Twilight grabbed Fluttershy and Verdant in her magic. "Okay, running!" She dragged them through the streets, into an alleyway.
The ship-drone-city thing flying above them was being shot at by Acket's defenses - the still-standing towers themselves. They pulsed a bright green, launching dozens of energy beams into the sky - hitting the drone-ship directly. The circuitry in the drone-ship sparked, sending arc lightning down to the surface - but it still flew. It fired its weapon again - and it wasn't a weapon that could be seen. Another tower was disintegrated before their eyes, no sign of any laser, bomb, or projectile of any kind.
Verdant glanced at Twilight. "What happened to you?"
"Sorry, froze for a sec, you know..." She stuck her head around they alley they were in - Infnity was nowhere to be seen amongst the screaming crowd. She saw a few dragon mages summoning power to their wings and shooting into the sky like ships, flying in formation towards the drone-ship. They were disintegrated before they arrived, all their magic power worth naught in the end.
Twilight gulped. "I'm getting us out of here..." She took out the pearlstone and activated it - using the magic to teleport to the outskirts of town. Then she used her own magic to teleport again, instantly, even further into the distance.
Even from this far away she could still see the drone-ship - though now she knew how high up it was, slightly above the cloud layer. Still tremendous - but not as large as Canterlot. It might have been Ponyville sized.
Verdant put a hand to his eyes. "Oh no... They're going to use it..."
"Use what? Who?" Twilight demanded.
Fluttershy pointed. "I think that streak flying towards the ship..."
"It's a missile," Verdant said. "A very large missile..."
The pearly-white streak was disintegrated several yards from the drone-ship - but that didn't stop it. The act of disintegration made it explode in a brilliant star-like globe of superheated air. The drone-ship was consumed by the spectacular explosion - and several towers of Acket below were shattered by the shockwave of the weapon. Twilight saw the shockwave coming towards them - kicking up dust and forcing clouds to form. "COVER YOUR EARS!"
The covering did little to help them - they didn't go deaf, but the shockwave was still powerful enough to shake their skulls.
Fluttershy gasped. "My... How loud must that have been IN the city?!"
Verdant shook his head. "...Too loud. Too dangerous. They shouldn't have used it..."
"The drone-ship's gone though..." Twilight said. Them she frowned. "Okay, what WAS that?"
Verdant looked nervous. "I'm not the guy you should be asking..."
"Buddy, I want to know what almost killed us and why." She hoped to Celestia that it wasn't after her.
Verdant gulped. "The... Golems of the Desert. Mindless leftovers from the Ancients that prowl their cities. For whatever reason, they have started attacking us recently. They continually get more brazen and intense - this was the worst attack yet." He looked around nervously. "Citizens are leaving by the thousand..."
Twilight gulped. "...These... Golems. They live in the Desert?"
"Yes."
"And I need to go there." At least it isn't aliens.
Fluttershy bit her lip. "...Yes this does sound bad..."
Verdant shook his head. "They've only attacked our city so far, they seem to be fixated on it for some reason. I've never had any reports of Golem attacks unless you trespass on their territory - Fosis - and even then sometimes they'll let you off. They... Don't think like we do. I can't really explain it. Don't make me."
Twilight frowned. "Well... Fluttershy, I think we should head out as soon as possible. Perhaps go talk to these... Golems. See if we can find out what's going on."
Fluttershy blinked. "...Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"No, but there are ponies and dragons dying in there Fluttershy - I can't just do nothing."
Verdant blinked. "...Huh."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"It's just, you're not the first to say that. Last week, during the last attack, there was a pink unicorn who did that. Went out into the desert promising to help us if she could. ...She hasn't come back."
Twilight gulped. "...I'll look for her. What's her name?"
"No idea, I didn't give her the tour. I just heard about her secondhand - ponies like you and her are rare."
Fluttershy sighed. "...You're right about that..." She turned to Twilight. "...We should go and help them, if we can."
Twilight nodded. "Verdant... Can you take us to Sand Blaster?"
Verdant nodded. "Indeed I can..."
~~~
The city of Acket was a wreck - a wreck that was rebuilding itself with magic, yes, but still a wreck. Dragons and ponies walked around, many having been rendered temporarily deaf, others needing medical treatment for the damage to their eardrums. The city slowly repaired itself - the Pearlstone being guided to fuse back together and rewiring everything. The bustle that the city once had though was put on hold - half the televisions were dead, the trams and elevators were broken down, and the ground was no longer flat and even.
Twilight sighed - this was terrible. There had to be something that could be done...
Verdant led them to the edge of the city, the place where the band started. The foundation of Acket ended abruptly, the only part extending over the band being the large, black claws that absorbed the lightning's energy as it shot upwards. There was a small dock-like area filled with sand and a number of tiny sled-like ships - and one big one.
Verdant pointed at the big one - a tremendous sled with four rails on the bottom and a three-story pearlstone structure set atop it, completely sealed off from the outside with only the smallest areas for windows. In the back was some sort of round pearlstone device engraved with brightly glowing runes. On the front, the name Sandshell was engraved with a decorative etching.
A cream earth pony with a pair of goggles on his head leaped off the top of the Sandshell. "Prospective customers?"
"Yes. I'm Twilight Glimmer and this is Flutterski." Verdant raised an eyebrow but said nothing, forcing Twilight to realize she'd used Fluttershy's real name in front of Verdant. ...She hoped that wouldn't bite her later. It probably wouldn't, seeing how the Influence had been wrong about so many other things over the course of her adventures.
The stallion grinned. "Hello, you two! I'm Sand Blaster! I trust you can pay fare?"
"How much?"
"Fifteen yuan to cross the band to the Lost Desert proper. Thirty and I can get you all the way to an oasis!"
Twilight nodded - it seemed reasonable. She handed him thirty coins. "When do we leave?"
"Few minutes, just gotta wait for a bit to see if we get any other passengers. Thank ya kindly - you too Verdant, I loooove customers!"
Verdant nodded. "I wish you both luck." Then he flew away - Twilight noticed he was flying out of the city, presumably fleeing from further danger.
Sand Blaster kicked the side of the Sandshell, popping open a hatch. The inside of the Sandshell was dark - lit only by magic wafting off the pearlstone walls - and cramped. For how large it was, there was a lot less space than Twilight expected.
Sand Blaster laughed. "Yeah, don't worry, there's actual rooms for sleepin' and a living room up above, just have to make room for the engine here." He led them up to the top floor, which had five tiny rooms with beds, and a table in the middle with a bunch of cards on it. "The controls are down below, through that tiny hallway you saw to the left. I'll be there if you need me. I'm going to go look for other passengers..."
Twilight nodded. "This will do nicely." She looked out one of the tiny, thick windows - they were tinted, scratched, and battered, but she could see through them, at the city of Acket. She saw a tower get rebuilt in under a second. This place was in danger of being destroyed - but it was so beautiful. She couldn't let that happen.
...Wait, but what if that changed the future? She shook her head - this was just a big mess to think of.
The two of them were startled by a small, snakelike dragon slithering in. She was red, slightly larger than Twilight, and wore vibrant red robes. "I apologize, I did not mean to startle you."
"It's.... fine." Fluttershy said. "I'm Flutter...ski and this is Twilight."
"Pleasure to meet you. I am Acolyte Ruby." She bowed gracefully. "I hear we will get to know each other well, the trek across the band takes a day and a night at the speeds this ship can attain."
"Wow... It must be huge..." Twilight said.
"Not really, you could get over it in a few hours as the pegasus flies... overland is slower and more rigid."
"Mmmm..." Twilight said.
Sand Blaster came back up to the cabins. "All right, we got another passenger coming on, then we're full. Prepare to set out!" He turned behind him. "Here are your crewmates."
"Oh, I know them..." Infinity said, smirking.
Fluttershy and Twilight gasped. Ruby raised a claw. "I don't know you."
Infinity facehooved. "...Ruining the moment..." She shook her head. "I'm Infinity. That's Flutterski and Twilight. I've been following them. You see, Twilight is not as she seems... She is something else..."
Before Twilight could do anything Infinity ripped Twilight's cloak off, revealing the Witch's Eye and her wings. Twilight froze, unable to move, unable to think, only able to see how this could go wrong.
Sand Blaster laughed. "Huh. Interesting. I'm going to go start the engine, you four sort out your problems." He walked down the stairs, uncaring about the alicorn with an eye in her chest shenanigans.
"Uh..." Infinity said. "But... But... I have theories! She has enough magic power to affect the day-night cycle! She's attached to an ancient machine! She's... She's..." Infinity facehooved, looking to Ruby. "Well, what do you think?"
Ruby stared at the Witch's eye in awe. "...The Oracle..."
"The what?" Infinity said.
"She is the chosen Oracle."
"The what!?" Twilight said, louder than Infinity.
"There... There is a prophecy in my order, that the mare with three eyes will be gifted with the power to see what others cannot... She will go to all the ancient altars, gain wisdom, and prevent the cataclysm of darkness..."
Twilight gulped. She wished she could say she was surprised at this. "...Are you sure I'm this... Oracle?"
"...Can you see what others cannot?"
"...Yes..."
"...Then what are the chances?"
Twilight nodded slowly. "Well then... I... Fluttershy, meet me in a room, we need to talk." She ran through a door, shut it, and locked it, breathing heavily. "Okay... Ooooookay... Destiny shows up again..."
Fluttershy nodded. "It... Does have a way of finding us doesn't it."
"Cataclysm of darkness!? How vague can you get!?"
"There may be more. We should ask her. The prophecy could also be false..."
"Prophecies rarely are if they get an entire order around them..." She bit her lip. "I... Hey you guys." She looked at the Eye. "Apparently you help me see what others cannot, so help me here. Oracle? What? What ancient altars?" She pursed her lips. "And now I wait for a response..."
"You could, maybe, respond to their questions now, if that's all right with you."
"Ah, good point Fluttershy. Right... Key's still offline - I'm getting really concerned for him now. What happened to his mission? What... I... I haven't heard from Zen in a while either..." She gulped. "Moss was right though - Infinity does seem to have it out for me. And now we're sharing a ship with her... I mean, I think she's harmless, but she could find things out she wasn't meant to know..."
She shook her head. "Okay, who the heck is Bill Cipher? Anyone like Discord I think I should be made aware of! And Nickel... What were you trying to say about me and Pinkie? That we are... Connected to you in some way? Naturally?"
Fluttershy blinked. "...That explains so much about Pinkie."
"What do you-" Twilight blinked. "Oh. Oh my Celestia, you're right. That does make a lot of sense... She knew this whole time!"
Fluttershy shook her head. "...I'm not sure if I should be mad or not..."
"Worry about it later," Twilight said. "She probably knew it'd drive us mad anyway. ...It probably did drive her mad..." She shook her head. "Right, Akumakami, uh... You're the master of worst-case-scenarios, aren't you? I'm fine, wasn't abducted or anything. And as for this 'shipping' of yours... No it isn't really surprising, but please, think of it from my perspective. Me, basically being forced into a relationship that doesn't make any sense against my will!? It's DISTURBING that's what it is! And that description of omnishipping doesn't help!"
"Oh, my..." Fluttershy said. "That sounds..."
"It's specifically the six of us."
Fluttershy blushed - hard. "...My. There is... Definitely something wrong there."
"No, really?"
"Um. Akuma? Could you... Maybe not?"
"I don't think what we say is going to make much of a difference, seeing as it's already happened somewhere else..." She shook her head. "If I ever get access to those other universes I'm going to liberate them from that forceful shoving..."
"...How is that any different from the adventure we're on?"
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, then shut it. "...Good point..." She scratched her chin. "I... I think this isn't any different from the destiny and heroism we dealt with on a daily basis. But romance just... Wasn't a thing. It feels unnatural to me..."
Fluttershy blushed. "Oh, there are a few I'd be interested in..."
"...Do I need to slap you?"
"Oh no, this is normal. ...I think. How would we know?"
"That's the problem, we wouldn't, and other Twilights and Fluttershys wouldn't either!" She sighed. "Something to think about if we ever figure out this Witch's Eye thing, I suppose... Not like I can access these other worlds or anything. Yet."
"Sounds like a goal."
"Anyway... They had some questions." Twilight cleared her throat. "Uh... Lemme compare it to something on Earth, since I know most of you live on an Earth-like place as humans. I've seen their globe. Our estimates put Equestria itself at about the size of North America. Yes, Ponygood, I'll look out for Alderan. And Fluttershy, Akumakami wants to know what's the scariest looking creature you've ever met that ended up being the most friendly?"
"Discord."
"...Yeah, that seems pretty obvious doesn't it?"
Fluttershy laughed. "Yes it does."
"One last thing..." Twilight shook her head. "You mentioned a 'they' Akumakami, a 'they' that work on the interface you use. ...How do they fit into this?"
Then the Witch's Eye began to glow.
"Oh. Well, guess what I'm doing." She leaped onto the bed and sat meditatively, ready for the influx of information...