Hold Your Horses: A My Little Pony Story

“Are you sure one of these books is gonna save us?” Chorus cynically protested as Twilight went to grab another book off of the shelf. Twilight and Chorus had been in the Library of Magic for a while, desperately trying to find a spell in one of the spellbooks that could send them back home. Past Twilight and Past Prose had already made their visit, so Chorus and Twilight were free to search as they pleased.

“Yes, Chorus,” Twilight assured. “If any library has a spell that can save us, it’s this one. Unless you have another idea.”

Chorus silently bit his lip. He didn’t have another idea. Twilight gasped as a certain book caught her attention.

“Time, Space, and Magic! Of course! I can’t believe I didn’t think of this one sooner.”

Twilight pulled the book off the shelf and began to flip through its pages, intently scanning each one for a spell that could send them home. Chorus watched over her shoulder as she searched. Both she and Chorus began to grow less and less hopeful as each page seemed to be of no use. Their situation was too specific. It would seem nopony in history had been in their horseshoes. As she flipped the last page over, she was met with the back of the book.

But what was surprising, was that the back of the book, usually completely blank, was scrawled with a message and one final spell.

If any of my friends in the future are seeing this, this is the spell you’re looking for. -Prose
Twilight’s jaw dropped.

“Prose!” she pointed out. “She must’ve been sent to the past!”

Twilight began to read the spell, and she recognized the atrocious hornwriting.

“This is Starswirl the Bearded’s hornwriting! Prose was sent to the time of Starswirl the Bearded! Prose met Starswirl the Bearded! I’m so jealous,” Twilight rambled.

Twilight read over the spell, analyzing it in its full capacity. This was certainly the right spell, but it brought forth a wave of concern.

“Chorus, I can’t perform this spell,” Twilight stated.

Chorus backed up in surprise and concern.

“What do you mean? You can’t perform the only spell that can save all of us?”

Twilight set down the book in disappointment.

“I wish I could, but it would take an immense amount of magical energy,” Twilight explained.

“You’re an alicorn, Twilight! If anypony has the magical capacity for this spell, it’s you!” Chorus encouraged.

“Chorus, I know the capacity of my magic. This spell would require three of me in order to work. This magic is too powerful for even me.”

“What if I helped you?” Chorus immediately offered.

Twilight sighed. “You’re an incredibly powerful unicorn, Chorus, but we’d need even more than that.”

Chorus pondered again for a moment. Suddenly, he remembered where and when he was. An idea was formed.

“What if I helped you… twice?” Chorus proposed.

Twilight gave Chorus a confused, but intrigued face.

“Tonight is the night I perform the most powerful spell I’ve ever performed. If you can harness the energy from that spell, would that be enough energy?”

Twilight’s eyes widened with realization and hope.

“I think… that would!” she cheered.

Chorus and Twilight stood in smiley celebration for a few brief moments. Chorus stopped smiling at the sudden thought of their immediate urgency.

“We have to get back to the gala before Past Chorus starts the spell!” he yelped.

Chorus and Twilight reached the event hall quickly after sprinting through the streets of Canterlot. Twilight motioned for Chorus to keep quiet as they sneaked around.

“I know a back entrance that should be covert enough for us to slip through. We should head to the roof for the spell, I can reach your spell from there. We can’t have anypony see doubles of us tonight. We don’t know what kind of effect that might cause.”

Chorus nodded in silent solidarity, ready to follow Twilight to the roof. Twilight led Chorus around the event hall, sneaking past greenery and beautiful stone structures, being as sneaky as possible. As they reached the back entrance, they halted to a stop. Twilight creaked open the door to make sure nopony was on the other side. It was all clear.

Twilight opened the door and ushered Chorus inside. They were almost home free. They would’ve been completely in the clear if a very familiar pony didn’t abruptly come bouncing into view. Chorus and Twilight stood completely still, petrified, as Pinkie Pie caught sight of them.

“Chorus? Twilight? I thought I just saw you ponies out there! Why are you back here? And why did you get out of your outfits? And what’s going on?” Pinkie interrogated.

Chorus and Twilight looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Twilight shrugged in defeat, leaving Chorus to handle his friend. Chorus stepped closer to Pinkie, trying to seem as normal as possible.

“Hi, Pinkie!... Twilight and I were just…” Chorus looked back to Twilight, completely blanking on what he could lie about in the moment. He looked back at Pinkie, who was eagerly awaiting his response.

“We came from the future!” he blurted out. Twilight slapped her hoof to her forehead.

Pinkie jumped up and down with excitement.

“The FUTURE?! Do we have flying carriages in the future? Is the-”

Chorus held his hoof over Pinkie’s mouth, silencing her for a moment.

“Shhh, Pinkie. We’re here on super important future business. You can’t tell anypony you ever saw us.”

Pinkie’s mane deflated like a balloon.

“Anypony?” she questioned.

“Anypony,” Chorus confirmed.

Pinkie Pie looked very sad, but then perked up as she thought of an opportunity she could grasp.

“Is there anything I can do to help you with your super important future business?” she asked, hopeful.

“As a matter of fact, there is!” Chorus realized. “Can you make sure nopony goes onto the roof? We’re conducting our business up there, and we cannot be interrupted.”

Pinkie opened the door to a nearby closet and pulled out a comically fake pair of glasses, with a comically fake mustache to match. She had even somehow secured a server pony uniform.

“I won’t let you down, Future Chorus,” she promised.

Pinkie bounded away, dedicated to her mission.

Chorus turned back to Twilight and shrugged. Twilight shrugged back and opened a nearby door labeled Roof Access. Chorus followed Twilight into the door, and then up the stairs that lead to the roof.

The cold night air washed over the ponies as they arrived on the roof of the event hall. Chorus followed Twilight to the section of the roof that they needed to be on top of, the section above the stage.

“Are you ready?” Twilight asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Chorus responded.

Twilight read Chorus’s expression.

“Are you sure?” she pried.

Chorus sighed in confession.

“What if this doesn’t work? When will we ever come upon another circumstance this lucky? What if we really are trapped in the past?”

Twilight looked up at the stars.

“If this doesn’t work, then we’ll find another way. Chorus, I promise you we will see our friends again.”

Chorus looked up at the same stars.

“I miss them, Twilight,” he spoke.

“I miss them too.”

The ponies stargazed for a moment, admiring the beauty of the night. They knew that somewhere throughout time, their friends were looking up at that very same sky. And they were more than ready to bring them all back together.

Interrupting their peace, the screams of frightened ponies sounded out below them. Sombra had arrived.

Twilight and Chorus looked down at the roof below their hooves. They listened for the sounds of music. Soon, they heard it. Their past selves had begun their triumphant ballad. They could hear the resonant melody pounding through the roof.

“It’s now or never,” Twilight stated.

Twilight planted her hooves firmly on the roof, preparing herself for the incredible spell she was about to attempt. The spell echoed in her mind like a siren, clear as day. She concentrated hard, and began to focus her magic into reality. A beam of pink light exploded out of her horn, straight up into the night sky.

Chorus took this as his cue, and quickly struck a beam of his magic into Twilight’s. The power felt unbearable. Chorus faltered, almost losing his balance. He planted his hooves onto the roof, holding himself in place, straining against the power of the spell.

Twilight metaphysically reached below herself, into the gala, into Past Chorus’s past spell. She called upon its magic energy, intertwining it with her own. The song-spell felt like rocket fuel. The power of the collective magic became immeasurable. Chorus and Twilight began to hover above the roof, levitating into the air, carried by the spell’s magical energy. A light began to glow around them, encasing them in an orb of blinding luminescence. Chorus and Twilight felt themselves disappear from Canterlot, whisked off to wherever the spell was taking them.

The light instantly dissipated and the roof of the event hall returned to emptiness, like they were never even there.