Rebirth of Magic: In the Mists

by JimmyHook19

All Around me are Familiar Faces

The next day I finally set off on my long journey across the wastes of Equestria. I checked the map I had been given and knew where I had to go. The Pegasus city lay a few hundred miles away, but handily some old ruins had remained which I could follow along the way. Some old leftovers of the ancient Equestrian days that had either been abandoned or never truly cleared out. I knew that if I followed those, I would find my way to the city and be able to continue with my mission.

I set off across the bridge and out onto the path. It wasn't too hard to locate after all that. The path was the old railroad lines that had once connected Equestria together. This castle was apparently all that remained of a former town, and the pathway was an obvious one to use as Imperial Equestria had a massive railroad network.

I set off into the landscape, leaving the storms and thunder behind as I went on my way. I followed along the lines for what felt like hours. Clearly there wasn't enough value in these rails or somepony would have pulled them up long ago.

As I proceeded on my way, past degraded ruins of train stations and other local buildings, my mind turned to wondering and wandering. What in the world happened between the end of Generation 4 and the beginning of the Equestria I was in now? How had it come to this?

The ruined buildings had once belonged to families. Communities, ponies, many other creatures. All of them communities with their own stories to tell and their own places in the world. Places where ponies had talked, sung, fallen in love, lived, married, cried, and died. Though not necessarily in that order. And now these ghostly ruins were the only evidence that these places had ever existed. That these ponies had ever existed.

It was quite depressing, to see a world I had come to know and love so closely turn into such a place of chaos and despair, but it did suggest to me that the old saying that nothing lasts forever was certainly true. I had to push onwards, no matter how strange and dystopian this area was. As I past by more towns, I noticed some changes to the terrain. The landscape was slowly changing from old field and hill to desert and cacti. That made sense, I guessed. The settlement of Dodge Junction was coming up soon, and I would soon find it.

The walking continued for several more hours, until at last I had found my way through the city and onwards past Dodge Junction. Only the old town sign was left, the only trace this community had ever existed. The stages? Gone. Cherry Jubilee's orchard? Gone with the wind, blown away on the eternal casts and currents of time.

As I say, nothing lasts forever, and even a place as wonderful as Equestria comes to an end. But it didn't make the pain of seeing how far the place had fallen any easier to take.

After some more travel down rail lines the landscape shifted again to forest and plain, and I had to push onwards. The flat ground really allowed me to get up speed though, and I galloped along... without falling over this time!

The next place I came to was a bit more challenging. There were rails going in several different directions, and I had to figure out which way to go. I stepped across the rails and came across the ruins of another town.

I recognized it almost immediately. This was Ponyville, but severely decayed. The buildings clearly hadn't been occupied in a very long time, as glass had fallen out. Several roofs had collapsed due to lack of maintenance, and those buildings which still stood firm had clearly been looted over the centuries. As before, it was spooky stepping into a once vibrant town now lifeless, with only the ghosts of the Mane 6 and those whose lives they had touched hanging around.

"If the world valued friendship more than wealth or power, Equestria would be a much happier place," I said to myself, before making my way to the train station. I took a look at the departure board for clues.

The signs gave some clues. All passengers for Maretime Bay and Bridlewood use Platform 1. Passengers for Zephyr Heights use Platform 2.

Luckily, the platform signage was intact, and I soon found Platform 2 on the side of the station. I then followed the tracks in the direction the sign indicated as I continued on my way towards the edge of the city. Leaving it behind made the thoughts of another writer flow into my head. If the fall of Equestria proved anything, it was that the price of liberty was eternal vigilance.

I began my climb towards the edge of Zephyr Heights, which imposingly stood on top of a mountain. I could see why it stood so free from everything else. You'd be crazy to try and launch an attack on a place so well defended, both naturally and with tactics.

I began to scramble up a cliff series to try and reach the top. I noticed a few odd movements hear and there, but largely chalked it up to me hearing things. It was dark, after all.

I made my way up the mountain still, and was soon on the very top of the mountain. The city lay before me. I had to figure out how to sneak in without noticing. If Queen Haven's reaction in the film was anything to go by, nopony had seen a unicorn in a very long time.

But critically I was now in the city, and this meant that the operation could properly begin. I just had to sneak through the streets to the elevator and get up to the palace, steal the crown, and get out without being spotted.

Should be easy, right?

Author's Note:

For reference's sake via two images.... this is probably how I would imagine of what Ponyville looks like when the events of G5 begins, following years after what happened at the end of G4.

Pretty surreal and spooky if you ask me....

Comments

[Comickook]

Whoa. Downright chilling, but still appropriate job on the reflections "Misty" had while making his/her way toward Zephyr Heights. Yeah, it's downright emotional seeing the ruins of places like Dodge Junction and Ponyville that "Misty" was seeing while heading for the rails and making her plans for the "visit" to Zephyr Heights. And, yeah, here's hoping the theory of the transformed humans sharing the memories of the ponies they are in the bodies of is true - because, at least that way, the humans will have the skills of the actual ponies. Since Misty is actually pretty good at stealth (bad luck tendencies aside), having the actual Misty's memories (and thus her skills) could actually be helpful. Of course, at the very least, he/she WILL be encountering Zipp and Pipp (possibly the rest of the Mane Five as well) regardless.

At any rate, really looking forward to more of this.

[The Blue EM2]

11561831

Here's some music I feel fits Misty's journey. Starts at 1:30.