A young pony with a red coat and golden mane trotted between the window and front door of her small cottage, glancing quickly out of each before turning back to face the gathering of friends with a smile. Her name was Morning Star, and it just so happened that it was her birthday.

"Are you sure she's coming, Star?" A brown-eyed, green earth pony with a rose for a cutie mark squeaked, tilting her head. She was small and slight for her age, except for her massive, meterstick-straight yellow mane. "Vanhoover is really far away..."

"I am sure, Harmony Rose. She would have sent a note if she could not make it!" Morning Star again poked her head out the front door, looking about excitedly. She returned with a shrug and took her spot at the small chestnut table her friends were gathered around.

"How does your friend send you these notes, anyway? Is she a dragon?" Another of Star's friends asked, propping her head up with a hoof. She was a purple pegasus with a cerise mane twirled into a pair of loose ponytails. "I haven't ever met a dragon before. Except, you know, Princess Twilight's dragon, but I've never really MET one. You know? That'd be like, so cool."

Morning giggled. "She could be a dragon, Wishful Mind, but 'Diamond Dust' sounds more like a pony's name, yes?" She nodded and pulled the latest note from her pen-pal up to her face. She unfurled it with her magic and scanned it for the right section. "...We can meet up on your birthday, Star. Something totally excellent will happen, so look forward to it!" Reading the passage again, Star's smile widened and she rocked from side to side.

"Does it say when she's coming? I wanna see this 'totally excellent' thing!" Harmony said as Morning's excitement started to rub off onto her, a grin replacing the hesitant frown from before.

"I," - Morning skimmed the rest of the note, flipping it over and back - "I don't think it does."

Just then, a sharp rapping sound came from the front door. "It's her!" Morning exclaimed, leaping up and dashing to the door. Her note fluttered down slowly, landing on the table and curling back up. As Morning whipped the door open with her magic, a mustachioed mailpony greeted her.

"Package for one 'Morning Star'!" He said, holding up a plain-looking brown box  and a clipboard. "Just need a signature."

"Oh? I was not expecting a package... but thank you!" Morning took the box, signed her name and quickly returned to the table, almost forgetting to close the door.

"What is it?" Wishful asked, flapping up into the air and inspecting it from above. "Who's it from? Come on, Star, open it!"

"Okay, okay! Give me a moment!" Morning placed the box on the table, spinning it about to find a tag on its side, marked with a tiny scrawl. "...To Morning Star, from your friend, Diamond Dust." All three ponies gasped. After a moment of mumbling and chatter, Morning looked to her friends.

"...Should I open it? Or should I wait for Diamond to arrive?" As Morning spoke, a blue shimmer of light shown over her table, and with a soft puff of white smoke, a rolled-up scroll of parchment appeared. "Another note!" She said, snatching it with her telekinesis magic and opening it with haste. Her eyes leapt to the text, and she began to read aloud.

"Dear Morning Star," she started. "Happy birthday!!! I hope you, Harmony and Wishful are having a blast today! I will be along to see all of you a little later, once you open the package! It is the beginning of something really excellent, I promise!" Morning let loose a squeal and flipped the lid from the box, almost expecting her friend to leap from within. When she peeked inside, however, she merely tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

"Well?" Harmony said, leaning forward over the table. "What's in the box?"

Morning's horn began to glimmer with her magic, and a disc of metal with a hole in the center rose from the box. "I do not know," she said, looking into the distorted reflection it cast of her.

"It's... it reminds me of one of the DJ's records, but a lot smaller." Wishful said, glancing at the disc's faces. "Hey, there's something on the other side!"

Morning flipped the disc over, revealing a side painted dark grey decorated only by the word 'Cycle'.

"Cycle...?" she mumbled, looking to her friends. Wishful shrugged, landing next to Morning and poking her head into the box.

"Nothing else in there... maybe it's like a mini-record?" She propounded. "I don't have anything that could play it, though. Do you, Star?"

"I do not," Morning said, placing the disc gently on the table. "I am confused - what are we supposed to do with it?"

Just then, another shimmer of light and a puff of smoke heralded another note's appearance. Unlike the previous, it was not rolled up, nor as neatly written. Morning glanced over it and began reading.

"Bucking sun-butt, I-" Morning started, then quickly glanced to her friends with a blush. "Sorry! That is what the letter says!" she apologized while Wishful and Harmony giggled.

"Okay, okay. What's the rest say?" Wishful said, putting a hoof over Harmony's muzzle, quieting her laughter. Morning cleared her throat and tried again.

"By Celestia, I forgot to tell you how this thing works. It's actually really easy! Put it on something flat - like your table - and spin it. The magic will do the rest! See you soon!!" Morning looked briefly to her friends again, then back to the note. "That is what it says..."

"So... we spin it?" Harmony questioned, poking towards the disc with a hoof.

"I guess so." Wishful looked on, curious. "You should do it, Star. It's your gift! Let's see what it does!"

Morning shrugged, putting the notes into the box and setting them aside. "Here it goes," she said, the disc glowing with her magic and slowly rotating. After a moment of nothing, she pushed harder with her magic, and it began to spin in earnest. A flicker of light streamed from the center, and the disc rose from the table, gaining momentum and shedding the color of Morning's spell as it did. The ponies each backed up, and Wishful Mind and Harmony Rose moved to Morning Star's side.

"What's it doing now?" Harmony said as the disc altered its orientation. The face which read 'Cycle' was now facing the ponies, and a golden light shown around the rim.

"It must be the magic Diamond spoke of," Morning said. "What else will it do, though?"

As if reacting to her question, the circle of golden light began to expand, and a void grew within the circle, eclipsing the spinning disc. It was then that Morning felt the slightest tug on her body, compelling her to approach the circle. The tug soon grew into a great wind, pulling Morning Star closer to the ring. She let out a yelp and dug her hooves into the floor, though it yielded no resistance to the pull.

"Star?!" Wishful shouted, flying up and grasping at her friend. Though she found purchase, her wings could not fight the gravity of the circle's pull. "Harmony! Help!"

Immediately she leapt up and grabbed at Morning's legs, pulling hard against the force - though she, like Wishful, could barely halt her friend.

A moment later, the three were wrenched from the ground with a scream and sucked inside the circle. The golden rim broke apart like shattering glass, and the black void collapsed upon itself - leaving nothing behind at all. Next Chapter: In a Foreign Land Estimated time remaining: 7 Minutes