//------------------------------// // A Breath of Fresh Air // Story: DisQord Continuum: Equestria Rising // by ZoidbergIsBestPony //------------------------------// A Breath of Fresh Air “Miss. Julep?” a yawning Luna came down the stairs. “Can I have some juice?” Mint Julep had been staring out the window. A hobby she started ever since marshal law had been declared. She would stare out into space nervously, waiting for bad things to happen. Turning her gaze away, she looked down at the tired little filly and smiled. “Of course you can dear. Let me get started on some breakfast for everyone.” Mint went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was nearly empty. Perishable items were almost nonexistent now. The only thing in there was a bottle of what looked like juice. It was powdered of course. But it contained enough vitamins and minerals to be just as healthy as the real thing. She pulled it out and went to the cupboards to get the rest of the dwindling supply of dehydrated and powdered foods. Luna took her seat at the table, while a second Alicorn filly came down the stairs. As Celestia came into the kitchen, she looked around hoping to see Star Swirl. “He’s not back just yet, deary,” Mint answered her unspoken question. Celestia frowned and slumped into a chair, while breakfast was being made. Star had only left them with Mint Julep a few days ago, but Celestia missed him. He was always there to save them. With both him and her father gone, who would protect them? “Good morning girls,” Ruby said, entering the kitchen. “Good morning Mint.” “Good morning,” the three ponies answered back. One sang it back, one yawned it back, and the third moped it back to Ruby. “Cheerful bunch,” Ruby commented, taking her own seat and the table. “Mint, that smells delicious.” “Oh…well, you know…it’s just powdered eggs is all,” she replied embarrassingly. She was flipping the pan with her magic, enveloping it with an aura whose color matched her name. She tried to make things a little more entertaining, by flipping the eggs hi into the air, but the eggs did not make it back to the pan. A large pounding on the front door sent the eggs, and the frying pan, crashing to the floor. For a moment, they all looked at each other. Ruby jumped into action, she held her hoof up to her mouth, calling for quiet. Waving her hoof she instructed Luna and Celestia to slowly get up from their chairs and make their way up to the attic. Mint brushed herself off quickly and made her way to the front door. She jolted as a second large banging came to the door. Once the girls and their mother were out of sight, she unlocked the door and opened it. As she feared, two soldiers were staring back at her. “Wh-wha…What can I do for you, gentleponies?” she asked meekly. One of the soldiers took out his screenpad to read from. As of now, the Earth ponies have declared war on the Pegasi. We have taken control of Capital City and all ponies herein will now be under the marshal law of the Earth ponies. It took Mint a minute to notice the stallions before her did not have wings and were not in fact Pegasus soldiers. Any Unicorns are free to remain or leave if they wish. Any Pegasi have forty-eight hours to leave the city. Any remaining will have a curfew of 8:00AM-7:00PM and have to submit for registration. Any Pegasus caught outside after curfew will be considered an enemy threat and taken as a prisoner of war. To any Alicorns you may be harboring, they may consider themselves liberated and are free to stay or leave as they please. For all– “Really?” Luna called out from the attic. Ruby’s panic caused her to nearly tackle Luna for calling out. It could have been a trap, and she had just given them all away now. The second soldier smiled and called back, “Yes, really.” Ruby released Luna in shock. Celestia and Luna slowly came down the stairs and together they poked their noses around the corner of the stairwell, looking at the soldiers. They were in fact, Earth ponies as they claimed. “It’s okay, little ones,” the soldier said again. “You can come out. You’re safe now.” The two Alicorn fillies, followed by their mother slowly came out into full view. The first soldier was starting to get flustered. “Come on already,” he muttered to his partner. "We’ve got a lot of houses to get to, let’s get on with it already.” Continuing his speech he read out again, All Earth pony stallions and any Unicorn volunteers are hereby drafted to fight against the Pegasus scourge. Any Earth pony or Unicorn mares may volunteer to fight as well. Those remaining who choose not to fight are hereby drafted to assist in the factories to support the troops. Any children will be escorted at the start of the shift to daycare/schooling. They will be cared for and protected while you work for the cause. Any questions will need to wait until you report to your designated meeting area. Here is a copy of what was just read to you, along with where and when to report. He pulled an old-fashioned paper copy from his satchel and gave it to Mint. She took it, with a flummoxed expression on her face as to what just happened. As the two soldiers turned to go to the next house, Luna smiled and waved at them. The friendlier soldier smiled and winked at her as they walked off. As Mint closed the door, she looked back at the girls who started jumping and laughing and celebrating for the first time in months. Tears streaked down Ruby’s cheeks. She only hoped such a miracle might extend to bringing her husband back to her. “I don’t understand your Highness,” Chancellor Puttinghoof spoke delicately to the Unicorn princess, “How can you possibly side with the Pegasi!?” The chancellor was speaking to the princess from a view screen aboard the E.P.S. Destination. Princess Platinum was on board the R.U.S. Prominence. “I have not sided with anypony,” the Princess explained leisurely. “It was your races who decided to war with one another, not the Unicorns. We shall remain neutral in this conflict.” The chancellor’s face was starting to turn red. “We didn’t DECIDE to go to war! THEY DESTROYED OUR ENTIRE COLONY!!!!!” Trying to calm himself down again, he quickly added, “That Pegasus commander is nuts! He’s gone after the Alicorns and now the Earth ponies! What makes you think you won’t be next!?” “You and the commander have always conflicted with one another,” she explained. “I do not share this problem.” “We need your help!” the chancellor cried. “If you won’t fight, at least help us build up our defenses. Please! Show some generosity!” The princess’s more cavalier demeanor turned rigid. Some of her beauty had instantly chipped off her. “Allow me to share with you something I was taught long ago: Generosity is a weakness that can cause a kingdom to fall. I cannot help you, Chancellor.” “But–” The princess had closed the connection. “But…” The chancellor sank into his chair, his face growing pale. Without their help, the Earth ponies could very well become extinct. “Girls put your coats on!” Ruby chased after her daughters, who were too busy trying to get outside to be bothered by something as trifle as a coat. As soon as Luna grabbed the door and pulled it open wide, the horrific chill of the frigid air caught up with her. Shutting the door quickly, she looked back to her mother to put on the coat. Once both of the girls were dressed for the extreme cold, they hopped outside and instantly slid on the ice, straight into a massive pile of snow. Their imprints pressed into the mound. Shaking off the snow, Celestia took a breath of the icy air. She was expecting a breath-freshening relief, but nearly choked on it. The air was stale. It had a metallic taste to it. It felt heavy to the young filly. Coughing and trying to breathe, she eventually calmed down and breathed normally. Luna didn’t seem to mind. She was too busy playing in the snow and jumping around. Celestia looked around the neighborhood. It was eerily quiet. No cars in the air. Only one car off in the distance was parked on the road. The roads were only clear thanks to the snow processors in the ground that would melt and evaporate the snow as it fell. At least one processor in the road seemed to have broken down. A pile of snow, as tall as three cars, created a massive barrier. The trees were the worst sight for Celestia. She looked at the branches. There were no leaves. Many of the branches had long since died and fallen to the ground. The trunks were turning black. Trees were the only thing that remained of plants on the street. No bushes, no vines, not even weeds would grow anymore. Celestia had enough schooling to understand exactly why the air was so difficult to breathe. Shaking the depressing thought from her mind, she put on a smile for Luna, who was lying on the ground making snow ponies. Laughing, Celestia plopped herself down into the snow and joined her little sister. After only ten minutes, both ponies had become winded and needed to rest and get back inside where they could breathe easier. Shaking the snow off of their coats, they headed back to the front door. Just as Celestia was about to close the door, she noticed a hover car descending down in front of the house. A Unicorn emerged and turned to thank the driver. It took a few seconds for Celestia to notice the familiar purple beard. “STAR SWIRL!!!!!” she screamed, running back into the snow, nearly tackling the still recovering Unicorn. “Hey there-oof!” he called back just as the young Alicorn collided into him in a hug. Tears streaked down her face. Luna, Ruby, and Mint were right behind, welcoming his return. “Perhaps we should get inside before we all get sick!” Star recommended. After bringing the welcoming crew back into the house, they were able to have a little warmer greeting. “Where did you go?” “What happened?” “What about this war?” “Did you see Sugar?” Questions were shouted at Star from all directions. “Okay, okay,” he said waving his hooves to simmer the noisy audience. “Calm down everypony. I will explain all that’s happened recently. Firstly, yes Ruby. I found Bake. He’s healthy and thrilled to know you’re all okay. He’s currently onboard a former Pegasus ship now commanded by the newly freed Alicorns.” Ruby fell into her chair with an exhausted sigh of relief. “He desperately wanted to see you girls,” he continued, “but now that he’s free, he’s trying to make sure you have a place to go when the war is over.” He continued to regale his story in a more filly-friendly manner over a small dinner. After the girls had gone to sleep, Star was able to answer some of the more grim questions. “The Unicorns treated my magical injuries, but they are refusing to help fight against the Pegasi.” “That’s ridiculous!” Mint yelled a little too loudly. Ruby quickly motioned for her to lower her voice. In a softer tone Mint whispered, “As a Unicorn ready to fight, I am mortified by the princess’s decision. It’s simply outrageous!” “Her assistant is working on the princess. Hopefully she’ll be able get her to come around before it’s too late. “Meanwhile, I found out that the Earth ponies, and the newly formed Alicorn Fighting Force, have taken control of four of the work camps and ship factories. Many of the Alicorns have agreed to stay on the factory lines and help create more ships in exchange for better food and being able to go home to their families. Others opted to join the fight. “Right now, there is constant fighting along controlled territory borders and in orbit of the planet. Many lands are still under Pegasus control and fighting back. We’ve already lost control of Neighbraska, and we’ve lost some Earth pony ships. We have two Alicorn controlled ships at the moment, but Bake’s ship is in desperate need of repairs.” “They can still fight well, Ruby!” he quickly added after seeing her worrisome expression spreading rapidly across her face. “In the meantime, we really need the Unicorns to join the fight. The Pegasus military might is a strong one; much greater than we can manage, if we want to win this war.” The tension in the air was thick with concern and doubt with all that was going on. The three adults simply sipped their tea in silence, as they thought about the road ahead. Unicornia Colony, 2300 hours: Professor Astro gazed through his telescope up at the new star configuration. As an astronomer, he could not help but be awed by seeing the stars all moved around: old constellations seen from different angles; new constellations painting new pictures on the massive black canvas; thousands of stars, that would never have been visible on the bright and busy planet Origin, shined brilliantly across the night sky. The professor jotted down every little observation, drew map after map of the different configurations. He panned his telescope out across the horizon, before something caught his eye. Not sure what he saw, he attempted to search for it again. “There you are!” he said aloud to the empty room. Focusing the telescope, a peculiar phenomenon came into view. Stars were blurring around a massive sphere, as though somepony was holding up an enormous glass lens in front of them. “What in this new world could you possibly be?” He jotted down the location and the time and drew a small sketch of the lensing effect he witnessed and made a note to see if it would still be there the following night.