Harmony City was a glorious sight - a crown of mismatched towers glistening over a calm ocean. The sunlight was reflected by the waters into the pinnacles of civilization, enhancing the already vibrant colors of the city. Almost every single material and color could be found within the expansive, towering city, bringing a sense of all who came to Harmony.

Gari, pony, dragon, griffon, and many others lived together peacefully in the only swath of 'land' on Garilend that was treated like another planet. Hoverjets flew them between the towers, and citizens constantly walked and flew everywhere. A busy - and happy - picture.

It was even happier on the currently, for it was a very special day - the Fifteenth Anniversary of the crash on Garilend. It was a day to celebrate peace, prosperity, and the understanding of other cultures.

"Take a note," Rarity said, "on this auspicious day, we must choose a fundamental equi-"

"Rarity?" Spike interrupted, "you do know that you already wrote your mayoral speech. I have it right here."

"Perhaps," Rarity said, looking out form her room in one of the tallest towers, her eyes scanning the crowd below. So much hustle and bustle, it made her feel tired just looking at it all. She let out a breath. "Big day today. Will the princesses be ready?"

Spike smirked. "Twilight assures me they'll be ready hours early. So they'll probably be fashionably late or something."

Rarity shrugged. "I do suppose that is how it works sometimes. I wonder how close they are."

Luna let out a tremendous sigh. Here she was, up during the morning hours, already dressed and groomed for the festival. And neither Twilight nor Celestia had even come out of their rooms yet. Luna checked the clock. They had just over an hour. She groaned, knocking on Twilight's door. It wasn't even closed, creaking inward with the force of the knock. Inside, Twilight was sitting on her bed, glasses on her face and wings spread wide, enthralled by the book she was reading.

"Hm?" Twilight said, looking over her glasses. Luna pointed at the clock. "Oh my! I'm so sorry-"

"At least you're awake," Luna noted, "Tia on the other hand..." While Twilight ran around in a mostly blind panic, Luna knocked on the next door. "Celestia!"

Luna groaned, unlocking the door magically and stepping into her sister's room. As she expected, Celestia was sleeping like a dog. To her bafflement, the entire bedroom as covered head to tail in banana peels.

"This..." Luna couldn't even finish the thought, instead electing to simply drag Celestia out of her room and shake the white alicorn awake.

"I could ask about he bananas, but I want to keep my sanity. It's the Anniversary. We need to get going."

"The clock is wrong! We didn't think about daylight savings again! We're already late!"

"Why is daylight savings even a thing..." Celestia groggily muttered. "All it does is drive people crazy..."

Twi shook her head. "Explaining would take too long. Forget the fancy dress, conjure up something! To the door!" She yelled, rushing out the front door and magically summoning a purple suit onto herself.

Luna and Celestia ran out as well, performing similar spells on themselves, affixing their regalia to their bodies. The three alicorns dashed across the crystal bridge - the sun shining on them, the city rushing by below. Ahead of them was a large onyx building that was almost perfectly cylindrical. They rushed into it, interrupting the dozens of people in the crowded interior.

"Princess Pass Authorization!" Twilight yelled. "Clear the pad!" She rushed towards the center of the room, all the citizens parting to let them through. The three alicorns alighted on the amethyst pad in the ground, the magic of it engulfing them in light. Instantly they were elsewhere in the city - inside the Lobby - though it looked nothing like it had fifteen years ago. The room was more or less an auditorium with hundreds of seats on either side, all constructed with brilliant crystal. Plantlike sculptures draped from the far-above ceiling, reminding Twilight of her old castle. On one side was a gently sloping round stage, at the back of which was the Tree of Harmony.

Rarity was onstage, wrapping up her speech. "...and I wish you all a fabulous day." She saw the princesses arriving. "And now, our triarchs, Celestia, Luna, and Twilight!"

Rarity stepped off the stage to allow the princesses on. She hissed at them as they passed. "What took you so long?"

Rarity sighed. "Just get up there and be inspirational already," she chuckled. "Good luck!"

Celestia stepped up to centerstage and took a breath. "My Equi!" She shouted to thunderous applause. "And my gari!" More applause rang out. "Fifteen years ago to this day, there was a disaster. A disaster that could have easily turned into a worldwide catastrophe. We crashed into this wondrous planet and brought a crisis unlike anything any of us had ever experienced. However, due to the bravery and determination of our peoples, we did it. Through diplomacy, war was avoided and we learned to share this planet - and we are all the better for it."

Luna continued for her. "We have accomplished much together. Dangerous weather is a thing of the past. Hunger has been all but completely wiped out. Wars have lessened, crime is down worldwide. We have a small but active force of ships that explore the grandiose stars. All of this would have been impossible without the cooperation between our two peoples, and I personally thank everyone for it."

Twilight went next. "What I see here warms my heart, for when I was still on Equis, there wasn't this much harmony. The world was divided. There were threats and evil forces from all sides. Our home did not have the level of peace and friendship we have here - like many people seem to think we had. I am proud of this world, and grateful that I had a chance to see this day." She looked out at everyone, a tear in her eye. "It was worth all those centuries of loneliness."

She bowed, and there was applause. The princesses smiled and waved, taking it all in. Even though they had felt it all before, this day felt... special for some reason. They didn't know why.

"Oh!" Celestia said, "and now a word from Sage Orgis." The three princesses stepped off the stage, making room for the pink gari who hadn't aged a day in fifteen years. She was wearing a robe shimmering with the colors of the Tree of Harmony, and her hands were enveloped in glowing pink energy.

"My fellow citizens, there was one thing we have gained that our enlightened leaders forgot to mention. And that is the gift of the Tree of Harmony to us all. I am not talking of the magic that has been bestowed to many of the gari of this world - no, I am talking to the virtue of forgiveness. Many actions were taken that day of which we all regret in hindsight. Deaths. Harsh words. Despicable actions. But the Tree of Harmony saw us - and gave us forgiveness. And the Equi have given us a second chance. It is because of this we are here today." She spread her arms wide. "All of us."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Been too busy stopping giant monsoons from destroying cities. Lot on my mind."

Rainbow Dash pointed out, away from the ever-swirling and shifting clouds of New Cloudsdale, towards a small white and pink blob flying through a large storm. It touched the storm cloud, making it explode, blowing tremendous gusts of wind everywhere. It forced New Cloudsdale's position to shift, upsetting all the ponies on it.

"Flurry Heart!" Rainbow Dash boomed, "Learn some control! You can't just blow up entire storms!"

"I have enough dirt on file to do so without a problem! Don't forget it miss entitled!"

Flurry Heart just teleported somewhere else. Rainbow Dash bristled. "I hate her. There's nothing else I can say about my feelings. She's an immature, overconfident, entitled brat."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "I could bench her. But she's my best flier. I need a way to teach her a lesson..."

"But... But..." Cadence twitched, "I made her... I... Uh.." She stopped short. "I don't remember. Why don't I remember?"

"Shh... Shh..." Shining put his hoof around his wife. "We still have each other. And Flurry Heart isn't a failure at life. She's still growing. Just... Without our guidance."

"It's all wrong," Cadence blurted. "This was not how it was supposed to be." She gestured at the swirling clouds of New Cloudsdale. "We live in the sky, blocked off from the world! They... They don't want to look at me."

"Conssarnit Starlight! You're not supposed to pick everything!" Applejack shouted, "you need to let others help!"

"Get back to manufacturing!" Applejack yelled, a smile on her face despite her tone. "Move it miss!"

"All right, all right, I'm going!" she grunted, marching past Fluttershy and the 'pig' pens, waving as she did so. Starlight smiled brightly as she walked along the dirt path to the plant - looking at the various fields of all different kinds. Fruits of all colors could be seen, and people of all kinds were harvesting them.

She breathed in the sweet country air - it was a nice simple life here, away from prying eyes. Not to mention the lack of religious fanatics... Sure, she missed the Tree of Harmony, but she was happy here. She had friends, and a job that helped feed the world. She didn't have to be the immortal voice of the Tree here - she could just be Starlight Glimmer, unicorn.

She looked at the plant - the only industrial building in sight. A place for the manufacturing of processed goods - including cider, jam, meat, and even power for Succulent Valley. It was tall, metallic, but not all that imposing. Its form melted into the mountain behind it, attempting to look as natural as possible.

Starlight never got her hoof in the plant, for a group of three suddenly appeared beside her in a flash of white light.

"Next on our tour of the world... Succulent Valley!" Lem announced to the audience watching through his headcam.

Starlight raised an eyebrow at them. "You know, you could call ahead, tell us you're coming," Starlight said.

"Oh please, it's best to surprise people. I know Big Mac is going to love the next segment on him!"

"It is. It can be but it's how things are," Sunset said, smirking. She tipped her hat - the now ancient safari hat of A K Yearling.

"Oh do we ever!" Lem said, grinning. "time to show off your farm, or should I say 'feeding machine?'"

Sunset rolled her eyes. "With any luck something dramatic will happen that we have to solve. As usually happens."

Starlight giggled. "You could help me learn not to pick all the apples at once."

Lem raised a hand, pulling water out of a nearby puddle and dousing Starlight. Starlight sighed. "Why, oh why, did you have to be given magic."

Starlight reminded herself to thank Lem later for not calling her identity into focus - she didn't want the spotlight to fall on her again.

Suddenly everyone's phone's rang. Even Discord's, and he had forgotten he had a phone. The message was simple.

-MEET AT HARMONY CITY-

-PONITON HIGH DISTRICT-

-HALL OF THE MOONS-

-A METEOR HAS BEEN DETECTED-

-COLLISION COURSE-

Lem cut the feed before the daly caught up, terminating the livestream. The world did not need to see that.

Sunset looked up at the sky with worry. "That is not what I meant by something dramatic..."

Wanderlost

by GMBlackjack

XIX - Fifteen; Over Five Hundred