Everypony remembers the vanish. Ever since that day, Equestria was never the same. The Everfree began to grow in size, engulfing the outskirts of the nearby hamlet of ponyville. Monster attacks became more and more frequent across the nation, from a hydra in Manehattan to packs of manticores in Las Pegasus.

But that was not the worst part.

The worst of it all was what occurred on the vanish. Six ponies, heroes to all the land, mysteriously disappeared one day. Nopony knew where they went, and their prayers of their return were unanswered.

But Celestia had a sneaking suspicion of their whereabouts, and the very idea terrified her.

Long ago, Celestia and Luna battled an ancient daemon. One with the power to corrupt the souls of those it touched. It created ruin throughout the land, turning ponies into bloodthirsty monsters and made the wildlife hostile beyond belief. It was truly a dark time.

Using the Elements of Harmony, the two sisters sealed away this beast in its very castle and claimed it as their own. This became known as the Castle of the Two Sisters.

The very last known location of her most precious heroes.

She tried everything in her power to save them. The royal guards marched down the streets of Ponyville on their expedition to the Everfree. Thier rescue attempt failed, never to be heard from again. The Wonderbolts searched high and low above the canopy of the forest, but even they couldn’t pierce the darkness enveloping it.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. The use of the dark arts.

Countless chickens and other livestock had been bled for the summoning circle, a massive series of runes on the floor of Celestia’s throne room. Her servants replicated the spell’s instructions to the T, and when it was time for the summoning to begin, Celestia herself cast the spell.

The spell was less of a summoning ritual, and more of a beacon. A cry for help across the multiverse, a prayer that some heroic figures would heed her call.

And they did.

“Thou shall be crush'd 'ere the light of judgement!” an armored man shouted, gripping a broadsword in one hand and holding up a scroll in the other. The scroll unraveled itself to reveal all kinds of holy sigils, glowing with righteous power.

Two robed, skeletal figures recoiled from the light, their bones burning from the holy magic. Inhuman screeches escaped their mouths as one of them turned to nothing more than dust, drifting down the hallway. The other robed figure roared as the light faded, splashing a strange, black liquid from its goblet on an overcoat-wearing man.

“AGH!” he spat as his skin developed small, dark boils where the liquid landed. “Reynauld!” he called to the armored man. “Smite the bastard for me, will ya?”

“That will not be needed, Caspar,” A female voice hissed, throwing a small ceramic ball at two giant blobs of slime and phlegm. The capsule burst into a sickly green smog, bits of the brown ceramic embedding into the gel. “The blight will take care of the gelatinus beasts. Leave the courtier to Pointel.” The torch revealed the woman in question, wearing black robes and a beaked, white mask.

On cue, a woman wearing a pointed hat tossed a dagger through the air, smashing into the skull of the skeletal advisor. The robed skeleton fell to the ground in a heap, leaving only the two slimes at the mercy of Reynauld.

“F’r glory and the Lord!” the crusader yelled, swinging his sword down and cutting through the gel like a flaming chainsaw would a snowman. As the first bundle of ectoplasm dropped, the second fired forth its gel at the crusader…

Only for the plague doctor to jump in front of him and make a small incision in the ectoplasmic beast, downing it instantly. Decimated. “Aye, Galilee!” the crusader laughed under his facemask as he went to collect the gold hidden inside of the ectoplasm. “Thy assistance is appreciat’d.”

Caspar grunted as one of his boils popped, sending blood splattering through the air. “This is hopeless…” He mumbled to himself, wiping his arm with his sleeve. “Shall I re-light the torch?”

“Nay,” Reynauld replied, squinting his eyes. “I can see a faint light just down the hall. Onwards, mine noble companions!”

The party pushed forward, unbroken by the encounter. It didn’t take long to reach the end of the hall, where instead of a door, a blinding light awaited the adventurers. “What is this…?” Pointel asked in shock, squinting her eyes from the bright light.

“...The Lord,” Reynauld walked forward, his arms outstretched. “This is… The light of the Lord, he beckons us forward!”

Before anyone could object, Reynauld stepped into the light, vanishing from view. “Reynauld, you madman!” Caspar cursed. “After him ladies, we can’t do it alone!”

The three ventured forth into the light, awaiting the unknown that lay in wait on the other side.

Falling was the first sensation Reynauld felt in the darkness of the void. He was falling down in pitch black, a darkness so overwhelming that he wasn’t certain if he hadn’t lost his eyesight entirely. He fell and fell, until finally, it stopped.

Vision returned to him as he looked up to see a colorful room, with a majestic white horse with wings and a horn sitting on a throne a good few feet away from him.

She gave a tired smile as he rose to his feet, soon flanked by his fellow adventurers. It worked. She could barely believe it, but the summoning ritual worked! “Greetings, stalwart heroes,” she spoke, a tear of joy escaping her eyelids. “You have come at a most dark time.”

“And who might you be?” Pointel crossed her arms, her pickaxe clattering to the ground besides her.

“Forgive me for my manners, or lack thereof,” the horse said. “My name is Princess Celestia. I am the ruler of this realm.” Upon hearing the word ‘princess’, Reynauld dropped to one knee, lowering his head.

“‘tis an honor to meet thou, thy majesty.” Caspar rolled his eyes at Reynauld, his hand hovering over his crude flintlock pistol.

“Gimme one good reason why I shouldn’t blow your brains out like every other monster I’ve met,” Caspar hissed, causing Celestia to recoil in shock.

“I am no monster, I can assure you that. I’m simply a ruler worried for her subjects.” Celestia regained her composure. “As I mentioned, you have come at a very dark time. Our heroes are missing, and ponies are losing faith.”

“Ponies?” Galilee mumbled to herself. “I might have to experime—” The words died in her throat as she noticed the glare of Caspar, seemingly staring into her soul.

“I have summoned you to find my little ponies, and save our world from darkness. Please… You’re our last hope.”

“And?” Caspar asked. “What’s in it for us?”

Celestia smiled. “Riches and glory beyond your imagination.”

The highwayman grinned. “Hear that? Looks like this’ll be better than exploring some dusty old ruins after all.” Next Chapter: The Everfree Estimated time remaining: 11 Minutes