Where once the deer had risen up in rage around Jackie, fighting even as they died by the thousands—the death of Ankaa brought a near-instantaneous end. She listened to the veritable stampede of animals away from her, entire tents trampled as they fled.
There were many other warriors in many other camps, and it would take a long time for news of her victory to spread. But these at least would be fighting no longer. They didn’t know yet, but if they ran far enough, their children would thank her.
In moments, the camp was deserted, with only the dead or trampled remaining behind. Jackie let the weapon fall to the ground at her feet, clattering motionless against the dirt beside Ankaa’s lifeless body.
“We did it,” Misty said, hovering near her shoulder. She was small again, apparently relieved to be at a more comfortable size. “Now… Meliora is safe?”
“Safe enough,” Jackie said. “For long enough to escape, we hope. We should… find somewhere to watch. Those bats don’t need me anymore, they can figure it out. But I’d like to see how it goes.”
“I know somewhere we can go,” Misty suggested. “There’s a big hill… looks down from high enough to see City Hall. I’ll show you.”
It was a short flight over to the hill where Jackie watched her world burn.
It had been occupied once, though only the foundation and a single low wall emerged from the sea of sparse grass. Jackie brushed off a nice patch of stone, clearing somewhere for her to sit as the world burned far away. Life or death, victory or defeat, Meliora would be on its own now. The reign of its first and last bat princess had come to an end.
And with it, so had Jackie’s time on Earth. “You think I did a good job, Misty?” She didn’t even have to turn around to know the dream spirit was there, lurking behind her. “Tell me what she would’ve told me. Be honest.”
Misty settled her seapony weight on the stone beside her, smooth, damp skin resting against Jackie’s side. But there was nothing romantic in the gesture—there never had been from Alex, not really. It was only fitting that the clone wouldn’t be interested in her either.
“Why not ask her?” Misty said, after a few seconds. Far below, the tree was barely visible, but the airship above it was clear enough. “She’s still out there. She’ll be… wherever you do this spell. The Supernal, I guess.”
Even from this distance, the zeppelin was massive, large enough that thousands of normal-sized ponies could’ve comfortably lived inside it. With HPI technology powering it, pony magic lifting it, and breezie-sized citizens, she knew that number was actually somewhere in the millions.
“Because the old Day is gone,” Jackie answered, voice distant and sad. “She died… a lot like me. Pretty brilliant little bit of magic, necromancy-suicide. But Archive never came back from that. I want to know what civilization would think about Meliora. What would our ancestors say about what we built here? What we had to give up. Did I do a good job?”
“I think so,” Misty said. “It was either leave the bats to suffer under Athena or build a better home for them. Your home was better. If Athena would’ve left us alone… it would be a great city to live in. I think she would’ve liked it.”
“That’s good.” Jackie closed her eyes—but something startled her only moments later. A quiet rumbling from up ahead. It was the Fiore. Something that big couldn’t possibly move that fast—but light was building from around it. A spell, though it didn’t feel like anything Jackie had ever known before.
She lifted one leg to shield her eyes—probably for the best. There was a brilliant flash of light, and the Fiore seemed to briefly stretch forward, a thousand times its length. A sonic-boom followed, violent enough that whole flocks of birds rose from the air in a panic—mostly crows. Black clouds circled around for a few minutes, before settling back down near the trail of smoke.
Where we’re burning the deer.
But that didn’t matter much anymore either. City Hall looked no different from up here, but if she’d been walking through the tree she probably would’ve been able to feel the life missing from it. The Heartwood was empty, its anchor to Meliora severed. Every other structure they’d worked so hard to build in the real world would keep standing for a little longer, powered by the Arcane Network’s path through root and branch.
But Athena would put an end to that.
“Hey, Jackie.” That voice from behind her—it couldn’t be.
It was Artifice, standing on a worn foundation. In the real world. “Holy shit you’re real!” She blinked, rising to her hooves in shock and surprise. Was this an attack? A changeling? “You’re a dream spirit, you can’t be here!”
“She’s here.” The bat nodded towards Misty. “Anyway, this is a special occasion. I couldn’t miss it.”
For once, Jackie couldn’t muster the energy to be snide. Maybe she didn’t have anything negative to say. Her city was safe, at least for one more day. This bat had helped them. She might be the only reason Eureka was still helping.
“Sorry I couldn’t build the nation you wanted,” Jackie whispered, her voice low. “I tried… as hard as I could. I didn’t think Athena would be so determined to fuck us. She told me all about how badly she wanted rivals for her people, but now…”
The bat put up her wings, defensively. “Don’t call it the nation I wanted. That was all Hat Trick. She’s the one who recruited you. Doing this was her baby. Without Athena, it would’ve been a great success. With her… we’ll know in a few minutes.”
Still, Jackie had nothing snappy to say. She thought for a moment—if only because it would be a shame for her last meeting with this bat not to include something mean. But she had nothing left.
“They don’t need me,” she finally said. “They’ve got another princess now, a pony who wants the job. More your flavor than Alexandria’s flavor, I think.”
“We’ll see about that too,” the bat said. “Athena is a growing problem. You’re not the only one who’s been looking into how to deal with her. It’s a shame you couldn’t find another way. Thinking about her… it’s like all those Martian probes, remember them? Curiosity, Spirit, Opportunity… thanks for doing your jobs, now choke on dust and die. Only they were just some circuits with wheels on the bottom. Athena… she’ll be able to feel the betrayal.”
“She betrayed us,” Jackie muttered, her voice going cold. “She got so focused on the future she wanted that she didn’t care what it would cost, or who would get hurt along the way. Her racism plan was stupid, but this… this is where the buck stops.”
“I know.” Artifice took a step back. “Looks like she’s here to make it stop. You think she knows your city got away?”
“No,” Jackie said. “But she’ll figure it out. She’ll be expecting a cosmic catastrophe when she fires, and it won’t come.”
“There’s a better way,” the bat said, her voice low. “Dying… you people always like to abuse our spellcasting mechanics. Death spells might be effective, but compare that against all the other spells you could cast if you were alive. Your city flew away, so why don’t you? Live to fight another day. So few people… can cope with the immortality thing. It’ll be a shame to lose you.”
“I wouldn’t do it if Ezri was still here,” Jackie whispered. “You can’t understand. You don’t have… you can’t know what that felt like. Having her gone is like…” She sniffed, wiping something away from her eyes. “Doesn’t matter how many cute little nymphs I pick up at bars. Doesn’t matter how many mares I can sweep off their hooves. You’re old, you know—drinking and sex are empty pleasures. The more you enjoy them, the less rewarding they become.”
The other bat laughed, adjusting her large hat. “Can’t say I share your interests. But I think I know what you mean.”
The sky was growing dark, but Jackie could see them now. Dark metal shapes in the sky far, far above. Each one was so small it might’ve been a metal insect—but they were as large as the airship that had just left, and far better armed. They might hold thousands of marines, but somehow she doubted they would be landing.
There was nothing to hear as they fired—their projectiles flew far faster than the speed of sound. But she could see the glow from underneath, eclipsing the outlines of the ships. Everything that had once been Meliora would soon be atomized, just as the infested cities those weapons had been invented to destroy.
“Take good care of them for me,” Jackie said, rising again. “You too, Misty. This is gonna fuck up Liz real good to have me gone like this. Give her someone familiar to be around.”
“It’s going to do worse to me,” the little creature said. “You’re her friend, but you’re my… creator. Mother, father, god. If you die, what’s left for me?”
“That’s why my way’s better,” Artifice said. But she wasn’t argumentative this time, just sad. “Anyway, it’s about to get… uncomfortably warm right here. I think I’ll have to say my farewells.” She nodded politely, tipped her hat, then vanished into the Dreamlands.
Jackie prepared to do the same thing—she couldn’t power any spells if she got killed by an orbital strike before it could be cast. But she needn’t have worried. The sky behind her split open.
It wasn’t the pony she’d expected. Instead of Death with eyes like blood, there was Eureka, wearing a jacket and goggles and with his mane standing on end like he’d just been dancing on a Van de Graaff generator.
“Eureka,” Jackie said, one of her eyebrows going up. The starships were in high orbit—their attacks would take some time to reach the ground. Over ten minutes, from what she remembered. “Not Lonely Day? It’s not like her to delegate.”
“She doesn’t have a choice,” the stallion answered, gesturing for her to follow. “She made a pact with the one called Athena not to return to Earth for a thousand years. They all did, the ones who left. I’m the only one allowed to be here.”
Jackie walked over, retreating backwards so she could watch what happened to her city. A warm orange glow now filled most of the sky, along with a roar that grew louder by the moment. It wouldn’t be long now. “You keep promises made with an AI? What’s Athena going to do? She doesn’t have any magic.”
“I don’t make promises to AIs,” Eureka said. “The others did, on their magic. You don’t break a promise like that. When you play at this level, you don’t give fate invitations to screw you. The Ruin waiting for mankind would gladly tear down every one of us, if we give it the chance. We’ve defied the natural order—survived past when we should.”
“I saw Final Destination,” Jackie cut in. “I get it, you don’t have to explain.”
“Come on then,” Eureka said, stepping into the portal. It didn’t vanish behind him—through it there was only light, so bright that every green surface around them was charred to cinders.
“Bye, Jackie,” said Misty, remaining well outside the glow. “I can’t go up there with you. No soul, no Supernal. That’s how it works.”
“Find one,” Jackie suggested, smiling lightly. “That’s your last instruction from your creator. But don’t take it. Make your own.”
“I’ll… try,” Misty said, vanishing in a splash of water on the ground.
“Come on,” Eureka urged. “This forest is already ashes, it just doesn’t know it yet. You don’t want to be here when it realizes.”
“I have to see,” Jackie argued, backing up a little further. She felt the light all around her, the same agony that had burned her once before. It was the same pain when she’d visited in Alex’s place, long ago. It was a place she didn’t belong anymore. She had rejected its gifts.
She wasn’t kept waiting long. Another moment, and the trees below vanished in a flash that would’ve blinded her if she were still a simple, mortal creature. She stepped back, letting the magic of the portal swallow her. The Supernal was waiting for her.