Chroma

Another day dawned over the empire. Ages had passed since the Day of Unity, so many that both their exact count and their reference date had vanished from memory. The world had changed in the meantime. Mountains had become hills, valleys plains, and once blooming cities reduced to no more than slight hints in the landscape allowing only wild guesses at their past glory. Nature felt like any day before it, though there was obviously nopony who could have remembered how it was in the first place. A grey unicorn mare galloped across the countryside, in a place that would have been called Ponyville at earlier times. A small cave entrance drew her interest, and she ran into it.

The mare, named Starlight, had seen plenty of caves in her life as she had spent essentially all of it in hiding, trying to elude any would-be pursuers. This one felt different. It was not natural, there was an aura of magic lining the walls. Only a small way in, it opened up into a somewhat big space, containing nothing but a pedestal with a small orb on it. She approached it, finding that she could only lift it through the combined effort of her hooves and magic. It seemed featureless, save for a small button she discovered upon rotating it. Curious and hoping for what it might be, she pressed it, then dropped the orb and fell backwards out of surprise when it suddenly emitted a bright light.

When she had finally gotten her blonde mane out of her face, she saw a unicorn slowly rising into the air. Its light blue coat seemed to be naturally colored, yet it was clear to be an illusion without actual mass. After looking around for a moment, then spotting Starlight and focusing on her, the projection spoke with a young mare's voice, "Ah, hello. Do not be afraid. I wish you no harm. Rather, I would like to relay a message. If you're hearing this, it means there is still hope. Hope that you will avoid the same mistakes we made. I cannot imagine your shape, but this information is critical to you regardless."

"What do you mean? I don't understand!" Starlight asked, but it ignored her.

"We thought our society to be utopian, but it was far from it. Before long, the Changelings began to take their own mind, and rose up against the rest of us. We thought that we could stand the onslaught, but their secret numbers soon became overwhelming. Unknown to either of us however, an ancient power awoke at the same time. The Wendigos." The illusion briefly changed into a horrible, barely equine shape "When they came, everyone froze where they stood, often literally. We did everything we could. Our differences forgotten, we united to fight them, but it was not enough. We lived in harmony, but it didn't work. I only hope that the information contained within this capsule is enough to help you before it's too late. My name is Mirage Sparkle. Herein lies the recounting of our struggle and defeat with the Wendigos. You must follow its teachings before it all repeats."

It faded out. Starlight could not say she understood or even was particularly interested. Anything that did not help her and her allies in their fight was irrelevant. A stone caming falling in behind her, then closeby shouting. They had followed her to the cave. She picked up the device again. It wasn't too heavy to toss or wield. Perhaps, if she could manage an ambush...

Moments before she pounced, a filly's voice behind her absently said, "The cycle continues," before its point of origin vanished. Starlight didn't hear it. She was too focused on her combat stance.