Hold Your Horses: A My Little Pony Story

Chorus stumbled around and toppled to the ground as he landed. As he stood up from his fall, he was confused at his surroundings. The grand city of Canterlot surrounded him on all sides, and only one pony accompanied him amongst the paved streets and beautiful buildings.

“Twilight?” he addressed.

Twilight Sparkle stood up from the ground, also confused by her surroundings, and faced Chorus.

“Chorus?” She looked around, noticing the familiar buildings of Canterlot. “Did we do it?” she gasped excitedly. “Did we make it back? Where’s everypony else?”

Chorus examined Canterlot further. It was nighttime, which was admittedly a viable time of day for it to be, but something still felt wrong. Red velvet ropes lined the streets. Red velvet ropes didn’t usually line the streets.

“Twilight, was there something going on in Canterlot before we all left? A party? An event?” Chorus questioned.

“Just the Leaders of Equestria meeting, but I don’t know if I’d consider that a party or event. Why do you ask?”

Chorus gestured towards the red velvet ropes lining the streets. Twilight cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“Huh,” she examined the ropes. “I guess it’s possible that there was an event going on that I didn’t know about. I don’t know how I would’ve missed that, though.”

Ponies walked the streets of Canterlot dressed to the nines. Nopony dressed that elegant unless there was something important going on.

“Something’s wrong, Twilight. I’m trying to stay positive, but I think something went really wrong with our spell,” Chorus worried.

Twilight sat on the ground and brought a hoof to her chin.

“There has to be some sort of explanation for what’s going on. Why didn’t everypony else come with us? I guess the magic got a little finicky near the end of the spell there, but I thought we had it…” she trailed off.

Chorus dropped to the ground. “We were so close,” he choked. His voice cracked as he spoke, evident of his declining mental state.

Twilight looked over to Chorus, observant of his distraught expression.

“Hey, we’re going to fix this,” she earnestly assured him. “We’re going to figure out what’s going on, and we’re all going to be together again. I promise.”

Chorus slumped over. He held back tears, desperate not to completely lose it.

“How can you be sure of that, Twilight? How do we know this isn’t another one of Effie’s tricks or traps? She’s bested us at every turn. She had me trapped for months. And now we’ve lost our friends, and we have no idea what’s going on. How can you promise me it’ll be okay?” he whimpered.

Twilight positioned herself next to Chorus, hoping to comfort him.

“Because I believe in us, Chorus. And I believe in our friends. Wherever everypony else is right now, I’m sure they’re masterminding their way out of their problems, and I know they’re probably trying to find us as well. They’re capable ponies, Chorus. And so are we. We will all be back together again before you know it!” she offered words of hope.

Chorus reluctantly smiled, his joy finding its way back into his face. He wiped his tears away and breathed deeply, putting his faith in himself and his friends. And with Twilight’s words of encouragement, his mind suddenly sparkled with an idea.

“I think I have something that can help us out,” he spoke.

He stood up and closed his eyes, preparing an impromptu song. His horn glowed with magic and music, and he opened his mouth to sing.

I miss you…
I know you miss me too
Send me a sign

Guide the way…
Make all of this okay
Now is the time
A small ball of a pale pink light exited Chorus’s horn, hovering in the air. Chorus gazed up at it in wonder, happy that his spell had produced something that could help them.

“What is it?” Twilight asked Chorus.

“I’m not sure,” Chorus admitted. “I’m hoping it’s some sort of guiding light. I’m hoping it’ll lead us to our friends.”

The light hovered silently in the air for a few more moments, and then swiftly began to move away from Chorus and Twilight. Intuitively, Chorus and Twilight began to follow the light. The glowing orb flew effortlessly through the beautiful city, its pulsing light illuminating the dark night.

It led them through back alleyways and hidden sidewalks, guiding them to an unknown destination. Twilight and Chorus began to slow their pace as the orb started to slow down. In an obscured alley, the orb floated closer and closer to an opening, but stopped right before. Chorus and Twilight stood right below it, still hidden by the walls of the alleyway. They watched as ponies passed by, some on hoof, and some in extravagant vehicles.

“Why did we stop here? I don’t see anything,” Chorus pondered aloud.

Twilight shrugged. Chorus scanned the road, looking for any sign of what the orb was leading them to. He didn’t scan for long before his eyes settled on the most obvious, illuminating clue as to what exactly was going on. A carriage rolled along the streets, a carriage very familiar to both Twilight and Chorus.

“Is that?...” Twilight gasped.

The carriage was unconventionally shaped, and remarkably pearlescent. Gold accents framed its smooth edges, outlining the unmistakably carrot shaped carriage.

“The carrot-age,” Chorus finished Twilight’s sentence.

As the famed carrot-age came to pass them, Chorus and Twilight caught a glimpse of the inside of the carriage, through its ornate window. Surely enough, Chorus, Prose, and Ginger Blush were seated inside, all dolled up and ready for their fateful night at the Grand Galloping Gala.

“Twilight, we definitely messed up that spell,” Chorus confirmed. “We… are in the past.”