//------------------------------//
// The Return to Equestria 
// Story: Spacebound Equestria: Fall of a Nation 
// by TheMajorTechie 
//------------------------------//

	Equestria had returned. Ponies all around were celebrating, all the while the Princesses solemnly gathered around Celestia, who had fallen to a mere manipulative spell crafted by Sombra.

For now, the Princess lay asleep. All signs of Sombra's presence had since been erased. As for the tyrant king himself, he had simply drawn himself back, taking residence in the very conscience of Celestia herself.





"Rusty?" Jewel shouted through the mass of ponies gathered, "Do you hear me?"

Rusty Gears emerged from the crowd with a saddlebag packed with rations.

"The returning ponies are handing out rations directly from the ship's farms. Want to get some of your own?"

Jewel shook her head, though she mentally salivated at the thought of a full meal; the first she would've had in a great many years. But allowing other ponies to eat was her top priority.

Rusty shrugged and shuffled past, his skinny frame waddling under the weight of the bulging bags. Jewel stood silent for a brief moment, staring at the behemoth of a ship that sat before her.

"Come on! We still gotta bring the others over!"

The mare shook out of her stupor, and followed.





Well, with the Equestrian Pride landed, I guess that life will return to... normal?

Normal. I haven't thought about how normal life had been before Sombra returned. For the past few weeks, "normal" had been defined by the daily treks, and the constant scavenging that had brought minor plagues to our encampments.

But that's the past now. I'm hoping to look towards a much brighter future.

Jewel and I raced through the derelict streets. Though there were now ponies working towards their repair, it would be quite a while before any noticeable progress will have been made. For now, we had to spread the word of Equestria's return. We would be safe! Order would be restored to the land, and we wouldn't have to forage anymore.

We quickly boarded the trains, along the way assuring that there was room for additional aid workers to come along, in case if anypony needed assistance. The train was slow at first; nearly unmoving, in fact. Soon, however, the fire cracked wildly, and the train lurched forward. The rusted axles creaked against the worn tracks as the engine rattled on northward. The pins of the gauges clicked as the train began reaching its physical limits. Pushing it harder now would spell disaster.

I swiftly pulled a lever to relieve some of the pressure, but to my dismay, nothing happened. The gauges were beginning to inch further towards the red, and we were barely even a quarter of the journey in. I held the lives of nearly fifty ponies in the train, and I wasn't about to extinguish any of them in an accident. I pulled the lever harder, hoping it would have an effect, but once again, nothing.

That's when I noticed in my peripheral vision that a section of the lever's connector had been severed by rust, deeming the entire section of the machinery inoperable. I panicked, polling my memory for possible solutions. The train was still speeding up, the groaning axles squealing over the icy tracks. Nopony had noticed yet aside from me for how deep the danger had become.

Out of instinct, I mindlessly decided that latching my entire body onto the breaks was the best solution. Though it would only solve the problem of our runaway train, I was able to bring the engine to a halt as the pressure continued to build inside the boiler. Nervously, I tapped on the pressure gauge in hopes that it had been a misreading, but my efforts returned fruitless.

As a final attempt to save the engine and the rest of the ponies, myself included, I charged my horn, and let loose a strong, piercing blast of fire through the pipe that the rusted lever stump connected to. Immediately, an ear-numbing screeching tore through my skull as the entire area began filling with high-pressure steam. Though, with how cold it was outside, said steam quickly froze mid-air, falling simply as additional snow.

Now that the pressure was relieved, I could safely repair the damage. Once again lighting my horn, I welded the lever connector back in place, as well as shutting the hold I had created in the pipe.

With that, the train continued onward.





Twilight watched fearfully over Celestia's slumbering body. Luna had once again dived into her sister's dreams, intent on getting to the bottom of Sombra's plans. It was already clear to her that Sombra had deceived Celestia into thinking that he was his own counterpart-- the one of whom the Sun Princess loved.

In truth, even simply the sheer uncertainty of the situation made Twilight cringe. For years, the most stress she had ever gone through was topped by tests and preparations for the Equestrian Pride's launch. And now, she had found herself watching over the well-being of somepony who had single handedly ruled Equestria for a thousand years.

The thought of that made Twilight's fears grow ever larger. One wrong move, one tiny mistake... it could all conclude in the fall of not only Celestia, but the world as she knew it. Even if power was handed to Luna, she'd only be able to do so much, taking into account as how she had been moon locked for those thousand years of Celestia's lonely rule.

It was saddening, watching the Princess tremble unconsciously. Every once in a while, a minute fleck of dark magic would be sent ricocheting about; a sign of Sombra's growing control over Celestia's mind. Until the Crystal Heart is returned, there is little one can do to be rid of Sombra's presence.

For now, Twilight could only wait and hope for the best. Not for herself, but for Celestia. For all of ponykind.