I knew in that moment I was rather lost in my own thoughts as I tried to process what had to be done. I was worried, confused, and I must admit rather scared. Not only that, an unusually long period of time had passed since I had last been the focus of the story.

Sorry, I know breaking the fourth wall right now might not seem appropriate, but it is something that helps me stay sane. That and I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles. Except when things are up close. Then I need glasses to read them. If I try to walk in them I just fall over!

Still, no sooner had I had the chance to reflect on what was going on, the world went super duper swirly and squiggly! This was very surprising, so I was a bit confused. "Hello?" I asked. "What's going on out there?"

Nopony replied. It was all super weird now!

I found myself standing there in this strange void all around me. The stars seemed to stretch out above me, seeing the world swinging round at incredible speed. And the stars themselves orbited at incredible speed around the galactic core.

Planets and stars stretched out in all directions, and as I tried to walk forward I felt something fluffy below me. I looked down, and noticed I was standing on a cloud! "Ooh, I'd always wondered what this felt like! Now I know what being a pegasus is like!"

"Was like. And, tragically, may well always be that way, if Chris gets his way," said a voice.

I looked around. Where had that come from?

"Hello?" I asked. "Is anypony there?"

"Seek the answers, Izzy, and you shall find," said the voice again. "Seek and find, for that is your greatest strength."

I suddenly realised the voice was giving me a fix to follow them! Perfect! "WAIT FOR ME!" I called, as I began bouncing between clouds to cover the gaps in them. There was a lot of bouncing about to do, as there was an incredible amount of ground to cover, and sure enough I was soon on another section of cloud.

This place, though... it seemed to go on forever and ever. The stars stretched out so far that I couldn't see the end, and they seemed to simply continue onwards forever. Maybe this was the true nature of existance.

Still, being in that place was both exciting and incredibly humbling. Exciting because everything was so new and dramatic. But humbling because it nicely demonstrated how small we truly are in the grand scale of things. So many worlds, side by side, functioning as a collective whole, and we are just a small part of it, strutting and fretting our hour upon the stage and then being heard now more, our voice joining the cosmic dance.

Anyway, I bounced through the clouds and touched down on another, with a smile on my face. "That was fun!" I said, with a smile. "Was there something you wanted to show me?"

"Yes, Izzy, there was," the voice said, and suddenly a blinding light appeared and grew extra blindingy! Is blindingy a word? It is now!

Once the light faded, a familiar figure stood there before me. She had an ENORMOUS blue mane, purple fur, and two huge wings on her body, one on each side. She wore golden horseshoes and a golden chestplate, and stood so incredibly tall I'd needed to have stood on another pony's back to be on eye level to her.

The figure smiled. "Welcome, Izzy," she said. "You've come a long way, but at last you shall find the truth."

I was amazed, as I immediately recognized who they were. "Hey!" I said. "You're the voice who spoke when I found that tennis ball!"

"Indeed I am," the voice continued. "I am the one who brought you here. I am certain you know who I am, given your hobbies in your old life?"

You betcha I did! "You're Twilight Sparkle!" I said. "But how do I fit in?"

"It concerns one who threatens all of reality," Twilight Sparkle said, bringing up a screen and showing a familiar face. "I have no doubt you know who this guy is."

"Chris Chan," I said. "He was a clown even before he got sent down."

"Chris believes himself the sole ruler of the realities beyond the veil," Twilight Sparkle told me, sadness in her eyes. "All our worlds and dimensions live alongside one another in a spectral waltz, holding together in a scene of beauty. Each of them go on, largely unaware of the others, and this is what keeps us safe.

"But Chris found a way to penetrate those barriers and see into the other worlds. You see, he doesn't want to allow these worlds to exist on their own, as they have since the dawn of time. He wants to force them all together into one reality with his own world, creating a nightmare realm with a population too big for the universe to sustain."

"That's awful!" I said.

"But even so, there are some worlds that enrage him more than others. Such as the world of Sonic Boom. His armies snuffed that reality out, the sound of a thousand lights all extinguished at once." Twilight Sparkle paused, and then started to speak again. "The world you live in is another such world that he hates. Given that the world of MLP G5 takes place a long time after I ruled, the fact it exists disproves his ideas on how dimensions work- the characters of my time and the characters of yours cannot live side by side owing to the time difference. And rather than consider the possibility he might be wrong, he instead decided to destroy it. And he did this in awful ways."

Suddenly, the screen changed again to show Izzy standing by a road in confusion. "Hello?" she asked. "This doesn't look like Bridlewood!"

She then looked down. "Ooh! Tennis ball!"

"Gotcha, you dumb bitch."

Suddenly, a man charged out of the treeline and dragged Izzy into it, closing his hands around her neck. She coughed and spluttered, until no further sound was heard from her.

The man, now revealed to be Chris, smiled. "Now then, let's get your body dumped in the ocean," he said, and walked away.

I was so caught up in what was on the screen I jumped when Twilight spoke again. "Of course, this was an injustice I could not let stand, so I had to ensure somepony was there to take her place. To continue the legacy of Izzy Moonbow of the Bridlewood Moonbows. And so, I was able to send some magic across the dimensions to your home."

As I watched, I saw the tennis ball begin to glow, and float into the air as it was enchanted with magic. Powerful magic that would allow whomever came into contact with it to become super useful!

I was astonished as I watched. And then it all suddenly made perfect sense.

It hadn't been pure dumb luck that I'd found that tennis ball! Twilight Sparkle had planned it all!

"You planned this!" I said, amazed.

"Indeed I did, Izzy," Twilight Sparkle said, a gentle smile on her face. "I knew that somepony pure of heart would come along and take up the mantle. And as you have taken the values and beliefs of friendship to heart, not to mention quite the creative streak, I knew that you were the perfect choice.

"But time grows short for this world. You must get back out there. You and your friends have a great duty to perform. Stop Chris, and save Equestria. This may seem like a daunting task, but know I am with you every step of the way. Good luck!"

Just as those words were said, I saw the world around me growing brighter, and I had to shield my eyes from the bright light. Once the light went away, I found myself back in the throne room of Zephyr Heights. I glanced about and noticed most of the ponies in the room seemed to be reeling somehow.

As I recovered, I glanced over to Sunny and saw how amazed she looked. "Sunny, did you have a crazy vision?" I asked.

"I sure did!" Sunny said. "I talked with Twilight Sparkle! It seems she brought us here for a great purpose."

I looked serious. "But also quite a difficult one. Sunny, we need to stop Chris, or else this world is doomed."

Sunny nodded. "I know. But perhaps we should wait and see what the others have seen before we start planning out courses of action. Best to wait until we have all the information until we act."

I nodded. There was logic in that. So we simply had to wait until somepony else spoke.

And that might take a while, based on their facial expressions.

Author's Note

Yes sir, Twilight Sparkle does appear in this chapter.