It was supposed to end now—but instead, everything had gone horribly wrong. Twilight and her friends arrived at the heart of Ponyville, only to freeze in horror at the sight before them. Everypony had been captured, confined within cages formed by shimmering energy bars that prevented even the slightest contact with the outside. Their bodies were bound by strange devices that rendered them helpless—magic suppressed, wings immobilized, and even the strongest among them stripped of their strength.
The Mane Six stood in silence. Shock and fury warred within them, leaving their expressions blank and hollow. The scene felt profoundly wrong, unnaturally so, made even more disturbing by the presence of armored ponies—traitors—who had inexplicably allied themselves with the invaders.
"This ends now," Twilight declared, her voice trembling with barely restrained anger.
One of the captains turned sharply, his gaze locking onto them. "Balaten var six ten-equi!"
Without another word, the Elements activated. The six rose gently into the air, suspended within a halo of prismatic light. Their manes and tails flowed as though caught in an unseen wind, their eyes blazing with pure white radiance. Streams of colored energy spiraled outward, intertwining into a brilliant, rotating helix of harmony. The energy converged into a single, focused beam—a torrent of rainbow light—instinctively targeting the primary vessel looming among the warships above.
But something was wrong.
Twilight felt it first—a disturbance in her mind. Not pain, but something far worse: an intrusive, tingling disruption that clawed at her focus. Her friends felt it too. The Elements… were being interfered with. Their wavelength distorted. Their unity fractured.
The beam wavered.
Instead of striking the mastermind behind the invasion, the torrent veered off course—redirected toward the one being who might have restored balance.
—
At Fluttershy's cottage, Discord lounged lazily atop a pile of defeated invaders, their bodies twisted into absurd geometric shapes or frozen mid-motion. Around him, Fluttershy's animals watched with a mixture of confusion and unease.
"Please, do stop struggling. It doesn't even hurt," Discord remarked with amused indifference, sipping tea as though this were all a trivial inconvenience.
Then he felt it.
A familiar energy.
He glanced upward just in time to see the incoming rainbow torrent. "Welp, looks like I'm out of the game. Too bad I didn't get to howl at the m—"
The beam struck.
In an instant, Discord was petrified—turned to stone for the third time. The animals erupted into panicked cries as the statue stood where chaos once lived. With the chaotic magic nullified, the distorted invaders reverted to normal, regaining their forms. The creatures scattered, fleeing in fear.
The Spirit of Chaos had been neutralized.
Just as the mastermind intended.
—
Back in Ponyville, the Mane Six fell from the air, collapsing onto the ground with pained groans. Realization struck harder than any blow—they had failed. The invaders closed in, surrounding them with weapons raised. Devices were clamped onto Twilight and Rainbow Dash, suppressing their abilities entirely. Nearby, Fluttershy struggled to hold back tears, her gaze fixed on the distant memory of Discord's fall.
"No… this can't be…" Twilight whispered, her voice hollow with disbelief.
"Get these things off me!" Rainbow Dash struggled fiercely against the soldiers, desperately trying to remove the device binding her wings—until a stun lancer struck her. Electricity surged through her body, and she collapsed with a cry of pain.
"Now, now! No need to be so rough, fellas!" Applejack protested, her voice strained as she wobbled, her hind legs bound by heavy restraints. She tried to shake them off, but the effort only made her stagger.
Rarity recoiled in disgust at the device affixed to her horn. "Must you brutes be so uncivilized? Is it truly beyond you to treat a lady with even the slightest courtesy?" Her complaint was answered with a harsh shove that sent her to the ground.
Spike reacted instantly, leaping toward the soldier who had pushed her—but he was easily overpowered, pinned down without effort. Unlike the others, he wasn't even deemed worthy of a restraining device.
"Spike! Don't you dare touch him!" Twilight cried out, panic breaking through her composure as the captain approached.
The captain loomed over them as his soldiers forced the group to stand. His gaze lingered on the jewelry they wore—the Elements. Recognizing their significance, he reached forward and removed Twilight's crown. At his command, the soldiers stripped the others of their respective elements.
"Morvak thres xal-ten va Val-Ullar!" he ordered.
Two armored pegasi took the Elements and soared into the sky without hesitation.
"No!" Twilight screamed, her voice breaking as she watched them disappear.
Though the Elements were more than mere objects—though each of them embodied their virtues—the artifacts still held immense power. Power that could shape Equestria itself. The thought of that power falling into the wrong hands filled her with dread. But it was already too late. The pegasi were gone.
The Mane Six were herded forward, forced into a line. One soldier dragged the unconscious Rainbow Dash along without care.
"Calm down, Twi! We'll think of something! Ow!" Applejack winced as a stun lance struck her for lagging behind. Though she managed to endure it, the pain was unmistakable.
"Yeah! We always beat the bad guys! That's just what we do! We'll win in no time—like, for the hundredth time!" Pinkie Pie chimed in, forcing a grin—until it faltered. "Though… it's kind of a bummer I have to postpone the beach party."
"I don't know if we're winning this time, Pinkie…" Fluttershy said softly, her voice trembling. "The Elements didn't work… Discord is gone… and we don't even know what happened to the princesses. My animal friends… they're all alone now. They'll be terrified…"
"They'll be fine. We'll be fine, Fluttershy," Rarity insisted, though her confidence wavered. She turned to Twilight, searching for reassurance. "Twilight always has a plan. Don't you, dear?"
Twilight hesitated.
"I… I don't know what to do," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "Every villain we've faced… we always found a way. But this… I don't understand it. I don't know how to stop it."
Her gaze fell to the ground, her spirit faltering as the reality of their situation set in. Ponyville had fallen—overrun by invaders, strange creatures, and traitors alike.
"Is this a nightmare?" she murmured. "If it is… why hasn't Luna ended it?"
Her friends exchanged worried glances, their unease growing with every step they were forced to take—save for Pinkie Pie, who continued to bounce slightly despite everything.
"Ooh! Do it again!" she chirped enthusiastically whenever they were shoved forward.
Just as they were about to be forced into a cell, a wooden, orb-like object was hurled toward the soldiers. It struck the ground and erupted into a cloud of dense smoke, instantly obscuring the invaders' vision and throwing their formation into disarray. Within the confusion, a figure moved swiftly through the haze—precise, silent. One by one, the soldiers who had been herding the Mane Six were struck down, rendered unconscious before they could even react.
Twilight coughed, struggling against the smoke as her eyes strained to make out the silhouette emerging within it. Recognition dawned upon her. "Zecora?"
"Quickly run, waste not your breath. Meet me in my home, or risk your death!" Zecora urged as she darted through the smoke, her form vanishing beyond its cover.
As the invaders began to recover from the sudden ambush, the Mane Six and Spike wasted no time, following Zecora as swiftly as they could—though their movements were clumsy and hindered, their natural abilities suppressed by the restraining devices.
"Mor balaten!" the captain barked, ordering his soldiers to pursue the fleeing ponies.
Their advance, however, was disrupted. Several ponies—only partially restrained—rose in defiance, hurling whatever they could grasp: stones, debris, anything within reach. Though stripped of their magic and strength, they fought with desperation, creating just enough chaos to slow the invaders' pursuit. It bought the Mane Six precious time to escape, though not without consequence, as the soldiers had tightened their restraints more harshly during the struggle.
—
Deep within the Everfree Forest, inside Zecora's home, the group finally found a moment to catch their breath. The hut was nearly bare; most of its contents had already been packed away. Zecora, having sensed danger the moment the anomalies appeared in the sky, had prepared to leave before anypony else could react. She lingered briefly outside, scanning the forest to ensure they were not followed—but given the strange and advanced weapons the invaders possessed, discovery felt inevitable.
"I… can't… get… this… off!" Rainbow Dash growled through clenched teeth, violently shaking her body and slamming herself against the walls in a desperate attempt to dislodge the device restraining her wings. It refused to budge. Once the fastest flier in all of Equestria, she now found herself grounded—reduced, as she bitterly realized, to something no different from an earth pony.
"Yes, well, the contraption affixed to my horn is utterly dreadful," Rarity remarked, lowering herself gracefully despite her discomfort. "Yet without access to my magic, removing it is quite impossible. And I refuse to resort to such… undignified thrashing."
Rainbow shot her an irritated look. "Hey! At least I'm trying to get it off! We're completely defenseless here!"
"At least you two only have your wings and horns restrained," Applejack interjected, gesturing toward her bound legs. "Pinkie and I have both our front and back hooves cuffed. We can barely walk, let alone use our strength!"
"Yeah! But look what I can do! Wheeeeee!" Pinkie Pie chirped, somehow managing to perform a series of erratic acrobatic movements despite her restraints. The display ended with her body twisted into a pretzel-like position, her face beaming. "Oops! Now I can't move! Yeepee!" she added cheerfully, rolling across the floor.
"Well… I suppose I can manage without flying," Fluttershy said softly, though her voice was laced with worry. "But I need to return to my cottage. My animal friends need me." She made to leave, only to be stopped by Twilight.
"You can't," Twilight said weakly, her tone devoid of its usual certainty. "Those things are still out there. Your animal friends will be fine, Fluttershy. It seems… they're only interested in us."
She sank to the floor, her expression hollow, her spirit visibly faltering.
"You alright, Twi?" Applejack asked, carefully making her way toward her despite the difficulty of walking. She stumbled slightly before regaining her balance and continuing more slowly. "I've seen you down before, but… never like this. Don't tell me it's because the Elements failed."
Twilight nodded faintly. "I can't believe we failed. This invasion… it should have been stopped by now. But instead…" Her voice faltered as she gestured weakly. "I thought the Elements of Harmony would fix everything. I thought they always would. But I was wrong. And now… they have them."
"There's no need to worry too much, Twilight," Rarity said, attempting to reassure her while idly scratching at the irritating device on her horn. "I highly doubt those brutes possess the refinement—or the virtue—to activate the Elements' power. Their actions are far too vile."
"Do not dismiss their threat so small, for from beyond this world they crawl. Their tools and arms are far refined, beyond the craft of ponykind." Zecora entered, carrying a simple brew—the only thing she had left unpacked—and offered it to Twilight. "A troubling thought now clouds my sight: they watch the Elements' guiding light. Should they uncover what they mean, great power forged from what has been."
"But what are we supposed to do, Zecora?" Twilight asked, her voice heavy with despair. "The Elements failed—and now they're gone. Discord has been turned to stone because of us. We don't even know what's happened to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. And we can't even use our abilities because of these… things." Her voice trailed off, her strength and resolve slipping away.
Seeing her like this, her friends exchanged glances before moving closer, embracing her in a shared, silent comfort. The weight of their failure hung heavily among them, binding them together in mutual guilt and helplessness. They said nothing, each lost in their own thoughts, while the distant hum of aircraft echoed faintly through the forest.
Like Twilight, none of them knew what to do.
Twilight offered a faint smile, a single tear slipping from her right eye as a small sense of comfort returned to her. "Thank you, everyone."
"I know not how to answer you, dear Twilight Sparkle, wise and true. But you and yours will find a way—you always have, come what may." Zecora gently placed a hoof upon Twilight's shoulder. "Yet this time, do not stand alone; these alien foes have strength well shown. They'll spread their grasp from town to town, and will not lay their conquest down. So here in Ponyville we shall stand, and drive them back from our fair land. Though weeks it takes, or longer still, we shall resist them by our will."
"Why do I feel like I've heard something like that before…?" Twilight murmured under her breath. Then she rose to her hooves, her earlier despair giving way to renewed determination—familiar, unwavering. "I don't know how we're going to defeat them without our powers, but that doesn't mean we should give up. We will save Equestria once more, even if it takes us forever. We can't allow those invaders to continue doing whatever they please."
"That's the spirit, Twilight!" Applejack declared with a firm nod. "I don't know how we're gonna pull it off either, but we'll kick those invaders clean outta Equestria if it's the last thing we ever do, ya hear?"
"We're with you, Twilight! Forever!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed proudly, even as she continued struggling to shake off the device restraining her wings.
"Forever! And then we'll throw a beach party ten times bigger than I originally planned—a victory celebration against those aliens that definitely came from another universe, and this is totally an intended crossover by some major property we just don't know yet!" Pinkie Pie shouted enthusiastically, leaving her friends exchanging puzzled glances at the latter half of her statement.
"It will be quite challenging to design attire for any ponies who may join this… resistance without the aid of magic," Rarity mused thoughtfully. "However, it is far from impossible. I can simply adapt—learn to stitch and sew as an earth pony would. Practicality need not come at the expense of elegance."
"I just hope my animal friends are all right…" Fluttershy said softly, her worry lingering before she steadied herself. "No, they will be. All animals—and every creature—will be safe once those awful invaders are gone." She nodded to herself, quietly gathering the courage to fight despite her aversion to conflict.
Twilight stepped outside Zecora's home, her gaze lifting toward the massive armada looming across the sky. Questions flooded her mind—countless uncertainties pressing in—but she knew she would find no answers by remaining paralyzed in fear. She had to act. She had to uncover the truth: who these human invaders were, why some ponies had chosen to aid them, and how they could be driven out. She believed in friendship above all else—but these invaders were nothing like the changelings. Whatever their ultimate goal, one truth remained undeniable: they had subjugated not only Equestria, but all of Equis.
"I hope you're both safe… Princess Celestia, Princess Luna," Twilight whispered softly. "We can't lose you." Though a quiet, gnawing dread lingered within her—an unspoken fear that something terrible might have already happened—she forced herself to believe otherwise. If they were in danger, then they would endure.
They had to.
—
Canterlot
Within the capital of Equestria, the pegasi royal guards had been utterly overwhelmed—defeated and humiliated by the invaders, unable to fulfill their sacred duty of protecting the princesses. Deep within the palace, the Solar and Lunar princesses were imprisoned inside a heavily fortified cell designed specifically to contain beings of their immense power. Numerous restrictive devices had been affixed to their bodies, far more advanced and oppressive than those used on any other captive, suppressing their godlike abilities entirely.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had not anticipated such an ambush. Never before had any foe managed to take them by surprise—save for Discord himself. Now, they found themselves completely immobilized, their bodies rendered motionless as though paralyzed. Only their eyes and voices remained under their control.
"You are making a grave mistake!" Princess Luna declared, her voice sharp with fury. "You will face our wrath once we break free of these chains!"
The invaders offered no response. They stood unmoving, emotionless, as though her warning held no meaning. A hulking creature approached their cell, letting out a low, menacing roar—an unspoken threat demanding silence.
"Calm yourself, sister. We must not act rashly," Princess Celestia said, her tone composed despite the discomfort of her restraint. "We cannot allow our enemies to see our desperation."
"Then what are we to do, sister?" Luna pressed, her frustration barely contained. "You felt it as well—that invasive presence within our minds. It is not magic… it is something else entirely." Her voice faltered, betraying a rare note of helplessness. "And… we both sensed it. The Elements of Harmony… they failed. I fear the worst may have befallen Princess Twilight and her friends."
"I know," Celestia replied solemnly. "Something interfered with the Elements, redirecting their power… and turning Discord to stone instead. Even our most chaotic ally has been silenced." She strained slightly against the devices, a quiet groan escaping her as they refused to yield. "But we must hold onto hope—hope that Twilight and the others will find a way to prevail, no matter the cost, and save Equestria."
A soft, unsettling laughter echoed through the throne room.
At once, the invaders dropped to one knee. The air itself began to distort as crackling psionic energy tore through space, folding reality inward with a sharp, unnatural ripple. From the breach, an enigmatic figure emerged in a flash of violet light, embers drifting in his wake.
"Princesses," the figure greeted, his voice laced with distorted echoey, cold, calculated malice. "What a pleasure it is to meet you. It is not every day I encounter fellow gods from another plane of existence."
"Who are you, invader?!" Princess Luna demanded. Her agitation caused the restraining devices to tighten, forcing her to steady herself as the pressure intensified.
With his hands clasped behind his back, the figure advanced slowly toward the sisters. He lowered his head slightly, meeting their gaze with unsettling calm.
"I am an ancient being, much like my brethren," he began. "I possess power beyond your comprehension—power that may very well rival your own so-called 'magic'."
To demonstrate, he extended a hand, releasing a surge of psionic energy that invaded their minds. Instantly, both Celestia and Luna were seized by excruciating mental agony, a force that felt alien, invasive—violating.
"However," he continued, his tone almost conversational, "my kind has grown… 'diminished'. We sought new vessels, and thus, you see me as I am now. We have been called by many names—among them, Ethereals. But most know us as Elders." His gaze sharpened. "And I… am the last of them."
As the so-called Last Elder withdrew his psionic hold, the princesses gasped sharply, their breaths uneven as sweat beaded along their forms. The sensation lingered—an echo of violation that left them shaken in a way they had never experienced before.
Their composure faltered, their regal poise threatening to collapse beneath the weight of what they had endured, replaced by something far more primal—anger, and an uncharacteristic vulnerability.
"It was you—we felt your presence invading our minds earlier! You were the one who disrupted the Elements of Harmony and redirected them toward Discord!" Princess Celestia cried, struggling to maintain her composure.
The effort was futile; her thoughts churned uncontrollably under the lingering effects of the psionic assault, unable to be calmed or dispelled with her magic, which remained suppressed by the wretched device affixed to her horn.
"That draconequus was the only variable beyond my control," the Last Elder replied calmly. "For a year, I have studied the structure of your world—its magic, its inhabitants. I learned how to subjugate and restrain ponies such as yourselves, regardless of your power. Yet that creature… he was an anomaly. I required a method to eliminate him."
With a subtle motion, he called upon six artifacts that was delivered to him earlier—the Elements of Harmony—hovering around him, suspended in a slow orbit by his psionic energy.
"Once I acquired sufficient knowledge of how you and those other ponies defeated the draconequus, the solution became clear. All I needed to do was manipulate the naive princess into using the physical manifestations of the Elements." His expression remained cold, almost detached. "And it worked."
"You monster!" Princess Luna shouted, her fury surging as she strained against her restraints, only to fail once more.
"I have faced a monster far more terrifying than any of us," the Last Elder murmured under his breath, a remark subtle yet unmistakable—one that both princesses caught. "Nonetheless, that man is not here, and he will never be. I will continue to study this world… to incorporate its magic into my being. Only then will I achieve the perfection my brethren could not. These Elements of Harmony are merely the beginning."
"You will never be able to wield those artifacts!" Princess Celestia declared, her voice sharp with defiance. "You understand nothing of harmony—nothing of friendship!" Her eyes burned with restrained fury, her thoughts still unsettled by the invasive psionic force.
"No," he admitted without hesitation. "But I will find a way. We alwa—" he paused briefly, correcting himself, "—I always do." His gaze shifted toward the ADVENT Captain. "Take them to my strongholds. They are never to see the light of day—or night—again."
He turned away, preparing to depart, violet energy beginning to gather around him.
"You will not escape this!" Princess Luna called out, her voice cutting through the chamber. "You will be stopped! If not by Princess Twilight and her friends, then by the monster you fear so greatly!"
The Last Elder halted mid-step. The psionic energy surrounding him flickered, faltering for the briefest moment.
"Do not cling to false hope," he said coldly, though his tone carried the faintest edge. "He will never discover this place. And those six naive ponies… will soon be integrated into New ADVENT, making it stronger than it was before."
With that, he vanished in a flash of light, though his composure masked the subtle tension in his clenched hand.
At the captain's command, the soldiers began to move the reinforced cell, pushing it toward the palace balcony where a transport awaited. As the machinery clanked into motion, Princess Luna felt something within her shift—not despair, but something far more fragile.
Hope.
She turned her gaze to Celestia. "As you said, sister… we must remain hopeful. And now… I truly am."
"Because of that 'monster' the Last Elder mentioned?" Celestia asked, uncertainty lacing her voice. "Do you truly believe such a being could become our salvation… if Twilight and her friends fail?"
"We must," Luna replied firmly. "The name 'New ADVENT' implies there was once an old one. And when he spoke of that creature, I sensed fear—however slight. That alone suggests this 'monster' may possess the power to oppose him. Perhaps even to save Equestria."
She paused briefly before continuing, her voice softening.
"And perhaps… they will not stand alone. Perhaps this being will stand beside Princess Twilight and her friends in the battle to come."
Celestia exhaled quietly, her expression thoughtful. "I hope you are right, sister."
The cells were dragged onto the balcony just as two transport ships descended from the sky. Mechanical grapples secured the containment units, lifting them into place. As the ships began to rise, they diverged—each carrying one of the sisters in opposite directions.
For a fleeting moment, their eyes met. A final, silent exchange.
Then they were gone from each other's sight.
"Good luck, Twilight," Celestia whispered to herself. "This is a threat unlike any you and your friends have ever faced." Her voice softened further, touched by quiet resolve. "And perhaps… you will not face it alone. I choose to believe, as Luna does, that whoever this 'monster' is… may yet become the key to our victory."