“Now, if you’d please follow me over to this next piece,” the obnoxiously chipper tour guide starts, waving the crowd over to a colorful tapestry, “this is a recent addition to the museum depicting Princess Twilight Sparkle using the elements of harmony to combat a monstrous creature. While many recent pieces of art choose to depict a specific foe, the artist of this piece chose not to in the hopes that this shadowy figure could serve as a stand in for the multiple threats the Princess has saved us from in the past.”
 
Blah, blah, blah. Artistic use of color. Blah, blah, blah.
 
“It is thanks to Princess Twilight and her friends’ tireless efforts that we’ve been able to enjoy over two decades of peace without any major incidents.”
 
Over two decades, huh? Seems Celestia’s pet has proven herself useful. In any case, it seems like Equestria is long overdue for some chaos.
 
And I am more than happy to oblige.
 

 
And so it starts! Mwahahaha!
 
Ahem. Anyway, if you noticed the title you might have figured out that I’m trying to structure my NextGen stuff as if it were an actual show. Thus, the season/episode format. I know this is pretty different from other next gens (at least, from what I’ve seen), but I hope it’s not too jarring.
 
As for the actual picture, I liked the idea of starting off with the sort of tapestry artwork they did for Luna/Celestia from season 1. I thought it might be a cool way to do some exposition regarding the current state of my next gen world and then proceeded to not actually include much exposition in my little blurb. I am a genius. (Really, the exposition stuff felt forced and as I thought about it, I figured the important bits would come up later anyway). Still, if you want the basic rundown:
 
There has been no major threat in Equestria for about twenty years. The mane 6 still has to deal with the occasional monster, but they haven’t needed to unite to use the elements of harmony in a long time. This has given them plenty of time to pursue their own interests, settle down, and start their own families.
 
Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy live in Ponyville with their respective families.
 
Spike and Starlight Glimmer are married and live in the Crystal Empire. Spike does keep in touch with Twilight pretty regularly though.
 
Rainbow Dash lives in Canterlot with her husband, Prince Blueblood, and their three children.
 
Rarity spent the past several years living in Manehattan with her family but, as of the start of this story, moved back to Ponyville to be with her friends again.
 
And that should be about it. If you’re wondering about the POV, it’s my villain, Solar Eclipse. (It should be obvious once I connect this pic with the upcoming one)