful and full of life. What she wouldn't give to fly with them.

Pinkie was Pinkie. The less said about her, the better, wild as she is.

Rarity was hopeful. She wanted to travel around Canterlot, showing what she had, despite all the chances she already had. Like she always said, if you've got it, flaunt it.

Applejack just wanted the dang thing to land already!

The instant after she was attacked, she saw what could only be described as a brilliant bright light. She couldn't focus on anything else, as if the light was forcing her to focus on it.

Is this what it's like to die?

As her vision went back to normal, however, she saw that the "light" was actually a pony. Somepony she knew.

"It figures that you, 'heroes,' would show up at the last moment. And I can't hope for that poison to work on you."

"You don't want to fight me. You hurt my friend, you just said that your poison doesn't work on me, and did I mention? I'm one of the best guards ever."

"No no. I have more than one poison, it's just finding one that will work on you. Don't think I don't know who you are. In fact, I think that I have an advantage because of that."

"Let's see."

"Come on come on come on! There has to be something here!"

Dash, the only one who opted to stay with Twilight as she searched, was lazily hanging over a guard rail. "Calm down."

"HOW CAN I? I CAN'T DISAPPOINT FIVE WORLD LEADERS!"

"It's technically only three, cuz Celestia and Luna don't count. Besides, two are chill about it, and the last is a Griffon. Don't worry about it."

A pegasus! A pegasus did all this damage? And so fast!

"What's wrong?" The destructive colt asked him. "My poisons starting to take its toll, captain?"

He tried his hardest to hide his true status. "How... How did you do this? Even somepony twice my strength would take hours to do this. Yet you managed this in minuets without any pony noticing. How?"

The insane colt smiled. "Maybe someone in the afterlife can tell you."

He decided to drop the act, his breathing and posture returning to normal. "Maybe, but I don't intend to go there anytime soon."

"W-what?"

"Isn't it funny? How sound can affect more than your hearing?" The world around them looked like it was spinning. "You think I'm to your left when I'm to your right. You try to look at me, but instead look away. I look like I'm retreating when I'm moving towards you. You try to move away from me, but you just draw closer. We have more than five senses, and this song is ruining your sense of space"

The mad colt looked angry. "I h-haven't hit you a-at all?"

She couldn't help but smile. Her spell worked perfectly. And by making herself invisible, she was perfectly safe. Even the pony behind her couldn't tell she was there! The only one who could see through her spell perfectly was Celestia, and if she was there, there would be no need to-

"I see you, Rose Petal."

Twilight walked nervously through the grand double doors. If it weren't for the five mares behind her, she would have been running, having not found anything of use. Before her was an empty table, large enough to seat the five world leaders before her, and then some.
"Kurow? Ya there?" "Yes sir." "You don't have to address me so formally, ya know."
Rarity shot Luna a smile, which she found returned to her. Rainbow Dash kept her eye on the Griffon, Lord Sharpclaw, notorious for his short temper. Applejack calmly shared a nod with the Zebra leader, Nandin Pourtind. Pinkie Pie found it hard to keep her composure around Celestia for some reason. Wait, no, she was just being herself.
"I don't like feeling like I'm -... Heh. Look at her. She looks like she won the jackpot."
Fluttershy found herself completely enraptured by the final world leader. He had the body of a pony, but his eyes, muzzle, mane, and tail all resembled a dragons. She was incapable of thinking about anything but the first chance she has ever had to meet a -
"You gonna talk to her, bro?"
"What? Never seen a Kirin before?"
"Okay, then. You could have called her cute or something."
She was snapped out of her trance. "YES! Er, no. Well, I -"
"Well then."
"FLUTTERSHY! You're embarrassing us!"
"Where are you, anyway?" "I'm above you." "Figures.
"I don't mind. I just wanted to know." He seemed to resemble Celestia in how he spoke.
"Calm as always, bro." "I thought you liked calling me sir."
"I just, I've always wanted to see a Kirin!" Fluttershy was floating in the air, hooves over her mouth and a bright red blush all over her face. "I never thought I would get the chance to see one!"
"I'm almost tempted to jump down and cuddle her." "Will you?" "No, that would probably get me beaten up."
That's it, Fluttershy. Just keep distracting them. Anything so I don't have to-
"Why are we here again?"
"Twilight," Celestia cut in. "Have you found anything out about the earthquake yet?"
"Oh, right. That."
Twilight's ears fell flat. She was hoping to avoid the subject for a bit longer, unwilling to admit to Celestia that she failed. "Uhh, well, you see, umm..."
"I wouldn't have expected her to know about that. It's very obscure."
Celestia's expression quickly fell. "I see..."
"Should I tell them?" "They can't know yet. Besides, Celestia will make the connection soon enough."
"What is the meaning of this, mare?" Sharpclaw slammed his claws onto the table, causing everyone in the room to flinch and the basket in front of Celestia to nearly topple over. "You said you got your best scholar to investigate, but all you did was get this kid to do it! Even MY scholars are better trained than she could ever -"
"Did you notice?" "Notice what?" "The basket?" "There's no -... Wait..."
"Do not talk about MY STUDENT LIKE THAT!" If anything overtook the fear Sharpclaw created, it was the fear that Celestia created. Twilight knew how bad Celestia's rage could get, but never saw it this close. And she was across the room!
"Where did that basket come from?" "You'll see."
Celestia slumped down in her place, letting out a huge sigh, before looking at the basket of flowers on the table in front of her and taking one in her mouth, swallowing it before she continued. "If Twilight couldn't find the truth, I doubt anyone can."
"Looks like Luna noticed." "Was the alliteration intentional?" "Alli- Oh. No, it wasn't"
"Sister! You cannot be this dense!" Everyone looked at Luna in pure shock. "It has been right in front of you the whole time it has been here!"
"Who left it?" "One moment...Ooo, she's scared now."
Applejack looked at the basket of flowers in front of Celestia. "Now wait a sec, where did those flowers come from? The table was clear when we came in, and no one else has entered or left!"
"Who?"
*WHAM!* Everyone froze. *Thud* They looked towards the door. *Groan* Celestia giggled, then stood up to head towards the door.
"Her." "Oh."
"You didn't hurt yourself now, did you?" Celestia spoke with subtle mirth in her voice."I've found it quite hard to escape through a closed door." The,... Pony?, let out a squeak not unlike one of Fluttershy's. "Don't worry. I'm not mad at you. I'm impressed that you managed to slip past my guards. Then again, I haven't seen this kind of magic in a long time." Celestia sat down in front of where the invisible mare apparently was. "Now, what's your name?" Everything was silent for a moment, then a gentle voice.
"Uh-oh." "What?" "Gotta go now!" "Why? ... Kurow? Are you there? Kurow!"
"Celestia?" The voice was similar to a young filly's, or Fluttershy's. Gentle, almost mute.
"Kurow! Kurow!... Damn. Why does he do that?"
Yet, it seemed to shake Celestia to the core. Her smile was gone, her eyes were wide, and her voice was barely a whisper. "T-that voice. Sh-sh-show yourself... Please."

The mare complied, her spell fading quickly. Her eyes were pink, with her mane and tail a more faded shade. Her coat was light green, and her Cutie Mark was of a rose stem with three rose petals.

"Rose Petal."

The young mare started to get to her hooves. As she stood up, there was the sound of massive wing beats coming from above. Everyone looked to see a stallion who stood a full head above the average pony. His coat was white. His mane, gray with black stripes. His eyes, black. His mark was a tower.

"Rook."

The stallion, Rook, stood next to the mare, Rose Petal. Celestia was shaking. She quickly glanced at everyone else, checking to see if she was hallucinating. Given that several were staring at the two in shock, she assumed she wasn't. "Y-you're... You..." She started tearing up. "Y-y-you're a-a-a..." She rose one of her front hooves, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "You're...

"Alive!"

She threw herself forward, grabbing them in a tight embrace. Rose and Rook, who had been stoic until then, finally let themselves smile. It was a touching sight to see.

Rook was the first to break the following silence. "I don't know how long it's been, but I'm glad to see you remember us."
"Heh, isn't that cute?" "Oh, Kurow. There you are. Where were you?" "Had to un-poison somepony.
"YOUR HIGHNESS!"
"And there's the memo for the princess." "Who was it?" "One of those two's friends."
Everyone looked at the servant that had just entered. Celestia was obviously annoyed at being interrupted, but was otherwise calm. "Yes, Sundance? Is there something you need?"
"That means..." "Yeah. If you don't mind, I would like to keep an eye on them."
"There's an unknown mare in the infirmary. She appeared in the garden, and was stuttering incoherently before passing out. Several guards want to imprison her once she wakes up, but nothing will be done without your approval." Sundance took a quick glance around the room. "And, if you don't mind, might I suggest considering hiring more attentive guards?
"Go ahead. You do pretty much whatever you want anyway, bro. I'm not stopping you."
Celestia's irritation turned into amusement. "This mare is an ace infiltrator. Even with guards within this room, she would go unnoticed." Celestia turned to the rest of the room. "We will return to this room in about an hour. I do have an idea of who the mare might be, and would like to meet her. You are all free to do anything within the castle rules. I'm looking at you, Sharpclaw."
"Go on! Talk to her!"
Twilight, Celestia, Rose, and Rook were the only ones to actually leave the room. Applejack sat next to the zebra leader. Rarity and Pinkie both approached Luna. Rainbow Dash flew right up to Sharpclaw. Fluttershy nervously trotted up to the Kirin leader, only to be received with a pat on the head. "Um, sir? What is your name?"
"Pfft! You haven't told them your name!" "Shut up Kurow."
"Most call me 'Sir' or 'Kirin,' if not 'dragon thingy.' My real name, however, is Susano."
"I'll leave you two alone now."
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Are you... The Shinto god?"

"No, but I was named after him."

"..."

"........."

"................................................"

".......ot a t........f you ...............therwi.......ill remi...yo.........ok is q...........ior."

"Bu.....r hi......."

"...ve! No.."

".s she..."

"He........re yo....ake?"

"...u? Lu..."

"L...au!"

"Luau?"

She was just waking up, the voices in her head more disjointed than usual. Wait, those weren't in her head. She slowly opened her eyes. "Rook? Rose?" When she could finally see again, she saw both of their smiling faces. "I thought you were dead." She moved her neck as far as she could, stiff as it was. "Where are Crabby and Willow?" In a moment, both of them went from looking like everything was right to everything was wrong. "Oh, no."

"Luau."

Two more mares entered her line of sight. One of them a violet unicorn she couldn't recognize, the other... "Celestia?"

She looked saddened for some reason. "It may have been minuets or moments for you, but it's been such a long time for me."

"And court is in session." "Kurow, what the hay?"
The doors opened to the room, causing all chatter to cease. "Pinkie, did you invite all of my guards?"
"Did she?" "Not the one in the bathroom." "Pfff- What?"
Pinkie gave a sheepish smile. "Did you need them?"
"Isn't there something you need to do?" "Yeah." "... I love you." "I love you too, bro."
Celestia let out a little chuckle. "Actually, this works out well for me. I was going to make an announcement anyway."

"Wait, wait." Luau was dizzily laying on Rook's back. "How is Luna back already?"

"That's the first part of the announcement." Celestia stepped up onto her spot at the table. "These three, Luau, Rook, and Rose Petal, are three of the ponies I trust most. Rook was once captain of the royal guards, Rose was a gardener, and Luau was well before her time." Celestia let out a huge sigh, knowing that this next part would be hard for anyone other than Luna and Susano to believe. "Yet, they aren't from recent times. They vanished one day, the first time the world shook like this. That day..."

Get ready for a riot, Celestia.

"Was nine-hundred and ninety years ago."